To his right, the Prime Minister introduced the last person Amayas expected to see today.

  “This is Francois Adobo, who was also heavily engaged in the matter of the warship and an incident on Euphrates. However, I have only just been briefed on these revelations, so I am still processing.”

  Amayas gave away nothing. He knew about Francois’s failed plan to take Scylla by force. Francois must have been busy mending fences and making political inroads over the past few weeks to weasel his way into such a lofty role.

  When they shook, Francois held Amayas with a firm grip and did not let go. Rather, he looked to the sky, where Hermes blocked the sun for the moment.

  “A beautiful gift you have brought us, Inventor. We are grateful and shocked. We have not seen such force above Mumbassa in years.”

  “Consider it a sign of my good faith, Francois.”

  “I trust Charybdis will be joining her soon.”

  “We’ll talk more inside. It appears I have many hands to shake.”

  Darsett took Amayas through the entire greeting party, which appeared to be two-thirds Triad leadership. He assumed the government reps were chosen because they were the most malleable to the Triad. Still, he didn’t discount the possibility of activists or skeptics among the group. He delivered the welcome package four hours earlier, so most Zwahilis outside the Triad were as dumbfounded as the Prime Minister.

  Amayas limited conversation to pleasantries until they reached a reception hall with four long tables arranged into a square, each well stocked with wines, fruits, and meat-centric appetizers. He expected negotiations in a small setting, not a photo opportunity with the movers and shakers of Zwahili industry and government. Vid drones hovered throughout the hall.

  He took his seat next to Darsett.

  “Prime Minister, are these drones transmitting live across the planet?”

  “No. They will record the session, and we will remove all classified discussions before releasing to the public.”

  “Good. I don’t want disagreements to confuse the public message. This is day one, after all.”

  The man reached for a tall-fluted glass.

  “There will be disagreements?”

  “No worse than you’d expect on the Union floor.”

  Darsett mumbled a laugh then clinked a spoon against his glass. He rose from his seat after he earned the room’s attention.

  “Good afternoon, my esteemed colleagues and friends. I am so pleased to see every tribe represented by men of great character on this historic occasion. I must begin with an admission: I was angry and confused this morning when I saw the message delivered by our honored guest. I did not appreciate being among the political leadership who were kept in the dark about this Alliance.

  “However, men of great honor and repute have assured me of the need for their silence, and that we should offer our thanks and allegiance to our guest. At this time, I give you Amayas Knight.”

  Not a bad start, he thought. I don’t think it will last.

  Amayas asked Darsett to remain standing and grabbed his own glass. He gestured for the others to do the same.

  “Thank you, Prime Minister. Gentlemen, I formulated the idea of a grand economic alliance seven years ago. Hard work and considerable good fortune have brought us to this crucial day. I chose Zwahili Kingdom as my first stop because I know you will become a powerhouse. You are a proud people who deserve to fulfill your potential. To Zwahili Kingdom. To the Splinter Alliance.”

  He watched the toast with interest. Who raised his glass the highest? Who seemed most enthusiastic after the speech? Those men were with him. He made note of those who seemed less buoyant.

  “I should tell you I do not have prepared remarks. My speech this morning stands firm in the public record, as do the accompanying documents in the welcome package. I will lay out a few basic points, then I hope to meet in a small group setting to iron out more details. Shortly after, I need to depart. I plan to visit every member world. Even with wormhole travel, this will be a very long standard day.”

  Nods and appreciative laughter followed. For the moment, the tone hit the proper pitch.

  “First, I’d like to address the matter of the warship Hermes. Most of you are now aware of the recent incidents involving these ships that were designed for the Kingdom to use as an Alliance security force. Many within the Triad leadership voiced concerns about these ships being in my protective custody since the destruction of the Arakaat Shipyards on Euphrates. Some have suggested they will never be handed over to the Kingdom and their construction was a ruse to lure you into the Alliance. This is nonsense.”

  If anyone suspected he was lying, they held their emotions in check.

  “I brought Hermes as proof of my good intentions. My associate, Shin Wain – many of you know him well – is acting captain aboard Charybdis while he visits other Alliance worlds. Both warships will serve valuable functions in this next phase before taking on a security role.”

  He hoped the nuance of his words did not draw attention. He had no intention of placing a timetable on “next phase.” One man, however, did stand. Francois Adobo placed a courteous hand over his heart.

  “One question, Inventor.”

  “By all means.”

  “What of the third warship? Scylla. When will she be joining the security force?”

  A few nods followed the question.

  “As you well know, Mr. Adobo, Scylla is not presently under my control. Therefore, I can’t offer a timeline.”

  “Where is she now?”

  Before Amayas responded, another man rose. He was Triad, but Amayas already forgot his name. The man stiffened his shoulders.

  “We acquired intelligence from Euphrates about Scylla. My Persian contacts detected a second ship present at Arakaat and later in close proximity to Scylla far to the south. They believe the other ship was Chancellor design.”

  The inevitable groans appeared to satisfy both Francois and his accomplice. Amayas wasn’t stupid; they conspired to set this trap.

  “Rest easy, gentlemen. That ship was an older Chancellor vessel repurposed and now owned by the Aeternans.”

  Blank stares indicated they didn’t care much for the answer.

  “The Aeternans?” Francois said. “You are saying Michael Cooper now has control of our warship?”

  “No. Scylla is now in the Aeternan system, but it remains under the command of Hamilton Cortez.”

  “Who is a Chancellor!”

  Francois pounded the table.

  OK, so that’s how you’re going to play it.

  “Mr. Adobo, I’m sure most of these fine gentlemen know you spent many weeks aboard Scylla. Capt. Cortez has no allegiance to the Chancellory. He abandoned them before the Collectorate fell. Aeterna has posed no military threat to the colonies, and it has trade and diplomatic relations with many worlds. Minister Cooper has no reason to steal Scylla – which is your implication – or use it for aggressive measures.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “Let’s just say I’m very well connected, Mr. Adobo.”

  The Prime Minister rose.

  “Please. My friends. We all have many questions and concerns. Who doesn’t on a day so historic? Let us not devolve into accusations and histrionics. If you have a question of some urgency that is also fair, please ask our guest. Today is for unity, not dissension.”

  Darsett’s gentle wrist-slapping had the intended effect. The next question came from an enthusiastic man who visited Artemis Station twice during the early years.

  “Inventor, I am most curious about the Splinters. Will we receive a larger supply to distribute to our people? They open one’s mind to the universe. They changed my life.”

  Amayas couldn’t have done better if he’d planted the questioner.

  “Mr. Obaka, you will be pleased to know I have a hundred thousand cubes aboard Hermes along with a drop schedule as well as a primer on how to use and appreciate them. The Splinters will only be available to member worlds. As you say, they open the mind. They empower each of us to be greater. There are a few logistical matters we’ll have to work out. I was hoping to discuss those with Triad and government leadership in a small group session. But yes, they are coming.”

  Smiles among the Triad and confusion among the politicians dominated the scene, but at least one face was grave. Later, in the small group, that man approached Amayas before talks began.

  Joseph Mogandi pulled him aside.

  “I do not hold a popular position on this matter, but I must protest the distribution of Splinters. I believe they are dangerous and cause all manner of psychoses in our young people.”

  “It’s true, Joseph. Not everyone responds to the Splinters the same way, but my data suggests overwhelming support for them.”

  “My grandson joined a cult that believed they were speaking to God through the Splinter. There was an incident. Many of them were killed. I have heard stories of such cults on other Alliance worlds. I beg you. The Splinters are dangerous.”

  “I won’t deny it, Joseph. There have been incidents on a few member worlds. But always isolated. This is why I have provided a visual primer on how to use and understand the Splinter effect. It can be distributed worldwide. A law can be written to require its viewing as a condition of ownership.”

  “Why, Inventor? Why must we have them here at all? They will not help us with trade. They will not help us build starships.”

  “In time, they just might. The growth and empowerment brought on by the Splinters will open minds and increase intellect. I could spend hours demonstrating how far I’ve come with their assistance. Many Zwahilis will not be interested, which is fine. The Splinter is meant as an optional foray for those who want more.”

  Joseph wasn’t buying it, which might have bothered Amayas if he thought the man could swing leadership’s position. The session that followed proved Joseph was well-liked, but his argument against the cubes went nowhere.

  He didn’t need to know the Splinters’ true value. None did.

  Not yet.

  The group discussed a variety of issues, most of which required convening the Federated Union for approval. Amayas danced through them with considerable ease until the most important reared its head.

  “We have one obstacle to resolve, and I’ll be on my way. I have been told that several members of the Triad believe the phasic drill and howler platform at Kassaire should be either delayed or shut down altogether until the Kingdom takes control of the three warships. I did not bring this up in the open session because it is a contentious matter. I will be blunt: The Kingdom must not pursue this course of action. The Alliance Charter makes your obligation clear regarding the shared project. For me to move forward with Splinter distribution and countless other logistical tasks, I require assurances in writing that you will drop it.”

  He waited as the opposition measured the room’s temperature. The Triad leaders who wanted to play hardball did not fight back.

  “How long until the phasic drill and platform are complete?” Francois Adobo said.

  “Our administrator says two months,” another replied.

  Francois turned to Amayas.

  “Can you guarantee the warships will be ours by then?”

  “No. I will remind you, Mr. Adobo, the projects are not being shared at the same time. Some still have many months of construction ahead. The largest, on Moroccan Prime, may be a year away. But you will receive your prize in time. I promise.”

  They accepted his lie because they had no choice.

  It was the first of the necessary lies. One day, his deceptions would bring about a reckoning.

  For now, Amayas was fine with it. None of them would understand the Genesis Defense or why they needed to participate in mass murder on a scale unheard of.

  He returned to Hermes without incident.

  The very long standard day continued.

  26

  Opal Island

  Beta Universe

  R OYAL’S GUT TWISTED AS BONJU explained how his original tether design was meant to work. If successful, it would provide not only a convenient bridge across the divide but allow Swarm forces to dispatch FGs anywhere across universes in an instant.

  I am not going to allow this shit to happen.

  Royal’s easiest solution? Kill Bonju at his earliest convenience and destroy the lab, with Royal still inside if necessary.

  Bonju reconfigured the primary lab to simulate the scientific premise behind the tether that Dr. Harrod Noor and his team recently tested before being slaughtered. Eight Splinters resided in a containment field, each situated in a corner, equidistant from the center. There, a glistening black ball no bigger than a marble spun at a thousand kilometers per hour, creating a gravity well. The ball was a graviton bead, a component to artificial gravity systems.

  “Interstellar travel would be impractical without them,” he explained to Royal. “A Gallant Class carrier, for example, requires a field created by half a million beads. They act as a stabilizing agent during wormhole travel.”

  Royal was impatient.

  “Nice science lesson, but what’s the connection between one bead and these Splinters?”

  “Watch.”

  Bonju increased the size of the containment field, but the eight Splinters held their original positions.

  “This single bead has created equilibrium among the cubes. If I increase the intensity of its spin, the cubes will be pulled closer. I tested the theory for months. Dr. Noor confirmed it: A graviton bead can act like a homing beacon to the singularity at a Splinter’s core.”

  “What? It’s just gravity. I don’t do quantum physics, but I think you’re making a pretty damn big leap here.”

  “We thought so, too. But there’s a special connection between gravitons at hyper-accelerated rotation and the Splinters’ magnetic energy. Sending you and your team across the divide proved we can program a Splinter into the nav AI to reach specific coordinates. Royal, when you crossed into Alpha, you arrived at a geographic location corresponding with your departure point in Beta. You arrived at Mangum Island, which is known here as Laansu Island. Yes?”

  So far, it made sense, even if it did bring up a sore point. Royal remembered the excitement of his Talons, thinking they had captured critical Swarm technology, only now to realize they were pawns.

  “OK. Fine. So, you proved a one-way trip was doable.”

  “Royal, your success meant all we needed to do was engineer a reverse mechanism. A tether. Dr. Noor believed the answer involved using a combination of Splinters and gravitons to create an equilibrium across universes. He believed a device containing a field just like you see here could be installed into a ship’s navigation AI. He envisioned a compact device being strapped to individual travelers to create personal tethers.”

  Royal understood the larger implications. It was reason enough to take out Bonju and his lab today. Royal might have done it if he knew where to find his own Splinter.

  “So, Dr. Noor was testing personal tethers when he was killed?”

  “He was. I heard from him the day before his experiment. He was optimistic about the tether but worried about factions inside Division LM.”

  “Huh. Guess he had good reason to be afraid.”

  Silently, Royal honored whatever Swarm asshole took out Noor.

  “I understand your concern, Royal. I share it. A device like this could be used to send armies anywhere across the universes. But that would require mass production on an incredible scale. To my knowledge, there are sixty-two Splinters here plus your own. We only have enough to install into navigation systems.”

  “Great. So, you add it to a Gallant Class, transport fifty thousand FGs across the divide, unload them off dropships, tether back, and pick up another fifty thousand. Rinse, wash, and repeat. If there’s no organized resistance, the Swarm could take control of the whole fucking Collectorate in months. You see why this ain’t gonna happen, right?”

  Bonju disabled the containment field.

  “As I promised you and Moon yesterday, I will not allow the Swarm to take control of this tech. We will use it with worm-capable civilian ships. We will offload refugees, return, and collect as many as we can before the Swarm catches on to our actions. I will save my family and as many innocents as I can. That will be the end of it. The Swarm will not have access to Alpha.”

  Bonju made his guarantee during an impassioned flare-up. Moments earlier, Hoija Taron had contacted Bonju with Empress Chastain’s new timeline and insisted he expedite his experiments.

  “I gambled on you,” Hoija said, her rage uncontained. “I will not lose everything because of it.”

  Twenty-eight hours later, tension in the lab had not diminished.

  “You can’t pull this off in time,” Royal said. “There’s no cudfrucking way. You don’t even have the ships, Bonju. You made your promise because Moon was here, but it’s just the two of us now. You lied. Shit, I do it every day of my life. My lies get people killed. So will yours.”

  Bonju poured a cup of café.

  “Not if you come clean to me, Royal. Stop holding back.”

  They returned to the place from which all their discussions hit a dead end. Bonju wanted to know specifically how Royal tethered. What breakthroughs did Amayas make? Royal told him nothing. He didn’t reveal that only humans without counterparts could travel across the divide directly through the Splinter. He didn’t mention the mirrors or the ability to program a Splinter for transport into a future subset.

  “Won’t happen,” he told Bonju. “You know my terms. I’ll help you steal one civilian ship. Install the Splinter into the nav like you did with my Scramjet. You take your family and your other friends off this island and start a new life. No Swarm. That’s my best offer.”

  “Royal, you can’t leave the island without that radial bomb tearing you apart. The only hope we have is to lure ships to us.”

  “Swarm. Not a chance.”

  “The operation would be difficult. Yes.”

  “You want my help in this loony scheme?” He pulled up his shirt. “Deactivate this shit.”