It was taking days for the Ashamine's Bane to jump from system to system, stopping each time to decoy its worm impression. As he waited for them to reach their final destination, Wake often found himself deep in thought, trying to come to terms with the new life he’d chosen. His thoughts felt like a black hole, threatening to suck him in. Since the small ship held little entertainment, he needed other ways to occupy himself.
The crew didn't need his help, so that option was a dead end. All the ship's systems were up-to-date and in good repair, so Wake couldn't pass the time in technical pursuits. Talking was a good diversion, and he struck up conversations whenever possible.
“Where are we headed, Captain?” Wake asked on the second day.
“Eishon-2,” Malesis replied. Wake had never heard of it. “It’s a wild place,” Captain Malesis continued. “Several political and religious factions are based there. They run the spectrum from ambivalent to hostile in their feelings towards the Ashamine. The Brotherhood maintains a large complex on the planet. Our leader, Parick Olvold, should be there when we arrive. He moves from world to world, staying ahead of the Ashamine. Eishon is a relatively secure location, so he
spends his downtime there.”
By the end of the second day, the crew grew more accepting of Wake and started including him in conversations and banter. Soon, he realized they were just as bored as he. They eagerly swapped stories and told him everything he wanted to know about the Brotherhood.
“Alnos Azak-so started the group,” Ralen said, voice taking on the tone of an experienced storyteller. “He was a minor merchant who lived thousands of years ago. When all his fellow merchants formed a guild to protect their interests, Alnos gladly helped in its organization and funding. After a few years however, some larger guild members started price fixing and enforced it amongst the members. Common goods became expensive, creating shortages and protests by the poor.
“Alnos Azak-so spoke against the tactic, arguing it was unfair to the buyers and unnecessary for the merchants. The leaders of the guild threatened him, promising to kill his family if he did not get back in line. For a time he was silent, not scared into passiveness, but devising a plan. When everything was in place, Azak-so struck and the guild leaders were dead, their entrails spilled by his small blade. The price gouging stopped and Azak-so was the people's hero.”
Wake wondered if Azak-so had been a real man or just a legend, but in the end he supposed it didn't matter. The principle of the story remained true.
After having time to reflect, Wake felt he’d been hasty in joining the Brotherhood, but he was still happy with the decision. He was impressed by Captain Malesis, Ralen, Carson, Qul, and Terron, both for their selfless effort to rescue him and their skill in doing so. If they were any representation of the Brotherhood as a whole, he was content to be part of the organization. Besides, I can always leave if I don’t like it.
After a few more days in empty space, the group conversation died off, leaving Wake with free time he had no idea how to fill. He didn't want to fall back into the trap of over-thinking, so he once again looked for something to occupy him. Since he yearned for a technical pursuit and the ship needed nothing, Wake began examining the Clothing of the Iconoclast.
Upon closer inspection, he determined it was ancient, but had no way to figure out exactly how old it was. Its crimson exterior was decorated with ornate, finely detailed silver scrollwork. Maybe
it was made for someone in a position of power?
Wake's attention was drawn to the fact this environmental nominizing suit contained many electrical components, but none functioned. He also discovered it was armored, something rare in an ENS. Fascinating...
While digging around inside the suit's systems in an effort to make them functional, a module caught Wake’s attention. It was discordant, newer than the surrounding parts. Its connection to the suit was brutish, out of place in the intricate circuitry. Curious of the module's function, he carefully disconnected it. Initially, Wake saw no difference, but after a while he heard a light rushing noise coming from inside the suit. Tracking it down revealed the ENS was now processing air. The Ashamine disabled that to turn it into an execution chamber.
Wake smiled. One step
closer to being able to use it
as a fully functional ENS.
Another thing he noticed was an inscription on the back of the helmet. It was worn and old, just like the rest of the Clothing. It was hard to make out exactly what it said because the script was odd and flourishing. Callhis Hnghlwing
was his best guess at the first line. The second, after much scrutiny, read: By this, you will know honor
. Wake went back to the first line, puzzling over it for some time. It’s
probably a name,
he decided.
Having never heard of anyone named Callhis Hnghlwing and thinking it was a strange name—Did I get some letters wrong?
—he wrote it on a portable terminal and set out to find Captain Malesis. Not seeing him on the command deck, Wake knocked on the door of his quarters.
“Come in,” Malesis said. Wake did so. After some small talk about how Wake was finding his accommodations on board the Ashamine's Bane, Wake showed him the name.
After looking at what Wake had written, Captain Malesis' expression grew puzzled. “You say this was on the helmet of the suit we picked you up in?” Wake nodded his confirmation and Malesis thought for a moment. “Would you get the helmet, so I can take a look?”
Perhaps the ENS is interesting for more than just its technical aspects,
Wake thought, getting the helmet and returning to the captain’s quarters. Captain Malesis studied it, turning the crimson sphere over and over, pausing to look at the inscription now and then.
“I think you wrote the name wrong, even though it matches perfectly. Some letters are worn through or scratched.” His voice contained a bit of a quaver, although Wake could see no cause. “The name is Calthis Brightwing.” He paused, looking at Wake expectantly. When he said nothing, Malesis spoke again, breaking the silence. “You've never heard of her?”
“No,” Wake replied, “I didn't even know it was a woman's name, let alone who she was.”
“Calthis Brightwing was Orick Brightwing’s wife, the legendary leader of the government preceding the Ashamine. She was his battle commander, a genius of warfare and master of tactics. Legend says she wore a cobalt blue battle suit, not crimson. I suppose this could be coincidence, but that seems unlikely. What you possess is very valuable.” Wake was speechless, thinking through everything Malesis had said. “Many would seek to take this artifact from you,” Captain
Malesis continued, “but I promise you none of the Brotherhood will do such a thing. I will have to report to my superiors, but they will allow you to keep it, especially due to the circumstances by which you came to possess it.”
“Thank you,” was all Wake could say.
“If you would, please continue to study and report anything you find to me. And if you desire to sell it, give the Brotherhood the first chance. This is an important artifact, assuming it’s authentic. It is especially valuable to our order. More so than you probably understand at this point.”
Wake regained his composure somewhat after his earlier astonishment. “For now, I would like to keep it and see what it can do. It's unlike any ENS I have ever seen.”
“Of course, of course, take as long as you like. The Brotherhood would love to hear anything you can tell us.”
So Wake went back to his quarters and began working in earnest, trying to determine what the suit’s individual components did. It was slow going due to the fact most of the technology was unlike anything he’d seen or studied before. The suit appeared to lack anything but an emergency power supply, so Wake rigged up a small battery to fully energize it. Only the most basic systems came online, and the more advanced features continued eluding him. When he tried to access them through the face plate interface, the whole system simply shut down. Wake speculated several sub-systems were combat related, but he couldn't determine how they operated. Their presence confirmed some of what Malesis had said though, and for that, Wake was grateful. Before he could learn more, they neared the final worm transition and Captain Malesis asked Wake to operate one of the ship's stations.
When they entered the worm area near the Eishon system, Ralen let out a startled shout, jumping in his seat. Even the silent Terron cursed loudly at the sight unfolding in front of them. A huge Tarton class Ashamine vessel was pursuing one
of the strange Entho bi-pyramidal ships, both vessels still inside the worm area. A transition was closing behind the enormous human ship. As it did, Wake noticed a battered little vessel speed out.
“They sure cut that one fine,” Captain Malesis commented dryly. Wake agreed, knowing if they had lingered a moment longer, everyone on the ship would have been lost forever in the folds of space-time.
“Ideas?” Captain Malesis asked, sounding angry. “I don't think we can ju—” but whatever he had been about to say was cut off as the human ship launched a volley of tungsten slugs towards the Entho ship. Each round’s ionic tracer glowed either blue or green as they streaked through the blackness. “Damn Ashamine should burn in the hottest fires of the dark star,” Captain Malesis fumed.
Wake was at a loss for what to do. Their ship was far too small to engage in the battle. One round from the huge ship would turn them into particles. Lacking anything else to do, everyone aboard the Ashamine's Bane watched the conflict unfold, hoping the Enthos might somehow escape. Wake held no special love of the alien species, but he supposed the foe of his foe was his friend. Considering the Enthos’ prowess, that isn't much of an alliance.
The Ashamine ship and its tungsten rain bore down on the bi-pyramid. Wake thought the Enthos lost, knowing they had no weaponry. It will be a short battle.
Then, something unfathomable happened.
To Wake, it looked like a massive, invisible blade sheered the Ashamine ship in two. One moment, it was bearing down on the bi-pyramid, and the next it was separating, explosions and venting atmosphere sending pieces off on erratic trajectories. It was impossible to see what caused the damage, but its aftermath was clear.
There is no way the Tarton class ship will recover,
Wake thought,
a sense of terrible awe nearly overwhelming him. Those on board were coming to the same conclusion, because escape vehicles jettisoned away from it. Some vehicles were obviously damaged and Wake wondered how long they would be able to survive. He shuddered at the thought of being in the void again, no air, lungs spasming to draw breath.
“Move it, move it, move it,” Ralen chanted. It was as if the Enthos had heard him and finally realized their danger, slowly exiting the threatened area. They didn't act fast enough though.
The tungsten slugs were unforgiving, punching huge holes into and through the bi-pyramidal ship. It began to lurch and jitter as atmosphere vented into the void. Thankfully, their momentum helped them avoid most of the Ashamine ship debris. They might survive this after all.
Many of the Ashamine escape vessels were on course to smash into the large bi-pyramid. Wake could see small winks of light as they tried to maneuver around the larger ship, their efforts in vain.
Realizing he had a terminal in front of him, Wake started scanning the oncoming debris for anything large enough to threaten the Entho ship. After a moment, the terminal returned its results. A huge piece of the Tarton class' hull was heading straight for the bi-pyramid. “Fires of the dark star,” he muttered. The fragment looked like a jagged, enormous battering ram. They can’t get out of the way.
“Good gods...” Captain Malesis muttered, eyes wide as the bi-pyramid collided with the hull fragment. The piece drove through the Entho ship, transfixing it. There were no dramatic explosions, simply a catastrophic union.
Wake knew thousands were already dead on both sides, more dying at that very moment. And all we can
do is watch.
Wake mourned the useless loss of life. His surrounding crew mates were silent. The fact there was one less Ashamine ship prowling the galaxy didn't seem to comfort anyone.
It certainly wasn't a trade I
would have chosen.