Karmmrak

Gideon

He dreamed.

The terrifying weight of the universe imposed itself upon Gideon. He was suddenly in the blackness of space, jarred by the unusual change of location. One moment The Dusk had handed him fate itself, and the next he attempted a fishing expedition for information. And he caught far more than he could handle. The humbling dread and minimality coursed through him as he witnessed the universe draped out in front of him. He wanted to look away, to curl up away from his stark reminded mortality and hide, but he could not.

He tried turning away, only to see a planet nearby. The blue ocean, green landmasses, and white clouds instantly grounded him, a familiar landmark in a sea of starry dotted disquieting blackness. It was familiar only in the sense that it was a habitable world. He was pulled in by a mysterious orbit. He was too far away for it to be the planet’s gravity well; Nor the lone grey moon’s. The panic of staring into the mortal oblivion called the universe had subsided, allowing him to pause and think.

More strange dreams. And I only remember them once I’m dreaming…

The boy and the bizarre sacrifice. And then the massive nightmare creature that knew me. The nun named Ruth and her dying mother. Paternal or religious? That military leader noticed me in the dream, or was my dream through the eyes of a bystander? And then someone spoke after each dream. ‘Must be flight nerves’ is no longer a valid excuse. This is something different. Something new. Which planet is this? I see only a single large green continent, a single grey moon, large sea.

He glanced to the largest celestial body, the sun, seeing a glowing sphere shining like a beacon in the dark.

White sun… Milky Way Galaxy? Europa?

His thoughts were interrupted by a vessel leaving FTL, snapping into existence. His own consciousness rushed to the ship, jarring him as the cruiser came fully into view.

Gideon did not recognize the foreign vessel’s design. The bristling weaponry left little doubt to the purpose of such a vessel. He glanced behind the cruiser, seeing more vessels exiting FTL.

Smaller vessels, sloops, and frigates, followed behind in a grid formation.

All had varying levels of weaponry. He could find no real discernable pattern, theme, or make for the ships, confirming that it was a ragtag fleet.

Pirates? Corsairs?

More sloops and frigates exited FTL.

And more.

Thousands of them.

Each sloop was large enough to house around two hundred men, a frigate, close to a thousand, a cruiser, close to six thousand men. There was no doubt.

It was an invasion fleet.

They were already within striking distance of the defenseless world. Gideon spotted no other fleet or defenses on the planet, or the grey orbiting moon.

For Gideon who had thousands of hours of strategy simulators, there was only one outcome.

That planet’s done for.

Thinking about it, the defenders, if there were any, had the advantage. With the massive fleet invading an undefended planet, would mean they’d be vulnerable to simultaneous counterattacks. It was a strategy to let one planet fall temporarily while backdooring into suddenly vulnerable sectors. Information won battles; misinformation won wars.

Nobody is that stupid enough to overcommit, not even the Federacy. So, they must be pirates. Stack a planet, smash and grab, flee the system.

Gideon spotted pulse onagers among some of the frigates. The frigates were built around the massive railguns.

An interplanetary railgun, capable of shooting projectiles FTL, was being used for planetary combat.

Are they idiots?

It was the equivalent of charging a wall with a catapult.

His perception was taken into the cruiser. It took several seconds for him to process the jarring change of scenery. What was even more disturbing were the crew and captain. Many had garish and obviously combat offensive cybernetic upgrades more at home with a slaughterhouse than a spaceship. The captain emitted an aura of disquieting dread, with his left arm replaced with a grey segmented organic arm more out of nightmare than reality. His long coat and hat looked more appropriate to the ancient earth high-seas era than intergalactic space. His right arm glowed with LEDs, implying QSD.

Gideon recognized it right away.

Primetech PMC-QSD. Older model. More for private military contractors and special-ops...

Behind him were more disturbing looking individuals. Another class of alien species he had never seen before. Their dark bony heads were eyeless and featureless apart from the jutting jagged toothed maws. All thirteen were robed, wielding staves with strange shapes and decorative designs.

The captain glanced back to his unholy retinue. He spoke with a blunt and gruff tone

“Magi. Report!”

One of the thirteen spoke. Gideon’s ears revolted upon hearing the verbal equivalent of blasphemy.

“Only a single glowing one. Our god ordained us victory. It is as he foresees.”

The captain scoffed at that, taking to the helm.

Gideon quickly glanced at the tech, finding it a mishmash of recognizable parts.

Primetech bulkheads… Federacy quantum computers, Bordeaux seating, Panasian display screen… How were they allowed to accumulate so much wealth?

The strange creatures continued in their torturous tongue.

“And others are present. They are witnessing us.”

The captain scowled, finding their alerts unhelpful.

“Witnessing? Who?” He demanded, showing a short temper.

OK, this is probably the smallest, yet weirdest detail; I’m dreaming of people who know I’m dreaming of them. What the hell? What in the damn is this kind of dream??

The beings replied back calmly.

“We can only sense that others survey us. Their identity is unknown to us.”

The captain shook his head at that and then smiled as he adjusted his hat.

“Then let’s give them a good show, eh?” He declared.

The crew shouted and bellowed as they got to their posts.

A loud voice thundered, broadcasting to what felt like everywhere. Gideon was shaken by the utterance of the unknown party.

“You will power down or be annihilated. This is your only warning,” the voice was of thunder booming, of rivers flowing, bass and imposing.

The captain gazed at the viewscreen with red glowing eyes and a grimace affixed at the obvious loss of control. Everyone was shaken, including the thirteen magi.

“Well!? Report!” He bellowed at his crew.

“Sir, all ships report the same transmission. Vessel dead ahead-”

“I see it; I have eyes! Get information. One-thousand kilometers apart; no grouping! Get a quarter of the fleet to the planet, we’ll tie it up here! Get the ‘emissary’ to distract. And remember, you dumb bastards, no shooting the planet!”

“Aye!” The crew bellowed a cry.

Gideon had little context or understanding of what exactly in the name of heaven and hell was going on. But he had little time to ponder as his perception snapped to the ‘glowing one’ in question.

A strange brass teardrop vessel with several smaller teardrops in orbit around the midsection stood in the way between the fleet and the planet. A single strange and gorgeous vessel against a fleet. A ratio of thousands to one. It was unlike any ship design he had ever seen.

What the hell is that? Empire of Dusk? No, doesn’t even look like their ships...

A lone pirate sloop flew out to meet with the vessel. It stopped within a kilometer of the ship. Gideon stared on, seeing the meeting of the factions.

And then the sloop detonated with the force of a supernova. Gideon was blinded by the treacherous act. The detonation was silent, to his mercy, lest his eardrums scramble to liquid in an atmospheric environment. The vessel was a trap.

A sloop rigged with solar bombs.

Shit! Was it manned?

Solar bombs, which were banned from wartime use due to the destructive nature. An instant sun-in-a-jar some called it. And it appeared those flying it had no qualms of sacrifice.

The blinding red sphere of light vanished as quickly as it came, leaving a white-hot glowing vessel.

Gideon didn’t know what to think, seeing a ship survive an impact against a mini-supernova was impossible.

A black circular portal opened up just beneath the teardrop vessel, which it sank down and vanished from sight. The sloops and frigates broke off, with a large group heading to the planet. The cruiser stayed immobile, managing the battle from afar.

Gideon’s perception snapped to a black portal near those rushing the planet, almost imperceptible to the invaders. The vessel appeared, intercepting the would-be looters. It glowed like a sun as it fired a small red sphere. The sphere lazily drifted long, before arcing into a sloop.

The sphere detonated into a several thousand-mile cone, angling towards a line of vessels. Dozens of frigates and sloops vanished to molecules, leaving the charging vessels in chaos at the sudden loss, with many of the vessels drifting dead in space from the radiative heat. The lone ship took on its brass sheen one again.

Oh my god...

The savage instant destruction was something Gideon could not process.

Something is certainly not right here. Whatever this brass vessel is, it is beyond anything I’ve seen.

The Brass suddenly dropped in the middle of deep space, as if gravity had sway; and even then down was simply a perspective to Gideon. There was no up or down in space. Or falling. And yet the vessel ‘fell’, dodging the return fire of dazzling lasers, pulse cannons, and fury of tempest cannon rounds. Space was suddenly filled to the brim with hot glowing death from all directions, all of it directed at the Brass as it out-maneuvered everything.

Nothing should have been capable of flying at such speeds or with such agility. The Brass stopped on a dime, one of its smaller teardrops fired a golden arc of lightning. Except it lazily drifted along, dancing and tracking the closest ship. The sloops and frigates bugged out, avoiding the unknown threat. The Brass raised a portal as a shield, catching the first of the pulse onager volley. And then returned it to sender. One of the frigates detonated in a brief flash of white light at the impact.

Not even Prosine could have tracked and returned a pulse onager round… Not with a thousand wormhole gates. That’s beyond human. Or anform!

The Brass deftly backed into a portal as the shower of return fire missed. Gideon’s perception snapped to an onager frigate as it attempted to track the vessel, still unaware the Brass was gone.

A dark portal opened behind the frigate. The Brass reshaped its hull freely like liquid into a coiled spike.

And then struck out as it punched through the frigate’s stern, deep into the hull. The Brass maneuvered the hooked frigate, pointing its massive nose-gun into the backline. It had somehow taken control and fired the frigate’s pulse onager, with two more ships vanishing as the sabot punched through them.

Its coiled arm reshaped, open like a pair of scissors, bisecting the frigate down the middle. The two halves floated away, their engines still running as the crew spilled into space.

Jesus Christ...

The lazy golden lightning had struck true, connecting to a distracted sloop. It exploded into an electrical nebula, sending bits of the ship tumbling through space. The nebula dispersed more golden lightning, which began to track more vessels. Gideon could see panic set into the fleet as many began to scatter and flee.

The first frigate left into FTL.

That very same frigate exited its jump back towards the planet as if it was somehow locked inside the planetary system. The frigate promptly collided with a sloop, merging both vessels into a tangled heap of molten metal.

It did ask them nicely to surrender...

Gideon had just witnessed almost a dozen unbelievable things in the span of a few minutes.

More ships detonated from the lightning, turning into heated slag and golden nebulas, which in turn created slower writhing lightning. The Brass rushed past a sloop, peppering it with golden energy. The energy shielding shattered as the sloop warped and bent under the fire, being filled with thousands of holes. Gideon could see through the ship as it gently floated away, spinning in circles.

Many of the vessels surrendered, shutting down entirely. The golden lightning avoided any that powered down. The Brass reshaped its hull to a paper-thin blade as it rammed a frigate, passing through it. The bisected frigate drifted apart, the vessel destroyed.

The Brass’s hull expanded and shaped, becoming a large netting of coiled metal. It rushed past a sloop, ripping into the vessel as it passed, taking large chunks out of the now-destroyed ship. Gideon nodded, accepting that he would have lost a bet. The pirates were routed, with the cruiser remaining untouched from all of this. The fleet was either halting altogether, or in ruins. Small golden motes glinted against the darkness of space, similar to his dream of the battlefield and the nun.

His perception was pulled to the bridge of the cruiser. Inside, the crew was broken, with many staring off into nothing. The captain sat, palming his head with his unmodified arm. The alien magi were trembling, muttering blasphemies to themselves.

“He lied... “

“Our god lied…”

“...Bait, used, exploited…”

“Liar, liar, liar!”

“Will you shut your goddamn mouths!” The captain roared as a blinding violet beam left his segmented arm, turning one of the magi to instant ash, melting through the floor and the far wall. The other magi went silent, gazing impassively at the collapsing white-hot liquid metal.

What the hell are those things..?

A dark portal opened up, and the Brass began its entry into the cruiser’s bridge. It reshaped itself again, the hull flowing like water. The figure changed to a humanoid physique, dropping to the bridge with a slamming impact, his back to the crew and Gideon.

He stood well over nine feet, towering above everyone else. He wore a white and gold-trimmed waistcloth. His brass body was made of well-defined muscle. Ten curved, thin, bladed wings adorned the strange creature’s back, with golden lightning arcing between them.

The remaining magi rushed in a rage, more akin to a mob of mad furious animals.

The brass being turned, surprising Gideon with its otherworldly humanoid face. The being sported a platinum gorget that traveled down to his shoulders. A massive glowing halo of light appeared. And then the being glowed like the sun.

The magi shrieked, along with the captain and crew. Gideon turned away with covered eyes, finding no matter what he did, the light still blinded him.

The glowing ceased, with Gideon finding the bridge eerily quiet. Gideon glanced at the scene, blinking away the blinding retina burn. The magi had vanished, leaving behind burned out shadowy silhouettes along the floor. The captain sat slumped in his seat, breathing heavily. His segmented arm was gone, with blood flowing down his shoulder and coat.

Gone was the intimidating presence of the captain, and all that remained was an old burnt-out man.

The being faced him fully, head cocked high, eyes glaring down as yellow glowing spheres. It spoke, his voice was a booming bassy flowing river.

“You ignored my warning, ignored the signs that this planet was off-limits. By the rules of combat, you and the souls of your crew are mine.”

The captain stood as he gazed up at the larger being, eyes unfocused as he stared at the divine being. Gideon caught the crimsons stains and dripping chair, the pool of blood at his feet. It was almost a single man’s worth of blood that was spilled from the wounds and yet the captain still stood. He did not appear to be an average human. Glowing violet light emitted from his hand, revealing a coagulant spray. The captain nonchalantly sprayed the wound shut, tossing the canister aside. He looked undeniably tired.

He spoke, his voice ragged.

“Well? What do I call my captor?” The captain asked impatiently.

The brass being cocked his head, the captains lack of fear or respect not lost on him.

“It appears you have all forgotten and diverted from the path of truth.”

“And? What of it?” The captain retorted.

The crew was silent at the challenge.

Jesus, the size of this guy’s set…

“I am Archangel Chamuel, The One Who Seeks God.”

Gideon stomach dropped.

Angel? They’re real? Like-

The captain interrupted Gideon’s thoughts.

“Chamuel? Eh? And what does the Archangel of Peace, Angel of hypocrisy, The one who seeks God’s-”

The Archangel was suddenly looming over the captain, kneeling down at eye level. The angel blurred, faster than thought as Chamuel grabbed the captain. He could see the intense look on the angel as he gripped the man’s wounded shoulder and jaw. He spoke in a whisper of an implied tidal wave. The captain grunted in pain.

“Do you believe I will not humble the proud? Or dole out justice to those who knew the truth and denied it? Or clip the tongue of the blasphemer?”

The captain’s eyes went wide as he gave a quick nod. The angel let go and used a finger to gently push the man back into the captain’s chair.

“And now what? Become prisoners?” The captain asked, his voice rasping.

The angel glanced to where Gideon stood. He swore the angel was staring at him.

“I don’t take prisoners,” the angel answered bluntly.

As if by queue, one of his wingtips brushed the floor, grounding the golden lightning into the deck, melting an arc into the steel.

The captain snapped his mouth shut, eyes darting as he tried to think of something- anything to save his hide. The remaining crew trembled at the implication.

“Execution?”

Someone had spoken the word that no one dared speak. The captain glared in the direction of the noise as if those very words would give the angel ideas.

“No,” Chamuel replied as he glanced back to the captain, “Prisoners do not benefit the Kingdom, nor does the senseless slaughter. I am not an angel that enslaves, but one that sets free,”

The captain glanced around the room, visibly confused.

The angel continued, his tone was warmer.

“You will be stewards to the Kingdom. My stewards,”

The captain paused, squinting his eyes at the angel.

“You mean after all that is said and done, we’re being made into butlers?”

“In a way, yes. Although this is not just any planet,” The angel retorted.

The captain glanced from the angel to the empty spaces in the room, looking for someone.

The Archangel glanced to Gideon, confirming his concern that he was noticed inside the dream. Just like the bizarre phantasmagoria from before.

“This is Earth,” the angel declared.

A shiver ran down his spine at the mention of mankind’s homeland.

“Captain, vessel to stern; exiting FTL!” One of the crew bellowed.

The Archangel closed his eyes, shoulders slouching.

“I do believe you were used as bait. The only thing you can do now is to flee to the planet and find shelter. Now,”

The captain narrowed his eyes, understanding flooding to him. For Gideon, all that was left was to have everyone speak in gibberish, then his confusion would be made complete.

“You can feel them, can you?” The captain asked quietly.

The Archangel breathed a sigh as he replied.

“I sense a group of very powerful gods, deities, and demons,”

Gods, deities… Demons? What? Gideon thought, at a loss at understanding anything.

Blinding golden light emitted from Chamuel’s upturned hand and golden motes began to flow from outside to the inside of the vessel. They coalesced into a large yellow crystal spire, held in his upturned hand. He knelt down, depositing the large crystal to the deck.

“Captain, take care of the souls of your men so that those demons cannot.”

The angel leaned in closer.

“What is your name?”

The captain perked up at that.

“Uh, Captain Jeremy Harker, former pirate and newly minted steward to the Kingdom of Heaven,”

The Angel laughed at the man’s cleverness as he continued. The angel glanced back to Gideon, nodding to him.

I think he’s telling me to remember that name… How the hell does he know I’m here?

“Good. Captain Harker, gather as many survivors as you can, head to Earth,”

A portal opened above Archangel Chamuel as he flowed out of the vessel to the outside.

How can he do that without vacuuming them into space?- You know what, I don’t care anymore.

Gideon’s perception was pulled away back into space. He saw the massive vessel in the distance. A capital ship.

Smaller beings began to leave the ship, small specks in the darkness. The new arrivals began to change forms similar to Chamuel.

One became a small black sphere, a silhouette in the black space.

A second transformed into tendrils of emerald green morphing flesh.

A third morphed into a massive gathering of twisted grey crystals. The crystalline vessel was larger than the others.

A fourth ship came about behind the cruiser. It was shaped like twisted metal and resembled the maw of a horrific monster. Inside Gideon could see fire and flame spilling out from every crevice. It was huge, dwarfing the other. It had two wicked eyes, viewing Chamuel with what Gideon could see was a single look. Smug victory.

There was a fifth and final demon. Due to its size, it could only be considered a god, or possibly a celestial object. It grew in size, appearing to be a sphere of black bubbling oil. It kept growing and flying backward behind the rest. It settled to a comfortable size of one-third of the moon orbiting the planet. The wretched fleet looked like a nesting doll of demons. The capital ship sat idle as the large group of demonic beings flowed to Chamuel.

The gaze of another burned into Gideon. He glanced into the blackness of space, seeing a face inside the darkness. The two dead eyes the size of suns and large razor smile the size of a nebula stared back. Pain wracked his chest as his heart jumped at the sudden appearance. The memory of the first dream flooded back to him.

“Fascinating vision, but why is Earth so important? Maybe it shouldn’t be...” the horror boomed.

Gideon was pulled away before his body, mind, and soul could shatter.

He was in a massive white room, as large as space he was just in. A voice spoke.

The calm voice of a loving father. It was a simple, yet impossible command.

“You must prevent this invasion.”

Gideon awoke as the dream ended; the horrors of the Dusk and the bridge coming back to him. He thrashed around, trying to escape. Panic gripped him, the terror set in as he remembered.

The test. The Dusk.

He needed to run, to escape. Even leaping from the bridge could get him away from those horrors.

“Gideon! Gideon, it’s me. Calm down, you’re safe now” The gentle familiar voice spoke, the firm hands gripped him.

He opened his eyes, staring into the worried face of the medical director, the one in charge of all medical decisions on Karmmrak, and his younger sister, Amy. Her expression became a gentle smile as he went still; her large eyes and empathic face grounded him. He blinked, trying to take in the new scene. His mind and body were unable to comprehend the sudden change of scenery. One second he was on the bridge with The Dusk, and the next he was in the medical facility, his body still in complete fight or flight mode.

“Amy…” Gideon muttered.

His body trembled as his stinging of tears flowed, his cheeks burned at the shame of crying in front of sister. He sensed her gentle gloved hand as it wiped away his tears. He glanced at the six servo arms running from her back as they worked, manipulating the medical equipment he was tied to. One of the arms ran an auto-injector, with Gideon feeling the effects immediately. His vision zoomed out as his body calmed. The shaking and trembling ceased; his mind at ease. The low beeping of medical equipment echoed into the quiet room, a background noise.

“There, all better,” Amy stated soothingly, “Gideon, are you alright?” she asked as she paced to the other figure sitting by his side. Her six servo arms retracted into her large QSD pack.

“Father…” Gideon stated quietly.

He had his bearings only in the sense he understood everything was off. His head throbbed with phantom pain from the event; his dream vanishing once again from his mind.

“Where is everyone else?” Gideon asked, seeing it was just Father and Amy. A snort at the ground level indicated a third visitor; Baxter.

Father spoke up quietly, the worry evident in his voice.

“Abigail is with the security team, scouring the area. Amelia is scanning the satellites for any vessel. I doubt they will find anything, as per usual,” He said as he glanced away.

Father’s biological eye snapped back to Gideon.

Amy’s gaze was one of quiet relief.

“What?” Gideon asked defensively.

Amy was the first to speak. It was gentle and calm.

“I… Found traces of alcohol in your system. It was point-six BAC.”

His cheeks burned as his spine shivered. He was found out and that was way over the limit.

Father spoke up, “Gideon, I had almost given you a stim. That may have killed you if I did. Amy was the voice of reason and stayed my hand.”

Gideon was silent, opening his mouth to speak before closing it. He had excuses.

And that was it.

“I am disappointed that you resorted to libations-” Father began as Gideon interrupted him.

“And if my brothers were here-”

“And you must stop comparing yourself!” Father shot back with a gesture from his cybernetic arm. He continued his speech, “they’re not here. You are. You were chosen for this mission, they weren’t. Do you know why I accepted you to this grand test flight?”

Gideon was silent as he looked back at father. The older man spoke, his voice going calm.

“Because I want to involve you in my craft. I want to find your passion and build on that. I want to know what you love and what you don’t. When you asked about this project and was curious about it, I was more than happy to give you this assignment, “he stated as he adjusted his robes with a sigh, “And do you know what? The people like you. They enjoy your company. Your questions. You’ve worked hard at piloting and control. Even Baxter appreciates you.”

“Baxter loves anyone!” Gideon countered.

“Not just anyone. He speaks the most to the one he trusts the most. Baxter, come,” Father ordered.

There was loud yawning and clacking near the bed. Baxter was asleep on the floor, waking only at the thought of getting attention. Gideon could see the peeking of ears over the bed as Baxter stood short. Father gently picked him up and placed him on the foot of the bed. Baxter was stuck in a state of trying to sit and wiggle his rump.

“Gid. Are just OK now? I was worried but now you are OK. Can we go fast now?” Baxter asked with a subdued bark.

“I’d love to, Baxter, but I’m not sure anymore. I may have lost flight privileges,” He replied sullenly.

“Denied. Amy tells me you’ll need a few days to rest, but we shall continue the flight,” Father rejected Gideon’s self-chastisement with a wave of his cybernetic hand.

“The trauma you suffered was not just mental, but physical. I need to run tests to make sure there is no underlying issues, radiation, or- well- anything! I’ve never had a patient recovered from The Empire of Dusk,” Amy stated excitedly.

Gideon nodded, a fair assessment. This was why she was medical director.

Father shifted in his seat, appearing content by the explanation, “So there you have it. Just a few days and we’ll be right on schedule,” He announced with a smile.

“Oh boy!” Baxter barked in excitement before pausing, “Wait… A day and a day? Oh boy...” he let out a whine as he realized the timeframe. He slowly fell over in a dramatic fashion, plopping on Gideon’s feet.

“What? Really? Even after…” Gideon murmured.

“Speak of it no more. However, no more decanter,” Father added, squinting his eye. The scissor iris of his cybernetic eye contracted to a pin-hole.

He cleared his throat, putting some of the surveillance on a holographic screen; It was just moments before The Dusk had used their bizarre powers. Gideon shivered upon seeing them again.

“Now, we must speak of what you saw. This is the first time they have arrived and taken nothing.”

“They took my pistol,” Gideon added sullenly.

Father scoffed.

“A damn good favor they did, then! Who the hell still uses powder guns?” Father added gruffly.

“Black powder guns? Why?” Amy replied with a slight giggle.

Gideon scoffed back at that. They just didn’t understand.

“Shin, are you there?” Gideon asked, pausing to wait.

“I’m here. Gideon, I can’t believe we survived. Machine Father, I have a video recording, can you play it, please?”

“Good daughter Shindow, of course,” Prosine responded allowed over comms.

Shindow appeared off to Gideon’s side, holding a simplified icon for the video. She tossed into the air, where it then vanished.

“Compiling. Playing video now,” Prosine announced.

The video began to play, showing only a dark screen and white noise. They sat in silence, waiting for activity.

And waited.

“Damn, the video got scrubbed. Whatever they said, it was off the record,” Father announced with a pained sigh as he rubbed at his temple.

Amy turned to look back at Gideon, a worried look on her face.

“What did they do?”

Gideon closed his eyes, feeling at his head.

“I don’t remember much apart from them manipulating my QSD to steal the pistol. And giving me an item.”

Everyone perked up at that.

“Gideon, What did you say?” Father asked, his voice almost a whisper.

“They handed me a device and told me to deliver it to Low-nine,” Gideon explained, feeling at his temples. Even recalling the memory hurt.

“Deliver? I’ve…” Father trailed off.

Shindow floated off to the side, landing on Gideon’s shoulder, her face was as worried as the rest.

“There is no precedent for this,” Prosine corrected.

Father nodded silently.

“Good Gideon, did they give you any other hints? Indication of desires? Goals?”

Gideon thought back to their comments, finding only one other thing stood out.

“I tried asking questions, but they replied with no. However...”

“They stated they would meet again, after Megiddo, whatever that means.”

The room went silent as if emptied into the vacuum of space. Everyone glanced around, pondering the significance of those words. Shindow was the first to break that silence.

“Gideon, Tel Megiddo is the town used in the word Armageddon; thought of as the last battle before Adonai’s return.”

“Well that’s easy then, they were possibly misusing our religious references as a way of stating they would never see you again,” Amy explained.

“Amy, It could be they know full well what they said. It could be they understand the context of what they said. It could be they fully understand our beliefs,” Father explained firmly.

“But they don't know or understand that, they’re aliens, dad! We’re insects to them!” Amy countered.

“And yet the Proturan are insects to us, and are a superior species,” Father countered.

“But-” Amy protested before sighing at his point, ”you know what I mean!”

Father looked back, a coy look on his face. Amy huffed at his verbal poking.

Father snapped his attention back to Gideon. The weight of that stare pressured him; he knew what the next question would be.

“Now, shall we see this item?” Father asked.

Gideon breathed heavily at that. He didn’t remember much of the item, except it was a black cube. He shifted, feeling the QSD still attached to his spine, the bed indented to compensate. He searched his inventory for the newest item. All he saw were the libations he stored before. A victory celebration or the last drink; whichever came first.

He checked his systems, finding the large two dombyte drive was almost full. Database servers for precinct cities were two doms, making Gideon’s pack nearly priceless. He stared stupidly at the registry the item was supposedly located in and he only found it by searching for drive space used. One and a half doms were being taken by an empty registry. It had the most original and fascinating name of ‘registry1’.

He ran a scan on the entry, finding nothing. He attempted to force permissions to view the hidden item, only to be met with a very confusing dialogue box

Error

Permission denied

Please request access from administration

“Gideon?” Father asked, spotting the look on his face.

“I’m locked out of it. I’m admin- super admin and I can’t see it, but it’s taking one and a half doms,” Gideon replied.

“Here, let me see,” Father offered.

Gideon accepted the invite, feeling father’s diagnostics attempt to access the inventory. Father tapped idly at his temple as he worked.

Father began muttering as he investigated the mystery item.

“Hm, security scans pass. Can’t see it. Can’t move the registry this object occupies. I’m even God admin and these devils have me locked me out!”

“So what do we do then, daddy?” Amy asked, confusion etched on her freckled face.

“We upgrade,” father determined.

“Upgrade? Can’t I just drop this off and let-” Gideon began, but father cut him off.

“No. We’re not diverting from their orders, but we’re not playing into their hand either.”

“What do you mean?” Gideon asked, confusion setting in on what he intended.

Father perked up a smile as he explained.

“First, you’re getting an upgrade. Double the doms sounds about right, yes?”

Gideon’s eyes widened at the idea he would have more storage space than Father.

“And I’m thinking that a few fleets at Low-nine would do for security. How does that feel?”

Gideon nodded. Even if The Dusk could take what they wanted without much fight, better to make it difficult.

Or at least give the illusion he was protected.

“You’ll arrive, you’ll dock, drop off the QSD, and we’ll escort you to safety. You’ll never have to see The Dusk-”

“But this has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.” Gideon shot back blankly, “Why the hell does The Dusk not drop off their own package?”

Father shook his head as he explained, “I thought of that too. I’ll put it this way. If you’ve ever seen a new creature, what do you do to it?”

“What does that have to do with The Dusk, daddy?” Amy asked, just as confused as Gideon.

Gideon was also taken aback by the strange question, but decided to play along, “A new creature- well you’d probably capture one to study- possibly dissect it.”

Father gestured with his hand for him to continue.

“You’d study it in its natural habitat.”

“And?” Father asked.

“You tag some of them, to study their movement…” Gideon trailed off, understanding flooding him.

“You can’t be saying it’s a Dusk tracking device!” Amy replied incredulously.

“And why would they ask us to deliver it? Why not just- tag us?”

“Because the mission would be scrapped if we so much as caught a whiff of sabotage or manipulation,” father replied.

“And so because they asked nicely, we’ll play into them?” Gideon challenged.

“Oh yes,” Father affirmed as his face crumpled, “because we know its The Dusk. And I know of the consequences when you don’t obey. That is the fear they know that I understand.”

“Kraken Nebula…” Amy whispered.

Gideon’s stomach sank.

Father continued.

“It was also a power play, to let us know who is in charge of this galaxy. Threaten my son, force the task upon him,” Father bent down close to the bed, his voice going low, ”But that also implies they are tagging a technology they do not have.”

“So they’ll collect the test information? And then…” Gideon stated before going silent.

“Possibly find a way to bar us from it? Use it themselves? Who knows,” Amy stated with a shrug.

“So we scrap the vessel-” Gideon started, but was cut off.

“-Kraken Nebula-” Amy and father announced together.

Gideon blanched at the reply. All paths led to Kraken Nebula. Except for the straight and highly restrictive narrow road of testing the vessel.

“We’ll give it a few days, isn’t that right, Baxter?” Amy asked the sad dog.

“No… That is too long-”

“So what type of steak do you like?” Amy interrupted.

“All of it- I can wait- going fast is so tiresome,” Baxter replied, his ears perking up.

“Good! Now Shindow, I believe Abigail had some updates for you, I’d go see her as soon as you can,” Father stated as he gathered himself.

“Aye-aye! Get some rest, Gideon; we’ll talk later,” Shindow replied.

He was alert she left his storage back into Karmmrak’s facility-wide QSD.

“Well Gideon, you should sleep now; doctor’s orders,” Amy stated.

Gideon nodded, feeling his awareness fading away. The room blurred, his focus dispersing like mist.

Melatraxin… Good stuff… Gideon thought as he drifted off.