Fight or Flight
As the hours tick away, I begin to perceive Adrahasis’s presence through the lines. From what I have felt of his powers, I now know it has a limit - the lines can be stretched too thin and snap should the target move too far, but right now we are anything but too far. The lines begin to thicken and shorten as he draws closer with his fleet.
Two cruisers? I never believed a word of that, especially after I found out that part of the reason he was here was to capture an asteroid.
That is no easy task – considering that the cult was still armed when it fled Earth space, the Apophis could have been remodelled into a mobile space fortress much the same as the Gate of Ean. Two cruisers would never be sufficient to take it. I suspected there should be at least twenty ships – enough to reduce the asteroid into rubble if capturing it fails. However, they would not arrive all at once.
I can feel Adrahasis’s approach slowing. My continued presence here has made him cautious. If he slows down now he will not arrive in time to prevent me from meeting up with Rei.
That is all I need.
***
Three hours before the expected arrival of the Empire, we make contact with the Apophis.
The asteroid is preceded by an advance force of two small scout ships, larger and more self-reliant than a shuttle yet smaller than a cruiser. We make our presence known to them, informing the scouts that the Messiah’s brother would like to speak to her. Within minutes, Rei’s face had popped up on the screen. She hasn’t changed much - her clothes are less resplendent nowadays, and there’s a bit more worry in her face, but her poise is still as striking as ever.
“Hey there, sis.”
“So, you haved awakened.” She seems slightly happy to see me, but not overly enthused about it.
“I’ve stopped sleeping,” I correct her with a sly smile. “Awakening is something that I should do at a rather more dramatic point in the story. Anyway, shouldn’t you be more surprised to see me here?”
“I received a message that you would likely be here.”
“Who did you get it from?”
“Ah…” Her eyes dart downwards for a second. “That’s not important. I was only told that you would be here, not why.”
“The why is a rather lengthy story, but I can tell you what is going to happen right now.” I nod confidently. “Shortly, there will be an explosion in that direction-“ I wave my arm vaguely to my right, and right on cue, there is a flash of light. “-which means that the Mushuszu Empire’s scouts have run right into our proximity mines. The main fleet should be along in another two hours. They’ll have at least twenty warships with them, and they are after you.”
Rei frowns and turns to bark some orders at some offscreen underling.
“Why would they be after us – oh.” Her frown deepens into a scowl. “The Messenger. On our journey I’ve heard rumours that there was this emperor taking an interest in her whereabouts.”
“Is she still with you?” I ask.
“Yes, she’s working with us. The cultists needed something to believe in, and after what happened to Earth… she made herself that focus of belief.”
I don’t like the sound of that. “What about you? I thought they worshipped you.”
“My failure to prevent you from bringing about the apocalypse shook their faith in me. You… don’t remember what you did to them and Mother?”
“No. Was it bloody?”
She nods. “Let’s just say that they were extremely panicked when they called me up just now saying that you were here. The scouts thought you had come to finish the job.”
“Oh.”
“I am still in charge of things on the asteroid, but the Messenger helps to keep their spirits up. Without her, they would have fallen into despair long ago.”
“That sounds a bit too good to be true. Are you sure you can trust her?”
“I’m not sure, but it is all I can do for my people. Now, what are we going to do about the enemy fleet? I hope you understand that I am not going to surrender to them.”
“What forces do you have there?”
“Not much – just four scout ships, a single cruiser and one CF.”
“That’s not much. A head-on battle would be suicide. I could bring us out of here with a wormhole, but with the amount of energy I have it wouldn’t be stable enough to allow a ship or an entire asteroid to pass – only a single CF.
“Then you should escape from here,” says Rei firmly. “This is not your fight.”
"I can't abandon my friends," I say without batting an eyelash. Of course, if Mere Tarliss even thinks I'm going to abandon her odds are I won't survive to get to killed by Adrahasis. The White Fang would cheerfully join in too, so there would be no help from that quarter.
“Wait, you say that you don’t have enough energy to stabilize the wormhole?”
“Yeah. The reactor isn’t fully charged up yet.”
“Tell me how it works. Quickly.”
I spend the next few minutes explaining the black hole generator to her. When I’ve finished, she gives a tight smile.
“I think I can charge your generator with energy.”
“You can- what?”
“I can create energy. Given what you’ve just told me, I should be able to help you create a wormhole large enough for the asteroid to pass through.”
“That’s…” Well, it looks like someone’s been growing by leaps and bounds. I almost feel inadequate. “That is an option.” I wonder if I should take it. If she can charge it enough for me to create a wormhole that size, I can also do something else with all that power…
***
A. Work together with Rei to create a wormhole stable enough for the Independent Spirit of Adventure and the Apophis to pass through. This is the safest and most reliable way to ensure our escape.
BLACK HOLE CANNON. I'll wipe out their fleet with one shot. *evil laughter*
C. Attempt to negotiate with the Empire to surrender the Messenger in return for safe passage. I am not obligated to protect her, and if it is just the Gieloth that they want they are welcome to it.
