Anarchy's Edge: Andlios, #4

By Dave Walsh

Deep in the heart of the galaxy, an ancient, banished force lays in wait.

 

Life has transformed for Trella. No longer bound to the old ways of her people, she seeks her place in the galaxy, only to find as her father seizes power in Andlios he may be a puppet for figures from his own past. With the help of her old friends, she must venture out further into the galaxy than she ever has before, hoping to stop the Banished before it's too late.

 

There's just one problem: the Khonsu revolution finds itself besieged by the Earth Ministry. 

 

After Khonsu Station and the gate went dark, Katrijn and Jace ventured through once more, in search of Loren and their friends. What they weren't expecting was their fragile intra-galaxy alliance hanging on by a thread as the Earth Ministry cut off Khonsu Station, looking to reclaim the station and quash the uprising before it could spread through the rest of the galaxy.

 

Every revolution faces its past, but is that past too powerful to stop?

• Language: English
• Publisher: DW
• Release date: Mar 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393738091

Dave Walsh

Dave Walsh was once the world's foremost kickboxing journalist, if that makes any sense. He's still trying to figure that one out.The thing is, he always loved writing and fiction was always his first love. He wrote 'Godslayer' in hopes of leaving the world of combat sports behind, which, as you can guess, did not exactly work. That's when a lifelong love of science fiction led him down a different path.Now he writes science fiction novels about far-off worlds, weird technology and the same damned problems that humanity has always had, just with a different setting.He does all of this while living in the high desert of Albuquerque and raising twin boys with his wife. He's still not sure which is harder: watching friends get knocked out or raising boys.Trystero Series-Broken Ascension-Fractured Sentinel-Shattered LineageThe Andlios Series-Cydonia Rising-Ganymede's Gate-Monolith's End

Book preview

1

Trella

Ripples fractured out from the stone Trella had tossed into the river; it skipped twice before disappearing into the murky water. While the results weren’t completely in yet, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind as to the outcome of the election: Trallex would sit at the head of the Andlios Republic as its first duly elected president. After cycles of oppression, war, and unrest, Trallex’s time as an observer and advisor from the sidelines had paid off and Trella couldn’t muster up anything but apathy for her father’s succession.

Her father’s rise to prominence was his sole focus for the entirety of her existence, always conducted from the shadows in his attempt to not appear overly ambitious or transparent. Those within his limited circle knew his ambitions to seize control. Never did they expect it to be as a duly elected president of an actual, functioning republic, never mind the Andlios Republic. Andlios had been a republic in name only since Jonah Freeman established it, the title merely ornamental and aspirational; a republic was what he wanted, yet it wasn’t what he worked toward, ever. Instead, he left the heavy lifting to his eldest, his daughter Katrijn.

The pains of the previous cycle or so weighed on her heavily, sitting in the same spot overlooking the riverbank where she had built Alva’s pyre and sent her off to Valhalla. The statue of Alva stood in the place where the pyre had consumed her, a passion project of Trella’s that her father helped spearhead, albeit with a plaque underneath warning about the allure of tyranny and the lessons of her rule. His actions in the public eye since Alva’s death and the announcement of elections were cold, calculated, and dripping with intent. If the people needed to elect a leader, it had to be him. He left no other options. The chime of an incoming call disturbed her reminiscing, and Trella blindly accepted the call without checking who it was from.

Yeah? she asked.

Hey, Trell, the familiar voice of Anissa reverberated through her helmet. Looks like your dad did it, huh?

Don’t call him that, she snapped.

Oh, right…

Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. You know how he is about that.

You’re technically the first child now, though.

I suppose so.

He did campaign openly about you being his child, Anissa added. So that’s your role.

That’s if he wins.

C’mon, Trell, Anissa said. I’m at the edge of the republic by the gate, and even I’ve been following the election. You’re right there, in Krigar, don’t pretend like you aren’t knee deep in it.

I’m trying not to.

You know, you’re always welcome here.

Yeah… Trella trailed off, staring up at the carved approximation of Alva. I’m not sure where I belong right now. I’ve been a lot of things for a lot of people, I’m not sure what I’d be if I joined you all out there.

With friends, Anissa said. Not sitting by that blasted statue all the time and wondering if you could’ve saved her somehow. You and I, we’ve both lost somebody who meant a lot to us, someone complicated and who could kinda suck sometimes, but we loved them anyway. Because they did something no one else would for us, saw something others didn’t, enough for us to hold on. Sure, Johnny wasn’t the empress of a galactic empire or anything, but still…I miss him just the same and wonder if I could’ve done something different or what life would be like if he was still here.

I know, it’s just…

Trell, you’ve gotta keep on living. Your father winning an election is whatever. Who cares, right? Life won’t change for just about everyone. You aren’t bound to anyone and sitting there rotting won’t bring her back and won’t change anything. Please, come here, help us build something special out here.

And be at odds with Trallex and the Republic again? she asked.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

You know how Trallex views Katrijn and the Gate Autonomous Zone.

Yeah, so? He’s not gonna attack us or anything, at least not yet. He agreed that if he’s elected, he leaves us alone as long as we don’t interfere with Andlios or their use of the gate…not that anyone uses it outside of us or Khonsu, anyway.

I don’t really know, Trella said.

What if you just come and visit for a while? You know, clear your head?

I’ll think about it, Trella said.

Okay, no pressure or anything, I just think it’s time you get out of there. Away from those bad memories. Take some time for yourself. You gotta trust me, Trell. These wounds aren’t gonna heal themselves. Having friends around can only help.

I get it, like I said, I’ll think about it.

Alright, I get it. Just know that I’m here even if you don’t come visit, but just need to talk. Okay?

I appreciate it, Anissa. Really.

Okay, good.

After the line went dead, Trella let out a deep sigh. The blade she had thrust into Alva was still there, attached to her gauntlet, almost like it was taunting her. The helmet she had vowed to remove and never put back on after Alva’s death was firmly back in place. Change wasn’t easy, especially when the galaxy felt so cold and unforgiving. It wasn’t the fault of Katrijn or Jace for Alva’s death. Neither of them had dealt the killing blow, nor had they been there and watched while she fell deeper and deeper into her own brand of madness. And yet, change was inevitable, it seemed. Her room at the palace would most likely remain her own when Trallex took up residence there, just like he’d imagined for as long as she could remember.

Maybe it was time to leave Andlios, perhaps for good. A new start.

2

Jace

Katrijn paced around their quarters, arms folded and a dour expression across her face. Her hair was neatly pulled back into a high ponytail, which bobbed around behind her every time she turned on her heel in the small room. Whenever she got into one of these moods, all Jace felt he could do was weather the storm, although it was a welcome change from his own existential digging.

Look, Kat, he said, breaking the tense silence. This is exactly what we knew would happen.

What? she said, stopping in her tracks like he’d just awoken her from a dream. Oh, you mean Trallex?

Yeah.

I’m not thinking about Trallex. Who cares about Trallex?

A lot of people do, he reminded her. Right now, he’s without a doubt the president-elect of the Andlios Republic. That’s not a small detail.

It’s something outside of our control, she said.

Yeah, but this is like…this is what your father wanted, right?

He wanted Trallex in charge?

No, he wanted someone—anyone—democratically elected as the leader of Andlios. You did this, Kat. You did, not anyone else.

Oh bullshit. We did it together. You know that as well as I do.

So? Let’s take a minute and relax. Sure, Trallex isn’t what any of us had in mind for this…but this is a step in the right direction.

I’m not sure who else it could have been.

Well, we all thought it was going to be you…

Oh bullshit, she said. We all know I didn’t want that. That’s what my father wanted.

So…wanna talk about it?

Not really, no.

Then what’s bothering you, really?

We haven’t heard from Khonsu in two weeks now. Two weeks.

It’s Angel, you know how things are there. Chances are one of Loren’s training runs ended with a trainee smashing a ship into a communications relay. Again.

You and I both know it doesn’t take two weeks to fix a comm relay, Jace. I’m worried about what’s going on over there. Can’t you like…sense things?

I can sense a lot of things, yeah, he said. But we talked about this, didn’t we? The monoliths, the Celestial Temple, and everything else with this is too dangerous to mess around with.

And yet the CyNet still—

Yeah, the CyNet still uses it. They’ve always used it, though. Something happened after that last time for me. It’s not as strong anymore, like it’s closed off. If I could get it back I would, but we agreed that maybe it’s for the best.

I just wish I knew what was going on with Khonsu is all. What kind of alliance is this if we haven’t had a single communication from the other side of the gate in weeks?

Okay, so why don’t we just go through the gate and see what’s happening? It beats sitting around here and watching you stress about this election and—

I’m not stressed about the election! she shouted. Gods. Enough about the election. I told you I didn’t want to rule the damned galaxy and I don’t. Otherwise I would have just run.

You would’ve won, Jace said.

So what? I’d have been the continuation of a broken dynasty. Some democratic election that would be.

Technically you were the empress, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Yeah, so? I abdicated and called for a general election. I did exactly what my father wanted me to do.

Kat, it’s me, you don’t have to pretend it wasn’t easy. You did what your father didn’t have the strength to do when he could have. He couldn’t give up that power, but you did. That’s…not something most people could do. I’ve sat here and watched you toil over it, but we both know you made the right call, Kat. Plus, we have the GAZ now.

It’s not about Andlios, Jace. It’s about Angel, Loren, and Khonsu—maybe you’re right and we should go over there.

Okay, let’s do it, it’ll at least be nice to get our minds off of everything here.

Whatever, Katrijn said, stomping out of the room.

After all they’d been through, both of them knew her relinquishing her power was the only way forward, but it didn’t make it any easier for her to do. In the months following her abdication, they’d argued about it countless times, Jace firmly of the mind that if she didn’t talk about it, she’d never confront those complicated emotions. Both her father and brother died for that power, and Katrijn nearly did in her quest to attain the role of empress to fulfill her father’s dying wish of establishing elected officials. Her father was still without real flaw in her eyes, no matter how much Jace tried to explain that power corrupted him enough to where he could’ve given up his power and prevented a lot of pain for everyone. She was right, it wasn’t fair, none of it was fair, but it was still a lot to ask of your child. They had the autonomous zone now, which was more stable than ever before and growing steadily as more people arrived to live, work, and be away from the power structures that governed Andlios.

They’d carved out their own little place in the galaxy, free from anyone else’s rules or ideals. The Old Man was more than capable of running such a place, with Jack, Hideo, and Kara filling in the gaps for him. Anissa helped oversee the construction jobs, her absorbing that kind of project management from living on Khonsu for most of her life as the daughter of the foreman through osmosis. Jace was the one who didn’t really fit in anywhere. He was just Katrijn’s partner and the guy who could talk to godlike squids and channel some sort of ancient power. He’d been the best pilot at one time, but Rorian had quickly taken that mantle from him and surpassed his skills with shocking ease.

Since their return from Andlios and the dethroning of Alva, they’d been cooped up around the Kurdos system, building up their autonomous zone and their fleet. While it was shaping up to be their own little utopia, a cultural melting pot of all the disparate peoples of Andlios and even a few from the Sol System and refugees from the Earth Ministry that had overwhelmed Khonsu’s resources, stretching Angel thin, Katrijn had been stewing in her own doubts and self-loathing the entire time. Jace, of course, was grappling with his tenuous connection to the monolith network and the haunting reminder of the temple…

Going to see Loren and the rest could be exactly what they needed. Plus, joking about his trainees knocking out another comm array would be fun, more so in person after months of only playing comm tag.

Rorian’s wry smile welcomed them onto the Pequod after perhaps the longest period since acquiring the ship where Jace hadn’t been on board what was once his home. The old books and photo of his first wife were still present, although they were joined by newer photos of what had become their family, along with other books and presents they’d acquired along the way. Change didn’t have to be bad.

You sure you don’t want to take the sticks? Rorian asked him.

Nah, you’re a better pilot than I ever was and we both know it.

It’s your ship, though, he reminded him. I’ve got my own ship now, which we could be taking through the gate.

This feels like a Pequod trip, doesn’t it? Jace asked. This old hunk of junk has been through a lot, I can’t just leave her behind, especially on what’s a mission of pure embarrassment for Loren and his recruits.

What if things get heavy? Rorian asked.

They won’t.

You don’t know that, I mean…unless you’re getting signals from weird aliens again.

Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, kid, he said. Just get us fired up and ready to pass through the gate. Remember to be careful, we don’t have any contact on the other side.

Pft, like we ever needed that before.

It’s a brave new galaxy now, he said. We’re all in this together. Just be careful is all. This is my ship after all.

Oh, lay off of him, Jace, Katrijn said, joining them in the carpeted cockpit. Or fly it yourself.

I’m more than happy to sit shotgun for Rorian, he said.

Then let him be, I just want to get over there and shake this feeling I have.

It’ll be fine, you watch.

With a lurch the Pequod groaned to life, blasting off from the dusty surface of Kurdos with a relatively frictionless take off through the thin atmosphere. It was difficult not to notice all they’d been able to build in the prior months, their little autonomous zone moving from a few scattered ships and a lone shipyard to a thriving community that spanned a much larger region. Construction was underway on a more permanent settlement by the way of a station, which took up the bulk of Anissa’s time overseeing. Kurdos was fine, but counteracting the at-times volatile temperatures and dust storms constantly was taking its toll on them. A station would at least be easier to expand and keep together.

The gate had been inactive for at least two months—no one had traversed through it unless absolutely necessary. On their approach Jace couldn’t help but feel anxious, like maybe his lack of connection with the Shoggoth and the monolith network had sealed the gates off and everything was permanent. Rorian flicked the switch on the gate key, the familiar green glow sending a shiver down Jace’s spine that coursed through his body all the way up to his brain, like taking a hit of spice. Voices cried out to him, in no strict order, like the flood gates had spilled open after months of silence.

A green glow overtook the gate, the ship punching through while Jace did his best to keep himself composed. Katrijn reached from the seat behind him and massaged his shoulder, sensing something was wrong but not understanding the depths of his connection to the monoliths and the Shoggoth. In a blink they’d blasted through the gate, surrounded in the warm green glow for the briefest of moments before being spat out in orbit around Ganymede.

What the…? Rorian muttered.

What’s wrong? Katrijn asked, pulling herself up from her seat to survey the scene.

That’s a lot more than a comm outage, Jace said. Before them lay twisted wreckage, akin to the first time they had blasted through the gate to get back home. Without conferring, they all knew there was something very wrong.

I’m scanning the surface, Rorian said in a panic. I’m scanning it, but…

But what? she asked.

I’m not detecting any life on Ganymede.

You’re kidding me, Jace said, the realization that Rorian’s father had still been living there. When’s the last time you talked to your dad?

Before the comms went dead, he said.

Do you think he was down there? Did he have anything planned? Some sort of travel?

I…don’t know, Rorian said. I…

Get us down there, Katrijn said. Jace, take the helm. Rorian, strap in back here, okay?

Yeah, he replied, complying with her instructions while he moved through the motions, clearly frazzled.

Head back to the farm? Jace asked Katrijn, who had her hand clutched tightly around Rorian’s. She returned a subtle nod while Jace fastened himself in, locating the landing pad by the farm and bringing them in. Maybe we can get his comms up and running. I bet he wasn’t there, Rorian. I bet he got away.

Yeah…

Don’t worry, Katrijn said. Your father is a crafty guy. I’m sorry he got caught up in this.

They all knew his father had done his best to remain neutral through everything, but he lived deep into autonomous space by the gate, a relic of the Ministry’s attempt at terraforming Ganymede for their own use, to establish a forward base closer to the gate and solidify their control. Navigating through the twisted steel and rock, Jace couldn’t shake the feeling that nothing good awaited them on this side of the gate.

3

Loren

Angel had begun unraveling before Loren’s eyes ever since the blockade started. The Ministry had over overtaken the comms, broadcasting their own brand of propaganda including the gate, and any communication between the two was dead.

Communications were down, but what the Ministry didn’t know about the gate and the monoliths could fill entire volumes, at least compared to Jace. Jace had become the de facto expert on all things monolith and the beings the Old Man had labeled the precursors. As much as Loren was itching to get back home, it was a suicide mission to blast through the blockade to see if the keys still worked, or if he was stranded across the galaxy. Patience was a virtue, and it wasn’t one that Angel had much of anymore.

How many today? Angel asked Kath. Her jovial smile that Loren had gotten to know her from had long since turned sour, leaving a hardened expression across her sharp features and stringy blonde hair tucked into an orderly bun atop her head. Angel looked exactly like a man pushed to his limits would be, haggard and battle worn, a fresh scar across his cheek, cutting into his ever-growing beard.

You sure you want to know? she asked.

That many? he sighed.

Only twenty from the station today, twelve of them children. Four had to be smuggled out through the White Russian, too. As much as it pains us, it’s also less of a burden because—

That’s twenty people who’ve given up on our vision, taken the Ministry up on their offer of clemency and leaves us with twelve less of our future, Kath.

It’s also twenty fewer mouths to feed. Without a shipment of supplies we’re down to very limited fresh foods and mostly rations, which…

…Which aren’t great, Angel acknowledged. Loren, please tell me you have something better to tell me.

"You and I both know that isn’t true. I’m no good to you if I can’t get off-station. The