“Captain?” she said softly. I didn’t need to tell her. She already knew, the look on my face probably confirming her suspicions. Even so, it felt like all of the air got sucked out of the hangar. Even Emerald went silent as Justus, Keep, and Meg stopped talking and looked my way.

  “Ki, I’m sorry,” I said, fighting to hold back tears. I had grown up a lot in the last few months, but this was one area where I had little experience. Experience I didn’t want to achieve. “Kat didn’t make it.”

  She pressed her lips together and nodded, controlling her emotions. “Did he die with honor?” she asked, grief swamping her voice.

  “He did everything with honor,” I replied. “It’s a huge loss for all of us. Maybe I should have told you sooner, but—”

  “No. I respect that you waited to tell me directly. Knowing sooner wouldn’t have changed anything. Thank you, Captain."

  I nodded. "You have command of Kat's Litter. I hope you will always call yourselves that."

  She nearly broke down with my comment before getting hold of herself and nodding in the affirmative. "By your leave, I’ll inform the others."

  “Of course.”

  She turned on her heel, hurrying up the steps to the elevator and vanishing inside.

  “Shit,” Justus said as we approached one another near the center of the hangar. “I can’t believe he's gone.” He shook his head, his eyes dropping to the deck as he dealt with his sorrow.

  “The whole thing was a nightmare,” I replied. “It’s a miracle the rest of us made it here alive. Kat was a big reason for that." I cleared my throat. "Have you met Matt?”

  He looked back up, shaking off his grief. “From what I've heard about him from Keep," he replied, "I've been looking forward to meeting him."

  I turned to look for Matt, finding both him and Keep headed our way. “Matt, this is Justus. He’s been your very valuable replacement.”

  “I don't know how valuable," Justus said, face reddening as Matt put out his hand.

  “Nice to meet you,” Matt said, laughing as he shook hands with Justus. “Ben’s just joking. He knows I’m irreplaceable.”

  “You're all irreplaceable,” I said.

  “Hey, kid,” Keep said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I really am glad you—” He stopped talking when I wrapped him in a bear hug. It took him a couple of seconds but he returned the embrace, patting me on the back.

  “Thank you for caring,” I said, backing away.

  His face had gone dark red. “Yeah, well. I promised your Mom I would look out for you.”

  “I’m sure she’s grateful,” I said, certain that wasn’t the only reason for his concern.

  “We should organize a chat with her.”

  “Yeah, we should. Matt?” As usual, a silent look between us was all it took to let him know what I needed.

  He put his fingers to his lips and whistled sharply, silencing everyone. "Listen up!"

  “All hands in the lounge in twenty minutes,” I announced, tapping my comm badge to repeat the order to Leo and Ki.

  “Aye, Captain,” they both replied.

  I turned back to Keep. “Walk with me?”

  “Sure,” he replied.

  “If you’ll excuse us,” I said to Matt and Justus. “Shaq, off you go.” He nuzzled my neck one last time and hopped to Matt’s shoulder. I started for the steps, Keep falling in beside me.

  “What’s up, Bennie?” he asked once we were out of earshot of the others.

  “I didn’t want to talk about this in front of the others. Only Matt knows the whole story. But you’re a thousand years old. What can you tell me about the Relyeh?”

  CHAPTER 4

  “What’s a Relyeh?” Keep asked, keeping a straight face. “Is that anything like a henway?”

  “What’s a henway?” I questioned back.

  “About four to six pounds,” he deadpanned, staring at me until I cracked a smile and groaned.

  "I asked for that. But I’m being serious,” I said, reaching the steps. We started climbing.

  “Me, too. I’ve never heard of them.”

  “What about the Axon?”

  “Nope.”

  I stopped walking halfway up. Keep nearly walked into me. “Bullshit. Do you remember Star Squadron?”

  “Of course. I wrote…” He trailed off, starting to catch on.

  “You named the enemy in the game the Axon. Are you telling me that was a total coincidence?”

  His face tightened and he glanced back at the others on the hangar floor. “Keep walking, kid. You were right to pull me aside, but this isn’t something that should go around.”

  “Ben!” Emerald called out, almost as if she had heard Keep. “Wait up!” She ran to the steps, climbing them quickly to reach us.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Nowhere in particular,” Keep said. “Bennie and I just need to chat. Alone.”

  “Great. I’ll come.”

  Keep’s face wrinkled. “You do know what alone means, right?”

  “Of course. You, Ben, and me. The three of us will be alone. Lead the way.”

  “Em,” I said. “I need to talk to Keep as in just him and me.”

  Her exuberance faded. “Oh. What about—?”

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “We can hang out later. I’ll introduce you to That Darn Cat.”

  “What’s that?”

  “An Earth movie. It was the favorite of a friend of mine.”

  Her childlike excitement returned. “Okay. I’ll see you then!” She leaned up to kiss me on the cheek. “Later, creep,” she said to Keep before sliding down the steps on the railing.

  “How do you put up with her for more than thirty seconds?” Keep asked me once she was out of earshot.

  “She can be a little wearing, but it’s not her fault,” I replied. “Melchior scrambled her eggs. When she’s lucid, she’s a genius. And even when she’s not, she’s almost as deadly as Alter.”

  We reached the top of the steps. I pressed on the elevator controls to summon the cab and turned back to Keep. “You were going to lie to me again. About the Axon, and probably about the Relyeh, too.”

  “I just can’t believe you remembered the aliens in the game were called the Axon. That’s some recall, kid.”

  “You told me you were done keeping secrets.”

  “No, I told you that I gave you all the secrets I remembered at the time. I haven’t thought about the Axon in ages. And I didn’t know Succaath was Relyeh. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

  We stepped into the elevator. I directed us to Deck Five. It seemed like the best place to be alone, as long as Ixy stayed with the others. “Even if I accept that, which honestly is hard for me to do. You are familiar with the names? With the races?”

  “Not directly. Give me a few seconds to think about this.”

  “You have until we reach Deck Five,” I said, right before the elevator stopped, my anger evident. “Time’s up.”

  He smirked. “You’ve turned into a real piece of work, kid. You've changed. Aside from the beard, you even walk and talk different."

  "Maybe it's because I have the weight of worlds on my shoulders."

  "It's more than that. You've grown up, and for what it's worth, I'm proud of you. And I respect the hell out of you."

  "Then quit lying to me and give me the information I need."

  "Look, all I have for you are rumors and hearsay, most of it from my wife, may she rest in peace.”

  We stepped out of the elevator. The sigibellum remained dark and uncovered in the center of the deck, the sand still piled around the sides. Ixy had constructed a web along the curve of the far bulkhead, the air thick with its slightly sweet odor. Thankfully, nothing alive was trapped in it. “I’ll take whatever you’ve got.”

  “Bennie, I don’t think any of this is really relevant to our current situation. I know you made a deal with Succaath to get Sherlock back, but that doesn’t mean you need to start chasing any other leads. We’re already juggling enough balls as it is.”

  “I just want to know a little more about what we’re dealing with. I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”

  “That’s the thing, kid. We’re not dealing with them, at least not outside of trying to bring Sedaya to Succaath alive.”

  “Then humor me,” I said. “Because the fact that you don’t want to talk about it makes me more eager to hear what you have to say.”

  “You know, you suddenly remind me of me, when I was your age.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “I didn’t mean it as one.”

  “Too bad.”

  He exhaled slowly and loudly. “Keep in mind, this is all third-hand knowledge that probably nobody else alive in the Spiral has ever heard uttered before. And unlike sigiltech, you can’t find some obscure archival references or long lost samples to get up to speed.”

  “Yeah, I understand that.”

  “From what Priya told me, Sashkur’s theories on sigiltech originated from a ship he discovered in the outworlds. A ship from a race that had yet to be discovered in the Spiral but were obviously highly intelligent and advanced. Of course, he didn’t know what to call them at the time so he just named them the Xenos and went on his merry way analyzing the hell out of the wreckage. Apparently, parts of the ruined ship were marked with all kinds of patterns that he came to identify as previously unknown chaos theory fractals, visual samples of equations humankind had yet to even postulate on, nevermind solve. By cracking some of the algorithms he was able to begin deciphering the alien language, which is how he wound up learning they called themselves Relyeh. That’s part one.”

  “So he never interacted with a living Relyeh?” I asked.

  “Nope. According to the rumors Priya passed along to me, there was no sign of passengers of any kind on the ship, dead or alive.”

  “Then who was flying the ship? And how did it crash?”

  “That’s part two. The one thing Sashkur did find on the ship was a humanoid robot. It was in bad shape and looked like it had either gotten caught in the explosion that crashed the ship or caused the explosion in the first place. Sashkur pulled it from the wreckage and set about understanding it. Apparently, it took him only three years to develop sigiltech from the Relyeh. It took nearly twelve years for him to decipher the code that represented a second alien race. By then, he knew the Relyeh called them the Axon and that they were enemies. He also knew that humankind, especially in the Spiral and absolutely back on Earth, was nowhere near equipped to handle a visit from either race, both of which appeared to be aggressive.”

  “And that’s when sigiltech became a weapon,” I surmised.

  “Bingo bango boingo, give the kid a prize! Sigiltech exists because the Relyeh and the Axon exist, though we’ve never encountered them or found any other remnants of their presence anywhere else in the Spiral.”

  “That’s not true. The creatures on Gia’s World are Relyeh. So are the monsters on Merton. And there are probably more planets like them out there.”

  “I stand corrected. But still, nobody knows it. For all anybody cares, both are indigenous.”

  “You said your story wasn’t relevant, but I disagree. Succaath gave sigiltech to Sedaya to build an army of Gilded he could bring back to wherever the war between the Relyeh and Axon is happening. He believes a few hundred trained wizards are all they need to break a centuries-old stalemate between the races and guarantee Relyeh victory.”

  “How’s he planning to convince them to go with him?”

  “I don’t know. The way he said it, I have a feeling he doesn’t intend to give them a choice. When I was inside his ship, I didn’t have a choice either.”

  “And you’re the slickest archon I know,” Keep said, whistling softly. “So that’s his motive, and it ties back to Sedaya because he’s a backstabbing bastard who would choke his own mother to gain a pinch more power. Succaath put the wheels in motion, and now he needs us to apply the brakes.”

  “Pretty much. But if Sashkur thought sigiltech was so important to keep the Axon and Relyeh from harming humankind, why didn’t he tell the Emperor about it?”

  “I don’t know, kid. Maybe he did. The wreckage he found was at least a couple thousand years old. Maybe the Emperor didn’t agree with his assessment of the overall threat. Maybe he figured both races were long gone and had possibly killed one another off.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” I said. “I wonder how things might be different today if sigiltech had never existed at all. Or if it had never been forgotten.”

  “Who knows? We can only play the hand we’re dealt, Bennie. For as strong as Succaath might have been on his ship, he doesn’t seem very dangerous otherwise. Sedaya’s the threat right now, and we need to stay focused on him.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity though.”

  “You’re welcome.” He draped his arm on my shoulder. “If I’m not mistaken, we’ve got an all-hands to attend.”

  “We do,” I agreed.

  “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you—”

  “None of what you just said should leave this deck, right?”

  “Bingo.”

  “Okay, but I don’t know what the big deal is. It’s all ancient history.”

  “Can you imagine how the rank and file would react if they found out there’s an existential threat out there that could fall on their heads at pretty much any time? A dead Empress might be the least of our problems.”

  “I don’t think it would be that bad.”

  “Do you want to risk it?”

  “No,” I decided. “Come on.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Everyone was already gathered in the lounge by the time Keep and I arrived for the all-hands briefing. Between the original crew members, Dryka’s followers, and newer additions—both pre and post-Merton—the recreational space on Deck Three was practically overflowing with people. I caught a whiff of perspiration, the amount of body heat congesting the room palatable. What’s more, the diversity of those assembled made it look like a scene from any cantina on any planet in Star Wars. They were all talking amongst themselves.

  Emerald noticed our entrance and leaped up from where she was sitting on the sofa with Druck, Quasar and Grizz. "Cut the chatter!" she shouted, smiling sheepishly when silence fell over the room.

  “Thanks, Em,” I said, eyes sweeping over everyone. Justus stood next to Ixy. Leo sat with Matt, Shaq on his shoulder, on the piano bench. Ki and the rest of the Litter were grouped near the large television. The rebels looked attentive but dour, understandably saddened by Kat’s demise. “Before we start, let's take a moment of silence in remembrance of Kat. He was a brave warrior. A better man. And we’re all going to miss him.”

  The room remained silent as we all bowed our heads, several of us wiping away a tear or two in grief. I waited for what felt like an appropriate amount of time before raising my head and speaking again.

  “We’ve all been through a lot over the last few weeks, and for some of us, even longer than that. I can’t say it’s going to get any easier. Duke Sedaya’s been planning for this for a while now, and while we’ve been regrouping he’s been building momentum. Worse, we don’t have many allies in this fight. Most of the Spiral still has no idea anything out of the ordinary is even happening, which means we’re pretty much on our own.”

  “It’s worse than that.” Gia’s voice echoed through the television speakers as the TV came on, static sparking across the screen before her face appeared on the screen. She looked so realistically alive it sent a chill down my spine.

  “Gia?” Justus said.

  “Oh wow,” Emerald exclaimed. “Ben, freaking Gia is on TV. This is so awesome.”

  “Oh, wow? Don’t you mean cotton candy?” Druck asked.

  “That too.”

  “I didn’t realize you had a direct line into the ship’s systems,” I said, still unnerved by her sudden appearance. “What else have you eavesdropped in on?”

  “I’m sorry, Ben. I haven’t exactly been eavesdropping. I was merely keeping tabs on you through Sanguine’s network and data streams. I couldn’t trace the movement of the gunship, but I knew when you left the production vessel and did the calculations from there. No offense, but you are kind of predictable.”

  “Maybe you can help me be less predictable, then.”

  “I absolutely can.”

  “Great. What did you mean when you said it’s worse than that?”

  “You’re aware that the Empress plans to replace the nobles Sedaya assassinated with a new group of nobility?”

  “Yeah. Keep told me about that already.”

  “Did he explain the ramifications to you?”

  I glanced sideways at Keep. “We haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet. I assume it means those fifteen duchies will be ultra-loyal to the Empress, and by extension, Sedaya.”

  “You’re partially correct,” Gia said. “Only there’s no extension involved. The names of the replacement families haven’t been officially released yet. Fortunately, I was able to get into the mainframe storing the data through a hypernet exploit. Every one of the families originates from Sedaya’s territories. Every one of them is directly loyal to Sedaya, and likely fully in sync with his plans to consolidate power across the Hegemony.”

  “Ooh,” Emerald said. “That’s bad.”

  “We already know it's bad. I take it, it's worse than I thought,” I said.

  “Yeah, kid,” Keep confirmed. “If digi-Gia’s right about the list, there’s going to be a serious uproar from the other nobles. They won’t just take a decree like that lying down. At the same time, there isn’t much they can do about it. The Empress owns everything, so their legal recourse to appoint anyone who isn’t blatantly in Sedaya’s camp is nil.”

  “Furthermore,” Gia continued. “Once those nobles are installed, they’re official and legal until such a time as their line ends and a new family is appointed to the duchy. There’s nothing any of the other ruling houses can do about that either. Even if you’re able to out Empress Li’an as a fraud, Sedaya’s powerbase will already be secured. If any of the other nobles don’t like it, there’s only one option left on the table.”