“What now then? We just walk?” the Laronian asked sarcastically.
Li’ara gave Kalian a look that suggested she would be happy to shoot the commander.
“Play nice...” Kalian whispered to her as he headed further into the cave. “We need to go down here,” he announced to the group.
“And what happens when we get to the end, we just turn around? This tunnel has been thoroughly scanned and rescanned. There’s nothing here but dirt and rock.” Lanakdar was checking the holographic reports on the tunnel as he spoke.
Kalian and the others ignored him as they continued to traverse the distance. Pushing his awareness out like sonar, Kalian eventually discovered the parallel tunnel coated in nanocelium. The group stopped with him while he reached out for the muddy wall. He drew in a breath, focusing his awareness to a point. The nanocelium was fifteen feet away, lying as dormant as The Wall had been before Kalian activated them. It was just bad luck on behalf of the recovery team that they hadn’t decided to dig the tunnel fifteen feet to the right.
“Time to wake up...” He released a small pulse of electrical static through the wall giving it just enough power to reach the nanocelium. Following their original coding, the nanites reacted to their maker’s call, contracting as they changed shaped to reach him.
“What did you say?” Lanakdar asked.
“Time to go to sleep.” Kalian couldn’t see into their minds since they emitted a different frequency, but he could still reach inside. Since their alien brains were unique, he didn’t have the time to shut down the correct section in case he actually killed them. He, instead, opted for just blanketing their whole mind with darkness. Kalian made sure their synapses were still firing with signs of life before coming back into his own mind.
Now in front of them were two prone forms, happily sleeping. Lanakdar would wake up with a headache after the Raalak’s heavy arm landed on his face. Stubbornly the Shay began to stir as he stumbled to his knees. Kalian reasoned he must have had an artificial backup system to wake him up. It wouldn’t be surprising if all Shay had to shut their brains down like a computer, rather than rely on the organic part of the mind. Naydaalan quickly stepped in, with his staff extended, and whipped the Shay across the top of his head. Now there were three prone forms.
“How did you do that?” Ilyseal inquired as she checked over their sleeping bodies.
“A trick Esabelle taught me.”
“You have learned a lot since the last time we were here,” Telarrek observed.
“Well, they have been spending a lot of time together,” Li’ara quipped while she absently checked over her own weapon in its thigh holster.
Kalian chose to ignore the comment. She could hardly complain about the time Esabelle and he spent together if she was happy to stay away. As a welcome distraction, the muddy wall started to move with large chunks of dirt being pushed out. The overhead lights briefly flickered from the new stress until a clear rectangle had been cut out from the wall.
There was no door, just a pitch black rectangular hole. Kalian easily adjusted his eyes to compensate for the dark while Naydaalan produced two spherical lights. After squeezing them in his hand, the orbs lit up and floated free into the tunnel behind Kalian. It reminded him of the first time they discovered the outpost’s hidden depths.
The nanocelium door opened into a corridor that seemed completely out of place, buried within the bedrock. They walked silently for half an hour along the featureless corridor until eventually, they reached the one and only room. The two lights hovered into the circular room illuminating the suspended sphere at its centre. Kalian readjusted his eyes for the light, slowly edging round the great ball to allow room for the others. The room was tall enough to fit the Novaarians, who had been cramped in the human-sized tunnel.
“What is this, Kalian?” Telarrek’s upper hand moved over the sphere without actually touching it. The Novaarian’s sense of wonder reminded Kalian that before his post as ambassador Telarrek had lived for centuries as a scientist.
Taking in the dark sphere, Kalian felt an image rise out of his subconscious. He had seen something similar during his training in the outpost, while ALF downloaded raw information using the subconducer. During his lessons on all things Terran he had been shown an image of the Criterion, the planet-sized sphere that housed ALF’s physical hardware. Looking at the sphere made him see the similarity.
“I think this is ALF.”
Telarrek’s gaping sleeve slid down his upper arm revealing the Novaarian bracer within. Its metallic surface lit up with multiple scans feeding the information directly into his vision - one of the many upgrades available to a Conclave ambassador.
Kalian didn’t need technology anymore. He placed his hand on the curved surface, allowing the nanocelium to read his DNA. The reaction was visibly instantaneous. The sleek surface rippled out from Kalian’s hand creating a tidal wave effect across the entire shell as the nanocelium changed matter. Naydaalan took a step closer to his father, with his lower right hand reaching around his back to rest on his spear. Ilyseal bowed her head to human height in order to get a better look around Kalian’s hand, inquisitive as always. Her demotion to cargo transport was perhaps the worst punishment the Highclave could have conceived for her.
“Hello, Kalian.” ALF’s voice came from all around them. “I see you still keep the entourage, plus one.” With every word the sphere rippled, emanating from the spot Kalian had touched. “Though I’m betting from his genes there’s a relation to the Ambassador here.”
Naydaalan looked disturbed at the silent genetic scan.
“I see you’re still a smart ass,” Kalian replied.
The ripple effect became exaggerated as ALF let out a hearty laugh. “I don’t even have an ass, but I can’t disagree with the first part.”
“Consider yourself lucky you don’t have a physical body, robot...” Li’ara gave the sphere a look that could melt nanocelium.
“Still haven’t forgiven me then? I assure you I calculated the odds of your survival to the highest decimal.”
ALF had no chance of winning her over. Kalian could feel the anger Li’ara had for the AI and knew it wasn’t a grudge that would easily go away. Kalian would never admit it to Li’ara, but he had come to see the reasoning behind ALF’s plan to dump the Helion on top of his head. Had the AI not manipulated Li’ara into boarding the great ship, Kalian may never have found the strength to overcome Savrick and save both Li’ara and him. Though saving Li’ara was probably not even entered into ALF’s plan.
“Well the next time you feel like playing the odds, don’t do it with my life in the balance,” she retorted sharply.
“How did you survive, ancient one?” Telarrek asked.
“I was never in danger,” ALF explained. “Since the Tempest landed here, my physical housing has remained apart from the outpost. I felt it a safety precaution in case it was ever discovered by someone other than a human.”
“Thank you for helping me to escape.” Telarrek bowed his long face in respect.
“You are a friend to humanity, and therefore a friend to me, Ambassador Telarrek.”
Kalian suspected that ALF saw humans as his children, much the same way he did with the Terran.
“You seem to be aware of current events?” Kalian had noticed ALF refer to Telarrek as Ambassador twice now.
“Thanks to the proximity of the recovery team above, I have been able to access the subspace hub on Nova Prime and therefore the Conclave at large. There is nowhere I cannot go.” ALF’s omniscience never failed to make Kalian second-guess its intentions. Nothing should be that powerful.
“Can you physically leave this room? The Conclave will inevitably find you here.” Kalian knew he could levitate the sphere all the way back to the ship, but he couldn’t conceal it from the recovery team.
There was a pause before ALF replied, “You didn’t come just to see if I survived did you?” The AI was already working things out.
�
��No,” Li’ara stated flatly. “Personally I would have been happy to have never found out, and I’m still not sure this is the best plan.” She looked at Kalian with pleading eyes.
He wondered if her inherent distrust for the machine came from him or the other way around. Of course, it was possible that neither of them trusted ALF.
“In the Conclave, knowledge is power.” Kalian turned back to the sphere. “Well, we have access to the greatest power source in the galaxy.”
“You’re going to make my nanocelium blush. Why are you really here?” ALF pressed.
“You had a few theories on the cube; do you have any actual information, facts?”
There was another pause before ALF responded. “Where is it?”
Kalian hesitated at ALF’s abrupt question. “It’s still onboard the Gommarian, but it’s safe, it can’t harm-”
“Not that one - though you should have fired it into the nearest star - the other one, the one that has brought all of you here.” ALF’s ability to calculate all possible outcomes, combined with his intense physical scans of body language, gave the appearance of a telepathic being.
“It is on Trantax IV, on the outer edges of Conclave space, in Raalak territory,” Telarrek answered.
ALF paused for what could have been a century to an AI “Fascinating...”
“Explain,” Telarrek said.
“Apparently whatever targeted the Terran Empire also considers the Conclave to be a threat. From my own findings, the cube was sent after the probes came across the Empire. Have any such probes been located in the Conclave?”
“Nothing, this is the first discovery of its kind,” Telarrek explained.
“What did you derive from the probes?” Ilyseal asked eagerly.
“That task was assigned to my other self, shortly before I left on the Tempest. The last information I received before disconnecting from the Criterion concerned the probe’s final resting place inside the Vault.”
“What’s the Vault?” Li’ara asked.
“We all have our secrets, Li’ara Ducarté. The Vault’s contents are mine. Sadly it lies on the other side of the galaxy, beyond all our reach.”
“The Highclave has asked us to help in their investigation.” Kalian tried to bring the conversation back on track, he wasn’t sure how long Lanakdar and the others would remain asleep. “With your experience, we might actually get some answers. If you can come with us...”
“Did you bring your armour?” ALF inquired.
Kalian removed the flat device from his belt, holding it out in his palm.
“Place it on the shell.”
The moment the device touched the sphere it was completely absorbed by the nanocelium, disappearing from sight. Ripples continued to emanate from somewhere inside despite ALF’s silence. Kalian felt the build-up of static electricity in the air as the particles became charged. Random sparks of lightning ejected from the sphere’s surface harmlessly connecting with the surrounding walls with deafening cracks. Naydaalan protectively stood in front of his father, battle ready.
All at once the ripples stopped and the lightning ceased as the sphere dropped to the floor in a rain of powder. Kalian bent down and wiped away a small pile of inert nanocelium to reveal the black triangle with the top sliced off.
Three points of light appeared on the surface in a multitude of colour, bringing a full-size hologram of ALF to stand before them. He wore his usual white and grey robe with a neatly trimmed beard and shoulder-length hair. He stretched his arms, imitating a man waking to a new day having been cramped in the same position for too long. “Anyone fancy a road trip?”
Garrett couldn’t remember how long he had been sitting listening to the makeshift council go on and on. He didn’t care about how many women were pregnant or how many attempted suicides had been averted. Earth was gone, Century was gone and the human race stood on the brink of extinction with an extra-terrestrial threat hanging over their heads. So what if a few more people were being born and few more were dying. It made no difference to the bigger picture. Why was he the only one that could see that?
“When we prepared for Alpha we couldn’t have anticipated this kind of strain.” Laurence Wynter sat opposite Garrett at the circular table, a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties but was closer to a hundred and twenty. Laurence had been head of the oversight committee for the hiring of all key personnel that would run their separate divisions during the terraforming process. In essence, he was the reason everyone around this table had been selected in the first place. Garrett didn’t like him. Before the attack, he had been one of the many sons in the Wynter dynasty, just another rich brat who didn’t have to play by Central Parliament’s rules. Even now, on a ship that provided everything, making money obsolete, he continued to lord himself over everyone.
“I know Laurence, but the councillors just can’t cope with the load,” Jim Landale explained. “Eighty percent of the people onboard lost family and friends, including some of the councillors! They were hired to deal with seclusion and isolation from civilisation.”
Garrett didn’t mind Jim, on the odd occasion they spoke, but noticed that most people avoided him, including his own staff. Jim had been the head of human relations in the Arc, the central hub for the terraforming project.
“Well isn’t that what we’re dealing with?” Laurence countered.
“What we’re dealing with isn’t even close to what they were trained for on Alpha.”
“Counselling is one thing, but I’m hearing a lot of complaints about Novaarians walking around freely. People are finding it unnerving.” It was Joseph Barns who changed the subject. Joseph was in charge of the astronomy contingent responsible for Alpha’s discovery in the first place. Their role within the terraformation had been minimal and was mostly an honorary position.
Garrett rubbed his eyes in an effort to stay awake. His opinion was never sought after by the other team leaders. With a specialist field in geology, he wasn’t considered the most valuable member.
“I have spoken to Captain Fey,” Laurence held up his hands while looking to Commander Astill. “She assures me our concerns are being raised with the Highclave itself.”
“The Highclave? I thought we could only deal with Ambassador, what’s his name?” Jim asked.
“Telarrek,” Commander Astill answered. “His most recent visit brought word from the Highclave. Our representatives are meeting with them right now.”
The commander’s statement changed the atmosphere of the room. Everyone looked at each other in confusion and some annoyance. Garrett knew what their problem was. They were all wondering why the table was full if a representative was meeting with the Highclave.
“Is Captain Fey meeting with them?” Sharon Booth asked.
Garrett gave her a fleeting glance not wanting to make eye contact. Ever since she had rebuked his advances it had become very awkward around the xenobiologist. Laurence Wynter hesitantly looked to the commander who explained what Garrett already suspected.
“The Highclave specifically asked for Kalian Gaines.” Astill’s words came as no shock to Garrett; Gaines was at the centre of everything. From what they knew of the history lecturer he wasn’t technically human. So why was he representing the human race? He was sure Kalian knew a whole host of alien secrets that he wasn’t sharing with them. He couldn’t be trusted.
The mention of the extraordinary being gave everyone pause. Kalian Gaines was a mixed subject among the various heads. Some viewed him as a hero after it was told of his victory over Savrick, the one responsible for humanity’s demise. Most of the scientists wanted to study him, though Garrett got the feeling Sharon wanted to do more than study him.
“The Captain has impressed upon him all our concerns and issues to be raised. Commander Ducarté has accompanied Mr. Gaines as well so...” It was a typical Laurence Wynter response to an order from Captain Fey. He didn’t have the spine to stand up to her and enforce the will of the council, of the people. At thi
s rate, the future of the human race would be a militaristic society.
“We need to discuss expansion into the next quadrant,” Samuel Vock, head of project management, added with a change of topic. “There’s enough room in this ship for each person to have a cabin to themselves. We’ve only explored around twenty percent of the entire thing.”
“What we need to discuss is the one thing we never talk about!” Garrett burst out. He couldn’t help it; they continued to waffle about matters and resources that the Gommarian took care of.
“Not this again Garrett,” Laurence said.
“Yes, this again. There is an artefact, or an entity, or something on this very ship that may well be the reason for our near extinction. And all you ever talk about is trivial shit that doesn’t matter! We need to examine the cube, properly. I bet the ship could replicate the equipment we need using the nanocelium. It would be as simple as entering the requirements into the Gommarian’s systems. Esabelle did it when she made a ship for that North man. It’s possible.” He looked at them desperately, pleading. Why wouldn’t they see reason?
“Garrett, we’ve gone over this. The cube is-”
“No Jim, that’s the point, we haven’t gone over this! We were all briefed by Captain Fey on the Terran and Esabelle’s account. She said it was a threat and that they are coming. And yet here we are discussing where we’re all going to sleep on this giant ship! If just one of those cubes caused the destruction of an entire species, twice over, then don’t you think we should learn about it if more are coming?” He couldn’t make his point any clearer.
“You’re right Professor Jones, the cube is a threat,” Commander Astill continued. “That is why it is a UDC matter. We will handle it.” The commander’s tone was enough to broadcast his confidence and authority.
Garrett looked away like a sulking child. Everyone was looking at him as if he was some paranoid freak. It infuriated him.
Laurence Wynter clasped his hands together and cleared his throat as he straightened in his chair. “We can put together a small exploratory team to investigate the next quadrant.” He continued as if Garrett had never spoken. He looked up but no one would make eye contact with him.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 57
