“Charge Ilo, report.” Uthor’s commanding voice demanded attention.
The Laronian captain stood from her chair. “Apologies for not meeting you in the hangar, High Charge. As you can imagine, things are somewhat delicate.”
“No apologies necessary, Charge. Before the Marillion hit sub-space, it was reported that the prisoners had already surrendered.”
“That appears to be the case. The Sentinel hasn't long been in the system, High Charge, but after taking control, it has been reported to me that the fourteen prisoners in question were detained aboard the Galiant and searched. The Gomar do not carry any weapons that can be detained, but the two humans were in possession of a great deal of weaponry, especially the notorious bounty hunter, Roland North.” Charge Ilo slowly licked her blue lips, as if contemplating her next words. “Also, High Charge, the Gomar have a prisoner of their own… the one identified as Malekk.”
Telearrek’s eyes widened in surprise. The infected Terran had been reported by Kalian to be immensely powerful.
“What was he doing here? Does everyone know about this secret planet?” Uthor asked, incredulously.
“It appears he was trying to kill the Gomar, sir. Reports from a Doctor Bal indicate that it took all of them to subdue him, but Charge Q’ol of the Galiant informs me that the Gomar refuse to hand the Terran over. They say it’s imperative that Malekk is left with them.”
“This complicates things…” Uthor’s rocky brow creased into a frown.
“We have already stripped his ship of all relevant data. It appears he came from a system on the edge of Conclave territory. Judging by the ship in which he travelled, the journey must have taken some time. We don't know why he used this vessel, but we assume there is something more substantial on the other end. It won't take long for one of our ships to investigate; I dispatched the Victory some time ago.”
“Very good, Charge Ilo.”
An Atari crew member turned to face the trio in his chair. “Charge Ilo, the transport ship has docked in the hangar. Awaiting orders.”
“I take it your cells are empty, Charge?” Uthor asked.
“Wait,” Telarrek interjected. “They must be given a chance to explain. In all their time in the Conclave, have the humans ever broken our rules to do anything but help us? If Li’ara Ducarté is with them, I am certain their reason for freeing the Gomar is noble.”
Uthor sighed, which sounded more like a growl. “I agree with you, Telarrek. But we cannot ignore the fact that twelve of the very same race who attacked the capital, killing thousands, are now conscious and free. Measures must be taken.”
“This ship may be the crown of the fleet, Uthor, but I know it does not have the power to stop the Gomar. If they wanted to fight we would have arrived in a graveyard. They want to speak,” Telarrek insisted.
Uthor looked away, considering his options. “Charge Ilo, have your helmsman contact the Marillion. Instruct them to keep their distance, and should we drop out of communication, even for a moment, they are to destroy the Sentinel without hesitation.”
Charge Ilo paused, no doubt being hit by the gravity of their situation and the potential power of the beings she had just allowed aboard her ship. The Laronian nodded and turned away to give her orders.
Uthor met Telarrek’s golden eyes and silently communicated the trust he was putting in the Novaarian. They were the oldest of friends, but now Telarrek was asking the Raalak to put other lives in jeopardy, including their own.
“Well there’s no point in holding ceremony,” Uthor announced. “Charge Ilo, have our guests brought to the bridge.”
Li’ara walked side-by-side with Roland, both stripped of their weapons and scanned on a cellular level. It was promising that they had been granted permission to board the Sentinel, a ship full of Conclave secrets they didn't want the humans or the Gomar to learn about. Looking back at the twelve beings, all covered in hulking black armour, Li’ara supposed she was actually walking around with twelve very big bombs. Who could say no to them?
“Can you still feel the Rackham?” Li’ara asked quietly.
“Yep,” Roland replied. “I can't be sure how close, but the signal hasn't disappeared.”
It was always good to have other options.
The group was escorted by several teams of Conclave security, but the only security worth noting was the Gomar, who continued to levitate Malekk’s body in the middle of their group. The infected Terran had yet to gain consciousness, but Sef had informed Li’ara that they were all, in some way, focused on keeping him that way.
The doors parted, revealing a pristine bridge, decorated with colourful holograms and tall, glass screens, overlaid in a web of data. A crew of every race in the Conclave moved around the spacious bridge, relaying commands and data to different parts of the ship. It reminded Li’ara of her time aboard the Gommarian, when some sense of peace had been achieved.
“Greetings of peace.” Telarrek stepped out from behind a glass screen and held out all four of his arms.
“Telarrek…” Li’ara couldn't help but smile, more than happy to see the friendly face. The two embraced, with all four of Telarrek’s arms wrapping around her back.
“How?” the Novaarian stepped back and asked. “How did you survive? I saw the footage of the remains… nothing could have survived that explosion, it is impossible.”
Li’ara smiled and squeezed the ambassador’s long fingers affectionately. “When you have a Gomar looking out for you, impossible starts to lose all meaning.”
The Novaarian looked beyond her, to the amassing group of armoured beings. There was a level of distrust in his eyes, upon sighting the variety of tattooed faces and menacing helmets. That distrust turned to fear when he glimpsed Malekk, floating in the middle.
“Is nobody happy to see me?” Roland held up his hands.
Four heavy feet approached the bounty hunter. “Oh, I’m happy to see you, Mr. North.” Uthor towered over Roland. “I have a special cell in a Raalakian maximum security prison with your name on it.”
Considering he was standing in the shadow of a Raalak, Roland replied with an arrogant smile. “That sounds lovely, but I’m afraid I’m not a member of the Conclave, so… you’ll just have to send me back to the human population.”
Uthor dipped his face until it was inches from Roland’s. “Things change, Mr. North.”
Li’ara perked up. “They do? Does that mean the Highclave are considering our membership?”
Uthor returned to his full height and looked out over the Gomar. “That depends on what you say next, Miss Ducarté.”
Roland groaned. “You’re gonna’ have to explain the whole damn thing again!” The bounty hunter turned to the blue Laronian, who appeared to be the captain of the ship. “Does this place have a bar?”
Li’ara blinked slowly in an effort to stop herself from offering the bounty hunter an expletive reply. Having given Roland an explanation of the last three months, she now felt confident in supplying the relevant information in the best possible way - after all, her current audience was far more important.
“We’re all on the same side, High Charge.” It seemed like a good way to start.
“You speak for them?” Uthor nodded at the Gomar with his flat head.
“Sef is their leader,” Li’ara gestured at the broad Gomar, “but their concentration is required to keep Malekk docile. They have given me permission to speak for them.”
There was a commotion behind Uthor and Telarrek, with the Laronian captain responding to three of her crew, who were all directing her attention to a single screen.
“Charge Ilo, report.” Uthor swung his mighty rock-like legs around.
“The Victory has emerged from sub-space, High Charge.” Ilo glanced back at her crew. “Put it on the main-viewer.”
A hologram was emitted at the front of the bridge, hiding the viewport from sight. They were all seeing through the external cameras of the Conclave security vessel, Victory. The ship was m
oving in on a very familiar object.
“That’s a Starforge…” Li’ara announced.
“Specs, Ilo?” Uthor’s expression was impossible to discern.
Charge Ilo leaned over her helmsman and absorbed the Victory’s data. “It’s massive, sir. It looks to be identical to the construct found in the Helteron Cluster.”
Telarrek cupped his long jaw. “How many did Protocorps make?”
Uthor audibly ground his teeth. “Charge Ilo, have your analysts mine the data uploaded from Shandar. I want them to specifically search for anything relating to Starforges.” The Raalak looked down on Roland again. “This would be easier if you hadn't killed Kel-var Tionis…”
Roland shrugged. “My finger slipped.”
“Sir!” Ilo redirected their attention to the hologram.
The Starforge was charging up, with giant bolts of purple lightning firing around the hull. The two pointed ends of the crescent-moon lit up and expelled more of the electrified bolts, until all the light show began to coalesce in the empty space, in the middle of the station.
“The Victory is asking for orders, High Charge.” Ilo looked at her superior expectantly.
Target any of the three starrilliums on the outer hull. Without them, it will lose power.
Li’ara couldn't have mistaken Sef’s voice for anyone. “Tell them to target the starrilliums on the hull,” she interrupted.
It was too late for orders.
The lightning stopped charging around the hull and the epicentre of the fusion expanded into one black mass, blocking out the stars on the other side. The Starforge had opened up a hole in sub-space. What came through from the other side appeared to suck the air out of the Sentinel’s bridge, leaving them all in stunned silence.
The ship that emerged filled the entire space of the massive Starforge, almost scraping the sides and destroying the station.With a pointed end protruding first, the gargantuan ship was shaped like the tip of a spear. Its surface wasn't smooth, as the Gommarian had been, but was similar to that of a construction site as if the vessel was made of a network of beams and pipes with no covering.
“Is that as big as I think it is?” Roland asked in disbelief.
“Charge Ilo?” Uthor prompted.
The captain hesitated. “It’s three times the size of the Sentinel, almost as big as the Marillion. Beyond that our scanners are unable to penetrate the hull.”
Li’ara could hear Sef in her mind again. “Look at its design.” She pointed at the image. “That’s not Terran in origin. It’s one of them!” Li’ara looked back at Malekk in disgust. “This is what we’ve been trying to warn the Highclave about since we got here! They’re real, and now they’re here!”
Uthor nodded slowly, but never took his dark eyes off the alien ship. “Order the Victory to open fire - full complement.”
It won't be enough… Sef spoke into Li’ara’s head.
Uthor continued his trade of commands. “Have the third and second fleet coordinate. I want them surrounding the capital immediately. Contact the fourth fleet and alert them to our status; they’re to meet up with the first,” Uthor nodded at the armada of ships beyond the Sentinel, “and provide support to the Victory.”
The main-viewer flared, as the Victory opened fire with everything it had. The Nexus Class ship was among the largest in the Conclave arsenal, with enough firepower to crack open a large moon. The alien vessel took every blow, not even bothering to raise shields. The entire bridge stopped what they were doing and stared at the display. It had been a very long time since any Conclave vessel had emptied its entire munitions supply.
Explosions big and massive erupted across the bronze, alien hull, still, it did nothing to retaliate. After a few minutes, the Victory reported back that they had run dry of things to throw at their target.
“Wait…” Ilo was checking the helmsman’s data again. “According to the Victory’s sensor array, the enemy ship has increased in size.”
Telarrek faced Uthor in alarm. “The hull is made of nanocelium. They are absorbing the energy and using it to replicate.”
“It’s moving!” Ilo stood up from the screen.
The alien ship turned about until its pointed end was facing the Victory. It grew larger in the main-viewer, as it consumed the external camera’s scope.
“Get them out of there!” Uthor ordered.
Ilo went back to work, but it was too late. The alien ship ploughed into the Victory and the feed went dead, collapsing the hologram. Li’ara could only imagine the chaos on the other end.
The expected moment of silence never came, with Uthor proving his worth. “Charge Ilo, I am using my emergency powers; as of this moment, let the record show that I am assuming full authority over Conclave security. To that effect, have the Marillion evacuate the Highclave and shuttled back to the capital - I want that ship under my command by the time I’m finished speaking. Re-direct the third fleet to meet us at the Starforge’s coordinates.”
It won't be there when they arrive, Sef said. It’s not looking for a confrontation, Li’ara. There’s only one thing it wants, one thing it’s always wanted…
Li’ara stepped forward, halting Uthor’s next order. “It didn't come here to fight you. Whatever they are, they might have designs on the Conclave, but you’re not what they’ve been focusing on for the last two-hundred thousand years. Doesn't it seem too much of a coincidence, that when a hundred thousand more humans arrive and the only surviving Gomar are free, that this thing should show up?”
“What are you saying, Miss Ducarté?” Uthor loomed over her.
Telarrek answered, “The humans. It has come for the humans…”
“We need to go to Arakesh and intercept it, before-”
Uthor cut Li’ara short. “Course correction! Have the third fleet meet us at Arakesh! And have the human habitation alerted to our situation. I advise immediate evacuation.”
Li’ara smiled in relief. They were finally starting to believe them.
“High Charge,” Ilo turned around, “the Highclave are protesting your orders.”
“Are they off the Marillion?” he inquired.
“Yes sir, the Nautallon is escorting them.”
“Good, then have that big, golden ball of destruction ready to jump with the rest of us!”
23
“What the hell is that thing?” Captain Holt spoke up, over the alarms blaring across the human habitat.
Captain Fey cupped her mouth, unable to prevent the expression of despair that overcame her. Jed decided he would prefer to never see that look again. Li had been calm and collected through some of the weirdest things Jed had ever seen in his life, but the image of that massive ship emerging from the Starforge stunned Fey to silence.
“Li?” Jed repeated his question.
“It’s one of them. They’ve finally decided to get their hands dirty.”
Jed looked from the holographic feed to the masses beyond Fey’s office, who were now being herded towards the docking area. It was chaos.
The door opened and Laurence Wynter flew in. “Where are the evacuation shuttles?”
Jed had only known the man for a day or so and he already couldn't stand the sound of his voice. When this was all over, the captain decided that something had to be done about this whole council thing. It seemed to Jed that more than a few of them weren't fit to make decisions on behalf of the human race. Just thinking about the new population size was enough to make his shoulders visibly sag.
“They’re on their way,” Fey assured. “The Raalakian high council has already sent word.”
“Have you seen what that thing did to the Victory?” Wynnter was becoming hysterical. “We aren't all going to be evacuated in time! Why aren't we using those shuttles in the engineering bay?”
Fey pinched her eyes. “Those are maintenance shuttles for repairing the habitat. They can't fit more than a couple of people inside. We mustn't panic, Laurence…”
Wynter’s mouth fell open
in shock. “Not Panic? Did you even read the alert from High Charge Uthor? That thing is coming to exterminate us!”
“Colonel Matthews?” Jed shouted above the councillor. The Raider marched into the office with her usual mean expression. “Please see to it that Councillor Wynter here finds his way to the evacuation area.”
Ava nodded and roughly gripped Laurence’s jacket, yanking him from the room in a shower of protests.
“Thank you,” Fey said, “but we have to be careful with our authority, or the word dictatorship is going to start being thrown around.”
Jed held up his hands. “I apologise. I just couldn't listen to another word…”
Li smiled. “Indeed.”
“He does have a point though,” Jed continued. “The Raa… Raa… the evacuation shuttles aren't even in sight yet. According to that report, the system in which it arrived isn't far from here.”
“What we need is more time.” Fey couldn't take her eyes off the image of the giant ship.
Jed agreed, but he didn't have an answer for her. The captain sat back in the chair, behind Fey’s desk, and looked up, through the skylight. The view gave a clear line of sight to the transparent dome above, where the Paladin floated effortlessly.
“Where’s the engineering bay?” he asked.
“Why?” Captain Fey gave him a curious look.
“There might be no way to slow that thing down… but there might be one way of speeding up the evacuation.”
By the time the Sentinel and the fourth fleet emerged from sub-space, the third fleet had already arrived in the Arakesh system and engaged the enemy ship. Roland peeked over the helmsman’s shoulder and saw their position put them on the edge of the Raalakian solar system. The alien ship was taking a battering, as it hurtled towards a distant moon, orbiting a giant gas planet. The third fleet surrounded it and matched its speed, never letting up for a second.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 123
