The Cartographer

by Craig Gaydas

  “They must have had their reasons,” he offered. “I am not one for presumptions but perhaps they needed to protect you.”

  “Protect me from what?”

  “All of the information regarding the Lumagom is considered classified.”

  “What the heck does that have to do with my question?” I asked, confused by the response.

  Gard didn't respond and I decided to try a different approach. Exhaustion began to creep in and the cat and mouse game Gard played frustrated me.

  “Who is Kedge Mal'Dineen?”

  “I will take it from here, Gard.” Satou stood in the doorway. I had been so engrossed with my conversation with Gard that I never heard him sneak in.

  Gard's eyes went dark and Satou took a seat at my desk. He leaned in with his hands on his knees and studied me.

  “Kedge Mal'Dineen,” he repeated. “That is a name we had not heard in some time. We did not lie to you, Nathan, when we told you about the Lumagom. The Consortium has not had any contact with them since the battle over Caelum several centuries ago and we assumed they had been destroyed. It appears we were mistaken.”

  “Why didn't you tell me about him?” I tasted the anger in my voice. “You guys had to have an idea they were out there! I mean…you're the Explorer's League, you explore the damn universe. That is your job…mission…whatever. How could you miss them?”

  Satou chuckled with little humor. “Space is a very big place, Nathan. There are a lot of…hiding spots.”

  “Don't give me the `universe is a big place' speech,” I argued. “Are you telling me that a destructive force like the Lumagom just happened to drop off your radar?”

  Satou stood up and paced the room nervously. He scratched his head and mumbled something under his breath. After several minutes, he moved closer to me and leaned in. “I will explain everything but you must promise me that you will keep this to yourself,” he whispered.

  I could only nod my head with intrigue at his proposal. Satisfied that I wouldn't go tip-toeing through the halls of the Argus blabbing interstellar secrets, Satou continued.

  “We were aware that remnants of the Lumagom force were scattered after the battle over Caelum, but we thought they were leaderless and expected them to eventually disperse. Ales Banda was dead, and we incorrectly assumed the Lumagom died with him.” Satou said glumly.

  “Kedge told me that Ales Banda was a Reptilian,” I said. “Apparently they were some sort of religious fanatics or something like that.” I told him everything Kedge had said. Satou accepted the information but seemed sad, almost apologetic.

  “Indeed,” he replied distantly. “He was also our Cartographer.”

  His words were like a ten ton brick to the gut. “What? I thought Kell was your last Cartographer?”

  “That is correct,” Satou sighed. “Ales Banda was our first, however. He was extremely intelligent, cunning and resourceful. After he came up with the initial concept of the map, he refined it and turned it into what it is today.”

  “So what happened?”

  Satou paced around the room and fidgeted with a string hanging from his uniform. “After his planet had been destroyed, he betrayed the Explorer's League and used the map to rally our enemies to his cause.”

  “How would that work? The map is just a map…isn't it?”

  “No,” Satou replied and paused with his head in his hands. “Although sometimes I find myself wishing otherwise.”

  “So what is it then?” I prodded.

  “It is a catalogue,” he replied, “a catalogue of wormholes scattered throughout the universe.”

  I knew about wormholes but I found it hard to wrap my head around his statement. On Earth, wormholes were theorized but never proven. Most scientists wrote them off as time travel nonsense. The endless possibilities of wormholes, though, made an attractive subject to continuously research. The fact that someone actually discovered and catalogued them was mind-blowing.

  “I didn't see anything on the map that showed any type of wormhole.”

  “That is because you weren't looking in the right spot,” Satou chided.

  “The transceivers!” I blurted. “They mark the locations of the wormholes!”

  Satou smiled and nodded. “You are indeed wise beyond your years, Nathan Chambers.”

  After a few moments spent mentally patting myself on the back, I wondered where the wormholes were and why our scientists, who have been studying the data for years, could not locate them.

  “Where are these wormholes?” I asked. “Scientists on Earth can't seem to locate them in space anywhere, yet you have a transceiver on Earth that indicates one is nearby.”

  “That is because they are not in space, Nathan.”

  “Wha—?” I started to ask before I realized what he meant. They were on the planets, not in space. The symbols on the map marked the wormhole locations, not the transceiver locations. This revelation led to my next question.

  “What do the transceivers really do?”

  “They were communication devices, but they also serve a dual purpose. They harness the power of the wormhole to create the door.”

  “The door?” I cocked an eyebrow.

  “Ales' research uncovered a fact that every inhabited planet had a door, or what you would call a `wormhole', comprised mostly of magnetic energy. He discovered that some planets have one, others have more. For example, Earth has two and my home planet of Vaire has seven.”

  “You mean there is another one besides the cave in New Mexico?”

  “Yes. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern coast of the United States,” he replied. “I believe humans call it the Bermuda Triangle.”

  “The Bermuda Triangle? Are you serious?”

  Satou cocked his head to the side—quite amusing if you could imagine an octopus cocking its head. “I am indeed serious. Unfortunately since it is located underneath the ocean that makes it quite difficult and highly impractical to place a transceiver.”

  “So where do these wormholes lead?” My curiosity on the subject assuaged my previous anger while my thirst for knowledge wiped away the bitterness.

  “As we uncovered more of them, we eventually discovered they were connected to one another. It improved our efficiency by allowing us to travel from planet to planet, although we had several unpleasant experiences during initial testing.”

  “Oh really?” I held my head in my palms and hung onto every word with mounting excitement. It was like hearing about Santa Claus for the very first time.

  “Once it was identified as a doorway, we designed two transceivers. Ales insisted the first one be placed on his home planet. After erecting it, we sent two scouts along with another transceiver through the portal. The transceiver was destroyed, and we discovered that the aluminum alloy casting surrounding the device was not enough to protect the electronics inside. Fortunately for us, the scouts were able to use their long range communication devices and managed to make contact with a nearby ship, otherwise they might have been lost forever.”

  I thought about being stranded on a strange planet with no idea what to do, no survival kit and no weapons for defense and shivered.

  “Anyway, we discovered that they were not that far away from Tyr and actually landed on a planet in an adjoining galaxy. Because of their proximity we were able to recover them safely. Our engineers decided to design a transceiver with a titanium casing which worked during subsequent experiments. Our scouts installed the device on the planet and we had our first interstellar portal, but then we ran into more problems.”

  “Like what?” I prodded.

  “We sent in a scout party of six, but only five made it to the other side. The last person through the portal did not make it. That is when we learned that the portals would not accept groups larger than five at a time.”

  “What happened to the sixth?” I asked. “Did he get spit out or something?”

  Satou's face went grim and an uncomfortable knot formed in my gut
, like a bad case of indigestion.

  “We don't know where he went.”

  My jaw hung open and I tried to swallow the softball-sized lump that formed in my throat. For all they knew he was floating in space somewhere, frozen in a visage of fear for eternity.

  “After the destruction of Tyr, Ales went insane, believing that some sort of god destroyed his planet in retaliation of life itself, or at least that is what the legends say,” Satou added. “When he stole the map, he managed to rally other races to his cause under a false religious pretense, amassing an army that became the Lumagom. Although we managed to rescue a small group of Tyrrians, it was not enough for Ales.”

  “So what about Kedge?” I asked. “He told me he has survived since the destruction of Mars, using some sort of alien technology designed by the Lumagom.”

  Satou stood up and rubbed his eyes. The entire act made him seem drained, like he hadn't slept in weeks. When he looked at me, I read the exhaustion in his eyes.

  “Kedge is someone we have not come across in some time. The last time I heard his name was the battle over Caelum decades ago. The fact that he is still alive and bears ill will toward us is troubling indeed. Vendettas last forever it seems,” he added mysteriously.

  “Kedge is the leader of the Lumagom now,” I said. “That's what he told me. Why would he align himself with the people who almost destroyed him?”

  “He believes we failed him,” Satou replied “I am sure Ales lied to him to sway him to their cause. It is a tragic situation, but we have to consider Kedge our enemy.”

  He formed a teepee with his hands and rested his head on top, deep in thought. I liked Satou because he helped me since coming aboard, but at that moment I was positive he held something back.

  “When Kedge saw you he called me a traitor. What did he mean by that?”

  Satou slowly lifted his head from his hand teepee, his face locked in an expression of bewilderment.

  “No, that does not make sense. Gard?” His eyes switched to the corner of the room.

  Gard's eyes lit up as he powered on. “Yes?”

  “Kedge Mal'Dineen accused Nathan of being some kind of traitor, do you have any input on that?”

  “I do not sense a direct correlation, however, information regarding the Lumagom is classified.”

  Satou sighed. “This is something that perhaps Calypso could answer. He has the security clearance to retrieve the information and has been a member of the Explorer's League a lot longer than I have.”

  “I need to speak to him then,” I urged. “I need to know why Kedge didn't kill me if the Lumagom are so evil and why does he lead them now.”

  Satou's wrist communicator went off before he could respond. It was a message from Kale.

  “Satou I need you to come to the bridge immediately.” His voice was a mixture of frustration and concern. “And bring your new friend with you!”

  I didn't need to ask who he referred to. It had been implied by his venomous tone.

  Satou's brow furrowed. I could tell from his face that he sensed something was wrong. “We can be there shortly. Is there a problem?”

  “We are receiving a request from the planet's surface,” he responded. “They are requesting a meeting with the human.”

  Satou glanced at me, wide-eyed. I incorrectly assumed that we finally made contact with intelligent life, and Satou seemed to mirror my excitement. They requested me, though, which was strange. Why would aliens from a distant planet be asking for me? How did they know about me? The questions started to pile up and I rubbed my temples.

  “A request? From whom?” Satou asked.

  Kale cleared his throat and paused. For a moment I thought he wouldn't answer, and I wondered if they were going to offer me up as some sort of human sacrifice. Great way to go out, Nathan, a virgin offering to some kind of alien sun god. After a tense silence, he finally answered, and it wasn't what I expected—it was worse.

  “From Kedge Mal'Dineen,” Kale growled.

  An Unexpected Meeting

  The air in the room tasted like sour milk. I smacked my lips together and realized that it was actually the tension in the room. Kale and company surrounded me, like I was the Hope Diamond on display at the Smithsonian. They studied me, trying to figure out how to approach Kedge's request. Some have chosen to throw me to the proverbial wolf, while the others have picked a safer, more secure approach.

  “I say we send him down there and be done with this,” Natronix offered.

  Kale nodded. “Let them have their meeting, perhaps we can benefit in some way.”

  Calypso rubbed his hands together briskly and shook his head. “No, I am not comfortable sending him down there alone. He is young and not fully trained.”

  “I agree,” Satou interjected. “Someone needs to go with him.”

  “Wait a minute,” Kale bellowed. “Kedge specifically said he wanted to see him alone.”

  Satou leaned up against the wall. As a member of the Council of Five Kale had the final say despite Satou's objections. Jasper and Natronix exchanged glances, and judging by his face it seemed Jasper agreed with them.

  “I don't care what he said,” Calypso roared suddenly.

  He slapped the palm of his hand on the steering console so hard I thought it would crack in half. The fire burned in his eyes once again and I subconsciously took a step back.

  “Nathan goes down there with someone or he doesn't go at all,” Calypso ordered.

  Kale seemed to shrink underneath Calypso's glare as well. He made a valiant effort to stand firm against it, but failed miserably. It was clear who would win the battle of these wills.

  “OK Calypso, have it your way,” he resigned. “But I have nobody to spare, unless you have someone willing to volunteer?”

  Everyone exchanged glances. Natronix and Jasper turned away and appeared to have found something more interesting in the corner of the room.

  “I'll do it!” Satou demanded and took a step forward, tossing a grim look at the two captains.

  I stood straight and smiled, proud that Satou would stand with me, a shield against the wave of contempt they tossed my way. I had no idea why they hated me so much, but if I survived my encounter with Kedge, I planned to get to the heart of the problem.

  “No, Satou,” Calypso replied. “I need you to take care of any medical issues that may arise aboard the Cirrus until I can find a replacement for Madoc.”

  “What?” Satou objected. “I do not know the first thing about medical science, I will be useless in that regard!”

  “Luckily for you, we have medical personnel aboard the Argus who can assist you with that,” Kale sneered.

  “And I have already chosen Nathan's companion,” Calypso stated.

  At that moment Gard rolled through the door. A murmur of disapproval emerged from Kale as he frowned at the robot. Natronix offered a derisive chuckle, while Jasper only stared somberly, arms folded in front of him.

  “When Calypso asked me to do this,” Gard said, “My primary emotion was happiness.”

  “I thought you were an emotionless robot?” I countered.

  “Nothing makes you happy, does it? Even words of comfort,” Gard quipped.

  I smiled and a tear tickled the corner of my eye. Among all of these complex alien species, who portray themselves as superior to me any chance they get, they were emotionally outdone by one of their own creations.

  “I am afraid the robot will not offer him much in the way of security,” Jasper said. His tone of genuine concern caught me by surprise.

  “No,” Calypso agreed. “But I have elected to offer a backup plan just in case.” He turned to the door. “You can come in now.”

  In walked a female version of Jasper. Her feline features accentuated the grace with which she walked and although her body was slim and lithe, power surrounded her like a cloak. I had no urge to meet her in a dark alley anywhere unless she was on my side. A bladeless sword handle hung from her belt which made me wonder how m
uch use that particular item would be in battle.

  “Lianne!” Jasper blurted. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “Hello, father,” she replied. “Calypso called for assistance and we were the closest ship. Quite a coincidence wouldn't you say?”

  Jasper huffed. Like father-like daughter, I thought whimsically.

  She turned quickly before I could tear my eyes away. “What is your issue?”

  I swallowed audibly. It was like trying to shove a basketball through a garden hose. “Um…n-nothing. Well, I saw your weapon and I believe it is missing something.” I gestured toward the hilt.

  “Oh?” She glanced down and removed the weapon.

  Holding it out in front of her she pointed it toward me. I felt a burning sensation along the base of my throat and fell back against the wall. She smiled but continued to point the hilt toward me.

  “What the hell?” I placed my hand to my neck and put it in front of my face. Despite the lack of blood I continued to experience a faint burning sensation.

  She turned her wrist and the weapon captured the light at the right angle. It had a clear blade, curved like a scimitar, which reflected the iridescent lighting in the room. It sparkled off of the weapon like the moon off a lake. She lowered it, the blade retreating out of view when it passed from the light, and reattached it to her hip.

  “Never assume anything, human,” she muttered, repeating what Satou warned long ago. “Behind every door lies danger.”

  “Well, that's comforting,” I grumbled.

  “The DFS Pandora is ready if needed,” she said to Calypso.

  I turned to Satou and whispered, “What the heck is a DFS Pandora?”

  “DFS stands for Defense Fleet Starship. The Pandora is a starship.” Kedge replied.

  “Wait a minute, I did not approve the use of Defense Fleet resources!” Kale cried.

  “I stress the words if needed,” Lianne countered. “My presence here has been approved by Embeth. He became concerned about the lack of contact after your hostile encounter.”

  I couldn't see Kale's reaction underneath the tinted glass of his helmet, but I assumed he wasn't happy with the latest developments.