"Shields are down on the station," the com tech said, as calmly as if they were on a normal docking approach, not flying through a mess of ships shooting at each other.
The pilots on his ship were good, the best he had. Tayvis stood behind them, watching the main screen intently.
"We've got a lock on the docking bay," the lead pilot told him. "We'll have the ship in position in five minutes."
"Good work," Tayvis said, patting the man on the shoulder. "Keep all channels open and the engines hot."
He left the bridge in a hurry, snagging a com unit on the way. "Everett," he said into the com. He pulled on the earpiece while he waited for an answer.
"Here," Everett answered.
"How's the battle going?" Tayvis asked.
Everett was on one of the hunters, keeping the enemy cruisers busy. The carriers were with him, fighters swarming everywhere. Tayvis had his three heavy cruisers docking with the station. They'd blasted it enough to knock out shields and hopefully any defensive weapons. It was up to Paltronis and her marines now.
"We're holding them for now," Everett said. "They're good, though. You'd better make this fast."
"As fast as I can," Tayvis promised.
He jogged up to the hatch. The airlock was crowded with marines in full battle gear. Paltronis saw him and tossed him a rifle. She didn't look happy with him. She'd argued that he belonged on the ship. He refused to listen. He had agreed to wear body armor and let her lead, though.
"At least I know you're trained for this," she grumbled as they waited.
"How close?" Tayvis asked on the ship channel.
"Two minutes," the com tech answered. "No sign of hostile action on the station."
"Hopefully there won't be much," Tayvis answered.
The marines made a last check of their weapons and armor. There was a brief spate of com checks.
"Closing in on the station now," the com tech said in Tayvis' ear. "Grappling hooks deployed."
They felt the shudder as the hooks were released. The cables locked onto the station and started to pull the ship into position.
"You don't go first," Paltronis told Tayvis. "You're staying back, with the rear guard. And don't argue with me."
The marines behind them stirred, moving aside. Paltronis turned to look. Tayvis looked over her shoulder.
Ti'uro walked calmly into the middle of their squad, out of place in her white robe. She stopped near the hatch.
"This isn't your place," Paltronis told her.
"It is my destiny," Ti'uro said. "I am coming with you, or without you." She stood, implacable and immovable, her back straight and her head high.
Paltronis flicked a hand signal to two of her men, assigning them as guards to Ti'uro.
"I'll stay with her," Tayvis offered.
Paltronis nodded, but she didn't change her orders.
"We're as close as we're going to get," the com tech said in his ear. "Airlock deploying."
There was a grinding noise from the other side of the hatch. Air tubes hissed. The light above the hatch glowed green.
"We're good," Paltronis said. "Go!" She hit the hatch controls, the door started to slide open.
Marines poured through, weapons ready. They forced the door into the station. Shots zipped past them, a few making it into the airlock on the ship.
Ti'uro ignored them. She walked like a queen, sweeping her way into the station. Tayvis tried to cover her, along with the two marines. The shots died down. Tayvis heard more fighting from the docking bay beyond, but Paltronis had deflected the immediate threat.
He tried to get Ti'uro under cover as she left the ship. She ignored him, immovable and unstoppable. She walked into the middle of the docking bay, stepping lightly over strewn cables and debris. She paused, raising her hands over her head, palm out. She began to chant in the strange language she'd used before.
"Sir?" one of the marines looked to him for direction.
"Just try to keep her from getting shot," he said.
The sounds of fighting moved into the access halls, leaving them clear. He heard Paltronis over the headset giving orders. She sent the marines out in squads to sweep the station.
"Fifteen minutes," Tayvis added on all channels. "We break off and blow the station."
He got a stream of acknowledgments.
Paltronis came back, her marines herding a group of guards in dark gray uniforms. She pushed them to one side, in a group by the wall.
"Maybe they can give us some information," Paltronis suggested to Tayvis. "I've got my troops moving, taking whatever prisoners they can find."
"Scholar?" Tayvis said into the headset.
"We just got the umbilicals connected," Scholar answered.
"You've got fifteen minutes, take whatever you can. We'll sort it later."
"Then shut up and let me work," Scholar answered, sounding almost like his old self.
"They're also looking for any records," Paltronis said.
"We knew we were in the right place as soon as they attacked us," Tayvis said. He moved over to look at their prisoners.
They were all men, all eerily similar in facial expression. They watched him, as if they were the captors and he was the prisoner. The air felt like lightning about to strike.
A wave of power rushed by him, sweeping over the captured men. He could almost see the wave breaking against the wall. The men collapsed to the decking, tumbling like dolls. He knew if he checked they would all be dead.
Ti'uro stood at his shoulder. He felt the power tingling along his skin. She fairly crackled with it. Her robes stirred without wind or movement, as if she stood at the center of a storm. The heart pendant she wore shone like a captured star.
"They would have killed you." Her voice carried and echoed through the docking bay as if amplified. "It was more merciful this way. They are beyond saving."
"We need prisoners," Tayvis tried to reason with her. "We need the information."
"They are the fruits of Babylon," Ti'uro answered. "They stole the souls of Jericho."
Paltronis gasped. Tayvis glanced over at her. Her face was pale and greenish. She looked ill.
"Babylon?" Tayvis asked her.
"While you were chasing us, trying to arrest us for treason," Paltronis answered. "Babylon was a research base. They were working on a way to transplant DNA."
He was more confused than before.
"Take no prisoners," Ti'uro ordered. "The process is ultimately fatal for both donor and recipient. It is best for all."
Paltronis nodded. "Don't bother taking prisoners, shoot to kill, and keep all psychic shields up, if you have them," she said into her com. "We have to set the charges." She started to move away.
Tayvis reached for her, grabbing her shoulder. "Tell me."
She shook his hand off and started for the far wall and an access hall. Ti'uro walked at her side, calm and graceful and radiating power. Tayvis caught up with Paltronis. She glanced at him then away.
"We raided the base. They captured most of the colonists of Jericho. The Hrissia'noru had a secret home there. You do know about the Hrissia'noru?"
"After working with Lowell for years, yes, I know about them. He wasn't always taking orders from the Emperor. I knew he had a secret agenda. I suspected he worked for them."
"He was one of ours," Ti'uro admitted. "He was encouraged to become High Command to serve our interests. To help protect us."
"So they held prisoners at Babylon," Tayvis said as they walked, trying to understand.
"Not prisoners," Paltronis said. "They mind wiped them, all of them. They were gene pools, nothing more. One of their scientists found a way to extract genes and implant them into adult specimens, giving them the desired traits."
"An abomination," Ti'uro said. "It destroys both."
"I thought Roderick was behind it," Paltronis said.
"He was a pawn," Ti'uro answered. "The true evil is here. One of our own, I feel her presence."
"Is that why you came all this way?" Tayvis asked her.
"Not entirely."
"Fighting ahead," Paltronis said and hurried away.
Tayvis went on alert, weapon up and ready. He sensed Ti'uro was the important one here. She stood quietly, waiting. He felt her power building, teasing along the edge of his mind. The hairs on his neck stood up, his skin itched.
The two marines Paltronis had assigned to Ti'uro took up guard positions, one in front and one behind.
"Which way?" Tayvis asked her.
She closed her eyes, pivoting slowly. She turned a full circle and frowned as she opened her eyes again. "I sense her presence from too many directions." She tilted her head as if listening. "They are being called."
She started walking, moving faster with each step until she was almost running. Tayvis stayed with her, ready to protect her if he could. The marines stayed on point and behind.
Ti'uro moved as if she knew exactly where she was going. They heard fighting sometimes, but always down a corridor, behind a door, around a corner. They passed through the station like ghosts.
The corridor opened into a wide space, an observation lounge. The ceiling was a huge bubble, showing a clear view of space. A single planet, a ringed gas giant, hung over them spilling blue light into the room.
Ti'uro stepped through the door and stopped. Tayvis and the marines moved to protect her.
Five women stood on the other side of the room, like a wedge aimed at Ti'uro's heart. The point woman was old, though she still stood straight and slender. At her shoulders were two middle-aged women, behind them were two younger versions of the others. Tayvis stared at them. They were identical twins except for the age difference. They also looked exactly like a woman he'd met a few times.
"Sonja Medallis," he said, suddenly understanding. Pieces of puzzles he thought unconnected fit in a way that scared him. "The syndicates, the fake Patrol ships, the collapse of the Empire, everything. You were behind it all." His voice rose as he talked until he was shouting.
"Be still," the lead woman said. She flicked her hand at him.
He felt it as a physical blow, a blast of psychic power so strong it knocked him back. He hit the wall and crumpled to the floor.
The two marines raised their weapons. The woman sneered as she threw them back. The room filled with power, crackling in visible waves. Ti'uro stepped forward.
"Taliath'siuromi," she said, her voice echoing with power. "Your day of reckoning has come. Two hundred years you have perpetuated your abomination. Judgment has been passed. You will be destroyed for your blasphemies, body and soul."
Tayvis lay on the floor, feeling the power in the room build. He saw the marines staggering up, trying to do their duty to the end. He forced himself to his knees, grabbing for one of the men.
"Go," he said, pushing the man at the door. "There's nothing you can do here."
The two marines left, stumbling and holding onto walls that shook and shimmered under the force of the power building in the room.
Ti'uro looked back at Tayvis. "This is not your fight, not now. Go to Dace. Save her, Tayvis. She still holds the balance. Help her choose light."
Tayvis felt himself pushed out of the room. The door slammed shut on his heels. He leaned on the wall, his head spinning. He knew there were more answers here. He also knew the station wasn't going to survive the coming battle behind him. He snapped on his com.
"Paltronis?"
"We've got most of the lower levels cleared," she answered. "Where are you?"
"At the top," he said. "Get the station cleared."
"We haven't found them yet," she protested.
"We'll clear these decks," he answered. "We don't have time, Paltronis." He flinched as a wave of raw power swept through the deck and away. "If you didn't feel that, you aren't paying attention. Ti'uro is going to blow the whole place by herself. I don't understand how, but we don't have much time."
He pulled the marines up as he talked. The three of them made their way through the station. The walls and floors bulged and wavered, as if deciding what part of reality they belonged to. He felt the universe fracturing around him.
"Go!" he shouted, pushing at the marines.
They staggered into a run, Tayvis pounding at their heels.