Chapter 54

Imperial Command

New Athens, Hyperia

11 March 3303

“That is the third station that has been taken so far this week, Legate.”

Legate Marius Habricht stared at the holoprojection of the Milky Way, taking in the different colors representing the various factions around the galaxy. These days, his eyes were typically drawn to the ever changing border between themselves and the Druthagar, watching as each minute movement of their fleets caused the lines to shift almost ceaselessly. This time was different.

Several pinpricks of bright red, distinct even against the dark red representing the Hyperion Empire, pulsated in spots near the center of the mass. Each represented a mining station that had been attacked by an unknown assailant. Each was also critical to ensuring the proper supply line for their military efforts.

“What is the plan to resolve this matter, General Klammer?” Habricht folded his hands behind his back and continued staring at the lights, trying to piece together the puzzle in front of him. “I assume you were not planning on bringing me a problem without a solution to resolve it.”

“Yes, sir.” General Samuel Klammer, in charge of the Signals and Intelligence division of the Hyperion Military, was a relatively younger man, only in his forties. He stood the same height as Habricht, and his head was shaved bald. A thin beard covered his chin and cheeks. “We are reinforcing other stations in the area with elements of the Second Fleet. I would recommend sending the Event Horizon on a seek and destroy mission, but seeing how it has been reassigned, that’s out of the question. We hope this—”

“’Hope’?” Habricht’s eye twitched at the word. He took a step closer to the general, who, to his surprise, stood his ground. “Were you about to say you hope this will deter the attacker?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I do not operate on hope, General. I want an end put to these attacks cease as soon as possible. Use whatever means are necessary to do so. Now, what signs are there that can be used to predict when the next attack is coming?”

“So far, we have been unable to determine any significant details that indicate an imminent attack.” Klammer sounded tired. The strain of the ordeal obviously weighed on him heavily. “There is a distress signal from the station for no more than a few minutes before it abruptly ends. By the time any of our forces arrive, the station and all the current freighters nearby are… transformed.”

“I need specifics, General.” Habricht pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced in front of the holoprojector. “Transformed how?”

“It might be easier for me to show you, sir.”

Klammer pressed a button on the holoprojector, causing the image of the galaxy to fade away and be replaced by one of a shadowy mass. Tendrils emanated from it like tentacles, dancing over its surface. Not a centimeter of the typical metal on the stations was present. The freighters were the same. It was almost as if a bottle of ink had been spilled over them, causing shadowy wisps to float off it.

“What the hell?” Habricht muttered to himself, staring at it. It resembled nothing he had ever seen before in his decades of experience. He stood there for several moments, watching the rotating image of the Spectrum Mining Platform in the Ehels system. At least, what used to be the Spectrum Mining Platform. “All of them are like this?”

“Correct, sir. We have attempted scans of the surface to determine what sort of material they are made of, but it is unlike anything in our databases. It’s definitely not human made, or Druthagon, or Thalyssian. We haven’t quite ruled out Runathir yet, but it’s seeming unlikely. Zadian is also straight out.”

“It seems, then, the only remaining possibility is there is a new alien race out there making itself known to us. The question becomes, General, why haven’t we detected anything of their presence before now?”

Klammer hesitated. He opened and closed his mouth several times, as if he was willing the words to manifest.

“We’re working on it, sir.”

“That sounds like you don’t know. And it is your job to know these things. Get back to work and find me actionable intelligence so we can put a stop to these attacks. Otherwise, I will be searching for your replacement. One who won’t fail their society.”

“Yes, sir.”

Klammer saluted by bringing his right fist to his left clavicle and standing upright before turning and making his way out of the chamber. Habricht brought the image of the map back to the holoprojector, placing it side by side with the station. Nothing about the situation made sense. If it was a new alien race making a play for power, why would they not send any demands? And why would they only be attacking the mining stations and not any population centers? Were they worried about attracting too much attention? Did they think their attacks would have gone unnoticed if they stuck to mining facilities?

Several minutes passed of Habricht standing there in mostly silence before he shook his head and left. There were other important matters he needed to deal with. The Emperor was due to leave the following day on the Star’s Eclipse. There were still preparations to make. Very few people knew the true intention of the Emperor’s journey, and Habricht was more than happy to keep it that way.

#

Space Station Vertyn

Stariek Orbit

11 March 3303

Skylar sighed as he stooped to pick up his datapad from the metal floor of the space station. A group of other boys took off down the corridor, laughing. They rounded the next corner and disappeared from sight. Nearby, a Hyperion soldier stood motionless. His face was covered, but Skylar would not have been surprised if the man smiled at the display.

“Thanks for nothing,” Skylar muttered, standing upright and continuing down the corridor. It was mostly empty now, given it was still rather early in the morning. Normally, he would’ve gone immediately to the simulations. He knew there was only one place to go, however, when he awoke and found Lina’s bed empty with no note.

The door to the mess hall loomed ahead of him. A mingled feeling of apprehension and anticipation settled in the pit of his stomach. Though the taunting and harassment of the other cadets had been horrible since shortly after arriving at Vertyn, it had increased exponentially over the three days since the last melee combat training. Now, it was a rare occasion for him to be able to walk down a corridor without someone doing something to him, whether that was tripping him, calling him names, or knocking the datapad from his hands.

With a sigh, he reached the door and barely let it hiss all the way open before pushing his way though, hoping to go unnoticed. The room was fairly packed, especially for how early it was on a Sunday morning. Most of the tables were full, the din of conversation filling the room as a dull roar. It mingled together into a blur. None of it was more understandable than a buzzing beehive.

Skylar scanned the room, trying to see through the throngs of people that served as walls. Finally, he spotted Lina at a mostly empty table, a tray of manufactured eggs and heavily processed bacon in front of her. Sitting next to her, his tray of food empty and talking energetically, was a dark skinned boy. His hair was shaved close to his head. A mark from a scar sat on the boy’s right cheek, just under his eye and going towards his ear.

Despite not having seen him for years, Skylar recognized the boy as Caster Dane.

His heart hammered in his ears with each step he took forward. Someone from his old life was there. One of his best friends made it. They found him. Even if it wasn’t Rach, at least it was someone.

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“Caster?” Skylar’s voice caught in his throat as the name came out as little more than a hoarse whisper. However, the boy still turned to look at however spoke. At once, his characteristic smirk came to his face. He stood, and Skylar realized how much he had grown. When they were kids, they were about the same height. Now, Caster was a good six inches taller than him.

“Skylar Reid.” Caster sounded as surprised as Skylar felt.

The two of them closed the distance and hugged. Caster’s body felt as if he was following in his parents’ footsteps. Muscles Skylar didn’t realize existed felt taut on the other boy’s back. Not to mention the near bone-crushing embrace he held Skylar in. When they broke away, Caster looked Skylar up and down.

“Well, looks like you haven’t changed much,” Caster said. “I’m still the better looking one.”

“Of course you’d think so.” Skylar opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to think of what to say, before finally settling on, “How?”

“After the Hyperions ‘liberated’ us, they slowly brought people to facilities that were little better than concentration camps.” He frowned as he spoke. “My parents were taken to one about a year after the invasion. I haven’t seen them since.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of that.”

“It’s alright. You had no way of knowing.” Caster shrugged, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking lightly on the balls of his feet. He nodded at Skylar. “Besides, I reckon you haven’t seen your parents either.”

The mention of Skylar’s parents—his dead parents—brought the knot of apprehension back to Skylar’s stomach. Part of him was angry at Caster for bringing them up. Another, the more rational part, told him that they were in the same boat. Neither was in contact with the other for six years. It was impossible for him to determine that Skylar’s parents were no longer living.

“Caster,” Lina said, standing and clearing her throat. Skylar welcomed the interruption as the other boy’s head turned to her. “You were telling me about that one time you and Skylar went snowboarding?”

“Oh yeah.” Caster laughed, the deep noise resonating in the mess hall even over the din of the other conversations. As he opened his mouth to continue the story, the low droning bell went off, prompting him and many others around the room to look up. He smiled at Lina. “Another time. Gotta get to combat training. Can’t believe they make us train even on the weekend. See you around. And I’m glad you’re alright, Skylar. It was great meeting you, Lina.”

Caster wrapped his arms around Skylar again, squeezing him, before joining the flow of people running out of the mess hall. Skylar watched him go for a moment before turning to Lina, who continued to slowly eat her food.

“Well, once you’re done eating, want to get some more simulator training?”

“No.” Lina looked up at him with a scornful expression.

“Huh?” Skylar cocked his head to one side. Lina had never declined an invitation for more training. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not going to keep letting you sit there and watch me eat while you either just skip meals or don’t finish them. It’s not good for you, Skylar. You can’t sacrifice eating just to keep training. If you don’t eat breakfast—a proper breakfast—then you can go to the simulators alone.”

“You don’t understand, Lina.” Skylar tried to keep the exasperation out of his voice but failed. “I need to prove to the Hyperions that I’m somebody.”

“You are somebody, Skylar.” Lina gripped her fork and started to scoop up some scrambled eggs before it fell back into a goopy pile. “You’re my best friend. You’re one of the best damn pilots in this place, as you know. You just need to care about yourself the way I care about you.”

“It’s not only that. I need to show them that I’m worth keeping around. That I’m not expendable like they think we all are. You heard Zorn that he’d rather replace me with a hundred mindless drones. I need to figure out how to make sure that I’m always there, always watching. Then I can protect the people I care about.”

“And how are you going to do that when you’re starving?” Lina’s voice rose with each word. Other people, especially the younger children, began staring at the two of them. “When you can barely concentrate because of not getting enough to eat? You’re not even properly gaining muscle mass because of a lack of protein and nutrients. That’s why they put you on those special pills.”

“How did you know about that?” Skylar asked the question so quietly he barely heard it himself. He hadn’t told anyone about the last medical checkup he had just last week. And he thought he did a good job of hiding his taking the DCTs. The fact she knew about it scared him for a reason he couldn’t quite explain

“I… I may have gone snooping.” She lowered her voice to near a whisper. Looking away from him, her eyes landed on her food. “I’ve noticed you’ve been losing some weight lately, and you were being evasive about your checkup last week.”

“I deserve privacy, Lina.” The nervousness inside him changed to anger like a boiling kettle. Though painfully aware of the onlookers, he kept his gaze firmly on her. “If I thought it was important enough to share, I would’ve told you in a heartbeat. You know I can’t keep a secret from you. You’re my best friend.”

“Apparently you can,” she muttered, spearing a piece of bacon with a fork and shoving it into her mouth. “You never even told me about Caster, or Lucas, or Rachel.”

“They’re my past, Lina.” He took a deep breath to quell the sudden surge of emotion coming to him at the mention of his old friends. “I never thought I would see them again, so I didn’t know what the point would be. I’m… I’m going back to the dormitory. I’ll see you later.”

Before she had a chance to respond, he turned on his heel and marched out of the mess hall. Dozens of eyes were watching him. Mutters and derisive laughs reached his ears. He ignored them all.

The walk back to the dormitory was both shorter and longer than he expected. All the way, his insides roiled. More than once, he stopped and debated whether to turn around and apologize, but each time he convinced himself to continue moving forward. It would do no good. Better to let it simmer down than to potentially stoke the flame more.

When he entered the dormitory, several others were milling about the common area. Some of them sat in huddled groups talking while others were on their own, occupied with their coursework. Most he ignored. However, a girl in a corner, her head bent low over a datapad as she wrote with a stylus, caught his eye. He stopped and stared. Even just looking at her brown hair hanging down into her face, Skylar recognized her as the girl he had seen in the mess hall then again during the training the other day. The question of who she was returned to the forefront of his mind.

Shaking his head, he started in the opposite direction towards his bed. He’d at least be able to shut out the outside world for a little while there. But then he stopped. When was he going to get another chance like this one? She was by herself, only slightly occupied. No one else was paying attention. It was the perfect opportunity to find out who she was.

Before he knew it, his feet were turning in her direction and dragging him over to the table. She didn’t seem to notice his approach. Her eyes remained firmly locked on the datapad. The faint scratching of the stylus against the smooth surface grew louder and louder with every step closer.

Finally, he stood directly on the other side of the table and cleared his throat. She jumped in alarm and looked up at him. Her piercing green eyes stared into his own from behind black rimmed glasses. Freckles dotted her cheeks, and a slight pair of buck teeth jutted out in the gap of her parted lips. A look of mild surprise rested on her face, waiting to see what he wanted.

“Yeah?” she asked after a few moments of silence passed. Her voice was slightly nasally, as if she had a minor head cold, and held a trace of an English accent. Skylar couldn’t tell whether she was happy or not that he stopped by the table.

“I just wanted to introduce myself.” He held his hand out stiffly. “My name—”

“Everyone knows who you are, Skylar Reid.” She snorted a laugh as she reached up and shook his outstretched hand. After she released it, she raised an eyebrow. “Everyone also knows that it’s social suicide to associate with you in anything less than a derogatory manner.”

Skylar blinked. He wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Part of him felt like she was making fun of him, which wouldn’t have been entirely unexpected given the rest of the station’s actions towards him. Never had anyone been so blunt about it though.

“Right. Sorry for bothering you then.”

He turned and began to make his way from the table, mentally kicking himself for thinking that she was different from any of the others on the station. Before he got too far, she called out.

“I never said I was going to treat you that way.” When Skylar turned back to look at her, she was leaning back in her chair. She crossed her arms and stared at him. “Between you and me, the lot of them are awful for what they’ve done to you. No one deserves that. I’m Mian Wolff, by the way. It’s great to finally meet you after six years.”

“What do you mean six years?” Skylar started to sit in the chair opposite her but stopped himself when he was halfway in it. “Is it alr—”

“Go for it,” she answered before he could finish the question. He sat and folded his hands in front of him on the table. “And I meant that I’ve been in this dormitory for the last six years, same as you, and it took you this long to finally say a single word to me.”

“That’s not possible.” Skylar knew the look of surprise on his face was easily read. There was no way she was there that long. He would’ve noticed her long before then. At least, he thought he would’ve based off the fact he was surprised by her arrival.

“I can show you the medical records signed by Doctor Maya Klapton of my arrival. Dated December thirteenth, thirty-two ninety-six.” She looked slightly alarmed at her proclamation. “Not that it’s really that big a deal that you haven’t said anything to me. It doesn’t matter that much. After all, you’ve had to deal with a lot since you’ve been here. And now I’m rambling.”

“It’s okay.” Skylar chuckled, unsure of what exactly to say. It had seemed like such a good idea to come over to the table when he was on the other side of the room. Now that he actually sat in front of her, his mind seemed to go blank.

“So, what made you decide to finally talk to me then?” Mian leaned forward and placed her own hands on the table, resting them next to her datapad.

“Honestly, not too sure.” He leaned back and clasped his hands together, twiddling his thumbs. “I… just had an argument with someone, and I decided I might as well since you were sitting here.”

“You did, did you?” She raised an eyebrow at him before standing and grabbing her datapad. “Well, I have to get to history class, but how about we have lunch together and get to know each other better? How does that sound?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Skylar stuttered without thinking.

“Great. It’s a date then.”

Without another word, Mian walked away from the table and towards the door. When she was nearly there, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Skylar watched as she disappeared through the doorway, more confused than anything.