Ghosts of Lyarra (38 page)

First he lifted Bryx back into his seat and strapped him in, before turning his attention over to Iana to do the same. Once they were secure, he scooped up Lyxia and carried her out towards one of the crew quarters in the heart of the ship. These might be the last few days they had to spend with each other, and Aen was damned sure they would do it
alone.

Twelve
Lyarran System;
Zyan Station Entry Point

As the Dark Light exited jump-space, the reality of what faced them was immediately apparent. There were only five jump entries into the Lyarran system and all of which were now guarded by the Imperial warships along with the normal PA cannon array. The cannons were intimidating enough - slightly smaller scale than those in the Jupiter Array in the Sol System - but along with the armories with engines that were the Fleet warships, the scene was downright terrifying. Half the size of the Dark Light and resembling a triangular wedge; the warships were a series of Plasma Accelerator Cannons lined up down her angles from the nose cannon back to the engine baffles. At the center of her mass sat the small Operations Control deck, and beneath that were meager crew quarters. They had jump-space drives, but the engines tucked away beneath her belly to best protect them. Along the top and bottom of the ship were multiple plasma turrets to further the effective damage the brute could inflict; indeed these were machines of pure malice. Axyn took a deep breath and held it; if this didn’t work they wouldn’t live long enough to even regret
it.

It didn’t take long for the hails to start, and those on the other end requesting the arrival passwords; for security reasons of course. Although he was standing at Ops Con, Axyn knew he wasn’t in charge and stayed silent and motionless. He listened intently as Caretaker did his part and in a perfect representation, imitated the turncoat Kala and provided the codes the guards were looking for. There was a brief banter back and forth, before the go ahead was given and the ship lurched forward to enter the light of Lyarra; they were
in!

He waited until they had cleared the ‘gates’ and put some distance between them and the warships before he let his breath out. And although they had made it in, they were hardly safe by any means. He still had to alert the other Ifierin still loyal to the Empress of the treachery aboard their respective ships. Hoping there was still those aboard willing to take up arms, his task was to organize a mass mutiny aboard each vessel in the fleet then launch a simultaneous takeover of Fleet Command. It’s not like they were asking much of him at all, but it was the reason the Dark Light arrived
first.

“Are you ready for this?” Sara asked him; obviously seeing the doubt in his
expression.

“If it can be done, the Ifierin will do it.” He stated proudly to her. “My Council has entrusted a great mission upon me, and I will not fail her. So yes, I am ready for this Terran, but I wonder if you
are?”

“My part is easy.” She smiled at him devilishly. “Mostly because I am the most unassuming of all the guests to pull anything like this off; and therefore will not be under much scrutiny once I arrive on
Havyiin.”

“Even so, I am assigning the same protection guard I did to Lyxia, to you for this.” He looked serious. “Because when we hit the docks of Thsin, you will be on your own and far from any other protection I can muster. Besides, a Council wouldn’t look right without a security
detail.”

“I accept.” She smiled at the soldier. “And thank
you.”

“Save the sentiment for after we are victorious. For there will be little to be thankful for if we
fail.”

Sara didn’t reply to his bold statement, but Axyn knew she understood the gravity of his words. The two simply stood quietly and watched as the Dark Light cruised into the depths of the heart of the Lyarran Empire. As they passed another cruiser, Axyn tapped his comm and whispered his message; calling for the Captain of the Guard on that vessel. Quickly, he cross-referenced Caretaker’s list for the ship and didn’t see the name of the Ifierin Captain. He hoped the old soldier was still
alive.

“What is it, you decaying old fossil?” the Captain’s voice shouted and was audible even from Sara’s position a few feet
away.

“Are you alone, Nural?” Axyn asked in a whisper. “Does your office have
ears?”

“Are you going mad?” Nural questioned. “Too much time out on the rim I bet. My office is secure; I tested it a few minutes ago. Now will you tell me what the hell is going
on?”

“Have you noticed things being a little off aboard your ship?” Axyn was reaching without revealing much. “Like the current Council suddenly stepping down and certain other crew promotions taking
place?”

There was a long pause, but Axyn could still here his old companion’s breath on the line. “Yes.” Nural whispered
back.

“I am sending a file directly to your personal HUD and can only be opened by your retinal scan.” Axyn offered. “It is a self-erasing message and a list which will remain afterwards. Have your Ifierin ready for the signal; I promise that it will be impossible to miss. Timing is the key old friend, and this is a mission more important than all the
others.”

“Do I get a more clear explanation?” Nural sounded
confused.

“The message will explain it all; just make sure you fix what is broken on your
end.”

Axyn ended the transmission and hoped he hadn’t given anything away over the airways. He keyed in the coded transmission and sent it to Nural’s HUD with Caretaker’s help. In it, the message stated the plan of the Guild to overthrow the entire Imperial network and gave instructions to the signal and when to strike. Along with the ship’s specific list, he had no doubt the Ifierin Captain had all he needed to proceed. The two ships passed, and another appeared in the
distance.

“One down, a shitload more to go.” Axyn muttered as he got ready to do it all over
again.

One after another, he made contact with the respective Captains aboard the nearby ships and relayed the message sent. Caretaker encoded each data burst with viral properties that would attack any other station trying to access the information. Only the intended recipient read each burst, then the AI wiped the slate clean and left no trace of the plans to be found. A few times, Caretaker discovered a curious trace program trying to sneak a peek at the files, but it was quickly beaten back and programs rewritten to show no trace of any
inquiries.

An hour later, the Dark Light crept into the shipyards of Thsin, a maroon gas giant that resembled Saturn. But this planet’s rings were artificial - not made of ice - and was a multi-level docking platform and repair station in orbit around the planet. It was a sight that Axyn never got used to, despite having seen it over and over. From the gasp escaping the human’s lips, he could tell it had an equal effect on her too. From a distance, it had looked much like the ice rings of the planet back in the Sol system, but the closer thy got they could make out the various ships docked and the network of docking arms and personnel decks it was made of. As they closed in, they could make out the drones scurrying about the docked vessels rendering repair and maintenance. Above the raging gas clouds of the planet below, an equal if not greater storm of activity marched
on.

“Welcome to Thsin.” Axyn smiled at her. “It is the galaxy’s largest ship building station and docking network. It can successfully hold the entire fleet in dock at one time, and still have room for thousands more of visiting ships as well. They say this is more the heart of the Empire than Havyiin, and I intend to
agree.”

“It’s unbelievable!” gasped Sara. “It must have taken a thousand years to
build.”

“Thsin is in a constant state of change, but the original docks took about thirty or so years to complete.” Axyn retorted. “Construction never stops here, and life never sleeps. There are a thousand sins to savor and more joy than the soul can want for; Thsin’s trade and market make up over half the goods that deal within the
system.”

“And it is probably swimming with Forgotten.” She
added.

“That is a certainty, Council.” Axyn grew somber. “It is here I will make most of my calls as most of the Fleet looks to be docked or in orbit. But it is here we will have to be more careful than ever. There will be eyes everywhere, and every one of them will be focused on
us.”

—

Sara was already impressed by all the sights she had seen on the journey thus far before they arrived in the Lyarran system. But coming out of jump-space and immediately seeing a frozen ball of ice surrounded by multiple PA Cannons and a warship was more than she could have expected. She heard the Captain take a breath and she did the same as they waited for the AI to do its part. She listened as it imitated a being she never knew before, but those on the other end of the transmission thought it sounded correct because they were allowed to pass without
incident.

Now Sara could relax, but was still a bit tense seeing as this was only the beginning. She carried on a light conversation with the Captain and was relieved that he offered her protection when it came time to depart the Dark Light to do her part in the guise of diplomacy. Without hesitation she accepted, and now had a personal guard of fifteen Ifierin to watch her back when she waded in to swim with the sharks on
Havyiin.

In the far distance, she could see a small orb of brilliant white light and felt its warmth even from this distance. It was the first time she had seen Lyarra in any form, and felt the ancient god embrace her with its light. Sara remembered Lyxia talking about it; the feeling one got the closer they got to the white hyper giant star. By the time you reached the inner planets of Pax and Havyiin, you were more at peace with yourself than you ever had been in a lifetime; and were able to look up and see a giant in the sky to remind you how small you really were. It was part of the journey to the throne world that Sara was looking forward to the most; well, that and seeing this treacherous witch get what was finally coming to
her.

Beneath her feet, the ship rumbled hard as it cruised through the outer system faster than she had felt it do back home. Sara remembered that these were busy shipping lanes and that dawdling would make them more suspicious than not. So instead of it being an hour or so before seeing the next planet in, she caught a glimpse off the side of an ice giant glistening in the star’s light. Before long, she saw a reddish glow in the distance and noticed Axyn stand taller in his
spot.

“Welcome to Thsin!” he exclaimed to her as the planet became large in the view screens and she noticed the silvery rings around its
equator.

Immediately, it reminded her of Saturn, but instead of a gold and orange hue, the planet was deep maroon with brighter red clouds circling her atmosphere. The color difference was one stark difference, but the closer they got she realized that the other difference was the rings. Unlike Saturn, Thsin’s rings were metal and were not naturally made. Sara let out a gasp of shock as she realized the rings were the legendary docks she had heard so much about, and not a space station simply orbiting the
planet.

“It’s unbelievable!” she whispered, and it truly
was.

Years ago, the sheer size of the Jovian defence ring seemed beyond comprehension, but next to this it seemed like a drop in the ocean. All the cities on Earth could fit into one small section of this super space station encircling the gas giant; she was looking at the central hub of the Empire as they closed in on
it.

Then she noticed the docked ships; some in various states of repair or construction with mechanical drones floating about them or crawling over the hulls. To Sara, it looked like a beehive and an anthill all in one; a never ending cacophony of activity everywhere she could see. And looking around at the thousands of separate ships either docked or circling the area, she truly began to realize how much bigger Zeus really was in comparison. She wondered if it could ever dock itself here and stopped herself from asking the question lest she give away her planet’s biggest
secret.

She listened intently as Axyn explained the wonders and horrors that lay within the walls of the cavernous docking station. As he talked, she could see the different types of ships belonging to different races from different worlds. The entire Council would be here in person, and there was no doubt that their enemy would be lurking everywhere here
too.

“And it’s probably swimming with Forgotten.” She added to his description of the day to day goings on
inside.

“That is a certainty, Council.” He agreed and went on rambling about what he had left to
accomplish.

It was here she would take her leave of the safety of her friend’s ship and venture out into the hornet’s nest that was Havyiin. Unbeknownst to Axyn, Aen had given her a few small tasks to complete while she was on Thsin and as she made her way to the gardens of Havyiin. Her job was not to just observe and look pretty, but to drop sensors and EMP pumps in random locations. Sara was planting part of the distraction needed to carry out the plan, and as she thought about the devices she had been given, began to wonder if they were only sensors and pumps; or something a bit more
sinister.

“
All incoming vessels have been ordered to dock
.” Caretaker exclaimed over the comms. “
Only cargo and political transport traffic is being allowed into the inner parts of the
system
.”