Sneak Peek: Ascension Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Hi all! Since the result of the last poll was unanimous ( :) ), here's a brief look at the upcoming chapter of The Last Angel: Ascension I'm working on. In this opening scene, Bastion Leader Yunl'ro considers the imminent incursion into the Black Veil, though there may be something else clamouring for her attention...

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Basking in the heat of a newborn planet, Light of Judgement drifted amongst a squadron of battlecruisers like a mother ocean cow surrounded by her young. The world around which the bulk of the execution force was anchored was imaginatively described in official Compact charts as 1887-Yiren Five, but the armada’s crew were already calling it Hotspring. Yunl’ro suspected that the name would stick, at least for the duration of the mission.

Throughout 1887-Yiren, Execution Force Yunl’ro was a flurry of activity. The minelayers had secured the libation points nearest Hotspring and were moving amongst the gas giant’s moons, placing warning buoys, augur platforms and additional mines. With only three minelayers at her disposal, it would take Yunl’ro a substantial amount of time to adequately secure an entire star system, but she would settle for discouraging visits to Hotspring. The Wound, she knew, was adept at these kind of blitz attacks and the Thoughtful had no intention of being caught with her pants around her ankles.

Cleanser was busy as well. The fabricator ship was nearly half-finished the first of several temporary shipwombs slated for construction. The vessel was larger than Light of Judgement itself, its bulk taken up by factory complexes that took in raw materials and exuded finished products. Like a spider cutting a thread from its spinnerets, Cleanser disengaged a cruiser-sized girder, a small fleet of tenders and work crews directing the section of superstructure towards the incomplete shipwomb. One of Cleanser’s larger parasite craft was already moving in, ready to feed the construction vessel more raw materials. The work never ceased and Yunl’ro felt a stir of pride of that. The Compact never slept. It never tired. It never stopped. It could be wounded. It could stumble, it could hesitate, but it could never be halted. The Compact would win. It would bring unity to the galaxy and, more importantly, order. She was proud of that.

Her latest role to further that end was about to begin. She’d drawn up orders, run final simulations with her ship and squadron leaders, completed the last bits of analysis. Within four days, Execution Force Yunl’ro would enter the Black Veil. It was long past time. Eighteen million light years to hide in, Yunl’ro reminded herself. I’ll scour every last one of them if I have to, but you can’t hide any longer. No matter how long it takes, I will find you. I will drag you out into the light, and you will burn within it.

Thinking of the passage of time made Yunl’ro feel a twinge of guilt. In three months and seven days, Ashi’ro would be turning eight. The Bastion Leader would miss her daughter’s birthday after all. She hoped Ashi would understand. She’d missed so much of her own child’s life already, but that was what her duty demanded. The Compact gave so much and all it asked in return was that its people honour their oaths.

This will end, the Bastion Leader thought, as she looked beyond the lights of her armada, past the pair of Hotspring’s moons that were close enough to be seen, to the dark, grasping fingers of the distant nebula that spread across the horizon, blotting out the light of the Compact’s own worlds.

And on that cheerful note, Yunl’ro thought with a mental sigh. She turned back to her deck, tapping the intercom with one long finger. “Send in Column Leader Prime Pradesh.”