The Phoenix Darkness (48 page)

“Is it possible,” said Calvin, getting
Rez’nac’s attention back on him, “that the Dark Ones, combined with
the Rahajiim, might have somehow tricked the High Prelain or
otherwise deceived the Council of Prelains in some way?”

At first Rez’nac looked appalled by the
question, but then seemed to genuinely consider it. Eventually, he
gave Calvin his answer. “Yes.”

“If that’s the case, then obviously we have
to do something about it,” said Calvin.

Rez’nac nodded his head. “If the Council is
deceived, if the High Prelain is deceived…that would be a great
danger to the galaxy. No one would be safe.”

“Sounds like the kind of thing we need to
investigate,” said Rafael.

“He’s right,” said Calvin. “But in order to
do that, we need some information. Like, who are
the Dark
Ones
?

Rez’nac looked confused and hurt by all of
this, and Calvin could tell his mind was racing, as if the thought
that the High Prelain or the Council of Prelains, or both, might
have been deceived had turned his world completely upside down.

“You may sit if you like,” said Calvin. He
didn’t expect the large Polarian to take him up on his offer; in
the past, he’d always preferred to stand, but this time he sat. Sat
and pondered as if lost deep inside his own head. Calvin gave him
time, not wanting to interrupt whatever thought process was going
on. Eventually, Rez’nac spoke.

“Since the beginning, when the Essences
created the Polarians, there have always been deviants, those who
rejected the Essences. These were the first Dark Ones, the Qi’laqin
you have encountered, they are the spawn of these early
Dark
Ones
.”

“Qi’laqin?” asked Calvin.

“The Faceless Ones.”

And then Calvin remembered: Qi’laqin had been
the word Rez’nac had used to describe the replicants.

“The deviants who choose to go astray are not
fallen ones, they are marked. From the beginning of their lives,
they are Dark Ones, and always they have been cast away. Ever since
the first of them left the light of the Essences and chose their
own path, this has always been so.”

Calvin was eager for Rez’nac to skip past the
mythological mumbo jumbo and get to the relevant stuff, but he
remained respectfully quiet.

“There have been times when
the Dark
Ones
have banded together and tried to slaughter the Polarians
of the light, those who fall the Essences, those of the blue. And
every time,
the Dark Ones
have been driven back. This is the
true purpose of the Dread Fleet.”

Now
that
was a reveal Calvin had not
expected, and found very interesting. So somewhere out in Polarian
Forbidden Space there was a competing offshoot of the Polarian
species which would wage war against the Polarians from time to
time. That was why the Dread Fleet could be called forth, rallying
Polarians of different stripes and loyalties behind the same banner
for the common cause of war. It was to defeat the competing
species…

“Always the balance has been as it should,
the Dark Ones in the dark, and the Polarians in the light. Neither
one can destroy the other. For such is the way of the Essences.
That is, until recently.”

“What’s happened recently?” asked Calvin,
believing now he was going to get into the actual substance of the
matter.

“There has been a schism within the Polarian
religion,” said Rez’nac, much to Calvin’s surprise. “We are
forbidden to speak of it, even to acknowledge it. But there have
been many from the light who have chosen the darkness. And they now
follow the god of
the Dark Ones
. These who abandon our ways,
they wish to shift the balance. They hope we will abandon the truth
of the Essences and accept their false demon god. Of course, any
true Polarian cannot do such a thing. We cannot even think to do
such a thing. That is how serious the crime is. Yet many have gone
over to that side, abandoning the light.”

“So, as a reaction to this schism,” said
Calvin, “there have been some from the light,” for simplicity he
borrowed Rez’nac’s own words, “who have become extreme in their
ways. Like your son, Grimka and many of his cohorts.”

“Yes, perhaps it is so,” said Rez’nac. “I had
thought as much when I used to be of the Essence of Khalahar. But,
now that I am fallen, I am unsure if I was correct. Perhaps the
Ones-Who-Must-Be-Blue are right in their extreme ways. Perhaps
faith and diligence of their kind is what is needed to stop the
corrosive influence of
the Dark Ones
on our people. I do not
know.”

Calvin decided to let the question of who the
Ones-Who-Must-Be-Blue slide, thinking Rez’nac probably referred to
some extremist culture among the Polarians. Calvin remembered how
Grimka and the more extreme Polarians had a much brighter, bluer
hue to their skin and the more conservative ones, like Rez’nac,
appeared almost equally grey as blue. Instead, he asked, “Rez’nac,
if
the Dark Ones
are the enemy, why do you call yourself a
Dark One
?”

“I am not a Dark One, I am a dark one,” said
Rez’nac simply. Calvin did not distinguish any difference.

“You’ll have to explain it a little better
than that, I’m afraid.”

“To lose your Essence is to become fallen,
like into a pit. In the pit there is no light, it cannot exist, and
so you are alone wandering in the darkness without light. That
makes you of the dark, in your language, a dark one. But those who
are the true
Dark Ones
, they have not fallen and become lost
inside a pit as I have. They've been born of the Darkness or else
have chosen the Darkness, seeking it out deliberately wanting to
kneel before their singular god. That is the difference.”

Calvin understood, at least as well as he
could have, without experiencing this culture firsthand. “Well, I
think it’s pretty obvious what we need to do,” said Calvin.

The other two looked at him.

“We need to get inside Polarian Forbidden
Space and investigate what the connection is between the Rahajiim,
the
Dark Ones
, and the Council of Prelains. Once we uncover
it, we expose it.”

“Sounds simple enough,” said Rafael with just
a hint of sarcasm.

“Rez’nac, if we were to go into the Forbidden
Space,” said Calvin. “I would need you to go with us. Are you
willing to help us with such a mission, even though bringing humans
to that place is a great taboo?” Calvin needed to know Rez’nac
could be relied upon.

Rez’nac considered it for some time before
replying.

“Yes,” he said, eventually. “I would go and I
would serve. And I would guide the humans, so long as you are there
to find the connection you spoke of and to expose it for all the
galaxy to see. And that is your sole purpose among those
stars.”

“I swear it,” said Calvin.

“Then you have my word, for whatever it’s
worth,” said Rez’nac. “I will guide and help you until my bones
break and my blood runs dry or until we achieve our goal, whichever
comes first.”

“
Hopefully
the goal,” said Calvin.

“That just leaves us with one logistical
question,” said Rafael. “How are we going to steal a Polarian ship
and get over there?”

“Oh, we’re not going to steal any Polarian
ship,” said Calvin. “I’m done dealing with this alien garbage; no
offense, Rez’nac. We’re taking the
Nighthawk
.”

***

“My lookouts confirm; the king’s fleet is on
the move,” said Sir Daniel.

“Must we call it that?” asked Kalila, with
some measure of disdain. “I recognize no king, and therefore
recognize no king’s fleet.” She stood in the planning chamber
aboard the
Black Swan
surrounded by her top military
advisors, the Joint-Knights-Commander and, at her request, Captain
Adiger.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” said Sir
Daniel. “I meant to say, the usurper’s fleet is on the move. Spies
among them confirm what we’ve suspected all along.”

“They intend to strike Ophiuchus,” said
Kalila knowingly.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Sir Daniel. “Not
only do they intend to strike there, Caerwyn Martel intends to take
over the system. He is said to be massing his entire fleet for the
operation.”

“We shall not allow that system to fall,”
said Kalila. The loss of Ophiuchus, which remained her best
resource endowed, most productive system, would be a tremendous
blow to her cause and a massive gain for the enemy. Even though she
was loath to commit to a full scale engagement against the rival
Imperial fleet again, the losses at Apollo remained staggering, she
knew she had no choice. Ophiuchus must be held at all costs.

“I believe if we rally our forces now,” said
Sir Reginald, “we will arrive first. That would give us time to set
up a proper defense. With any luck, the usurper will think twice
before committing his fleets to such an engagement.”

“I agree with your assessment,” said Kalila,
looking at the maps on the table. By all appearances, her forces
should be capable of reaching the Ophiuchus System first, even if
Caerwyn had already marshaled his fleets and given the order to
attack. She also believed that, with the help of the local
defenses, any battle in that system would greatly favor the
defender.

“I would prefer the enemy did engage us
there,” said Sir Andris. “We could hurt them two for one; the
longer the enemy stays in the engagement, the greater our victory
and advantage in future combat.”

While that was true, Kalila would prefer not
to have any future battles between Imperial forces, whether they be
loyal to her or rebels. The fact remained that the truest threat
lurked on the far side of the DMZ, a host of Rotham warships Calvin
had promised would be on its way. An enemy Kalila had believed all
along would come knocking on their door. Even though there had yet
to be any signs of imminent attack, other than Calvin’s warning
long ago that the Alliance had fallen, opening the door for the
possibility of invasion, although no invasion had yet been
detected.

“Any battle against the usurper, no matter
how favored our forces are, would be costly to the Empire,” said
Kalila. “It would be better that we chase off Caerwyn Martel’s
ambitions by a show of force in Ophiuchus and avoid the fight
altogether.”

“Hear, hear,” said Sir Reginald.

“Your Majesty, if I may,” said Captain
Adiger. “There is also the option of counter attack. We could send
a sizable host to defend Ophiuchus, say half our forces. That ought
to be sufficient to hold the system, if only just so, then the rest
of our forces could be deployed against Olympia, or Iridia, or
Galo, or any number of core systems belonging to the usurper. We
should be able to stave off his attack, while simultaneously taking
a system for ourselves, granting us one step closer to
victory.”

Kalila nodded. “While that is a good plan,”
she said. “I fear if we only send half our strength to Ophiuchus,
it will induce the enemy to attack the system.”

“That is what we’d be hoping for,” said
Captain Adiger. “If the enemy host is committed to battle there,
they would have no chance of withdrawing to aid against our
attack.”

“But if the enemy is committed to battle in
Ophiuchus,” said Kalila, “then there would certainly be a battle,
and a costly one at that. I would prefer to minimize further loss
of ships and lives for either side in the interest of the Empire.”
Should the Imperial fleets become further diminished, she feared
there would be little left for her to command once she took the
throne on Capital World, and she would be unable to resist the
advances of the real enemy, the
Rotham
.

“As ever, I respect Her Majesty’s noble
wishes,” said Captain Adiger. “But I am concerned that, in the
necessary course of war which has been laid before us, it will
prove impossible to end this conflict without further significant
loss of lives and ships. Whether at Ophiuchus or somewhere else, I
believe battle is unavoidable.”

“You may be right,” said Kalila. “But I would
still prefer a diplomatic solution. Every day, new worlds are
brought to our side of the conflict and new representatives are
appointed to the Royal Assembly. If only Caerwyn’s primary
supporters defected to our side, we could defeat him without
further bloodshed.”

“A noble ambition, Your Highness,” said Sir
Daniel. “However, we are only making small gains, of late, in
acquisition of new worlds through diplomacy. And all such gains
have been from neutral systems or among magistrates who have
switched allegiances. They have been ones who were never
particularly happy with Caerwyn Martel. At this point, any systems
that are unwilling to recognize him as king have already come over
to our side. The rest remain loyal to him, at least until we smash
his forces and demonstrate the superiority of our cause.”

Kalila hoped the man was wrong, but believed
him to be right. She'd always known, since the Martels had shown
their true colors, Caerwyn would find some way to claim the throne
for himself. And, when he did, that battle would be inevitable.
Hopefully, after one thorough, decisive engagement, the rest of the
Empire would see him as the weak, cowardly usurper he was and lower
his standard in favor of hers. If only there existed some way to
have such a stunning victory without causing significant losses to
either her forces or the opposition.

“I would have cake and eat cake also,” she
said, mostly to herself.

“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?” said Sir
Reginald, looking confused.

“What I mean is, I would have the throne but
wish to keep the Imperial squadrons intact and battle-ready on
either side of this conflict. For, once I put an end to Caerwyn and
the throne is indisputably mine, there will be no enemy Imperials.
We shall all be one great, glorious family, an Empire no longer
divided. To maintain the strength and integrity of such a house, we
must have forces enough to intimidate the enemy. We cannot reduce
ourselves through further conflict such as we experienced at
Apollo.”