Eyes of Tomorrow (Duchy of Terra Book 9), Glynn Stewart [reading well .TXT] 📗

“The Laian hyper-portal emitter system is similar to most others I’ve seen,” she noted. “Even putting aside exotic matter, it requires elements not easily found at the heart of a nebula. Builder of Tomorrows, of course, carries significant supplies of those elements—and is herself made of more. Since the Infinite will have little interest in building Laian-style ships, I suspect every portion of the traitor fleet that entered the Astoroko Nebula will be broken down to build hyperdrives.

“We are working now on estimating how many portal emitters that might enable them to build while they are…growing their own.”

She shook her head.

“It will be a very vague calculation, even once it’s done, but it will give us an upper limit. I do not expect that limit to apply for long. Based off what we know of the Great Mother, I would estimate it will take no more than one long-cycle for the Infinite to have significant numbers of biotech hyperdrives.

“And that is assuming the Infinite are only as capable as the Mother.”

Casimir exhaled.

“Further detailed technical reports are attached to this, but the fundamental assessment is this: we are facing a force with a greater weight of firepower than any individual Core Power. They are limited in range due to the lack of smart or FTL weaponry, and in interstellar mobility due to the lack of hyperdrives.

“Thanks to their possession of Builder of Tomorrows, they will unquestionably work to fix the latter. Having engaged multiple modern ships in combat successfully, I suspect they will also work to fix the former.

“Keeping them contained inside the Astoroko Nebula will limit their ability to do both. If they break out and acquire significant resources at this point, I believe…” Casimir paused, and swallowed hard.

“It is the consensus of my analysis team that if the Infinite break out and come into possession of any average star system at this point in time, we will be facing an existential threat to not merely the Laian Republic or the Wendira Grand Hive…but to galactic civilization itself.”

Chapter Five

There was a personal message for Rin in the dump of files from Tan!Stalla’s task force as well. He took the time before Tan!Shallegh presented everything to the Wendira and the Laians to seclude himself in his quarters to watch it.

He didn’t have a lot of time, but he wanted to see Morgan.

She looked sufficiently identical in the video she’d sent him that he suspected it had been recorded within minutes of the official report. This message wasn’t official, however, so she was spending less effort to conceal her exhaustion.

“Hey, Rin,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t manage to send anything sooner. I hit the ground running here and… Well, I’ve barely slept. I’m recording this for you, then I have a message for Victoria, then I’m going to fall over.”

Victoria Antonova was Morgan’s girlfriend, the long-term partner she’d already had when Rin had met her. The recognition of their long separations had led them to have an officially open relationship—and Victoria was actually married to a third woman, while being very firm that she was still Morgan’s partner as well.

Rin had been Morgan’s technically-secondary-but-physically-present partner for a while now, but he still couldn’t pretend he understood the full complexities of the situation. He understood enough of what applied to him to be happy, which was more than enough.

“I hope…” She sighed. “I hope you’re doing okay. I haven’t heard anything from you, either,” she pointed out. “I’m getting everything filtered through the formal reports that Tan!Stalla is getting, but it sounds like things aren’t going quite the way we’d hoped.

“I know you and Ki!Tana made it safely, and for that I thank whoever is listening.” She smiled tiredly at him. “There’s a lot of things to say, and I’m never sure what’s most important. But I’m also going to bury some work in here.”

Rin chuckled. He’d figured. He and Morgan had met dealing with the Great Mother, and work had always been at the heart of their connection, even as their personal relationship had grown.

“You know more about the Great Mother than anyone there,” she reminded him. “You’re the only person to have studied all the Alavan iconography and suchlike we have on it, too. You know more about that thing than any of us, and I think that’s relevant right now.

“But the differences between the Infinite and the Mother might be more important. I don’t know enough… I don’t have enough data here to guess what those are beyond the basic technical distinctions.

“That the Mother didn’t birth bioforms with reactionless drives and singularity guns tells me she was missing something. You… I don’t know, but you could probably say if that was intentional or not.”

There was a long pause, which Rin used to consider the suggestion.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” she repeated. “My understanding is that Tan!Shallegh wants you as his advisor, so I won’t see you soon. Hopefully before too long, but hopefully for good reasons.”

She forced a smile, but he could tell it was forced.

“Sorry, I…meant to have more to say, but I’m wiped.” She blew the recorders a kiss. “I need to record for Victoria before I collapse. Talk soon.”

The image faded away, leaving Rin with both a heart-aching sense of longing…and a mind whirring with possible interpretations of the data they had on the Great Mother’s birth.

His brain was still whirring as Tan!Shallegh played a condensed version of Morgan’s report for Tidirok and Oxtashah.

“We have time,” Tidirok finally noted. “That is good news. We have ships coming up from the core fleets as we speak.”

“Forgive me, Eleventh Voice, but my understanding is that the entire Laian Republic fleet only numbers about six hundred war-dreadnoughts, correct?” Tan!Shallegh said. “One hundred twenty billion tons of capital ships?”

Tidirok’s eyes flickered toward Oxtashah.

“Something like that,” he conceded grimly.

Rin suspected Tan!Shallegh was being intentionally vague.

“There are single bioforms in the Astoroko Nebula that outmass your entire fleet, armed with