“I was just on my way back from helping one of the asteroid miners repair her ship. She seemed rather ill, too, so I brought her some food from the greenhouse. When I left she was still sleeping, actually.”
“Asha, I’m glad that you’re doing jobs on the side, but we talked about this. Sharing is fine. But please check with me first before you give our food away, all right?”
“Sorry, Dad. She was pretty sick and you were busy.”
Yantrik grumbled.
In the distance, Zahn heard a sound that reminded him of white noise and soon realized that it might be the ship being scrubbed clean.
“So, Yantrik,” Oonak said. “When you spoke of the Vandals, were you referring to the Vakra—”
Yantrik cut Oonak off in a blink.
“Stop right there, Confederation man. Whatever you do, do not say that name. It is not acceptable in civilized society, especially not on my outpost.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you. I just want to confirm that we’re talking about the same enemy.”
Zahn’s eyes were wide.
“Are you referring to those who are rumored to steal entire star systems?” Oonak continued. “I’ve heard them referred to by many names, but those of the Confederation have a specific name for those who corrupt space as they do.”
“If it’s the name you were about to say, then you should remember my words. It is not acceptable to speak, Oonak. Calling them the Undying Vandals describes them well enough.”
“Who are these vandals, Oon?”
Oonak turned to Zahn. His face seemed tense as though he were holding something back, and then he spoke in carefully measured sentences.
“They are the last great adversary to the Confederation. For millennia, most believed that they had finally been wiped out, but we were mistaken. They returned even stronger than we anticipated. More and more, entire star systems have been plucked from their rightful places in the galaxy and enslaved, creating great chaos. I have even heard of star systems purposely causing their star to go nova moments after evacuation, just to prevent them from consuming yet another star.” Oonak paused. “Zahn, they are the living nightmare that the Confederation must extinguish.”
Zahn seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“So,” Zahn finally said, “do you think they were the ones who attacked you back at Avani?”
“Quite likely, and that is the prime reason why we must reach the Confederation Council as soon as possible. If they have spread as far as your system, billions more are in danger.”
Zahn turned to Yantrik. “So, when will our ship be ready?”
“My my! Look at this one. Getting right down to business, not that I can blame you. If the Undying Vandals truly are meddling with your planet, you’d best get all the help you can. Lucky for you, your ship should be ready later today.”
Yantrik took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows, realizing that he might be alarming Zahn more than necessary.
“In any case, don’t worry so much, Zahn,” he continued. “Your ship is out of your hands now, and if you remember anything, remember this: you gotta know the difference between what you can change and what you can’t. Otherwise you just go wasting energy and frustrating yourself. You got me?”
“I suppose that’s good advice for any traveller,” Zahn said.
“Damn right.”
“Yantrik,” Oonak said. “What do you and Asha know about the galactic gate network?”
“Not too much. Until you two showed up, we thought it might have burned out once and for all. Last time anybody came through there was a long while ago. Didn’t stop somebody from trying to trade a gate map for repairs to their ship a while back, though. Can you believe that? Sorry, but star maps are not my preferred method of payment. I mean look at me, Oonak. Do I look like an explorer to you?”
“Not especially.”
“Right, but that doesn’t stop people from trying to pay with them. Anyway, sometimes I wonder if I’m too nice. If someone’s hard up for currency, occasionally I let them pay in knowledge, although I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to do that.”
“How many gates did this gate map show?”
“Well, usually I wouldn’t share something used for payment, but considering that you’re on a Confederation mission, I suppose I could share it with you both if you keep it to yourselves. Unfortunately, it was only a small map. Showed maybe five gates within a few hundred light-years.” Yantrik pulled a thin sheet from one of his pockets and gave it to him.
Oonak seemed disappointed as he studied the crude map. It used major stars as markers and appeared to have been made by an explorer that hadn’t managed to activate any of the gates. The network seemed patchy and no major nodes were included on it.
“The scope of this map is seriously limited, but thank you for sharing it.”
“No problem. You should have seen the guy who traded it to me! Looked like he’d nearly been eaten alive. Twice. So, how far you going, anyway?”
“We’re going to the outer core,” Zahn said.
“The outer core?” Asha was stunned. “Do you have any idea how many light-years that is?”
“Over 30,000. Our mission requires it,” Oonak said.
“Well, then! That is quite a mission, and for such a mission, you’ll be needing a lot more than a cloak for your ship. Here, take these.” Yantrik pulled out three black square plates from one of his back pockets and handed them to Oonak.
“They’re personal cloaking chips. Made ‘em myself. No one will see you coming. Third one’s a backup, just in case.”
“Thanks, Yantrik! That’s very kind of you. But, are you sure you want to part with these?” Zahn said.
“Take them. You’ll need ‘em. And let me know how they work! I warn you though, I haven’t had a chance to do much real-world testing, so they might be a little buggy.”
“Even so, thank you very much. Your generosity will be remembered,” Oonak said.
“You’re quite welcome. You can thank me by not paying for my services with star maps!” Yantrik laughed again.
“I assure you that is not a problem. I have a variety of precious materials stored on my ship for such a purpose. You will be paid fairly. By the way, would you happen to have any weapons I could trade for? My sidearm was damaged when my ship crashed on Avani’s surface.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have a spare at the moment, but the cloaking chips should help you avoid most trouble. Actually…”
Yantrik felt around his pockets for a moment and pulled out a small ball of orange liquid.
“This is an experimental acid. Some of the strongest I’ve ever synthesized. Shatter that sphere onto the face of your enemy, and I can guarantee that it’ll change their complexion, if you know what I mean. Hah!”
“Thank you, Yantrik. This is a strange gift, but perhaps it will prove useful in the end.”
“Every little bit helps,” Yantrik said, winking one eye.
As they spoke, Zahn wandered over to the edge of the balcony and saw that Navika was now in the center of one of the smaller circular platforms, like an ivory tepee pitched amidst a glowing landscape of technology. Floating around the ship were about a dozen spheres, polishing off the last few specks of black debris from the battle.
“Cool, aren’t they?”
“Hmm?” Zahn looked back and saw Asha walking up to him. “Yeah, they are. Do they clean up the ship or repair the damaged pieces first?”
“They scrub the ship first. But don’t worry. You’re fortunate that we have the components to repair such a small cloaking field. Although, I will have to test it in orbit.”
On the far side of the room, Zahn noticed bright orange liquid flowing out of the wall, through some translucent pipes, and collecting in a large container below.
“What’s that?” Zahn said, pointing to the strange machine.
“Ah, that’s one of my father’s experiments. He says it can dissolve almost anything.”
&
nbsp; “Why would he be working on that?”
“Who knows? Would it shock you to learn that he has a lot of weird projects? By the way, I want to apologize if he seems overly sensitive about discussing the Undying Vandals. If only I had been older...”
“Older? For what?”
“For when the Undying Vandals destroyed my home. Perhaps I would have been strong enough to comfort him as much as he comforted me.”
“Oh.”
For a few moments, Zahn’s thoughts couldn’t seem to form themselves into sentences. “I’m so sorry, Asha. I’ve lost… I mean, in some ways, I think I can relate to that feeling. I doubt that makes you feel any better, though.”
“Don’t worry about it. We survived.”
“What about your mother? What happened to her? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I never had the chance to know her.” Asha looked down to the spherical pods as they hovered around Navika. “I’m not sure you realize how special your ship is,” she said.
“Well, to be honest it’s the first starship I’ve ever been in.”
“Really?” Asha looked surprised. “Navika is one unique bird. It seems to be more like a living crystal than anything else.”
“He.”
“What?”
“You said ‘it’, but Navika is a ‘he’.”
“Can ships have genders?”
“Why not? Anyway, when we test the cloaking field in orbit, perhaps you’ll see what I mean.”
“Well, I still can’t believe there’s a life force in there. Must be a pretty exceptional ship.”
“He is.”
CHAPTER 16
A FLIGHT TO THE GATE
A few hours later, Navika reentered the vast Ocean of Space, and this time he contained a new passenger: Ashakirta. The meal they’d had on the outpost had left Zahn and Oonak feeling recharged and strong, and they were now holding a low, geosynchronous orbit above the outpost. From the ground, Yantrik was scanning the ship and relaying data to Asha as she made the final adjustments to Navika’s new cloaking field.
While she worked, Zahn noticed that Asha seemed mesmerized at how Oonak controlled the ship completely through the use of his mind, and Zahn wondered if Oonak would be open to showing him how to pilot the ship sometime.
All three of them were in the command bay, and through an open panel beside Asha, Zahn could see millions of glowing fibers and shapes that he couldn’t even begin to understand. As Asha sat beside it, she spoke to her father who was still beneath the moon’s surface, far below.
“I’m reading 0.0021 variation, but it keeps changing. What are you reading?”
“0.0022. That’s pretty close, Asha,” Yantrik replied, his voice sounding tiny as it emerged from Asha’s communicator.
“No, I think something is wrong. The strength is wavering.”
“That’s odd. Let me check again,” Yantrik said. “Hmm, I’m reading a slight change, too. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Dad, I think a few of these cloak cells are defective. I should be able to isolate the defective ones and rebalance the field. Should only take a few minutes.”
“All right. Let me know when you need another reading.”
As she worked, Zahn watched Asha, reflecting at how gracefully she carried herself, even when she was hunched over an open panel. As Zahn watched, he was startled by an alarm that suddenly echoed throughout the ship.
“Asha,” Oonak said urgently. “I’m detecting hundreds of small craft heading toward our position. Their size matches the craft that attacked us when we first arrived. Is the cloak ready?”
Asha looked up, and when she saw a haze of red marks overlaid on their view of the moon and the space beyond, her eyes widened.
“Some of the cloak cells were defective. We could activate it now, but if I can’t isolate the defective cells, we won’t have a cloaking field at all. Just give me two minutes.”
“Asha, we may not have that long.”
Magnified views of the incoming ships were now being displayed over their view. It was the marauders, and this swarm made the first swarm look small. This time, the swarm of trouble had come to them.
“Everyone, please be advised,” Oonak said. “I am going to employ an evasive pattern. Inertial nullifiers are activated, but I recommend moving as little as possible during these maneuvers.”
In an instant, the cabin around them once again became overlaid with a red grid, and as Oonak weaved through the asteroids and fired back toward the swarm, a proximity alarm sounded throughout the ship.
All three of them knew that they were hopelessly outnumbered, and Asha worked as if their lives depended on her success. Indeed, they did.
“How’s that cloak coming, Asha?” Oonak called back to her.
“You just asked me that. Some of these cells are unstable, and I’m not sure why. I’m going as fast as I can!”
“Just let me know when you are nearly ready,” Oonak said calmly. “Until then, we must evacuate this system to ensure our survival. I suggest you call your father.” At that moment, another proximity alarm sounded throughout the ship. “It may be the last conversation you have with him.”
“But this is insane. The early warning beacons should have alerted us. Why didn’t they alert us?”
“I don’t know, Asha. Your father never mentioned any early warning system to us,” Zahn said.
“Well, we have one, and it should be working. Unless…”
The first shards of yellow plasma whizzed past the ship, and Asha realized that Oonak was right. This could be the last opportunity she had to speak to her father, so as she worked, she spoke to him.
“Dad, there’s a swarm of marauders so large that—”
“Asha! I’m so glad you got through the interference. The marauders have been creating a lot of comm noise, and I’ve been having trouble contacting you, otherwise I would have called you sooner. I haven’t heard any status signals from the beacons since I last talked to you. I think the marauders may have found them and disabled them.”
“I know, Dad.”
The ship quivered as a plasma charge impacted onto the hull, and Zahn wished there was something he could do.
“Oon, can I help fire back? Is there anything I can do?”
“Zahn, there is a time to attack and a time to run so that you may live to fight another day. This is the latter. Right now there is nothing you can do but maintain a positive attitude and stand by for orders.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
The ship rumbled again.
“Indirect hit!” Oonak announced. “Asha, status?”
“Dad, we’ve never seen this many at once before. What if they’re after the materials on the outpost?”
“I don’t know, Asha. All I know is that you, Oonak, and Zahn have to do whatever you can to survive. Don’t worry about me. I’ve already initiated a complete outpost lockdown.”
“Lockdown?!” Asha gasped. “Dad, that means no one can—”
“I know. It means I can’t leave. But no one will be able to come in, either. The shock barricade will keep me and the outpost safe. Asha, we both knew this could happen someday. Trust me, this is the safest thing for everyone. Go with them. You may not realize it yet, but they need you.”
“Dad!”
“Asha!” Oonak interrupted. “Status?”
As the scene unfolded in front of him, Zahn sat transfixed. Stars were flashing past as Oonak raced through the asteroid field, and although the wall behind him wasn’t transparent, the ship still overlaid it with hundreds of small red circles. He knew that each of these circles indicated a marauder in the swarm following them. Even though Oonak navigated expertly through the asteroids that surrounded the moon, the swarm was getting closer by the moment, and Zahn noticed that Oonak’s face looked strained as he evaded the oncoming fire.
“I love you, Asha. Be as safe as you can, and remember the Tulari. It is real, and judging from where they’re going, you now have a be
tter chance of finding it than I ever did. Keep a sharp eye, my daughter.”
“Dad! ” Asha was now on the verge of sobbing. “I don’t know if I can find it, but I will do my best. I promise!”
“I know, ” he said. “You are Ashakirta. You are fiercely compassionate. Always remember, when you align your heart with your mind, you are unstoppable. Goodbye my—”
Once again, her father’s voice drowned in static.
“I love you, Dad!”
Ahead, they could now see the familiar ring-shaped gate, hanging against the backdrop of stars like an ancient specter.
They were nearly surrounded on all sides now. Waves of plasma charges were so thick that Oonak’s maneuvers were no longer enough, and the ship was barraged with plasma. It reminded Zahn of the sound of thunderstorms that he would often fall asleep to back on Avani.
“Shield cohesion is at 55% and falling rapidly,” Oonak said. “Asha, that cloak would be most useful.”
Asha swallowed her emotions for the moment and entered in the final field calculations into the cloaking circuits.
“I think I got it!” she called out, and Navika blinked out of existence, at least to everyone except those inside.
The effect of this on the swarm of marauders was strange. After they ceased fire, they diffused in all directions.
“Good job, Asha. You just bought us some time, and very likely our lives.”
Zahn ran over and gave Asha a hug. Her eyes were still wet.
“Zahn,” Oonak called down to him after a few moments. “I’ve been doing some thinking about how these gates are arranged throughout the galaxy. From what we've seen, I’d hypothesize that this next jump will span a significant portion across this spiral arm. I’m transmitting that address now.” Oonak paused. “Interesting… I believe the marauders are trying to locate us with diffused energy waves.”
Oonak was right. In moments, a few of the marauders fired toward them again as the vortex grew in size.
Epic of Aravinda 1: The Truth Beyond the Sky Page 9
