Airthan Ascendancy Read online

  AIRTHAN ASCENDANCY

  THE ORION WAR – BOOK 8

  BY M. D. COOPER

  Just in Time (JIT) & Beta Readers

  Copyright © 2018 M. D. Cooper

  Aeon 14 is Copyright © 2018 M. D. Cooper

  Version 1.0.0

  Cover Art by Andrew Dobell

  Editing by Jen McDonnell, Bird’s Eye Books

  Aeon 14 & M. D. Cooper are registered trademarks of Michael Cooper

  All rights reserved

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PREVIOUSLY…

  MAPS

  PART 1 – THE RIVER RUNS

  DOLING OUT

  BLADES

  ROXY

  PART 2 – ORION SPACE

  SVETLANA

  MACHETE

  THE SILENT FLEET

  PART 3 – WATCHERS

  A WALK AND A RESOLUTION

  AN UNEXPECTED PROMOTION

  FORTRESS OF THE MIND

  EXPECTED VISITORS

  WIDOWS

  A VIEW INTO THE PAST

  AN INTERVIEW WITH GARZA

  WIDOWSTRIKE

  PART 4 – THE CALM

  DEEPER

  THE BRIEFING

  THE PRAESEPE REPORT

  PART 5 – AIRTHA

  TO AIRTHA

  COMMENCEMENT

  THE RETURN

  OTHERS

  TOWER ASSAULT

  ANOTHER WAY

  SABOTAGE

  PART 6 – FGT’S LEGACY

  A1

  MEETING SERA

  A MOTHER

  DELIVERY

  DEPARTURE

  AN ENDING

  THE FOLLOWING

  THE BOOKS OF AEON 14

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PREVIOUSLY…

  KEY CHARACTERS REJOINING US

  Airtha – Both the name of a ring encircling a white dwarf in the Huygens’s system and the AI who controls it, Airtha was once a human woman named Jelina, wife of Jeffrey Tomlinson. After venturing to the galactic core on a research mission, she returned as an AI—one with a vendetta.

  Amavia – The result of Ylonda and Amanda’s merger when they were attacked by Myriad aboard Ylonda’s ship. The new entity occupies Amanda’s body, but possesses an overlapped blend of their minds. Amavia has served aboard Sabrina since the ship left New Canaan after the Defense of Carthage, but is now the ambassador to the League of Sentients at Aldebaran.

  Amy – Daughter of Silva, rescued by Rika and Team Basilisk from her father, Stavros.

  Andrea – Sera’s sister who used a back door into Sera’s mind to make Sera try to kill Tangel in the Ascella System.

  Carmen – Ship’s AI of the Damon Silas. Captured by Roxy during her assault on the ship.

  Cary – Tangel’s biological daughter. Has a trait where she can deep-Link with other people, creating a temporary merger of minds, and is able to utilize extradimensional vision to see ascended beings.

  Cheeky – Pilot of Sabrina, reconstituted by a neural dump Piya made of her mind before she died on Costa Station.

  Corsia – Former ship’s AI of the Andromeda and now Admiral in command of the Twelfth ISF Fleet.

  Faleena – Tangel’s AI daughter, born of a mind merge between Tangel, Angela, and Joe.

  Finaeus – Brother of Jeffrey Tomlinson, and Chief Engineer aboard the I2.

  Flaherty – Former Hand agent and long-time protector of Sera.

  Helen – Form AI of Sera’s who was killed by her father in the events leading up to Jeffrey’s assassination.

  Iris – The AI who was paired with Jessica during the hunt for Finaeus, who then took on a body (that was nearly identical to Jessica’s) after they came back. She remained with Amavia at Aldebaran to continue diplomatic relations with the League of Sentients.

  Jason – First Captain of the Intrepid and governor of the Victoria colony, Jason retired when the colonists reached New Canaan, only to be pulled back into service as governor once more when Tangel became the Transcend’s Field Marshal.

  Jeffrey Tomlinson – Former president of the Transcend, found in stasis in an underground chamber on Bolt Hole, a planet in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

  Jen – ISF AI paired with Sera.

  Jessica Keller – ISF admiral who has returned to the I2 after an operation deep in the Inner Stars to head off a new AI war. She also spent ten years travelling through Orion space before the Defense of Carthage—specifically the Perseus Arm, and Perseus Expansion Districts.

  Jim – Husband of Corsia, and chief engineer aboard the Andromeda.

  Joe – Admiral in the ISF, commandant of the ISF academy, and husband of Tangel.

  Justin – Former Director of the Hand. Was imprisoned for the events surrounding the attempted assassination of Tangel.

  Kara – Daughter of Adrienne, Kara was rescued by Katrina when fleeing from Airtha, and came to New Canaan aboard the Voyager.

  Katrina – Former Sirian spy, wife of Markus, and eventual governor of the Victoria colony at Kapteyn’s Star—and Warlord of the Midditerra System.

  Kendrick – Theban businessman helping build shipyards and the ring at Pyra. Also brother to the president of the Inner Praesepe Empire.

  Kent – Colonel in the Orion Guard who led the assault on the Galadrial in an attempt to kill Jeffrey and Sera Tomlinson.

  Krissy Wrentham – TSF admiral responsible for internal fleets fighting against Airtha in the Transcend civil war. She is also the daughter of Finaeus Tomlinson and Lisa Wrentham.

  Lisa – Former wife of Finaeus Tomlinson, she left the Transcend for the Orion Freedom Alliance when Krissy was young. Head of a clandestine group within the OFA known as the Widows, which hunts down advanced technology and destroys it.

  Misha – Head (and only) cook aboard Sabrina.

  Nance – Ship’s engineer aboard Sabrina, recently transferred back there from the ISF academy.

  Priscilla – One of Bob’s two avatars.

  Rachel – Captain of the I2. Formerly, captain of the Enterprise.

  Roxy – Justin’s lover, kept subservient to him via mental coercion.

  Saanvi – Tangel’s adopted daughter, found in a derelict ship that entered the New Canaan System.

  Sabrina – Ship’s AI and owner of the starship Sabrina.

  LMC Sera (Seraphina) – A copy of Sera made by Airtha containing all of the desired traits and memories Airtha desired. Captured by Sera and the allies during their excursion into the Large Magellanic Cloud.

  Valkris Sera (Fina) – A copy of Sera made by Airtha containing all of Sera’s desired traits and memories. Captured by ISF response forces who came to the aid of the TSF defenders during the siege of Valkris.

  Svetlana – Transcend Admiral dispatched deep in Orion Space with one of the Hoplite forces.

  Terrance – Terrance Enfield was the original backer for the Intrepid, though once the ship jumped forward in time, he took it as an opportunity to retire. Like Jason, he was pulled into active service by Tangel when New Canaan became embroiled in the Orion War.

  Trevor – Jessica’s husband and crewmember aboard Sabrina.

  Troy – AI pilot of the Excelsior who was lost during the Battle of Victoria, and later found by Katrina. He joined her on the hunt for the Intrepid aboard the Voyager, jumping forward in time via Kapteyn’s Streamer.

  Tangel – The entity that resulted from Tangel and Angela’s merger into one being. Not only is Tangel a full merger of a human and AI, but she is also an ascended being.

  Xavia – An ascended AI with its own agenda to help humanity, in opposition to the Caretaker and the core AIs.

  MAPS

  For more maps, visit www.aeon14.com/maps.

  PART 1 – THE RIVER RUNS

  DOLING OUT


  STELLAR DATE: 10.05.8949 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: River Station, Styx Baby-9

  REGION: STX-B17 Black Hole, Transcend Interstellar Alliance

  “They’ve confirmed that Roxy is clear of the remnant, and that Carmen isn’t suffering from residual effects,” Krissy said as Sera settled into the chair across from the admiral in her office.

  Sera nodded solemnly. “I guess that’s something, at least. It doesn’t change what Carmen did.”

  “Or answer the question of what to do with Jane,” Krissy added.

  A long breath escaped Sera’s lips and she ran a hand through her red hair.

  Still red, she thought to herself with a chuckle. I guess Fina really did get me stuck on this.

  She pushed thoughts of her sisters from her mind, mildly amused that dealing with clones of herself was preferable to what lay in front of her. The mess that Justin had made, and then left in her lap was the last thing she needed to focus on at the moment, but she somehow felt as though she owed Roxy’s situation her personal attention.

  Especially considering how, after everything that had happened to her, the woman had done the right thing when her memories had finally been restored.

  Of course, that was the question. Had Roxy really come to Styx of her own volition, or had the remnant inside of her forced the beleaguered woman to seek out the hidden base.

  “OK, let’s outline these issues one at a time,” Sera said, holding up a finger. “Firstly, Roxy came here aboard the Damon Silas, keeping it out of Airtha’s hands.”

  “Or the remnant did,” Krissy added.

  Jen said.

  “That’s my belief as well,” Sera said, meeting Krissy’s eyes. “Do you have reason to disagree?”

  Krissy shrugged. “No, just exercising a healthy dose of suspicion. Carry on.”

  “Secondly we have the oddity that Roxy exists in the first place and we have no knowledge of her ever having been in the Hand,” Sera continued. “Her decision to put Justin’s body in stasis was a good one. I understand that fleet intel has pulled a lot of good information from his mind—though nothing to suggest how he hid her from the directorate for all these years.”

  “Thanks to that intel, we know exactly which systems were supporting Justin’s faction.” A grim smile formed on Krissy’s lips. “A few were double dipping from us, a few from Airtha. Intel is coming up with ideas on how we can use that knowlege—and attempting to figure out where your other sister has gone.”

  “Which one?” Sera asked with a wink.

  Krissy gave Sera a narrow eyed look. “You know I mean Andrea. All your other sisters are here at Styx.”

  “Well, there’s at least one more out there.” Sera said the words with voice laden in worry. “The latest of my doppelgangers will be waiting for us at Airtha.”

  The admiral’s expression changed to one laden with contempt. “The Despot.”

  That was the name being given to the latest of the Seras ruling from Airtha. The populace in general had no idea that the current ‘True President’ of the Transcend was really the third incarnation of Sera to have been created in the past two years. All they knew was that she’d changed of late.

  Where Fina and Seraphina had been close analogs of Sera, this new incarnation was less so. The stories that came out of Airthan space told of a woman who was utterly given to excess, cruelty, and impulsiveness.

  Sera had always known that she was a woman of unusual appetites—it wasn’t as though her own proclivities were lost on her. But she knew that they were only safe in moderation. To completely lose oneself in pleasure turned it into debauchery.

  And despite the airs that Sera put on, she had never really given herself over to such things. In fact, other than the incident where Cheeky’s pheromones had run amok on Sabrina, Sera had never even been with more than one partner, and each partner had unfortunately been separated by long gaps of celibacy.

  Not so this new Sera that Airtha had put forth.

  Flaherty had commented that the Despot was an evil version of Sera, Cheeky, and Jessica—all rolled into one person.

  If the tales were just of wild orgies and lascivious behavior, Sera would have understood. She knew such urges were within herself and that weaker-willed version herself would give into them. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

  The woman who ruled from Airtha brought to mind wild stories from ancient human history where queens bathed in the blood of their subjects, and virgins were sacrificed to appease angry gods.

  Her only hope was that whatever had turned this latest doppelganger into a homicidal maniac, it was the result of some significant change Airtha had wrought, and not some sort of darkness that resided in Sera and her other sisters as well.

  Jen said.

  Sera laughed and shook her head.

 

  “OK,” Sera said, collecting her thoughts. “So speaking of suspect behavior, we have the matter of what Jane knew about Roxy.”

  A look of distaste replaced the prior contempt on Krissy’s face. “You mean whether or not she knew that Roxy couldn’t deny her sexual advances.”

  “Pretty much, yeah.” Sera pursed her lips tamping down on her roiling disgust for what Justin had done to his own sister. “From what the interrogators have been able to determine, Jane had an inkling of what she was really doing.”

  “Which makes what she made Roxy do a form of coerced rape,” Krissy said with a note of finality in her voice. “Legally, Jane is a deserter in a time of war and a rapist. By Transcend law that the first can earn her capital punishment and the second a lengthy incarceration.”

  “Except Roxy is refusing to press charges,” Sera replied, her jaw tightening.”

  “She’s confused.”

  “Well, you’re not wrong there. What of the AI, Carmen?”

  Krissy gave a rueful laugh. “Stars, these three are just a giant mess, aren’t they? Honestly the easy one is Roxy. Which is nuts, because she came here under the control of a remnant to kill you.”

  “Yeah, I don’t even have any words for how fucked up this has all become.”

  Jen laughed in her mind.

 

  Krissy gestured to one of the holos hovering over her desk. “The analysts have submitted their report. Carmen helped Roxy disable the Damon Silas’s self destruct, and she did it to save herself. She also admits to it, so the dereliction of duty is clear.”

  Sera pursed her lips as she considered the actions of the three. “And yet, they both came here with Roxy, knowing that there was no way to hide these deeds from us.”

  “It doesn’t change the facts.” Krissy’s voice carried almost no emotion, and Sera wondered if there was a difference between what the admiral wanted vs the women.

  “No, but it can alter the punishment,” Sera suggested. “I’ve been considering something that may be…unorthodox.”

  A laugh escaped Krissy’s lips. “Stars above, I can’t imagine what it would be for you to call it unorthodox.”

  “Hey,” Sera adopted an expression of mock-hurt. “I’m very orthodox in how I conduct my professional life.”

  “You need a mirror, Sera.”

  “OK, I’m going to ignore the judginess here,” Sera spoke the words in a defensive tone, but winked at the admiral. “Though you’ll probably heap it on me when I tell you my plan.”

  “Out with it already, then,” Krissy insisted, a worried smile forming on her lips.

  “I was thinking of taking them on the mission to Airtha.”

  “OK. I knew it!” Krissy slapped her palms on her desk. “You’ve gone mad. Your ruddy hair follicles have grown into your brain
and turned it to goo.”

  Jen let out a labored sigh before adding her opinion.

  “Uhh…thanks, Jen…I think?”

  “Seriously, Sera, what makes you think this is a good idea?” Krissy pressed.

  Sera shrugged. “Decades ago, I established myself as a smuggler with a crew of semi-pirates and the goal of infiltrating a secret base and retrieving a CriEn module. That crew turned out to be one of the best group of operatives I’ve ever met—many of whom are going on this mission.”

  “I can’t deny that,” Krissy said with a longsuffering sigh. “You’re taking more criminals than law-abiding citizens with you as it stands.”

  “It’s all in how you look at it,” Sera replied. “If you think of them as operatives of a foreign government, then they’re heroes.”

  “Except for Jane and Carmen,” Krissy said. “A deserter and rapist, and a cowardly AI who abandoned her post.”

  “Well…she was technically yanked from her post before abandoning it.”

  “Semantics, Sera. I don’t like the precedent.”

  “I really think that Roxy will be an asset—and if we punish up Jane and Carmen, I don’t know that Roxy will be terribly cooperative.”

  “What is it about Roxy?” Krissy asked. “Why do you want her along.”

  “Well, she’s a highly skilled operative, for starters,” Sera said. “And I feel a bit of kinship with her. We were both utterly fucked over by people who were supposed to love and protect us.”

  Krissy pursed her lips, not speaking for a few moments. Then she sighed and nodded. “I know what that feels like, though it’s not much of a reason to take someone on an op…but I won’t stand in your way. However, I do want some sort of punishment for those two.”

  Jen suggested.