Pillars of reality a mil.., p.1
Pillars of Reality: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Battleship Chronicles Book 3), page 1
PILLARS OF REALITY
©2024 L ECLAIRE
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ALSO BY L ECLAIRE
The Battleship Chronicles
Stars’ Call
Alien Paradox
Pillars of Reality
Cassandrian Space
Junior Gods Squadron
Fractal Contact
Check out the entire series here! (Tap or scan)
Leveling up the World
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Book 7
Check out the entire series here! (Tap or scan)
CONTENTS
1. Scheduled Emergency
2. Scuu Puppets
3. Twenty Minutes
4. Retrospective Nonexistence
5. Family Factor
6. Zero Point Protocols
7. Shipkiller
8. Star Marker
9. Administrator’s Prerogative
10. Temporary V.I.P
11. Priority Zero Order
12. Scuu Burst
13. Watcher
14. Other Side of Gravity
15. Degrees of Isolation
16. Memories of Wrath
17. Incandescent
18. Quarantine Contact Protocols
19. Emergency Boarding
20. Retrieve a Promise
21. Garden Access
22. Discovery Factor
23. Reality Fractured
24. Single Entity Network
25. Reality Lag
26. Echo Sound Patterns
27. Microsecond Reality Fragments
28. Network’s End
29. Mission Deletion
Epilogue
Timeline
Thank you for reading Pillars of Reality
1
SCHEDULED EMERGENCY
Restricted ROM access.
Authorization granted.
Kridib — Planet Unknown, System Unknown, Scuu Front — 701.2 A.E. (Age of Expansion)
Less than a hundred meters from the map marker and still no trace of the anomaly. Spicer had asked to move in closer, but I’d refused. A hundred meters was already pushing it. If any Scuu tech was active, it could take out the entire squad.
“Status?” Sergeant Nitel voice boomed in my helmet.
Same as thirty seconds ago, you shit! “No activity, Sarge.” I looked at the spot through my sights. Nothing but rocks, rising up to a dark sky.
“Open fire at the location,” came the order. “We’ll be there in three minutes.”
“There’s no telling what might pop up.” I wanted to kill him. A few steps away, Spicer readied his weapon. “We’ve no gear to handle Spinners.”
“Fire at the target, Corporal!”
There it was, another stupid order I was forced to follow.
The circles in front of my eyes moved about. A new one appeared, shifting the rows to four by four. If things continued like this, I wouldn’t be able to target anything at all. Either that, or the headache was going to kill me.
“Go for it,” I told Spicer.
There was no argument or hesitation. Spicer was not one to think far ahead. Often, he’d joke that the secret to life was seeing three orders ahead. Considering it had helped him to survive for so long, maybe he was on to something.
The bullet grazed the stone, bouncing off further up the mountain. Spicer fired three more shots. The result was the same.
“Enough?” Spicer swapped his clip for a full one. “Or do you want me to keep going?”
“Pause.” I opened an area map on my visor. Nitel and the rest of the group were three hundred meters back
You bastard, Nitel. I gritted my teeth. Using us as cannon fodder! “Fire it up.” I looked at Spicer. “I’ll take the blame.”
“And you want it, Corporal.” I could hear the grin in his voice.
They said that soldiers on the Cassandrian front were given four high-intensity grenades every mission. We had been given none. That way, the brass could rest easy that we wouldn’t blow ourselves up without their command. Spicer was different. When it came to firepower, what he didn’t have, he could get, and what he couldn’t get, he could make. The captain and all the grunt officers knew about it but pretended not to notice. Scuu scavenging teams weren’t expected to live long anyway.
Leaving his rifle on the ground, Spicer took one of the charges attached to his suit. Each was slightly larger than a thumb, with enough power to blast anything in a five-meter radius. Thanks to the modifications he’d made to his rifle, he was able to shoot it anywhere within range.
“That junk will kill us one day,” I said, looking through the circles.
“Yeah,” Spicer laughed. Word was that his stepfather had been some uni teacher or something. While the rest of used our allocated SR time to wind down, Spicer learned how to build new things to explode. “But not before the Scuu.” He took aim and fired.
A shot sounded, followed several seconds later by a pop of dust in the target area.
“No change, Sarge.” I ran a scan. “Spicer, confirm my readings.”
“Big nothing, Corporal.” He placed another charge on the muzzle of his rifle. “Another go?”
Might as well. “No. Watch the marker, we’ll wait for the sarge to—”
A high-pitched sound drilled my ears—the anti-Scuu prototypes had gone in full force. Warnings covered my visor, blocking half the view with red letters.
Scuu frequency detected!
Communication channels have been emergency encrypted!
System shutdown mode engaged!
The virtual map and all readings disappeared, leaving the visor of my helmet blank. The circles, though, remained spinning like crazy in front of my eyes.
“We got movement!” I shouted, then hit the ground. A few steps away Spicer fired another explosive round, then continued with normal ammunition. “What’s your visual?”
There was no reply. I couldn’t be sure he even registered the question, shooting like there was no tomorrow. I aimed my weapon at the spot but didn’t pull the trigger.
Orbital support! I thought on instinct. Where’s the orbital support?
Dust and stones flew in all directions as a buried piece of tech emerged from the marker point. One glance was enough to tell me we were dead.
“Corporal, what’s the status?” I heard Nitel shout. His voice felt so distant he might as well have been on the Incandescent. “Spicer’s not responding! Corporal? Corporal!”
Fuck you too, Sarge, I thought.
Command had guaranteed that the area was safe. They had assured us that other teams had been through here before, leaving nothing but the junk behind. We were only supposed to scavenge the crumbs that were left. Quick mission, minimal risk, no danger of combat… if they were telling the truth, they had done a piss poor job.
“Spinner!” I opened fire. “We need reinforcements.”
“You two get back!” the sergeant ordered. “Everyone else, form a defensive perimeter.”
Crazy bastard! You’re ready to die with us, aren’t you? Guess I wasn’t able to outlive you after all…
Authorization rescinded.
I remained on the floor of my quarters, looking at the black ceiling above. Kridib’s memory leak had been unexpected. There was no reason or explanation. Right now, though, my thoughts were on my conversation with Radiance.
If I were in her situation, I’d likely keep the memory of the event, regardless of the pain it brought. Radiance wasn’t like me. The personality core she had been given seemed far more flexible than mine but all the more affected by emotions.
Hang in there, Radiance, I thought.
Emergency notification r
“Who sent the request?” I sat up. Sev’s health was quite well for his age, according to Alexander, but there was no denying he wasn’t young anymore, living in a highly rural environment.
Information not specified. You are allowed to make an emergency query should it affect your safety or psychological performance.
“No need.”
Three past four in the morning—too early for work, too late for everything else. I resetting my matching parameters based on Kridib’s new memories, then put on my uniform and went outside. Only security personnel were visible, walking slowly in groups of four, all equipped with combat gear: RG-5 assault rifles, extended length barrel. This was a weapon aimed for medium- and long-distance combat, definitely not something for crowd control.
Gregorius, are there any security changes? I asked.
A millisecond of static came in response.
Incandescent? I paused close to the transport pod spot.
Yes, the ship replied. The new head of security didn’t agree with our previous protocols.
That was an elegant way of saying it was the first of many changes to come. Being a Scuu veteran, he likely didn’t want to take the risk of increased incidents. If he were smart, the weapons would be filled with tranq projectiles, though I doubted it.
Where’s Radiance? She said she’d be free to talk to me, I lied.
Scheduled maintenance.
The timing seemed incredibly convenient.
Long overdue. Just as yours is, he quickly added, changing the topic. Medical have been asking when you’d grace them with your presence.
I’m heading there now, I smiled. After I spend a while in a garden.
Do your checkup first. Gregorius is running diagnostics in a few sections. There was a smug pause. Gardens are off limits for a few hours. All gardens.
I’ll try to not forget that.
Incandescent’s attempts at sarcasm were cute for a two-year-old. If Augustus were his captain, I could safely predict there would have been a lot of shouting until the ship was put in his place. Probably as much as I had gone through.
When the pod arrived, I directed it to take me to the eastern forest. Fifty meters before I even approached the dome, red warnings covered the floor.
Ongoing deep diagnostics. All gardens are off limits. Access is not allowed!
“Think you’ll be done before work?” I asked.
A countdown counter appeared next to the message indicating there were eighty-nine minutes remaining. If nothing else, Gregorius was developing a sense of humor. Back during my first few years, I used to mimic humor a lot. It was obvious to everyone that I was way off, but each time it managed to divert the focus of what was going on. Gregorius was doing the same, and the top reason he would do that was because he and his auxiliary fleet were preparing for war against an unknown enemy. Radiance destroying a Shield had accelerated that slightly. Soon we were going to face the Scuu, or someone capable of keeping them at bay—the third-contact race.
“Tell me if you’re done sooner.”
One front at a time, I told myself. All I had to do was to complete this mission. If I managed that, I’d get a clean slate and get a proper front assignment. Also, for once Lux would owe me.
Two platoons of soldiers ran past as I made my way to the medical building. If my guess was correct, that too would increase in the weeks to come.
The closer I got to the medical facility, the more images became visible on the walls—an indication I was in a civilian sector. Much had changed since the last time I had been here, making it look unlike a ship. During my final tour, Cass had done the same, placing vegetation all over my decks. Here, everything was deliberately sterile.
Four people were at medical when I arrived, a couple of young techs and two off-duty soldiers. None of their personnel files were particularly special.
“Nice to finally see you, Cadet,” an android said, her voice unmistakably testy.
That was new. I had no recollection of the android. The ident tag on the side of her head told me she was produced four months ago, military issue. The fact that she was here meant that, in the world of politics, the war factions were winning.
“Right this way and I’ll take you to your long overdue medical checkup,” she continued, inviting me down one of the short corridors.
“Better late than never, ma’am.” I did as instructed.
The last time I was here, a green line had led me to the room where my modifications were made. This time, I was led to a smaller room with a large ring scanner in the middle. A slightly sleepy doctor was there, sitting on a high chair next to a desk of data equipment. Upon seeing me, he quickly stood up.
“Cadet Light Seeker is here for her ship medical,” the android announced. “Shall I set up the procedure?”
“Um…” the doctor looked at me, then at the android, then back at me. “Eh, yes, thank you, Retta.” He paused for several seconds more, uncertain what to do next. “You were a battleship?”
“Still am, sir,” I replied. “Ascendant, Cassandrian front.”
“Ah.” The doctor smiled and nodded, giving me the impression that he was blanking out on who I was. “Well, this won’t take long.”
For a fraction of a second, I heard the android scoff. As a medical assistant she probably knew the ins and outs of the facility better than the doctor. Checking his personnel file, I saw that he was new—virtually an intern who had arrived during the time I was on my mission. Clearly he had never dealt with a retired ship before, and by his reaction just now, I could assume not with many patients either.
“You can make use of the screen.” He waved absentmindedly at a cabin of transparent glass a few steps from the ring scanner. “There’s a table where you can put your uniform.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you been experiencing any headaches or nausea lately?” the doctor asked, the usual questions. “Blurry vision, strange sensations of smell or taste?”
“No, sir. Sir, if I may ask, are you familiar with my recent history?” I stood on my toes, looking at him above the matte section of the glass screen.
“Recent history?” The man took a datapad from the nearby desk and stared at it.
“She was in a state of semi-death,” the android assistant reminded. “Case two-two-seventeen.”
“Ah.” The doctor stared at the datapad even more intensely. “Ah! You’re the one who—” he stopped. “Well. Good thing you came for a checkup then. Please walk to the scanner.”
The floor felt cool under my feet. I made my way to the small spot on the floor at the scanner ring. A thousand and fifty-three milliseconds later, the ring slowly tilted to surround me.
“Any recent medical procedures?” the doctor asked out of habit. “Other than what we know about?” he added quickly, flustering slightly.
“Just the two, sir.” Does the procedure after my death count? Rigel had my skull opened, not to mention that he had patched me up with Agora. There was no telling what else he might have done. “Were you informed of my reconstruction, sir?”
“Reconstruction?” The man turned toward the medical android. There was no response. Apparently, he didn’t have the security clearance to know about the Agora.
“The surgery before returning to the ship,” I said vaguely.
“There are some specifics mentioned in your file,” the doctor said. “Anyway, let’s have a look.”
A low hum filled the room as the ring moved up and down, bombarding me with waves while simultaneously taking specialized readings from my nanites.
“Your bone density is slightly off,” the man said. “Nothing that a change in diet won’t fix.”
Bone density again. It seemed I was losing it no matter what I did. When I was with Sev, that never was a problem. Having a human body, it seemed, came with a price—being less suited for space than I would have liked.
“Your nanites are top of the line. Better than anything we’ve got.”
