Chapter 603: No Time for Tears (2/2)
The Great Citadel was a fairy-esque picture of sweeping lines, gossamer crystal, and gleaming spires. It resonated phasic energy and power for light years around it and orbited a brown dwarf star.
It was home to the End Of All Things Library.
It contained information and data that the Atrekna had gone through great trouble to conserve or replicate. Hundreds of Atrekna had been sacrificed by ripping through space-time to pull something they had touched or seen through from the Dead Old Universe into the New Universe.
It contained vast data, ancient wisdom, and terrible secrets of the Old Universe.
Information that many of the Atrekna leadership caste believed would allow them to overcome the lemurs and take possession of the New Universe to collect all of its resources and shepherd them for the good of the Atrekna and to ensure Atrekna dominance and survival for the next ten billion years.
Crystals and objects of strange matter in twisted non-euclidean shapes and forms made up ancient records of Atrekna a billion years before, when they took the universe in hand to conserve it all for themselves.
The Librarians were considered the wisest, most intelligent, and most learned of all the Atrekna. Many were Ancient Ones who were brought back through temporal manipulation. Others had been lucky enough to escape the Old Universe by being part of the effort to 'colonize' the New Universe.
All of them burned with hatred at the thought of those great ships of the Mad Lemurs that snuffed out their universe like an insect beneath a rock.
Well, they had.
Now, over half were dead and the rest in hiding.
In the great chapel-like vault at the center of the Great Citadel, the windows were destroyed, letting bright starlight stab down into the chamber, filling it with dim light that was nearly as bright as day to on of the Atrekna within.
One was on its knees, its robe torn, its flesh bruised from overwhelming psychic power being directed at it, its eyes wide as two hands forced it to stare at the heavens. One held onto the flesh of it head, the other, missing fingers, grasped all of the kneeling one's feeding tentacles to wrench the head up to stare at the sky.
**The universe is finite, we must protect our species** the kneeling one whined.
**LOOK AT IT** the other roared with a psychic voice more akin to a volcanic detonation. It wore a fabulous attire, covered in sparkling gems and crystals, as if the wearer had rolled around in stripper-glitter before being attacked by meth'd up teenage girls wielding Bedazzlers. The train was long and dyed to show the visage of a female Mad Lemur. The veil was covered in seed pearls and precious gems.
The one richly attired wrenched the kneeling one's head around, shaking it slightly, forcing the kneeling one to look at the stars.
**LOOK AT THEM** he, and he had decided that he was a he, roared.
**it's stars. stellar masses. what am i to see** it whined.
**HOW MANY STARS IN OUR UNIVERSE'S GALAXIES** the decked out one roared.
**sixteen to twenty thousand in the beginning, toward the last billion years of mass coalescing, five to eight thousand** the kneeling one replied.
**LOOK AT THEM** the standing one roared again, letting go of the kneeling one's head, but seizing them in psychic power so strong the flesh bruised. It pointed up with one unmaimed hand. **HOW MANY ARE THERE**
**thousands tens of thousands of what does it matter** the kneeling one cried out in pain.
**HOW LONG DID OUR UNIVERSE LIVE** the standing one bellowed.
**nine point two billion years** the kneeling one squealed as the standing one squeezed their feeding tentacles painfully. **it began to retract at four billion years we managed to shepherd another billions years beyond its total collapse**
**THERE ARE OBJECTS IN THE SKY OLDER THAN THAT YOU IGNORANT FOOL** the standing one roared out. The hiding Atrekna flinched as the enraged bellow tore through their psychic defenses, their towers of intellect.
**that is impossible** the kneeling one protested.
The standing one used the hand it was pointing with to sweep aside the veil it wore.
Its eye burned bright crimson, the fire deep inside strong enough it illuminated the other's face with bloody light.
**YOU DARE CONTRADICT ME WHO HAS LOOKED INTO THE EMPTINESS BETWEEN THE GALAXIES TO FIND LAUGHING PARTICLES BORN WHO HAS SEEN WHAT TERRIBLE CREATURE DWELLS BETWEEN THE BURNING PLANE AND THE STILLBORN PLANE** it roared.
The kneeling one wailed in pain and tried to turn its head so it did not have to stare into those burning crimson eyes.
**HOW MANY GALAXIES DID OUR UNIVERSE CONTAIN**
**one hundred twenty before the universe began to contract**
**THIS UNIVERSE IS STILL SPAWNING GALAXIES IS STILL GROWING AND YOU CLAIM THAT IT IS OUR DESTINY TO RULE AND POSSESS A UNIVERSE YOU CANNOT COMPREHEND OR UNDERSTAND**
The standing one bent down. **you will surrender to me the knowledge I wish** it paused and leaned even further down till all the kneeling one could see was those orbs of burning hatred and madness. **or. else.**
The kneeling one whimpered its surrender.
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The Steamboat Willy slid past the barrage of nCv shells, bringing its own massive guns to bear. Space rippled around the massive warship as the guns fired, flame bursting out of the ends despite the fact the ship was deep in vacuum.
The autonomous war machine that had initially moved to face off against the smaller ship had broken up, the pieces spinning through space and spreading out.
The barrages hit three separate Harvesters, the deadspace core rounds penetrating deep into the hulls before exploding. All three Harvesters shuddered as hundreds of miles of interior mechanisms were reduced to scrap, molten elements, or subatomic particles.
One broke in half, the front end tumbling.
From all over the system living and mechanical war machines swarmed toward the Steamboat Willy, all intent on punishing, destroying the interloper.
Even Atrekna controlled and inhabited vessels moved to intercept the massive black warship.
Admiral Thennis stood on the deck, her baton in her hand, the guns and weapon systems slaved to her eyes.
”Biomechanial warships are in range of deadspace cannons, Admiral,” the Operating Mind said, its voice perfectly audible in vacuum.
”Load dead matter with enraged tachyon core rounds,” Thennis ordered in a shout, pointing her baton in the direction of the thickest formation of Atrekna controlled and crewed ships. ”We are the fury of the Confederacy! We are the unstoppable, the impossible, and we will not be defeated!”
Below decks the sweating crew heard their captain's voice and responded with a roar of approval even as they loaded the guns and shoveled fuel into the furnaces.
Admiral Thennis could see them cross the line that was visible to her sight.
”BATTERY NINE, ELEVEN, FIFTEEN, AND TWENTY-TWO! FIRE FOR EFFECT! SHAKE AND BAKE!” she roared, pointing with her baton.
The Steamboat Willy shuddered as gun batteries measured in kilometers fired every third gun, then fired another one of the three, and two seconds later, fired the last unfired in the string.
Thennis watched as the light speared across the light seconds in less than a second, bright purple light spiraling around a crimson core.
She nodded.
”Hmph.”