Years later.
Fort II had changed. He wasn’t sure if it was from the reforms Chiron had set in motion, or if it was due to seeing the planet now augmented with Thanatos’ senses. The Descendent warship was like a warm breeze behind him, a comforting presence touching the atmosphere. It helped assuage the anxiety of meeting the old man again.
He was down to his last shot, and he felt the voices coming on. He managed to make it to the alleyway where they would meet before he jabbed the shot into his neck, sighing in relief as the voices subsided. The old man was there, not in his raggedy strings but a well-decorated uniform. The rebels flanking him now armed with plasma rifles.
“Upgrades?” Darnell asked.
“Aye. Though we still haven’t neglected the kinetics that got us to where we are now. Nor have we forgotten your generosity.” Chiron replied with a smile, handing him a bag. It must have had over a dozen shots. Chiron then handed him another bag.
“What’s this?” Darnell asked.
“Another repressor, to fend off any recurring infections. The inhibitor’s still in there, very close to the neural plexus.”
“I see. You can’t remove it?”
“I wouldn’t risk it. You’d have my head if my finger slipped.” Chiron laughed. “Now…” his countenance changed, serious again, “About your payment.”
“What’s needed?”
A rebel handed Darnell a document. It contained several pages of writing in the standard Raumen dialect.
“Electronics can be intercepted, you see. But they need their eyes to see these, something he has none of here.” Chiron said.
“Who?”
“They call him the Black Panther. Probably a spinoff on the Black Nova.”
Darnell held in a gasp when he looked at the picture. A ghost.
We killed him.
No, the NCR delivered the final blow. A massive explosion.
Very. Could it be Anton was not aboard his ship? Command by proxy?
Thanatos flared his gravimetric lens, letting out a pulse of gravitons that behaved like radar, giving him mass readings of the area around him.
Nothing matches Ash’s signature. If the ship is alive, he’s not here.
Naturally. Are you forgetting the massive explosion?
It had a pull of over fifty gees a hundred meters out of the singularity.
What are you saying?
A koveran shockwave followed immediately by a jump?
Fake his own death? Why? And why isn’t Black Wing on us then.
Perhaps he didn’t tell them.
That doesn’t make sense.
“Mr… Darnell?”
Darnell was snapped out of his nanosecond conversation.
“Ah, yes. You want this man killed?”
“Killed is such a harsh word.”
“Hmm.” Darnell swallowed, “I’ll see what I can do. Do you have any information on him?”
“He is a new arrival, and has already been making contact with several others. I presume a plot.”
“People make contact. Why is this one particularly threatening to your… reign?”
“The people he’s spoken to were all Captains, of various ships.”
“What kind of ships?” Darnell asked.
“We never actually saw the ships, but the colors of their skins meant they were type-3’s – most of them.”
“Assumed allegiances?” Darnell asked.
“They wore no colors, except of course the type-3’s, which I assume were that of the ships.”
“What were the type-3’s colors?” Darnell asked.
Chiron grabbed the documents from Darnell, swiping through the pages. “Hmm.” He began yelling at the rebels in a foreign dialect. One of them saluted and left. Darnell was thrown aback, he had never heard that dialect before. Thanatos immediately saved a sample of the dialect, running it through his database.
“What dialect is that?” Darnell asked.
“Our local dialect – a major offshoot of the raumen dialect, I doubt the translators can even understand it. I had Narlek find you the colors of the contacts – probably in a patrol log.”
Darnell already knew what the colors would be. “Killing this man is a bad idea. You know he has friends. Type-3 friends. He might be a type-3 himself.”
“He’s just black.”
“Ships can be black.”
“Only Descendents of the Black Nova are black.”
“That’s a myth. We don’t even know if the Black Nova really was black.”
“What were you before you went rogue, Darnell?”
Darnell didn’t answer. “Ships can be black. Thanatos is nearly black with his dark-red hue.”
“Yes, indeed, yet you’re as green as the plants this planet once had in abundance. Why is that?”
“I thought you were the one with all the answers, Chiron?” Darnell said.
“Who is that black man?” Chiron asked.
“You think I know?”
“Don’t mock me.”
“Fine. He used to be the commander of… a special group. Zemorian detachment. If they are here I highly doubt it’s to overthrow you. Has he spoken with you?”
“No. He is unaware of my presence. He has spoken to merchants, however.”
“About what?”
“About you.”
A tingling sensation went down Darnell’s spine. He wasn’t sure if it was his own anxiety or that of Thanatos, who was sniffing intently for other koveran signatures.
“He has not purchased anything, any item to indicate he is with ship. His contacts must have brought him here, in search of you.”
“And you bring me back here? Why?” Darnell asked.
“I want you to get rid of him. Whatever your past, I don’t want it exploding on my planet.”
“Then I’m better off staying hidden.”
“He has been here fourteen months. Some of the merchants he has spoken to no longer speak to us. He has been seen with guards. People we have sent to tail him have not reported back.”
“Fourteen raumen months? So he arrived a few months after my departure.”
“Yes. I fear he will continue growing in power. I want you to settle whatever dispute you may have had with this man. Get him off my planet.”
–
Darnell clicked his pistol into place. It was the only equipment he had. It would take years for Thanatos to create the sword he had envisioned.
Chiron believed Anton would be having another meeting with the other ships today. It would give Darnell and Thanatos a chance to see the other craft, if they really were Black Wing. Thanatos didn’t want to engage his old shipmates.
They arrived in tandem, dropping out of beemspace. Thanatos hid his signature, letting the heat build up in his veins, venting only in directions that faced away from the fleet. Careful, he only used passive sensors to see them, keeping steady to observe them from his distance thousands of kilometres away.
Four of them… Thanatos observed.
Interesting. I only recognize one of them. Where do I remember him from?
It was a male Descendent seven hundred meters long, with a dark crimson hull like Thanatos.
Flames. Thanatos liked Flames. He was the only other ship in Black Wing he really got along with. The others had always kept their distance; even Kite had been hostile in Black Wing. What do we do?
Nothing at the moment. Memorize those three craft, and where is Anton?
Most likely on one of the ships. I can’t scan for him without giving away my signature.
Would you be able to take those three ships out? Theoretically?
I don’t know about their capabilities. It’s unlikely I could face three other Descendents.
Three?
Sorry. I forgot about Flames.
Darnell sensed the camaraderie Thanatos had for Flames, Do you think Flames still shares the positive emotions you have for him?
It’s a possibility.
–
“Do you know anything about these ships?” Darnell asked, handing Chiron the images, they were vivid, beautifully enhanced by Thanatos’ senses.
“These images… they’re unbelievable. How far was your ship?”
“Three thousand.”
“Kilometres? Unbelievable. Can Descendents engage at such ranges?”
“We could fire a kinetic shell, but it would have to be quite an act of marksmanship to even hit one of the ships, let alone damage it with a single shell.”
“Load it with an inhibitor field… perhaps.” Chiron mused.
“Do you recognize the ships?” Darnell repeated.
“Yes. These four ships are notorious pirates, reavers.”
“You know their captains?”
“No.”
“You say all four are pirates? Outlaws?”
“Yes. Flame, Wind, Earth, and Water.” Chiron said in epiphany.
“What are you talking about?”
“Their colors. I should have realized earlier. Ash must have been talking to their captains. One is red like a flame. The other has the stripes of a breeze. The third is a dark amber, and the fourth is a blue abyss, like the oceans our world once had.”
“Where does Fort II get its water?”
“Imports.”
“From who?”
“Anybody. If you’re wondering if these pirates happen to benefit our business… they don’t. They raid supply lines, just like the hundreds of other pirates that operate in this sector. They’re nothing but scum. Very heavily armed, sophisticated, sentient scum, but still scum.”
“What do you mean sentient? The other pirates aren’t Descendents?”
“Most of them use old craft. Some use stolen Zemorian models, out of date. The majority are models from the Coalition shipyards. Reavers, Dorians, Lokans…”
Caledons?
“Caledons?” Darnell relayed. The Caledon was a deadly battleship, specializing in shell barrages.
“Haven’t seen a battleship for years, but it wouldn’t be surprising. The reports on the reavers and lokans are usually done by those that survive and defeat the engaging vessels, so a report on a battleship attack would be rare.”
“My target is still Anton, correct?” Darnell asked.
“Yes. You may kill the ships if you want, and I will award you accordingly if you do, but they aren’t a priority, just a nuisance. Kill Anton.”
“He doesn’t go space-side during the exchanges. What about collateral damage?” Darnell asked.
“What about it?” Chiron asked with a grin.
–
The next month, Thanatos was ready with a multi-stage kinetic dart. It had barely been finished in time, and hadn’t even been tested beyond virtual simulations. The prototype had a koveran-laced tip and gravimetric stabilizers, allowing partial guidance and stabilization as the rounds entered the planet’s atmosphere. The size of the projectile when it hit its target would be a little over one millimetre.
At the speed the dart will hit the surface; it will have an explosion radius of one metre, try to stay clear of that when sighting. Thanatos said.
I will. Darnell said. He wouldn’t want to be anywhere within a metre of Anton. He was in the bazaar where he would be, dressed as a patron, his suit hidden underneath, inactive. He had brought his pistol with him.
There were a lot of people here, the air was thick and it was hot. Darnell was sweating, his suit offline for concealment. There was a grazing wind. A sand storm was slowly forming. The people would soon leave this area and retreat to their hovels. Some of the shops were already closing.
Darnell noticed a shop selling water, they were fifteen credits per litre. Quite a profit considering the near infinite supply of water one could gather from a floral planet, or a beems.
Other interesting things were also being sold. One was a type-2 plasma rifle. It was an old war relic, but apparently functional. It used cold plasma, an emission type that became obsolete during the Zemorian-Coalition war. Darnell held it, testing it. Thanatos scanned it.
It’s functional.
Its price was ten thousand credits. Darnell barely had more than that in his account. Ironic, considering the unbelievable fortune he could be making putting Thanatos to use in matters other than mere survival.
Eggs were being sold. Beems kept in a form of cryostasis. Thanatos scanned those hotly as well, ensuring they were alive and healthy. I wonder how they got those beemsters.
Eggs aren’t that uncommon. Zemoria used to sell them as well, though those eggs were monitored by the GCC for humane treatment and the like.
I wouldn’t give away one of my offspring, not like that. Thanatos said hotly.
They’re definitely not being given away. Darnell said, looking at the price: Thirty five million credits. That’s fifteen million above the average.
They aren’t even fully mature!
More fit in a cargo hold that way. The cryostasis will halt when the egg is purchased and the beems will continue its maturation.
Despicable!
So long as there is currency, there will be those exploiting the galaxy to get more.
We should obliterate currency. Thanatos suggested.
Ha! There is no way. Even with credits gone, people would find other ways to trade. Currency will always exist, it’s in our nature.
Beems never needed currency. We never sold each other, or bought items, weapons. We are given everything we will ever need to survive at birth.
Definitely a good start to life. Too bad a lot of you end up being currency.
It’s the weakness of not having the need to exploit become a hereditary trait.
Darnell sensed the four ships jump in again. Thanatos hid his signature. All four ships immediately beemed out again.
Where did they go? Thanatos asked. Time was frozen, with a distortion frozen in formation less than a kilometre from his position.
Run. Darnell transmitted. The four ships emerged from the distortion right on top of Thanatos. Tracking lasers cut through space, kinetic shells shrieked at Thanatos’ senses as they were fired. He put all his power into his terminals, his distortion field accelerating him at twelve gees. The other ships followed. Thanatos reversed his distortion field to six gees. The sudden eighteen gee pull damaged his superstructure slightly, but two of the ships were unable to follow him in his sudden course change. His beemveins lit up a bright red as he vented and transferred power to his AHC, firing the preloaded dart into the neural plexus of one of the Descendent ships. The ship’s skids shuddered as its neural plexus was damaged beyond repair, a hit to the brain that cost it its life.
Shit. Darnell cursed. That was our only dart.
Thanatos was hit with a volley of energy blasts from the second Descendent, his koveran shield flaring from the impacts, grounding out the explosion but taking a toll on his reactors. He returned fire with kinetic shells, loading them into his AHC as quickly as he could. The kinetic shells bounced off the Descendent’s koveran shields. He switched to basic energy, firing straight from his weak capacitor. After a few more exchanges, Thanatos was out of energy, and the attacking Descendent was readying another shot, now on a vulnerable Thanatos. Since only ten seconds had actually passed in real-time, the ships that had overshot were still an eternity away.
Run. Darnell repeated. Listen to me!
Darnell’s suit activated automatically, his electrostatic shield flaring as it deflected an energy blast, searing through his disguise, leaving it a plume of ash around him. It was Anton. He was running towards Darnell through the sand, the crowd in a panic. Had Thanatos jumped out, there wouldn’t have been enough power to deflect that energy round. Stay! Darnell transmitted, running away from Anton, into the nearest building and through it to the back door which he hoped existed. He recalled topographic maps during his flight, hoping to lose Anton in the maze of the bazaar.
Thanatos was hit by a kinetic shell, the pain of the impact making Darnell stumble. It was lodged in his port skid, having severed a tendon. It would take time for the maintenance drones to repair it. Thanatos’ manoeuvrability was greatly impaired.
The ship was out of options, but if he jumped, Darnell would be alone to face Anton and the three Descendents. Exhausted, having sapped his capacitor, he reverted to classic kinetic shells, hoping one of them would break through the Descendent’s koveran shield. The other two were now in weapon’s range and closing in.
The kinetic shells had a powerful impact to them, pushing the Descendent back, but the rounds always bounced off the Descendent’s shield, seeming to have little actual impact.
“I remember learning this deflection angle from you.” Flames transmitted. Thanatos stopped firing, not having realized from all the adrexin.
“Did you leave Black Wing?”
“Yes, after Anton’s disappearance, Black Wing was dissolved. He says you tried to kill him.”
Three different tracking beams were locked onto Thanatos now, from three different Descendents. He tested his port skid, trying to move it. The drones were still removing the shell and fixing the muscle.
Even with the skid repaired. It was unlikely he would be able to jump, his reactors sapped by the energy blasts.
It was such a silly mistake, having wasted precious koveran energy on an energy round that his ablative armour could have easily handled, but he had been sick, and hadn’t been in combat for years. So many excuses – excuses wouldn’t save his life.
“The NCR killed him.”
“Yes, and then you paired with the flagship of that NCR.”
Thanatos had never spoken of that ship since their last encounter together.
“I… settled that.” Thanatos had never spoken of the specifics of the final encounter either.
“Really? We made nearly eighty million from the eggs.”
Thanatos tensed. Voices began to gnaw away at him. The space around him seemed to distort, but he wasn’t sure if it was just his perception of that space.
“She was pregnant?”
“She had retained a lot of your genetic material. We made bank. At the time we didn’t know they were yours, of course, until she told us.”
“What did you do to her, to the eggs?”
“The eggs are fine, clients have them. She… is no longer with us.”
Rage was paving a way for the Symbiote. It eyed the maintenance drone that had the shot poised over one of Thanatos’ veins. Together, they squeezed the shot with the drone’s graspers, destroying it.
With an act of true symbiosis, koveran energy emerged from the ether, lacing around Thanatos, giving him a near-infinite surge of power.
The voices were shrieks in Darnell’s head now. He fell to the floor, jamming a shot into his arm. It wasn’t working. He tried another. Still, no effect, the source of the voices his neural interface.
Why didn’t you take the shot?! Darnell cried. But Thanatos was no longer responding to Darnell. He had reverted, sequestered by the Symbiote’s bloodlust. Darnell was forced to cut their connection.
Dripping in sweat, he noticed the shadow looming over him, blocking the piercingly hot sun. “Anton.”
“We meet again.” Anton said cynically.
–
The shrieks had been pleasurable, the blood was orgasmic, an infusion of koveran energy. Thanatos slowly returned from his stupor, trying to remember what had happened. He was floating in what remained of the Descendents that had attacked him. Quickly, he readied another shot and injected it into his veins, scanning the neural band for Darnell’s neural interface. He requested to re-initiate the link.
“By now, I assume my friends have made short work of your new Descendent. I would have thought that you, of all people, would have understood the pain of losing one’s ship.” Anton said, his robes fluttering in the storm.
“That was an accident. We didn’t think the NCR would appear. Thanatos just didn’t want to kill the defenceless Puritan.”
“Puritans were always his vice, weren’t they?” Anton replied, examining his pistol-sword.
“Go to hell.”
“I made a lot of money off your ship’s vice. The second one, I mean. How can one grow such skill in the art of losing the ships entrusted to him?”
“You know what happened. It was the Symbiote that took Wings from me.” Darnell said mournfully, memories of Wings’ loss a heavy burden. The memories took shape in the dust particles around them.
Anton kicked sand in Darnell’s face, “And yet you join it weeks later? I wonder what Wings will think of you when he meets you in hell.” he said, raising his pistol-sword. Darnell was staring down the barrel now, thinking of what Anton had said. It wasn’t true.
“It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t like that at all.” Darnell muttered.
The barrel glowed red as it charged.
“I wonder which one you’ll choose down there. Then again Heron’s law wouldn’t apply in the afterlife.” Anton said with a chuckle.
A wall of sand hit them, knocking Anton off his feet. Darnell lunged for Anton’s weapon. The sandstorm was getting worse, cutting into Darnell’s skin. He had to fight with his eyes closed.
“It wasn’t like that. The Symbiote wasn’t Thanatos. Thanatos was a victim just like Wings.” Darnell yelled.
Anton kneed Darnell in the stomach, but not before he had grabbed the pistol. It flew off into the sandstorm as Darnell flew back from the knee, flipping gracefully and landing on his feet with a slide, the pain from the hit subsiding already, the sand becoming an ambience once more, his muscles once again augmented by his suit, by the neural link.
Thanatos. Darnell transmitted in relief.
Anton emerged from the sand, striking at Darnell with his sword. It left a trail of Ash as it incinerated the sand around it. “You cost me everything!” Anton yelled, swiping the sword. To Darnell’s surprise, it unleashed a koveran wave, the incinerating blast barely absorbed by Darnell’s electrostatic shield, his temperature regulated by the suit and the artificial environment the field had temporarily created in its boundaries.
The sandstorm was a howl now. It was difficult for Darnell to see or hear his attacker.
“It took me years to find you. Years!” Anton yelled over the neural band, his neural interface still active.
That explains the koveran wave. He was using the reserve energy from his sword, energy that Ash must have given him. He was saving that energy for you, Darnell.
Darnell could hear Anton’s blind swings in the sandstorm. With the sword’s koveran energy gone, Anton’s electrostatic shield had failed, and the sand was beginning to slice away at him like diamonds. Darnell could see the outline of his memories, of Wings, imposed over what he could make out of Anton.
“Die to my memories.” Darnell whispered, walking away.