Page 47 of Music of the Ocean

Saxby squared his shoulders. “That’s not possible, Sir. I am alive, but I am no longer compatible with surface life or any life outside of this world. If you attempt recovery, you’ll lose more crew. The planet assimilates any who touch the water. I repeat, do not send anyone else. The ocean is the dominant intelligence here.”

The captain’s mouth drew into a hard line. “We have the resources to force a retrieval, Lieutenant. Do you understand your orders?”

Indigo interjected, voice calm. “If you attempt to breach the ocean again, the entire planet’s defense system will target your ship. This is your only warning.”

The captain’s eyes flickered. He turned to an aide, who whispered a rapid series of updates. The captain faced the camera again. “We will escalate force if necessary.”

Saxby gritted his teeth. “I cannot comply with orders. Captain, you’ll lose the ship if the planetary defenses activate. The Federation lost a colony before. The planet wiped it out. It can and will defend itself. It is sentient.”

Captain Mollen’s mouth tightened. “There was no proof that the planet—”

“The colony, and those remaining on the land, perished as a massive storm wiped out everything on that landmass that did not belong,” Saxby continued. “Funny how the storm targeted the colony.”

“How do you know about that mission? It’s classified.”

Saxby pointed his thumb at Indigo. “Eyewitness account.”

Captain Mollen glared at Indigo. Then, his face went blank as he stared at Saxby’s throat, then at the webbing on his hand. He glanced at the water-filled chamber where Saxby stood. “So, it’s true, then.”

That was all the confirmation Saxby needed. Anger washed through him. “Whoever sent you on this mission already knew that, though, didn’t they, Captain? Just my bad luck I was the one who touched the water, huh? Or was it just bad luck that I was the only one?”

Captain Mollen shrugged.

“Leave,” Saxby stated, not surprised by the captain’s lack of regard. “Secure the perimeter, log a quarantine, and do not return. Or risk everything and lose.”

Chapter Sixteen – Indigo

INDIGO ABSORBED the silence that followed. It did not surprise him that Captain Mollen offered no immediate response. In Indigo’s estimation, Mollen was a cog that executed, not originated, orders.

Everything about him so far had radiated the nervous compliance of a man who understood he was a placeholder in someone else’s plan. Mollen was not the kind of human who made galaxy-altering decisions, no matter how sternly he set his jaw and arranged his words.

Indigo agreed with Saxby that someone further up the Federation command hierarchy was orchestrating this entire mission.

But like any planetary operation, the Federation was a beast with many heads. Its bureaucracy operated in layers, with each one was perfectly insulated against the crisis in the one above or below it.

Orders flowed downward and information only leaked upward if it served someone’s interest. That was why, despite Saxby’s broadcast, nothing had changed so far.

Mollen continued to posture and mouth threats because he was not authorized to retreat, nor to make a meaningful concession. That kind of initiative could only come from the very top.

Indigo settled back and observed the tactical display. The starship still hovered in high orbit, radiating a menacing calm. Inside his city, though, the defensive systems pulsed with energy.

Indigo could, with a single neural command, activate the planetary defense algorithms. He knew the precise targeting sequence and number of seconds it would take to vaporize the Federation ship.

If Indigo erased Saxby’s old crew, the act would destroy any chance they’d have at a relationship. Indigo did not want that. What he wanted was for the Federation to see what they faced and blink.

He turned his focus to the cloaked subspace message. The encoding was perfect. The piggybacked signal was indistinguishable from the ambient noise of the planet’s ionosphere.

The message was already on its way to Fleet Admiral Soulsop, bypassing every layer of administrative obfuscation in the process. Indigo ran a calculation. The message would reach the admiral’s desk in minutes. After that, everything depended on whether or not Soulsop was involved in this.

If Soulsop acted on the message, they would order a withdrawal, or at the very, least a pause. They would understand the logic of a quarantine, the necessity of containment, the pointlessness of a direct confrontation.

And if Soulsop was involved? Then, Indigo would do what was necessary and deal with the fallout as best he could.

Indigo watched the captain pace on the Bridge while Saxby talked. He watched the humans, their faces tense, their lips pressed into pale lines of determination and fear.

What empathy felt for them was quickly replaced by a colder, more distant form of calculation. He had given them every chance to avoid catastrophe. Now it was up to their superiors to make the final decision.

Indigo looked over at Saxby, who was still floating in front of the display, breathing heavily, shoulders slumped with exhaustion. Saxby’s body was clearly struggling to keep up with the pace of mutation. He needed rest, but Indigo knew better than to suggest he return to their chamber.