They approached a series of platforms interconnecting across multiple levels, all hanging from fist-sized channels built into the brontinium ceiling. Kara saw a network of personnel stations, industrial phasic tools, and drone loaders a third the size needed for the Port of Pinchon.

  Exeter slowed the rifter above metal grapplers which extended from the platform. His passengers jumped out before Exeter settled the rifter onto the grapplers, locked the docking bolt, and deadened the nacelles. When he joined his team, Exeter took a long, hard look, as if forced to resurrect a painful history. Kara almost forgot he left five years ago, though the calendar said it was three months.

  “Amayas did most of his work here,” he said. “Follow me.”

  He led them to a translucent cylinder twenty meters long tethered to four cables. At either end, an elevated pilot’s seat faced the empty cylinder. The contraption’s drive panel hovered above the seat. Exeter said nothing as he ran his hands along the chair and the smooth outer skin of the cylinder.

  “What is this thing?” Jai Zaan asked.

  “The best and worst experience of your life rolled into one,” Exeter said. “He called it many things. A miracle. A dream. Hope. Terror. It’s all those, until it’s not. Then it’s just an endless nightmare.”

  “How does it work?” Kara said.

  “He never explained the science in detail. Amayas didn’t trust anyone. The simplest explanation is: You’d sit in that chair, strapped in, he’d trigger the cylinder from his workstation, and away you’d go. The last day I saw Amayas, he killed me where I’m standing. When I regenerated, he said I was immortal. He placed a Splinter in the drive panel. He’d never done that before.”

  “Why this time?”

  “He said my condition made me special. He said anyone can experience the Splinter, but only someone like me can use the Splinter to travel across the divide. Point to point, he said. I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea of immortality when he claimed to love me like a son before casting me out.”

  “And then?”

  “Then I stood in the middle of a warzone with a six-inch piece of shrapnel in my gut. RJ was there. He took me to safety.”

  “Always on the spot, the Colonel,” Cando said. “We’d be long dead if not for him. By rights, I should have been buried five times.”

  Kara understood a little more about the Talons’ devotion to Ryllen.

  “Did you ever meet anyone other than Ryllen who traveled across the divide using the Splinter?”

  “No. Amayas knew I was immortal before he brought me here. He was using me from the start. I spent three years exploring inside the cylinder, dancing across the universe, and he was recording it all. I thought it was an honor, but I was just his experiment.”

  “To what end?”

  “I don’t know. In the last minute, he said I would trigger the events to keep the divides from falling. He also said we’d meet again. I think he was bullshitting me because he’d lost control of the Splinter and his enemies were closing in. Only way I’ll know is to face him. I already told RJ: I have dibs on his execution.”

  “Not to worry,” Cando said. “If I see him first, I’ll shoot the fucker in the leg and hold him till you catch up.”

  Exeter smiled wide and deep, as if he needed the reassurance. Kara found herself drawn to the cylinder.

  “I don’t understand how these elements worked together, Exeter,” she said. “Were you transported inside the cylinder?”

  “No, but I felt like I was. The tube created a quantum energy field – that’s the most Amayas ever confessed.”

  “It reminds me of a shimmer tunnel,” she said. “Are you familiar with them?” Exeter and Cando shook their heads, but Jai nodded. “Shimmer tech originated on Hokkaido. It powers ocean vessels, deep sea stations, and more. It creates an energy field to channel fuel efficiently through an engine cycle.” She pointed to the cylinder’s end. “See these nodes? I think these are the generators. I’m not familiar with quantum mechanics, but I suspect the principles are like shimmer tech. When you were inside, Exeter, what did you see?”

  “All of it. There were no bounds. It was like the universe wrapped me in a blanket and carried me across whole galaxies. My mind tapped into the collective knowledge of every species that’s ever lived. It didn’t stay with me afterward because it was too much for a human brain to consume. But the sensation was indescribable. And it brought me back. Again. Again. I never got enough.”

  “Like a drug?”

  “The best and the worst.”

  “Is this what happens to everyone who looks into the Splinter?”

  “I can’t speak for what they see. Amayas never allowed them down here. But the addiction? A hundred percent. Everyone we indoctrinated wanted to stay. They were afraid they’d never cross the divide again.”

  “But they did.”

  “Yes. Once they made a connection with a counterpart, the link became unbreakable. One link allowed them to explore their counterparts in other universes, too. I don’t know if the effect is permanent, but Amayas said only fealty to his Alliance guaranteed access across the divide.”

  She remembered her brother Lang, who must have undergone the experience but couldn’t bear the future it foreshadowed. She thought of her father Perr, who buried himself deep within the Alliance until a counterpart showed him a better way. Their only escape was death. What now of her mother, Li-Ann, and brother, Dae? How could they hope to move forward?

  “It’s not true, is it?” She said.

  Exeter sighed. “Anyone can shake free if they’re strong enough to see through his con. I was totally his, as long as I could live in here.” He caressed the cylinder. “I killed Mother because he told me to. She wasn’t my real mother, but she protected me like one. I killed sixteen hundred people on Herodotus because he told me to. I pressed a button then they were gone. I had to be tossed away like garbage and fight in a wasteland for five years to understand what he did to me.”

  His tone was restrained, but Kara heard the years of deepening rage boil underneath.

  “I’m sorry, Exeter. I can’t imagine. Look, those Chancellors you killed – had they been shown the Splinter?”

  “A few. Mostly leaders. When large ships came, we brought them down by shuttles to indoctrinate a few dozen at a time. On that day, the captains arrived first. They wanted to renegotiate terms.”

  “Hmm. This proved his control wasn’t absolute. He had you shoot down the Herodotus because he needed to reassert control.”

  “Which he did.”

  “Do you see what this means?” She spoke to the entire team. “Even if we never find the Inventor, we can destroy his Alliance by showing them the truth. Yes, we’ll have to track these people down, which we can only do if we find the records. And yes, I doubt it will be easy to break them free. And yes, we might need a bigger crew. But it can be done.”

  “And what of the Splinters?” Cando said.

  “I’m not saying we don’t find them.” Kara turned to Exeter. “Ryllen said he hid one in a safe place. Do you know where?”

  “Maybe, but I won’t betray RJ. He knows what he’s doing. I assume Amayas has the other two.”

  “Then we start.” She scanned the platform and surrounding work areas. “You asked for us, Exeter. Tell us what we need to do, and we can get to work.”

  “You’re right. It’s time to find the bastard and end this.”

  He pointed toward the workstation and the facility just beyond. As he laid out the plan of attack, Kara felt a surge of confidence for the first time since leaving Hokkaido. Maybe she wasn’t worthless, after all, and this mission might succeed.

  Kara didn’t need long to realize she was a damned fool.

  8

  K ARA DISCOVERED MORE THAN EXPECTED. Far more. The Inventor’s entire directory of designs – “miracles,” the Alliance members called them – were easy to uncover through his workstation. Exeter said he wasn’t surprised since all these technological innovations had long since been contracted out to Alliance associates.

  “I can think of two reasons why he didn’t hide the directories. One, he’s showing off. He wants people to see his genius.”

  “And two?” Kara asked.

  “The designs are worthless. I remember one time he said these were miracles within his control. He told me about this weird profession on some colonies where people created illusions for an audience. They were called magicians. He said magicians succeed if no one knows the secret to their illusions. I asked what he meant. He pointed to a design and said, ‘They can build it, but can they operate it?’”

  “Exeter, are you saying these designs are fraudulent?”

  “No. I think Amayas was too clever for that. I think he withheld something inside each miracle. An engine part. A launch key. A line of algorithmic code. Just enough that the clients can’t add the finishing touches without him.”

  Cando offered a double thumbs-up.

  “Smart man,” he said. “After they give all this bounty of goodness a proper go, they don’t need the Inventor anymore. They need captains and soldiers and worst of all: accountants. He’s holding enough chips to force these idiots to play their hands.”

  “If you’re right,” Kara said, “we’re looking at incomplete designs. But they’re so complex, it might take us days or weeks to determine the missing components.”

  “Maybe.” Exeter stared across the platform at the cylinder and pondered. “Kara, I wanted an engineer because you understand principles of mechanical design.”

  “Within the realm of what I learned in school and at Nantou. These schematics take generational leaps forward. Some of this … I don’t know what I’m looking at.”

  “You know more than you think. You connected shimmer tunnels to the cylinder. They might not perform the same function or release the same energy, but the mechanical principles are similar. Could you write an analytical program to study his designs and consider what they’re lacking?”

  Her mind spun out of whack. She hadn’t been asked to do anything like this since her graduate internship. Afterward, Nantou’s proprietary programs did the work for her.

  “Yes. I could establish some basic parameters, but I’d need days at best.”

  He turned to Cando. “You can help her. Your algorithmic skill is far ahead of anyone in this universe. Or at least as good as Amayas. Many of these miracles involve transport systems and starships.”

  “Sure, X. A pleasure. But like Kara said, we’re talking days. We have that kind of time?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll speak with RJ and the Admiral.”

  “If we can’t analyze the data here,” Kara said, “can we transfer it to a Scramjet mainframe and run the programs there?”

  “Technically,” Cando said. “But the core systems have limited compatibility. Remember how long I needed to reset the GPNM?”

  “Still, it’s a chance,” Exeter said. “I’ll check in with the Admiral and see what …”

  A hologram shot open above Exeter’s comm stack. He brought his left forearm toward his chest and studied Lin Soogan, whose team he dispatched to the orange sector.

  “Have you found anything, Lin?”

  The Hokki from a fragment universe sighed.

  “Reading these logs is tedious and pointless,” Lin said. “They show no variance over the past two years, and the further we dig down, the more unrevealing they become. This assignment is a waste. We request a transfer to a new role.”

  “Have you analyzed the past three months for all the data points I sent to your R20?”

  “Of course not. That would consume us in mind-wasting for another hour. We only have enough work for two. These Green Sun fanatics have no mooring. They test my patience.”

  “And you’re testing mine, Lin. The Colonel gave me full authority down here. You heard him. I intend to make sure we cover every zone while we can.”

  Lin moaned. “In that case, might I recommend we leave the analysis to Meena, and I lead these two amateur terrorists on a scouting mission through the uncovered sectors.”

  “Denied. Divide responsibility among the four of you and get your job done.”

  “I’ll consider your recommendation, Exeter Woolsey.”

  There it was again. The same dismissive tone Kara heard earlier, but that time from June Serrano. It wasn’t her imagination.

  Exeter discarded the hologram and shaded his eyes.

  “Why don’t you two focus on how to extract the designs and maybe transfer them to a Scramjet? I’ll consult with the Admiral and RJ.”

  He walked away then climbed short steps to the next dangling platform. Kara and Cando shared a moment.

  “What am I missing?” She asked.

  “Backstory. Long before we crossed the divide.”

  “I thought the Talons were unified. Brothers and sisters.”

  “On the field of war, absolutely. We’ll fight for each other. We’ll die the same way. But most of war is sitting around, waiting for the next battle. We’re forced to behave like humans. In case you haven’t heard, humans are assholes. Always.”

  “I’ve known a few. What’s the problem here?”

  He wagged a finger. “Ignore the soap. Focus on the task.”

  “If I’m going to be part of this crew, I don’t want to be surprised.”

  Cando swung about in his swivel.

  “Then you’d best head home. We’re a fountain of surprises.”

  “OK. Fine. Let’s start with this one. Am I right in assuming it has something to do with Exeter and Ryllen’s relationship?”

  He winked. “You’re the whole package, Kara Syung. Smart as a Persian priestess and beautiful to boot. How much do you know?”

  “Not much. Back on Hokkaido, Ryllen said they were drawn to each other because they’re immortals and they were the only ones in the wrong universe.”

  “Here’s the bottom line, Kara, and you didn’t hear it from me. Understood?” She nodded. “They’ve been together most of the five years since X crossed the divide. At first, we didn’t know about them. X was learning how to be a soldier, and to his credit, the kid developed a strong aptitude for slaughter.

  “Shooting down that Chancellor ship? Just a rehearsal. He’s killed thousands. We all have. He’s like the Colonel. He knows what happens if he dies, so he goes above and beyond. As a soldier, we got no problems with him. As a man …”

  “What?”

  “There are some – maybe Lin, maybe June, maybe a couple others – who think he pinches too much of the Colonel’s ear. They fear he’ll steer the Colonel in the wrong direction. Did you notice how he referred to ‘RJ’ when it was just the four of us? He won’t talk that way in front of the whole team, just the ones – like me – who aren’t bothered by the soap.

  “Two years ago, something happened between June and Lucas. They’d been together – hot damn bodies – for years. Then it ended. June blamed X. I never bothered about the details, but here’s the twist: June shot X between the eyes. He rose from the dead, of course, but she was ripe to do it again. Good thing war intervened.

  “Every once in a while, the old tension flares. They’ll come to blows. It will pass. Like I said, ignore the soap.”

  “I’ll try,” she said. “I grew up in a world where soap and scandal were the order of the day, but none of those Hokkis carried blast rifles.”

  She shifted her focus to the directories of the Inventor’s designs. Though she did not understand every object’s purpose, the architecture and the ambition were grand.

  To Bolivar: A storm generation and aerial drone fertilization net to effectively terraform the Southern Plains of Mesa.

  To Zwahili Kingdom: A fleet of commercial intersystem ships with a rotating weapons array ring.

  To Euphrates: A phasic teleportation system to mine eurphadite safely and restore the planet’s economy.

  And many others.

  Yet the one that galvanized her attention was earmarked for Hokkaido: The Sweeper. A platform two hundred kilometers across, using singularity weapons to decimate the Kye-Do rings. Kara first heard of this insane notion of a rings-killer from her mother Li-Ann. Her brother Dae later confirmed it, including the name.

  Though The Sweeper was designed as a tool with a narrow function, Kara saw enough to understand its larger implications. A few design modifications could easily turn it into a devastating weapon of war. She imagined what might happen if its engines were adjusted to add Worm catalyst drivers. Such a monster, sent across the galaxy through a wormhole slip, could arrive ready-made for orbital bombardment.

  She backtracked through the other designs and approached each with the same paranoid calculus. Too much time spent with soldiers and terrorists, perhaps, or seeing the faces of fanatics in her own family brainwashed to believe a fantasy. Regardless, Kara did not need long to recognize the common thread to all these “miracles.” Each one – including the storm generation and fertilization net – could be reconfigured for war. She reviewed the starships and cargo transports for evidence of wormhole capability. First blush turned up no evidence, but she’d require hours of study into the deeper specifications to rule out the possibility.

  She was in the midst of her examination when Jai Zaan returned from a scouting expedition. Jai was tasked with breaking into the small labs and compartments on the adjacent platforms, scouring for anything with potential. From time to time, they heard a collider pistol zing as the girl forced her way in.

  Jai’s news staggered Kara.

  “A happy hunt?” Cando asked the girl.

  “Not the worst. Like going through people’s closets – or maybe an old warehouse near the port. Never know what you’ll find.”

  “Anything of interest?”

  Her shrug was discouraging. “Not much. Tools, test tubes, bottled chemicals, old pipes, refinery uniforms. Comm plates. Clutter. Lots of clutter. Oh, and toys.”

  Kara and Cando shared a bemused glance.

  “Toys?” She said. “Are you sure? In a refinery?”

  “Don’t know else you’d call them. About yay big,” she said, spreading her arms a meter apart. “Perfect size for a kid’s fancy.” She paused to glance at the holowindow in front of Kara. “Like that one. Yeah, sure. I saw that.”