A Storm on the Horizon

by bloodsword 

The multiverse: it's existence has been theorized, rationalized, challenged, and disputed by educated people for decades in the Modern Era. Some people are ignorant of it while most wouldn't care, even if they knew. But not in Absalon. In Absalon, we both know that it exists and we care plenty that it does. Because we see the evidence everyday. Not because of technology, though we had plenty of that.

No, it was because Absalon is a convergence. What is that, you ask. Well, according to the educated woman I asked some years ago, she said existence started with a single universe, a prime, if you will. Then, with the first probability event, a second universe was given birth to. In some ways this new universe was exactly like the old one, a duplicate, or copy. But in other ways, ways that were influenced directly by this 'probability event', they were radically different.

Of course probability events don't come just one at a time. They come in packs, sometimes together, sometimes in a row, but always in bunches. And each one spawns a universe from the one the event took place in. A hundred thousand probability events worthy of the name later, and you have a hundred thousand copies. But not just copies of the prime universe, or even of its immediate duplicates. Copies of copies, and copies of copies of copies. Or even ... well, you get the picture.

And yes, I know, I was explaining about what a convergence was. Well, you see, each of those copies has a metaphysical connection to the universe they were copied from, the point where the probability event happened in the first place. This is what's called a 'convergence point', although some of the more snotty scientists have said that 'technically it's a divergence point'.

Yeah, whatever. As far as I was concerned, it was where two universes were connected. And, with the right tech, a person could use that convergence point to travel back and forth between the two universes.

What does this have to do with Absalon? Absalon is a prime convergence point. That means it exists in every copy of the universe. Not only that, it didn't matter which Absalon you're in, you could travel to the other copies with very little effort. At least you can, if you were born on Absalon Prime, the version of our fair world that exists in the Prime Universe.

Now, this is where I come in. My name is ...

"Cutter!" a voice snarled in my ear. Then a hard hand on my shoulder was pulling me down in time to let a flurry of energy blasts streak by just over my head.

"How many times today have I told you to keep your damn head down? At least a hundred. You may be a Unique Prime, but that doesn't make you immortal, you idiot!"

I looked over at the grim soldier beside me, an apologetic expression on my face.

"You better not be getting ready to tell me that this is your first real firefight, because I know that's a lie!" the soldier growled before I could say anything, having caught my look. "I swear, I have no idea how the Grim bloodline managed to rule Absalon this whole time with morons like you in charge!"

"Technically, Brick, I'm not in charge ..." I began.

"Shut up, Cutter," Brick quickly fired back. "Nobody fuckin' asked you." Another flurry of weapons fire made us crouch even lower behind the burnt-out hulk we were using for cover.

So, yeah, that's me, Cutter Grim, currently doing my best to avoid getting my fool head shot off. And the soldier with the disapproving frown and the good reflexes is Brick Foster, captain of the Skyguard unit sent to retrieve me from the backwater reality I'd been hiding in for the last twenty years or so.

"The Toad King finally figured out what and where you are," Brick growled, pulling a portable nav-link from a utility pouch. "This place is crawling with his Toadies and sundry other mercs looking for your head." His unit had come in without battle armor or heavy weapons in the hopes they could extract me without anybody noticing. So he was in unmarked gray fatigues with a utility vest and weapons belt and that was about it.

That meant he couldn't slug our way out of our current predicament. We needed to find a hidey-hole and fast!

"Nearest convergence point is almost 200 klicks away, over hard terrain." The nav-link disappeared back into a pouch. "But at least there is one. Did you even know about it when you buried yourself here?" he tautly asked, throwing me a frosty look.

Seeing that look, I swallowed my reply about not actually coming here by choice. I was only eight when I was dropped off at a safe house here, ironically by another covert Skyguard unit. I still didn't know why I was sent there by my family, which rules Absalon Prime, nor did I know why this Toad King was after me. Best guess? It had something to do with this 'Unique Prime' thing Brick kept calling me.Then my attention was being recaptured by Brick's hand grabbing me by the arm.

"C'mon," he tautly urged as he pulled me around the battered hulk we had been using for cover. Our movement immediately drew weapons fire from down the street, local slug throwers combining with more exotic plasma burst and particle beam weapons to fill the street with death and destruction.

Most of it splashed or slammed into the hulk. But the odd slug was sent buzzing just over my bent head.

"You can thank the Toad King that his minions aren't better shots," Brick muttered as he pulled me around the hulk's far side. "Religious fanatics make terrible soldiers!" Then, a bit louder: "Slash, you reading me?"

"Just barely, boss," a voice said from the commlink Brick had clipped to the front of my jacket. "You find our missing Grim?"

"Yeah, he's right beside me," Brick reported, looking over at me with a frown. "Pulled him out of a 7-11 while he was trying to buy a slurpee."

"So they call brothels '7-11's' here, huh?" Slash replied, putting a quick grin on Brick's face. Then the Skyguard captain was fatalistically solemn once more.

"Not quite, lieutenant," he said. "But that doesn't matter right now because I've got toadies crawling all over us here. We need an extraction."

"Would love to accommodate you, boss, but me and J Squad are pinned down by weapons fire. It's pretty accurate, so I'm gonna say it's mercs."

"Coop?"

"Sorry, boss," another voice replied over the comm link, the sound of explosions going off in the background clearly audible. "M Squad has a toadie infestation as well that we're trying to cut clear of. It's almost like they not only knew we were coming, but where we'd be when we arrived."

That made Brick's expression tighten even further as once again he looked over at me.

"I'd say it was a spy in the palace, if I didn't know better." Abruptly the square-jawed soldier heaved a frustrated sigh. "Damn psychics straight to hell!"

"The Toad King is psychic?" I repeated in a hoarse whisper.

"The best there's ever been," Brick replied with a wry twist of his mouth. "Not only can he see the future, he can sense alternate realities as well. It's his flawless fortune telling that's garnered him billions of fanatically loyal followers. Followers that have built a church in his honor, calling him a mighty prophet." His expression tightened. "A church with branches in every major 'verse, including the Prime."

"So what does he want with me?" I asked. "Sounds like he already has it all."

"Not quite," Brick replied, looking around us as he obviously was trying to figure out a way out of our current situation. "He isn't sitting on the Unsullied Throne of Absalon Prime." He looked back at me. "Your parents are."

"And? I'm not even close to the line of ascension. I'm fifteenth out of 15. There's a dozen more sibs that'll inherit before I do."

Brick shook his head as the hulk shuddered from multiple strikes.

"It's not about the succession, Cutter," he said. "It's the fact that you're a Unique Prime."

There it was again, that term. It was high time I figured out what it meant.

"Which means what, Brick? That I'm automatically on the Toad King's shit list?"

"Not sure, actually," Brick admitted and for the first time I saw uncertainty in his eyes. "The eggheads back on Absalon Prime know and they ain't tellin' a dumb grunt like me." He paused long enough to lean around the corner to send several well-timed energy blasts down the street, their impacts swiftly followed by screams of pain. "Of course I could just let these toadies capture you and take you to him, if you want to ask him yourself," he went on to say in a conversational tone as he continued firing down the street.

"An intriguing offer, Brick, but I think I'll take a hard pass on that one," I replied.

"Suit yourself." He fired several more shots, each one significantly reducing the weapons fire hammering into the hulk's dwindling mass, before turning and grabbing me by the shoulder.

"C'mon. We've got a convergence point to get to!" Then he was hauling me back towards the building behind us as local law enforcement began to converge on the battlefield, sirens filling the air with their plaintive wail.

Little did I know that the psychic known as 'the Toad King' was, at that very moment, frowning as he watched the firefight evolve in his mind's eye.

"Incompetent fools!" he growled as he threw himself out of his overstuffed chain with a convulsive heave to stalk towards the big bay window that overlooked the bustle of Absalon Beta's capital city, Absalar. Covering most of the continent it was on, Absalar was a thriving trade city, pulling in goods from a hundred different universes.

It was also the perfect place for the Toad King to make his headquarters as he continued to reach for the one thing that had eluded him during his long life: complete and total domination of the multiverse. Domination that started here, with Absalon, the only planet that existed in every one of them.

"Master, Governor Grim has arrived in answer to your summons," a voice said from the air, smoothly interrupting any further outbursts.

"Very good, Bacchus," the Toad King calmed himself enough to reply in a deep, sonorous voice. "Have him taken to the first floor interrogation chamber. I will receive him there."

"At once, master," the voice replied before silence returned to the shadows filled chamber.

Dartek Grim, First of His House, and Lord Governor of Absalon Beta, looked up apprehensively as the heavy door to the interrogation chamber swung open to admit a tall, broad shouldered, powerfully-built man, with chiseled good looks, black hair, and emerald-green eyes that churned with internal fires. He was dressed simply in a pale colored, casual shirt and dark pants. Yet there was nothing simple or plain in the way he carried himself.

"My lord!" Dartek said, falling to a knee, head bowed. "I have come, as you did command."

Instead of replying, the big man chose instead to clasp his hands behind him and slowly walk around the kneeling governor, peering down at him with those bright green eyes for a long moment. Even though he didn't understand why he had been summoned, or the reason behind his lord's silence, Dartek wisely kept his questions to himself. The Toad King would allow him to speak only when he was good and ready.

"You did well, Dartek," the big man finally rumbled, looking away to peer at the utilitarian walls. "Granting us access to Absalon's convergence point network put my minions within striking range of the Unique Prime."

When the big man didn't go on, Dartek risked a quick glance up.

"He is in your lordship's hands, is he not?" he asked and got a hard look in response, hard enough that it turned his own eyes back to the floor with some speed.

"Has the multiverse fallen, to be renewed in my image?" the Toad King hissed.

"No, my lord," Dartek answered, his voice quivering with the fear the King's hard question stirred in him.

"Then you have your answer, fool!" the big man growled. "The Unique bends probability with his mere presence. I cannot see him directly. Only the tumult that surrounds him. Not to mention a unit of Skyguard was sent to extract him from the backwater world he was hiding on."

As the Toad King mentioned 'Skyguard', Dartek felt those green eyes bore back into him. With the prickling sensation of nervous perspiration racing across his skin, Dartek realized why he was in an interrogation chamber.

"My lord! Surely you don't think ..." he began to stammer. Only to be curtly cut off by a hard gesture.

"My gift has already exonerated you, Dartek," the Toad King revealed. "None under your command have betrayed us. However, I now see we may have a spy from the prime 'verse in our midst. A spy high enough in our ranks to have discovered our intention to slay the Unique Prime and undo the convergence web that holds the multiverse together."

Again the governor felt the Toad King's eyes burn into him.

"Tell me, Dartek: do you know where your prime doppelganger is?"

"My ... prime doppelganger?" Dartek managed to say before a smooth hum and a burning pain later his head was rocking back forth beside his unmoving body.

Deactivating the nano-blade's nearly invisible cutting edge, the Toad King slipped the hilt back into a pocket.

"Clean this mess up, Bacchus," he ordered, turning back to the door, "and begin scanning the compound for the governor's life signs."

Brick frowned as a red light flashed once on the wristband he wore on his left arm. Seeing that expression even in the dark as we crept towards the convergence point after abandoning the car Brick stole, I leaned forward enough to ask:

"Is there a problem?"

"A member of the Grim bloodline has just been killed," Brick tightly revealed.

"What?" I gasped, eyes flying wide.

"Not a Prime 'verse Grim, so nobody you directly know," Brick assured me with an unreadable look over at me.

"Maybe not, Brick, but still ..."

"Let me tell you this one thing, Cutter," the Skyguard captain interrupted me to say in a low, intense voice. "There may be a Grim sitting on Absalon's throne, but not all Grims are on the same side. Not even amongst your own family." He glanced at his wrist. "The Grim that just met a violent end was Dartek Grim of Absalon Beta."

"Dartek? That's my uncle!"

"In Absalon Prime, he is. In Beta, Dartek ruled Absalon in the name of the Grim bloodline. And he openly followed the Toad King."

"What?" I stammered for the second time, earning myself another look.

"Like I said, Cutter, not all Grims are on the same side. Your blood uncle risked traveling to Beta to see through his doppelganger's eyes to learn what the Toad King had in store for you. As a Prime, he has the ability to use the senses of his duplicates in the other 'verses to discover what they're doing." Brick looked back into the darkness.

"That's how we found out that the Toad King had discovered your location and was planning to move on you."

"Which is why your team was dispatched to extract me," I said softly, seeing the pieces fall together in my mind's eye.

"Precisely. Unfortunately Dartek Beta's death means the Toad King has uncovered your uncle's presence on Absalon Beta and is likely hunting him down as we speak."

The blunt statement was enough to send a chill racing down my spine. The Toad King was openly hunting not just me but other members of the Grim bloodline as well? Why wasn't anybody in power stopping this asshole?

Before I could ask that question, Brick was speaking.

"And before you ask, yes, the Prime Grims are working to uproot the Toad King and his Toadies wherever they find them. The Prime 'verse has been virtually cleansed of his influence. But even absolute power has its limitations when trying to stretch across a multiverse." His expression tightened. "There are Toadies in every major 'verse extending out from the Prime. Billions of them. Enough to directly challenge the Unsullied Throne. But only if the Toad King finds a way to Absalon Prime."

"I can't provide that," I pointed out as I tried wrapping my brain around the kind of numbers Brick was throwing around.

For once the intense Skyguard captain agreed with me, giving me a look and a quick nod.

"True. But he wants you for something," he added. "Something to do with you being a Unique."

A soft 'peep' from a hidden device made Brick pull up short.

"The convergence point is nearby," he indicated, pulling what looked like a cigarette lighter out of a utility pouch. Of course I knew that it wasn't, but since it had been such a long time since I had seen a convergence illuminator, I half expected to watch him light one up.

Instead the Skyguard captain twisted one end until a blue light shone from it. But it wasn't any blue light. This one danced and shifted as it slid through harmonics and phases.

"Damn place is so far off the beaten track, I almost couldn't find the resonance," Brick growled as he held up the illuminator and started to scan the space immediately in front of us.

"Coop, Slash, I'm at the convergence point," he said as a shifting patch of space

to tbe right of us moved uneasily with the blue light sweeping across it. "Are you inbound?"

"Negative, boss," the one Brick had named 'Coop' earlier, replied over the comms. "We're still pinned down. You'll have to transit without us."

That tightened Brick's already taut expression.

"Slash?"

"About two hours behind you, boss," Slash said. "The town is crawling with toadies. It's making finding a vehicle a challenge. We won't make it in time either. Might as well go over and dig Coop out of his tight situation."

"Which will make us almost even from all the times I had to pull your ass out of the fire," Coop quickly interjected.

"You wish," Slash fired back with a snort. "I've lost track of the number of times I've bailed you out, Lieutenant Cooper ..."

"Just get your teams out without killing too many locals and I'll be happy," Brick interrupted to tightly say. "As soon as I stabilize the convergence point, I'm transiting with the primary."

"Copy that, boss." "Copy that, good transit, Cap." Then the comms went silent.

I watched as Brick then began to pull other small devices out of his utility pouches, grimly fitting them together as he stared at the spot in space that was in flux.

"You're not seriously going without your guys, are you?" I asked, my brow crunched up in concern.

"They knew the risks," Brick curtly replied without stopping his assembly.

"But ... what if the Toad King is waiting for us on the other side?"

That earned me yet another hard look.

"Impossible, kid," the Skyguard captain growled before returning his full attention to his growing device. "This transit initiator has a randomizer that will jump us to any number of possible Absalons. Since that number is pretty much infinite, there's no way even the Toad King's psychic abilities can guess where you'll come out and he doesn't