Ex Nihilo - Abyssal Prophecy

Chapter 16

Staring at the black viewscreen, Magnus Void contemplated his situation. He knew he needed these humans to achieve his plans, but he worried his crew wouldn’t understand. The deal with the W’Hyish S’yevel demanded that he find the key to the forbidden fortress. Standing up, he found his second-in-command standing in the shadows. If not for his raw energy vision, she would have been invisible to him.

            “I take it you watched the whole thing?” Magnus asked.

            “My tribe vouched for you at the C’undrivar, Magnus. We sacrificed one of our great world ships, and even gave you enough of our dead to fool those savages.” The woman whispered. “Death demands life in return. That is our bargain, and you had better not fail. For even you are not immune to the touch of the one true God R’paris.”

            “Before we dock on the Alcatraz, I recommend you take off that armour. I don’t think they’d respond well to the black hides you wear or their similarity to the Reavers you sent to attack.” Magnus walked by her to check the status of the ship. Only minor scrapes on the hull. His second-in-command’s plan had worked without flaw so far, but he was still prepared for the unexpected.

The second-in-command appeared to blend into the shadows of the ship. Her people were one with the darkness. Her long, navy blue hair, bright red eyes, and lithe figure made hiding much easier. She stepped out into the light of the Death’s Reaper. The blackened armour forged by her people from the dead stood out. A’zyren knew she had Magnus Void’s respect, but she doubted his plan. Still, he had managed to convince the Em’Pharis, the Occ’ularis, and the Ni’yebs of the tribes of W’Hyish S’yevel.

            “Do you trust these savages, Magnus?” she asked.

            “A’zyren, your plan worked. Can we just focus on what needs to be done? Whatever the material the safe on the outpost is made up of, your people haven’t penetrated it in a millennia. You’ve lost so many people just to the outpost’s defense automatons. It requires a specific genetic code. Thanks to Dhakan and his slippery little worm program, we were at least able to get their last recorded transmission. We know someone on that ship has the proper genetic code.”

            Slithering into the chamber, Dhakan saw the Captain and A’zyren  arguing. He dreaded these moments, but once he heard what they were arguing about, he knew he had to intervene. His powerful muscles propelled him faster towards the two. They turned to see their Serpentine friend approaching with his dark purple combat armour, silver scales, and black slits for eyes.

            “We know the lock requires more than just genetic information. If it was only DNA, I could just brute force hack the right combination and clone the resulting algorithm. There appears to be some sort of secondary lock. You need to possess both the right DNA and this secondary feature. My guess, based on the information I was able to pull, is the secondary lock requires a heightened mental gift. It appears to be psionic in nature,” Dhakan stated.

            “Psionic abilities are what we’re relying on now.” A’zyren spat. “Maybe I should get a wand, wave it around, and say ‘Open sesame’ like the foolish human tale my parents told me. There is no evidence there is any such power as 'psionics.'”

            Magnus chuckled to himself as he watched the systems and waited for a signal to dock. He had lived longer than any of these creatures had, and he knew nothing was impossible. The Great Maw was all these short-lived creatures had ever known. They had never seen the glory of a star burning bright and felt its warm sting. They knew nothing of what came before or what could be. They only focused on what was.

            “Y’va rsa f’yrek ama’ya,” A’zyren cursed.

            Magnus turned to grab the woman by the throat. She tried to reach for her gun but he grabbed her hand with his free one. Black energy sparked in his eyes. Feeling the tightening grip on her throat, she ceased her struggling. Magnus released his grip.

            “I have respect for you and your people, and I intend to fulfill my promises for reasons your tiny mammalian brain couldn’t understand.” He kneeled to face A’zyren. “I am very hungry and you’d make a delicious meal. Don’t tempt me any further or the next time I’ll drain you of every drop of delicious energy coursing through you. Do I make myself clear?”

            “Yes, you’ve made yourself perfectly clear, Captain,” A’zyren replied.

            Entering the bridge was a tall, slender human-looking man. He wore a tight silver suit with a long cloak and sashes. He looked upon the group, assessing what was happening causing his neon blue eyes to dilate. Long fluorescent orange hair wisped down his neck and over his soldiers. Thousands of small, intricate braids spoke of his birth, his parents’ names, and his rank.

            “Am I intruding?” he asked.

            “Not at all, Lord Genji, I was just teaching A’zyren some manners. She seems to have a low opinion of her own kind.” Magnus glanced away from the instruments. “I am sure you have a more enlightened view of your ancestors.”

            “We are both lords here, are we not? Let us dispense with the titles. It is true DeVayne shares DNA with the humans, but we also share DNA with Serpentines, Geodes, and most known races. My people borrow from the strength of any life that succeeds in survival. Strangely, these less evolved creatures are necessary to your plans,” Genji reasoned.

            Magnus was growing tired of the insolence and focused on the instruments, hoping to see docking instructions. He could fight his way onto the ship, create a huge mess, and, in the chaos, perhaps the very person he came for would be killed. No, he needed to lure these humans into letting him come on. He hoped the energy-to-matter converters would do the trick.

            “You know, Dhakan, I respect your people, and am glad to share in their wisdom. The Serpentine have long been known for their scientific advances. I believe that is where we DeVayne draw most of our intelligence from,” Genji said.

            “Please do not insult my people, Lord Genji. Your people are much closer to those humans on that ship than a Serpentine,” Dhakan stated.

Genji’s eyes flared. “I see too much emotion in you DeVayne. Your blood is too hot, and you are ready to jump into the fires of insanity.”

            Magnus enjoyed seeing his crew teasing each other. He knew that where he was taking them this might be one of the last opportunity. He expected most of them to die on this journey.

The computer received a transmission from the Alcatraz. Magnus uploaded the information to the navigation computer. Ignoring everyone else, he headed back to the captain’s chair, ignited the Death’s Reaper thrusters, and headed towards the docking bay on the lower portion of the Alcatraz.

            “Tell Vulcan and Mordecai to get ready for docking, Genji,” Magnus ordered.

            With a deep sigh, Genji turned to leave the bridge. “You know the ASA is going to just hate this. Then again, Asymmetrical Soul Algorithms hate everything. I’ll make sure Vulcan gets those matter converters loaded up.”

            “Tell Mordecai to take it up with me if it has a problem with my order. While you’re at it, have Vulcan prepare one of the older FTL drives we salvaged to offload.”

He heard the grumbling amongst the crew. “Remember who you’re dealing with before you start complaining.”,

From the cockpit, he could see the massive ship and all of its damage. The metal was deteriorating in patches all over the upper part of the hull. Giant dents indicated where large collisions scarred the hull. Scrapes and burns showed centuries of battle damage. He was surprised the ship was still in one piece.

            The Death’s Reaper glided along the hull of the massive ship, manoeuvring underneath. The massive docking bay doors began to open. Magnus manoeuvred his ship into the docking bay. Oxygen filled the small chamber when the area began to pressurize.

Magnus and his crew could see the massive army of the Alcatraz assembled for their arrival. These humans weren’t as stupid as they appeared. From the looks of their weapons, and power armour, these people had been left with the technologies of the ancient races.

            “Well, either this is the best welcoming I’ve ever seen, or it’s a f*****g trap,” A’zyren declared.

            “Be patient. We need these people.” Magnus knew they were already at the mercy of these humans. The designers of the research outpost had guaranteed that. When the ship had come to a rest, Magnus shut the systems down.

            “Well let’s not keep our new friends waiting,” Walking out of the cockpit, he didn’t look at any of his crew. He didn’t care what any of them thought. They were all stuck here now. No matter what happened, he was going to find the person with the right genetic sequence, and, in the process, learn as much about these humans as he could.

            Heading down the corridor, Magnus arrived at the lift to the cargo back of the Death’s Reaper. He saw his reluctant crew coming but decided not to wait for them. Descending to the cargo level was only a minute journey. He saw the massive stone colossal Vulcan lugging the FTL drive to add to the energy-to-matter converters sitting on a hover skiff. In the corner, Genji was talking to the tall robotic ASA unit known as Mordecai.

            “Captain, you can’t be serious. You want to work with these organics?” Mordecai raced over. “Why do you subject me to such torments?”

            “Shut it, Mordecai. I don’t need to hear your machine code drivel.” Magnus had never been a fan of that race of artificial intelligence for this reason. There was always something to complain about, some imperfection needing perfecting, and despite exceptional intelligence, these ASA robotic lifeforms seemed to lack any common sense.

Mordecai’s sleek grey metal frame turned to Genji, who just shrugged.

            Vulcan set the large FTL drive down on the skiff causing the anti-gravitation engines to sink towards the deck. The anti-grav system whirred with increase power. The skiff began to rise back upwards. With each movement, his massive rock frame ground against itself. Turning, he looked at the captain with his white diamond eyes.

            “Captain Void, I have done as you requested.”

            “I can always count on you to be dependable.”

            “I am as dependable as the rocks that I am made up of. The granite in my body is firm and as strong as the mountains it was taken from. You can always rely on me,” Vulcan declared.

            The lift descended with A’zyren and Dhakan. Magnus smiled to see  was no longer wearing her hide armour, or had at least had covered it up under the ragged clothes. He walked to the docking ramp control and activated it. He looked back at his motley crew and smiled. This was going to be interesting.