The Agathon Book 3: Sword Of Stars

by Colin Weldon

  The weight of responsibility made her snap.

  “Yes sir,” replied Chavel clicking off the comm.

  Boyett remained in the flight chair, feeling the eyes of everyone on the bridge bore into the back of her head.

  ***

  Carrie sprinted down the corridor to the airlock on deck twenty-one, past crewmembers, who pulled themselves against the wall, obviously sensing the urgency of her movement. She reached the docking port and activated her face plate, sealing her into her own atmosphere. She could still feel Maya in her mind, like a guardian, suppressing the Black. She felt sluggish, like her muscles wanted to do one thing while she needed them to do another.

  She ran to the outer hatch, activated the inner door and dashed inside, the door then rolled back, sealing her in. The air evacuated and the outer door opened, the view outside was like something from a dream. She activated her palm thrusters pushing herself away from the ship and glanced up at the huge Ruthenium ship currently overhead. She turned attention to the expanding shock waves from the exploded stars, the weapons fire.

  There were currently two Targlagdu planets almost right on top of them, one in direct contact with the Ruthenium home world whose atmosphere was now ablaze with the impact, continent sized chunks of rock being torn off it, as if it had just been hit by a moon. The star system was being destroyed in front of her eyes. She couldn’t stop it, couldn’t save herself, or her father, but maybe she could save the ship. Maybe it would all be worth it. She locked onto Chavel’s beacon and powered on her feet thrusters, zipping through the empty space, past The Agathon to his floating body. She manouvered past several large chunks of what looked like space debris, which was free floating in front of Chavel before reaching him. She slowed herself and grabbed his arm to stop the slow rotation spin he was currently in. She centred herself in front of him, and looked into his eyes. He smiled at her. She activated her comms with a flicker of her eye. It felt good to see him, really good, feelings that had been pushed to the side, emerged like a warm glow. She loved him, she was sure of it.

  “What’s up Dice,” Chavel said softly to her.

  The cataclysmic view encompassing them fell away, for just a moment as she just wrapped her arms around his space suit. She pulled back.

  “I missed you,” she said holding back her tears.

  “I missed you,” he whispered back, “how bad is it?”

  She looked into his eyes.

  “Talk later, right now, just hold on,” she said grabbing his mid section and firing two small bursts from her palm thrusters redirecting them back to the ship.

  She then fired the thrusters on the base of her feet and began the flight back to the ship. They were halfway there, past the space debris when her stomach cramped up. A pain burst from within her causing her to let out a scream. Her muscles tensed up, her arms felt numb.

  I’m taking you, whether you want it or not, you’re mine, I’ll kill them all, said the growling voice in her head.

  She screamed in pain again, drifting off course.

  “Carrie, are you all right?” Chavel shouted at her.

  Hold on, said Maya’s voice as her muscular control returned.

  Carrie felt like she was being torn apart. She felt the pain subside and managed to return to her original course to The Agathon. She looked to the shock wave approaching, the Ruthenium Home world being obliterated by the Targlagdu Vessel. She saw another one approaching the Agathon. They were surrounded. She felt Maya’s strength but it wouldn’t be enough. They would all be destroyed, it was all for nothing. It was at that moment that she made her choice.

  They reached the outer airlock of the ship and Carrie activated the door, shoving Chavel inside. He drifted back, grabbing hold of a handrail and steadying himself. She activated the comm system in her helmet again.

  “Bridge,” she said as her whole body froze momentarily, the strength of the alien substance in her body beginning to overwhelm her, “Chavel is inside, get the hell out of here, I’m going to hold them off.”

  “What?” Chavel said moving closer to the door.

  Before he could say anything else, Carrie activated the airlock, sealing him inside.

  “Carrie, what are you doing?” he said.

  “Save the ship David, do it for me,” she said placing her hand on the window, “I love you, now save them.”

  “No!” he shouted as she released a small burst of electrical energy, fusing the airlock controls.

  “Goodbye,” she said giving him one last look and pushing herself away from the ship before firing her palm thrusters and moving away.

  “Carrie!” Chavel shouted in her ear.

  She disconnected the comm channel to him but kept her link to The Agathon bridge open.

  “Charly, there’s no time to talk about this, you won’t make it, please, get out of here, I’m about to end this thing once and for all,” she said.

  There was a moment of silence on the comm.

  “Understood Carrie, good luck, and thank you,” replied Boyett sounding emotional.

  The comm channel went dead. Carrie watched as The Agathon thrusters fired, the two ships moved off at speed.

  Where are you going Carrie? Came Maya’s voice

  Carrie, don’t do this, came another voice in her head. Her mothers.

  “Sorry guys, this journey I have to take alone,” she said out load, “take care of your dad Maya, and take care of everyone else too, you’re the one they’ll turn to, you can make it, I know you can. Mom, I’ll see you and Dad soon,” she said closing her mind and shutting the pair out.

  I’ll kill you, you’re mine, said the growling voice.

  “And as for you,” Carrie said taking a breath, looking on at the approaching machine worlds, releasing everything she had inside her, all the anger, all the rage, “you can go fuck yourself.”

  She thought about her father, thought about her love for him, she felt a surge of warmth in the base of her spine as she activated her thrusters and applied full power, setting a course for the nearest Targlagdu vessel. She felt the grief take hold, used it, and converted it to energy. She saw herself encased in light as she plunged deeper towards the clustering Targlagdu machine worlds.

  You can’t kill us, you can’t, said the growling voice.

  She spread her arms wide, felt every part her change somehow, white light exploded out of her as she pulled her arms back into her chest, drew back every last ounce of strength she had and then let it all go, all at once.

  ***

  Boyett watched the view screens as they lit up with a thunderous flash of light. Carrie had quite literally exploded into a ball of white lightning and fire. She watched in awe as the nearby Targlagdu practically vaporised. It had looked like some sort of nuclear detonation in space, the shock wave of which spread outwards, encompassing a second Targlagdu ship, which in turn exploded outwards.

  “Jesus Christ,” she said under her breath and she engaged the engines to full power.

  Tark’An’s ship was well ahead of them now, at the event horizon of the porthole. It vanished inside. The bridge began to shake as both Carrie’s shockwave and that of the exploding star approached them at speed.

  “Engine room, got to 120% now!” she shouted as she tiled the ship past a floating chunk of one of the doomed Ruthenium ships.

  She saw the engine status readout redline as she pushed the ship to its absolute limit. Debris from the destroyed Targlagdu fleet was now scattering through the star system. She focused on the blue ring, their last hope, and punched it. Beads of sweat began making their way down the side of her face. The blue ring approached, Boyett clenched her teeth and took a breath as the ship slipped into its grasp. It was out of their hands now. The universe around the ship was ending. Alien ships exploded, Targlagdu vessels exploded, the planet exploded, and then something strange happened.


  A bright blue light flooded the bridge. The screens went dead, the lights went dead, the computer consoles went dead, then the gravity plating. Things started to move in slow motion as Boyett began floating off the flight chair. Everything was black. She couldn’t hear anything, see anything. The chair floated away from under her and she suddenly felt like she was swimming in the depths of the ocean, so deep the sunlight couldn’t penetrate. She felt at peace. Just drifting for what seemed like a lifetime. The battle seemed to have been so long ago.

  Or did it just happen?

  She had a dream that she was back on Earth. Back with her parents, learning to fly, then back on Mars, building the Agathon. She relived it over and over again.

  Where am I?

  She had no sense of her body.

  Am I dead?

  She saw Carrie, standing in a field, looking at her from a distance.

  “You did it,” Carrie seemed to shout at her.

  Then she was gone. She was floating through the stars. She remained in that blissful state for what seemed like an eternity. Just drifting. Just being. Then she heard something. An old familiar voice. She couldn’t remember who it had belonged to. It came out of the blackness that had been so empty for so long. She felt something. A physical sensation.

  Is that my hand?

  She felt another sensation. She was dropping, slowly downwards. She saw a light. Saw something she hadn’t seen in an age. It was the inside of a ship. Her old ship.

  What was it called again? The Agathon?

  The light grew brighter as her body lowered itself onto the deck. She was lying on the ground somewhere familiar. There were others there. Others with such familiar faces. She saw flickering lights on the walls. Consoles. Computer Consoles. She felt a body. Her body.

  I have a body?

  Her mind began to focus now. Falling back into place. She looked at the little girl standing by one of the science stations. She didn’t know who she was. And then it all came rushing back to her. In an instant, she knew exactly where she was, who she was, what this place was. She hadn’t seen it in so long. She glanced at Ripley who looked unconscious.

  Boyett felt her arms and tried to push herself up off the deck.

  Boyett took a breath now fully aware of her surroundings, and stood.

  “Is everyone all right?” she said. It felt so strange to be able to verbalise things.

  “Look for yourself,” said the little girl pointing upwards.

  Boyett followed her finger as Ripley opened her eyes. She looked up at the screen and saw a planet. Blue oceans, white clouds, green continents. Boyett cleared her throat and went back to the centre seat.

  Was it just a minute ago that she’d been sitting there?

  “Where are we?” she said to Ripley.

  Ripley was the navigation officer, she remembered that.

  “Eh ...” Ripley said.

  Boyett looked around the bridge.

  “I don’t know,” Ripley said, “our instruments aren’t recognising any of these star formations.”

  Boyett looked at the Earth-like planet on the screens and saw hundreds of other ships approaching it, entering its orbit, and descending onto its surface.

  “Uh ... I have an incoming transmission, I think,” said Ferrate. The lift doors opened at the rear of the bridge and Chavel appeared, still in his space suit. He looked upset, disorientated.

  There was a bleeping noise and then a growling sound. Boyett glanced at Chavel, the only person able to translate it as he was still wearing the translation neck device.

  “It’s Tark’An,” Chavel said, “he’s asking if we have the ability to land the ship?”

  Boyett tried to remember who that was.

  “Yes, we do,” she said.

  “Sir,” Ripley said, “astrometric readings indicate that we are no longer in the Milky Way galaxy.”

  “She did it,” Chavel said to Boyett, “where’s the Captain?”

  Boyett didn’t know how to answer. She just looked at Chavel and shook her head. She turned to the new faces, the man, and little girl next to him.

  “Welcome aboard,” she said.

  37:

  THE AGATHON:

  HOME WORLD DAY 18

  “Well you certainly did a number on my ship didn’t you?” said Daniel Tosh pulling a handful of optic cable out from under the navigation controls.

  Boyett was sitting in the flight chair, running her daily diagnostics on the thrusters control relays, just in case another disaster caused them to get off this planet. She wanted to be prepared. They looked to her now. She was Captain, whether she liked it or not. She had made Chavel her first officer. He had taken to the position well, a little too well. He was looking tired, heartbroken; she knew the feeling well so she’d kept him as busy as possible. Tosh had stayed close to her in the last few weeks, almost like he knew the loneliness that her position generated. He had been a rock for her, she soon came to realise why Landon had admired him so much. He kept her focused and was good council when things got too heavy.

  “I keep telling you, it wasn’t my fault,” she said not turning her attention away from the flight controls.

  “Well were you flying the thing or not?” he said looking up at her in jest.

  “Maybe you should spend more time in engineering, there must be someone there you can annoy?” she said.

  “Yes there is, but I came up here because I wanted to annoy you,” he replied

  “Great,” she replied

  “Besides, most of the crew is off exploring this paradise you’ve landed us on,” he said.

  “Should you not be out there, building a little house or feeding the wildlife or whatever it is you do?” she said.

  “Me? No, machines are my wildlife, it’s where I’m happiest, it’s where I’ve always been happiest, so leave me alone,” he said pulling up the main control interface and getting to work on something underneath.

  Boyett stopped what she was doing and leaned back in her flight chair, looking around at the bridge. There were burnt out consoles scattered throughout, Tosh had taken most of the damaged wall panels out and removed two of the view screens, which had been completely destroyed. She caught his eye, he stopped what he was doing and leaned back in his chair.

  “You did a hell of a job kid,” Tosh said, “a hell of a job.” He said.

  “Then why do I feel like this?” she replied.

  “Like what?” he said

  “Lost,” she replied

  “Life is for the living, have you any idea what the odds were that any of us would survive? It’s a numbers game Charly, this was always a numbers game, simple as that. John knew that.”

  “He was wrong you know,” Boyett said

  “Oh?” replied Tosh.

  “He should have ordered someone else into the tank,” she said.

  Tosh looked at her.

  “Maybe,” Tosh said, “but you know what?”

  “What?” she said.

  “He believed in you’re ability to take command so much, believed that you could the job, and he knew that this wasn’t just a battle, it was the survival of the race. He wasn’t going to kill anyone else and honestly, I think he made the right call, the only call he could make in the situation,” Tosh said turning back to the control panel and fiddling with some wires.

  “Have you seen Tyrell anywhere?” she said.

  Boyett took a breath as the doors to the lift opened. Tark’An walked onto the bridge, ducking his head under the door. Boyett got out of the flight chair and moved to the Captain’s chair where she had left the translation ring. She snapped it around her neck and looked up at the large alien.

  “General,” she said nodding.

  He nodded back and handed her a tool of some sort.

  “Good day Captain,” he said, “how
are your people?”

  “Breathing fresh air, General, they’re still not entirely convinced that you’re people aren’t going to eat them,” she said.

  “Pardon me?” he said.

  “Nothing,” she replied, “what’s this?”

  “This is for Tosh,” he said, “it will seal the crack in your FTL drive containment breach.”

  “Excellent,” Boyett said looking back at him.

  “You going to have to teach me to use those things,” she said looking at the four swords crisscrossing his back, “I hope you’re people don’t plan in using them against us any time soon.”

  “You have nothing to fear Captain, our people do not attack physically inferior species, there is no honour in that,” replied Tark’An

  “I see,” Boyett replied.

  “Our people will see to it that you’re needs are met, the council is assigning a science and engineering contingent to help with building structures for you to live in,” Tark’An said.

  “I hear Tyrell is spending a lot of time with your scientists? He hasn’t been seen in two weeks?” she asked checking to see that he was still alive.

  “He is a curious one, he is quite astute,” he said

  “Hmm” she replied, “Can I ask you something?” she said, “why did you help us? If we were so inferior?”

  Tark’An stood tall

  “We owe you a life debt, a debt we could not extend to the trillions of others we destroyed. Our own preservation has condemned our people to that knowledge. There is no honour in the course of action we were forced to take. We are your servants, and as such I am at your mercy,” he said.

  Boyett turned to Tosh and smiled, she glanced back at Tark’An.

  “In that case, General, let’s get to work.”

  ***

  Aron and Maya sat on a rock outcrop watching the large red sun begin to dip over the horizon. Maya dangled her legs over the edge and watched the waves crashing into the cove below. Behind them stood a small orange tree, which bore an edible purple fruit. The crew had designated it a memorial for the Barrington’s. The one’s who had brought them all to a new home world. Behind them, a large slope led to the base of the mountainside where the ship had landed and made base camp. Maya was staring into the sky.