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Outside - The Reflection
:: 01-01-31 ::
Chapter 13: Ancient Sins
From the bridge of the carrier Jal-Tor, Dolann Kaalel watched the Beastslayer emerge from the luminous blue glow of its trans-hyperdrive. There were no visible signs of damage, no visible signs of infection. Even so, Kaalel had suspicions.
“This is Jal-Tor to Beastslayer. Please respond,” Kaalel was broadcast. “Someone respond.”
A silence filled the room.
“Beastslayer, someone respond.”
There was no reply.
“This is extremely suspect. Fleet, stand by for subversion contingency plan. Are we receiving medical data from the Beastslayer?” Kaalel asked.
“All five are unconscious. Four are near death,” a Hiigaran reported with a hint of nervousness.
“Kaalel, have you seen the bridge of the Beastslayer?” demanded the voice of Shanal Alo.
“Show me it,” Kaalel told the officers on the bridge.
The viewscreen changed images from the Beastslayer floating in space to the vessel’s bridge. All of the controls seemed normal. The crew, however, was all lying on the floor.
“Martyrs of Kharak!” Kaalel shouted. “Hiigaran transports, emergency retrieval of the Beastslayer crew. The first teams should be careful of subversion, just in case. Other than that, hurry!”
The viewscreen flashed back to the Beastslayer as modified salvage corvettes closed in at speeds reserved for kamikaze attacks. Even so the seconds stretched out far too long.
“Sajuuk help them.”
*****
When he floated up to consciousness, Tasiin was surprised he even existed. He had felt himself being pulled out of his body, the entity from Outside forcing him out. Now he felt a hand pressed on his face, prodding him to wakefulness. An extreme tiredness still weighed down on him. It was not just his body, but his mind seemed slow, unable to think much clearly.
He forced his eyes open, expecting to see Datlai. Instead he saw Dolann Kaalel, waiting for him to awaken. Tasiin sighed and then closed his eyes to return to sleep.
“Tasiin, I know you are awake,” Kaalel said. “We must discuss what happened.”
“If you insist.”
“Tasiin, you are the only one awake. The others are lucky to even be alive. Within the first second of going Outside, they had what seemed like an extreme seizure. It was like their brains simply could not cope with the sheer amount of…whatever was done to them. You, to some extent, experienced something similar, but lesser, in the last two seconds.”
“It was about to force me out of my body to join it. Had the Beastslayer not jumped, I would not be here. I would be Outside…”
“We know from the records that you asked the entity what it wanted. Then you were silent. Your stress levels and brain activity increased dramatically.”
“It…talked to me. It is powerful. Over time…it has always been…tormented by useless attacks on it. It became tired of that existence. It thinks everyone is out to destroy it…it wishes to kill us - you. Not me. It was trying to make me join it. It saw something of itself in me. It was forcing me.”
Kaalel seemed to agree. “While the Beastslayer was Outside, automatic scans revealed slight gravitational disturbances. There definitely were patterns in them, but the computer is still analyzing them. During the last few seconds, there were large gravimetric fluctuations centered on the Beastslayer, enough to interfere with the jump back, had it not been for the sheer power of the jump.”
“Its thoughts define Outside,” said Tasiin. “It is Outside.”
“Did it say anything else to you?” Kaalel inquired.
“A few things. Memories of previous attacks. It is all jumbled. And confused…”
“Can you tell me anything about it?”
“It…is too much. I must…” Tasiin drifted off to sleep. The world faded away.
“Tasiin,” Kaalel said. But by then, tiredness had caught up with him. A calm descended on Tasiin’s thoughts. For once, he was at peace.
*****
Hours later, seeming like only moments to Tasiin, he again rose up to wakefulness. He could feel another close by. A hand rested on his. He opened his eyes.
“Why is this becoming familiar?” Tasiin asked.
“Can one watch not watch over her kiith-sa?” Datlai replied with her own question.
“I know you better than that,” he said. He let the conversation hang for a minute, then changed its subject. “It almost had me. It was forcing me out.”
“I know. I was told.”
"You - I imagined you there. You held me back. You kept me here.”
Datlai looked at him, and then began to cry softly. She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes. “I did not understand. I do not know if I should be happy.”
“Sadness is a way to appreciate happiness.”
Suddenly Datlai smiled. “So you are a muse?”
“Perhaps.”
“What now?”
“I will have to tell Dolann Kaalel about what I remember. The Naggarok…I know what it was for…I must tell them.”
“You never were one for light entertainment.”
“No,” he sighed.
*****
The war room of the Beastslayer served as a temporary gathering place. Around the central round table, behind an open area, sat representatives of every Bound race on the project. A semicircular row of seats behind the central area accommodated various researchers, the crew of the Beastslayer, and a Turanic and an Imperialist prisoner captured from their assault on Galactic Shipyard 0, with a guard nearby. The Imperialist was recognized by several as the one who had warned of the T-Mat attack. In the background stood a few interested observers, most notably the other of the Kiith Limandatt, as well as those who had also worked on the Beastslayer and gathering data on the Naggarok. The audience fanned out before Tasiin Limandatt’sa. The last few were entering.
“Do not bother to point out the irony of this situation,” a limping Thenar Soban said, while struggling to sit down. Despite his warning, he saw Datlai smiling in the background. No one else understood what was so humorous.
“Perhaps we should begin,” Dolann Kaalel said.
Tasiin took in a breath, although he felt less nervous than he had expected. “When the Beastslayer was Outside, there was an entity. This being gave me memories of previous ships that went Outside. The last one was the Naggarok, roughly one million years ago.
“The Naggarok launchers were powerful, certainly. But…there were a few thing wrong about the idea of it being an exploration vessel. Why could it ‘harvest’ ships?”
“It might have been a way of gathering resources from whatever matter it could find,” Pukna Somtaaw suggested.
“Why was it launched on an intergalactic course at all, though?” asked Tasiin. “Why not jump Outside and then back in like we did? The Naggarok launchers were trying to cover up something. Not even the ship’s computers held the true mission, or if they did, the Naggarok’s distress beacon that unleashed the Beast deliberately had false information loaded onto it.
“The Naggarok was not a peaceful exploration vessel. It was an experimental warship.”
Several of the listeners’ faces reflected fear. Tasiin continued, “The Naggarok’s primary mission was to enter other universes by way of Outside, and then gather data. The launchers intended to destroy the inhabitants.”
“The entity from Outside told you this?” Kaalel asked.
“Yes. It gave me memories from those aboard the Naggarok. I have even constructed a diagram of the inside of the original Naggarok, based on them.”
Above the central table, a holographic schematic of the Naggarok rotated. “PDA…trans-hyperdrive…quantum oscillator in the hyperdrive…ion cannons…bridge…fuel tanks…sensor array…” Kaalel read off in a whisper. “Pukna, is this consistent with scans of the Naggarok?”
After a few seconds, Pukna replied, “Yes, it is perfectly consistent. Using this diagram as a guide…some of the unclear areas in the scan can be resolved.”
“Thank you.”
“Why would the Naggarok launchers bother with journeying to other universes when there were other galaxies, including our own, they could attack?” Shanal Alo asked.
“Because they already were here,” Tasiin replied. “They had already won. The Naggarok-launchers were genociders.”
A silence resonated in the room.
“For some reason, the Naggarok launchers wanted to be alone in the Universe. They had already destroyed all others in their own galaxy - but only a few million light years away were other galaxies…galaxies they had to ‘purify.’ I remember that from Outside,” Tasiin explained. “Have any of you heard of the Galactic Burst?”
A Taiidan researcher volunteered, “Ever since the collapse of the Empire, archeology has begun to reassert itself. A surprising discovery was that the Inner Rim planets experienced a large flux of radiation, one million years ago, probably caused by a chain reaction of supernovae…Surely you are not saying-“
“The Naggarok launchers deliberately set off a chain reaction of supernovae in the galactic core. It would only take a few to set all of them off. Most of the race in the galaxy did not have hyperdrive. When the radiation front arrived, they were doomed.”
“Is that possible?” Kaalel asked.
The Bentusi replied. “If we put all of our knowledge and effort to it, we could do such a thing after centuries of work. But only a mad race would even consider to do…”
“Whatever the cause, the Naggarok launchers were bent on destruction. The few remaining races fought hard to save themselves, but their cause was desperate. They had to steal hyperdrive, but in comparison, their opponents devastated their entire galaxy. They were doomed,” Tasiin explained.
“The Naggarok launchers, when they launched the ship, considered the possibility that something might go wrong. Rather than risk their own race, or at least their home galaxy, they launched it to another galaxy. If everything went well, then they could do what they wanted with the galaxy with that ship. If the ship became derelict, no would find it between galaxies. If something went wrong, as it did, that galaxy would be forced to deal with it, as we did.”
The Taiidan who spoke earlier added, “There have been derelicts found from that era. They all indicate a war back then. One, the Ghost Ship, was encountered by the Kushan Mothership. It had been designed to steal vessels. Until now, we never knew why it had been built.”
“It was probably a last means of defense. However, by then it was too late. The Naggarok launchers had won. Perhaps, then, it was fitting that the Naggarok was subverted by a more powerful entity with the same quest. It was a small piece of justice for the destruction of galaxies.”
The others looked around, breaking into discussion. Immediately Shanal Alo asked Tasiin a question over the noise. “If the Naggarok launchers killed everyone who was here, then why are we here?”
“Because,” Tasiin began. “Because, we are the Naggarok launchers. Genetically there are similarities in all species in the Galaxy, despite several outward differences. That is because we all descended from one species.
“One million years ago, our ancestors murdered hundreds of races. The kiith power struggles, the Taiidan civil war, even the Burning of Kharak…it is nothing compared to what we did one million years ago.
“Hiigaran, Taiidan, Turanic Raider, Kadeshi, Frrern, K’naldeq, Zaala, X’n, I’ao, even Bentusi and T-Mat… we are all one people who did perhaps the worst crime in the history of the Galaxy. Do you not understand? Everyone is guilty.”
“Sajuuk help us,” Kaalel breathed. His sentiment was matched by many others.
Tasiin stepped away from the central area into the back. There he found a somber Datlai. Datlai seemed haunted, as many of the others did, as even Tasiin did. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but only said, “Tasiin.” Then, she hugged him, holding on tightly. In return, he embraced her.
The other Limandatt, the Manaan patron following them, approached them, softly saying “Kiith-sa.” They gently touched him, forming a ring. They bowed down heads in grief. After a few seconds, another neared them. Tasiin looked out of the corner of his eyes and was surprised to see Dolann Kaalel beginning to weep. “Why?” he asked over and over, tormented by knowledge, desperately needing comfort. The Limandatt let him join. Following closely were Shanal Alo, Pukna Somtaaw, and an injured Thenar Soban, giving Kaalel solace, adding to the group with Hiigaran and Taiidan.
Others neared - Sjet, Taiidan, and I’ao on the trans-hyperdrive research group; the three other Beastslayer crew; the other project representatives. In time they found their friends and colleagues, and joined them.
The room was silent except for sobs and whispers of comfort. In the background, though, Taiidan saw the Imperialist standing alone, gazing with envy. The only one nearby was the Turanic Raider, although the guard kept a watchful eye on them.”
“They attack us, they war on us,” the Turanic said. “They are not your people.”
“Aren’t they?” the Imperial asked with a twang of sadness. “Hasn’t there been enough bloodshed amongst ourselves? How long will this last?” He walked over to the group, standing on its periphery. Then a Taiidan Republican let him in, amazing Tasiin.
A strangely familiar, but different voice spoke. It was the Bentusi. Instead of its usual power, the voice was soft, weak, close, as if trying to be a part. “For the first time we are…envious of the Bound.”
“We all know you are here with us,” Tasiin said with an equal gentleness. “You are one of us.” A warm presence filled his mind, expressing gratitude.
Finally a slight jolt passed through them. The Turanic had followed the Imperial, at first trying to dissuade him, but then being calmed.
All were one. Sleeper kiith and large kiith, simple kiith members and kiith-sa, Imperial and Republican, Bound and Unbound, burner of Kharak and retaker of Hiigara, all together in one mass. For one million years ago, their ancestors had sinned. Only now did they consider reuniting, as they mourned for their greatest wrong.
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