Intrinsic: Book One of the Terran Cycle

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  The heat had indeed been overwhelming as the staffs sucked the oxygen out of the air. Roland wiped the sweat away but still couldn’t see anything beyond the steps below. The warriors each removed an orb from their belt before scrunching them up and dropping them through the hole. The phosphorus light they expelled was harsh in the darkness that surrounded them. After the three dropped through and removed the cut away panel, the others followed. The orbs moved ahead highlighting an empty square room with a circular door at the end.

  Looking up, they could see the craft had flown through the entire length of the tunnel, filling its width completely. The pointed end was caved in where it crashed into the chamber; the wall had taken no damage in the impact. The surface of the craft was burnt and smoking from a combination of the supernova and the missile. The air rippled around it as the metal began to cool.

  From the looks of the layout, Roland assumed the armoured beings would ascend the steps and somehow fly through the tunnel; it was like a human torpedo-tube. A closer inspection showed the walls and floor to be bronze plating with lines of hieroglyphs running down them all. Selek and Ilyseal held out the bracers on their upper arms.

  “This is incredible.” Ilyseal was looking at the feedback on her arm. “It is still trying to gather all the data. This ship must have taken a hundred cycles to complete.” Selek used both of his lower bracers like a combined keyboard.

  “If only we could have got the Valoran’s sensors inside this ship.” The Novaarians looked at one another in concern for their fellow crew. Had they survived the nova? For all they knew the massive ship could have deployed some new weapon to destroy the escape pods. They approached the circular door as the orbs hovered around them. The door was void of any access panels. Before they could voice their confusion, there was a sound beyond the metallic port. It reminded Roland of an earthquake, as if the walls were moving around on the other side.

  All at once the sound stopped and the circular door uncoiled into the walls. The orbs continued their journey through the door, lighting up a long corridor that came to life with overhead spotlights.

  “I don’t suppose any of you have one of those little blue drinks, do ya?” The Novaarians tilted their head at the odd request.

  Savrick occupied the central chair of his new craft like a king residing on a throne. The bulky ship had four large engines at the rear that emitted a constant hum he could feel through his feet. He reminded himself to input new ship designs into the pilot’s databank, preferably ones with speed. He pushed his senses out, filling the tiny vessel with his mind. He could feel every nanocelium that formed the ship, including his seat. With the feedback he was able to map out the ship in his brain, aware of every structure and its unit of measure.

  He had performed this tiresome exercise several times since this slow journey began, out of boredom mostly. He was accustomed to long journeys having been in the Gommarian for so long, but he didn’t like the space on the tiny ship. He had nowhere to go and it didn’t help sharing it with the cumbersome beast. Via his link he had commanded the goliath to remain in the hold below. Pushing himself into every crevice of the ship, he found Lilander resting in the engine room. She was sitting on a conduit while reconfiguring her blade into a different size and shape.

  Sef was directly in front of him, where he maintained control of the ship’s systems. He was in the pilot’s seat towards the front of the open plan bridge, surrounded by bronze holograms and golden readouts. It felt so primitive to be in a ship that required such piloting skills. Before their departure, Sef had downloaded the skills the Gommarian’s pilot deemed necessary to control the craft. The hum of the engines reminded him of the conventional fuel they were using. Without the pilot they were reduced to using a similar craft to the rest of the animals this side of the galaxy.

  His thoughts lingered on the Gommarian pilot for a moment. His head split as he battled with himself over the decisions he had made so long ago.

  Esabelle...

  Her name was like a blade in his heart. He had poured all his goodness and love into her the second she was born. And there it had remained ever since, leaving the empty shell he now felt. He knew nothing but rage now. A rage he had aimed at the Terran for a life time. He took a breath to contain his anger; it would only slow them down to unleash it on such a small craft.

  He thought through his reasoning for the way he had imprisoned her. She had been too out of control as a child. Without control of his own mind he had no idea how to teach her. He regretted that she spent her childhood on a wasted rock like Hadrok, but its population was sparse and it had a complex cave system to hide them both. Connecting her to the Gommarian had saved her really. He turned his thoughts away from the Gommarian and its true maker, it was a gift after all, and he had accepted it willingly. Without it she would have no doubt killed herself by accident and they would never have won the war.

  Elandar had created the perfect world for her mind to occupy, keeping her safe from the horrors of the war. She had been his greatest weapon against ALF and the Terran in the end. He was actually proud of how powerful her mind was; that she could control the nanocelium without the artificial intelligence. He hated that he had only seen her grow into adulthood as she lay suspended in the pilot’s chair. He thought of her mother for just a fraction before the holograms fluttered in front of Sef. The hum of the engines stuttered before continuing their cycle. Sef turned in his seat and Savrick flicked up his hand in apology.

  It was dangerous to think of her, he couldn’t control his emotions at the thought of her name. He would wipe out all life in the galaxy if it meant he could bring her back.

  Enough!

  Through his link, he commanded the nanocelium to cover his head with his helmet. It built around his shoulders before snapping up around his face. He stood from his chair, ready to leave for the hold; he would go a few rounds with the beast.

  The ship’s sensors suddenly alarmed in his head as his link came to life with proximity warnings and spatial distortion alerts. He whipped back to Sef, who silently increased the density of the external nanocelium and brought weapons online. He was already aware of Lilander returning to the bridge, the beast remained in position.

  With no view port they could not see the apparent reason for the alarms. Sef activated the hologram that consumed the front of the bridge, making it appear as if he were floating in vacuum. There was a flash of light the size of a hand before the Conclave ship rippled into existence. Its chrome-red hull reminded him of the security vessels they encountered at the Conclave capital planet. Thinking about this new ship gave him access to the sensor’s feedback. He could see in his mind’s eye that it was twice the size of the previous ships. He recognised the spec’s on most of the armaments with them ranging from planet-breakers to implosion mines that would create a scattered net of black holes, nothing the Gommarian didn’t already have. Their control of weaponised plasma was impressive though, but still archaic in comparison to his ability to manipulate it with his own biology.

  “Analysis?” He asked out loud, knowing Lilander would be the only one to reply. She stepped into view as her blade retracted back into the handle, the nanocelium returning to their compact dormant state.

  “This is not the Gommarian; they possess the fire power to obliterate this craft.” She replied. Savrick knew what she meant. The Conclave could destroy their ship but not its occupants. You didn’t survive as long as them without being a formidable opponent. The nanocelium would take a beating from most of their weaponry but would inevitably lose cohesion. He brought the list of armaments their own craft held, in search of something to end this swiftly. This journey was already taking too long without FTL capabilities.

  The list was pitiful, with most of the ship’s design based around the power of the engines. With that thought he wondered how they had been detected in the first place. In the vastness of space, two ships didn’t just happen to come across one another. He checked through his link to make sure
their stealth systems were operating.

  “How did they find us?” He asked. Sef was shifting holograms into their appropriate slots readying the layout for evasive manoeuvres. Lilander appeared to walk out into vacuum as she stood by Sef to check the readouts for herself.

  “They’re targeting everything within half a light-year of us.” She replied. Savrick thought about that for a moment. They couldn’t triangulate their exact position but they knew they were here. The ship wasn’t fast enough to evade half a light-year’s worth of weapons fire. How did they know where to intercept them? Only the Gommarian had the sensors to detect their stealth capabilities.

  Unless...

  His blood boiled at the thought. Could it really be possible? Accessing the part of his mind that could produce internal worlds like a virtual reality, he was able to think and access information and memories in only fractions of a second. Connecting to his cerebral link, he filtered the data Esabelle had collated on everything Conclave from past and present scans. He removed everything that wasn’t related to the Novaarians and Nova Prime. There was nothing of any significance at a cursory glance. He flicked through their species like turning the pages of a book. He quickly examined their biology, then their technological achievements along with their expansion into space.

  There had to be a reason they were going to Nova Prime. He inspected their change in economical circumstances through the millennia, looking for any anomalies. In the past they had intruded into the Conclave AI to scour their knowledge of anything Terran, looking specifically for any technology. He dug deeper now, looking at the Novaarian timeline while tasking search programs to cross reference with anything relating to Terran culture, whether it be technology or biology.

  He found it.

  The link highlighted it in his mind while uploading further details on the historical subject. There was no mistaking the origins of the hand print and the Terran hieroglyphics. He read the inscription and realised he was looking at some kind of outpost left behind by the crew of the Tempest. But even if this was some left over base, it still didn’t explain how this Conclave ship could find them. There had to be a Terran hiding in that moon, a living messenger to pass on the information of their doomed ancestors.

  How had they not found this before? Esabelle was on a par with the Criterion when it came to data collation. They had scanned this culture centuries ago and nothing had been reported. He would question Elandar later, but first things first. He knew he had spent just over a second inside his mind and they would have to act soon. As easy as taking a breath, he brought himself back to his external reality. He updated his crew with a data packet via their links and saw them enter the same meditative state for the blink of an eye. They now knew about the moon called Naveen.

  “I think this will work to our advantage.” Lilander had a fiendish smirk on her face. Savrick said nothing giving her time to explain herself. He had never been a fool when it came to ruling, not like the Terran. They handed their freedom over to a machine that thought itself a god who would only talk to the Avatar. But Savrick won the war because he listened to his brothers and sisters. He ruled the Gomar because they wanted him to, because he was fair and just. Because he didn’t just care about progress and evolution, he cared about freedom, and the freedom to love.

  He heard Lilander’s plan and felt his own grin creep up his face. He would soon find this hiding Terran along with the abomination that was Kalian Gaines.

  “Deactivate stealth systems, open a channel.” Savrick ordered.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Three hours had gone by and Kalian was still lying on his cot staring up at the ceiling. How was he supposed to sleep while his mind digested the origins of mankind and the meaning of life? He turned over and saw Li’ara lying on her cot across the room. ALF had given them all separate rooms but Li’ara dragged her cot into his room anyway, she didn’t trust the AI. She had removed most of her armour but she was definitely in a deep sleep. It must be a soldier thing he reasoned, able to fall asleep anywhere at the drop of a hat.

  Being as quiet as he could, he left the room to stretch his legs and organise his thoughts. He tracked the corridor back until he found himself in the lounge area again. He hesitated as he walked through; the room had changed its configuration. Instead of the sofas and oval columns there was now only an empty room with a large square sparring mat on the floor. Even the ceiling looked to be higher than before. He looked around, believing he must have taken a wrong turn.

  “Hello, Kalian.” ALF was standing in the centre where in the blink of an eye there had only been air. He was just as before, with his white and grey robes reaching the floor. He had his hands braced in front of him as he paced around the mat.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” Kalian said.

  “You have questions.”

  “I have answers; I just don’t know what to do with them...” Kalian joined him on the mat and felt the soft leather under his bare feet.

  “Hearing the reason behind one’s own creation can be hard to take,” ALF sounded so human it was easy for Kalian to forget he was something else all together. “But I put it to you that your reason for existence is the most sublime.” ALF paused looking intently at him. “You are to live, Kalian. You are to grow and learn and love. Your kind was made to seed the universe and explore and enjoy its wonders.”

  “Were you part of the plan?” ALF looked puzzled at the question. “Were we supposed to find you so you could do the same with us as you did with the Terran?” ALF appeared to chew over the question, as if his artificial mind hadn’t already calculated that particular question and his answer to it.

  “Yes it was. I was always part of the plan. I believe your species requires guidance and wisdom. You have so much potential it would be negligent to leave you to explore the galaxy without the right hand to guide you. Especially since we knew humanity had been accelerated in its evolution.” Kalian didn’t know what to make of that yet. He still wasn’t sure of this AI himself, he stored the information for later, and maybe Li’ara could help him figure it all out. He simply nodded to acknowledge ALF’s words.

  “You said that I’m the weapon against the Gomar,” ALF nodded in agreement. “But you said Savrick won the war because he had weapons you hadn’t seen in a long time. How am I supposed to beat him if he wiped out an entire civilisation with those same weapons?” His confidence in their survival wasn’t helped by knowing he was the plan.

  “Terran history is long and complicated. The weapons Savrick attacked us, and you, with were from a time even before my construction. There were six hundred thousand years of history before I came along. I downloaded as much of the information as I could but wars have a way of blurring history. I recognised most of the technology the Gomar used but the Gommarian was something new, and very old. You would think something twenty miles long would be hard to hide but...” He looked away for a moment with such human emulation. “I don’t know where he found it or learned half of what he did in his exile. A part of me had started an investigation into that before I left for here; I suppose I will never know now.”

  “You’re only part of the whole.” Kalian echoed ALF’s earlier words despite his lack of understanding.

  “Indeed I am. It was decided early on in my creation that I should split into three. One to rule and govern all aspects of living, to allow for a comfortable lifestyle and to control travel and economics. One to interface with the people, to meet them on their level and know I wasn’t some artificial tyrant. Someone they could interact with at a moment’s notice. And finally there would be one to teach and shepherd them in their abilities.” With that final one he put a finger in his chest.

  “You will succeed Kalian, because you must.” As he spoke, the ceiling parted into eight sections retreating into the surrounding space. A chrome-white machine that resembled an upside down cannon descended into the room, while at the same time a reclining chair began to form from the floor up. The nanocelium built upon the
mselves like a tornado of sand until the white chair was completed.

  “No more talking out loud then?” Kalian was referring to the strange commands ALF had been giving when they met. He chuckled at the question as he rested his hand on the head rest of the chair. Kalian wondered if it was just another emulation created by an adjustment in the hologram, but he was sure he saw the cushion indent under his fingers. Then again, it was possible the nanocelium responded to his touch as if he were real.

  “Sorry about that, it was a little strange wasn’t it? It was just a heating issue, it’s fixed now.” He moved around the chair, so that it was between him and Kalian. “Before the war I could take decades or even centuries to teach a Terran to use their abilities. But once Savrick attacked we no longer had that option. We had to use more invasive methods.” He tapped the chair and it took Kalian a second to realise it made a sound. Could the nanocelium respond to his touch with sound as well?

  “What is it?” He had a hunch he would be sitting in that chair soon.

  “We call it a subconducer. Your brain, Kalian, is a biological machine. And, like all machines it can have information uploaded and downloaded. I had to teach the Terran people to fight, to use their gifts in a way they should never have had to. The whole concept of warfare was foreign to them. For so long I had been happy about that fact, until it proved to be their end. But you have not spent your life learning as a Terran would. The subconducer will take time to download the relevant data, and you will need time to rest in between.”

  Kalian walked around the subconducer, taking in the various parts and mechanisms that formed the ‘invasive’ machine. He wasn’t keen on sitting in that chair but he could see no other way. They were running out of time and he needed to be better. A part of him was excited finally to have some control over his abilities. There was another part of him that knew if he did, there would only be one outcome to his future. Either he would kill Savrick or Savrick would kill him. He felt a great amount of responsibility towards the inevitable conflict. If he didn’t beat Savrick, he had no doubt that the Conclave would fall shortly thereafter. He knew Li’ara would be killed.