by Colin Weldon
“Done,” Jack said.
Carrie thought about it for a moment, and then chanced another request.
“Doctor Tyrell’s hand, can you reattach it?” she asked.
“Of course, we can,” Jack said, “do you give yourself over to us?”
Carrie thought about it and lowered her arms nodding.
“It will be done,” Jack said, “now if you wouldn’t mind laying down on this table,” he said moving his hand in mid-air.
A holographic interface appeared and he pressed some virtual buttons. The floor in front of him began to rise revealing the table that Carrie had woken up on an hour earlier. Carrie glared at Jack.
“Jack,” she pleaded, “why can’t we find another way of doing this? My people are innovative, and yes, technologically inferior, but we are good people. We can work together.”
“Yes, you are,” Jack said, “you think we are savages, do you? You think we’re evil?”
“I don’t know what you are, but there has to be a better way,” Carrie said.
“You are facing extinction, are you not?” Jack said.
“We are,” Carrie replied.
“If you had the means, would you not take steps to preserve your race?” Jack said.
“Mass genocide would not be one of them,” Carrie said.
“I see, from the data we retrieved from the colony now housed on board our ship, the evidence would seem to point to a contrary position,” Jack said.
Carrie took a breath.
“There’s always evil, Jack, but good always prevails, always,” Carrie said.
“As shall we,” Jack said, “now lay down on the table and let’s begin. We have very little time left.”
Carrie walked over to the table and placed her hands on its cold clean surface.
“I won’t do anything until I know my friends are all right,” she said giving Jack a steely eyed look.
“There is not much time,” Jack said.
“Then you better get a move on,” Carrie replied.
THE AGATHON
CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS
“We should have done this a long time ago,” said Barrington sliding his arms back into his uniform.
Brubaker smiled as she tied her hair back up into a ponytail.
“Yes, well, I gave you enough hints over the years, John,” she said.
Barrington smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Jennifer would find this ironic.”
“Oh?”
“She thought you were the biggest pain in the ass,” he said laughing.
Brubaker laughed.
“We women do enjoy a good challenge, don’t we?” she said moving over to him and leaning into his face.
She kissed him gently.
“Now get your head back in the game, will you? No more drinking on duty or I’ll confine you to quarters,” she said gently touching his face.
Barrington saluted her.
“I might like that,” he said winking.
“I’ll be in sick bay if you need me. Try to stop sending me patients, will you?” she said as she approached the door and activated it.
“I’ll try,” Barrington replied.
“I know you will,” she said “And Captain, we’re all with you, you’re not alone up there,” she giving him an honest look, before stepping through the door.
He took a moment to savour the good feeling and then let his mind drift back to Carrie. He took a deep breath, straightened his cuffs, and then stepped out of his quarters with purpose.
AGATHON BRIDGE
The lift doors slid open and Barrington stepped out onto the bridge. Boyett spotted him and stood from the centre seat.
“Sir, I think we have communications back up,” she said.
Barrington looked at Tark’An, who was standing quietly with his arms folded next to the navigation console. Ferrate was at the rear of the bridge manning his station. He moved over to him.
“Report,” he said.
“I think we’ve got it, sir, main power systems are coming back online,” he said adjusting the neck collar thing again.
“Let’s get that off you, shall we? Tell Tark’An he can place that device back on my neck,” he said smiling at the young man.
Ferrate conveyed Barrington’s message to Tark’An who moved to the rear of the bridge and complied. The blue lights of the technology flickered as it clicked shut on Barrington’s neck. He looked up at Tark’An.
“Can you understand me ok?” he said.
“Yes, Captain,” replied Tark’An.
“Good,” he said, “now what?”
“We need to contact the emperor. His name is Drak’Lk. We must inform him that I am still alive,” Tark’An said.
“Ok, then let’s do that,” Barrington said, “can you give me the frequency details and we’ll try?”
Tark’An nodded, and proceeded to relay the information to him. Barrington gave Ferrate the details as he took the centre seat.
“How long before we can expect a response?” Barrington said as Tark’An joined his side.
“I have made some adjustments to your transmission power output protocols. If they are still alive, it should be within a matter of seconds,” Tark’An said.
“At this distance?” Barrington said.
Tark’An just looked at him.
“Sir, we have a connection,” said Ferrate, “we’re getting something.”
“Put it through,” Barrington said.
The bridge went deathly quiet as everyone began looking up, listening for the audio transmission to play, and then he heard it.
“Incoming vessel, authenticate,” came the growling voice.
Boyett and Chavel both turned and looked at the captain, who was the only one on the bridge who could understand anything. He placed his hands up indicating for them to remain quiet. Tark’An took the lead.
“General Tark’An, Grak’RR, Sli, Rasto’rik,” he said.
Barrington wondered if they were names or codewords.
“Authenticated, General Tark’An?” came the voice.
“I wish to speak to the emperor, immediately,” said Tark’An in a commanding voice.
“Yes, General,” came the voice.
The line bleeped for a moment as if he was being placed on hold and then the bleeping stopped.
“General Tark’An?” came a new even deeper voice.
“Your Eminence,” Tark’An said.
“What is happening?” Drak’Lk said.
You could hear a pin drop on the bridge as Barrington looked on at the confused faces.
“The Praxis has been destroyed, sir,” Tark’An said.
“Yes, General, we know. Shri’An?” said Drak’Lk.
“On the next battlefield, Your Eminence,” Tark’An said bowing his head.
There was a moment’s pause.
“May he fight well,” said Drak’Lk.
“May he fight well,” replied Tark’An.
“It’s good to hear your voice, Tark’An, we have a serious problem,” Drak’Lk said.
“Yes, sir, a grey race vessel is en route,” Tark’An said.
“Yes, it is, but that’s not all,” Drak’Lk said, “we’ve picked up hundreds of Targlagdu vessels in its wake. They mean to destroy us all.”
Barrington’s heart skipped a beat.
“What?” Barrington said out loud.
“What is that?” Drak’Lk said.
“It is a human, Your Eminence, the occupiers of the ship we came to investigate,” Tark’An said, “what is the tactical situation?”
“General Ral’Rk is assembling the fleet,” Drak’Lk said.
“Sir, the fleet is not equipped to deal with that number of Targlagdu ships,” Tark’An said.
“It’s time to deploy the weapon, General,” Drak’Lk said.
Tark’An bowed his head and seemed to gaze off into space.
“We should proceed to a full evacuation of the planet,” Tark’An said.
“It is already underway, but we are out of time,” Drak’Lk said, “does the vessel you are on have weaponry?”
Tark’An turned to Barrington.
“It does, Your Eminence,” Tark’An said.
“Then I suggest you be ready to use them. What is your estimated time of arrival?” Drak’Lk said.
“Three rotations,” Tark’An replied.
“You will be needed on the planet surface to coordinate the launching of the Sword of Stars, approach with stealth. The grey vessel is ahead of you by one rotation, so you will be entering a fire fight the likes of which has not been seen since the great war. Should you survive your approach, I will be waiting for you at the Device Corp,” reported Drak’Lk.
“I am guessing the Riola is taking the flag ship position now that the Praxis is gone,” Tark’An replied.
“That’s correct,” Drak’Lk said, “I await you on the battle field, old friend. Contact me on your arrival.”
“To the fight,” Tark’An replied.
“To the fight,” Drak’Lk replied.
The comm system bleeped off and the bridge went silent. Barrington tried to process what he had just heard. Tark’An stayed still, his four arms tucked tightly across his chest.
“Talk to me,” Barrington said to him.
“What is it you would like me to say, Captain?”
“What’s happening, sir?” Boyett said.
Barrington rubbed the side of his face and tried to think. He turned back to Tark’An, ignoring Boyett for a moment.
“Can this ship survive passage through your porthole thing or whatever it is?” he said.
Tark’An glared at him.
“This ship has limited combat capability, Captain. It would be destroyed long before it made it to the porthole,” Tark’An said.
“The weaponry is formidable. It was given to us, presumably, so that the grey race could commandeer this ship at some point and use it, but it’s here, and it works,” he said.
“You have tested it?” Tark’An replied.
“We have,” Barrington said.
Tark’An unfolded his arms.
“What is its current status?” Tark’An replied.
Barrington turned to Boyett.
“What’s the status of the cannon?” Barrington said.
“Hang on a second,” Boyett said turning to her console and tapping some commands into it.
“It’s online, sir, looks like Tosh has been working on it, we’re ready to shoot,” Boyett said.
Thank you, Tosh, Barrington thought realising that of course the engineer would have been keen to get the system back up and running quickly.
“What exactly are we planning on shooting?” Boyett said.
Barrington turned to her.
“An armada of Targlagdu vessels are headed to their home world,” Barrington said softly.
He watched as Boyett’s faced turned pale.
“Sir?” she said almost breathless.
He turned to Chavel whose mouth was wide open. He glanced back at Boyett.
“We don’t have to fight them, Charly, all we need to do is evade them. We’ve done it before. We have to get our ship through their porthole and then we get out of dodge before they have a chance to respond,” he said.
Boyett pressed her lips together and shook her head. Barrington knew what was coming. She raised her head and glared at him.
“Sir, may we speak in private?” she said.
“Hang on,” he said raising his hand and turning to Tark’An.
“The guy you were talking to...” he said.
“Emperor Drak’Lk, he is the leader of our people,” Tark’An replied.
“Yeah, he said they were going to use this Sword of Stars weapon, right?” Barrington said.
“Yes,” Tark’An replied.
“What happens if they use it while all your ships and people are still on the planet?” Barrington said.
“The immediate result will be the destruction of nearby stars, our own will be the first,” Tark’An said, “so anything that has not passed through the porthole will not survive.”
Barrington took a breath. The odds were beginning to stack up against them.
“Captain, if you can make it to the porthole, I will clear your vessel to enter safely, I must get to the planet surface,” Tark’An said.
“And my people left on the grey race vessel?” Barrington replied.
“When that ship enters our territory, my fleet will attack it, that I cannot stop,” Tark’An said.
“Time to destination?” Barrington asked Chavel.
“Three hours,” Chavel replied.
Barrington turned to Boyett and gave her a nod summoning her away from the flight chair. She obeyed, dismounting the elevated chair and joining him as he walked to the front of the bridge. Barrington folded his arms and leaned against the front panels next to the overhead viewing screens.
“Well?” he said quietly to her.
She looked around the bridge then back to Barrington.
“We clearly have several options, sir, none of them good,” she said.
“You think we should turn around?” Barrington said.
She took a deep breath and looked at her feet then back up at the captain.
“Honestly, I don’t know anymore, but one thing I do know is that we can’t win this thing. We don’t even know if anyone is alive on board the other ship. I’m sorry to say it, sir, but we don’t even know if Carrie is still alive,” she said.
Barrington met her eyes. He knew that wasn’t an easy thing to say, but also knew, that she had to say it.
“They’ve got a porthole to another galaxy, Charly. Tark’An seems to think we can make it through,” Barrington said.
Boyett looked back at Tark’An.
“If we stay here, we’re dead,” Barrington said.
“Dammed if we do, dammed if we don’t?” Boyett replied.
“Charly, I won’t do this without you. If we go in, I need you one hundred percent or we don’t stand a chance, but I believe we can do this,” Barrington said.
She gave him a look of affection, of respect.
“Sir, I would follow you anywhere. All you have to do is say the word, but these people, we’re asking them to die,” Boyett said.
“Maybe,” he said, “probably. But if Carrie is alive, and I believe that she is, then she’ll find a way to get to us. We’re linked, Charly. I can hear her thoughts when she opens her mind to me. We can communicate. Maybe we can coordinate something, anything. Maybe it only takes a few seconds, but we can do this. We must,” said Barrington.
“Captain, you’ve already made up your mind. All I ask is that you don’t let Carrie cloud your judgement,” Boyett said.
“I give you my word,” Barrington said.
Boyett extended her hand, an odd gesture on the bridge. He took it.
“Then I think it’s time we came up with a plan,” Boyett said.
30:
THE SIENNA CLARK
Carrie watched the free-floating image of Tyrell laying on the table, his hand now reattached. They had been fast. She looked to the other image next to it and saw India standing upright in a white room and looking a hell of a lot better than she had been. She glanced at Jack who kept staring at her with those alien eyes. She was running out of time.
“Well?” Jack said.
“You know, I still don’t get it, all this technology, all your advancements, and you guys are nothing more than thugs,” she said.
“What is that?” Jack sai
d.
“Never mind,” Carrie said stepping up on the table and laying down flat.
She stared up at the roof. It was plain, white, smooth. She thought about what they had said. If The Black was still inside her, oozing around in her body, she couldn’t feel it. One thing was for certain; she wasn’t letting it back in control.
“Jack,” she said as he loomed over her.
“Yes, Carrie,” he said.
“How long until we reach our destination?” she said.
Jack glared at her.
“We’re already here, Carrie, look for yourself,” he said gesturing with his long grey fingers.
Another free-floating screen appeared, this one showing a star system. Two huge planets were orbiting a binary star system. She sat up.
Shit, she thought
The planet grew closer. That’s when they appeared. She watched as the Targlagdu began to blip out of hyperspace. Planet after planet. They passed in front of the largest of the host stars, blocking out its light as their silhouetted shadows drifted by. Her heart rate quickened. Jack moved his hand again and the image changed. This one showed what looked like fleets of space ships surrounding the planets. She opened her eyes wider as she realised that it wasn’t two planets in close orbit. One of them was clearly a Targlagdu ship. It looked like it was cut in half.
“What?” she said trying to take in the situation.
“You see it, Carrie?” Jack said, “that’s been in orbit for a long time. That was nearly the end of them, but they managed to defeat it just before our agreement pact was put in place.”
“That’s a Targlagdu ship?” she said.
“Yes,” Jack said, “useless now, but it almost did its job. Look at what they’re doing,” he said gesturing in mid-air again.
Another image formed. It looked like a gigantic ring, its centre a glowing ball of what looked like blue water.
“The Ruthenian’s have built a portal out of this galaxy,” Jack said.
“To where?” Carrie asked.
“A new galaxy, a new home, which they neglected to tell us about,” Jack said.
Carrie looked at the huge blue ring. What looked like thousands of ships of all shapes and sizes, were passing through its centre and disappearing from sight.
