To take his mind off it, he spent the next few hours trawling through his Datapad going over old lectures and notes. It even had his schedule for the coming week on it. His eyes hovered over the delete option. He couldn’t bring himself to get rid of it; the one last piece of normality left of what was certainly his old life. Instead, he skipped to the next file, bringing up the lecture he had planned on teaching that very morning. He laughed ironically at how little they had really known about the events that took place four hundred years ago. He looked at the image of the downed ship on Charon, remembering what Telarrek had said about it being a damaged Laronian mining vessel. Without realising, he started correcting the slides and surrounding facts of his lecture. He relabelled the ship and even changed the Solarcite to Intrinium as if he was preparing a new lesson. To think, the last four centuries of human history had been dictated by an alien mining accident.
The silence was broken by the sound of a soft chirp coming from the table. Putting the Datapad down, Kalian could see the small round device Ilyseal had given them. The centre was flashing intermittently with the chirping alarm. Kalian was flustered for a moment, unsure what to do next. He half reached out for the device while looking to the cockpit door.
“Li’ara!” He picked it up, examining the domed ridges. “The thing, the thing’s making a noise!”
Li’ara almost burst through the door at the alarm in Kalian’s voice. Seeing the reason for the commotion, Li’ara took the device back and placed it on the table. As if making a point of it, she showed Kalian her index finger as she depressed the central node. A full-colour image of Ilyseal’s head projected from the source of the flashing light. Li’ara’s face said it all.
Moron.
Before Ilyseal said a word, Li’ara disappeared into the armoury leaving Kalian to talk to the floating head.
“Greetings of peace, Kalian.”
“Hi, I mean greetings, Ilyseal.” He could hear Li’ara putting on her armour and boots.
“We are moments away from reaching Century; your presence is required on the bridge.”
He definitely heard the clinking of weapons being removed from the wall.
“Great, we’ll be right there.”
As soon as Li’ara’s finished picking the right gun.
“Will you require an escort?” One of her red tendrils had broken loose from the tight bind and ran down the side of her head.
Kalian was still finding it hard to distinguish between the males and females, he was thankful for Ilyseal’s distinct red hair.
“No we’ll be fine thanks, I’m pretty sure Li’ara’s got the whole ship memorised anyway.” He added that last part quietly.
Li’ara came walking out of the armoury, fully clad in her UDC armour and looking more machine than human. Her sidearm was magnetised to its circular clip on her thigh.
“We’re on our way.” Li’ara picked up the communication device and slipped it into a compartment on her belt.
They shared a look for a moment, neither of them knew what they were about to go into.
They left the Fathom with Li’ara leading the way across the expanse of the hangar floor. Kalian wondered how far they would get before Li’ara was forced to hand over her weapon. Before they reached the door, the hangar was filled with a low hum that seemed to resonate from somewhere else in the ship. The view beyond the force field flashed momentarily as a cosmos of stars reappeared. They were here.
They both paused for a moment as staccato flashes of light were visible at the edge of the field.
“They’re attacking!” They both made for the force field instead of the door.
They weren’t the only ones taking a look when they got there at least a dozen Novaarians had lined against the field. Kalian didn’t know what to make of the sight; it was like something out of the old science fiction films he watched as a child. Lights brighter than a star illuminated the view as atomic weapons bombarded the enemy ship. UDC vessels of all sizes were swarming like angry bees around a threatened nest. The detonations were constant as missiles and omega class rail guns were unleashed from every vessel without pause.
Knowing how big some of the UDC ships were made the enemy’s mammoth ship seem even bigger, if that were possible. What was puzzling was the ship’s reaction to being attacked. Every impact clearly hit the hull and created a considerable explosion, but the surface of the monstrous ship almost appeared liquid in its reaction. The craters appeared as charred smoking holes as expected from such firepower, but as quickly as the ship was damaged it was also repaired. The hull was continuously rebuilding itself out of nothing.
“How is it doing that?”
“I don’t know. I assumed from those scans that it had shields.” Li’ara was scanning every ship in the battle.
If there was a formation to their attack, Kalian couldn’t see it. One UDC ship rose up from behind the far side of the colossal enemy. It was definitely the biggest vessel in this fleet but it was still too far away to make out the name on its hull.
“The Centurion!” Li’ara’s eyes widened at the sight of the ship. “It’s the second largest ship we have.” She hesitated. “I suppose it’s the biggest one now, the Hyperion was in orbit around the Sun before it...” She put the flat of her hand on the force field, creating small ripples around her fingers. “We need to make contact with that ship; it’ll have the commanding General on board.”
Oh shit.
Kalian grabbed her arm as she turned to leave for the command bridge.
“Look, there on the side.” Li’ara followed his gaze to the flat side of the enemy ship.
It looked like the reverse of the rebuilding process. The side of the ship started to disappear from the centre expanding outwards. Small green and white lights appeared around the edges as if that specific part of the ship was just switching on. The new rectangular hole gave off a fluorescent green hue that could be seen reflecting off other ships. Kalian’s fears were answered. Without any visible structures to support it, a pointed sphere glided out through the entrance to sit alongside its parent ship. It was an identical weapon to the one that had destroyed their entire solar system.
“No...” Li’ara’s whisper was barely audible.
He couldn’t believe it; they were going to do it all over again. As if ending one solar system and billions of lives weren’t enough. He felt an anger building inside himself at the sight of the weapon. Whatever these things are, they are determined to end all human life as quickly as possible.
He felt his laugh vibrate through the armour. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed. The command module had expanded in size to allow for the extra compliment. All eight hundred of his crew had gathered to witness their final blow against the enemy. He extended his mind feeling every one of them like a beacon of light in the dark. Elandar stood off to the side monitoring readouts from the pilot, constantly fussing over the vital signs. They couldn’t even feel the explosions as the primitive missiles hit the hull. His initial reaction had been to raise the shields but he decided to let the humans be baffled by the nanocelium that made up the entire ship.
Let their last thoughts be of chaos and confusion.
He looked out across his comrades, his brothers and sisters, his family as it were. They all appeared eager for battle, ready to fight and destroy. And didn’t they deserve it? After countless millennia of searching a galaxy that appeared to have no end, after all the systems they had located and the different species they had found, but never the right one. Didn’t they deserve to feel Terran blood on their hands again?
“The Novaarians have arrived.” Elandar came to his side with a solid oval column following him as though it rode on a wave across the floor.
The holographic scans confirmed his fears; the filthy Terran had survived the supernova, along with the Novaarian ship. He looked to the back of the gathered crew to see the beast standing a good two feet above the rest. He had intended to leave such a mindless creature behind unt
il he had seen through its helmet’s visuals that the humans had escaped. During the journey, he had sifted through the information gathered by their scans and the beast’s own view. He now knew this anomaly had a name, Kalian Gaines. Having seen him through the eyes of the beast he knew he was no real threat, he probably had no idea what he was capable of. It was his existence that disgusted him the most. Of all these humans he wanted Kalian Gaines to suffer, just for being what he was.
His lack of action put all eyes on him. “Would anyone like to take a walk outside?” The resounding chorus was all he needed to hear. “Tear them apart, leave none alive.” He turned back to Elandar as the crew left the module. “Let them have some fun before the Eclipse ends this world.” He could tell Elandar was eager to join his comrades but knew of his duty to the pilot.
“I will instruct her to launch immediately.” Elandar placed his own intricate helmet over his head in order to interface with the pilot more directly.
He moved over to the wall on his left as a rectangular panel fizzed to life with a live image of the Novaarian vessel. He left Elandar to his instructions as he gazed out.
Watch Kalian Gaines; watch as I end you and your petulant race.
They couldn’t survive this now, not even the Novaarian ship. If it came to it he would ram their vessel with his own and have done with it. The war was nearly over.
Kalian looked out across the field of stars to the small circular light of Century’s sun, Solson. The force field was obviously dulling the glare of the star and atomic explosions or Kalian couldn’t have tolerated the brightness. The pointed missile dwarfed the majority of UDC ships. Only the Centurion and a few others appeared larger.
“We need to stop that thing. If it reaches Solson we lose everything.” Li’ara covered her eyes as a particularly close explosion threatened to overload the force field.
“We need to speak to Telarrek.” Kalian began to head for the door but Li’ara remained where she stood.
“What are you doing, come on!” Kalian was about to start running.
“Go to the bridge. I need to get out there.” Li’ara was already making her way back to the Fathom before she finished speaking.
Kalian had to jog to catch up with her as she strode across the hangar. “Where the hell are you going?” He fell into place beside her. “It’s suicide out there, Li’ara. If the Centurion can’t scratch it, what’s the Fathom going to do? It’s too small to even be noticed.”
“Exactly.” Kalian could see the faraway look in her eye.
She was planning everything in her head as they spoke. He glanced at the door that would lead to the Valoran’s bridge but he knew he had already made up his mind. After everything they had been through he couldn’t deny the connection he had formed with her, he couldn’t explain the feeling, he just felt vulnerable without her. It probably had something to do with her saving him so many times. Kalian realised how stupid he sounded, to feel safer with someone while knowingly heading into danger.
Li’ara entered the code into the touchpad on her arm. The Fathom’s hatch opened up and the ramp extended to the floor just in time for them to enter. She turned to close the hatch behind her, only to have Kalian walk into her.
“What are you doing?” She placed a gloved hand on his chest, pushing him away.
“I’m coming with you.” He surprised himself with the confidence in his voice.
From the way Li’ara’s eyebrows shot up he wasn’t the only one surprised. “The hell you are. My mandate is to keep you safe, not take you into a war zone.”
“And yet here we are.” He went to move past her but got pushed back again.
“No, you’re not.”
“We’re wasting time.” He’d done it.
She stopped herself from saying whatever was on the edge of her lips. Her jaw clenched and she blinked slowly. “Fine. But you do-”
“Everything you tell me too, I heard you the first time.” Kalian moved past her hand and headed straight for the cockpit.
It was more spacious than Kalian had imagined. It had been built for two, with both seats in front of a viewport angled down towards the front of the ship. Glass stretched over the top of the cockpit allowing the occupants to see directly above them. It was divided into three sections with parallel lines cutting down the middle. The chairs looked padded and comfortable with head and armrests. The consoles looked intimidating. Instead of two separate stations, it was one holo-touch console that stretched from one side to the other. Everything was lit up in blue, red and yellow lights and miniature holograms. Unlike the Novaarian tech though, the holograms couldn’t be interacted with. Immediately to his left and right were taller consoles attached to the wall, each with a small readout screen. Kalian had no idea what any of it did.
Li’ara pushed past him, bringing him back to the moment. Now that he was here he really didn’t know what he could do to help.
“Strap in and don’t touch anything unless I tell you, I don’t want you breaking the ship before we can even lift off.”
Kalian detected the dark humour in her voice this time.
The seats really were comfortable. He slid in as the padded synthetic leather moulded to his shape and he looked around for the straps Li’ara had spoken of but couldn’t find any. He noted that she hadn’t attempted to either. He stopped himself from asking where they were when he realised it was just an expression.
Li’ara’s hands danced around the console as she typed in various commands. A quick high-pitched hum told him the engines were coming online. The mechanical thud from under their feet clicked into place as the landing gear had packed itself away. Kalian now felt the familiar sensation as the Grav Enforcers created the artificial gravity during flight mode. The Fathom rose above the other ships that surrounded it, turning towards the force field as it did.
They could both see the group of Novaarians below that had rushed to their ship in response to its sudden movement. A few of them were waving their many hands in the air trying to signal them to stop.
“It’s one way; they can’t see us in here.” As she spoke, two joysticks flicked up from their compartment, hidden within the console. Li’ara gripped them both and pulled back.
Kalian expected to feel the tug in his seat but there was no such reaction thanks to the compensators. The Fathom made a steady approach towards the force field.
“Can we even pass through that?” The thought had only just occurred to him. He had visions of the ship coming to a violent stop as the field proved stubborn. “What if it can, you know, solidify?” He didn’t sound as confident anymore.
“It won’t.” Li’ara placed her fingertips over a smooth blue touchpad raised above the rest of the console. It had lines running across with different numbers next to them. Putting her fingers at the top of the dial, she moved her hand down slowly. The ship immediately increased in speed towards the invisible field.
The Fathom flew straight through the centre creating small ripple effects around its edge. Kalian made a sigh of relief. He looked at Li’ara in astonishment at their luck.
“How did you know that would work?” He expected some cocky soldier-like reply about her training or something.
“Because you’re on board.” Her tone was flat as she concentrated on readouts in front of her.
“You knew they wouldn’t let me get hurt.” Had she used him to get off the ship? “That’s it, isn’t it? They knew it could have killed me if they didn’t let us leave.” He wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or impressed at her quick planning.
“Try not to cry about it... we might still get killed anyway.”
Before he could reply to her dry retort, Li’ara pulled down on the speed control and rotated the joysticks. The Fathom didn’t feel like it was moving, but the raging fight ahead of them appeared to move up the viewport, encompassing the entire screen. She had dropped the ship into a dive only to smoothly pull back on the control soon after.
“What are you doing?” K
alian held on to the console in front as if to brace against a force that never came.
“We’re going under it.” She was constantly checking readouts about the temperature in the engines and the efficiency of the compensators.
“I thought you wanted to fight?” He really had no idea what the plan was.
Li’ara whipped her head around at him like he was an idiot. “Does that look like a fight this ship can have any impact on?”
Kalian just shook his head as if he had already come to that conclusion. He turned to his right as something huge caught his peripheral vision.
Century.
It was more beautiful than the pictures he had seen. It reminded him of ancient Earth, the twenty-third or fourth century perhaps. It had more green and blue than his memory of Earth had. It was similar in some ways though, even from here he could see the sprawl of networks the hyper-ways created. There were millions of lights on the dark side with clusters where the major cities were. Kalian found that novel in a way; back on Earth, it had become impossible to define one city from the other. It was easy to see why so many people were moving here each year with the solar system becoming so crowded.
“Kalian!”
How long had she been saying his name?
“Sorry, what?” He followed her eyes up to the battle; he had to crane his neck slightly to see it.
The enemy had launched the weapon, they were too late. There were no visible thrusters as it silently shot off down the side of the black ship. Several missiles and railgun fire struck the side but had little or no impact.
“What do we do now?” Kalian could only watch as the silent impacts and explosions continued around them.
Li’ara immediately began punching in different commands to the touchpad that lay between them. Responding to her commands, a hand-sized sphere in the centre of the main console rose a few centimetres into the air. A blue hologram emitted from the top, relaying an image of the battle up ahead. In green was the star-bound rocket and the Fathom was represented in red. In the blink of an eye, small red lines extended from the Fathom, heading through the battle and into a straight line towards the rocket.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 14
