A Pride of Lions

by Mark Iles

  “How far out are we?” Selena asked, out of curiosity.

  “About a hundred and eighty miles,” Bryn replied.

  “In that case,” Franks said, “up top, where we came from earlier, this is nothing but empty ocean. Yet in this place here we have forested islands. It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

  “Actually, it makes perfect sense,” Arthur interrupted. “This doesn’t go on for just hundreds of miles, it goes on for thousands. My theory is that we’ve passed through some kind of transportation device, despite my earlier doubts. We’ll find out tonight.”

  “How do you work that out?” Franks asked.

  Arthur simply looked at him. “Think about it, the stars will tell us.”

  It turned out that Arthur was right. They arrived at Base Camp just as night was falling. Having eaten a light supper of biscuits, olives, cheese and pickles, they lay back in the grass and stared up at the stars in fascination.

  “You were right, they’re completely different,” Franks told Arthur. “It doesn’t make sense. How can one simply walk down a tunnel and end up on a different world?”

  “Haven’t you read Alice in Wonderland? Down the rabbit hole and all that...” Bryn replied.

  Franks sat up and glanced at the pilot. “I reckon during all that shooting you must have taken a blow on the head.” He returned the pilot’s instant grin and tossed him a can of beer. “Here, that’s courtesy of you guys by the way. It came in the rations you so kindly supplied, and it’s so much better than the stuff we’ve been brewing.”

  As they sipped their beers and stared at the sky, Selena said, “I received a message from Kotes a short time ago. The Magellan will be ready tomorrow afternoon; so we need to set off mid-morning at the latest. I’ll be sending another report once we’re back onboard ship, to update the Admiralty about the situation here. I’ll need input from all of you; including you, Franks.”

  “Commander,” Arthur said, looking over to Selena. “I’d like to try and find out where those spider robots are taking that food.”

  “Me too,” she replied. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Well, all we know is that they disappear down those tunnels with baskets of food. I’d like to send in a small robot to follow them and see what happens, but we really haven’t got anything small enough.”

  “What about putting a camera on one of the spiders?” Selena asked. “Oh, I can tell by your face that you’ve already thought of that.”

  “I sure have. I sent a message to Captain Kotes a short while ago, asking for him to send me a list of equipment; I’m just waiting to hear from him.”

  * * * *

  Early the next morning the equipment had arrived and Selena, her team and Franks, stood watching, as the spider-like machines – which they’d decided to call caretakers — trundled past them. The machines marched steadily down the knee-high rabbit holes, carrying their overflowing baskets.

  “Have you noticed that they’re only taking fruit and vegetables, no meat?” Bryn asked, thoughtfully. “Does that imply whatever’s on the other end is vegetarian?”

  “Of course I’d noticed,” Arthur replied stiffly, fiddling with the camera and double checking his hand-held monitor. “It could be that all this stuff is for some kind of cattle. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Arthur selected a caretaker and, with the others standing in front of it to block the robot’s path, he began attaching the camera to the basket on its back. The machine paused then tried to move to either side. Each time it did so, they moved to stand in front of it. The caretaker finally stopped completely and stood still, watching them, while Arthur finished positioning the camera. When he’d finished, they stood aside and let the machine continue on its way. It quickly joined the line of its fellows and followed them down a rabbit hole.

  Arthur picked up the monitor and they all peered over his shoulder, as the screen depicted the caretaker’s journey.

  “We will probably lose the signal soon,” Arthur muttered. “Don’t forget we have to send runners up the tunnels to pass messages back to the surface. We’ll just have to wait and see how long the signal lasts.”

  For a while all they could see was the rear end of a caretaker marching away in front of the camera, and then suddenly it showed that the spiders had entered a much larger room. Then the signal suddenly died.

  “Holy shit, play that back!” Selena demanded, as the others gasped in disbelief.

  The recording rewound and then Arthur froze it, just as the spider was entering the chamber. They stared in disbelief, as the screen showed thousands of the little robots converging out of countless tunnels into the chamber and marching past a desk-like setup, behind which sat human remains.

  “Is that skeleton made out of glass?” Bryn asked. “How can that be?”

  “It’s more likely to be some kind of transparent alloy,” Arthur replied. “Makes sense in a way. The human skeletal system can be quite easily damaged. Perhaps they found a way to replace it somehow, with an alloy frame; God knows how, but it shows just how advanced they were.”

  “Not advanced enough to stop the Manta,” Bryn replied. “They lost, remember?”

  As Arthur nodded glumly, Selena said, “Well, at least we confirmed that the builders of Eden were human; sort of. Even though it raises even more questions, such as what killed that one. The fact that the body still remains at its post strongly suggests that something also happened to its companions, which is worrying, but something we need to look into another time. Come on, we have to go.”

  They all piled into a skimmer and took a last flight around Eden. As they flew over the forest, Franks suddenly grabbed Selena’s arm. “Look! Quick, put us down there!”

  Bryn landed the skimmer in a clearing and they all got off to look around in amazement, before walking as one up to the boles of the huge trees that towered hundreds of feet overhead, and the numerous tunnels that came out of them from every direction they looked.

  After a long silence Selena finally said, “My God, I don’t believe it. More rabbit holes; there must be dozens of them here.”

  Arthur looked as stunned as the rest of them. “And each one of these could lead to a different world. What on earth have we found?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied. “But this has to be kept top secret. Arthur, I’ll see to it that you’re assigned here when the mission’s over. But as for now, we really have to get back. The ship’s waiting for us and we need to be on our way.”

  By the time they boarded the Magellan the agreement between the Corps and the government of Loreen was signed, two ships had already arrived and supplies had begun flowing into the villages. Word had gone out to the entire Penal Corps, and battleships were on their way to protect their new home. Every person that Selena spoke to seemed happy. The colonists were beaming, while the soldiers relished their new home and citizenship. Plans were afoot to deploy a fleet of small defensive battle-stations with the new deflector shields about the planet.

  “This is amazing,” Bryn said to Selena, from atop the gangway, as they took a last look around before the ship lifted. “Look at what you’ve achieved; you should be very proud of yourself.”

  “Yes,” she replied, her eyes drinking in the scene. “But all this could be for nothing, unless we complete our mission successfully. Come on, Bryn, we’ve a mission to complete.”

  * * * *

  For Selena and the others, being back in space meant a return to boredom. They continued their training and studies of The Dutch Lady’s system layouts and abilities; even weapon system training became tedious after a while. The fact that Arthur found a robot he’d helped design and then taught it to play chess caused no end of amusement, particularly when it kept beating both him and Kes, who’d been a champion in his youth.

  Selena instigated a harsher physical training programme, including self-defence and martial arts, pitting teams against each other. But she noted that, try as she might, Arthur never once go
t to fight Za’an; something always occurred to prevent that match. She decided not to do anything about it after a while, knowing that this was probably a good thing. As to whether the others noticed, she didn’t know for no one said anything.

  As the team threw themselves into their work, the days started to pass quicker. She pushed them harder still until they were falling into bed exhausted each night and then, finally, Captain Kotes summoned them all to the bridge.

  “There she is, folks,” he said, pointing to the forward screen. “God bless her, and all who sail in her.”

  “Well, somebody needs to,” Singh said for them all, as their eyes took in their first sight of the huge asteroid that was their ship. Until now, none of them had fully comprehended just how big she would be. The attending supply ships and protective battlewagons looked like small toys in comparison, like fleas next to a basketball.

  “Looks like any other rock to me,” Za’an muttered.

  Selena glanced at him. “If you get a rock that size thrown at your head, Sergeant, you’re going to have one hell of a headache. The reports say she’s all loaded and ready to go, filled to the brim with planet busters, torpedoes and other weapon systems. Those bugs have got one hell of a shock coming to them.”

  Bryn nodded. “Yup, I’m happy to say that it’s finally payback time.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Good morning,” the female voice of the onboard computer whispered as their coffin lids slid back and sweet fresh air flooded in. The voice was supposed to be calm and reassuring, yet it actually came across as quite seductive. “The time is precisely ten hundred hours, on the two hundred and fourth day of the year 2779. All crew members are awake and in good health.”

  As the lid slid back, Selena opened her eyes. She lay there a while, secure in the comfort of the white, soft, leather-like interior of the life support system and softly breathing in the apple-scented air. She remembered suddenly awakening in orbit high above the world they were to do their basic training on, all those years ago; being pushed into the showers and then hosed down with that horrible jell, meeting Kes and Yung; the countless hardships and deaths that were to follow. She heard again the explosion from the gun and the wet sound as the back of Yung’s head exploded, her lifeless body slowly falling backwards and the shocked look on Bones’ face. Selena’s eyes widened as her mind drifted back through time and then, quite suddenly, she shook the memories away and pulled herself together.

  Even though it felt as if it was only a few days ago that they’d left the Magellan and docked the shuttle in the Dutch Lady’s airlock, she knew that in real time it had taken them over five months to get where they were now, despite the latest faster-than-light drives. The ships builders had done an incredible job, and everything was working perfectly when they’d boarded and checked the systems out. Just twelve hours later, they’d finished their initial tests and begun settling in. Then they had started scrutinising the ship in even greater detail, from top to bottom. When they were finally ready, the great ship had moved out, lethargically at first but with a growing feeling of power and pride as they’d slipped into the sling-shot fields of a nearby star, leaving the Magellan and other ships far behind. The drives began to warm up and, in a twinkling of an eye, they were whipped around the star and spat out into the heavens. It was as if the massive engines had taken a deep breath and then blown out hard, punching the massive battleship towards her target.

  Finally they were on their way and a few days later they’d slid into their coffins and taken a long, deep sleep.

  Selena sat up gingerly and climbed from the coffin, reaching for the beaker of tan-coloured liquid that was automatically produced from the side of the machine on a small tray. She gulped it down and asked the machine for a second one, as the others began to slowly stir around her. She swilled the liquid around her mouth, relishing the subtle taste of lime and berries, before swallowing it. Then she moved stiffly into the centre of the room and began running slowly through the set of callisthenics she’d adopted. She exercised gently at first, then harder and harder, gradually speeding up the movements in an attempt to ease her stiff and aching limbs.

  “Very nice,” Bryn said softly, coming up behind her and catching her in a naked leg stretch.

  She smiled and turned to face him, reaching for the first of her clothes and noting he still held his in his hands. “I thought you’d have something more constructive to do, Lieutenant.”

  “I’ve always time to take in the scenery, Commander.”

  Selena laughed quietly. “I think I need to have a word with the Corps physiologists. By now you should be immune to the sight of your naked crew mates,” she glanced down, “but obviously not.”

  “I am to all of them, but you,” Bryn replied, glancing around to ensure the others weren’t fully awake yet before putting his arms around her and kissing her gently on the lips. “One sight of you and, look, this is what happens. So, what are we going to do about it?”

  Looking into his eyes, Selena picked up her clothes, took his hand and led him out of the room.

  * * * *

  The others were dressed and already in the control room when Selena and Bryn entered. No one said anything but Singh glanced at them, his eyes twinkling.

  “Okay, what’s our current position?” Selena asked, sitting in the captain’s chair.

  “We’ll be entering the Pilorum system in just under four days. We’ve already picked up and mapped the meteor clouds, so entering the system won’t be a problem.”

  “Great. Za’an, how are the weapon systems?”

  “All fine, Ma’am. It looks like one of the torpedo tubes took a direct hit from a meteor, or some-such. I have crawlers out there trying to repair it, although I’m not particularly hopeful. Luckily, the ship’s a big old beast and can take a lot of punishment, plus the ammo can be shunted to the other launchers. Apart from that, we’re in fine shape.”

  “The computers are all good too,” Arthur put in, his hands dancing over his controls.

  “Great, time for a wander around to check out the ship. Arthur, I want a full check run on all systems, including the escape pod. I know you’ve probably already done them, but I want them run again; and when they’re complete, I want you to do them a third time. We can’t afford any mistakes, not that I’m expecting any. But, as you know, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Singh, Za’an, Sam, same thing. Kes, full security sweeps of the ship. Nothing comes in, or goes out, unless I say so. Bryn, come with me. I want full reports from all of you when I get back.”

  Selena and Bryn left the bridge and did their own inspection of the ship. After two hours, they stopped in the lounge for a hot drink. Bryn ordered hot coffee for the both of them from the dispenser and brought the drinks over to their table, as Selena was looking through the reports on her hand-held computer. Placing her drink in front of her, Bryn sat down and looked into her eyes.

  “I was just thinking about Loreen,” he began. “It would be a fine place to have a home, when the war’s finally over and we’ve served our time.”

  Selena looked up, searching his eyes, before putting down her hand-held. “When we’ve served our time? What are you saying, Bryn, are you asking me to settle down with you?”

  “Hey, I’m a great looking guy, all the girls say so. You could do so much worse, ask any of them.” He grinned tentatively. “Seriously though, you did a great job back there on Loreen. Franks and the others owe you big time, and they all know it. No matter what happens now, you’ll always have their loyalty and they will always have your back. I’m not sure the powers that be will approve of what you’ve done, and by the powers that be I mean both the Admiralty and army in general, the penal corps will be behind you one hundred percent; but what the hell.

  “I found a nice place for a log cabin on the side of a lake and spoke to our friend Franks about it, before we left. He said he could sort it out, if we wanted it. After what we did for them, he’d be more than glad to have a log cabi
n built for us, as a gift from their – sorry, our — people. He’d make sure we had land to go with it, too; not to mention water rights for the lake. Sure, there’s some bizarre beasties in it, but if we can get rid of them – or even cultivate them — it would make a great fish-farm. When all this is done and dusted, we could have a nice quiet life, you and I, Selena.”

  She reached out and entwined her fingers in his and said softly, “I have something important to do first, Bryn; before I can finally retire and settle down.”

  “Yeah, I know. There’s something you have to do back home. Am I right?”

  She looked into his eyes, searchingly. “Perhaps, but if I do, it has nothing to do with you. Don’t get involved, please? If I get caught that’s one thing but I’d never forgive myself if you did.”

  “Well, Singh and I, we’re just pilots. The home we had, Theta, has gone now. It’s nothing but dust, the Manta and Federation took care of that. But, as I see it, you and I can be partners too. I’ll do what I can to help. Whatever you need, and I can provide, it’s yours. We’d make a great team, you and I.”

  “What, and let you get caught and end up in the Penal Corps for another term again? Thanks, but you’re not getting away that easily. I’ll have to think long and hard about that one.”

  * * * *

  One by one the reports came in and Selena listened, delighted that things had turned out so well. Za’an had even gone down to the main magazine, in the centre of the ship that was crammed with hundreds of planet buster bombs, to check that they were okay. There were also silos or, as some preferred to call them, torpedo tubes hidden all over the surface, with hundreds of the lethally explosive darts arrayed in ready-use magazines. Computer controlled and remotely manual operated defence guns, with overlapping fields of fire, were ready to spring into action as and when required. But the planet busters themselves couldn’t be launched and it was why the Dutch Lady had to be literally smashed into the enemy home-world. The kinetic energy from the huge ship alone would do unspeakable damage and the planet busters would finish the job.