Sinnsro stood, straightening her robes. ‘I will speak to Reader Durante and inform him of your plans. It is a good day, my son, the start of greatness.’
Orcades smiled politely, bowed, waiting for her to leave. He heard the familiar fizz of the holograph and the image of his mother was gone. It was easy to forget, the simulation was so accurate. Alone, with only the window for company, a wave of sadness took hold of him. The task ahead seemed gigantic, too large to complete alone. But he could not show doubt, he could not show weakness. He straightened his back, letting his chest rise as he took a breath, then he pressed the communicator on his wrist and summoned Commodore Waffron to inform him of his decision.
LEXICA
Wynn followed Bara onto the bridge. It was a wide space, dominated by a wall of large windows that overlooked the bulk of Lexica. He stood in the doorway as Bara threw herself into one of the three seats that faced a bank of consoles under the imposing view. Out of the windows Wynn saw the giant shape of a ship drifting towards them. It was another arkship, he guessed by its size, a hulk of curved stone and metal crafted into a domineering whole. Immediately it reminded Wynn of the Obsidian, although this vessel was perhaps half its size.
‘It’s a Kenric arkship,’ Bara confirmed with a relieved smile. ‘Looks like you got lucky.’
‘Bara.’ The voice was Lexica’s. ‘It is good to see you again.’
‘You too. Tell me what I’ve missed.’
‘My records suggest this is the arkship Tephrite, a Kenric vessel. I have tried to establish contact but, so far, they have not responded.’
‘You don’t have my charm, Lex.’ Bara smiled contentedly as her hands played over the console. She was at home here.
Wynn moved closer as she flicked a switch and spoke into a small com unit. ‘This is Captain Sēbarā Delaterre of the merchant vessel Lexica, registration MC-89409-LX, out of the Ark Royal Obsidian, request permission to dock.’
The dull noise of background static filled the bridge. Bara reclined in her seat, watching the approaching mass.
‘Odd . . .’
‘What’s wrong?’ Wynn asked, sitting next to her.
‘No response. Even if their com was down they would be sending out their transponder code automatically.’
‘Could their transponder be damaged.’
Bara shook her head. ‘No, multiple redundancies all over the ship. It’s a failsafe. The only way you can disable the transponder is if you do it manually, shut down the entire system from the flight deck. But you wouldn’t do that unless . . .’
‘. . . unless you wanted to be hidden,’ Wynn said.
Bara leaned forwards, checking her console. ‘Lex, are we flight-ready?’
‘Close enough. Engines standing by.’
‘Okay.’ She fastened her seat harness around her chest and turned to Wynn. ‘You might want to strap in.’
‘You think they’re hostile?’ Wynn asked, looking back at the silent arkship. It almost filled the windows now.
‘I don’t know, but they’re not being very friendly so far, are they?’ She pressed a button and a control column unfolded in front of her seat.
‘Control yoke deployed,’ Lexica said. ‘You have navigation, Bara.’
‘Got it, thanks,’ Bara replied as she gripped the control yoke handles.
‘Please, remember my limitations,’ Lexica cautioned, his tones almost human.
Smiling, Bara turned to face Wynn. ‘Let’s give them one more try.’ She pressed the com button and spoke into the mic again. ‘Hi Tephrite, this is Captain Sēbarā Delaterre of the merchant vessel Lexica, registration—’
A flash of light erupted from the front of the arkship, followed by another.
‘Tracking hostiles,’ Lexica warned, ‘two inbound, locked on.’
Bara jerked the yoke and Lexica responded immediately. Wynn felt himself pressed into his seat as the ship began to turn and accelerate rapidly. The arkship disappeared from the windows but Wynn could see a representation of it on a three-dimensional holograph projecting from the console in front of him. At the center of the map was Lexica, with two bright flashing points of light approaching.
‘Hostiles closing,’ Lexica announced. ‘Launching countermeasures.’
‘Wait!’ Bara barked, her full focus on the readouts in front of her.
‘I really can’t endorse this plan, Bara,’ Lexica replied, his voice amplified to be heard over the increasing noise and vibration of the engines.
‘Come on,’ Bara said through gritted teeth. ‘You love it!’
‘Eight seconds to impact.’
The ship tilted under Bara’s guidance, diving towards a cluster of debris, building speed.
‘Four seconds.’
‘Countermeasures!’ Bara shouted.
Wynn felt a rumble from deep inside the ship. On the holographic display, he saw a new constellation of flashing lights appear between Lexica and the two chasing signals. Out of the window he saw the husk of a destroyed ship – remnants from the Obsidian – approaching rapidly. Too rapidly. Then, all at once, there was a flash of light, then another, and Lexica began to shake. The noise and vibration became unbearable.
Bara slammed the yoke forwards, and Wynn felt his chest thump into his harness. His head filled with blood as pressure grew behind his eyes. His vision began to tunnel and, for a second, he thought he might pass out. Then, as the pain decreased he saw that the wreckage had disappeared. Now, all he could see from the windows was darkness.
‘Lexica,’ Bara whispered. ‘Full shutdown.’
‘Done.’
The engines whined, rumbling as they powered down. The lights died, every single console screen went out. Everything stopped, even the air pumps fell silent. All Wynn could hear was the slow creaking and pinging of the ship as it began to lose heat to space. As his eyes adjusted he could make out details in the darkness outside; structure, fragments of hull, drifting debris.
‘Where—’
‘Sshh!’ Bara interrupted.
Wynn obeyed, resting, waiting to see what might happen. Several long minutes past, neither of them making a sound. Outside, a light began to grow, illumining more details, and Wynn realized they were hiding inside the remnants of the destroyed ship. The searchlight passed over them, adjusting from time to time, then moved on. Beyond, through the torn hull and wreckage, he could make out the ominous shape of the arkship Tephrite as it cruised by. They watched in silence, waiting long after it had gone before either dared to speak.
‘I think it’s moved on,’ Bara said eventually, her voice barely audible. ‘We should wait here for a while longer until we’re certain.’
Wynn nodded, feeling cool in the dropping temperature. ‘Why did they attack us?’
Bara thought, looking uncertain. ‘Maybe whoever attacked the Obsidian has taken over the Tephrite.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I don’t. But a Kenric ship wouldn’t fire on unarmed merchants. It looks like whoever is in charge is trying to pick off any survivors from the Obsidian. Which means we need to get as far away from here as possible, and we can’t trust any Kenric ships.’
Wynn’s mind raced. ‘But I need to make contact with someone from Kenric, I need to find out who I am.’
Bara rolled her eyes, hardly hiding her irritation. ‘It’s not safe anymore.’ She took a breath, calming her voice. ‘Look, I can drop you somewhere else, if you like . . . maybe a Merred arkship, or a Ciation outpost? You can find out what’s going on from there. But I’m not risking contact with any more Kenric ships.’
Wynn didn’t reply. His mind was clogged with frustration and uncertainty. Bara stood and opened a storage locker at the rear of the bridge. She pulled out two grey blankets and passed one to him.
‘We’ll have to wait a while longer before we risk going,’ she said. ‘They might still be in attack range. Air should be fine for a while, but it’s gonna get cool in here.’
Wynn pulled the blanket round hi
s shoulders, watching as Bara returned to the locker and found two square packets. She shook them by the edge and offered one to Wynn.
‘Doesn’t taste great,’ she confessed, ‘but it’s food.’ She read the back of the packet. ‘At least I think it’s food.’
Wynn smiled as he accepted the packet. He removed a small plastic spoon from the back of the sachet and tore at the seal. Aromatic steam rose from the opening.
‘Smells okay,’ Wynn said, feeling his mouth water. He poked at the contents with his spoon and lifted out a lumpy brown paste.
‘Some sort of protein,’ Bara said in between chewing. ‘Says it’s beef flavor. I don’t know what beef is but it won’t kill you.’
Wynn tested the edge of the spoon against his lips. The paste was slightly metallic, with a powdery consistency, but it was warm and edible.
‘This might be the best thing I’ve ever tasted, for all I know,’ Wynn joked.
‘Let’s hope you’re not allergic to beef.’ Bara quipped in return.
They both smiled, watching the drifting view as they ate.
‘Does the House of Kenric have enemies?’ Wynn asked.
‘I didn’t think so, not before today. There hasn’t been a major war between the families since . . . well, I don’t know when, but it was ages ago. And it makes no sense to destroy an arkship! They’re so valuable. If this was a hostile takeover by another family they’d do everything they could to take it without too much damage. And it’s not like the Ven Cord or C-Waac to do anything like this, it’s not their style, it’s gravel-headed.’ She looked at Wynn. ‘Is any of this making sense to you?’
‘Some,’ he laughed.
‘Sorry, it must be tough.’
Wynn put down his food. ‘You could say that.’ He gazed out of the windows, letting his mind drift, hoping something might come to him, some lost memory that might help him to make sense of everything.
Movement caught his eye, and he bolted up from his seat. ‘Did you see that?’
Bara glanced from her meal. ‘What?’
‘Out there . . . I thought . . .’ He suddenly felt foolish.
‘What did you see?’
Wynn rubbed his eyes. ‘Nothing . . .’
‘Tell me.’
‘It looked like . . . for a moment, I thought someone was out there. It was just a dark shape moving across that piece of hull – probably just some debris.’
Bara put down her food and stood up, leaning in towards the windows. ‘Out there?’
‘Yes,’ Wynn confessed. ‘But it’s gone now. I think I’m seeing things.
Bara didn’t reply, her attention fixed on the view.
‘What is it?’ Wynn asked.
‘You were right,’ Bara replied, ‘there is someone out there.’
Wynn squinted, scanning the wreckage about them, spotting the tiny movements of debris. Yes! There it was: a strange human-like figure scaling a length of twisted bulkhead, keeping to the shadows, concealing its shape from their viewpoint.
‘I didn’t imagine that,’ Wynn said.
‘It’s too thin to be someone in a suit. More likely a hunter bot left behind by the Tephrite.’
‘A robot?’ Wynn checked.
‘A robot sent to look for us,’ Bara said as she activated her console. ‘Lex: power up, now!’
‘Start-up initiated,’ Lexica replied.
The ship began to hum as the lights stung Wynn’s eyes. Warm fresh air filled the bridge as, one by one, the ship’s systems came back online.
Bara hit a switch and the exterior was illuminated by the ship’s spotlights. The strange shape froze in the glare, then scrambled towards them, leaping from one piece of junk to the next, propelling itself closer and closer.
‘If that thing gets hold, we’ll never get rid of it,’ Bara said, ‘it’ll rip through the hull, get in here and . . .’
She pulled at the yoke, commanding the ship to retreat, and a crunching noise reverberated through the ship.
‘Proximity alert,’ Lexica said.
‘A bit late, but thanks,’ Bara replied dryly.
‘Do you have any guns?’ Wynn asked.
‘Yes,’ Bara said, focusing on her console, ‘but it’s damned tight in here. We’d never hit it at this range, not without blowing holes in Lexica.’
Under Bara’s guiding hand, the ship rocked from side to side, trying to retreat from the hunter bot. As the vessel turned the bot disappeared from view.
‘Where the hell is it?’ Wynn cursed.
There was an ominous thud on the exterior.
‘I believe it is on the hull, Bara,’ Lexica said dispassionately. ‘I can feel it.’
‘Where?’ she asked, sounding desperate.
A holograph display zoomed in on a patch of hull on the starboard side of the ship.
‘I see it,’ Bara said to Lexica. ‘Sorry about this.’
She yanked the control yoke and the ship crashed into the scarred wall of their hiding place. Bara scraped the ship through the debris, grinding and tearing at Lexica. Behind them the door to the bridge slammed shut.
‘As you’re being liberal with my hull I’ve taken the liberty of closing the bridge, in case of accidental decompression,’ Lexica said coolly. ‘I trust this meets with your approval?’
Bara winced. ‘Sorry, Lex, I’ll fix it, promise.’
As the ship cleared the debris Wynn focused on the holograph again. ‘Has it gone?’
‘Sadly, no,’ Lexica replied.
‘Where is it now?’ Bara muttered.
A glowing icon appeared on the display.
‘Over the cargo bay?’ she checked.
‘Yes.’
‘Blow it, Lex!’
Wynn felt the ship rock, turning violently as a message flashed over the display: Decompression Warning. The vibration subsided and Bara regained control of the wayward ship. A multitude of warning lights flashed. One by one Bara checked them and shut them down, cursing. ‘Gravel-headed idiot!’
‘Did you get it?’ Wynn asked.
‘I can no longer feel anything attached to the hull,’ Lexica said, adding, ‘I can no longer feel large sections of the hull either. I have sustained considerable damage, Bara. Again.’
Bara sighed heavily. ‘I’ll fix it. Better than new.’
‘I am also low on fuel.’
‘Okay,’ Bara replied.
‘And oxygen.’
‘Right. Hell of a day. Any ships we can get to?’
She adjusted the display, widening the scan. Nothing appeared on the screen.
‘There is one,’ Lexica noted. A new icon pinged onto the display.
Bara saw it and began to smile. ‘Can you make it?’
‘Barely. I’ll need to shut down life support to all sections except the bridge.’
‘Okay,’ Bara said as she rubbed her face. ‘Set a course. Do what you need to do.’
Wynn leaned closer. ‘Where are you taking me?’
HUNTER
Gofal watched the stars rise and fall overhead, their dots of color stretching to slice the blackness. He felt the hull of the ship shake, turning under him, building speed. He glanced from the stars to the ejected cargo canisters drifting away, becoming a new micro-constellation. As they retreated he scanned them, cataloguing their contents. Clothing, books, toys, spices, medicines, toiletries, an odd assortment of items. He wondered if they were for trade or for personal use. He calculated how long the medicines might last, depending on the number of patients, their age and afflictions, then he researched the purpose, effectiveness and side-effects of each item. Next, he read some of the books, retrieving their texts from his database. Some of the poetry he skipped over. Finally, he looked at the spices and decided what sort of meals might be enhanced by their addition. He reviewed the cultural significance of the menus, noting any that he had not sampled for later indulgence. He wasn’t sure why he did it but it helped to pass the seconds.
The compression point was coming. This would be the mos
t dangerous moment, when the vibrations from the engines grew to their maximum, surging through the hull, threatening to shake him off. He prepared himself, moving slightly to reduce his profile. There was a great deal of damage to the cargo bay, he noted, and he guessed his presence was no longer being tracked by the occupants of the ship. He looked down at what remained of his right arm, wondering if he should eject it rather than allow it to hang from his shoulder. It would only slow him down, it might even lead to his detection. Better to get rid of it now rather than risk it complicating his predicament later. But no. He would keep it, hoping he could repair it at a later stage. Sentimentality, perhaps? Maybe.
The vibrations grew about him, shaking him as the compression point came over the ship. For a second, his vision stalled, then the vibrations subsided, and his optical system came back online. The ship was at full speed now. Destination? He plotted the stars and calculated a selection of potential targets. He scanned for ships along their current trajectory but found none, just a few isolated asteroids. Were they going there? he wondered.
As the ship rumbled on Gofal worked through the list of repairs he’d have to endure when this was over. It was an extensive list, far too many items for his liking. His ability to carry out his orders had been severely compromised but he would not give in. His mission was clear: he would track his targets to their destination then deal with them there.
SHIP OF SHADOWS
Wynn stirred from a troubled sleep. He had been dreaming of fire and screaming faces rushing towards him. He recalled the noise of twisted metal, the smell of burning, the sensation of falling, the taste of blood in his mouth. Already the details were evaporating, leaving behind just the shell of the dream, nothing more than a feeling, a blurred shape without detail. He opened his eyes and remembered where he was: in a chair on the bridge of Lexica. He watched his icy breath drift from his lips, and he pulled the blanket tight under his chin.
The bridge windows were obscured by a fine fracture of frost, and the air was sharp against his nose. He looked about him, hoping to see Bara, but he was alone on the bridge. He stood, wondering where she had gone, and walked towards the hatch that led to the rest of the ship. He pressed the control panel but the door remained shut.
Arkship Obsidian (The Arkship Saga Book 1) Page 5
