The Forsaken Empire (The Endervar War Book 2) (30 page)

You want to save her, don’t you? The woman that I once was

The new Farcia stared back, hostile. You only care for her, for a distant memory

The woman brushed back her mangled hair. It was damp with sweat. And what of the rest? she asked. The Endervar inside. Should I be discarded? Abandoned and forgotten?

Farcia shook her head, wheezing out a desperate chuckle. She was laughing. Laughing at the cruel irony.

Savior she muttered. Know this. I am Farcia.

I don’t believe that, Arendi shot back.

It doesn’t matter what you believe. This is fact.

Then why are we here? In this place? It must mean something to you. To her.

Arendi was trying to corner Farcia. Perhaps prick and pull, so that the truth might emerge, but the entity offered her own view of reality.

What you want is dead.

She walked by Arendi to a nearby window. In the glass were the city and the sea. It was all deceptively serene. The waters were seemingly at rest next to the land. But in truth a deathly silence, both in sound and in soul, had permeated the entire habitat.

You can’t save her, the woman said. She already made her choice. We already made our choice. Believe it or not, we have permanently merged.

The new Farcia pointed to her chest. The entity may have lay claim to the body’s soul, but the memories of another woman riddled her psyche. It included her childhood to the final moments before her conversion. The old recollections were still clear. Maybe clear as day. Despite her control, the lingering affections and nostalgia could easily sway the new Farcia’s mind from one extreme to the other. In another huff, her gaze fell to the floor. In the tiled surface was a shadow.

What you see before you is all that is left.

Arendi looked at the tattered woman. She was a wreck of anger and sorrow. The old Farcia had been overwhelmed.

Then what are you? Arendi asked.

The white-haired woman was blunt.

A monster. An abomination I am ruin. But most of all, I am your enemy.

The new Farcia spoke the words, cementing them in the air. Despite the fatigue, she was defiant. Arendi sensed her bitterness. She glanced at the woman’s hair and found it limp and untamed. Perhaps Farcia or this entity was right. Maybe this was all just a facade. An illusion in place of the threat. Arendi both saw and felt the danger. It came not just from her sights but from the data in her wrist.

She remembered what had brought them here. The Gateway technology and the schematics had provided passage. She had even told Farcia that she knew nothing of its significance. But that was just another facade. She had actually feigned ignorance. She was well aware of the secret hiding within the Arcenian research. Weeks of study had gradually revealed a possible answer. Arendi recalled the details. Her hand squeezed. It again, confirming the reality before her.

Only the enemy could want this, she thought.

It was then that Farcia left the window. The woman had seen enough of this past. Instead, she sought to remember the other history in her mind. To her, it was the only one that mattered.

My people, she said, convinced. The true people like this place, they are all gone. I am the last of my kind.

Chapter 30

Arendi received the message privately through her systems. It came from outside the habitat, and the voice was tense.

The interference from the Endervar fleet was still waxing over the channel. The speech was fading in and out. She twisted slightly, hearing the echo screech at times. But for the most part, the dialogue from Alysdeon was coming through intact.

Arendi’s lips were pursed as she listened to the words piercing the percolating buzz. Her mind was already replying through the use of the internal comm.

I read you. Status? she said, maintaining the discretion.

The Adamant was still in the system, but the vessel had dropped out of radio contact for over an hour. The move had been deliberate. The Destroyer had encountered something that required his full attention. Alysdeon sent over the data. A hostile target had been found.

The Adamant had detected it secretly lurking next to a comet. The craft had tried to disguise its transmissions with a sophisticated code, but the Destroyer had noticed the irregular pattern over the long-range scans. In response, the flagship had quickly vanquished the craft in a barrage of blaster fire. But before its demise, the satellite had sent off a faster-than-light transmission to some unknown location.

Understood, Arendi replied. We’ve found something as well.

She walked over the grassy trail toward the edge of the estate. She was nearing an isle located on the other end of the complex.

The combat drones had detected it, and all four were at the perimeter with guns armed. Arendi looked past the seven-foot machines to the outer shell of the dark and bladed structure.

The mass was partly dug into the sand, forming an elongated dome of opaque metal. The walls themselves were layered in razors. This was clearly no Ehvine dwelling. All elegance had been exchanged for brute function.

It matches with known Unity designs, Arendi reported. We’re attempting to infiltrate now.

She magnified her sights. The structure was almost 120 meters in length and appeared as a mound of black. It lay unevenly over the ground. One half of the mass was over the sand. The rest dipped into the sea. Arendi spotted algae, which grew over the black surface. It was seemingly out of place. Clearly, the structure had been here for some time. Arendi wondered whether it might have been dropped from the sky.

Maybe it’s a ship or some kind of orbital pylon, Arendi added. But we’ll move as fast as we can.

Two of the automated machines were already cutting into the wall with a laser beam that rained sparks. The other pair was on watch and attempting to hack into the structure remotely.

As the message ended, Arendi heard the drill of the cutting beam whine in her ear. The site was completely sealed. She saw a hot white line from the laser attempt to trace out a makeshift entrance. Smoke was puffing from the metal.

There’s no need, Farcia said. I can provide you access.

She attempted to walk past Arendi to let the structure verify her presence.

No, Arendi said, blocking the way with her hand. She didn’t trust Farcia. Seconds later a section of the wall came undone. The slab of metal fell to the sand. The combat drones then moved to infiltrate. The cutting beam stopped, and the seven-foot machines rushed inside. Arendi was with Farcia over a dozen meters away. She didn’t know why the woman had suddenly wanted to cooperate, but she didn’t like it. She straightened her combat jacket and prepared for possible resistance. Although Arendi knew little of the surrounding habitat, she was plenty familiar with the Unity and its machinations.

The Enforcer, your accomplice, is he here?

Arendi asked the question as the combat drones scouted the premises. Already, visuals of the interior were appearing in her mind.

So far, they had found a tunnel that led to more darkness and then a secluded inner chamber. Arendi then glanced back at Farcia.

No, this came before, the woman said cryptically. She fumbled with the metal brace around her neck.

Farcia didn’t want to linger. She moved past Arendi, ready to step into the lair.

***

The security sweep came up with nothing. Any discernible threat was absent from the scans. In fact, the interior was quiet. Quiet as a tomb. There was no life here. Nor were there any windows or furniture inside. Instead, anything related to color or comfort had been neglected from the structure. Arendi felt the machine presence. The cold air met her cheeks and the brim of her lips.

The Unity, she thought. It must be them.

The structure had never been built for humans. So much of it was impassable. The corridors were either too tight or nonexistent, hidden behind locked walls. Still, the scans did detect something. The drones had paved a path, cutting down more nonessential metal to reach it.

To light the way, Arendi released a handheld flare from her combat belt. It rolled from her hand and dropped down to the catacomb-like floor. In another second it ignited, banishing the darkness in a mist of crystalline light. Arendi heard the incoming gust. The flash simmered down and quickly calmed into a lasting afterglow. She then stepped inside, switching from her own machine vision to her normal sights.

Confirmed, Arendi said. It’s what we’ve been looking for.

She crossed into the middle of the room and found it. The computing system was before her, embedded in the floor. The technology appeared as a podium like tower of steel. Although it was dormant, the system supposedly controlled the rest of the structure. Even more important, it fed into a database stored inside. For a moment, Arendi was relieved. This was a potential way to access records and more detailed locations. She briefly inspected the stump of chrome, touching the cool surface with her hand. The hack of the computing system was currently underway. But apparently that wasn’t all that was inside the facility. There was more. Much more.

Under her very feet and around her was another secluded section. It was entirely contained. The combat drones had already highlighted the presence in their initial scans. Arendi had seen the sensor readings. It had been enough to shift her attention away from the computing system. Arendi didn’t know what might be under the floor. Neither did the combat drones. There was no way to enter the mysterious section aside from drilling another hole. Furthermore, the scans had failed to pierce the exterior of the bulkhead. Arendi rubbed the bottom of her chin. She didn’t like this at all.

As a precaution, the combat drones had set up a defensive perimeter throughout the inside of the labyrinth. Obviously not everything within the facility had been fully understood. But for now, the priority was assuming control of the computing system. She looked back at the tower. The surface had been altered. Attached to the tower was a decryption node, a circular device that had been diligently peeling back the security protocols within the computing system. It had forced a lockdown of the entire structure.

Arendi lifted her hand from the tower. It won’t be long before we mine all the information inside.

She turned to the presumed user of all this. In the room alongside her was Farcia. The woman was silent as well, but she was ever watchful. Arendi caught her glancing at the tower and the decryption node on top.

This place, Arendi said. The Unity built it, didn’t they?

Farcia didn’t say, even though the signs were everywhere. The computing code used throughout the structure possessed all the obvious signatures.

You can’t trust the Unity, Arendi warned. They’re dangerous. They want nothing more than control.

I know, Farcia muttered. But don’t pretend that you’re any better.

The woman didn’t need a lecture. She crossed her arms and leaned into the darkened crevices between the walls.

You’re no better, Farcia went on. No better than me.

I don’t kill the innocent, Arendi retorted. Not like you.

At that, Farcia became agitated. The gills in her cheeks sputtered and began to foam. The translation failed to follow, and instead waned into a harsh mechanical whine.

Farcia clawed at the air, finally managing a word out. Hypocrite!

She wiped the drool away with her other hand.

Savior, you think you know everything, Farcia said with a sneer. With a flick of her wrist, she sent drips of saliva into the air. How wrong you are

Arendi saw the spit land near her feet. It was another dark stain on the floor.

We came to your galaxy, desperate, Farcia muttered. We were forced to do what was necessary.

Necessary? Arendi asked. Is that how you justify it?

Would you have us die and face oblivion?

The words rasped, like a dying breath. Farcia coughed into her hand and then shuddered.

Arendi stared at her from across the room. She wasn’t sure whether to pity her or resist. For now, she chose the latter.

What the Endervars brought, Arendi said, the invasion. The never-ending war. We never asked for any of this.

Do you think my people wanted to come to this universe? Farcia fired back. To your universe?

The woman rolled her eyes, irritated and bitter. We sought refuge here. We tried to find a way

Farcia’s voice cracked. Her back was hunched, and exhaustion coursed through her breath. It dragged every word out as a wail.

My universe once hopelessly clung to yours she said, cringing. Don’t you see? We came here to try to save it!

But you did so at the cost of war, Arendi said firmly. How many have died because it? You would have conquered all of us. You nearly did.

And yet you still remain, Farcia said. Strong and growing. You can talk about all the deaths you want. But your universe flourishes, while mine is dead. Extinct!

The white-haired woman backed deeper into a corner, away from the fog of light. For a moment, her body fell into a coffin of shadow.

The death of one galaxy, when there are so many more can it even compare? To the death of an entire universe? Farcia asked. Her fingers traced along the lifeless wall as she dared to answer the question.

What you want is wrong, Arendi said.

Arendi’s voice rose. She came closer to Farcia, seeking to push past the madness.

The Alliance doesn’t want to fight you.

And yet, we have no choice, Farcia said, not in the least persuaded.

There is always a choice.

Farcia batted away the statement with a scowl. Don’t be naïve. It’s easy to say such things when you’ve won. When the galaxy celebrates you calls you the Savior. But you’ll always be a murderer to me.

She felt small and defeated inside the room. The gills in her face were constricted and awash in spit. She tugged at the metal around her neck, anguished.