Abysm (45 page)

“Come on. I’ll show you instead.”

45

ANESI ARCH

P
ANDORA
S
TELLAR
S
YSTEM

A
LEX GAVE HER MOM A
quick hug, though it had only been a few days since they’d seen one another. As was often the case of late, it felt as if several eternities had passed since then.

Miriam placed a gentle hand on her elbow. “Your arm?”

She shrugged. “It’s fine. No acrobatics for a few days, but I’m good.”

And she was. A bone fusion followed by an injected nano-repair weave and a controlled movement medwrap later, she was…good. In other words, it hurt like the devil, mostly because she was choosing to forego all but the mildest painkillers out of an abundance of caution for
addiction
reasons. Which was also fine. And painful.

“The medical consultant will be here shortly. Also Richard said—oh, here he is now.” Alex turned to see Richard enter the suite.

She’d seen him even more recently than she’d seen her mother, but she still approached him for yet another delicate hug.

Richard regarded her with a sober intensity. “And here I thought we might finally get to have a few weeks of peace.”

She grimaced a touch. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault, sweetie.” Richard caught her gaze drifting over to Caleb. “Or his.”

Caleb stood to her left talking with Mia, but he, too, caught her gaze. One corner of his mouth quirked up in acknowledgment.

Hers did the same before she shifted her attention back to Richard. “Thank you. I’m glad Mom asked you to come.”

“More like ‘allowed.’ It’s an exclusive club, one I’m probably only in because I was at the scene. But I wouldn’t miss it.” He motioned over his shoulder. “And neither would he.”

Graham Delavasi’s large frame briefly took up the entire doorway as he entered.

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Why is he here?”

“Federation Intelligence Director? If this doesn’t fit within the ‘intelligence’ purview, nothing does.”

She didn’t respond, instead moving protectively to Caleb’s side.

Delavasi gestured a greeting in Miriam’s direction but made no bones about walking straight to Caleb. “Mr. Marano, I want to make it clear—”

“You didn’t know about Colpetto. I recognize that, Director.”

“You do? Huh.” The man frowned in puzzlement. “Then you deserve to—”

“Just leave it there, please. It’s enough for now.”

“And so it is.” Delavasi nodded sharply and departed to stand next to Richard.

Alex studied the occupants of the suite in trepidation. “Well this is a motley crowd. Should be fun.”

Mia surveyed them with equal wariness. “Devon and Morgan are going to leach off of me rather than show up in person. But reinforcements are here, and none too soon.”

Alex was about to turn around when an all-too familiar voice whispered in her ear from behind her. “Boo.”

She twisted around into Kennedy’s embrace, belatedly remembering to hold her arm to the side. So much hugging, and it wasn’t even a funeral. “How did you manage to finagle an invitation—or authorization, I’m told?”

Kennedy snorted. Elegantly, of course. “Please.”

Alex waited.

“It’s the ship—I get to help tear it apart. I convinced your mother that in order to do so properly, I needed to know
everything
. Hey, nice work on the…what did you call it? ‘Dimensional Rifter’? I like it. You should patent it.”

“Yeah, could you handle that for me? I’ll cut you in on the earnings. You have experience with the process, and I have….”
Another galaxy to try to save. Maybe our own again, too. A frighteningly powerful enemy. A husband who needs and deserves my attention and….

A flurry at the door accompanied the newest entrant, saving her from having to complete either thought.

Her mother greeted the man. “Everyone, this is Dr. Vanhes, a highly respected independent physician and forensic pathologist. Doctor, give me a minute to engage holos for those who couldn’t join us in person, then we’ll begin.”

The doctor, an officious, formal sort, gave her mother a perfunctory nod. He’d met both her and Caleb the day before, but he didn’t acknowledge them now.

Holos sprung to life for the newest prime minister, Gagnon, the Romane governor as official representative for the IDCC, and the Federation chairman, who had a man in military attire with him Alex didn’t know.

That is the Federation’s new Interim Field Marshal, Nicolo Bastian.

If you say so.

She sidled closer to Caleb and squeezed his hand. He offered her a reassuring smile in response…which was when she noticed the faintest hints of crimson flakes hiding in his sapphire irises. They hadn’t been there this morning.

Now her mother stepped forward in that way she had, bringing a hush to the room without the need for an order. “Thank you for coming. You’ve all received the same briefing information, so I won’t repeat it now. Dr. Vanhes has examined the body of the alien. We’ll begin by allowing him to share his findings.”

He directed his remarks to Miriam instead of the rest of the room. “The first thing you should understand about the ‘alien’ is that it isn’t an alien at all—at least not at a genetic level. The man is not strictly ‘human’ as we define the term today, but he is, or was,
homo sapien sapien
.

“Nevertheless, the subject’s physiology displays a number of differences from our own. It is…well, I would assume it is evolved. He possesses several organs we do not, but he lacks a spleen and tonsils, and his liver and kidneys have mutated significantly—in inventive and inspired ways, but I concede his anatomy is not the focus of this meeting.”

He cleared his throat. “Furthermore, the subject’s body was infested at a systemic level by…let’s call them cybernetics. That’s the only word I can use to approximate the substance. It’s not accurate, but it as accurate as I can be. Quantum circuitry pervades the man’s skin and internal organs, but most importantly, his nervous system, including his brain.

“I’ve consulted with the best quantum specialists—solely bits and pieces, nothing identifiable. They all said the configuration resembles a quintenary quantum structure, while stammering about it being multiple technological generations beyond anything we can create.

“I take them at their word on this matter, and we can assume this man’s cybernetics are advanced to a greater degree than we can evaluate or classify.”

The doctor glanced back at Miriam, and she started to speak—

“What about me?”

All eyes went to Caleb, but he stared at Vanhes.

“Ah, yes. I’ve also had the chance to examine Mr. Marano, in light of the unusual aftereffects of his encounter with the alien. He is a male human in perfect health. Extraordinary health, in fact. But he is not infected with any foreign matter or organism—not any I can correlate to his recent symptoms or to the alien.”

Convincing the doctor the traces of Akeso coursing through Caleb’s bloodstream were unrelated to the Anaden encounter had been a bit of a challenge.

“Then what the hell is this?” Caleb lifted his hand in front of him.

Across the room a water bottle floated up off a side table and spun through the air into his grasp. He was getting faster, more adept at it.

Most people present had yet to see his new skills in action, and a series of gasps erupted and were hurriedly silenced.

“I do not have an answer to that question. We ran multiple tests and took readings of the surrounding air, the objects manipulated and Mr. Marano’s physical state and neural functions while utilizing this ability. They returned nothing abnormal.”

“And the light show?” Caleb twisted his hand in the air until a dancing column of crimson flecks appeared above it. More gasps.

“It does not exist—yes, I realize everyone is seeing it. I see it as well. Nevertheless, the phenomenon cannot be captured, contained or measured.”

Now agitated chatter broke out among the attendees. Alex caught a concerned frown from Mia but had nothing to offer her.

Miriam took a half-step forward. “Everyone, please. There will be time for discussion, but let Dr. Vanhes finish his report.”

“Yes. I did discover one thing which may point the way to an answer, or at a minimum an avenue of further investigation.”

“What is that, Doctor?” Alex thought her mother looked as if she already knew the answer, which made one of them.

“Mr. Marano shares a far greater number of DNA markers in common with the alien than the rest of us do. As a matter of genealogy, the alien could be his distant ancestor—or perhaps more appropriately, his distant descendant.”

Caleb’s jaw fell open. “Are you saying we’re
related
?”

Before the doctor could respond, a rush of white-blue light swept into the room. It swirled around the space twice before coalescing into a humanoid form.

Far more anxious gasps rang out as almost everyone backed away toward the walls. Richard, Miriam and Delavasi’s hands went to their weapons. Alex sighed.

This is precisely what the physician is saying. You are genetically similar—a relation, if you wish—to him and to his entire Dynasty.

She exhaled loudly and pushed off the wall to approach the edge of the amorphous form.

“Calm down, guys. Everyone, meet Mnemosyne: Metigen—or Katasketousya for the masochists among us. First Analystae of Aurora. And our ally. Mnemosyne, meet…oh, never mind. You watch us. I’m sure you know who everyone is.”

Once she was satisfied all weapons had been returned to their non-combat locations, she directed her gaze at Mesme. “I guess you learned of our unexpected visitor.”

Indeed. The Praesidis Inquisitor has created much tumult in the Mosaic.

“Praesidis? We assumed he was an Anaden.”

This is so. The Anaden Dynasty known as Praesidis are the enforcers of order in Amaranthe. The investigators, the assassins. The judges and executioners. They serve this function for one reason above all, which is also pertinent to your discussion: they, alone among Anaden Dynasties, have the ability to bend the fabric of space-time to their will.

It was as good an explanation as any of what they’d seen, as a start. Still, it smacked of typical Metigen obfuscation. “But how do they do it?”

Only the Praesidis themselves possess this information, and some speculate even they do not comprehend the true nature of their power.

“How did I steal it from him?”

Mesme shifted the bulk of its rippling form toward Caleb.
You didn’t. The power chose you. If I were to speculate, I would posit that, recognizing your genetic makeup as compatible, it judged you more worthy of its allegiance than the Anaden Inquisitor.

“You speak of the power like it is a conscious, independent entity, but you said no one understands what it is.”

True enough. Some of us have theorized it is in fact a force alive, separate and apart from the Praesidis individuals who serve as its hosts. It is merely a theory, but one I ascribe to.

Caleb closed the distance to Mesme. “Did you know? When you met me, did you know I was
related
to these butchers? Is that why you led us around by our noses, making us chase breadcrumbs from portal to portal, risking our lives for answers you already had?”

I did not, though in retrospect this was willful blindness on my part. I did not imagine such a thing could be so, thus I did not see what stood in front of me.

Caleb deflated in the face of the Metigen’s blunt honesty.

Alex moved through the center of the swirling lights to reach him—it was the shortest route—and wrapped her arm around his.

She didn’t plan to voice it aloud here, but the instant Vanhes had revealed their genetic similarity she’d realized the Anaden
did
favor Caleb. Remove the inky cybernetic veins marring the alien’s skin and a certain harshness of visage, and they could have been brothers. Perhaps, like Mesme, her inability to conceive of such had led her to not see it at the time. Now, in her head she couldn’t unsee it.

Mesme rotated in a slow circle, as if laying virtual eyes on each person present.

The arrival of an Anaden in the Mosaic, in the Enisles and most of all here in Aurora means time has become limited. The endgame is upon us all, and we must move swiftly.

Miriam Solovy. Mia Requelme. Devon Reynolds. Kennedy Rossi. Others who can aid them. Study the Anaden body. Study his ship. Learn all you can of how both function, how they inflict harm, how they can be defended against and how they can be destroyed. Use the information to prepare.

Mia edged closer; she seemed fascinated by Mesme. “Prepare for what?”

For war.

Across the room, Delavasi groaned. “We’ve had beyond our fill of war. Let us have our peace in our little corner of the galaxy.”

What peace is there when trillions have died and none are free?

Miriam glanced at Alex then strode right up to Mesme, chin lifted in defiance. “Not by our hand—and do not try to claim it is somehow our fault because we share a genetic heritage with your oppressors. We are not them. We will not be them. We’ve chosen a different path. We choose a different path every single day.”

Being on the receiving end of the brunt of her mother’s fierceness seemed to cow even Mesme.

Then show the universe the truth of this. Show us all there is another way.

“By slaughtering the Anadens for you? I’m not certain that will prove the point you have in mind.”

By defeating them in whatever way seems most efficacious to you, Admiral Solovy. Understand this: the Anadens are relentless and unforgiving. If you do not bring the war to them today, then tomorrow they will bring it to you. Your fate was sealed the instant the Inquisitor breached the Aurora portal.

His death means you have time, but vanishingly little of it. He will be missed. They will search for him and find you. So I say again: prepare. And do it quickly.