The sheer number of them is hard to comprehend. They moved across the land as if some god had scribbled upon it from on high, leaving behind only dust where once there had been people. The attacks raced like a wildfire, a pestilence, the scale of the onslaught growing exponentially as the Wraiths found more and more prey for their slaughter.
I watched feeds from all across the world, places remote and secure, secret and isolated. None were safe, none were havens…
…in only an hour the killing was complete. Dunlen Alta is a planet of the dead, a planet with only the memories of the billions of people who so recently walked upon it. Suddenly, I'm the last of my kind. The distance I've travelled has protected me, but what, now, is the point of my voyage? There is no one to tell of the new worlds I discover. There is no one left to help or protect. I have survived, but I'm alone. I almost envy those on the planet and the quickness of their end.
I have no choice but to continue with my journey. Perhaps I, at least, can find a new home…
…suddenly here. How? How did they find me? How did they reach me? No ships have come near. I have sent no communications. I am alone in space, only my ghostly trail through metaspace connecting me to home, yet they suddenly throng around me, emerging from nowhere to encase my ship in their fury. I can hear them in my mind: a wordless calling, the keening cry of a hunter, voracious, furious. They raven for me. How? How is that…
The text ended abruptly. She scanned back over it. “Void Wraiths. Is that a phrase you've come across before?”
“Only in this one scrap. It must be the name they gave to the swarm weapon. I'm right, aren't I? This is the same as the attack Surtr showed us. This is the same technology.”
“Do you know who was speaking?”
“There was no name given, no identification or dating of any sort.”
“Whoever it was, they sounded terrified. And also, I'd say, baffled. They thought they were safe, and then suddenly they weren't.”
Ondo nodded in agreement. “Which makes all my precautions seem slightly less paranoid.”
“I have no record of a planet called Dunlen Alta.”
“I assume it ceased to exist a long time ago.”
“You said you had an idea for where we could go to strip down and test the Dragon.”
Ondo glanced aside, as if he could see through the bulkheads to the surrounding stars. “I do. Another renegade, in her own way. I said there were one or two scattered around. Inevitably, we keep to ourselves as it's hard to know who you can really trust.”
“Who is she?”
“I know her simply as Hessia Aperion, although that may not be her real name. She was another protégé of Aefrid Sen, although from my communications with her over the years, I gather she's grown somewhat disillusioned with uncovering the truth about Concordance. She can be … frosty. As far as I can tell, she spends her time collecting treasures simply for the pleasure of doing so. I suppose I can't blame her.”
“She has a Refuge like ours?”
“She must do, but I've no idea where it is, just as she has no idea where ours is. There's safety in ignorance. We have a system of communication whereby my nanodrones pass messages along to her nanodrones when they meet at certain pre-agreed rendezvous points, and, slowly, we can have a conversation.”
“You haven't mentioned her before.”
“Honestly, I'd forgotten all about her. We haven't been in touch for at least five years, and she may well be dead. But, if she isn't, she may know of a safe world or moon we can use to overhaul the Dragon. Somewhere with the facilities we'll need but without any intrusive Concordance oversight.”
Selene thought about that. “Any safe havens we know about can't be trusted, because if the Dragon has been compromised, Concordance will know them, too.”
“Exactly so.”
“And if this Hessia Aperion is dead?”
“There are one or two other contacts we could try. After that, we'll have to take our chances on a world we do know about. Or, at some point, return to the Refuge and hope.”
“How can we contact her?”
“I've already sent messages out onto the network. We had an agreed emergency code that might prompt her to respond.”
“If she does, I'll take the Dragon in while you stay on Surtr's ship,” said Selene. “You need to get over your injuries. You and Eb. We still don't know what that blast did to your brain. There's inflammation there.”
“There's a tiny amount of inflammation there, and we'll both need to get involved in the work on the Dragon.”
She shook her head. “You're not needed, Ondo. Surtr can help me. I don't fully understand all the technology it has at its disposal, but its abilities are miraculous. The ship's systems have never been at such an operational peak.”
“Surtr…” said Ondo. His eyes defocussed as he stared at something that only he could see. “…yes, that could be interesting. Very interesting.”
“What? You're wandering off again. I can't read your mind, Ondo.”
“Sorry, yes, of course. It's just, Hessia always had a special fascination with galactic legends. She loved to collect ancient artefacts. Not to study, but just to admire, because they fired her imagination not because of the evidence they could reveal. And an Aetheral, now: such a being would be absolutely sure to intrigue her.”
“She'll know about them?”
“Oh, she will. She spent a lot of time pursuing the old myths. I'm afraid I used to be very critical of her at times. I may even have suggested that she was wasting her life.”
“Perhaps it is best I go without you.”
“I'm sure I wasn't that rude,” said Ondo, looking affronted.
“Are you? Do you really think she hasn't responded all this time because she's
