by David Lund
“NO!” James shouted. “John, you didn’t!”
“I did,” he smiled sadly. “I created another wormhole, in the path of the probe, far out in space. It led straight into the planet’s atmosphere. I know it hit it’s target, because some of the blast came back through the wormhole. No one else would know about this of course. No one else had my scanners.
“The world said they lost the probe’s signal. Maybe NASA picked up something, but I doubt it. I thought I had killed them all. I thought they would all be dead. But I was wrong.”
“John,” James didn’t know what to say. This was unbelievable. No wonder they had started firing on them as soon as they saw them. They must think humans are the worst species ever. “They figured out who sent the probe?”
“They must have done. Many years later, as I was scanning some instruments, I noticed an anomaly out in space, near Saturn. It was almost a wormhole. I sent one of my own probes to take further scans, and what I discovered made my blood turn to ice.
“It was the same signal. The aliens. They were trying to create a wormhole like mine. I stopped them the first time – I fired a nuclear missile at the ‘wormhole’ - but they tried again, a few years later, and I stopped them again. Then, only a year ago, I was testing my spaceship, when I saw it again, but this time, it was a fully fledged wormhole, and a ship was coming through it. I loaded a nuclear missile and blasted them to hell. I knew I had to get to their world and destroy the rest of
them.
“But I wasn’t sure whether or not they intended to harm us, if they had in fact figured out who had detonated the bomb on their world. So, with the launch of The Interstellar, I thought I would try something. I thought if they killed Edwards and the others, I would know for sure.”
This time, it was James who punched him. Once again, John fell to the floor. He got up gingerly, blood running from a cut above his eye.
“I deserved that.”
“You deserve a hell of a lot more,” James snarled. He thought about punching him again, but something made him wait. Simon looked like he was about to be sick. John sat back in his chair, apparently thinking that no one was going to hit him again, just yet.
“So you sent twenty men and women to their deaths, without any thoughts of their lives and families. Then what?”
“It was a hard decision, James, but I had to know what I was dealing with.”
“Bullshit!”
“Anyway,” he said loudly, so James wouldn’t interrupt him again. “I created another wormhole near to the Interstellar and I thought I would be able to monitor their progress through the wormhole, but it collapsed as soon as they went through. I still don’t know why. But I knew they were done for, and that there was only one way to save the Earth. I had to destroy the whole alien race. I knew the government would ask too many questions. I had to do this alone.
“I fed you a story about finding my father and saving your crew so you would come along.
Honestly, if I had known you would be so much trouble, I would have left you behind.”
“But why bring me? You had obviously been into space before.”
“I was afraid, I confess. I wanted another experienced person with me, in case something I couldn’t handle came up. And something I didn’t expect did happen. I found you, dad. I though you were dead.” Real emotion entered his voice at these words as he looked over at his father. But Simon was staring back with nothing but loathing etched upon his lined face.
“You are not my son,” he roared, and he got up and left the room. James looked at John.
“I can’t believe how much of an idiot you are,” he said softly. “You have condemned humanity. We will all be killed because of you. You see how much more powerful they are. We don’t stand a chance against them.”
“That’s why we need to go back now! We need to warn Earth about this threat.”
James leaned forwards.
“We don’t need to do that. What we need to do is to find these aliens’ government and explain to them what really happened.”
“That’s preposterous. They would kill me, and everyone on this ship too.”
“You deserve to die for what you did! And if we save the Earth, it’ll all be for the better.”
“You would die?”
“I would. I don’t know how you can even live with yourself. You disgust me.” With those words, he too left the room, leaving John alone with his thoughts.
37
They had reached the caves, it wasn’t much of a shelter, but at least it took the edge of the wind.
It was so cold that Michael’s head hurt. Both Videem and Gareen were in bad shape: their faces had become whiter than an albinos’, and deep blue veins had appeared all along their skin. The others had wrapped some of their own clothes around them, making themselves colder, but they thought the Henfor needed the warmth more than they did. No, the humans would be okay, for a short while.
What worried them the most was the radiation. They must have been on the surface for about ten minutes when they reached the caves. They wouldn’t last much longer without permanently damaging themselves.
Michael felt dread in a way he had not felt before. This was surely the end. They were miles from anything, on a world that would kill them in a few minutes. He did not see how they could get themselves out of this situation. He dropped to the ground and sat against a smooth rock. Lindsey sat by his side. She rubbed her hands together and blew hard into them, trying to bring back some warmth.
“These caves should protect us from the radiation,” she said in a calm voice.
“How are you so calm?” he asked her in wonder.
“I like to see the bright side of things,” she smiled, then her face turned serious. “Do you think we can survive?”
Michael looked at her intently for a few seconds, debating how honest he should be.
“It seems unlikely,” he said finally. “Are you scared?”
“Very,” she nodded. “Does it show?”
“No,” he smiled. He nodded towards the Henfor. “How are they?”
“Adrian doesn’t think they will survive for more than a few more minutes,” she replied, her teeth chattering. Michael said nothing.
They sat there for a few moments, the cold steadily draining them of their strength, both Henfor had their eyes closed now, as if they were falling into a deep sleep. Michael could feel his eyes drooping too, and he knew hypothermia was settling in, but just then, something made him snap them open. He struggled to his feet and made his way gingerly towards the mouth of the cave. The only person who still seemed to be awake was Marshall. He followed his captain’s movements with his eyes.
“Captain?” he mumbled.
“Do you hear that?” A faint humming sound could be heard through the strong wind. Michael steeped outside, and narrowing his eyes in the gale, looked up at the sky. He could see lights, growing steadily larger. It was a ship! He ran back inside and yelled. Every human opened their
eyes.
“It’s a ship, get up, quick!”
It took several minutes to get everyone up, except the Henfor who stayed inside, and they made their way outside the cave. They all looked up and saw the lights Michael had described. It did indeed seem to be a ship.
“We’re saved!” Lindsey yelled, her voice muffled in the strong wind. They watched as it grew closer still. They could make out the body of the vessel now. It wasn’t large, but something made Michael hesitate. He recognized the configuration, it was Friiist ship. He should have known. He had thought, for a second, that the Henfor had come to save them. He realized how stupid he was for thinking this. But why had they come back so soon? He watched with the others as the ship landed.
*
As he exited the room, James found Simon slumped against the wall, just outside the door. He hadn’t gone far. He seemed miles away and James had to call his name several times before he finally looked over at him. He looked older than ever, his long white
hair was tangled, and the small part of his face visible beneath his thick beard was so wrinkled, he reminded James of a mummy.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed to have a lot on his mind.
“How did this happen?” he asked quietly. “How did my only son become such a monster?”
“He’s a genius,” James said, and Simon stared at him. “He is. He created one of the most amazing things ever, it’s a shame it went to his head. He should have told people, he should have…” He didn’t finish. He reached out an arm to help Simon up. “Come on, we need to free your friend.” The old man let himself be pulled up and they went to the bridge. Isobel was there, sitting alone at her station, monitoring the creation of the wormhole. James asked her where Janewall was being held, then went over to a comm.
“This is Henderson, bring the prisoner to the bridge.”
“Yes, sir.” He was glad no one challenged his authority.
“What’s going on?” Isobel asked.
“I’m taking control of the ship.”
“Oh you are, are you?” John had appeared.
“I am. You are in no state to command.”
John just laughed. Nobody will listen to you James, you are not the commander of this vessel.
“John, listen to him, he knows what he’s doing,” Simon said.
“How would you know?”
“I trust him, and I don’t trust you.” The doors swished open again, and two guards and Janewall walked into the command centre.
“Let her go,” James said.
“No!” John shouted. “Keep her detained.” James pulled out the gun he had hidden earlier and pointed it at John.
“Let her go,” he repeated, menacingly.
“You won’t shoot me,” John said, smiling.
“Wanna bet?” John started to walk forwards, and James shot him in the leg. He screamed as the bullet entered his flesh, just above his knee. Isobel got up as John fell to the floor.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled, as she crouched next to her captain. John was sobbing on the floor, clutching his leg in pain. He had gone very white. James told her to apply pressure to the wound. He knew it wasn’t fatal. He turned to the guards, who stared stupidly back at him. They hadn’t even drawn their own guns. James turned his weapon on them.
“I need you to listen to me. I want you to free the alien and take John downstairs. I want him detained. Will you do that?” They looked blank for a second, then released Janewall and picked John up, each putting one of his arms on their shoulders, and carried him away. James spoke to Janewall.
“Are you all right?” She blinked at him, she clearly had not understood.
“Oh, wait,” said Simon. He pulled something out of his pocket and flipped it open, pressing a button. “Janewall, can you understand me.” James was amazed when his voice was translated through the small contraption.
“Yes,” there was fear in her voice. “Simon, what is going on?”
“It’s okay, you’re safe.”
“I don’t think any of us is safe,” Isobel said from her corner. “There’s a ship approaching.” James ran to her side. “What kind of ship?” Janewall came and looked over their shoulders.
“It’s Henfor.”
*
Kareen was leading the mission to find the old human man. President Barneen had said he should be the one fetch him because he had already dealt with the species. However, Kareen was slightly annoyed at this, because whatever he had told Michael, he thought the humans were an ungrateful race. They had seemed arrogant and untrustworthy to him. In fact, he had a few humans on board his ship. The crew of the Interstellar who had remained behind had accompanied him on this mission. So far, they had no posed any problems though, for which he was grateful.
Nevertheless, he was following orders.
Passing the sensor net was as always, the main difficulty. Kareen had a few tricks up his sleeve and managed to create a fake sensor reading, a few hundred kilometres away from their position.
The Friiist should be under the impression several Henfor war vessels were converging on the nearest outpost. Hopefully, it should keep them occupied while they cross the net.
Kareen instructed his helmsman to cross it at speed, and soon they were passed it. Fifty kilometres. One hundred. Two hundred.
“No sign of pursuit, sir.”
Kareen relaxed slightly, but stayed alert. The helm informed him that their destination was less than thirty minutes away at their present speed. They sped up, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“The vessel is within sensor range, sir, but…” the helmsman paused and double checked his sensors.
“They are not alone, there is another ship with them. It is the Earth ship, sir. The one that destroyed the Friiist vessel.” Kareen stood and walked forwards until he was standing in front of the large view screen on the front of the bridge.
“Can you contact the Friiist vessel?” he asked his communications officer.
“It’s empty sir, or otherwise they are ignoring us.”
“Sir, do you think the Earth vessel has attacked it?” the helmsman asked.
“No,” Kareen said thoughtfully. “They would want to help the human.”
“They are contacting us, sir.”
The view screen showed a man with a pink face, and a lot of dark grey hair. He seemed to be a rotund man, and Kareen, who had spent a bit of time with the humans, recognised a smile on the man’s face.
“My name is James Henderson,” the human said. “This may sound like a stupid question, but, do you intend to hurt us?” Kareen roared with laughter, which to the human sounded quite nauseating.
“We are hear to help. Have you captured the Friiist? She is supposed to be helping us.”
“She is our guest, although the leader of this ship doesn’t think so. We need to talk.”
“We do, I suggest you dock with us, and come aboard. Although, it would be better to be quick, we are in hostile territory.”
*
James, Simon, Janewall and Kareen sat around a table on the Henfor ship. James was amazed by everything around him; It was a lot to take in, all the technology, the different species evolving in the same system. His head was spinning, and he had many questions, but there were more pressing issues. James explained quickly about everything John had told them. Janewall’s eyes widened more
and more as he spoke. Kareen too looked rather surprised.
“We thought it was a blunder,” he said when James had finished.
“We didn’t even know about it,” James said. Janewall had become a very deep blue.
“Then it’s his fault,” she said quietly, and James could feel the anger radiating from her or maybe it was the temperature, he thought. He now knew the Friiist preferred the cold and the Henfor the warm. Kareen had set the room temperature at a steady fifteen degrees, but James could see that he did not enjoy it. Janewall too looked uncomfortable. Only Simon and himself felt fine.
“Yes,” Simon said. “My son is responsible for the loss of your planet. He deserves to pay.” His voice was bitter.
“How will your government react?” James asked Janewall. She seemed to ponder the question.
“I don’t think they care if one person is responsible, they want to kill every human. I doubt they will think one man will do justice to the millions of people who were killed.”
“Do you agree?” Simon wanted to know. She seemed to sigh.
“No, I have met you Simon, and you James, I know you are not all terrible terrorists, but then I never believed that in the first place. However, my will is not that of the Central. I’m afraid that even if you explain what really happened, they will not adhere to our point of view.”
“I believe you are right,” Kareen said. “The Friiist are not known for their understanding.”
“Neither are the Henfor,” Janewall retorted angrily.
“Please,” James said raising his hands between the two alien species. �
��As much as your war is terrible, you are evenly matched. We however, do not stand a chance against the Friiist. We cannot win. We need to find our men and get home.”
Kareen had explained to them that the crew of the Interstellar were indeed alive, or at least they were the last they’d heard, and had outlined their mission for James and Simon. They immediately hatched a plan. Janewall said she should most likely be able to find them, thanks to her guard status, and if they take her ship, she, James and Simon could save them, while Kareen and the other humans wait near the wormhole and protect it from any unwanted visitors.
It only took a few minutes for Janewall to call around a few friends in strategic places to find out where the humans’ were. And she, Simon and James, upon learning they had been abandoned on the planet’s surface, set off straight away.
“Good luck,” Kareen said to James just before they left. “And I have friends out there Mr Henderson.”
“I’ll do everything I can to save them,” James said, shaking Kareen’s hand.
38
“Why do you think they’ve come back?” Marshall asked, rubbing his arms, still trying to fight the vicious cold, and without taking his eyes off the ship.
“I don’t know,” the Captain replied. He too was staring at the vessel. It had powered down its engines, and they could really see it now. It had landed only about a hundred metres away from them. It was small for a Friiist ship, probably only a few metres across. It was shaped like egg with legs, and was painted a deep blue. There weren’t any other markings.
As they watched, a light shone suddenly, and Michael realized the hatch was opening. They stood there silently as the light flooded them. This was when Michael noticed how dark it actually was. The sun had been setting slowly since they had arrived and the night had crept up on them.
