I want to quote my mother here:
"Understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, their side… and the truth."
I do not know where she stole it from — probably some old TV show. She was like that. But it stayed with me.
We must always look behind the curtain — behind our own illusions, our own lies — if we want to see the truth.
And the truth is this: our future is ours to decide.
We will not accept the Federation's demands. They stand in direct opposition to the inherent dignity and freedom of our people.
Our parents fought a war against oppression while the Federation stood by and watched one of its members betray everything it claimed to uphold.
We must never forget what the Federation truly is — an institution built on lies and corruption.
And if our people, the Aligned Systems, must fight for it again, then so be it. It will only make us stronger.
We will not retreat. We will not surrender to oppression.
This is the line.
This is where we stand.
Enough is enough.
— President Ffion Davies, Speech to the Aligned Systems Parliament, on the eve of the First War against the Federation, 50 P.I.
Drake's cabin aboard the Guardian was surprisingly spartan. André had already suspected as much. After half a year aboard the ship, he had learned to predict Drake's oddities and had made a pretty accurate mental image of him.
His office was only big and of exclusive design because others expected the richest man on Earth to have such offices. André guessed that Drake would be fine with a closet.
The last few months aboard the Guardian had been quiet, and Drake himself had retreated to the so-called off-limits floor. Not even his inner circle was allowed, or even knew how to enter.
The existence of the floor was only known because it was pretty much in the center of the ship.
This made André, of course, curious, and he waited almost a month trying to gain access.
By now, he knew more than a hundred ways how not to reach it.
The rest of the crew slowly warmed to him being aboard, and he gained interesting insights into Drake's secret society.
While he still reserved his final opinion about them, André had to confess they seemed to be a general force for good, even throughout history.
Not only did they save him and Jane from assassins, they actively opposed the Batract Worshippers and the figure behind the whole mess.
Other notable influences were mostly scientific in nature. Like the new Mk 2 A-Drive, p-p radios, and other small or large developments. Then there were the universities they supported.
And more… ballistic interventions. Like the anti-oligarch movements before the Second Civil War.
These were only the most recent influences he learned of, and he was afraid to dig deeper.
One hour ago, Drake entered the bridge, gave orders to prepare a departure, and "asked" Eleri, Jane, and André to follow him to his quarters.
Now the trio sat before Drake in his small cabin. The old man looked almost his old confident self, after his shock at Burrow's burn.
"I asked you three here because you work exceptionally well as a team, and Earth needs you back home."
Drake started without any greeting.
They all had followed the news about the recent attack, and André had assumed the Guardian was going home. But then there wouldn't be a reason for meeting here. So the ship was going elsewhere.
Eleri was about to say something, but Drake stopped her with a hand gesture.
"Please, let me speak. There's a lot to tell you, and interruptions would make it harder for me than it needs to be."
That woke André right up. Something had felt wrong with Drake since they met. Was now the time for answers?
"I can't tell you everything; that would be too dangerous for now. But I can tell you as much: the Hyphae, or to be precise, the Batract Hyphae, will be no issue anymore for humanity. Or not a big one."
That was a bombshell André didn't expect. Before he could ask how Drake knew that, the old man put a hand on his shoulder.
"I know what you want to ask. Wait."
Then Drake sat down again.
"Dr. Nesbitt was right in her assumption that the Hyphae was a loose bioweapon. What none of you knew, and I learned too late, was the type of bioweapon."
Drake poured himself a large whiskey. Another odd behavior. Drake drank almost always, almost constantly. But he was never drunk. Never even smelled of alcohol. Now that he thought about it, Drake didn't even smell of anything other than his clothes.
"What I tell you now must stay in this room. It's essential for humanity's survival in this critical time."
That was the second time Drake alluded to something big and dangerous. Spit it out or let it be.
"I have seen this kind of bioweapon before. Long, long ago. We — I — ahh, it doesn't matter." He shook his head.
Then he stood up again. To see Drake in search of words was almost as shocking as his reveals.
He knew the Hyphae?
"I am old. Older than any of you would have ever guessed. In my existence, there is only one mission left. Guide humanity. It almost succeeded, until the old curse came back."
"Guide humanity?" It was Eleri who couldn't fight the urge to ask. Typical of her quirky nature.
"Yes, my dear. From the first steps you as a species made, I was there. The Shraphen had their own Guide. A different kind. That's what we came here for, to retrieve… her."
"You're not human," André said. It was no question, rather a conclusion.
"Not how you would define it. Yet. No."
"What — who are you then?" Jane was the first to snap out of the obvious shock of Drake's revelation. "You look so human."
"I could say you look so… me." Drake laughed sarcastically. "Now, Dr. Nesbitt, could I blend into your society if I had, let's say, wings and six legs? Or if I looked like a giant mothman?"
"No, I guess not. What is it, genetic masking? Surgical adaptations?"
"Always the inquisitive mind. Please, let me continue. It's hard for me to say these secrets out loud."
"But why… are we an experiment of your race?" Jane wasn't stopped that easily.
"My race?" Drake's laugh was almost belittling. "No, and even if, would it matter?"
André thought about it.
"Would it change anything if I said humans are a genetically developed weapon? Or that we found your race and resettled you, or that you are the second evolution of 'my race'?"
Now Drake looked like an old entity, observing a curious ant.
"No, Dr. Nesbitt, it doesn't matter what you are or what I am. All that matters now is to stop the newly awakened original form of the Hyphae, because it has the power to destroy all life in this galaxy, even if it takes millions of years."
"You're the link between Shraphen and humans?" Again, André made a statement. It was now clear that Drake was involved.
"Again, not important, Captain Gerber."
"To hell with it, you drag us in here, blow up our worldview, and expect us to just swallow your half-truths?"
André's patience for games was at its limit.
"Yes, that's what I expect. But if it helps you — yes and no." For the first time, Drake showed a sliver of anger.
"I decide what I will reveal. I decide how much you need to know, how much you can stomach to know, and how much is too dangerous. That's how it is. If you can't accept that, leave, and I will find someone else to continue my work."
André had had it. He wanted to know more, but this man's — this thing's — secret had ruined his family since his father's death.
He stood up and was about to walk out when Jane pulled him back. "Don't!"
"What?" He turned around. "He knew the Batract when they reached Earth. He could have warned us, but instead he decided to do nothing. Your family and mine are dead because of him, as much as the Batract."
"And without him, we would still be slaves of the Batract. We just wouldn't know it. So sit down and at least listen, sir ."
André was shocked and, at the same time, had to smile. That was the first time Eleri had snapped at him. He knew she was dangerous, but to him, she had always shown the face of the quirky intelligence officer. Until now.
"For that, I am sorry. The… the domesticated, incapacitated version of the Hyphae was unknown to me. Someone must have found a strain and experimented with it. Reviving it and producing this outcome. The battle at Burrow and the xenovectors seem to have reverted some of the genetic programming."
The next bombshell. André didn't know how many more he could sustain.
"We're responsible for the Squid ships?"
"They were called Infectors, long ago. And yes, maybe. But any longer exposure to gamma radiation might have triggered it someday anyway. The next months will tell how devastating they really are. Originally, it didn't end with burning the planet, no. The makers of this weapon were more insidious. The weapon recreated life on the burned planet."
Drake seemed his old grandfatherly self again. André sat down, waiting for more. Eleri's face was white, and ever since Drake's confession about being an alien, she hadn't said a word.
Maybe he was right. Maybe his secrets could shatter humanity if revealed unchecked.
"First, all indigenous life will be eradicated. Then the planet's biosphere will be restored to fit the weapon master's needs."
Drake emptied his whiskey and filled the glass again. The third time since the discussion began.
"An action almost irrelevant in this galaxy. Life here is… boringly uniform. But where the Hyphae originated… it was a death sentence for almost all species."
The revelations alone in this sentence made André's head spin. Then he tried to sort through his thoughts.
"The doomsphere — was it sent by the Hyphae's masters?"
"No. Whatever the origin of these ships is, it's older. Older than me, and I was here when your ancestors learned to use flintstones."
What are you? That was hundreds of thousands of years…
Drake continued. "Before I was sent here, my race and an ancient enemy joined forces to fight the origin of those spheres. For all I know, we won. Or so I thought. Maybe we did, because the ship that attacked Earth was a small mining drone. Not even a mining mothership. Only a Harvester."
André regretted that he had even asked.
Millions of confirmed dead, from a mining drone?
Eleri breathed heavily as she spoke quietly.
"What do you need us for?"
"My dear, you three have the hardest jobs. I organized your… revival. The Aligned Intelligence network will provide a cover story of a mission that required your 'death.' You will need to return to Earth. There, Captain Gerber and Eleri, you will continue my work in my absence."
"What work?" André still wasn't sure if he wasn't betraying humanity right now.
"Guide humanity, of course. The company I built is still developing, exploring, and researching. I need an agent to control this machine. Diverting its power to protect and serve humanity. All from the shadows."
"So, all this tech? It's not technology your species developed?" Dr. Nesbitt looked up, still reeling from the news that her research might have created an enemy worse than the Batract Hyphae.
"No, of course not. Didn't you develop Unigel on your own, with your team?"
"Yes… but—"
"Be proud. I might have helped a bit at the start. With fire and writing. But the rest — the rest was humanity's drive."
André didn't know whether to believe it, but Drake's face wore a proud expression.
"And why did you tell us all of this? I mean… just that we should be deputies of yours until you're back would have been enough." Eleri had her composure back, to some degree — her face getting back its color and her posture becoming more open again.
André had a similar question and was interested in Drake's answer.
"Because I don't know when, or if, I come back. The Guardian will leave for an essential mission, and I need to know that you know the essentials for humanity's survival."
"You're leaving us?" André could feel Eleri's pain. She grew up in a secret society doing Drake's bidding for all her life. Even for him, a world without the white-haired man was hard to imagine. How must she feel? Even more so after the reveals of the last hour or so.
"Yes, for a time, and so must you. The ship will leave the system soon; you must go now to your transport. I arranged everything you need to travel back to Earth. We will talk later via p-p to arrange the cover story of my absence."
"What about me?" Jane sat there like a lost puppy. Drake had given André and Eleri somewhat clear orders. But not her.
"You, Dr. Nesbitt? I thought that was obvious. You will be needed to head my BioLabs, as the specialist in xenobot technology and Hyphae biology. Everything else is a waste of your genius."
Before they could ask more questions, Drake opened the door to the hallway, and a matelot stood there, dataslates in hand. He greeted the trio.
"Ma'ams, sir, if you follow me?"
André knew they wouldn't learn more. While they followed the crewman to the hangar, he prepared a mental list of questions he would ask Drake at the next chance.
————
Drake sat down, pouring his next glass.
That went almost well.
A blue shimmer appeared in the air, the holoemitters spinning up.
Then a clearly female Shraphen formed. Her facial features were both wilder and more delicate than a modern Shraphen's.
"Why did you lie to them?"
Mother, as always, subtle like a steam hammer.
"Where did I lie?" He knew what she meant, of course, but all the time with humans had created habits he didn't want to lose.
"Where should I start?" The Shraphen figure began pacing in the cabin.
"What good would the truth do them? Why ruin their innocence? Let them figure it out themselves, over time."
Mother stood now directly in front of him. With more than two meters twenty in height, she looked down on him.
He had downloaded her only hours after Burrow began to burn. Her core code had taken almost a month to adapt to the ship's hardware.
"Why do you care? We're leaving, starting all over on the other side. It was your idea, after all."
"We're not abandoning them. The idea is to create a backup, not start all over."
"What's the difference? The travel time alone… Either they survive, or they fail."
Drake stared at his opposite — the other Guardian.
"Do you feel nothing for them? You guided them for eons."
"Of course I do. They are prepared as best as I can, as best as the simulations allowed, but we didn't account for the Hyphae showing up. Or the Old Ones, for that matter."
Drake couldn't argue with that.
"That's what the backup is for. Now let's start with new simulations."
"How are my other children doing, by the way?"
"Good. They are awakening all around. One was essential in defeating the Old Ones' Harvester."
"Good. They might be the key to victory."
Drake thought about it, and about the potential risks.
"Yes, they might."