Chapter 46: The North

The exosuit of the Dark Unit opened with the sighs of a giant. Setting the foot of her Armor on the ground, the Wau took inventory of her duties: establish a resistance on Lennox, found a Xeno alliance with Ada, convince the Brotherhood of the Two Worlds of a collaboration, visit a Dark Galaxy ... but before all that ... a briefing with the Wau Council.

My Brothers are strangely silent in the face of events.

The Wau passed through the Entangled Gate, arriving into the silence of the Sanctum. A silence that was like noise in negative, as if activity were even lower than usual. She passed through the main gate, sat in the communications room, and summoned the Council for the second time.

Two minutes, and the first screen lit up. Five minutes, and they were all there. Always that astonishing responsiveness. At least, the Aleph hadn’t taken them.

- “Are you all present, my Brothers?” asked Cassandre from within the Armor. - “Yes,” one of them replied, without hesitation. - “Are you aware of the situation of the HS regarding the arrival of the Aleph?”

A longer silence than usual. One screen froze in the center, that old and aged voice, feminine, declared:

- “Yes.” - “We are used to working each on our own,” said Cassandre. “But in this exceptional situation, I thought it might be useful to modify the rules. I propose that we collaborate to contain the Aleph.”

Another silence. Then a response:

- “Certain procedures cannot be changed,” said her interlocutor. “Moreover, I believe everyone here thinks you can handle the situation yourself. If you think it needs to be handled.”

- “Let me choose my words,” said Cassandre, struggling with emotions she thought she had forgotten. “A sentient being, perhaps a human, perhaps a Xeno, has taken absolute control of the HS and possesses powers greater than those of a Transient. You are proposing that I oppose him. If I think it’s necessary? But what about you - what are you doing?”

- “We each set our own missions and objectives,” declared a younger voice in the background.

- “Is there any mission more urgent than this one? I don’t understand my position. Nor yours.”

- “You are free, as we are, to set your objectives. But you don’t need to tell us yours, and we don’t need to tell you ours, that’s all.”

- “But are we at least collaborating together?”

- “Yes. In particular, you have the support of us all.”

Cassandre lowered her head, then rose, with a certain fury.

- “Our mission is the common good, isn’t it? This is the greatest crisis humanity has ever known! Absolute power in a single man, with a criminal record of the highest order!”

- “It’s far from the greatest crisis the Wau Order has ever dealt with,” said the aged voice. “The Order was there during the Black Death, which wiped out a third of humanity.”

- “During the Cold War of the 20th century,” said another, more roughly.

- “During the first AI rebellion of 2100,” the younger voice continued. “And during the rise of the death cults of 2199, which led to a 20% population decline.”