He understood too that Kresk currently orbited the Axon homeworld, which the Relyeh of this dimension had claimed hundreds of years earlier. An impressive victory for Shub’Nigu, tempered by the truth that the Axon had abandoned the planet and the layer for elsewhere in the stack before the Relyeh ever arrived.

  Koth wondered if the Axon had gone into hiding. Or had they sent the Anomaly here to interfere with his work? Or perhaps they had used the nature of the stack to continue their advancement free from threat. He could easily imagine the Axon uniting with brethren in a layer on an earlier timeline and quickly advancing their knowledge so they could continue their efforts to stop the Hunger from fulfilling their destiny. He could also imagine the Axon inserting themselves into more and more layers, making alterations and creating Echoes that could shift the balance of power anywhere that balance could still be shifted. Surely, his enemies knew to limit the alterations if they wanted to maintain an understanding of future events in order to change the outcomes.

  Was that something they wanted?

  There had been little evidence of the Axon making changes to any of the layers he had entered. Even the Anomaly had so far sought only to reverse or prevent the damage he had done.

  This time was different however. He was certain of that much, even if he couldn’t quite fit all of the pieces together. Only one thing was certain. The Anomaly had to be stopped, regardless of its ultimate motives or allegiance.

  Koth set the gulths on a course after the human starship, though the surprising speed of the emergence had caught them all off-guard. Dozens of his creatures altered their flight patterns, redirecting toward the ship as it climbed. The gulth that had been circling higher in the atmosphere had a better angle of attack on the vessel, and he watched calmly as they swooped down to launch their attack.

  Unlike earlier, he remained calm as the human starship unleashed the energy beams from its spines, cutting down entire swaths of his fighters in one blast. He had plenty of gulth to spare and could replace every one they destroyed within a matter of days. As long as they kept the pressure on the ship and continued chasing it toward Kresk, he had no reason to lose his peace.

  The human starship danced through the sky, the skill of the pilot proving to Koth that the Anomaly hadn’t killed them all outright. He recognized the style of the maneuvers from the chase the ship had led his gulth through the broken landscape of Earth’s canyons. Unpredictable. Precise. Effective. His gulth struggled to get a bead on the ship, and even when they did, it was often back out of target before they could fire.

  Given the opportunity, perhaps he should try to take the humans alive. If a genetic component existed to provide such skill, it might be something he could use in future generations of gulth.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t think he would have that opportunity. He couldn’t afford to let them reach orbit and slip his grasp again, and the pilot’s ability against his gulth forced his hand.

  Kresk, unlock all batteries, he ordered silently, passing his voice to the dreadnought through the Collective.

  The ship responded with action. It pulled pieces of its exoskeleton aside with thick muscle, revealing the mechanical augments painfully attached to its nerves.

  Target the human ship and fire.

  Koth could have taken control of the batteries from the dreadnought, but he preferred to observe through the gulth. Since all of his forces were linked, the fighters changed their vectors to avoid the red beams of energy passing down through the atmosphere toward the oncoming human ship.

  He nearly smiled as the ship skipped aside just ahead of the first red beam, then the second and the third, barely avoiding the powerful blasts. One of the beams struck the ship head-on, causing it to shudder as a web of blue energy crackled along its length, absorbing the blow. Koth could tell the hit weakened the shields, the web slightly dimmer as it faded.

  A few more hits like that, and all of his troubles would be erased.

  A small smile tugged at the corners of his wrinkled lips at that thought. He had been upset with Shurg for allowing the humans to escape Earth. Perhaps he had overreacted, allowing his hunger to get the best of him. Destroying the origin Anomaly would make the added effort worthwhile.

  The human ship kept coming, and Koth’s forehead crinkled as he realized their trajectory was bringing them in close to Kresk. A bold move, reckless even, but it made sense. The fixed batteries wouldn’t be able to target them once they got close enough, and the way the fight was going, it seemed as though they might evade the cannons.

  He decided to launch more of his gulth to ensure there was no chance the ship could get away, no matter how good its pilot might be. The creatures streamed from their caverns and into space to add their firepower to the fight.

  As before, a sense of excitement rose from within, Koth’s regained sense of calm threatening to break upward into elation as the assault on the human ship intensified. Bolts of plasma and beams of energy lit up the planet’s entire upper atmosphere.

  A bold move, but it would be for nothing. No one could evade him forever. No one could outmaneuver him or outthink him. No one...

  His head lifted, his hand slamming down on the armrest of his throne, cracking the stone as the human ship vanished for a second time.

  Within the atmosphere?

  Impossible!

  A sharp pain rippled through his head as Kresk cried out in sudden, unexpected fear. Shifting his attention from the gulth to the dreadnought, Koth immediately understood.

  He used the creature’s senses to see, watching as the phase shift bubble created by the human ship’s disappearance disrupted the stability of the planet’s atmosphere, the tear in the phase collapsing spacetime inward to heal. The gulth around the tear were immediately pulled inward by the gravitational force of a black hole, pulverized as they smashed into one another at the center. Kresk fought against the sudden massive pull, pushing in the opposite direction while begging Koth for escape. It wanted to slip to another layer. To any layer other than this one.

  But if they did, he would lose the trail. He refused to fall that far behind.

  He seized Kresk’s mind to prevent the creature from phasing in a panic, holding it in place while they began sinking toward the collapse, unable to resist the pull. Though he had already fed earlier, he still found the dreadnought’s fear exquisite.

  Kresk continued dropping, gaining velocity as they were sucked inward, toward the center of the destruction. But then the gravity pulling Kresk in diminished as quickly as it had intensified, the dreadnought managing to finally counter the force and pull back.

  No. The gravity had subsided. The tear closed. Koth shifted on his throne.

  All of that fear for this? he said, admonishing Kresk. He had lost a number of gulth, but he could replace them. Calm yourself, Kresk.

  He was about to contact Gurlat to have him put the Scry to work when a new jolt of pain from Kresk forced him back into the dreadnought’s mind. Immediately, he grabbed hold of his throne with both hands, digging into the already damaged stone to hold fast.

  The energy that had drawn inward to heal spacetime now expanded back outward, creating a massive expulsion and shockwave that lashed out from the center of where the tear had been, smashing into Kresk and carrying the ship on it as if it were a tidal wave. The huge creature shuddered and shook, the force too great for the dreadnought’s own dampeners to counter. It pressed Koth hard into his throne, holding him in place as the ship quaked. He blocked Kresk’s pain from his senses, riding out the shockwave with trembling curiosity. He had no idea a phase shift bubble inside the atmosphere could cause such an incredible reaction.

  The shaking stopped not long after it started. While Kresk remained mostly undamaged, the planet below hadn’t been as fortunate. The wave of energy had slammed into the surface, the force toppling trees and tearing down what remained of the city. It dug into the ground and ripped away the entire top layer of crust within its path. Pushed out of its original orbit and off its axis, the entire planet continued to quake.

  After a few minutes it all subsided, leaving the universe calm once more.

  Koth remained on his throne, though he shifted to sit up straight, arms on the rests, feet on the floor, ragged robes wrapped around his legs. His heart beat at an increased pace, and an ugly smile split his dry lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced something so new. So unexpected. So powerful.

  Before he even realized what was happening, he started to laugh, a guttural baritone cackle that echoed in the large, empty throne room. It increased in volume and intensity with each passing second, allowing him to express his amazement and frustration—both at the same time. He had thought the humans bold to get so close to Kresk. This was bolder still. Did they know their slip would cause such destruction? He would respect them even more if they had.

  The doors to the throne room swung open. Gurlat charged into the room, black robes swirling around him, chin tentacles writhing as he came to an abrupt stop, confused by the sound coming from Koth’s mouth.

  “Master,” he said, dropping to a knee at the far end of the room. “Are you hurt?”

  “Hurt?” Koth replied between cackles. “No, Gurlat. I’m not hurt. Don’t be an idiot. It would take a lot more than some turbulence to harm me.”

  “Yes, Master.” Gurlat paused, lowering his head. “Master, may I ask.” He paused again, hesitant to verbalize the question, though Koth had already entered his mind to see it. “I have never seen you so amused. Especially in the face of defeat.”

  Koth’s laughter stopped. “Defeat?” he hissed, forcing Gurlat to wrap his meaty hands around his own neck and squeeze. “This isn’t defeat, Gurlat. This is a setback. Nothing more. Yes, the humans escaped with the Anomaly. But it isn’t without benefit to me. Only a fool wouldn’t enjoy the challenge of this hunt.”

  Gurlat tried to answer, but couldn’t get enough air to expel any sound. Koth released him then, allowing him to remove his hands and breathe again. “Be thankful I’m in a benevolent mood.”

  “Yes, Master,” Gurlat said. “Thank you. I meant no offense.”

  “Tell the Scry to get to work on picking up the trail immediately.”

  Gurlat lowered himself a little closer to the floor. “Master, the Scry is already exhausted from tracking the Anomaly here. They—” He stopped speaking as his hands again wrapped around his throat.

  “I’d hate to replace two Generals in the same cycle, Gurlat. Since when do we care how the Scry feel? They do as I order, when I order it. Now go.”

  Gurlat’s hands fell away again. The Norg stood and bowed before turning on his heel and marching from the room.

  As soon as he was gone, Koth closed his eyes.

  The Anomaly had chosen these humans for a reason, and that reason became clearer with every interaction. They were special somehow. Different. This would be harder to deal with than he had thought.

  He started laughing again.

  This would be fun indeed.

  Chapter 40

  The power returned. The emergency lighting flashed on first, quickly followed by the HUD, the threat projection, and then the surround’s forward view. He didn’t bother looking out, instead deactivating his restraints the moment he was able to do so.

  “Jen, you have the stick,” he said, jumping out of his seat and storming into the main compartment, his eyes fixing on Max. “What the hell did you just do?”

  Max copied Nicholas’ face on his blank head, his expression one of shock. “Confusion. What do you mean?”

  “The slip. You executed the damn slip! Against my orders!”

  “Nick,” Yasmin said. “It wasn’t Max. I did it.”

  Nicholas whirled on her, his existing anger mixing with a sense of betrayal. “What?” he growled.

  “I just saved our lives. You’re a good pilot, Nick. A damn good pilot. But nobody was getting through that in one piece.”

  “You said you trusted me,” he hissed back. He couldn’t believe she had initiated the slip before he had given the order. “Do you even know what you just did?”

  “I told you, I saved our lives. You should be grateful.”

  The statement made him more angry. His face flushed. His heart pounded. A sense of cold betrayal ran down his spine. “Max, tell her.”

  “Consideration,” Max replied calmly. “Agreement. Yasmin’s decision was correct. Your desire to harm Koth made your decision irrational in the face of increasing danger.”

  “What?” Nicholas said. “Whose side are you on?”

  “Confusion. I am on this side. Hahaha. Hahaha. Haha.”

  “What about the destabilization? What about the planet?”

  “Explanation. The atmospheric slip certainly created a ripple that undoubtedly caused a catastrophic shockwave on the planet’s surface, but the planet should survive.”

  “And what about all the other Foresights that show up until we can tell them not to come.”

  “Confusion. We cannot tell them not to come. That alteration will create a divergent layer too difficult to control. Without my broadcast, the first Shepherd to reach our prior layer will be left to his own devices. Any additional Shepherds to arrive will create a duplication, and they will begin to degrade.”

  “You mean they’ll die?”

  “Within approximately four hours. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha.”

  “So every future version of me is sentenced to death?” Nicholas said.

  “Affirmation. Except for one. I believed you understood that.”

  Nicholas shook his head. “No, Max. I didn’t understand that.”

  “Reparation. I should have explained better.”

  Nicholas looked back at Yasmin, still angry, but not as consumed by it. “Is that what you thought, too? That I was being irrational?”

  Yasmin offered him a conciliatory smile. “Yes. I’m sorry, Nick. I don’t blame you for it. Believe me, I understand, and there’s a part of me that wants the same thing. But getting Briar or Macey or anyone else on this ship killed over a vendetta isn’t going to help anything. There’s only one way forward that will help.”

  “That wasn’t my motivation. I wanted to damage Koth’s ship to buy us more time. To get some separation between him and us. Not to lash out over Luke.”

  “Maybe not consciously. But I can prove it to you if that’s what it’ll take for you to believe me. Frank recorded the whole thing up to the moment we slipped.”

  Nicholas stared at her, the rest of the fight draining from him. Was she right? Had anger and adrenaline subconsciously gotten the best of him? He couldn’t rule it out.

  “I do trust you, Nick,” she continued. “When your head is clear. But when you’re acting emotionally it’s my job to both look out for you and the rest of the crew.”

  Nicholas stared at her for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I trust you, too. If that’s what you saw, then I know you did what you thought was best. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

  “Apology accepted. Like I said, I don’t blame you for it. I wish I could fly Foresight so I could plant a few energy beams up Koth’s ass.”

  “Affirmation,” Max said. “Hahahaha. Haha. Ha.”

  “That goes double for me,” Macey added.

  “So,” Nicholas said, looking at the forward view through Yasmin’s terminal. All he saw was empty space. “Where are we?”

  “Location. Nowhere,” Max said.

  “What do you mean, nowhere?” Briar asked.

  “Explanation. I gave Yasmin an intermediary layer position to assist in delaying Koth. His Scry will need to follow our trail through multiple slips.”

  “You mentioned the Scry before,” Yasmin said. “What is it?”

  “Correction. You mean, who are they? Information. Another Relyeh conquest. A race known as the Malfut. Clairvoyants. They can sense the layers, as well as any disruptions to them. They are anomaly hunters. The tracking is not easy for them. It takes a heavy toll. But the toll to defy Koth is even heavier.”

  “Poor things,” Briar said. “Maybe we can help them.”

  “Delusional. Impossible. Kresk must be destroyed.”

  The forcefulness of Max’s response surprised Nicholas. “We aren’t going to risk our own success to save a few badly treated aliens,” he agreed. “I assume we’re leaving as soon as possible?”

  “Affirmation. Two random slips will delay Koth by hours.”

  “We still have three hundred layers to visit,” Nicholas said. “How many times can we use the slip drive before the energy unit runs out.”

  “Consideration. If the search is protracted, the energy unit will require replacement.”

  “Did you say three hundred layers?” Macey asked. “That could take a while.”

  “Precision. Three hundred thirty-seven. Maximum. It will be less. I hope. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha.”

  “Nothing to do right now but wait,” Nicholas said. “Five minutes, right?”

  “Affirmation.”

  “Anybody know any good jokes?” Macey asked nervously.

  “I bet Gills did,” Scott replied, increasing the tension within the group.

  “Relaxation,” Max said, leaning back in his seat and clasping his hands behind his head. A wholly human-like pose without human emotion. “Koth cannot follow us through the slip so quickly. We are safe here. We should enjoy it.”

  “I felt safe underwater,” Briar said. “I don’t feel safe here. With our luck, even if we’re in the middle of nowhere and Koth can’t find us, then we’re going to spring a leak and lose our oxygen, or the engines are going to break down, or we’ll get sucked into a black hole or something.”

  “We aren’t going to get sucked into a black hole,” Scott said. He glanced at Max. “If you picked the location randomly, how do you know we won’t get sucked into a black hole?”

  “Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha.”

  The laughter was the only response Max gave.

  “Frank would warn us if we were in that kind of trouble,” Nicholas said. “The fact is, we’re still alive. We can still fight. That’s the best outcome any of us can hope for. Let’s just ride out our five minutes, make the slip, five more minutes, and get to work.” He looked at Yasmin. “If Koth catches up to us again, we’ll deal with it.”