Antaio pressed two symbols on the console and a few moments later retrieved two large metallic jugs from a nearby hatch.
‘Whatever you do, never go for any of the yilko drinks, they’re Telecans. I’ve tried them. Trust me, they taste disgusting,’ Antaio said and smiled.
‘Thanks, I’ll remember that.’
They both sat down at a nearby table, which appeared to be made of a wood. James ran his fingers over its surface; he felt a very coarse grain, but it was also very cold to the touch. The table had a single tall lamp in its centre.
Antaio handed him one of the jugs.
‘Thanks, Antaio,’ James said, raising it towards him in appreciation.
‘Try it. You won’t be disappointed.’
A young man walking past the table suddenly recognised Antaio.
‘Antaio, I wasn’t expecting to see you in here tonight!’
‘Er… No.’
Antaio hesitated.
James noticed he seemed to be slightly caught off-guard by the young man’s comment.
‘I… I saw James come in, so wanted to say hi,’ he replied.
‘Let us know if you’re up for a game of pinsop. We’re going to be over there in the corner,’ the young man said, pointing past the bar.
Antaio acknowledged him.
James tried the drink. It reminded him of a strong cider.
It must have something like alcohol in it.
‘What do you think?’ Antaio asked.
‘Not bad,’ James replied. ‘Did you have to buy them? I’m afraid I have no way of returning the favour.’
‘No, they’re free, but there is a kalti limit over which you are not allowed to drink. Excessive kalti drinking may hurt your health, so they track what you consume.’
‘How?’ James was curious.
‘The bar has several scanners to detect who’s there and also who is drinking what, and each jug has a transponder in it to measure precisely the quantity of kalti each person drinks.’
‘But how do they stop you from drinking too much?’
Antaio smiled.
‘Once you get to your limit, then a transponder within the jug is activated, and the kalti liquid is neutralised. Basically, it becomes a soft drink, so you can carry on drinking without worrying.’
‘That’s brilliant. I wish they had that back on Earth when I was there!’
Suddenly the lamp on the table disappeared, startling James. He almost dropped his jug.
‘What the -…!’ he said.
Antaio appeared unmoved. The surface of the table changed to a black mirror-like finish. A smaller cube-shaped lamp then appeared in the centre of the table. The lights in the bar dimmed, and the music changed.
‘James, you seem confused.’
‘The table! It just changed.’
James looked around the room. ‘In fact, the whole room’s changed! I could be in a different bar.’
All the tables were different, and the walls were now blue.
Antaio laughed.
‘Of course, you’ve never been in a bar before.’
‘What happened?’
James ran his fingers over the surface of the table. It was now very smooth.
‘The only thing I know that could do something like this is a Kimlo table.’
‘I’m impressed,’ Antaio replied. ‘They are Kimlo tables. It must be late,’ he said and looked at the time on his komkey. ‘They change the mood of the place at nine to appeal to the youngsters. The walls have Kimlo generators in them too.’
James was impressed.
‘I hope they didn’t change my drink as well! Maybe, I’m not drinking at all, it could be a hologram!’
They both laughed.
Antaio and James went on talking and laughing like old friends, and after a couple of drinks their conversation became more personal.
‘I’ve known Londuo for about seven sykals now,’ Antaio said, ‘and this is the first time I’ve known her to get so involved with anyone.’
James smiled back.
‘She’s fantastic. We just seem to have a connection. I’ve always longed to meet someone like her.’
‘Believe me, many men have fallen in love with her; after all she’s beautiful and very self-confident,’ Antaio said. ‘But up to now she’s always pushed them away.’
‘I must be very lucky then,’ James said, thinking of her.
‘You look like you really miss Londuo,’ Antaio said.
She must be on Brinoli by now, James thought. I’ll need to find the convalescence ward in the morning.
‘Don’t you? James!’
‘What?’ James replied.
‘I said, you must miss her,’ Antaio repeated.
‘Yes, I do.’
‘I would say you’re both in love,’ Antaio said.
‘Yes, but what future do we have, Antaio? I can’t see an end to this war.’
‘I wouldn’t say that. Thanks to you, we now have a way of killing the Treitans.’
‘I know, but it could still go on forever. I’m really worried about Londuo. Those fighters are so vulnerable.’
‘James, Londuo is the best pilot I know. She has an unusual ability to pull off impossible manoeuvres. Did you know she instructs all the new pilots?’
‘But I nearly lost her on Dagnamk.’
‘I think that was the first time she ever had to eject, James!’
James was surprised.
‘I’m telling you, James, you have nothing to worry about; In fact, I expect she’s more concerned about you.’
James looked puzzled. Why would she be worried about me?
‘You’re a captain of an incredible ship. The missions you’ll be asked to do will be far more dangerous.’
‘I hadn’t thought of that.’
‘Make sure, you, or that strange computer of yours, don’t do anything unnecessary.’
‘You mean Kalrea…?’ James replied.
‘Not sure I’d trust a computer if my life depended on it.’
‘Antaio, her name’s Kalrea, and I don’t treat her like a computer.’ James replied, slightly annoyed by Antaio not calling Kalrea by her name.
‘Londuo speaks of Kalrea like she’s a person too,’ Antaio said.
‘To me she is a person, Antaio. Kalrea is unbelievable, and I would trust her with my life.’
‘I suppose she did save our lives on the Lonori, when we had to get that blast door closed.’
‘That’s exactly what I mean. And Kalrea is far more intelligent than us. She’s as alive as you or I.’
‘How do you keep in contact with it?’ Antaio raised his hand apologetically. ‘Sorry, I mean Kalrea. You seem to be able to give her instructions whenever you want…’
James showed him the telementor on his wrist.
‘I can communicate with Kalrea through this.’
‘But it looks nothing.’
‘I’ve no idea how it works, but Kalrea’s able to place images and thoughts into my mind and read them. I have to say it took a bit of getting used to, and it’s not very private.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She knows everything I think: every personal thought.’
‘Not sure I could handle that,’ Antaio replied.
‘I couldn’t at first, but you get used to it, and Kalrea’s knows now that I do need some privacy.’
Seeing James had finished his drink Antaio got him another one. James was feeling slightly light-headed.
Antaio sat down and asked,
‘Are you in contact with Kalrea now?’
James nearly replied but then remembered Kalrea’s warning about Antaio. What if she’s right? I can’t tell him I’m not in contact with her now. He’ll ask why.
James decided to lie.
‘Yes.’
‘Can you thank her then for saving our lives on the Lonori?’
‘Kalrea said “You’re welcome Antaio”,’ James replied.
‘That’s incredible! So I could as
k you any question, and you would know the answer just by thinking it to Kalrea?’
Antaio seemed excited.
‘What’s the diameter of Brinoli? What’s the… No. How many combinations of tpol are there in a game of pinsop?’
James had to think quickly. He had no way of answering any of Antaio’s questions.
‘Antaio, Kalrea is not a toy. I’m not even going to ask her.’
Antaio smiled.
‘I’m sorry. If I had Kalrea, no one would beat me at pinsop.’
James shook his head in disbelief.
‘You need to get to know her better, then you would respect who she is.’
‘Speaking of Kalrea, where’s the Aurora? I heard it was heavily damaged in the attack on Dagnamk and needed many parts. It seems to have disappeared. It can’t be on Brinoli and it’s not on the Lonori anymore.’
‘Come on, Antaio; you’re in security; you know I can’t give out that information,’ James replied.
He’s asking a lot of questions about the Aurora.
‘Sorry, just trying to make conversation,’ Antaio said apologetically.
‘Look, I think I’ll head back, Antaio,’ James said, feeling slightly merry. ‘Three of these are more than enough for me, considering I’ve never drunk them before.’
‘Why not come by tomorrow? Maybe I’ll teach you how to play a game of pinsop.’
I better not make him think I’m suspicious.
‘I may do that,’ James replied, before standing up to leave.
‘No cheating, so you’ll have to take that thing off your wrist!’ Antaio said in jest. ‘We can’t have a computer helping you!’
‘See you around, Antaio,’ James said and left.
Chapter Thirty-One
The next day, James visited Londuo in the convalescence ward on Brinoli. There were only a few people still in their seatras. Adjacent to the rest ward was a large rectangular room, where there were groups of people sitting with patients. James entered and looked impatiently around.
Londuo was sitting talking to Antaio, in the far corner of the room alongside an externally sloping wall, which had a window across its entire width. The morning light shone brightly through it. When she saw James, she rose from her seat and walked over to him. She was wearing a dressing gown and he noticed the bracelet he had given to her on her wrist. Antaio glanced around.
‘Hi,’ Londuo said, looking very pleased to see him.
‘How are you feeling?’ James asked.
‘Much better,’ she replied and kissed him. ‘You’ve just missed Gulino and Frasin.’
‘How is Frasin?’ James asked.
‘She’s fine and already flying her new fighter,’ Londuo said.
Antaio walked over to join them.
‘Hello, James. No ill effects from last night I hope.’
‘No. I was fine,’ James replied.
Londuo looked curious.
‘I met Antaio in a bar last night,’ James added, seeing Londuo was about to ask. ‘We had a few drinks of... Antaio what was that drink?’
‘Kalti ginom,’ Antaio said.
‘That’s one of the strongest. Antaio! James hasn’t had any of those before,’ she said in a concerned voice.
‘As you can tell, she’s almost back to her old self,’ Antaio said.
‘Don’t know whether that’s good or bad,’ James replied cheekily.
Londuo smiled back, but said nothing.
‘Londuo was showing us her new bracelet,’ Antaio said.
His komkey suddenly started to bleep, so he pressed a button on its top.
‘I’m afraid I have to get back to security.’
‘They’ve all been admiring it,’ Londuo added.
She showed it to James.
‘I told you last night, you shouldn’t be so worried about her, James. Londuo can definitely look after herself,’ Antaio said. ‘I must go now.’
‘Thanks, Antaio,’ Londuo said and kissed him on the cheek.
‘Don’t forget that game of pinsop tonight, James,’ Antaio said, before he walked away.
‘Game of pinsop?’ Londuo said. ‘I didn’t know you could play!’
‘I can’t,’ James replied. ‘Antaio was going to try to show me tonight, but I’m not sure.’
‘Go on, he’s very good. You’ll have no problems learning it and it will do you good to relax a bit. Just be careful of the kalti ginom.’
‘I need to discuss something with you, Londuo,’ James said quietly.
‘Let’s sit back over there,’ Londuo said, as she turned.
James caught hold of her hand.
‘Londuo, I need to speak with you alone. Please!’
‘We’ll try the main corridor,’ Londuo said, looking worried. ‘There’re often vacant rooms.’
The corridor had small rooms on each side. Londuo looked inside each as they walked past.
‘Here,’ Londuo said, entering one of the rooms. ‘We’ll have more privacy in here.’
The room was laid out like a very small office. A desk was the only visible furniture with a console positioned centrally on it. James pulled two chairs out from the wall adjacent to the door and placed them alongside the desk. They sat down.
‘What’s wrong, James?’ Londuo asked.
‘Londuo, you shouldn’t tell people why I gave you the bracelet.’
‘It was only Frasin, Gulino and Antaio. They’re my friends, James.’
‘I know, but they could each tell three more people and so on. Then everyone will know!’
‘I’m sorry, James. I didn’t think it really mattered.’
‘I’m probably being a bit paranoid,’ James replied. ‘It’s… just… I’m having some doubts over Antaio.’
‘I’ve known Antaio a long time. What’s troubling you?’
‘He’s been asking a lot of questions about the Aurora recently, and Kalrea’s not sure about him either; that’s all.’
‘I’m sure he’s just being curious, like anyone else would be. After all, it’s a completely unknown ship to most of us.’
‘I know, but he also seems be to turning up more these last few days.’
‘I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.’
James nodded.
‘You’re probably right, but I think I’m still going to mention it to Milonri.’
He paused a moment.
‘Londuo… I think I may have something that belongs to you.’
James removed the red data cartridge from his pocket.
Londuo recognised it instantly and asked,
‘How did you get my diary?’
She put her hand in her dressing gown pocket and felt that her diary was still there. She pulled it out.
‘But… I have it here. Let me see that!’
James passed the data cartridge to her. She looked at it closely.
‘It’s identical to mine. There’s even the mark where a Treitan shot me.’
James’ expression changed.
‘You never told me you were shot!’
‘It was in that battle with the Treitans I told you about. I didn’t want you to worry.’
Changing topic back to the diary, she said,
‘There’s no name on your cartridge.’
‘I know, I think someone deliberately erased it. In fact, I think you erased it, Londuo.’
‘What do you mean? It can’t be mine!’
‘But look at it, Londuo. It’s identical to yours. What are the chances of two data cartridges being damaged in exactly the same way like that?’
‘How can it be mine? It must be just a coincidence.’
‘Just a coincidence! Everything can’t just be a coincidence!’
Londuo looked at both data cartridges closely and then up at the console.
‘All right, if it’s mine, then I’ll be able to see what’s on it, won’t I?’
‘Londuo, that diary has been damaged. When Kalrea tried to read it, it caused an explosion onboard the Aurora. She said i
t had given off a temporal charge or something like that. Kalrea managed to get the data but not the encryption keys. Londuo, I think it’s from the future.’
She looked at James.
‘That’s impossible. How can it be from the future?’
‘Look, Kalrea has analysed it. She says it’s from the future. We both know Kalrea cannot be wrong.’
‘Where did you get it from?’
‘You’ll never believe me.’
‘James! If you want me to believe you, tell me where you got it.’
‘All right then! I found this diary in a box my mother gave me back on Earth, but Kalrea had no knowledge of it.’
He paused for a moment.
‘Londuo, something strange happened the day my mother died. We had a visitor; an old woman, who I’d never seen before. That old woman was you.’
Londuo looked at him strangely. He could sense she was finding it hard to believe.
‘Londuo, the old woman had your eyes. She even covered the left side of her face to hide the symoi.’
‘This is ludicrous; you’re telling me that I was on Earth... No, that I’m actually on Earth now! And that I’m an old woman! I think one of us is going mad.’
She looked at him.
‘But you do seem very convinced by this,’ she said.
‘Londuo, I am. I really believe this diary is from our future. I think there’s something really important on it; something about our future.’
‘I’m not sure I believe you, James… I mean, what would you think if I’d just told you that? It does seem unbelievable!’
And then looking at the diary from the future, she added,
‘Yet, it does appear to be my diary or a copy of it.’
‘Kalrea’s managed to crack two of the encryption keys, but it could still take her weeks to break the rest to find out what’s on it. She only has very small pieces of data to work on, but the last things she mentioned were death and destruction, Londuo. In the near future.’
‘Look! If what you say is true, then what do you want from me?’ Londuo asked. ‘How can I possibly help?’
‘I need the encryption keys from your diary, Londuo.’
‘But my diary’s very personal.’
‘Londuo, this is so important. Forget what’s on your diary for a moment.’
James could see Londuo was very agitated, almost bordering on being angry.
The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1) Page 29
