The Agathon: Reign of Arturo (33 page)

Barrington looked over at Chavel who was punching the new data into his astrometric charts on his pad.

“This may take a few minutes, Captain,” Chavel said, clearly sensing Barrington was staring at him.

“Tell me something, Aron,” Barrington said, “have you come into contact with anything unusual along your travels?”

Boyett looked up.

“Unusual?” Aron said.

“Yes, any unusual planets or strange changes in any of the colonists,” Barrington said.

“My ship is limited by sub light speeds, so all I have been able to do is survey moons and mine them. Arturo sent me out on a few recon missions of planets that looked habitable, but they turned into wild goose chases and most worlds in the habitable zone are currently out of range of The Unity. We have not been able to reproduce the FTL ring capabilities of The Agathon, Captain, which is a damn shame to be honest. The war set us back a few generations, we’ve been picking ourselves up ever since,” Aron said.

Barrington shook his head. The thought of some sort of uprising gave him chills.

“Tell me something, Aron, do you have any records of what happened to the original crew of the space stations? What happened to Sienna Clarke?” he asked.

Barrington figured he may as well use this time to get a little more insight while Chavel was plotting courses. There was a moment of silence on the comms.

“Hard to say, John, most of those records were destroyed, but there are stories of something big. Some say the stations were about to be hit by an asteroid and the fear of not being able to do anything about it turned the crew against each other. There are stories of some leaving, trying to find a planet on their own. There’s even crazy stories of alien abduction. Truth is, we really don’t know. What I do know, is that right now, we are on the brink of being fucked,” Aron said.

“Understood,” Barrington replied looking at Chavel.

“Are the colonists healthy, Aron? What’s the general well-being of those still alive?” Meridian said suddenly.

“Apart from being used as lab rats, most are in good health. Food and energy are rationed, but the hydroponics work well on the stations. It’s one of the most heavily guarded sections and anyone who attempts to enter it without authorisation is shot on sight,” Aron said.

“I see,” Meridian said looking horrified.

“Got it, sir,” Chavel said, “according to these readings the stations are thirteen light years from our current position.”

“How long before you could mount a rescue, Captain?” Aron said.

Barrington looked at Chavel. He already knew the answer.

“Six months,” Barrington said.

There was silence on the comm system.

“Shit,” Aron said.

“Well, we have to do something,” said Meridian.

Barrington tried to think. He was delighted that at least they now had a fix on their position, not that it would do them much good, if what Elstone was telling them was true.

“Aron, I think it’s best right now if we discuss your tactical options. My crew is highly trained in tactical combat situations and I think the only thing we can do right now is help you with some sort of battle plan. We have discovered coordinates to a planet that may
be a link to everything that has happened, and if we are to find a new home world, we need to follow this lead,” Barrington said.

“We can’t just abandon them Captain!” Meridian said raising her voice enough to break the boundaries of polite conversation.

Barrington turned to her and frowned. He needed to have a little chat with her after this.

“Not now, Chase,” he snapped back at her.

She instantly recoiled into her seat and took a breath, nodding.

“Aron, we are going to figure this out, okay? You are not alone. Now everyone, listen up. I want you to tell me exactly what sort of weaponry is available to you and also what the combat capabilities of this Kandinsky ship are, and any other space faring vessels you have access to,” Barrington said looking at Boyett and Chavel and giving them a nod to pay attention.

“Okay, Captain, you have my undivided attention,” Aron said.

The briefing lasted over three hours. When it was over, Barrington bid Aron farewell and promised to check in with a member of Aron’s crew, a woman named India Walder, every two hours to keep apprised of updates. He dismissed his crew and ordered them back to their stations on the bridge, asking Meridian to stay behind for a talk. They sat opposite each other in the quiet conference room.

“Drink?” Barrington asked her.

“Constantly,” she replied smiling.

He opened up a small cabinet and took out an unopened bottle of whisky.

“Secret stash?” she asked.

“Only for special occasions,” he said smiling and pouring her a drink.

He took a sip and let the liquid warm his body.

“I’m sorry about Carrie,” Meridian said straight off the bat.

Barrington looked into his glass.

“She’s not dead, Chase,” he replied.

Meridian looked sympathetically towards him as if he was in denial.

“She’s not,” he asserted again, “I don’t know how I know, I just know. The readings of the explosion were strange. Boyett found some strange gravitational readings, like the ones the ship exhibits when the FTL ring is deployed at full rotation. I think Tyrell took her somewhere.”

“What?” Meridian said sitting up, “are you serious? Where? I want to see the readings from the explosion.”

“Of course I was hoping for your input in the matter, but I think we both needed a little time to process what was happening. Chase, we can’t do that again. I need you. The ship needs you. No matter what this fucked up galaxy throws at us, we have to be able to handle it. You need to learn to deal with it, Chase. I know this has hit you hard, but it’s time to move on and get back in the game with me,” he said.

He saw a tear form in her eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Carrie needs you too,” he said.

She took a shaky breath and tried to control the outburst that was coming. She nodded and finished what was left in her glass in one gulp. She blew a big breath out of her parted lips and looked at him smiling.

“You know myself and Kyle are married,” she said.

Barrington smiled sitting back in his chair.

“Everyone knows, Chase, it was the worst kept secret in the colony,” he said.

Her mouth opened in genuine shock.

“Well fuck!” she said.

They laughed together for the first time in months. It felt good.

23

The Void

C
arrie was slowly floating away from the glass dome. She had stepped off, not really knowing if she was ever going to be able to get back in. There was no tether. Jack had simply instructed her to let go. Tyrell and Jack were already free floating away from the domed space station. It looked like a glass mushroom from the outside. She was terrified. There was no way to get around it. Jack had assured her that the material she was now wearing could provide life support for her indefinitely. The strange black material was practically skin tight and felt like silk. Aside from the initial embarrassment of how the second skin made her look practically naked, she obeyed the alien and walked around getting used to the material. It really did feel like a second skin. She had free range of motion and even her fingertips felt like they were uncovered. There was a thin sheet of what looked like glass, but clearly was not, covering her face and head, which melded seamlessly into the rest of the suit. She had to admit, it was an incredible design. The interior of the cloth was warm, internally heated somehow. It felt like she was wearing a wet suit and going for a swim. Tyrell and Jack were both wearing similar space suits and were calmly floating straight out in front of her staring at her.

“Do not be afraid, Carrie, remain still,” Jack said in her ears. There was obviously a comm system built into the highly advanced suit somewhere, although Carrie could not figure out where any electrical components could have been.

She floated away and watched as the enormous planet rotated below. In the darkness above, the view of the distant galaxy against the pure black backdrop was breath-taking. Its spiralling arms filled with billions of stars streaked across the black sky as they expanded into nothingness. She looked to her left and screamed. Tyrell was suddenly beside her. Just floating there.

“Shit, Tyrell! You scared me, how the hell did you do that?” she said trying to calm her heart.

Tyrell smiled.

“Follow my instruction, Carrie, it is important that you pay attention or you will spin out of control and end up impaled on the shield,” Jack said.

Carrie looked at the clear glass shield that covered the entire planet. It looked like it was inside a bubble.

Astonishing technology
, she thought to herself.

“Now listen carefully, the suit you are wearing will respond to very specific thoughts and propel you in any direction using the micro thrusters in your hands and feet,” Jack said.

Carrie looked at the palms of her hands.

“Okay?” she said.

“Now I want you to clear your mind and think about moving slowly in my direction. You will be using your palm thrusters only, so place your arms gently behind you with your palms-”

Jack did not have time to finish his sentence because Carrie suddenly took off in the opposite direction. At speed. The force of the acceleration propelled Carrie upwards away from Tyrell and Jack and away from the planet.

“Shit!” she shouted as she flailed her arms and legs sending her into an uncontrollable spin. It had happened so fast that Carrie did not have time to think. She felt the effects of gravity take hold and
began to feel dizzy. She focused on her breathing and looked back at the planet trying to get a fixed point in space. She straightened out her arms and thought about gently slowing her rate of spin by trying to fire one of her palm thrusters in the opposite direction. She felt pressure in her left palm and suddenly jolted to a complete stop. She was still tumbling, but now only in one direction. She adjusted her hands and tried again. The rate of spin slowed. Her head was pounding as her vision began to return. She put her hands up to the thin glass covering her face and tried to regain her sense of balance. It was nauseating. In the distance she saw two figures approaching her. Tyrell and Jack effortlessly glided through the emptiness, like sea creatures in the depths of an ocean. Streams of white gas gently spewed from their hands and feet. She tried to focus her mind on staying in one place and let herself breathe normally. She had done some anti-gravity training back on Mars Colony One, but nothing like this. She had never felt so vulnerable. Jack and Tyrell were slowing down their thrusters, until they were right next to her.

“Are you undamaged?” Jack said in a calm voice.

His large eyes glistened in the light of the nearby star. He floated effortlessly and made small adjustments to his velocity with ease. She was surprised how easily Tyrell was handling himself with the strange space suit, but then remembered that it was The Black and not Tyrell who was controlling his body. She was in the presence of two aliens. The only human within a million light years was her. She suddenly felt backed into a corner.

“I’m fine, now what is it you want me to do?” she asked Jack.

“Retain your balance, Carrie, use your mind to make small adjustments and try and move around us slowly. Just concentrate. Breathe normally, and calmly use your hands and feet to move as if you were in the water,” said Jack.

Carrie closed her eyes and opened up her mind. She concentrated on the power beneath her and imagined herself gracefully moving. She felt a push from her feet as a light burst of white gas pushed her slowly upwards. She countered the force by placing the palms of
her hands facing downwards and gently releasing a light burst of the gas. She levelled out. It was not unlike the atmo suits that she had used, but with a distinct difference, in that she had never used her thoughts to control her movement.

“Good,” Jack said, “now circle around us. Remember to control your thoughts.”

Carrie closed her eyes and plotted her course. A simple circle around the pair of aliens in front of her. She tried to imagine her father’s face looking at her and smiling. He would probably have a heart attack if he could see her now. Then she remembered that he probably thought she was dead. She opened her eyes and concentrated. She had to get to the bottom of all this. She placed her hands by her side, and with a thought, she activated her thrusters. A gentle stream of gas propelled her sideways. She adjusted her hands and feet to direct her in a circular motion and glided effortlessly around the two.

“Good,” Jack said, “now I want to show you why you are here.”

The large alien suddenly changed his voice into a high pitched array of clicks and screeches. He sounded almost animal-like. He was clearly communicating with the race that inhabited the planet below. Jack and Tyrell looked towards the planet. Carrie’s eyes followed. A cluster of glowing spheres was traveling in their direction. They looked like they had just come from the surface of the planet. Carrie looked at Jack, confused. Looking back at the cluster of glowing balls of light, she saw that there were six of them.

“What’s this?” she said to Jack and Tyrell simultaneously.

“Carrie, the fabric you are wearing is designed to do much more than protect your body from harsh environment of open space. It can also focus and amplify energy,” Jack said, “it will allow you to use your focused electrical energy without the danger of perforating one of your rudimentary atmo suits, as you call them.”

Carrie looked back at the spheres. They were steadily making their way over to their position.

“Okay,” she said, “and you want me to do what?”

She was suddenly struck sharply on her right shoulder by something that felt like a pulse gun. It sent her spinning out of control and away from the rest of the group. She grabbed her arm thinking it was on fire. The pain was excruciating. The planet spun in circles as she tumbled through the darkness. The pain subsided and she looked at her arm. Not a scratch. Not even a burn hole. She tried to get her bearings to get a fix on what had just hit her. She adjusted the palms of her hands and gently controlled her rate of spin returning to a stable attitude. Directly in front of her the glowing spheres had split apart and were now in a semi-circle around her.