The Forsaken Empire (The Endervar War Book 2) (22 page)

He was the last remnant. The last remnant of a past that no longer mattered.

She didn’t know who was really in control. Was it the Farcia of old? Some piece of her? Or was it just her memories, littered across the psyche?

The entity inside this body was lost. She remembered both her own past and that of another. This body, she thought. This crucible

Her actions were becoming questionable. Any clarity had become muddled. There was only one extreme and then another, whether it was utter despair and longing, or utter malice that sought to kill.

Farcia cupped her face. Her fingers pressed against the skin, squeezing the flesh. The pain persisted, and the thought of Red left her. The other memories then came back to her. It was the true memories. The memories of this Endervar.

The loss and the guilt gnawed at Farcia. In her mind was the end of her people. The true people. It then was end of everything. This served as another reminder and prompted her to rise.

I am the last.

Indeed, there was no one left. Not in this quadrant, or even at Alliance Command; her visit there had confirmed it. She was the sole leader of the Endervars. The last of her kind. She felt the loneliness; Farcia held the emptiness in her hand and let go.

But we will return, she said. I promise.

She then dropped out of the chair. She needed to leave and regain her focus.

***

The analysis of the stolen technology was complete. After almost a week of testing and research, the Enforcer had successfully reverse-engineered it.

The breakthrough meant the end of their presence here. The mother ship was still hiding within Alliance territory, but now the massive vessel was preparing to depart. It was time to devote all their energies to the true goal: soon they would reassemble the stolen Arcenian technology, but in a new form.

Farcia opened the door to her shuttle. She was intent on rejoining the Enforcer on the mother ship’s bridge, but as she exited the craft, she was alarmed to find a visitor. The figure was only inches away. He stood near the door, and his large hand was placed against the shuttle’s hull.

It was the same combat drone from before, or at least a model identical to it.

From the light of her own ship, Farcia could see all the details. The machine’s armor glistened with a sheen of silver and thistle. Around the neck and joints were tubes of liquid black. At this distance, the drone was a giant compared with her own frail body. But despite the weight, the plated metal and associated parts moved in silence.

What do you want? Farcia asked. She was annoyed. This meeting had happened unannounced.

The drone lifted his heavy hand from the shuttle. His large face tilted up and down, examining the craft.

This ship, the machine said, I like it.

What? she asked, confused.

I like it, he repeated. But I suppose there are other modes of travel.

The machine glanced at the sleeve on her arm, which was translucent and encased in a mesh of technocircuitry that hugged her skin.

May I borrow it? he asked.

What? I don’t understand

Your ship. I’d like to borrow it. And if you don’t mind, I’d also like you to come with me.

Farcia stepped back. This exchange wasn’t making any sense. The tone and questions were all off and out of character. This wasn’t the Enforcer, or at least not the one she knew. Who was in control of this drone?

Farcia became scared. She felt the sweat rise from her face.

Come, now. I have a friend who is eager to meet you, the drone went on.

A friend? she asked.

Yes. Her name is Arendi Soldanas.

The mechanical voice changed, shifting away from a robotic monotone to something more natural. Farcia heard the dulcet pitch. Her machine visitor laughed. She then glanced at the drone’s body. The chrome armor was thick but also alive. The drone was starting to contort and morph. She saw the silver skin over his body suddenly stir, like liquid.

She stepped back and began to run. Her instinct was to cloak away and jump through a portal. She nearly reached her sleeve. But it was too late. The drone had swiftly grabbed her by the arm.

The strength was beyond anything she possessed. It quickly pulled her in.

My apologies. But as we agreed, it’s time we rid ourselves of this place.

Farcia screamed as the machine imposter clutched her tight.

***

The Enforcer was losing control. The Unity’s mother ship was becoming unresponsive.

It had started as a strange delay. He had wanted to send the ship to another part of the galaxy, over fifty thousand light-years away.

Normally, it would have taken weeks, if not longer, to reach the destination through hyperspace. Even then, the mother ship and its mass was too large to cross effectively into the dimensional medium. So to close the gap, the vessel had relied on technologies not of this world. The spatial generator the mother ship’s primary engine had originally been sourced from the Endervars.

Twenty-one years ago, the Unity had built the device. It was later perfected by the Enforcer himself and refined for interstellar travel. With the engine, the craft could traverse near-impossible distances in an instant. Of course there was a cost. The alien energy behind the engine was immensely powerful, but it was running out.

It was about time to replace it. The Enforcer was ready to make the jump and begin working toward their ultimate goal. The mother ship, however, struggled to form the gateway. The engine itself was working, but the targeting computers were slow to respond. Then, for some reason, they stopped altogether. Sensor readings from the vessel had become a blur. To the Enforcer it was as though a limb had suddenly frozen. He flexed the appendage but felt nothing. Something was very wrong.

He performed the diagnostics, and he finally isolated the issue. The error was contained within the mother ship’s auxiliary systems and was confined to the scans and monitoring systems. He assumed he had full control, but the computers had been sending him fabricated data for over a day now. He was effectively blind.

There could only be one explanation. Someone had deliberately sabotaged the systems. In fact, the hack had been extensive. It had crept through his defenses, worming its way into the nonessential coding.

The Enforcer immediately thought of Farcia. She was the only one else on board. He sent his own combat dro
ne to try to find her. His consciousness fed into the robotic soldier as it searched the premises, scanning for the woman and any sign of abnormality.

Eventually, the Enforcer discovered the true threat. It came from the connecting terminal. At the other end was Farcia’s shuttle. She was no longer there, however. Instead, the door to the craft slowly opened, and out stepped the saboteur. He was surprised to find it was another drone presumably one that was under his command.

It wasn’t. This opposing machine, for some reason, had gone rogue.

The Enforcer then heard the organic laugh. It chattered out through the hall, cackling in glee.

Alarmed, he faced the saboteur and saw a light suddenly beam down at the floor between them. A hologram materialized and
took the form of a lifelike figure in this case, a blond-haired man. It projected in front of him. The Enforcer knew who this was. The man smirked.

So the Unity pulls the strings of another puppet, the Destroyer said. Another pathetic slave.

The blond-haired man walked the terminal floor, satisfied, knowing that he had intruded. He was more than glad to. The Destroyer’s hack had succeeded in penetrating the stronghold. The man’s presence had secretly burrowed itself into the Arcenian research in the moments before the attack on Vellanar.

You left yourself exposed, he explained, wagging his finger. Your prize it seems I beat you to it. I made sure to stow myself onboard and carefully creep where you weren’t looking.

The blond-haired man pointed back to Farcia’s shuttle, and to the rogue drone standing next to it. His hack had effectively infiltrated the machine’s systems. No longer was it within the Enforcer’s control. Secretly, the drone had been under the Destroyer’s command for hours now, all the while pretending to act as a mindless servant.

I snuck my way this far. And you didn’t even notice. How sad.

Hearing the man’s arrogance, the Enforcer snarled. He was not amused. The Enforcer’s drone lunged at full speed. His proxy, the robotic soldier, ran through the offending hologram, and to the target the rogue drone.

Blade collided with blade, as the Enforcer struck while the Destroyer parried. The two machines clashed within the terminal, morphing their arms into cutting weapons. Sparks flew, with each slash hitting mechanized metal.

The Enforcer threw every ounce of energy into each blow, unleashing a fury of stabbing strikes. But his opponent was just as determined. The rogue drone spun and surprised the Enforcer with a hardened kick to his blade.

You still haven’t learned

The Enforcer wanted to retaliate, utilizing his full arsenal. But the Destroyer’s own drone combined both hands into one and temporarily bonded them into an even larger blade. It came crashing down, crushing the floor, and shaking the entire terminal. The Enforcer reluctantly fell back.

The Destroyer, shook his head, pleased by his rival and his tenacity. He powered down the hologram of the blond-haired man and let the rogue drone do the talking. Are you not afraid you’ll damage your precious ally? he asked.

The Enforcer stared, noticing it. His opposition came carrying a human shield.

It was Farcia. She was there, in the terminal, glancing back. Only that her body was hinged against the rogue drone’s chest plate and armor. The metal had absorbed her and inhaled her very being. She was now covered in chrome, save for her eyes and hair.

The Destroyer clenched her tight. Be careful, now. Another step, and I’ll be forced to kill her.

The Enforcer heard the muffled scream. The armor was squeezing the woman, keeping her captive. Clearly, the Destroyer delighted in the threat. He could easily have crushed Farcia and squeezed the life out of her.

The Enforcer, however, had other priorities.

She is expendable, he replied, cold to the sight.

He did away with bladed weapons. Charging his plasma cannon, the Enforcer’s own drone prepared to fire; the singular eye to the machine glowed in neon-blue. It smoked, about to blast at full maximum power. His target was not the Destroyer, however, but Farcia’s shuttle. He wanted to isolate his enemy and prevent his intended escape.

The Destroyer noticed the tactic, not surprised at all. In fact, he had prepared for this, and intended to strike first. With a single order, the Destroyer ignited explosions. The charges had been set hours ago and erupted from the underbelly of the mighty mother ship.

The explosions came not from the vessel itself, but from the secret facilities held below. The fusion bombs had evaded the Enforcer’s surveillance, and they exploded, consuming the confidential technology stored inside. The Destroyer laughed as the blast grew, ripping through the mother ship’s hull.

The impact was enough to rock the terminal floor. The Enforcer’s robotic soldier staggered and misfired. The plasma cannon shot to the ceiling.

Pathetic you’re just a young pup, aren’t you? The Destroyer said in mockery. He followed that statement with his own plasma blast, which he fired at the feet of his foe. It severed the connecting terminal and sent hot debris into the Enforcer’s view.

But as much as I am enjoying this, I’m afraid I can’t stay.

The vacuum came, sucking away the Destroyer’s remaining words. Turning his back to his foe, he was ready to leave. He had acquired full control of Farcia’s shuttle. And with any luck, the mother ship would crumble to pieces.

He didn’t need to incur any more unnecessary wrath. But before he could step on board, his foe had one final message. Evidently, the Destroyer was not the only one who could issue a taunt.

The Enforcer projected a hologram. It appeared over the broken terminal floor.

Magnus it said. Help me

Although the air was leaving the terminal, the Destroyer heard the words. They were transmitted to his internal comm. The coding was sophisticated and heavily encrypted, but still known to him. He could even hear the generated voice. It was feminine and pleading. He caught one passing glance. Like his own human persona, the hologram on the floor was lifelike. But there was no arrogance or intimidation. This was pain.

Please just trust me, one more time

The hologram rose to stand, as the air howled out from the area. The Enforcer’s own drone stood next to it. The virtual image became a familiar figure. The Destroyer recognized this person and she cringed in fear. But still, he said nothing. It was a ploy, and he knew it. He dared not give his opponent an opening. So he left.

The shuttle activated and went flying into the abyss. As it propelled through space, the Enforcer seethed. With all his anger, he fired off the plasma blast from his drone, fuming in blue. The shot screamed out into the darkness, blazing in a trail of fire. The discharge intensified as the weapon throttled. The metal around the singular cannon quickly began to melt.

The Enforcer commanded his minions to take action; his space-borne drones were moving to pursue. They took flight from the mother ship, launching in a steady stream from the bay doors. But even with all his efforts, his target was out of reach. In spite of his attack, the Enforcer watched from his combat drone as the shuttle traveled farther and farther away. Eventually, it was out of sight, generating a flash of violet and jumping into hyperspace. The Enforcer fired on. He let the plasma cannon overheat until it burst into a plume of flame. The metal tumbled out into the empty void.

The Enforcer’s combat drone became a headless machine. It stood broken on the torn terminal ground as the rest of the massive vessel was cratered with impacts. The Enforcer’s very mind was embedded across the mother ship. So he could feel the various wounds. Primary systems were down, and still his targeting systems reported errors. Repairs were already under way, but they could do nothing to relieve this sense of defeat. This embarrassment. He frothed in agony, knowing he had failed disastrously. Farcia was gone, and so was his adversary.