by R. E. Weber
Yet for all its lack of relevance to modern life within the Affinity, it had become so entrenched into Polisian history and culture that it remained written into law that any being who so wished could still undertake the tradition. They would then be granted free passage on any suitably equipped transport to go wherever they wished, with free food, water and shelter being made available upon request. And although few still undertook it, Ruby had decided that it was something she needed to do.
However, what had disturbed Theo more than anything was that he had not seen it coming. Ruby, his best friend, had kept more from him than he had expected or hoped. It was clear that their friendship had become at best, strained, and at worst, stretched to breaking point.
As the pod slipped into its berth on the Polisian moon, a feeling of nausea began to well up inside him. He couldn’t lose Ruby as a friend. He wouldn’t allow it. And so, after stepping free of the pod, Theo made his way quickly towards the command centre, his mind focused not on the imminent briefing, but on how he was going to find Ruby.
*
The scream, which echoed the entire length of the vast corridor, was unearthly and primeval, but it lasted only moments. Commander Nalhas Mah stood for a moment, his shaking arms held rigidly by his sides in an attempt to force himself not to remove the helmet before it had completed its surgery on his skull. He waited for a minute or so, breathing deeply and trying hard to focus on forcing back the pain. Then he clasped the helmet in both hands, lifted it carefully from his head and threw it to the floor, angry that he had been forced to endure such pain.
Feeling a warm trickle coming from his nostrils, he lifted his hand and wiped the liquid away. Then he looked back at the smear on his fingers. It was warm to the touch, black in colour and a little sticky – blood. Blood was normal, or so he had been told. It was to be expected. Looking back at the helmet, which was now dented and lying on its side, he noticed a silvery object, about a centimetre long, lying next to it in a small puddle of blood. He bent down, picked up the object and examined it carefully. Then his mouth curled up in satisfaction. The removal had been successful.
He looked at the bottom-middle of his companion screen to see a flashing red warning symbol. He selected it and read the message:
Warning: Transponder connection terminated. Recommend immediate action to rectify malfunction.
It had worked. The Affinity no longer had any way of tracing his location.
*
‘Hello, how are you today?’ said the silky feminine voice of First Mentor as Theo entered the shielded briefing room.
‘I’m OK. What’s all this about, First Mentor?’
‘I have been discussing the matter of your forthcoming mission with Commander Haarrnn Toh. We feel that we are now ready to proceed.’
‘OK, so what do you want me to do?’
‘Before we go into the specifics, we should first discuss the matter of your cover story, since this is integral to how the mission will proceed.’
Realising that the explanation might be rather lengthy, Theo requested a chair through his companion. Then he sat down and folded his arms. ‘I’m all yours, teach,’ he replied, grinning.
‘Theo, do you recall our recent conversation regarding the Ascent?’
‘Yes, I remember. A sort of rite-of-passage – the Ascent into adulthood. What’s that got to do with my mission?’
‘We feel that it would be appropriate for you to undertake the Ascent also.’
‘I’m sorry, you’ve lost me. How can I undertake the Ascent if…’
Then he smiled as the answer presented itself.
‘The Ascent. It’s my cover story, isn’t it?’
‘More accurately, your mission and the Ascent will run in parallel. You will be able to travel and explore as you would normally during the Ascent, however key locations of interest will be linked into your schedule. Whereas you would expect your Ascent to proceed with little or no planned framework, yours will be more, shall we say, organised.’
‘OK, so what you’re saying is I’d do all the stuff I’d normally do – you know, jumping into volcanoes, tightrope walking across meteor craters, all that sort of stuff – with a few detours for Star Agency work.’
‘Although those are activities we would not recommend, you are essentially correct.’
Theo grinned for a moment. ‘And I’ll be alone, will I?’
‘That, Theo, is your decision. The Ascent is to be opened to all the recruits from your homeworld, with special dispensation being granted to take a leave of absence from your roles. How you choose to travel and with who is something we will not dictate. However, you should carry out further concealment practice to ensure that you do not inadvertently reveal aspects of your mission to those who might travel with you. You will also be required to undertake some aspects of your mission alone.’
‘OK, but isn’t it going to look a bit funny – you know, if I’m travelling with somebody and I keep disappearing without telling them where I’ve gone?’
‘We have minimised the perceived difficulties by selecting Ascent activities which coincide with, or are in close proximity to, your reconnaissance activities. Your Ascent has been planned in detail, with just enough flexibility to present the appearance of being unplanned.’
‘You mean, I’ll look like I’m winging it, but I won’t be.’
‘Correct.’
‘Do the others know about the Ascent yet?’
‘No, however they will be briefed very soon.’
Theo sat for a moment as the complexities of the mission unfolded in his mind. Then he turned to First Mentor.
‘What about Ruby?’
‘In what sense do you mean, Theo?’
‘Well she’s undertaking the Ascent, isn’t she?’
‘Correct. However, she has chosen to undertake it alone.’
‘So I can’t go looking for her?’
‘There will be minimal opportunity for you to locate Ruby within your schedule. And since she has chosen to keep her location private, it is unlikely that you will be able to find her.’
Theo sighed. ‘I understand,’ he replied.
‘Your itinerary has been fed to your companion, and you should ready yourself to leave within one Ch’ha. Prior to your departure, you should work through the standard set of mental preparation techniques with which you are already familiar. Unless you have need, there will be no further briefing prior to the commencement of your mission. Do you understand what is being asked of you?’
‘Yes, First Mentor.’
‘Good. Can I also ask that you thoroughly review your itinerary and speak with either Orientator or myself prior to your departure if you have any questions. Once you have departed Polisium Prime, you should maintain communications silence, except in the case of an operational emergency. A continuous telemetry stream will feed through to Star Agency command, keeping us informed of your location and condition.’
‘Got it.’
‘Good. Now, if there are no further questions, then may I wish you a safe journey and may your Lusok smile, always.’
‘What, like it did on Athonesis?’ said Theo, sarcastically.
*
‘Can you believe it,’ said Weng excitedly as he sat cross-legged on the floor of his quarters with Cristos and Larissa. ‘The Ascent. We’re going on the Ascent. One minute I’m off to command school, the next I’m packing a rucksack to go and explore the Universe.’
‘I know,’ said Theo. ‘It’s unreal. Any ideas where you want to go?’
‘You’re kidding, aren’t you? I’ve got so many ideas, I think my head’s gonna burst. I don’t think I’ll be able to do them all in the time we have. There’s the Ratalon Nebula. Then there’s a ride on the Pultan. It’s a state-of-the-art comet chaser, with a solar flyby scheduled for next week. I’ve checked and we might be able to get seats. Oh my god, it’s gonna be awesome. I can’t wait.’
‘Steady on mate, I thought I was the geek here.’
‘No, you’re still head geek, mate,’ said Weng as he butted fists with Theo.
‘Lara’s coming too,’ said Theo. ‘Can you believe it?’
‘Even the Ice Maiden’s gonna melt with this.’
‘Yeah, I think we all are,’ said Theo.
‘The voyages of the seven,’ said Weng excitedly.
‘The voyages of the seven,’ they repeated together.
‘So eight sharp, tomorrow. Where d’ya wanna meet?’ said Weng, scarcely able to contain his excitement.
‘How about the observation deck?’ said Cristos.
‘Pod 15,’ said Larissa smiling warmly at Theo. ‘Somebody told me we get the best views from up there.’
‘Pod 15, it is,’ said Weng.
Then as Theo smiled back at Larissa, he thought about the observation deck and the spectacular view of Polisium, with its deep blue oceans and ice sheets. And for some reason, the image made him think of Ruby.
7 – Icefall
In the inky black, distant reaches of the red giant star’s solar system, an armada of cylindrical space tugs pulled furiously at the huge Navy cruiser with their metallic snake-like tethers, steering it steadily closer to the giant ice asteroid. One by one, the tethers flexed then become rigid as the tugs turned the massive ship by just a few degrees so that it was parallel with the vast framework of metallic gantries on the asteroid. Once the tugs had steadied the vessel above the gantry framework, a series of metal clamps appeared from the gantries and attached themselves to the huge vessel at carefully planned grappling points along its hull. As soon as the ship had been firmly secured, the tethers released themselves and withdrew back inside the tugs. Then, with a few controlled bursts of their reaction jets, the tugs shot quickly away out of sight and were gone.
Inside the Navy cruiser, Commander Nalhas Mah, having heard the deep metallic groans and bangs of the clamps securing the ship in position, made his way to the rear of the ship, through the hastily cut doorway and into a small room beyond. Once inside the room, he waited until the red warning light above the doorway had turned white. Then he stepped through the rectangular hatch into the darkness beyond.
As the doorway closed silently behind him, a wave of cold hit the commander, causing him to shiver momentarily. But despite the sudden drop in temperature, he remained still, impassive and rigid in the darkness. Then, out of the shadows, a tall cloaked figure appeared, its facial features hidden in the shadow of a large hood.
‘Is the weapon intact?’ said a deep, raspy voice from under the hood.
‘All tests confirm no significant damage,’ replied the commander.
‘Well done. You have done what many deemed impossible,’ said the voice.
‘Such a word has no meaning to me.’
‘The very reason you were selected for this mission. Has your transponder been removed?’
The commander stiffened as the thought of the pain he had felt hours earlier jumped to the forefront of his mind. But he did not allow the memory of the sensation to show in his expression.
‘It has been removed, modified and disposed of as agreed, and is now several hundred million hotah away. It continues to transmit to any detector within range, giving a false impression of my current location. It will delay the discovery of our base of operations.’
‘I am grateful for the…’ the voice paused for a moment as if searching for the correct word, ‘…sacrifices you have made on our behalf.’
‘Sacrifices are necessary,’ said the commander, seemingly emotionless.
The voice from under the hood coughed to clear its sickly sounding throat before speaking once more.
‘Walk with me,’ it said, gesturing to its side. ‘We have much to discuss.’
*
Abs and Lara were the final members of the group to arrive on the observation deck that morning, and as they entered the pod at exactly the right time, to the second, Theo smiled. He knew that Lara had instructed Abs to wait with her outside the door until the exact moment they had agreed to meet.
‘Right on schedule,’ said Weng, grinning as they entered the room. ‘So we’re just waiting for Rubes now.’
‘Ah,’ said Theo sheepishly. ‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.’
‘Yeah, what’s happening?’ said Weng. ‘I tried to call her earlier to confirm the time, but there was no answer. You have told her, haven’t you, Theo?’
‘Well, I, erm…’
‘Theo, what’s going on?’ said Cristos, his face suddenly heavy and serious.
‘Well there’s something I’ve got to tell you I’m afraid.’
‘She’s not coming, is she?’ said Abs.
‘W…well strictly speaking, she’s already gone,’ said Theo, his voice shaking with nerves.
‘What d’ya mean, she’s already gone?’ replied Weng, clearly annoyed.
‘Well, she’s sort of had a few problems. And she’s gone already. She went on her Ascent alone.’
‘Ruby does not wish to travel with us?’ said Lara, clearly confused.
‘Like I said, she’s had a few problems – you know, at work. She needed some time out. So she went before us.’
‘But she can’t,’ said Weng. ‘She’s one of the gang – the seven. We can’t have the voyages of the six. It’s dumb. Imagine if they’d called that film The Magnificent Six. That would’ve been hopeless, wouldn’t it? Seven’s the number. Seven’s lucky.’
‘We could try and find her,’ said Cristos. ‘After all, it wouldn’t be right to go without her, would it?’
Pleased that Cristos was thinking along the same lines as him, Theo opened his Ascent schedule and scanned the list. Then he smiled. Despite what First Mentor had implied, he did have a couple of free days before he was expected at his first assigned stop off. They could at least try.
‘OK,’ said Weng, ‘first of all, we need to know where she is. Any ideas, Theo?’
‘Nope, I’ve already tried checking her location. Nothing. She’s off the grid.’
‘OK, let’s look at this another way. You know her well, don’t you, Theo?’
‘I guess.’
‘So has she ever said anything to you about somewhere she’s always wanted to go?’
Theo stared out of the observation window at the planet wheeling slowly around its axis – its vast ice sheet drifting into view beneath the pod. Then he smiled to himself. When he’d thought about the same view the day before, it had reminded him of Ruby, even though he didn’t know why. Now he knew.
‘Actually, yeah. There is somewhere she might have gone.’
‘Go on,’ said Weng.
‘Have you ever heard of the Raltath Cascades?’
‘Yeah,’ said Cristos, ‘that giant frozen waterfall near the north pole of Polisium. There’s a frozen lake next to a high cliff top, on a volcanic fracture. When the heat rises up through the rock, the water melts and falls over the edge, making a giant waterfall. It’s one hotah high apparently. When it last happened, thirty years ago, there was a sudden temperature drop. It was something to do with the alignment of the suns and the moon. The water re-froze quickly, stopping it mid-flow. It only happens every ten thousand years and they reckon it’ll disintegrate soon. It might be the last chance we get to see it.’
‘Ruby always wanted to go,’ said Theo. ‘I remember her saying to me once that we’ve travelled hundreds of light-years to live here and see the wonders of the Universe, but we’ve never really explored the planet on our doorstep.’
‘We never look at what’s right under our feet,’ said Abs.
‘Or in front of our eyes,’ said Theo staring guiltily at the floor.
‘But what are the chances of finding her there?’ said Weng.
‘Dunno,’ said Theo. ‘If she went there first, she might have moved on by now.’
‘Well there’s only one way to find out,’ said Cristos. ‘Let’s get down there. Even if she’s not there, it sounds like a pretty cool way to start our Ascent, doesn’t it
?’
‘Right on, Cristos, good call,’ said Weng. ‘We can catch a flyer and take the scenic route. It’ll only take half an hour, and we’ll get some great views on the way.’
‘What are we waiting for?’ said Cristos. ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’
Weng led the way through the doorway, closely followed by Cristos, Larissa and Theo, with Lara and Abs bringing up the rear. As they made their way along the corridor towards a waiting platform, Larissa linked her arm into Theo’s and pulled him tight into her. Theo looked her in the eye and became almost lost in her gaze, before being distracted by a voice behind him.
‘…and I have planned our meal times so that they coincide with our normal schedule,’ said one voice.
‘Of course you have, Lara,’ whispered the other.
Theo looked back at Larissa, his lips pursed as he tried not to laugh.
*
Once the flyer had slowed from its exceptionally rapid entry into the planet’s atmosphere, it levelled out several hundred metres above the gleaming snowscape and raced silently towards the distant mountainous horizon. Weng, who was seemingly fearless during the ride – despite his front-row seat – had continued chattering away throughout the journey to anybody prepared to listen. But with Theo, it had been a different matter. The massive observation bubble at the front of the craft was completely transparent on all sides, which was a great way to get the best views of their descent. However, being able to see directly down through his legs, from a great height, was always going to be a bad idea for him.
Despite having fallen into a kilometres-deep canyon a little over a year ago – with no way to slow his fall – and despite living on a space station five hundred kilometres above Polisium, Theo’s fear of heights had never entirely disappeared. First Mentor had spent many sessions with him, teaching him a variety of techniques to deal with his fears, and they had, to some degree, worked. He could now quite happily stand on the observation deck of Polisium Prime and look at the planet below, with only a faint sensation of dizziness or nausea clouding his mind.
