//------------------------------// // CHAPTER ONE: WAR // Story: Mind Over Might // by SilentSky //------------------------------// --- Year: 2947 AD / 59 AGB Location: Somewhere in the vicinity of the dwarf star, Epsilon Eridani... --- One may find it a bad idea to form friendships in war, as eventually, one will have to watch a friend die. Lieutenant Commander Daniel Tarian failed spectacularly in heeding this advice when he changed sides from the ruthless Faction to the United Terran Fleet. It was not long after he defected that he met Adra, and his life would never be the same. Intelligence reports indicated that the Faction had begun using a terrifying new weapon. The United Terran Fleet spy who discovered it reported his findings at a mission brief. Daniel, Adra, and several ace pilots listened intently. Also in attendance was Admiral Richard Emrys, the officer in command of the Deus ex Machina, the Dragon-class starship that was their home. “Simply put, this weapon is capable of using a very advanced form of hypnosis to literally edit the base code of one’s mind. The engineers I’ve given the data to have been able to work out that eye contact with a diffuse beam is required, and once made it overwrites very specific parts of the target’s mind. They lose their personality and loyalty to anything they previously held dear, retaining all of their combat training and any vital intel, and become mindless super soldiers at the absolute command of the Faction.” “Can it be reversed?” Daniel asked. “Once it’s done, there’s nothing left. It can’t be reversed without a complex lobotomy that would almost definitely kill the individual,” he said morosely. Always eloquent, Adra added, “What kind of sick bastards are these guys? They don’t want honest followers; they want expendable pawns.” One of the other aces asked the question that all were thinking. “Is there any way to tell when someone has been exposed to this weapon?” “Not right away, the diffuse beam is invisible to the naked eye and we can’t test for exposure. However, it is designed so that it does not take effect until the subject sees a familiar face speak a very specific set of key words. The face has to be one they’d seen before exposure. When it activates the subject exhibits a noticeable red glow in their pupils, possibly residual radiation, and immediately changes their behavior to match the…ah…Faction’s wishes.” “So these sleepers activate at an unknown word, and tear their way through the United Fleet until they can get back to the Faction and report everything they know?” Adra asked. “That’s correct. A sleeper will also activate if they realize they’ve been rewritten and attempt to commit suicide in order to avoid being activated. Once they’ve given away all the information they can, they’re usually sent on a suicide mission against us anyway,” the spy added, eliciting sounds of disgust from those listening. Their revulsion apparent, he finished. “Just a few hours ago, long-range sensors picked up a poorly defended Faction research vessel within fighter range. It will likely contain information regarding this technology.” Admiral Emrys stood. “I trust you can all gather the basic details of your upcoming mission,” he said calmly in his antiquated Texas accent. The Admiral was a soft-spoken man, but when he stood to speak, none would interrupt. He was a first lieutenant just before the civil war began, and had extensive experience dealing with the Faction. “You are to, as stealthily as possible, approach the Faction research vessel. You will likely encounter space fighter resistance, but should not encounter anything else. Once aboard, you will attempt to commandeer the ship, and bring it back to us. If that is not possible, obtain as much intel as you can on the design of this weapon, and destroy the ship.” All stood. “Yes Admiral!” “Fighter bay in 6 hours, dismissed. Lieutenant Commander Tarian, Adra, a moment please.” When all others had left, Daniel and Adra stayed behind to hear what the admiral had to say. “I know you two have become very close in the years since Daniel’s defection. I need both of your skills on this mission, but it is a dangerous one. One or both of you may not come back yourselves, if you come back at all. If either of you decide that it’s been enough after this mission, I will support you. You’ve both made outstanding contributions to the United Fleet, and deserve to be happy together. I lost my love on a dangerous mission; I don’t want to see that happen to you two.” Daniel was taken aback; the admiral was suggesting they retire despite the dire state of the war. “With all due respect sir, I don’t think that will be nece-” Daniel was cut off by Adra. “Permission to speak freely, admiral?” she asked. “Please do,” he nodded to her. “Bullshit.” She looked him sternly in the eye and leaned down onto the table before him. “I’m sorry you lost your love on a mission, but that you would suggest we leave like cowards before it happens to us is just stupid. We both knew what we were signing up for, we both know the risks.” Daniel smiled. She had concisely said what he was having trouble articulating. Admiral Emrys looked at them both, and smiled back. “I’m glad to have soldiers like you aboard. Fighter bay in 6 hours. Dismissed.” They saluted the admiral, and left to prepare for the mission. --- Chrysalis held her focus in the scrying spell just long enough to catch a glimpse of what she was looking for. As soon as she had what she wanted, she broke the spell. It was exhausting, painful, and demanded one’s complete focus, but the potential rewards were great. Since her complete failure at Canterlot, most of her changelings had simply abandoned their queen to fend for themselves. There were a few loyal ones, but she couldn’t hope to feed them with her limited resources. It was time to try a new plan of action. The changeling queen lay down to rest after spending hours scrying. She doubted even they could perform such magic. Then again, she doubted those cursed alicorn sisters had the backbone to even attempt the spell given what it required. But what was one life in the grand scheme? Most of the needed sacrifices were willing, her changelings were ready and eager to lay down their lives in her service. Though their numbers were dwindling. More than once she had been forced to find a lone diamond dog somewhere in the caves to act as a...volunteer. Sure, the spell could be successfully performed without a live sacrifice, but there was not a living being known to have done so in over a thousand years, and she did not have that kind of time. The shortcut was necessary, and the losses were acceptable. Chrysalis grinned to herself at what she had found. The day would soon come when she would no longer need to seek out volunteers, willing or unwilling. “My queen?” The voice came from the entrance to her private chambers, if the small section of cavern she had cordoned off for herself could be called as such. “Enter.” She did not turn to look, she knew who it was. Her most loyal subject, the only one she confided in, her second-in-command as it were, entered with a deep and respectful bow, despite her not even looking to see it. “My queen, this one would like to know. Did my queen find anything of interest in her scrying?” “I most certainly did, my changeling. What has piqued your curiosity?” “This one apologizes for his inquisitiveness, but surely the time is near?” “Yes, the time is near when we will no longer need to hide in these caves. In Canterlot, my plan was careless. I relied too heavily on strength in numbers. Now I do not have numbers on my side, but I saw something that may make numbers entirely unnecessary.” “Would my queen grace this one’s ears with that information?” her confidant asked respectfully. She closed her eyes and answered, “A visitor from far away, one strong of mind but malleable of will. He will come soon, and when he does, we must make him an offer he can’t refuse, and bend his will to ours.” “If he does refuse?” Chrysalis almost lashed out at his sudden lack of courtesy, but held her temper, “Then we will simply torture him until he gives in.” --- All eight of the ace pilots selected for the mission had extensive advanced hand-to-hand combat training. Daniel, a strategist second in trust and skill only to the Admiral himself, would lead the mission and command the pilots both in space and aboard the Faction research vessel. Seven Wolf-class space fighters screamed out of the fighter bay, followed by one Rhino-class heavy gunship. It was just as fast as the fighters, but not nearly as nimble in the hands of an average pilot. Adra was not an average pilot. Daniel flew co-pilot in the two-seater Rhino, and would command the attack as well as operate the guns in the event they were needed. He and Adra had trained extensively for scenarios like this; it was the closest they could get to a date. “Attack wing, formation alpha. Position for jump to coordinates of Faction research vessel.” He commanded over the com channel. Looking over to Adra for a boost in confidence, he was about to ask if she felt ready when she said, “Let’s kick some Faction ass.” She gave him a cocky but warm smile that made his heart pound. He had long since realized he was in love with her, and intended to tell her as much when they returned from the mission. Marriage customs had changed drastically out of necessity. Couples in the United Fleet skipped the bureaucracy of matrimony and simply declared their love to one another. The com channel crackled with seven human voices, “Wolf 2 in position…Wolf 5 in position…Wolf 1 in position…Wolf 4 in position…Wolf 7 in position…Wolf 3 in position…Wolf 6 in position…” He smiled back at Adra, and touched the transmit button. “Attack wing, jump in 3 seconds, let’s kick some Faction ass.” They held each other’s hands as the counter started. Smirking, she said, “That was my line, jerk.” The attack wing and the Rhino streaked off to infinity. --- Having found what she was looking for, Chrysalis began focusing all of her effort on this one possible answer to her problems. Scrying was one thing, but attempting to glimpse the future was another thing entirely. It required a living sacrifice just like the scrying spell, but infinitely more focus. She trained her mind’s eye carefully on the creature she had found, and imagined herself pushing on time. After several hours of failures, she finally made it work. Anguish, she sensed anguish and despair ahead for the creature. When it came to their world she would need to watch it carefully, and lie to it with even greater care. She saw that it was far more intelligent than any of her changelings, and would easily see through most of the lies she could construct. Somehow, it had to be fooled. As she learned more about it, the less likely it seemed that it would serve her willingly. “My queen, this one begs your attention.” This time it was not her confidant, but another loyalist all the same. She stood and turned to face the changeling. “Speak.” “This one and some of his fellow changelings have discovered a volunteer for you. A diamond dog.” “Excellent. You may leave,” she said, turning away in dismissal. “My...my queen, there is more,” he said hesitantly. “That is?” “The diamond dog, it spoke of a...retaliation, of sorts. They know their brethren are disappearing in these caves, they plan on searching in force.” “Let them come, it will only mean more food for us. Now leave me.” Her subject bowed, and left. --- They dropped out of the jump just 60 kilometers from the research vessel, and right into the center of a large formation of Faction drones: fast and deadly robotic fighters that were cheap to produce in swarms and hard to shake. They were completely unshielded and made for excellent target practice. Before the enemy had a chance to react, Adra broadsided the Rhino to expose all its guns. Daniel shouted over the channel, “Wolves 1 through 3, attack pattern omega! Don’t give them any room to breathe! Wolves 4 through 6, pattern epsilon! Be ready to back up 1, 2, and 3! Wolf 7, draw some of them off but don’t get yourself killed!” The guns were charged, the Wolves were on the attack, and Adra nodded to him, indicating she was ready for him to open up on the enemy fighters. They caught the enemy very much off guard and had eliminated more than half of their defense wing before any of them broke formation. The Rhino mercilessly tore through fighter after fighter as Adra put it through maneuvers far beyond its normal operation. Within minutes, the Wolves had devoured the rest, with only one fighter, Wolf 4, sustaining damage. The Faction vessel was left defenseless. “Attack wing, form up. The Rhino will bring down their defense shields. We will then all dock in the starboard side bay.” Daniel commanded. The Wolves in position again, Daniel got a good look at the damage on Wolf 4. It had been hit in a non-critical area. It would still fly, jump, and could even enter a planet’s atmosphere, but it would not be able to land intact. “Pilot, please position us to attack their shield generator.” He said to Adra, in a stuck-up, official sounding manner. “Blow it out your ass, sir.” Adra replied with a sarcastic grin, as she brought the Rhino to broadside against the Faction ship. Her fierce and slightly overconfident attitude was one of the things he adored about her. One blast from the main cannon was all it took to bring down the shields, and then a single directed EMP blast to stun the vessel’s suspiciously inactive jump generator. They would need it intact if they were to capture the ship. The eight Terran spacecraft docked without issue, and thus immediately began the infiltration portion of the mission. Faction research vessels typically did not carry conventional soldiers, but were often armed with attack androids: mechanical human hybrids that were near impossible to defeat by the average human. That was why such highly skilled warriors were needed in combination with an ace tactician. The nine members of the attack force regrouped inside the ship, where Daniel split them up into three groups. “Irwin, Carter, and Fenris, head to the engine room and set charges on the main reactor. Do not activate them unless given the order, set the counter for 2 minutes. Genevie and Xiao, go to the main research hub and secure whatever you can in the event we fail to commandeer this ship. If I give the order, you return to the Fleet without the rest of us, is that clear?” “Yes sir.” They replied without delay. “Adra, Hunter, and Tasha, you’re with me, we’re going to the bridge to take this ship.” “Yes sir.” “Good, let’s move out.” He ordered, as each team went their separate ways. Stealthily moving through the corridors, they expected to find attack androids at nearly every turn, but were always both disappointed and relieved. No one said it, but they were all thinking it. The mission was going far too smoothly. No Faction ship was ever left uninhabited and defended only by fighter drones; perhaps there had been some accident on board. Their questions were answered when they saw a hatch that was sealed from the other side with a flashing red warning light active. The red light on the hatch indicated only one thing, that portion of the ship had vented its atmosphere and was now in hard vacuum. These corridors could no longer be assumed to be completely safe from the untempered radiation of space, and possibly even decompression. They proceeded with extreme caution, though something still did not add up. Reaching the hatch to the bridge and finding a blue light on, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Adra touched the button to open the hatch, and their relief was interrupted by a strange sensation. It was as if someone had briefly lit a match inside their heads, and then immediately put it out. All four reached for their temples in response. “You all just feel that too?” Adra asked. “Probably just some radiation from the exposed parts of the ship, we’ll get it treated when we regroup with the Fleet.” Daniel assumed. The bridge was not empty. The entire research team along with the operations crew lay dead, and it was completely unclear what had killed them. There were no wounds, only a shattered, but now resealed viewport; though it shouldn’t have been open long enough for the entire crew to asphyxiate, it all seemed very off. Ignoring the corpses, Adra immediately sat down at the controls. “Let’s get the hell back to the Fleet. I don’t want to die like these unlucky bastards.” The attack androids had been there, but no one was alive to activate them. Daniel activated his com channel, “This is Lieutenant Commander Tarian, this ship is ours. We’re returning to the Fleet immediately.” The EMP stun on the jump generator finally wore off, and they set a course for United Fleet space. --- “What exactly are your peers planning?” “Uhh...heh heh, we ain’t plannin’ nothin’, just a little searchin’ is all.” the diamond dog said nervously. “Do not attempt to fool me, your life is already forfeit for trespassing within my cavern. Your death can be quick, or arduous. The choice is yours. I only require information.” “Hey! We was here first! We been minin’ these here caves for-” “SILENCE!” The diamond dog fearfully shut its mouth. “I’ll only ask once more, what is being planned?” “Th-they don’t tell me nothin’ good, I don’t know what’s gonna happen. All’s I know is that somethin’ big’s gonna happen with all the diamond dogs in this mountain...please don’t kill me, I’ll never come back, I swear!” “No, no you won’t.” Chrysalis focused her horn on the life force of the diamond dog restrained before her, and began pulling on it. While that was normally a changeling’s only other way of feeding than through love, it was also very useful for complex spells. This one was strong, which bode well for her next scrying. She would last longer before needing another volunteer. --- United Fleet engineers found little of use on board the captured ship, save for a functional prototype of what had been deemed, “the rewrite device.” All fighters used on the mission were in the fighter bay for maintenance, Wolf 4 did suffer landing skid damage and seemed to have an issue in its descent engines fuel supply, but since there were currently no planets to land on, those repairs were put off for more important ones. All who had participated in the mission were subject to radiation testing, and, much to Lieutenant Commander Tarian’s relief, all came up clean. It was two days before Daniel had a chance to get a moment with Adra. Every time he saw her, his heart pounded at the thought of what he wanted to say but couldn't get a minute to. They had finally sat down to lunch, and in Daniel’s hesitation, he started talking about their recent mission. “I still feel on edge about it, it was way too easy. There should have been more fighter resistance and more resistance on board.” Adra replied confidently, “You saw how well we surprised those suckers; if I was flying a Wolf I would’ve had them taken care of in ten seconds flat. And you saw the bodies…it’s obvious what happened.” “Bad way to go, asphyxiation…” he said thoughtfully. “Honestly, if they could think up a weapon like the rewrite device, I say they deserve it. I’d rather die painfully than become one of their pawns against my will.” The conversation continued. It took a turn for the innocuous when Adra suggested that she teach Daniel some advanced hand-to-hand combat and Daniel accused her of merely wanting a legitimate reason to strike a ranking officer. With a sarcastic laugh, she smacked him gently on the head. “Court-martial me.” She smirked. They ate in the commissary, talking and laughing for an hour before Daniel worked up the nerve to say what he’d intended to say. “Adra, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while.” “Ah crap, here comes the serious stuff, and I was enjoying this conversation too.” There was no way to tell her other than by being blunt. “I love you, Adra.” She began to grin, but the smile froze on her lips. She dropped the morsel of food she was holding as a blank look took her face, and her head dropped forward. “…Adra? Everything okay?” he asked, concernedly. She looked back up. Daniel would remember this moment for the rest of his life, no matter how hard he tried to forget. Adra held the same blank look, but her eyes blazed red. --- “My queen, this one begs audience,” a welcome voice echoed into her chambers. “You may enter,” she replied. “This one wishes to know the status of what my queen found. If there is anything this one may do to assist or prepare...” She grinned inwardly. Her previous scrying had lasted hours longer than usual, thanks to the strength of the diamond dog’s life force. “There is. Keep the next two diamond dogs you find as prisoners. Have them build a cell somewhere out of the way, perhaps a storage room. When they are done, have them brought before me. I may have use for them other than as a source of energy.” “My queen, this one apologizes for his boldness and begs leniency, but is scrying not a double-edged sword?” Were he any other changeling, Chrysalis would have him beaten for his insolence, but he’d brought up an interesting point. “Do elaborate,” she said, holding back her anger, his counsel had been useful in the past, she decided to listen. “If my queen glimpses the future and prepares for it, does she not change its outcome? Perhaps it is dangerous to assume the creature will bend to your will even after torture.” Her anger rose. “You lack faith in your queen’s abilities. Is that it, my changeling?” “N-no my queen! Of course not, this one has the utmost faith-” “Then do not speak of such things again. These spells are beyond your comprehension...and do not make the mistake of doubting me again.” As he turned to leave in fear, Chrysalis silently considered what he’d said. Somehow, he had stumbled upon her greatest concern for the success of her plans. --- The red-eyed Adra reached across the table, and grabbed Daniel by the neck. She bore no expression of anger, vengeance, sorrow, or pain. Only a blank look accompanied by hideously red eyes. The person that once was Adra flipped the table aside, sending the civilians and few soldiers in the commissary into a panic for the door. She lifted him up into the air by his neck, slowly crushing the life from his windpipe. “Lieutenant Commander Daniel Tarian, this body is now property of the Faction. You have betrayed the Faction and will be punished.” She said in a cold, soulless voice. A tear ran down his cheek as he remembered her words from just a few minutes earlier, “…I’d rather die painfully than become one of their pawns against my will.” Through his damaged and constricted throat, Daniel barely managed to croak out, “I love you…Adra, and I’m so sorry...for this…” She was just a soldier, and was not permitted to carry a weapon outside a mission. He was an officer, and was required to have a sidearm at all times. Her grip released and the red glow in her eyes faded as the bullet tore through her heart. They both collapsed to the floor. Her face was still expressionless, but her eyes were once again the leaf green he had fallen in love with. She had no pulse and was not breathing. soundtrack He kissed her, and closed her eyes. “Goodbye,” he said tearfully just as a horrifying realization washed over him. The blue light at the bridge of the Faction ship; as she touched the control panel, they had all been staring straight at it and all suddenly felt the same strange pain in their heads. He had been rewritten too, and was a sleeper. As the med crew rushed in, he jumped up and shouted, “Don’t let me see your faces! Don’t say anything to me!” “…but sir!” He shoved the doctor aside, and ran. His love had been taken from him; she hadn’t even died as herself. The Adra he loved had been erased. Washed out permanently to become a disposable pawn of the Faction. He could never look upon the face of anyone he knew again, lest he be…activated. He ran through the ship, shoving people aside left and right. There was only one place he could go, only one way to stop himself from ever activating. He found Hunter along his route, he was about to warn him when Hunter looked back at him. There was a noose hanging from his neck. His eyes glowed red as he made to attack. Hunter must have realized it as well and accidentally activated himself by trying to end his own life. Daniel kicked open the hatch into the fighter bay and sealed it shut behind him, the mindless thing that once was Hunter now trying to force it open. Only one fighter was not out on a shakedown flight. Daniel sprinted for Wolf 4, the only system on board already repaired being its automated shields, and climbed in. Starting up the engines, he was met by a familiar voice. “Lieutenant commander Tarian! This is Admiral Emrys, just what in the hell do you think you’re doing?!” “I can’t stay here, Admiral,” he replied, flipping switches and preparing Wolf 4 for takeoff. “I know how you’re feeling, you just lost Adra, I saw the security footage. But-” “You don’t understand, Admiral! I’ve been rewritten, too…I just haven’t been activated yet. You have to let me go or I’m a threat to everyone here. As soon as I leave the bay, I’m going to prepare a jump. Have tactical target me in the split second my auto-shields are down before I jump and kill me before I kill any of you. There’s nothing left for me to live for anyway.” There was a long pause. “…understood. You have my word. I’m sorry it had to end like this.” “I’m sorry too, Admiral.” Wolf 4 took another several minutes to power up. In that time, he received another signal from the Admiral. “Admiral, I’ve made up my mind, you can’t stop me.” “That’s not it, son. We’ve just received word; that mission was a trap. The Faction initiated hundreds of them at the same time. Approximately 96% of the United Fleet has fallen by sleeper units within their ranks.” “Why are you telling me this now?” Before the Admiral could reply, he saw his answer. A massive fleet of Faction capital ships dropped out of a jump in front of the open fighter bay doors. This was their final attack; the Faction intended to wipe out the United Fleet once and for all with their rewrite device. “Admiral, don’t shoot at me when my auto-shields go down for the jump. I’ll activate Wolf 4’s self-destruct at that moment. The blast should be strong enough to damage most of their fleet. They don’t seem to have launched their own fighters yet, so a single fighter should be able to slip through their large-scale defenses fairly easily.” Several seconds of silence were followed by Admiral Emrys’s reply: “It’s been an honor serving with you, Lieutenant Commander Tarian. Godspeed.” He took this as confirmation, and shut down his com channel. Daniel waited for the right moment, and pushed forward on the throttle. He commanded the flight computer to arm the self-destruct, and activate it the very next second the auto-shields were down. Daniel gunned the throttle the instant he left the bay. Though he was mentally prepared to be dodging a hail of defense turret fire, none came. It didn't seem right for them to simply ignore a fighter as capable as the Wolf-class. He took it as sheer luck, and made a mad dash to the center of the enemy fleet. As soon as he was in position, he stabbed the onscreen button to begin a jump charge. Once the charge began, a jump was inevitable, and could not be aborted. It began counting down from five seconds as the charge built. With his last seconds, he pictured Adra’s face, and opened his eyes to see the counter reach zero. --- “My queen, this one brings...gifts.” Still angered at him from several hours previously, Chrysalis had to steady herself to address her confidant without scaring him off. “What manner of gifts?” she asked flatly. A chain clinked, Chrysalis turned to see two diamond dogs, one much larger and more muscular than the other. They were chained at all paws, flanked by several changelings, and shivering in fear. “You know what must be done, explain to them what they are to do, and be sure they know what awaits them should they fail.” --- It seemed Wolf 4’s landing skids were not the only system to have been damaged in battle. The jump initiated successfully much to Daniel’s shock and anger. Just as he braced himself for the overload of Wolf 4’s miniaturized fusion reactor, the heads up display flashed the warning, “Self-destruct system failure: Overload not possible.” He was now in an unplanned jump with no target. The jump would continue until the reactor died. Burying his anger for the moment, Daniel thought of a way he could salvage the situation. He could not simply crash the fighter intentionally; it had safeguards against that, and that would count as a direct suicide attempt and probably activate him. Perhaps he could make it down to the surface of a planet and find a way to safely end his own life there. He was determined not to let the Faction take his mind, but the longer he stayed alive, the longer it remained a possibility. Then again… he thought, realizing that if he escaped far enough from Faction territory, he would never see a familiar face again, and it didn’t matter if he was able to end his own life. He could deprive himself of human contact forever…but was that preferable? Could he even live his life without Adra, much less no humans ever again? No, that wasn’t a question. She wouldn’t want him to just give up. If there was a possibility of living without risk of being rewritten, he had to take it. Daniel concluded that he would make his decision when he found a planet. He set the Wolf’s bioscribe to use the very first sentient life form the computer observed on the new planet. The bioscribe was a very advanced piece of technology designed to create the ultimate disguise for studying a planet’s indigenous life. It merely needed to observe a living specimen, and would completely change the user’s biology to match the species. This eliminated the need for enviro-suits, and could only be reversed by the same bioscribe device within 48 hours of the initial transformation; after which the change became permanent, and the users mind adapted permanently to the new body. The disguise could not be pulled off forcibly like a mask. There was no mask to remove. Having the body of a native would give him an easier time of doing whatever he decided to do without attracting unwanted attention. It took several hours to program the bioscribe to work automatically without his intervention. Daniel knew the landing would be rough and he may not be conscious to operate it himself. It was then that he realized that his jump had gone on far longer than it should have, and the reactor was nearly depleted. Most jumps lasted a few minutes; he had been going for nearly eight hours. As if on cue, the computer alerted him of the reactor’s depleted status, and dropped him out of the jump. Daniel felt the confirmation of his reactor’s depletion in the gentle thunk that was the reactor capsule being jettisoned. He checked his distance from Faction and United Fleet territory, and his jaw dropped in shock. He was on the complete opposite side of the galaxy. Impossible, no reactor under normal operation could sustain a jump of that velocity for so long…except maybe a reactor that was just about to overload… The self-destruct system worked, but not as designed. The jump generator funneled the excess energy from the system to propel him far beyond the reach of any human starship. A warning appeared on his heads-up display; there was a habitable planet less than three days distant by sub-lightspeed propulsion. It would be a long trip, and he had no provisions on board, but it was worth a shot. When his nav-computer told him the planet was being orbited by its parent star, rather than the other way around, he shut down the astrometric sensors. Nonsense readings would not help him here. Powering up the sub-light engines, he directed himself towards the planet, and accelerated. --- “You summoned this one, my queen?” “Yes, my most loyal changeling, I did. I trust the diamond dogs have finished constructing the cell?” “They have. Though they required more...encouragement than expected.” “Do they still live?” “They do.” “Then promise them riches in exchange for their service as jailors. When we’re done with them, we’ll simply discard them or consume them. Whatever is more convenient. The day is very near.” ---