The Dark Between The Stars

SEVENTY-SEVEN
EXXOS

The shadow cloud appeared in the dusty skies of Eljiid, roiling out of the vacuum like smoke burning through the fabric of space.

Because they were not part of the same universe and did not follow the same physical rules, the shadow clouds could creep like spiders through the back alleys of the cosmos, slipping through cracks created by the minds of living things—fears, doubts, pain.

To Exxos, this was merely an unimportant Klikiss world, but one that would serve the black robots’ purposes. And it was a place to start, an appropriate demonstration. Working with the Shana Rei, the robots would wreak great havoc, cause destruction, increase entropy… decrease the shadows’ pain.

He was surprised, but not disappointed, to discover that a small group of humans had established a settlement there—not a full colony, just a research group studying the old Klikiss ruins like carrion birds sampling a corpse. That was even better; human treachery had caused the near extinction of the robots, and Exxos hated them almost as much as he and his comrades hated their creator race. Almost as much.

When the ominous dark nebula arrived over the Eljiid settlement, the humans began transmitting frantic signals: first inquiries, then indignant demands, followed by pleas for mercy, and finally an unasked-for surrender. Exxos listened to it all but did not respond. The Shana Rei did not care, were content to absorb the confusion and growing dread.

Exxos and his robots moved about in ships made from new matter the Shana Rei had manifested, simply rearranging energy in the universe to create what was necessary. When insisting on his plan to demonstrate their destructive prowess here, Exxos had convinced the shadow creatures to recreate the six vessels his comrades had built at the Dhula moon—along with certain improvements.

He had studied the Shana Rei enough to understand a few basics. Creating went against their fundamental nature, and only seemed to make the creatures of darkness more irrational and incomprehensible, but Exxos persuaded them to fight against their instincts. A temporary expenditure of entropy here for a larger benefit soon. He was glad to have warships again, and he knew he could cause satisfying damage to Eljiid. He would make sure the Shana Rei valued the exchange, and would agree to do it again when he suggested it elsewhere.

It meant the creatures of darkness had been intrigued enough by his bluff that they would keep the robots alive… for now.

As the shadow cloud grew larger overhead, the Shana Rei manifested their own huge battleships, despite the terrible pain it caused them. The dark nebula opened like a midnight flower, and Shana Rei ships emerged into real space: ebony hexagonal cylinders, long rods with flat sides and sharp angles. The creatures screamed into the silence and suffered the act of creation, doing as Exxos told them. Three of the hexagon ships were sufficient for a relatively minor target such as Eljiid.

By comparison, the black robot warships looked like little more than gnats, but Exxos and his robots raced out to begin the attack on Eljiid. He was eager to prove that the robots were worthy, valuable allies. Together, they could erase all the annoyances of sentient life here… and, eventually, everywhere else.

The screaming of the Shana Rei grew louder, and Exxos knew he had to strike swiftly. The creatures of darkness wanted to snap back into the void, where they could recover from the agony they had inflicted upon themselves.

The black robot ships swooped down, strafing the human camp with energy weapons, ripping up tents and settlement modules. Some researchers ran scrambling toward the Klikiss transportal, hoping to activate the stone wall and escape through the gateway back to Rheindic Co. But they didn’t have the opportunity.

The robots bombarded the area until it was a glassy molten field. The transportal itself was more durable and required six overflights and heavy blasts before the trapezoidal wall came down as well. No one would be able to depart from Eljiid now.

Exxos took pride in showing the Shana Rei what his robots could do, and the creatures of darkness were satisfied to eliminate even this small cluster of intelligent life, which eased the clamor in the universe by a small degree.

Although the Shana Rei cooperated, they considered this an insignificant part of the battle. They were aware of an even more titanic sentience that terrified them, made them feel helpless, but Exxos didn’t understand it. The shadow creatures claimed something tremendously powerful was awakening in the cosmos. It had maddened and provoked the Shana Rei, driving them out of hiding. Whatever it was, Exxos felt sure he could help them destroy it… or at least he and his robots could survive until the Shana Rei themselves were destroyed. If the tides of battle shifted, maybe the robots would find a way to ally themselves with this powerful new force. Exxos would keep his plans flexible.

The Shana Rei were chaos incarnate, violent but disorganized, and could not develop long-term plans. Exxos, though, could create much more intricate schemes, look at an overall strategy. He had convinced the Shana Rei to fear, or at least respect, the robots. While drifting in the black void, Exxos had proposed grand schemes, extolling how his robots could assist the shadow creatures in obliterating life. He made up more extravagant lies.

And the Shana Rei believed him, for now.

When their initial annihilation was finished, the robot ships landed in the smoking ruins of the research camp. Exxos and his comrades filed out, scuttling forward on clusters of fingerlike legs. They inspected the charred bodies of the human colonists and used metallic pincers to tear apart a few who still groaned and tried to crawl away. Exxos declared the settlement lifeless before he and his robots moved toward the abandoned Klikiss city to finish their work.

A thick briarpatch of Whistler cactus had grown up around the base of the ruins, and the hollow thorny growths moaned and hummed, as if the smoking devastation had changed their tune. When the robots set fire to the Whistler grove, the roaring flames and rising heat made the fluting sounds even more shrill. The Shana Rei seemed even more pleased when the Whistlers fell silent.

Exxos and his companions entered the ruined city. Millennia ago, when the Klikiss had created their sophisticated robots, they gave them personalities, emotions; they also designed the robots to feel pain, weakness, and defeat—simply so the malicious Klikiss could torment them. How could the insect race have been surprised when their own robots turned on them?

Now, when Exxos came upon the numerous mummified bodies left behind in the final swarming, the black robots remembered the awful tortures that had been inflicted upon them. Unified in their rage, they fell upon the Klikiss corpses and tore them to pieces with snapping pincer claws.

The violence did little to salve their hatred, and the mutilation seemed petty when compared with the grand cosmic plans of the Shana Rei to eradicate all sentient life. Exxos was pleased nevertheless. After destroying the Klikiss towers, the black robots flew away into the greasy smoke that rose from the Whistler grove and the blackened human settlement.

The ships returned to the simmering shadow cloud and rejoined the enormous hex ships, which withdrew into the swirling nebula. As the Shana Rei erased their newly manifested ships from existence, uncreating the raw matter, their own pain decreased.

When the shadow cloud departed from Eljiid, it left a very quiet place in its wake.