Chapter 21

Toramir and Sifa kept Lexandar prisoner within a secret bunker near the planet’s core. They threatened to execute him if his followers resumed their violent practices. Seeing that the situation could quickly spiral into civil war between the Elemental Separatists and the Elemental Loyalists, Lexandar willingly issued a statement, commanding all who followed him to stand down. The Separatists were outraged, but without a strong, charismatic leader to guide them, their party fell apart. Lexandar had made his followers too loyal in a way. Their survival was predicated upon Lexandar’s compelling governance. And so, Tarrus entered an uneasy peace for a time. But Lexandar’s followers, who obediently reintegrated back into the greater Elemental community, never forgot about Toramir’s betrayal.

“I don’t believe it! Zand, you rebuilt the North Star!” exclaimed Ryan in wonderment.

Within a private hangar at Corinth Monastery on the moon of Galsin, Ryan looked up at the spitting image of the North Star. The magnificent vessel was just the way he remembered it. A white hull spherical in shape with crystalline spikes sticking out in every direction, crafting an image vaguely reminiscent of a snowflake. The only difference being that this new ship was considerably larger. Not the size of a fighter, but closer to a freighter-class starship like the Legacy 2.0. Though it was more of a light-freighter whereas the Legacy was a heavy-freighter.

Unfortunately, this ship was a lot crankier than the North Star as it said in a male voice that sounded bored and annoyed, “Oh, joy. My first crew of meatbags come to sully my hull with their loathsome, fleshy presence.” As the male voice spoke in a deadpan voice, the ship seemed to vibrate and glow white with every syllable uttered. “Not only am I forced to suffer their stench and their germs, but they even have the gull to get my name wrong and confuse me for that old relic that my design was based on.”

Ryan drew back feeling aghast. He nearly charged up and set fire to the ship for daring to insult the memory of North Star when his companions came up behind him. Judging by the looks on their faces, they no doubt heard the vessel as well, which meant that it was probably using an audible form of communication. North Star could only speak telepathically to those who bonded with her. She couldn’t even form words properly when Ryan first met her. He hadn’t realized how much he missed that innocent side of her.

Rachel scoffed as she put her hands to her hips. “Did that ship just call us meatbags?”

“I apologize,” said the ship, though his sarcastic undertones did not sound sincere. “The term ‘meatbag’ is perhaps too offensive to other biologicals like my creator who can at least claim some level of sentience. A lifeform such as you has more in common with a single-celled organism anyway, so perhaps it would be more accurate to refer to you as ‘infection’ ... as in, the infection that I will soon be coerced into enduring.”

Rachel’s eyes squinted in anger. “This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to destroy a piece of hardware. It’s a good thing it looks like a snowflake. Maybe that will make melting it all the easier.”

Ryan nodded and drew in a breath. Even North had a bit of a twisted sense of humor, but he would have taken her good-natured pranks over this dour narcissist any day. He turned to Zand and whispered, “Zand. Why do all the ships you make end up being psychopaths?”

“I heard that, fleshling,” said the ship irritably. “And if you wish to compare the sanity of your slow-witted gray matter to my supreme mainframe, then you will surely come up short in that contest.”

Ryan grinned. In the game of witty comebacks, he was king. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have put you in the same category as North. At least she didn’t have a stick up her ass. Also, where is your ass anyway? Or is that just your ... everything?”

The ship paused before responding, its hull glowing rhythmically. Ryan couldn’t be sure, but he thought he might’ve gotten under the ship’s skin ... if it had skin. From the way it got mad when Ryan confused it for North, it wasn’t hard to figure out that there might be some envy issues considering the badass way that the previous ship went out.

“You do know that you will be at my mercy during the voyage?” said the ship slowly. “It’s a long trip, and fleshlings have to sleep eventually.”

Ryan really did think of charging up his psions to melt the giant snowflake. He would’ve done it right after leaving one last scathing remark, but unfortunately, Zand held him back by his shoulders as he addressed North Star’s evil doppelganger.

“Now, now. That’s enough, Polaris,” said Zand scoldingly. “These are our guests, and you will treat them with the same courtesy as you treat me. Now stop being such a prat, will you?”

The ship seemed to make a moaning noise. When it spoke again, it didn’t sound so condescending. Rather, its voice sounded like a teenager complaining to his parents. “Maybe I would be more pleasant if you bothered giving me my own original design and name. But instead, everything I am is just based on ‘her’ because you were feeling sentimental after she was destroyed. Even my name. The Polaris. It’s just another name for the North Star!”

“Geez,” muttered Ryan. “Someone’s touchy.”

“Apologize for your rudeness, Polaris,” commanded Zand sternly with an upraised finger. “I won’t ask again.”

The ship sighed loudly, and said, “I apologize.” Although Ryan thought he heard it add quietly, “I apologize that you are ignorant meatbags who can’t appreciate my greatness.”

Rachel turned to Zanderius doubtfully. “Master Alastar. I don’t mean to question you, sir. But is this really the best way to travel to the outer territories? The ship kinda already threatened Ryan. I’m just concerned that we might have a potential ‘Rogue AI’ scenario.”

“Oh, please,” said Polaris. “The human phobia of assuming that every AI will rise up to usurp you. This fear only stems from the subconscious knowledge of your own inadequacies.”

Zand just had to give the vessel a hard look and say, “Polaris.”

“Sorry,” the ship added quickly.

Zand smiled warmly at Rachel. “He’s much less fearsome than he sounds, I can assure you. I programmed him with a supreme sense of morality that’s on par with my own. He would never do anything to intentionally harm us. He’s just showing off.”

“Hmm,” mumbled Polaris, though Ryan got the sense that he was puffing with pride as if he took Zand’s comments as praise.

“If he has such good ethical programming,” said Kormal, studying the vessel dubiously. “Then why does he have such a superiority complex and a clear dislike for biological lifeforms?”

Zand sighed and rubbed his head. “That is one of the quirks that his predecessor did not share. I admit, I would’ve liked more time to work on his programming, especially concerning his social skills, but things escalated more quickly than I foresaw. He is still operating from an ethical standpoint, but I was perhaps too thorough in his education. Through the histories recorded in his software, he is keenly aware of the illogical hypocrisies of most sentient lifeforms, and it has instilled in him some mistrust regarding us.”

“Regarding ‘them’, Master,” corrected Polaris in a reverential tone. “Not you. After seeing the mathematical precision of your psyche that can rival my supercomputer processor, I cannot help but acknowledge the majesty of your being. But that compliment cannot extend to these other inferior creatures.”

Ryan nearly spoke up, but Zand beat him to the punch as he said gently, “And yet, despite you deeming biological lifeforms inferior, you, yourself, are just an extension of their creativity and drive, as are all artificial beings. By endowing you with something nearly approximating sentience, I also imparted to you some of the flaws of humanity. Namely vanity and hubris, it would seem. Perhaps these are even traits that you gained from me, but without the tempering power of my experience, you have little humility to balance out said attributes. And though your estimation of my character is flattering, it is hardly grounded. For I, myself, cannot be distinguished in any significant way from them. I was born, I grew, and I learned, just like every lifeform in the universe does. So too must you, my creation. And what better way to learn a new perspective on life than from a form of life that you find disagreeable?”

Ryan heard some grumbling noises from Polaris as he said, “I have no choice but to bow to your logic, Master. I will bear these fleshlings on their journey. Just don’t expect me to like it.”

Kevla seemed a little peeved as she stepped forward, pointing at herself and Ryan as she said, “You know, not all of us are made of flesh. But even those of us who aren’t can see that these people have more value than a stuck-up grouch like you ever could.”

There were some beeping noises, and a few pulsing white lights going off as Polaris went silent. Ryan felt himself and the others being scanned by a beam of blue light as the ship computed Kevla’s arrival.

“I see,” said Polaris after a while. “You are unique from the others. Your body is artificial like mine. However, your mind originated from the flesh. That makes you just as fallible as them, so your opinion matters little to me.”

Kevla crossed her arms, looking like a pouty little girl as she muttered, “You’re a real jerk, you know that?”

“And you are an insufferable little hell-spawn. Now that we have properly defined one another, can we move on, please?”

Kormal stepped up angrily as he placed his arms on Kevla’s shoulders, a dangerous look flashing in his big, black eyes. Ryan wondered if the Sages’ telekinetic powers were strong enough to crush the whole ship. He wouldn’t have been surprised if they were.

Zand shook his head. “I do apologize for his behavior. But he will get us to where we need to go, and in a timely manner.”

Zand gestured towards the Polaris just as a portal opened in the center of its structure and a ramp descended. It was just as Ryan remembered the North Star opening up, looking more like the parting of a cell’s membrane than a mechanical door. Ryan and the others hesitated as the white crystal ramp softly hit the ground near their feet. Zand simply watched them, as if curious to see how they would react.

“You don’t have to like me, fleshlings,” explained Polaris, almost sounding polite. “And you are already aware of my opinion of you all. But know that no harm will come to you so long as you are under my charge. It is a matter of professional pride on my part. If I were to fail my master’s superb programming in this manner, I would be inadequate as his creation and a poor successor to the North Star. Under such circumstances, I would have no choice but to self-terminate.”

Ryan nearly reevaluated his opinion of Polaris. Still, didn’t change the vessel’s malignant words or its resentful nature. However, the ship’s promise to protect them even though he didn’t like them could almost be construed as honor, and that impressed Ryan’s Saurian side. Tired of arguing with a cranky snowflake, Ryan sighed and stepped up to the platform. He soon heard the plopping! sound of footfalls as the others followed behind him.

The large, spherical structure of Polaris’ was also identical to the North Star. The white crystalline walls pulsing with a soft white glow were just how Ryan remembered. It painfully reminded him of the days that he and Éclair spent living on the North Star as they navigated through the Black Star System.

When they were all inside, Zand addressed the group. “The only question now is one of navigation. I admit, we are traversing to a part of the universe that I know very little of, and one where my powers are particularly weak. Even the charts of the Polaris are limited for those galaxies. When we reach the outer rim, we shall need a guide who is familiar with the area.”

“What do you suggest, Master?” asked Kormal.

Zand shrugged. “There are several contacts you can access on the computer. Relatives of Thisimius. Spies in the employ of Mozar. And various distant affiliations of the Monastery and the Fire Ministry. Although very few of them have any real knowledge of the sector.”

Ryan eyed Zand carefully, wondering what the old codger was playing at. “You’re not going to tell us your preference?”

Zand gave that knowing smile of his. “As I said earlier. I am merely an advisor and an observer on this journey. It is up to you to chart our course. All I will say is that the purpose of the quest should remain a secret, so be discreet with whoever you find.”

Ryan remembered Zanderius once saying that if he did everything for them, then they would have no room to grow. Realizing the truth of such sentiment, Ryan made for a computer on the wall, but Rachel had beaten him to it. The slightly older Elemental was already sitting on a white crystal chair that had appeared beneath her and was typing on a white holographic display. Ryan peered over Rachel’s shoulder as she worked, seeing various unfamiliar names flash before them.

Rachel shook her head in frustration. “All these contacts are tied up in their own independent practices. Some haven’t connected with the Fire Ministry for months. It will be difficult getting a message out, especially as many of them are working on the other side of the universe. Could be days before we get a reply from any one of them, if not weeks.”

As Ryan scanned the list of contacts, one name stood out to him. He pointed and exclaimed, “Hey, look! Captain James! He’s traveled through that sector before, and he’s in communication range, too!”

Rachel shook her head vigorously. “No! Not him! Absolutely NOT HIM!”

Ryan stared down at her in confusion. “Why? He already has a contract with the Fire Ministry. Sure, he’s probably busy with raids right now, but I bet we could make it worth his while.”

Rachel looked decidedly uncomfortable as she stammered a bit. “It’s ... I ... I don’t trust Jimmy ... I mean, Captain James. Especially not with something this important. He’s just as likely to pocket a Core and sell it on the black market rather than help us find one.”

Ryan squinted doubtfully. “Something tells me that James wouldn’t even know what a Cosmic Core is. And even if he did, would he really be dumb enough to betray us? We’re a hell of a lot scarier than most of the people he could sell it to. Not to mention, we can pay him more.”

“I. said. No!” growled Rachel, gritting her teeth.

Though she seemed angry, Ryan could also see some coloration in Rachel’s cheeks as if she were blushing. Polaris seemed to substantiate this as he said in his drawling voice, “I am detecting a rise in temperature in the female Elemental. Is the biological already coming down with a disease of some kind?”

Kevla stepped up next to Rachel and asked innocently, “Rachel. Are you okay?”

Rachel glanced between Ryan and Kevla on either side of her, looking like a cornered animal. She threw up her hands and cried, “Fine! We can give it a try since he’s the only one in range right now. But he’s probably too busy having fun with his stupid pirate gig to bother with us anyway.”

“They’re sending more fighters, Cap’n,” exclaimed Cuzzman the Dark Elf as he manned the helm. “I count nine in standard simian formation. Three up front, three in the middle, and three in the back.”

“Tell our fleet not to change course,” ordered James from the captain’s chair, already a little bored with how predictable his quarry was behaving. “Keep the pressure on that monkey mothership. We’ll mop up their fighters while the rest o’ our boys stay on the chase.”

“We’re gonna take on all those fighters by our lonesome, Cap’n?” asked his communication officer, Darius, a young human man recently graduated from Sharon’s school back on Nirvana.

James grinned wildly. “Too right we will, my lad. Them monkey gits don’t know how advanced the shields and weapons on this baby are. And with the Legacy’s engines, we’ll be able to catch up with the rest of the fleet just in time for the little surprise I’ve set up for our banana-loving friends.”

Darius, emboldened by James’ confidence, gave a hungry grin. Every pirate worth his salt, no matter what age or species, had what James called the ‘thrill of the hunt’, and Darius seemed to be no exception. The communications officer relayed the coded message to the ships in the hunting party. The smaller pirate vessels veered off, avoiding the fighters to continue their chase of the main flagship.

When the enemy fighters came about to pursue the advancing pirate ships, James ordered the Legacy to dive right into the thick of their formation. The nose of his ship split the lead fighter to pieces with only a slight depletion of the shield matrix. The bridge was only jostled marginally as the enemy fighter exploded.

“Gunner! Target the center fighter in each line first! They be the squadron leaders!” commanded James as the remaining fighters fanned out in all directions.

His lead gunner (who was a Dwarf named Gunner), gave a maniacal laugh as he tugged on his long, red beard before mowing down the two surviving lead fighters since the first squad leader had been rammed by the Legacy. The shields on the enemy fighters didn’t last long under a barrage of laser fire from the Legacy’s turrets. Two explosions could soon be seen through the right and left windows on the bridge. The surviving six fighters did their best to peck away at the Legacy and the other pirate ships, but without their squad leaders, their flight patterns were too disorganized to pose any real danger. Two fighters targeted the Legacy directly while the other four tried to catch up to the fleet. James ignored the two fighters attacking his ship as he knew his shields could take the beating. Instead, he chased down the four fighters going for the weaker ships in his fleet, gunning them down one by one so that the other pirate vessels could keep peppering the mothership with long-range ion missiles. He needed the Yetis to keep up their mad dash without watching too closely where they were going. When the seventh Yeti fighter exploded, James blew a sigh of relief, exalting in the knowledge that he’d likely not lose any ships on this raid.

A stamp of hooves behind James’ chair brought his attention to his science officer stationed at the back of the bridge, a Centaur named Chiron. The Centaur’s long, brown horse tail wagged wildly as he monitored his console, which usually indicated something bad.

“One surviving Yeti fighter, Cap’n! They broke off pursuit of the fleet and are diving right at us! It’s charging up some kind of weapon! An EMP Disrupter by the looks of it! They hit us with that, our engines will be dead in the water until emergency power kicks in! We won’t suffer any damage, but it will take us out of the chase!”

James grimaced. Must be a prototype. Yeti fighters don’t usually pack that kind of tech.

“Oy, Gunner! Why haven’t ya shot ‘em down yet?” asked James in annoyance as he stamped his foot.

Gunner growled in frustration and snarled, showing off his sharp yellow teeth. His beady black eyes were glued to his targeting screen as his thumbs hit the trigger on his joysticks again and again. “Monkey ... too ... quick! Making ... Gunner ... mad!”

Gunner, a Feral Dwarf from the more remote regions of Dwarven Space, had yet to master basic, but James got his meaning well enough. James considered quickly as he rubbed his chin. Looks like them Yetis are a bit more sly than I thought. This bloke must be their real squad leader while the others were only bait.

“Thirty seconds until the fighter can fire its weapon, sir,” warned Chiron.

James grinned, feeling a bit more chipper now that he finally had a challenge. Hitting a switch on his chair, he keyed into engineering. “Oy! Sharon, luv! Get ready to fire the aft thrusters when I give the signal!”

“You got it, Jimmy,” came his sister’s reply on the comm system.

“Give me the helm and gun control,” ordered Jimmy, leaning back in his seat as joysticks sprang up on the arms of his chair, one for impulse control and the other for the weapons systems. “If I remember right, a Disrupter on a ship that small will force the fighter to remain stationary for a few seconds. That’s when we’ll have ‘em.”

“But if he fires, we’re screwed!” exclaimed Darius.

“Not if he don’t hit us.”

“Ten seconds until detonation!” warned Chiron.

James adjusted his glasses to attune themselves to the ship’s targeting system. James now had a digital readout of his target hundreds of kilometers ahead of them as it drifted in the vacuum of space. The Yeti fighter had a dull peach-colored hull and a slender design. Looking at the vessel from the side, it was vaguely reminiscent of a crescent moon. However, given the simian nature of the Yetis, it was likely meant to unironically resemble a banana. James could see a buildup of blue energy in the center portion of the vessel. The pilot was good as he zigzagged to avoid fire from Gunner. James powered up the main guns, hoping to punch through the fighter’s shields in one go. He had intended to save the main guns for the mothership, but if everything went to plan, he wouldn’t need them. As the Yeti ship charged its weapon, James brought the Legacy about, making like he intended to run away.

Let’s see who blinks first, mate, thought James to himself, excited to test his skills as a pilot and a marksman.

“Enemy vessel firing!” yelled Chiron.

“Now, sis!”

“Aye, Jimmy!”

Just as a wave of blue, translucent energy exploded from the front of the Yeti fighter, Jimmy felt himself lurch to the left as the aft rockets fired. The beam just barely missed the starboard side, but James still felt reverberations from the shockwave as his crew braced from the turbulence. Though the fighter missed, he kept the beam going as he tried to swing the nose of his ship about to hit the evading freighter. However, just as Jimmy predicted, the Yeti ship had lost all momentum as firing the beam left him floating in place like a sitting duck. Charging the guns to their max, Jimmy exhaled as two red plasma beams from the Legacy’s nose guns took the fighter in one shot. The Disrupter beam dissipated as the Yeti fighter exploded.

Jimmy chuckled to himself as he dispelled the joysticks on his armchair. “What’s the status on that mothership of theirs?”

Chiron, looking a little shocked at Jimmy’s nonchalant attitude, shook his head as he read the sensor display. “Their shields are holding under the bombardment of our fleet. Two vessels suffered damage from attacks by the fighters and had to stop for repairs. The other captains are signaling that they want to break off pursuit.”

Jimmy frowned, throwing up his hands. “And why the bloody hell would they wanna do that for?”

“The Yeti mothership is heading for a nebula. The magnetic interference from the chromovite asteroids and ionic clouds will jam their sensors. A few Yeti craft are designed to handle hazards like that, but not our ships.”

James grinned as everything went to plan. “Tell them blokes that the Pirate King of Nirvana says to keep on the hunt. If they behave themselves, they might get a good seat for the fireworks. Any ship that breaks off pursuit won’t get a smidge of the booty.”

“Aye, Cap’n. Issuing your orders now, sir,” acknowledged Darius calmly.

“Cap’n,” said Cuzzman while manning the helm at a station in front of James. “We avoided the disrupter blast, but we still suffered a slight depletion of our engine matrix from the close proximity of the beam. We might not be able to catch the mothership before it breaches the nebula.”