before they docked at the Mars hub. A million things began to flood her mind as she looked at the image of Terra Sol magnified on the view screen; memories of the battle began to overwhelm her once more. The near end they almost faced was not the issue; it was being back to where she lost Aen that haunted her all over. With a swallow, Lyxia reached down for her inner strength and thrust aside the pain in her soul. There was no time to be a heartbroken maiden again; not now. She had a duty to do and a killer to catch!
—
Sol System; Neptune’s Moon, Triton
He watched with anticipation as the ship burst into view from nothingness and readied himself for what was next. It was only after taking a second look at the cruiser’s position that he saw the identification tags on her bow showing her as being the Dark Light; it was her ship! After so long of being unable to be near to the one thing he could remember about his past, he was closer than he had been in his dreams to her now. His heart skipped a beat and his emotions began to rise. Aen had thoughts of delaying the well laid plans just to see her once more; a few days delay was worth having her in his arms!
As if to sense his trepidation, Aen felt his companion’s hand on his shoulder. Even before she spoke, the action itself was enough to settle him down and put him back on track.
“Not now.” She said through her voice filter in her helmet. “The two of you will have a lifetime to be together, but first we have to unleash hell upon the Empire.”
He nodded in response; his words stuck deep within his throat along with his heart. She was right; there was far too much riding on the next few hours and if they delayed even the least bit, all of it would unravel and be for naught. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Aen readied himself for what was next.
“Caretaker!” he shouted suddenly; startling his companion.
“ I am here .” The construct droned.
“Hack the cruiser’s long range communications and run the decryption program waiting in your matrix; I want to own the Imperial data stream in the next five minutes! Then start the countdown for program two I preloaded in you and initiate all stations on the network with five seconds to broadcast!”
“ As you wish .” Caretaker couldn’t say no; his programming wouldn’t allow him.
Within a few seconds, he began to take hold of the communications network and just as the thought of sending a hidden message began to pop up in his thoughts, he felt the coding tighten against him. There was nothing left to do but carry out this thing’s dastardly deeds. Reaching out in cyberspace, he could now touch the entire width of the Empire and soon had control of every communications device out there. His captor was about to send another terrible message, and as the ten minute countdown appeared on the view screen, Caretaker could do nothing to stop it.
“I know it has been tough to obey such horrible tasks.” Aen began as he knew the AI had no way of knowing it was him beneath the armor. “But what is happening; what everyone is about to witness is for the greater good. And all will come clear to those who are patient.”
He turned to his companion who stood behind him and fidgeted slightly. There was no telling how hard this next bit would be for her and knew the words he spoke to the AI were for her as well.
“Sit back and watch.” He said to her. “Because in a few minutes everything is going to change forever!”
—
Lyarran Vessel Dark Light; Neptune Orbit Range
“I thought it best to tell you the real reason of my visit as soon as we arrived, old friend.” Lyxia said after spilling her guts to the Terra Sol Council through the holo-link. “Once the attack happened, I thought it best to be proactive and not reactive like the rest of the Fleet.”
“To be honest, I figured something was up with the timing of your trip, and I will give you unfettered access to our historical records to help
—
Sol System; Neptune’s Moon, Triton
He watched with anticipation as the ship burst into view from nothingness and readied himself for what was next. It was only after taking a second look at the cruiser’s position that he saw the identification tags on her bow showing her as being the Dark Light; it was her ship! After so long of being unable to be near to the one thing he could remember about his past, he was closer than he had been in his dreams to her now. His heart skipped a beat and his emotions began to rise. Aen had thoughts of delaying the well laid plans just to see her once more; a few days delay was worth having her in his arms!
As if to sense his trepidation, Aen felt his companion’s hand on his shoulder. Even before she spoke, the action itself was enough to settle him down and put him back on track.
“Not now.” She said through her voice filter in her helmet. “The two of you will have a lifetime to be together, but first we have to unleash hell upon the Empire.”
He nodded in response; his words stuck deep within his throat along with his heart. She was right; there was far too much riding on the next few hours and if they delayed even the least bit, all of it would unravel and be for naught. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Aen readied himself for what was next.
“Caretaker!” he shouted suddenly; startling his companion.
“ I am here .” The construct droned.
“Hack the cruiser’s long range communications and run the decryption program waiting in your matrix; I want to own the Imperial data stream in the next five minutes! Then start the countdown for program two I preloaded in you and initiate all stations on the network with five seconds to broadcast!”
“ As you wish .” Caretaker couldn’t say no; his programming wouldn’t allow him.
Within a few seconds, he began to take hold of the communications network and just as the thought of sending a hidden message began to pop up in his thoughts, he felt the coding tighten against him. There was nothing left to do but carry out this thing’s dastardly deeds. Reaching out in cyberspace, he could now touch the entire width of the Empire and soon had control of every communications device out there. His captor was about to send another terrible message, and as the ten minute countdown appeared on the view screen, Caretaker could do nothing to stop it.
“I know it has been tough to obey such horrible tasks.” Aen began as he knew the AI had no way of knowing it was him beneath the armor. “But what is happening; what everyone is about to witness is for the greater good. And all will come clear to those who are patient.”
He turned to his companion who stood behind him and fidgeted slightly. There was no telling how hard this next bit would be for her and knew the words he spoke to the AI were for her as well.
“Sit back and watch.” He said to her. “Because in a few minutes everything is going to change forever!”
—
Lyarran Vessel Dark Light; Neptune Orbit Range
“I thought it best to tell you the real reason of my visit as soon as we arrived, old friend.” Lyxia said after spilling her guts to the Terra Sol Council through the holo-link. “Once the attack happened, I thought it best to be proactive and not reactive like the rest of the Fleet.”
“To be honest, I figured something was up with the timing of your trip, and I will give you unfettered access to our historical records to help
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