Charlene Carr

Eugene Station

Epsilon Eridini

The interior was just as awe-inspiring as the exterior, a grand testament to engineering and design. For Charlene, this marked her first visit to the station in four long years—a period during which her life had spiraled into chaos and upheaval. “Alright, there’s a station directory here. I think you would enjoy checking out the promenade. They have some excellent restaurants there. Commander, you might want to seek out Admiral Briggs. He’s on board right now, going through retirement of all things!” she chuckled, her voice brightening the atmosphere.

“Is he now?”

Char noted the odd tone in the Commander’s voice; it was devoid of warmth, a cold, careless remark that hinted at deeper emotions suppressed beneath the surface.

“Yeah, and when the WarpStar is ready, we can take you back. The observation deck is lovely this time of year!” Charlene attempted to crack a joke, but the pair remained as cold as ice, tension palpable in the air around them.

As they began to move off in their separate directions, Jennifer tugged at Char’s arm, her excitement unmistakeable. She had been craving authentic Japanese food for what felt like an eternity; it was a rare delicacy, hard to import from Earth.

‘That isn’t O'Connell or Zeigler.’ The voice whispered to Char, cutting through her thoughts like a knife.

“Huh? What?” Char stopped abruptly in the corridor, her heart racing. “Did you hear that?"

“No? What are you talking about?" Jennifer replied, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

“Follow them. Trust me, Char, you need to follow them."

“Uh, go ahead without me,” was all she managed to utter, uncertainty swirling within her as she began to walk toward the two figures she had just brought to the station. She didn’t know why, but she felt an odd compulsion to trust this voice, which was eerily familiar, echoing in her mind like a long-lost friend.

She kept her distance, careful enough so they wouldn't notice they were being followed. The pair moved in a peculiar direction, deliberately skipping the galley, the promenade lift, and even walking right past the observation deck. It was almost as if they knew exactly where they were headed. They came to a lift, and Char quickly ducked behind a nearby support beam. When she peeked back from her cover, they had vanished, and the lift had activated. “Well, shit, where the hell are they going?” she cursed under her breath, frustration bubbling within her.

‘You know where, Char. The last place you ever want to be.’

“No, please don’t make me."

“Char, you must. Trust me. You are the only one. You need to."

Against every instinct screaming at her to turn back, she steeled herself and stepped into the lift, selecting the inner chamber where she had lost John—returning to the location that marked the end of her previous life.

As she descended, memories flooded back, each one a ghost haunting her steps. Upon arrival, she saw the pair enter and begin speaking amongst themselves, their tones low and conspiratorial. Her last mission had taught her the art of eavesdropping well.

“So, it clearly was activated. The chamber’s been used; there’s the code right there,” Zeigler remarked, her voice edged with urgency.

“So why didn’t the full sequence work? They should have full control over the Legion, yet they don’t,” O'Connell replied, his brow furrowed in thought.

‘How the hell do they know all of this?’ Char wondered, her mind racing.

“Hey, who are we spying on?” Jen whispered from behind Char, her voice barely concealing her panic.

“Fuck, you scared me. Keep quiet. Those two, I don’t think are O’Connell or Zeigler,” Char replied, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the scene unfolding before her.

Suddenly, a hologram flickered to life before them. “Strange, seeing myself in a different body,” Memi's hologram remarked, its voice imbued with an unsettling familiarity.

“Strange seeing myself as an AI hologram. I never activated you when I created you,” the figure continued, seemingly unbothered by the tension hanging thick in the air.

“The chosen sacrificed himself willingly. The station activated as predicted. The Legion went full force on The Alliance, yet for some reason, they are still not relinquishing control. Not even to me,” Hologram Memi explained, its digital form flickering slightly as it processed the information.

“What went wrong? Did we miss a sequence in the coding?" O'Connell questioned, his frustration evident.

‘Reveal yourself to them. Trust me, I have your back.’

Char felt a surge of determination at the whisper's insistence. Without questioning it, she approached, her Colt-V900 gripped firmly in her hand. “Alright, just what the fuck do we have going on here?” she demanded, stepping forward with confidence.

The duo froze, their expressions shifting from surprise to cautious calculation as they absorbed the sight of Char and Jen approaching, weapons drawn and ready.

“The last time I saw you, you little cunt, you were ripping apart someone I cared a lot about. So start explaining,” Char spat, her anger boiling to the surface as she noticed the hologram of Memi hovering nearby.

“I don’t believe I owe you anything. What was done was done. It was destiny, fate. It had to be,” Memi replied, her tone icy.

“Bullshit. Don’t peddle that lie to me. That was complete bullshit. We would have won that engagement without losing the best damn ship captain we’ve ever had,” Char shot back, her voice laced with fury.

“There is nothing you can do or say to me,” Memi said while O'Connell slowly, began to position himself to flank Char, while Zeigler advanced toward her with what appeared to be the intent to disarm them.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were either of you,” a commanding voice boomed, reverberating around the chamber with authority. One voice was familiar, while the other had not been heard in years.

“Just who the hell is that?” Memi, occupying Zeigler's form, questioned, confusion spread on her face.

Another hologram materialized, this one projecting a figure in full uniform. Captain John Henderson once more came to life before them, his presence filling the room with an air of undeniable power. “Take one more step toward my crew, and it will be your last."

The entire room fell silent, eyes darting between John and the others, confusion and disbelief etched on their faces. Half of them were tempted to test his threat, while the other half stood frozen, unsure of what to think. Char simply stared, tears gathering in her eyes as she processed the impossible before her. John met her gaze, offering that familiar smile—the one he reserved only for her, a beacon of warmth amidst the chaos.

“How is this possible?” Zeigler blurted out, disbelief evident in her voice. “Ohhh, I understand now. That’s why the code didn’t fully take. You downloaded your consciousness into the systems without completing the algorithm; that’s why I don’t have control,” Hologram Memi said, realization dawning upon her.

“Are you going to tell them the truth, or shall I?” John asked, his voice steady and firm.

Before anyone could respond, several more figures entered the chamber: Admiral Markus Briggs, President Jeffery Hammond, Captain Joseph Donavan, Rear Admiral William Hayes, and Fleet Admiral Maxim Grigorievich.

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“What the hell is going on?” Memi, still inhabiting Zeigler, demanded, her tone filled with annoyance.

“Since you won’t tell the truth, I will,” John stated, his voice resolute. “I picked this moment intentionally. By the way, Joseph, sorry, but your engineers didn’t crack the grand central station idea. I gave it to them.”

“Well, no worries, mate! It’s still a ripper find and a bloody useful one at that,” Captain Donavan chimed in, his jovial demeanor clashing with the tension in the room.

“Don’t worry, your boys are on to something good, for real this time,” John nodded, redirecting the conversation.

“Anywho, I orchestrated this. The whole idea of giving up the wormhole tech was to get as much brass here as I could, since I knew you two over there would be waking up real soon,” he pointed toward O'Connell and Zeigler. “You two are not Commander Charles O'Connell or Major Audrey Zeigler. Unfortunately, they died on that terrible day. No, you are Doctor Xalax and you are Doctor Memi, both of the Terran Empire."

“How is that even possible?” Admiral Briggs questioned, his voice a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

“During the Battle of Sol, the Legion that invaded us initiated a process, downloading the conscious minds of the two into themselves. It took four years for the download to decompress and install itself," John explained, his expression grave.

“You have to understand, we needed to come back at the right time,” Memi, in Zeigler’s form, interjected.

“For what? More annihilation? Are you going to tell them?" John pressed.

“We needed to finish what we started,” Hologram Memi stated, her tone unyielding.

“What you started was genocide, and I won’t have any of that on my watch. I invited each of you here as witnesses to the truth. When I was hooked into the systems, I learned a great deal about the past—how and why this Sphere was constructed, the Legion, all that good stuff.” John began to elucidate. “But right before I was fully gone, I learned the truth about what they were planning. So instead of releasing the last bit of code, I downloaded myself into the station’s systems, where I waited and started to build an AI architecture that could support my consciousness. That took me a while, but here I am. The last bit of that code is with me, and I have full access to the Legion. I control them completely.”

As John spoke, several dormant Legion drones stirred to life, stepping forward with eerie precision.

“How?” Hologram Memi asked, her digital face reflecting confusion.

“I rewrote the control mechanism to accept the code without destroying me. Your plan to trick us into thinking we had control over the Legion was a ruse, and I couldn’t abide by it. We need to stop this cycle of genocide. Look what it did to us, to humanity."

“But what they did…” Xalax began to speak, but John interrupted.

“Was atrocious, I agree. Your response wasn’t any better. Besides, we need to end this bickering among us. There’s a greater threat coming. The Trinity has begun.”

Memi, possessing Zeigler, wore an expression of horror, her digital features betraying her shock.

“Explain everything,” President Hammond commanded, his voice firm.

“Let’s start from way back, millions of years ago. We had many species inhabiting this galaxy, but primarily we had the Terran Empire, Sumerian Empire, Almorian Empire, Anunaki Consortium, and the Arcturians. There were many more, but these were the largest of the empires. Then one day, the Almorian Empire thought the Terrans were being unfair and declared war. The Galactic War was brutal; alliances were formed on both sides. Eventually, it came down to the Terran Empire versus the Alliance. The Arcturians and Sumerians remained neutral. It became obvious that the Alliance would win, so three strategies were devised to end the war swiftly. The first was a planet-killer weapon designed to annihilate an entire planet. Cruel, yes, and completely evil, I admit,” he said, observing the horror on everyone’s faces, except for the three Terrans present.

“The second strategy involved creating an army and a navy—completely robotic—with the hopes of mass-producing forces to overwhelm Alliance military assets. This was the lesser of two evils, as no lives would be lost on the Terran side, and it wouldn’t result in a bloodbath on the Alliance side. Well, they created the Legion, but their code was flawed. They deemed all life to be a threat and began rampaging across the galaxy."

“The third strategy was a last resort contingency plan in case nothing else worked—full genetic engineering and planet-seeding. What ultimately happened was that after they lost control of the Legion, they deployed the planet-killer weapon on Almora, the Almorian homeworld. I dug through some data packets floating around the Hyperspace Network. Just three weeks ago, a Vaikunthian science team went to Almora on an expedition. The planet remains uninhabitable to this day, a molten wasteland. What kind of weapon could leave an entire planet a wasteland for millions of years? What you did to Almora was inexcusable. So what does the Alliance do in response? Wipe out every last Terran they could find."

“Let me guess,” Admiral Briggs interrupted. “We are the result of contingency plan three. So we are the Terrans’ descendants."

“Correct, except they never had a chance to implement the full genetic sequencing. Only a small fraction got inserted—just enough to allow evolution to progress the code and produce me."

“So, we are the rebirth of the Terran Empire?” President Hammond asked, his eyes narrowing in realization.

“In essence, yes,” John replied, the weight of the truth settling heavily in the room.

“That explains the genocidal hatred from the Alliance; that explains Orion, Andronov, the invasion of Sol—everything they’ve done since we made first contact,” the President continued, piecing it all together.

“Exactly; they think we are them, which we are not,” John said, locking eyes with Memi.

“How do you mean the Trinity? That’s an old prophecy—one that’s never been proven. It’s nonsense,” Memi in Zeigler dismissed.

“When three of the most powerful empires reemerge into a galactic setting, a great catastrophe can and likely will happen. That galaxy will be obliterated by the ensuing power grab.”

“But who’s the Trinity?” Char asked, her curiosity piqued.

“We would be considered the Terran Empire. So there’s one. After the Terrans were thought extinct, the Alliance initiated a great purge, eliminating many species, including the Anunaki and the Arcturians. Those are the final two."

“There’s no evidence of them returning,” Holographic Memi challenged.

“I believe there is. There have been too many strange occurrences. We need to end this Almorian civil war. Like it or not, the Almorian Empire needs to be a strong entity. The Sumerian Empire must be strong militarily and not merely neutral. The Federation needs to start bulking up. We need to prepare.”

“How do we get the Almorians to stop their civil war and then make peace with them?” Admiral Hayes asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

“I’m not a diplomat. I’m hoping you higher-ups can figure out a way to broker peace. But I do know of a way to help. The WarpStar needs to head to the Canus Galaxy, go to the Buuka planet, and seek out the one last remaining Arcturian who is accompanied by a fugitive Almorian and her hybrid child.”

“Hybrid child? I thought Almorians couldn’t have children?” Admiral Briggs interjected, confusion clouding his features.

“They can’t, which is why Queen Lithanul went into hiding. She gave birth.”

The room descended into shock, the implications of this revelation sending tremors through all present.

“Who’s the father that could father that child?” Briggs asked, a mix of disbelief and curiosity in his tone.

John paused, knowing this truth would hurt the one person he loved the most. He locked eyes with Char, his gaze pleading for forgiveness. “I am.”

“You… fucking. WHAT!” Charlene erupted, fury igniting within her like a raging inferno.

“Why, son, why would you?” Briggs questioned, the weight of the situation pressing down on him.

“It was when the WarpStar was captured. I was unconscious. She had done something—I’m not sure if it was an extraction or the actual act—but I do know it was against my will, and I was violated in ways I can’t even begin to explain aboard that Leviathan.”

“That fucking bitch!” Char screamed, her voice raw with rage. “I’m going to fucking filet her skin, make her eat it piece by piece until I get to her fucking heart, then rip it apart with my bare hands. That cunt is going to beg to die!”

“Char, no. We need her alive and on our side,” John pleaded, desperation lacing his words.

“The fuck we don’t.”

“Char,” John began, his voice softening as he tried to reason with her. “This is the only way. We need to end this violence everywhere.”

“Why? Why the fuck do we need that psychotic bitch? We are at peace. We haven’t seen war or conflict in four fucking years. Because of that psychotic bitch going into hiding, we have been left alone. The Russian Republic and the Federation are no longer at war. We’re finally at peace!” Char countered vehemently.

“Lad’s got a point,” Donavan chimed in, nodding in agreement.

John glanced at Memi, both the hologram and the one inhabiting Zeigler, hoping for support.

“He’s right,” Zeigler’s Memi replied, her tone indicating her understanding.

“During the war, the Anunaki were ferocious. They were the threat we feared the most. We didn’t fear the Almorians; they were simply leading the pact. We obliterated Almora because it was the easiest target. If it’s true that the Anunaki are returning, they won’t stop until they rule the entire galaxy or even the multi-galactic universe. They are the real threat. And the Arcturians? They were neutral, but their abilities were terrifying. They are the most intelligent beings I’ve ever encountered; they created the most intricate technology I’ve ever known. If they became our enemies, I can’t envision a world where we survive their wrath. If they come back, they might seek revenge.”

“Wait, help me understand this. If these two species are as powerful as you say, how did they get defeated in the first place?” Briggs asked, skepticism still lingering in his voice.

“We don’t know,” Holographic Memi admitted. “The purge happened after the Terran Empire fell. Once the last lab fell and Earth was seeded, all Terran outposts went into power reduction mode, aiming to never be discovered again.”

“You really think they are coming back, with no evidence?” Char pressed, her disbelief evident.

“I do. I can’t explain how I know; I just do. Scanning the hypernet all over the galaxy, there are simply too many signs,” John insisted, determination etched in his expression.

“Can you download yourself onto the WarpStar?” Char asked quietly, a flicker of hope igniting within her.

“No. Even if I could, I should be here. This station allows me to monitor the entire galaxy; I’m far more useful here. That brings me to my next point. The Sumerians are trying to clone me. They are failing so far because they lack my consciousness. Once they figure that out, they will seek it out from here, so I need to remain.”

“Well, Markus, I’m glad I’m retiring,” President Hammond said, lightening the mood slightly with a friendly slap on the Admiral's back.

“When I said I wanted to retire, I hoped to lead the Federation out of a political nightmare, not this,” Briggs replied, his voice heavy with the weight of their situation.

“Good luck!” Hammond smiled, but the gravity of their circumstances loomed over them all like an impending storm.