by Tony Healey
“And the others?” King asked him.
“Dead. I am the last,” the old man said. He tucked the staff under his armpit then offered his hand. “Captain Hal Dolarhyde, last surviving crewmember of the Warrior.”
10.
He offered them water but they declined. Dolarhyde shrugged and sipped from a beat up old cup. He wiped the runoff from his beard.
“So what happened here?” Greene asked him.
Captain Dolarhyde sat down on an upturned crate with a sigh. “Old age. Accidents. A couple died from diseases. We had a handful of people, a year after we came down here… they left for the mountains. I never saw them again,” he said sadly.
“How long have you been on your own, Captain?” King asked him.
He looked at her. “Too long.”
“I’m sorry,” Jess said. “And the communicator?”
Dolarhyde looked down at the device. He laughed. It was not the laughter of a madman, but a man caught off guard. “Doesn’t work. Hasn’t for years. I just… carry things sometimes, I… I forget why.”
He tossed it to the side. It clattered in the dry soil.
“Is this planet inhabited?” Greene asked him.
“Apart from some primitive creatures, no. We used to hunt the herbivores, but I’ve grown too old for that. Besides, my rifle finally died on me. I may look like Robinson Crusoe, but I’m not about ready to start fashioning spears just yet,” Dolarhyde said. Again, he laughed. “No, these days I’m a vegetarian. The animals stay away from me, and I don’t hunt them anymore. Seems a pretty fair deal to me.”
“We’ve seen some hardship ourselves,” King said.
“Been on this side long?” Dolarhyde asked her.
“A while. Not as long as yourself though, Captain. Do you have any idea how you ended up here? On this side, as you put it? Your log mentioned something about a sinkhole…” King said.
Dolarhyde looked up. “So she’s still up there, huh?”
“Barely. She was just about ready to break up in the atmosphere. Her orbit had degraded over the years,” King said.
“Some kind of inter-dimensional anomaly perhaps? A black hole? I’ve tried to work it out over the years, and I can’t. All I know is, it appeared, we fell into it, and we ended up here,” he said. “I made the decision to remain here because I reasoned that if a rescue party were to come, it’d be best to stay in one place.”
“A reasonable decision,” King said.
Dolarhyde looked away. “And perhaps the wrong one, nevertheless. If only I could have found the courage to strike out on my own, find a way back. But I couldn’t. I wanted to keep them safe.”
“You did your best.”
“All I did was sign their death warrant. I wonder if it’s some kind of joke.”
Jessica frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“A joke. Like fate is laughing at me. Here I am, the last of my crew. Left to die on his own. Penance for my negligence, eh?” Dolarhyde said.
“I think you’re too hard on yourself,” King said. “And besides, we’re here now. If you’re agreeable to it, I’d like to take you back to the Defiant.”
“The Defiant?”
She smiled. “My ship. Archon class.”
“I don’t know it, but she sounds grand,” Dolarhyde said, for a moment distracted from his maudlin reverie.
“She is,” Jessica said.
Dolarhyde nodded in Hawk’s direction. “Of course, I know who you are. Don’t quite understand how you can be here, and looking so young, but I can put a name to that Texan mug of yours.”
Hawk grinned. “I did wonder.”
“Yeah. I remember when you went missing. They said you were dead…” Dolarhyde said.
“Greatly exaggerated,” Hawk grinned.
“Ain’t that right,” Dolarhyde said.
Captain Praror surveyed the area. “We should probably get to the pyramid soon, Captain King. While we have light.”
“Agreed,” Jessica said. She turned back to Captain Dolarhyde. “We noticed a big, black monolith not far from here. D’you know of it?”
Dolarhyde nodded slowly. His small, dark eyes sparkled with knowing.
“Yeah. I wondered when you’d bring it up.”
11.
The mountain opened under Dolarhyde’s careful touch. They stepped back as it revealed itself to them. Then they followed him in.
* * *
Dolarhyde shuffled through the pristine white innards of the pyramid. Looking around, Jessica could see that it was slightly different to the last pyramid she’d had the fortune of investigating.
“This is different . . .” Greene said with an awe struck cluck of his tongue.
“My reaction the first time,” King said. “It’s just so massive.”
“Size of a mountain,” Hawk said, peering up to where the very top of the pyramid was lost to shadow.
“Indeed,” Captain Praror said.
“This way, this way,” Dolarhyde said.
He showed them what looked like a chair. It couldn’t be anything else. Completely angular, with a back rest and seat. Jessica looked to the others and found comfort in the fact they were just as surprised by the presence of what could only be a driving seat as she.
“Sit,” Dolarhyde urged her, his eyes darting back and forth.
“Okay . . .” King said. She hopped up onto the seat best she could, thankful once again that her condition had abated for the time being. “Now what?”
Before Dolarhyde or anyone else could even begin to answer, the lights went out. Apart for one. A single strong beam of light fell upon her forehead. Jessica peered into it, squinting.
She heard Dolarhyde chuckle like a child watching a circus act. She tried to look for him, but the light was blinding. Everything else was shadow.
And there was something on her mind. In her mind. Like the light was burrowing a hole in her forehead. Opening her up. Jessica concentrated on it, sought it out.
Who are you? What are you doing in my head? she asked the presence steadily making itself known in her mind. Its answer rang out like a division bell. It sent a shiver through her entire body.
Deep and booming, the unmistakable voice of the pyramid itself spoke to her directly. Into her head.
I AM HERE
Then all was dark.
12.
She travelled across time and space. Through it. Around it. In between.
Her primitive human brain barely accepted the reality of what she saw, let alone comprehended everything for what it was. Colour and light. Speed. Incredible speed.
Set your controls for the heart of the sun, she thought and laughed hysterically, at the top of her lungs.
Then she found herself standing in a huge white hall. Pristine, sterile.
“Hello again, Captain,” Dana said.
“Dana?” Jessica asked, somewhat overwhelmed and disoriented.
“Yes. It’s me. Don’t ask me where we are. I’m not entirely sure I’ve got it figured out yet. The pyramid doesn’t tell me a lot. Well, not a lot that I can understand at any rate. But I believe this to be a kind of corridor between universes.”
“A gap.”
Dana smiled. “Yes. Yes, exactly. A gap.”
“Why am I here?” Jessica asked.
“Because I asked them to bring you here,” Dana told her.
“Them? The makers of these things?”
Dana shook her head. “No, the devices themselves. They have a consciousness, Captain, but I don’t know if you’ll believe me when I tell you that they’re each linked to one another. A kind of hive mind. But it takes some work to get them all talking again. There’s a couple out there that aren’t operating anymore. Totally inert.”
“So even these things can break down,” Jessica noted. “You must have a reason for pulling me here? To take you back?”
“No. To warn you. I know where you are. You’ve stepped into some very real danger. General Carn is en route to your location now,
as we speak,” Dana said.
“Carn?”
“He has learned the location of the other pyramids in this galaxy and he is trying to gain access to each one. Eventually, Carn will find the cypher that controls them all,” Dana said.
“The cypher?”
Dana swallowed. “A way of controlling them to manipulate time itself. If he manages to do that, then he could wipe out whole civilisations at a whim. All opposition to the Draxx erased from existence. Lost.”
“My God…” Jessica said, lost for any other words.
“Exactly. And he’s very close to discovering it. He already knows the devices are capable of such a feat. Just not how to make them do it. That’s the cypher. And it’s what I’m going to give to you,” Dana said. She handed Jessica a small white pebble. She took it and turned it over in her hand. Exactly like something you’d get on a beach, washed smooth by the tide. “What is it?”
“Knowledge. When the time comes, you’ll know what to do with it,” Dana said. “Now it’s imperative he doesn’t gain access to this pyramid. He’s less than two hours away. But there may be time to wake the pyramid enough to get it to disappear. I need you to buy me time, though.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“One more thing, Captain. The old man with you. He has a gift when it comes to communicating with this particular pyramid. He’s valuable to you. It’s important you get his help.”
“Understood. Dana… will you ever return to us?” Jessica asked.
The room started to dim. The white falling to shadow.
“Yes. One day. I have a rare bond with these machines. They need me for the moment. But when they’re safe, I hope to return.”
Dana reached out and stroked the side of Jessica’s face.
“Don’t fear, Captain. The dawn will always break the night. But first it has to get dark,” Dana said.
And it did.
* * *
She opened her eyes. “How long?”
“You’ve been in the chair seconds,” Greene said. “Why? What happened? You were twitching and writhing around.”
King looked down at her hand. Empty. But she understood that the gift Dana had given her had not simply disappeared. It had been knowledge. And it was where it needed to be.
She stood. “We have to go.”
* * *
Jessica explained everything to them as they left the pyramid. No one could have guessed that she suffered from MS at the rate her legs were going. They struggled to keep up with her.
“So he’s coming here?” Greene asked her.
“He’s attempting to access the devices one by one, travelling far and wide to learn what he can from them.”
“They’re very powerful. I’ve had some success over the years in gaining access to the knowledge stored within,” Dolarhyde said. “Though I think you already know that.”
“Yes,” Jessica said.
“That’s spooky,” Greene muttered.
“I need your help in locating the others. Can you do that?” Jessica asked.
Dolarhyde nodded as he kept pace. “If you show me a good star chart of the surrounding space, I think I could give you some pointers. It often showed me the locations of its companions. Though what use it was to me then . . .”
“Well it’s gold dust to me now. You’ll leave the surface with us?” Jessica asked him.
“Of course,” Dolarhyde said.
“Good. Because I’ll need your help getting the Warrior back up and running again. Work with Commander Greene and Captain Nowlan to get her operational as fast as possible.”
They neared the shuttle.
“We’re really gonna try and hold him off, huh?” Hawk asked.
Praror activated a panel at the side of the doors and they waited for them to whoosh open.
“He can’t get it,” Jessica said. “He’s one piece away from completing the puzzle. And if he does… game over.”
13.
“Once the shuttle docks, we get to the Warrior. Get her back up and running,” King said, her voice tense.
“Understood. If we can nudge her above the north pole, we might be able to hide her from their sensors,” Greene offered. “That’ll buy us time to reactivate her systems.”
“A sound plan,” Praror agreed. “There may be enough time, provided of course you can get the engines online.”
“We can’t let the Warrior fall into their hands,” Dolarhyde said. “As I know you’re aware, she’s not your average ship.”
“I don’t think it’s the ship they’re after,” Hawk said.
“No it’s not. But they’ll take it anyway, and I can’t allow that to happen. I’ll set the self-destruct myself before they lay their mitts on it,” King said.
“The pyramid. They’re after the pyramid,” Greene said.
“Of course. Carn is on a quest to unlock their secrets,” King said. “And if he does so, it’ll spell certain doom for all of us.”
“Amen,” Hawk said.
The shuttle coasted through the darkness of space. Praror worked the controls. “We’ll dock in two minutes.”
“As soon as we’re aboard, I want you to send a signal to the Defiant. Make it your first priority whilst we get started on the Warrior,” Jessica said to Greene. “We need them here. And any help they can bring will be appreciated.”
“Aye.”
“There’s a lot at stake. A ship filled to the brim with volatile weaponry. An alien artefact that could wipe out whole civilisations at the push of a button,” Jessica said, almost to herself.
“Not even that. At a thought,” Dolarhyde said. “One thing to understand, Captain. We don’t know what caused the Big Bang. An act of nature, or an act of God. But one thing we can know for sure now, whoever built these things had a hand in the life that sprang up after. They nurtured. They sowed. They weeded out what they had to.”
He reached out and took her hand in his. Old and young, but still one Captain to another.
“That is why he seeks their power. He sees its potential. A key to the universe, Captain. A key to the universe,” Dolarhyde whispered to her.
She turned to the front of the shuttle. Her eyes fixed dead ahead. They bore down on the Naxor and Union ships stuck to one another, joined at the hip. Praror swung them around to face the docking bay.
“This may well be our last stand,” King said. “And if it is, so be it. I will not let him get what he’s after. I draw the line here. This time there will be no retreat.”
14.
Minutes later, Commander Greene’s transmission reached the Defiant loud and clear.
“Commander,” Beaumont said. “Incoming message.”
“Put it on,” Chang said.
She listened to Del Greene. When she reached the end, her hands reflexively gripped the edges of the arm rests.
“How shall I respond?” Beaumont asked her.
Commander Lisa Chang drew a deep breath. “Tell them we’re on our way. And we’ll bring whatever assistance we can rustle together. Tell them… tell the Captain… to hold on till we get there. We’re coming.”
“Aye,” Beaumont said.
She turned to the helmsman. “Rogers, get us there. Maximum speed.”
PART NINE
DEFIANT
1.
Captain Praror’s ship dragged the Warrior - still incapable of moving under its own power - toward the north pole of the planet where it would be virtually invisible to enemy sensors.
“Braking thrusters,” he ordered. “Slow to full stop once we reach the zenith, then apply manoeuvring jets as and when needed to hold our position.”
“Yes sir,” the helmsman replied.
Praror signalled through to the Warrior, attached to their side by a docking port that resembled the connective bridge of tissue that binds two Siamese twins.
“Captain King, do you read me?”
“Yes. We’re all set here,” King replied.
“Good. We’ll uncouple once
we’re in position. It’ll be up to you to maintain position from there,” Praror advised her.
“Understood. Thank you Captain. For everything,” King said.
Praror smiled, it made his whiskers lift. “You can thank me over a drink when this is all over, Captain…”
* * *
Jessica closed the channel and turned to Hawk, who was seated at the helm.
“Get ready for them to release us,” she said.
“Aye,” Hawk said. His hands keyed several controls as he prepared to take over control of the Warrior. “Ready when you are.”
They slowed to a stop, then seconds later a loud thud boomed around them as the old ship was unfettered from Captain Praror’s command.
“Holding our position,” Hawk said. His fingers ran across controls with the lightest touch possible, just enough to keep the Warrior where she was. “The old girl should stay put for a couple of hours.”
“I don’t think we’ll have that long,” Jessica said. She got up from the command chair and came face to face with Dolarhyde.
“Captain,” Dolarhyde said. “I think we’re nearly ready. There’s some rerouting to do, but nothing that should take more than half an hour or so. Commander Greene is up to his elbows in wiring right now, getting it done.”
“Excellent news,” King said. She looked back at the command chair. “You know, it seems a bit strange to be sitting in that chair, Captain. Especially when its owner is standing in front of me.”
Dolarhyde shook his head, looked down at the deck. “It no longer crosses my mind. This command of this bridge is as alien a concept to me now as becoming a permanent resident of that planet was when we first arrived. I can recall every system on this ship… but I doubt I’d remember what to do as her skipper. The minute I’d sit in that seat, I’d go blank. The years here have washed it all away. Now I’m just a man.”
Hawk turned around. “Yuh never lose it, pal.”
Dolarhyde didn’t say anything.
