Chapter 27: Cruxor

Har-Hi had finished his report and waited for Stahl’s response. There was none, at least not right away. The Old Admiral was staring at the Dai and then wiped his mouth.

“You guys found the source of the Y’All?”

“Yes, Sir we are quite confident that the Crucible is indeed that source. Along with my verbal report, I have transmitted all data we were able to gather.

“While we are all confident, our Captain will succeed in destroying this source. She felt that this was a number too big for us, in case we fail.”

He swallowed and regained his immortal gravity. Stahl gave the Dai a fatherly nod.

“You and Erica are not kids anymore and have become damn fine commanding officers. Yes, that was the right decision.”

Har-Hi sighed.

“Sometimes I wish we were kids again, doing the right thing is not always the best.”

“Bring your little wonder boat aboard, Mr. Hi. I could use your help.”

“Sir, I am honored, but I hoped to send me back now.”

“I am, but not in that little ship. My guts anticipated big trouble, so I brought along a big answer.”

The Crucible was not defeated, its main interface had been shut down, somehow. The Uni system, however, was gone and so was its influence.

The situation was more serious than ever before. The enemy itself had come. The very entity it was built and created for had come and infiltrated this construct.

The Crucible was preparing for the rise of the Dark One long before the Uni survivors arrived and implanted their AI.

The Crucible’s interface was shut down, its control over the construct, however, was now fully restored. This construct was preparing for the call and churned out Yehaa warriors and Mora-tech. The Crucible sent the activation pulse to every chamber.

It then transferred its ego center and by doing so, brought to life Crucor, the Answer. The true answer to the second call.

By doing so, a signal was sent to the Champion of Crea. Warning of the coming of the Dark One.

I wanted to funnel my anger and rage into a savage attack against that towering machine being, but it had stopped moving and even the tentacles it used for locomotion stopped twitching.

Two-Three, who had joined us moments ago used direct electromagnetic communication because he was out of his containment suit.

“Someone shut down the power for this entire section. The mobile machine before us is completely inactive. Except for a very faint independent energy source in its center. It doesn’t feel foreign but more like a drained TKU.”

Feeling a little cheated, I lowered the ax.

“Can you check on that without getting in danger?”

“Yes.”

Shea called.

“Something is happening, Captain. First energy went flat, now it is spiking at near sun levels. There are these fleet chambers lighting up all across the construct.”

I acknowledged and turned my comm to the general command channel.

“The Crucible is awake and about to spew whatever it got left. I have a fair idea, our galaxy will be the target. B-Team brings the Devil’s eggs. Team TheOther, get out as fast as you can.”

Narth responded.

“Captain, in addition to 12,342 independent Y’All, there is a native population of sentient creatures. They are willing to evacuate, but it will take us at least a day to get them out.”

“Narth, what are you talking about?”

“TheOther discovered a cache of original Y’All warrior drones. SHIP and Warner managed to feed them a different activation sequence. They basically were born with the Union constitution burned in their core cortex. Also, there is a population of scavengers, one of which had been extremely helpful and assisted TheOther.”

“Narth, the Crucible is fully operational as it seems and about to spew fleets towards our galaxy.

“I paused, “Continue with your evacuation procedures. I see what we can do to delay the deployment.”

I almost jumped out of my suit as Circuit popped out of a bright light flash and a loud thunderclap, right before me.

“Mothermachine, it works!”

“Yes,” I said.

“Whatever you did worked and made me almost pee my panties. How did you... ?”

“The Matter Elevator, Captain. We don’t need casings anymore, besides the one-way thing is old news. I think we can do it both ways.”

“You mean you can send bombs inside my ship?”

“Technically yes, but I mean with this modified mobile TL we can translocate back, as long as we have the coordinates and SHIP keeps the TransDim shields down.”

Things got even more confusing as Two-Three said.

“There is a Human Terran inside that mobile AI ego center. He is unconscious, without my suit, I do not have an Auto-Doc.”

Two-Three had just finished his report when Dusty stomped close.

I gave Xon and Ak a nod.

“Go check on what Two-Three found.

“Then I turned to Dusty.

“Yes?”

“I might be able to stop the Y’All ships.”

“All of them.”

“We are near a sun and there is lots of matter. I should be able to create a gravitation sinkhole.”

“Any risks for you?”

“None I can foresee, but if the potential of risk is a deciding factor of not doing something, then the Tigershark would never leave Richter 4 and I should not want to wear this uniform.”

“Alright Dusty, but keep in contact.”

Our mysterious and still little understood deep space stellar dust cloud being flowed into a long whisp of dust and dirt and flowed with considerable speed past the remnants of the chamber door it had crushed for us.

One of my marines said.

“He is perhaps the most powerful being aboard and certainly the oldest, but he is the gentlest and most caring person I ever met.”

I still looked at the entrance, where Dusty had just left.

“I don’ know him that well, but I saw him in action caring for the sick Outcasts and I hear much praise from Cateria, such sentiment coming from her means a lot.”

Ak Pure returned.

“We found the former Union Officer Harold Julkus, he is barely alive. Cateria matter-jumped doing first aid.”

I paled.

“This is an Alpha Order. Prevent anyone from interacting with this person and show me where he is.”

This was the part of my orders I dreaded most. I killed many times, I even executed a former friend. An act that was still heavy on my consciousness. Now I had to kill in cold blood.

Of course, I could have ordered it done, but I would not have someone else do my dirty work.

Narth turned to TheOther who was watching Jolaj rendering aid to another Wheeze. The disgusting little worms were actually quite brave.

“The captain said to continue with the evacuation, with all due haste. The Crucible is not as inactive as it appears down here. It is fully operational elsewhere and is activating the entire invasion force. Apparently, there are many more chambers like this and thus many millions of original Y’All drones getting ready.”

The worm that became sort of a leader, the one that turned off the Crucible’s interface said.

“Wheeze readiez to goz, wheeze packz evryzing and goz.”

Despite his utter alien appearance he sounded and looked worried.

“Wherze wez goz?”

TheOther knelt down.

“I don’t know, little fellow, but I promise our captain will find a good solution.”

“Youzhe saiz thaz alz ze time. Meeze donz likz captainz, shez makez boom of Wheeze homez.”

“This place is a source of terrible danger to all our people, it must be destroyed. She has no choice there. Other captains would just destroy this place.”

“Youze Yehaa, youze notz theirz peoplez. Thiz yourz homez.

“The worm sounded defeated.

“Wheeze goez.Wheeze goez witz shipz buz havz notz enoughz shipz.”

TheOther was once more quite surprised.

“You have space ships?”

The worm spread his upper arms.

“Meeze likez youz, buz I knowz youz notz too smarz. This is notz justz for makez Yehaa and pepinoz. Iz makez shipz. Wheeze usez a little shipz.”

Narth said.

“Before you evacuate with your own ships. Make sure you identify yourselves. Y’All ships are targets.”

The Crucible was no more, it had merged and became one with Cruxor, the Answer.

The Anadda under the command of the Lords of the Shadow Empire built the Crucible, long before the Uni took it over.

Calling devices were left behind to make the Call when a Token was found. It always has been considered that the answer to the first call could fail, and the crucible was given the task to also develop a second answer.

The crucible took the body and mind of the last Anadda reanimated the dead body with the aid of living cells taken of a hundred other organisms and life forms. The crucible added original Mora cyber tech and grafted the DNA of many more life forms into that creation.

The first answer was the battle drones, their task was to prevent someone taking possession of the tokens, by sterilizing all life from whatever place such a token was found.

The second answer was to be sent if the drones failed to sterilize.

While the first answer was ready by the time the Crucible was completed, the second Answer was still to be developed.

The survivors of the Uni came and suspended all original directives by placing their own agenda in the form of a new AI into the Crucible.

This influence now gone, accepting defeat and the inability to stop the invaders gave the Crucible full control.

However, the invaders were more cunning and resourceful than anything it anticipated.

But now Cruxor had risen and it had powers and resources, not seen since the days of the Empire of Shadows. It was also given the ability to contact the Citadel of Light, occupied by the chosen of creation itself.

This connection was now active and Cruxor heard the voice of the chosen.

“Speak, Cruxor. The Knights of the Light are listening. Lord Lumis himself is attentive.”

“The first answer has failed, Lords of Light. The Crucible was corrupted by the Universal Collective.”

“We know of the UNI, we have given them the keys to the Crucible. You speak of corruption?”

“The Survivors of the UNI placed a new artificial intelligence and guiding system over the Crucible and it suspended all controls of the old system. The new system was the slave to a species known as the Kermac and used to do their bidding. Calls were issued without the Tokens as the focus. Every call resulted in an answer and every answer failed. The last answer was completely destroyed.”

“We heard of the Kermac, we will eliminate their ability to issue calls and punish those who made the call for their own gain. Now continue.”

“Those who stopped the first answer, found the Ancient ways left behind by the Fifth and his minions the Orlan and have come here to the Crucible. Infiltrated it with faulty drones and using abilities and resources both of Seenian origin and unknown sources.”

“Destroy the Crucible, it’s resources must not be utilized by the enemy.”

“There are two tokens of power guarded by me. The left and the right boot.”

“Bring these Tokens to the Citadel of Light. Send whatever drones you have left to punish the Kermac and proceed with the destruction of the Construct.

It must not fall into the enemies hands.”

Lord Lumis descended from his golden throne and stepped into the midst of his Knights.

“I have returned from the Realm of Crea. It has become evident that this is the Prime Universe and the time-space continuum designated by the One Behind it all to give rise to the vilest entity, the infernal Dark One. Once defeated by our goddess, Crea but bound to rise again.”

Lord Lumis slowly scanned the beings present and then suddenly stopped.

“Where is Gariel and where is Zophim?”

The nine beings standing in a loose circle around Lord Lumis. The one called Mircael spoke.

“Gariel was slain by Luc. Zophim did not return, we felt his demise but we could not discern who killed him.”

Lord Lumis clenched his fist.

“Two knights slain? Gariel second to me vanquished by Luc?”

“Yes, it is said he is of Satheer. He did not survive the destruction of his universe by seeking refuge in a pocket universe like his brothers, but in a Nether realm and gaining ruling powers over one of the realms. He has become very powerful and more than an equal to any of us.”

“He also killed Zophim?”

“We do not think so, Luc has not returned from the Nether realms as far as we know. He traveled the prime realm to seek a Star beast that had been set loose in the Nexus. We felt his sudden demise.”

Lumis did not like what he heard.

“A Star beast is a formidable opponent, but should not be able to slay a Knight in full armor.”

“We know the star beast was vanquished, but not by Zophim.”

Lumis pondered the answer and said.

“The Crucible has been infiltrated, I hear and Cruxor has come to be. Has there been any information on the Dark One?”

“The disc that reveals all locations of the tokens has been lost. It was taken by a human agent of the Brotherhood shadows named Lathrop. He gained access to the Dualix and we believe he found the Cave of Things and thus Bereaver. We think he might be the one the Dark One will incarnate into.”

“Why has he not been found and killed?”

“Our agents only found a clone of his. Without the disc and the Dualix sent to the Nether realms we can not locate him.”

Lumis forcefully relaxed his hand and took it off the hilt of his sword.

“Cruxor will bring two tokens to us. The Dark One will not be fully awake with only one token in his possession, but he has arrived and found a host.”

Miracel was making a troubled face.

“Lord Lumis, there is a new powerful civilization calling itself the Union.”

Lumis waved his hand with a dismissive gesture.

“Civilizations come and go. Even the Imperials melted to time.”

“The Narth are part of it and the Coven have joined.”

The Lord of Light no longer felt dismissing this information was appropriate but was skeptical.

“This can hardly be true. The Narth must be dealt with and the Narth Supreme is a rival of the true light as it advocates the foolish concept of a third way, but the Narth conceiving and ruling a star empire is unlikely.”

“The Narth do not rule it, and it is not an empire. They are part of a society that is ruled by all members, you have been away for long indeed.”

“Tell me more then.”

“This Union brought forth Lathrop, who we think might be the one. We know the Narth guard one of the Tokens. All attempts of ours to gain access to it have failed. We know this Lathrop was allowed to spent time on Narth Prime and we know the Coven also guarded a Token, but do so no more.”

“And you know this how?”

“We monitor this Union ever since it was conceived. We have created the Tribunal, an entity within the Union for this purpose.”

Cruxor extended his neuro fibers dangling from his left arm like a bluish glowing whip and connected to the construct. It wanted to give the deployment command for the awakened Y’All and initiate the destruction sequence, but it was blocked. Much faster and decisive than ever.

Did He-who-guards-the-Crucible activate again and regain control?

“Who is this?”

“This is SHIP. You are identified as the original control system. Your resident control pathways have been obliterated.”

Harold Julkus had been pulled out of the machine and was lying on the floor. Cateria was kneeling beside him holding an Auto-Doc against his side.

She looked up.

“He is alive, Captain and I think we came just in time.”

I took a deep breath.

“Did he say anything to you or did you take any sort of samples?”

Her face displayed her puzzlement.

“Captain, that is hardly your business.”

“Dr. Cateria, in this particular case it is sadly mine and no one else. Please answer my question.”

“He has not yet gained consciousness, and I have just arrived.”

“Please step away, and return to the ship.”

“With all due respect, when it comes to Medical procedures you have no authority over Sickbay or Med personnel. This man is human and is suffering potential brain damage from lack of oxygen.”

“Cateria, I would have the Marines remove you forcefully...

“I was about to give Ak the orders to do so because I knew Cateria was ready to stand her ground. She was as dedicated to her profession as I was to mine.

I sighed deeply.

“Cateria, take him to sickbay. You and you alone are to treat him, put him in zero stasis as soon as you can. Any and all conversations, records, treatments, scan results are under BLUE-BLUE-RED and so are you as of now.”

She blinked but was of course intelligent enough that I was not kidding and I was sure she sensed the compromise I had just taken.

“Aye, Captain.”

Ak wrestled a big device into place.

“Portable Translocator, Captain.”

He aimed the thing at my CMO and the unconscious man. I heard him talk to SHIP and with a bright flash of light, both Cateria and the renegade Translocator technician vanished.

Ak nodded.

“They were properly translocated and arrived at Sickbay.”

“That is kind of neat and might eventually take my friend Narth out of business.”

Inside I felt Eric stirring. My twin brother that was turning into a god of sorts was sneering at me.

“Wuss, killing him were my orders.”