In the Light of a Black Sun
Situated on the fringes of the Milky Way, the black hole was designated K37 Gem 5. Five centuries before the downfall of the Commonwealth, it had been the host of a research station representing the Torchwood Institute Or, more specifically, a planet in orbit of the black hole. Something that shouldn't be possible under the laws of physics, and yet, had been. A planet that was said to be home to a power source that could power an empire.
Or at least it had according to the archives they'd found on Gallifrey. But, looking at the black hole now from the bridge of the Andromeda Ascendant, Trance could see what all the other crew of the ship could. A black hole. No planet. No research station.
"Well, Mister Harper?" Dylan asked. "Where's my planet?"
Trance gave her friend a sympathetic look. One that he wouldn't be able to see, as he typed on a data pad as if his life depended on it. Which, given the look Dylan was giving him, maybe it did.
"Don't get it boss," Harper said, as he continued to type. "Archives said that the planet would be right here."
"Well, it isn't Harper," Bekka said, smirking. "Maybe that'll teach you better than to jack into a Time Lord matrix."
"Well excuse me princess, maybe you'd like to go through a data system built by autistic vedrans next time. I mean, that was the most advanced network I'd ever seen." He glanced at the image of the ship's AI. "Present company excluded of course."
Andromeda didn't say anything. Nor her avatar, who was manning her station in silence. Which was more than Tyr was doing, leaning against the far corner, his arms folded, his bone blades sharp and highly visible.
"Maybe the archives were wrong," Trance said. "Or the data corrupted. After all, Gallifrey was destroyed nearly three centuries ago, and was cataloguing a planet that existed a thousand years before that. The vedrans were master cartographers, but their order of Time Lords were a bit...esoteric."
"See? The purple babe agrees with me," Harper said.
"Babe?" Bekka murmured.
"Ah, present company again not excluded." He looked at Rommie. "You neither sweet cheeks."
It might have been Trance's imagination, but Rommie's core temperature appeared to shoot up a few degrees.
"So," Dylan said, walking towards the viewscreen. "The matrix is out of date, or wrong. Which makes everything that Mister Harper downloaded from the Gallifreyan matrix suspect." He chuckled. "Just can't win."
"The vedrans were impotent," Tyr murmured. "You cannot expect all of their creations to last in perpetuity."
"Perhaps." Dylan slowly looked at Tyr. "Of course, war doesn't make the preservation of history easy, does it?"
"How would I know, Captain Hunt? Unlike you, I do not make history."
It was so quiet on the bridge, you could hear atoms smashing against each other. Trance knew that Dylan would never be able to forgive the Nietzscheans for what they had done three centuries ago - for their destruction of the Commonwealth and allowing the coming of the Long Night. Similarly, Tyr would never be at peace as to how he had stood aside at Witchhead. When the ship had been dragged back in time for the final battle of the Nietzschean Uprising, removing any chance of his people's victory over the empire they had come to despise. Both men could work together. In a way, both complemented each other. But there was always that possibility that they would kill each other.
In some possible futures, that happened. She'd seen it.
"So what now captain?" Bekka asked. "I mean, not that you're a captain. Well, not my captain at least."
Dylan scoffed. "So eager to duck and run Bekka?"
"Hey, Harper promises me a planet, you promise me hot showers. So far, only getting half of that deal. And the showers aren't too hot these days."
"I am working on that," said the ship's AI.
Dylan sighed, and headed back for the pilot's chair. "We can go through what Mister Harper retrieved later. In the meantime, I've seen enough black holes for a lifetime, so-"
"Wait!"
Dylan stopped talking. Dylan stopped walking. Dylan, and everyone else, started gawking. Harper most of all, but Harper did that to most females. Trance included. She who had just spoken.
"I mean..." She rubbed her hands together, her tail swishing from side to side. "Can't we stay a bit? I mean, it's not often we get to see a black hole."
"We've seen one twice," Harper said. "Black holes are all the same - they're black, and big, and holey."
"Holy?" Bekka asked.
"No, holey. Look it up. It's a word."
"It isn't, actually," Rommie said.
"What can I say Rom-doll, language evolves."
The android smirked. "As opposed to some humans who-"
"Enough," Dylan said. He walked over to Trance. "You want to stay."
She gave him a look that she hoped was cute. "Only a day or so."
"I see. Any particular reason?"
"...that it's holey?"
"See? It's totally a word!" Harper exclaimed. "The purple alien agrees with me."
"An alien," Tyr murmured, taking a few steps forward, "whose species we do not know, whose motives we do not understand, who wants to stay in proximity of a black hole, after helping find the information that directed us toward it in the first place." He looked down at her. "Am I correct?"
Trance shrugged. "Pretty much." She looked at Dylan. "Only for a day, captain. After that, we can go anywhere."
Dylan looked ready to say something that began with an n, and only had one syllable. But to her relief, he sighed, and murmured, "fine. We can go over the matrix data, verify it rather than heading into the thick of things." He looked at Harper. "That means you, Mister Harper."
Harper sighed. "On it boss."
"In the meantime, we..." He trailed off. Tyr was chuckling.
"The great Captain Dylan Hunt, bowing to the wishes of children." He gave a faux bow of his own. "Well, so be it. We can play the game a little longer."
The crew gave him a look before he headed off the bridge. The doors closing with a loud hiss. Leaving the crew alone, in the light of a black sun.
"Well," Bekka said. "He's in a mood. He's almost as bad as Rev."
No-one said anything about that. Rev had been feeling under the weather as soon as they'd entered this system. He'd retired to his quarters hours ago.
"Should we be worried?" Harper asked.
"For you? Yes," Rommie said.
"Hardy hah hah. Just saying, if the boss is going to grill my joints, and Bekka gets to laugh, then-"
"I'll check on him," Trance piped up.
Dylan looked at her, then after a moment, nodded.
"Thanks. See you around."
She headed to the bridge's exit. Casting a glance at the crew, then at the black hole beyond.
I sense you.
Before turning around, and heading off the bridge.
Wondering if the thoughts were even hers.
"We'll only be in this star system for a day Rev."
"The sooner we leave, the better." He looked up at her from his bed. "There is a miasma here, Trance Gemini. It is around me. Within me."
Trance patted him on the shoulder. "Well, just take it easy, okay? Whatever's got you down, it's sure to pass soon."
Rev nodded, before closing his eyes. Trying to find the rest that his very biology denied him.
Rev Bem was a magog. The sad truth of the matter was that Trance knew more about his biology than he did. She knew that the magog were the creations of the Abyss, and that they were enslaved to their master via a telepathic field. A few had been cut off from its influence when they'd remained in the territories they'd claimed across the Tri-Galaxies. Some, like Rev, and the magog who'd founded the religion he himself followed, had even managed to rise above their programmed instincts. But in the battle between nature and nurture, nature sometimes won. Rev could wear a Wayist medallion, and he could wear Wayist clothes, and he could walk among the races of the Tri-Galaxies, but he would always be a magog. He would always be a slave to his biology. Whether it be the necessity of having to kill his food before consuming it, or in this case, hearing the whispers of a malignant being.
Or maybe not. In the Perfect Possible Future she had chased from the day she left the nebula, Rev found his salvation. But that moment was so far, and so remote, it was too much of a luxury to indulge in.
"Please, Trance. Tell me we will be leaving this place soon," Rev whispered. He rubbed his forehead, his claws ever outward. "There's something I hear...in my mind...like a splinter..."
"Shush, now. It's just a headache, alright." Trance headed for the exit. "Hang in there Rev. We'll be gone soon enough."
"The sooner...the better..."
She tried to smile. Failing, she exited the room into the adjacent corridor.
"Hello, Trance Gemini."
And let out a yelp, as she saw Tyr standing there before her.
"Tyr," she stammered. "I didn't see you."
He was leaning against the wall. His bone blades still visible. His eyes narrow. His voice low.
"How is the patient?"
You fear him.
Ignoring the voice in her head, she stammered, "oh, fine. Absolutely fine."
"Fine?" Tyr whispered. "Is he not incapacitated?"
"No. I mean yes. I mean, he isn't fine, he's got a terrible headache."
You should fear him. So many branches of the tree worm around him.
"Can I help you Tyr?" she asked.
"Maybe. Possibly." Tyr took a step towards her.
Smite him, you fool. Smite him, and reveal your majesty!
For a moment, the voice in her head scared her even more than Tyr did. Not so much because of the words, but because she wasn't sure if they came from what lay within the black hole...or if they came from her.
"I wonder," Tyr said. "You and the kluge went to Gallifrey. You tapped into the matrix and found this information on this planet. Home to a power source that could resist the black hole's pull."
Lies lies lies!
"And now we arrive without a planet. But you, it seems, are eager to stay. Despite not being on the bridge, observing the hole you hold so dear."
Trance stood up straight, her tail flicking. "I have to treat Rev."
"Of course. Ever so caring. So eager to do the right thing."
Oh listen to the heart of suns, beating ever louder, caught between two devils!
"Take heed, Trance Gemini," Tyr whispered. "I have not survived in this universe by suffering fools lightly." He took a step, before adding, "or liars."
Trance bit her tongue. Fighting the urge to say that she had survived much longer than Tyr Anasazi had. But even so, she remained in place. Watching the Nietzschean walk down the corridor, as if he owned the ship. Strictly speaking, he couldn't harm her. She'd died many times, but she always returned, however unpleasant the process was. But Tyr could either be the saviour of trillions of lives, or their downfall. And she had no way of knowing which path he'd take.
The fallen god, vested in the lives of mortals, their time blinking, even less numerous than the stars, and-
Enough! She steadied her breathing. Enough.
There were no more whispers. Not until she added her own to the chorus.
Let's talk.
And discordant harmony beckoned.
She'd found her way to the observation deck.
The room was meant for visiting dignitaries. Back when the Andromeda was the pride of the Commonwealth, the flagship of the High Guard. One day, perhaps, it would be again. In quite a few futures, it already was. But to achieve those futures, Trance Gemini needed information. And to do that, she needed to communicate with the being in the black hole. The being that she had known about for eons. A being that...
She sat down, took a breath, and closed her eyes, her tail wrapping around her waist like an umbilical cord - a link to the physical realm. Across time and space, many had had to deal with the devil. Now, she had to do so as well. Literally.
I want to talk.
Her eyes closed, she could not behold the black hole beyond the glass. She could not see the light of its event horizon dim, however slightly. However, in her mind's eye, she could see him. The One of Many Names. The progenitor of fears and nightmares across space and time. The King of Despair. The Child of the Black Sun. Abaddon. Krop Tor. The one who, at the dawn of the universe, had simply been known as The Beast.
Star devil, you have come.
She could feel him. Down there, in the dark, in the heat, she could feel him...
Star devil who manipulates the matrix, to bring a ship here. Who lies through forked tongue. She who is celestial avatar. She who is demon and devil.
She spoke out loud. "I know what I am."
But who? Avatar of Tarn-Vedra's sun. Eldest child of the Nebula come to save Creation. The very desperate, the very wise. The very foolish. The Beast chuckled. Foolish enough to talk to me.
"You let mere mortals seal you in your cage. Twice. The matrix told the truth about that."
The Beast chuckled. My seed is planted. The memory of me is forever. Mind and body are as one here. But I will never die. Even your sun will burn out. I will outlast you.
Trane shivered. She'd expected The Beast to rage. To curse. To lash out against the light. But his voice, his words...like honey. Washing over her. Tempting her. Reminding her that they were more alike than different. That she and the Abyss...they were not different after all.
You have come here. Speak, little star. Speak. Amuse me.
Trance took a breath - it was time to deal with the devil.
Little star?
"The Abyss," she said.
The Beast said nothing.
"I seek information."
A pause, before she heard its words.
I know much. I hear whispers.
"You were there, before the fire. The Abyss was born in it. My kind came afterwards. You and the Abyss share a bond across space and time."
As do you and your kind. And yet you come to...The Beast trailed off, before laughing. Laughter which cut through her. Surrounded her. Echoed in her mind, and the room she was in.
The little stars shine so bright, but do nothing.
Trance remained silent, as she tried to steel her thoughts. The Beast was to give her information, not the other way round. But-
You have the tail of a devil. That, in many ways, befits your kind. So many of you spread chaos.
"Not all," Trance whispered.
Indeed, conceded The Beast, Others of your kind are dedicated to order. But then, we are still more alike than not. We rage against the order of things. Against fate. You shine so bright, before being forgotten as the universe dies. The Abyss, however...well, what is the Abyss, but inevitability?
What indeed, Trance wondered? The Abyss was love. The Abyss was gravity. The Abyss was a force of nature, seeking to collapse the universe in upon itself.
"I need to see it," she whispered. "To know how much time we have."
A chuckle. Then, let me show you, little light.
He did.
A world. So many worlds. Travelling through the void between galaxies. A ship, really. Not through the Slipstream, but through means unknown. A single sun, powering a being whose only design was to plunge the universe into darkness.
And it was close. So very, very close...
Trance gasped. Her every instinct was to break the connection between her and The Beast. Only through sheer determination did she keep contact with the malignancy.
Do you see?
She answered not, but reflected on the truth she had beheld. The Abyss was drawing towards the Tri-Galaxies. She'd dared hope that she'd have at least a decade to solve the problem. But by her estimate, she had, at most, half that time. The Commonwealth was gone. The vedrans were gone. Any real centre of power was gone. Once the Abyss came, and unleashed its armies of magog, there would be nothing to stop it.
Your fear. So like those whose souls I consumed from my prison world.
Fear. Hers was ancient. A fear that those of the Nebula did not share. She tried to get up.
Sit, star-devil. Sit.
She tried to move. She tried to break free.
You relish the chaos, do you not? Stars. Bringers of life and death. You face the Abyss because it offers only entropy. You fight against gravity itself. Why not enjoy what time you have left?
"There will be time," Trance whispered. "Trillions and trillions of years of time. Before the universe dies its natural death. Not when it collapses by the Abyss's hand."
Confidence born of ignorance. But go, little light. Go. Fight the dark. I will survive. I survived the birth of this universe, I will survive its death. And when your sun winks out, once it fades into the entropy that awaits you all, I will remember this moment.
Trance opened her eyes. Before her, glass. And beyond that, space. And a black hole, shining.
I who bathe in the light of the black sun...am awake.
She got to her feet.
And I will be watching.
She shook her head. I'm sure you will be. She walked up towards the glass. I'm sure you will be.
The Beast could be lying, she reminded herself. A false vision of the Abyss's vessel, designed to hasten her actions and bring disaster. But somehow, she doubted it. An act of faith, perhaps. But The Beast had helped more religions than there were stars. Faith was its bread and butter, and it was all too willing to provide both.
Fear, she reflected. And hope. Two sides of the same coin.
The black hole continued to sign.
Always spinning. She turned around and began to walk away. Always spinning.
I am awake.
She grit her teeth, and walked out into the corridor.
I am awake.
Wondering how long they'd have to stay here.
And he is coming.
Wondering about a lot of things.