Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (192 page)

I considered the form lying inertly in the stasis chamber.

It appeared a stranger to me. I felt no kinship, no attachment to the body providing my life force. Memory my aspect, I no longer recalled having resided within it. Even so, logic and the reality of Katasketousym origins dictated I once did so.

To find oneself bound inside the confines of a small, frail body, rendered hapless by its myriad limitations, was anathema to me. I moved the stasis chamber into the deepest corner of the structure. The life support system was designed to function for perpetuity without my intervention. Unseen, it would trouble me no further.

I left the structure and its refuge behind to hover at the shore of my lake, finding myself uncertain of what to do next.

Exile.

Such had been the verdict of the Idryma Conclave. Exiled from their ranks in name, title and consciousness. Exiled from Amaranthe. My body retrieved from the
krypti
and relinquished to the dirt of Aurora Thesi.

A watcher with no subjects.

An Analystae with no dominion.

It would be far simpler if it were such a simple matter as this. But my task extended well beyond the rigid strictures of the Idryma. Aurora had been entrusted to me because I understood our purpose more deeply than anyone, save possibly Lakhes.

Histories. Futures. What was inevitable, and all that was not.

The Conclave called Aurora a failure. We would refocus our efforts on the other Enisles, Lakhes proclaimed, in the search for new and innovative prospects. We would try again, Hyperion declared, but ensure firmer restraints were in place from the beginning this time.

To invest time and effort in such an endeavor was foolish, risking all while invalidating the experiment from its inception. Interference may be acceptable in the other Enisles—but not in Aurora, whether this incarnation or any future one. No, the sole path to the answers sought was to serve as Clockmaker Gods, to create the universe then let it become what it dared. But Hyperion’s clumsy meddling had demonstrated a lack of understanding of this most fundamental notion.

The answers, I believed, still resided in Aurora. For what the Conclave was too insular to see—or too fearful to admit if they did see—was this: the uprising by the Humans had in fact proven the validity of the principal thesis underlying Aurora’s existence. Now was not the time to recoil as mettle failed.

This was the kairos. This was what we had
wanted
. The others might flinch and turn away, but I would not.

I extended, diffusing out over the lake and above the mountains. I was truly alone on Thesi now, as neither Hyperion nor any others would be venturing by to consort with an exile. I was truly alone in spirit now, my consciousness denied entry into the Idryma.

Before departing Aurora for the last time, representatives of the Conclave had placed spatial triggers at the Metis Portal, designed to pitch the apparatus into a dimensional singularity upon its opening from the other side. It had been a near thing, our—their—decision to refrain from destroying the portal immediately. Only my most elegant arguments had convinced the Conclave they need not permanently foreclose this avenue. Katasketousya appreciated the concept of ‘forever’ better than most species, and when presented with the alternative of the spatial triggers Lakhes had eventually been persuaded to not take such irrevocable action.

But the Conclave, eager to be rid of the troublesome Aurora and its equally troublesome Analystae Mnemosyne, had perhaps not paid sufficient attention to the details.

I was and had always been the First Analystae of Aurora. This meant I controlled all the apparatuses of the Enisle, observational and otherwise.

The triggers had been deactivated. I could rearm them at any time, and should it become necessary—should the Humans or their scions attempt to launch an armada through the Metis Portal, one bent on wanton destruction of whatever they found—I would do so, regrettably but without hesitation.

But I was the First Analystae of Aurora, and this experiment was not over. Once a proud member of an underground resistance, I was now a rebel from the rebellion.

As the sea spread out beneath me, an alert transmitted the opening of the Metis Portal. I halted far above the waters and waited.

What emerged from the portal was not the feared armada. Instead, it was a single ship. A familiar ship. I felt a quickening in my atoms.

Clever, dangerous girl. I have been expecting you.

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FUTURE NOVELS PLANNED FOR THE AURORA SAGA:

A
URORA
R
ENEGADES

A
URORA
R
ESONANT

APPENDIX

A CONVERSATION WITH THE INTREPID HEROES OF STARSHINE

(This interview takes place near the end of the events of
STARSHINE: Aurora Rising Book One
)

EARTH

S
EATTLE

Reporter: 
I’m here today with Alexis Solovy and Caleb Marano. These two individuals have been at the center of a storm of recent events. Now, amid rumors of conspiracy, murder and even aliens, they’ve agreed to go on camera and answer our questions.

First things first—how did the two of you meet?

Caleb:
  She shot me.

Alex:
  I shot you
down
. Then I shot you.

Reporter:
 
Seems like a rather inauspicious start to a relationship.

Alex:
  Was that a question?

Caleb:
  I’ve had worse starts.

Alex:
  You have, seriously? I mean, I thought it was kind of memorable.

Caleb:
  Oh, it was certainly memorable. And I said I’d had worse starts—not better outcomes.

Alex:
  …Oh.

Reporter:
 
Some people are looking to you to be saviors of humanity. How do you feel about being asked to shoulder such a weighty burden?

Alex:
  Annoyed.

Caleb:
  It may be difficult to believe, but my job is at its core about protecting people. Not usually so many people at once, but…I’m glad to do it.

Reporter:
 
Ms. Solovy, do you want to expound on your answer?

Alex:
  Look, I never asked to be a savior of anyone…except maybe him.

Caleb:
  Thank you for that, by the way.

Alex:
  You bet.

Reporter:
 
Ms. Solovy, your father died in battle during the 1st Crux War against the Senecan Federation. How has becoming acquainted with Mr. Marano and visiting Seneca affected your view of the Federation?

Caleb:
  Alex, you don’t have to—

Alex:
  No, it’s fine. My father died a hero. He gave his life to save others. I wish he hadn’t chosen to do so. But it had very little to do with who the foe happened to be.

Yes, I hated Seneca when I was a child, because I was young and grieving and I didn’t understand anything. But what truly changed my mind about the Federation wasn’t meeting Caleb or even visiting what is a beautiful, extraordinary world. It was discovering an alien armada that intends to exterminate all of us. I guarantee you these aliens don’t give a [expletive bleeped] who’s Alliance, who’s Federation and who’s Independent.

If we want to survive, we had better stop caring, too.

Reporter:  Mr. Marano, do you have anything to add?

(Caleb stares at Alex a moment, a smile tugging at his lips)

Caleb:
  How could I?

Reporter:
 
Ms. Solovy, does it bother you that Mr. Marano has killed people?

Alex:
  You’re joking, right?

Reporter:  Not actually, ma’am....

Alex:
   Wouldn’t you kill to protect innocents, or those you care about?

Reporter:
 
His file indicates he’s killed upwards of 250—

Caleb:
  I’m not sure we should be—

Alex:
  Most people suck, and a lot of them have guns. Next question?

Reporter:
 
Mr. Marano, why did you become an assassin?

Alex:
  That’s the same question.

Caleb:
  I’m not an assassin.

Reporter:  You have assassinated people though, yes?

Alex:
  Caleb, you don’t have to—

Caleb:
  If someone represents a threat to others, and my government determines they need to be stopped but can’t be reined in via conventional means? Then, yes, the decision may be made to kill them. Once the choice is made—rarely by me, though I won’t deny making the call when it’s the only option—‘assassination,’ as you call it, is the safest method for everyone. Frontal assaults and gunfights have a way of harming innocent bystanders, which is not something I want to do. Incidentally, they also pose a greater risk to me…and I do value my life rather highly.

Reporter:  That’s a bit arrogant of you, isn’t it?

Caleb:
  Not in the slightest. It’s merely truth.

Reporter:  A lot of attention has been directed at your tumultuous romance, not all of it positive. Would either of you like to respond to the critics?

Alex:
  I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is the future. We possess faster-than-light space travel and quantum communications—why would we have romance?

(Caleb leans over and whispers in her ear)

Alex:
  Okay, there might be a
little
romance.

Reporter:  Ms. Solovy, how does your mother feel about you dating a Senecan intelligence agent?

(Alex doubles over in a fit of laughter)

Caleb:
  Baby, I think that was an actual question….

(Alex sits up, sucks in a breath, and resumes laughing hysterically)

Reporter:  Ms. Solovy?

(Alex wipes tears from her eyes)

Alex:
  I’m sorry. I have no idea what she thinks about it—or anything else for that matter.

Reporter:  You and your mother aren’t close, then? She is a very influential leader in the Earth Alliance military.

Alex:
  So I’ve heard. Look, my mother and I don’t see eye-to-eye on, well, everything. It is what it is. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?