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Chapter 4

"So," Ciara asked, "Could we have really beaten him?" She looked up from her temporary bed at the ceiling of their quarters on the highliner as it left the orbit of Epaulets. The girl had barely finished her sentence before she felt the gentle lurch of the starship dropping into realm of distorted time and distance that was hyperspace.

Malaki sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room, pouring himself a drink and staring absentmindedly at the bulkhead. "I don't know. I wasn't giving it a hundred percent, but neither was he. Ynok could have been pounding us with his powers from the start but he didn't. On the plus side, he didn't seem to know where you were until it was too late. When he did block you, it seemed like it was always at the last minute."

"You were holding back?"

"I still had a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Sure you did," she said, turning herself on her side to face him. Malaki was still wearing his KCS and matrix. She couldn't remember seeing him without it. It must feel natural after a while, she guessed, like when a person wears sunglasses or a hat too long and it feels strange to take it off. And then there was the problem of his fur... When a matrix was pushed to its limit it got hot and burned his skin. She could imagine herself in a few years, with a white mark square in the middle of her head.

"Put it on," he demanded, avoiding her remark entirely. She complied, and immediately received the thought that they were on duty now. Everything out here was dangerous. She shouldn't even be out of her KCS.

It was a rote maxim, like a mother reminding her son to brush his teeth. Ciara ignored him for now.

Malaki just sat there, staring at the bulkhead. He followed his gaze to the light gray steel, then back to his bovine face.

"What're you looking at?"

"I'm sampling the people around us. There are two next door, three in the opposite room, and one across the hall. They all seem innocuous enough. Someone shielded just walked by, but that's not unusual considering where we came from."

"Oh," Ciara said, resting her head on her elbow. He was so damn serious all the time... Correct, yes, but serious nonetheless.

Malaki allowed himself a glimpse of her petite form lying on the bed. She didn't look like a Knight at all. Too small, too fragile... He enjoyed imagining that she needed him there to protect her. It didn't take much imagination for that. She had graduated three weeks ago and was green as grass. For the first time she didn't have any clerics telling her to keep her suit on or chide her for not wearing her matrix at the right times.

Unfortunately, they gave that advice with good reason. Malaki would have to fill in or else the girl would get herself killed. He didn't like sounding like a Nanny, but what could he do?

"You ever wonder what hyperspace looks like?"

Where did that come from? Malaki wondered. It was a fairly bizarre twist in their conversation. That was her other problem... Ciara let her mind wander far too much. No sense of focus...

"Hadn't really thought about it," he finally answered.

"I imagine it being like a tunnel, with blue walls that look like water but are actually waves of energy. Every now and then a lightning bolt jumps out across... little balls of light sail past... It's kind of like a jewelry box, I guess. You know there's something really beautiful inside and you want to crack it open and find out what..."

"I guess," he replied half-heartedly. Even though the ships traveled through hyperspace on a regular basis, no one could actually look outside and see what it was like. The sudden sight of a whole new dimension where the laws of physics and reality were completely different drove men insane. Their minds simply couldn't handle gazing upon a place so utterly alien that time, distance, and matter were all incomprehensibly altered.

"You think the Source is like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're not allowed to get close to the Source and even his clerics can't look at him. You think it's the same idea... something normal humans can't even stand to look at because its so incredibly... different?"

If there was such a thing as being too inquisitive, Malaki mused, this girl was it. "I don't know."

"I want to know... I want to see him one day."

The minotaur remained silent, mulling over her words. Ciara had always been so quiet... something he chalked up to fear spawned by unfamiliarity. This was a side of her he had not seen before. Artistic... inquisitive... imaginative...

"Ciara," he said, easily seizing her attention, "What do you think Psion is like?"

"Psion? Like the clerics tell it, I guess. Cliffs that look like black glass... glistening mountains of lattice obsidian... You can walk across the beaches and the sand is gray... ground obsidian... The deserts, too; Mile after mile of endless obsidian sands."

"Do you think we'll ever find it?" he asked, eager to hear her optimistic view of their future.

"One day," she said with absolute certainty, "One day..." And with that she rolled over and threw her blanket over her petite form.

"Going to bed?"

"Yeah."

Malaki just nodded, rose, and picked a small box from the duffel bag he had stowed at his feet. After being set on the table the trap unfolded to reveal an automated magnum pistol with a belt of bullets dangling from one side. The trap swiveled to the left and right, testing its range of motion as the three rear-mounted cameras adjusted their focus. The gun would blow a normal person's insides out but a matrix-armed assassin would only be stunned. That was all he needed. Malaki had been programmed from birth to sleep lightly.

The 'flight' from Epaulets to Korrus was a brief one, being just seven hours through hyperspace. From within their quarters, the two Knights could not see the two moons hanging above the glassy blue sphere. They were obviously not brothers, one being a pearl and the other a misshapen asteroid that had narrowly avoided obliterating the planet in its infancy.

Being two hundred meters long, the vessel did not enter the planet's atmosphere itself. Rather, the flattened front of the ship opened up to disgorge smaller shuttles to ferry its passengers. As the shuttles were loaded, a piece of two-foot-thick plexiglass allowed the visitors to stand on the edge and enjoy the illusion of standing on edge of oblivion four hundred miles above the planet's surface.

This was where Ciara stood, staring down at the world below. Her eyes ran across the vast oceans and mottled green-and-brown continents. Truth be told, they were rather boring. The landmasses consisted of little more than mottled, round shapes. She liked it better when they were broken up with gulfs and peninsulas and hundreds of little islands...

"This is Korrus, right?"

"Right," Malaki answered as he came to her side.

"My father just left this planet."

"He's a naval commander, right?"

"Captain. He just received his own ship, the Stillecho. Nice timing... He shipped out just after I graduated. Made for a great party back home. He was scheduled to go on his shakedown three days ago... we just missed him, really. Of course, if there was some problem he'd still be in port at the starbase..."

"Let's hurry up then, the shuttle for the base is leaving."

Ciara lingered a moment longer before following close behind.

"Is it a warship?" Malaki asked, staring out the shuttle window at the starbase ahead. It looked to him like a giant spark plug hanging in space, the very top bearing thick arms to which docking ships linked up.

"Yeah," Ciara replied, searching among the docked vessels in vain. "It's two hundred meters long and ninety wide, so you aren't going to miss it." Another moment of silent searching passed before she finally asked,

"Why are we here?"

"I don't know," Malaki replied, "Their message didn't say anything. We're supposed to meet a member of the Korrian Guard here... Major Grev-Kash."

"He's a good man. I know him."

Malaki shot her a questioning look.

"My dad knew everybody on Korrus. Archbishop Kerine, Major Grev, Colonel Ke'Dral... a few other clerics..."

"What's Grev like?"

"He's a human and he wears a matrix. The Korrian Guard isn't just an infantry unit... they're Kerine's elite guard, as close as a normal soldier can get to being a Knight."

"Wow..." Malaki said, "It looks like you're good for something after all..."

"Hey!" she protested, before the shuttle made a gentle lurch to the right and the starbase's doors swung open to greet them. She shut herself up as the vessel passed through the gates, retrograde thrusters firing intermittently until it was gently drifting down the docking hall. It was several moments before they heard the crumpling sound of mechanical arms seizing the shuttle. Nothing was actually being broken, but the dozens of clamps sealing made it sound that way. It was followed by the sharp hydraulic hiss of an entry ramp pressurizing on the outside of the door.

Malaki slid it open and Ciara followed him down a catwalk set inside an air-filled plastic tube. The sides of the tube bulged outwards like as though it had been overfilled but she knew it was the pull of the empty vacuum on the outside. It was disconcerting feeling, having only a sheet of soft plastic shielding you from the icy void of space. She was thankful to finally arrive at the station's steel bulkhead.

The starbase was a busy place. A normal person would have been swept away by a tide of space faring travelers, but not the Knights. People went out of their way to avoid them, some even bumping into their fellow voyagers. A few nodded with respect before quickening their step. Everyone knew what a Knight looked like, but seeing a real one in person was a very rare event. The passersby were torn between a desire to take in the details... their skintight KCS, shiny chrome pistols, swords... but they also knew from television that Knights had a reputation for attracting carnage.

Similarly avoided was Major Grev-Kash. He was tall, with the slightest brushes of premature gray creeping in at the sides of his dark hair. He, and the circle of soldiers around him, were dressed in their combat uniforms. Beneath a black bulletproof vest lay a dark green camouflage pattern. Their usual black berets had been replaced with similar caps.

Grev himself was armed only with a pistol and knife, besides the matrix on his face, of course. His men were carrying heavy firepower, though. Each one watched the crowd, totally alert, heavy automatic rifles ready. Even when Grev called out to Ciara and beckoned her to him, the men did not let their guard down. The girl's hand unconsciously moved to rest on the short sword at her hip. The only thing that made her more uncomfortable than their guns was the chem masks dangling from their hips.

"Ciara," he said flatly, embracing the girl and patting her on the back, "Good to see you again. This is your Claymore, I assume?"

"Malaki," she introduced. The minotaur nodded politely.

"There's someone you need to meet," Grev explained, "Follow me. Don't strain yourself going KSA, I've got plainclothes men in the crowd." Knights sometimes accelerated themselves when they suspected they were being tailed. The rest of the world slowed to a crawl while the Knight took his time examining them. It was also a handy way to talk. Two Knights using their KSA could have a conversation that sounded like fast-paced gibberish to passersby.

"Has Tharsis left already?" Ciara asked.

Grev frowned at that. "Ciara, the fact that we were both chosen to meet here was no coincidence. There are lots of things I have to tell you."

Malaki could feel the sudden pang of fear that shot through her chest. He rested one big hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Are there any other Knights here?" he asked, trying to change the subject for a moment.

"I saw one get off the shuttle. A wolf. He was armed, KCS and all."

"Ynok?"

"I don't know," Grev said, stopping in front of an office door, "I asked if he was the one Kerine requested and he said he was just passing through. Then he left."

"When?"

"A minute ago. He must have been on the same ship as you."

"That's strange... Must've taken a different shuttle."

"Maybe. Anyway, this is an emergency medical station. There's a console inside, so we're going to use it as a temporary briefing room." He opened the door to reveal a similarly much younger man crouched over a laptop computer which he had plugged into a larger machine in the corner. His dark blue dress uniform and thin gold shoulder braid revealed he was not of the same service as Major Grev.

"This is Lieutenant Re'Tor," the Major introduced. He shut the door behind Malaki and Ciara, leaving his men to stand guard outside. "He's in charge of extradimensional communications on the station. Lieutenant, would you please give us a moment alone?"

He nodded and quickly left. Grev rubbed one hand in the other as he paced the floor, trying to choose his words. This was a speech he had recited to himself a hundred thousand times over the last two days, but now that the time had come he couldn't find the words.

"Ciara," he began, allowing himself another pause to summon his strength, "Three days ago your father took command of the Stillecho, a Century-class cruiser. He left Korrus, fell into hyperspace for a brief trip to the planet Septik, outermost world of the Korrian system."
Malaki felt another wave of icy fear shoot through her and up his arm.

"His plan was to make two orbits of Septik and return to Korrus before proceeding onwards. He had reached Septik's moon when he was attacked by a ship of unknown origin." Grev took a deep breath, a tear in his voice, "The Stillecho was lost with all hands."

Ciara was struck with a hollow, empty feeling in her chest. Malaki tightened his grip as the same emotion flowed into him, the feeling of disbelief. "No..." she whispered to herself. She had supposedly been desensitized to violence and death. It was even part of a Knight's training to cut down condemned criminals. But here, now... her own father... it was like being hit with a sledgehammer. It hit her so hard that even Grev felt it through the mental shield she was trying to raise.

Back straight, stiff lip, keep your eyes dry, she heard Malaki tell her. Don't worry, everything's fine... I'm here for you. One hand drifted up her side and wrapped around his. Just as Malaki was soaking up her anguish like a sponge, he was letting her have his strength, his determination, and his stoicness. Don't let anyone see you cry, he whispered, you can always cry later. Now speak! Ask! Were there any escape pods?

"Were there any escape pods?" Ciara asked, her voice ragged and choking as her eyes started to brim over.

"We didn't count any," Grev said, his own sorrow evident in his voice. "If any did fire, they were probably destroyed when the hyperdrive detonated."

How do you know? Malaki told her. The power of denial was largely underestimated.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Before the ship went down, it dropped a hyperspace buoy. The buoy recorded the end of the battle, and gave us a lot of information. Lieutenant Tor could explain things better than me. Are you ready to talk to him?"

Yes, Malaki said silently.

Ciara just bit her lip and nodded.

Grev took a moment to invite the naval officer in, and the three moved to circle around his monitor. Ciara's hand still hadn't left Malaki's.

"Should I show her the video?" Tor asked.

Tell them you want to see it, Malaki ordered.

"I want to see it," Ciara said as firmly as she could.

Good, Malaki thought to her. She was at least giving them the appearance of being stoic, but the minotaur could feel her pain. It hit him like a rain of icepicks falling on his chest, impaling his heart and weighing it down until it sank to the very bottom of his gut. She was in absolute agony... you didn't have to be psychic to feel her tremble... but she was at least putting on a good show.

"The battle began at 1534, when the sensors picked up a ship with a friendly IFF signal. It fired two torpedoes. The Stillecho moved up and to starboard as it deployed countermeasures, evading them both. At the range the enemy was shooting from, there was little chance of a successful hit. The first shots usually miss, simply because of speed, inertia, and..."

"Get on with it," Ciara said grimly, at Malaki's suggestion.

"Alright... anyway, after closing the Stillecho started firing its own torpedoes. Now, as this goes on keep in mind the Stillecho also carried a pair of 20-inch magnetic coil guns as well as smaller point-defense guns and lasers. Now the first torpedo the Stillecho fired missed. The enemy was coming straight at them and was 10,000 meters away so it's disappointing but not totally unexpected if he was taking evasive action. Now, look at this graph."

He brought up a screen with four charts, showing the ship's movement from the x, y, and z axis as well as a graph illustrating his acceleration. "Right here he goes to port. This isn't unusual except for the fact that he does it really fast. Now at 10,000 meters he starts accelerating at a phenomenal rate. It only takes him a few seconds to cross 5,000 meters. He also makes a steady trip across to starboard. The torpedoes don't have a prayer of tracking him and the crew can't believe their eyes. At 5k any other ship would have been beginning coil gun bombardment. But this guy keeps accelerating and actually passes beneath the Stillecho and hits it with some sort of plasma attack."

"Now at this point any normal ship would have been shredded by the point-defense guns, but he's just too fast. Not only does he move beneath the Stillecho, but he loops around and attacks it again. At 3k meters he was moving faster than a torpedo. This turn is not actually possible. He just can't do it. The laws of motion prevent it. He would have to turn completely around and go for a full burn-"

"We get it," Grev interrupted. "She said she wanted to see the video. Show it to her."

Malaki felt her hand tighten around his.

The Lieutenant proceeded reluctantly. The video, being recorded by a buoy launched from the Stillecho's aft, showed the ship in flames. Debris was spilling from the cut down its belly where the cargo bay had been sliced open. It was bleeding plasma from holes in its sides where the reactor was undergoing a meltdown. A single hot orange trail followed the ship as it dropped into the moon's orbit. The mystery intruder suddenly shot across the screen, moving so fast that it blurred on film. A single white beam of energy lanced out and raked across the Stillecho's midsection, cutting it in half.

Ciara tried to fight a gasp as she looked away, tears escaping her tightly shut eyes. Malaki stood silently and watched as the aft section exploded in a blast of plasma so bright in lit up the dark side of the moon. The forward piece burned as it spun down into the surface and vanished in a burst of flames and dust.

"If you want to take a break, we can resume later," Grev offered.

"No!" Ciara spat back, her voice ragged and worn. She opened her watery eyes and glared at Grev. Malaki almost winced as he felt her hand leave his and turned into two angry fists at her sides. She felt hot... not her body, but the emotions he was leaching off. There was this burning anger that was so hot that it actually hurt.

"Alright..." Grev said, forcing himself to look away, "Well, what does this look like to you?"

Ciara studied the four graphs in front of her. Nothing.

"KSA in zero-gravity," Malaki answered.

"That's what I thought."

"KSA?" Tor asked.

The minotaur took a deep breath. This would take some explaining... "Psykers have this field of energy around them. You ever get that feeling of 'personal space?' You know how you feel uncomfortable when someone enters it? That's what it is. A psyker can actually strengthen that field until it can deflect bullets. We call it a PPF - Personal Psychic Field. A psyker can also control objects within the PPF... what we call Kinetic Self-Acceleration."

He paused to let it sink in before continuing, "Now, a person using KSA isn't necessarily bound by the laws of physics. They can move super-fast and jump super-far." Very scientific terminology, he thought to himself sarcastically. "Some can even levitate in mid-air or fly. In zero-g, anyone can fly basically anywhere. All they have to do is choose the direction."

"And so someone's using psychic powers to fly a starship?"

"I doubt it. No one could extend their PPF around one. We can't even contain our swords inside it. That's why they're made out of special Channel Crystal."

"So then what did they do?"

"I don't know."

"That's what we're here to find out," Grev interrupted, "I'm not just here to be the bearer of bad news. I'm also going to accompany you to Septik."

"What's Septik?" Malaki asked.

"Explain it," Grev ordered.

"The fourth planet in this solar system. A prison world. It's one and a half AU's from the sun. It should be very cold, but the whole planet is covered with thick gas that traps the heat and makes it surprisingly warm. They're toxic, but there's still enough oxygen to breathe if you filter it. Korrus has been using it as a penal colony. They modify the inmates so they can survive and then dump them on the surface. It's small, but the core is dense so the gravity is .92 G."

"So you think that's where the people who made this ship are hiding?"

"If you play the tape long enough you can see three ships leaving the moon's surface and falling on Septik," Grev explained, "Our mission is to find them and figure out exactly what's going on."

"Do you know where they fell?"

"Our sensors can't see through the clouds there."

"So we're supposed to cover the whole planet on foot."

"No," Grev said, "We've got some help. A Bishop volunteered to go to Septik and minister to the populace. He's gained their trust and helped them set up a society that works... more or less."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Not really. He's matrix-trained. If we go to him, he'll help us along."

"When do we leave?" Ciara asked, her emotional exhaustion evident in her voice.

"Right away."

Ynok made his way to the top floor of the starbase hotel, found the door he was looking for, and knocked. After a moment it slid open and he was face-to-face with a human who had shaved his head in what was supposed to be a soccer ball pattern. Ynok pushed him aside without raising a finger and strode past the stunned thug.

Halky was waiting for him. The smuggler sat on a couch across the room with a silver briefcase on the desk in front of him. Three other thugs stood in a circle, each one packing concealed cybernetic weaponry. "Take it off, Ynok," Halky demanded.

"No," Ynok shot back.

"You can't do business with one of those fuckers on," he repeated, pulling a baseball-sized grenade from his jacket. "Take it off or we'll see if these little rocks can survive a plasma grenade."

Ynok knew he was bluffing, but he obeyed anyway. The replicant pulled the matrix away from his muzzle and set it on the table. Halky grinned and quickly opened the box. Seven obsidian matrices lay before him.

"One million."

"Half a million," Ynok offered.

"Are you kidding? There are more rocks here than most people see in their entire lives!"

"And where did you get them?"

"Get this... a pair of Knights busted up the Spire on Aaramac. Waxed a Bishop and a bunch of his guards... like twenty of 'em! My brother followed them in so he grabbed as many as he could and got the hell out of there. And I promise these aren't fake! You can try them if you want... just keep it slow..."

Ynok couldn't help but grin. If Halky pushed the detonator on the grenade, he could kill all five of them and throw it down the hall before it went off. And he might have to... Halky wasn't smart enough to go on forever, and when he got caught he would squeal like a pig.

"Three quarters of a million is the highest I'll go," the Knight said, "I've got a plane to catch."

"Done!" Halky replied, pushing the briefcase across to him.

Ynok just nodded, closed the case, and set it on the floor in front of him. The table suddenly accelerated to fifty miles an hour, crushing Halky's ribs. The Knight blurred as he leapt up, severing one man's arm head.

The other three raised their arms, the flesh breaking open to reveal concealed pistols, but they were far too slow. Ynok threw his sword through one's chest before grabbing another by the wrist. With a powerful twist he flipped the man onto the floor and crushed his throat with a single mighty stomp. The sword removed itself and sailed across the room slicing the last thug's arm off before removing his skull from his shoulders.

"H-hey," Halky whispered as Ynok sheathed his sword, "Y-you... aren't supp-posed to... be able..."

Ynok picked up his matrix and set it back on his face. "I'm not supposed to be able to do that? A word of advice, Halky... don't ever tell me what I can and can't do." He quickly descended on the trapped thief, twisting the thug's head until he felt a satisfying snap.

He paused for a moment to stretch his muscular form before scooping up his duffel bag in one hand and the briefcase in the other. And the plasma grenade... he couldn't forget that... But it was best that he didn't linger too long. He had a shuttle to catch.