She’s gonna kill me, he repeated in his mind.

Devi Kali was unpredictable when someone threatened her people or planet. Like the other Kehrians of Jalandhara, she was steadfast in her rule of an eye for an eye. According to her warlike culture, revenge was akin to holiness, and companions of every killed Kehrian had to spill enemy blood to honour his memory.

Antares had heard plenty of stories about how she disposed of poor creatures who got in her way. He had distanced himself away from her and her warriors, as did everyone else. By messing with one of them, he sentenced himself to the wrath of the entire tribe.

He didn’t like the other races very much, but he candidly hated the Kehrians. He considered them as self-obsessed fanatics who bragged about golden, useless decorations, while entire worlds were starving. He could not understand why they wasted their time on complicated rituals, prayers, learning hundreds of pages of timeworn, worthless scriptures and intonating them without a logical purpose. Anger and scorn seized him every time they called themselves the greatest warriors among all beings because they were chosen by their Devi. In his view, somebody born on a tropical, evergreen planet had no idea what fighting for survival meant.

The Celestian slammed into a small room, locking the door behind him. He slid on to the seat near the round table. He turned off his LiqWatch and leaned against the tabletop, propping his lowered head on folded hands. He clenched his fists with all his might until he felt a cramp in his joints. Sweat dampened his palms and covered his forehead with tiny droplets, shining like shards of glass.

Gazing at the grey metal, he attempted to sort things out and calm his breathing down. He failed.

The spatiotemporal sphere disappeared around the Ancient Echo. The three kilometres long vehicle resembled an ancient fortress more than a battleship. Grey-brown substance, similar to the appearance of cracked stone, with inscribed curved symbols and reliefs, covered its entire plating. Massive towers in the shape of pyramids with rounded edges tore the void, and slender pillars propped hundreds of firing platforms. Gold-plated sculpture of the landing Simurgh decorated the pinnacle of the highest tower, reflecting the faint light of distant stars.

Antares looked at this miracle of the Kehrian technology as displayed on his LiqWatch. Circling the table, the Celestian cogitated the arguments that might save his life, but the very thought of standing eye to eye with Devi Kali gripped his throat and froze his tongue.

He halted in the middle of the room. Displayed side gates of the Ancient Echo moved ajar, and a tiny bright red ship flew through it. He recognised it. Waves of pain ran through his back. A moment later, the ferry belonging to the sovereign disappeared from the screen.

With stilted moves, Antares turned the device off. He concluded that no matter what he said, everything would be used against him.

The growl of the breaths distorted by respirators and metallic stomps filled the corridors of the Annihilator. A short while later, three mighty silhouettes emerged from the bend. A creature dressed in heavy power armour in the colour of vivid red led them. An effigy of a bird with long, outstretched tail and curved beak was carved in gold on her breastplate. Every single barb on the bird’s feathers and scales covering its claws were visible. Slender, dragon-like serpents slithering amongst the entwining ivy twigs and leaves were the patterns on her pauldrons. A gorget decorated with skulls in preserved gold protected the creature’s neck. Her visor resembled the jaw of a mythic monster with long fangs sticking out. Instead of eyes, the mask had two shining lenses, and a tiara studded with rubies crowned the creature’s helmet.

Even through the closed door, Antares heard her steps. As the sound approached him, he felt as if the bones and muscles in his legs were melting. His only hope, that Devi Kali would treat him a bit more gently due to their seven-year effective collaboration, prevented him from retreating at the very last minute. At the swoosh of the door drawing back, a surging river of adrenaline flowed through his veins.

“Antares!” roared the silhouette, standing in the doorway.

“What've you done?”

“I just…” Antares shook his head, opening his eyes wide, “It wasn’t my fault! It was an accident.”

The creature took off her helmet and shot a piercing glare at the Celestian with her youthful deep golden eyes. As with every elderly Kehrian woman, her skin had turned dark blue like an unclean sapphire with a shade of violet. Old and new scars marred her wrinkled face, and her black braid, plaited from dreadlocks, floated in zero gravity like entwined snakes reaching for their prey with their jaws.

“An accident that took the lives of five thousand civilians?” the Kehrian woman hissed. She tilted her ears back and marched ahead.

Antares took a heavy breath and retreated. “How could I have

predicted that?” He spread his arms. “My engineer just planted the charges and…”

“Enough,” she growled. Her face became neutral as if she’d put on her mask again. Only her gleaming eyes revealed the pure, frenetic fury that was in her. “Have enough courage to at least admit your mistake.”

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“Don’t you see?” interposed Antares, “I did it to save you, Devi. Only I was brave enough to do it.”

“Hazardous stunts are far from valour.” She scowled dismissively.

Antares looked around. He sighed and raised his eyes to her again. “Once I read your message, I rushed immediately to find you,” he explained, hiding his restlessness.

Devi Kali narrowed her eyes. “But did you receive a clear order?” Antares shook his head. His chest began to move more rapidly.

“Exactly.” She clenched her armoured fist. “I tolerated your self-willed actions until today when it ended in a disaster!”

“I tried to help you!” he cried, pointing at her. “Without you, we are doomed!”

“And you still are.” She crossed her arms. Antares noticed the flash of a hard expression in her eyes, but he could not interpret it. All he understood was it would not culminate in anything good for him. “Do you know of the plans of attack on Narjahanam fortress on Irkheor?”

“I know.” His pulse sped up. He’d heard so many things about that planet. It had the reputation of a place where hope died first. Frowning, he added, “That plan is madness!”

“We don’t have time or resources for anything better.” She straightened her arms along her body. “The enemy grows stronger day by day, and we’re too weak to sit for months and plan complicated operations. Narjahanam is crucial for us. The Union has a database there. If we capture it, we’ll be able to predict all their moves, lure them into a trap and finally,” she clenched her fingers like she was squeezing a fly or perhaps a Union throat, “crush them.” She inhaled sharply as if sniffing for her prey. “But we need someone to attract the fire of their anti-aircrafts guns and defend the other landing ships by all means.”

“And I’m carrying out the assault…”

“No.” She pointed to him. “You’re taking the first fire.”

Antares stepped back further. Feeling the wall at his back, a cold shudder froze him deep into his marrow. He glanced from side to side, looking for an escape route, but he had the impression that Devi’s majestic aura surrounded him and trapped him in chains.

“No!” he shouted, drilling his fear-laden eyes into the Kehrian woman towering over him, “No, Devi, you can’t do this!”

“I can and I will. So far, this entire rebellion depends on me. Including you.” She frowned, and her tightened lips twitched in evil mockery. She’d sensed his weakness.

Long before Antares met Devi Kali, he’d vowed that he would protect the Zetherionians, no matter with whom or under what circumstances they fought. He promised that he would always march in the first line, leading them to victory and never letting them die in vain. Over four hundred thousand Celestians trusted him, and each of them believed that Antares was the one who would liberate Zetherion. On the ruins of the Union, they would build their kingdom where the strength and valour of the proud warriors would rule.

In a burst of courage, he stepped away from the wall and clenched his fists. He stood straight with his head held high, his veins pulsating to the rapid rhythm of his heart. “I won’t let you throw my people to the Union like pieces of meat!”

“You won’t?” she hissed and approached him. She listened to his hoarse panting and observed the trembling of his hands. The Celestian’s daring tone surprised her. She lowered her eyebrows and tilted her ears back.

She spoke in a harsh whisper, “Of course, you have a choice. You can turn away from me, but just know that you’ll become my enemy like the Union. I’ll reveal to the world that you caused the pollution of my planet. The Kehrians will hate you and will plan their revenge. I’ll leave you with nothing. I’ll take back Annihilator. You’ll be alone with your gaggle of miscreants, who couldn’t even pilot a ship before we taught them.

You’ll never liberate Zetherion. Think about that.”

She moved a few steps back. She eyed the Celestian to estimate his reaction and decide how strong a pressure she should exert. She struck the most fragile point of his, but it did not give her any satisfaction. Bottomless void, the burden of the future war lying on her shoulders and the pain of losing five thousand innocent Kehrians did not allow her to feel victorious.

She tightened her lips and looked at the way the Celestian leaned against the wall and tried to control the trembling of his muscles. In his eyes, shining with panic, she recognised the same emotions that tormented her when she found out what had happened on Jalandhara.

Good, she thought, be afraid. Be afraid for yourself and your people. They’ll die, but so did my people. You’ll learn what it means.

“No,” gasped out the Celestian, clenching his teeth, “I refuse.”

“So, you don’t like the cooperation terms. Such a pity,” she said with resignation in her voice. “Together we could’ve saved Zetherion.” She put her helmet on and headed towards the exit.

Antares squeezed his eyelids so tightly that spots, flashing in all directions and glittering in green and purple, appeared in front of his eyes. His muscles became soft and limp as if he had been injected with a hypnotic. He covered his face with his fists and pressed his forehead. He coughed quietly, feeling a strange heaviness pinning him down, crushing his bones and mashing his guts.

The Celestian lowered his hands. He opened his mouth and after a few rapid sighs, he whispered, “I agree.”

Devi Kali halted right in front of the door. She stepped back and slowly turned around. She heard his every word, but for her own revenge, she wanted to make him declare it once more.

“What did you say?” she asked in a distorted, mechanical voice, glancing at the weak, shivering creature in front of her.

“I’ll do it, Devi,” he sighed. Gazing at the dark grey floor, he groaned, “I’ll do it, but don’t leave me with all of it, not when we’re so close to winning the war.” He sniffed. “I know, it’s a dishonour for me as a leader. But without you, I’m lost.” He raised his eyes. “Don’t leave me.”

The Kehrian woman tilted her head. In the pale, faint light, the contours of the fangs on her mask appeared even more sinister and sharper. “Well,” she shrugged, “I give you three hours to prepare. I want to see you at the staff meeting. There we’ll discuss.”

Antares nodded. The paralyzing grip in his throat did not allow him to gasp out any more words.

Turning around, Devi Kali added as if she was not talking about sending thousands of allies to death but about simple, everyday tasks, “And don’t forget to tell your people about the change of plan.”

The door slid shut, and her footsteps in the corridor died away.

Antares remained in the same position, his empty gaze bored into the floor. Clenching his teeth, he tightened his twitching lips and crossed his arms.

He submerged his mind in a rush of thoughts that were charging at him like vultures. Fear for his future and the entire rebellion, a sense of guilt and helplessness took control over him. He hated The Kehrians as much as he loved his planet.

All he wanted was to be left alone, cut off from the rest of the world, surrounded by milliard tons of metal protecting him from the cold void and hearing only the quiescent, monotonous hum of engines. He wished not to exist anymore.