Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 54 - The Infinite Conquest (Patreon)

Fighting an invasion is difficult, especially when the forces are uneven. Because of that, desperate measures are often necessary. Moral sacrifices have to be made. Boundaries must be crossed. That is the only way we can hope to win.

Galatira Iamaxis

Space spread out before us, blocked only by a giant monstrosity of a ship called the Infinite Conquest. I had seen plenty of holographic models of the vessel, so its appearance wasn’t a surprise. Its hull was dark blue, with gold filigree decorating its sharp nose. Four symmetrical wings extended from the center of the ship, ending in circular modules that I’d once marked as crew housing. Now, though, I knew those were where the Mist engines were housed.

As prepared as I was for the sight of the thing, what truly put me off was its sheer size. I knew it likely didn’t have the spatial distortion that made the interior of the Bazaar so enormous, but even then, the sleek fuselage was more than a mile long and half as wide. The wings extended much further, and they too bore artful embellishments of gold filigree.

“It’s as much a work of art as it is a piece of technology, isn’t it?” I sighed. The herculean ship made the Leviathan look small and shabby by comparison. I found that irritating, for some reason. “Such a shame we have to destroy it.”

“Could always steal it,” Patrick suggested. “Kill everyone onboard and just take it off into the galaxy. We really don’t have to do this.”

“You know we do,” I said. “If we don’t, Earth is going to be destroyed. Like, not just taken over by some shady characters. They don’t want to enslave anyone. They want to just break it to pieces, take the valuable bits, and move on to the next world. So, either we do this, or everyone dies.”

“I know,” he said. “I just wish it didn’t have to be us.”

“Who else is there?”

Lately, I had thought a lot about power and responsibility, and I’d come to the conclusion that, because of my strength, I had an obligation to do the things no one else could. In this case, that meant assaulting a legendary warship and bringing down the blockade around Earth so that at least part of the population could escape what was coming. I didn’t like the notion of leaving even one person behind, but I’d come to terms with it.

I had to do what I could.

There would be plenty of time afterwards to lament my inability to do more.

“Would your uncle does this?” Patrick asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on which version of him you asked,” I answered. “Jeremiah was a complicated person, and over the course of his life, he showed a lot of hypocrisy. I think that if you asked him right after the Initialization, then he wouldn’t have hesitated to commit to whatever it took to save as many people as possible. But later, things got muddled. He lost too much. He became jaded. Self-interested. He stopped caring about anything.”

“He cared about you.”

“Maybe.”

I wasn’t so sure that was the case, though. I think he liked the concepts I represented. To him, I was a fresh start. A chance to be everything he couldn’t. But by the end, I’m not sure if he had the capacity to love anyone.

I didn’t want to go down that path. I wanted to care. I wanted to help. I wanted to be a guiding light, even if that meant causing a huge explosion bright enough for everyone to see. In fact, that was precisely what I preferred.

“Are you sure about this? Once we get started…”

I knew what he meant. Once we were committed, there wouldn’t be much of a chance to deviate. If we did, thousands of our allies would end up dead, which was to say nothing of the rest of Earth’s population. On top of that, there was every chance we wouldn’t get another chance to pull out.

But my answer was the same as it had been every other time I’d been asked the question.

“I’m sure. Do your thing.”

Patrick nodded, then narrowed his eye as he guided the ship forward. He didn’t go quickly, but that was because the thousands of drones between us and the Infinite Conquest were each equipped with potent sensors. So, even with his skills combined with my own Mist manipulation, he didn’t dare go too fast.

For my part, I focused on everything around us, gently nudging the tiny Mist tendrils that represented their senses away from the Leviathan. It was difficult and tedious work, but I knew that one little slip up was all it would take before we were detected and subjected to the copious weapons systems onboard the Infinite Conquest.

Gradually, with Patrick at the helm, the Leviathan threaded a thousand needles as it wove between the norcite plated drones. I knew from experience that, even if someone beheld the ship with their own two eyes, they would see nothing but empty space. Patrick’s skill was just that potent.

Because that was the whole point of having [Smuggler] skill. It wouldn’t be much use if the bad guys – or a customs officer – could simply look out the porthole of his ship and see the Leviathan trying to transport goods under their noses.

Fortunately, Patrick’s potent skill combined perfectly with my own abilities, and before long, we made it through the densest collection of drones. Still, it took more than two hours, a process that was complicated by constant movement – both from the drones and our geosynchronous orbit. Regardless, Patrick accomplished the task with aplomb, putting the ship only a few feet from the Infinite Conquest’s hull.

“Last chance to turn back,” he said as I pushed myself out of the copilot’s seat.

I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be right back,” I said. “Don’t worry so much. We got this.”

“Yeah.”

“I love you,” I told him. With what was at stake, I didn’t want to leave that sort of thing unsaid.

He turned, looking me in the eye, and said, “I love you too. Be safe. Kill some aliens. And come home.”

“Don’t I always?” I said with a grin.

Then, I headed to the cargo hold, where I found Gala and a dozen stealthy gnomes. They were the best Alistaris had, and despite their tiny size, each one looked intimidating in their red enameled armor and firearms that looked almost as large as they were. By comparison, Gala was wearing a set of armor that looked a lot like the infiltration suit I’d lost. Except hers had a plethora of rigid plates that would doubtless offer a lot more protection. She also wore Ferdinand at her hip and carried an assault rifle in her hands. Over her shoulder was the hilt of a blade that, through my Mist senses, I could tell was infused with quite a lot of Mist.

“You ready for this?” I asked.

“Not my first ship assault,” she stated.

Given her past, I supposed it wasn’t. So, I retrieved a disc from the set near the back hatch. Then, I slapped it onto my chest. A second later, a thin layer of Mist spread across my body. It was meant to insulate a person from the vacuum of space while also providing oxygen. It was not very sturdy, though, and if it received even a little damage, the bubble of Mist would almost assuredly rupture. However, it was the best we had available. For all the equipment people on Earth had developed, space exploration gear was not on that list. So, we didn’t have any real space suits and were instead forced to rely on the discs, which were called temporary protective gear – or TPGs for short.

After everyone else had donned their TPGs, I checked to make sure that everyone was ready. They were, so I wasted no more time before opening the hatch. Fortunately, the Leviathan had been designed for space travel, so there was a thin, semi-permeable Mist shield that kept the atmosphere of the ship from rushing out.

I led the way, stepping out. As I did, pushed against the Mist behind me – the same way I flew – until my feet hit the fuselage. At the same time, I cloaked myself in a thick blanket of Mist, concealing myself from casual observation.

The others followed, though they were forced to use controlled bursts of air for movement until they hit the surface of the ship. Once they touched down, they engaged some sort of magnetic connection that kept them connected to the fuselage of the Infinite Conquest.

We all knew where we were going, so there was no need for communication. Instead, I led the way to the nearby hatch before I extended my Mist tendrils to the terminal on the other side. Once I’d connected to it, it was only a matter of seconds before I’d overcome all of its defenses. A few moments later, I’d disengaged the security alarm. Finally, I commanded it to open.

It did so with a hiss of air, but it was protected by a similarly permeable shield as what kept the air inside the Leviathan’s cargo hold. After glancing back at the thirteen other members of the strike team – I could see them despite their various skills and stealthy equipment – I slipped into the Infinite Conquest.

I landed with no more than a whisper, then vacated the spot directly beneath the hatch. The transition from zero gravity to the simulated gravity of the ship was a little jarring, but I pushed past it. Instead, I focused on the team as they slid inside, one by one, until they were all present.

The interior of the ship was even more lavish than the exterior would suggest. For some reason, I’d expected it to resemble the Bazaar, but instead of unadorned plastisteel walls, the corridors looked more like they belonged in a palace. Decorative molding, all in gold, lined the halls, with subtle patterns etched into the dark blue walls. With all of that, it should have looked so buy as to be claustrophobic, but the hall was spacious enough to prevent that.

Yet, that was only what I saw with my eyes. My Mist senses saw so much more. Every surface was densely infused with nanites, suggesting that the materials used in the construction of the Infinite Conquest were incredibly expensive. More, they formed patterns that mimicked the ones on the physical material, enhancing the visual effect for anyone who could see it.

I stood in awe of the sheer opulence.

On Earth, we were scratching and clawing for everything we could get, and here the enemy was living in a space palace. More, if they’d put that much effort into a mundane corridor, what would I see in the captain’s quarters? How much had they spent on the ship’s weapons systems?

It was just further evidence that we were all out of our league. Our enemy wasn’t just powerful. And the word “rich” didn’t quite cover their affluence. They were so far above us that even looking at their ship made me feel shabby and undeserving.

And the most frustrating part was that I knew I was wrong. I had more raw power than anyone on that ship. In fact, I could rip it apart from the inside in a matter of hours, scattering all that wealth into space. Yet, despite the knowledge that it was invalid, that feeling of inadequacy persisted.

Following that came frustration.

Then anger.

Suddenly, I felt Gala’s huge hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see her great, bovine eyes staring down at me. She shook her head.

That’s when I realized that the Dingyts all around me were struggling to stay on their feet. Even Gala was trembling as Mist swirled all around me. It wasn’t benign, either. It was aggressive. Hungry. It was a reflection of my mood. With some conscious effort, I took control of it, bringing the cloud of nanites closer to my body. It still roiled, but I kept it under my thumb.

“Sorry,” I mouthed as I saw Gala’s shoulders slump. She took a deep breath, and the Dingyts reclaimed their feet.

I needed to be better than that. I’d grown more adept at controlling the Mist, but that little outburst had proven that I still had some ways to go. I wasn’t ready for what was coming. I knew that. In a perfect world, I would have taken a few years to grow acclimated to my new level of power.

But I didn’t have that.

Annihilation was knocking on Earth’s door, and if I didn’t meet it on my terms, everything would be destroyed. That was the problem with evil. It didn’t ask you if you were ready to confront it. It simply showed up, and you had to react with whatever means you had at your disposal.

Hopefully, the powers I’d recently uncovered would be enough.

With that in mind, I harnessed my emotions and took control of the Mist all around me. Then, cloaked in various forms of stealth, we started down the hall. It wasn’t long before we found the first enemy.

He was a curiously human-looking alien in a deep blue uniform that was trimmed in gold, just like the ship itself. His clothing suggested that he was one of the crew. Or an off-duty Adjudicator. Regardless, I wasted no time before pouncing, ramming my hand into his chest. As I did, I yanked on his Mist, preventing him from activating any skills or abilities.

His sternum collapsed under the blow, and he fell to the ground, gasping for air. He tried to scream, but I stomped on his throat – having to go through his hastily raised hands at the same time – destroying his voice box. He died seconds later.

I suppose I could have just killed him with Mist. In fact, given the pool of green blood – the only thing to mark the crewmember as an alien and not a human – from where his broken strernum had come through his skin, I probably should have done just that. However, I was still growing accustomed to having that ridiculous power at my beck and call.

Suddenly, I regretted my decision not to bring a couple of weapons with me. There were two major problems with that, though. The availability of suitably potent weapons was nil, which meant that I’d have had to take a gun from someone else, leaving them unarmed. And considering that I had my Mist powers to pick up the slack, it seemed better to avoid that. The second issue was one of storage. Until I’d lost it, I hadn’t quite realized how much I’d depended on my high-quality arsenal implant. Even if I’d had my old weapons, without the ammunition storage of the implant, they’d have quickly become useless.

So, I’d made my choice.

And even if I had just experienced a bit of regret, I reassured myself that it was the right decision.

Regardless, it was the choice I’d made, and I had no choice but to stick with it. So, with that in mind, I dragged the crewmember’s body into a nearby room – it was empty – and we continued on our way. I had memorized the suspected layout of the ship, but that was based on the class of vessel, rather than actual plans of the Infinite Conquest, which had been heavily modified. Still, after only a few minor setbacks and a couple of hours, we made it to the control pavilion at the center of the ship.

It was actually a little disappointing in scope, with only a few dozen terminals manned by various aliens in blue uniforms. Yet, I knew it was the lynchpin of the whole operation. Through those terminals, I could disengage the blockade.

But there was only one problem.

Well, there were about a hundred problems standing between us and the terminals, which were shielded by an extremely powerful wall of Mist. In front of them and blocking the entrance was a checkpoint manned by over a hundred mystics as well as at least twice that many Adjudicators.

My eyes were drawn to a single enemy, though.

He was tall – probably six-and-a-half feet – and clad all in black, which made him stand out from all the other blue-clad aliens. The other thing that marked him as different was the fact that his skin looked like melted wax, white, pasty, and scarred. And finally, the largest reason he drew my attention so completely was the sheer volume of Mist contained in his body.

Of course, he saw right through my attempts at stealth.

For someone like me – or him, I suppose – abilities, skills, and technology were minimally effective. Perhaps if I’d had better control, he might not have noticed me, but the same couldn’t be said for Gala and the dozen Dingyts flanking her.

“Ah – as expected,” said the alien in black. His voice was deep and raspy. He drew a gleaming sword from the scabbard at his waist. It glimmered with potential, containing more Mist than I’d seen in any other weapon. “I have so wanted to meet you, Mirabelle Braddock. Come with me, and your allies will live. Resist, and they will be captured, tortured, then killed.”

For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond.

Then, I realized that there was no reason to maintain my attempt at stealth. So, I let the cloak of Mist fall away as I said, “You know who I am. Seems only fair that you should introduce yourself.”

“Of course,” he said with an elegant bow. “I am accustomed to being known everywhere I go, but I suppose ignorance should be expected in this frontier backwater. I am Dal Kanik, and this is my ship. One of many in my fleet, but even after all these years, it remains my favorite.”

Dal Kanik.

It was a name I’d heard in passing during Alistaris’ briefings. He was the leader of the Arbiters of Orion – a mystic of untold power. Some even suspected that he was on the verge of achieving supremacy.

Which meant that there was a good chance that I’d finally met my match.

“The man in charge, huh?”

“Just so.”

“Do you honestly expect me to surrender?” I asked.

“I do not.”

“Then why offer?”

“Curiosity. You could join us. I would even spare your allies,” he said. “No one needs to die.”

“Except for everyone on Earth,” I pointed out.

“Yes. That. Of course, they would still perish,” Dal Kanik responded, spreading his hands in a gesture of inevitability. “Their fate is sealed.”

“Then there’s no choice at all,” I said.

“Indeed.”

Then, I felt the Mist gathering at his command, and I responded in kind.