by Thomas Fay
‘So what do you think, John?’ Roger D asked.
‘Looks good,’ I replied, turning around in my seat. ‘Smooth, powerful and a steady burn. How did you manage to shoehorn that engine into this ship?’
Roger D smiled.
‘That, my friend, is a long story. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t easy and it certainly wasn’t cheap.’
I nodded. I deliberately avoided looking at Dayna. Despite the neural inhibitor Jeni had given me, I didn’t want to take any chances.
I had to admit, I was rather curious about Roger D and his crew but I knew that if I started asking too many questions, particularly ones that built upon small insights I learned from the answers I received, then the crew would become suspicious. I had run enough covert ops to know that even the smallest mistake could be costly.
Which is why I really needed to get to the medical bay as soon as possible. If Jeni’s medical equipment was even remotely accurate then she’d be able to discern the differences in my brain chemistry and that was not something I wanted to explain to my new employer.
7.
The liquid data tablet in the medical bay sprang to life as I placed my hand on it. The screen flashed up a series of menus and options. I selected scans and scrolled through until I found the one Jeni had taken of me. I selected erase.
‘What are you doing?’ Jeni asked.
She was standing in the doorway to the medical bay, her arms folded in front of her.
‘I was just reviewing the scan you took of me earlier,’ I replied.
She moved forwards before I could finish erasing my scan. Her eyes took in the screen.
‘You’re erasing your scan.’
I had learned over the years that sometimes honesty was the best option. Not too much but just enough to allow you to redirect a situation.
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘There are some people looking for me. I’d rather not leave any evidence behind for them to find.’
Jeni’s eyes narrowed.
‘You’re Space Navy.’ It was a statement, not a question.
That surprised me. Not many people would have known the scan for what it was, unless they’d worked for the Space Navy themselves. Certainly both the UEP and the Space Navy guarded their secrets zealously. I realised I was about to be a lot more honest than I had been planning on.
‘What makes you say that?’
Jeni’s eyes narrowed dangerously. I realised that the Jeni Nix I’d met earlier, the helpful, friendly doctor, was a charade. This was the real Jeni Nix.
‘Something about your brain scan didn’t seem quite right so I came back and ran some further tests. You’ve had augmentation—the kind that is given to covert agents to make them resistant to mind-control fields and coercion drugs. I suspect that’s why you were able to leave that Centaurian. There’s no record of anyone ever leaving the mating ritual before. I should have realised there was something different about you. It also explains why I had to give you an extra dose of the neural inhibitor.’
She took a step forwards.
‘I’m only going to ask this once and you’d better be telling the truth—did the Space Navy send you here?’
‘No,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘I resigned from the Space Navy two weeks ago. I came to Alpha Centauri to start a new life and I intend to do that. That’s the truth.’
Jeni took another step forwards. Before I could react, she reached out and pressed the liquid data tablet. My scan disappeared and the screen flashed up the words: No record found.
‘Why did you do that?’ I asked.
‘I didn’t do it for you, if that’s what you’re thinking. If you’re lying about why you’re here and if you’re still working for the Space Navy then I won’t hesitate in revealing the truth about you. While the rest of the crew may not feel as strongly as I do about your former employer, Roger D won’t be thrilled if it turns out he’s got a spy on board.’
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak just then. Jeni left the medical bay without another word. I found myself wondering who she really was. Clearly, she’d been involved with the Space Navy, probably in medical research judging by her knowledge of augmentation and neural conditioning. I silently cursed my Lazarus implant, which had betrayed my past life so unexpectedly, while at the same time realising that without it I’d still be in Selize’s bed, stuck on the Dyson Alpha star port, blissfully unaware that my transitory pass had expired.
Selize. I could picture her just as clearly as if she were in the medical bay with me. Even with the shielding effects of the neural inhibitor and my augmentation, I missed her. I wanted to be with her. I realised with a sudden clarity that I may have found what I had been searching for all these years.
8.
The Helios Ark travelled at cruising velocity for seventeen standard hours. During that time, I tried not to think about Selize. Not surprisingly, that proved impossible, so I spent the time running every possible diagnostic on the modified class E engine, sleeping and avoiding Jeni. Given the small size of the Cygnus-class trading ship, the last one proved almost impossible, resulting in a lot of awkward silences and long stares. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Dayna inserted us into the upper reaches of the gas giant Ione’s electrically charged atmosphere, causing the ship to lose speed rapidly. We emerged back into open space around a dense asteroid field. Dayna maintained our relative position with occasional bursts from the manoeuvring thrusters.
Roger D turned around in his acceleration couch.
‘Mason?’
‘One moment, sir. I am calibrating the sensors. Scanning …’
‘What are you looking for?’ I asked.
‘Radar signal,’ Roger D replied.
‘What kind?’
‘One emitted by a deep-space mining rig. We’re on a reconnaissance mission for a mining company. Once they’ve identified a viable deposit, they send out an offer for any ships in the system to rendezvous with them and obtain the co-ordinates and a sample of their finds. The first ship there gets the data and the samples and it’s up to them to get back to the nearest sovereign star port to lodge the claim with an assessor.’
‘Sounds simple enough.’
‘Usually is. Except when someone else feels they’re entitled to the find.’
‘What happens then?’
‘Then things get interesting,’ Roger D replied, with a grin. Turning back to Mason he asked, ‘Anything?’
‘Nothing, sir. There’s too much interference from the asteroid field.’
‘Dayna, move us in slowly and make sure we’ve got a clear path out at all times. I don’t want to get caught in there,’ Roger D said. ‘John, I’m transferring engineering control to that console over there. Monitor the engine continuously; we may need to get out of here in a hurry.’
As I slid into the acceleration couch in front of the designated console, it sprang to life with a swarm of complex schematics. Moving the majority of data aside, I adjusted the display to show the current status of the engine and a power output chart.
‘Good to go,’ I said.
‘Okay, everyone, we’re going in. Mason, continue scanning for that radar signal and let me know the moment you have it.’
Mason didn’t reply as he sat motionless in front of the deep-space scanner. The glow from the screen illuminated his translucent skin, highlighting the black and blue conduits beneath its surface, designed to imitate the veins of a human being. A faint surge of power ran through the ship as Dayna manoeuvred us into the asteroid field with a steady burst from the thrusters. The gigantic pieces of frozen rock, silent vestiges of some bygone world, spun harmlessly past us.
‘Anything?’ Roger D asked.
‘Scan still negative, sir,’ Mason replied.
‘John?’
‘No problems here.’
‘Alright. Dayna, take us in further.’
The gas giant’s corona permeated the space around us, painting the inside of the ship in a crimson hue. Visib
ility was decreasing with every second as we edged deeper into the asteroid field.
‘I’ve got something, sir,’ Mason Turk’s voice cut through the silence aboard the ship. ‘The reading is approximately five hundred kilometres directly in front of us.’
A large vessel slowly materialised out of the scarlet cloud. It was a deep-space mining rig owned by Daedalus Drilling, a subsidiary of Minotaur Mining. The rig’s lower couplings were embedded into an asteroid.
‘That’s them alright,’ Roger D said. ‘Mason, open communications.’
‘Open, sir.’
‘This is the Helios Ark, Captain Roger D speaking.’
The communications channel crackled noticeably. ‘Good to see you, Helios Ark. This is Commander Gert of the rig Hyperion.’
‘Are we the first?’
‘You are indeed, Captain.’
‘Anyone else respond?’
‘Three. You made good time. The Helios Ark is developing quite a reputation.’
‘We try our best.’
‘That you do, Captain. We’re sending the drone across with the samples.’
‘Anything good out there, Commander?’
‘Decent amount of frozen H2O and sizeable deposits of heavy metals including a few pockets of silver. Definitely worth lifting a few of these back to Epsilon Centauri.’
‘Sounds like you and your crew will make enough for some downtime.’
The Commander laughed.
‘We certainly hope so. Are you ready to receive the survey data?’
‘We are. Transmit when ready, Commander.’
Mason’s console lit up like a solar flare with the incoming data. His artificial fingers moved faster than my eyes could follow, capturing and storing the information. The transfer lasted about ten minutes. During that time the mining drone, a small unmanned oblong-shaped vessel powered by a single class A engine, docked with the Helios Ark. On Roger D’s instructions, I unloaded its cargo of samples and stowed them aboard the Helios Ark in a secure cabin whose door had been designed to mimic part of the corridor wall. I suspected the cabin was also shielded to deflect passive scans, making it an effective smuggler’s hold.
I returned to the main deck just as the data transmission ended.
‘We get it all?’ Roger D asked.
‘Yes, sir,’ Mason replied.
‘Commander Gert, data and samples received and secured. We’ll make best speed to the Dyson Alpha star port to lodge the claim with Centaurian authorities.’
‘Copy that, Captain. Safe journey—’
The Hyperion’s transmission terminated abruptly as a series of projectiles struck the large mining rig. Unable to deploy a shield while it was attached to an asteroid, the Hyperion’s reinforced hull was, nonetheless, designed to withstand impacts from space debris. It was not designed to withstand direct hits from kinetic projectiles accelerated to over ten thousand metres per second. The destruction of the Hyperion mining rig generated a powerful shockwave of debris that was pushed outwards in every direction. I gripped the sides of my acceleration couch as the Helios Ark lurched violently to the side.
‘Mason!’ Roger D bellowed.
‘Sir, it appears the Hyperion was destroyed by kinetic projectiles, unknown origin. I suggest we leave the area immediately.’
‘No argument here. Dayna, get us out of here!’
Glancing down, I checked the engine. It remained fully operational despite the shockwave generated by the destruction of the mining rig.
‘Mason, I need to know what’s out there,’ Roger D said.
‘I’m reading three contacts, sir. It appears the asteroids hid them from our sensors earlier.’
The view screen displayed ghostly computer constructs of the three ships. Elongated tetrahedrons in design, their rear stabilisers housed a single class C engine while their front sections were studded with multiple weapon mounts, including dual kinetic missile launchers. They were ships designed for orbital as well as deep-space combat. It was a design I recognised from a stint patrolling the Martian shipping lanes.
‘What are they?’ Dayna asked.
‘Nothing I’ve ever come across,’ Roger D replied.
‘They’re Kadmian Raiders,’ I said. ‘A conglomerate of deep-space pirates operating out of the Martian shipping lanes. They’re third on the Space Navy’s most-wanted list. A tough bunch, mostly ex-militia from the Helios Installation orbiting Mars, but I’ve never heard of them operating outside of the Sol system unless they’ve been hired for a specific purpose.’
Dayna cast a questioning look at Roger D.
‘Marvik?’ she asked.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ Roger D replied.
‘Who or what is a Marvik?’ I asked.
‘Lars Marvik. He operates a reconnaissance vessel out of the Maelstrom Centauri Installation near Omicron Alpha. We’ve been competing for the last year or so.’
‘Let me guess—he doesn’t like you very much?’
Roger D shrugged.
‘He’s yet to lodge a claim before us. I guess he’s finally decided to take action.’
‘Looks like it.’
‘Any chance we can talk our way out of this?’ Dayna asked.
‘No, and unless your weapons are as powerful as that class E engine, then I’d say our only chance is to outrun them.’
‘Even if they were, our shields aren’t. Dayna, how long until we clear the asteroid field?’ Roger D asked.
‘Thirty seconds.’
‘This is going to be close. Mason, I want to know the moment they lock onto us. John, get that engine ready for maximum output. Let’s get out of here!’
The tension in the main deck rose as Dayna skilfully guided the Helios Ark out of the asteroid field using the manoeuvring thrusters. I knew she wouldn’t be able to engage the ion drive until we were clear. I also knew with certainty that the Kadmian Raiders could move faster within the asteroid field. Their ships had been designed for maximum manoeuvrability in tight quarters. My heart rate increased and the PDP-3 neural inhibitor appeared to be wearing off as the dull throbbing at the back of my head returned.
‘Weapons lock, sir,’ Mason Turk said.
‘Dayna!’ Roger D bellowed.
‘Ten more seconds and we’re clear.’
‘We don’t have ten seconds!’
The ship rolled as Dayna fired the starboard thrusters to avoid colliding with an asteroid. The pain at the back of my head was increasing. Whatever my time with Selize had done to me, separation from her was manifesting itself as physical pain. The pain was acute and focused behind my optical nerve. My vision began to blur as that steel spike of pain drove deeper into my skull.
‘The lead vessel is launching a projectile, sir. Three seconds to impact …’
‘Dayna!’
‘We’re almost clear!’
‘Two …’
‘There’s no time—punch it now!’
‘One.’
A shockwave ripped through the ship as a bright flash exploded before my eyes. It was followed immediately by a wave of darkness that rendered me unconscious.
9.
I was plummeting through the crimson corona of the gas giant. Panic gripped me as I desperately swung my arms trying to stop my descent. It was no use. There was nothing but cosmic dust all around me. The hue intensified to a deep red burning my retinas.
John.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the colour began to change: from blood red to purple and finally to a deep shade of blue.
John.
I was floating on a cloud of cobalt photons. The frozen moon Chiron spun silently on its axis in front of me.
John.
Selize?
Yes, John. I’m here.
How is this possible?
There’s no time to explain. You need to get out of there.
Selize, I—
Not now—open your eyes!
I found myself back aboard the Helios Ark. The console in front of me was aw
ash with amber warning lights as alarms blared throughout the ship. I could hear the telltale sound of gas venting somewhere beneath me as an acrid burning smell filtered through the ventilation system. I coughed as it reached my lungs. Covering my mouth with the back of my left hand, I poised my other hand over the power output.
‘Dayna! Are we out of the field?’ I asked.
‘Yes!’
‘Multiple projectiles inbound, sir,’ Mason Turk warned.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I activated the emergency engine override. Increasing the power to full I watched as the readout jumped off the curve. I only hoped Dayna had had enough time to lay in a course away from the asteroid field and the gas giant, otherwise this was going to be a very short flight.
The class E engine unleashed its full power in one sustained burst. The power output jumped to one hundred and thirty-one per cent. A dense ion trail blazed behind us as the ship was pushed forwards at incredible speed. The inertial dampeners strained to their limits, absorbing the incredible g-forces and protecting us from certain death. I was pressed back into my seat with such force that I barely managed to keep my eyes open.
But I did. The sight of stars and planets dragging out to solid lines on the view screen made me realise we were approaching the speed of light.
‘Sir, the ship’s hull and graviton flux generator were damaged in the explosion and we’re losing integrity. We cannot maintain this speed for long,’ Mason Turk advised.
‘Are we clear?’ I asked, through clenched teeth.
‘Yes, sir. We have in fact travelled quite some distance from the asteroid field and are nearing Epsilon Centauri.’
‘Dayna—full reverse on my mark. Mark!’
With an extreme effort I managed to move my hand enough to cancel the forward acceleration as Dayna engaged the reverse thrusters. The ion trail dissipated into the vacuum of space, as the quad reverse thrusters fired. Deceleration was even more spectacular as the solid lines reformed into individual stars and planets. There was no sign of the asteroids or auburn gas giant Ione. Instead, the familiar outlines of the Epsilon Centauri space docks floated before us in the distance.
