“Where was this … anomaly?” Tyler asks.
“In the Theta sector,” I reply. “We visited there with Scarlett and Finian and Zila after you were captured by the GIA.”
“You’re dreaming, Pixieboy,” de Stoy says. “Theta sector is completely overrun with Weeds. They’re thicker than sketi on a martuush blossom there.”
“If we move quickly—”
“The Ra’haam’s power is augmented inside the Fold,” Toshh says. “It feels the psychic ripples of any living thing that enters, and sends fleets after it until it’s consumed.”
“There must be a way, Tyler,” Aurora says.
“Traversing the Theta sector is a bad plan,” he replies.
“Maybe for people who don’t have the best tactician Aurora Academy ever produced on their side.” Aurora smiles. “Tyler Jones doesn’t make bad plans, remember? Just less amazing ones.”
But Tyler doesn’t return the smile, his voice grim, his brow dark.
“That was a long time ago, Auri.”
“We need your help, Brother,” I tell him. “Please.”
Tyler toys with a silver ring on his finger, jaw set, anger and betrayal still bubbling beneath his surface. The Rikerite regards Aurora with old eyes, murmuring, “Perhaps we should run this by the council, Commander.”
Lae scowls at that, snapping, “Why do we care? Why do we care what any of them say or do? We cannot aid the Starslayer, nor his son, nor the fool that binds herself to him. We must kill him to avenge our lost—”
“That’s enough, Lae,” Tyler says.
“No!” she shouts. “Commander, the blood of billions is on his hands! Honor demands his death! We cannot possibly—”
“I said that’s ENOUGH, Lieutenant!” Tyler roars.
The pair stare at each other, eye to eye, Tyler’s will crackling against Lae’s. I can feel the rage in her, the fury. But finally, she lowers her gaze.
“Yessir,” she murmurs.
“What condition is the rift drive in?” he demands.
“… The crystal is showing continuing degradation,” she replies softly. “But it is stable enough for now.”
“How soon can you jump us home?”
Her eyes flicker up to his again, incredulous. But she does not challenge him further, instead watching him carefully with those cracked violet eyes. “I need to rest. An hour, perhaps two. And a jump that far with vessels so large … it will be costly. Sir.”
I see Tyler’s gaze soften. “Is it going to hurt you?”
“It always hurts. But if you are ordering it …”
He looks between Aurora and me again, finally settling his thoughts.
“I can’t make this call alone. Not with everything in the balance. We need to get back to base.” His gaze falls on Aurora, his one good eye hard as steel. “You can plead your case to the Council of Free Peoples. If they decide we help you, then we help. If not, you’re on your own.”
Aurora nods, hurt in her eyes. “I understand. And if you need me …” She looks to Lae, shrugging. “With the drive … I mean, if you need power to move us, maybe I can help.”
Lae glances toward the Neridaa—that massive vessel moved here by the power of Aurora’s will alone. She nods curtly. “I will accept your aid.”
“All right,” Tyler says. “Dacca, Toshh, get those refugees situated. Elin, I want us to stay on Alert Two in case more Weeds show up. An hour isn’t too long to stay in one place, but soon as we can, we jump for home.”
“Sir, yessir,” comes the reply.
“Let’s move like we got a purpose.”
The crew breaks up, heading off to their assigned tasks. With a soft smile to me, Aurora leaves with Lae to inspect the drive. Tyler and I are left alone, staring at each other across the table. There is much to be said between us, but I am unsure if this is the place or indeed if he would listen. So instead, I ask the question burning in my mind.
“Where is home in a galaxy like this, Brother?”
He looks to the window, that red sun, those silent worlds. I allow myself the smallest hint of hope that he has not yet denied me the use of that title. “You’ve been there before, actually.”
“… Aurora Academy?”
“No,” he sighs. “Ra’haam agents destroyed it during the attack on the Galactic Caucus. And the station moved too slow, anyway.” He looks at me, faint horror in his eye. “It … listens, Kal. It’s so big now, it can hear everything. Hole up on a planet, it’ll find you sooner or later. Hide inside a fleet, eventually it’ll sniff you out like those poor bastards downstairs.”
I shake my head. “Where is safe, then?”
Tyler shrugs faintly. “If there’s no world you can call home, no ship that’s safe to hide inside, well, you just use both.”
I blink, putting the puzzle together in my head.
“Sempiternity,” I smile.
15
SCARLETT
My guidance counselor once told me that the words “if she only applied herself” had appeared more on my assessment transcripts than on any cadet’s in Aurora Academy history. And I’m almost certain this wasn’t what he meant when he told me, “Practice makes perfect, Cadet Jones.” But I’ve died thirty-seven times so far today, and it turns out I’m pretty talented at it.
It sounds weird, I know. Maybe even a little insane. But as strange and morbid as it might be, I’m beginning to suspect the biggest reason people are afraid of dying is because they don’t know what happens afterward.
Zila, Finian, Nari, and I all know what happens. To us, at least. And it’s somehow getting harder to be afraid when you know what’s coming.
Black light.
White noise.
A moment of vertigo.
And then I’m standing in front of Finian again, back aboard our shuttle, with Lieutenant Nari Kim’s fighter waiting just outside in the dark.
The fear didn’t disappear right away. And at first, the strangeness of it all was so heavy that I wondered for a little while if I wouldn’t rather just stay dead. There was something wrong about it. Unnatural, even. But like I say, I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of girl. And once the fear disappears, I gotta tell you … this immortality thing is almost amazing.
So here we are, on another attempt to access Dr. Pinkerton’s office. Attempt #37, to be precise, to discover the secret of what the hells is going on inside this facility. Lemme take you through it all real quick.
First, we’ve discovered we have to access the admin levels through the elevator shafts, not the emergency stairs like Lieutenant Kim first told us. Stairwell A leads to the unshielded part of the structure, and we’ve already seen what happens when that quantum pulse hits the station and we’re all just standing there looking gorgeous.
ZAAAAPPPP.
You might be wondering why we don’t wait till the pulse hits and head up afterward. Excellent question. Sadly, we tried that already, and discovered when we loitered too long on the lower level, security found us, not once, not twice, but three times straight.
BLAM.
BLAM.