by Phil Maxey
“Sorry, we only got water,” said the dark-haired girl.
Ed smiled. “Well it tastes great.” He took another gulp and passed it to Shaw.
CHAPTER 43
Luke had thought Yegor was probably the tallest individual on the ship, but when he saw the cloaked figure walk into the break room he had his doubts.
“Tyrus Carr?” He held out his hand, but Carr just lowered his hood and sat in the seat alongside the large table.
Luke smiled and sat opposite. “We haven’t met, and I thought it was time we did.”
Carr sat emotionless, his cold blue eyes not moving from Luke’s own.
“You must have been pleased that you and your people are no longer considered criminal’s, and you now have freedom on Tantalus?”
“It does not matter to us what the current authority deems right or wrong. We were free before you took control, and nothing’s changed since.”
Luke nodded. “Well that is a good attitude to have. How are things on your level, you have everything you need?”
“We are self-sufficient.” He began to stand.
“I’m not done. Please…” Luke indicated to Carr’s seat. He sat back down. “I saw that you are selling fresh produce in the market?”
“That is correct.”
“Where did you get it from? Did you grow it yourselves?”
Carr smiled, Luke wasn’t sure if that was an improvement to his face or not. “Are we free on this ship or are we not? If we are, then what does it matter where we get the organic material?”
Luke knew Carr referring to ‘organic material’ was done on purpose and a small tinge of anger flowed through him. “Well, obviously, your group has a history when it comes to those kinds of things, and we wouldn’t want explosives getting into the wrong hands. So, I’ll ask again, where did you get your food from?”
Carr sighed. “We were smuggling these items into Tantalus for a good while. The captain never knew. We thought it would be good for the inhabitants of this ship to get real food, so we are selling the surplus we have. It has probably been many years since you have eaten organically grown food, and you do not know how difficult it would be to grow such things onboard.”
“So, at some point you will run out?”
“Unfortunately, yes, unless of course you allow us to try to grow some more from the seeds we have. As you suggested we do have a lot of expertise in the area.”
Damn, he’s good.
Luke smiled. “Well they do say fresh food is good for you, I’ll talk to my science officer and get back to you.”
Carr nodded. “Good.” He got to his feet, his head almost reaching the ceiling and walked back to the elevator.
Once the door had slid closed, Luke tapped the back of his wrist. “So, what does everyone think?”
Elisa, Weber, Seth, and Evan on the bridge had been listening.
“He’s keeping something from us,” said Seth.
“Ya think?” said Evan.
“Did we discover how his organics are not showing up on the ship’s sensors?” said Luke.
“Yes and no,” said Evan. “Watch the main screen.” He tapped his console screen. A view of the market stall that the Archons were using to sell food came up. “Ship, what are the Archons selling in those boxes?”
“Question does not compute. Boxes are empty.”
Most on the bridge looked confused.
“Now, you see the guy who just walked away with some carrots?”
Everyone nodded.
“Ship, what is the guy in the green jacket, eating and where did he obtain them?”
“He is eating carrots, he obtained them from the stall that is currently in view on the main screen.”
“I don’t get it,” said Seth.
“It’s the boxes?” said Luke watching on the table screen.
“Yes! Somehow the boxes are not quite what they seem, they are shielding our sensors from seeing what’s in them.”
“That could be a problem,” said Seth.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing one of them up close,” said Weber.
* * * * *
A line of cloaked figures walked solemnly through a series of broken carbonium walls until they emerged into a larger room filled with similar others. Pipes and tubes fed through arches that hung high above the dusty floor. Smoke from hundreds of candles filled the air with scent and shadows flickered against the smooth bulkheads making the engineering chamber feel more like a medieval cave. Across the ground grass and plants grew. Vegetables lay partially visible in the dirt, and fruit hung from bushes. At the center stood a statue of sorts, made of a black polished material, while vines grew, twisting around its legs and feet.
Hundreds of the Archon syndicate watched as their ruler walked across the soft green grass, removed his hood then knelt in front of the statue.
“Great darkness that is from all we come. Take this offering as a show of our faith in your supreme undertaking, and our willingness to bring about the end, so your children may play in the garden once more.” Tyrus Carr got to his feet and stepped to the side.
From the same tunnels came the sound of a man, pleading. “No, please, I’ll pay, you can have what I have.”
Two Archon members both dragged the middle-aged disheveled man across the ground and threw him at the feet of the statue.
He looked up at the towering human next to him. “I can get you things, umm, what do you need?” He glanced around quickly at the wall of hoods and cloaks trying to see their faces. “Do you nee—”
“Silence!” shouted Carr. He looked at the statue.
The man swiveled on his knees and looked up at the distorted form carved from a black stone that barely reflected the world around it. “What is that?”
The entire chamber started chanting in an arcane language that most of humanity had already forgotten since before the world had wonders.
“What is this? Why are you—” The man’s head flicked left and right trying to make sense of what was happening, then he heard it. A soft cracking and shearing noise was coming from the statue. Slowly he turned, his expression becoming more frozen the more he saw.
The strange distorted form started to move, it’s limbs twisting and extending. What was once solid and unmoving was now flexing and shifting with the consistency of thick black oil.
The man started to push himself backwards, only to be stopped by Carr who with one kick sent him tumbling forward. Instantly the black fluid leapt forward swallowing him, his screams cut short. It then sprang back and froze as a statue once again.
Carr smiled and walked forward. Looking closely at the base of the statue, he traced his fingers over newly formed symbols. He turned and faced the eager hordes, raising his hands. “It has begun!”
The End.
Thank you for taking the time to read Tantalus. This is the first book in my new series The Hidden. It would be greatly appreciated if you could leave me a review on Amazon. Sign up to my mailing list at www.digiterium.com/newsletter to find out the latest on my writing!
Thank you again. Phil.
About the Author
Phil Maxey is an author who resides in the UK. Formally a game developer he now spends his time putting his love of sci-fi and the paranormal into words.
Acknowledgements
Book cover design by Rolf Bertz.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Copyright
Disclaimer
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18<
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Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Backmatter
About the Author
Acknowledgements
