They reached the Annihilator and landed in one of its hangars. Antares left the carrier first and marched towards the command centre, wondering how he would explain his failure. This time he could not blame anybody, even Nadee Chandri. He’d decided to fly to Jalandhara by himself without informing anyone else and had mapped out the entire plan during the three hours long flight.

Passing two Kehrians on the way, Antares felt as if a cold claw squeezed his guts. The blue-skinned individuals behaved normally, staring at their LiqBoards. Embellished with golden ornaments, their red robes reached the floor, and the soaring bird logo that was sewn on their backs reflected the pale white light like an ethereal spectre. Black, thick braids hung from under their hoods, bouncing smoothly in zero gravity. The Kehrians raised their amber eyes to him. They bowed their heads, welcoming their ally, then returned to their duties.

They don’t know yet, thought Antares, responding to their gesture, otherwise, they will tear me apart with their bare hands.

He stopped in front of the gates and activated the control panel, leaving a smudge of sweat on it. When both the sections of the door slid open, he strode inside.

A command centre, the size of a medium shipyard hangar, was situated in the depths of the Annihilator’s metal guts. On both sides were large screens which cast a vivid, blue glow on the bony faces of the engineers sitting below them.

High above the crew’s heads hung the frosted glass sarcophaguses. Coils of cables surrounded them like a spider’s web that trapped unwary insects. Frozen, contorted bodies of the convicts, sentenced for the worst of the crimes rested inside. They seemed dead, although their consciousness still functioned. Their brains were connected to the supercomputer of the ship through its circuits and memory banks. Due to this unnatural, gruesome connection and the enormous data storage capacity, the machine could assimilate more information smoothly and work efficiently, which translated into effectiveness during battles and speed in making complicated operations and calculations.

The Celestian crossed the hall to the other side of the room, gazing in satisfaction at the horrified eyes of the hibernated criminals. Screens larger than isolated houses covered the wall, displaying the view from all sides of the ship – pitch black, vacant space with blurred white points. This solution was safer than having the command centre near the illuminators on the vehicle’s prow, especially during battles, when the Commanders and control devices became the main targets. At the long, semi-circular tables sat the Commanders of the Zetherion’s fleet and messengers from the other rebel cells. They browsed through the data displayed on the interactive tabletop, and only after they heard Antares pushing his seat away, they stood up. Directing their puzzled gazes at the Commander, they sat down again.

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“Would you like to explain your absence to us, Sir?” asked the Celestian who was almost twice the age of Antares. Despite his narrowed eyes and contorted lips, his tone was respectful.

Antares inhaled the dense air. He felt the judgmental looks of the Commanders on him, but he remained impassive, refusing to show any reaction. With a rough look, he replied, “I’d received the Tanaros has descended signal.”

“And…?”

“And I flew to Jalandhara.”

The older Celestian straightened up. “Without a consultation with us?”

Antares crossed his arms to hide the trembling of his fingers. He raised his eyebrow. “I had no time to sit and wait for hours for your decision.” He glanced at the Celestian with an attitude of superiority. “The Union could send their ships to Jalandhara at any moment to relocate Devi somewhere further, from where we could have never found her.”

“Your efforts were needless, Sir,” spoke the Kehrian in red clothes, sitting on the other side. “We received a second message from our Devi, just after your leaving.”

Antares clenched his fingers on his arms with all his might and frowned. “What message?” he asked, focusing on calming his breaths.

“Devi had broken free from the Union,” explained the Kehrian, turning on his LiqWatch. He scanned the messages and added, “And she was staying on a safe territory.”

Antares was accustomed to the low temperatures inside the ship, even then a freezing shudder pierced his bones. His hands shook until they stiffened as if he was suffering from hypothermia. He clenched his teeth and bit the ring of his lower lip when a stabbing pain clenched his vitals. He took a deep breath and coughed to snap out of the shock. “And… that’s all?” he asked with hope in his voice, moving his seat back.

“Wait,” mumbled the Kehrian, bending over the device. He swiped up on the screen and tapped the icon. He raised his head, saying, “Our Devi is on her way here to speak with you. She specifically asked me to convey that,” he looked down again and twitched his ear, “she knows what happened on Jalandhara.”

The whole time Antares knew he was stepping on thin ice. He felt cramps in his legs as if the thin sheet of ice had broken, and he was submerging into the dark and infinite depths, sinking lower and lower in the obscure, cold masses of water.

A soft signal of the incoming message echoed in the room. Antares turned his head towards the source of the sound. He tightened his lips and sniffed, waiting for an explanation.

“Devi will be there in an hour,” added the Kehrian.

Despite the vibrations in the entire board, Antares could felt his swift heartbeat and the blood raging through his arteries. He straightened up with his head held high and hands behind his back. “Of course,” he agreed, with a clenched jaw, “an hour, you say. Anything else?”

The gathered members looked at one another, but no one spoke. Antares turned around and left in his typical brisk pace. Only after the gates had shut behind him, his back relaxed, and he walked ahead, slouching and hiding his hands in his pockets.

“And you tolerate… it?” asked the Kehrian, twisting his lips and casting a glance at the Commanders, one by one.

They gave him an unfavourable look and leaned over their LiqBoards.