Chapter — One Day Away
Three months later, their deployment vessel entered the outer boundary of the Karmic Operational Zone.
Torin stood beside General Voss at the forward tactical display.
Their destination glowed ahead.
A-27-M-91-U-404
Torin looked at the designation.
"Archaverse Twenty-Seven."
Voss nodded.
Torin asked, "This is where Karma has always been?"
"His jurisdiction is within Archaverse Twenty-Seven."
"And ACT?"
"Current reports place them nearby."
Torin's expression changed.
"Nyxus?"
Voss glanced toward him.
"Probably."
Torin smiled slightly.
Voss noticed.
"Don't."
"What?"
"You are not turning this into a reunion."
Torin looked offended.
"I wasn't."
"You were."
Torin said nothing.
The tactical display updated.
Voss frowned.
Then frowned harder.
Torin noticed.
"What?"
No answer.
"General?"
Voss enlarged the operational map.
Something was wrong.
There should have been signals everywhere.
More than a million General-class officers had been committed across the surrounding zones.
Support fleets.
Binary command structures.
Tribunal detachments.
Early-contact formations.
Instead—
almost nothing.
Torin stared at the display.
"Where is everyone?"
Voss didn't answer.
He changed frequencies.
Nothing.
Emergency channel.
Static.
Command channel.
Nothing.
General network.
Nothing.
Voss's expression became cold.
"Send recall request."
The ship's system responded.
RECALL REQUEST SUBMITTED
Several seconds passed.
DENIED
Voss stared.
He opened a direct command line.
"General Voss requesting immediate route reversal."
A voice eventually answered.
"Request denied."
Voss's jaw tightened.
"Operational theater appears compromised."
The response came without emotion.
"Acknowledged."
Torin looked toward him.
Voss said, "My assigned Corps operative is not combat-ready for this theater."
"Acknowledged."
Voss's expression darkened.
"Then recall us."
"No."
"Reason."
"Current distance to theater boundary: twenty-three hours."
Voss stared at the display.
"That's not a reason."
The voice replied, "It is sufficient."
The channel closed.
Torin slowly looked toward Voss.
"They don't care."
Voss exhaled through his nose.
"No."
The display updated again.
More dead channels.
More missing signatures.
Then one transmission finally appeared.
Corrupted.
Fragmented.
It lasted four seconds.
A General screaming.
Then silence.
Torin's face went pale.
Voss tried another channel.
Nothing.
Another.
Nothing.
Torin whispered, "A million Generals."
Voss corrected him quietly.
"More."
Torin looked at the empty map.
"And they're all..."
Voss didn't finish the sentence.
Neither did Torin.
They both understood.
One day away.
Too close to recall.
Too insignificant to reroute the larger operation.
And whatever had happened ahead had already erased the force Voss had assumed would make their mission survivable.
Torin looked toward the destination.
"Karma?"
Voss replied, "Possibly."
"ACT?"
"Possibly."
Torin swallowed.
Then another identifier appeared.
ACCESS DENIED — POSSIBLE SIGNATURE
Torin stared.
A strange smile appeared despite everything.
Voss noticed.
"Don't."
Torin pointed toward the screen.
"This is pretty far."
Voss looked at him.
Torin continued, "Nyxus said I wouldn't get far with dreams and good intentions."
Voss stared for several seconds.
Then he looked back toward a war zone containing one of the most dangerous Gods in existence, a missing army of Generals, and several anomalies that had apparently survived whatever happened there.
Voss replied, "If we survive, you can write him another letter."
Torin smiled.
"I will."
The deployment vessel continued toward A-27-M-91-U-404.
Twenty-three hours remained.