by William Wood
“Are you all right?” he asked gently. She didn’t answer.
“I’m sure your parents are OK,” he offered. “They must have been the most protected ship out there. We can try to contact them later.” Astra shook her head up and down.
“How long will it take us to get to the next segment?” he asked, looking at the navigation computer. On the screen was a small white planet. There was a set of coordinates and an estimated time of arrival. The time said five days, six hours.
Calvin put his hand on Astra’s arm.
“Let’s go get the second segment,” he said.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CONTACT
The next few days were very difficult. There was a heavy, dark depression over Calvin and Astra. No matter how many times they tried, they couldn’t contact Lord Fulton and Lady Tridara. They even tried to contact Commander Rale, but they were unable to. How many Alerians survived the attack? Did the ship her parents were on get away from Arlandia, or was it destroyed trying to escape? It was all she could think about. On more than one occasion it drove her to tears. She hid in her room for hours at a time. Calvin tried to comfort her, but since he was feeling depressed too, there wasn’t much he could say or do. He was lonely, and he missed Jax even more. The effect of his death seemed much worse now, amplifying his sadness. All he wanted to do was hide in his room. Calvin had tried several times again to contact his own father, but he failed each time. Finally, after two days of trying to contact their parents, they gave up. Astra went to her room and isolated herself for all of day three. Ion stayed on the bridge and kept an eye on things. A second robot was in the engine room, and the third connected itself to the main computer to perform maintenance.
Calvin couldn’t sit still. He wanted to explore the ship, to find out where everything was. On the first day, after they were safe in hyperspace, they each picked out a room. There were twenty-five to choose from, and they both picked one near the bridge. For one thing the rooms were larger and nicer, and another reason was that it was better to be close to the bridge, just in case there was an emergency, and given the nature of their mission, that seemed highly likely.
The Azure Frost was amazing. Everything about it made him feel comfortable. The ship was obviously not designed as a warship, primarily. When Astra said the royal family used it, she wasn’t kidding. It was obviously the king’s personal ship. The corridors were wide, with thick red carpet. The lighting somehow felt real, like there was a window with the sun shining through. There were beautiful paintings on the walls in most of the quarters. There were two hanging in Calvin’s room. One was a waterfall with an arched bridge spanning over it, and the other was of a man in a dress uniform. Calvin didn’t know who he was, but he looked important.
Not too far from his room he found a small library, with bookshelves full of books. The best part of the room was down four steps to a sitting room with two large padded leather reclining chairs, a couch, and small tables with reading lamps. The chairs faced a big window. One press of a button opened the thick red curtains and metal blast shield that covered the window. It was a very comfortable room.
A little farther down was a workout room with exercise machines. The dining room was also located on that deck. It was the most elaborate he had ever seen. It had a richly carved wooden ceiling and comfortable padded chairs.
The ship had five levels. Level five was farthest from the bridge. That whole deck was devoted to engineering—shield and power generators, electrical systems, workshops, fuel and water tanks, and the engine control room. There wasn’t much to see, and it was loud down there.
On the fourth level he found a very large raw-material storage tank. Ion explained to him that it was used to synthesize anything they needed, from food to clothing—basically anything. It could even make spare parts. There were also several laboratories and workshops. The shuttle bay was a large room that took up space on the fourth and third levels. There were two small shuttles, and space for a third to park in.
After exploring for several hours, Calvin was tired. He headed back to the bridge to check in with Ion and see what was going on. He could have taken the elevator, but he took the stairs to get a little more exercise. His heart was heavy, and he was feeling very sad. He thought of his family again. Halfway up to the top level, the ship-wide intercom turned on.
“Lady Astra, Master Calvin, please come to the bridge immediately,” Ion said. “We are receiving a message from King Fulton.” “I’m on my way up,” Calvin said loudly, not sure if Ion could hear him or not. He ran up the stairs two at a time all the way to the top. He walked quickly down the corridor to the bridge. Astra was already there. She was sitting in the pilot’s chair, and an image of her father and mother were on the large monitor in the middle of the control console, between the pilot’s chairs.
“I’m so glad you are OK,” Astra said through tears. “We were very worried about you.” Calvin sat in the seat next to her.
“It’s a relief to see you, Sir,” Calvin said. “You have no idea how worried we were.”
“It’s OK, son,” Fulton said gently. “We’re safe. We got away from Arlandia. We lost several ships, but most of us survived. Our communication system was damaged in the escape, but we repaired it. What’s important is that you escaped and will find all of the pieces of the weapon. Your success lies in secrecy. The Azure Frost is equipped with a cloaking device and a class-ten power generator. Keep the ship cloaked at all times, and you will be safe. Ion, is the cloak currently activated?”
“Sir,” Ion answered. “We are having problems with the cloaking system. It may have been damaged in our escape from Arlandia. We are working on it.”
The king’s smile faded away briefly, and his eyes narrowed.
“That’s unfortunate,” Fulton said, disappointed. “Ion, repairing that system needs to be your numberone priority.”
“Yes, Sir,” Ion said.
“Have it fixed before you exit hyperspace, or everything for light years will see you.”
“Yes, Sir,” Ion said again.
“We love you Astra. I’m sorry I couldn’t send more people to help you, but I feel very confident that the Frost and the robots will protect you both. I wouldn’t have let you go if I didn’t think so. The Goremog are more interested in us. As long as their fleet is chasing us, they’ll be leaving you alone. Just stick to the plan. We will stay in contact with you. Goodbye for now.”
“I love you,” Astra said. The screen went dark.
Calvin sat back in his chair. He was very happy that Astra’s parents were safe. He looked at her.
She was also sitting back in her chair, smiling. He decided to ask her a question.
“I haven’t really eaten anything all day. Would you like to have dinner with me? I know a nice restaurant down the hall.”
Astra looked at him. She thought about it for a second, as if trying to decide if she was hungry.
“Sure, I would like that.” They got up and walked to the dining room.
“Have you eaten in here yet?” she asked as they entered the room.
“Yes, a few times,” Calvin said. “The food is really good, ever since they got that new chef.” Astra giggled.
“So you know how to use the food stations?”
“Ion showed me how to use them.”
“That’s good,” she said. “I like that you call him Ion. That’s a lot better than Alpha Seven.”
The food station was a big, dark glass box, sitting on a table on the side of the room. Calvin and Astra walked to it. The front of it was dominated by a large door that opened downward. There was a large computer monitor sitting on the table next to it that had an onscreen menu system, with pictures of what was available. He was very lucky that there were pictures, so he knew what he was getting. Even though he could read the screen, he didn’t know exactly what fried gooble was. It looked like fried chicken, so he ordered it. It only took a second, a small door opened, and the smell of food filled the a
ir. It even smelled like fried chicken. He reached in and pulled out a tray and went back to the table and sat. Astra selected something for herself and joined him.
Neither of them realized how hungry they were until they were sitting down and smelled the food.
They ate in silence for several minutes. When they slowed down, Calvin took a drink and sat back.
“So what was it like growing up on Aleria?”
“Aleria?” Astra said. “Oh, I didn’t grow up on Aleria. It was destroyed a long time ago. We’ve been living in spaceships mostly, moving from planet to planet. Typically we would get a month, maybe two at each place. If we were really lucky, we would get to live on a planet for a year. That only happened twice. But it always ended the same way. The Goremog would find us, and we would have to leave, quickly.”
“Wow, that’s really sad,” Calvin said.
“What about you?” Astra asked. “Where did you grow up?”
“New Arlandia. It was our last surviving colony after the war. It’s a beautiful place.”
“And the Goremog have never found you?”
“No. Our scientists developed an amazing piece of technology that could hide our planet from all passing ships. Nobody could see us. We’re very good at hiding.”
“Wow. That sounds nice and sad at the same time.”
“I know,” Calvin said. “We’re afraid of everything. It’s sad. If the Goremog ever find us, we won’t be able to defend ourselves. We destroyed our military a long time ago. My people believe that if we leave the universe alone, it will leave us alone.”
“I can definitely see the appeal of that philosophy. We have been fighting and running so long, we don’t know anything else. It would be nice to hide, and not worry about being found.”
“But we do worry about being found. We live in fear. Fear that what happened in the past will happen again.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m really tired. I’m going back to my room and get some sleep.” She took one last sip of her drink, and she pushed back from the table.
“OK. Goodnight,” Calvin said.
“Goodnight, Calvin. By the way, thank you for helping us.”
Calvin watched as Astra put her dirty dishes back into the food processor. She smiled at him and walked out of the room. Calvin did the same to his tray and walked back to the bridge.
He was tired, but he wanted to do one more thing before he went to bed. He sat in the pilot’s chair and turned on the communication system. He tried the usual: New Arlandia planetary control, the command post, and his father’s office. The only thing he got was static. He didn’t know what else to try. He was about to shut it all down, when suddenly the screen flickered and came to life. His dad’s face filled the screen. Calvin’s eyes got big, and his mouth dropped open.
“Dad!” he cried. “Can you see me?”
“Calvin! Yes, and I can hear you! You’re alive. I knew it was you. I knew it was you.” Tears were streaming down his father’s face. “Dad, where are you?”
“That’s not fair, Son,” Foster said. “You’re the one who is lost. Besides, you contacted me.”
“Dad!” Calvin said loudly. He had so much to tell his father, and now he finally had his chance. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “You aren’t going to believe where I’ve been, and what I’ve seen, and who I’ve met!” His father listened intently while Calvin told his dad everything. When he was done, his father just stared in amazement.
“That’s incredible, Son. Wow, I had no idea we built a weapon with the Alerians. I’m going to check the old archives to see if I can find any information. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“I’ve been trying to reach you for days. Is everything all right at home?”
“When you contacted me the first time, I only saw you for a second, and I barely heard your voice. But I knew it was you. When the council found out that an unidentified signal was transmitted to our planet, they ordered a complete shutdown of all communications. There was chaos for two days. The planet went into panic. Everyone was told to go home and stay there. I thought that was bad, but then the planet went dark. Everything was turned off, even the power grid. The government declared martial law. It was terrible. The senate convened an emergency session to figure out what to do. I think they knew I would suggest that we investigate the signal, find out who was trying to contact us. They placed me under house arrest. It made me so angry. I wasn’t allowed to contact you. So after everything settled down and things returned to normal, and the politicians were finished terrifying the people, I left New Arlandia, and I went to our secret base in the asteroid field on the edge of our solar system. Son, this is very important; what I’m about to tell you, you can never repeat to anyone, ever. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Dad, I understand.”
“Good, I’m letting you in on the secret, because at this point in your life, you obviously need to know. The council does not know about our base. It is known only to a select group of individuals, a small secret group called the Laurites. As of now you are a part of our group. We built the base after the end of the war. The council commanded that all of our space battle fleet be destroyed. Instead of obeying, we brought it here and hid it in the asteroid field. Also, for the last eighty-three years we have been secretly developing new technologies to help us if and when war ever found us again.”
“Wow,” Calvin whispered. “Good for us. Do you know what the superweapon is? What does it do?”
“I don’t know,” Foster said sadly. “And unfortunately, anyone on Arlandia who might have known is dead now.”
“What do you want me to do? Do you want me to go after all of the pieces of the weapon, or come home?”
“If what you tell me is true, war is coming. This might be our only chance of surviving. You said you are two days away from the next piece?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Then go get it. I have to return to Arlandia before somebody notices I’m not there. I’m sending you protocols to bypass the security of the Laurite base, so you’ll be able to enter the base when you need to. Contact us when you get the second piece, and keep us updated. I will tell the Laurites what you’re doing, and that you are now a part of our group.”
“OK. This is a lot of information to digest all at once.”
“I know it is. I’m really sorry to hear about Jax. I know he was your best friend. How are you holding up?”
“It’s been really hard. I just can’t believe he’s gone. Would you tell his parents for me?”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea right now,” Foster said carefully. “We still haven’t found the crew of the Sorenia yet. If the council was to find out what’s going on out there, the panic here would be catastrophic, to say the least.”
“That bad?”
“Son, I’ve never seen this place fall apart so fast. It scared me.”
Calvin looked down, and he rubbed his hand through his hair.
“Don't worry about what’s happening here,” Foster said. “I need you to focus on what you’re doing. Be careful out there, Son. I love you. I’ll tell your mother that you’re safe.”
“Thank you, Dad. Tell her I love her.”
“I will. I’ll talk to you again in a few days.”
“I love you, Dad.” The screen went dark.
Calvin stood up and took a deep breath. Finally, his parents knew he was alive. He was happy, but now he had so much to think about. He was very tired, but he wondered if he was going to be able to sleep. As he left the bridge, he passed Ion, who had been waiting outside the door.
“Goodnight, Sir,” Ion said.
“Goodnight.”
Calvin walked back to his room. He put on his pajamas and got into bed. He wanted to sleep, but he was unable to. There were too many thoughts flying around in his head. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling, trying to process all of his thoughts. Everything he knew about his planet’s history had just changed. H
e had just learned about a secret organization, which he was now a part of. How long had his father been part of it? Everyone knew that the great space fleet was destroyed after the survivors arrived at New Arlandia. They taught it in school. It was a lie? He just found out it was hidden inside an asteroid. What other historical facts were altered? Why were they lied to? Why change history? What were they trying to hide? Could he believe anything that he had learned in school? Maybe the Laurites had the answers. They must be the keepers of the real history of Arlandia. He would ask his dad the next time they talked.
For Calvin, the biggest life-changing news was that his dad wanted him to continue the mission to find all of the pieces of the superweapon. Calvin wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He expected his dad to tell him to come home, that he was worried about him. “The universe is a big scary place, Son. You’re not safe out there. Get home as quickly as you can!”
Calvin was shocked. Either his dad wasn’t concerned and didn't miss him, or he trusted his son enough to let him handle the biggest mission conceivable. He knew the first one wasn’t true. His dad loved him and cared deeply for him. That obviously meant that he trusted him. Calvin had one piece of the weapon and was going after the second, but what was the weapon, and what was it supposed to do? What kind of super-weapon were the Goremog assembling? What would it do? Too many questions. His head was a storm of thoughts and emotions.
Calvin listened to the hum of the ship, and he fell into a light, uncomfortable sleep.
CHAPTER TWELVE
TRAINING
Calvin woke up late the next morning. There was no reason to get up early, so he hadn’t set an alarm. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He felt better, but his worries about home and the mission were still dominating his thoughts. They were only two days away from the second segment, which was on an ice planet. Calvin wondered what was waiting for them. The planet was out in the middle of nowhere, light years from the nearest star. They were too far away to get accurate sensor readings, but from what they could tell it was a big ball of ice floating in space, and not much of a planet.
