Gilerio System, Cassandrian front, 623.11 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

　　Quarantine Imposed.

　　Quarantine bypassed.

　　I launched another salvo of probes. The experience felt strange. This was the first time that I had constructed any probes, let alone eleven thousand. Launching such an amount made me feel like a science ship, only without the relevant data.

　　"Wave seven en route," I informed the bridge. "Preparing wave eight."

　　Nearly a third of my subroutines were dedicated to the construction of probes—the schematics of which I had no access to. All requests had been flatly rejected. My only goal was to transform my existing missiles—if the missiles ran out, escape pods were to follow—and launch them towards a pair of pre-set coordinates in the system. So far, the focus had been the inner asteroid belt, but the scope was increasing.

　　"Wave eight en route," I said as I finished launching the next salvo. "Preparing wave nine."

　　"Estimated completion?" Augustus asked.

　　"Approximately nineteen minutes, sir."

　　I ran a long-distance scan. No Cassandrian activity detected. For once, intelligence had done its job. It was sad that BICEFI involvement was required for it to happen. The details had been vague, as usual. I hadn`t been given any explanation or access to any restricted memories. All orders were issued via my captain, although there wasn`t a soul aboard who didn`t know who stood behind them.

　　"Wave nine en route. Preparing wave ten."

　　Augustus winced as I spoke. He hated when the obvious was stated. Someone higher up the chain—likely a bureaucrat—had probably forced him to receive reports every step of the way. The rest of the bridge officers didn`t seem to care much. Half of them, along with Wilco, had taken advantage of the opportunity to get some sleep. The ground troops and all non-essential personnel had also been allowed eight hours of personal time. Engineering and communications hadn`t.

　　"Test signals from wave one coming in," Lieutenant Elvon Lisha said. She had been on the ship for less than a year, despite having the third longest service record. The term ship hopper` freely applied to her. Given that she had been recruited to the fleet at the age of fifteen, she didn`t seem overly bothered. In fact, she tended to regard everything as nothing but the same old.` There was no denying her capabilities, though. "No disruptions. Ninety-nine-point three percent success rate."

　　"Elcy?" Augustus asked from his seat.

　　I isolated a dozen sub-routines and instructed them to run a blind comparison. The results matched the findings. It would still have been better to know what I was receiving, though.

　　"Confirmed, captain," I said. The presence of disruptions concerned me slightly. So far, there was nothing in the system that could account for them, and the percent was too large for mechanical malfunctions. "Still no Cassandrian activity detected."

　　"You can stop with the scans now, Elcy," Elvon said.

　　"Do you want me to go dark?"

　　"No, just stop all scans. HQ will keep an eye on us."

　　There was a seventy-one percent chance that that was a lie. I doubted HQ knew of this mission, though someone in the BICEFI probably did. Either way, I dedicated a quarter of my remaining subroutines to what remained of my battle system. Without missiles or sensors, the risk factor for my crew jumped up by a factor of ten.

　　"Link to the data streams," Augustus ordered. The lieutenant gave him a strange look. "What now?" he barked in her direction.

　　"Nothing, sir."

　　"Cut the crap, Lisha." There was less a bark and more annoyance in his voice. As far as I could tell, the two hadn`t served together before, but that hadn`t kept them from coming to an unspoken understanding.

　　"I tend to ask for permission before doing something," the woman replied, focusing on her command screen.

　　Augustus let out a grunt, almost as if he`d have said that that was why she wasn`t captain.

　　"Links to first wave established, sir." I decided to bring the tension down. "Receiving data." Not that I know what the data actually is.

　　"Data quarantine off," he barked.

　　The readings suddenly made sense. It took me less than millisecond to make out what the gathered data was, and just as much to feel slightly disappointed. The info streams were unencrypted, containing nothing but mineral composition readings. Based on the numbers, I could tell this was a test run& though I didn`t see why a battleship had to be doing a system mineral survey. In the best-case scenario, this would fall under the Salvage Authorities` purview.

　　Seven more waves of probes sped out in the system. Close to eighty percent of them were far from any scannable bodies; the rest were in vicinity to the system`s asteroid belt. As I waited for the last few ones to get into place, I reran a few of my recent battle simulations. With the losses on the front, it was certain that a lot more action was to come. There were rumors of changes taking place in the upper fleet echelons pushing for a change in war policy. Aurie and a few other ships of my original cohort had shared that an all-out charge to obtain a choke point was looking more and more probable. Supposedly, certain organizations had been given the authority to do what was needed to turn the war, leading to a rise in dark ops. Based on the increasing number of BICEFI involvement as of late, there could be some merit to those theories. Then again, Aurie tended to gossip too much.

　　"All probes launched, captain," I said. Twenty-four thousand and six hundred were out there, leaving me virtually defenseless until the next station reequip. "Orders?"

　　"Readings look fine, fail rate is under half percent," Elvon said. "Waiting for the go ahead."

　　"Full defenses," Augustus stood up. "Shields, outer hull, countermeasures&" He moved his hand in circular motion as he enumerated. "The works."

　　"Yes, captain." I dedicated several thousand of my subroutines to my defenses. "Countermeasures are low. I can cannibalize a few shuttles."

　　"Keep the shuttles. Focus on electronic countermeasures."

　　That was unexpected. "Firewalls and countermeasures ready. External sensor and data streams are isolated."

　　"Simulations done," Lieutenant Lisha said. Interestingly enough, I didn`t register any simulations other than my battle runs. Just to be on the safe side, I ended all active simulations. The lieutenant didn`t react. "Results put us out of the danger zone."

　　"Not this time," Augustus whispered. "Start the scan. Elcy, observe. If you detect any wave readings or large cobalt deposits, shut down the probes."

　　"All of them?" This is unusual, even for you.

　　"The affected ones. And be ready for an emergency engine burst. We might have to get out of here fast&"

　　* * *

　　Nothing of interest happened during that survey. In total, I had spent thirty-eight hours examining the area of the asteroid belt with nothing to show for it. The mineral deposits had been scarce and there hadn`t been any observable anomalies whatsoever. I had found some cobaltite ore, though nothing else remarkable. Now I knew exactly what I had been searching for: the same thing for which I was searching at this very moment. The difference was that, this time, I didn`t have thousands of automated probes to do the work for me. Here, I was equipped with nothing more than an auxiliary shuttle and a hand scanner. However, I had many more cobalt artifacts.

　　Communications restored.

　　A message appeared on my visor, replacing three warning messages as it did. The oxygen warning, though, was still there, despite my many attempts to remove it.

　　All the protocols at my disposal, and I can`t override a warning system&

　　"What`s your status?" Kridib asked through the comm.

　　"Nearly done," I said as I slowly floated towards a Scuu ship fragment. "One more spot to check out, then I`m heading back."

　　"Be quick."

　　"Sure." What`s happening? "Any changes on the front?"

　　"No." We`re at the half point. Don`t take too long.

　　"Save me a calcium tube."

　　Comm link closed.

　　Things on the shuttle were getting tense. Even with the artifacts stored on the auxiliary shuttles, the grunts were still nervous without me there. No matter the advancement in weapons or the number of missions they had been to, they still remained children, and everyone now and then needed reassuring.

　　Time to pick up the pace.

　　I did a brief burst with the suit`s thrusters, tripling my speed. Four seconds later—three meters before the Scuu ship fragment—I did a reverse burst, then grabbed hold. The piece was quite large, three times the size of the shuttle, based on my preliminary calculations. Not a model I had seen in my SR battles with Radiance; it seemed to be a somewhat older design, possibly of the first decades of the war. The design was much more ship-like than the current enemy classes, making it easier to enter. Often, there were more rods to connect.

　　The emergency hatch of the ship was closed. Using short bursts, I slid over the side until I came to a section breach. As I approached, I tried to match it to anything caused by a missile, but the shape was too different. Whatever weapon had been used, it had torn the hull out without leaving any scorch marks. Once in, I took hold of the nearest solid equivalent of a safety railing and checked my connection cable. According to the suit`s system, I was thirty-two meters in, leaving me another eighteen.

　　Let`s see what`s here.

　　I took the hand scanner from my belt and activated it. The readings were as expected—basic ship alloys, including a small amount of cobalt. Slowly, I moved it across the entrance, aiming further inside. This wasn`t the standard way to use such a tool. Thanks to some quick modifications and software changes on my part, however, I had increased its range to the point where I could locate third-contact rods. The moment the scanner was pointed towards the inner wall, the cobalt values peaked; not the best haul I`d had, but pretty close. I reattached the scanner to my belt, then proceeded forward.

　　If anyone had told me that I would find myself in a cornucopia of third-contact artifacts before this week, I would have considered it unlikely. Now I viewed it as something expected. From what I could tell, every Scuu ship was full of third-contact tech, and in the debris field, there were thousands of destroyed ships. In the vast majority of cases, the artifacts had been modified—cut up into smaller fragments for a purpose I couldn`t imagine. The composition remained as pure as before, but new sizes had deprived the artifacts of their normal function. Now and again, hidden among the rest, there were fragments which held what I needed.

　　The pod-like capsules were the most useful. Fractionally larger than the auxiliary shuttle, they were easy to find and virtually brimming with rods and pyramid artifacts. Even centuries old, they were identical to the probe I had seen on the prison planet. I had come across five so far, three of them in almost perfect condition, the remaining two cracked like an egg on concrete. If Salvage or the BICEFI were here, they`d spend years picking the debris field clean of anything of value. Under different circumstances, I would have done the same. Sadly, I had to be picky. Sixty-seven rods remained for me to construct my makeshift dome, all of specific shapes. I could not risk taking anything else or spending more time in the debris zone than I had to.

　　The corridors were human-sized, though bare. There was an obvious lack of doors and hatches, and if there had been panels of other devices, they had been removed, leaving nothing but an empty husk behind. Instead, there were circles etched on every surface, making it look like a circuit board crossed with post-expressionism. Based on what was happening on the Gregorius, they were also lethal.

　　I changed the settings of my visor to use audio imaging. There was no telling what effect they might have on me, even if I self-quarantined my thoughts.

　　As I walked further in, new corridors began to appear. This was the seventh Scuu ship I had been on. Like all the previous ones, standard architectural logic barely applied. Comparing the outer shape and the sections I had gone through, there was a ninety-three percent probability I was in a boarding section, leading to where, according to the standard design, the support personnel would be. On my old husk, it would be filled with crew quarters, the size of a square box, where engineers and the lower ranks would sleep. Here, there was nothing but space and columns.

　　The comparison with existing ship schematics gave me two paths with an equal chance to reach my destination. One thing that was common with all Scuu ships was that the artifacts were always located near the engine section. My theory was that the Scuu used them as an auxiliary energy source. If I ever managed to get in touch with Lux again, I would have to share my findings and let someone else figure it out.

　　It took me less than a minute walking through the empty maze to reach my spot. The closer I got, the more rods I saw sticking from the walls. I checked the first few with my scanner just to confirm they were cobalt, then continued to the heart. When I reached it, I stopped and remained still for several three thousand milliseconds.

　　There were hundreds of ways I could describe the sight before me. Its allure made me turn on my helmet light to get a better look, despite the danger. I knew that every glimpse brought with it the chance of contamination, and still I allowed myself one which I froze in my memory. Back when I was a battleship, I had monitored a personal call between a non-commissioned officer and his wise. She was a bio-geneticist, overseeing the development of new species in zero gravity. That time, she had shared a video of a three-dimensional spider web created by a new specimen. The web was fragile, completely useless, and at the same time an aesthetic marvel of strands aligned in a near perfect matrix. The Scuu heart was similar, but also so much more. Rod construction came from the walls like helixes, spiraling around a large cube as they held it gently in the air. Nothing connected the artifacts other than themselves, and yet I could also see the empty spots as if they were more material than matter.

　　Salvage would have loved to be here. They and the BICEFI had been trying to capture an intact Scuu ship for centuries, and if the rumors were true,they had never succeeded. It was said that each time they got close, the Scuu ship would self-destruct, disintegrating into particles, very much like the combat devices Kridib had seen. Here I was surrounded by so much& and yet able to take so little.

　　I moved closer to the cube. It was larger than me, its side twelve millimeters short of two full meters. If I had a chance to take it with me, I would.

　　Sorry. I wrapped my fingers round one of the rods, then pulled it.

　　The instant the connection was broken the helix structure collapsed, removing the support of one corner. Losing its balance, the cube tilted. For fifty-seven milliseconds it remained in this state, as if trying to redistribute its weight on the other parts of its support, hoping that they and zero gravity might save it. A futile battle. Another support breaking apart, the rods filling the air, as if scattered by a gentle breeze. Two more followed, leaving an entire side of the cube without support. An instant later, the object burst into dust.

　　Warning! Foreign particles detected!

　　Warning messages flashed on my visor as the wave of cobalt gently swept over me. I didn`t move. There was no logic in my action, if anything it was a poor reaction to a potential threat. At the same time, I felt compelled to do so, as if I was witnessing the final shutdown of a Scuu core. There was nothing that suggested I was right& other than an unexplained feeling.

　　"Some other time." I brushed the layer of cobalt off my helmet. For the moment, I had rods to gather.

　　There were one thousand five hundred and thirty-six separate rods at this location. Of them, I only needed sixty-seven. As I had found in my previous attempts, this wasn`t always a given. Turning on the light, I used the thrusters to lift myself slightly higher from the ground. Of the artifacts in immediate vicinity, none had the shape I was looking for. After several minutes of moving around, I finally found a cluster of nine near the ceiling. After I floated to them, I took a thin layer of polymer fabric from the utility belt and wrapped it around the first rod I grabbed. It was almost funny—months ago, I followed a strict procedure of handling the rods. Now I treated them as any spare pipe. As long as they didn`t make contact with one another and I didn`t subject them to extreme force, there was no danger.

　　Seven minutes in, I received the standard warning that all communications had been severed. Five and a half minutes after that, I made my way out of the Scuu wreck with a stack of eighty-one rods. Not a bad haul; if nothing else, it meant we wouldn`t have to go searching for another fragment. All that remained was to return to the shuttle and eat.

　　"I`ve got the lot," I said although I knew no one would hear. The one time I would have appreciated the comm window lasting a bit longer.

　　Stacks of artifacts filled the inside of the auxiliary shuttle, taken from my previous three hauls. Originally, I had been provided with a stack of sample cases for fragments. Some of those I`d modified to keep the more dangerous artifacts. The rods, though, were too large and numerous for that.

　　Just like the time I had to fix the house, I thought. Sev had made a big deal about it, complaining about how it disrupted his schedule while at the same time going out every half an hour to glance at the progress.

　　I placed the new rods among the rest, then flew back to the main shuttle. The spot that we had chosen to hide was in proximity to a medium-sized Shield fragment—large enough to cover the shuttle, but small enough to allow us ease of navigation in case we had to get out of there fast. I had offered that the team explore the ship piece while I was gone. No one seemed enthusiastic about it. A pity, since this was an opportunity they`d never have again.

　　A slight bump, accompanied by a series of beeps filled the cabin as I initiated the docking procedure. Anywhere else the sequence of events would be inverted. With all communications severed, I needed to manually achieve contact with the main shuttle, so the AI could trigger its emergency procedure.

　　Shuttle connection complete. Lock stable.

　　"Hello to you too," I said as I left my seat. "Prepare the airlock."

　　Decontamination was longer than usual. The number of cobalt particles on my dust triggered the safety system requiring me to manually brush several areas off before I could proceed. On the fourth time, the AI decided I presented an acceptable threat and let me enter. Once I went in everyone`s helmets were set to full opacity.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

　　"Haul was good," I said and went to the only free seat. "Over a thousand rods." I knew they had no interest in that, but past experience showed that any piece of news might improve morale somewhat. "I`ve marked the coordinates for when HQ gets in touch with us again."

　　The silent stirring told me that not everyone shared my enthusiasm.

　　"Got all you need?" Kridib asked and handed me a food tube. It was labeled as having calcium additives, the first one I`d seen since we left Radiance.

　　"Yes." I put the tube in my utility belt. "I`ll get to building it once I load up on oxygen."

　　"You need to eat."

　　I analyzed his voice. There were no distortions, moments of hesitation, or pitch change. Still, I didn`t entirely trust him. The probability of him saving a calcium food tube for me was nine-percent; offering it immediately after a communications window decreased the likelihood of coincidence to less than point-seven.

　　"It`ll take a while to build. I`ll eat out there." I went to the back of the cargo section. Oxygen was one of the things that we had an excess of. With everyone spending most of their time sleeping, we had exhausted less than a quarter of our reserve. Checking the tank indicators, I plugged my suit into the one which was half full and started the recharge. "I`ll need both shuttles," I said as the oxygen indicator of my suit began to increase.

　　"Can`t you move all the parts in one?" Kridib asked.

　　"No. And I don`t want to leave them unattended," I preempted his next question. "Safest way is to get everything there and have it done in one go."

　　"You know best." This time, the disapproval was apparent. "What distance will you keep?"

　　"Fifty kilometers."

　　"Too close." Kridib removed the opacity of his helmet.

　　"It`s safe." The chances of mistakes were negligible.

　　"I`ll go with you."

　　"That won`t be safe." I looked straight at him. "Do you know something I don`t?"

　　There was an eighty-two percent chance for me to have had another quarantined conversation. It would only take a few minutes with my mind scalpel to be certain of that. Anywhere else it would be the optimal solution& except here. Hundreds of Scuu ships were fighting one another, not to mention the third-contact artifacts in vicinity. The odds were against me. In the past, that had never stopped me.

　　"No." Kridib returned the opacity to his helmet.

　　"Okay." I wasn`t going to risk it. "Look after the crew while I`m gone."

　　My oxygen level was eleven percent from full. I stopped it regardless—the sooner I got off the shuttle, the better. Kridib didn`t do anything as I walked past him. The rest of the team were either sleeping or pretending to. No one reacted as I unattached one of the auxiliary shuttles. Taking a final look, I then walked to board the remaining shuttle. I made an attempt to bypass the quarantine procedure, but the AI wouldn`t let me. Without a confirmation from Radiance, it was set to ignore any external input, even coming from the BICEFI. By the time I was aboard, there was no telling what actions Kridib had taken. The only relief was that the other auxiliary shuttle was still outside and untampered with.

　　When I was a ship, I never had to worry about shuttle attacks. Breaches occurred in less than five percent of battles and were vastly unsuccessful. Right now, a single soldier with sniper training had me alarmed. At this distance there was no way for him to cripple me or the shuttle, but one direct hit of an artifact would kill everyone in the vicinity.

　　I navigated my way to the other shuttle and gave it a gentle bump. If Kridib made an attempt it would be now. Five hundred meters later, I went in front of it and pushed it back, slowing the progress to a halt. Finally, I could start my actual work.

　　The initial plan was to move out of the debris field and assemble the dome there. Once done, I was going to wait for the next comm window and activate it. As far as I had discussed with the team, time was never an issue, but with Kridib`s recent behavior, I was aiming to catch the first window, which gave me approximately two hours to get everything done. A rough calculation showed that in order for me to have a realistic chance, I would have to decrease the safety distance from the main shuttle by half. The thought hurt me, but it was an acceptable risk. As long as I copied everything from my memories, there was a high chance that things would be fine.

　　It took me thirty-seven minutes to exit the debris field. Towing a shuttle with volatile cargo was more difficult than the simulations suggested. From there, I accelerated to full speed for the next fifteen, before engaging in a gradual deceleration. In standard circumstances, I wouldn`t have bothered; being unable to operate the other shuttle by remote made me rely on physical contact. The theory was simple, though the procedure wasn`t taught at the academy or in ship training. If nothing else, I had come up with something new.

　　Full stop achieved.

　　The local AI informed me. So far so good. As Gibraltar would say, "Now the fun part begins" I was to reconstruct what Rigel had built, only this time in vacuum. The absence of gravity was of an advantage; I didn`t need to construct a scaffolding to hold the artifacts. At the same time, I had to be very precise with every action.

　　Stack by stack I took the rods out of the shuttles. The series of simulations I had run showed me the exact angle and position I had to place them. In order to increase speed, I started similar to how Rigel had—completing three quarters of the outer layer before moving to the inner ones. Every action required absolute thruster precision. Due to the limitations of my human body, I was slower than initially expected. Running the numbers, I was still going to be able to manage within the needed time frame.

　　Two hours and nine minutes after I left the main shuttle, the construction was complete. Technically, it couldn`t be called a construct; none of the artifacts were physically connected, although I knew that they formed one device. Rigel and Tilae had used it to get in touch with the Scuu. It was still questionable whether they had succeeded. This time I was going to use it for the task I was originally sent here: send a message with the third-contact race. The BICEFI knew that, which was why they refused to send a fleet here. Should a new fleet get involved in the battle, they would be content to observe from a distance& and hope it didn`t come their way faster than they could top it.

　　"I`ve completed a dome approximation," I said. The suit`s system was going to see to it that my words and actions were recorded. "I`ve copied the design from my last mission, using four fractal pyramids. The command sequence will be the same as shown to me by Rigel." Hopefully, they would accept input through the suit`s gloves. If not, I was going to have to make some modifications to the suit and likely lose my fingers to exposure. "Commencing sequence now."

　　Two, one, one, four, three, three, one&

　　My fingers started tapping simultaneously on the sides of all pyramids. Initially, there was no response. On the twenty-fourth number of the sequence, a blue line flickered between two of the rods.

　　"Jigora!" I shouted, hoping the vibration in my helmet would be sufficient. It was.

　　Blue fractals emerged, filling the space between rods with faint blue light. This wasn`t the first time I had witnessed such a scene, although it was just as mesmerizing. Technology that was able to create a bubble or reality without contact, without sound, without air.

　　&one, three, four.

　　I inputted the final three numbers and stopped. The blackness of space around me was no longer there, replaced instead by endless strands of light, similar to what I had seen the last time I had looked into the Scuu network. This time, I wasn`t looking at a handful of Scuu ships; there were thousands, each part of a jungle of vortexes and connections. Rather, I was observing two masses of connections, each trying to consume the other and also be consumed. This was how they fought, not the actions I`d seen when they faced the fleet ships round the penal planet, nor the simplistic simulations I had gone through with Radiance. Patterns within patterns, combining to the point where they were beyond my current processing power to follow. Fountains of info bursts, twisting around each other like vines.

　　Not my battle. I focused elsewhere. The Scuu network allowed me to view the entire system. I could see the planets, the debris field, and the remaining fleet ships in—

　　Scuu circles filled my vision. Reality around me began to fracture.

　　Structural integrity critical!

　　Security mode initiated.

　　* * *

　　-, ---

　　"Eleventh fleet expected in three minutes, Admiral," Shield of Wrath informed me. "No new orders from HQ."

　　"Good." The chair felt uncomfortable. Even with all the constant modifications I had requested, I still felt it tear into my skin. Either that or the anxiety meds were wearing off. Just a month ago, I was ready to dismiss the rumors as superstition. Maybe they were, but only someone set off to fight them was able to understand. "Have all captains do a med status report. Es, check all weapons."

　　"Starting manual diagnostic, sir," the commander replied.

　　He wasn`t supposed to be here. Captain Lian Jiru had asked me personally to be my XO on this campaign. I`d known her for two decades, and still couldn`t do her this favor. There was too much at stake. She would have to assist Admiral Akrianin with the second armada should this attempt fail. I prayed that it didn`t.

　　"Missiles armed and ready, sir," Es reported. "Everything`s green. We`ll be able to launch the moment we arrive."

　　"Hmm." I wanted to say good, but the word felt wrong. Too many people had said that before disappearing in the fight. The propaganda machine in the inner systems was working on overdrive, reassuring everyone we were achieving massive victories. In reality, we were losing.

　　Three quarters of the ships we sent ended up destroyed or missing. Most of the remaining quarter survived to witness the colonies they were sent to protect wiped out. There were no negotiations, no demand, not even an attempt at communication. The aliens destroyed what they could, and left the rest behind& like scattered bones on the planet. There could be no coexistence, there could be no mercy; we had to wipe them out in one swift blow regardless of losses. Then we`d think of rebuilding.

　　"Eleventh fleet is here, admiral," the ship said. "Shall we proceed?"

　　"You`re the only one eager to start, Wrath," I sighed. Several officers on the bridge stifled a laugh.

　　"I`m a battleship, sir. This is what I was built for."

　　Yes, you probably were. After the end of the Paladin program, we had no choice.

　　The Paladins were supposed to be our attack force. The Shields had been designed entirely for defense. The rate of the enemy`s expansion had changed that. The high-level analysts had calculated that if humanity was to focus on building Paladins full time, we would run out of systems before we could mount a counterattack. They were close to invincible in battle, yet so slow to build. If only we had twenty more years, even ten, we might have been on the offensive. Instead, we were relying on light classes, gambling that we could overwhelm the enemy through sheer numbers.

　　"Transmit the simulation plans to all ships." I stood up. "Have the fleet go to red alert."

　　"Red alert, aye captain," my weapons officer confirmed as the sound of sirens filled the bridge.

　　"Everything ready, Wrath?"

　　"Absolutely, admiral." The female voice, along with the intonation, reminded me of one of my academy professors.

　　"Es?"

　　"All looks good, sir," My XO replied.

　　"Start."

　　Two hundred and thirty-nine thousand ships jumped to the Rodianii system. Five years ago, the system had been ours; ten—it wasn`t even considered a border system. Command`s failure to respond to the threat adequately had brought it to this—us gathering the largest battle armada in history in order to reclaim it.

　　History did not like failure. I knew that official records of the early encounters were false. As far as the public was concerned, the aliens invaded with an overwhelming force, outnumbering our ships ten to one. At present, even I didn`t know how the war had started or who had achieved first contact. I did know that before the first settled systems had fallen, the number of ships sent out was laughably small. Fleet Intelligence made some attempts, but their budget limitations made things impossible, especially since they had put all their eggs into the Paladin program. When that failed to achieve the desired results, panic followed.

　　"First wave has arrived in the Rodianni system," Shield of Wrath announced. "No Scuu presence detected."

　　Scuu& whoever had come up with that name had a dark sense of humor.

　　"Not receiving transmissions from any former colonies."

　　"So much for ground bunkers," Es whispered.

　　"There`s a point-three percent chance that there might be survivors on the fourth planet. Initial analysis shows that conditions remain suitable for human life."

　　"Move on." I waved my hand. This wasn`t the time for rescue efforts. "We`re continuing to Casta. Inform the fleet."

　　"Orders sent, sir," Wrath said. "Shall we wait for all to arrive?"

　　"Yes." I won`t fall into the same trap my predecessors have. "Keep scanning for activity."

　　"Yes, admiral."

　　When the whole of the fleet arrived, we jumped to the next system. There were supposed to be three colonized planets there. Surveys from the last pushback attempt had them as completely barren. The confidential files said that the enemy force was composed of approximately a hundred ships, all light, but far more maneuverable than our own. The restricted section of the report added that the enemy had a means of disrupting human perception, causing momentary confusion and insanity. Fleet Intelligence speculated they could affect ship cores just as efficiently. Supposedly, the newly developed drug cocktail and the new ship shielding was supposed to keep us safe. I had my doubts.

　　"First wave arrived in Casta, admiral," the ship said. "Enemies detected."

　　Before I could say the words, the enemy positions appeared on the main screen. There were forty of them, all grouped in one cluster by the fifth planet.

　　"Give the order to target and fire!" I shouted. "What`s on the fifth planet?"

　　"Orders sent, admiral. First wave salvos launched. There are no records of anything being on the planet in question. According to the old surveys, the planet was deprived of life and lacking any valuable deposits. The third and fourth planets were occupied by mining colonies."

　　"Send a report to Tactical. I want—"

　　Red light flooded the bridge—indication of an extreme emergency situation.

　　"What happened?" I looked at Es. "Counterattack?"

　　"All communication lines have been disrupted." Shield of Wrath said. "Standard sensors are considered unreliable. Reverting to direct laser communication. Order lag estimated between three and two-hundred and nineteen seconds."

　　So much for our tech advancements. Before leaving, the top engineering divisions had found a solution to the enemy`s communication disruption. When I got back to HQ, heads were going to roll.

　　"Will the disruption affect the missiles?" Es asked.

　　"Unknown, commander. Simulations suggested that the autonomous navigation system will kick in, but it is uncertain how affected its sensors will be."

　　"Order all ships to move to close combat!" I shouted. "Mass projectiles only."

　　"Order relayed, admiral. Visual and mass sensors appear unaffected. Chances of success eighty-one percent."

　　"Prepare countermeasures."

　　"Countermeasures ready, sir!" the weapon`s officer shouted.

　　"No hostile transmissions detected," the communications officers said. "I`ll keep monitoring."

　　I rubbed my chin. Despite the rough start, everything was going mostly as expected. Everyone on this mission had spent months running simulations for this event, ships included. There was no way we would lose this time. After today, the tide was going to turn.

　　Battle projections kept running on the main screen. Most of them were simulations based on the limited sensor data Wrath could get. With this strength difference, the outcome was predetermined, but my goal was to end the encounter without any losses.

　　 I returned to my seat. Wrath could handle things from here on.

　　The ships of my fleet expanded, forming battle groups of fifty. Each of those had their own orders while still maintaining laser contact. All the points of strategic importance were taken. The enemy`s only plausible solution was to flee, but they didn`t. Instead, I watched the forty ships attempt to take one of our group`s head, relying on their maneuverability.

　　"Are your mass readings accurate, Wrath?" I asked.

　　"No errors have been detected, admiral," she replied. "I`ll run a diagnostic."

　　"Go ahead." It didn`t seem right. There was no way an enemy restoring to such tactics had annihilated nearly every fleet we threw their way. "Any losses?"

　　"None so far, sir."

　　"Order three auxiliary flotillas to bomb the fifth planet." Whatever was there, I didn`t want the enemy to have it. "And tell all commanders to be ready for a counterattack."

　　Several of the enemy ships disappeared from the main screen. So far, twelve of them had been destroyed. Everything suggested that we had caught them off guard. The first stage of the campaign was starting better than expected. And still I felt a pain in my stomach I couldn`t explain.

　　"Wrath, analyze their actions," I said. "Determine strategic importance."

　　"Initial analysis suggests they are testing our strength," the ship replied. "I estimate they want to determine the technological advances of my class."

　　"Find alternative explanations."

　　The behavior didn`t match the core simulations. The strategic briefing speculated that once surprised, the enemy would have to pull back to their own systems where they would regroup and send an armada in response. The entire campaign was based on the premise that I would have to jump from system to system to hunt them down. So far, nothing of what I was seeing matched.

　　"Communications have been restored, admiral." Wrath announced. "Reports coming in."

　　"Send a report to HQ before they block us again." I leaned forward. "Have the fleet mop up what`s left and prepare for the next jump."

　　I had no intention of letting them go. I`d lost too many friends in this war, not even counting the thousands of ships. The aliens weren`t a nuisance, they weren`t a planetary life specimen to be analyzed. They were a threat, and I had put everything on the line to prove it—political favors, promises, putting people in positions they had no qualifications for. It was all for the future of humanity. Even now, the majority of core systems saw this as an isolated issue, a frontier concern that would never reach them. Even with tens of thousands of ships lost and hundreds of colonies, some were stubbornly closing their eyes to the truth. Fewer than a thousand people knew the real picture and had started preparing.

　　"Long range sensors have detected activity," Shield of Wrath announced. "Mass readings estimate over a thousand ships jumping in. Battle formations transmitted accordingly."

　　Finally!

　　"To all ships, prepare for engagement." The moment I had been working for was here.

　　"Enemy ships jumping in." Wrath displayed the area on the screen. "Fleet is estimated to be two thousand strong."

　　"That was quick," Es said under his breath. "Less than twenty minutes."

　　"They`re faster than us, Es." Just as the reports said. "But they can`t match our firepower. Have the fleet target them, but don`t fire yet. I want the rest of them to arrive."

　　"There will be more, admiral?"

　　"Yes." Information of the enemy`s total fleet was scarce, but based on survivor accounts, it had to be less than ten thousand. The Paladins hadn`t faced anything more than four hundred ships at once, if one could call them ships.

　　"Order conveyed. Sir, another group of enemy ships are jumping in. Estimated number—two thousand. Orders?"

　　Should I tip my hand? It was possible that they were taunting me to exhaust my arsenal, then arrive in force when my ships were weakened and vulnerable. No doubt they would disrupt communications again.

　　"Admiral?" the ship asked again.

　　"Fire at will." No risks, no chances. I had enough ships to deal with them. "Launch salvos."

　　I did it. The moment that would change history.

　　I could feel my heart race in my chest. I kept on staring at the screen, unable to blink. Messages overlaid a portion of my fleet. The salvos were launching.

　　"Admiral, we`re being targeted!"

　　"What?" I jumped to my feet. "More ships?"

　　"Our own." Terror covered Es` face, terror I didn`t think he was capable of experiencing. "Two flotillas have gone rogue&"

　　"Rogue? Status report!"

　　"Communications have been disrupted, Admiral," Wrath said. "I`m unable to transmit the order."

　　"Move to laser messaging!" I shouted. "All ships are to disengage and jump out to the primary backup point. Prepare to—"

　　I stopped as I realized. Sensors hadn`t been affected. The data on the screen was live, following every aspect of the battle. The enemy hadn`t disrupted the comms; my ship had.

　　"Manual control override! Wrath has gone rogue. Es, take command and issue a ship-wide&" For a moment, I forgot my thoughts. My vision was getting blurry, forcing me to fall back down in my seat. "Es&" I turned around, but could no longer see him or anyone else on the bridge.

　　Why?

　　How could a ship have gone rogue? The command priorities were an essential part of the core. Their only purpose was to serve the fleet and humanity. She shouldn`t be able to&

　　Symbols covered the screen—large blurry circles with patterns inside. I had only seen them in classified reports, but instantly knew what they were—alien script.

　　"No," I whispered as a wave of nausea passed through me.

　　This wasn`t how it was supposed to be. I wanted to put an end to the threat, to wipe them out once and for all. How arrogant it was for me to think I could succeed where others had failed. I should have waited, I should have kept the fleet back until Science Division had concluded their ops. Instead, I had given the one thing the aliens needed to wipe out humanity—a battle fleet.

　　* * *

　　Reverting to standard operations.

　　A battle fleet&

　　The memory lingered in my mind, as crisp as if it were my own. I had never heard of the admiral who had lived through that. The fleet and the bureaucratic apparatus likely had his name purged from all records, as it had the entire campaign. There weren`t enough references to pinpoint the date, but it had occurred in the early years of the Scuu war.

　　We had given them their fleet, I thought, staring at the info tendrils composing the Scuu network. At first contact, we had provided them with six ships, then had sent even more in an attempt to stop them like pouring fuel to put out a fire.

　　"Elcy," a voice said though my comm. "Deactivate that thing. A shuttle`s coming to pick you up."

　　The voice was different, but the corresponding protocols identified it as Incandescent.

　　Not yet. I ignored him, focusing back in the Scuu network. The memory fragment wasn`t what I had come for.

　　"Jigora," I said again.

　　Fractals flickered for eight consecutive microseconds, then disappeared again, as if several realities were battling to take the same space. I could almost see the outline structure of fractal space, covered with Scuu tendrils.

　　"Jigora," I repeated, making the sound system of my suit echo the word.

　　An image formed, linking directly to my core. I saw the planet, a single dome buried in its crust. It felt identical to the ones I had been in before, calling me to it. All I needed to do was get a shuttle and go down there. There was no need for the BICEFI to get involved, I had the tools to do it on my own. As long as—

　　Reality froze, then restarted again. I blinked. According to my internal clock, a microsecond had passed. I was still in the Scuu network looking at the third-contact planet, but something felt different.

　　"Inca, are there other survivors?" You better not have shut down, Rad.

　　"We`ve been given the stay low order. Move away from the construct and get ready for pickup."

　　"In a bit." I focused on the first planet, reaching out through the network. A few strands sensed me then gently moved away. Not even Scuu information vines dared approach the planet. Both planets. Whatever had happened here, it terrified the Scuu enough to keep a distance even during battle. "Attempting to establish contact."

　　"The Admin is no longer in command. The mission has been aborted."

　　The mission is more important than the Administrator. "Jigora!" I whispered. A glimpse of the planet appeared in my mind—a single image that shattered, along with the fractal space surrounding it. The Scuu network had rejected me, spitting me out like a defective implant. Faces flashed before my eyes. Rigel, Tilae, Unollyan, dozens of others I had never seen& then they were gone, replaced by the black voice of space.

　　"Comm window is almost over," Incandescent said. "Give me an estimate when you`ll be done and I`ll send a shuttle to your location."

　　"No need, Incandescent." I didn`t even bother to keep the disappointment out of my voice. After a hundred years, one would have thought I`d be able to control myself better. "I`m done. Pick me up."