The Lost Supernova by Vaughn Heppner

Author:Vaughn Heppner [Heppner, Vaughn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-10T22:00:00+00:00

-43-

Meta woke up thirty seconds later and vomited. Before that, the second Oko had unobtrusively pulled a dart from her back. After vomiting the third time, Meta raised her head. Her eyes were horribly red-rimmed, and she looked exhausted.

“Meta,” Maddox said.

She blinked several times and wiped her mouth. Finally, she nodded, which made her wince.

“My head throbs,” she whispered.

“Get your knuckle-duster,” Maddox told her. “Then get up, honey. You have to get up. Now’s not the time to sit on your butt.”

She gave him an angry look, and that also made her wince. After several heartbeats she said, “Okay. That helped just a little.”

She gathered her wicked-looking knife off the floor—the second Oko slid away from her and back toward Maddox.

“That’s far enough,” Maddox said.

His captive Oko chittered at the second one. That one stopped.

Maddox told Meta to collect the alien weapons and put them in a pile. It took her longer than ordinary to do, but finally they were in a pile.

“Now,” Maddox said. “Stand behind the others over there. If any of them tries something foolish, kill them.”

“Wait,” Maddox’s captive said. “I’ve done as you’ve asked. You should trust me. I’ve shown that I will cooperate.”

“True,” Maddox said. “But I don’t even know your name. How can I trust you if I don’t know your name?”

“I have fallen into the hands of a fanatic,” the Oko said. “Know then that I am Master Elge of the Recovery Vessel Gourvich. This is an authorized salvage, as I have paid heavy fees for the privilege of roaming Sector 73, Quadrant 2. If you desire, you can examine my credentials aboard the Gourvich. Naturally, you will have to come with me—”

“Forgive me, Master Elge,” Maddox said.

“What?”

Maddox was thinking hard, trying to dredge up some memory of any of the things the Oko had just told him.

“Who did you pay the fee to?” the captain asked.

“That should be obvious,” Master Elge said, “an intermediary of the Sovereign Hierarchy of Leviathan. They have established their right of rule through constant supremacy for the last three hundred years. Why, the last attempt of—”

“Enough,” Maddox said. His head had just begun to throb.

“Do you doubt me?” Elge asked.

Maddox concentrated, forcing himself to remain alert and conscious, not necessarily in that order. He’d never heard of this Sovereign Hierarchy. He’d never heard of the squirrel-visaged Okos, either. He was beginning to suspect that Victory had jumped much farther than anyone could have anticipated.

“What about the Swarm Imperium?” Maddox asked. “Have you ever heard of them?”

“They are far from here,” Elge said.

“You know who I mean when I say the Swarm?”

“The insect empire,” Elge said. “Of course, I know. The Sovereign Hierarchy fought bloody battles against the Imperium that lasted over seventy years. The Hierarchy lost half their territory before beginning to detonate suns in the Imperium’s path. Finally, the Swarm fleets ceased attacking. That is common knowledge among spacefarers. How is it you claim ignorance of galactic history?”

“What about the Nameless Ones?”

“Who?”

“They ravish worlds with fifty kilometer Destroyers,” Maddox said.

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