All The Frail Futures: A Science Fiction Box Set

by J Battle

  ‘I won’t go into any sort of detail concerning those years, of the conquests; intellectual, physical and yes, sometimes romantic. Ah now, that brings to mind the wonderful and mysterious Ylobe. Have I the time to speak about her? But, no, perhaps not; even after all of these many exciting and industrious years, the wound is still tender.’

  ‘Oh, Exxy, were you hurt in love?’

  ‘So many times, my dear; so many times. But let us begin. I call this the story of the Emperor, the assassin, and the rescue.’

  Jashna groaned.

  ‘What’s that, dearest and largest of friends? Have you heard this story before? It was quite famous at the time.’

  ‘I’m sure that I cannot bear the wait to hear your version of the story.’

  ‘Were you the Emperor? Or the assassin?’ asked Clessy.

  ‘Let us not spoil your enjoyment of the story by leaping ahead of ourselves. All in good time, as the Waiting Drools of Enderon II always say. Well, to be absolutely honest, it is something they would say if waiting for the most opportune moment to speak didn’t leave them cloaked in silence.’

  ‘Get on with the story! The sooner the ordeal begins, the sooner we reach the…’ Even as he started to speak, Jashna knew something was wrong; that something had changed. But what was it?

  He twisted and stared at his companions.

  'Whatever is happening in...,' Xlytes began to object to his interruption.

  He stopped him with a glare. Then it struck him; it was the silence; as if the ship was holding its breath.

  'We are no longer shifting.' Jashna whispered. 'Ship; what has happened.' His voice boomed through the narrow confines of the ship, but there was no response from the ship's AI

  'What...?' Given the circumstances, Jashna was surprised to note the calmness in her voice.

  'It appears that we are under attack,' Xlytes answered her barely begun question. 'And so soon. We can have barely covered more than a fraction of the distance we anticipated.'

  'Ship, provide a status report.' Jashna tried again, with the same result.

  'The ship's AI is no more.' Xlytes voice rose slightly, 'it has been destroyed.'

  'How much danger are we in?' Clessy asked as she removed her fastenings.

  As if in answer to her question, the ship shuddered. The One was constructed from a single block of crystal and designed to withstand any conceivable attack. In the worst case scenario, it would be able to protect its fragile passengers even if it lost 30% of its mass. So the shudder was not a good sign.

  Energy weapons would have been deflected, ballistic weapons would have had little effect. Any direct assault on the physical integrity of the ship would have been resisted, almost without effort. But when the weak force that held its atoms together to make up its molecules lost its relevance, there was nothing the ship could do to stop those atoms from rushing apart, as if they'd never really got on. Over the space of 30 seconds the solid ship became little more than a cloud of disparate particles, growing larger by the second.

  Jashna pushed himself away from what was left of his seat, reaching back at the same time to grab his companions. He had a firm grip on Clessy's right arm, but he missed Xyltes by no more than a couple of centimeters.

  As he rolled away from the remnants of the ship, he pulled Clessy to his breast and wrapped one wing around her, pressing her against his flesh. Somehow she knew exactly what to do and he felt her sharp little teeth bite into him, at the very place where he’d instructed his skin to weaken enough to be broken. As he twisted around to search for Xlytes, he sent a rush of rich, oxygenated blood to the site. He was the only barrier between her and a quick, agonizing death.

  At first he couldn't see Xlytes amongst the scattering glitter of the ship's remains. Then he spotted him, tumbling away, his short arms outstretched, his round mouth wide open as if he was still screaming for the air that would never come.

  **********

  'Crazy man, are them little dinosaurs friendly?'

  Dan looked around at his companions. 'They'd better be,' he answered.

  'My, oh my, now that's a thing. The one's we've seen are armed and they were attacking the ship.'

  'Were?'

  'Well, I guess the ship killed them all. Blasted them to bits with her cannons, at least that's how it looked.'

  'Where is this ship currently located?'

  Iron's jaw dropped open at the sight of the little alien speaking to him in English.

  'Dad, did you see that? It speaks as good as I do. Now, there's a thing. Hello, little fellow, how are you doing?'

  'My wellbeing is at an acceptable level, but I would like an answer to my question, if you understood my interlocutory request.'

  'My, I could listen to you all day, you speak so nice.'

  'He wants to know where the ship is.' Dan thought it better if he translated for Iron. 'And how's your dad? He doesn't look too well.'

  'He'll be OK in a bit, when he gets himself together. The ship’s just over that hill.'

  Dan walked over to where Andreas was propped up against a precarious looking wall.

  ‘Hi Andreas,’ he said as he bent down, ‘you OK?’

  Andreas lifted his head and scowled at him.

  ‘You know me, don’t you Andreas.’

  ‘Know you? I thought I’d seen the last of you, Dan the Man.’

  He grunted as he leant forward and tried to brace his hands against the debris strewn floor.

  ‘You need a hand, mate?’

  ‘No, I’m fine; just got to get myself sorted.’ With a lot more grunting, and one or two groans, he got his legs under himself and supported his weight on his knees and knuckles like an over inflated silverback.

  There was a brief hiatus when nothing very much happened, then he snorted. ’Don’t just stand there man, grab hold of something and heave.’

  Dan called Iron over and together they hauled Andreas to his feet.

  ‘That’s better. Now I can see what’s going on,' said Andreas, puffing out his cheeks, 'perhaps you can introduce me to your alien friends? I never thought I’d see the day. One minute they‘re blasting us out of the sky, the next they’re attacking our ship and now, it looks like I’ll be shaking their hands, or paws, or whatever they have.’

  Dan guided him over to the group of Sherdling. ’From what they've told me, it wasn’t them who attacked us; it was another species of alien all together. They are called the Hru-argh and these are the Sherdling. And this is their leader, sort of; well that’s not very clear, at the moment. I think he was their leader, and he plans to be their leader again, but at the moment it seems that there’s someone else; or something like that.’

  ‘Thanks for your clear and concise description of the situation; I’m sure it will be a big help.’

  He turned away from Dan and shook his arm free. ‘Greetings,’ he said and held out his hand.

  ‘Greetings received and welcomed and returned, oh august and rotund human. It would be my first and most earnest desire to begin an intense and involved and attenuated introductory sequence in which we would become acquainted with each other’s history and lineage…’

  ‘Just listen to the little fellow go, Dad. He’s got all the words and he surely knows how to use them.’

  ‘But, unfortunately,’ Sublan continued, ignoring the interruption, ’most urgent demands on our time prevent such a potentially beneficial meeting of minds. A ship has been mentioned; please direct me towards its current location as it seems clear to me that I will find Jullie in the same locality.’

  ‘I’ve just come from there; it’s not far. Here, follow me, I’ll take you there. But you should be aware that, if any of them are left alive, they’ll be armed.’

  ‘We must hold the trust close to our flesh that they will not fire upon their truthful leader.’

  ‘Well, please yourself, but I’ll be keeping my distance.’

  The little band of humans and aliens began their slow journey up the shallow slope, movi
ng at the best pace that Andreas was capable of sustaining.

  Concentrating on their destination, they failed to notice the slight blue figure that had slipped quietly into place, 30 meters behind them.

  Chapter 35

  'This is ridiculous!' she snapped, 'how are we supposed to get anywhere like this?'

  'The plant is just over there. It's not very far; maybe a couple of hundred meters.' Jimmy took a slow tentative step away from the doorway of the escape pod. 'See, it's not too bad.'

  'Can't they send a car out to us, or something?'

  'They're not responding to our radio request, though they must know we're here.' Nigel put his arm around his sister's waist. 'Come on; I'll help.'

  'Oh yeah, Tarzan, but who's going to help you?'

  Together they shuffled after Jimmy, with Nigel whispering 'one two, one two.'

  After five of six steps, they stopped, clinging to each other.

  'I can't seem to...catch my...breath,' gasped Nigel.

  Jimmy turned. 'There's less oxygen in the air than we are used to; it'll be OK when we get inside.'

  'So, it hasn't...even got proper...air!' With her red face and glaring eyes, she looked on the verge of an explosion.

  'Didn't I mention that?' Jimmy laughed and returned to his slow tortuous path across the rough ground.

  'Come on, Sis. Don't let him beat us.' Nigel encouraged as they followed him along.

  'Are they watching us? I bet they...are; the...bastards. Just laughing...at us.'

  'It'll all be over soon.'

  By the time they reached the entrance to the closest of the low dun colored domes, they were all sweating and gasping, and in great need of a really comfortable chair.

  Jimmy tried the door first, then slumped against its hot surface, his eyes closed.

  'What's wrong?'

  'It's locked; it's bloody locked.'

  'Typical! That's just typical!'

  'There's a keypad. Let's try it.' Nigel let go of Moira and walked closer to the side of the narrow door.

  'You going to guess the combination? Just like that?' Moira began a very slow, very careful, descent to the ground.

  'Lots of people don't change the factory default settings on these things. They're usually set as one, two, three, four.'

  He tried it, pressing his fingertips carefully against each number in the sequence. Then he took a deep breath, glanced at Jimmy beside him, and pushed the door.

  It remained stubbornly, intransigently, annoyingly, closed.

  Nigel tried again, in reverse order, with the same disappointing result.

  'Here, let me have a look,' said Moira, 'well, someone give me a hand, will you?'

  They both helped her to her feet.

  She studied the keypad carefully from a meter away, then leant closer. 'This pad has been out here for years, in the sun and the wind. You can see some of the numbers are wearing away. If someone uses the pad a lot, and they are bound to have sand particle on their fingers, then the numbers they use will be more worn than the ones not used. Look at the two; its tail is hardly visible. The same with the five; and six. But the rest; I can't see another number that stands out. They're all worn to some extent.'

  She pulled back a little and looked at her companions. 'There you go; two, five, six.'

  'We need four numbers, Sis; it's always four. And we need the sequence.'

  Moira huffed and frowned at him.

  'I know,' said Jimmy, with a smile, 'Let me have a go at it.'

  'Fill your boots, mate.' Said Nigel, making room for him.

  Hardly looking at the keypad, Jimmy tapped in 2156 and, with a nonchalant air, pushed the door open with one finger.

  As they followed him inside, Moira grunted, 'How did you know the number?'

  Jimmy chuckled. 'Because I did a bit of research before I left.'

  'And?'

  '2156 was the year these plants first went in to production.'

  'Smartass!'

  **********

  There was no measure of the time they spent clinging to each other, spinning slowly in the vast blackness that engulfed them. They could not even tell that they were spinning, with nothing visible in the stygian darkness to give them a sense of perspective.

  With the girl clamped to his chest, Jashna desperately searched for signs of the imminent threat that must be approaching them. He stretched out his free wing to its widest extent, which only served to exaggerate his spin, though he had no way of knowing this. The sensors scattered across the surface of his wings could feel the pressure of a handful of photons, but nothing struck it. This far from The Milky Way, and so far from their destination, there was nothing at all to sense.

  But he knew that they were coming; whoever they were. They would not destroy the ship and leave them alive, surely. His simmerglow rose, but he kept it in check; he had no way of knowing how long he’d have to wait.

  Lost in the depths of his sensory deprivation, it was hard to maintain focus. He started to count, to try to gain some control of what was happening to him, to at least measure the time.

  He felt the human begin to struggle and he held her tighter. It was so hard for her, he knew. She wanted to breathe through her nose, or her mouth, but that was of course impossible. If she accepted his gift, his blood would sustain her, the heat of his body would warm her, and she would live. At least until it became necessary to cast her to one side and defend himself against whatever form the attack from the Andromedeans would take.

  On the count of 7000, his mind began to drift and he thought of Heldon, safe in There, and the scale of the treachery she intended. For it was obvious to him, now, that there was a great deal more to this expedition than he’d been told. Were her plans foiled with the demise of Xlytes, or were there still devious complications encompassed within the frail form he held?

  Xlytes’ death had surprised him. He’d assumed that a creature as experienced in the ways of the universe as the Re-Dubb would have been better able to save himself. At least he could have worn some sort of space-suit.

  He sensed it long before he saw it, and his simmerglow flared, but he held it back. There was a faint glow about the apparition as it approached them. At first, just a point of dim light, like a star seen from behind a cloud. Then it was a disc, dull in normal light, but brighter in the infrared.

  As it approached, he could feel the tug of its gravitational force, though it was surely no more than 300 meters across; a miniature world with the gravity of a full grown planet. Now things are getting interesting, he thought as he landed on its smooth, unmarked surface, and took a deep lungful of its rich, heady atmosphere.

  Gently, he lowered Clessy's semi-conscious body to the smooth grey surface underfoot. Then he turned slowly, studying the near horizon, sure that the threat was close.

  'What...' She hesitated and drew both hands across her face. For a moment she was still, as if she wanted to remain hidden; to not see what was before her. Then she sighed and climbed slowly to her feet. 'What's happening?' She whispered.

  Jashna made no response at first, focusing on the things he could not see.

  'We won't have to wait for long,' he said at last, 'I expect they'll wish to converse with us, before they attempt to destroy us.'

  'How long since the attack on the ship?'

  Jashna dropped his eyes, surprised at the question. 'Several hours perhaps.'

  'Several hours? That might be...' She stopped and stared past Jashna.

  Jashna turned and saw a small round figure appearing over the horizon, only 20 meters from him.

  'Xlytes?'

  As he walked slowly towards them they could see the cloudiness of his eyes, and the brittleness of his much beloved fur. His mouth hung open; no longer screaming for air, but the drool would have offended the Re-Dubb, if he was still capable of such self-awareness.

  'Exxy!' Clessy gasped and would have rushed to him if Jashna had not placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder.

  'No it is
not he; it is another,' snapped Jashna.

  'You are correct. Body was inanimate. Caused body's re-animation. Important discussion required.'

  The voice could have been taken as that of Xlytes by someone who had never heard him speak. But the monotone voice, lacking in life and the enjoyment as the words rolled off his tongue, would never have emerged from the mouth of a living Xlytes.

  'What do you want?' Jashna moved a step away from Clessy, to give himself room to act.

  'What do we want? You have come to us. What do you want?'

  'We want peace, we want harmony, and we want the destruction of our stars to stop. It really is as easy as that.'

  Jashna was sure that Xlytes would have made the case more eloquently, but he was confident that he'd got his message across.

  'We also seek no animosity, and separation. But you bring machines to contaminate and infest, to rip apart the natural balance of our lives.'

  'But you have destroyed our machines, so we can put any affront they may have caused to one side.'

  'Is it is possible that you are ignorant? That you do not understand the reality in which you are immersed?'

  'My ignorance is without boundaries, I fully accept. But we can still solve these problems that have emerged between our Galaxies, to our mutual benefits.'

  'We see nothing mutual. We see trespassers. We see invaders. We see strife.'

  Despite himself, Jashna wished that the true Xlytes was back, able and eager to use his smooth tongue to sway the alien to his cause.

  'We mean no harm.'

  'Yet you bring machines.'

  'We required the machine to carry us here.'

  'And the others? Your companion here was riddled with the abominations, until we destroyed them.'

  Jashna turned slightly towards Clessy, 'Merely enhancements, I'm sure, to facilitate interaction in the environment from which she comes. No harm is intended.'

  'If you believe your own words, then you should interrogate your companion. We detected that more than twenty five percent of her body mass was taken up by machines; does that seem appropriate for mere 'interaction'? We believe that they have a more nefarious purpose.'