The Forsaken Empire (The Endervar War Book 2) (14 page)

Stretching out her arm, Arendi formed a fist with her bloodied hand. Even with the Enforcer there, she only needed a few moments. She intended to run right through Farcia and make her pay.

As her strength fully amplified, Arendi was close to initiating the attack.

No, Red said. Don’t!

She heard the shout as he ran toward her, fierce. Nearly falling to the ground, he pulled on her arm.

No! he said again, out of breath. If you move, Farcia promises she’ll bombard this planet. She’ll kill everyone!

Sweating, he looked at Arendi and begged her to stand down. He had sensed the threat the moment Farcia had arrived. Looking at the man’s desperate face, Arendi glanced back at the target. What returned was a heartless and cruel stare.

It’s true, Farcia replied over the wind. Stand down, or watch this world die.

The white-haired woman issued the threat with no hesitation. Gazing up at the sky, she could feel the instrument of destruction. It was her kin, or what the rest of galaxy knew to be the enemy the Endervars, who were truly under her control. Using her mind, she spoke to them, whispering in the lost language of a dead empire. She was their master, and so they would serve, no matter the deed.

Above, an Endervar fleet orbited the Arcenian home world as the planet lay naked in the night. With one single order Farcia could lay waste to it all. Even now, she was tempted to do it. Her ships were already invading so many other systems and killing all the life within. She looked at Arendi with her black eyes. Are you truly the savior? Farcia asked. Or are you just another murderer

Feeling Red pull at her arm, Arendi heard him plead with her. Please, he said. Trust me.

She didn’t know what any of this meant, but she reluctantly acquiesced. Slowly, she lowered her shoulders and opened her hands. Her anger, however, endured. What do you want? she demanded.

At that, Farcia looked to Red. At one moment, she appeared hostile and unwavering. In the next, she sighed deeply, and her stance shrank.

Her stare moved away from Arendi and focused on the reason she was there, standing in the sand.

Come, Farcia said to Red. Let us leave this place. We can leave all of this.

She gestured to the energies behind them. The portal burned in another, identical eclipse.

Farcia then stepped farther across the sand, shedding her animosity. Although Arendi couldn’t see it, Farcia’s face was now tinged with guilt and apology. Slowly, she let her guard down.

You are the only one the only one who truly cared about me. You’re all that I have left, she said.

As before, her mind was beginning to open, if only briefly. It was a sensation that Arendi was completely unaware of. All she saw was the target an alien woman who was both fragile and mad.

Farcia walked languidly, vulnerable. Her voice was meandering and desperate.

It it will all make sense Just please, come with me.

Although she was still meters away, Farcia opened her hand and reached out. Help me she said. I need you. I’m changing

Red could hear it all. The words were both in the air and in his mind. Farcia was despondent, maybe even afraid. She needed him more than ever.

No, he answered. No!

He spoke the words and then reinforced them, sending the refusal back to her mind. After all he had seen, he had no other choice. Red had already made his decision. You have to be stopped.

It pained him to admit it; he nearly cried at the thought. But there was no other way; he had to act. This was his opening. He would no longer stand by and watch. His telepathy was rapid. Behind it was pure emotion. He opened every barrier to his mind and let his psyche drift. From there, he sought to incapacitate her, even though he wasn’t fully sure how. He simply recalled every memory of her. Of the true Farcia. The woman he loved.

The Farcia I knew would have never done this, he said, focusing with all his might.

It was his only hope. To find that piece of the past. Perhaps it was still there, alive somewhere.

Once he had felt it before. During their first encounter. For a moment, he had sensed it. This faint, small sensation that was nonetheless very alive.

Red knelt down in the sand, gasping. He clutched his chest.

Arendi saw him on the ground, shaking, his face racked with pain.

What are you doing? she asked.

Red could say nothing at first and could only sputter the saliva from his gills. He felt the weight and realized it was useless. Inside Farcia’s mind, despite all the emotions and thoughts, there was nothing familiar to feel. Not anymore.

He stared at her, powerless. She’s dead isn’t she? The Farcia I knew is gone

The entity looked back at him, utterly lost. She herself had fallen to the sand. To her shock, there was no embrace, or any affection. If anything, Red was offended. He fought her even now.

Farcia shivered. Why? she asked. I am your Farcia Why do you resist?

You repel me! he yelled. You are the enemy!

Although it was pointless, Red stood his ground. He slowly rose to his feet, with Arendi’s hand on his back. He would try again, knowing that in a sense all of this was his fault.

I should have killed you when I had the chance, he said. There was no point in saving you

His voice cracked, and the tears began to burst from his eyes. You need to die

Farcia nearly choked, sensing his thoughts. It was a flood of regret, and she heard it all: the disappointment, the disgust, and the despair. Every thought from Red was no different; with all his energy, he sought to condemn her.

Farcia lashed out. Her rage was suddenly blind. She reached into the sand and squeezed both hands. If Red had no sympathy for her, then she would make him understand.

She felt his pain but then unleashed a torrent of her own. It went into Red, who stood completely exposed. The force was sudden and overwhelming. Mentally, it crushed him; his mind began to die.

Falling back, Red trembled into Arendi’s grasp. His every muscle tightened and throbbed, and his eyes filled with liquid ash.

II tried, he wheezed, drowning under the strain. Red clasped Arendi’s hand as he fell down and lay there in agony. He was dying, the pain too much.

As Arendi suspected, Red had tried to take matters into his own hands. He spat drool and fell into a seizure, realizing he had failed.

No, Arendi yelled. Stop!

But it was too late. In another moment, he was dead. His hands dropped to the sand, lifeless. Arendi cradled him.

Red! she exclaimed. She shook his body but felt only his cold weight in her arms. Why? she shouted, glaring at Farcia.

It had happened all so fast. Before Arendi could react, the target had killed again.

The white-haired woman was silent and looked at the ground, sullen. In her hands were clumps of yellow and white sand. Gradually, the black tears came, rolling down her face and into the dust. For a moment, she quietly sobbed, too ashamed even to look up.

Death, Farcia thought. It was becoming all she knew. No matter when or where, she could not tame it. Now she had accidently killed the one thing she had left.

Red, she whispered. I didn’t mean to

The tears streamed forth, the drops of ash mixing in with the earth. In her hands, Farcia only felt filth and muck. She rubbed it against her fingers, embracing the decay.

Next to her, the Enforcer loomed, casting his shadow over her face and body. He said nothing and merely glanced at her, cold to all the violence surrounding them. Farcia sought to be the same. She rose, remembering her true mission.

Red was right. The old Farcia was dead. There was only the Endervar inside. Turning away, she and her protector sought to leave. The portal before them burned, opening wider to accept its masters. In an instant, it would send them across space and time, back to the mother ship now orbiting above. From there, they would finish the task and rid themselves of this world. Thinking of this, Farcia stopped.

She was not done. Not yet.

Arendi, Farcia said, distraught. Glancing back, she looked at the android woman. The Sentinel was crouched on the ground, holding Red’s body.

Savior? What can you save? the white-haired woman asked.

Farcia scoffed, knowing that she would feel nothing from Arendi; the Sentinel was a machine. She was immune to her powers. But at the very least, Arendi would understand this.

Captain Julian Nverson he was your friend, was he not?

Farcia smirked in her own way. She said the words loud and clear, and her eyes filled with anger. It was another connection that tied her to Arendi. In fact, there were so many. In a way, the entity inside Farcia owed all of this to her to the so-called Savior.

Arendi placed Red’s body in the sand, hearing the long-lost name.

What did you say?

Farcia could feel the anger boil in Arendi’s face and voice. She stood up, clenching her hand into a fist.

Julian Nverson Farcia went on, relishing each word. Another one of my victims. Like all the rest.

Farcia would leave Arendi with that thought, along with the soon-to-be dead.

You will know my pain, she vowed. Watch this world die.

The white-haired woman then left the planet. The target and her Enforcer passed into the fiery shadow. Arendi ran forth, wanting to sink her fist into Farcia and demand an answer. As she lunged, however, the portal quickly closed, rousing the air in a punishing gust.

Arendi fell back, yet again, with only the sand in sight. She was alone. The interference lingered over the comm.

Arcenian Command! she shouted. Do you read? An attack is imminent!

But again, there was nothing she could do. Just as Farcia had said, this world would die.

It came from the sky, joining the burning debris. The light filled the atmosphere, blasting it a searing white. Then it fell, ripping the surface apart. The Endervars’ bombardment had arrived, setting the planet ablaze. In the distance, Arendi could see the inferno. The city over the horizon burned. Under each blast, the field of towers and habitats cracked. Soon they shattered, the explosion and the ensuing shock wave blowing everything apart. Across the entire planet the pattern of destruction ignited again and again. The particle beams spared none, crashing down and charring all the major cities. The green world quickly succumbed. The scars of black ripped into its surface.

The attack continued, the beams daggering into the planet. From space, Farcia watched. She was safely aboard the vessel. The portal behind them had closed, and the Enforcer was at her side, standing in the shadows. As the barrage went on, Farcia felt the light on her face. It was the glare from the holoscreen and the fire that glowed back.

Farcia tasted death. Below her, the planet and its people were screaming for help. She felt their cries, pleas, and tears, along with the growing silence.

What does it matter? she asked. You did the same to me. To my people

She merely turned away and slowly walked deeper into the shadows. They would soon move on to the true target to the real reason that they were there.

Part 2: Ghosts of the Past

The dream. The darkness.

It began in the center of our universe. This seed of black.

We knew nothing of it. Or where it came from.

Perhaps we were even amused. Something new it was. Something unknown.

A mystery.

But then it grew. And eventually it consumed.

It knew no bounds, killing the light.

That’s how it all began. How we came to die.

We only sought to stop it. But never did it cease.

Chapter 15

Date: March 2, 4893 (one year after Liberation or 29 years ago)

Location: Terran colony of Haven. Annelis Island.

Time index: 14 hours 22 minutes 30 seconds

Simulation commencing

She found them walking on the trail of grass. It was both her and him, and no one else, strolling among the green.

The island was remote and free of people, or civilization. Apparently, it was all untouched; in fact, very few had ever come here. Still, they walked on, trying to remember something. So eventually they crossed over a ridge of rock to meet it. Before them was an open field. The surrounding leaves were all lush and vibrant. The plant life extended to nearly all that they could see.

The pilot took off his jacket and slung it over his shoulder. He wore only a simple shirt and slacks, and he brushed the sweat away from his forehead. It’s much warmer here, he said. Not at all like Remington.

The woman followed him, the sunlight touching her hands and cheeks. Indeed, it was warm, but the wind was blowing. She brushed her hair away from her eyes and felt the cool breeze.

The pilot then stopped and looked at his wrist. His communication band was beeping. OK, he said, examining the data. Well, according to the records, you were here at one point. At this exact location, in fact. This is where you landed.

The woman looked off into the landscape. Below her was the wild grass, along with a patch of blue and orange flowers. She knelt down and touched one. The petals were soft, dashed with a silky nectar.

Off to her right was the central forest. She glanced over, examining the tall trees. In her scans she also saw the wildlife. A flock of birds was roaming in the air and nesting in the branches below. From here, she could even hear them chirp. The woman shut off the scan and gazed at the forest, unfiltered.

Trees. Lots of trees, she recalled. Remington is the same?

Yes, the pilot replied. You remember.

The woman shrugged. Only up to a point.

She looked down at the grass and then at her hands. The palms opened, the skin so real. It was all very humanlike, although her hands were without wrinkles or fingerprints. The facsimile had only gone so far. In reality, there was no bone or muscle in her hands. There were only artificial fibers and more fabricated matter. All of it was fake.

So strange, she thought. So unnatural. To live like this to be a machine.

The woman stood there, dressed in a simple black-and-white uniform, not sure what to say. In a sense, she was simply data and strings of code, all wrapped together to form this: an experimental AI that had been built to serve.