Published via Ecency

Welcome to the next and final episode of the space opera I've been creating inspired by writing prompts in the Worldbuilding Community. This is where it all comes to a head, quite literally. It worked out a bit longer than I expected, but hopefully you'll enjoy the rollercoaster ride !

This episode is inspired by a writing prompt in the Worldbuilding community - Worldbuilding Prompt #517 - Redemption

ASP-Captain Holmen gestured for Junior Sub-TaxAdministrator (3rd grade) Malacadra Valla to take her seat. They were in the same building, and the same room, where this whole mess had started nearly a year ago. Today was the day when the stolen tax box was going to return. The only question was whether it would be at a normal speed, or the kind of crazy high-energy velocity that would wreck this whole part of the universe.

"Well," said Holmen with a smile, "Am I speaking with Miss Valla, or to Fedric today ?"

The young lady sitting in the chair looked up at the slender ASP officer standing over her. She spoke in a clear, steady voice, so different from the slightly rushed, nervous tone he'd heard her use normally.

"Both of us sir. We've kind of had a week to get to know each other, far more than two humans usually do. We are ready to do this. I think."

"Very well, I've got Imperial Infomancer Dranton and Imperial Headquarters both online in my comm-implant. Ask if you need any advice, and please keep us informed of your progress and that of the tax box."

Malacadra/Fedric wondered how Holmen managed to sound so calm and detached. He always did, whether he was ordering dinner, submitting a mundane report or talking about the imminent destruction of everything and everyone they knew. They reached the conclusion that there was probably something wrong with his mind, which made him a good ASPsman, and a bad human.

They began by inserting keys into the control panel and entering an ID into the system, activating the screen and reception hatch. It was Malacadra's ID, they knew that Fedric's ID was no longer valid after he was initially thought to have stolen the box. But it didn't matter, they were two personalities occupying the same body, working in perfect unison.

"Sir, we've got the tax box. It's on the predicted course, and we're tagging it now," they reported to Holmen.

Holmen nodded in response, silently sending the update to his superiors. He didn't want to cause any distraction to this delicate operation. His concern was justified a moment later with Malacadra's next report.

"Sir, tagging has failed, it's got some kind of encrypted code lock on it. We're going to try activating Fedric's retrieval code. Hopefully that will enable us to get contact with the box, take control and slow it down."

Okay, Fed, are you ready to give this a go ? Malacadra thought to the companion who had been filling her head for the last week.

I think so. Scared. But I guess it's why they stuck me in here with you. I hope it pans out okay, you've been far nicer with me than I'd have been if they'd filled my head with a dead stranger.

Darn it, Fed, you're a decent guy. I know I only got this job because of what happened to you, but you didn't ask for any of this, you deserve better. We're a good team, it'll all work out fine.

Malacadra couldn't do anything now but watch and make supporting thoughts. Fedric had to key the code into the console, then reach out with his mind to sense the box and make it respond.

Holmen watched as Malacadra keyed the retrieval code, and her pretty face wrinkled in concentration. He guessed Fedric was in the driving seat inside her head.

Then he got an urgent message through his comm implant from Infomancer Dranton. "Holmen, what the hell is going on over there ? The box just accelerated. Massively. Are you sure your people are in control ? Are you sure they haven't been compromised ?"

Several miles away, in a dimly lit hospital room. The solitary sheeted-over gurney bucked and rocked as the body beneath suddenly came back to life. The secured sheet split along it's length as clawed hands ripped it to shreds. A headless corpse rolled off, stood up and shook itself, then started blindly smashing anything it could reach.

Malacadra felt shock as a third entity appeared inside her head.

Flesh-servant-unit-Fedric. This is infiltration controller X35ZYYZ. You will obey my command. Accelerate projectile to 150%.

She felt Fedric's will quavering before the commanding tone. She knew she was supposed to just stay quiet for this bit and let him do his stuff, but she could feel him hurting.

Fight it Fedric. You've got to fight it. We've only got 30 minutes to save the universe. Fight it !! And you, infi-whatever-Zyyz. Get - out - of - my - fucking -head.

Holmen could do nothing as he watched Malacadra's expression changing rapidly, sweat appearing on her brow. Something bad was going on in her head, but he had no idea what. She was no longer communicating, and the box was accelerating towards them, spinning through the dimensions faster and faster, gathering massive amounts of energy as it came.

Inside Malacadra's head, Fedric was fighting his own private battle, the hardest of his life. He'd sent a mental gasp to her - It's the Einheriar tech, it's come back to life. It's not in me any more, but it's still linked.

She didn't know what to do. Any attempt to tell Holmen would break the effort to support Fedric. Damn it Fed, tell that robot thing to go away and leave you alone. You've got to stop the box or there will be the biggest bang we've ever seen.

There was a moment of mental silence. Then a clear thought from Fedric. That's it, Mal. I love you ! You've given me the idea I need ! I can't beat it but I can subvert it. It's just a robot running a routine, it can't anticipate me. Tell the ASP guy I'm going to try something.

Holmen's eyes widened when Malacadra told him the plan. "Sir.... there's an Einheriar in here with us. Fed's going to trick it. Find the box's analogue in an nearby plane and transfer the energy to it. That box will move. The robot will get confused, or think it's our box. He thinks he can bring ours in safely."

For the next few minutes, Holmen watched, and through his comm-implant, the leaders of the Allied Imperiae watched, as a silent battle raged in Malacadra's head. Infomancer Dranton relayed information on what the box was doing. It was erratic, sometimes accelerating and sometimes slowing.

Then, with thirty seconds until impact, it disappeared off his sensors. Everyone held their breaths.

At ten seconds, it reappeared. Inside the reception hatch. At zero velocity, and covered in a thin layer of ice.

The ice evaporated rapidly, and the battered box fell open to reveal all the missing tax credit chips, still safe and sound.

Image created by AI in Wombo.art

It was several hours later. Malacadra sat opposite Holmen in a briefing room, trying to explain the ferocious battle which had happened inside her head.

"The robot thing was supposed to take Fedric over and bring the tax box in faster than it already was. But when it woke up and found it was a headless body in the hospital, it wasn't as strong or as clever. He was able to hold it off long enough to think up a plan to confuse it. He made it watch a duplicate box, and sent it off somewhere else."

She thought for a minute or two, while the ASP officer made notes.

"When our box arrived here safely, he just kind of.... faded away. Sir, he was a good man, just caught up in something bigger than he could handle. But he saved us all. He was a hero. He didn't steal that damnable tax box, can't you do something so he is remembered better ?"

For once, Holmen's smile contained an element of humanity.

"Yes, Miss Valla, I can. I have submitted a form retrospectively making him an ASP agent. That means he qualifies for state funeral. I am taking his new identity tags to the hospital today. The tags will convert his remains into a Bodybrick, and I have already been told it will be taken to the planet Monument to be the capstone on the new memorial for the Battle of Tharwell. That's the highest honour a man could hope for. His name will be remembered until the end of Empire."

Image created by AI in Wombo.art

In the most distant reaches of Einheriar space, a box identical to the errant tax box appeared, pursued by a disembodied machine intelligence. It bore with it all the energy that had been transferred away from the real box, and turned the nearest star into a hypernova.

This is the end of this particular series - I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it ! But it's not the end for this setting, there are a couple of characters I've come to like, so I may tell their stories in new posts.....