The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) (2 page)

CHAPTER
3

A DESIRE TO KNOW

High atop a rocky precipice, a man stood within a dynamic sea of information.

More precisely, Torin stood between two large groups of floating transparent bubbles, ephemeral in their quality, all waiting for his attention. Every few seconds, one would arrive near his face and accelerate, dissolving completely into his head for a moment before popping out again, invariably bolting forward and down the slope where the freighters were gathering. Atop the ships, tiled strategically in little towers, were hundreds of cubic containers.

Typically, he would have had help in coordinating all of this but the director had been unexpectedly absent today, and as he addressed the spherical thought-nuggets sent to him from the captains and dispatchers far below, he wondered about the reason. Assisting the director was a pleasant experience for him. If any of the ships had policy questions or staff shortages, Torin would ensure that those problems were resolved while the director handled more serious concerns. But today he was stuck with everything. The director had recommended he call in a student to help him, but the last thing Torin wanted was an inexperienced assistant. In his opinion, such a person would create more hassle than they were worth.

He tried to remember his purpose. It wasn’t for the prestige, although that was a good perk.

Torin had a burning desire. A desire to
know
.

A mental ping came in, spurred by one of the spherical nuggets flying into his head.

Great. I have enough chaos already and someone wants to chat.

He blinked, focusing on the person coming through.

Hello?

Hello. Hey, you’re not the director! Where is he?

How should I know? I’m his apprentice, not his mother. He’s completely missing in action. It’s been a big headache. Can I help you with something?

Then you must be Torin. Hold on. Yes, your identity checks out. This is Khandan, overseer of your 5th Ambrosia channel. I’m sorry to report that our supply contractor failed to produce the full amount for your order. Only 30,000 units will arrive today. Apparently, the demand has been more than they anticipated, and they’re fulfilling orders as fast as they can.

What?! These shipments are for Mirage City, Khandan. Did you tell them that? What am I supposed to say to the Empress if she wants an explanation?

Of course I told them that! Doesn’t matter. That’s all our supplier has. And for what the city pays, I don’t think they’re holding out on us. After all, any contractor who can produce enough is practically guaranteed riches, so I don’t think they’d hold out on Mirage City unless they were completely dry. They even complained about harvesting problems.

Well, maybe supply would be less of an issue if the ambrosia formula wasn’t considered a state secret. Have you ever considered that? I realize it can be dangerous, but these supply problems are starting to get ridiculous.

Tell the director that when he gets back, and see what he says! If he doesn’t slap you across the face for such an absurd notion, I’d be shocked. Such talk is reckless and dangerous. If other nations were to discover the secret, we might have a war on our hands. Anyway, looks like they won’t have anything for us to ship until the next cycle, so the city will have to survive on 30,000 for the next few days.

I don’t care if the supplier didn’t come through! That’s only half of what we need, and we have to fulfill that quota. If you can’t find anyone to fulfill, then I’m going back to my supervisors and we’ll find another ambrosia channel to meet our needs.

You think the entire empire revolves around you. Do you think the people over here in Khata City are any different from you? Everyone in the empire needs ambrosia, Torin.

You’d better find more, Khandan, or I’ll personally recommend that your contract be suspended. Need I remind you why Mirage City is crucial?

Fine. I’ll look around, but everyone is having the same shortage. Just remember, if I find anything, I’m doing it for the Empress, not for you.

Well, we’ll see what—

But Khandan had already dissolved the link.

“Ach!” Torin yelled and flung up his arms, causing dozens of spherical thought-nuggets to fly off in all directions. For a few seconds, he watched some plummet below the grass while others zoomed up into the sky.

He was about to call the nuggets back when he heard a voice from behind.

“Do you honestly think using scare tactics will get the best out of them?”

Torin turned around and saw the face of his love, gliding toward him. Her expression was twisted in disappointment, and the red clouds behind her, splashed with the colors of the sunset, matched her emotions.

“I’m sorry, Jyana,” he said, “you shouldn’t have heard that. You’re here early. What’s the occasion?”

She looked past him, and he spun around, realizing that the thought-nuggets were still flying off into the distance.

“Oh, that’s right.” He made a loud whistle, and the few still in view halted for a moment before slowly heading back.

“I finished early today,” she said. “Thought I’d come by and surprise you. I didn’t think you’d be threatening your contacts.”

“It’s complicated.” Torin twitched his head, as if he was shivering. “It’s getting bad, Jyana. The suppliers are having more and more trouble with the ambrosia shipments. I just wish…” He groaned in frustration.

She put her hand on his shoulder. “What is it?”

“I just wish someone would tell me, you know,
where
the ambrosia comes from. It’s so important to our way of life. None of this,” Torin gestured toward the floating nuggets and the shipping lanes far below, “would exist without it. Our thoughts would just be thoughts. We’d never have been able to build Mirage City if we didn’t have ambrosia.”

“I know, Torin. But it
is
a security concern. I mean, if everyone knew where the ambrosia came from, who
knows
what could happen. The Sovereignty keeps it secret for a reason.”

“Well, someday I’m going to know, Jyana. Mark my words. I’ll become Chief Ambrosia Director if it’s the last thing I do. I have to find out what it really is.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Why?”

“Jyana, I’ve worked with ambrosia my entire life. If I never even find out—”

“Don’t worry, my dear.” She took his hand and massaged it. “You’ll find out someday. I can feel it.” Jyana turned toward a sparkling city floating over the sea in the distance. “Come on. It’s time to eat.”

As before, Jyana’s body pulsed in brightness. And like lightning, their luminous bodies arced across the sea.

CHAPTER
4

SLIPPING UNDER THE SURFACE

Once again, Asha found herself surrounded by the cold, unforgiving darkness of space.

Yet this time, it was different. This time, the world that she had held so close to her heart, the world that she’d been told was destroyed, hung more or less intact ahead of her, a pale dot in the distance.

She blinked her eyes to focus on the dozens of lines of data flashing in front of her vision via the ship’s mindcap. Detailed readouts of the ship’s trajectory, speed, and destination were set in crisp, clear text in the middle space ahead, an untouchable hologram. Since their battle in the caverns of Vaari, they’d only been able to perform limited repairs on their ship, Navika. In an ideal situation, Asha would have stopped at her father’s outpost first, but she knew that time was running out for them. The Vakragha had stolen the Kiss of Life, and with it the power to raise the dead.

Every minute counted now.

“Navika, status?” she spoke within her mind, and the ship replied through the mindcap.

“My cloaking cells are resonating well, but shield strength is at 51%. I advise caution.”

No matter. At least the people of this world didn’t have a vested interest in seeing them killed, or in the case of the Vakragha, enslaved after having their planet stolen from them.

She hoped.

Still, she calculated their approach vector to be as short and elegant as possible to minimize their chance of discovery.

After all they’d been through, she didn’t want any surprises for a while.

Asha glanced down to the curved passenger bench ahead. The bench reached just above Zahn’s shoulders, providing good back support, but now she couldn’t see him at all.

Where’d he go? Did he lie down?

This would have been a completely reasonable explanation, except for the fact that they’d just opened a hole in spacetime and jumped halfway across the galaxy.

Had he really gotten so used to the timespace drive that he could sleep through it?

“Zahn, are you okay?”

Silence.

“Hey, Zahn! Are you actually asleep? We’re almost there!”

“Wha—huh?” His head popped up from the plush, white bench. “Sorry, I was thinking. And then I shut my eyes for a second or two.”

“Are you serious? We just jumped over 20,000 light-years and you
fell asleep
?”

“What?” Zahn turned around to face her, his blond hair catching the light. He’d changed into one of the silvery uniforms that were standard on Confederation ships, and it suited him well. Beside him on the bench, she heard the small jagrul bird chirp brightly.

“Sorry, Asha,” he said. “I guess between fighting to get the Kiss of Life and everything that happened on Vaari, I haven’t gotten much sleep.” He paused. “You’re making a funny expression. You can see the planet, can’t you?”

Asha blinked, several thoughts crossing her mind at once as she observed her birthplace ahead, a world she had not seen since she was a child.

“Faint visuals, yes,” she said, hesitating for a moment. “And it doesn’t look good. The Confederation indicated that the planet was thriving, but I don’t know. It’s been a long time Zahn, and the surface looks totally different from what I remember.”

“We’ll get through this, Asha. Together. And like you said, it’s been a long time, which reminds me. What about Avani? Have we heard from them? Our families back home should know what’s going on.”

“Navika was able to contact my father’s ship a few minutes ago. He relayed everything they need to know. We’ll get a notification once my dad reads it.” She glanced down to him, noticing his concern. “Thanks for being here for me, Zahn. It means the world to me.”

Zahn smiled. “Always.”

Ahead, the pale dot grew in size, and Asha noticed streaks of brown and red across its surface. Unlike Zahn’s world, this planet didn’t have a single expansive ocean. Instead, midnight blue seas punctuated the globe.

“Hmm. Does Tavisi usually look like that?” Zahn said.

A chill washed over Asha as she analyzed the wealth of new data flooding into her from the mindcap. “No,” she said softly. “Where are the forests? The surface has been utterly changed.”

“Oh.” Zahn grew downcast. “I’m so sorry you have to see it like this, Asha.”

Asha was silent. Seeing her home like this was difficult, like stabbing an old scar that had never fully healed.

“The seas are lower too,” she finally said. “What did they
do
to this place?”

“What about life? Was the Confederation right? Is anyone down there?”

“Yes, Navika confirms thousands of life signs below. There’s also some strange interference, though I can’t find a source. Navika only detects one intact structure on the surface, uninhabited.” She paused. “Interesting. The life signs appear to be underground.”

As they grew nearer, the ruddy mountain ranges and sheer cliffs became clearer and clearer.

Zahn had trouble looking away. “Where do you think we should land?”

A message flashed in the middle space of Asha’s vision.

“Well, Navika has received updated orders from the Confederation. We’re instructed to land underground, if possible. The latest recon missions detected a vast underground complex. Once we find a way underground, we have to reach our contact, who is identified only as Manu.”

“So, he’s going to help us?”

“Yes. He’s been gathering intel on the Breath of Life. Just imagine, Zahn. Soon we’ll be able to
see
the hidden Vakragha leaders. We’ll finally be able to destroy the pinnacle of their command structure.”

“I just hope we find it in time.”

Through the transparent hull of the ship, a panorama of eroded, snowcapped mountains was spread out before them, their jagged shapes leading down to a dark sea in the distance.

Asha’s expression grew cold. “I can’t believe this is Tavisi. The Vakragha ruined it, Zahn.”

He stood up and walked over to her, placing his hand on hers. “But there
are
people. And we’re about to meet them.”

She looked up to him, her expression softening. “Thanks, Zahn. Well, I do have good news. Navika detects a network of tunnels near the coast. Looks like they lead to the underground complex. Okay, here we go.”

From their low angle, the sea appeared almost green, and they slowed, slipping under the surface with scarcely a sound.

CHAPTER
5

A REFUGEE RETURNED HOME

The underwater world was hazy with a greenish hue, and Zahn guessed that visibility was only twenty meters or so.

From here, Zahn could see little except the waypoint Navika had overlaid on the transparent walls, marking the underwater opening they’d detected earlier. Even in the face of all that had happened, Navika’s transparency was so perfect, that if Zahn wished, he might believe that he was resting on a bench beneath the sea, and he watched as they gracefully broke through a green stringy substance suspended in the water.

Zahn could just make out the faint movements of a few large fish as they zipped away, and he wondered what life remained here after the Vakragha attack. He hoped they would learn more about what happened to this place and why it hadn’t been swallowed up by the Vakragha’s fissures like so many others.

“Odd,” Asha said, “Navika indicates the tunnels go on for dozens of klicks laterally, and some downward, as well. Zahn, this is new, or if it existed before the attack it was kept a state secret. Not even my father has ever mentioned anything like this, and he was granted some pretty high clearance. Look!” Asha pointed ahead. “The entrance is carved into the rock.”

Zahn squinted his eyes, peering through Navika’s hull, still set in transparent mode. “I don’t see anything. Only haze.”

“We should be coming up on it in a few seconds. And—”

“Wow,” he whispered.

A wide rectangle cut into the rock with a smooth, chamfered edge was spread out before them, much wider than the ship itself. A ship five times the width of Navika and twice the height could easily fit inside, and as they grew nearer, the expansive cavern became more visible.

“What
is
this place? An underwater base?”

Zahn glanced back to see how Asha was doing, and wasn’t surprised in the least when he saw her eyes darting around. It was the look of pure absorption, and he’d only seen that look on a person when they’d been using the mindcap. He must have looked like that in the past, and Zahn reflected on the times when he would have entire mental conversations with Navika in mere seconds. It was efficient, but to the outside observer, it could look worrisome.

“So, what’s the plan?” he finally said.

She jolted her head down to him. “This tunnel network is even more elaborate that I even imagined. There are tens of thousands of people here, Zahn, but they all appear to be stationary. Strange.”

“You mean they aren’t moving at all?”

“No. Navika’s scans run deep, and he detects no movement. Only life signs. I’m sending us through the threshold. We’ll find a place to land and investigate.”

Zahn watched as they neared the top edge of the wide opening, and as they slipped under, Asha gasped. “Yes, I suppose that
was
fast. Okay Navika, better put it on surround.”

An arid voice filled the cabin.

“—demand that you announce yourself and deactivate any stealth technology. You have arrived uninvited and unannounced. You have 18 cycles to comply. Otherwise, we will be forced to exercise deadly force upon your vessel. I repeat, this is the Mirage Sovereignty Defense. We demand that you announce yourself—”

As the voice continued, the chamfered edges of the entrance glowed an angry bronze light for a moment before dimming.

Zahn turned back around. “Well, so much for that idea. Better talk to them.”

“Already am,” Asha replied. “We’ve been talking for a while. They communicate crazy-fast, almost as fast as Navika. They seemed to relax a bit when I told them we’re acting on behalf of the Confederation. They’re directing us to meet someone, an emissary, above ground.”

Asha spun the ship around and, in the course of about a minute, eased them out of the water. From this angle, they could see a wide valley ahead, littered with boulders and adorned with tall yellow grasses, set afire by the setting sun. By now, most of the clouds glowed a deep orange, and Zahn admired the jagged shadow of the ridge as it draped over the landscape. Farther ahead, he recognized a familiar red triangle that Navika used to mark waypoints, perched up on a ledge in the distance.

As they soared by a tall ridge to their left, Zahn noticed Asha kept her gaze fixed ahead. Perhaps seeing her world so utterly changed was still too much for her.

The waypoint marked a wide, dusty patch of ground, elevated from the grassy valley below, and as they grew closer, Zahn noticed a large coppery square set into the ground. The waypoint was in the exact center of the square, and as Asha set the ship down, Zahn hoped that for once, just once, no one would try to steal their ship, trap his friends in a volcano, or shoot them up through a watery tube. At least, not without asking.

Asha landed the ship with scarcely a sound, and they both waited, processing their new view of the landscape in silence. Through the transparent hull, Zahn noticed pockets of bushes beside the boulders that littered the landscape, and at the far end of the valley, the sea glistened in the warm colors of the sunset.

“Who do you think they’re sending?” Zahn asked, turning around to face her once again.

“I don’t know,” Asha said. “I hope it’s someone reasonable.”

Asha’s gaze drifted upward, and Zahn followed it, studying the copper landing pad and the dusty trail that weaved around the edge of the ridge. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a few small birds fly into one of the cracks halfway up the rock wall.

“Looks like this place still has
some
life,” Zahn said, pointing to the rocks. “Did those birds look familiar to you? I bet they’re nesting in some of the little cracks way up on the ridge.”

As the words left his mouth, an orange wave washed over the ship, curving in a wide arc above and around them.

“It’s an energetic barrier.” Asha gasped, processing a flood of new data. “And it’s blocking all of my comm signals.”

Zahn glanced around the copper surface of the landing pad, searching for clues. “Where’s it coming from? Is it damaging to the ship?”

“No damage, but this entire landing pad is a conductor.”

“Great, so we fell right into their trap?”

Asha shook her head. “Doesn’t feel like that. Maybe it’s for
their
protection. We’re utterly alien to them, remember? Well, you and this ship are, at least. This is only a defensive action. Let’s take it easy until we speak with them. I’m detecting a life signature approaching us from below.”

“What are we going to tell them?” Zahn asked. “I’m guessing the Confederation doesn’t want us telling just anyone about our mission to find Manu and get the Breath of Life.”

“No,” she said. “I’m only supposed to ask their highest authority about Manu, which would be their Empress. Don’t worry, Zahn. The Confederation also wants to know why this world wasn’t swallowed up by the Vakragha. I’ll focus on that.”

“I just hope the Empress is open to visitors.”

In one of the corners of the landing pad, Zahn noticed a part of the pad fold in on itself, revealing a circular opening leading into darkness.

Zahn and Asha watched, transfixed as a copper cylinder emerged from the opening. When the cylinder finally reached Asha’s height, it stopped.

“Looks like an elevator,” Zahn said.

Without warning, the front of its curved surface slid back, and a cloud of vapor billowed out of the narrow elevator. A figure stepped out of the small space and into the light, revealing itself to be a short woman clad in a jumpsuit the color of burnt umber. Her long black hair fell in graceful waves down her shoulders, and in her hands she examined what appeared to be a small computer with a curved dish at the end of it.

The woman looked up to the ship, and Zahn was struck by her fine features. Her olive skin had the same hint of reddish hue that Asha’s had, but her eyes were darker.

When in transparent mode, the ship’s hull only allowed light to pass through in one direction, yet the woman spoke to Asha and Zahn as if she could see them.

“On behalf of the Mirage Sovereignty, I demand that you show yourself. Why have you come here? What is your purpose on this peaceful world?”

As she spoke, Zahn studied her expressions, getting the feeling that she wasn’t exactly looking forward to meeting them. He got up and quietly walked up to the command chair. “Do you think we should bring our resonator pistols?”

Asha shook her head. “No. This will go much better if we leave the weapons here. Bringing a foreign weapon with us could be interpreted as a sign of aggression, or worse, a challenge. If we want to learn all we can about this world, we need to do it on their terms. At least, at first.”

Zahn bit is lip. “Yeah, I just wish I had some guarantee they weren’t going to take us prisoner, or worse.”

“All recon missions indicated this was a peaceful world, and it’s not as if they don’t recognize the Confederation. They know that if we’re harmed, more ships will come, and there
will
be consequences. I doubt they want that.”

He frowned. “Unless they hide our bodies.”

“Shh!” Asha said, opening a bunch of seed packets and spreading their contents on the floor beside the command chair.

The woman outside called out again. “Can you hear me? As aliens to our world, I should inform you that if you don’t present yourselves peacefully within the next microcycle, that I will be required to use force. Show yourself!”

Asha smirked. “Hah, she’s got spark! Come on.” She stood up and walked over to the triangular door behind the command chair, watching it slide back in three pieces. “Navika says the atmosphere is still breathable.”

“Wait,” Zahn said, “do you think the jagrul bird will be okay in here? Last time I left it in here, it chipped through the hull!”

“I opened up about ten seed packets, Zahn. It’ll be fine for a few days.” Asha waved him ahead. “Come on, she’s waiting.”

They both walked into the central node of the ship and slipped on the silver jacket portion of their Confederation uniforms. After all their adventures, the jackets were still remarkably clean, a fact which surprised Zahn, and he watched as Asha pressed her fingers to the door pad.

The door rolled open and a gust of dry, chilly air blew into the central node, bringing some dust in with it. And with a quiet clunk of their boots onto the copper landing pad, Asha and Zahn set foot on Tavisi.

With careful steps, Asha walked around the ship to where the woman was waiting, and Zahn followed closely behind.

Upon seeing them, the woman froze.

“Hello.” Asha waved briefly. “I’m sorry if we scared you when we arrived. We should have introduced ourselves first.” She bowed. “I am Asha, of the Confederation of Unity, and this is Zahn. We are here on a peaceful mission to learn more about what happened on your world.”

Zahn suddenly had the strangest sense of déjà vu, but wasn’t sure exactly why.

“Hello!” Zahn bowed in kind.

The woman narrowed her gaze at them, appearing unsure of their integrity. “I am Jyana. And you have come in peace to learn? Is that
all
?”

The way Jyana stressed ‘all’ made Zahn feel uncomfortable.

How many people had visited this world in the last few cycles, anyway? Well, Avanian cycles, at least. He had to admit he had no idea how long a year was on this planet, and he made a mental note to ask later.

“The Confederation is aware of the tragedy that happened here,” Asha said, “and we would like to learn more about your way of life and how you survived against our shared enemy.”

Jyana was expressionless for a few moments, and brushed back some of her black hair. “The scourge do not concern us, and the Empress forbade us from providing assistance to foreign worlds. I am sorry.”

Asha’s gaze darkened. “We aren’t asking for assistance. We only want to learn more about what happened here. Please understand, anything we learn could help every world in the Confederation. Will you permit us to explore? We also request to speak to your Empress.”

“Unfortunately, we do not permit outsiders to join our society. Our civilization is built of ideas. We are careful about the ideas we allow inside, and I regret to say that the Empress will speak to no one.”

“Has she ever made an exception?” Zahn winced. “Jyana, this is about the safety of the entire galaxy.”

“Tell me,” Jyana said, raising the small computer in her hand toward him, “what would you say if someone came to
your
home uninvited and started making demands?” She shook her head. “No. I’m afraid your diplomatic skills are sorely lacking. If that is your attitude, I suggest you return whence you came.”

Asha shook her head at Zahn before turning back to Jyana. “I apologize for his brusqueness. Yet he does speak the truth. Despite the Confederation’s coordinated efforts, the Vakragha continue to ravage the galaxy. But if we work together, we can stop them. The safety of the entire galaxy is at stake here, Jyana, including Tavisi. Your Empress must know that.”

Jyana furrowed her eyebrows. “As I’ve already said, the scourge do not concern us. And unfortunately, the Empress will see no one. Once again, I am sorry.”

“Please, Jyana. This world was once my home.” Asha’s voice grew hushed. “Has every drop of kindness been blasted away since then? There must be something you can do.”

“Your home?” Jyana’s gaze narrowed on her. “You say you lived here? But no one has ever returned.”

“Yes.” Asha nodded.

“If that’s true, then perhaps I can help you, after all. May I scan your cells? A simple strand of hair would be adequate.”

“Yes, of course.” Asha plucked a strand of her brown hair and handed it to Jyana who placed it on the small dish on the end of the device. As Asha watched her, Jyana’s expression transformed from disbelief to delight.

“You are Ashakirta?” Jyana blinked. “And your father was an officer in the fleet. I can’t believe you’re still in our systems. Not many records survived the war, you know.” Jyana looked up to her, a look of shock passing over her face. “Asha, you are the first refugee to return home.” She paused, considering this. “But who is this guest? Is he trustworthy?”