Dark Sentinel: Book one in the Sentinel Series

by Adam Matlow

  “Touch this and talk. I’ve configured this to use the same frequency as the radio’s they’re using.”

  “Right, here goes nothing,” He took a deep breath and touched the button which made a soft tone to indicate he was broadcasting.

  “Um, hello? Can anyone here me?” There were a few seconds of silence before a deep grizzled voice replied.

  “Who is this? Identify yourself.”

  “I’m Marcus, the guy who keeps ruining your day. Just a friendly warning. Unless you want to be vaporised in the next few minutes I’d get back on your trucks and sod off back to wherever you came from. Because this thing is going to go up like… well, I don’t know what. But I’m told that it’ll be bad. Very bad.”

  More silence, before the voice replied. “Is this some kind of joke? We have you surrounded. Come out now and we will guarantee your safety.”

  “Well I would like to believe you, but since I wasn’t born yesterday I don’t think I will. Best get moving. Chop, chop.”

  “You can’t stay in there forever. The longer you make us wait, the harder it’s going to be for you.”

  “I think we’ll take our chances.”

  “You’ll regret this,” the voice barked.

  “Naaa naa na naaa naa!” yelled Marcus, before jabbing the button again, cutting off the communication.

  “Real mature,” muttered Charlie.

  “Ah shut it,” he said batting her away with his hand. “I’ve lost a lot of blood today. I’m not entirely convinced this isn’t some weird hallucination, and that I’m not in a corner somewhere, muttering to myself.”

  Charlie shook her head and sighed. She looked over at the console Marcus had just used and gazed at it for a few seconds absently.

  “Hey Vana, can this thing pick up any radio transmissions?” Charlie eventually asked.

  Vana nodded.

  “Well, why the hell haven’t we been using this? If we can listen in to what they are saying to each other we stand a much better chance of getting out of this in one piece. Here, show me how to work this thing.”

  Vana spent a few minutes showing Charlie how to scan through the frequencies and left her in the cockpit. She returned to the escape pods in the rear of the craft where Marcus was waiting, staring at one of them. He wasn’t at all looking forward to climbing inside one. His skin became clammy thinking about it.

  Vana came over and sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Marcus leant back and puffed out his cheeks. “It’s nothing really, just… and odd feeling. You see, I’ve had this recurring dream for a while now. I’m trapped, somewhere dark and small. I can’t move very much and there’s this sound. Like, voices in the distance. I can’t make out what they are saying but somehow, I know they are talking about me. I feel closed in, restrained. Usually, I wake up in a cold sweat and have to get outside. Somewhere where I can see the sky. It’s crazy I know, but the thought of being in an enclosed space freaks me out.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder, and he nuzzled his face into her hair. A warm feeling of calm washed over him. “I’m sure everything will work out Marcus,” she said. “Let’s get ourselves out of here and finish this thing once and for all.”

  ◆◆◆

  Vana worked on the pods and Marcus watched as she expertly manipulated the controls. In the air above each pod floated a display, scrolling strange alien symbols in what Marcus assumed must be her language. He still had a hard time coming to terms with the fact she wasn’t human. For an alien, she looked an awful lot like a human.

  The scrolling text of the control panel vanished, and a globe of the Earth appeared floating in mid-air above it.

  “The pods can take us anywhere within this radius,” she said, pointing to a yellow circle superimposed over the projection.

  The area covered thousands of miles in every direction.

  “Wow,” remarked Marcus. “Are you sure you don’t fancy finding a tropical island somewhere and letting this thing blow over?”

  Vana smiled. “I would be lying if I said I was not tempted by the idea, but then all I have done here, all those people who have died would have died for nothing.”

  “We still don’t know how we’re going to get you to this Sentinel thing. I think we need to figure that out first. Then we’ll know where we need to go.” Marcus glanced at the purple orb of energy from the panel, pulsing ever faster. Time was running out.

  The crystal, Jax, on the chain around Vana’s neck glowed slightly and then spoke.

  “Perhaps now would be a good time to interject,” said Jax. “I have analysed our options and can suggest a course of action. A projection from the crystal appeared in front of Vana. The outline of a device was visible, lines of text ran next to certain parts, and it rotated slowly. Curved metal arms made up a cage-like structure, open at one end. While the other end was sealed, and contained a pedestal, with a diamond shaped object floating above it. Vana studied the image closely.

  “Very impressive,” she said after a short while. “Do you think it will work?”

  “I put the odds at sixty-seven percent. Though, those odds improve if we have some help.”

  Marcus stood to one side of the projection so he could catch Vana’s line of sight. “What’s his plan?” he asked. “What is this thing?”

  Vana tapped the necklace and the projection vanished. “It’s really very clever actually,” She replied. “We can’t use this ship anymore. It’s too badly damaged and will never fly again. But we can salvage some of the components, specifically the FTL core.”

  You see, the Krall ships FTL drives still work because they are calibrated to some resonant frequency that we’ve never been able to determine. The device Jax has designed will allow us to open an FTL window for a few seconds here on Earth. We’d simply step through it and find ourselves on the Sentinel. But there’s a catch.”

  “I thought there might be,” said Marcus with a sigh. “I’m not going to like this am I?”

  Vana smiled weakly. “In order for it to work, we need to determine the correct calibration for the device. The only way to do that would be to get that information directly from Davon’s ship.”

  “Yep, I was right. I really don’t like this plan. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being ‘certain death’, I’d rate this a forty-two. Besides, we don’t even know where it is.”

  “True, however he must keep it close by.”

  Marcus rubbed his hands together. “He has a bunker, fortress, tower of doom, whatever you want to call it, at a place called the Forge. Perhaps he keeps it there? I’ve been there before and it would certainly be big enough to house a hanger or something.”

  “Then that sounds like the first place to look,” said Vana.

  “No, no, no. You don’t get it. That’s his base of operations. He has more firepower than god up there. We wouldn’t get within a mile of the front gates.”

  “We need to construct the device first anyway. That will give us some time to come up with a plan.”

  “Then if we’re needing somewhere to go, we should go to Doc, he’s the only friend we’re going to find around here. Apparently, he has some secret underground bunker that the Legion doesn't know about. It’ll be a good place to hide while we build this... whatever it is.”

  Vana zoomed the map into the approximate location of New Hope. It took Marcus a few seconds to get his bearings, not used to seeing the area from his current birds-eye perspective.

  He pointed to a location south of the settlement. “There,” he said. “I know that place. It’s an old industrial complex. Plenty of places to hide if need be. We can land there and walk to New Hope. It’s only a couple of miles. If it’s not safe we can head back and find somewhere to lay low while we plan our next move.”

  “I’m going to get the component we need for the device,” said Vana. She pointed to one of the pods. We can put everything we need to take into that one.”

  Marcus no
dded and went off to retrieve the energy storage unit from the cockpit. While there, he watched as Charlie worked the communication device, eve’s dropping on the soldiers outside, arguing about how best to get inside and murder them all. Apparently, they’d tried cutting, shooting, burning and a whole host of other things to get inside, but to no avail. Their voices became strained as they ran out of ideas. Marcus chuckled to himself and returned to the mid-section to find Vana loading a football-sized diamond-shaped crystal into the spare pod. He placed the energy storage device next to it and Vana threw in a few other bits and pieces. Judging from the size and shape, he guessed they were tools of some kind.

  After a quick check of the contents, Vana closed the door to the pod.

  “It’s ready,” she said. “That just leaves…”

  Charlie burst into the room, cutting Vana off mid-sentence.

  “I need to get back to Jericho,” she blurted. “Davon’s men are rounding people up in the street and executing them. It’s all over the radio. He’s trying to flush out the remaining resistance members to make an example out of them. I have to get back there.”

  Vana looked over to Marcus, who gave a nod. “I can configure your pod to take you back to Jericho,” she said, calling up several displays and making changes on the pod Charlie was going to use. After a few moments, the displays vanished. “Okay, they’re ready,” said Vana, as the pod doors opened. Marcus peered into one. He felt a slight twinge of panic come over him and took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

  “How do I work this thing anyway?” he asked.

  “The destination has already been programmed into each pod. All you have to do is to climb in, and press your hand here:” She indicated a small red square, immediately inside the pod. It pulsed, growing brighter, and dimming every few seconds. “The rest will happen automatically.”

  “Also, I want you to have this.” Vana handed him something. It had a hand grip and a short barrel and an obvious trigger mounted below.

  Marcus turned the object over in his hand. “Is this what I think it is?”

  “I’ve never had to fire a weapon before. You should take it,” said Vana. She wore a frown on her face. “It’s probably better in your hands.”

  “I don’t have the best track record either,” said Marcus tucking it under his belt at the back.

  Before he could inquire any further the communication device on the console started to slowly pulsate blue. Marcus narrowed his eyes and looked at it with suspicion. “What’s that thing doing?” he asked.

  Charlie, who was now familiar with the console, tapped a few buttons.

  “I think… someone’s trying to talk to us,” she said.

  “Must be that chump I spoke to before,” smiled Marcus. “Back for more world-class banter with me. He can’t get enough.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Vana. “Only another communication device like this one would be able to initiate contact with us.”

  “You mean, that’s probably…” his voice trailed off. An icy chill ran through his body.

  Davon, yes,” said Vana.

  “Well? Should I answer it or not?” asked Charlie.

  “Do it,” said Marcus. “At the very least we might find out what he’s up to.”

  Charlie pressed a few buttons on the console, which changed colour indicating the connection had been made.

  “What do you want?” said Marcus loudly.

  “Marcus,” came the crystal clear and unmistakable voice of Davon, “I must say you have surprised me with your resourcefulness. You cannot escape this place. So, I make you this offer. I want to speak to the girl and afterwards, you will all be free to go.”

  “No deal,” snapped Marcus back. “You must think me an idiot to believe you’d let us go, just like that. Not after everything you’ve done to try and capture her. New Hope, Jericho, tying me to a chair and having Amara threaten me with a bloody sword. So, if you don’t mind, we’ll be on our way.”

  Davon groaned with annoyance. “By now she’s no doubt told you some fanciful tale - perhaps some of it may even be true. But there’s far more at stake here than any of you realise. Let me speak with her, and maybe you’ll live to see the end of the day.”

  Marcus looked at Vana for any indication about how she felt about this. She remained stoic.

  “She can hear you,” said Marcus. “Say what you have to say, but make it quick.”

  Davon laughed, which sent a shudder rippling along Marcus’s spine.

  “Yes, I must say, activating the self-destruct mechanism was a bold move.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Marcus.

  “Don’t try to fool me. I can detect the energy levels building up inside the vessel’s power core. I know we don’t have a great deal of time. But enough of this. I will speak to the girl and perhaps we can come to some arrangement.”

  “Well, she can hear you, so spit it out.”

  “I will only speak to her face to face.”

  “No chance. As soon as I open the door your men will storm the ship. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m not as stupid as I look.”

  “I have ordered the Legion to retreat to a safe distance. I will come alone. You still have some functioning equipment inside that ship don’t you? Check for yourself.”

  Vana pressed a button on one of the consoles. The opaque cockpit, which until now had been featureless was replaced by a map of the area. In the centre was a white circle, which Marcus assumed was the ship they were in. All around them were various red dots, indicating people, and green triangles. Some of the triangles had red dots overlaid on them and were moving away from the centre rapidly. There was another, more prominent symbol, a hollow circle made from a dashed line. It flashed urgently, and alien text streamed underneath it.

  “What’s that?” Marcus whispered to Vana and pointing to the flashing symbol.

  “It’s indicating an unknown energy signature. It could only be coming from Davon.”

  “Standby,” said Marcus, and he waved his hand across his neck to indicate he wanted to kill the connection.

  Charlie nodded her understanding and pushed a button on the console. “It’s muted,” she said. “He can’t hear you.”

  “I don’t like this,” said Marcus, running his hands across his face. “It feels like a trap.”

  “Well of course it’s a bloody trap,” huffed Charlie. “There is zero chance he’s going to just let us walk out of here.”

  “I agree. He just wants to get to Vana. I say we tell him to shove it, and we get the hell out of here while we still can.”

  Vana shook her head. “We can use this to our advantage. We need to know where his ship is so I can get the data I need. We might be able to get him to reveal something.”

  “I dunno, sounds awfully risky. And I’ve recently become very risk-averse.” Marcus rubbed his leg instinctively. “Getting shot, twice, will do that to you. There’s got to be another way?”

  “Maybe,” sighed Vana. “But the longer it takes us, the more chance that Davon will figure out what we’re up to and take measures to stop us.”

  “Fine. But for the record, if we all get killed I’m going to be really annoyed.”

  He nodded at Charlie, who unmuted the communication system.

  “You come alone and unarmed,” he said out loud to Davon. “And we’re not leaving this ship.”

  “Agreed,” Davon replied. There was a soft click as the connection was terminated.

  Vana turned to Charlie. “Davon hasn’t seen you before, you should take cover in the back. There’s no need to reveal yourself to him.”

  “No way,” she said. “I’m not leaving you guys to face him on your own. Not after everything he’s done in Jericho.”

  “Vana’s right,” said Marcus. “We need you to cover us from the back there. If anything goes wrong we’re gonna need you to back us up.”

  “Fine,” groaned Charlie. “But at the first sign of trouble, I’m com
ing out shooting.”

  “Agreed,” said Marcus.

  There was a soft beeping sound from one of the consoles.

  “He’s here,” said Vana, “are you ready?”

  Charlie loaded several shells into her shotgun and racked the slide, before retreating into the rear of the craft.

  “What’s to stop us blowing his head off as soon as he steps on board?”

  “If you did we may never get access to Sentinel. Besides, I’m not sure it would be enough to kill him,” she said looking at the shotgun. “I doubt he would come here if he thought we could hurt him.”

  “What about the weapon you gave me?” His hand reached for it in his belt and gripped it.

  “No, I think we should see what he has to say, and we need the location of his ship,” said Vana.

  She moved to one side and slightly behind Marcus before pressing her hand against the wall, causing the doorway to reappear as if from nowhere.

  The doorway darkened as the figure of Davon appeared in it. Vana gripped Marcus’s arm but stood her ground.

  Davon smiled thinly.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

  Chapter Nine

  The dark shadow of Davon loomed in the doorway. He took a step forward and Marcus reacted at once, holding out his hand to block his path. His other hand fumbled behind him, as he felt for the weapon that Vana had given him, still tucked in his belt.

  Davon’s eyes followed Marcus’s movements and he stopped at the lip of the door. Marcus positioned himself in front of Vana, with his back to the escape pods, ready for a quick getaway. They stood, facing off each other for a few moments before he broke the uneasy silence.

  “Well? What do you want?”

  Davon looked past him and at Vana. There was only the briefest crack in her composure as he addressed her. His eye flittered to the doorway behind them. Marcus heard a faint rustling from the concealed Charlie.

  “Where’s the other one?” asked Davon.

  “Which other one?” replied Marcus nonchalantly.

  “My men told me there were three of you.”