The pilot, p.32
The Pilot, page 32
Raion turned to me with utter confidence written on his face. “So which one is it?”
I steepled my hands together. “I can find out, but a spell like that will attract attention. If I find that they’re doing a massive ritual or major fleet operation on Zykaros, we should be ready to move immediately. If I find they’re not, we’ll need to flee. Is everyone ready?”
“Ready to die!” Omega shouted excitedly.
The others looked at him with various expressions of scorn or pity, but I examined him closely. His mask was on tight.
I needed to see beneath it.
“When we alert them, they’ll call Aila back in,” I said. His eye twitched a little, and I kept going. “We hope to be done before she gets there, but we can’t count on that. Omega, we need to hear from you.”
“I’ll whisper in your ear when you least expect it, Captain. You’ll hear from me whether you want to or not!”
I slammed my fist down on the table, not that it had any effect on Omega. “Talk to us! If we go down there, we’re trusting you! Give us a reason to!”
Omega’s grin grew even more twisted and sadistic, and I could see the mockery forming on his lips.
When he said it, I was going to seal him in the vault. I was ready to give Horizon the orders. And as soon as we got back, I was kicking him off the crew.
I’d rather have no Pilot than one who would turn on us at the critical moment.
But, to my surprise, Omega glanced to Raion first. His smile weakened as he saw the confidence in Raion’s expression. He looked to Shyrax next, then Sola, and even to Mell.
Finally, Omega let out a long breath and slumped in his seat.
“Solstice cost me everything,” he said, and it was the first time I’d heard him sound like a normal human. “My daughter, my family, my reputation, and fifty years of my life. Help me end it. Please. I just…I just want it to be over.”
The depth of the sorrow in his voice shocked me. A silent moment hung over all of us.
Sola was the one who broke that quiet. “That’s all I wanted.”
“You wanted my life to be over?” Omega asked.
Sola gave him a flat stare. “To hear from you.”
Omega laughed, but it was unlike his usual manic laughter. It was a heavy, dry, ironic laughter. He was laughing quietly like an old man looking back on his life.
“If I can’t be honest with myself now, after losing it all, when can I?”
I actually believed him.
I think we were all stunned.
Nobody more so than Sola, who took a deep breath and turned to the rest of us. “We should swear him in. If we’re trusting him, let’s trust him.”
Raion raised his fists triumphantly. “I always did!”
Omega’s eye flashed and he straightened up. “They bought it!” he crowed. “That was my boring voice. Did you like it?”
“Swear him in before he changes my mind,” Sola said.
Horizon wiped away a holographic tear. “Ah, my Pilot, I’ve waited so long indeed! Are you ready to shed your status as a provisional crew member?”
Omega stood and spread his arms wide. “Baptize me in the Aether! Remake me! I will be reborn!” Extra mouths echoed the word ‘born’ five times over.
“Any objections?” I asked the room.
No one said anything.
We’d trusted Omega thus far. The time had come to go all-in.
I nodded and looked to Horizon. “Do it.”
“Yes, my Captain!”
Omega lifted his arms higher and waited.
Nothing happened. The tablet behind him didn’t glow. There was no sound, and no fluctuation of the Aether.
“Hm? What are you waiting for? It’s only a modification of your contract. The ritual is already complete; there’s no reason to hold it again.”
“I’m going to be honest a second time,” Omega said. “That was boring.”
I clapped my hands to attract their attention. “If it’s magic you want, then that makes it my turn. We’re checking Zykaros, and after that, everything’s going to move fast. Are we ready?”
Mell kicked her feet up onto the desk. “How many times have you asked that today?”
“I stand ready, my Captain!”
I sank back into my chair and lent my magic to Horizon. “We’ve scanned with pathfinding spells indirectly, so let’s get a little more direct. We can pair them with Terminus Mundi eyes and your long-range scanners.”
Horizon flickered and appeared next to me, rubbing her hands together eagerly. A dozen conjured hands mirrored the gesture. “The distance will make this a challenge, Captain, but any less would be unworthy of us.”
Casting a spell an entire star system away was generally impossible except for the greatest rituals, but my navigational magic was specialized for interstellar routes and of course I was relying on the systems of a Zenith Device.
A magical attack launched from such a distance would be too weak, but we should be able to get some useful information.
Horizon chanted and I joined her, a bit like a ritual of two casters. Far away, eyes manifested around the planet of Zykaros, their positioning guided by the Cosmic Path.
I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I found it immediately.
All of Zykaros was shrouded in darkness. We had more than one pair of Aethril eyes in Terminus Mundi, which allowed us to see the flow of the Aether. Since I myself wasn’t an Aethril, I didn’t get full use of the ability, but I still gained a general impression.
“The whole planet’s Aetheric signature is hidden,” I reported. “Only a World Spirit could do that.”
Shyrax stroked her chin. “Is Zykaros complicit with Solstice, or is she protecting herself from outside forces?”
“Either way, we won’t learn much with a World Spirit’s magic in our way.”
I was free to talk as Horizon was taking the bulk of the casting burden, but she spoke next. “They aren’t hidden completely. There’s something familiar about the magic underneath, Captain.”
I’d gotten that feeling as well, but I didn’t figure out why until Horizon mentioned it. I caught two brief glimpses beneath the shifting clouds of shadow that blocked our magical vision.
First, a quick flash of black-and-white.
Second, a flare of familiar pink fire.
The moment I got those impressions, the darkness billowed up from the planet and swallowed our vision. Horizon cried out, disoriented by our broken spell.
I staggered up from the chair, feeling sick. My father was definitely involved. Either he was forced to work for them, as with the Iron King, or he’d willingly chosen to cooperate.
I wasn’t sure which was worse. Despite all our differences, I still felt a knot in my stomach.
I didn’t like him, but he was still my father.
Though that wasn’t the main focus of my concern. That fire…I knew it. I recognized it immediately.
No matter what I did, he had returned anyway.
I spun to Sola. “Check Iron Legion movements.”
She pulled it up instantly. Sola checked the Iron Legion every day, with or without my instructions.
“Several planets along the Iron Legion report withdrawals. A few others have mentioned some victories.” Her glowing green eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”
“Someone down there, right now, is using the magic of the Iron King,” I said. “And they caught us spying.”
By the end of my sentence, Sola was fully equipped in her armor. “Let’s go pick them up.”
“Finally!” Omega cried. He pointed three hands at the hologram of the planet. “Solstice is down there, on my home, right now. Let’s burn the whole planet to the ground.”
Shyrax folded arms behind her back. “Do you have a location on the Iron King?”
“Not him,” I said. “That was hidden by the World Spirit. But we still have our leads on the Oracle.”
“Then it’s time for my job,” Omega said.
I examined the map myself, looking at the web my pathfinding spells drew all over its surface. “Omega, can you track these contacts?”
“Try to stop me!”
“Then it’s time to dive,” I said.
Shyrax shook her head. “We know little of our enemy. We don’t know if this is truly the Oracle of Solstice or one of their proxies. We don’t know their security measures, why their base isn’t on Fathom, or if they are even the ones using Iron Legion magic.”
“Omega will find out!” Raion announced.
“Show me what you’ve got, Pilot,” I said.
Omega’s grin was edged with madness and his Aethertech eye gleamed orange. “You can look forward to it, Captain.”
FORTY
108 YEARS AGO
Telappen Vashei, the President of the Galactic Union, was a human woman in her early sixties. She was stern, but kind. She got her way, but ‘her way’ was always for the best.
That was what the Subline said.
On the moon of Fathom, Omega stood in a smoldering crater that had recently been a building. Alarms and the sounds of battle blared around him as smoke rose up to the dome far overhead that served as a sky.
He grabbed an arm in a gray suit and pulled, hauling the President out to lie in front of him. Her iron-gray hair was matted with blood, and she glanced around dizzily, so Omega snapped his fingers in front of her eyes to get her attention.
“I win!” he cackled. “Say it! Say I win.”
She still looked confused, so he shook her.
“You were behind it all! You’re Solstice! And I beat you.”
It had taken decades, but he’d finally done it. He’d brought them down.
Despite her reputation, the truth behind President Vashei was much darker. It wasn’t even too hard to get to that truth, if you had some contacts in the underbelly of the Galactic Union.
She blinked and straightened. “Solstice? You can’t beat Solstice.”
She looked a lot more lucid than before, which brightened Omega’s spirits. “Ah, welcome home, Madam President! Wouldn’t you feel so much better if you unburdened your soul before you died?”
“You want my confession?” President Vashei sneered at him. “Is that going to save you? You know everything you need to.”
Omega kicked her, and she groaned. “I beat you! Tell me I beat you. Solstice is done.”
Vashei coughed up blood. “I just…take orders. Like everyone else.”
Omega was pretty sure the Aethertech in his ears was acting up. She had to be the leader of Solstice. Nothing else made sense.
He gave her a disturbing grin. “This is the top of the pyramid, Madam President.”
“You’re looking at the wrong pyramid.” She returned his grin, and hers was mocking and filled with blood. “I tried to make it painless. The next guy might not be as nice as I am.”
She reached out to pat his thigh in an act of sympathy. Each breath was weaker than the last, and he could see her heart weakening.
Without mercy, Omega shook her again. “No, no, no. If you’re not holding the leash, tell me who is.”
“The galaxy would be better off united. If we have to bleed a little to get there, well, that’s the deal. But you know what I wanted?”
The Galactic Union President poked Omega in the side. “I wanted to be like you. They promised I could live forever. Promised me. I wanted it so badly, but now I’m not sure why. Why was I…so…”
President Vashei’s heart stopped beating.
Omega shook her again. “No, I beat you! I win! Everything is over! Solstice is gone!”
He screamed at the body, but there was no one to respond.
FORTY-ONE
The planet Zykaros was like all the worst parts of Fathom, concentrated and focused. Its oceans and atmosphere were toxic, and almost everything that made it livable was artificial. Outside every major city, twisting spires stretched into the sky, slowly spinning and purifying the air. That was all that kept the wind breathable, and I’d heard that the waste filtered out of the atmosphere was packed into barrels and shipped to the edge of the system for processing.
Though the environment was corrosive and unpleasant, the planet was still thriving. Traffic choked the airways, and the city of Lumen Arkana shone on the nightside of the planet like a web of glowing jewels.
We descended in a nondescript shuttle, a round gray capsule with stubby wings that didn’t resemble Horizon’s usual craft. She’d complained about fabricating a vehicle so lacking in style, but Mell had sharply instructed her to make it as nondescript as possible.
Omega, Sola, and I were the only passengers, with Omega at the helm. The rest of the crew were in orbit, preparing for a fight.
If everything went peacefully, we would all be surprised.
Sola shifted in her seat, uncomfortable going into battle without her armor already on, and I spent my time reviewing what little information we had while we waited for Planetary Security to issue us a docking pass.
Omega, meanwhile, acted like he’d been injected with starship fuel.
It seemed coming back to his home had energized him, because he barely managed to stay in his seat for more than a few seconds at a time, crawling all over the shuttle in unrestrained anxiety.
He didn’t even respond when the bored voice of the docking attendant issued us our pass, instead slamming the controls down and taking us onto the planet with reckless speed.
The streets of the city rushed up to meet us when Omega shouted, “Take it from here, Captain!” and imploded, vanishing into Subspace.
I lunged for the console, but Sola was faster, wrenching us out of the dive and to our assigned dock before we made the Subline as a disastrous starship crash.
We were, however, issued a reckless flying citation by the dock’s automated security, which chided us in a monotone AI voice about pilot safety.
The dock was bustling with so many ships and people that even our high-speed arrival hadn’t caught much attention. Ships departed, arrived, idled, loaded, and unloaded as a massive courtyard flowed with a crowd of thousands.
“If he costs us the chance to stop the Iron Legion, I really will kill him,” Sola said as we walked down the docking ramp.
“At least wait until there aren’t so many witnesses.” I pointed in the direction my quick pathfinding spell led me. “He’s this way.”
Tracking Omega was annoying because every time he slipped into Subspace he disappeared from my spell’s tracking. The pathfinding magic could only find a target when there was a path between the two of us.
But he wasn’t really trying to shake us. We found him only a few minutes later as his trail led us to a tall, weathered building of dirty glass and cheap, fabricated concrete.
A man in sunglasses and a puffy jacket held his hand out to stop us as we approached. “Private property. Turn around.”
He didn’t seem like official security. He wasn’t even wearing a uniform.
Then again, my standards for corporate personnel were unreasonably high.
I nodded to the building. “Is this the Escalon Company?”
“Why do you care who owns the place?”
Sola lifted her left arm to tap her console. “Omega. Let us in.”
The guard was startled as though she’d said his name. “Omega? Listen, we haven’t seen him in months, I swear.”
He was a lot edgier than before, moving his hand down to rest next to a gun. Sola watched him without actually moving her eyes from the console.
“He went inside a minute ago,” I said. “You just didn’t see him.”
Sure enough, Omega popped out of darkness next to us a moment later. The guard choked out half a word and drew his weapon.
Omega leaned on the man’s shoulder. “What are you waiting out here for? The fun’s inside! Hurry, hurry, hurry!”
He disappeared again, leaving his sweating and shaking employee behind. He gave us an unsteady nod, allowing us to pass.
Sola marched past the man, but I stopped to ask him a question. “Do you like working here?”
He looked nauseous. “It’s an easy job. Well, it was.”
“I suspect it’s about to get a lot more exciting.”
The guard glanced hesitantly back at the building. “I have some time off…”
“Use it,” I suggested. Then I moved inside.
The interior of the Escalon Company was what I would have expected from a seedy loan office, not a mid-level interplanetary corporation. Bright white lights hummed overhead except for the one that flickered ominously, paint was peeling off the walls, and the tiles were chipped.
Fifteen or twenty people stood in a circle at the center of the wide room, and one and all they looked like they had broken out of prison. Several turned to us with hostility as we entered.
From the center of their circle, Omega stepped forward and waved them down with a hand from his back. “Don’t worry, friends, they’re here to help. Find the one who sent those messages, and I’ll make you rich. Go now! Go!”
He shooed them toward the door, but I spoke up before anyone could move past me. “They should be careful,” I advised.
Omega snapped his fingers. “I knew I forgot something. Yes, a gentle touch is preferred. We don’t want to scare them off the planet.”
“I meant for their sake.”
“That’s right. It’s for your own good that you don’t scare off our prey, because you’ll answer to me.”
I decided to address the crowd directly. “We don’t know what kind of security our target has. Watch yourselves.”
Most of them didn’t bother to acknowledge me as they brushed past. One or two nodded, but mostly they looked me up and down and then pretended I didn’t exist.
Sola had immediately moved to put her back to the wall, and she watched the employees file out the doors as she addressed Omega. “Where are they going? They can’t search the entire planet on foot.”
“If you want me to find the enemy, you should let me do it,” Omega said.
I pointedly looked around the room. “I guess business isn’t so good for the Escalon Company?”
