by Dan Worth
‘Oh I see, but I wonder how they make the wings bend like that though. They’re so graceful aren’t they?’
‘I’ve no idea, in fact, I think I don’t think anyone but the Arkari knows. I’m willing to bet it’s something to do with advanced nanotechnology or some such.’
‘Hmm,’ the Vreeth waved two its arms thoughtfully. ‘I once went on an Arkari ship you know, very odd. Very odd indeed.’
‘Really? I’ve never been on one myself,’ she replied. ‘What was so strange about it?’
‘I felt like I was being watched the whole time. I kept catching myself turning round to see who was in the room with me. Most unsettling,’ said the Vreeth. He pondered his stew for a moment before popping a thick red leaf into his mouth. ‘So where are you headed? Off on a holiday?’ he said with his mouth full. The translator took a moment to decipher his muffled words.
‘No, no it’s, well it’s business rather than pleasure, I’m going to Maranos in the Fulan system. I have to change to another ship at New Colorado.’
‘Maranos, Fulan… oh isn’t that the one where the planet’s right in the middle of the binary? What are you going there for, it’s right in the middle of the demilitarised zone isn’t it?’ he asked. ‘If you don’t mind me being intrusive of course,’ he added hurriedly.
‘I’m an archaeologist and we’re doing a study into some religious site on the planet.’
‘An archaeologist? Fascinating…’ he swallowed. ‘Sorry I haven’t asked you your name. Terribly rude of me asking you all these questions without asking who you are first.’
‘Katherine’
‘The name’s Ikkikut. Nice to meet you, Katherine.’
‘Likewise. So, where are you headed?’
‘Elysium. I’m an artist, or at least I try to be. I’m going to try and paint the Memorial Ring and possibly the falls at Constantine. I’m meeting my mate there too, she’s been travelling by herself these past few months so we’re going to meet up and continue our travels together.’
‘That’s nice, have you been together long?’
‘Oh, well it must be four seasons now, about five of your years. You know I hope you don’t mind me saying so but you do look awfully familiar.’
‘Well I…’
‘Sorry I hope you don’t think I’m being speciesist, you know ‘they all look the same to me’ sort of thing.’ Ikkikut started babbling apologetically. Katherine interrupted him politely.
‘Not at all. No I’ve had, shall we say, some unwelcome attention in the press recently. You might have seen my face there.’
‘Oh that must be it,’ he paused. ‘Didn’t you find an Arkari ship and they tried to arrest you or something?’
‘Yes, and I think they still are trying to arrest me. I think it’s a matter of finding a good enough excuse.’
‘Well I thought the whole thing was fascinating. You must have found something interesting if they’re in such a flap about it,’ he said, after pressing a couple of buttons on the pendant’s surface to lower its volume. ‘But you shouldn’t go telling all and sundry. I could be anybody after all. Maybe I’m a secret agent.’
‘Are you?’
Ikkikut giggled: an odd chirruping sound ‘Wouldn’t it be fun though if I were?’
‘Hmm.’
He picked at his stew again and popped something round and blue into his mandibles.
‘I must say, I’d love to see the kitchens on this thing. Imagine what it must be like providing a full menu for all these species at once.’
‘I can imagine,’ replied Katherine. ‘My Dad was a chef. He had his own place on Earth - used to serve all sorts of things. If it was interesting, Dad would put it on the menu. He used to scream blue murder at the staff when something went wrong,’ she chuckled. ‘He was bloody good cook though.’
Katherine noticed Ikkikut looking to something behind here. She turned and found that one of the waiters and a member of the ship’s security were standing by their table, they looked troubled.
‘Dr O’Reilly?’
‘Yes that’s me?’ she replied cautiously.
‘I’m terribly sorry to disturb your meal but we decided you should be informed straight away. I’m afraid your cabin has been broken into.’
‘How the hell did anyone break into my cabin, I thought this ship had sensors and security devices and things?’
‘Did you lock your door ma’am?’
‘Yes! Of course I did.’
‘But you’re sure they didn’t take anything?’
‘Pretty sure… look I don’t know, probably not. God they’ve made such a fucking mess of the place.’
The cabin had been ripped apart. Katherine’s belongings lay strewn about the floor. Her bags had been ripped to open, as had the bed, the wall panelling, the cases containing her archaeology tools, the pictures on the walls and the furniture. Everything in the room had been systematically dismantled. A number of security officers were combing the wreckage for clues, though they weren’t having a great deal of success.
That someone had been looking for something was obvious, as was that fact that they were an experienced burglar: so far security hadn’t found a single fingerprint. Katherine could guess at what the intruders had been looking for and they wouldn’t find it. The alien ship’s log was with Rekkid.
‘I’m terribly sorry about your luggage Dr O’Reilly’ said the security officer, Sergeant Adams. Burly and middle-aged, his black skin wore a slight sheen of sweat. He looked a little embarrassed. ‘We’ll get you some new bags from one of the shops on the ship, and of course we’ll find you a new cabin. It seems strange that they didn’t take anything though. You didn’t have small valuable items with you that you might have forgotten about? Jewellery, that sort of thing?’
‘No, nothing, and I have my wallet in my pocket right here.’
‘And you’re positive the door was locked?’
‘Yes, I’ve already told you!’ she snapped and then paused, suddenly embarrassed. ‘Sorry, look I shouldn’t take it out on you, it’s not your fault.’
‘That’s alright. We like to think of it as our fault, we are the ship’s security and this guy got past us.’
Katherine sighed and sat heavily on one of the more intact chairs. Facing the wrong way on it she rested her chin against her folded hands on the top of the chair back and closed her eyes.
‘What did you say you do again ma’am?’
‘Archaeologist’
‘Haven’t I seen you…?’
‘Yeah, you’ve seen me on the news,’ she replied wearily. ‘Apparently I’m something of a celebrity.’
‘Someone seems to thinks so. You don’t think that’s why they broke in?’
‘What, like a stalker?’ she snorted.
‘Well why not? A woman like yourself could attract these types if they’ve seen you on the news, the galaxy’s full of weirdoes.’
‘I’ve accounted for all my underwear, thanks. I don’t think anyone stole any. Besides, doesn’t this all seem a bit too professional?’
‘True, but maybe he does this a lot,’ said Adams dryly.
Another security man arrived in the room. He wore a worried expression and carried a portable datapad in his hand.
‘Sir, look at this.’ He handed the pad to Adams. ‘We had a look at the ship’s sensor records to see if we could get a look at who came and went from this room whilst Dr O’Reilly was away. We think the ship’s systems have been tampered with. The security records show no-one moving to or from this room or corridor during the past half hour, but we know that’s not true. One of the maids came down this corridor to deal with a spillage in one of the cabins further down just fifteen minutes ago. We have a record of the call the occupants made after they knocked over a wine bottle. The maid didn’t see anything, but there’s no record of her being there. Someone must have tampered with the systems to turn themselves off for a particular period, or more likely given the opportunistic nature of the crime, they’ve
gone and erased the event afterward to cover their tracks. I’m willing to bet that they didn’t have a lot of time, which is why they erased a whole block of records, rather than just selecting the bits that showed their presence.’
‘What about the door lock?’
‘They probably tricked or hacked the alarm system into turning itself off, we’re not sure how yet though but I’ll inform you of the results as soon as we know.’
‘That’s good work Weiss,’ said Adams and his face darkened. ‘Shit, these guys really are pro’s. I don’t suppose that there’s any chance they’re still on the ship?’
‘I doubt it, we were docked the whole time and Lord knows how many ships have come and gone from the port in that period.’
‘Contact Galileo’s security and have a look at their logs, I’m willing to bet that you’ll find the same result as here, but check what ships have departed since the incident. Maybe we’ll get lucky, though aside from criminal damage I’m not sure what we could charge them with at this point.’
‘Sir.’ Weiss replied, then turned on his heel and hurried off.
Sergeant Adams turned to Katherine. ‘Well Dr O’Reilly, whatever it was that they were looking for it must be valuable for them to go to all that trouble. Would you mind telling me what it is?’
‘I, well…’
‘This is something to do with that business on the news you were involved in wasn’t it? With the alien ship?’
Katherine sighed, so much for remaining anonymous. ‘I’d rather not say if you don’t mind,’ she said.
Adams shook his head ruefully. ‘If you won’t tell me everything we can’t help you fully,’ he said wearily.
‘Well I can’t, I mean how do I know you’re not one of them? This could all be a trick to drop my guard.’
‘Who’s “them”?’
‘The Secret Service.’ She chewed her lower lip.
‘Lady, if you’re telling the truth then you’re in way over your head’
‘I know. But anyway, I don’t have what they’re after.’
‘Who does?’
‘It’s for the best if I don’t tell you. Don’t you think?’
The next couple of days aboard ship passed without incident for Katherine, she had lunch with Ikkikut again after deciding that she liked the Vreeth; he made an entertaining, if excitable, dining companion. On the third day they were dining once again in the restaurant where they had met before the break-in. Ikkikut had booked them a table with an excellent view right next to one of the huge floor to ceiling windows. The Pegasus would be arriving at Elysium whilst they ate, Ikkikut wanted to say goodbye properly and he said he wanted her to see the Memorial Ring.
The Elysium Memorial Ring was famous throughout the Commonwealth. Following the Battle of Eta Cassiopeia at the end of the war, the larger chunks of debris had been manoeuvred into stable high orbits around the planet, creating a sparse necklace of smashed hulks of both Commonwealth and K’Soth ships around the planet as a symbol of the sacrifice made in the system’s defence. There were also rumours that the hulks now formed part of the planet’s defence network and concealed heavy anti-ship weaponry and jump disruptors. The Pegasus, being something of a tourist cruise vessel, would be making a close pass of the ring before it docked.
Elysium itself was already visible as a blue-green disk in the simulated view projected onto the windows. The planet was currently midway through its summer season and autumn wasn’t due for another eighty five Earth years.
‘It must be odd living in a place like this don’t you think?’ said Ikkikut. ‘I mean, imagine having the same weather for so long. It must be marvellous during the summer, but a century of winter? That can’t be nice at all.’
‘Apparently the suicide rates rocket,’ said Katherine. ‘When the planet was first colonised it was just entering winter and they had quite a job keeping the first colonists sane. Still, from a scientific point of view it’s interesting, since all the native species have to contend with an environment that varies so much over the centuries.’
‘Maybe I’ll visit again though sometime, during the winter. Just to see what it’s like.’
‘Won’t the cold affect your buoyancy?’
‘Yes, but I could wear an anti-grav belt. I think I’d enjoy the contrast somehow, having seen it in the summer.’
‘Maybe you could do some more paintings then.’
‘Yes. Yes I think I will,’ said Ikkikut. ‘Something for the future though hmm?’
Elysium’s climate altered so drastically due to the nature of the Eta Cassiopeia system. The planet orbited the primary star Achird at a distance slightly greater than that of the Earth’s orbit around the sun, bathed in its yellowy orange light. The second star in the system, a red-orange dwarf, named Icarus since colonisation, orbited eccentrically, looping past Achird every four hundred and eighty years, bringing summer to Elysium. There were relatively few planets in the system due to the eccentricity of Icarus’s orbit; in fact several appeared to have been pulled apart by its gravity to form the extensive asteroid fields that had proved so vital in the defence of the system against the K’Soth. However, Eta Cassiopeia lay at the heart of a group of systems rich in mineral wealth and as a result it had grown into the second most important economic centre in the Commonwealth after the Solar System.
Katherine noticed that they had dropped out of hyperspace and that Elysium was now visible through the window behind Ikkikut, who was still chattering excitedly about his art. She gestured to point behind him.
‘Ikkikut,’ she said. ‘You should definitely paint that.’
She ignored the banalities of the ship’s captain’s narrative, she knew the history behind the Memorial Ring well enough, and admired the scene for herself. Elysium shone blue and yellow-green in the light from Achird which tinted the cloud tops with a golden hue. The baleful red eye of Icarus peered over the horizon, giving the curve of the planet a pink glow. Against the backdrop of the continents, seas and clouds hung two of the largest starships Katherine had ever seen. The first was of human origin: the Olympus, one of the old Io class carriers and once the flagship of the Commonwealth fleet. It was over two kilometres long, a technological triumph of its age, and it was utterly wrecked. The hull was pierced with numerous holes that had been torn through the structure of the ship, the bows battered beyond recognition by the impacts of energy weapons, whilst the rear flight deck was totally missing. It had been the victim of the kamikaze attacks wrought upon it at the close of the battle by the frenzied K’Soth pilots who had flung themselves to their deaths once it was clear that the battle was lost.
The second ship was K’Soth, a War Temple capital ship. It was even bigger than the Olympus and had been eviscerated. Arkari spatial distortion cannons had torn the cloven delta shape asunder down its length. The ribs and spars of its guts were clearly visible, twisted by the dimensional warping of the alien weapons.
Katherine had an active imagination. She could well imagine the horror of that final battle. The crews of the two ships pitted against one another, vaporised and butchered by weapons of staggering destructive power. - convulsing men and aliens screaming soundlessly in the vacuum, tumbling from rents in the hull. Figures burning on the devastated flight decks, soaked in fuel, torn apart by exploding craft and munitions.
Over a hundred thousand had died in the Commonwealth Navy alone. K’Soth casualties were reputed to have been much higher and thousands more Commonwealth civilians had died on the planet’s surface. Katherine shuddered. The two floating graves were a grim reminder of the consequences of interstellar war. She wondered if the leaders on both sides would heed it so many years later. A cynic, she doubted it.
‘I… I will paint that. Most definitely,’ said Ikkikut. ‘I have a name for the piece too.’
‘What will you call it?’
‘Hubris.’
First
The war was lost, we were utterly beaten and we were banished for our crimes by the victors.
We were driven from our homes and herded like beasts by those we had once called brothers, driven into exile through the portal from which there was to be no return. We who had strode amongst the stars like Gods were now laid low and shamed, harried on our way by the baying mob.
We had dared to suggest that our species was supreme above all others and that the universe existed for our benefit alone. Alas, others did not share our view. We fought for our cause and for our species, but we were outnumbered and betrayed by our own. Because of this, war came to paradise and destroyed all we had created, and all that we fought for. We fell.
Now the universe is ours and our alone to rule. But it is a mixed blessing, for the universe we inherited on the far side of the portal is one of darkness filled with death and decay. The only light is that which reaches us from the past. From distant stars that now taunt us in death, for we know that they are long gone and turned to cinders. We eke out our existence on the worlds of our ancestors that still remain - now lifeless balls of rock and ash. Their civilisations of towering spires are now nothing more than a layer of minerals compressed into the rocks with the weight of the ages. Yet still we cling to life, and hope perhaps in vain for our salvation, and our revenge.
Chapter 3
Rekkid shielded his eyes and peered upwards through the dome at the actinic glare of the star known to Humans as Pleione. The large hot blue star and its disk of superheated glowing gases were certainly spectacular, but even at this distance it hurt his eyes to look at it. Despite wearing protective lenses, he found that even the ambient light here was painfully bright. However he was here out of necessity and his hosts had a liking for the star’s light that bordered on the obsessive. Thankfully he had managed to acquire some very thick black blinds for the temperature regulated quarters he was staying in, so at least he could get some refuge from the light and heat. Outside his room however, the immensely humid atmosphere made life extremely uncomfortable.
