The Book of Ominiue: Starborn

by D. M. Barnham

  ‘Our Varda deeply regrets that she shall not meet with you in person. As a token of her friendship to you, the Afra’hama she presents her best Ta’Orian horse, Ulossa which she has charged me to deliver to you.’ The lionman then raised his hand out to hand over the reins.

  ‘Thank you,’ Shayne simply said as he stepped forward and took them. The lionman general bowed his head again and took a few steps back. Shayne saw everyone watching him, they had an expectation of him to make the first move, so he put his foot on the stirrup and with one powerful leap he lifted himself onto the horse. The horse moved a bit by itself in anticipation when he mounted. Shayne lightly pulled back on the reins to stop and turned him around to face Tay’mearan. This horse’s responses were much more willing than the warhorse he had ridden the day before. It was also much more comfortable despite the fact that his legs were now stiff and sore from yesterday’s ride.

  The Vash Dominlor looked approvingly upon Shayne but he never smiled. Other lionmen went to their horses and the Earthmen were directed to their appointed beasts. The Dídrand stood upon his balcony; he raised his hand in farewell as he watched them depart. The general returned the gesture. The duke’s bird flew up in the air; circling the city as they made their way beyond the old gates. Shayne once again was placed at the front, with the lionman general and his white tiger on one side, Pan’arden and her orange tiger on the other. Kíe and Hanniver rode behind them, with Red Rocket trying to hide between both of their horses with her tail between her legs; once again looking rather miserable.

  It did not take long for the crowds of the city to congregate and watch Shayne leave. This time instead of the quiet and fearful presence there was a low murmur, with many calling the name Afra’hama, their initial fear replaced with curiosity. Other lionmen soldiers joined them from the nearby barracks and the party slowly made their way to the gates.

  The party stopped at the river’s bridge just outside the city. Madan’rah came forward and stopped his horse by the lionman general’s. Pan’arden looked more serious than ever sitting upon her warhorse by Shayne’s side.

  ‘Well Afra’hama,’ the lionman general said watching him from his steed. ‘I am sorry to say that I will not be accompanying you to Kérith-Árim. I would have liked to have had more time with you; stories of Ta’Orians are seldom interesting, but I am afraid I have duties to the Varda and must return home.’ Shayne looked at the great lionman, his yellow eyes bore into him, and Shayne’s dark brown eyes in turn considered him. ‘No road may be feared as long as my daughter rides with you. She is a fine soldier, let her guide you. May the Kéaran watch over you.’

  With that the native general turned his horse and ordered his men to follow him. Most of the Bohanese soldiers broke from the company and began following him north, towards Taríth.

  Madan’rah gave one of his rare smiles. ‘Afra’hama, I am afraid that I, too will be heading my separate ways. I must follow Vash Dominlor Tay’mearan and provide a report of our journeys before I return to my post here.’ He then turned his horse and began to ride away, but on the spur of the moment he spun on his saddle and called out.

  ‘I feel compelled to say, Afra’hama that you would have made a fine Fa’Orian. You have more in common with us than you do with them,’ he then raised his arm in the salute of respect.

  Shayne passively watched the retreating Kushnalor as he thought. You are not the first to say that, as he remembered his time with the Astronauts.

  ***

  At first Shayne did not like being in the captain’s quarters, it was far from his usual residence, which consisted of the most basic living arrangements along with some exercise equipment. Though he had access to the Planetsider mess hall and other recreational areas they also proved to be lacking. Normal Planetsiders only spend a few months awake on a colonyship and most of that time was spent getting their fitness back up after cryogenic muscle atrophy. As a consequence, colonist quarters were not made for long term comfort; SB’s were not given much more. They did not require entertainment. Their degeneration meant that most of their time was spent re-teaching them everything; including most of the basics, such as speech and motor control. As a result, they were awakened at the edge of the solar system when the ship’s velocity was dramatically reduced for safe passage. They typically spent five years flying from the Oort-Kuiper edge to their final destination, which proved an ideal time-frame to re-teach the affected colonists, preparing and assessing them for other activities when planet-side.

  Shayne had been having his advanced classes in the captain’s quarters for years now. Despite his initial discomfort it slowly became a second home. His caretaker, Desmond, would take him to the officers’ hall, and afterwards Arnahell or a space-droid would take him back. He liked the walk, passing ship-androids and Astronauts; becoming a common sight to all who roamed the officer corridors. He was also somewhat fascinated by the slight gravity increase as he journeyed from the outer Planetsiders residence to the inner officer core. The graviton generator was a marvel, even though its field followed an exponential decay with the sharp drop off just beyond the ship’s hull, the difference in gravity from the core to the hull was close to a quarter of a G.

  Captain Arnahell had a very peculiar pet cat; it was genetically engineered as all Astronaut pets were. They were commonly known as data-pets, with enhanced lifespan and intelligence; some were almost human and certainly more intelligent than the majority of humanity. Arnahell preferred the real thing over a robotic animal, she said they had soul that machine-pets could not replicate. The cat seemed impossibly ancient, nearly at the end of her days. It was skinny with its bones sticking out and its fur was matted and no longer shined. Despite her age she was still curious and would observe people visiting the captain. Arnahell insisted that Trim; which was the cat’s name, liked Shayne because when he came and visited the animal would jump up on the table and listen intently to their conversations.

  Some days Shayne would come to the quarters to find that the cat was crouched on the table with her front paws resting on a book or tablet, her head down staring at the pages. Today it was looking at an old bound book about an old sailing ship adventurer; she seemed to prefer the action biographies and fictions of the high seas, rather than those of deep space.

  Shayne came and sat down in the Captain’s Quarters, though she was not present her door opened when he arrived, meaning he could enter. Trim was lying upon the small round table in the living area where Shayne sat, happily reading until he joined her, the feline casually raised its old head and briefly peered at him in greeting before she returned to the book. He had come to accept this strange sight but he often wondered if it truly was reading. Shayne was informed by the Oxford that the captain was delayed, and so he was required to wait. While he pondered how the cat turned the pages for the hundredth time Arnahell came into the quarters from a private side-door with the Captain of the Manhattan, Dirac Anderson following closely behind her. He looked briefly at Shayne before he made his way to the cat reading on the table. They all sat down and Dirac directed his attention to the feline, giving her a good pat behind the ears.

  ‘Shayne Forrester,’ Arnahell began. ‘As you know the other colonists have woken up and the droids are currently planet-side clearing out and preparing the land for settlement.’ Shayne was well aware of this and he grew concerned that she would emphasise it. Astronaut lessons sometimes hinted at a bias between the two factions. The ship captain did not hide her dislike for planet-side politics of operations, and she encouraged Shayne to look at every system presented to him with a neutrality, even their own.

  ‘I don’t want to alarm you, but this could mean trouble for you, especially in the first few weeks.’

  ‘Why?’ Shayne asked.

  ‘That is why,’ Arnahell replied, ‘because you’re able to think. Most people will be fine with this, but you’ll probably have opposition. Actually I guarantee it, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Planetsiders can’t help the way they
are, in many ways they’re very primitive.’ Dirac partially smiled at that last statement, he stopped patting the cat who by this stage had lost interest in the attention and just wanted to listen to them talk. ‘I would be very careful if I were you. There’re cunning ones out there and they will try to bring your credibility into question. There’s nothing we can do about them at this stage. We can only prepare you. Which is why,’ Arnahell stood up from the table, with Dirac just behind, ‘the captains and leading officers have voted to allow you one of our privileges,’ she paused for a second, trying to find the right words. ‘Think of it as a reassurance, though you would probably not understand the significance.’

  The two Astronauts then guided him out the door they entered just moments earlier, the one that lead to the restricted zone. The other side was a small walkway leading to the Bridge and a couple of quarters for commanding officers. They bypassed the bridge and made their way through a door at the end of the walkway, which opened to a main hallway. Astronauts walked about the various corridors and passages and the ones that noticed Shayne stared at him as they went by. At the end of the hallway they took a lift to the top level, Shayne’s stomach lurched at the acceleration and again when they stopped. The change in gravity resounding with each step until his body adjusted to the change. Shayne stepped out to one of the ships large viewing rooms; the observation window had a polarised screen that was currently blanked out. These rooms were forbidden to Planetsiders even when the screens were closed. He looked back at the captain but she motioned him to continue. There were other high ranking Astronauts there, including the third ship’s captain, Elinor and one of the free-androids. They all silently watched Shayne as he walked with Arnahell into the centre of the room. The Astronauts as always were a picture of complete seriousness as they looked upon him, their grim faces unreadable.

  ‘As you all know,’ Arnahell spoke loud enough for the entire room to hear, ‘the Starborn Shayne Forrester, has spent many years on this ship; obtaining his science degree, and is currently undertaking a coursework postgraduate. What you don’t know,’ she redirected her speech to Shayne, ‘is that all those tests and examinations we performed on you were more than just the standard Star Born Victim perception tests. We also gave you all of the Astronaut application tests. The requirements that potential Planetsiders undertake to either work with Astronauts or to even become one.

  ‘You, Shayne Forrester, of the Last Western Front, passed all of these tests,’ Arnahell then motioned Shayne to the screens, ‘and this is your initiation; witnessed by three space captains.’ With that the polarised screens cleared; revealing the heavens to him.

  Chapter 04

  Old Road

  “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will always long to return.”

  Leonardo da Vinci

  The sight before him seemed to take his breath away. The screen gave way to open space. A dense field kept the room airtight; the absence of any actual physical barrier gave Shayne the feeling that he was standing in the vacuum.

  Before him were countless stars of various colours with the fainter ones fading as the ship approached the planet, hanging majestically in front of them. The sun lit up the left side of the planet, slowly shifting into the first quarter. The rest of the world was shrouded in the darkest of shadows. Clarkes moon was visible far to the right, its brilliance almost full.

  Shayne became lost in the beauty and the depth, everything was so vast; a never ending sea of stars that appeared eternal in the heavens. That moment, looking at the majesty of the stars and the world of Iraquis brought a feeling to Shayne, a feeling he had not experienced before. His appearance softened as his dark eyes scanned the scene before him, and he grew to appreciate the laws he had learnt. He did not want to look away, instead he moved forward, until he was on the edge of the field. He placed his palms on the cold steel of the barrier and stood staring out into the depths of space.

  Shayne’s attention moved to the planet: the blue oceans, the brown lands and the white clouds. The shadow of night slowly disappeared revealing more and more of the landscape. He watched the small planet with growing interest; he saw it for what it was; a tiny and fragile world, susceptible to the elements around it and ignorant of the great and mighty bodies that surrounded it. From that moment on Shayne would never be the same. He would see the primitive powers at play as the colony set about constructing the Gateway and build ties with the native inhabitants, but for as long as he was standing upon the earth of a planet he would always be restless, even with his patient nature he would still be separated by the darkness and immensity that was space, and he would long for it.

  Eventually he cast his eyes away from the stars and found himself in the company of Captain Arnahell. She stood alone patiently waiting for him. Shayne glanced at her: sorrow welled up inside of him. She smiled, a very faint and equally sad smile. They then both walked out of the viewing room in silence. The screen darkening behind them.

  ***

  The company had been riding their horses for several hours. They steadily made their way east towards the Kérith-Árim nation. Shayne was silent most of the time, watching the hooves of a horse in front of him; its rhythm hypnotising him. After a brief break they decided to veer off the main highway. They received news from an official messenger earlier that day which spurred them onwards. The new track would take longer under normal circumstances; but time would be made up quickly by avoiding greater towns and cities, where province rulers would expect them to stop purely because of the news of the Afra’hama’s presence. The track they navigated was old and worn, created by the inhabitants of remote farming and mining villages. Some stretches of the road were lined with large trees that gave plenty of shade, and despite the erosion that affected parts of the road the trip was calm and agreeable.

  Shayne found his horse a pleasure to ride, the change from the lionmen breed was very welcome, the other Earthmen were also thoroughly enjoying themselves. As they made their way down the old beaten track the company became more casual, slowly spreading out and forming groups. The lionmen seemed relaxed but they also looked out at their surroundings with caution, unable to completely shake that part of their military training. Kíe as always was oblivious to his warrior counterparts’ actions; he had mastered the art of appearing completely at ease without a single care in the world. Shayne occasionally peered across at Kíe, watching the scholar as he became lost in a pleasing thought. He had become quite fond of the young lionman; he liked observing him, there was something fundamentally innocent and simple about the journeyman despite the depth that rested beneath the surface. Shayne sometimes had moments of familiarity when he regarded him, the way that Kíe would respond, or an expression on his face would remind him of someone, but he could not fathom who. Shayne could only think of the Captain of the Eureka, Elinor Warren, for she seemed to have the same enthusiasm as Kíe, but he knew it was not her and no matter how hard Shayne thought about it he could not figure out who the person was.

  ‘You are deep in thought,’ Shayne commented to Kíe after a while of observing him. The distant look instantly snapped back into alertness as Kíe faced the Starborn, his face an expression of all seriousness as he allowed the comment to process in his mind. He then smiled at Shayne, a half smile that he gives when he is pleased or thoughtful towards someone else.

  ‘I was.’

  ‘What were you thinking of?’ Shayne inquired.

  ‘Home,’ Kíe simply replied and his eyes vanished for a moment at that thought, he then refocused them again at the Starborn. Shayne had a glimpse of Elinor’s face, there is definitely a bit of her in the young scholar, yet there was something else too. The happiness he radiated was contagious; everyone’s mood instantly lifted when he was present, even when he was annoying one could not be annoyed with him for long. ‘We are travelling a road that will take us along the Wayel-Éaa Forest, this way will
be quickest for us; we will avoid the border cities and once we cross the sister river of Whydearfin we will be in my homeland. It is a grand country; filled with wonders of the ancients.’ His smile slowly broadened and he fell back into his dazed contemplation, oblivious to Shayne riding beside him.

  ‘I would not worry about that one,’ Pan’arden spoke softly to Shayne. ‘Those academics are a strange race, he probably dreams of his halls and teachers. He is so full of energy and he misses the world he grew up in. I think it is a crime for that kind of spirit to be required to serve their journeymanship within such a place as Danarie, one such as him shines brightest within the company of scholars.’

  ‘Could he not pass that requirement under special circumstances?’

  ‘I doubt it, it might create contempt amongst his peers, it is a service all must undergo, and I think it is a wise law in other regards. He will learn much that he cannot huddled deep in the teaching halls. Still, it is a shame.’

  ‘Those at the villages he is stationed at would undoubtedly benefit from such a skilled teacher.’

  ‘That they would,’ Pan’arden agreed, smiling briefly as she looked upon the younger lionman. ‘The village guardsmen think very highly of him. One of them said Kíe has an eye for the talented.’