Shadows Bear No Names (The Blackened Prophecy Book 1) by Oganalp Canatan

worth twenty billion credits turned into space debris.
    “How many were on board the Novosibirsk?”
    “Seven hundred and thirty crewmen, seven bridge personnel.” Vice President Otto answered with a sullen voice.
    The balding man suddenly felt older. Evans was the one who’d sent the Novosibirsk to investigate the matter. He’d had to lie about the situation to the captain, not risking a rumor spreading about an active alien artifact, trying to protect a newly found Consortium asset as the man in charge of the operation. Now, they were all dead.
    Evans tried to focus on the political implications. It would be hard to explain the fate of so many men. The cover-up had to be planned and executed swiftly, and no matter what, they had to conceal the existence of this artificial alien design, whatever it was. Consortium practically owned the Core systems but competition was fierce with other players and the power game had shifty sands. Today’s Consortium could end and another power could take it over easily like the Virm Industries or the Cosmon Brotherhood. Evans shivered with the idea of a religious cult like the Cosmon Brotherhood coming out of whatever hellhole they were hiding and dominating Earth politics with their doomsday preaches. The appearance of a huge alien doorway would be a publicity feast for those madmen.
    “So, our theory of a possible first contact scenario was accurate,” Evans said after a while, surprised by the weakness of his own voice.
    “You could say that,” Vice President Otto replied, fiddling with his data pad, observing the bald man from the corner of his eye. “The symbols on the structure are mostly unknown but some of them resemble the ones found at the ruins. Bunari, Pendar, you know the locations. The structure is a gate as we have suspected.”
    “It is a gate, all right! What matters is what had passed through it and eradicated a dreadnought.”
    “Something nasty. The extraction team couldn’t find anything but the remains of Novosibirsk . Whatever it was, it disappeared without a sign.”
    “So, what will we say?” Evans asked, pacing the room, “An accident?”
    “We can say one of the nukes on board malfunctioned.”
    “Great God.” Evans hadn’t realized he was sweating. He pulled a handkerchief from his suit-pocket to dry his forehead. “You think this has anything to do with that accident?”
    “The Bunari crash? Maybe. The symbols connect the two, and an accident at the same time as the loss of a dreadnought is a bit farfetched for coincidence. We will have to wait for Agent Caius’ report.”
    “ Novosibirsk , can it be sabotage?”
    “We have a very tight security protocol after the incident in Cairo with those Cosmon freaks, but it is a possibility, yes.”
    Evans nodded slowly.
    “We cannot disclose anything about the gate, Evans,” Vice President Otto continued.
    “I am aware of that, Otto. No one needs another religious breakdown or a power struggle.”
    Evans walked toward a nearby cabinet and opened the top drawer, pulling out a torn out printed photo.
    “Bernard Evans?” Vice President Otto asked behind him.
    “My grandfather told stories of him. How they worked to create peace dialogues with Chinese, the Iranians and the Israeli.”
    “Hard times. Minister Evans was an important figure in this planet’s history.”
    Evans nodded. “Over a billion people died because of that world war. And when they finally managed to instill order, the discovery of Titan ruins came into play and the following Uprising.”
    “Well, things happened and Consortium was born as a consequence. Everything resolves in one way or another, Charles.”
    “True. I do not think people marching to Vatican and trying to burn the Sistine Chapel is a resolution I would like to see repeated.”
    “The old beliefs have changed and are not regarded as taboos. A struggle of power is a much more real threat. Religious dogma was doomed to fail anyway, one way or another.