The Forsaken Empire (The Endervar War Book 2) (20 page)

Almost half my vessels have been destroyed, the AI explained. Another quarter are in repair.

There was little inflexion in the Sentinel’s voice. He spoke softly and remained almost emotionless, but the toll was evident.

Mega had been fighting for days now, ever since the initial invasion began. His forces were stretched thin and nearly depleted. The same could be said for the rest of the Alliance. Much of the fleet remained in tatters or on the defensive, struggling to respond to each new attack.

Indeed, the AI said, the rest of my ships likely would have been destroyed, if not for the enemy’s abrupt pause.

You mean the assault on Alliance Command? I was told you led the counterattack.

Yes. We swiftly dispatched the nearest enemy ships before targeting the rest. And still, the enemy did nothing. Alliance forces were stunned.

Eventually, the remaining Endervar forces retreated a very rare occurrence. But even when the battle was over, Sentinel Mega began noticing a strange trend.

The movement has been gradual, but the scanning networks have reported an increasing drop in Endervar activity over the last two days.

It may be that the Endervars are regrouping for another region-wide assault, he cautioned. But the drop in activity occurred immediately after the attack on Alliance Command.

He sent over the preliminary data to Arendi, who quickly accessed it. The ripple effect, although small, was becoming significant.

They spared Alliance Command and now this? Arendi said.

She walked away from the window and back to the room where Alysdeon was interviewing the informant. Through the glass door she could see her friend, along with the subject. She heard no words and could only assume that they were still speaking telepathically. But the informant was moving. Slowly, he raised his finger a single tendril and moved it in a circle.

There’s something else, Sentinel Mega said. Another development. The Alliance isn’t alone in its fight against the Endervars.

Although the data was just as limited, as well as sporadic, apparently a nameless entity had entered the fray. The sightings across the sectors were growing.

The ships carried no designation and had yet to respond to any hails, but every time they appeared, they fought on the side of the Alliance. The mysterious entity had already intervened to stop Endervar attacks at eleven different locations over the last four days. Sentinel Mega, however, knew who was responsible for the much-needed assistance. A closer analysis of the ships had made it obvious.

The Destroyer has returned, he said. His fleets have begun arriving.

Arendi nodded slowly. She was already aware of this. As for the Alliance, they chose not to acknowledge it. At least not yet. Officially, the Destroyer had been classified as a potential threat. Some governments even refused to recognize the man’s existence. They had plenty reason to fear him. He was once an assassin for the Unity, and to some, the man was a deranged killer.

Thirty years ago, however, the Destroyer had made a fateful choice. In one single moment, he had betrayed his masters and gained control over their power, including their fleets.

As a result, the Alliance had taken the precaution of banning him from the surrounding territory. But in reality, they could do nothing to the man. He would operate as he pleased, with an entire armada behind him.

Now he was here, ready to wage war.

The Destroyer even intervened at Alliance Command, the Sentinel went on.

I saw the report, Arendi replied. It mentioned a battleship out in pursuit of the Endervars.

Yes, a very large ship, flanked by many more drones. Have you contacted him?

She paused and sighed, scratching the bridge of her nose. The delay was pronounced.

So you have? her comrade assumed.

Mega detected her hesitation. He might have been an AI, but he had grown fluent in his interactions with organic life, especially humanity.

Yes Arendi said reluctantly. I have.

They both knew the controversial figure to a degree, but their opinions varied. Mega was more aware of the Destroyer’s questionable past, whereas Arendi was more familiar with the man he sought to be.

So she answered his question honestly, focusing on the present.

I know we’re not supposed to, Arendi said, but frankly, I don’t care about the regulations. I plan on rendezvousing with him after we’re finished here.

She didn’t mean any offense, but the situation was grim and desperate for change.

Good, he replied. We need him as our ally.

The AI was well aware of their plight. His ships were dwindling, and they had done little to contain the enemy. The other Sentinels in the region were faring no better.

Do what you have to, her comrade added. The galaxy is counting on us.

The Sentinel signed off and continued his patrol. The AI was technically her superior, but thankfully, Mega had supported her every action.

The Alliance, however, might not be so understanding. To them, they had potentially traded one enemy for another. But Arendi didn’t believe that. She massaged her troubled brow, trying to forget the thought. If she knew the Destroyer, the man had little taste for a squabble with the Alliance.

Rubbing the cold skin on her face, she lifted her right hand and looked at it. She let the palm open beyond its normal parameters. The flesh pulled back, and the fingers stretched as her hand became more like a mechanized claw.

Housed in the center was the specialized chip. It carried a code that not even Arendi fully understood but that the Destroyer did.

No doubt it had been a gamble, one that might jeopardize her career, but Arendi had risked it, breaking the regulations. She had placed another one just like it inside the Arcenian military command. She was still waiting for the result. If the Destroyer was in play, they might have a chance.

She flexed her hand, pulling her fingers and skin back in place, and activated the chip’s secret communication code. Still, there was no update. But at least the last message had seemed confident. She looked at it again. I’m close the message said. Very close.

Chapter 20

The machine was restless. He refused to accept this feeling. This repulsive sense of defeat.

Logic dictated that they retreat. The odds of victory were low. Their armada of six hundred Endervar ships had diminished in the face of a foe gaining in strength. The data and concluding analysis had all made it painfully clear.

Nevertheless the setback had been an aberration. It was a tactical upset; they should have crushed Alliance Command with relative ease, but still the station stood. The Enforcer was not pleased.

He had watched from the shadows, quiet but unsettled. Their vessel, the Unity’s mother ship, had remained afar, both monitoring the progress and seeking to undo the delay. Their army her army had for some reason fallen back and spared the target. The Endervars’ ships had nearly all stalled. He had assumed that her ally, Farcia, could easily intervene. Time and time again, she had demonstrated her power and her mastery over her kin.

Crush them, the Enforcer had thought, craving the onslaught. Annihilate them!

Although he was born of data, the machine was quite capable of emotion. In fact, these sensations, leftover from his infamous heritage, fueled him. He hated all that stood in their way. Ingrained in his being was his undying loyalty to his dead masters, and a persistent need to restore what was right. So he expected total destruction. They had so far succeeded at every turn.

The Enforcer could easily imagine the fire. This station Alliance Command exploding in a burst of embers. It was the blow that he yearned for. The Alliance would never forget this.

No, she had said. No

As much as the Enforcer had wanted it, her ally had refused. She had returned from her sudden visit saying little except stating her demand.

We’re leaving, Farcia had said, jumping through the fiery portal and entering the darkness. This doesn’t matter anymore.

The Enforcer noticed the change. Her diminishing armada was falling back and warping away at faster-than-light speeds. To where, he didn’t know.

Since then she had said little else, merely sulking in the shadows. For whatever reason, Farcia had altered her plans and sanctioned defeat. But that was not the worst of it. The worst had been the insult. It was a taunt that rattled him now. The Enforcer possessed no physical flesh, but the sting was still deep and twisting. The Unity’s mother ship had already left the battlefield for deep space. But before their departure, he had heard the message.

So you still hide it had said. You still fear me, don’t you?

The Enforcer remembered those words. They had come over the communication bands, as an open hail, and were distinct in their encryption. He knew who was behind them. The Enforcer had seen the new incoming ships. They had appeared out of hyperspace to protect Alliance Command. He knew who they belonged to.

Magnus the Destroyer. So you side with the organics

The Enforcer spoke the name in his mind, wanting to break something. If there was a single man or being he hated the most, it was him the Destroyer, an insolent deviant. It was also why he existed. The Enforcer had been born to eliminate the Destroyer. His masters, the Unity, were gone, but the original protocol would always exist. It chafed him to recall the indignity.

Come, now. Let us play, the Destroyer had teased in his arrival. Let us annihilate each another. Let us finish this!

The Enforcer had stared at the incoming data, so tempted. His vessel, the mother ship, had remained cloaked. The Destroyer and his vessels, on the other hand, had been primed for battle.

No, Farcia had said. No

The Enforcer remembered this, and grew angry. He was enraged. This was a battle they should have won. It was his time to instill the fear. The Enforcer could easily have bombed Alliance Command with a portal and a payload of antimatter, but he could only assume that the base had been spared for a reason. He needed to know why.

Explain!

He shouted into the chamber, demanding an answer in his mechanical voice. To underscore his point, the Enforcer beamed a yellow light over her position.

Speak, Farcia!

The light was bright almost blinding. But despite his demand, she said nothing. She merely looked up and closed her eyes.

No longer content to remain in the shadows, the Enforcer took control over a combat drone in the room and activated its systems. The neon lights around the deadly machine burned. It came to her, humanoid in form but adorned in blades. The robotic soldier now acted as an extension of himself.

Explain yourself! he said, looming over Farcia. Why did you halt the assault? Why did you board Alliance Command?

She felt the heat from his plated exterior. The surrounding shadows had all but vanished. Her sole companion this machine would not relent. The combat drone’s singular eye glared at her.

It’s none of your concern nothing you would understand.

She looked away from him, trying to find an ounce of darkness inside the secluded lair. She staggered away, seeking the cold.

The Alliance is weakened, Farcia went on. We did what we sought to do.

She had seen the data. The estimated death toll was at least forty billion and possibly twice that number. Vital targets, including shipyards and weapon plants, had been erased.

But Alliance Command, he said, unconvinced. The station remains unharmed. The Alliance is the only force with the potential to stop our plans. It was our vision to destroy their seat of power.

She still looked away, dismissive of his claim. Her back was hunched, and her face was down.

It doesn’t matter. None of this does. We have what we want. We’re leaving.

She was exhausted and tired of this questioning. But her ally refused to stop.

I am concerned, the Enforcer said, following her at every step. Alarmed by your doubt. By this unexplainable change.

Don’t be, she answered. Nothing has changed. Just focus. Focus on the task.

The machine came face-to-face with her. She rubbed her throat and then clutched her chest. He could tell she was unwell. Her ailment had begun over a year ago, and still, it worsened.

Farcia had quietly admitted that she might be dying. She was in chronic pain. She complained of headaches and fatigue, and emotionally she was becoming both unfocused and volatile.

Leave me be! she screamed. Leave me alone! Her quiet resistance had turned into an outburst. She scratched at her cheeks, trying both to contain and to think past the agony. Her white hair fell over her face as she stammered in her now faint speech.

You don’t understand no one ever will

Her behavior was obviously not normal. They had known each other for almost twenty-one years, and she was changing. But as always, the alien woman refused his assistance. Although she never said it, Farcia had never entirely trusted the machine or his kind.

The Enforcer and his drone body stood still, analyzing. He was well aware of her deterioration. So he asked her the one question that perhaps mattered the most.

Do you still have control? Or are you losing it?

He wondered how long she would possess her sanity before her mind completely collapsed. In response, Farcia raged.

Do not doubt me! she shouted. This body is mine. My kin are mine.

The pain was enraging, but for now she needed to survive it. There was still too much to do. Undaunted, she looked up at the machine. Her hatred for everything, like the Enforcer’s, was real.

The Alliance she said. Let them come, if they dare. Soon this galaxy will die.

He heard the conviction in her voice. Farcia stiffened her stance. The Enforcer stared back, appeased for now. The blinding light dimmed, and the combat drone stepped away, fading from view.

Even with the reassurance, however, the machine remained unsettled. Farcia offered no explanation to her ally, only anger.

The Enforcer was impatient. He wanted to know more, rather than leave everything uncertain. He dared not make a mistake, not when his own masters had blundered decades ago and failed because of it. But despite all his calculations and effort, not even he could counter the unforeseen.