Speck popped his knuckles. The voices on the stands were dying down and, having worn himself out with small talk, he was eager for the assembly to begin.
Revol sat next to him. He almost asked him what was up, then realized it was Aster.
“Just wait,” Skeeter told him when he’d just started piloting for the Harbingers, “you’ll start feeling their power before too long. They have this sort of aura about them. It’s like a hum, only you can’t hear it.”
Speck had not only learned to feel their hum, but he’d learned how to tell them apart.
She must be really eager to get them back, he thought.
Flea sat down on the other side of Speck. “Not sitting with the teams, Aster?”
She shrugged, then smiled at the other pilot. “I like the view from further back.”
Like so many of the grand rooms in the political decks, Shiloh was three times larger than it needed to be. The effect of the hall’s exaggerated size was that while it seated up to five thousand people, the room never felt crowded. Speck suspected the purpose was to make you feel insignificant while you were in it.
And he did feel insignificant. But not for the size of the room, rather for the company gathered. Flying for Harbinger One, he felt a large part of something important. But every member of government, the military, Albion medical, the Artifexus, and every Harbinger team along with their support personnel were gathered.
The high-ranking officials all sat on comfortable chairs on the floor. Within the circle of those chairs was a stage. Duke Salamanca, First Voice of the Quorum was standing at the podium. In the four chairs behind him were the leaders of the gathered factions. Speck felt proud to see Sensus among them.
He leaned over to Aster. “Looks like Sol’s plan worked,” he whispered.
“It’s off to a start,” she whispered back.
“Thank you, friends, for coming,” said Salamanca. He was one of those old men who, while frail and spotted with age, still had an air of toughness. “I remember the day we embarked on this journey, though it was some time ago. One hundred and forty years, I believe. Many doubted the wisdom in abandoning the garden regions of the galaxy. We had safe berths, unpopulated worlds that were rich with food and fuel, and few enemies to worry about. And, as the ranks of the Harbingers swelled, we grew in knowledge, and had nothing to fear from those we encountered. But as Imogen awoke more and more star seeds, we began to look at the fringes of our charts with hunger. ‘What’s out there?’ we asked. Many of you weren’t there, weren’t born, or are too young to remember, but we felt a sudden restlessness come over us. It was like a plague. We were infected. We couldn’t wait to put our safe harbors and Goldilocks Zones behind us and venture into the deep. We spent months planning, and many concerns were expressed, but not one of us ever stopped to ask ‘Why?’, or ‘Should we?’. Well, after a very long journey, we’ve come to the place that called to us, and I have still to hear any voice question our choice to come all this way.”
He paused, and the whole assembly seemed released from a spell. People shifted in their seats, looked through their notes, or took drinks of water.
“But this is not the end of our journey,” Salamanca continued. “The Verge is a mystery and poses many challenges. The Archeus Knights came from there once, and behind them were the hands of their masters, reaching into our dimension to claim us as slaves. Albion was far away then, and the armies that gathered to push those creatures back gave their lives. Well, we’ve arrived at the Verge at the perfect time, for the Archeus are coming through again.”
He paused again, waiting for the rush of whispers to die down.
“And not in small scouting parties. Nor are these the last few who never made it back. They’ve come in force, led by Red Orak, son of Haleon, whom the oldest of us remember. His arm reached the furthest, even to old, distant Earth. If any of us wondered why we embarked on our journey, they have their answer now. This galaxy has not recovered its numbers. But we have Albion, the Ship of Wonder, and we have the Harbingers. It can be no coincidence that we felt the urge to plunge into deep space and ended up here in time to hold the line against the Tangents.”
Another pause. He cleared his throat and sipped a glass of water set on his podium.
“This, however, raises many questions. There are many faiths among us; some in the divine, some in the sciences, and many that include both. We each have primacy over our own beliefs, and it is not any one person’s right to decide if their fellows believe the Verge to be the doorway to Ulro, a portal to some sort of afterlife, or a simple tesseract. Our beliefs are our own, so long as they do not endanger this vessel or its purpose, which is to defend our country of Briah against the Tangents. What those entities are is not the priority. Our victory is. So, in the interest of achieving that victory, we of the Quorum beg you all to set your differences aside.
“We have difficult times ahead, and to triumph over our trials many changes have been discussed. You who serve the higher purposes of medicine, warfare, science and governance will be called upon not only to perform your arts, but to act as examples to our civilians, exo as well as endo. Some of you may doubt the changes that are being made to suit our new circumstances, and that is your prerogative. But we will only survive the coming storm if we are united. Some changes are minor, others are drastic, and they will have repercussions that we cannot predict. If, after this assembly, any of you feel you cannot support the decisions made by your leaders, you are welcome to renounce your positions and seek alternative employment as civilians. There will be no judgement, and no reprisals. It cannot be stressed enough…” he pounded his fist onto the podium, “Albion must be united.
“My friends, you’ve known the next speaker as the captain of Harbinger One. His team retrieved one of their oldest and wisest from terrible danger and lost two of their youngest warriors in the process. Since then, rumors have spread like a fire. Many are frightened by the thought that Harbingers can be killed. Many of you feel distrust for the Harbinger who left Albion thirteen years ago. Some of you never trusted the Harbingers to begin with. For what my word is worth, I vouch for them. And I ask you to give the next speaker your attention, your respect, and your trust, as he is the new Commander in Chief of all Albion’s armies, and the chief representative in the new ruling counsel of Harbinger Command.”
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This time, Salamanca hushed the whispers with a raised hand.
“Albion must be united. Therefore, the governance of the vessel’s many divisions has been reassessed. The old way got us here, but we face a challenge too great for a simple Quorum to contend with. Therefore, the government of Albion has been expanded. Instead of a Quorum we will have a Counsel, and instead of our soldiers being divided and traded like poker chips, we will have a professional fighting force, and it will be led by the finest warriors in all the galaxy.”
The next pause was met with silence, which Salamanca allowed.
“The Quorum will continue in the form of a legislative branch. Myself and several others will sit with General Sensus and the heads of the Artifexus and Albion Medical on the executive council. Representatives from the various commercial, industrial and residential districts…”
He carried on, describing the democratic veneer that would sate the minds of civilians while the counsel operated behind closed doors. Speck paid as much attention as he could. After an hour went by, Salamanca yielded the podium to Sensus.
The captain grabbed hold of the podium like it was a mounted gun. “First thing I have to say, is that I understand the concern that we Harbingers don’t know the cost of warfare for those who can die. I assure you that I can empathize, because I personally saw two of my own team fall in battle with an Archeus Knight. While there is a chance they can be found and brought back, there’s also a chance they can’t. That experience has deeply affected all of us, and we will not forget that death is a constant threat to our human sisters and brothers. My first mandate as Commander in Chief will be an upscaling in the quality of training and equipment for all regular combatants, to be followed by the forming of special operations teams recruited from human ranks. We know what you risk, and we know what you’re capable of, and we will be proud to fight beside you in the battles to come.”
Sensus paused for the hearty ovation.
“It is now my honor to present the Arrow of Orvar to Captain Uni Patal and the Eighteenth Rigellian Cavaliers for serving with distinction as Attack Group Five on the planet of Maman.”
Speck smiled as the troops received their medals. They each saluted Sensus, then turned and bowed, and the hall filled with another applause that lasted till the Cavaliers were seated.
“Duke Salamanca is right. The enemies we face are powerful, and the galaxy does not have the numbers it once did. Therefore, Albion must be united, or our enemies will conquer us once and for all. But if we make a unified stand then others will see and be inspired to join us. So, I pledge this oath to all of you and the civilians we serve, to give everything I am to the defense of this vessel, the souls who dwell within, and the galaxy that depends on us. Who’s with me?”
Speck felt a powerful force lift him to his feet and bring his hands together. All around him, people not only clapped but cheered.
The rest of the assembly was a blur. Nobody from the medical office or the Artifexus could follow a speech like the one Sensus gave. Speck felt sorry for the premier of the sciences. She tried hard to rouse interest in the expansion of the Verge and the numerous breaches forming, and how survivors of ships that were swallowed whole by the weird blank ring between it and the Phrastus Belt swore they heard voices whisper chants to the Tangents when their vessels were engulfed. But the crowd was already roused by the joining of the Harbingers with the human soldiers, and many surrounded the Harbinger teams afterward to express their support.
Aster tapped Speck’s shoulder.
“I’ll see you at the hangar,” she said.
Speck nodded, then managed to squirm through the crowd and exit the hall. He was halfway to the hangar when Flea called his name.
“‘Sup?” Speck said.
“Hey brother, my captain wanted me to let you know that we’re ready to back you up. We don’t have any orders right now, and with things in transition Red’s still got some play. If Catalyst gives the word, we’ll be on your six, no matter where you guys go.”
“I’ll pass it on. But uh, I think he’s gonna want you guys here. You heard Sensus. There’s hard times ahead. I don’t really understand our mission, but it sounds like we’ll be gone a while.”
“I feel you, brother. I feel you. You know what it’s like working with these demigods. I’m just passing the message along.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty strange, isn’t it?”
Flea whistled and shook his head. “I mean, I don’t even know what Harbingers are. I know who they are. But when I get the chance to see them operate…” He finished his sentence with another whistle.
“Man, I hope you get a chance to see Solomon mix it up.”
Flea moved on close and lowered his voice. “So, what’s up with the old man? Is he okay? None of my team was ever close to him, ya know.”
Speck squinted as he thought. “Black Fountain raised Red, right?”
“Yeah. And he was real stand-offish about Solomon at first, but that changed all of a sudden. My captain’s playin’ it cool, ya know? But he likes Cat, and he respects the hell outta Sensus. And us jumpers gotta keep it real.”
Speck nodded heartfully. “Yes, we do. ‘Cos we see some stuff, man. We see some stuff. And uhm, yeah, I think Sol’s okay. At least, I’m sure we can trust him. Since we found him, he’s done nothing but try to get us ready for the Archeus.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I seen that. Okay, Speck.” He gave Speck a hug. “Go get Reev and Ru back. I’ll see you on the other side, brother.”
“Hell yeah.”
The hangar was empty when he got there. He used solitude to meditate, letting his head go blank. When the team arrived, he felt ready for anything, especially after hearing Sensus give his speech. The team was quiet, but he could sense the anxiety in their radiance. Cat was especially nervous. They loaded their gear, strapped in, and Speck took them out of the bay and into space. He was sorely tempted to fly between Thummim's rotating wheels, but this was definitely not a good time for showboating, so he flew along the planned trajectory and readied the jump drive. He was about to trigger their first wormhole when Cat came into the helm.
“Sir?”
Cat handed him a data pad. “This is our actual jump path.”
Speck took the pad and looked at the coordinates. They made no sense.
“I thought we were going back to Bindhu Prime.”
“Solomon is sacred,” said the Shadow Child.
“Jeebus!” Speck jumped. He saw the distortions flanking Catalyst. “Cat, what the hell?!”
“Sorry, Speck. This is a weird one. Even for us. It was all pushed through before Sol and Cap could get the Quorum to agree to forming the Counsel, so we had to keep a few secrets.”
“Yes sir.”
Cat went back to the insertion craft and Speck punched in the new pathway. He caught himself stalling before triggering the wormhole.
I can never hesitate. Never.
Feeling guilty, he triggered the wormhole and made their first jump towards the Klippotic Verge.