“She’s right, Telarrek.” He kept his voice calm. “I don’t know what your interest in me is, but you’ve saved me enough times today that I know I mean something. If I’m worth saving, aren’t they?” He spread his hand out towards the viewport, Century was out there somewhere.
Kalian wasn’t sure how much Telarrek had heard, the alien’s concentration had been entirely on the human hand in front of him. Using his right hands, Telarrek reached for Kalian’s outstretched hand. His touch was delicate like the hand was precious somehow. He spread Kalian’s fingers as his own alien hands moved over the surface of his skin, his large Novaarian eyes inspecting every detail. Telarrek inhaled one slow breath pushing his chest out. He released Kalian’s hand and his posture changed as he became the captain again.
“We shall try...” Telarrek turned to face his crew and Ilyseal. “Full stop. Course correction. We are going to Century. I want maximum yield. Contact the envoy and inform them of our arrival.”
The crew’s pause was momentary while they received their instructions before the hum of activity resumed. A deep pulse resonated from somewhere in the ship and the viewport flashed to show the millions of stars visible outside. The starry field slid to the left, blurring into streaks of white light. It occurred to Kalian that the Valoran was moving to the right, not the stars.
Kalian faced Li’ara, thinking she would be pleased with the turn of events, but her face said otherwise. If anything, she looked confused, almost concerned with their change in circumstances. He simply shrugged in answer to her silent question. Even Kalian wasn’t sure if it was his words that changed Telarrek’s mind, and he had no idea what was so interesting about his hand.
Both Kalian and Li’ara moved as they felt a small jolt from beneath their feet, the Novaarians didn’t move at all. The streaking stars vanished as quickly as they had appeared, leaving the same empty void as before.
“It will take point four of a cycle to reach Century, my Charge.” The soft glow of Ilyseal’s bracer illuminated her large golden eyes.
“How long is that?” Li’ara was her controlled self again, collecting data, making her own internal assessments.
“Almost six of your hours, Lieutenant Commander.”
Now Li’ara had a time frame. “You said your crew had been analysing the attack.” Telarrek simply bowed his head in response. “Then I need to see it, I want to know everything about them. If we get to Century in time I’ll need to brief command, things will move quicker if I talk to them.”
“Agreed. Our presence may complicate events.” Telarrek turned to Ilyseal. “Send all the data we have through to the observatory.” Without waiting for a response, he began walking towards a large circular door behind them.
Kalian recognised the same wavy line that cut the door in half. He expected light to pour out of it, like all the other rooms he had seen on his journey to the bridge but, instead, this room was darker, with deep shades of blue and minimal lighting.
“Follow me.” Telarrek led the way inside the circular room with only Kalian and Li’ara accompanying him.
The room was bare except for a circular ring that floated in the centre. The only place to move was on the walkway that surrounded the empty circular island. The only light came from six spotlights in the floor that encompassed the room. It seemed such a contrast to the rest of the ship. Everything Kalian had seen so far was full of light exposing the alien beauty of his surroundings. Even the ceiling was lower than that of the room where he had been operated on. The room became darker still as the door sealed behind them.
“This is the observatory. From here all the Valoran’s scans and sensor data can be correlated for observation and analysis.” Telarrek reached out to place a hand on the central circle. At his touch, the dull metal came to life with orange lights appearing over its surface.
For the first time in his life, Kalian was looking at a language he couldn’t recognise. On Earth, there had only been one language, Central. To see an alien language in front of him was both exciting and frustrating. Twinkling specks of light began to appear between the circular console and the corresponding lights on the domed ceiling. A holographic image in full colour appeared in the centre, forming a column of light that gradually dissipated towards the ceiling and floor. In the middle was a sharp picture of the Icarus station with the moon on one side and the Earth on the other. From the angle of the image, it was clear that this had been recorded from a lens on the Valoran’s hull.
Both Kalian’s and Li’ara’s eyes lingered on the image of Earth. Kalian had a strange feeling of regret. Seeing his homeworld now, he appreciated its beauty for what it was. Perhaps more so because he knew he would never see it again, or any of the planets in his system. A wave of nausea passed over him as he realised the population of Mars was close to rivalling Earth’s.
All those people... gone.
Kalian wrapped his hands around the inside edge of the ring, leaning on it for support. He looked to Li’ara expecting her to be feeling the same if not worse. Her face was a blank canvas, no emotion or response. He used her lack of response as a crutch and tried to push all his thoughts of home away. If they were going to think clearly and get through this they had to be objective. He needed to be more like Li’ara. They were the only two human survivors. How did they survive? Out of the billions that died in a wave of fire and light, how did two humans survive, why them? It seemed to Kalian that Li’ara’s survival was at least a little more probable; she had been trained to fight and survive. But him, shouldn’t he be dead as well?
“So this is what you’ve been doing for four hundred years?” Li’ara walked slowly around the hologram so she could see both Kalian and Telarrek, but her eyes never left Earth. “You’ve been watching us through a microscope, learning everything about us, shadowing our every move. How is it, a race so good at observing didn’t see or know about a ship or species capable of this kind of attack?” There was an edge to her voice. Li’ara wasn’t showing any emotion, but she was angry.
Kalian felt the scales tip, as Li’ara became angry he became calm. It was odd to him, but he felt like he needed to balance them, being the only two humans present. It was an attachment he had never felt before. In this instance it helped him concentrate, pushing away his guilt of surviving and focusing him on what was happening in front of him.
“We...” Telarrek’s mouth remained open a fraction longer but said nothing. His shoulders became slack for a moment. Telarrek truly had no answer. “We do not know.”
“Then show us what you do know.” Kalian’s first word was a croak. He couldn’t remember the last time he had drunk anything.
Telarrek lifted his head sharply in response and began typing commands into the console. “This is-”
“Wait,” Kalian interrupted him. “I want you to start by telling us why I’m here. Only two humans survived that attack, why is a history lecturer from San Francisco one of them?” He looked to Li’ara briefly. “A soldier maybe, one of our leaders or ambassadors, but why me?”
Telarrek looked intently into the hologram. “While your injuries were being repaired I informed the Conclave of recent events.” He paused as the golden swirls of his eyes focused on Kalian. “The politics of the Conclave are... complicated. There is more than just my race involved now. There are four other species that will each have their say in the matter. No doubt there will be consequences for keeping the discovery of your kind a secret.”
“You’re dodging the question.” Kalian didn’t care for the politics of an alien society.
“I am to bring you before the Conclave. It is my understanding that only the Highclave are allowed contact with you. I am to escort you there, nothing else is permitted. I am already breaking my mandate by changing course. It is not for me to speak on their behalf if they do not wish it.”
Kalian’s frustration was growing, it had been a long day filled with pain and death and he had no idea why. No idea about any of it, why the attack, why him, who
was their attackers?
He desperately wanted to know if they were aware of his other thing, the part of his life he had kept secret for so long. He already felt vulnerable with Li’ara knowing and that last outburst had frightened him. He had never experienced that before. To feel the room around him and even be able to reach out and touch Li’ara was new.
He met Li’ara’s eyes across the room, a silent question passed between them. Kalian knew she understood what he wanted to ask but she shook her head discreetly. It made sense to let the Novaarians broach the subject, he hadn’t wanted to be a lab rat on Earth let alone become one for some advanced alien race.
Li’ara changed the subject. “There will be more time for that later.” She gave Kalian a knowing look - we will get to the bottom of this, but we’ll stay in control. “Let’s see what we can learn about these bastards.”
With Kalian’s silence, Telarrek moved on, his large hands delicately moving over the orange hieroglyphs. The image was altered as the giant rectangular ship appeared in front of the moon. From where he was standing, Kalian could fit the ship in his hand; he resisted the urge to reach out and do so.
“Our scans have proven ineffective in determining their propulsion technology. Intrinium leaves a unique signature after its consumption; even Novaarian ships can be identified. This one, however, broke through subspace without leaving a trace of how it did so.”
“Hold on a second, Intrinium is Solarcite right?” Kalian hated the science part. Telarrek bowed his head in acknowledgement.
“He’s right. All UDC ships leave behind a marker that can be identified as Solarcite.” Li’ara turned to Telarrek; she looked like a dog with a bone. “What did you mean, even Novaarian ships can be identified? Surely you use Solar-, Intrinium, as well?”
Telarrek paused before answering. “Novaarian ships do use Intrinium for subspace travel...” He paused again. “But we in the Conclave use it in a different way to you.” He was being deliberately vague.
Kalian wondered if Li’ara had stumbled onto a Novaarian secret.
“What does that mean?” He didn’t like the science of it all, but Kalian was getting tired of secrets.
“Your technology is primitive to that of the Conclave. Most ships do not require the presence of a star to travel through subspace. The ship you found on Charon was of an older design and too small to house an engine like the Valoran’s. Smaller vessels still require the magnetic fields of a star spot in order to ignite the Intrinium.”
Both Kalian and Li’ara waited a moment longer expecting a further explanation of the bigger ships and their method of travel. None was offered.
“And yours don’t?” Li’ara asked.
“No.” Telarrek’s answer was simple and his meaning was clear.
“Is that how you were able to just appear in orbit? Our perimeter sensors were aimed at the sun, but you just...” Li’ara was digging for as many facts as possible, always planning.
“It’s true we did not arrive by your conventional means, but we had been in your orbit for some time without detection.”
Li’ara couldn’t help but look confused and a little shocked. “How is that possible? The Valoran is so big we didn’t even need sensors to see you.” She was starting to sound a little defensive despite the topic being after the fact.
“The Valoran is a long-range exploration vessel; it is specifically equipped with observation equipment and stealth technology, not normally permitted within Conclave space.”
“You have cloaking technology?” From the look on Li’ara’s face, Kalian surmised that the UDC had long sought after such means.
“I fear we are going off topic, there will be time to learn about our culture and technology. My point is that this ship used a form of propulsion unknown to us or the Conclave.”
“Is it possible one of the species in your Conclave developed it without your knowledge?” It seemed an obvious conclusion to Kalian.
“The Laronians for instance?” Li’ara had been storing every bit of information that left a Novaarian mouth apparently.
Telarrek sharply shook his head once to the left. “The Laronians are ambitious but they could not construct such a ship without our knowing. I have already told you they are not a threat to you, only that your personnel on Alpha NL-2204 may be considered hostile. That is why they were to be evacuated as soon as possible.”
“What’s going to happen to them now?” Kalian had completely forgotten about the terraforming team.
“My superiors in the Conclave are already in discussions with the Laronians on how to handle the situation. Until we leave subspace, however, we cannot communicate with them to learn of the resolution.” Kalian wasn’t put at ease by the idea of other alien species deciding the fate of seven thousand fellow humans. Li’ara’s face said the same thing. The frustration was putting knots in his stomach; he didn’t like the feeling of being helpless. It was a new sensation for him after spending most of his life just trying to blend in, never getting involved in anything beyond his lecture theatre. For the first time, Kalian wanted to be involved, to be able to help.
“So your basic analysis is, you have no idea?” Li’ara started pacing again.
“We can learn and deduce a lot from what we do not know.” Telarrek typed commands into the console making the hologram magnify the image of the enemy ship. “The sensor sweep of your entire solar system they performed was too fast and too powerful for any technology we have encountered. If they were able to correlate that information in the time it took them to attack...” He paused, considering the ramifications. “It would be an indication of an on-board artificial system far more advanced than any known to the Conclave or even the Shay.”
“The who?” Kalian was afraid he was going to get lost in all the names and technology this new galaxy was throwing at him.
“They are a key member of the Conclave. They are responsible for the manufacture of many electronic systems used on all Conclave ships.” He began typing again finishing his previous command. “You see here.” The image of the ship blurred as a tight oval bubble rippled down the length of the hull, quickly dissipating at the end. “I had to slow the image down in order for you to see it.”
“What is it?” Li’ara’s eyes were fixed on the ship, be it a strength or weakness, she had to know.
“That was our own sensor sweep of their ship. The particles that we projected from the Valoran’s array impacted the shell you just saw and were then absorbed.” Telarrek’s head tilted slightly in that curious way.
“What’s the significance of that?” Li’ara’s questions reminded Kalian she was a soldier, not a scientist.
“The sensor particles should have passed right through their ship, even if they had the technology to jam the feedback. The fact that they were stopped by a physical barrier and then absorbed is even more curious.” Telarrek folded his upper arms across his chest.
“So they have shields, is that a big thing?” Kalian remembered the sci-fi shows he had watched growing up in the various foster homes; those ships always had shields around them. Thinking about it now, he realised the only thing that had been fiction was the fact that UDC ships don’t actually have shields, they could do everything else. At this point, he was willing to believe anything after everything he’d seen.
“Shield technology does not absorb energy, it disperses it. Over time the shields would be worn down from decay. The absorption would suggest it took the energy from the scan to make it stronger. This technology has not been invented.”
“Clearly not.” Li’ara stopped pacing and folded her only set of arms.
“Perhaps, but this next technological feat would seem impossible.” While keeping his upper arms folded, his lower arms continued to key commands into the console.
The hologram shifted again focusing on the gap between the Icarus station and the black ship. At first, there was nothing to see but empty space. The hologram changed again, magnifying on a speck between two distant
stars. The column of light was entirely focused on a blurred image of the goliath that attacked the station. It was horizontal on its collision course for the exact spot Ambassador Arlek had stood.
Kalian couldn’t believe what he was seeing; even though the image was blurred he could still make out legs and a head thanks to the backdrop of the Sun. He had assumed the alien attacker had been in some form of casing or even a small ship, not just the suit of armour he had seen it in. It was diving head first towards its target; its arms didn’t even appear outstretched. Whatever this alien was it couldn’t be ruled by its fear. He had seen it walk headlong into railgun fire without flinching and now he had seen that it had literally jumped from one ship to the other.
“The Valoran attempted to scan it as soon as we detected the jettison.”
A blurry haze appeared around the figure, similar to the oval bubble that had appeared on the enemy ship’s hull; the scan clearly hit the figure on one side as the blur dissipated on the other side. This time though, the shape wasn’t a bubble but more fitted to the creature’s bipedal body.
“The same thing.” Li’ara’s eyes were bright lights in the reflection of the hologram.
“Am I missing something here?” Kalian couldn’t make the connection as to their fascination.
“The same shielding that protects their ship also protects that.” Telarrek pointed to the outline surrounding the diving monster. “It acted exactly the same way, absorbing the particles, most likely making it stronger as well. How they are able to produce a shield emitter small enough to be carried on an individual is a science unknown to us.”
“You don’t have any that small?” Kalian asked.
“Our shield generators are similar in size to one of your fleet vessels.”
Thinking about the vastness of the attacking ship, Kalian had forgotten how big the ship under his feet was.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 12
