Crossroads of Fate (Cadicle #5): An Epic Space Opera Series (23 page)

Banks took an unsteady breath.
Why would she be traveling to the Priesthood’s island? And why wouldn’t she come back?
The possibilities were chilling.

He stood up and paced the room, overcome with nerves. His recent actions on Tararia had already initiated a new plan with far-reaching implications. In so doing, he’d brought himself and his kin into the web of half-truths and secrets revolving around the Priesthood. Digging further now would place all of them at risk.

As much as he wanted to press forward with the investigation, he was in no position to do so alone. He needed Cris, or someone else with influence, working with him to broach the bigger issues of the Priesthood’s absolute power. For now, he had to wait.

With a heavy heart, he placed a summary of his most recent discovery into the secured file, along with the details about his trip to Tararia. The time for that information would come in the future. For now, all he could do was remove the auto-rejection protocol from the TSS application. No more women would go missing on his watch. TSS Headquarters would be a safe haven—perhaps the only one.

There was a fine line between crazy and brilliant. As they got closer to putting his latest battle plan into action, Wil wasn’t sure on which side of the line they’d end up.

The Conquest floated on its own a kilometer from H2, granting full view of the facility on the viewscreen surrounding the Command Center. The spacedocks surrounding H2 were completely empty for the first time, leaving kilometers of structures barren and vulnerable. The illusion of an abandoned base was almost complete.

Wil relaxed into the chair behind his command podium, anxious for the transformation to get underway.

In front of him to the right, Michael shifted in his seat. His agreement to move forward with the plan to bait the Bakzen was tenuous at best.

Ian, Ethan, and Curtis had also voiced their support, but Wil could feel their doubts deep within. He was putting H2 at risk. Still, he stood by his decision. With dwindling resources, he needed to end the fighting as quickly as possible. That was his mandate, and he’d see it through.

Wil activated a comm link to H2. “What’s your status?” he asked Laecy, who was overseeing the operation.

“All essential personnel have been relocated,” she informed him. “We’re ready to begin.”

“Proceed,” Wil ordered.

The lights on the massive H2 structure simultaneously extinguished, leaving the base illuminated only by the glow from the skeletal space docks around it. Under the eerie light, H2 began its transformation. Armored blast shields slid out from between the ring layers to cover all the windows, encasing the entire structure in sheets of the same impact-absorbing metal that coated each TSS battleship. When the blast shields were locked in place, the ring at the center of the structure shuddered. Slowly, either half of H2 began to extend from the central ring—just enough for twelve pods around the previously seamless ring to begin swiveling ninety degrees. As the pods locked into their new perpendicular position, lights once again illuminated along the central ring. A moment later, the ring began to rotate—gaining momentum with each revolution. It gradually built up to a speed that would maintain standard Taran gravity within the outermost floors of each pod.

“I have to admit, that was pretty impressive,” Ethan said, breaking the silence in the Command Center.

“I do have to hand it to the engineers,” Wil agreed. “When I first saw the specs, I doubted it would really work. I’m glad they built in this feature.”

“I doubt this was the original intention,” Ian added.

Wil shrugged. “Well, times change.”

Curtis grinned. “The kind of times where we send a ‘please come attack us’ message to the enemy?”

“Hey, whatever works. On that note… Michael, please send a distress message to the fleet stating that there’s been a critical power failure at H2 and all ships are to report to their secondary bases,” Wil instructed. “H2 will remain in lockdown with a skeleton crew until further notice.”

With a heavy exhale, Michael made the entries in the console. “Message sent.”

Wil nodded. “All right. Rianne, take us to the rendezvous at Kyron.”

“Yes, sir,” Rianne affirmed.

A blue-green subspace cloud overtook the ship, and they made the short jump to the nebula hosting a quarter of the TSS fleet until the battle began. Situated more than a jump’s length from the nearest SiNavTech beacon, it was the safest place they had out of Bakzen reach while still remaining accessible enough to defend their base when the time came. If all went according to plan, they’d take out a good portion of the Bakzen fleet in the process.

Individual ships were all but invisible amid the gold and green gasses within the nebula, though their presence was indicated by ID tags floating around the viewscreen. Wil made note of the two carriers he’d redirected to the staging site. One would hang back as a reserve, but the jets in the other would be a critical component to the opening counter-strike against the Bakzen.

So many variables. I hope this works…
Wil took a slow breath to calm his rising nerves.

“What now?” Ian asked. His face was tense with anticipation for his tactical team’s role in the upcoming fight. They’d no doubt face their toughest challenge yet.

Wil leaned back in his chair. “Now we wait.”

*       *       *

Laecy made her final checks of the command module for the ring gyro in H2. With the artificial gravity disabled, the physical rotation was the only thing keeping her from losing her lunch. “I never thought we’d activate this protocol.”

“No kidding.” Nolan sighed. “I hope they know what they’re doing.”

“Wil wouldn’t leave us here to die.” At least that’s what Laecy told herself. There was no room for doubt.

Nolan sealed the access hatch in the control room. “Everything looks good on our end. Time to hunker down.”

“Let’s hope the timing calculations are correct.”

They headed for the safe room toward the center of the ring where they’d wait with the skeleton crew remaining in H2, monitoring structural integrity on their tablets. Laecy took a deep, calming breath.
We’ll make it through this. The war is almost over… Then I can finally have my time in the fields of Aderoth.

*       *       *

Haersen surveyed the holographic map alongside Tek. TSS forces had scattered to only a handful of remaining pockets within the rift. Despite bringing down the Defense Barrier, the TSS seemed to be running for cover—too scared to venture into Bakzen territory. That gave the Bakzen the upper hand. All they had to do was stay on the offensive and the war would finally end.

“We almost have them,” Haersen commented.

Tek grunted from the other side of the table. “We’ve had the TSS on the run like this before. They always find a way out.”

“So we need to hit them hard before they have a chance to recover.”

“Perhaps,” the Bakzen leader mused, studying the map.

A rap on the door pulled them from their strategizing. The door swung open with a creak.

“Sir, I just received a new scout report from the TSS rift base,” General Komatra informed Tek from the doorway.

Haersen perked up with interest. With any luck, the report brought news of a new TSS vulnerability.

“Yes?” prompted Tek.

“It appears that the facility has entered some sort of lockdown,” Komatra explained. “The fleet has dispersed, leaving the facility largely unguarded.”

It was too good to be true. “Sounds like a trap, sir,” Haersen said with a frown.

“To what end?” Tek asked. “Why leave their command facility defenseless?”

“We sent the scout in response to an intercepted communication stating that the headquarters facility was experiencing power issues,” Komatra explained. “Based on the visual report, the story checks out. It looks like they might be abandoning the base.”

Haersen frowned. It wasn’t like the TSS to retreat from a main base. They were weak in many ways, but they were also stubbornly defensive of their homes.

Tek studied his two advisors. “Let’s assume it is a trap. Why would they draw us to a vulnerable facility?”

“Make it easy to surround us,” Haersen offered. “Hope for a quick hit to take out as many Bakzen ships as they can before we get our bearings.”

“Their leadership has to know we’d expect it,” Tek said.

“Maybe they think it’s worth the risk?” Komatra offered.

“Perhaps,” Tek agreed. “And maybe it is on both fronts—for us to call their bluff and take our chances.”

Haersen crossed his arms. “As much as I’d like to see the TSS fall so quickly, there’s little to gain by capturing the base.”

“How so?” Tek asked. “The ships, technology records… The wealth of information would make it well worthwhile.”

“Assuming they didn’t activate a self-destruct protocol first,” Haersen countered.

“Do you know of any such safeguard?” Tek pressed.

“I was never in H2, so I can’t state for certain,” Haersen admitted. “But, I would anticipate that at least the Mainframe connections would be severed.”

“So worst case, we scrap it for parts,” Tek stated. “This presents us with an excellent opportunity, while all of their focus is on this fight.” He turned his attention to Komatra. “Is the rift corridor to Earth complete?”

“It can be within the hour,” Komatra replied. “We have a ship standing by with drones.”

“Excellent. The TSS wants us to bring the fight to them, so we’ll give them what they want. Let’s see how they handle an attack on two fronts.”

“Uh, ma’am?”

Saera snapped back to attention, re-focusing on her students. “Sorry. Anyway, to express the subspace flow—”

“Class ended a minute ago,” Becky continued.

“Oh.” Saera checked the time on the viewscreen at the front of the classroom. “So it did. You’re dismissed.”

The dozen students in the advanced navigation class gathered their tablets and headed for the door.

Becky hung back from the others. “Is everything okay, ma’am?” she asked Saera as she walked by.

My husband won’t talk to me for some inexplicable reason, and I’m stuck here on the sidelines while they’re about to execute an insane battle plan. Things are far from okay.
“That’s sweet of you to ask,” Saera replied. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“You seem really distracted.”

“Just a lot on my mind.” Saera forced a smile. “I’ll try to be more present for class going forward. I apologize.”

“We do understand why you’re distracted, you know,” Becky said. “The war is in the final stages.”

Saera leaned against the front desk. “Yes, it is.”

“Will things change around here after it’s over?”

“I don’t know,” Saera replied honestly. “We’ll just have to see.”

Becky nodded. “Anyway, I’m happy to listen if you ever need to talk.”

Saera patted her student’s shoulder. “Thank you, I appreciate it. Now go on—that homework won’t do itself.”

Becky rolled her eyes, but a smile shined through. “See you in two days.”

“Take care.”

Saera let out a long breath as soon as Becky was gone. The constant tension gripping her chest was becoming too much to bear. Even Elise’s support couldn’t curb her frustration about being relegated to Headquarters while so much was happening on the frontlines.
Why is Wil making such reckless decisions? If only he hadn’t shut me out…

Just as she forced herself back on her feet, Saera’s handheld buzzed in her pocket. She retrieved the device and saw that it was a message from Banks: “My office. Now.”

She groaned.
Are students filing complaints about my inattention?
As she trudged toward the door, another message came through: “Bakzen are coming.”

*       *       *

So many loose ends… There’s no time to prepare.
Banks rushed to his desk, running through a mental list of the most critical items to address.

The spatial rift forming next to Earth’s moon would provide an open conduit for the Bakzen to invade the planet. Cambion was a great enough loss—he couldn’t stand by and let the same thing happen on his watch. Unfortunately, the only way to prevent the spatial rift from forming completely would be a telekinetic charge stronger than anything in the TSS arsenal.
We need a bomb like the Bakzen use. I didn’t think I’d have to die today.

He was surprised how little he feared the prospect of death. Perhaps the knowledge that his death would serve a purpose made the idea more palatable. Whenever he’d thought about his own end before, he’d always hated the notion of growing old and slowly wasting away from his former self. The chance to go out in his prime was still terrifying, but there was comfort in knowing that he’d be remembered that way.

Still, for the first time in his life, he had been looking forward to a life outside the TSS. Even if it was from a distance, watching such monumental events unfold would have been a most satisfying culmination of his life’s work.
At least I’ve made my contribution, even if I can’t see the results.

Since he wouldn’t be there as a guide in the way he’d hoped, he needed to make sure that there would be a steward to protect that new vision for the future. There was no one he could trust more than Cris.

Using the genetic code of the unborn heir as the cipher, Banks hurriedly set up an encryption for all the Dainetris files. Cris would probably drive himself crazy trying to crack the code ahead of time, but it should all be clear to him as soon as the heir surfaced after he came of age and his mother passed on time-locked files given to her by Banks, per their agreement. More than anyone, Cris would know what to do with the information. The heir was only part of the equation, though—there was one message he needed to pass onto Wil, as well.

Banks barely glanced up from making the furious entries on his desktop when he heard Saera slip through the door to his office. The door clicked closed behind her. “What do you mean the Bakzen are coming?” she asked, breathless.

“The proximity alarms just detected a spatial rift forming between Headquarters and Earth,” Banks replied in far too calm a tone. “We have maybe half an hour before the corridor is fully formed.”

“We’re completely defenseless! If they come through…”

Banks finished his entries and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Saera asked, panic pitching her voice.

“I need to seal the rift corridor. If we disable the nav beacon, no other ships will be able to follow. You’ll be safe.”

“Seal it? How—” Saera gaped at him, appalled when she realized what he was proposing. “You can’t!”

“There’s no other way, Saera. We might be fine here in Headquarters, if we’re lucky, but Earth is completely exposed.”

She clenched her fists, struggling to identify an alternative that didn’t exist.

Banks took her by the shoulders. “Saera, you’re the most senior Agent here. You’ll be in command.”

“Please, don’t do this,” Saera pleaded, but the urgency was already fading from her tone as she accepted the situation.

“Reseal the subspace lock as soon as I’m out,” Banks instructed as he released Saera. “You’ll need to set it to a rotating encryption key.”

“I know the protocol.”

“See? You’ll be fine.” Banks was about to leave, but turned and pulled Saera in for a hug. “Wil loves you more than anything. He’ll always come back to you, no matter what.”

Saera nodded into his shoulder. “It’s been an honor serving with you.”

Banks forced down the lump in his throat. “The honor was mine. Please make sure that Cris, Kate, and Wil know how much being a part of their family always meant to me.”

“They know,” Saera said, holding her hand to her chest. “Thank you for everything.”

“Anytime.” Before his resolution waned, Banks dashed to the door. The clock was ticking.

*       *       *

There was no time to waste. Saera rushed to the viewscreen on the side wall of Banks’ office. “CACI, activate a Headquarters-wide communication.” The computer chirped with compliance, and Saera’s image appeared on the viewscreen.

“An Alpha-One lockdown is now in effect. I am in command,” she stated. “All Trainees are to immediately report to their home mess hall. Initiates are to return to your quarters and prepare to access the weapon’s cache in your common room. All Agents, Junior Agents, and Militia officers are to follow your designated Alpha-One orders. If an enemy breaches our walls, use any force necessary.”

Saera swiped her hand sideways to end the transmission.
Is this really happening?
Her mind flashed to what Banks was about to do—the sacrifice he would make to save her world. There was no greater parting gift a person could give.

Suppressing the emotion knotting her chest, she activated the holographic projector in front of the viewscreen. A schematic of Headquarters illuminated before her, complete with the entry shaft from the moon’s surface. She spotted a single elevator car making its way toward the surface, indicated by a wireframe representation. The car passed through the subspace lock, and she sprang into action.

“CACI, seal the subspace lock and secure with the following encryption.” She opened a command window and began manually configuring a code. Wil might be able to crack it, but it should hold off the Bakzen long enough for everyone to get into position within Headquarters if Banks wasn’t successful.

“Lock set,” CACI confirmed in its synthesized female voice.

Saera tensed.
I need to tell the rest of the fleet! If we don’t make it, they need to know what happened.

*       *       *

The Command Center of the Vanquish was far too quiet while they waited for Wil’s order to jump from their hiding place in the Kyron nebula. Cris nearly jumped at the sound of his own seat creaking as he shifted position.

“Any minute now,” Kate said to break the silence. She slouched in the command chair to his right.

“I can’t wait until this is over,” Cris muttered.
I never dreamed we’d be instigating a battle at H2.

A chirp sounded on the front right console a step below the central dais.

“Message coming through from Headquarters,” Kari informed Cris. Her brow wrinkled. “The origin is the High Commander’s office, but it’s Saera’s code.”

“Open a channel,” Cris instructed.

Saera’s image appeared on the front of the curved dome. “We’re under attack,” she said the moment the video resolved.

Kate took a sharp breath next to him.

“Bakzen?” Cris asked, his pulse spiking.

“They’re about to open a spatial rift. It’s maybe ten minutes from tearing through. Banks is going to stop it. He’s in a shuttle now.” Saera crossed her arms around herself. “He said there’s no other way.”

Cris’ mouth fell open with horror. “He’s going to throw himself into space—”

“The Bakzen fleet just appeared at H2,” Kari cut in. “Wil gave the order for our first wave to jump in.”

Shite! That’s us.
There was no time to jump back to Headquarters and make it back for the impending battle at H2. It was one or the other. “If we…”

“The carrier is exposed without us,” Kate reminded him, even though it didn’t need to be said.

We can’t deviate from the plan. Headquarters is on its own.
Cris’ gut wrenched. “Make the jump to H2, Alec.”

“Aye,” Alec affirmed.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Saera,” Cris told her as the Vanquish slipped into subspace. By then it would be over, but there was nothing more they could do.
I’m sorry, Banks.

Kate reached across the center console and took Cris’ hand in hers.
“We’ll win this for him.”

*       *       *

The compact transport ship that normally served as a ferry between the spaceport and surface of the moon now felt more like a coffin. Banks cast aside the thought as he struggled to override the autopilot so he could direct the craft toward the spatial rift.

Unfortunately, the shuttle was never designed to deviate from its set course.
There’s no time to go all the way to the port to get another ship. I need to make this work.

The shuttle let out another angry buzz of disapproval at Banks’ latest attempt to bypass the security safeguards failed. “Insufficient route data,” CACI stated.

I know… it’s a one-way trip.
He let out a gruff sigh and dislodged the main panel beneath the console. “You asked for it,” he muttered as he dropped to his knees to get a better vantage. The crystalline circuitry all looked identical at first glance, but his trained eye spotted the regulating command module. He wrenched it from the console with his thumb and forefinger.

The console blanked for a moment, then refreshed with a flash. Banks tried his route input again.

“Route confirmed,” CACI stated, and the shuttle lifted from the surface.

Banks set the chip on top of the console and took a deep breath. His life would be over in a matter of minutes.

What will be my legacy?
War, manipulation, deceit—he could only hope to be remembered for more. Others may never know what he’d done for them over his career, but he could enter into his eternal rest knowing that he’d had a hand in changing the course of Taran history. Though for better or worse remained to be seen, at least he had followed his beliefs. The Priesthood’s unchecked rule could finally end with Cris leading the charge.

The shuttle made its silent approach to the spatial rift and adjacent nav beacon. Focusing on the nav beacon, Banks gripped it with his mind and rended it apart in four directions at once. The beacon shattered in a shower of sparks, its signal disconnected. Without the beacon or the rift corridor, only a TSS ship with an independent jump drive could make the journey in any reasonable amount of time.

The emerging rift was practically invisible to the naked eye, but Banks could feel its signature. Electromagnetic sparks danced before his mind’s eye as space frayed around the edge of the corridor. His surroundings sang and pulsed with an eternal chorus of ancient energy he had heard so rarely in recent years—always confined to Headquarters, performing his duties. To spend his final moment so close to the unbridled power within the rift was freeing. His mind was clear, his senses unburdened. Never had he felt so alive.

While he yearned to bask in its energy, the Bakzen were knocking on the door to his home and he had one final task to complete. He removed his tinted glasses and placed them in his inner pocket one last time.

Banks cleared his mind and began to form a spatial dislocation field around himself, creating a bubble within the shuttle. The air was still as the energy swirled around him in a shimmering orb of light. He lifted off the floor and passed through the shuttle’s ceiling in that state on the brink of subspace—energized and confident.