Broken Horizon Read online

  Sharon sipped a bit of her drink.

  “Taste good?” Jacob asked.

  “It’s alright. I’ve had better,” Sharon said.

  “What is it?”

  “Something called a Coreward Quasar. Captain Sid Hawk of the Silver Cove told me about it once.”

  “We should check back up with him sometime. Without his help, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

  Sharon smiled and nodded in agreement.

  “Well, it’s a mess over there in Orion, eh?” Aiden Alexander said. “People are rising up against the Confederation. The Feds are begging everyone to come help them prevent this from spiraling out of control, but nobody is budging. They are dealing with the uprising on their own. And it is getting damn bloody over there.

  “But we’re not here to talk about Orion, we’re here to talk about the vamps. Let’s get started, Crusaders.” Aiden Alexander swiped his hand in mid-air.

  A holographic display appeared.

  Jacob was surprised to see a holographic display in a bar.

  A picture of starship wreckage floated in the projection.

  “Alright, you guys remember this? A while back, the destruction of Sagittarius One. Governor Rigel Lambrook died. He was against all of the peace and alliance talks between humans and the bloodsuckers.”

  One woman in the crowd gasped after Alexander uttered “bloodsuckers.”

  Alexander continued, “He might have been a vamp, but at least he had the sense to realize we’re not meant to get along. I don’t know about you, but I don’t any of those filthy bloodsuckers near me. The chance of catching that disease is low but I don’t want to risk a thing.

  “Now, let’s fast forward a bit... The Battle of Artemis. We were attacked by rogue Confederation warships. All those warships were destroyed and we couldn’t recover any meaningful data about the attacker’s plans. Orion swears up and down they had nothing to do with it. And you know what? I believe that. The vampires blamed the Confederation on the attack on Lambrook too. At first, it makes sense to believe that. Stealth warships could get in and out easily. But why? Why would the Confederation attack Governor Lambrook and then Artemis? Let’s break this down.

  “The theory, that the media regurgitated from their controllers, is that the Confederation attacked Lambrook and Eridanys to try to prevent some sort of alliance between the Union and Dynasty. But wait, did we forget something? Did the media forget something? Lambrook was against the alliance. Eridanys was for it. And the Confederation is supposedly behind both attacks? How does that even follow?”

  A few people in the bar had a sudden realization ripple across their face. Jacob knew this the entire time, of course. Someone was probably behind both attacks—and it wasn’t the Confederation. This dark force used the imps that control people. Aiden Alexander was probably about to point out the vampires as the villains behind both attacks. Were the vampires the ones using the imps? Was Akeldamas an agent of the Blood Dynasty? Jacob had quite the story he could tell Mr. Alexander. But Jacob doubted that anyone would believe the imp story anyways.

  “The Confederation probably didn’t want an alliance, honestly, but they aren’t dumb enough to attack anybody over it. Whoever is actually behind the attacks want an alliance, an alliance built to destroy the Confederation and anyone else that stands up against them. The vampires are behind it. The bloodsuckers want to take over the galaxy. That’s been their plan forever. You think anything changes? Drake Mabus puts on a happy face, but he’s a bastard. He’s corrupt as hell. He wants you to be crushed under his boot.

  “But we’re not gonna let that happen. Spread the word. I don’t want a stinkin’ alliance. I’d rather ally with the Confederates. They didn’t do anything wrong. Those poor guys. There’s riots on their worlds and everything is destabilizing just because the media is saying their government is behind the butchering over Artemis. There are talks of this new ‘alliance’ spreading their ‘support’ to the Confederate citizens. We all know that means; they’re planning on invading and murdering anyone that gets in their way. It’s gross. And believe me, this warship will be part of it. I don’t know how we’ll do it, but we need to rally together. The Daybreak Crusaders need to keep this ship sane. Hopefully nothing too drastic has to happen, but I am not gonna be on the same side as the vampires. Who’s with me?”

  The audience clapped and yelled in agreement. Suddenly, a hush came across the audience as someone entered the room.

  The newcomer laughed. “Sorry, I’m late.”

  “Commander Skyrift! I’m—I didn’t know... that you’d be here,” Alexander stammered.

  Commander Ember Skyrift sat down at a table. “Please continue.”

  Skyrift had red hair that went to her shoulders. Her face was covered with freckles. She was wearing casual clothes. Jacob never saw her out of uniform.

  Alexander laughed. “Forgive me, Commander. I didn’t know you were on the same page as us. Do you wish to join the Crusaders? It’d be so good to have someone high up in the command wearing our banner. Figuratively, of course.”

  “I’d love to,” Skyrift said. “You are sharing truth, Mr. Alexander. I’m impressed.”

  Jaxon yelled in agreement and clapped.

  Skyrift continued, “Terra says to love your enemy. I do love them. I love every single vampire. I don’t hate them, but I hate the disease. This disease infects their mind, it changes them. If only we could remove it. But we can’t, as much as we try, we can’t. So we have to destroy them. It is a mercy killing.”

  Alexander nodded. “That’s completely right. It’s not their fault! Don’t you see? Don’t you see?! It pains me that we have to do this. They used to be human; they aren’t anymore. It’s a sad, frustrating thing that we have to do. They don’t know any better.

  “Well, to end our little discussion I have something very important to share. It ties back to what I talked to about earlier. The assassination of Lambrook. I found this video deep on the NEP. It’s from a warship that was accompanying Sagittarius One. This may worry you. This may confuse you, but it’s important to share. Right now, well, right now people think it’s a fake. But I’m not so sure. It appears to be something. And well, if it is what I think it is, it makes things even more worrisome.”

  A low quality video started playing on the holographic projection. A vampire battle cruiser phased into existence and started to unload its weaponry on the escort. The video abruptly ended.

  “The vampires are not taking responsibility. That’s a vampire battle cruiser, though, right? Let’s re-watch that video. In slow motion from the beginning. Look...” Alexander pointed at a location on the hologram with his finger. “Look over here.”

  The vampire ship shifted into standard space. It glowed a tinge of blue. Alexander was pointing at another blue tinge. Something else had shifted into standard space. It was smaller than the vampire ship. It was nearly impossible to make out against the void of space. A black Double-Crescent, the mysterious type of ship that had destroyed Earth, accompanied the vampire cruiser.

  A series of gasps emanated from the crowd.

  “Now, that would mean that perhaps the vampires and the... whoever the hell they are? Aliens? They are potentially working together. Keep in mind when that ship appeared over Earth centuries ago no one detected anything on the sensors, either. I don’t know, maybe these Double-Crescents don’t travel through hyperspace the same way our ships do. A vampire ship tagged along somehow. This is the smoking gun. Now we just have to figure out what type of gun it is, because this is confusing.”

  Jacob didn’t know what to make out of this. He still had nightmares about the brooding Double-Crescent he saw in Kappa Velorum. The video raised so many questions. The Crusaders around him were shocked. Skyrift pondered the revelation.

  “But that’s fake, right? That’s what the media tells us...What do you believe? See you guys next week. The dawn shall break.”

  December 2, 0270 AC – 13:12

  Captain�
�s Quarters, USS Empyrean

  Edge of Galactic Union Space

  “Did you have something to do with the bomb that was detonated in Zeta Volantis III?”

  Drake Mabus laughed. “We provide the tools, but the rebels do what they want. The bomb destroyed one of the major military bases of the Confederation. The rebels are winning for now, but it won’t be long until the Confederation crushes the rebellion or decides to withdraw completely. Either way, once they are weakened from the bloodshed, it will be our time to strike. We are bleeding the Confederation dry.”

  Captain John Devereaux was listening to Regent Drake Mabus over a hyperNEP feed in the captain’s quarters.

  Devereaux had an imp inside of him. He was controlled by this alien creature. Devereaux was determined to get this thing out of him. He supplied quite a bit of information about the Galactic Union to the vampire forces. Luckily, he had not done anything that went totally against his morals for some time. He figured if he didn’t spy for the vampires, they could easily find someone else. Devereaux gained the trust of Mabus. He wanted to betray Mabus. Betray probably wasn’t the right word, though. Mabus never had Devereaux’s allegiance.

  “What’s the point? Do you just want to control the entire galaxy? There has to be something more than that.”

  “There is. Our benefactors require the fruit to be ripe before making their glorious presence known. There will be upcoming visitations, but we will not see their true face until the galaxy is unified under my banners. We have to be certain that our plans are not thwarted. This requires the entire galaxy to be on our side.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “This isn’t the first time the benefactors have tried to accomplish their goals. The Enemy always finds a way to defeat them. If the entire galaxy is ours, the Enemy will not be able to thwart us.”

  Devereaux stroked his beard. “Enemy?”

  “It doesn’t matter. They will be crushed.”

  Devereaux didn’t understand what Mabus was saying. Who were these benefactors? He assumed these benefactors had something to do with the imps. Were they aliens? Who were the Enemy? Other aliens? Is the enemy of my enemy a friend?

  Mabus continued, “You have done well, my friend. Both infiltration units have performed admirably.”

  “Infiltration units? Are you talking about imps?”

  Although Devereaux had an imp in his head, and although he communicated with Mabus at a regular basis, he had no idea if he was the only imp-controlled person onboard his warship.

  “Truthfully, my friend...”

  Devereaux grimaced when Mabus said “friend.”

  “...There is only one other member of your crew with an imp inside of them. They are an assassination/sabotage unit. As long as your crew does what we want them to, they won’t have to eliminate anyone.”

  Devereaux wasn’t the only one.

  December 2, 0270 AC – 13:13

  Arnold’s Quarters, USS Empyrean

  Edge of Galactic Union Space

  Arnold Lawrence snapped awake. What time was it? How long did he sleep? Perhaps he shouldn’t have drank so much.

  Arnold grumbled and stumbled out of bed. He walked over to the lavatory. He splashed some water in his face and examined himself in the mirror. He grunted and reached for the shaving cream and his razor.

  “Guess I’ll get this over with. Damn, I’m glad I don’t have anything to do today.”

  Arnold did a double-take.

  Blood was dripping out of his nose.

  Oh god no.

  He didn’t know if he fully believed the imp story, but he knew if you had an imp in your skull, it could make its presence known by a bloody nose.

  “Anybody in there?”

  He knocked on the side of his head with his fist.

  “Hello? Anybody?”

  The blood trickled faster.

  “Eff me.”

  It could just be a normal bloody nose. Maybe he got into a fight last night. He couldn’t remember last night. Sometimes the blood vessels in the nose rupture and bleed on their own—without the presence of an alien parasite.

  How could one tell? Was there an alien... thing inside of him? He was too paranoid to tell any of his friends or the medical officer.

  “Are you in there? Is someone there?”

  His eyes darted around the disheveled room. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for.

  He started to panic. Was there something inside of him? Was it controlling him? How could you even tell? His head hurt. Was it from the hangover? Or the creature? Was there a creature? His head was spinning.

  The blood appeared to have stopped trickling for now.

  The computer in his room chimed. “Call from... Commander Boaz Aurigae.”

  He stumbled into the chair in front of the computer. “Accept... accept!”

  Commander Boaz Aurigae was the wing leader of the fighter squadrons aboard Empyrean. He was also the squadron leader of Alpha Squadron, the best fighter pilots of Empyrean.

  Commander Aurigae appeared on the screen. The commander was showing signs of gray hair in his black flattop. His face was pockmarked with age. “Mr. Lawrence?”

  “Yes?” Arnold coughed. “Yes, sir?”

  “You okay, son? You lookin’ sick.”

  “Yeah, yes sir. I’m fine, sir.”

  “You just wake up? It’s no matter. Can we discuss something? In my quarters? It’s about you wantin’ to join us up in the sky.”

  “Joining the fighter wing?”

  “Yessir. Be here at 1500 hours today. Don’t be late.”

  The transmission abruptly ended.

  Arnold smiled. He wanted to be a fighter pilot! He tried to convince himself it was a good idea.

  He felt his nose.

  It wasn’t bleeding at the moment.

  He got ready for his meeting. But he wasn’t thinking of the meeting, fighters, or the squadrons. He was concerned about the bloody nose. Was there something in his head? Was he alone in his thoughts?

  Arnold felt sick to his stomach.

  December 2, 0270 AC – 13:33

  USS Empyrean

  Edge of Galactic Union Space

  Jacob passed by some workers in the hall. He wasn’t heading anywhere in particular. Empyrean was huge. He still hadn’t visited all of its locations. He was curious and enjoyed exploring the heavy cruiser. He doubted he’d ever see everything the ship had to offer. Occasionally a crew member would recognize him and smile, nod, or salute. It was different being somewhat of a celebrity.

  Somewhat. The media was all over the Battle of Artemis after the ashes settled. Jacob and the Rapture’s crew were all interviewed about their role in relaying the information about the attack and also their efforts during the battle. The entire crew gained a little bit of fame for being heroes. They decided to keep the more disturbing facts of the situation to themselves. Their fame had died down at this point. The media had moved on to some other thing to focus on. Probably a pregnant celebrity or a funny cat video.

  “Hey, Jake!” shouted a familiar voice.

  Jacob turned and saw Trevor approaching. Jacob smiled. “How’s it going?”

  “Good, good. Been racking my brain learning different communication protocols. This stuff is just so complicated. What are you up to?”

  Jacob grinned. “Just wandering.”

  “As usual. Can I wander with you for a while?”

  “Sure thing.”

  The two friends continued walking down the metal corridors of the ship. They passed by random civilians, workers, large devices with some unknown purpose, metal crates full of who-knows-what, and doors that led who-knows-where. They continued making small talk. The designs of the hallways changed slightly from one part of the ship to the other. The friends were currently in the stern section of the cruiser that housed a lot of the machinery that kept the ship flying, such as the fuel refinery, fusion reactor, and hyper-drive systems. The gray hallways were a bit more worn and not quite as poli
shed as the corridors of the front section of Empyrean.

  “Like I said, man, those protocols are way out of my league,” Trevor said.

  “You’ll figure it out,” Jacob said.

  “...Speaking of out of my league,” Trevor remarked.

  Jacob stopped walking and sighed. “Oh lord, not this again.”

  Trevor continued walking down the hallway. “This is different! She’s different.”

  Jacob followed behind Trevor. “Well who is she this time?”

  A huge grin appeared on Trevor’s face. He leaned against humming machinery that ran down the side of the corridor.

  “Alright. Don’t laugh. I met this cute chick named Ryn at chapel.”

  Jacob let out a hearty laugh. “Chapel.”

  Trevor grumbled. “The First Church of God in the civilian sector... Christians.”

  “I know you. You aren’t religious.”

  “I know! Look, do you know the best place to pick up freaks-in-the-sheets?”

  Jacob sighed.

  “The freakiest girls go to church! Even worst ones on the Wednesday night services. Come on, isn’t the Sabbath enough? You have to go to another service? How dirty are you if you have to do that?! Gotta ask for forgiveness another day of the week!”

  “Trevor, that’s not how it works...”

  The machinery Trevor was leaning on let out of a buzz.

  Trevor flinched in pain. “Ow! Eff! Dammit. This effing thing shocked me.”

  Jacob smirked. “You deserve it. And that mouth on you! Very godlike.”

  “Shut up. You don’t have to be Christian to go to church.”

  “You know, if you sneak into a doghouse, you aren’t a dog...”

  “Come on, I don’t need your jokes. I need your help.”

  “How would I help?!”

  “You were the hero of the Battle of Artemis. She’s impressed I was there, but you were the captain. You were the face that got splattered all over the airwaves. Not that I’m bitter. Maybe a little bitter. Just a little. A tiny bit.”