ALL NOVEL B2 – “Meanwhile, in the Federation: Part 2.”
Si’dia strutted down the Battlecruiser’s main thruway with purpose. A woman on a mission. The details of the last meeting with General Haldorðr were still fresh in her mind.
Something was seriously wrong in the Expeditionary Force, and the fact that it had escaped their notice for so long made her... nervous. Things still weren’t totally clear, but pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
The most alarming part of this entire ordeal was that even after nearly seven months, they still had found neither hide nor hair of Alpha. According to SAEU-03, it was as if he had vanished from the face of reality.
That was concerning.
That suggested one of three possibilities. Someone, somewhere, could totally obliterate one of the Federation’s most powerful and well-guarded assets in the middle of one of their most heavily fortified sectors of space in an instant — so quickly that Alpha didn’t even have time to transmit himself back to the Mother Node.
Alternatively, someone had the capability of containing Alpha in such a way that even Infiltrate — an AI whose power bordered on omnipresence — couldn’t locate him.
Neither option spelled good things for the Expeditionary Force... or the Federation as a whole.
One younger senator had proposed that Alpha had simply slipped his leash and made a break for it while he could. The comment had floored the Senate room and thrown it into complete silence... before the house broke into riotous laughter.
Even Si’dia had smirked at the idea. This was the same AI who thought filling a Garden World with billions of Class-C Arachnomorph eggs was a wonderful solution to a pest problem. Then Razor Sparrows to clear those out. Then... No, no, Si’dia wasn’t going down that rabbit hole again; she still had nightmares about that paperwork.
When it came to battlefield tactics, Alpha could be called a one-in-a-millennia genius. However, long-term planning was definitely not one of the AI’s strong points. Few seriously considered the possibility that Alpha could slip through all their nets on his own. Those who knew him personally doubted he would ever want to.
If Alpha ever did somehow slip his leash, Si’dia knew he would come running back within the year. Without a mission or directive, Alpha was easily distracted and quickly bored. He could — and had — spent an entire decade working on a single project. Yet the moment he was free to do as he pleased, the AI never seemed able to focus on one thing at a time.
It was one reason he had been encouraged to split his active mind into so many sub-AIs. Dedicating parts of his consciousness to specific tasks had helped focus him when needed, even if it left him… fragmented at times.
As for the third possibility…
Si’dia shook her head. It was too soon for that. Infiltrate would have told her if they needed to activate any of their contingencies yet. Those represented a plan tens of thousands of years in the making. Pulling the trigger too soon could have disastrous results. They couldn’t fail… not again.
Si’dia rounded the corner, only for a figure to barrel into her, wrapping two arms tight around her body. The Elderon’s eyes glowed a bright violet color as ‘power’ flickered around her, her instincts kicking in. After a second, the glow vanished, and Si’dia sighed tiredly, using a free arm to push away the bushy blond hair blocking her view.
“Ms. Jay, I’ve asked you before to please make yourself known before you... make yourself known... Especially when we’re in the middle of a pressurized vessel hurtling through the void at translight speeds...” Si’dia sighed.
The figure released its grip and pushed away, looking up at Si’dia with puppy dog eyes. The woman’s soft, gentle features could be called ‘cute’ but not necessarily striking. SEAU-02 — or Articulate, as the public called her — had learned long ago that people were far more comfortable around someone they considered ‘pretty but relatable’ rather than some unparalleled jade beauty. Her job was to make people feel welcomed, safe, and happy. Not to be worshiped — not that it had stopped some people...
“Sorry, Ms. D. It’s just been so long since I’ve seen you! How have you been? Has General Grumpy-Butt been working you hard lately?” Articulate responded with a dopey smile.
Si’dia sighed, running a hand over her tired face.
“General Haldorðr has been just as busy as everyone else, Ms. Jay. I’ll kindly remind you we’re currently on duty and in the middle of a crisis. Please behave...”
Articulate pouted but fell into line beside Si’dia.
“So, the rumors are true, then? Alpha’s vanished? You don’t think that he’s gone rogue, right?” the bubbly woman asked.
Si’dia turned and stared at the AI beside her, saying nothing but raising a brow.
“Y-ya, I guess you’re right... If he had the skill to slip away from that edge lord of a Firewall, the Federation would have burned to the ground long before this.” Articulate coughed and looked away, embarrassed.
Si’dia chuckled and pulled out a small folder.
“What did Infiltrate tell you lot? Even I’ve been unable to reach him since Alpha vanished, other than a few times he’s found me,” Si’dia asked.
Articulate was silent for a moment before responding.
“He wouldn’t tell me much. You know how he is, all cloak and dagger. He sees shadows everywhere. But I confirmed what you were asking for. ‘Last Resort’ has gone dark.”
Si’dia stopped, the folder slipping from her hands. Articulate continued on for a few steps before turning back to face her, frowning at the serious look on her face. Si’dia bent to pick up the folder, her voice cold as she stood.
“So it’s as we feared... send a message to Mr. Hoffmann. We need to speak to Prisoner #048...” Si’dia
—————————————————————
Of the few living beings that knew about ‘The Core,’ some questioned the intelligence of imprisoning the more heinous and dangerous criminals in the entire Federation in its most important and strategic factory world.
Others argued, ‘Where better place than the most heavily guarded, secured, and armed location in known existence?’ Security in The Core was tighter than even the Galactic Senate, and even if Si’dia had been the one to establish it, she was not exempt from protocol.
After the long process was finished and both she and Articulate were approved to move deeper into the facility, they soon stood in front of a thick vault door at the very heart of SEAU-04, Codename: World Break — or rather, the core of his factory world, though the distinction between those two had become blurry over the millennia.
A deep, gravelly voice spoke over the intercoms;
“Vault #048 has been loaded, and the area secured, Ms. Si’dia. You’re approved to proceed. Not much use it’ll do ya, I think, though. The Ol’bastard’s stopped responding to anything I do for nearly a century now.”
nodded
“Thank you, Mr. Hoffmann. Open the Vault.” Si’dia responded.
With a loud hiss of steam, the blast doors spun as several hundred meters of various materials unfolded in front of them into a narrow walkway. Both women strolled down the walkway, side-by-side, as the doors slammed shut behind them as they passed by. After walking nearly 200 meters, they exited into a small, 15x15 meter room. The third of the room they occupied was separated from the rest by a shimmering space-time distortion.
The [Space-Time Barrier] was one of the most powerful pieces of technology developed by the Federation. It could completely cut off a section of space from the rest of existence. Typically, its enormous power consumption meant it was only practical for point defense on the largest Capital Ships. The size of the barrier in front of the women suggested it extended beyond the scope of the room they found themselves in.
Si’dia stopped in front of the barrier and waited. After a brief moment, a quiet hum sounded, and the barrier blinked out of existence.
On the other side, a strange sight was revealed. In the middle of the room, hanging from massive chains, was… an old, withered human male. If not for the steady rise and fall of his chest, one might think the being in front of them was a corpse, let alone strong enough to not be torn apart or crushed by the sheer weight of the chains that bound him. Stranger still, the base of each chain was marked by a strange circle of swirling, anarchic symbols. Symbols that appeared at first static but seemed to change every time you looked at them.
The chains themselves were veined with golden cracks that softly glowed in the dark cell. Every so often, one of the links would vibrate and crack, adding another glowing mark, while some would crumble into dust, quickly replaced by various mechanical arms that appeared out of the walls.
The man himself sat in the middle of another circle of strange symbols. If one paid attention, one could see the various rings that made up the pattern, slowly ticking around each other like the gears of a clock.
Si’dia walked forward with her arm folded as she stared down at the old man in front of her. Suddenly, she lashed out with a vicious kick, driving stilettos crafted from ultra-dense star stuff into the old man’s exposed gut. The man’s eyes shot open, bulging as he uttered a breathless wheeze. The old man slumped over, coughing, supported only by the restraining chains.
Si’dia smirked, grabbing his hair and pulling his face upward.
“#048... It’s been a long time. How are you enjoying the new... accommodations?” she asked, a wintry smile playing across her lips.
The old man said nothing, simply glaring up at the red-skinned woman.
“While I’d love to get acquainted, I’m not here for pleasure. I have questions,” Si’dia continued when it was clear the man had nothing to say to her.
Still, the old man remained quiet, staring into nothing.
Si’dia frowned and stood. With a wave of her hand, several mechanical arms descended from the ceiling. One arm pointed at the man’s back and fired. A concentrated energy beam, strong enough to melt even battleship-grade alloy, instantly contacted the man’s skin. Surprisingly, however, it didn’t turn the man to ash. Instead, it seemed to struggle to even damage the frail old man’s skin, sizzling as it slowly moved downward and filling the room with the scent of burning flesh.
The old man gritted their teeth, their brow furrowing as drops of blood began to push through the pores on their forehead. Even so, he didn’t make a sound other than a few low grunts of pain.
Si’dia watched with a blank face while Articulate turned away, the unease in her eyes saying all she needed to about the situation. The arms retracted, leaving the man panting as blood steadily dripped down like sweat.
Giving the old man a moment to catch his breath, Si’dia reached down and grabbed him once more, oblivious to the blood on his face.
“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, #048. The Federation is nothing, if not reasonable, to those who cooperate. What do you know about the ‘Nurseries’?” she asked.
The old man’s grunts of pain and gasps of breath quickly shifted into low chuckles. They slowly built in volume until the man’s entire body shook with laughter, the sound mixing with the thunderous clank of the chains.
The old man threw his head back, laughing as if he’d just heard the greatest joke of his life. Slowly, he grew quiet and lowered his head to look Si’dia in the eye. The grin that split his face from ear to ear both boiled the Elderon’s blood and chilled her soul to its very core.
When he finally spoke, his voice was ragged and dusty;
“So it’s come to this. I knew it; even you could not find them all. And here I thought there was nothing beyond the reach of the ‘Archdemon.’ I guess it’s true what they say. Even gods are not infallible, let alone demons,” the man laughed, pure glee radiating in his voice.
“That’s rich, coming from the child eater.” Articulate snapped back, her arms folded and eyes cold.
The old man’s grin widened as he turned his eyes towards the AI.
“What you call ‘children,’ I call ‘eggs.’ I would expect one such as yourself, who spends so much time in the skin of others, to understand that life is all about perspective. Can you truly fault me for wishing to sample all of life’s... flavors?” The man cackled once more.
Articulate furrowed her brow and stepped forward, mouth open as if to retort, but was stopped by Si’dia’s hand.
The Elderon yanked the man’s eyes back to her, her voice still cold and collected, underrated by the prisoner’s taunts — though her black nails might have bitten into the man’s skin a little more than was strictly necessary.
“Enough games! You might as well tell us what you know already. We both know that no one is coming for you. Not anymore,” Si’dia changed the subject in a flat tone.
Again. The old man grinned from ear to ear, his eyes squinting in barely contained glee. “Now, now, my dear Apprentice. We both know... that’s not true... Hahhahahahah!”
Si’dia’s composure finally snapped, and with a snarl, the Elderon lifted the old man, chains and all, off the ground by his neck. The old man continued to laugh through wheezing breaths as the woman’s grip grew tighter.
“Si’dia...” It was World Break’s calm voice that snapped her out of it.
It took every ounce of willpower Si’dia had to release her grip and let the laughing man fall to the floor with a bang. Si’dia stood there in silence, looking down at him as a thousand voices screamed in her head. After a long moment, she stepped back, her voice once more calm and collected.
“The hard way it is...”