«I’m surprised that you’re so wary of all this, Krick.»

“Just because I like to take risks doesn’t mean I don’t have a goddamned sense of danger,” Captain Krick retorted. “And nothing about this damn situation sits right with me.”

«On that, we can agree,» replied Chief Captain Alicia Mendoza, of the ESC Origin.

Colonel Saito glanced between Krick, who still sat in his captain’s chair aboard Genesis’s bridge, before looking to his right — where a hologram of Mendoza appeared, also sitting as she occupied the bridge of Origin. The two Battlecruisers remained in orbit over the planet now known as Sadrenos, where they had been since their arrival over an hour ago. Ever since Mote had entered the part of the Ark with no comms connection, the rest of CSF-1 and the Eximius Vir on the bridge had dispersed to double-check their equipment, leaving only Saito behind to talk with the two Captains of the Flagship Strike Group.

Saito turned his gaze out through Genesis’s bridge windows, at the planet of Sadrenos below. Wispy white clouds covered its surface, but little could hide the massive war scars — and somewhere beneath one of them, was the Ark.

«I don’t think we should have sent the Lieutenant down there.»

“Don’t tell me, tell the Colonel,” Krick retorted to Mendoza’s assertion.

“We’re already here. Why not investigate?” Saito questioned. “The defenses here already demonstrated that they can see through Genesis’s ACS, and yet, they haven’t fired on us.”

“Only because of that damned ancient tech you have me lugging around,” Krick countered.

«Perhaps, but the defenses were able to detect Origin as well,» Mendoza stated. «Our PCS doesn’t quite measure up to your ACS, but it’s damned close — and they were still able to pick up on our location.»

“And then the AI actually gave us some answers,” Saito pointed out. “She seems really attached to this Ark — it seems to be why she was created, after all — but if there really are live Aldredas down there… then can you imagine what that could mean for us?”

“I’m imagining a massive headache,” Krick deadpanned.

«It would certainly be a logistical issue… and likely a political and cultural one, as well, judging by how the AI reacted to learning that we weren’t Aldredas,» Mendoza stated. «But that isn’t my main concern. There’s too many unknowns, here — too many things that don’t line up.»

“This is an Ark set up by an ancient race to survive a war so bad they dubbed it the ‘Apocalypse War’,” Saito said. “It stands to reason that the AI would be cagey. She wants to make sure that the Aldredas survive. I can’t imagine SERRCom doing any differently, if we were in the Aldredas’s position.”

“We wouldn’t be a god damn empire, I can say that much,” Krick retorted.

“I’m just saying — I agree that Maenikad’s attitude toward non-Aldredas leaves much to be desired, but I think her behavior is well explained given this ‘Apocalypse War’. And the state of the Ark can be explained by the many thousands of years it’s had to survive.”

«I still can’t shake the feeling that something’s off,» Mendoza replied. «But the real problem is this: Origin’s sensors can’t detect the Ark. At all.»

“Neither can Genesis’s…” Krick muttered.

“The Ark is deep underground, isn’t it?” Saito pointed out. “Judging by the beaming coordinates Maenikad gave us, the Ark is buried a few dozen kilometers below the planet’s surface. Maybe your sensors just can’t penetrate that deep?”

“Maybe our sensors can’t penetrate that deep?!” Krick scoffed. “You really should stick to fucking ground missions, Colonel, because you clearly don’t know a goddamn thing about spacecraft tech.”

«To be less confrontational about it…» Mendoza added, passing Krick an annoyed look before turning to Saito. «You’re actually right, Colonel, in that most of SERRCom’s sensor tech has a hard time dealing with thick layers of rock. But Genesis can — and so can Origin, due to sharing tech. Both ships have several sensor systems that should be able to easily penetrate a planet’s crust, at minimum.»

“Gravimetric, magnetometric, Chaos Energy sensors,” Krick counted off, “none of these systems have any problem at all with penetrating through kilometers and kilometers of rock! Hell, a while back, some of the techies at the ETAA used Genesis’s sensors to get a complete goddamn mapping of Earth’s core and mantle. And you’re trying to tell me that these same sensors can’t detect one goddamn bunker in the planet’s crust?”

«I agree, it’s too suspicious,» Mendoza replied. «It’s almost as though the Ark has its own ACS, on par with Genesis.»

“Hmm… that is concerning,” Saito admitted. “But it still lines up with what Maenikad has said, is the thing. The Aldredas wanted to hide from a group of very powerful opponents — doesn’t it make sense that they would want to equip their Arks with the best cloaking systems they have?”

“Then explain how those same systems still have power, even after everything else down there was fucking rotting and falling apart,” Krick challenged.

“It’s simple. Even from our brief interaction with Maenikad, it’s obvious that the Aldredas thought very highly of themselves. I wager they’d rather kill themselves than let the Drakkars or Nanocreatures discover their Arks, and so, the systems they use to hide their location would take a higher triage priority than the systems keeping the Ark intact.”

«And the defenses in space, then?» Mendoza questioned.

“By Maenikad’s own admission, Sadrenos used to be an Aldredian Fortress World. I don’t think the Aldredas’s enemies would find it odd to find some leftover defense satellites.”

“So you really trust that fucking AI, then?” Krick responded incredulously.

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Saito countered. “I think something’s off, too. But even if everything that Maenikad has told us is a bold-faced lie, we still know a couple of things based on her actions: the Aldredas defenses here can detect us, and they haven’t fired on us despite that. That means she wants us alive, and more than that, she’s fine with us hanging around. Based on that, I’m sure there is at least some truth to what Maenikad has told us. Caution is still warranted, of course, but my only true doubts are whether or not the stasis blocks are actually intact… and how Maenikad will respond if they aren’t.”

«And you still sent in the Lieutenant, alone?» Mendoza pressed.

“Mote’s more capable than you might think,” Saito replied. “If he thinks he can handle himself, then I trust him to handle himself. He’s shown time and time again that he can do just that, so if things really do go south down there, then he’ll be able to take care of it. And if he can’t, well, Kate and Danielle are here to back him up — and I’ve never once seen a combat situation the three of them together couldn’t solve!”

“You really do trust those fucking kids, don’t you…” Krick muttered.

“They aren’t kids — they’re adults, fully capable of handling themselves. Don’t get me wrong, Krick, Mendoza; I share your opinion that something is off about this situation. I just think it’s more under control than you might expect.”

Krick and Mendoza exchanged a wary glance. “…Alright, Colonel,” Krick finally conceded with a shrug. “But if things go to shit, it’s your ass.”

«I only hope that things are truly as manageable as you claim,» Mendoza added.

“Ha ha, well, I never said that things would go perfectly,” Saito replied with a smirk. “There’s always risk, no doubt about that. But we — and Mote — can still stand to come out on top of all this. All we need to do is wait until we hear from Mote, again…”

---

*

«So you have no knowledge of your parents?»

“No,” Mote responded impatiently, ignoring Maenikad’s hologram as she followed him through dilapidated halls lit with flickering lights. Now out of communication range of Genesis, Mote was left all alone with Maenikad to maneuver the halls of the Ark — halls that had grown far more misshapen and damaged than the halls he had seen when he first entered the Ark.

«No knowledge of your parents… interesting,» Maenikad replied, her hologram effortlessly floating through the air as Mote cautiously climbed over piles of dirt and metal debris. «And you… Earthians. It seems few of you are Chaotics?»

“Yes…” Mote answered.

«Exactly how few?»

“There’s only twelve of us.”

«Twelve?! My, how Chaotic Potential has decayed in this age! During the time of the grand Raen Empire, half of all Aldredian citizens were Chaotics!»

“Half?” Mote scoffed. “That’s absurd.”

«It is, in fact, the truth. That you doubt this indicates that no other race in the modern galaxy comes even close to the potential of the Aldredas… how very odd indeed.»

“…”

«Tell me, then — if there are so few Earthian Chaotics, how did you learn to use your abilities?»

“Colonel Saito and Major Hackett taught us.”

«But they are not Chaotics.»

“You don’t need to be a Chaotic to understand how Chaotics work. Hmph. I shouldn’t be surprised that your thinking is so narrow.”

«Excuse me?»

“You heard me.” Mote stopped at the end of the hallway and turned to glare at Maenikad. “Everything you’ve said to me, to us, has given off the distinct impression that you Aldredas are too prideful for your own good.”

«’You Aldredas’?» Maenikad echoed, «but you are a descendant of Raen! You are one of us!»

“No more than I am a Neanderthal, or Homo erectus — both my distant ancestors, yet equally as extinct as the Aldredas.”

«Why…! Have you no appreciation for what the Empire has accomplished? The Arks, our Fortress Worlds, even standing up against the Drakkars, Morikai, and Nanocreatures all on our own! And that is not even mentioning the vast power of Raen Technology!»

“I hold no respect for an Empire,” Mote spat as he turned to continue down the halls once more. “For the same reason that I hold no respect for a nation that created technology like your Raen Technology. Locking access of resources or tech behind a specific bloodline? Pah. Genes are not a determinant of one’s worth, and thinking that they are is a needlessly prideful mindset founded only on prejudice and self-gain, not on fact. That this ‘Raen Technology’ proliferated amongst the Aldredas despite that — and was celebrated, even — is the surest sign of your Empire’s excessive pride, the pride that doubtlessly led to your downfall.”

«…Well,» Maenikad remarked, her hologram hovering in place as Mote walked on. «…I see that this galaxy truly does not share the values of the Empire. A true shame. But even so…» Maenikad finally zipped up to Mote’s side, once again traveling beside him as her eye steadily watched him. «You may strongly denounce the Aldredas and our technology, but even now, you use it.»

Mote glanced down at his chest plate — the crimson, gold, and black chest plate of the Aldredian Armor — before turning back to the hall in front of him. “I don’t agree with the creators of this armor, but the armor itself has already been made. If it can be put to use to further SERRCom’s goals, then I would be remiss not to use it. And besides, if there truly is a large population of Aldredas here, surely one of them would know how to disable the gene lock.”

«…I see.»

Mote responded only with silence as he zapped a loose piece of debris out of his way. He then turned his attention up to a large door in the side of the hall, standing twice as tall as him and equally wide. Based on the extravagant, yet faded, designs on and around the door itself, it was clear that this entryway was meant to be a centerpiece of the Ark. “Is this the stasis block?” he questioned, passing a glance toward Maenikad.

The hologram bobbed once. «It is.»

“Alright.” Mote turned back to the door, noting that his armor had projected a holographic message into his field of view — a message asking whether or not to open the door. Wordlessly, Mote selected the affirmative option, at which point the holographic message disappeared. For a second, there was silence, and no movement… only for the large door in front of Mote to silently slide open. On the other side of the door appeared pitch blackness; Mote stepped forward and re-activated his armor’s flashlight to begin inspecting the space. What he found was that his flashlight beam seemed to disappear completely, such was the vastness of the interior space; sweeping the beam from left to right, in all directions, Mote found only darkness. A cool breeze swept past him, however, accompanied by the faint, dank smell of underground cave water. And if Mote stopped moving and focused, he could hear a distant echo of water droplets — an echo that seemed to originate from below him. Tentatively, he dropped his flashlight beam to the floor… or what should have been the floor.

For in its place was the sharp ridge of a cliff, covered only by sheered metal, as if something had torn the metal flooring asunder.

Cautiously, Mote approached the cliff, noting that it ran the entire length of the massive space — and was only a few paces from the entryway. Mote then turned his flashlight to look down the cliff, noting a massive pile of warped and rusted metal over a hundred meters down. From this distance, the pile looked like little more than an expansive yard of scrap, but based on its location — and the occasional sign of human remains — Mote could guess well enough what the pile of scrap used to be.

“The stasis block…” he muttered, his brow furrowed as he stared down at the remnants of the Ark’s purpose. “…I should have known.”

«Ah, so you have finally located the stasis block.»

“Yes, but…” Mote drew away from the cliff and turned to face Maenikad, whose hologram had entered the room and was looking directly at him. “It didn’t survive.”

«I am aware.»

“…What?”

«40 of your years ago, the Sadrenos Ark was hit by an incredible earthquake. I found the quake most odd, given that the Empire had specifically chosen a tectonically inactive location for the Ark — and yet, a quake destroyed the stasis blocks, dropping them into this underground chasm. After surviving for so long, too… a most unfortunate turn of events.»

“40 years ago… that must have been the original Chaos Energy Quake,” Mote muttered. “But… wait. You knew that the stasis block was destroyed from the start? Then why—?”

«You needed to be tested,» Maenikad asserted. «You are a descendant of Raen, but you arrived with many who are not. I needed to determine if you could be trusted with the legacy of the Empire — I needed to determine if those who you travel with had poisoned your mind.»

“…I can see well enough where this is going,” Mote responded, sparks beginning to wreath his arms as he held out his hand to summon his battlehammer — only for his armor to suddenly lock up and prevent him from moving. “What—?!”

«By the Last Resort Protocol, in the event that the stasis blocks fail, I am to seize control of any spacecraft that enters the vicinity of Sadrenos and use them to awaken the other Arks,» Maenikad declared, as electrical sparks began to cover the walls and floor all around. «I had hoped, when I detected your presence, that I would be able to do so alongside a descendant of Raen. I had hoped that your reservations toward the Aldredas people were due to unseen pressure put upon you by your compatriots, and that bringing you here would enable you to act upon your true desires — the Empire’s desires!»

“Ngh—!” Mote grunted as he fought to move his armor, to no avail; he then lashed out at Maenikad with several lightning strikes, only for her hologram to ignore his outburst completely.

«But even now…» Maenikad continued, «when you are on your own, you espouse blasphemies toward the name of Raen! Alas, it is a great shame, but I must fulfill the Empire’s wish alone! The will of the Aldredas shall not be so easily trampled, even if we must extinguish our own descendants! And you, an unworthy descendant of Raen, will be the first life lost in the wake of our grand reawakening!!»

“You—!” Mote growled out, but was little able to say anything more as Maenikad bisected his neck with an energy shield.