Chapter 29
On the second day of travel, a tiny dot appeared on the long range sensors. It was a long way off, but it was also the largest solid object in the galaxy, so the sensors had no trouble identifying it: Venom. All preparations were complete, so Mirana just sat and watched the dot grow steadily larger as they approached. It was hard to believe that the war was almost over. It was even harder to imagine what it would be like once it ended. But surely that was what was going to happen in just a few days. The war would end, one way or the other. And it would all come down to the actions of just two people, her and Ned Simmons. Mirana shook off the sense of foreboding that threatened to creep over her, deciding that both she and Ned were up to the task.
A few hours later she called Ned into the pricom and then dropped out of warp. Ned simply stared. Venom’s dark form was visible, even though from this distance most planets would have been just specs against the starfield. Ned could see lines crisscrossing Venom’s surface, but as they approached, those lines became more complex sets of lines, as did those. The fractal surface continued to unfold until Venom took up the entire field of view. From this close, the Anacronians’ fortress looked like a giant metal desert, cracked and scarred as if it had been sitting there forever, subject to impossibly strong winds and rain. And it was dark – without the viewscreen’s artificial image enhancement, Ned would not have been able to make out any details at all.
“What is all that?” he asked Mirana.
“The marks on the surface? Most are weapons, but there are some sensors, tractor beams, and communications ports as well. I can’t imagine where Dark Viper came up with the resources to build so many complex devices in such a short time.”
“So if we dropped the shadow field right now, how long would we last?”
“The shadow field wouldn’t even finish disengaging before the ship was completely destroyed.”
Ned could see why Marnax wanted Venom for StarBlazer. “How do we get in?”
“Hold on.”
Mirana continued to guide Nemesis over Venom’s surface for a few minutes before bringing the ship to a stop. She transmitted a message into the communications port directly below the ship and then leaned back in her chair. “Now we wait.”
“For what?”
“Just be patient. I’ll let you know how I did it as soon as it’s done.”
It was a long time before Mirana got the reply she had been looking for. After she did, she moved Nemesis forward once again. She traveled for some time around Venom’s surface, and then a door appeared ahead. It looked like a gigantic, circular valley, but Ned guessed that it was large enough for the continent of Australia to fit through with room to spare. Nemesis had just reached the door when it opened slightly, just enough for the ship to slip through, into a corridor that lead to a similar door in the distance. Mirana quickly flew through the crack, and the outer door closed behind them.
“Come on,” Mirana said. Ned wanted to ask her what she was doing as she stood up and left the pricom, but he knew he would get no answer, so he just followed her. She led him to the airlock, where they both put on StarBlazer space suits; Mirana told Ned not to turn his battle suit off or on except when he was aboard Nemesis, since there was a chance that Dark Viper might detect it if he did. The airlock doors opened, and Ned and Mirana jumped into the nearly-black void. Ned followed her as she moved toward the tunnel wall. When they reached it Ned saw what Mirana had been heading toward. It was a small doorway, perhaps some kind of maintenance hatch. Mirana opened it, motioned Ned inside, then closed the door behind her. Then the airlock they were standing in repressurized, the gravity plates engaged, and the lights came on.
The airlock door led into a room with several lift pods lining the walls. Mirana chose one, they climbed in, and it sped off along its track. The ride lasted for over an hour, and Ned’s muscles began to cramp, but he could not help but smile. For the moment it was enough that things seemed to be going exactly as Mirana had planned. The ride ended in a room that looked much like the one they had come from, only smaller. Mirana led Ned out of the lift pod, through a door, down a corridor, and stopped by what looked like a blank wall. She pressed her hand to it, and it slid open to reveal yet another corridor. At the end was another door, and at a touch from Mirana’s hand it opened. Beyond the door was someone’s living room.
At least, that was what it looked like. Flowery furniture adorned the room, and paintings hung on the walls. There was even a curtained window, although it was obviously just a viewscreen showing scenery. A middle-aged woman sat in a couch facing away from them, but she rose to greet them when they entered.
“We’re here,” Mirana announced as she removed her helmet.
Ned removed his as well, and immediately he lurched backward.
“What is it,” the woman asked, a look of concern on her face.
Mirana grabbed Ned’s arm to steady him. “Ned?”
“I don’t know,” he said, quickly pulling off the rest of the space suit. “I feel something.”
“Oh, no.” Mirana muttered. “Ned, what is it?”
“I’m all right,” Ned said finally. “It just took me by surprise.”
“What is it?” prompted the other woman. “Come sit down, both of you.”
Ned sat down, trying to ignore what he was feeling. “When I took off my helmet, I sensed something. Plasma, I assume, but it’s different. It’s almost as if it’s alive.”
“Ned,” Mirana said, “If I learned right by observing the Plasma Masters, the Plasma is supposed to be associated with matter. Venom is by far the most massive thing you’ve ever encountered. Do you think that might be it?”
“No, I don’t think so. It’s more like when I was fighting Rax and Dren, when they attacked me. The Plasma feels like someone’s controlling it.”
Mirana looked worried. “Do you think he can sense you? If he can, we have to leave now.”
Ned pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “I think it’s alright,” he decided out loud. “Somehow it doesn’t feel like the Plasma’s reacting to me. It just feels different, and that took me by surprise. Really, it’s okay.”
After a moment, the woman who had been waiting for them extended her hand to Ned. “You must be Ned Simmons, the Shield Master.”
Ned shook her hand. “That’s right. Sorry about that. It wasn’t much of a greeting.”
“Ned,” Mirana said, “this is Rinel Marnax, the woman who disabled the sensors so we could get in.”
Ned looked back at Rinel. “Of course! I saw a picture of you! But why are you here? General Marnax said his family was somewhere safe!”
Rinel smiled. “And what place is safer than this?”
“For the wife of StarBlazer’s leader, I imagine I could think of a few.”
Rinel laughed then, and the sound was a pleasant change from the solemnity of the past few days – weeks, really. Then she reached out to take Mirana’s hand in hers. “It’s so good to see you again. It’s been so long.”
Mirana looked into Rinel’s eyes for a long time, and finally she smiled. To Ned it seemed like a miracle; perhaps Mirana was not the chiseled block of ice she made herself out to be in public. “Yes, it’s good to see you too. Thank you for letting us in.”
“Your message was very interesting, Mirana. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Ask him,” Mirana said, nodding in Ned’s direction. “He’s the one who’s going to pull it off.”
Then Ned laughed too. “Well I can definitely say that I have no idea what Mirana is doing. Would someone please start explaining?”
Mirana’s face was serious again when she spoke to Ned. It was like she was trying to be two people at once. “Rinel lives here on Venom with Ren and Jenez and Irina. They came with the rest of the Anacronian population when Viper moved them here, and I helped them quietly disappear. The Empire thinks they left with Gerran, so Viper’s not even looking for them. Rinel and I have developed a way for m
e to get in and out of here when it’s necessary.”
“Does General Marnax know this?” Ned asked.
“I think he suspects it,” Rinel answered. “If he does, he’s undoubtedly very unhappy with the idea. But it’s necessary.”
“I don’t think he knows,” Mirana said. “There’s no way he would let me come here if it meant putting his family in the slightest bit of danger.”
Rinel stood up. “Well, you two must be hungry. I have some food for you, but I think I’ll bring it to you. I think it would be best if the kids didn’t know you’re here, given the circumstances.”
“Right,” Mirana said, and then she brought Ned through a doorway and into a room with nothing but cupboards on the walls and a table in the center. Open doors to the left and right led into identical rooms. “It’s not easy to build a house inside a place like Venom,” Mirana explained, “so there aren’t extra rooms here. You and I will stay here in the storage area. Make yourself comfortable.”
“How long are we going to be here?”
“Gerran said to give him four days before opening the hole in the static warp field. Don’t worry, there are mattresses and blankets here. You can sleep in the room to the right; just don’t fall off the table.”
Gerran Marnax had seen many battles in his life and commanded many starships, but he had never seen so many ships in one place. Over three-fourths of his fleet was assembled, hundreds of thousands of ships strong, dotting the starscape in all directions like rocks in an asteroid belt. Taken all together like this, it was hard to imagine that anything could stand in his way. It was truly humbling that the fortress he was about to attack could very well extinguish every life in his fleet in a matter of seconds if something went wrong.
“All ships check out, General,” Harvey reported. “Dark Viper’s time is counting down fast.”
“How’s the decoy, Harvey?”
“Reports show heavy movement in the direction of Nembis Four.”
“But they’re still closer to Venom than we are?”
“Yes. The main bulk of the fleet won’t reach Nembis for a few more days. Longer than we can afford to wait, I’m afraid.”
The communications officer turned around in his chair. “General, there’s another starship coming in at high warp. It’s Black Fang, but its index is Palandoran.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. Can you put them on?”
“Warpcom booster station located. I’ve got them.”
“Back already?” Marnax asked X as he appeared on the main viewscreen.
“Hello, General. I don’t suppose you could use another starship?”
“X, how in the world …”
“We had an interesting trade agreement with Kayleen Rax. Long story. Don’t worry, though. We’ve checked the ship out thoroughly. I’ve got two squadrons of empty starfighters, too, if you’ve got some extra pilots.”
Marnax folded his arms across his chest and managed a smile. “Good news is always welcome, X, but this seems just a bit too true to be good. I’ll send over some pilots, along with some technicians to go over your ship one more time, just to be sure. Harvey, get him an entrance vector.”
“Sir,” X said, “what exactly is going on here? The StarBlazer base we stopped at for fuel told us to come here, but only after confirming my recent association with you and checking over my ship. I figured you might be up to something, but I didn’t expect to see the rest of the fleet as well!”
“Excuse me; I forgot you hadn’t been told. We’re going to end the war, X. We’re going to Venom.” X looked understandably shocked. “I’m afraid that you’ll have to come with us now that you’re here; we can’t risk a security breach. You can join me on Galactron, though, if you’d like. I’m sure I could find a crew for your ship.”
“No, that’s okay, General. I’ll manage. We’re receiving your data now. X out.”
“Let’s hope that’s a good sign,” Harvey said. “All ships report ready.”
Marnax took a deep breath and looked forward into the stars. Here I come, Rinel.
“StarBlazer fleet. This is General Marnax. Go.”
On the third day in Rinel Marnax’s home, Ned began to grow uneasy. It was not the mission itself; so far everything had worked according to plan. Nemesis had come through the doorway under automatic control, and Rinel’s skill had wiped out all traces of its entrance. Ned was fairly certain of this not only because both Rinel and Mirana were confident in it, but because Ned did not believe that any of them would still be alive if Dark Viper had discovered their presence there. Part of what bothered Ned was sitting around and doing virtually nothing when perhaps the most important thing he would ever do was just days away; it felt like he should be preparing, somehow.
Another, slightly more significant disturbance was the strange sense the inert Plasma on Venom had. He had grown accustomed to it, but it had not subsided since he had exposed himself to it by removing his space helmet. Ned had discussed the matter with Mirana that first day before retiring to his storage room to sleep, but the only thing the two of them had decided on was that Ned should focus on not allowing the altered sense of the Plasma to distract him. That he had done. It no longer distracted him; it only infuriated him. What was it? Why was it so different? Ned had a feeling that it had something to do with Dark Viper’s power, and that meant that it might hold the key to defeating the Emperor. In any case, Venom’s Plasma force was a constant reminder to Ned that he must keep his own Plasma under control. Whatever other properties Venom’s Plasma had, Ned had little doubt that it would alert Dark Viper if it were at all disturbed.
In an effort to take his mind off of the matter, Ned decided to try to talk to Mirana. She had been rather quiet since their arrival, and Ned believed it might have something to do with Rinel. Mirana always acted very differently around Rinel, as if her presence were some kind of license to indulge in “normal” life for a time. Ned wondered at the wisdom of bringing up the subject with Mirana, but he was becoming restless, and eventually his curiosity got the best of him. He walked across the room to Mirana’s door and knocked.
There was the sound of footsteps, and then Mirana opened the door. “What is it?” she asked, her tone of voice indicating that the only proper response was for Ned to say “Nothing” and then go away.
“Can I talk to you for a while?”
“More questions?”
“Can you blame me?”
“Of course I blame you. Come over here and sit down.” Rinel had brought some chairs into the center storage room, and Ned and Mirana sat down in them. “The Plasma bugging you again?”
“Actually, I was going to ask about you.”
Mirana’s eyes narrowed. “What about me? Didn’t we already have this discussion?”
“You don’t need to talk to me if it makes you uncomfortable,” Ned said.
Manipulative, thought Mirana. I’m impressed. She wasn’t about to give the impression that mere discomfort would dissuade her from doing or saying something. “All right, Simmons. Let’s have it.”
“Well, you answered my previous question about why you were on StarBlazer’s side and not Anacron’s. But you answered it by telling me about your past. I was hoping you’d tell me a little about you.”
“Last I checked, my past self and I are the same person.”
“Yes, but … Okay. When you were trying to convince me to come here, you asked me what was important to me. Well, what’s important to you? What do you enjoy?”
Mirana clenched her jaw. She obviously did not want to answer the question, but the fact that she did so anyway convinced Ned that it was all right to have asked. “First of all, those are two separate questions. Enjoyment is not necessarily important at all. People find enjoyment in lots of things. Some people find enjoyment in pumping their bodies full of narcotic chemicals and depriving themselves of their minds and personalities. Some people find enjoyment in discarding their self-respect in casual intimacy. Others, like Dark Viper, d
erive enjoyment from murdering billions of innocent people.”
It seemed to Ned that perhaps Mirana was dodging the question. He was about to say so, but instead he replied, “Yes, but I think we can agree that all of those things are immoral. I guess what I’m asking you is, what do you value?”
Mirana exhaled in exasperation. “I guess, judging by what I do, that I value staying alive, and the things that facilitate that.”
“And what things are those?”
“Dollars, funds, profits, lucre, assets. That sort of thing.”
“You expect me to believe that you aren’t interested in anything but making money and staying alive? What about your family?”
“My family is dead, remember?” Her voice was rising toward a shout, but Ned felt that it would be wrong to end the conversation there.
“I meant Gerran and Rinel Marnax and their kids. They’re like a family to you, aren’t they?”
Mirana looked away then, and her breathing slowly returned to normal. After it did, she turned back to Ned with the usual cold look in her eyes. “Look, Ned. I realize that you’re just trying to be friendly. But take some advice. I don’t make a very good friend. I work alone, and I work for myself. When this is all over, I’m going to congratulate you, and then you can go home and we’ll never see each other again. There’s nothing to be gained by this kind of conversation. You’re just going to get us both distracted from the task at hand.”
This time Ned returned the cold, skeptical gaze. “Mirana, don’t you think that I should be the judge of whether I want to be your friend? Every time I talk to you I become more convinced that you’re not as heartless as you make yourself out to be. I can see why you want to be that way in public, but everyone needs friends, even you. And for people in your line of work, I would think that an invincible friend would be a rare commodity. Besides, you’ve observed the Plasma Masters at work. You understand how the Plasma works, and that is not true of anyone else except for people who have tried to kill me. The way I see it, we’d make perfect friends, even if our planets are a galaxy apart. There is such a thing as warp drive, you know, and I haven’t decided yet just what I’m going to do once this is over. And as for getting distracted, there’s nothing to get distracted from right now except sitting around and staring at the wall. Now, if there are things you don’t want to talk about, then I don’t want to push you. But please don’t avoid me just because you think you’re doing me a favor!”
Mirana was silent for a long time. She just sat there, staring back at Ned. She had not expected that out of him, and it surprised her that he could surprise her so significantly. “Very nice,” she said finally. “I see I’m not the only one who can deliver inspiring, heartfelt lectures at will. As a matter of fact, there are a few things I’d rather not discuss with you; namely, you and me.”
“Why on Earth not?” Ned asked, catching his poorly-chosen idiom too late.
“We are not on Earth,” Mirana snapped back. “That’s the whole point. We are on Venom, and in a matter of days this monster planet and everything inside it is going to explode into war. Now if you want to prepare for that, I’ll do everything I can to help you. But if you’re looking for an alien friend, you’re going to have to give Smardwurst Varlon or X or cute little Jenara Trennon a call, because I am not interested. Do you understand?”
“Very little,” Ned replied.
“Doom on you, Ned. I am risking everything on you here, and you had better not let me down.” She quickly rose from her chair and walked back toward her door.
“It looks like I already have,” Ned muttered sadly. He knew she had heard him, but she closed the door without a response.