It was dangerous to think of her, he couldn’t control his emotions at the thought of her name. He would wipe out all life in the galaxy if it meant he could bring her back.
Enough!
Through his link, he commanded the nanocelium to cover his head with his helmet. It built around his shoulders before snapping up around his face. He stood from his chair, ready to leave for the hold; he would go a few rounds with the beast.
The ship’s sensors suddenly alarmed in his head as his link came to life with proximity warnings and spatial distortion alerts. He whipped back to Sef, who silently increased the density of the external nanocelium and brought weapons online. He was already aware of Lilander returning to the bridge, the beast remained in position.
With no viewport, they could not see the apparent reason for the alarms. Sef activated the hologram that consumed the front of the bridge, making it appear as if he were floating in a vacuum. There was a flash of light the size of a hand before the Conclave ship rippled into existence. Its chrome-red hull reminded him of the security vessels they encountered at the Conclave capital planet. Thinking about this new ship gave him access to the sensor’s feedback. He could see in his mind’s eye that it was twice the size of the previous ships. He recognised the spec’s on most of the armaments with them ranging from planet-breakers to implosion mines that would create a scattered net of black holes, nothing the Gommarian didn’t already have. Their control of weaponised plasma was impressive though, but still archaic in comparison to his ability to manipulate it with his own biology.
“Analysis?” he asked out loud, knowing Lilander would be the only one to reply.
She stepped into view as her blade retracted back into the handle, the nanocelium returning to their compact, dormant state. “This is not the Gommarian. They possess the firepower to obliterate this craft,” she replied.
Savrick knew what she meant. The Conclave could destroy their ship but not its occupants. You didn’t survive as long as them without being a formidable opponent. The nanocelium would take a beating from most of their weaponry but would inevitably lose cohesion. He brought the list of armaments their own craft held, in search of something to end this swiftly. This journey was already taking too long without FTL capabilities.
The list was pitiful, with most of the ship’s design based around the power of the engines. With that thought, he wondered how they had been detected in the first place. In the vastness of space, two ships didn’t just happen to come across one another. He checked through his link to make sure their stealth systems were operating.
“How did they find us?” he asked.
Sef was shifting holograms into their appropriate slots readying the layout for evasive manoeuvres. Lilander appeared to walk out into vacuum as she stood by Sef to check the readouts for herself.
“They’re targeting everything within half a light-year of us,” she replied.
Savrick thought about that for a moment. They couldn’t triangulate their exact position but they knew they were here. The ship wasn’t fast enough to evade half a light-year’s worth of weapons fire. How did they know where to intercept them? Only the Gommarian had the sensors to detect their stealth capabilities.
Unless...
Savrick’s blood boiled at the thought. Could it really be possible? Accessing the part of his mind that could produce internal worlds like a virtual reality, he was able to think and access information and memories in only fractions of a second. Connecting to his cerebral link, he filtered the data Esabelle had collated on everything Conclave from past and present scans. He removed everything that wasn’t related to the Novaarians and Nova Prime. There was nothing of any significance at a cursory glance. He flicked through their species like turning the pages of a book. He quickly examined their biology, then their technological achievements along with their expansion into space.
There had to be a reason they were going to Nova Prime. He inspected their change in economic circumstances through the millennia, looking for any anomalies. In the past they had intruded into the Conclave AI to scour their knowledge of anything Terran, looking specifically for any technology. He dug deeper now, looking at the Novaarian timeline while tasking search programs to cross-reference with anything relating to Terran culture, whether it be technology or biology.
He found it.
The link highlighted it in his mind while uploading further details on the historical subject. There was no mistaking the origins of the handprint and the Terran hieroglyphics. He read the inscription and realised he was looking at some kind of outpost left behind by the crew of the Tempest. But even if this was some leftover base, it still didn’t explain how this Conclave ship could find them. There had to be a Terran hiding in that moon, a living messenger to pass on the information of their doomed ancestors.
How had they not found this before? Esabelle was on a par with the Criterion when it came to data collation. They had scanned this culture centuries ago and nothing had been reported. He would question Elandar later, but first things first. Savrick knew he had spent just over a second inside his mind and they would have to act soon. As easy as taking a breath, he brought himself back to his external reality. He updated his crew with a data packet via their links and saw them enter the same meditative state for the blink of an eye. They now knew about the moon called Naveen.
“I think this will work to our advantage.” Lilander had a fiendish smirk on her face.
Savrick said nothing giving her time to explain herself. He had never been a fool when it came to ruling, not like the Terran. They handed their freedom over to a machine that thought itself a god who would only talk to the Avatar. But Savrick won the war because he listened to his brothers and sisters. He ruled the Gomar because they wanted him to, because he was fair and just. Because he didn’t just care about progress and evolution, he cared about freedom, and the freedom to love.
He heard Lilander’s plan and felt his own grin creep up his face. He would soon find this hiding Terran along with the abomination that was Kalian Gaines.
“Deactivate stealth systems. Open a channel,” Savrick ordered.
14
Three hours had gone by and Kalian was still lying on his cot staring up at the ceiling. How was he supposed to sleep while his mind digested the origins of mankind and the meaning of life? He turned over and saw Li’ara lying on her cot across the room. ALF had given them all separate rooms but Li’ara dragged her cot into his room anyway, she didn’t trust the AI. She had removed most of her armour but she was definitely in a deep sleep. It must be a soldier thing he reasoned, able to fall asleep anywhere at the drop of a hat.
Being as quiet as he could, he left the room to stretch his legs and organise his thoughts. He tracked the corridor back until he found himself in the lounge area again. He hesitated as he walked through; the room had changed its configuration. Instead of the sofas and oval columns, there was now only an empty room with a large square sparring mat on the floor. Even the ceiling looked to be higher than before. He looked around, believing he must have taken a wrong turn.
“Hello, Kalian.” ALF was standing in the centre where, only a moment ago, there had only been air. He was just as before, with his white and grey robes reaching the floor. He had his hands braced in front of him as he paced around the mat.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Kalian said.
“You have questions,” ALF stated.
“I have answers. I just don’t know what to do with them...” Kalian joined him on the mat and felt the soft leather under his bare feet.
“Hearing the reason behind one’s own creation can be hard to take.”
ALF sounded so human it was easy for Kalian to forget he was something else altogether.
“But I put it to you that your reason for existence is the most sublime.” ALF paused looking intently at him. “You are to live, Kalian. You are to grow and learn and love. Your kind was made to seed the universe and explore and enjoy its wonders.”
“Were you part of the plan?” Kalian asked
ALF looked puzzled at the question.
“Were we supposed to find you on this moon so you could do the same with us as you did with the Terran?”
ALF appeared to chew over the question as if his artificial mind hadn’t already calculated that particular question and his answer to it. “Yes, it was. I was always part of the plan. I believe your species requires guidance and wisdom. You have so much potential it would be negligent to leave you to explore the galaxy without the right hand to guide you. Especially since we knew humanity had been accelerated in its evolution.”
Kalian didn’t know what to make of that yet. He still wasn’t sure of this AI himself, he stored the information for later, and maybe Li’ara could help him figure it all out. He simply nodded to acknowledge ALF’s words.
“You said that I’m the weapon against the Gomar.” ALF nodded in agreement. “But you said Savrick won the war because he had weapons you hadn’t seen in a long time. How am I supposed to beat him if he wiped out an entire civilisation with those same weapons?” Kalian’s confidence in their survival wasn’t helped by knowing he was the plan.
“Terran history is long and complicated. The weapons Savrick attacked us, and you, with were from a time even before my construction. There were six hundred thousand years of history before I came along. I downloaded as much of the information as I could but wars have a way of blurring history. I recognised most of the technology the Gomar used but the Gommarian was something new, and very old. You would think something twenty miles long would be hard to hide but...” He looked away for a moment with such human emulation. “I don’t know where he found it or learned half of what he did in his exile. A part of me had started an investigation into that before I left for here. I suppose I will never know now.”
“You’re only part of the whole,” Kalian echoed ALF’s earlier words, despite his lack of understanding.
“Indeed I am. It was decided early on in my creation that I should split into three. One to rule and govern all aspects of living, to allow for a comfortable lifestyle and to control travel and economics. One to interface with the people, to meet them on their level and know I wasn’t some artificial tyrant. Someone they could interact with at a moment’s notice. And finally, there would be one to teach and shepherd them in their abilities.” With that final one, he put a finger in his chest.
“You will succeed, Kalian, because you must.” As he spoke, the ceiling parted into eight sections retreating into the surrounding space.
A chrome-white machine that resembled an upside down cannon descended into the room, while at the same time a reclining chair began to form from the floor up. The nanocelium built upon themselves like a tornado of sand until the white chair was completed.
“No more talking out loud then?” Kalian was referring to the strange commands ALF had been giving when they met.
The AI chuckled at the question and rested his hand on the headrest of the chair. Kalian wondered if it was just another emulation created by an adjustment in the hologram, but he was sure he saw the cushion indent under his fingers. Then again, it was possible the nanocelium responded to his touch as if he were real.
“Sorry about that, it was a little strange wasn’t it? It was just a heating issue, it’s fixed now.” He moved around the chair so that it was between him and Kalian. “Before the war, I could take decades or even centuries to teach a Terran to use their abilities. But once Savrick attacked we no longer had that option. We had to use more invasive methods.”
ALF tapped the chair and it took Kalian a second to realise it made a sound. Could the nanocelium respond to his touch with sound as well?
“What is it?” He had a hunch he would be sitting in that chair soon.
“We call it a subconducer. Your brain, Kalian, is a biological machine. And, like all machines, it can have information uploaded and downloaded. I had to teach the Terran people to fight, to use their gifts in a way they should never have had to. The whole concept of warfare was foreign to them. For so long I had been happy about that fact until it proved to be their end. But you have not spent your life learning as a Terran would. The subconducer will take time to upload the relevant data, and you will need time to rest in between.”
Kalian walked around the subconducer, taking in the various parts and mechanisms that formed the ‘invasive’ machine. He wasn’t keen on sitting in that chair but he could see no other way. They were running out of time and he needed to be better. A part of him was excited finally to have some control over his abilities. There was another part of him that knew if he did, there would only be one outcome of his future. Either he would kill Savrick or Savrick would kill him. He felt a great amount of responsibility towards the inevitable conflict. If he didn’t beat Savrick, he had no doubt that the Conclave would fall shortly thereafter. He knew Li’ara would be killed.
He ducked under the cannon and sat back in the chair. ALF moved away, giving the machine the room to move into place. The extension parted in different sections before it became a sleek silver mask resting in front of his face.
“Is it going to hurt?”
“It will be... uncomfortable.” ALF burst into a nebula of dissipating blue stars, and the subconducer covered Kalian’s face.
Roland estimated they had been running for nearly fifteen minutes and covered almost four kilometres. They could still hear those things chasing them. Not long after exiting the first tunnel they had come to a junction with four offshoots. Three of them were filled with nightmare machines that had spherical bodies and dozens of tentacles that spread across the corridor. They used every surface to propel themselves, while the main body reconfigured to produce hand size cannons.
Fleeing down the only route left to them Roland was starting to feel like they were being led a particular way. Every time they reached a longer corridor the air was filled with ozone as energy weapons were unleashed on both sides. The walls exploded around them as neither side could get an accurate shot while moving so fast. He was impressed with the agility of the Novaarians as they seemed to be constantly dodging the incoming fire of green energy. He knew they must be holding back because of his human speed, his flat-out run looked more like a jog to them.
Looking back he couldn’t see anything through the mass of metallic tentacles lining the wall. Despite the distance they were covering, it was nothing in comparison to the size of the ship.
“Do we know where we’re going?” he shouted over the quick burst of weapons fire.
“Our scans show a cluster of humans in the lower levels, towards the centre of the ship,” Ilyseal replied, as she released a bolt of blue plasma from her staff.
Roland did a quick calculation in his head; this is when training came in handy. He knew he could keep this speed up for another ten kilometres before his pace began to slow, then he would seriously endanger the group. He also knew that the ship was just over thirty-two kilometres in length. As long as they were heading in the right direction, he estimated that he would begin to slow down about two kilometres, give or take, from where the humans were being kept. He reached for the back of his belt, feeling for the MID. He knew just when to use them.
Over the next hour, they continued to cover the distance that Selek’s bracer guided them through. From what he heard over the scattered shootouts, he gathered that the scans were hard to follow due to the interior constantly changing. More than once he got frustrated and stopped to shoot the pursuing machines. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of them blowing to pieces and often damaging the machine next to it. His laugh faltered when he saw the broken pieces gathered up by the rest of them and integrated into their own body. The Novaarians had always given him a tug and brought him back to running speed.
He eventually began to feel fatigue biting at his muscles and his lungs felt like they were burning. He looked ahead and saw a ninety-degree bend coming up, that was it. As they turned the sharp corner he ducked th
e three green bolts that cratered the wall and disappeared out of sight. He would leave them a gift. He used what energy reserves he had left and sprinted to a safer distance. He heard the metallic tapping as the machines rounded the corner, just in time for the MID to detonate.
The reaction was spectacular to watch. The bomb made a sharp sucking noise as everything within sixty metres was pulled into the micro-singularity. The machines and everything around them were violently dragged into the epicentre, revealing other corridors and rooms inside the ship. This only lasted half a second before the kinetic energy from the implosion continued on its journey and exploded outwards. Roland was knocked off his feet, along with one of the warriors. They had attempted to introduce themselves, but Roland had interrupted by explaining that he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. He had come to calling them one, two and three, but he had already called each of them the wrong number.
They were both helped up as they looked back on the now gaping wreckage. Where a corner had been was now a large empty sphere that revealed several levels of the massive ship. Roland let out a long whistle before taking the chance to get his breath back. The Novaarians weren’t even breathing heavily.
“They are close now.” Selek interacted with his left bracer which emitted a small holographic image.
They could now see the human life signs were only a kilometre away. Roland didn’t like it. Despite having to run for his life for an hour, it all seemed too easy. Where were the armoured gits? He knew they would prove to be more of a challenge.
Elandar studied the readout intently. The bronze hologram floated above Esabelle, feeding him any and all information on her well being. Her heart-rate had increased along with her blood pressure and respiration rate, but unusually her core temperature was dropping. Some of her muscles flexed under the tubing she was attached to. This wasn’t the first time he had seen vitals change so dramatically. He activated the programs he had installed centuries ago that would infuse the appropriate drugs to bring her levels back to normal.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 38
