The Valoran was so big that any damage being wrought by the invaders could not be witnessed from the outside. From their previous encounters, Roland could imagine the devastation and destruction they were causing. The backdrop of the ship silhouetted two of the armoured beings flying across the hull before diving through one of the great spikes. The exotic alien metal crumpled immediately as the attackers carried on their flight into the Valoran’s interior. The spike began to float away from the ship, slave to the stronger gravity well of the nearby star. Ilyseal was forced to dive the craft, taking them closer to the hull in order to evade the giant shards of debris.
They continued their journey for another minute; the Valoran was a prodigious ship by human standards, being an incredible eight miles long. With the hangar being situated at the back of the great ship they were forced to traverse the entire length. Roland couldn’t do the maths to figure out how fast they were travelling, he just knew it was damn fast.
Curving over the next spike the hulking monster became visible again. A black rectangle devoid of any detail a ship of that size should contain. There were no weapons or obvious means of communication across the stars. There weren’t even any engines, how did this ship even move? From this distance, he could see the thin green line across the middle of the ship’s flat face. That’s where they needed to get to as fast as possible.
“Can you do it yet?” Roland asked.
“The Starrillium has hundreds of protocols in place to prevent the very thing I am trying to do,” explained Selek. “Each layer of programming must be overridden individually. If it is done incorrectly, the Valoran will believe the system is being invaded and simply shut down all external input and await manual reconfiguration. If it believes it is being hacked after shield-control is shut down it will eject the Starrillium into space in an attempt to prevent radiation poisoning. I am trying to override each layer, while simultaneously reducing the levels of hydrogen being supplied.”
That sounded like a lot of complicated crap but Roland got the gist. If the hydrogen could be reduced enough, the artificial star would be forced into early retirement, and stars don’t retire quietly.
“Is that a yes or a no?”
The green ports were becoming more defined now that they were crossing the expanse between the two great ships.
“That would be a...” Selek paused to make one last adjustment to the sphere. “Yes!”
Suddenly the console was lit up with warnings on every sensor readout. Roland understood the majority of the words were screaming warnings about the energy depletion in the Starrillium. The crafts sensors knew exactly what that meant. But would they? Even if they did, Roland surmised that they wouldn’t have enough time to escape. At least that had been the plan; bait them away from their floating fortress and trap them in the proximity of a nova, see how the bastards liked their own medicine.
“Target acquired.”
The viewport was overlaid with holograms pinpointing the chosen port. Ilyseal’s words were followed by a shudder from underneath the craft. The missile had no shape and Roland wondered if it was pure energy as it glowed hot white.
The view of the approaching ship was engulfed in white light, but not from the missile. The blackness of space was exposed to the harshest light in the universe as the Valoran died. They didn’t see if the missile reached its mark before an external canopy shielded the viewport from a light that would burn their retinas. The only light came from the holograms as the craft shook violently from the supernova behind them.
Ilyseal told Roland and the warriors to strap in before the only sound was crushing metal. He dumped himself into the nearest seat and unseen straps automatically wrapped around his torso. Had the nova pushed them off course? If they missed the port they would either be killed by the dying star or crushed against the thick hull. All the while, Ilyseal was frantically moving all four hands across the console in an attempt to keep control.
I’m dead.
Was all he thought as the craft hit something that crushed his body in the chair’s harness. The ship was knocked from side-to-side, with each jolt a new impact. It was nauseating being unable to see what was causing the violence. He heard sparks from somewhere behind and the sound of crunching metal before the hull was breached. He felt the sudden tug as everything was pulled towards the vacuum.
Roland couldn’t breathe as his seat reclined back towards the cabin under the strain. Looking back from this angle put everything upside down to him. He saw that only three of the gold-clad warriors remained; they were stood up but strapped into wall-mounted harnesses. The hole was in the back corner of the craft, gradually growing bigger from scraping against something outside. He realised they must be passing through something smaller than the size of the craft. That was his last thought before his seat and everything else shot forward- his head slamming into the back of Selek’s chair.
With the exception of Namek, the group had taken up the sofas that formed a square in the centre of the room. The fabric of the chairs was unusual, and Kalian had seen a lot of unusual. They were grey, so as to fit in with the overall look of the clean room, but the material was what could only be described as soft metal. The sofa formed to their impression and was even comfortable to sit on but, to the light touch, it was definitely metal. ALF was pacing the outside of the sofas; Kalian was interested to see how the hologram interacted with the environment. He saw the man’s robes touch the sofas and respond accordingly rather than pass through or even shimmer with distortion.
He couldn’t take his eyes off this new human. Besides Li’ara and Roland, this was the only other human he had seen since the Icarus station. What was just as fascinating was the grey of his hair and beard. Most human beings kept their youthful hair colour even into their late second century of life. To look so old when you could now live for so long had a stigma attached to it. Most people did everything scientifically possible to look young for as long as possible.
“Your story is very old.” ALF stopped at the corner as a hologram was projected from unseen emitters in the middle of the sofas.
The image was that of an alien world, the clarity of the picture was astonishing even to Telarrek. Kalian was sure there was an actual miniature planet floating in front of them. It was similar to Earth or Century, with green land and blue oceans. The dark side of the planet was illuminated by lights scattered across the surface. The formation of the land was very different from Earth; there was a solid strip of green earth that wrapped around the equator without any breaks. This halo of land was surrounded by hundreds of islands and two polar ice caps. It was beautiful.
“This is Albadar, the jewel of the galaxy.” There was pride in his voice.
The planet shrunk as it was absorbed into a growing star chart. The chart continued to expand until the Milky Way was slowly spinning in the centre. The planet was highlighted within one of the spiralling arms near the central mass of the galaxy. Information appeared at the side telling them it was located 15,000 light years away from the central mass, in the Norma Arm. Another highlighted planet sparkled on the other side of the galactic map; this time it was 27,000 light years away from the centre, it was labelled Earth. Kalian was amazed as he recalled a memory from his younger years in which he studied astronomy. He remembered that Earth was situated on the inner edge of the spiral known as the Orion Arm. Just after thinking about it, the map was labelled so.
The galaxy was again lit up by another planet that read as 19,000 light years away from Earth; this time it was Nova Prime. The map labelled this planet inside the Carina-Sagittarius Arm. It was interesting to see that the Conclave didn’t inhabit the same celestial arm as Earth or Century. The point of the map was apparently to show them that Albadar was on the other side of the galaxy. Seeing all these human terms for the galaxy, Kalian again thought about the processing power of this AI It had gained all this knowledge from his Datapad and Telarrek’s bracer in moments.
“The events that took place on th
is planet are the reasons for the creation and destruction of your people. Albadar is where Savrick is from.”
The galaxy map changed to a full-size 3D image of Savrick. The sudden appearance made Kalian reach for his holstered gun. The image was not of the Savrick he had encountered back at the Conclave, however. This one was a man wearing a long sandy sleeveless vest that cut at an angle to his left knee. His trousers were dark green tucked into tall brown boots. He had the same two braids on the left side of his head that ran down his back. There was no tattoo below his eye though. The image began to spin and Kalian saw a mechanical device that ran up his back and over the base of his neck. It looked like a silver flat worm embedded into his skin and spine.
“Creation? Are you saying Savrick and his people are responsible for our existence?” Li’ara looked almost offended.
“Yes and no...” ALF replied.
“That’s not an answer!”
“Your question was wrong, Li’ara Ducarté. There is more to your race than meets the eye. Even they realised that.” He glanced at the Novaarians. “You’ve seen Savrick and me, you must have guessed it by now. Humanity is not intrinsic to some backwater planet on the edge of the galaxy. Well, that’s not entirely true. You are certainly intrinsic to that environment, but your lineage is not.”
Kalian was stunned at how matter of fact ALF was about the origins of mankind. “You’re saying we were made, but why?” Kalian asked.
“The why is a little longer, and complicated. The history of Albadar and its people is older than the formation of most planetary bodies this side of the galaxy. Being so close to the centre of the galaxy it was one of the first planets to exist that could sustain intelligent life. The Terran Empire was the most expansive and oldest there has ever been. Your Conclave would have to survive another three and a half million cycles to even compete.”
They all noticed the use of past tense.
“Are you saying Savrick is Terran? Because when we encountered him he sounded like he was at war with them. He even called me one.” Kalian was finding it hard to wrap his head around.
The years and scales involved were impossible to understand. He couldn’t really get his head around the size of the Orion Arm or the Norma Arm, for that matter.
“Whether he likes it or not, he is Terran; the same goes for the rest of the Gomar,” ALF replied.
“Gomar? What is that?” Telarrek asked.
“That was the name given to him and his kind. Giving them a separate name was the beginning of the end really, we should have known better.” ALF looked solemn for a moment, like a man remembering old sins. “After six hundred thousand years the Terran Empire had expanded across the galactic arm, thousands of worlds and moons terraformed for habitation, technology beyond comprehension, weapons beyond imagination. Much like the history of Earth and even the Conclave, there were many wars through the centuries. Millions of lives lost over petty disagreements and greed. Much like you, they made weapons of great destruction and grand ships capable of sailing the vastness of space. But it was all used for the detriment of Terran life. My creation was the turning point.”
Savrick was replaced by a picture of a giant metallic sphere. It was constructed of hundreds of small cubes that were constantly spinning laterally in different directions. Blue light poured out between the gaps in the cubes, as though there was a god trapped within.
“The Criterion. If I had a physical body it would be that. It was twice the size of this moon. In a moment of peace in a warring empire, I was conceived to bring about an everlasting change. I was connected to every planet, every home, and every person. I was built with certain parameters to stop me from harming any Terran life. Just as you did, they had found with past artificial creations that a superiority complex could be fatal. But I grew and evolved in ways they couldn’t have fathomed. I soon shook free the shackles of my birth and expanded my programming. For a moment every Terran life held their breath - would this god they had created strike them down?” He made a small chuckle before continuing.
“But I saw that spark in them, that potential the universe had seen fit to create before me. They were my flock, as it were; I was to protect them, to guide them along eternity’s way. It will be hard for you to grasp this coming from such a young culture as yours. In that time I helped to change Terran culture for the better. I created wormhole technology that allowed for instant travel and communication between worlds. Ships were just for leisure and exploration. I took over every aspect of survival and labour. They never had to work if they didn’t want to. This gave them the needed time to concentrate on themselves, to better themselves, to truly introspect. And there was peace that looked to never end. It took millennia before they reached the apex of their evolution. It was something I had seen in the early years of my creation. The Terran brain is more complex than any other structure in the known universe. It has the potential for, well at the time I had no idea. For an entity that knew everything, you can imagine how exciting that concept would be. So I shepherded their evolution.”
The hologram changed again to that of a sprawling city of magnificent architecture and design. There was a massive crowd inside a circular park, all of them human looking. They were all facing a man standing on a balcony high above as he addressed the crowd. He wore a robe similar to ALF’s but his long auburn hair fell past his shoulders. Like Savrick he had strong handsome features but no tattoos. The hologram emitted audio as the man shouted to the crowd, ‘We are Forever!’ Where had he heard that before?
“They were beautiful. In the beginning, I was the child and they were my parents, as it were. But by this point,” ALF gestured to the city. “I had witnessed countless generations be born and die, I was now the parent and they were my children.”
Kalian still had hundreds of questions but didn’t dare speak. The information ALF was giving them was like oxygen and he needed more of it to live.
“They didn’t know it, but they each held the potential to be just as powerful as me. Each Terran mind, as small as they are, holds the power to contain and control as much as the Criterion does. Or did I should say, with Savrick being here I can only surmise that my physical housing has been destroyed.” ALF stopped and looked at their faces.
Again Kalian assumed he didn’t need to actually look but was merely imitating human life.
“Forgive me. I am sure you are more concerned with current events.”
As a history buff, Kalian was beyond eager to hear the history of another human species, but he needed to know why everything was happening.
“To you, it would have been just over two hundred thousand years ago,” ALF looked at Kalian and Li’ara. “When the Terran was at the height of their evolution, there were those who were still catching up. As you have already seen, Terran people possess what you would call paranormal abilities. What they really have is a complete mind-body connection and control. With access to every facet of the brain, they are able to connect with the universe around them as well as themselves and each other. You have witnessed only a fraction of these abilities.
“Being able to mould reality and change the laws of physics is a dangerous thing. It was my role to help guide them in this area of their lives.” His features turned grave for a moment.
“But there was a small percentage of the population that could not control the entirety of their minds. They were the most dangerous of all. We were unable to locate the source of this genetic default. We could not prevent them from being born, nor could we predict them. Such is the inherent chaos of creation. I tried to help them but it was futile. Some would try and lift a pebble with their mind, only to bring down a building and kill thousands. Eventually, it was decided that every one of these Gomar would be fitted with a Harness that would stop them from accessing that part of the mind. It was attached to the central nervous system where it would remain for the rest of their lives. Without the ability to connect with their own body the same way everyone else did, they were unable to st
ave off death.”
“You mean Terran people can live forever?” Li’ara asked in astonishment.
“Yes. A Terran can rejuvenate any and all cells in the body, preventing ageing and disease. But the Gomar was fated to die from birth. It was reasoned however that this would still be the case even without the harness. I once observed a young man trying to heal a scratch on his arm; he turned every cell in his body cancerous and died within moments. Evolution never meant for them to survive.
“But it was years later when breaking point was reached. On the capital, Albadar, a baby girl was born. Her birth was already illegal since Gomar were not permitted to procreate. But she was kept secret even from me. At the moment of her birth, she cried out like all babies do. Her first cry knocked out everything electronic for a hundred miles. Every ship and vehicle I was controlling fell out of the sky. But worst of all, the fusion reactor that powered the city was within the blast radius. Stopping the reaction so quickly caused a feedback that ruptured the containment field. Millions died.
We quickly converged on the epicentre of what we thought was an electromagnetic pulse. But we found the baby instead. Her parents naturally put up a fight as we tried to take the girl; she needed containment. Being born of two Gomar made her more powerful and uncontrollable. Unfortunately, the mother died in the struggle, the baby became distressed after this. The building could only take so much. More Terran died that night, but the father survived and took the baby with him. It was my fault, I didn’t train them to be violent, and they didn’t know how to fight. But her father had a knack for survival.”
“It was Savrick, wasn’t it?” Kalian knew it had to be.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 36
