The Forsaken Empire (The Endervar War Book 2) (29 page)

Good, she said, holding up the data chip. So this does have some value, doesn’t it?

Farcia watched as Arendi placed the contained schematic securely back into her wrist. The chip went directly past the skin into a slot within the arm itself.

What do you want? Farcia asked.

We’re going to the planet, Arendi replied. Tell your fleet to let us pass.

She sent the order to the shuttle. In another moment, the engines began to charge. Farcia looked at the cockpit window and saw the exact coordinates appear on the glass.

You so desperate, she said. You won’t find anything there.

Then let us pass.

Arendi crossed her arms and waited. She could tell that the bargaining chip in her possession was enough to buy passage.

Reluctantly Farcia cleared the way. The static over the comm diminished. And soon, the enemy fleet itself scattered. Arendi could see it on the scans and then through the cockpit window. The blockade around the planet had been broken.

I’ll play your game for now, Farcia said. The shuttle then took the plunge.

Chapter 29

The Alliance knew nothing of the planet or the star system. But one record did. Arendi saw the file in her mind. It had been pulled from the archives and was millennia old.

The Ehvine Supremacy, she said. Colony Nerine Expaniaus Odenia

The shuttle dove toward the destination as Arendi read over the loose translation. The planet was apparently an outpost of sorts, located on the rim of a now-defunct galactic empire.

According to the ancient file, hundreds of worlds had once belonged to the Ehvine Supremacy during its height. But for some reason Farcia had selected this planet as her base. It was a strange choice. Initially, Arendi wasn’t sure why someone, let alone an empire, would settle here.

The planet was Venus-like and came wrapped in a cloud of smog. Carbon dioxide and other toxic fumes incubated the air, sending temperatures extremely high. The effect was more than enough to melt flesh from bone or choke anything that could breathe.

Arendi looked through the window and saw the sunlight wash over the brutal world. Orange and black clouds streamed through the adulterated air, brewing a planetary storm. On the surface, active volcanoes bled lava into the ground, drenching the world with liquid heat.

The shuttle, however, soared above it all. The real destination was safe from the carnage below. Initiating the autopilot, Arendi stared at the sight. The incoming structure was large. She looked over the data displayed on the shuttle’s control board. The sensors detected an object the size of a small asteroid. But despite its mass, the base was seemingly weightless. It floated like an oasis amid the noxious gas. The surrounding wasteland had left it untouched.

As the shuttle approached, the details emerged. The floating base was but a platform for the ecosystem on top. Arendi noticed the blue rise from the base. The area was supposedly lush with life.

From there, it became clear. This was an artificial habitat. Thousands, perhaps millions, of people, had once lived here.

Arendi had already suspected as much. Preliminary scans from the Adamant had detected a station like facility in low orbit around the planet. Presumably, the base was mining the resources on the planet. But any comm traffic to and from the site was absent. It simply roamed over the clouds in complete silence.

The Supremacy, Arendi said. They built this place. And yet, there’s no activity.

She checked the sensor readings and boosted power to the communication array. In the meantime, the shuttle flew over the structure and began its descent. Containing the habitat were several layers of transparent force field. One after another barriers released before swallowing the shuttle whole.

Farcia stood in the opposite corner of the cockpit. She watched the sensor readings appear on the window panel and realized what Arendi was looking for.

They’re dead, Farcia said. All of them.

Arendi looked out the window again. There might have been a metropolis there, but the entire site was in fact a graveyard.

For a moment she wasn’t quite sure what to believe. The shuttle lowered, cruising over the environment. On the surface was a city both surrounded by, and submerged in, water. She saw it rise from the ocean and the swamp. The structures below rivered over the blue and joined together in a central island. Arendi took note of the different dwellings, along with the expansive tree-studded brush. Much of it was grand.

To her, it was like staring at the grounds of a palace. She saw pyramids, towers, and bridges and found them all perfectly highlighted against the leafy green. The landscape was constructed from varying shades of white and gold marble. It glistened under the fabricated atmosphere inside. Temperatures were mildly warm, like those of a summer morning. It was more than enough to sustain life and civilization. But strangely, there was little movement or noise below.

No life signs only vegetation and smaller animal forms, Arendi murmured as she read over the sensor readings. All quiet.

It confirmed what Farcia had already said. The city before her, while preserved in some ways, was also a ruin. In fact, sleeping within the buildings and even the waters were scores of the dead. The entire site was littered with corpses. Each body was like a rag of dried-out flesh or a decomposing husk of bone.

Did you kill them? Arendi asked.

No, Farcia said. I wasn’t there.

But your people, the Endervars, they were here, weren’t they?

Farcia didn’t reply, but Arendi had guessed correctly. Long ago the enemy had come to this world and conquered it. Eventually, the entire Ehvine Supremacy fell to the Endervar threat.

Red told me about this, Arendi recalled. He mentioned the visions. The telepathy under Endervar rule.

She looked out to the empty outpost and saw the result for herself. There was silence amid the crumbs of rot and ruin. Arendi imagined the same effect reaching one world and then another before finally consuming an entire empire.

Almost all of the Supremacy is dead because of it, she said. Why? Why were they different? Why kill them?

Her questions fell upon deaf ears. Farcia looked away, toward the bulkhead wall. It was her way of dismissing any blame or guilt. You wouldn’t understand, she said eventually.

Try me, Arendi said. Help me understand.

At that moment, the shuttle finally landed on the habitat grounds. The autopilot ran its course, and the craft found itself parked next to a structure. The landing ramp extended, and the door to the shuttle opened. A gentle breeze entered the cabin and then the cockpit.

Farcia began walking away, toward the open air. They died for a reason, she said. They died so that I might be.

***

The combat drones took the first step. They ventured ahead, into the building, looking out for any potential threats. The machines had initially served as escorts to the shuttle and had followed closely during the descent. First arriving as pods, they had landed on the ground near the craft, only to transform. Four mechanized armors, plated in humanoid metal form, had emerged in their place. Storming past the main gate, they bathed the interiors of the building in wave after wave of scans.

Arendi heard the gears stomp across the floor. She was just outside the door, proceeding with her own examination. Admittedly, it wasn’t quite what she expected. The entire estate seemed more like a mansion than anything nefarious. The building itself sat on the edge of the habitat and was among the palaces that ruled the landscape. Arendi took a step back and glanced up at the structure. It was erected across a wall of arches that converged into a peak. From her vantage point, the architecture seemed to shoot up into the sky.

Her eyes followed the outline, before turning to a statue behind her. It was several meters tall and depicted a member of the Ehvine. She had no idea who it was. But the statue guarded the entrance and looked out to the rest of the city. The skin was gold, imprinted with a repeating symbol.

The glory of the Supremacy, Arendi said, reading the translation.

Walking away, she returned to Farcia. The woman was farther back, standing beside the shuttle.

What is this place? Arendi asked.

She approached Farcia, hoping for a quick reply. But the woman was quiet, and her eyes were closed. Gradually, Arendi noticed a shadow across Farcia’s face. The dark veins at the fringe of her eyes had reappeared. Seeing this, Arendi initiated another scan, directing it toward Farcia herself.

You won’t find the Adamant, Arendi said. My friends are well out of range of your ships.

The woman’s telepathy was likely at work, probably contacting her Endervar kin. The pattern was there in her face. Farcia may have lacked physical expression, but the ill intent had suddenly swelled through her skin. She sighed, and the darkness released. Reluctantly, Farcia opened her eyes. The telepathy blew out like a dying flame, and soon the fumes of exhaustion set in. She stumbled away, placing a hand against the shuttle to steady herself. Her lungs were working hard. In another moment, she seemed to shrink in her stance. Arendi came to her, noticing the change.

The telepathy, Arendi said. You should stop. It drains you.

Farcia glanced at her, with darkened eyes. What does it matter? I’m dead anyway.

She tried to distance herself, but Arendi caught her by the wrist. She held on to the fabric of Farcia’s robe.

Red. He told me that you were dying.

It’s a death already foretold, Farcia replied.

What do you mean?

Farcia pulled her wrist away, annoyed. I wasn’t meant to be, she stammered.

As she shook her head, her white hair fell into her eyes. The strands were long and tangled. Arendi looked at the golden statue near the entrance. It made her wonder.

The old Farcia, she said. Red told me that she was a mutant. A rarity among the Ehvine.

The white-haired woman scoffed at the thought. The old Farcia

She brushed away the errant strands falling into her eyes. The enemy might have taken over this body, but the entity inside was fully aware of the past.

Yes. I’m a mutant. The old me Farcia said. The doctors predicted an early death. Half a lifetime, maybe less, due to my abilities my genetic makeup

She raised her hand, only to let it drop back to her waist.

Now it seems my time is almost up

Arendi finished her scan. Her systems had tried to peer into Farcia’s flesh, but they had only come up with minute signs of abnormality. Nothing to explain the root cause. She watched as Farcia leaned against the shuttle’s frame and let her legs slide down to the floor. The sight was enough to elicit some pity. Despite a long slumber, the woman was still depleted. The glow in her skin had declined into ash. She was frail and sat on the ground, seemingly defeated.

Arendi, however, remained on guard. This was still unknown territory. Moments later, the combat drones inside the building sent out an alert. She received the data in her mind.

The facility is secure, Arendi said.

The combat drones had completed their sweep. Now they were moving off, fanning out to the rest of the estate.

Arendi pulled up Farcia from the floor. We’re going inside, she said.

They walked through the main gate and found themselves situated in a large hallway. Out of instinct, Arendi scanned the premises again. Her machine systems were trying to isolate energy signatures or the presence of cloaked movements. So far there were none. The combat drones had found no visible danger: the entire area was apparently devoid of traps or security risks.

The neon field in Arendi’s vision receded. The natural colors gradually came through. Around her were walls lacquered in gold and marble. She even found signs of art. A field of sand swirled in the air above them. It offered both a sparkle of light and the sound of a whooshing but comforting wave. She carefully walked under the display. She entered the alien dwelling, ever watchful, trying to understand what she saw. Passing by were more of the floating fixtures. They lit up in a rainbow of colors, from glowing and warm to cold, as she moved closer and then away.

Down at her feet was a moat filled with water. It wove throughout the complex, at times forming pools in the floor. She delicately crossed over the trench, avoiding the brush growing out of the tiled ground. She smelled some form of pollen. It was thick with the aroma of mint. She walked on, with Farcia behind her, analyzing the objects in each room. Using her machine systems and her experience as a Sentinel, Arendi identified each one’s probable use. A chair. A table. A hibernation chamber. A waste disposal bin. A lamp. The data flow streamed through her mind, pointing out the mundane.

Peering into several rooms, Arendi realized that the rest of the building was the same. It was rich with furniture, everyday utilities, and even personal belongings.

She couldn’t be absolutely sure, but the evidence reinforced her suspicions.

This is a home, she said to Farcia. Your home.

She walked deeper into the building and noticed an item on a floating desk in the corner. Arendi instantly recognized it. The object was something all humans would find familiar a hairbrush. In the bristles were strands of white. Arendi grabbed the handle.

The Farcia of old did she live here? she asked.

Following her every step was the woman the brush belonged to. Arendi handed the item to its rightful owner. Farcia snatched the brush away.

Yes the woman admitted. Briefly in her youth.

It explained why the shuttle frequented this place. This habitat was no random location. At the same time, the attachment also suggested something else.

Arendi stared at the woman and wondered to whom she was truly speaking. If the enemy was in control, why come here? Why this lingering affection for Red and the past?

Farcia held up the brush and then threw it against the wall. The clatter echoed as the handle hit the marbled floor.

What happened to her? Arendi asked. The old Farcia. Is she still there inside you? She must be.

Weeks ago, Alysdeon had at one point felt something within this person. It was not just the enemy, but another sensation. Something that was both small and fleeting. The figure before her, however, sought to suppress all thought of it. She shook her head with another scoff.