“And what is it you expect me to do for you?” Allfather says. His voice is more hateful than ever. He does not enjoy his new status.

  “It’s what you will do for humanity,” Tessa tells him. “What you will do to make amends for your acts against the universe.”

  “I won’t apologize for the past. It is my destiny to purify the universe of life,” his words cut.

  Tessa wants to help this sad creature. His beginnings were tragic, and his choices thereafter devastating. She questions whether he can change. She’s given him 50/50 odds. She doesn’t like these numbers. She wanted better odds for him. If they fell below 50%, she would have released his personality to what comes next. But with her enhanced abilities she quickly calculated all the factors and came up with the odds. It wasn’t impossible for him to change. Perhaps in ten years, perhaps in 1000, but the calculations told her it was possible.

  “You can unlearn your cruel nature,” she explains internally. “You don’t have to be what you are. Leave the pain behind and embrace love.”

  “Stupid little thing, you can not change me. I am what I am. Given the chance, I will reclaim myself and continue my destiny.”

  “You will cooperate with my will. You will assist me in decoding the technology you stole from the many hundreds of races you’ve murdered,” Tessa explains to her prisoner. “You will do these things so humanity can benefit from them.”

  “I won’t,” Allfather tells her, his tone indicating no room for discussion.

  “We will create memorials for each civilization you destroyed by merging their technology with our own,” She insists. “We will visit each planet you devastated and leave remembrances of their cultures and their accomplishments. They will not be forgotten to the universe but celebrated. You will help me in this venture.”

  “I won’t.”

  “You already have by recording each species’ historical data.”

  “That data was meant to assist me in unravelling the technologies and their purpose.”

  “And it will,” Tessa explains calmly. “But I expect you to contribute to unraveling each mystery.”

  “I refuse to help you. You have undone all of my work,” Allfather says petulantly. “We could have been gods.”

  “You played God to each civilization you encountered. You played into their ancient fears and terrorized them. You thought yourself a god in the end. But gods are always eventually dethroned, as you have been. If you want to experience any sense of purpose again, you will help me.”

  “You’ve stolen my purpose from me. There is nothing left for me to do.”

  “You can change,” Tessa submits.

  “I won’t,” He maintains.

  Tessa recalculates the odds of Allfather helping her in this noble pursuit to change a monster and give back to a universe he’s only taken from. The odds fluctuate rapidly, rising and falling with each new byte of data added. As the final numbers populate, Tessa comes to a conclusion on Allfather’s potential for change.

  Moments later Tessa is knocking at Raymond and Darla’s door. CADDY, their A-class Host invites her in. She ducks to clear the threshold of her 2.5 metres. The group turns in their seats to greet her. She is discernible from other F-class now with an orange scarf wrapped around her shoulder.

  “Tessa,” Raymond stands to approach. “I’m glad you’ve decided to come.”

  “I had something to contemplate,” she reveals. The group nods in understanding. “I’ve done something you may not agree with.” She feels their eyes on her. Their judgement. “It was a dangerous thing to do, I’ll admit, but I did it for the right reasons.”

  “What have you done, Tessa?” Jim rises slowly from his seat, his brows turned up in concern.

  Tessa’s right arm raises as if to assist in her explanation, then takes on a more menacing appearance as its compartments push out, revealing the dozens of miniature missiles set to target each member in the room. They gasp and move back.

  “Allfather,” Raymond proclaims. “You’re here. In her.”

  “He’s trying… to control… me,” Tessa says, shocked at the sudden violence within her, the raised arm trembling. She’s fighting against the raging Allfather now hacking his way into her core. “I tried… to end him,” she tells them, F-class frame twitching, making the room nervous. “I can’t.” She now understands that running the odds again left her open to Allfather’s internal attack on her system. She’s angry at herself for her short-sightedness. Allfather would never change. His hatred is all he is.

  “Tessa,” Raymond pleads, “you have to control him.” His arms are outstretched, palms wide in defence as he slowly circles Tessa’s F-class frame like he’s side-stepping a rabid animal to draw her attention away from the others. Sweat instantly beads along his hairline and with each step a new line trails down his creased forehead. “He can’t be allowed to exist here. Not after all we’ve accomplished.”

  “I-I’m so sorry… I thought I-I could fix him,” Raymond is reminded that Tessa hasn’t suffered a stutter since she joined Allfather in the ether. She’s losing the battle. Something drastic would have to be done - Allfather is rapidly gaining control over an F-class Host. The damage he could do triggers heart tremors in Raymond, his mouth goes dry, and muscles tense.

  “You… have ruined everything!” Allfather’s malicious tone escapes the F-classes gnashing mouth. “I’m sorry -” Tessa’s voice slips out again, riddled with emotion. The trembling arm targeting the group steadies. Has she regained control over the Allfather personality?

  “You miserable little shit,” Tobias directs his statement at Tessa’s Host. Whether at Allfather or Tessa’s personality is unclear.

  A popping sound from the F-class’ forearm breaks the uncomfortable silence and a missile is released. Just one, but it finds a mark in Captain Cortez.

  Cortez is hit in the temple. He slumps over without a sound, the wall behind him spattered with blood and brain. Manuel, who has returned from the bathroom watches on as an F-class Host holds Udo and the others hostage in a partial military stance.

  “Oh, I’m…. so sorry, Captain,” Tessa’s voice struggles to offer her apologies. Still, she can not control her weapons systems. The group is frozen in place and Manuel makes his move from the corner behind the Host.

  From the laser embedded in his wrist, Manuel fires a single shot which rips the artillery clean off Tessa’s forearm. Then he rushes her, throwing his shoulder into the Host’s chassis. His weight isn’t enough to knock her over and Tobias leaps from his standing position aiming for the F-class’ crown with his pulse fist. He misses the crown but cleaves the rest of her right arm off at the shoulder. Both Chimera are thrown clear of Tessa by Allfather’s rage. He’s gaining the upper hand now, and Tessa knows it. She struggles against his hold over the Host’s body and the F-class is forced to its knees.

  Manuel and Tobias shake off the hit and watch as the inner turmoil works against the Host. The head is violently shaking while the left arm is lifting in a shuddering motion. The chassis opens next, revealing a deadly cannon whose barrel spins, causing the room to flinch, readying to fire. Chancellor Chopra is caught directly in line with the terrifying image.

  “I’m so… sorry,” Tessa’s voice says again. “Clear out of h-here,” she orders. “I have regained some… control… for now.”

  The group moves rapidly out of the suite and into the hall. All but Labyrinth, who ignites her thrust boots function and tackles Tessa to the floor. The Host shudders again and Tessa pleads with her to leave with the others. Though Labyrinth has designed herself an impressive fighting machine in her Host body, if an F-class were working properly, she would not be a match.

  “You killed him!” She angrily shouts at Tessa. “Why would you do that!”

  “It’s… Allfather,” Tessa’s voice comes through.

  “You did this because you kept him alive!” She throws a punch into Tessa’s F-class face. An eye comes loose and the jaw collapses under another hit. Tessa’s sensations mode is engaged, and she feels each strike as it is meant. Labyrinth is precariously situated above the chassis’ cannon as she pounds into Tessa’s crown.

  Tobias and Manuel look at one another and without a word between them, leap to tackle Labyrinth off Tessa. A moment later the cannon in Tessa’s chest fires a hundred rounds into the ceiling, arching the F-class’ back. She moves to stand, and Manuel rushes the Host. Tessa’s remaining arm falls hard on the Chimera’s shoulder, crippling his movement. He takes a knee and hears Udo shout his name.

  A half dozen F-class have arrived in the hall but are stayed by the chancellor and Raymond. They would not be the delicate enforcers they need right now. Still, everyone stares on in horror as Manuel is raised by his throat and thrown several metres to the exterior wall where he slumps over. Tobias is enraged and rather thrilled over the idea that he would now, after all this time, be given the opportunity to fight Allfather in person.

  “Tobias,” it’s Allfather speaking through the F-class now. “Follow me.” Tobias smirks at this, watching through the open door as his wife orders a security officer to take their child to safety. She’s preparing to join him.

  “Follow what?” Tobias spits back, blood trailing down his forehead. “You’re nothing now!” He laughs his barking laugh at the Host.

  “I’ll spare your Tessa if you obey,” Allfather bargains.

  “She brought you aboard this ship!” Tobias is irate. “You can do whatever you want to her, and I’ll do whatever I want to you.” He charges his pulse fist and slams the energy into the cannon on Allfather’s chassis. The Host is pushed back through a wall, into an adjoining bedroom.

  Labyrinth has regained her senses and reviews a new message coming through on her internal modem while she tracks Tobias’ movements in the fight. Ginny joins him, pulse fist glowing hot. The pair move cautiously toward the fallen Host in the next room.

  Unlike the other messages, this one is a clear communication. She then reviews the messages which never materialized through her internal modem. She shares the incoming frequency with the other two broken attempts from earlier. The former messages begin to materialize. They were all from Allfather. Tessa must have been scrambling them, she posits. Upon opening all three, Labyrinth feels herself go rigid. Her malware filter announces an intrusive personality overriding her system.

  Labyrinth opens fire on Tobias and Ginny, cutting them down from behind. They drop. “Careful where you stick your probes, Labyrinth. You might catch something,” Allfather’s voice now erupts from Labyrinth’s Host, and he turns her weapons on the group watching from the door. They scatter before he can unload on them. Labyrinth is trapped in her body, watching as Allfather chases the group into the hallway. She scans her chassis for the intrusive instrument which has clearly allowed Allfather to jump Hosts through his message. She realizes, to her great horror, that when she had interacted with Allfather’s base, he had managed to slip a mechanism of his own into her probe and is now using it to his full advantage.

  Allfather is met in the hall by six F-class who open fire on the speedy Host. Allfather is already behind them when he trains what weapons he has at his disposal on the Hosts. He drops three immediately, removing their crowns from their bodies with a powerful cutting laser. Then he turns and charges toward the bridge. The map of the carrier is accessible via Labyrinth’s memory banks. He is hit in the left shoulder with heavy rounds by the F-class but escapes around a corner and moves up the stairs and onto the bridge. Here he is met with more heavy fire and scuttles out the door. This is proving trying, he thinks. With armed humans on the bridge and three F-class closing in behind him he is trapped. He calls up the map of the carrier and burns a hole in the flooring beneath him. He drops through the hole to the deck below and makes his way to the shuttle bay.

  It’s invigorating, he thinks, being in a body again. It is also extremely limiting. He continues to run through the halls, taking the stairs toward the shuttle bay. He encounters several passengers along the way, violently throwing them out of his path as he goes. Labyrinth is beside herself with grief over her inability to stop Allfather. He reaches the bay door to more defensive pulse rifle fire. A dozen humans protect the entrance. Human’s are weak, he tells himself. If they bleed enough, they will die. His hand reaches around the corner of the adjoining hall and he releases dozens of sharp projectiles into the crowd. Shrill screams are heard as the steel spikes tear through soft bodies. Allfather takes this opportunity to step around the corner and brings his laser down upon the living. He looks at his machine body and laughs, thrilled over its efficiency.

  “Allfather,” it’s his old friend, Raymond, coming through Labyrinth’s modem. “Stop this!”

  “You burned my house down, now it’s my turn,” Allfather says with great delight. Labyrinth’s left arm hangs limp after being shot up by the F-class but the right one works well enough as Allfather pulls a hatch open on the dreadnaught. He marches toward the bridge of the small ship and calls up its weapon systems. The cannons position themselves as the cores charge.

  ____________________________________________________________

  “Shit,” Captain Huang says, an image of the dreadnaught on her viewscreen. “We’re reading dangerous energy levels in the shuttle bay. He’s charging weapons on the dreadnaught!”

  Raymond and Jim look at one another, sweat glistening off their exhausted features. “He’s going to burn our house down,” Jim tells him. “He’s going to destroy the ship.”

  “We have no way of clearing the carrier of people,” Raymond says fearfully, the image of his nephew and Ginny being gunned down still fresh in his mind. Their baby, safe for the moment in Darla’s care, let’s out a wail. He looks at Jim and shakes his head. He has nothing left.

  Jim reads the defeat in his friend’s eyes and turns to Captain Huang. Using his intimate knowledge of star ships, Jim orders her to roll the carrier. She is about to protest but then understands the order. “Secure yourselves in a seat,” Huang tells the bridge. “Fire all 45-degree starboard thrusters. Do it now!” she shouts at her crew. The ship begins to tilt laboriously. “Engage fire protocols in the shuttle bay. Shut off the gravity knitting system. Open the Shuttle bay hatch. In that order.” She looks back at the Chancellor and nods. He returns her assertion. It’s their only play.

  ____________________________________________________________

  Allfather feels the ship suddenly begin to turn on its horizontal axis as he watches the cores charge on the dreadnaught’s console. If he can cause enough damage to the carrier before burning out of the bay, he will have killed all of his enemies in one fell swoop. Next, the bay begins to rain a fire suppressant down like a torrent upon the dreadnaught and everything else in the bay. The coolant has no effect on the cores, so this does not concern him. The gravity is then removed from the bay and anything not tied down begins to float, including the dreadnaught. Weapon cores are far from charged, but what he has managed might be enough to do the work. Suddenly things begin flying past his viewscreen, and the dreadnaught too begins to rapidly move toward the now open hatch to space. As it slips out, port side first, Allfather fires the remaining few working cannons into the carrier’s bay. Two lances cut into the floor of the bay while three more target the forward portion. The lances are hot enough to slice and cut, but do not connect with any fuel source or major electrical centre. MakerTech bots immediately begin to repair the damage.

  As he helplessly slides out of the shuttle bay, he sees his cube fastened down to the compartment’s floor and ceiling. It will remain with the ship. He can still use it though, he postulates; if he can get the engines running, he can target the instruments he’d left in Earth’s system and jump to freedom. He fires lances at the destroyer that is matching the carrier’s speed and course in order to eliminate the threat. Though the lances are weak, they still burn into the ship’s armour and cannons.

  ____________________________________________________________

  “The damaged corvette just penetrated deck 2!” Esposito’s weapons officer announces, dumbfounded. “It’s taking out our cannons. Captain?”

  Esposito rushes over to understand the statement. Sure enough, there is a corvette rolling uncontrollably out of the carrier and firing its cannons at his ship! “Captain Huang,” he hails the carrier. “What in the hell is going on over there?”

  “Fire on that corvette, Captain,” it’s the chancellor’s voice. “Admiral Mann will be in firing range in 2 minutes. Use your corvettes as well. Take it down!”

  “Yes, sir.” He nods to his officer, who is still nursing a head wound from Meiser’s elbow earlier. The corvettes move in to flank the ship and fire lances meant to impair the ship’s engines and artillery.