The Founder, erupting with rage, threw the heavy prismatic cube. It ricocheted off the wall, narrowly missing the aide's head. “Get me someone competent before I kill you!” he roared. Spittle flew from his mouth and his vivid orange eyes felt like they were bursting from his head. The female assistant ran, tears streaming down her cheeks as she fled the Founder's office.
He stared at the report the woman had just briefed him on. The terminal screen listed “complete planetary destruction” and “loss of at least 90% of personnel and space borne assets”. The ships that had escaped the supernova were now scattered all over the Akked. Pandemonium reigned. The Founder's Hammer had not reported anything since a brief message about pursuing an Entho bi-pyramid ship in Haak-ah-tar space. The supernova and disappearance of the Hammer and its precious cargo pushed everything else from the Founder's mind, including the communications black hole the Noor system had become.
“Why can’t we find the Hammer?!” he yelled. The ship itself is expendable, especially since mining operations on formerly Entho worlds are up to full production.
The Hammer’s cargo, however, was not so easily replaceable. I need my heir!
The Founder had thought he’d lost the boy once before, and his options then looked grim.
I thought the Hammer a safe place to keep Lothis, but now
my
namesake is failing me.
Some reports said Ascended Talnavis, the commander of the ASN Founder's Hammer, was overly ambitious and sometimes lacked the necessary cautiousness. The bastard better not have
done anything to endanger the boy.
If he could have sent Crasor, the Founder would feel confident he would keep the boy safe and escort him back. Crasor wouldn’t take Lothis
on an unnecessary
chase after some blighthearted
Enthos!
The Founder had given up expecting Crasor to return however. Crasor is dead,
he decided. That was disappointing, but it certainly didn't grieve him. The Founder still couldn't find anyone capable of taking the role of Facilitator. I cannot settle for a mediocre candidate.
The fact Bloodsport had been destroyed also irked the Founder. The Ashamine had lost a great source of income. All Ashamine Forces on Haak-ah-tar itself were also annihilated. At least now I won't have to dispose of Felar Haltro,
he thought. That's one positive to come out of this catastrophe.
The longer the Founder thought about it, the more he realized events were going wrong now more than ever before in his lengthy tenure. Is
this coincidence or is someone
conspiring against the Ashamine?
The Founder dismissed this as paranoia. The thought of individuals instigating a supernova was ludicrous.
The Divisionists were another matter entirely. Their ranks still continued growing, and Crasor's mission seemed aborted due to the Noor-5 earthquakes. The Founder hadn't heard of any “acts of retribution” carried out against “enemies of the Ashamine” by “loyal zealots” on any other planets either. That was the mission, a task Crasor had obviously failed to carry out. Not only that, but the whole Noor system had undergone a comms blackout shortly after the quakes. No transmissions or ships had come from the once busy system. It's located on a major trade and
shipping route. What happened?
The curious archaeological discovery on Traynos-6 was also on the Founder's mind. Apparently, the man Crasor set up to take the fall for the bridge had miraculously escaped execution, but that mattered little. Wake Darmekus didn't know anything about the discovery deep in the mine, and all the people with dangerous information were dead. This is one situation that is, at least for the moment, under control.
Once the Ashamine returned to stability, he would be able to allocate more resources to exploiting the mysterious technology his researchers had discovered.
An aide, this time male, timidly stepped into the Founder's office. “Sir, we just received info on the Hammer,” he quavered.
“Yes, yes, yes,” the Founder said, repressing his fury. “Get on with it.”
“Well, it appears to have been destroyed, sir,” the aide replied, cringing.
“WHAT?!?” the Founder screamed. The aide took a hurried step back, almost falling in the process.
“One of the other Haak-ah-tar ships saw it go through a wormhole after an Entho bi-pyramid, just before it closed. Our analysts compiled a list of probable places and sent recon drones to track the Hammer down.” The man’s face was pale, his slender frame shaking. “One of the scout ships went to the Eishon system. It wasn't high on the list,” the aide explained, “but they found the remnants of a massive battle. Apparently—” He paused for a moment to gulp and try to regain composure. “Apparently, both ships annihilated each other. Completely.”
“How is that even possible?” the Founder shot back, one decibel shy of screaming. “The Enthos have no weaponry, and as I remember, there is nothing in the Eishon system other than a bunch of religious wacks.”
“Ye-ye-yes sir,” the aide stammered. “As you say.” He looked down at the report he carried on his portable terminal.
The Founder felt himself grow even more impatient as moments passed. Continuing to shout at this young man will
accomplish
nothing. He’s done an adequate job so far. Calm yourself.
After the aide found what he was looking for, he began speaking. “We don't know what happened, but the scout drone recovered the Hammer's secure records unit and is currently transmitting the information.” The Founder waited, taking deep breaths and focusing on slowing his heart rate.
“Ninety percent transferred,” the aide said. After another moment, “Transfer complete. Decrypting.” A minute passed, the Founder continuing to calm himself and regain control over his wildly flailing emotions. “Decryption complete. Would you like me to read the report, sir?”
“No, I have my own terminal, in case you hadn't noticed,” he snapped. Even as the Founder spoke, he brought up the data at his desk terminal. Reviewing the information, he realized the secure records didn't hold any more insight than what the aide had already said. Everything was normal up until a minute or two before the records unit lost connection to the Hammer. At this point, the device recorded an extremely large object striking the ship, but it listed the Entho bi-pyramid as too far away to be the cause. It also reported many escape vehicle launches. Perhaps the boy is safe!
Digging deeper, the Founder discovered a discrepancy. Somehow, an escape vehicle was launched before
the ship had been struck. The file showed Lothis and a soldier, 3rd Class Enlightened Felar Haltro, had boarded an escape vehicle near the command deck several minutes before the collision. How did they know to get away? And why was she with him? I ordered her to
remain on
Haak-ah-tar.
It was clear they left at a precise moment. They’d waited in the vehicle so the timing was close to the destruction of the ship. Had they left sooner it would
have alerted Talnavis, and had they departed later their chances for survival would have decreased. Where are they now?
“This is the same Enlightened Felar Haltro that extracted the boy from the facility,” his voice was a flat statement, not a question.
“Yes sir,” the aide stated eagerly, looking up from his portable terminal. The Founder rolled his eyes, something the other man failed to notice.
“Why don't you do something useful and answer a real question,” the Founder asked, brimming with mock and scorn. “Why did they leave before
the ship was damaged?” The aide looked puzzled and thought for a moment.
“Perhaps they left early because they saw the danger of whatever struck the ship?” he replied, voice halting.
“Possible, but then why would they have waited so long to launch?” This time the Founder gave the young aide no time to answer. “Obviously, you idiot, the woman was kidnapping the boy and timed her escape with external collaborators. Or perhaps they are AF. Either way, they configured it so she might escape in the chaos, taking the child with her. She must have discovered his true identity.” The Founder thought for a moment, grateful the aide had the intelligence to keep his mouth shut. “Perhaps it was those religious lack wits? But how would they destroy a Tarton Class ship? I suppose it's worth investigating, given there are no other leads. And while we are at it, we can take care of that dirty little corner of the Ashamine. The woman couldn't have gotten far in the escape vehicle, so unless they found transport on a worm-capable ship, they are on Eishon-2.” That logic felt quite sound. More of his anger subsided.
The Founder began sending commands through his terminal, creating formations of ships and issuing orders. He assembled troops, armored vehicles, and atmospheric fighters for transport. “Please, if you can find it within your less than
adequate brain to perform a task successfully, request that my Ascended commanders attend me. Inform them it is urgent, security level five.” The Founder turned back to his screen, continuing to analyze his military forces and issue further orders. “Oh,” he added just as the aide was about to leave, feeling cheerful, “remember that if you even think
of breathing a word of this to anyone, your life will be the first
thing you'll wish I had taken from you. You've done an adequate job so far, but don't think that will save you if you breach security.” The aide blanched and left the room. The Founder smiled tightly, a small bit of pleasure added to his day.
Soon enough,
he thought, these rebels and conspirators
on Eishon-2 will see what happens when they try to capture the Ashamine heir. They should have kept their heads down. Maybe we would have left them alone for another fifteen years. This time, a plague will be the least of their worries.