For the first time in more than a thousand years the Emperor was worried.
It made sense that some remnants of the war with the synths would still exist but he was expecting all to be dormant, like the one in the Alkagoria system and the one that was currently making a mess because some researchers tried to bite off more than they could chew.
No, what worried him was that psi attack that just happened. That and the wormhole weapon the Doctor had made.
Looking at the space - if you could call it that now - where the weapon tests took place he was sure that nothing, not even he, could survive that. They had marked that sector as dangerous and forbidden to travelers because the fabric of reality had been torn asunder; at least it wasn’t expanding in any dimension he could see or feel.
But that psi attack was the main worry at the moment.
His intuition was telling him, screaming at him, that there were more remnant AIs alive and somehow they had kidnapped at least one of the colossus progeny and were trying to control it.
Would the colossus believe he wasn’t involved? And how big was the synth AI army? They had been silent and careful not to be detected; the experiment probably had been the reason why they decided to attack now, not able to suffer the mistreatment of one of their own.
In any case one thing was clear, war was looming.
But right now he couldn’t do anything, he had to relax first. If he attempted to voice his commands in his current state it would probably break the minds of his designated Voices.
So he tried to put some order in his thoughts.
First, any species with psi abilities would have to carefully go around the colossus and locate the lost progeny.
Second, they needed to speak with the colossus and made him see they were not involved in the kidnapping and try to recruit him to their cause against the synths.
Third, he had to decide if they should use the wormhole weapon. Humans would surely recognize what it was and would attempt to replicate it and they were crazy enough to destroy a few systems while doing so. They still harbored some ill feelings toward him, among all the species they were the only ones who refused to remain conquered no matter how many centuries would pass.
No, he shouldn’t focus on those thoughts. In any case he could always provoke a civil war between humans, there were more of them happy to be part of the Empire than those who would resist. That was another curious fact about humankind, the rebellious ones were almost always a minority, a huge thing needed to happen to start the fire they all had inside.
Next he needed to tend to the kirkuggers. They had proven their worth and they were incredible creatures. He loved each and every one of them and would spare nothing to heal them.
And speaking of which, there was that one, the one with the sentient AI and the human explorer. She had taken for herself the leader role and last time he checked she was leading the rescue mission to those who received the blunt force of the psi attack.
Among the almost five hundred currently deployed kirkuggers that one was the most advanced, intelligent, and daring.
He was sure it was due to the relationship with the awakened AI. He checked again, there were about a dozen more kirkuggers with humans but none had gone through that process. He still didn’t understand why and that was honestly exhilarating.
While pondering about the kirkuggers he realized he was calmer now and touched softly the channel that connected him to the designated Voices, hearing their response brought a smile to his face and he proceeded to give the orders.
He also decided he would also use the wormhole weapon, but not before every other ship had left the system, only the ship carrying the weapon would remain
—
Captain Miller was sitting in his personal room reading for the fifth time the report from the Mind Flayer battalion about that recent psi attack when he received the new orders from the Emperor.
“About fucking time” - he said to no one in particular.
He read them with a smile, they were being ordered to do exactly what he was expecting.
A soft touch in his wrist-pad activated the communication device.
“Bridge, this is the Captain. The Emperor has deign himself to finally give some fucking orders and those are exactly what we were expecting. I’m on my way but don’t wait for me, let’s move”
He grabbed the jacket and started putting it on while leaving his room with a serious face and the kind of smile a warrior does before a battle with an interesting enemy.
As he crossed the door he pressed his communication device once more.
“Sheila, we’re moving. Go and prepare the battalion” - and he finished the call without waiting for an answer.
—
The whole Mind Flayer battalion was awake, all of them sitting on their beds with their eyes closed.
“We’re moving” - said John.
“Yeah, finally!” - added Hans.
“And it looks like we were right” - commented Sierra - “We’re going back to the colossus”
Although they were forbidden to do it they couldn’t help themselves and had read the Captain. It had been done quietly and with finesse, there was no way he had noticed it.
“So, who’s going to pilot this time?” - Khalid inquired.
They all opened their eyes looking at each other, they were all thinking about Yu and Takeo.
“I’m not sure how long will we last with two less in the formation to be honest” - said Ksenia - “Last time was tough”
“And this time he will be angry, really angry” - stated Aurora.
“I hope the Ry’skrel comes again, maybe we should ask them to assist again” - mentioned Vanessa.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Already done” - said a voice coming from the door that just opened. It was doctor Mukhopadhyaya, they had been so focused on the captain that they didn’t even feel her coming.
“If you think I’m willing to sacrifice any more of you, you are sorely mistaken” - she continued - “I asked them to meet us where we left last time. Although saying I asked would seem like a stretch” - she finished with a smile.
—
The Doctor entered the bridge and everyone looked at him.
His pale, almost translucent skin was all the introduction he needed. Everyone recognized him just by his looks.
Xe’nia looked at him with a blank expression.
“I gather the weapon is ready” - she said without even saluting him.
“And good day to you too, bitch” - he said walking towards her. Everyone on the bridge was stunned by his lack of manners and the way he spoke with the ship’s commander.
“I’ll allow it, but only because it turns out you’re as good as the Emperor thought you could be” - she replied.
“If I wasn’t you would’ve been the first volunteer to kill me.” - the Doctor added while sitting on her right, on the seat reserved for the second in command.
“You can bet your translucent ass I would.” - she said with a smile full of teeth.
“I’ll never understand why you hate me so much when I’m the one looking like this” - he shrugged.
“And we’re the ones suffering having to look at your disgusting being. But enough of this play, we just received orders and we’re not to use the weapon until everyone else has left the system” - she explained - “It’s going to take two or maybe three hours, there’s no need for you to be on the bridge yet”
“Yeah but since Er’anie is currently resting I thought I could take over her tasks until then. Well, and because she asked nicely. You do know what ‘nicely’ means, don’t you?” - he asked tongue in cheek.
Xe’nia sighed, of course Er’anie asked him to, she was way too nice. That was one of the reasons she loved her so much.
“Well then, I’m going to make use of that brain of yours. I hope you’re ready” - and started typing on her console.
The Doctor looked at the chair console and started working. It was easy work for him, just setting routes for every other ship to leave the system and communicate those routes to them. An AI could do that but Epsilons weren’t fond of them, preferring to do most of the job themselves.
—
Friday was feeling Jeeyze’s impatience and holding her in order to not stress the engines.
They could go faster without suffering much but the same couldn’t be said about the other kirkuggers in their formation.
For their part, the others coming back from the structure were still in that oval formation with the most damaged inside and the strongest out.
She saw the orders Jeeyze sent to the accompanying ships. To pass the oval formation, do a 180º turn, and make a protective mesh around the oval.
They were close, about fifteen minutes away, but the sun was speeding up and her simulations showed they would reach the gas giant a few minutes before the radiation wave did, there would be no time to rest.
Then they all received a priority order to use the jump engine and leave the system as soon as they passed the gas giant. Every single ship received a customized path for jumping so they wouldn’t crash with each other even in jump space. Friday had to admit it was very well done.
Jordi just saw that communication on the corner of one of the screens, looked at it and ignored it, focusing as he was in watching the kirkuggers about to meet.
“That’s got to be an amazing thing to see from the outside, almost five hundred kirkuggers flying in a spectacular formation” - he said out loud.
“I knew you were going to say that and I’ve already deployed some drones to take pictures. Also, it is good propaganda for the explorer guild and the kirkugger ships” - answered Friday.
“You read me so well it is almost scary sometimes” - he said with a laugh.
—
Xe’nia also saw the drones taking pictures of the kirkuggers once both formations met and the mesh was formed around the oval.
The view was so stunning she decided to put it on the main screen.
“That is a sight, no way around it” - said someone on the bridge.
The Doctor though, looked at it with a troubled brow.
“They’re not going to make it. Not like this” - he said with a deep voice.
From the pictures he had seen the multiple injuries. Despite their healing abilities all of them were showing skin peeled under the shield.
He started typing on his console, doing simulations on his head. Taking into account the spiral behavior of the wave and the formation he was able to quickly determine how things would evolve in the following minutes.
He typed some more orders and sent them to the kirkuggers, so they could move inside the formation, swapping places with the ones that were in better condition.
He even added some more movements to be done in the following minutes, seeing how the ones on the mesh would be and deciding their movements before the worst happened.
But there was one kirkugger that was stronger than the others, healing faster too. It was the one that had taken command, it had a weird icon upon it.
Xe’nia was looking at the commands being sent and saw the Doctor’s face.
“That one is a special project. I don’t have the time right now to tell you about it and I’m not even sure you have the clearance for it” - she told him.
He arched an eyebrow looking at her. That she had some clearance that he did not was unexpected. But a special project meant the Emperor himself had some interest in it.
“All I will tell you is that the explorer from that ship is the twins’ father” - she said, waiting for his reaction.
The Doctor’s eye opened wide and he looked back at the picture and the data. How easy it would be for him to give the wrong orders and make a mistake that would kill him. Er’anie would be sad for a while but then she would be free.
No, if he was the twins’ father and the ship was a special project meant the Emperor was watching him closely, he couldn’t fail him like that. And yet…it would be so easy.
—
Friday saw the new commands coming in and, looking at the pictures but without enough time to do the simulations herself, decided to follow them and tell Jeeyze to pass them along.
But there was something in there, in the next twenty minutes they had to move to a specific point in the mesh where they would receive even more radiation without time to rest.
She was pretty sure at that point the shields would overload and they would really suffer, whoever had designed the movements had made a terrible mistake or maybe they wanted to get rid of them.
With enough time to discuss the situation she informed Jordi about it.
“Great so, as if we didn’t have enough in our hands it turns out someone wants to kill us” - Jordi said.
“It really looks that way to me” - agreed Friday.
“We don’t know if it’s Xe’nia or someone on her ship. And we cannot inform her without the aggressor seeing that message” - he continued.
“That’s correct” - confirmed Friday.
“Can you calculate which ship we can swap positions with so no one gets hurt?” - he asked.
“Whoever it is has done it well, we would need to move about fifty ships in order to do that” - she informed.
“So you’ve already done the calculations and found a solution. You are amazing, have I told you that?” - he asked, looking at the ceiling.
“Not enough times today” - she answered with a smile on her voice.
“Ok, let’s do that. I’ll personally send a message to Xe’nia informing her of the ‘mistake’ and that we have found a solution” - he finished.
—
Xe’nia saw the message from the Espurna and looked sideways to the Doctor. Of course he would try to kill Jordi but it was also worrying that the Espurna’s AI had not only seen the move but how to counter it.
How powerful was that ship's AI?
“Doctor, you’ve made a mistake on your calculations, you almost killed one of ours. Don’t worry though, I’ve been informed that they have found a fix and will proceed accordingly” - she told him, suppressing a smile.
The Doctor looked at her and then at the kirkuggers movements. The counter was so elegant it was upsetting. An AI that could work against him so fast was unheard of, he needed to know more but there was no time.
The kirkuggers were all reaching their respective jump points and started to move away from the system.
All other ships had already left, only they remained.
“Well Doctor, it is time to see your masterpiece. Let’s shoot that thing and leave.” - Xe’nia said.
The Doctor, still grumpy by how the kirkugger outmaneuvered him, waited for all the ships to leave and shoot the wormhole weapon.
A couple minutes later a crimson spiral started to grow in the middle of the system, that was their cue to abandon that place and jump just outside it.
Once they came back to normal space the crimson spiral was so big that it had engulfed three quarters of the system.
They waited a bit, until they were sure that everything there had ceased to exist and he shot the kill signal.
About fifteen minutes after that the crimson spiral disappeared, imploding in itself. All that remained was a weird looking space, as if that sector was a piece of paper that someone had crumpled, they left a few drones and buoys alerting everyone of what was there and jumped towards a safe point.
There were tons of reports to write and more things to do.