Anna shook her head. While she couldn't know the 'gods' true purpose, she knew hers. Find the Talisman, and then worry about the ethics of using the power it represented.
She had to find it first.
Twenty Six
News which proved the decoy attempt had mainly failed, turned up from the next station they passed. The local media made a big deal of Seasprite and its human warship escort appearing in their part of the sector. It was soon apparent, their progress had been broadcast by media outlets for some time now. Speculation was rife about whether the expedition had the Destiny Stone with them, or whether it was now on Hunter Prime.
They even had requests from media organisations for interviews. Anna tried to imagine Snark being interviewed, but was laughing too hard to get very far.
The crew of the Seasprite, and Warspite and Tranquil, had not expected the convoy to be so exposed. They hadn't expected this far towards the edge of the galaxy, there would be many news outlets, or the team would be front and centre of broadcast news bulletins.
"We underestimated the attention we'd attract," acknowledged Tranquil.
"We needed to move in force," argued Warspite.
Anna kept her judgement to herself. They may still need the protection of the resources the convoy could muster, but they were certainly making a splash. Who was behind this? If it was the Brotherhood, then perhaps it made sense, or did it? Wouldn't this attract pirates and other scum to follow their progress? Wouldn't the Brotherhood want to discourage this? She was starting to get muddled.
The team conferenced in the lounge room. They were a little unsettled by the state of the not-squirrels, and the reach of the Brotherhood this far into sector eight. The reality of the power of the Brotherhood hit home with them all. The team couldn't underestimate the sect, or its mysterious head, Brother Prime.
"The Brotherhood by now could know our destination," surmised Sissness. "Given the whole galaxy seems to know our current location and direction, they'll be looking at locations along the jump lines out to the edge of the galaxy. We're hardly a small fish out here."
"How do the Brotherhood know where our actual destination is?" asked Patters. "Surely they'll have to investigate all along our suspected route. And we could change direction at any time."
"That's true," said Sissness. "Perhaps we should be doglegging, to confuse them."
"Somethings not right," worried Anna. "I feel the Brotherhood do know where we're headed, but I can't explain why."
"How can they?" grumphed Snark.
Everyone started to think about Brindle, and Sissness changed the subject.
"I've previously described the planet we're headed for," continued Sissness. "The Mediators have more information about the system, being involved in the Sector's decision to bar contact with the indigenous intelligent beings until a level of technology and civilisation is reached which will enable them to adjust to being part of Galactic trade and politics. The Mediators call the system, Argathea, after their own mythology." Sissness was getting excited, and her left front leg wanted to scratch herself under her chin, but she resisted. "It's very interesting they have these stories, some quite like our own," she caught herself, "I mean the Cats of the Plains, and quite likely the Wild Ones too,"
Snark was about to tell her to get on with it, when Anna intervened.
"What was the story?"
"The Argathea is a mythical beast, a she dragon, which guards the hall of the forest gods. Remember the mediators lived in a forest environment. To gain entry, you are given a task to complete, a test, and if you fail you would be cast into Pargan, the valley of the dead."
"Sounds great," grumphed Snark, in a sarcastic tone.
Sissness ignored him and continued."
"Once in the valley, you are subjected to the trials of the…" she checked her notes, "the Marganaul, to the ends of time." She looked up again from the tablet. "The trials are quite nasty," she added, teasing Snark.
"Only one being has ever returned from Pargan, according to their myths, a heroine, Seriness, who entered the valley voluntarily, in order to find her lover, Pyxys, who had been found wanting at the time of judgement, and thrown into Pargan when he died. She, sadly, returned without him, after enduring much hardship, as he proved faithless, and in pity, the Marganaul released her to return to the land of the living, and find another love."
Sissness sighed loudly, purring, and put down the tablet.
"Why did they call the system after this story?" asked Patters, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Evidently the moon of the largest gas giant is covered in forest, so it was seen to be the location of the forest gods, while the gas giant is Argathea, the she-dragon guardian."
"She-dragons, trials, tests, valleys of the dead, it's all rubbish," humphed Snark.
"Of course," said Sissness, her eyes glinting wickedly, "However the stories of civilisations are usually allegories, or indicators of moral behaviour. I find the variation and imagination of different stories of different civilisations fascinating, and there are a lot of interesting similarities."
Snark's tail was flicking back and forth rapidly, and Anna thought they should move on to more practical items.
"How long until we reach Argathea?"
Mouse looked up from his tablet, and flipped to another page.
"If we don't stop, and there's no other delays, about two weeks. Argathea is located on the very edge of the galaxy rim. It's hard to be exact due to not knowing how long it is to cross to each system from one jump point to the next. While this part of space is mapped, it's not very accurate, as it's mainly off most of the trade routes with heavy traffic. And, of course, close to one side in sector nine are the Badlands, full of pirates and outlaws."
"So, we'll know what we're looking for when we get there?" Snark asked Sissness.
Sissness shook her head.
"The Mediators didn't have much to do with the forest planet, as they concentrated on the two planets with civilisations, Argathea Prime, and Argathea Two. The forest planet is Argathea Minor."
Snark humphed again, and he licked a paw.
"Nothing unusual then," he said out loud, but grumping to himself under his breath.
They wrapped up the conference, and returned to their normal duties.
Anna sat for a moment, as the others left. She was thinking this seemed to be a repeat of their efforts at the Scylla system. If the Brotherhood knew their destination, it would be there in force, to defeat their escorts and capture the Seasprite, and the Destiny Stone. Their side had no intelligence about what the Brotherhood knew, how they knew it, or what forces they were gathering in this part of the sector. There were plenty of mercenary groups about, ready to be hired, including the valderians, who would want to revenge their defeat at Scylla.
And what did the Brotherhood know about the Amulet of Truth? Would Brother Prime ambush the team at the moment of finding the amulet? Who was the old woman from her dreams, and the figure in black?
She shook her head, and walked along the corridor to the bridge. She wanted to look out at the stars. Somehow when she sat looking out into the vista the universe presented, she felt more connected with Jamie. Its vastness should discourage her, but instead, she could feel a sense of oneness. Everything had a pattern and purpose. Everything was at once separated by vast distances, and made up of the same building blocks and forces, entwined and dependent on each other, yet independent. She could look out on the vastness of space, and feel close to Jamie, close to her feeling of love and grief at not having him there with her. But he was with her, and always would be, if they found him or not.
She scotched the thought as soon as it popped into her mind. Yes, he would always be with her, because she would find him. She knew it. She felt happy and content, in this moment of time, because she knew he was alive, and would also be looking for her. They'd be together again.
They had to be.
Twenty Seven
Jamie wasn't thinkin
g of anything except keeping his head down.
Not usually one to let a fight happen without him getting involved, this one was in full swing, and for once he was trying not to get involved. Two swan beings had taken on some hog-like creatures, and the swans were winning, due to the extra length of their necks, their vicious beaks, and flapping wings creating a threatening effect. The hogs were giving their best, and their tusks were quite nasty, but they couldn't get into range to make full use of them, and their arms were too short.
Jamie considered weighing in, but knew pub rough-housing wouldn't get him to where he needed to be, and his boss, the pub owner, wouldn't be happy with him taking sides, unless it was to make sure nothing got too damaged in the process. He managed to clear a table, and made his way through the jeering, cheering, frantically betting crowd, and back to the bar.
He'd been working here for four of the local weeks, trying to make enough tors, the local currency, to be able to move on. He'd heard there was a larger town further down the valley, which would hopefully have information at least about where this benighted planet was.
Since regaining consciousness amongst the standing stones on Mystic Hill, as the locals called it, he'd been trying to find out where he was, and how to get back to Anna, and his friends on Seasprite.
The events on Scylla Prime now seemed part of another life, another person. The search for the Destiny Stone, had led to the cave beyond the waterfall, and the Hall of Truth, the place of no time. He felt he'd battled forever to get there and find the Stone, only to choose Anna, the love of his life, and for them to both face the impossibly bright light of the void, and the unknown force pulling them apart. Anna had been yanked away from him, and he'd ended up waking up amongst the standing stones on the hill above this village. To have found love with Anna, and have it snatched away, was almost to lose himself.
He touched Anna's ring, on the little finger of his left hand. She'd given it to him shortly before they'd returned through the void, and it was the only thing which kept him connected to his previous life, and what was now his mission, to find Anna again.
The fight ended, with the hog creatures retreating, beaten off by the triumphant swans, with the crowd either cheering at their winnings, or cursing for losing. Jamie went to right several overturned stools and tables, and clear broken crockery and glasses.
It was a far cry from piloting Seasprite. He sighed. Would he ever get back?
Behind the bar, the pub owner, Spiky, as Jamie called him, given his PC couldn't translate his actual name, was serving drinks as the clientele returned from the fight. Fights caused damage, but it was thirsty work for both fighters and onlookers. The local beer was like piss as far as Jamie was concerned, but the locals didn't know any different, and there was a strong demand for a while. Jamie ended up helping to serve.
Spiky, a kind of hedgehog being, with the galaxy's characteristic centaur shape and three arms, was covered in spikes, with a long thin snout and tiny eyes. He could curl up defensively in a moment, so the spines protected his vulnerable torso and belly, but presently, he was short-sightedly using all three hands to pull pints, pour drinks, and take money.
"Get a move on," he grunted to Jamie, and Jamie stepped up his pace.
As he worked, Jamie's mind was far away. Where was Seasprite now? Did the team find the Destiny Stone? Where was Anna? Were they even alive?
He'd used his PC to try to get in contact with anyone he knew also had a PC. Anna of course, but also Duke Fred, Warspite, Tranquil, and even Jane herself.
Nothing. As far as he could tell, none of the messages had even left the planet.
He felt quite alone, a new experience for him, and one completely disconcerting.
When he'd woken up at the standing stones, he'd felt disoriented and ill. And completely alone. The wind had whistled through the ancient standing stones, weathered, covered in moss, and he'd sensed they seemed alive, brooding, waiting. He'd left them to find out where he was, descended the hill, and found the small village where he now worked. In his spare time, he returned to the stones to try and feel a connection, to Anna, to his past life, to anything to give him a sense of belonging. He half hoped he could return through the stones how he'd come, but nothing had shifted or changed. Just the steady wind off the hill, mist, rain, and sleet, and the odd sunny day.
He'd searched each of the stones for any clue, and found it at last. Scratches in one of the stones. He'd carefully cleaned off moss and dirt, and found a star chart, like the ones the Seasprite team had found before. He'd taken images with his pad, and was comforted by the thought there was still a connection to the quest, and he might be able to catch up. On the same stone, he'd found another chart. This one wasn’t stars, but appeared to be terrain.
While he was reluctant to leave the stones, as his only connection to Anna and the others, he knew he needed to find a way off this planet, which meant travelling to the town, where hopefully there was more technology. More technology meant beings knew where this planet was in the galaxy, had a way of communicating with the rest of the galaxy, and a means of escape, such as ships, a space port, anything which would get him back in space.
The villagers knew which county they were in, and sometimes which country, but had little concept of their larger planet, or the galaxy beyond. Their location in space wasn't something villagers were ever concerned with, as it didn't help them survive, and so it was something they didn't know, or care about.
There was finally a lull, and Jamie was back clearing tables.
At the end of his shift, he ate some stew, a kind of green mush, and returned to his digs, the loft in the barn. It certainly wasn't what he was used to, but it saved on tors, and would do him for now. He wouldn't be here much longer anyway.
He took off Anna's ring, and examined it closely. It was a simple silver ring, with a saying engraved inside, in Cyrillic text, which translated said 'for memories'. Anna had said her mother had given it to her, saying it 'was worth only memories'.
It didn't really fit any of his fingers properly, but his little one on the left hand seemed to be the smallest he had, and it at least stayed on.
He looked at his backpack. A torch, a battery, his tablet, a first aid kit, some spare charges for his guns, and that was all there was. His guns were hidden by his suit. His pad was in a holster like pouch as well, and also hidden. The problem with wearing them was they fell off when he shifted to a belt to shower, and forgot to remove them first. Another issue he had was the lack of small clothes. He had what he'd been wearing under the suit when he arrived, and couldn't get replacements. So he'd had to get used to wearing the suit naked underneath, while his smalls were being washed and dried. It tended to be a tighter fit, and he was often tempted to put his smalls back on damp instead of waiting.
When he'd come off the hill, he was lucky he'd found work, given he was completely alien to the village. With some tors behind him, he'd be able to move on. He had to get back in the game. But who knew where he was? He could be anywhere, half way across the galaxy, or close to Hunter's Run. He tried not to think it could be even another galaxy altogether.
He lay down on his makeshift bed, and turned on his side. The strange animals and beasts in the barn shifted and grunted below him. He'd become accustomed to the smell and noise, and soon fell asleep.
The following morning, he was up, doing chores for Spiky, including cleaning out the barn once the animals had been let out to graze. Once done, he headed up the hill to the stones. He'd explored further than the hill, over to the foothills of the mountains which dominated the skyline, as far as he could go on his day off. It was a wet world, with inclement weather, either raining, grey, or windy, or all three, with streams, bogs, and mists in the morning. The going was rough, either rocky or bare, or through green grass fields, but he revelled in the exercise, something he'd missed travelling in space.
A mist of rain was falling, and the stones were wet. He leaned against one of the main ones, as if he cou
ld commune with the stone itself. Nothing.
He checked the star chart. He'd looked for writing, but there didn't seem to be any. No clues, although he'd been all over each stone, carefully checking he hadn't missed anything. Without a reference point, he couldn't match the chart with anything, and didn't have the program in his PC they'd previously used to pinpoint systems and planets. He'd kicked himself for not making sure he had a copy of all the data, but now he needed it, he didn't have it.
He returned to the pub.
"You're late," grunted Spiky to him as he came through the door.
"I'll make it up," he returned, and Spiky just grunted again.
The usual crowd had started coming in for a drink and a feed. A mix of swan-beings, hog-beings, and a kind of duck. Spiky had told him as much as he knew. There were a set of lakes further away, where the birds frequented, while the hogs were generally everywhere. It seemed the beings in this part of the world were quite belligerent, and Spiky had mentioned frequent inter and intra species wars which broke out periodically. While no one had used weapons in the pub, Jamie often saw them in holsters or bags. Slug guns and knives mostly, but there were also short swords, and a wicked looking mace the hogs liked to use. Fights in the pub were usually physical fights using fists, wings, beaks, and tusks, and none had been lethal.
Jamie noticed a single figure at a table at the back, steadily drinking on his own. A black swan being, he noticed he had a tablet, so he might also have a translator unit. Not all beings on this world had access to technology, so although Jamie could understand them, they often couldn't understand him, unless he could help them download human languages to their translator lexicon, if they had it. He'd picked up enough of the local language to serve drinks, take money, and give change, but he was hampered in communication beyond the basics.
A.I. Destiny 5 Talisman of Tomorrow Page 10
