Exiles

By Dan Worth

Prologue

The flea-like form of the salvage vessel Mary-Lou moved awkwardly as its navigation systems attempted to match velocity and rotation with the gigantic tumbling derelict. Small thrusters clustered on her outer hull vented sporadically to align the small, boxy, yellow craft with the dark looming shadow of its intended mate. Velocities matched, the Mary-Lou began to move cautiously toward the derelict’s surface as spidery legs unfolded from their stowed positions beneath the belly of the salvage ship and magnetically clamped it in place against the pock-marked hull.

Now secured in place, a telescopic breaching umbilical extended from the Mary-Lou’s belly. Upon contact with the skin of the derelict’s hull the plasma cutting torches mounted upon the flat circular tip of the umbilical began to burn their way through the material. Its work complete, hydraulic rams forced the tube deeper into the newly cut wound, forcing a plug of hull composite ahead of it into the interior of the vessel. Once the umbilical was in place, thick sealant foam sprayed onto the join between the derelict’s hull and its newly mounted airlock from nozzles positioned on the Mary-Lou where it quickly hardened to form a secure and airtight seal.

The grimy interior of the Mary-Lou was even more cramped than usual. The ship’s hull, barely a hundred metres in length, was largely given over to the pair of oversized engines the ship required for towing larger vessels and debris, whilst the hold was filled with a bewildering assortment of heavy salvage gear. This left very little room for home comforts for its usual crew of four engineers and one pilot. In addition to its usual complement, its cramped confines now had to accommodate a team of four archaeologists along with all their equipment.

The academics and the bluff, blue collar engineers had at first regarded one another with a suspicion bordering upon hostility, but as the mission progressed the barrier between the two camps had lifted. This was partly as a result of working together and partly due to the fact that the small size of the Mary-Lou’s interior made it impossible to ignore anyone for long.

Archaeologists were an unusual addition to the small salvage craft’s complement, since her usual duties were generally concerned with towing stranded ships back to Arcturus and collecting potentially valuable debris or that which posed a hazard to shipping. This trip provided its crew with a little interest in what had been a dull period for some months now.

The hulk had originally been found a week earlier after it had drifted across the principal shipping lane between Barnard’s Star and Arcturus. A courier vessel, the Dragonfly, had been travelling between the two systems and had detected the drifting gravitational signature of the derelict with its hyperspace sensors. Thinking that they had stumbled upon a ship in distress, the craft had dropped out of its jump and had looped back toward the gently tumbling shape to see if they could offer any assistance to an obviously stricken vessel. However, upon approaching the wreck the Dragonfly found it to be lifeless, of an unknown type and carrying no recognised insignia.

The mysterious vessel consisted of a thousand metre long hull which tapered steadily to a point at both ends. At its mid-point however, it smoothly branched into four thick, roughly conical pylons which swept back along the vessel and which appeared to contain the ship’s weapons systems. At the base of each pylon, nestled against the main hull, were four fusion drives for powering the vessel through space. The vessel’s jump drive appeared to have been mounted inside the rear tapered section of the main hull, but this had been badly smashed and buckled by enormous force and the smooth, dark blue-grey, dully shining skin was blackened and contorted. Most unusual of all however was the vessel’s apparent age; a crude analysis provided by the Dragonfly’s instruments placed it at around a million years old.

The Dragonfly reported its remarkable find back to the Arcturus Shipping Authority within whose jurisdiction the wreck lay, marked it with a navigation buoy to enable the vessel to be located again, and then proceeded on its way. The ASA contacted the relevant government authorities on Earth who declared the find a Protected Archaeological Treasure pending further investigations and promptly got in touch with the Archaeology Department at Cambridge University. A small team departed the following day to investigate with the help of an ASA salvage crew aboard the Mary-Lou to conduct preliminary examinations of the wreck and tow it to a place of safety.

Doctor Katherine O’Reilly shifted uneasily inside her borrowed EVA suit. She tried to suppress the claustrophobia welling up inside her and ignore the stench of stale sweat assailing her nostrils from the suit’s well worn lining. Composed of multiple insulating layers and with the addition of protective light armour plates and life support systems, the suit was bulky and made it difficult to move, even with the addition of powered joints.

A hand rapped on the faceplate.

‘You ever worn one of these things before, love?’ said a voice muffled by the suit’s layers. It was Bob Freeman, the Mary-Lou’s chief engineer. His broad unshaven face peered through the glass.

‘Well, once before, but it was

‘You’ll have to turn your comm. on. I can’t hear you properly,’ he yelled.

‘Shit, sorry,’ she replied, fiddling for the button on her wrist band. ‘Sorry Chief. As I was saying, I’ve worn a suit once before but it was a bit more basic than this, just a fabric emergency one. It was quite a while ago too.’

‘Right well, this thing may look complicated but actually there’s nothing to worry about. It’s all automated and there’s powered joints to help your mobility. The armour plates will protect you from most bumps and scratches but just watch that the elbow and knee joints don’t catch on anything and mind your faceplate, alright? If you do break it, a metal shutter will come down immediately to seal you off from the vacuum. You’ll be able to see bugger all but someone will come and get you.’

Katherine shuddered inwardly; the claustrophobia of the suit was bad enough without the thought of being trapped in total darkness inside it to contend with.

‘Never mind, hardly ever happens,’ said Freeman and slapped her companionably on the shoulder pauldron. ‘I’ll just see to your boss and then you two can get going. Any problems you just yell for me on the radio, okay.’

Katherine nodded then looked over at figure of her senior colleague and friend, Professor Rekkid Cor. The Arkari looked distinctly uncomfortable in his suit: his slim humanoid frame was wrongly proportioned to fit comfortably into the human garment, but it was all that they could find and he had insisted on going on the expedition. He grimaced at Katherine as the Chief tightened the straps around his suit’s waist.

There was a voice in her ear mic.

‘Prof, Doc, this is Captain McKinley. We’ve secured the ship, breached the hull and sealed the airlock in place. There is an atmosphere inside but to be honest given the state of the wreck you should really keep your suits on and your visors down just in case as we can’t guarantee the integrity of the ship. Your two students have got all their gear hooked up to your suits’ telemetry transmissions. We’ll keep a close eye on you whilst you’re in there and if anything happens we’ll get you out as fast as possible.’

‘Thank you Captain,’ said Katherine and turned to her colleague. ‘Rekkid is your suit alright now?’

‘It’ll have to do, I doubt I’ll ever walk again after this little jaunt though,’ he replied irritably. ‘Mr Falkirk and Miss Okuda if you could keep an eye out on the data read-outs and video feeds for anything you think we’ve missed whilst we’re in there.’ He gestured toward the open hatch in the floor. ‘Well Katherine,’ he said. ‘Let’s get in there and have a look around’

Crawling through the umbilical in bulky suits proved difficult for the two novice users. It was also rather a disorientating experience, since the umbilical descended through the floor of the Mary-Lou leaving its artificial gravity field and emerged through the wall of a corridor inside the derelict.

Katherine and Rekkid descended the steps from the warmth and light of the Mary-Lou’s cabin then paused in the middle of the tube. They hung from grab handles in total weightlessness whilst the hatch behind them sealed shut and the one in front of them opened - a precaution to prevent any compromising of the Mary-Lou’s atmosphere. Katherine could see Rekkid fighting the urge to retch from the nauseating effects of sudden weightlessness. It was something which thankfully never bothered her, though free from the gravity field of the Mary-Lou she was uncomfortably aware of the dizzying effects caused by the odd tumbling motion of the two linked vessels. She spoke into the intercom.

‘Captain, it’s Doctor O’Reilly here, do you think you could use the Mary-Lou’s engines to stop us tumbling? It’s going to make it difficult to work otherwise; we’re not really used to this.’

‘Certainly, though it could take a while with a ship this size. Give us fifteen minutes?’

‘That’s fine,’ she replied.

‘Okay, firing engines. McKinley out.’

Katherine looked at Rekkid: his tawny skin had acquired a distinctly unhealthy tinge. Starting along the umbilical again she felt the metal vibrate as the Mary-Lou began its stabilising burn. Though struggling a little with the bulky suit, she reached the end of the umbilical ahead of Rekkid, worked the airlock door and helped to pull the struggling Arkari free of the tunnel exit. Floating over the circular composite plug cut free by the breaching operation they then magnetically attached their boots to the floor of the corridor. The rotation of the vessel was pronounced. Though noticeably lessened than before, it still made Katherine’s head swim. Rekkid was leaning drunkenly forward in his suit and, moaning softly into his intercom, she heard him contact the ship.

‘Okay we’re inside. No problems really, once this infernal tumbling stops.’ He said and groaned.

He switched on his suit lights and Katherine followed his example. The corridor was surprisingly mundane. It had an oblong cross section with curving corners, a floor coated in something akin to carpet and had grab handles and emergency bulkheads spaced at regular intervals along the walls. Everything was rimed with a fine layer of frost, which sparkled softly in the glare of the suit lights.

They had entered the vessel at a junction of three corridors which curved gradually away to their left and right and dove straight ahead toward the interior of the ship ahead of them. Katherine felt a twinge of disappointment.

‘I’d expected something a bit more, well alien I suppose’ she said to Rekkid. ‘Given some of the things we find on digs this is fairly normal looking.’

‘I’m sure,’ Rekkid began then swallowed carefully before continuing. ‘I’m sure we’ll find something of interest, just remember how old this vessel is supposed to be.’

‘Are we sure about that though, just how accurate was the survey made by the Dragonfly?’ said Katherine. ‘Could this be just a recently constructed vessel, a one off custom or experimental model maybe that ran into trouble and that’s why no-one recognised it? It certainly might explain the destruction of its jump engines if it was a new and untested design.’

‘You have a point there Katherine,’ said Rekkid. He appeared to be pondering something for a moment then stamped off awkwardly down the darkened corridor ahead of them. He stopped by a door and began brushing at the frost on the wall with his gauntlet. ‘Have a look at this though,’ he said, pointing at the wall.

Katherine set her suit’s boot clamps to ‘walk’ and set off down the corridor towards Rekkid. Upon reaching his position she saw what he was pointing at: a printed wall sign, presumably denoting the function or the occupant of the room behind the door next to which it was placed. The characters were small and regular, composed of combinations of circles and a few short vertical and horizontal lines. They were utterly indecipherable.

‘I don’t recognise the characters Rekkid,’ she said, puzzled.

‘Me neither. Which considering my experience of languages is quite unusual. It is what I teach after all.’

‘I suggest we try and date the wreck again. Let’s use some of those instruments we fitted to the Mary-Lou’s manipulator arms before we set off.’ Katherine suggested. ‘We can get a sample of the hull and we can also see if we can get some organic matter from inside the ship.’

‘I agree,’ replied Rekkid. He spoke to the ship. ‘Could we scrape a sample from the surface of the hull and date it please? I want to verify the Dragonfly’s results. I and Doctor O’Reilly are going to try and find some organic samples inside the ship and date them with the instruments we have with us. Maybe some of the crew are still aboard, or perhaps we can find a food locker or something.’

‘Mike’s deploying the cutting tools now,’ said Kim Okuda, one of the post-graduate students. ‘Also, we found something ourselves that might help you. We started deep scanning the vessel using the sensors on the Mary-Lou. We found a large compartment in the forward section of the vessel that appears to have been sealed off. We suspect that this might be the ship’s bridge. If there are any bodies it’s a good place to start looking.’

‘Why is it sealed off?’ said Rekkid.

‘We don’t know. The engineers reckon that if the ship is anything like our own the emergency systems on board would have sealed the ship around the hull breach automatically. Presumably the crew didn’t trust them to work a second time if they’d lost power so they isolated themselves. Better to be safe than sorry. There are actually two sealed doors between the bridge and the rest of the ship. They seem to have created a makeshift airlock for themselves.’

‘How can we get through them?’

There was some background murmuring over the intercom.

‘The Chief reckons the cutting gear on your suits should be enough. Failing that, see if there are any working manual overrides you can use.’

‘Manual overrides?’

‘Well, a handle.’

Katherine snorted with amusement. ‘How far is it to the bridge?’ she said.

‘Not far,’ replied Kim. ‘About three hundred metres. I’m downloading the schematic of the ship we’ve created so far and the location of the bridge with the quickest route to it. Follow the arrow on your helmet display and you can’t go wrong. If you encounter any obstacles we didn’t tell you about let us know, we’ll try and work out an alternative route.’

‘Thanks Kim nice job. We’ll get in touch again in a few minutes, Katherine out,’ she replied and cut her mic.

The ship had now stopped rotating and Rekkid appeared to be coping better with the effects of weightlessness. They made good progress through the corridors of the deserted vessel following the guidance provided by Kim. The chill and darkness, save for the cones of their suit lights, gave the dead vessel a distinctly crypt like quality.

Katherine found her primitive instincts kicking in, she began to jump at shadows and found that her imagination was populating every dark corner with nameless lurking horrors, none of which materialised. The ship was empty of anything living save herself and Rekkid, and it was strangely barren, as though every cabin had been stripped of its contents.

After several minutes of stamping through the dark, and leaving large, oval prints in the frost, they arrived at the first sealed bulkhead. There was indeed a manual override, a crank handle set into the wall at the side of the door frame. It looked worn and well used. Closer inspection, however, revealed it to be frozen in place. Rekkid set his cutting torch to its lowest setting and fired it around the gears to melt the ice. He then gave the handle a tug, it turned.

After several minutes of strenuous effort with the handle, the door was opened wide enough for them to squeeze through. They now found themselves in a short corridor with another bulkhead door in front of them. The intercom crackled into life, the sound distorted slightly by their depth inside the wreck. It was Mike Falkirk, the other post graduate student.

‘I’ve analysed the sample we scraped from the hull skin,’ he reported. ‘No doubt about it, the Dragonfly’s estimate was right on the money. This ship is a million years old, give or take a few millennia. Personally I’d feel happier about my results if we had an organic sample to compare them with since I’m not too sure about the exact composition of the ship’s hull. The spectroscopic analysis I carried out has found some exotic metals I’ve yet to identify. Have you found anything yet?’

‘Not yet,’ replied Rekkid. ‘We’re approaching the bridge area now as you can see. The rest of the ship is oddly empty. There’s nothing left to analyse. Hopefully we’ll find something behind this door. Good work by the way. Rekkid out.’

Once again they heated the door winch with their cutting torches and this time Katherine wound it around to edge the door open. They moved inside and there they found all the organic samples they could want. The room did indeed appear to be the bridge, and it contained a number of mummified corpses, desiccated by the cold, sterile environment. They were humanoid, with delicate curving features, elongated heads that possessed small crests along their centreline and large forward facing eyes. Some were slumped in chairs, held in place by retaining straps. Some floated in mid air at odd angles in the weightless conditions. A number of them faced the door, their sunken sockets staring at the intruders.

‘Oh m-my God,’ Katherine stuttered. ‘Rekkid they look just like you, they’re Arkari. But that’s impossible; this ship is far too old. I mean, your species is much more advanced than ours, but you’ve only had interstellar craft for what, fifty thousand years? This ship is a million years old,’ she looked at Rekkid. His face was pale.

‘Maybe, maybe our earlier results were incorrect. Let’s take a sample from this chap here in the chair,’ said Rekkid and reached over to the figure slumped in what appeared to be the command position in the centre of the bridge. He took a scalpel from his belt and fumbled with it. ‘Sorry, Katherine can you do this? It’s a bit awkward for my seven fingered hands to do this in a five fingered glove.’

She took the scalpel from him and pared a layer of keratin from the corpse’s head crest then placed it in the portable analyser she carried. It whirred for a moment as it examined the sample’s chemical and genetic composition, then displayed a table of information. Katherine stared at the results, so did Rekkid. Three lines of data in particular caught their eye:

Sample type: Organic

Cellular match: Crest keratin, Arkari male.

Age estimate: 1,000,000 years (standard) +- 1,000

Rekkid hurriedly contacted the ship. He jabbered excitedly. ‘This is Rekkid to the Mary-Lou. You really aren’t going to believe this. This ship is of Arkari origin, and it’s a million years old! We verified the date with an organic sample we took from one of the dead crew in the bridge, who are all undoubtedly Arkari. This is absolutely unbelievable! Get a message back to the university and to the Shipping Authority at once. We have to preserve this find and tow it back to base so we can fully investigate it.’

Katherine was looking at the corpse of the ship’s captain, if that’s who he was. She noticed that his dead hands were tightly gripped around a portable electronic device of some kind, roughly the size of her analyser. Gingerly she moved the withered hands aside and picked it up.

What appeared to be a miniature microphone was set into the device as well as a series of buttons. The surface was printed with a number of brightly coloured symbols in the same indecipherable script which they had encountered throughout the ship.

‘He certainly wanted to hang on to that,’ commented Rekkid, ‘I wonder what it is?’

‘I think it could be the captain’s log,’ said Katherine. ‘It’s seems to be some sort of recording device anyway: he must have wanted someone to know what happened to his vessel. If I’m correct this could answer all our questions, providing we can access it.’

Captain McKinley cut in over the comm. ‘Guys, sorry to butt in like this but we have a problem. We have some visitors and they mean business. They wanted to speak to me initially, but since the Prof. is in charge of the expedition I referred them to you two.’

Two images flashed onto the helmet displays of Katherine and Rekkid. One showed the view from the external cameras on the Mary-Lou. The star field was blotted out by the shimmering bulk of an Arkari naval destroyer. Its massive manta ray shape dwarfed even the huge wreck they were currently exploring, titanic wings beat lazily in the void as it held station.

The other image was from the destroyer’s bridge, it showed a stern, aged Arkari dressed in the standard high collared naval uniform who introduced himself in heavily accented English.

‘This War Marshal Mentith of the Arkari Navy destroyer Shining Glory. You are ordered to vacate the wreck you are currently plundering immediately. We will not tolerate piracy. I repeat, you are ordered to vacate the wreck immediately. If you do not comply your ship will be boarded and seized and you will all be placed in custody.’

Rekkid replied angrily: ‘This is Professor Rekkid Cor of the Archaeology Department of Cambridge University, Earth. We are on a Commonwealth Government funded archaeological mission to investigate this ancient relic. You have no right to speak to me in that tone War Marshal and this is Commonwealth space. You have no jurisdiction here.’

‘The “ancient wreck” you mention is nothing of the kind,’ came the curt reply. ‘You are currently plundering an experimental vessel belonging to the Arkari Navy. She was lost on engine trials several days ago. You may find yourself on charges pertaining to breaches of military security Professor Cor, if you do not comply with our demands. I might add that we also have warrants for the arrest of yourself, Doctor O’Reilly and the crew of the Mary-Lou from the Commonwealth authorities should you attempt to defy us,’ he transmitted the image of a signed arrest warrant over the link. ‘You have fifteen minutes to vacate the wreck and undock.’ He snapped. ‘Mentith out.’

Rekkid turned to Katherine. ‘This is a load of crap, but I don’t see that we have much choice,’ he said angrily. ‘The only thing we can do right now is to comply with them and then lodge a complaint. We can’t outrun that destroyer. But there’s something very odd going here and I’d love to know what.’

‘No kidding, this isn’t an experimental vessel. It’s barely more sophisticated than current human craft and we can’t dispute the age of the thing or its crew. I hate having to leave her, this is a fascinating find.’

‘I strongly suspect it’s far more fascinating than either of us realise, given the response its discovery has elicited from our governments. I suspect that your own changed its tune at the behest of mine and I would dearly like to know why they’re trying to cover up this vessel’s existence. I don’t think we really have a choice though. I don’t know about you but I don’t fancy being dragged off to face some trumped up piracy charges.’

Katherine nodded sadly inside her suit.

They had a last despondent look at the bridge and its occupants and trudged sullenly back to the ship, retracing their trail of dark boot prints through the silent bowels of the ship to the docking umbilical that had invaded its interior. Once the two archaeologists were back on board the Mary-Lou, she undocked from the umbilical, leaving the shiny metal tube plugged into the wreck’s hull. The salvage vessel retreated to a safe distance whilst the Shining Glory swooped in raptor-like and snatched the wreck.

Katherine and Rekkid changed out of their suits and arrived on the Mary-Lou’s bridge just in time to see the massive Arkari vessel come about. The view twisted impossibly as the Glory jumped: the distortions caused by the vessel’s jump drive resembling a pool reflecting the night sky that had suddenly had a large smooth rock dropped into its centre. Human brains were incapable of fully interpreting the multidimensional space folding that was taking place.

Rekkid swore loudly and thumped the bulkhead. He looked at Katherine: she was grinning insanely.

‘What are you so happy about?’ he snapped. ‘We just saw the find of a lifetime disappear from in front of us in the clutches of those morons.’

She held up the captain’s log she had taken from the wreck. Rekkid grinned back.

Chapter 1

Hurrying through the gas-lit gloom of the backstreets towards the brightly lit corporate hub around the spaceport, Steven Harris tripped and fell, grazing a hand on the slimy cobblestones and spilling the contents of his pack into the muck. Cursing, he gathered up the sheaves of paper and wallets filled with data wafers then paused to see what had caused him to lose his footing.

Half hidden beneath a drift of un-collected rubbish, the pitiful form of a Vendiri, a native inhabitant of the planet Urranakar, lay sprawled, its toad-like features slack and pallid. One long, scaled arm was outstretched, four webbed fingers contorted as though grasping at something invisible. Steven guessed it was this that he had fallen over. He looked closer. The poor creature looked quite dead. Lifeless milky eyes gazed back at him, rheumed with fluid. Another victim of Pollen addiction that had crawled here to die.

A lone steam whistle pierced the night from the direction of the marshalling yards on the edge of town, its sound plaintive in the unnaturally quiet city night. The Vendiri spasmed, causing Steven to move back with a start. The outstretched arm began to thrash about, clutching at things that only it could perceive. Not dead then, not yet. There was nothing he could do for the creature. Its mind destroyed by the drug, its eventual ignominious death was only a matter of hours, maybe minutes. Sadly he turned away and trudged onwards between tumble-down brick built dwellings that stank of disease and decay, of the unburied dead and the endless piles of rubbish that heaped against their damp, crumbling walls.

He couldn’t help these people one at a time, but the contents of the bag he carried could save this world.

Guran was the former capital of the nation state that had held sway over much of the northern continent of Urranakar. It was here that the interlopers from other worlds had made their home. The demarcation line between the old town and the new could not be more clearly marked. Dingy, cobbled streets gave way to smooth, brightly lit, broad concreted boulevards and tall gleaming corporate buildings that sprang from the ground like shards of glass. Here, Commonwealth money had made an outpost for itself on this world as the mining and trading companies had moved in and set up shop. Now the division between the old and new capitals of Guran was even more clearly marked: by barricades manned by corporate security packing the latest hardware. As Steven approached the boundary between the two worlds, a dozen armoured forms regarded him with nervous expressions then, after checking his ID, waved him through. They weren’t interested in him, humans weren’t a threat. It was the angry locals that they were worried about. A disorganised mob from the countryside had become organised, had gained leaders and tactics and had become an army. Before long an angry populace armed with whatever they could lay their hands on, including off-world weaponry, would descend upon the cities and would come charging through these streets, hell bent on revenge and against such numbers, even these hired guns would stand little chance. Weight of numbers would see to that.

Steven hurried on.

The planet of Urranakar had been a typical corporate world. Its native inhabitants were the Vendiri, a race of bipedal amphibians with squat newt-like bodies. An industrious and largely peaceful people, they had reached a level of early industrialisation and had established a global civilisation consisting of numerous nation states and a variety of developed political systems. The Vendiri had achieved much in science, the arts and philosophy and were entering what many of their greatest thinkers began to see as a new golden age of progress. Then a Commonwealth survey vessel had appeared in their skies.

The arrival of an alien ship was an immense shock to the Vendiri. Though their knowledge of astronomy was advancing rapidly, they had not seriously contemplated the possibility of life on other planets or indeed the existence of planets beyond their own solar system. Nevertheless, they welcomed their strange visitors and eagerly agreed to trading relations and cultural exchange. The Commonwealth would supply knowledge of hitherto unimaginable technology in exchange for supplies of natural resources from the Vendiri.

The deal began to turn sour for the unfortunate Vendiri within a few short years. The principal company trading on the planet, Khonsari Mining, began to demand greater and greater tonnages of raw materials in exchange for its goods, money and scientific wealth which it gave up grudgingly to the Vendiri. Since the company now had its claws buried into significant chunks of the planet’s economy and was larger than any of its nation states in terms of money and resources, the Vendiri could do little but comply as their natural resources were strip mined for little return.

Slowly but surely, the company was turning itself into the sole ruler of Urranakar. They controlled the economy, they manipulated governments to their whim, they bled the planet dry and worked its people into the ground unchecked and unnoticed by the very Commonwealth that claimed to be the bastion of free and fair commerce. Fifty years after they had first arrived, Khonsari had crushed the civilisation of the Vendiri underfoot in their pursuit of profit. Their next course of action was to prove even more disastrous, for all concerned.

Khonsari Mining had experienced severe financial losses during the previous decade and until now had been successful in hiding much of it from the outside world through devious accounting and financial reports that amounted to outright lies. It was thought that these losses had largely been due to poor management and a well publicised case of fraud, but the board had answered evasively when questioned by government financial investigators as to what was happening on Urranakar, where the company based a sizeable portion of its operations. Steven Harris, a decorated Commonwealth Intelligence Bureau agent of some experience within the outer colonies, had been dispatched by the CIB to investigate the situation on the planet and report his findings in order to lay the ground-work prior to a full scale government investigation. He was also given a full search warrant covering all Khonsari property in the system should he need it.

Posing as an independent trader, Steven had arrived on the planet three weeks earlier. He had commandeered a Mercury class courier vessel Little Devil from the CIB’s own fleet. It was a small but powerful craft with a sleek rounded hull and high rated jump drive with four powerful fusion engines mounted in bulky tapering pods on either side of the hull. He had filled its hull with a variety of luxury items and trinkets and had the interior refurbished. The ship had to resemble the second home into which traders generally turned their craft, spending months or even years at a time plying the trade lanes that formed the backbone of the Commonwealth. He would slip in unnoticed and observe before making his presence known to Khonsari, not wanting to risk the possibility of them having a chance to conceal anything from him.

Upon landing at the virtually deserted spaceport Steven had wondered why he had been dispatched at all as it was blindingly obvious to anyone what had happened. The urban centres of the planet were falling into a state of civil disorder. Urranakar was in a state of virtually planet wide insurrection against Khonsari. The company had, illegally, brought in its own mercenaries to quell the revolt, but this had only inflamed the situation still further. In the face of full scale war, company operations had now retreated to enclaves around the principal urban centres which even now were being besieged by armies of Vendiri who had turned the weapons of their self appointed colonial rulers against them.

It didn’t take Steven long before he discovered what the root cause of the revolt was. Hanging around in one of the spaceport bars he got talking to the only other customers: two genuine independent traders, joint owners of a clipper who had been ignorant of the situation on the planet and who were cutting their losses and moving on to another system.

It seemed that on top of its other misdemeanours, Khonsari had found an additional source of revenue on Urranakar. It had begun drug running. They had discovered almost by accident that a plant known as Dorundi Pollen from the moon Orinoco in the Achernar system was highly addictive to the Vendiri, especially when inhaled. It produced an intense high and pleasant hallucinations and it began to sell incredibly well, particularly among the younger generation who took to it as the latest off-world fashion The trouble started however when the Vendiri discovered just how addictive it was and furthermore that it had almost universally fatal side effects.

The drug adversely affected the Vendiri brain chemistry, preventing the neurones from communicating with one another, thus producing a condition not dissimilar to the human condition known as Alzheimer’s disease. For a population already incensed by the wholesale pillaging of their world this proved too much.

The traders warned Steven not to leave the safety of the port. Even though Khonsari still officially held the capital, any human was a great risk walking the streets unescorted, especially at night. He booked himself into a hotel in Guran in the corporate zone and used it as a base whilst he collected information.

On his first night on the planet, Steven made a cursory tour around the capital which revealed everything the traders had told him in the bar to be true. The streets were awash with stoned and mentally crippled Vendiri who nevertheless were still queuing up to purchase more of the Pollen from Khonsari owned outlets; such was the severity of their addiction. They were hollow shells, amnesiac zombies who drooled and soiled themselves or raved incoherently. Much of the town’s infrastructure had collapsed completely, rubbish lay in piles on the humid, rain soaked streets, law and order were virtually non-existent and there seemed to be no concerted effort to help or treat those affected by the drug. Half-sensible Vendiri brawled in alleyways for each others’ fixes or waylaid one another for something, anything they could sell for more of the Pollen. The stinking bodies of the dead lay unburied in the gutters, where packs of local vermin grown fat on the glut of food stripped the flesh from their bones without hindrance.

Steven was sickened by the sight. He spent the next few weeks documenting as much as he could about the situation on the planet to provide ample evidence for the prosecution of Khonsari. He amassed a sizeable dossier of photographic and documentary evidence, as well as recordings he had made covertly of discussions with Khonsari employees. Few of them seemed to care about the fate of the Vendiri. They were mostly concerned with the large bonuses that they had been promised, and were now about to lose, as well as their flashy lifestyles as de facto colonial masters of an entire world. Those who did object were generally afraid to speak out for fear of losing their positions.

He learned something else too - that the Company was amassing a large mercenary force to retake areas of the planet they had lost. The fleet of decommissioned Navy vessels would be arriving from the border worlds within a week, whereupon they would offload the force of mercs that Khonsari had trawled from the more nefarious reaches of the border worlds, armed with the latest weapons and equipment that the company had quietly purchased to deal with the revolt. They would be offloaded via the transfer station that Khonsari had built in orbit above Urranakar: Highpoint. The station was a large and luxurious ring habitat that served as the principal trading gateway in the system as well as acting as Khonsari’s local headquarters. Within its toroidal hull, the company’s executives decided the fate of their subjects below with absolute impunity.

Two days previously, whilst Steven was preparing his findings for submission, the resistance seized Highpoint. Realising that they couldn’t destroy the station without inflicting massive casualties on themselves and their fellow Vendiri in the station, they had turned to passive resistance to block the flow of goods through the station. Hopefully such an action would attract enough attention to their plight as well as stopping the delivery of the Pollen. Khonsari officials fled the facility in emergency escape pods, and plotted their next move in secret.

Steven was well aware of the hard line attitudes that now prevailed in government. They placed the economic interests of the Commonwealth above all else as a matter of course. In the period of rebuilding since the war with the K’Soth, the government had been far more lenient with regard to monitoring the practices of the corporations if it meant greater revenue, and hence greater prosperity.

Fifty years previously, the war had caused immense damage to the economic heart of the Commonwealth as K’Soth war fleets had roamed virtually unopposed into the very core of human space until at the last they had been turned back by the timely intervention of the Arkari. Cities, even whole planetary surfaces, had been devastated. The Commonwealth Navy had been reduced almost to the last ship and countless numbers of trading vessels had been caught up in the fighting and destroyed. The cost in lives was still unknown. Human losses alone were conservatively placed in the tens of millions

The emphasis since the war had been on rebuilding, regeneration and rearming, all of which required vast resources and capital if the continued threat from that belligerent species was to be countered. The vast military-industrial complex of the Commonwealth looked to the Human colonies and to the Commonwealth’s alien trading partners for revenue. This was fine for some. Advanced space-faring races such as the Xeelin and the Hyrdians who held sway over several dozen systems in their own right, were considered as allies against the K’Soth. They actually benefited from this boost in trade and also from the revitalisation of the Commonwealth Navy who once more patrolled the shipping lanes allowing traders of all races to go about their business in safety.

However in the case of the less advanced and more easily exploitable species the partnership was far more unequal. They were now treated less like trading partners, and more like colonial possessions as unfettered capitalism worked unchecked to exploit them.

Nevertheless, even most rabid free market economist could hardly condone the actions that Khonsari were about to undertake, and indeed had undertaken on Urranakar. Khonsari’s actions had resulted in the loss of the planet to Commonwealth interests and on top of the devastation of the populace were about to result in a further bloodbath. Steven grimly reminded himself that a number of key politicians in government were Khonsari shareholders or had other dealings with the company, but even they would likely distance themselves once its actions were made public. In the meantime he needed to prevent Khonsari from ordering the storming of the orbital station.

Steven reached the spaceport, now largely deserted save for a skeleton staff and corporate security personnel. He passed through security and made his way via the automated train system to the pad where his ship lay berthed. Disembarking he stepped back out into cool night air and stood before its sleek white form that shone dully in the double moonlight. Looking up at the clearing sky he spotted the bright, artificial star of Highpoint Station as it climbed rapidly in the night sky. A cluster of other pinpricks were just visible at the edge of vision, freighters that lay at anchor in its gravitational wake. One in particular shone brighter than the others. The warship he had requested to blockade the station had arrived. Moments later, the Little Devil left the pad at Guran spaceport and rose to meet the cluster of man-made stars.

Two hours later and Steven’s plan had been turned on its head. Outside the cockpit windows of the Little Devil, Highpoint Station spun lazily above the blue-green of Urranakar, its five kilometre diameter dwarfing the ships that moved about its vast glittering form. One in particular was much larger than the others; the slab-sided, armoured form of a Commonwealth warship.

Steven watched in despair as the standoff between the destroyer Mark Antony and the protestors aboard the station intensified. Instead of defending the station as he had hoped, her captain had taken the belligerent view that the Vendiri must stand down and allow the port to re-open. The Vendiri had immediately viewed the arrival of the warship as proof that the Commonwealth had come to suppress their revolution with overwhelming force and could not be convinced otherwise. Neither seemed prepared to give ground. Moreover, the captain of the vessel was not returning his calls any more after a heated exchange between them when he had first arrived.

Steven cursed his luck. Of all the starship captains in the Commonwealth Navy, they had to send her. Michelle Chen: the woman he had once been engaged to, back when he was younger and more foolish. She was one to bear a grudge alright. Ten years on and her manner told him without a doubt that she still hadn’t forgiven him for calling it off.

The Mark Antony was a fearsome ship. She was a Titan class destroyer, constructed according to the post-war doctrine that all naval vessels should able to engage forces of numerical superiority to counter the vast fleets that the K’Soth possessed. She had a crew of two hundred and fifty and was almost half a kilometre long. The flattened wedge of her nose was pitted with torpedo tubes and manoeuvring thrusters. A bulky armoured midsection comprised the bridge, fire control, navigation and accommodation, and at the rear a large boxy structure contained the fusion engines and jump drive. Stretching between the midsection and the nose to the front and the engines to the back were the gun decks, long flat plains of metal upon which were placed the ship’s main armaments - laser cannons, missile batteries and particle beam cannons mounted in flattened domed cupolas. In addition, the surface of the destroyer was studded with numerous small rapid firing laser turrets that were designed to engage small fighters and incoming projectiles at close range. The ship also carried an enormous cutting beam for slicing the hulls of enemy vessels at close quarters. It was slung below the ship at the apex of two triangular keels that projected downward from the midsection until they joined at the tip and formed the outer walls of the shuttle bay.

Now the Mark Antony held station two kilometres from the occupied station. As a display of naked power it was impressive, but its presence was not conducive to reasonable negotiation.

Captain Michelle Chen sat in her chair on the Mark Antony’s bridge and stared balefully at the cartwheel shape of Highpoint Station as it sparkled in the sunlight. The habitation ring was clearly visible as a halo of blues, greens and shining metal rotating about a central hub that contained the docking ports where the bulk of the protestors had assembled in order to shut down the station to trade. Her HUD monocle overlaid a pattern of data that appeared from her perspective to float in front of the bridge windows, highlighting the station and other vessels for her with identity tags and velocity data.

She hadn’t the patience for negotiations such as this and she was painfully aware that the standoff was being witnessed by a scattering of other vessels, most of whom were impatiently awaiting the station to be cleared so that they could dock. She resented having an audience. Chen turned to her communications officer.

‘Ensign, put me through to the station again.’

‘Yes Captain.’

‘I want to try and impress on that rabble the severity of their current situation.’

An image from inside the station seemed to spring into the space in front of her. It was of course an illusion, a virtual projection facilitated by the HUD monocle she wore. It showed a youthful Vendiri amid a crowd of others, who were chanting, singing and waving a number of gaudy banners, though despite the reports she had received of armed insurrection on the planet’s surface they appeared to be unarmed. The view was shaky, as if the camera was being held up by hand and its user jostled by the press of bodies. An icon appeared in the top right hand corner of the display window indicating that a translation program was in operation.

‘This is Captain Michelle Chen of the Commonwealth ship Mark Antony,’ she snapped. ‘I say again, you have illegally seized property belonging to the Khonsari Mining Company. If you do not surrender Highpoint Station willingly we will be forced to retake it via force. I have two shuttles full of marines fuelled and ready; do not force me to deploy them.’

‘I’m sorry Captain, but we can do no such thing,’ the Vendiri shot back, his lips moving out of sync with the speech that came from the comm. unit as the translation program did its work. ‘We have taken this action in order to protect our civilisation from further damage. Khonsari has pillaged our planet and poisoned our people. Now we hear of an army of hired thugs that has been sent to oppress us. Surely you must agree that their actions are unacceptable even by your standards.’

‘Duly noted, investigations are already underway. But you must vacate the station and allow traffic to pass freely to and from this facility.’

‘No, not until we get clear guarantees that no further troops will be deployed and we see you do something about those criminals and put a stop to all deliveries of the Pollen.’

The image clicked off. Chen swore under her breath.

‘Captain there’s a radio message for you,’ said the comms officer. ‘It’s Agent Harris again.’

‘Tell him to go to hell, that’s the sixth time he’s tried to contact us since our last conversation. I’m not putting up with his abuse again.’

‘He apologises Captain. He says he has to speak with you. He says it’s important’

‘Very well, put him through,’ she replied with annoyance. Chen could see Harris’s vessel to the extreme left of her view from the bridge. She shot it an angry glance. His face appeared on her display.

‘Agent Harris, I do hope you’ve calmed down now,’ she sneered. ‘After fifteen years I had hoped we could have a civilised conversation. I don’t take kindly to being called a

what was it

a “mindless drone” in front of my crew.’

‘Look Michelle

’

‘I prefer Captain Chen, Agent Harris’

‘Captain, you have to hear me out. I’ve been down on the planet and it’s a real mess down there. Khonsari’s actions have destroyed these people and their society; they’ve been putting down the rebellion with mercenaries for God’s sake! Can’t you at least hear the protestors out, or give them some sort of guarantee that none of the ships en route will be allowed anywhere near the planet.’

But she wasn’t listening.

‘If the population of Urranakar had a problem they should have lodged it with the relevant government authorities. The Commonwealth does not condone acts of terrorism.’ said Chen glibly.

‘Terrorism? Please. These people are desperate and acting in self defence against an overwhelming aggressor. I called you here in the hope that further bloodshed could be avoided, but I see you’re as blindly militaristic as ever. Heaven forefend that you should ever think for yourself.’

‘Sarcasm will get you nowhere Agent Harris. Khonsari will be dealt with via the proper legal channels and in the mean time I intend to retake Highpoint Station one way or another. The Commonwealth will not tolerate insurrections of this nature that threaten its interests or those of its allies. We have already received additional intelligence reports to your own that suggest that the Vendiri have been assisted by alien powers hostile to the Commonwealth. Chen out.’

Steven swore and switched off the comm. She wasn’t going to back down, maybe he should contact the protestors and warn them in case they hadn’t realised it yet. He fiddled with the comm.’s controls and aimed a tight beam transmission at the station. A Vendiri appeared on the screen, the same one who had just been talking with Chen.

‘Can I help you?’ he said.

‘My name is Steven Harris. I’m a Commonwealth intelligence agent.’

‘A spy?’

‘Yes, since you put it like that,’ he saw the Vendiri’s expression darken and tried to allay his fear. ‘Please, you have to hear me out. I’ve been down on your planet; I’ve seen the conditions down there. Despite whom I work for I agree with your cause, but you have to leave the station. I know Captain Chen rather well and she isn’t bluffing. She will use force to retake the station. Some of you could die.’

‘Agent ah

Harris. I do not fear that possibility. Those of us who die or who are imprisoned shall become martyrs to our cause. Do you know nothing of your own history, of what happened when oppressive rulers attempted to quell uprisings with the use of violence?’ Steven nodded. ‘I am well educated and I have taken time to study something of human culture in order to know my enemy. Let me draw an analogy: killing revolutionaries is like fighting the Hydra of Greek myth. You cut off one head and two will sprout to take its place. Captain Chen cannot win this day whatever she decides to do if we hold firm. Even if Khonsari succeed in landing their troops here we will deal with them one way or another eventually. I appreciate your concern Agent Harris, but do not worry about us,’ the Vendiri ended the call. The comm. immediately sprang into life again, it was Chen.

‘We just monitored you making a tight beam transmission to the station. How dare you attempt to intervene in this situation and attempt to override me! I am in command here! I would have thought that you were in enough trouble already Agent Harris, but it seems you just don’t know when to stop do you?’

‘I was trying to bring this situation to a peaceful resolution, before you send your attack dogs in Captain. Harris out.’

‘How dare you

’

Steven cut the link. He glanced idly at one of the monitors on the console that was displaying a zoomed in image of the station hub. Something was moving on its surface, a Vendiri figure in a spacesuit, lugging a large object.

Mittu Voreethi-Chal struggled across the surface of the docking hub, the package strapped across the back of his suit making his movements difficult as he tried to suppress the grief that was clouding his vision with tears. He had to do this right. He’d only get one chance to show those alien bastards what he thought of them.

The truth was that he hadn’t always hated the Humans. They’d given him a good job in the docks at Highpoint, working to load and unload the cargo vessels that came and went almost constantly and they paid well. When the Pollen had arrived he’d thought nothing of it: another stupid craze amongst young Vendiri who should know better. He continued to unload it from the incoming freighters like any other cargo, until the effects of the Pollen became apparent and he began to feel a little uneasy about handing the stuff.

It was the deaths of two of his brood siblings from the Pollen that shattered Mittu’s world. His two sisters had been reduced to drooling mental cripples before they died, and Mittu felt responsible. After all, he had helped to ship the stuff down to the planet so that they could buy it.

When the resistance reached his province he gladly joined. He wanted to make amends and hit back at the Commonwealth. He wanted blood, human blood. Two week later, when the plan to seize Highpoint was hatched he eagerly participated. The other resistance members gladly let him come: as a former employee at the station he was able to provide them with an accurate layout and a plan for seizing it quickly. However Mittu had his own agenda.

His experience at the docks meant that he knew when and where various cargoes would arrive and where they would be stored before distribution to the planet below. Furthermore, he knew where within the station the secure cargo holds were located that were used for storing shipments of weapons, demolition explosives and other hazardous items. The confusion caused by the attempted seizure of the facility had allowed him to steal a particularly deadly model of armour piercing missile, such as the mercenaries had been using against entrenched Vendiri positions, and conceal it in a little used storage compartment. All Mittu needed now was a suitable target to use it on.

When the Mark Antony arrived he thought he had hit the jackpot. The enormous vessel was parked a mere two kilometres from the station and its shields were inactive. Mittu had grown used to starship technology during his time working the Highpoint docks. He noticed that the light blue haze that should have surrounded the vessel was absent. Mittu guessed that the defence turrets might be off-line too as they all appeared to be locked into the stowed position. The destroyer’s captain was obviously over confident that they were safe from attack. He’d show them otherwise. From this range the Mark Antony was an unmissable target.

Mittu had scrambled on the outer skin of the station hub and had magnetically clamped his suit to the surface to prevent the recoil blowing him off the station. He had examined the weapon before he set out and it seemed easy enough to use. There were instructional diagrams printed on the tube: Pull out the safety catch, point and press the trigger.

Peering at the Mark Antony he could see the ship’s bridge. It was quite heavily armoured, but with the ship’s shields powered down he thought that the heavy warhead of the missile might stand a chance. It would give its Captain a shock in any case. He hoped it would be a fatal one. Mittu sighted the weapon on the small black haired, blue clad human female who stood in the centre of the bridge and who was clearly visible through its windows. He squeezed the trigger.

Steven saw the flash of light from the station hub and realised with a jolt what the Vendiri in the suit had been carrying. Too late.

The missile crossed the gap between the station and the Mark Antony in a split second. Mittu’s aim was faultless. The shaped charge of the missile’s warhead impacted in the exact centre of one of the thick panes that formed the front wall of the bridge. Chen spotted the flash from the missile launch and the incoming projectile just in time and dived behind her command console as the warhead exploded against the bridge windows with a deafening crack, shattering the material and scattering shrapnel and shards of glass across the bridge.

The deafening howl of escaping atmosphere was quickly cut short by the emergency shutters as they slammed down to reseal the bridge. Sprawled on the floor with the bridge now in chaos Chen raised a hand cautiously to the blood flowing from a gash to her temple. Otherwise she seemed unharmed. She dragged herself back to her feet and looked around

Some her crew had not been so lucky. The spinning piece of shrapnel that had grazed Chen had sped on and decapitated her second in command. The blast itself had disintegrated three of her officers who had been standing near the point of impact, scattering their bloody remains across the bridge. Ensign Richards at the comms station gaped incredulously at the stump of his arm before screaming in shock and agony.

The emergency blast shutter at the impact point had slammed down to prevent depressurisation, but it had sliced through one crew member who had been dragged across the bridge by the venting gases and was caught half in half out of the ship. Another two floated in space outside the bridge, contorting grotesquely in the vacuum as their lungs filled with blood.

Chen scrambled to her feet as she panicked momentarily. She had to defend her ship, and she began issuing orders at the dazed survivors on the bridge.

‘This is the Captain, all stations red alert! Shields to full! Helm, bring the ship about to engage the target.’ Chen barked into the comm. ‘All hands to battle stations. We are under attack from heavily armed forces occupying Highpoint Station. This is not a drill.’ She switched the channel to speak to fire control. ‘Gunnery, pinpoint the source of the attack and return fire.’

Confused into believing that the station itself was the target, the gunnery crews of the Mark Antony reacted to Chen’s panicked and vague orders by turning the full force of the warship’s armaments against Highpoint. Power from the main reactor was re-routed to the capacitors of the massive keel mounted cutting laser as the huge weapon tracked to engage the orbital facility.

Steven watched events unfold with horror. He saw the missile impact the Mark Antony’s bridge, he saw the huge vessel turn slowly and aim the cutting beam slung below its belly at the station and then saw it open fire on the facility. A blinding blue white beam crossed the distance between the warship and the station almost instantaneously as Steven howled with shock and helpless frustration.

Mittu was caught by the full force of the beam and was killed instantly. His disintegration was so rapid that the pain signals from his nerves never reached his brain before it was boiled away into space.

The energies of the weapon bored into the station hub, melting through deck after deck in a matter of seconds before emerging through the far side. Highpoint shuddered from explosive decompression as it was skewered through the heart. The beam then began to move in a tracking motion, slicing the hub horizontally. It pierced the pressurised fuel storage tanks in the docking bay and ignited the volatile chemicals contained within. There was a titanic explosion.

The hub was torn apart completely. Chunks of debris thrown out by the blast pierced the skin of the habitation ring, breaching the hull in numerous places. Many of the hapless occupants inside were exposed to the vacuum and an agonising death.

The hub now destroyed, the station began to rotate eccentrically and its own momentum caused it to tear itself apart. Under intense strain, the habitation ring shattered into sections which spun lazily away from the blast. In some, the emergency decompression doors within had activated, saving the occupants. Many others were less fortunate. An expanding cloud of spinning wreckage and dead, freezing bodies now hung where Highpoint Station had existed moments before. Steven’s vessel shuddered as it was rocked by the expanding blast wave of superheated gases. He rushed to the head and threw up.

Chapter 2

Agent Rochenko peered over his newspaper and eyed the striking red haired woman with relish as she strode purposefully across the departure lounge carrying her luggage. He was rather enjoying this assignment, the good Doctor was rather an attractive woman in his estimation, though he disapproved of the scuffed chunky boots she wore; he thought that they spoiled the shape of her long denim clad legs. No matter. For him, following her around was positively a pleasure rather than chore. He sub-vocalised into the pin sized directional microphone concealed within his shirt collar, reporting her location to his counterparts elsewhere in the port.

Rochenko’s lecherous gaze had not gone unnoticed. Katherine made a mental note of the presence of the stocky man in the ill-fitting suit. She had seen him whilst waiting for the space elevator down on the planet and she had previously noticed him peering at her whilst she waited for the train in London. His rumpled form had lurked in the corners of the underground maglev station, watching her every move.

She had expected this level of attention from the security services. Though they hadn’t stopped or searched her yet, they appeared to be taking an intense interest in her movements. She wondered how many other agents there were in the port that she hadn’t spotted. No matter, she had been allowed to check in and pass through customs without any trouble, though no doubt the scans made of her baggage would be intensely scrutinised. She now had twenty uneasy minutes to kill before boarding the liner.

Batavia Port was one of four huge spaceports that orbited at equidistant points about the Earth’s equator, forming the focal points for trade and travel within the Solar System and beyond. Unlike most space stations they did not rotate to produce their gravity, instead they used artificial gravity fields as spaceships did: an expensive solution on structures of their size. The port consisted of a disk five kilometres in radius in a geostationary orbit above the Earth. The side that faced the planet was covered by a clear, segmented dome which gave its corporate occupants spectacular views of the Earth from the prestigious inverted city in the sky. Within it they had housed their offices and executive residences inside the inverted skyscrapers that hung from the main structure amid tiered hanging gardens. The side of the port that faced away from the planet was covered with tier upon tier of docks and was capable of housing hundreds of vessels. The whole structure was linked to the island of Sumatra below via a space elevator which pierced the station through the middle and carried a constant flow of people and goods between the surface and orbit.

The departure lounges in the port were all virtually identical: sparse waiting areas filled with rows of hard seats and banks of screens displaying flight schedules and advertising. However, each also contained a viewing gallery whose outer wall and ceiling were completely transparent and non-reflective, thus providing a spectacular view of the ships and stars outside.

Katherine stood there now and remembered coming here as a child, when she and her siblings would lie on their back on the floor staring upwards into the infinite darkness. For a brief moment you felt as if you were pinned to the ceiling, staring down into the inky depths filled with moving lights.

The view still impressed: thousands of ships could be seen in space around the station, gigantic freighters and liners moving in carefully ordered lines to and from the port or hanging in parking orbits some distance away. Clouds of shuttles, maintenance vessels and other smaller crafts swarmed among them. It always put Katherine in mind of a gigantic aquarium filled with strange metallic marine life. The whale-like bulk of the liners attended by the remoras of small shuttles, tugs and maintenance vessels, the predatory forms of military vessels, bright shimmering schools of alien craft, a sinister behemoth, a carrier, lurking in the depths. All were moving silently in a carefully orchestrated ballet. An Arkari courier vessel was docking at the adjacent berth, its shimmering wings beating lazily forwards as it reduced its velocity. In the background, thousands of stars shone brightly and steadily in the darkness.

The view outwards was partially obscured by the curving hull of a Stork class interstellar liner, the Pegasus. It was a shining white lozenge shape a third of a kilometre long emblazoned with the Star Line logo at its midriff and with the image of the mythical winged horse on its nose underneath the bridge windows. It was to be her home for the next few days.

It was a relief to be leaving Earth for a while, as the last six months had been unbearable. Rekkid had vanished on extended leave and the truth was that even she didn’t know where he was, even though no-one believed her. Shortly after they had returned from the expedition to the derelict, he had taken the log that they had found and disappeared, leaving her a note promising her that he would ‘return with some answers.’

Matters had deteriorated when the press got hold of the story about the mysterious Arkari ship and the alleged cover-up from Captain McKinley of the Mary Lou, apparently for a large sum of money. Katherine had then been approached by a variety of news agencies and had, naively, told them about the find and had announced that she and Rekkid would publish their findings about the records they had recovered once they had been deciphered.

This turned out to be a grave mistake. Since then she had been harassed almost constantly by the security services. Her office and home had been broken into and searched, she had been followed on numerous occasions and she was certain that someone was intercepting her email. Even her friends and colleagues had been approached at various times by strangers asking questions about her and her work. They were also particularly interested in the whereabouts of Rekkid.

In addition, she began to be attacked in academic circles. A number of scathing letters and articles appeared in archaeological and historical journals accusing her of unprofessional practices and sensationalism in pursuit of fame and money. None were from names that she or Rekkid recognised. A particularly snide one had asked if she believed that the Arkari had built the Pyramids and had likened her to a number of practitioners of pseudo-history. Without a doubt there was a concerted effort to tarnish her credibility and ruin her career.

When the opportunity came to participate in a dig far away from Earth Katherine jumped at the chance. Her colleagues at Cambridge had rallied around her and decided that she should go, for her own sake. She was to travel to a planet christened Maranos by its inhabitants, the only habitable planet in the Fulan system two hundred and thirty-five light years northwards of Earth along the galactic plane. There, she was to conduct a preliminary survey of a major religious site and liaise with the locals who had requested the expertise of archaeologists from the Commonwealth in helping them to excavate one of their most valued cultural locations. A survey vessel would be arriving shortly afterward to survey the system anyway and this would be an ideal time to make use of its resources. The rest of the team would be dispatched once the initial assessment of the site had been made.

It would be an ideal chance for her to get away from Earth and to restore her professional reputation. In addition, Rekkid would be joining her on the planet. He had contacted the department discreetly the previous week, though he had not disclosed his whereabouts. They had told him of her destination and he had volunteered to take part in the dig. Katherine wondered what else he wished to see her about - apparently he had been quite insistent that he should go.

She did have her reservations. Maranos was situated right in the middle of the Demilitarised Zone between the Commonwealth and the K’Soth Empire. There was both a small Commonwealth and K’Soth presence on the planet to oversee the sensor arrays that had been built within the system to enable both governments to monitor the area equally, however relations between the two powers had deteriorated of late. Several recent disputes over the construction of new forward naval bases and violations of arms treaties had been badly handled by both sides. The language that both governments were using with regard to one another had become ever more bellicose and there appeared to be a real possibility of this particular cold war becoming rather hotter. Certainly, sabres were being rattled. Any hostilities that broke out would likely be centred on or around the region where Katherine was headed. She fervently hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. Common sense would surely prevent anyone from wanting to recreate the devastation of the last war.

She also wondered how she’d cope with staying on such an unusual world for an extended period of time. Maranos was unique in explored space as being the only known world to lie at the inner Lagrange point between the two stars of a binary system. Fulan A and B were two G Type yellow dwarf stars, similar to Earth’s sun, separated by a distance of around ten astronomical units. Maranos lay between them at the point where their gravities cancelled one another out and it was tidally locked, rotating at exactly the same rate as the two suns orbited it, each star shining constantly on a separate hemisphere of the planet. Consequently, there was no day-night cycle as such, and much of the planet’s environment was harsh, though it did possess a breathable atmosphere. The surface of the planet was largely covered with one enormous desert, save for two circles of jungle about the poles where conditions were slightly cooler and much wetter. Each of these in turn, contained a shallow, almost circular, sea at their centre about whose shores were built most of the planet’s larger population centres.

Quite how Maranos had formed was a mystery. Conventional wisdom deemed that the formation of planets between such closely orbiting binary stars was impossible: the tidal stresses caused by the stars would prevent matter from coalescing. It had been theorised that perhaps the planet had formed elsewhere and had somehow been moved out of its original orbit by some cataclysm or other, but it was unknown why the planet had not been captured by the gravity of one or other of the two stars. The survey mission that would be arriving shortly after Katherine was the first step in a long planned project to study the system and solve the mystery.

Katherine was stirred from her thoughts by the boarding announcement for her flight. She shouldered her luggage and strode towards the boarding tunnel. Showing her ticket to the bored looking woman at the barrier, she then walked down the brightly-lit boarding umbilical that carried her into the interior of the Pegasus.

Once inside she found that the interior of the vessel was sumptuously decorated. Many Star Line vessels boasted the gimmick of being furnished according to a particular theme, usually a historical period. The inside of this one had been fitted out in the style of an early twentieth century ocean liner, with sweeping elegant staircases, extravagant chandeliers, dark wood panelling covering the walls and richly pattered carpets that softened Katherine’s footfalls. The initial impression was rather overawing and Katherine found herself gawping at this naked display of opulence. She found she had caught the attention of a young period-costumed steward who took her bags in his white gloved hands and led her through the ship’s labyrinthine corridors to her cabin.

The cabin’s décor was in keeping with the rest of the vessel, was of ample size for one person and had full en-suite facilities. A printed card propped up under a brass table lamp reminded passengers that the maid would come round after 12:30pm every day to change the beds. Automation had been sacrificed in the name of authenticity, and no doubt added to the ticket price.

The one concession to period detail was the large screen affixed to the wall opposite the bed, allowing access to the ship’s entertainment and information facilities and a choice of external views, simulated if the ship’s jump engines were in operation. Currently it was showing a view of Batavia Port from a camera mounted on a dorsal position on the ship’s exterior. The station appeared as a vast continent of metal, with bright dots of various sizes moving to, from and around it.

Once the steward had left, Katherine flopped gratefully down on the bed with a sigh and considered the possibility of having a shower.

Two hours later and Katherine found herself in unusual company in one of the ship’s restaurants. The eatery was situated on the top deck of the ships fore section and was oval in shape. It was lit by two large elaborate chandeliers and was ornately decorated throughout with wood panelling and carved decoration. Smartly dressed diners of several species sat at dark wooden tables eating from a bewildering array of dishes, filling the room with scents of unusual foods and the susurration of conversations in multiple languages.

The forward facing side of the restaurant included large windows of toughened glass. Strangely, due to some unknown optical property, they did not reflect the brightly lit interior of the ship and provided a spectacular view of space outside. Currently the view was dominated by the banded red-orange bulk of Jupiter. The ship was making a stop there at Galileo Station before heading out of the Solar System in the direction of Eta Cassiopeia.

The restaurant was full, largely due to the spectacular view on offer, and Katherine had been joined by her unusual dining partner due to the lack of vacant tables. He was a Vreeth, a race of beings that inhabited several systems that traded with the Commonwealth who had the appearance of small armoured airships fitted with many articulated arms about their midriffs. They moved through the air via the use of flotation bladders, gas jets and fins. However, their mouth parts were incapable of forming human speech. This one was using a translator device affixed to his head and was quite talkative as he nibbled on what appeared to be some form of vegetable stew. He gestured at an Arkari transport as it sculled past outside.

‘How do you think they do that?’

‘Mmm?’

‘How do the Arkari make their ships do that? I mean look at it, it’s like a living thing and they don’t use fusion drives or anything like that.’

‘Oh, apparently the wings push against space-time or something. I saw it on a documentary once, it’s a refinement of jump drive technology: like a fish swimming through water but in more dimensions’

‘Fish?’

‘Earth sea creatures. One of these,’ she held up a forkful of monkfish.

‘Oh I see, but I wonder how they make the wings bend like that though. They’re so graceful aren’t they?’

‘I’ve no idea, in fact, I think I don’t think anyone but the Arkari knows. I’m willing to bet it’s something to do with advanced nanotechnology or some such.’

‘Hmm,’ the Vreeth waved two its arms thoughtfully. ‘I once went on an Arkari ship you know, very odd. Very odd indeed.’

‘Really? I’ve never been on one myself,’ she replied. ‘What was so strange about it?’

‘I felt like I was being watched the whole time. I kept catching myself turning round to see who was in the room with me. Most unsettling,’ said the Vreeth. He pondered his stew for a moment before popping a thick red leaf into his mouth. ‘So where are you headed? Off on a holiday?’ he said with his mouth full. The translator took a moment to decipher his muffled words.

‘No, no it’s, well it’s business rather than pleasure, I’m going to Maranos in the Fulan system. I have to change to another ship at New Colorado.’

‘Maranos, Fulan

oh isn’t that the one where the planet’s right in the middle of the binary? What are you going there for, it’s right in the middle of the demilitarised zone isn’t it?’ he asked. ‘If you don’t mind me being intrusive of course,’ he added hurriedly.

‘I’m an archaeologist and we’re doing a study into some religious site on the planet.’

‘An archaeologist? Fascinating

’ he swallowed. ‘Sorry I haven’t asked you your name. Terribly rude of me asking you all these questions without asking who you are first.’

‘Katherine’

‘The name’s Ikkikut. Nice to meet you, Katherine.’

‘Likewise. So, where are you headed?’

‘Elysium. I’m an artist, or at least I try to be. I’m going to try and paint the Memorial Ring and possibly the falls at Constantine. I’m meeting my mate there too, she’s been travelling by herself these past few months so we’re going to meet up and continue our travels together.’

‘That’s nice, have you been together long?’

‘Oh, well it must be four seasons now, about five of your years. You know I hope you don’t mind me saying so but you do look awfully familiar.’

‘Well I

’

‘Sorry I hope you don’t think I’m being speciesist, you know ‘they all look the same to me’ sort of thing.’ Ikkikut started babbling apologetically. Katherine interrupted him politely.

‘Not at all. No I’ve had, shall we say, some unwelcome attention in the press recently. You might have seen my face there.’

‘Oh that must be it,’ he paused. ‘Didn’t you find an Arkari ship and they tried to arrest you or something?’

‘Yes, and I think they still are trying to arrest me. I think it’s a matter of finding a good enough excuse.’

‘Well I thought the whole thing was fascinating. You must have found something interesting if they’re in such a flap about it,’ he said, after pressing a couple of buttons on the pendant’s surface to lower its volume. ‘But you shouldn’t go telling all and sundry. I could be anybody after all. Maybe I’m a secret agent.’

‘Are you?’

Ikkikut giggled: an odd chirruping sound ‘Wouldn’t it be fun though if I were?’

‘Hmm.’

He picked at his stew again and popped something round and blue into his mandibles.

‘I must say, I’d love to see the kitchens on this thing. Imagine what it must be like providing a full menu for all these species at once.’

‘I can imagine,’ replied Katherine. ‘My Dad was a chef. He had his own place on Earth - used to serve all sorts of things. If it was interesting, Dad would put it on the menu. He used to scream blue murder at the staff when something went wrong,’ she chuckled. ‘He was bloody good cook though.’

Katherine noticed Ikkikut looking to something behind here. She turned and found that one of the waiters and a member of the ship’s security were standing by their table, they looked troubled.

‘Dr O’Reilly?’

‘Yes that’s me?’ she replied cautiously.

‘I’m terribly sorry to disturb your meal but we decided you should be informed straight away. I’m afraid your cabin has been broken into.’

‘How the hell did anyone break into my cabin, I thought this ship had sensors and security devices and things?’

‘Did you lock your door ma’am?’

‘Yes! Of course I did.’

‘But you’re sure they didn’t take anything?’

‘Pretty sure

look I don’t know, probably not. God they’ve made such a fucking mess of the place.’

The cabin had been ripped apart. Katherine’s belongings lay strewn about the floor. Her bags had been ripped to open, as had the bed, the wall panelling, the cases containing her archaeology tools, the pictures on the walls and the furniture. Everything in the room had been systematically dismantled. A number of security officers were combing the wreckage for clues, though they weren’t having a great deal of success.

That someone had been looking for something was obvious, as was that fact that they were an experienced burglar: so far security hadn’t found a single fingerprint. Katherine could guess at what the intruders had been looking for and they wouldn’t find it. The alien ship’s log was with Rekkid.

‘I’m terribly sorry about your luggage Dr O’Reilly’ said the security officer, Sergeant Adams. Burly and middle-aged, his black skin wore a slight sheen of sweat. He looked a little embarrassed. ‘We’ll get you some new bags from one of the shops on the ship, and of course we’ll find you a new cabin. It seems strange that they didn’t take anything though. You didn’t have small valuable items with you that you might have forgotten about? Jewellery, that sort of thing?’

‘No, nothing, and I have my wallet in my pocket right here.’

‘And you’re positive the door was locked?’

‘Yes, I’ve already told you!’ she snapped and then paused, suddenly embarrassed. ‘Sorry, look I shouldn’t take it out on you, it’s not your fault.’

‘That’s alright. We like to think of it as our fault, we are the ship’s security and this guy got past us.’

Katherine sighed and sat heavily on one of the more intact chairs. Facing the wrong way on it she rested her chin against her folded hands on the top of the chair back and closed her eyes.

‘What did you say you do again ma’am?’

‘Archaeologist’

‘Haven’t I seen you

?’

‘Yeah, you’ve seen me on the news,’ she replied wearily. ‘Apparently I’m something of a celebrity.’

‘Someone seems to thinks so. You don’t think that’s why they broke in?’

‘What, like a stalker?’ she snorted.

‘Well why not? A woman like yourself could attract these types if they’ve seen you on the news, the galaxy’s full of weirdoes.’

‘I’ve accounted for all my underwear, thanks. I don’t think anyone stole any. Besides, doesn’t this all seem a bit too professional?’

‘True, but maybe he does this a lot,’ said Adams dryly.

Another security man arrived in the room. He wore a worried expression and carried a portable datapad in his hand.

‘Sir, look at this.’ He handed the pad to Adams. ‘We had a look at the ship’s sensor records to see if we could get a look at who came and went from this room whilst Dr O’Reilly was away. We think the ship’s systems have been tampered with. The security records show no-one moving to or from this room or corridor during the past half hour, but we know that’s not true. One of the maids came down this corridor to deal with a spillage in one of the cabins further down just fifteen minutes ago. We have a record of the call the occupants made after they knocked over a wine bottle. The maid didn’t see anything, but there’s no record of her being there. Someone must have tampered with the systems to turn themselves off for a particular period, or more likely given the opportunistic nature of the crime, they’ve gone and erased the event afterward to cover their tracks. I’m willing to bet that they didn’t have a lot of time, which is why they erased a whole block of records, rather than just selecting the bits that showed their presence.’

‘What about the door lock?’

‘They probably tricked or hacked the alarm system into turning itself off, we’re not sure how yet though but I’ll inform you of the results as soon as we know.’

‘That’s good work Weiss,’ said Adams and his face darkened. ‘Shit, these guys really are pro’s. I don’t suppose that there’s any chance they’re still on the ship?’

‘I doubt it, we were docked the whole time and Lord knows how many ships have come and gone from the port in that period.’

‘Contact Galileo’s security and have a look at their logs, I’m willing to bet that you’ll find the same result as here, but check what ships have departed since the incident. Maybe we’ll get lucky, though aside from criminal damage I’m not sure what we could charge them with at this point.’

‘Sir.’ Weiss replied, then turned on his heel and hurried off.

Sergeant Adams turned to Katherine. ‘Well Dr O’Reilly, whatever it was that they were looking for it must be valuable for them to go to all that trouble. Would you mind telling me what it is?’

‘I, well

’

‘This is something to do with that business on the news you were involved in wasn’t it? With the alien ship?’

Katherine sighed, so much for remaining anonymous. ‘I’d rather not say if you don’t mind,’ she said.

Adams shook his head ruefully. ‘If you won’t tell me everything we can’t help you fully,’ he said wearily.

‘Well I can’t, I mean how do I know you’re not one of them? This could all be a trick to drop my guard.’

‘Who’s “them”?’

‘The Secret Service.’ She chewed her lower lip.

‘Lady, if you’re telling the truth then you’re in way over your head’

‘I know. But anyway, I don’t have what they’re after.’

‘Who does?’

‘It’s for the best if I don’t tell you. Don’t you think?’

The next couple of days aboard ship passed without incident for Katherine, she had lunch with Ikkikut again after deciding that she liked the Vreeth; he made an entertaining, if excitable, dining companion. On the third day they were dining once again in the restaurant where they had met before the breakin. Ikkikut had booked them a table with an excellent view right next to one of the huge floor to ceiling windows. The Pegasus would be arriving at Elysium whilst they ate, Ikkikut wanted to say goodbye properly and he said he wanted her to see the Memorial Ring.

The Elysium Memorial Ring was famous throughout the Commonwealth. Following the Battle of Eta Cassiopeia at the end of the war, the larger chunks of debris had been manoeuvred into stable high orbits around the planet, creating a sparse necklace of smashed hulks of both Commonwealth and K’Soth ships around the planet as a symbol of the sacrifice made in the system’s defence. There were also rumours that the hulks now formed part of the planet’s defence network and concealed heavy anti-ship weaponry and jump disruptors. The Pegasus, being something of a tourist cruise vessel, would be making a close pass of the ring before it docked.

Elysium itself was already visible as a blue-green disk in the simulated view projected onto the windows. The planet was currently midway through its summer season and autumn wasn’t due for another eighty five Earth years.

‘It must be odd living in a place like this don’t you think?’ said Ikkikut. ‘I mean, imagine having the same weather for so long. It must be marvellous during the summer, but a century of winter? That can’t be nice at all.’

‘Apparently the suicide rates rocket,’ said Katherine. ‘When the planet was first colonised it was just entering winter and they had quite a job keeping the first colonists sane. Still, from a scientific point of view it’s interesting, since all the native species have to contend with an environment that varies so much over the centuries.’

‘Maybe I’ll visit again though sometime, during the winter. Just to see what it’s like.’

‘Won’t the cold affect your buoyancy?’

‘Yes, but I could wear an antigrav belt. I think I’d enjoy the contrast somehow, having seen it in the summer.’

‘Maybe you could do some more paintings then.’

‘Yes. Yes I think I will,’ said Ikkikut. ‘Something for the future though hmm?’

Elysium’s climate altered so drastically due to the nature of the Eta Cassiopeia system. The planet orbited the primary star Achird at a distance slightly greater than that of the Earth’s orbit around the sun, bathed in its yellowy orange light. The second star in the system, a red-orange dwarf, named Icarus since colonisation, orbited eccentrically, looping past Achird every four hundred and eighty years, bringing summer to Elysium. There were relatively few planets in the system due to the eccentricity of Icarus’s orbit; in fact several appeared to have been pulled apart by its gravity to form the extensive asteroid fields that had proved so vital in the defence of the system against the K’Soth. However, Eta Cassiopeia lay at the heart of a group of systems rich in mineral wealth and as a result it had grown into the second most important economic centre in the Commonwealth after the Solar System.

Katherine noticed that they had dropped out of hyperspace and that Elysium was now visible through the window behind Ikkikut, who was still chattering excitedly about his art. She gestured to point behind him.

‘Ikkikut,’ she said. ‘You should definitely paint that.’

She ignored the banalities of the ship’s captain’s narrative, she knew the history behind the Memorial Ring well enough, and admired the scene for herself. Elysium shone blue and yellow-green in the light from Achird which tinted the cloud tops with a golden hue. The baleful red eye of Icarus peered over the horizon, giving the curve of the planet a pink glow. Against the backdrop of the continents, seas and clouds hung two of the largest starships Katherine had ever seen. The first was of human origin: the Olympus, one of the old Io class carriers and once the flagship of the Commonwealth fleet. It was over two kilometres long, a technological triumph of its age, and it was utterly wrecked. The hull was pierced with numerous holes that had been torn through the structure of the ship, the bows battered beyond recognition by the impacts of energy weapons, whilst the rear flight deck was totally missing. It had been the victim of the kamikaze attacks wrought upon it at the close of the battle by the frenzied K’Soth pilots who had flung themselves to their deaths once it was clear that the battle was lost.

The second ship was K’Soth, a War Temple capital ship. It was even bigger than the Olympus and had been eviscerated. Arkari spatial distortion cannons had torn the cloven delta shape asunder down its length. The ribs and spars of its guts were clearly visible, twisted by the dimensional warping of the alien weapons.

Katherine had an active imagination. She could well imagine the horror of that final battle. The crews of the two ships pitted against one another, vaporised and butchered by weapons of staggering destructive power. - convulsing men and aliens screaming soundlessly in the vacuum, tumbling from rents in the hull. Figures burning on the devastated flight decks, soaked in fuel, torn apart by exploding craft and munitions.

Over a hundred thousand had died in the Commonwealth Navy alone. K’Soth casualties were reputed to have been much higher and thousands more Commonwealth civilians had died on the planet’s surface. Katherine shuddered. The two floating graves were a grim reminder of the consequences of interstellar war. She wondered if the leaders on both sides would heed it so many years later. A cynic, she doubted it.

‘I

I will paint that. Most definitely,’ said Ikkikut. ‘I have a name for the piece too.’

‘What will you call it?’

‘Hubris.’

First

The war was lost, we were utterly beaten and we were banished for our crimes by the victors. We were driven from our homes and herded like beasts by those we had once called brothers, driven into exile through the portal from which there was to be no return. We who had strode amongst the stars like Gods were now laid low and shamed, harried on our way by the baying mob.

We had dared to suggest that our species was supreme above all others and that the universe existed for our benefit alone. Alas, others did not share our view. We fought for our cause and for our species, but we were outnumbered and betrayed by our own. Because of this, war came to paradise and destroyed all we had created, and all that we fought for. We fell.

Now the universe is ours and our alone to rule. But it is a mixed blessing, for the universe we inherited on the far side of the portal is one of darkness filled with death and decay. The only light is that which reaches us from the past. From distant stars that now taunt us in death, for we know that they are long gone and turned to cinders. We eke out our existence on the worlds of our ancestors that still remain - now lifeless balls of rock and ash. Their civilisations of towering spires are now nothing more than a layer of minerals compressed into the rocks with the weight of the ages. Yet still we cling to life, and hope perhaps in vain for our salvation, and our revenge.

Chapter 3

Rekkid shielded his eyes and peered upwards through the dome at the actinic glare of the star known to Humans as Pleione. The large hot blue star and its disk of superheated glowing gases were certainly spectacular, but even at this distance it hurt his eyes to look at it. Despite wearing protective lenses, he found that even the ambient light here was painfully bright. However he was here out of necessity and his hosts had a liking for the star’s light that bordered on the obsessive. Thankfully he had managed to acquire some very thick black blinds for the temperature regulated quarters he was staying in, so at least he could get some refuge from the light and heat. Outside his room however, the immensely humid atmosphere made life extremely uncomfortable.

He was aboard an Esacir bubble city, a space borne habitat enclosed beneath a gigantic one piece crystal dome, populated by thousands upon thousands of passengers. The Esacir were a race of humanoid plant-animal symbionts. Quite how and why this biological state of affairs had evolved was something of a mystery to other species, but it had evidently occurred rather early on in the history of life on their home-world of Erafir since much of the other native life forms followed the same template. The Esacir were slow moving and peaceful creatures, for there had been few fast moving predators on Erafir. They were generally stocky, with large heavy heads, though they varied greatly in appearance due to the different blooms and tendrils that spouted from their dark green bodies. Significantly, they demonstrated incredible levels of intelligence. Their relatively sedate lives gave them plenty of time in which to think and study, creating a civilisation which excelled in the arts, philosophy and science to a level which was only approached by the Arkari.

The bubble cities served partly as intellectual retreats, and partly as holiday destinations for the Esacir. The gigantic disc shaped structures migrated from system to system, where they would spend lengthy amounts of time orbiting one star or another with their crystal domes perpetually facing the glare, allowing their occupants to sample the different ‘flavours’ provided by the varying spectrums of one star or another. This, combined with the intense humidity of the bubble cities’ atmospheres, provided almost the ideal environment for the plant half of the Esacirs’ biology, boosting their metabolism and stimulating their mental processes far beyond normal levels. Many bubble cities were famed for the intellectual and scientific triumphs accomplished beneath their domes and most contained a centre of learning or artistic expression of some description. This one, Riianto, was no exception and was widely recognised as a centre of research into the field of artificial intelligence.

This was why Rekkid was had come here. Artificial intelligence was a technology that had eluded all species save the Esacir and the Arkari due to the immense technical challenge involved in constructing an artificial replica of a sentient mind.

Decoding the log was a task which would take years or decades without the help of an AI and Rekkid was under no illusions about what would happen if he returned to Arkari space with the log in his possession. The Esacir were allies of the Arkari, but it was unlikely that Arkari or Commonwealth agents would pursue him here for fear of damaging that relationship.

Rekkid had come here to Riianto on the recommendation of a friend and colleague by the name of Doctor Sanjay Chopra from Turing College, Cambridge a specialist in encryption algorithms. The past few months of Rekkid’s absence had been a ruse, the log had stayed in Cambridge with Sanjay whilst he worked on the device in secret. He had contacted Rekkid to report his findings and had had the log couriered to Riianto for him to collect upon his arrival.

Rekkid trudged steadily through streets filled with moisture laden air. Water dripped from every overhang and pooled upon every surface. Everywhere was damp and the atmosphere oppressively muggy. The log and his own datapad and notes were in a satchel slung at his side. Despite his relatively light attire Rekkid was sweating profusely, it collected in and around his head-crest and made his scalp itch infuriatingly. His felt as though he were wading through a thick soup. Pausing, he removed his dark glasses and wiped the droplets that had accumulated on the backs of the lenses before replacing them. Slightly dizzy and short of breath he plodded wearily on, drawing curious glances from the Esacir about him, all of whom seemed quite at ease.

The street down which he walked was lined with buildings in a number of architectural styles as well as tall decorative plant life that turned it into a pleasant avenue. Flourishing creepers and trailing flowers hung from balconies and roofs also, some of which appeared to be moving of their own accord.

He passed a warm pool of greenish algae filled water, where a number of young played in the shallows. Their inflatable ball sailed toward him and came to rest at his feet, followed by the stocky plodding form of one of its owners. She picked up the ball and, unused to the sight of aliens, looked quizzically at Rekkid before charging back into the water. Rekkid walked on, the sounds of play and splashing water continued behind him until he was struck on the back of the head by the beach ball. He turned angrily.

‘Just what the f

’ he checked his language, a group of the young Esacir stood looking at him. ‘Just what do you think you’re doing?’ he said as his translator medallion repeated the phrase in the deep, warbling Esacir language. One of the group, a small female with yellow head flowers piped up.

‘Are you a spaceman?’

‘Am I a what?’

‘A spaceman. Did you come in a spaceship from a long way away?’

‘Well yes, I’m Arkari’

A chorus of excited noises greeted this statement.

‘My father says the Arkari are ‘nice, if a little aloof.’’ The child quoted her father’s words in deliberate fashion then added. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I’m an archaeologist.’

‘What’s that?’

Rekkid felt a little taken aback by the precociousness of the children, he grinned at them evilly. ‘I dig up dead people,’ he said with a flourish.

The children made various noises of disgust and backed off slightly, except one fat one with red flowers whose words Rekkid’s translator interpreted as some sort of expression of enthusiasm.

‘Then I don’t think you can play with us Mister Spaceman, I don’t think you’re so very nice,’ said the first and they dashed off. The fat one turned and waved his tendrils at Rekkid before joining them.

Rekkid smiled, he had forgotten how idyllic the lives of Esacir children were. Despite their intelligence they were by Commonwealth standards, naďve, being the product of a society relatively free from danger, crime and predation. He envied them, but he wondered how they’d fare on worlds outside Esacir space, where youngsters of many species were taught to avoid talking to strangers from an early age. Indeed the trusting and pacific nature of the Esacir was one of the reasons they were so vulnerable, despite their technological superiority. Violence was simply not in their nature and without the protection of the Arkari they would have fallen victim to the K’Soth centuries ago.

The Riianto Cybernetics Research Centre was now visible a few hundred yards away at the end of the street as a functional cube shape topped with a ziggurat of gardens. Rekkid groaned. It might as well be a hundred miles away; this heat was unbearable. It had only seemed a short walk on the map he had examined before setting out, so he had eschewed the use of public transport in favour of walking through the verdant streets. He was coming to regret that decision intensely.

He cursed as beads of sweat stung his eyes and he wiped them hurriedly, and then swore again as his dark glasses fell off. Stumbling forward, cursing the climate, he eventually he reached the main entrance of the research centre and staggered gratefully through the automatic doors, it was wonderfully cool and dry inside.

‘Oh thank my mother’s nest!’ cried Rekkid. ‘It’s so wonderfully cold in here! Bliss!’

The old female Esacir behind the reception desk regarded him with some unease. Rekkid slumped on the seat in front of the desk. It was slightly too low for his Arkari frame. He sniffed at his sodden clothing and grimaced.

‘Yes? Can I help you?’ asked the receptionist cautiously in heavily accented Arkari.

‘Yes, yes you can. I’m here to see Master Adept Ormintu. I have an appointment.’

‘And your name would be?’

‘Professor Rekkid Cor, I’ve come from Cambridge University, Earth.’

The receptionist consulted her computerised ledger for a moment.

‘Yes, here we are. I’ll just call him for you,’ she said and touched a panel on the sleek device before speaking into it at length in her native tongue. ‘He’ll be along shortly.’

‘Thank you.’

Glancing idly around the room Rekkid noticed that the receptionist had a large fluted white flower growing out of the centre of her forehead. It was shaped exactly like an Arkari woman’s sexual organs. He found couldn’t stop staring at it.

‘Something I can help you with Professor Cor?’

‘What? No, ahh

I was just wondering, why is it so much cooler and dryer in here than outside? I mean it’s fine for me but aren’t you cold? Doesn’t the dryness bother you? Is it moist enough?’

‘The nature of the research conducted here demands that the building’s environment be altered to these levels. The humidity and heat we prefer are unsuitable.’

‘Is it not uncomfortable though?’

‘Yes. But we take short breaks every so often. Many of the faculty go outside into the gardens to think and study. We only come inside the building for practical experimentation. Most of our best work is done in the roof garden.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, oh look, Master Adept Ormintu is here to meet you now.’

Rekkid turned towards a set of double doors to see a youngish male Esacir with an unusual number of blue flowers about his shoulders and possessing a frame which was thin by the standards of his species. He bowed slightly in greeting. Rekkid bowed back. He spoke in perfect, though accented Arkari.

‘Professor Cor, a pleasure, so glad you could come. Step this way please’ he beckoned Rekkid to follow him back through the doors. They walked and talked

‘Tell me how is our mutual friend Dr. Chopra?’

‘Fine. He sends you a present in addition to the item I brought with me.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes, he was digging around in the archives when he found a few programs he thought you might find interesting. They’re games mainly, human and a couple of hundred years old or thereabouts. He said they were crude but strangely compelling, particularly one by the name of Tetris. Anyway he thought they might interest you,’ said Rekkid and handed him a data wafer.

Ormintu chuckled. ‘Thank you. Well I’ll have to find him something in return to play with for when you see him next. We like to keep each other amused. This way please,’ he gestured. ‘My office is just through here.’

He led Rekkid into a small room crammed with stacked notes, books and miscellaneous pieces of equipment, with a small window that offered a view of the gardens outside. Ormintu gestured for Rekkid to sit in one of two padded chairs. Despite being fashioned for a different species Rekkid found it quite comfortable.

‘Master Adept

’

‘Oh please, none of that formality. I hate it. Just Ormintu will do Rekkid.’

‘Thanks. Now, first of all, do I have your utmost confidentiality?’

‘Yes, yes of course. I did have a vague idea of what you were bringing me when I accepted. Its contents will be quite safe here I assure you.’

‘You’re quite sure?’ he reiterated. Ormintu nodded solemnly ‘Well that’s quite a relief I can tell you.’

‘What is it exactly that you have?’ said Ormintu, leaning forward. Rekkid produced the worn looking device from his satchel and passed it to him.

‘We believe it to be the log of a derelict Arkari ship that we found floating in interstellar space.’ He explained. ‘It’s around a million years old and Sanjay Chopra’s analysis revealed its data core to be formed from some form of crystalline structure, the arrangement of the molecular structure being used to store data. I have all his notes with me by the way.’

‘Good, oh and I shan’t insult you by pointing out the conundrum of its extreme age, do go on.’

‘Sanjay managed to get the thing working and he made an adaptor to fit it to a standard data port. It’s almost perfectly preserved, but we’ve no way of comprehending what it contains. The data formats and the language used to record it are unknown to us, though it seems to have been recorded by an Arkari.’

‘So it’s possible it might contain similar grammatical patterns to known Arkari languages, including the present universal one?’

‘Possibly, but as I say until the characters are decoded I’ve no way of knowing. Sanjay said I should talk to you about this.’

Ormintu looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘I think what he really meant was that you should meet a friend of mine,’ he said slowly.

‘Is he here?’

‘Yes, he’s through in the lab. Come on, you can talk to him now.’

‘I wouldn’t be disturbing him would I?’

‘Oh not at all,’ said Ormintu brightly. ‘This way.’

Ormintu led Rekkid out of his office and along the corridor outside. He guided Rekkid through two sets of automatic doors and into a spacious laboratory filled with computers and electronics, workbenches and countless scientific instruments. One side of the room was partitioned off to form a clean room and inside a couple of Esacir in sealed suits could be seen working in the sterile environment. At the end of room sat a metal ovoid, connected by numerous cables to sockets in the wall and to other computers in the room. A swarm of shiny camera bugs flew lazily around the room on their micro antigravity motors. They turned and approached Rekkid to peer at him.

‘Professor Rekkid Cor, welcome,’ said a measured and disembodied voice.

‘Hello?’ replied Rekkid hesitantly. ‘Who am I speaking to?’

‘I am a friend. I am a friend of Knowledge-Master Ormintu also. I am his offspring, so to speak. I am his prodigy. My name in your language is Quickchild.’

The truth dawned on Rekkid.

‘You’re an AI?’

‘Yes. You seem surprised. Do the Arkari not have artificial entities?’

‘I’m not sure to be honest, most of our starships have so-called ‘intelligent’ software that helps to run them and I’ve heard rumours that our military use AIs in their ships but it tends to come from the usual crackpots. I’ve never encountered anything quite like you before Quickchild.’

‘Thank you Professor Cor, you flatter me,’ said the voice as the camera bugs danced in the air.

‘It’s just Rekkid, please.’

‘Very well Rekkid. May I be so bold as to ask you what brings you here to see me? I have watched your progress through the city today, but I thought it rude to pry without permission.’

‘He’s a very polite computer Ormintu,’ said Rekkid with a hint of playful mockery. ‘You must be very proud.’

Ormintu beamed.

‘Quickchild I have an artefact with me, a ship’s log. It contains records in a dead language that we have no practical way of decoding. I was hoping you could help.’

‘I would be delighted to help you Rekkid. It sounds fascinating. It could take some time though.’

Rekkid’s heart sank

‘How long?’

‘Ten, maybe twelve periods.’

Rekkid spluttered ‘That’s fine! That’s perfectly fine, we were looking at decades and you apologise for a third of a day. I can’t thank you enough!’

‘You are too kind.’ replied Quickchild. Rekkid thought it actually sounded bashful. ‘Since this is a ship’s log however, decoding its contents may be less difficult than you would expect.’

‘Oh, how so?’

‘It has long been common practice amongst many species to embed a key of some sort into records such as this. If the ship were to be lost in an unfamiliar region of space there is always the possibility that it may be found by beings unfamiliar with the language of its creators. Hence a key is usually included to enable the contents of the records to be deciphered so that the fate of the ship and its crew and their origins may be known and its people notified if possible.’

‘So how does it work?’

‘The key is usually stored separately within the device, appended to the end of the data or printed on its casing. The data types take various forms, but they are usually formed from matrices of binary sequences which when arranged correctly form pictures and diagrams a line at a time. Usually the dimensions of the matrices conform to prime numbers, making them more obvious. The pictures they form will contain further aids in decoding the rest of the data: the alphabet and numerical systems for example, and ultimately the programming language that the records were created in so that they can be read independently of their storage device. It is still a laborious and difficult task to decode however, even for one such as myself.’

‘And you think this log might have one? It is extremely old.’

‘True, but maybe we shall get lucky. Good ideas seldom confine themselves to one race or age. Furthermore, if it is of Arkari origin its language may share some characteristics with known Arkari languages.’

‘Well I hope so. My entire career and that of one of my colleagues depends upon it.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, it seems that certain individuals are rather edgy about what the log might contain. I’ve been followed around half of known space these past few months by all sorts of people.’

‘Then we must be quick. I may be a child of the Esacir, but I’m under no illusions about their inability to grasp concepts such a security and secrecy.’

Ormintu butted in. ‘Really Quickchild, I’m sure we’re quite safe here. We’re in the heart of Esacir territory.’

‘Ormintu, with all respect, I have just queried traffic control. It seems that an Arkari naval vessel, a cruiser named the Stormfront is headed this way and has requested permission to dock with us in nine periods. Plug the device into me and let me get to work. Time is of the essence.’

Ormintu took the log and placed it on a workbench in front of Quickchild, attached a thin cable to Dr Chopra’s standard data port and stood back. ‘Really I think you’re making a big fuss about nothing,’ he said and looked at Rekkid, who seemed distinctly shaken. There was a pregnant pause of several minutes until Quickchild spoke again.

‘It seems our luck is in. As I suggested the device does contain a key. The log is written in a language composed of thirty seven characters and with a numerical system in base fourteen, which would seem to add weight to its probable Arkari origins. Creating a dictionary and building a full understanding of the grammar used and programming languages employed in the construction of the log will take rather longer however.’

‘Shit, how long?’ Rekkid asked

‘I estimate about eight and half periods, allowing for the possibility that some of the data may have been corrupted’

‘That’s cutting it a bit fine.’

‘Indeed, I shall get to work at once.’

Ormintu leant toward Rekkid and spoke in a low voice. ‘We should leave him to it. Come, I’ll show you the roof garden. It’s time for my break anyway. I can feel myself getting sluggish in this sunless room.’

Rekkid tried not to groan, the wait would be uncomfortable enough without having to endure the heat throughout. Still, he’d soon be out of here one way or another and it would be rude to refuse his host’s offer. He allowed himself to be steered out of the lab and into a lift which smoothly lifted him and Ormintu to the roof.

They stepped out of the lift and Rekkid felt himself wilt under the sudden sauna-like blast of heat. He replaced his sunglasses hurriedly to counter the achingly blue-white light of Pleione then surveyed the scene. The roof garden was quite spectacular. A ziggurat of terraces sat atop the building adorned with trailing plant life and the occasional sculpture linked via a maze of winding paths. The music of falling water was provided by the numerous artificial streams that tumbled from pool to pool, and wound beneath arching stone bridges. Small creatures buzzed in the air or rustled the undergrowth and the calls of some could be heard as they sang to one another. The scene was populated by numerous Esacir, who walked the paths, sat on the verdant lawns or reclined on benches deep in thought or intellectual discussion with one another. The city extended below on all sides into the distance where it was met by the descending curve of the dome which arched overhead. Pleione blazed in space beyond.

Rekkid thought of the deserts of Earth, of standing amid broken ziggurats half submerged in sand and turned to Ormintu. ‘I see you’ve brought me to the Hanging Gardens.’ he commented.

‘I’m sorry?’ replied Ormintu

‘Ancient human history. An impressive set of gardens like this were built by a king to please his new wife who came from a more temperate mountainous region. It was regarded by humans at the time as one of the wonders of the world.’ explained Rekkid

‘Fascinating, and we have it on our roof. Maybe the architect is interested in history like you Rekkid?’

‘Perhaps, though I suspect it’s more like a coincidence,’ he changed the subject. ‘I must admit I was rather amazed by what you’ve achieved here. Just how intelligent is Quickchild? I’ve never encountered anything like it. He seems far more advanced than any Arkari AIs I’ve encountered. How does it work?’

‘Well, without being too boring or technical, he’s a neural network that operates on quantum level. He can learn and experience just like you or I, and he can make intellectual leaps based on intuition and hunches. His construction is still not as sophisticated as the mind of an average sentient being, hence his size, but he is very intelligent. The mathematics alone represent decades of research by myself and my colleagues, and our predecessors. He’s at least as intelligent as an adult Esacir but he can operate at a far higher speed than a biological brain, and he doesn’t make careless mistakes. The task you have set him will tax him, but he will complete it within the time he promised.’

‘He must feel like a son of yours then?’

‘Yes, yes he does I think, and I suspect he realises that.’

‘Do you not worry about the argument that such entities could pose a threat to the rest of us, that sufficiently advanced AIs could achieve god like levels of intellect and view us all as an irrelevance?’

‘Not really, no. I see it as a matter of good parenting and sound programming to prevent them from doing so, and to give them morals and empathy.’

‘Our government seems to think otherwise, I hear that’s the official reason for why research into this field was banned some years ago.’

‘I trust as a scholar of history you don’t believe everything you read Rekkid,’ said Ormintu coldly. ‘You were quite right about your military you know, how else do you think their ships move and fight with such agility?’

‘How do you know this?’

Ormintu looked at him conspiratorially ‘Let’s say I have friends who-shall-remain-nameless who were involved. There, I know a few of your secrets and now you know one of mine.’

‘I thought the Esacir weren’t secretive.’

‘We are sometimes, but we keep it a secret,’ said Ormintu and laughed in the Esacir fashion, a high pitched wheezing sound. His expression darkened. ‘I hope that the Arkari Navy don’t catch up with you though Rekkid, if one of those ships goes after you it will hunt you incessantly. What are those sea creatures they have on Earth? Sharks? Like that, only much worse,’ he shuddered. ‘Much worse.’

Suddenly the serenity of the gardens seemed much less of a comfort to Rekkid; he felt a chill, despite the heat. ‘It was one of our destroyers that turned up when we were on the wreck, the Shining Glory,’ he said. ‘It was an amazing sight and I couldn’t help but think then that it looked like a living thing. I mean all our ships have a fluid look about them, but this thing really moved like it was alive, and it was so bloody huge.’

‘But these are your own people Rekkid. You’d never seen one before?’

‘Not up close, the armed forces tend to keep to themselves. You know that there are whole systems within our Sphere that totally belong to them, and that no-one else can go there? Sometimes I wonder whether our own government really knows what they get up to, and as long as they keep the peace and protect us I suspect that they don’t care.’

‘You think it could be the military that are after you and not your government?’

‘You know I had thought about that a great deal. I can’t help but wonder what we stumbled across. Our findings showed that that ship was constructed at a time when, officially, we were still living in trees and killing prey with stone weapons.’

‘Time travel experiments?’

‘I don’t think so, is that even possible? But it was such a primitive vessel, barely more sophisticated than most human ships. Why would they build such a piece of junk for a top secret experiment? Then there’s also the matter of everything being written in a language that I’ve never even seen before. I bloody well specialise in ancient languages, especially Arkari ones!’

‘Well, maybe the log will help answer your questions Rekkid. We’ll just have to wait until Quickchild is finished.’

‘I hope he hurries up,’ muttered Rekkid. ‘That cruiser is getting nearer all the time.’

The wait was agonising for Rekkid, as the Stormfront flew ever closer and Quickchild raced to complete his task in time. As the deadline drew closer, Rekkid went up to the roof garden to see if he could see his pursuers as they arrived. Ormintu had vanished, he knew not where, and the AI seemed no nearer to finishing the translation.

The ship was now due to dock in few moments. Rekkid shielded his eyes against the glare and squinted. There it was; a winged lenticular shape with a long barbed tail. He saw the multidimensional ripple bend Pleione’s light as it popped into normal space at the end of its jump. His heart sank and he glumly watched the graceful, menacing form of the vessel swoop towards Riianto then turn and reduce its speed as it headed for the docking facilities on the underside of the city. He returned to the lab via the lift and was greeted by an excited Ormintu.

‘Rekkid, good news! Quickchild has completed the translation of the log.’

The AI butted in. ‘I am sorry I took longer than anticipated Rekkid, I encountered severe degradation of the storage medium in a few sectors. It took a while to repair the data. However, I have translated all three thousand journal entries, both text and audio, and a number of visual recordings also. They make for most interesting review.’

‘Quickchild I can’t thank you enough, really. I’d like you to keep a copy of the files please and also to transfer them into my computer that I have with me.’

‘Already done, and the pleasure was mine Rekkid, thank you.’

Ormintu spoke: ‘Rekkid I’m sorry to hurry you but the Stormfront is in the process of docking, I’ve made arrangements to get you out of here. If you’d follow me please? Time is not something that we have on our side.’

Rekkid bade a hurried farewell to Quickchild and raced out of the building after the plodding Ormintu whilst the Esacir explained his exit strategy.

‘We can take under floor travelway to the docks. There’s a small ship belonging to the Institute berthed there that will take you out of the system to wherever you want to go, but we must hurry.’

‘My luggage!’ protested Rekkid.

‘Is already aboard. Don’t worry; I had one of my assistants collect it from your room.’

They were outside now. Ormintu led Rekkid to a set of smooth steps that led down into the pavement and into the station of a maglev train system. A carriage sped into the station and they boarded. Ormintu requested a specific dock and its doors hissed shut then it whisked them through the tunnel.

‘But how will I avoid the cruiser?’ said Rekkid ‘Won’t it just catch me anyway? Besides, I can’t fly a ship’

‘We need to time this correctly, which is why I’m in such a hurry. If you wait until the ship has actually docked before departing Riianto it will take them far too long to undock and pursue you. As for flying the ship, Quickchild has uploaded some programs from himself that will fly the ship on a course that the Arkari vessel will have a great deal of trouble in following. Around the star and through the system’s asteroid fields I gather. This ship should be more manoeuvrable than that great hulking thing anyway.’

‘Oh. Great. You know talking to those Navy chaps might not be so bad after all.’

The carriage came to a halt and the doors opened, disgorging them into a busy dock area, Ormintu guided Rekkid through the thronging people and towards an area designated for personal vessels. Typically for an Esacir installation there was little visible security.

Hurrying down a number of broad corridors they eventually emerged in a large brightly lit hangar area containing several small vessels of varying design. One wall of the cavernous space was composed entirely from the bay doors, large armoured slabs that met in a perfect seal down the middle.

Ormintu stomped toward a sleek ovoid craft about eight metres in length which squatted on slim tripod legs. He touched a point on its hull which flowed open to form an oval entrance to the cockpit, then gestured for Rekkid to sit inside.

The interior of the vessel was comfortably furnished but cramped. As Rekkid sat in the command chair it gradually reshaped itself to accommodate his unfamiliar physiology. He stowed his computer, notes and the log in the side pockets of the chair and fastened the safety straps around himself, which adjusted themselves accordingly. Rekkid looked up at Ormintu who was prepping the craft for flight.

‘Are you quite sure about this?’

‘Quite sure, you can talk with the Quickchild construct whilst in flight. He knows where to go, but don’t expect the same levels of intelligence from him.’

‘When do you want the ship back?’

‘Well, there’s no hurry. You can tell it to return here itself if you like.’

‘Ormintu, thank you. You’ve been a great help, Sanjay has a good friend in you, you know.’

‘Good luck Rekkid, I hope we meet again.’

‘Me too, goodbye.’

Ormintu stepped out of the small craft and the hull sealed quickly shut behind him. Rekkid felt the craft lift on its antigravity motors and retract the landing gear. The bay doors ahead opened smoothly and it glided between them. A second closed set were now visible on the other side of the airlock. The first set began to close behind the ship. Rekkid spoke tentatively

‘Ahh Quickchild, can you hear me?’

‘Yes Rekkid.’

‘Can you fly this thing with any degree of skill?’

‘I can. Do not worry.’

‘I’ll try not to,’ Rekkid replied weakly.

The second set of doors opened and the vessel propelled itself forward at a leisurely pace and emerged into space. They were just under the overhang of the bubble city, visible through the cockpit view screen as a dark curve against the blue brightness of the star. Free of the docking bay, the ship began to sink downwards relative to the plane of the city and turned lazily to face the direction of its intended trajectory.

‘I am attempting to use Riianto to mask us from detection by the Arkari craft Rekkid,’ said Quickchild as the ship slid around the city’s underbelly.

The craft suddenly accelerated, Rekkid was pressed into his seat despite the compensating fields.

‘What the hell?’ he squawked with some alarm.

‘They have spotted us, Rekkid. Executing evasive procedures.’

The small craft ramped its power up further and began to loop towards Pleione. Rekkid glanced at a smaller view screen showing Riianto. The Arkari ship was backing away from the station and turning to pursue them, its tractor beams reaching out into the space ahead of it. The main view screen now showed Pleione, its colours darkened by the ship’s systems to compensate for its blinding light. They were heading straight towards it at high speed.

‘The Arkari vessel is attempting to apprehend us, engaging warp drive.’

‘Oh fuck! No!’ screamed Rekkid as the ship jumped. He stared incredulously at the view screen, now dark except for a diagrammatical representation of hyper and real space combined. He suddenly realised what Quickchild was attempting as the ship tore toward the hyperspace gravity shadow of Pleione.

‘Listen, you fucking idiotic machine. Slingshot manoeuvres in hyperspace are suicide, everyone knows that. The gravity shadow of the body in hyperspace will destroy your warp drive and we’ll tumble into the star!’

‘You are basing your assumptions on the performance of biological pilots. I can calculate the correct trajectory around the star. Do not worry. The Arkari vessel will not follow us, either they will not risk this manoeuvre with such a ship or they will presume us dead. I doubt whether their ships are capable of piloting themselves to such a degree.’

Rekkid whimpered in terror as Quickchild guided the speeding ship toward the invisible hypersphere of the star. So this was what dying felt like. His life was flashing before his eyes. It was experience he’d hoped would be a little longer to say the least. As the tiny craft skimmed around Pleione at insane speed, Rekkid’s look of expectant horror grew ever more intense and he screwed his eyes shut. He moaned again and curled into a ball as best he could under the restraining straps.

His fears were groundless. The small craft arced perfectly in a slingshot path, dangerously close to Pleione but in a perfect parabolic arc through hyperspace. Accelerated by the star’s gravity the ship swung outward, clearing the inner planetary orbits in a matter of moments before speeding on into deep space. Rekkid tentatively opened his eyes. Pleione was visible as a receding blue dot via the virtual displays.

‘Rekkid, I believe the manoeuvre was successful. We are clear of the system. The Arkari vessel is no longer pursuing us. Instead they are studying the star in hyperspace. It seems that they are looking for signs of our demise.’

Rekkid uncurled from his foetal position.

‘It worked! I’m still alive!’ he cried and then asked: ‘How is it that they haven’t noticed us?’

‘I took care to position ourselves on the far side of the star from the Stormfront as we exited the system.’

‘Oh, thank you, thank you! Quickchild you wonderful machine, that’s two I owe you and your creators today.’

‘Where would you like to go now?’

‘I have an appointment to keep. Head for Maranos in the Fulan system.’

‘Very well Rekkid, we shall arrive there in four standard days.’

‘Good. Listen, Does this ship have anywhere for me to change out of my stinking clothes and get some sleep and a wash?’

‘There is a small cabin to the rear of the cockpit. It has full facilities.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Perhaps you would like to read the documents I translated for you today whilst we travel?’

‘Yes, yes I would. Very much so.’

Following a wash, a rest and change of attire, Rekkid reclined on his bunk with the unfolded leaves of his computer on his lap as the ship sped through hyperspace towards its destination. Quickchild had been right; the documents did make for interesting reading. That, it turned out, was something of an understatement. As Rekkid read he saw an entire period of Arkari history, previously hidden, being brought to light.

Chapter 4

It was tranquil in the hotel café by the water’s edge in New Colorado and after a long stressful journey Katherine welcomed the relaxing atmosphere. She’d have to catch the flight for the final leg of her journey tomorrow, but for now she was quite happy to stretch out in the large wicker chairs, listen to the sound of the gently lapping waves and admire the unusual curving view of the interior of the asteroid which was softly lit for evening by the axis mounted plasma tube.

Katherine was glad to be freed from the confines of the Pegasus. Ever since the breakin she had felt tense and paranoid aboard the luxury liner. That incident had made her acutely aware of her own vulnerability and she mostly avoided her fellow passengers. After bidding goodbye to Ikkikut when the ship docked at Elysium she had made no more friends and she had stayed in her cabin for much of the remainder of the voyage with the door firmly locked.

Arriving earlier in the day at New Colorado in the Klondike system she had felt she had reached the end of a sentence. Having been trapped in the purgatory of the liner she was now free to mingle in the large populous interior of the asteroid. Her paranoia had lifted somewhat from the change of scenery and she had ventured from her overnight room down to the hotel café where she now found herself.

Unlike most systems, Klondike’s administrative centre was not a planet, but an asteroid. There were no habitable planets in the system, but the various bodies that did exist were mostly small, rocky and rich in metals. The absence of gas giants and their large gravity wells meant that the system contained a large number of asteroids, of which New Colorado was the largest. The twenty-five kilometre long peanut shaped rock had long been mined out for its iron ore. Its outside had been smoothed off and fitted with solar panels and a docking port installed at either end, whilst the interior had been hollowed out to form a cylinder twenty three kilometres long and ten wide. This had been sealed and made into a habitable chamber. The rock had been spun to produce a gravity of slightly less than one gee.

New Colorado was honeycombed with factories and workshops, but the interior environment had been landscaped using imported loam, water, flora and fauna. A chain of lakes linked by rivers flowed endlessly around the mid-point of the chamber via a system of dams and pumping stations. Towns were constructed around their shores, such as Breckenridge where Katherine currently sat.

The rest of the habitat was constructed to resemble a rural setting, with small towns dotted hither and thither, whilst the capital city of Boulder was built around one of the ends of the chamber. It housed the government buildings necessary for the administration of the system and the corporate headquarters of the various mining concerns that operated here.

Katherine found the view impressive, though dizzying. The landscape had a perceptible curve even at medium distances, even the water. She followed the view up and up and over so that she was looking at the lights of the settlements and the shapes of the land and water on the opposite side of the asteroid. She found that it gave her a form of vertigo as her brain became confused, unable to fully resolve the unusual perspective. If she stared long enough she felt like she were pinned to the ceiling and would fall to the ground below her/above her at any moment. Still, if she kept her eyes level the effect wore off. She suspected that if you lived here that you’d hardly notice it after a while.

Katherine watched the ducks that paddled around the shoreline, hopeful of morsels of food being tossed to them. A group of children further along the terrace began to feed them pieces of bread and were quickly mobbed by the creatures, whose squawks and quacking pierced the warm evening air.

Katherine finished her glass of white wine and reached for the bottle to pour herself another. She didn’t generally drink alone but after the past few days she felt she’d earned the indulgence. Having refilled her glass she sat back with it resting gently on her lap. She brushed a few stray red hairs away from her face and studied the amber depths of her drink. The alcohol and her general state of fatigue were making her tired and she rubbed her eyes, deciding that she should make this her last glass and retire to her room before she fell asleep in the oh-so comfortable wicker chair. Groggy and inattentive, she failed to notice the small AG internal shuttle that crossed New Colorado’s airspace from the opposite side taking a curving path to avoid the light tube, settling quietly in the parkland behind the hotel.

A heavy hand came to rest firmly and suddenly on her shoulder, startling her from her drowsiness. Katherine sat up blearily and turned to see two men looming over her. One she recognised; the fat sweaty looking man who had followed her from Cambridge to Batavia Port, the other she hadn’t seen before. He was black and stocky, with a shaved head and a small beard. Both wore suits, which bulged ominously in various places - no doubt from the weapons that they carried.

‘Ms. Katherine O’Reilly?’ said the second man.

‘I was a Doctor last time I checked. Will you people please leave me alone?’ her voice snapped.

‘My name is Agent Pearson, this is Agent Rochenko. Would you please step inside, we’d like to talk with you.’

‘No, I will not!’ replied Katherine loudly and clearly, a few people at other tables began to look round. ‘Whatever you have to say to me you can say it here,’ she added forcefully, glad that she had drawn attention to herself.

Rochenko leant forward so his mouth was inches from her right ear. She could smell his breath and his stale sweat.

‘Now look here love, you’re in a shit load of trouble so don’t mess us around, alright? Do you think we followed you this far for nothing?’

‘I might be in a lot of trouble, but I wish someone would tell me what the hell it is I’ve actually done, and was it you who rifled through my clothes you greasy little fuck?’ she shot back. The drink had given her a bit more confidence. Rochenko grinned.

‘Now Doctor, just step into the lobby for a moment with me and Bob here and we’ll have a little chat.’

‘Get lost, I know my rights.’ She eyed the wine bottle on the table and weighed up her chances of being able to hit one of them with it.

Pearson cut in. ‘Doctor, if you don’t co-operate, we’ll just arrest you and ask you the same questions. Or you can go along with our request and remain a free woman, it’s up to you. You have my word. If you comply we won’t lay a finger on you.’

‘All right, all right,’ she replied, a resigned tone in her voice. She knew that they had her cornered. ‘Come on then let’s step inside shall we? But I swear if one of you so much as touches me I’ll yell the place down, especially if it’s your charming colleague.’

She stood up uneasily and strode off toward the brightly lit lobby of the hotel. The two agents followed. Once inside she checked that there were staff behind the reception desk who would notice them and sat down in an overstuffed leather couch that was in full view of reception. Rochenko and Pearson sat down on either side. Pearson placed a small circular device on the coffee table in front of them. A sonic inhibitor, it would muffle the sound of their conversation to anyone else in the room outside of its range.

‘Now then gentlemen, explanations please,’ demanded Katherine. ‘Firstly, why are you chasing me all over the bloody place, secondly, why are you bastards trying to ruin me? What the hell am I supposed to have done?’

‘I think you know what,’ said Rochenko

‘Let’s pretend for a moment that I don’t okay? Let’s pretend that I’m not actually the galaxy’s most wanted criminal and I am actually an archaeologist who’s sick of being stalked by you idiots,’ she snapped sarcastically.

Pearson spoke, keeping his voice low despite the suppression field. ‘Doctor, you were caught aboard a top secret vessel belonging to the Arkari navy. Either you or Professor Cor took something from that vessel; a log or some such device.’

‘Well that’s bullshit,’ she replied scornfully. ‘For a start, that ship was around million years old, according to our published findings. It had Arkari corpses on board, but they were all mummified and had been aboard the entire time that the ship was lost in deep space.’

‘Then I would suggest that your findings were incorrect. I needn’t remind you that the Arkari didn’t build any starships until fifty thousand years ago. That ship was reporting missing by the Arkari Navy several days previously. It was a new type that they were testing and the engines are believed to have malfunctioned. The log you liberated represents not only crucial data that can be used to determine the cause of the accident, but confidential military information regarding the capabilities of the vessel that could be of use to the enemy. The Arkari want it back. Now.’

‘Agent Pearson, that ship was a relic. I don’t know what you’ve been told but it was no more top secret and experimental than that liner I arrived on. Even I could tell that and I’m no expert on military hardware.’

‘That is not my concern.’

‘No I suppose it wouldn’t be would it?’ she sneered. ‘Can’t have you thinking for yourselves, now can we? Anyway, I don’t have it, haven’t you figured that out yet?’

‘We know,’ said Rochenko. ‘Professor Cor has it doesn’t he? Where is he right now?’

‘I have no idea. Look, I haven’t seen him for months, he could be anywhere.’

‘An Arkari cruiser attempted to apprehend him in Esacir space two days ago, but he managed to evade them. It was at first believed he had been killed in the escape attempt, but now we’re not so sure.’

Katherine’s stomach lurched, ‘Killed? How? What the hell did you do to him you fucking

?’

Pearson cut her off. ‘We didn’t do anything; his ship attempted a hyperspace sling shot manoeuvre around the system’s star in an effort to evade capture. Ordinarily this would be suicidal, but it’s possible that he may have pulled it off. Our investigations revealed that he had accomplices who loaded some experimental software into the ship’s computer to help him, though since the Esacir bubble cities are outside of both Commonwealth and Arkari jurisdiction we were unable to apprehend anyone for questioning at the time. We and the Arkari later conducted an investigation aboard Riianto with the co-operation of the Esacir authorities, but we turned up very little’

‘Doctor, is he planning to sell the log to the K’Soth? We have followed his progress to some degree, and it seems possible.’ said Rochenko. ‘If he is, it’s important that we stop him before he commits the act. It would be a tremendous blow to the Arkari and to us in military terms, and I suppose you’d hate to see your friend tried for treason.’ The last part of the sentence descended into a hiss. He grinned.

Katherine snorted indignantly. ‘Are we talking about the same Arkari here? This is Professor Rekkid Cor we’re discussing, right? Foremost scholar on ancient languages? Gets sick in zero gravity? Is scared of space travel? Forgets which lecture theatre he’s supposed to be in and then gets lost on his way there when he does remember? You people seem to think he’s some sort of super-spy come hotshot pilot. It’s total rubbish. Besides, what would he do with money? If he wants limitless luxury he can just move back home, his people have don’t have a use for currency remember?’

‘We’re trying to help you Katherine, and Rekkid,’ said Pearson. ‘We’d hate to see two people like yourselves ruin your lives and do immeasurable damage to their own species.’

‘Ruin my life? You lot have done that already, thank you. Why on earth was my reputation attacked, my friends and family harassed, my property burgled? Why didn’t we have this chat months ago?’ she snapped.

‘I’m afraid I’m informed on a need to know basis. I couldn’t comment on our operations.’

‘Really. You know with you people guarding us from evil doers it’s a wonder there still is a Commonwealth. The K’Soth might be bastards, but at least they’re honest about it.’

‘The K’Soth are the enemy of our species Katherine, it is our sworn duty to defend the citizens of the Commonwealth against the clear and present danger that they represent.’

‘Yes, yes alright. There’s no need to go all gung-ho on me thank you,’ she replied scornfully.

‘Back to the subject,’ said Rochenko. ‘We have reason to believe that you arranged to meet with Professor Cor on the planet Maranos in the Fulan system.’

Katherine sighed. ‘Yes, yes that’s true,’ she admitted. ‘But if the events you described are accurate then, who knows.’ She shrugged.

‘And what is the nature of your little trip?’

‘We’re going to assess a dig site on the planet. It’s a religious site and the locals want our advice and participation.’

‘And where will you be staying?’

‘At the Commonwealth embassy in the capital

You know you could have got all this by asking the University, it’s not a great secret.’

‘You are of course aware that there is also a token K’Soth presence on the planet?’

‘Yes

’ she replied warily.

‘This is the source of our concern you see. Be warned Doctor O’Reilly, any attempt to pass them classified data will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Do I make myself understood?’

‘Absolutely, and believe me, you’re barking up the wrong tree.’

‘Thank you for your time Katherine,’ said Pearson, standing up and switching off the suppressor. ‘We will be keeping an eye on you.’

‘No doubt,’ she replied dryly, eyeing Rochenko. He leered back at her.

The two men began to leave; Pearson turned and called back to her. ‘Remember what we discussed,’ then they left. Katherine waited until they had disappeared from site before she let out a long sigh of relief and sank back into the couch.

She turned the discussion over and over in her mind. What the two agents had said just didn’t seem credible. Either they were lying to her - which was distinctly possible - or someone was lying to them. The story about the wreck being a top secret new warship was a blatant untruth and they hadn’t explained why there had been such an effort to destroy her academic credibility. She still had no inkling as to why the log of a derelict, ancient starship was seen as so dangerous an artefact. From her point of view it was like being threatened with arrest for reading ancient vellum scrolls. It didn’t add up at all, and the apparent age of the vessel and its occupants was still a mystery.

She needed to sleep, badly. She hauled herself out of the depths of the couch and walked wearily to the lift, and thence to her room where she collapsed fully dressed onto the bed and fell into a deep, mercifully dreamless sleep.

Katherine slept in till nearly noon and awoke with a foul taste in her mouth, having forgotten to clean her teeth the night before. Her clothes were creased from her having slept in them and she had twisted them awkwardly around herself as she slumbered. She squinted blearily at her watch; still five hours to go until her flight to Maranos. She had some time to kill.

Sitting up on the bed she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and the previous nights events came back to her. Rekkid: Shit, she thought, was he even alive? The story the two agents had told her didn’t sound particularly convincing. Rekkid piloting a ship and out-running an Arkari naval vessel? Still, the worry gnawed at her that something untoward had happened to her friend. She’d find out sooner or later one way or another once she reached her destination, but not knowing was unbearable.

Katherine showered and changed then gathered her things and took them with her to the lower floor of the hotel, placing her bags in a secure locker room for collection later. She took her breakfast on the terrace. The interior of New Colorado was now brightly lit with a simulated mid-day sun and the villages, countryside and lakes at the other side of the habitation tube were clearly visible. Katherine experience a surge of vertigo again and studied her grapefruit half and bacon sandwich instead. What to do for the next few hours? She had to do something to take her mind off matters.

There was a laminated tourist brochure wedged into the menu stand, she plucked it out and read it whilst finishing her coffee. It enthused about ‘The Sights of New Colorado,’ most of which sounded either pretty boring, or expensive, or too time consuming, or all three. Most of the asteroid’s attractions were designed for the entertainment of either corporate executives, or holidaying miners who had been shut away inside some barren ball of rock for the past few months. Hence, lots of overpriced bars, restaurants and casinos, cheap and seedy bars, nightclubs and casinos, expensive leisure complexes and rip-off shopping malls, most of which were situated in the capital, Boulder. There was something that caught her eye though; Klondike’s only museum, located in the capital and dedicated to the history of human settlement in the system. Fine, that would do to kill a few hours.

She took the underground maglev train to Boulder and alighted at what she guessed to be the nearest station to the museum, the diagram on the leaflet having been rather unclear. Climbing the steps from the station she found herself on Boulder’s main thoroughfare; a wide, busy boulevard with a perceptible concave arc that ran the circumference of the habitat chamber. The rows of shops, bars and civic buildings curved away in either direction in the bright, simulated, early afternoon light.

Katherine squinted at the tiny map on the leaflet and gazed around for some indication of the museum’s location. She guessed that the new looking, glass fronted edifice a quarter of a mile away must be it and started off in that direction through the busy throng of pedestrians and light vehicles. Walking, she scanned the crowds for signs of anyone paying undue attention to her, wondering if the secret service really were keeping an eye on her at all times. She couldn’t see anyone. The only attention she appeared to be receiving was from the driver of a small AG utility lifter who honked his horn and winked at her.

Katherine arrived at the museum and after paying a small fee at reception, entered its spacious, cool interior. The building was fairly new and was pleasantly airy and well lit. A central atrium was surrounded by a horseshoe of tiered galleries devoted to different topics. The ground floor, including the floor of the atrium, was given over to an interactive display on the history of mining. This floor was swarming with excited children. There appeared to be a party visiting from a local school and scores of uniformed minors jostled with one another for a go with the exhibits whilst several tired looking adults attempted to keep them under control. Pilot an asteroid miner! See how a drill bit works! Clamber through a replica mineshaft on ancient Earth!

Katherine took one look and groaned slightly, then headed upstairs to the galleries. The first floor was a more sober look at mining history than the one downstairs; documents, pictures, photographs and a few artefacts. The exhibition showed the story of mining from its early beginnings on Earth - men, women and children grubbing in the dark and the dirt for coal and other resources. Firstly in small sites, then later in huge industrial scale operations as coal became the lifeblood of the burgeoning empires of Europe. Diagrams and photos illustrated the appalling conditions endured by the workers, as did the statistics of their fatality rates and accounts of their various unpleasant fates.

The exhibits then went on to show how the lot of miners had improved over the years with new technology, labour movements and the intervention of governments to improve their lot, at least in the developed world, though the occupation still remained a dangerous one. A battered, ancient Davy Lamp stood in pride of place on a stand in the centre of the display of artefacts.

Moving on, the displays dealt with the first attempts at mining minerals off Earth. Early attempts, it seemed, had met with little success. The cost of launching missions and returning safely was excessive, despite the vast mineral wealth to be found in the Solar System’s asteroids. The loads brought back by the first missions barely covered their costs, and after a few attempts and one disaster in which the entire crew was killed by explosive decompression, the effort was abandoned.

Katherine studied a photo of the crew of the ill-fated mission, the eight men and two women were standing behind a model of their ship dressed in their pristine white flight suits. No doubt state of the art in its time, to her twenty-fourth century eyes it looked like a death trap, no jump drive, no energy shielding and chemically fired engines. She couldn’t imagine being cooped up in something that flimsy whilst floating in space.

Following the advent of jump technology and fusion drives in the twenty second century, astro-mining enjoyed something of a renaissance. The new drives made it economical to drill for ore on asteroids and alien worlds. A tiny piece of iron, a relic of the first asteroid to be profitably mined, sat in a small transparent case. Its significance was not lost on Katherine. As on Earth before, where the hunt for wealth had played a major part in the expansion of nations overseas, now it formed a major driving force in interstellar exploration. The result was the creation of undreamed of wealth.

Something of the gold rush returned in those initial years as hopefuls flocked to the frontier settlements in and around the asteroids and planets of freshly colonised systems, men and women seeking their fortunes or just the chance of a better existence. It was clear to Katherine, from her own knowledge and from the exhibits on display, that life in those early years had been harsh. Settlers had been lost in all manner of mishaps and disasters, largely related to humanity’s inexperience in interstellar colonisation. Habitat domes cracked, asteroids shattered when mined incorrectly and killed thousands, whole colonies starved to death when their hydroponics failed and no relief arrived, unwary colonists were devoured by hostile wildlife and innumerable industrial accidents occurred every day, most of them preventable. The list went on and on.

Katherine studied a collage of images: the first habitat dome on 61 Cygni 4, the return of the abortive first mission to Vega, a gang of traders and miners celebrating the successful initial runs between Eta Cassiopeia and Van Maanen’s Star, a squadron of heavy mover craft wrestling a hundred thousand tonne asteroid to stabilise its orbit.

A dummy dressed in an antique mining-grade spacesuit stood between the display and the stairs to the next floor. Reminiscent of a medieval suit of armour, its heavy plated bulk was pitted and scarred by years of usage. Katherine stepped around the stocky carapace and headed for the exhibition on the next floor which was devoted to the history of the Klondike system itself. After browsing the initial displays she began to feel a distinct sense of déjŕ vu; it seemed all very similar to exhibition on the floor below, lots of photos of mining achievements, accounts of the early colonisation struggles. She was sure it meant much more to the locals than to a tourist such as herself, for example she had never heard of ‘the Famous Diamond Strike of ’94’. Still, she had nothing better to do for a few hours so she persevered.

It seemed Klondike had been initially colonised during the middle of the twenty third century due to the rich mineral deposits found in the system’s extensive asteroid belts and its unusually high number of small rocky planets: seven in all. Hence the system’s name. The system had prospered quickly due to its own deposits, and due to its location at the heart of a cluster of other similar systems. New Colorado was hollowed out and finally settled in 2315 and designated as the system’s capital and it became the hub of trade in the region.

This section Katherine did find amazing, the images and accounts of the huge New Colorado asteroid being cored like an enormous apple were quite something. One particularly spectacular film showed the second docking facility being eased onto the end of the asteroid; a ten kilometre diameter plug of metal that dwarfed the swarms of ships that surrounded it. A series of images also showed the terraforming of the interior, the building of the lakes and countryside and the construction of the various towns and villages. Katherine couldn’t help but be impressed by the scale of it all. There was also a large cut-away model, constructed by a local resident, which showed in intricate detail the workings of New Colorado, from its docking ports and solar panels, its factories and workshops, to its lakes and rivers. It lay cradled in an AG field inside its display case.

The next section dealt with the system’s part in the war against the K’Soth and was altogether more disturbing. Katherine had heard the stories about the hostility of people in this part of the Commonwealth to certain aliens, and she knew most of the jokes too, but she hadn’t really appreciated it fully having never been this far north of Earth before.

Lying a short distance from the border between the two nations, Klondike had lain in the path of the main K’Soth assault following their surprise attack in 2324 and it had been quickly overrun. The K’Soth had pressed on towards Earth but had left behind a garrison of second line troops to keep control of the worlds they had captured.

At this point the locals had struck back. The Commonwealth Navy was tied down mounting the last desperate defence of the core systems, so without outside help the citizens of Klondike had cached what weapons and ships they could and used them to storm a number of K’Soth ships, seizing them and turning them on their former owners. The response had been swift. A squadron of K’Soth vessels returned to the system, rounded up the resistance and anyone else they could find, and then ritually executed them all over a period of nine days. They then began laying waste to settlements and stations.

A total system-wide massacre was only averted when the K’Soth were forced to flee before the advancing Arkari relief forces who uncovered the evidence of their butchery. Katherine flinched at some of the evidence on display; photographs that displayed piles of mutilated bodies and parts of bodies, corpses that been exposed to vacuum following the destruction of an orbital station, Arkari medical staff tending to a man screaming uncontrollably, his eyes having been torn from his head by his former captors. Last of all; a photo of discarded K’Soth food bowls that appeared to contain human remains.

Of the artefacts on display, most prominent were two preserved fighter craft that hung in AG fields. The first one was human, an old Marlin class heavy attack fighter. It had been used in the rebellion by one Captain Graf, a navy pilot from Klondike credited with more K’Soth kills than any other human during the war. The second was of K’Soth design, a Retribution class bomber captured intact during the retaking of the system. Below these two craft on a plinth was a large glass jar, inside which was the pickled head of a K’Soth, apparently that of the executed leader of the counter-insurgency operations in Klondike. Her two glassy golden eyes stared blankly at Katherine through the glass, fanged mouth agape, dark tongue lolling. The russet brown of her scales’ neutral colour had dulled with time to a murky brown-black. Mounted below was a small metal plaque inscribed with a quote from the then Governor of the system which read:

‘This trophy remains a testament to our hatred for the K’Soth, I for one will not forgive or forget their deeds.’- Gov. Ashok Lal, 6/7/25

Katherine wondered how these sentiments would bode for the ongoing tensions between the two powers of late. From what she had gleaned from the press a large proportion of the public and government ministers still held this view. She had no doubt that this was reciprocated by the K’Soth also, and in their case their hostility was supplemented by their religious fanaticism.

She had come to the museum to relax for a few hours. She hadn’t expected to be confronted by such a collection of charnel house images and gruesome artefacts and they had come as something of a shock. Her mood now darkened, she moved on to the top floor which covered the post-war regeneration of the system as well as a display of modern mining equipment, but her heart wasn’t in it and she retired to the museum’s café in the grounds around the back of the building.

The gardens were pleasantly laid out; there were plenty of ornate flower beds and gracefully drooping willow trees that shaded the tables of the museum’s café. Katherine sat at a wooden bench and table, sipped her overpriced tea and nibbled on an equally extortionately priced doughnut. The gardens were noisy with the sound of children, not that she minded that much. A playground was situated a hundred yards away on a square of wood chippings. The school party had moved in in force and were swarming all over it, their squeals and yells drowning out the garden’s birdsong. A few of the kids were running around the playground arms outstretched; evidently they were playing at being space pilots. The humans seemed to be losing, owing to a tubby ‘K’Soth’ who kept sitting on them until they gave in. Victory for humanity was achieved when the K’Soth champion was made to stand in the corner by one of the adults keeping watch over them. As usual, children had turned recent bloody history into a playground game. Katherine hoped this was as close as any of them would get to the real thing. Their grandparents hadn’t been so fortunate.

She became aware that her jacket pocket was buzzing gently. Someone was trying to call her. She removed the wafer thin comm. unit from her pocket and unfolded it. The face of a flustered looking middle aged man appeared on the tiny screen, he appeared to be sitting in an office of some sort.

‘Dr Katherine O’Reilly?’

‘Yeah, that’s me. What can I do for you?’

‘I’m sorry to trouble you but my name is Donald Hutchinson, I’m calling from the Star Line offices here on New Colorado, I’m afraid your flight today has been cancelled.’

‘Oh, great.’

‘Yes I’m sorry but the ship developed an engine fault and we’ve had to bring it in for repairs. However, we have managed to secure you a berth on an independent vessel instead, leaving today also. I’m afraid not many ships go to the Fulan system so this was the best we could find, however her captain says he’s ready to go whenever you are.’

‘Well, okay. I suppose that’ll do as long as it gets me there. Where do I find this ship?’

‘She’s called the Nine Lives, docking bay forty three, northern port. Her captain is a Mr Hideo Minaba.’

‘Okay well it’ll have to do, I suppose. Tell Captain Minaba that I’ll be there shortly. I just need to collect my things from the hotel first.’

‘I’ll give him a call. Once again I apologise for any inconvenience

’

‘It’s no trouble, really. Goodbye Mr Hutchinson.’

She hung up. Well at least that solved the problem of what to do for the next two hours. Katherine finished her doughnut, brushed the sticky crumbs of sugar from her hands with a napkin and headed back to the tube station. She returned to the hotel, collected her luggage and then caught the train back to Boulder, staying onboard until the carriage reached the final stop at the port.

Alighting at the busy station she studied the large printed diagram of the port that was mounted on the wall. Arranged like a giant wheel, ships entered at the hub and were then moved via vast radial lifts to the hundreds of bays strung around the circumference of the giant circular structure. Finding the right bay was just a matter of travelling around the circle far enough until you reached the correct number. Katherine wanted number forty three, and nearest one was, she looked at a sign hanging from the ceiling, three hundred and twenty-two. She needed to travel a third of the way clockwise around the port to reach the bay she wanted. She sure as hell wasn’t going to walk twenty odd kilometres and she searched around for some transport. When she had arrived she had simply walked straight out of the nearest exit and had taken it from there.

It turned out that the port had its own travel system; a fleet of several hundred bullet shaped carriages of Esacir make that ran on maglev tracks and could be programmed by the passengers to take them speedily to the correct bay. Katherine stood impatiently in line for a carriage for several minutes before getting one. Once inside its plush interior, she punched in the number of the bay she wanted and was then pressed into her seat as the tiny vehicle sped towards its destination.

Half a minute or so later the carriage braked gently to a halt and Katherine exited. She found herself in a broad, steel walled corridor with printed signs directing her toward the docking bay a hundred metres away to her right.

She walked to the bay and before long she arrived at the cavernous, grimy hangar and was greeted by the sight of her ride, the Nine Lives. The sight of it did not fill her with confidence.

The vessel appeared to be an old Bison class transport, ex-military. Katherine had ridden in one once before on her way to a dig and repeating the experience was not a prospect she relished. A fat streamlined hull fitted with thick delta wings, stubby tail fins and clamshell doors at the rear, it squatted on its heavy landing gear. The vessel was atmosphere capable, though barely. The heat shielding necessary for re-entry was provided by the vessel’s hull, and not by the more modern energy field systems. Any landing would be only one step away from a controlled crash.

The ship also seemed to have been subject to a certain amount of mechanical tinkering. A laser ball-turret had been fitted to the spine of the craft and the engines seemed somewhat different in type to the usual ones fitted, if she remembered correctly. A black and white cartoon cat running from a falling anvil had been painted with some skill on the nose, though the rest of the ship’s paintwork could have benefited from re-touching. Katherine walked around to the back of the ship where the clamshell cargo doors lay open and peered inside. There was no-one visible. She called out.

‘Hello? Captain Minaba?’

There was a clattering and a muffled curse from within the cargo hold before a middle aged man of Japanese descent dressed in scuffed overalls dragged himself out from under a cargo loader. He produced a rag from one of his many pockets and wiped his dirt streaked face, an action which if anything, soiled it still further.

‘Dr Katherine O’Reilly?’

‘Yes that’s me.’

‘Welcome aboard.’ He extended an oily hand, she shook it. ‘We can set off straight away. I was just trying to fix that damn loader; looks like I’ll have to send off for new parts. Come this way, I’ll show you your cabin.’

Katherine followed Minaba up the rear cargo ramp into his ship, stepping carefully to avoid tripping over the various tools, machinery and cargo crates inside. The interior of the vessel smelled strongly of coolant fluid and spilled lubricant. A corridor led from the front of the hold into the rest of the ship, and her cabin lay a short way down it to the right. Minaba presented it to her with a comical flourish of his hand.

‘Here we are. I’m afraid it’s not much - a bit cramped. However the bunk’s fairly comfortable and it’s only a short journey.’

‘That’s quite alright, how long should it take to reach Maranos?’

‘Oh, I’d say less than two days. It’s not too far, and I just upgraded the power plant on the old girl so we should be there in no time. She may not look much, but she can move alright.’

‘Okay, well I’ll just dump my things.’

‘Sure, if you like you can ride up front in the cockpit.’ He gave her a grin. She felt like indulging him.

‘Alright, I’ll be there in a few minutes.’

‘Sure,’ he ambled off toward the nose of the ship.

She hefted her bags inside the small cabin and dragged the sticking automatic door shut. As shipboard accommodation went it wasn’t much, a steel box four metres by three, with a small adjoining bathroom and a bunk. Minaba had stuck a Van Gogh print on one of the walls, whilst the other had a tiny porthole that gave a view of the docking bay outside.

Katherine dumped her bags on the floor, washed her face in the lukewarm water from the cold tap in the bathroom sink, and then made her way to the cockpit of the Nine Lives. Minaba was already seated and was fiddling with one of the control panels. He wore a look of mild annoyance on his face which brightened when she entered. He grinned at her.

‘Welcome! Here, have a seat,’ he said, gestured to the left hand crew position. The cockpit was cramped and packed with instrument displays, some of which looked like they had been added by Minaba. The two couches looked worn. The one Katherine was sitting on had come unstitched at one corner, its foam stuffing poking through the gap. A photo of a woman and three teenagers was stuck to one of the panels in front of her.

As Minaba flicked a few switches, Katherine could hear the rear doors close and seal themselves. A number of other nameless things whirred and thumped in the bowels of the ship.

‘Well, I think she’s ready to go eh?’ said Minaba. ‘Better strap yourself in for launching.’

Katherine struggled with the couch restraints whilst Minaba spoke to traffic control and let the craft’s engines come up to idle. A faint vibration was detectable through the floor plates as the noise levels increased. The bay outside began to seal itself.

‘Okay, we’re off. Brace yourself.’

There was a jolt and Katherine felt herself pressed down into her seat as the entire bay was pulled quickly upwards with the Nine Lives inside. Minaba jammed a battered forage cap on his greying head, the lettering above the brim read CNV-8867 Cambyses.

‘First ship I was stationed on in the Navy,’ he explained, pointing at the cap. ‘I never launch without it.’

‘What happens if you don’t?’

‘Don’t even think about it.’

The lift continued its progress toward the hub of the port. As it did so the gravity on board began to lessen noticeably and Minaba switched on the Nine Lives’s own gravity field to compensate as magnetic clamps kept the ship fixed firmly in place. Katherine sat and listened to the traffic control chatter audible over the comm. The port seemed busy today. From what she could tell a number of large ore freighters were loading from the facilities around New Colorado and it appeared to be taking longer than expected. She could hear traffic control trying to hurry their crews along.

The lift slowed to a stop. They would have to wait their turn in the queue before launching.

‘So, how long were you in the Navy then?’ said Katherine conversationally.

‘Twenty-years, joined up just after the war. The K’Soth killed my father and being young and hot-headed I wanted to get back at the bastards so I joined up as soon as I reached eighteen. I never did get the chance to get even with them though, pity.’

‘How come you left?’

‘Well, I started feeling my age. All those long tours of duty, it’s a young man’s job really unless you make Captain or Admiral or something. I got as far as Lieutenant Commander and then I got badly injured in an accident, so I decided to get out. I kinda miss it though I suppose.’

‘You still hate the K’Soth?’

‘Yeah, I guess it’s dulled over the years but hell everyone in this part of space does, after what they did to us. It wasn’t only my Dad they killed. The truth is, I think a lot of people still want to even the score with them, and they seem to have voted for people who do too.’

‘That’s what worries me: our government’s been very belligerent lately.’

‘True, but don’t forget we’re in a better position to be so, the Navy was totally overhauled during my career with them. The ships they have now are light years ahead of what we had then, whilst the K’Soth sat back and just churned out more of the same old crap, and ours aren’t spread over a damn great empire like theirs are.’

She nodded in agreement. Minaba continued. ‘You got to remember that the K’Soth military spends lots of time and effort just keeping their empire together. I reckon we could beat them if we had to.’

‘Well I hope you’re right, though I also hope that we never have to find out.’

‘Yeah well, me too I suppose. Besides, war’s bad for traders like me. I have no intention of getting the Nine Lives shot out from under me.’

There was jolt and the lift started moving again. It reached the hub and stopped, then rotated to orientate itself with the dock exit whilst the air was pumped out of the chamber. Once aligned, the magnetic clamps released and Minaba retracted the landing gear, leaving the ship floating in the bay in zero gravity. Ahead, a double set of heavy doors opened, providing a letterbox view of a rotating star field. Minaba gently eased power to the engines and the Nine Lives moved smoothly forward out of the dock. Once outside, the vessel counteracted its rate of roll and headed off on a course out of the port area dictated to it by the computers in traffic control.

Katherine peered out of the cockpit windows at the scene outside. Two colossal ore freighters were being loaded from the processing stations that hung alongside New Colorado. Their skeletal frames were being slowly filled by dozens of gigantic cargo crates that were wrestled deftly into place by the crews of the cargo tugs that swarmed around the ships. Looking forward she could see the ship ahead of the Nine Lives in the queue of traffic leaving New Colorado, a sporty looking private vessel, it reached the edge of the traffic control zone and jumped. Peering behind she could see the vast metal disk that formed the asteroid’s northern port, a circular metal cliff clasped by the rough rocky bulk of the asteroid.

Minaba sighed. ‘You know, I never get tired of looking at it all, even after all these years. That’s another reason why I still fly, I’m afraid my wife has to share my affections with all this.’ He looked troubled for a moment. ‘Now that’s odd.’ he said, squinting at a console.

‘What is?’

‘One of those cargo shuttles just turned some pretty high power scanning equipment on us, I wouldn’t have picked it up with the standard instruments fitted to this vessel, but I put in a fancy new set last month.’

‘Oh great.’

Minaba looked at Katherine quizzically. ‘Is it you or me that they’re interested in Doctor?’

‘Me, probably. Why, you aren’t smuggling anything illegal are you?’

‘Not today no, not that I’m aware of anyway,’ he said and gave her a searching look. ‘You can tell me all about it during the flight if you like, though I won’t press you. Your secret’s safe with me. I didn’t survive for so long out here by ratting on my customers that’s for sure.’

The Nine Lives reached the edge of New Colorado’s port jurisdiction. Minaba reached for a console and activated the vessel’s jump engines. The view outside twisted and stretched and then went dark.

‘It’s a long story captain, I take it my notoriety hasn’t reached this far from Earth yet?’ said Katherine.

‘No.’

‘I’m an archaeologist. My colleagues and I uncovered what can only be described as a giant can of worms. The thing is: I have no idea what it was we brought to light. We found an antiquated hulk floating in space and boarded it, believing it to be an important historical find. But it seems that certain people are very upset about it indeed, we’ve had all sort of harassment since.’

‘These people, are they likely to want to kill you? Only I’d like to be prepared in case we’re attacked on the approach to Maranos.’

‘Possibly. One of my colleagues has gone missing. I was told he may have killed trying to evade them. On the other hand, they’ve had plenty of opportunities to kill me and they haven’t, so maybe I’m just being paranoid.’

‘Well, just to be on the safe side I’ll make sure what weapons I have are fully charged when we exit hyperspace. You never know.’

‘Thanks, and I’m sorry to have caused you any additional trouble.’

‘Oh don’t worry about it. I could do with the excitement.’ Minaba grinned gleefully at her and began prodding the weapons console.

Forty hours later and the Nine Lives was approaching the end of her jump. Katherine was dozing in her cabin and was awoken by Minaba’s knock on the door. He called through the thin metal.

‘Doctor? We’re coming out of hyperspace in a few minutes, we’ve made good time actually, but I thought you might like to come up to the cockpit. If your suspicions are correct you’ll want to be strapped securely into your seat for this one.’

Katherine pushed herself off the bunk, pulled her boots on and followed Minaba back up to the cockpit. She sat down in the left hand cockpit couch and strapped herself in.

‘Okay, turrets set to auto-defence, missile bay is open. If anyone’s waiting for us they’re going to get a big surprise.’

Katherine gritted her teeth.

‘Exiting hyperspace in five, four, three, two, one

’ the star field twisted back into view. ‘Returning to normal space, jump engines off.’

‘Any sign?’

Minaba examined the sensor display.

‘Nope, radar’s clean, gravitic anomaly sweep is clean, star field occlusion scanner is also clean, heat sensors can’t see anything either. Looks like we’re in the clear.’

‘Thank God for that.’

‘Yeah, I guess.’

Katherine thought that Minaba actually looked disappointed as he powered down the weapons and began orientating the ship for re-entry. He took hold of the controls and gently rolled the ship, bringing the planet Maranos into view. It looked most unusual as they approached its northern polar region.

For a start there was no night side, the two halves of the planet were lit at all times by its parent stars. Most of the planet was covered by one vast desert that extended north of the tropics. Above and below this band the environment became arid scrubland and then tropical jungle. This extended almost to the poles, which were capped by two almost circular seas. Seen from their angle of approach, the planet had the appearance of a giant yellowing eyeball with a green iris and dark blue pupil.

Minaba gestured at the view. ‘We’ll be landing near the capital, Erais. It’s just by the shores of the northern sea there. This is the tricky part I’m afraid, so don’t distract me until we’ve landed.’

He turned the ship until its nose faced the planet, and then increased power to the engines. When he had approached close enough to the planet and gained enough velocity he brought the nose up slightly. Too much speed and the ship would crash, too little and she would skim off the atmosphere and back into space and they would have to repeat the manoeuvre. Minaba spoke to Erais traffic control, operated by the Commonwealth, as he adjusted the controls. The ship began to shudder slightly as it was buffeted by the upper atmosphere and Katherine could see the heat shielding glow slightly as it repelled the heat generated by atmospheric friction. The rushing air outside whistled shrilly with increasing volume as the air thickened around the ship

They were heading for the upper cloud deck. The whistling sound had now built to a howl as the Nine Lives aero-braked against the thickening atmosphere. Now noticeably slowing her descent, she punched through the cloud layer. The vessel’s speed was now in single figure mach numbers. Minaba employed a measure of reverse thrust and eased out the brakes into the rushing airflow. The Nine Lives vibrated alarmingly for a moment as the engines whined in protest. Now travelling at subsonic speeds, they descended below the thick lower cloud layer on final approach. Katherine looked down and saw that they were speeding over a dense jungle that been cleared in places for roads and farms and what looked like a railway line.

They were now in the spaceport’s landing pattern. The automated guidance control took over and brought the Nine Lives smoothly down onto a long concrete runway flanked on either side by thick encroaching foliage. Minaba let out a sigh and relaxed as they slowed to a halt, then taxied toward the small terminal building. A couple of other ships were visible on the apron. Both of them looked antiquated, though there was another vessel sitting in a hangar around the side. It looked far more modern, a silvery ovoid that appeared to be an Esacir ship.

Minaba brought the ship to a halt and powered down the engines.

‘Well, here we are,’ he said. ‘Welcome to Erais, capital of Maranos.’

‘Thank you Captain, I hope they paid you well enough for this.’

He gave a short laugh. ‘You think I’d have accepted this job if they hadn’t? Really, it was no problem. Like I said, an old trader like me needs a bit of excitement now and then. You take care now.’

‘I will, and thanks again.’ She extended a hand and Minaba shook it firmly.

Katherine collected her luggage and exited the rear of the cooling ship, taking care not to touch its skin which was still hot from re-entry. She was struck by the warmth and humidity of the climate, which whilst not too unpleasant, was a shock to her after the relative coolness of the ship. She headed across the apron to the terminal building, but there seemed to be virtually no-one around. As she approached she saw a well built, dark haired man dressed in a short sleeved shirt and trousers emerge from the terminal and head toward her. He moved lightly in an almost cat-like manner. She felt a sense of alarm, the way he moved: he looked like an agent. The man approached her and gave her a disarmingly friendly smile.

‘Hello, are you Doctor Katherine O’Reilly?’

‘The same.’

‘Welcome to Maranos. I’m Steven Harris, the Ambassador’s aide and bodyguard. Hope you enjoy your stay with us. Here I’ll take those,’ he said and took hold of her luggage and hefted it onto his shoulder.

‘Thanks.’

‘No problem. Okay it’s this way to the car, and then it’s just a short drive to the residence.’

Katherine followed Steven around the back of the terminal where a chunky open topped four-wheel drive vehicle was parked, sitting high on its balloon tyres. He placed her bags on the back seat and got in the front. Katherine got in the passenger side. Steven started the vehicle, turned it deftly around, and then accelerated away from the spaceport down an uneven paved road that led to Erais.

‘So you’re here as part of the archaeology team then eh?’ he asked her over the whine of the electric engine.

‘Yes that’s right, I’m expecting a colleague and a survey ship’s due to arrive in a few days.’

‘Oh, your friend’s here already, he came in a couple of days ago.

‘Rekkid’s here? He’s okay?’ she felt a wash of relief.

‘Well yeah he seems fine. Why the worry?’

‘Oh, nothing, it’s just been a while since I’ve seen him that all,’ she replied hurriedly. ‘Also I heard that he’s been ill.’ she added.

Steven gave her an odd look. ‘Well

he seems fine now, though I haven’t seen much of him. He’s been in his room most of the time since he arrived. He said he was catching up on his research.’

The road was becoming busier. They passed increasing numbers of the locals on foot as well as carts pulled by stocky six legged beasts of burden. Katherine examined the people as they passed, they had thick sinuous blue-green bodies that lacked legs but which sat on a thick flexible foot pad. Their hunched upper torsos ended in smooth bullet shaped heads that had small dark eyes and a mouth with large branching gills on either side. Their two arms were long and thin and ended in dextrous four fingered hands. To Katherine’s untrained eyes many of them seemed quite poor. A large number were dressed in dirty, ragged clothing and many seemed to be malnourished, olive green skin stretched taut over their bones. They stared back at her with a mix of curiosity and perhaps some hostility.

‘That’s the locals, they call themselves the Dendratha.’ Steven commented. ‘They weren’t too advanced when we arrived, about the level of pre-industrial Earth. We’ve given them a bit of a helping hand, but there’s still a way to go. People still die from curable diseases, that sort of thing.’

‘I saw a railway on the way in.’

‘Yeah, that was built by the Commonwealth. Made moving around this rock a lot easier I can tell you, that desert is really harsh, too dusty for atmospheric flights sometimes. I hear that you’re going there?’

‘I am?’

‘You’re off to excavate a site at their holy city, Marantis aren’t you? It’s right on the equator in the middle of the desert.’

‘Wonderful.’

‘It’ll be okay, the rail journey is fairly quick considering the distance. You can’t fly unfortunately, aside from the dust storms in the deep desert they wouldn’t let us build an airfield anywhere near Marantis for religious reasons.’

They were entering Erais now and the road was now much busier. Steven had to repeatedly use the vehicle’s horn to move ambling Dendratha and their farm vehicles out of the way. The city was composed mainly of two-or three-storey buildings with sweeping, sloped roofs that seemed to crowd the busy narrow streets. Some seemed quite modern and pleasant; others were more dilapidated and run down. A variety of odours wafted in the air, the smells of alien cooking, unwashed Dendratha bodies, the sweat and dung of pack animals. The noise of the city was cacophonous; market traders hawked their wares, music spilled from open doors, animals bellowed and Steven beeped the horn impatiently.

Eventually they reached the sea front which was smarter and more affluent. Large houses, no doubt belonging to the richer of the city folk, faced the gently lapping sea. A number of steam and sail powered ships sat at anchor out in clear blue waters of the bay.

Steven turned right along the promenade and headed in the direction of a rocky promontory that overlooked the harbour. They climbed the road up the side of outcropping until they reached a set of iron gates which swung open as the car approached. Behind them was a large human built house built to resemble the ancient colonial style. It was surrounded by carefully manicured lawns and flowerbeds and the gravel drive ran up to the door, out of which dashed a thin, excited looking figure who waved at them. Steven brought the car to a halt in front of the house steps.

‘Hello Rekkid,’ said Katherine. ‘It’s good to see you, where have you been all this time?’ She got out of the car and embraced the Arkari who grinned bashfully back at her.

‘I’ve had quite a time Katherine. I have quite a surprise for you but ahh

it’ll have to wait. Steven, get Katherine’s things for her would you? Thanks.’ He led her inside into the cool and dark of the house and, whilst Steven was still struggling back at the car with the bags, Rekkid spoke, his voice lowered.

‘I found out what that log contains Katherine and it’s absolutely incredible. When I show it to you then you’ll know why we’ve been pursued.’ He glanced back at Steven. ‘But like I say, it will have to wait. We can’t trust anyone with this until we’re ready to go public.’

Chapter 5

Chen was bored, bored beyond belief. Nevertheless, she counted herself lucky; if a few months of tedium was all the punishment she suffered for the calamity at Highpoint Station then she had gotten off incredibly lightly. She still had her rank and her ship, unlike that fool Harris, she thought.

The tribunal that had taken place had absolved Chen of most of the blame. It had been ruled that she and her ship had been placed in a delicate situation that they had not been trained to deal with and that furthermore that when the ship had unexpectedly come under fire she had attempted to defend her crew. A large portion of the blame had been levelled at Harris, for disobeying his orders and the chain of command, for distracting Chen during the incident and thus unwittingly contributing to the surprise attack, for placing the interests of a foreign power above those of the Commonwealth and for attempting unauthorised negotiations with the Vendiri. He had been stripped of his rank as a field agent and sent to baby-sit some dotty old ambassador on a backwards world in the middle of nowhere. Chen gained a great deal of satisfaction from this. She couldn’t stand the sanctimonious idiot, though she recalled she hadn’t always felt that way about him. Still, she told herself, people change.

There had been a price to pay though. She now found herself and her ship patrolling a cluster of mining worlds near the northern edge of the border with Arkari space. The Mark Antony was effectively in disgrace and they had spent the last few months escorting transport ships, chasing down petty criminals and rescuing hick miners and their clapped out under maintained death-trap ships, tasks usually assigned to less experienced captains and smaller ships. Such was their punishment.

The Mark Antony was currently docked at Euphrates Station in the Vega system to take on supplies. They were due to return to their patrol route tomorrow. Chen ruefully wondered if she could contain her excitement at the prospect as she slouched in the small couch in her cabin. She got up, smoothed down her blue naval uniform, then walked over to her desk and pulled up the itinerary for tomorrow on the embedded screen for the fourth time that evening.

09:30GMT. Depart Euphrates Station and return to patrol route. Meet with convoy of ore transports at Watson orbital mining facility in the Garnet system (ship IDs and co-ordinates enclosed), at 14:45GMT. Escort to Lonsdale factory orbital in Wolf 1373 (co-ordinates enclosed). Proceed to Fort Charles in Ross 145 (co-ordinates enclosed) and await further orders.

Wolf 1373 and Ross 145; two systems so boring and inconsequential that even after being settled for over a hundred years no-one had bothered to rename them with more interesting titles. She looked at the cargo manifests of the transports; refined metals and a few sundry items, certainly nothing worth pirating in any case. She wondered just why they had requested an escort. Paranoia most likely, there had been several attacks on ships carrying more valuable items by small-time freebooters. The Mark Antony had apprehended a few. They were pitiful people in Chen’s estimation.

Chen stretched, got up and walked to the single small window in the cabin. The view outside was admittedly quite spectacular if you hadn’t seen it before. Euphrates Station was situated within the disc of dusk and gas that comprised much of the Vega system. It served as a processing station, maintenance depot and agricultural growing area for the gas mining operations in the disc. A few of the mining vessels were visible outside; clusters of tanks and engines fitted with horn shaped ram-scoops, they resembled a collection of outlandish musical instruments. The dust disc itself glowed a soft blue in the light from the parent star. The view rotated slowly as the Mark Antony was docked directly to the spinning station’s midsection.

They were to be docked here until 09:30. It was 22:30 now; that gave them plenty of time before departure. Chen could have killed for a drink. She had allowed any crew members not on duty to go over to the station and take advantage of whatever meagre entertainments it offered, as long as they behaved themselves and didn’t annoy the locals. She didn’t think it would do for them to see their captain getting drunk in some seedy dive, but she had insisted that her first officer, Commander Ramirez, go and keep an eye on them. He enquired several times whether she might like to join them on shore, but politely, she had declined.

Ramirez had been a great help to her these past few months. He had been posted to the Mark Antony as her new First Officer to replace his predecessor, killed at Highpoint. He was efficient, intelligent, and popular with the crew and he got good results from them. Personally, she felt it was a little unfair that he had been posted to a vessel serving out a punishment for an act he had had no part in, but he never complained and seemed to throw himself into the task of keeping up the morale of the crew and maintaining discipline. For that she was intensely grateful. Chen was not a people person. She might command a star ship, but she wasn’t very good at small talk except when it concerned her job. She knew that the crew respected her, but she wondered if they regarded her as being too remote, aloof even. It was something that concerned her greatly. If current events came to a head and war broke out, she would need their absolute loyalty.

With that thought in mind she switched the desk screen to a news feed the Mark Antony was currently receiving from Euphrates. The headline was again gloomy: ‘Arms Talks Fail As K’Soth Base Discovered.’ She read on: ‘The Elysium Arms Negotiations were abandoned today with the discovery of a major K’Soth naval base only twenty light years from the demilitarised zone. The base was discovered by a Commonwealth deep recon mission yesterday, having been constructed in the shadow of a gas giant in the Shafar system (-35, 280, 45) and thus previously hidden from detection. Defence minister Mannheim described the discovery as ‘Evidence of K’Soth duplicity,’ adding that ‘they see fit to carry a concealed weapon whilst we talk to them of peace.’ The minister then left the negotiations after further angry words were exchanged with K’Soth War Leader Sharptalon who denounced ‘Commonwealth spies and treachery’ and also criticised the recent Commonwealth naval activity in the region of space adjoining the DMZ. It is hoped that the talks can be re-convened at a later date but the prospect of agreement at this time seems remote.’

There was more but Chen had read enough for now. She’d explain the situation to the crew tomorrow; say it was business as usual but that they’d step up the drills and training just to be sure. No doubt instructions would come from Naval Command soon enough, but she’d like to pre-empt them and make a good impression as to the readiness of her vessel.

The prospect of war filled her with a perverse thrill. She might actually get the chance to lead her vessel against the K’Soth. It had always been an ambition of hers after the stories her parents had told her of the last war, stories they had told her after she had asked why she sometimes heard her Grandfather calling out in his sleep or the time she caught him holding his old medals and weeping. She hoped she’d have a chance to pay them back.

She could really use that drink. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to show her face at one of the bars just for one drink and show the crew she was at least partly human. She’d see where Ramirez was and join him. She called him from the desk console. He answered with a speed that surprised her.

‘Ramirez here,’ he was shouting over the sound of music in the background.

‘It’s Chen. I thought I might show my face on the station. Where are you?’

‘Are you sure Captain? It’s pretty loud in here, didn’t think this was your sort of thing.’

‘Well it can’t hurt, Commander. Lieutenant O’Rourke is on watch on the bridge.’

‘Okay, well we’re in a bar called Harry’s Rock City, you come out of the dock via lift number four and head straight ahead along Muldoon Street for about a hundred yards, it’s on your right, you can’t miss it.’

‘I’ll be there in a couple of minutes, Chen out,’ she replied and broke the transmission.

Chen checked her appearance in the mirror before leaving, informed the bridge of her intended destination and then took the lift down a dozen levels to the middle deck. It was a short walk to the port midsection docking point. The ship was quiet. Only a skeleton crew from its compliment of two hundred and fifty remained on duty and the only real sound was provided by the background hum of the vessel’s systems. The docking point was guarded by two armed security officers who saluted smartly as she approached. She returned the gesture as she strode past them.

The short umbilical that mated the Mark Antony to the station was lined with grab handles and footholds, and was labelled with garish warning signs that indicated the limits of the ship’s gravity field. The fat doughnut shaped Euphrates Station spun to provide internal gravity around its circumference, and hence there was none at its hub to which the Mark Antony was attached.

Chen took note of the warnings and made sure she had firm grip on the grab handles before proceeding. She was glad she had no intention of getting drunk; negotiating this in a state of anything less than total sobriety would be unpleasant, and possibly rather messy. She pulled herself to the end of the umbilical and into the station.

Where the umbilical ended, she found herself in a deserted drum shaped chamber that contained the entrances to the station’s four lifts that ran down the spokes to the floor of the habitation ring. Chen pushed herself over to number four and strapped herself into one of the padded chairs situated around what would become the floor once gravity took effect. Sensors in the lift took note that she was no longer floating freely, the doors closed and the lift began to descend.

The journey was brief, during which gravity increased to something resembling one gee as the lift travelled outwards towards the floor of the station. Thirty seconds later Chen stepped out of the lift and into the tattered looking spaceport lounge, which was quiet save for a few bored looking staff and a number of the ship’s security complement with whom she exchanged salutes with as she passed.

Remembering Ramirez’s directions she walked quickly along Muldoon Street. The interior of the small station was rather claustrophobic and had a noticeable curve. The buildings were largely scruffy prefabricated affairs, and the street had its fair share of drunks, hookers and vendors selling fast food of questionable quality and origins. The stale air stunk of frying food, faulty sewage re-cycs, spilled beer and vomit and resounded to the thudding music coming from a number of bars.

By now, Chen was starting to wonder if coming here was such a good idea. She managed to find Harry’s Rock City. It was a little smarter than some of the others, but strangely it seemed quiet inside, she pushed open the door and went inside. There was a rowdy cheer from the assembled members of the crew inside, Ramirez was standing in the middle of the throng with a pint of beer in each hand and led them in a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday to You.’

It was her birthday, and she’d completely forgotten. Ramirez though obviously hadn’t. Somewhat taken aback and grinning bashfully she accepted her drink from Ramirez and the present they had all bought her that he triumphantly thrust into her hands; a small antique telescope on its own stand. She’d no idea where they could have got it from, it was beautifully made from wood and brass and incredibly old, she guessed eighteenth century. The ice queen melted slightly.

‘I’m glad you came of your own accord Captain,’ he said above the noise. ‘I was starting to think I was going to have to come and drag you down here.’

‘Well I

I don’t know what to say, thank you all, it’s wonderful,’ she could feel herself blushing slightly as she clutched her gift. ‘Now, how about that drink?’ Her crew cheered as Ramirez produced a drink from the bar and handed it to her.

Four hours later and Chen was a little drunk, she had felt compelled to stay for more than just one drink with her crew. She hadn’t wanted to disappoint them and besides, she had found the affection they had shown her quite touching. In an attempt to maintain some of her composure she had drunk slowly, but she wasn’t used to alcohol and she was definitely feeling its effects.

Ramirez had finally managed to extricate her from the bar after she had stayed for what seemed and appropriate length of time and he was now escorting his captain through the bowels of the ship, back to her quarters. Chen swayed slightly as she walked, the telescope clasped in her hands.

‘I’m glad you liked your present Captain,’ said Ramirez. ‘Singh and I saw it when we docked in Altair on our way out here. We thought it was very you, I’ve had it stashed in my locker for a two weeks. We got loads of the crew to chip in.’

‘It was very thoughtful of you, I love it. I shall put it on my desk so everyone can see it. I must admit I had no idea the crew were so fond of me

I’m afraid sometimes I’m just not a people person. I knew they respected me as their captain, but I was quite touched by this evening.’

‘The crew are right behind you. They know how hard it’s been these past few months.’

‘They don’t blame me for what happened? For us being relegated to nannying transports?’

‘No, not at all. They all know what happened and that there wasn’t anything you could have done to avoid it.’

‘Thank you, that’s a great comfort to me.’

They had reached Chen’s quarters. She punched in her code and opened the door. Chen turned to face Ramirez, the telescope clasped to her body.

‘You know you’ve been a great help Alvaro, these past months have been so difficult. I lost several of my most senior staff, including your predecessor and I’ve to cope with a huge stain on my record because of those bloody Vendiri. But you come along, and you never complain about our situation, you’re efficient, you give intelligent input and you’re good with the crew too - much better than I. I mean, you organised tonight as well which was wonderful. In all honesty I’d be lost without you at the moment, I really would.’ She stared at him intently.

Ramirez had never seen this side of his Captain before. She was normally such a cold authoritarian figure on the bridge, as though nothing could touch her. Now she seemed smaller and more vulnerable. Frightened, even. He suddenly felt rather protective towards her.

‘Thank you Captain I

’

‘Oh Michelle, please. We’re off duty and the crew aren’t around.’

‘I always try to give my best, Michelle.’

She took hold of one his hands. ‘I know you do Alvaro.’

Chen leaned forward slightly and Ramirez heard alarm bells ringing in his head, the Captain’s body language was suggesting all sorts of things to him. She appeared to be making some sort of clumsy, drunken pass at him. He couldn’t take advantage of this situation could he? He wondered if it would help his real mission on the ship at all. Still

kissing the Captain was a severe breach of the rules. He hesitated.

‘I, well. Thanks Michelle,’ he mumbled.

She was attractive though, and young for a captain, at thirty-five she was only three years his senior. But, no. Not now. There were too many unknowns. He’d have to think about this.

‘Well, goodnight then,’ said Ramirez hurriedly. ‘Up bright and early in the morning to meet those miners eh?’

‘Goodnight Alvaro,’ said Chen softly. ‘Thanks again.’

Ramirez smiled nervously and saluted, turned on his heel and left. Chen gazed after him for a second, before retiring to her cabin and to her bunk.

It was almost nine-thirty. Chen sat in her ready room nursing a cup of what alleged to be coffee to combat her mild hangover. The Captain’s ready room was situated just behind the bridge. It was fairly small but it suited her needs. A portrait of the ship’s namesake hung on one wall, as did several of Chen’s service citations and a photo of President Rheinhold. Her birthday present stood in pride of place on her desk, along with a photo of Chen with her brother and parents, taken on a holiday to Earth some years previously. There was a polite knock on the door.

‘Come.’

It was Ramirez. He too looked a little hung-over.

‘Good morning Captain.’

‘Morning Commander, come in and shut the door would you?’

He did so.

‘I just came to inform you that the ship is ready for departure and that we have clearance from Euphrates Station.’

‘Very good, I’ll be along to the bridge immediately, and ah

one more thing.’

‘Yes ma’am?’

‘Some of the things I may have said to you last night. I’d appreciate it if they stayed just between you and me.’

‘Of course Captain, I understand.’

‘Thank you Commander,’ she said and finished the last dregs of her coffee. ‘Now, let’s get going shall we?’

The bridge was alive with activity as Chen strode onto it ahead of Ramirez. She exchanged salutes with her officers and sat down in the command chair, situated in the centre of the wide pristine bridge, then attached and adjusted her HUD monocle. Projecting an image directly into her right retina, its display appeared to spring into life before her. Ramirez sat at his console to her left and likewise donned his own device. The constant upwardly rolling view out of the windows showed the shifting blue clouds of the disc.

‘Good morning everyone,’ said Chen brightly. ‘I hope we all enjoyed ourselves last night?’ There was a murmured agreement. ‘But it’s back to work now I’m afraid. The Commander has informed me that the ship is ready for departure. Helm, retract docking tunnel, move us away from the station and correct our rotation.’

‘Retracting docking tunnel, aye. Engaging thrusters and reducing rotation to zero Captain.’

Ensign Goldstein was at the helm, Chen was glad of that, she was fresh out of Naval College but very able. The rotation of the view outside slowed as Chen felt the ship shift beneath her.

‘Rotation has been halted Captain.’

‘Very good. Engineering, power up the shields to full. This disc is full of all sorts of floating debris; I have no intention of denting this vessel.’

‘Shields active aye,’ Came the reply from Chief Sohal over the ship’s internal comm.

‘Helm, ahead one third. Take us out.’

‘Ahead one third, aye.’

There was a barely perceptible vibration through the floor as the Mark Antony eased forward away from Euphrates. Looking forward over the gun decks, Chen could see the normally faint shields revealed to her as a bright bluish shell around the ship as the gas of the disc ionised against them, leaving a swirling wake behind the massive vessel.

‘Captain we are clear of Euphrates traffic control jurisdiction.’

‘Thank you Ensign,’ Chen called up a map of the system on her display. She rotated and zoomed it out to get a better look. ‘Let’s get out of this debris disc, plot a course three hundred by zero degrees.’

‘Changing course, aye.’

The Mark Antony turned slightly then its nose swept slowly downward to face directly away from Vega’s ecliptic. Chen’s display illustrated the course change.

‘Ahead two thirds. Lieutenant Singh?’

‘Yes ma’am?’

‘Keep a watch for any large chunks of debris on those instruments of yours.’

‘Yes Captain.’

The almost subsonic rumble of the ship’s engines increased as it powered out of the dust disc with a steadily increasing velocity. Ten minutes later and the ship was clear of the disc and out in open space, rearward facing cameras showed the flat circular cloud, tinged with a blue glow that built to a blinding white glare at the centre.

‘Well, today we’re off to escort another mining convoy. Navigation?’ she turned to Lieutenant O’Rourke.

‘Yes ma’am?’

‘Plot jump co-ordinates and course to the Watson mining facility in the Garnet system.’

‘Plotting a course aye.’ He worked his console for a moment. ‘Co-ordinates relayed to the helm.’

‘We’re scheduled to meet with the transports at 14:45. I intend to arrive a fraction early. Ensign, proceed to the Garnet system, best speed.’

‘Aye, Captain.’

Under the control of Ensign Goldstein, the Mark Antony swung smoothly to face the new co-ordinates and jumped, the gigantic space time ripple of its passing distorting the view of the star field to any potential observers.

The Mark Antony terminated its jump one hundred kilometres from the Watson orbital mining facility and hailed the station immediately before approaching. The station was a rotating fat, windowless, metal toroid and served largely as a loading and unloading point and service depot. Heavy orbital lifter shuttles brought refined ore up from the surface of the moon below, where it was loaded by a fleet of tugs onto the waiting cargo vessels that kept station by the structure. A number of their course tracks were visible on Chen’s tactical display.

It seemed like a depressingly claustrophobic place to spend one’s working life, thought Chen as she spoke to a bored looking traffic control officer. The shadows under his eyes were visible even on the small virtual display projected in front of her. He directed the Mark Antony over to a cluster of twenty assorted cargo vessels that had assembled four kilometres from the station. They were ugly, battered looking craft, variations on a design of a bulky engine module and a smaller cramped bridge and habitation module attached to a large latticework of girders filled with cargo crates. Though they were all fairly large vessels in themselves, they were dwarfed by the immense warship.

Chen ordered Goldstein to approach the group of ships then instructed Ensign Andrews at the comms station to hail them. A middle aged woman appeared on Chen’s display; she had greying hair tied back in a bun and wore a battered looking Navy surplus flight suit. Her face seemed creased and prematurely aged.

‘This is Captain Mary Elwood of the cargo vessel Sunflower,’ she drawled. ‘I presume you are the vessel we requested as an escort?’

‘Good morning Captain,’ replied Chen. ‘We are indeed your escort; I am Captain Michelle Chen of the naval destroyer Mark Antony. If you and the other vessels would care to slave your navigation computers to ours we can get going.’

‘Roger that, Captain,’ replied Captain Elwood and then spoke to a subordinate off screen. She then turned back to face Chen. ‘I must admit I didn’t expect an escort quite like this! That’s quite a ship you have there, we were expecting a cruiser at the most.’

‘Thank you Captain, though I was wondering why you requested an escort. The cargo manifests we have show nothing of any unusual piratable value aboard any of the vessels in your little fleet.’

‘It was with some regret that we asked for your assistance Captain,’ replied Elwood. ‘We have lost a number of vessels on this route over the past few months to seemingly random attacks and it looks like the ships themselves are what they’re after. They overtake them in hyperspace then jump them as they emerge at the other end and knock out their engines. Then they board them, force the crew into the life-rafts and bring in a larger vessel to tow the ships away.’

‘I see, well whoever’s doing it will get a big surprise if they try that this time I assure you.’

Ramirez cut in. ‘Captain all the cargo vessels in the convoy have linked their navigation computers to ours.’

‘Very good. Helm, wait until all the freighters have formed up behind us then take us away from the station. Navigation, plot a course to the Lonsdale orbital factory in Wolf 1373 and relay it to the helm. Ensign Goldstein, please bear in mind that these cargo ships are a good deal slower than ourselves so don’t exceed their maximum speed.’

‘Aye, Captain.’

‘Captain Elwood, I’ll speak to you again when we arrive at our destination, I estimate that should be in just over a day’s time. Chen out.’ She cut the link and pondered Elwood’s story: It just didn’t ring true; the freighter captain was withholding something from her.

The view outside moved as the ship turned slowly away from Watson. With the freighters in tow it powered away from the facility. The ships were now arranged in a cone shape with the Mark Antony at the apex in order to avoid collisions whilst maintaining a tight formation and maximising jump engine efficiency.

The star field distorted then disappeared from Chen’s view as the convoy jumped simultaneously for Wolf 1373.

Chen turned to Ramirez. ‘Commander, what do you make of Captain Elwood’s story?’

‘Well it seemed a little odd to me I must admit,’ he replied. ‘I’d doubt that those freighters or their cargoes are worth much. If I was a pirate I wouldn’t risk myself or go to so much effort over such a small prize. Why not target more lucrative cargoes or more expensive vessels if they’re so well equipped?’

‘They could have been modified with more expensive parts perhaps?’

‘I doubt it, besides, the most expensive part of those ships is the engines and according to Captain Elwood’s story that’s what they destroy to disable the vessels.’

‘And the hulls aren’t worth very much without that are they? I wonder

’ Chen stared into space thoughtfully for a second.

Ensign Andrews spoke. ‘Captain, is it possible that they could be smuggling something valuable that isn’t listed on their cargo manifests?’

‘I think that’s a distinct possibility Ensign, if they are then I’m rather insulted that they think they can pull a fast one on us. I’d like a look at their cargoes.’

‘Captain, our sensors don’t work in hyperspace. If we drop out of hyperspace now and scan the ships it’ll give the game away,’ said Ramirez. ‘If they are smuggling we need to catch whoever they’re delivering it to as well. I suggest we wait until we reach Wolf.’

‘Duly noted Commander, you are of course correct. For now we’ll continue as normal until we reach our destination. Lieutenant Singh, as soon as we drop out of hyperspace in Wolf I want you to scan all of those ships as quickly as possible to determine their cargoes. Set about programming the instruments now please.’

‘Aye Captain, I’m on it.’

Chen spoke to the gunnery control centre located in the bowels of the ship’s midsection. It was separate from the bridge to enable to ship to continue to fight even if the former had been destroyed. Lieutenant Commander Davis was in command down there in the cramped, screen filled room. A large man who sported an impressive moustache, he was apparently the ship’s arm wrestling champion as well as fine gunnery officer. He was no stranger to combat either; the white scars on the dark brown skin of his right arm were a testament to that. He answered Chen crisply in his deep booming tones.

‘Davis here.’

Chen explained the situation whilst Davis grunted in agreement.

‘Okay, we’ll set about programming a firing solution for all of those ships. As soon as we drop out of hyperspace we can lock the anti-fighter defences onto all of them. That should be enough to disable any vessel that tries to make a run for it. You’re sure they’re trying it on Captain?’

‘No, but it is a possibility.’

‘Yeah, it would explain why they keep getting hit all the time if someone else knows what they’re up to. But I’ll need you to say the word before we fire; they could just be innocent traders who really have been targeted by some trigger happy maniacs.’

‘Well I had considered that,’ said Chen, and then added. ‘But it never hurts to be suspicious.’

‘I agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole pirate story is a load of crap. I bet they thought that we wouldn’t check and that a naval escort would also stop anyone at Lonsdale from looking too closely. They’ll assume everything is all above board if we’re tagging along.’

‘Well if they are smugglers then they should have learnt to lie more convincingly.’

‘Huh! Bloody hicks. Alright Captain, we’ll have the defence grid ready. How long before we reach Wolf?’

Chen turned to O’Rourke who gave her an answer.

‘Lieutenant O’Rourke informs me we’ll be there in twenty three hours and twelve minutes.’

‘That’s quite a while; I guess their ships aren’t too hot right?’ Chen nodded, ‘Okay, Davis out.’

It was quite a while - next morning ship time in fact, Chen knew that she’d be impatient until then. Secretly she hoped that the traders they were escorting were trying something - it would make this otherwise uneventful trip a little more interesting.

Ramirez noted the predatory look on his Captain’s face and raised a questioning eyebrow. She flashed a grin at him.

The journey to Wolf 1373 passed with unbearable slowness for Chen as the Mark Antony crawled through hyperspace at the head of the convoy. She was itching to know if her suspicions about the freighters were correct, but there was nothing she could do but wait so she busied herself in her ready room writing routine reports and reading assessments of recent drilling sessions. She was pleased to see improvements in her crew’s performance right across the board, though there was of course always room for improvements.

She also briefed the senior crew members on the current state of relations between the K’Soth and the Commonwealth. Some of her officers looked distinctly perturbed at the news and she tried to allay their fears by insisting that it was to be business as usual and until they heard otherwise there was no cause for alarm. It wouldn’t do for her crew’s morale to deteriorate through unnecessary worry, but they should at least know the facts as they stood rather than relying on rumour.

Chen caught a few hours sleep and arrived on the bridge the following morning feeling refreshed. The shifts had rotated so that the same bridge crew were on duty as when they had begun their trip. As she arrived Ensign Goldstein was just settling into the chair at the helm recently vacated by Ensign Nguyen. Chen settled into her own command chair and sat impatiently, waiting for the end of the hyperspace jump. She made a last minute check.

‘Lieutenant Singh, are the instruments configured?’

‘Aye, Captain.’

‘Gunnery control, report status.’

‘Bringing the anti-fighter defences online now, Captain.’

‘Very good Commander. Ensign Goldstein, how long until we exit hyperspace?’

‘Exiting hyperspace in fifteen seconds Captain, we shall emerge one hundred kilometres from the Lonsdale facility.’

‘Thank you. Stand by Mr Singh.’

The star field twisted back into view, the Lonsdale orbital factory was visible as a collection of lights floating against the backdrop of a vivid blue gas giant.

‘Scanning the cargo vessels now Captain,’ reported Singh. He looked puzzled for a second then continued. ‘The sensor returns I’m getting would seem to indicate that one crate on each of the ships does not contain bulk refined metals as stated on the manifest.’

‘Indeed? Helm all stop. Gunnery, lock weapons on the transports. Disable any vessel that attempts to escape. Mr Singh, can you tell what those containers are carrying?’

‘I’m running scans in a higher resolution with several of our instruments. It seems that the containers contain numerous metal tubes packed with some sort of electronics and what could be chemical propellant

wait, those are definitely shoulder launched missiles with AM warheads. I’m getting a high radiation reading from them. At a guess I’d say that they were of K’Soth manufacture: only they still make the things.’

‘Thank you Mr Singh, good work. Comms, send a tight-beam transmission to Lonsdale and inform them of the situation, and I’d like to talk to Captain Elwood please.’

The Captain’s face appeared on Chen’s display, she looked puzzled at Chen’s expression.

‘Something the matter, Captain Chen?’

‘Captain Elwood I’m placing you, your crew and the crews of all the other ships in the convoy under arrest on charges of arms smuggling.’

Elwood spluttered. ‘That’s preposterous! Really Captain I don’t know

’

‘Don’t play games with me Captain, I’m not in the mood. We made a detailed examination of your cargo with our sensor arrays. You appear to be carrying shipments of missiles with antimatter warheads, banned weapons I might add. If you attempt to flee you will be fired upon and you will hold station until the local police authorities arrive. Good day.’ Chen cut the channel. ‘Ensign Andrews, broadcast on an open channel please,’ she paused whilst the Ensign carried out her order before continuing.

‘This is Captain Chen of the CNV Mark Antony. We are seizing control of the space around this facility. We have uncovered a convoy of gun runners and we believe there may be more in the vicinity. Any ship attempting to leave the area will be fired upon. Please prepare to be boarded and searched by port authority police vessels. Thank you.’ Chen saw a number of boxy police shuttles pulling away from the station as the Mark Antony moved forward again toward Lonsdale, keeping her weapons trained on the convoy. Lieutenant Singh spoke.

‘Captain, a freighter is pulling away from the station and powering up its jump engines.’

‘Hail them Ensign Andrews.’

‘Aye Captain,’ there was brief pause. ‘Captain they have failed to respond.’

‘Gunnery control?’

‘Davis here.’

‘Commander, you see that freighter making a run for it? Disable it quickly please.’

‘Aye Captain.’

Looking out of the bridge windows Chen saw the ship’s foremost turret rotate quickly to face the target: a large cargo-less freighter constructed with bulky engine block at the rear linked to a cockpit module at the front via an open latticework of struts. A beam of brilliant light briefly joined the two vessels, slicing through the freighter’s midsection and separating the cockpit from the engines. The two halves of the stricken vessel began to tumble away from one another.

‘Hail them again Ensign; perhaps they got the message this time.’

A shaky image appeared on Chen’s display. Much to her surprise the captain of the rogue vessel was a Vendiri. She hadn’t known that any of them owned any interstellar craft, though this one appeared to be of Commonwealth manufacture.

‘Do you not take hints captain?’ she snapped. ‘I mean what I say.’

‘You!’ he yelled in broken English as he gestured at the screen with one hand and hung on for dear life with the other as his cockpit tumbled wildly. ‘You, the butcher of Highpoint! I should have known! Fucking human filth!’

‘Charming.’ She responded coldly. ‘Captain I will not tolerate gun running, especially as I suspect these illegal weapons were intended for the revolution on Urranakar. You are under arrest,’ she said and turned to Goldstein. ‘Helm, close with the remains of that freighter, Commander Ramirez, assemble a boarding party. I think we’ll handle this one ourselves.’

Chen kept the channel open and relished the expression of the Vendiri captain as the gigantic warship bore down on him.

It was evening, ship time, and Chen sat in at the desk in her quarters writing her report of the day’s successes as the Mark Antony powered toward Ross 145. It felt so good to have had a little luck come their way for once. Her cabin’s entertainment facilities were playing her some Mozart as a background as Chen began putting the finishing touches to the document, checking her typing and grammar before she filed it for dispatch to Command at the first available opportunity.

They had spent the remainder of the day boarding the fleet of freighters and seizing their crews and cargoes. There had been little resistance to the squads of marines and police from the traders, who had all been arrested and led away in police shuttles to imprisonment in the system’s penitentiary. The Vendiri captain had been taken with them after a struggle, during which Ramirez had been forced to stun him. All would be questioned by Commonwealth Intelligence in due course and many could expect lengthy sentences for their crimes.

Chen knew that the incident would look good on the Mark Antony’s record. Their quick thinking had averted a potential bloodbath on Urranakar. The AM Missiles were deadly in the extreme. Just one was capable of destroying a station, or a city block or even a star ship.

Antimatter had been outlawed as a weapon some decades previously. It allowed far too much destructive force to be packed into an easily concealable weapon and the possibility of them being used in terrorism was appalling. Evidently the revolutionaries on Urranakar knew this full well and were attempting to acquire a cache. Chen suspected that she had actually done them a favour of sorts in preventing them from gaining access to the weapons; the Commonwealth response to their use would have been swift and deadly and would certainly have cost of thousands of lives.

The question still remained though: Were the weapons from an old cache recently unearthed, or had they been recently manufactured by the K’Soth? The second of these two possibilities would do little for interstellar relations if it were so.

There was knock at her cabin door as she pondered.

‘Come in,’ called Chen as she filed her finished report.

It was Ramirez. His handsome clean cut features wore a smile as he held up a bottle of red wine for her to see.

‘I thought we could bend the rules just this once Michelle,’ he said. ‘How about we celebrate the day’s good fortune?’

‘Well why not. Come in and shut the door before somebody sees you. Have you brought any glasses?’

‘Ah, no. I didn’t have any, or a corkscrew for that matter.’

‘Lucky that I do then isn’t it?’ she rummaged in one of the cupboards and produced two glasses and a corkscrew which she placed on her desk. Ramirez uncorked the wine with a grunt and poured two glasses, and then he picked up one and raised it aloft.

‘To more good luck in the future,’ he declared and took sip.

‘I’ll go along with that,’ replied Chen and did likewise then she sat down on the couch and took a sip of her drink. The wine was good, dark and fruity. ‘Where did you get this?’ she asked.

‘Oh, when we stopped at Alexandria Station in Altair on the way out here, it’s from a vineyard in the system. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. This is as good as any.’ He sat down next to her. ‘Hmm, is this Mozart you’re playing?’ he said.

‘Very good, it is. You’re quite the cultured man, Alvaro. I’ve noticed this about you, though sometimes you hide it well. Your ability to sing colourful ditties in spaceport bars for example.’

Ramirez gave an embarrassed laugh. ‘Not the one that goes “There was a young lady from Venus?”’ he said and winced.

‘No, no it was more imaginative than that.’

‘Oh God

’

‘You know I really enjoyed the other night. Maybe I should do things like that more often, let the crew see the human side of me. I’ve always been afraid eroding my authority if they saw me letting my hair down a bit.

‘It doesn’t hurt to a have a couple of drinks once in a while, just as long as you stay more sober than them they won’t notice.’

‘Maybe you’re right. It does get a bit lonely being the captain sometimes. Perhaps I should get out more.’ She sighed. ‘It’s just, Alvaro, I was wondering.’ she looked at him oddly.

‘What?’

‘Do you worry about the prospect of war? With the K’Soth I mean.’

‘Yes. Yes I do actually

a great deal in fact. I’m pretty sure it’ll happen eventually. Sorry if that’s not much of a comfort.’

‘That’s a little fatalistic isn’t it? I mean I’m all for being prepared, I’m the captain of this ship, I’m responsible for hundreds of people, I have to be

but after last time?’

If only I could tell her that I know what is to come, thought Ramirez. ‘Guess I’m a pessimist about some things,’ he said. ‘Maybe I read too much into history?’

‘Well I’d never have thought that about you Alvaro. I thought I was the gloomy one.’

‘You should meet my father, every day he thinks it’s the end of the world.’ Ramirez laughed. ‘He practically had a nervous breakdown when I joined the Navy. He was convinced I’d walk out of an open airlock or get eaten by some monster on an alien world or something. Maybe I get it from him a little. You don’t worry then?’

‘Part of me does,’ she replied. ‘The responsibility of commanding a ship in battle is quite an awesome one, aside from the risk of death or injury. I’m more bothered about the people under my command, if I make a mistake at a crucial moment it’ll be them that suffer as well as me. That’s why I’m glad I have such a good bridge crew, especially my First Officer,’ she patted his arm affectionately. ‘But part of me relishes the prospect you know? My grandfather fought in the war, he was a marine aboard the Tokugawa. I gather that he saw some of the worst of the fighting both in space and on planet surfaces. He helped to liberate Klondike after the atrocities.’ She said and noted Ramirez’s grimace.

‘He

never talked about it much, but when I was a child we’d hear him screaming at night sometimes in his sleep. The nightmares would come and he’d be reliving it all again. He suffered terrible depression too. He was on all sorts of sedatives and things but none of them really worked and well, eventually he killed himself. He couldn’t live with what he’d seen. That he’d been spared when so many others hadn’t made it. Post traumatic guilt.’

‘Christ, I’m sorry Michelle. I shouldn’t have brought it up.’

‘No that’s alright. I don’t mind discussing it. It was all a very long time ago. But part of me would love to pay back the K’Soth for what they did to him and our family and doubtless many more,’ she said, staring at the black depths of her wine glass, before taking another mouthful. ‘I just hope it doesn’t cloud my judgement if the time comes.’

‘Well your judgement was spot on today if I might say so.’

‘Thank you. Though I did have good counsel as ever,’ she chuckled. ‘Did you see the look on that Vendiri’s face? I bet today I was his worst nightmare come to life!’ She drained her glass and shot Ramirez a wicked smile.

‘It was like watching a cat play with a mouse. You’re downright predatory when you want to be.’

‘I am indeed, and I have to be. Refill please, and that’s an order by the way.’

Ramirez reached for the bottle and chuckled.

Second

Banished to the wilderness at the end of creation, we struggled on in the encroaching darkness. One by one the distant lights began to dim until we were truly alone in the endless night. Thousands of years since our arrival, we had still not found a way out of this desolation. In an effort to preserve ourselves we used all of our technological prowess and genius to survive, huddling our settlements around the embers of dead stars and the all consuming singularities that now populated the heavens, harvesting what energy we could in order to stay alive.

But our biological bodies were ill suited to survive in such a hostile place. As the centuries passed the deadly sea of radiation that saturated this domain of shadows began to take its toll. Despite our best efforts and precautions we found our bodies turning against us. Lesions and tumours became ever more common, our offspring were hideously deformed or stillborn. Our gene pool was being steadily corrupted and polluted, our race was dying. Despite our vigil, there was no sign of the portal re-opening. We would get no chance to repent, or to revenge ourselves unless we could eke out our existence until a solution could be found.

A decision was taken. If our bodies could not survive here then we would have to do without them. Only machines could survive here, so machines we became. We transferred our minds into bodies of metal and circuitry and we were born anew. Freed from the constraints of a biological existence, truly we became the Gods we had once aspired to emulate. Our minds were now freed from the pedestrian speed limits that had imprisoned them and we could share our thoughts freely as one greater whole. We were immortal, all powerful. Now our intellectual and technological accomplishments would know no bounds and when we returned home, those who had acted as judge, jury and executioner would feel our divine wrath. For us, that day could not come soon enough.

Chapter 6

Katherine slept soundly for several hours in the spacious room she had been assigned on the second floor of the ambassadorial residence. She had arrived in the early hours of the morning Mean Time and after her travels she welcomed the comfort of the large double bed. Thankfully, all the rooms had thick shutters and curtains so that those unaccustomed to the lack of a day-night cycle could actually get some sleep.

The mansion’s architect had been inspired by the colonial residences from the Imperial age of Earth’s history and the attempt to recreate the style extended to the interior decoration. Thankfully, the resemblance was merely cosmetic and the building contained all the modern luxuries most Commonwealth citizens would expect. However, upon awaking Katherine could have sworn she was in middle of Raj era India. The walls were a mixture of wood panelling and white plasters, floors were tiled and scattered with richly patterned rugs whilst most of the furniture was carved from local wood and was unusually ornate. In addition there were a good many ornamental native plants standing in large porcelain vases to give the interior some colour and decorative shutters on the exteriors of the windows.

Katherine rose groggily from the depths of sleep and squinted blearily at her watch. It was 9:30 in the morning Mean Time. Not that it made a whit of difference here, as the sunlight outside beat down as relentlessly as ever. Nevertheless, it was time to get up. She showered and dressed in what she thought appropriate clothing for the climate, loose fitting trousers and a t-shirt, and she was lacing up her boots when there a timid knock at the door.

‘Katherine?’ It was Rekkid. ‘Katherine, are you awake yet?’

‘Yes, come on in I’m dressed,’ she replied, tying off the laces of her left boot.

He entered the room and shut the heavy door behind him.

‘I just came by to give you these,’ he said and handed her a plastic tub of white capsules. She studied the label on the container.

‘What on earth?’

‘Due to our remote location and our small numbers it isn’t practical to import off-world foodstuffs, and we’ll be off into the desert too. Obviously we can’t digest alien life forms unaided, so the residence’s doctor has asked me to give you these, they’ve got genetically engineered gut flora and Arkari made nano-machines in them.’

‘Sounds great,’ she responded with little enthusiasm. ‘How often do we have to take them?’

‘Oh, one every five days. Now you know what I have to put up with living on Earth.’

‘Hmm, that’s true. So what’s the local food like then, are we eating bugs for lunch?’

‘No, no it all seems to be mostly vegetable based or sea creatures. There’s not much grazing land in proportion to the population, so meat’s expensive. Also, most of the cities are clustered around the northern ocean and it provides a plentiful supply of foodstuffs’

‘Oh well, I like fish.’

‘Yeah, that’s what I thought,’ said Rekkid thoughtfully and grimaced. ‘Anyway, when you’ve had something to eat I thought you might like to go for a walk into the town. I had a wander down there yesterday and I did find somewhere that serves reasonably edible food by the river. We could have lunch there perhaps?’

‘Okay. What is there to eat for breakfast anyway?’

‘Well I had a half of this purple fruit thing yesterday. That wasn’t too bad I suppose, and Steven keeps eating the local bread with some red fruit preserve on it, though I’ve no idea what that’s made from. Anyway, if you wander down to the kitchen I’m sure you’ll find something, no-one minds too much if you help yourself. There are some locals employed as cooks and whatnot but they don’t come in until later. The kitchen’s down in the basement, just follow the main stairs all the way down, you can’t miss it.’

‘Right, well if you come and find me in say, half an hour?’

‘Alright, enjoy.’

‘Oh no doubt I will,’ she said wryly to Rekkid as he retreated from the room. She wondered what he was up to, and when was he going to tell her where had he been all this time?

Katherine took one of the fat white pills and swallowed it with a glass of water from the sink, and then she made her way down the grand central staircase to the kitchen to find something to eat.

Rekkid had been right, it was easy to find and thankfully it had fully modern fittings. She had been expected piles of pots and pans and joints of meat swinging on hooks from the ceiling in keeping with the rest of the house.

The kitchen was deserted and Katherine began poking around in the various cupboards and refrigerators. She was faced with a mountain of unrecognisable alien foodstuffs labelled in a language she couldn’t read. Her father the cook would have loved this she thought, he’d have tasted half of this stuff by now, however she just wanted something simple and vaguely familiar. She wondered if there was any of the bread Rekkid had mentioned. That would be a start.

After a bit more searching she found two flat, greyish loaves of something that approximated bread. Now she needed something to go with it, and something to drink, though water would suffice. It seemed hopeless, she didn’t have a clue what any of this stuff was. Katherine swore under her breath.

‘Having trouble getting used to the local food?’

She jumped. Steven was stood right behind her and she hadn’t even known that he was there. His face wore a slightly embarrassed expression

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,’ he said apologetically.

‘That’s quite alright. I could use a hand here actually. What the hell is all this stuff?’

‘It’s what there is to eat around here I’m afraid. I see you found the bread.’

‘Yeah, at least I think it is. I take it it’s not made from wheat.’

‘No, they dry these big seedpods then grind them up to make flour. They’re full of things that look a bit like beans. It does taste a lot like bread though. You’ll want something to put on it then?’

‘Yes, Rekkid said he saw you eating some stuff that looks like red jam. I thought I’d try that.’

‘That was my strawberry jam. My old mum still makes it back home, she sent me a load of it a month or two back, I have stash of it in my quarters.’

‘I would love some strawberry jam Steven,’ she gave him a pleading look, he raised an eyebrow. ‘Pretty please? Go on

’

‘Well

alright,’ he grinned and reached into one of the cupboards, producing a sticky looking jar from behind a pile of tins. ‘Just don’t go telling everyone I hand out free samples. I’ll have none of it left.’

Katherine grabbed a knife, split one of the small loaves lengthways and began spreading jam on it. ‘I promise I’ll keep this secret. I owe you one,’ she said, took a bite and made appreciative noises. ‘I think I owe you more than one actually, or your mum anyway,’ she said through a mouthful of bread and jam. ‘Now, what is there to drink around here?’

‘I suppose you’ll be wanting to raid my stash of coffee beans now will you, Doctor?’ he replied conspiratorially.

‘Well, now that you mention it

’

‘I’ll make us both one, you wait upstairs.’

Rekkid came downstairs and found Katherine sitting on the veranda eating jam and bread and sipping freshly made coffee. She waved at him.

‘Ah hello Katherine, I see you and Steven are getting acquainted,’ he said.

‘Rekkid, I believe I have found the most useful person on this planet,’ said Katherine. ‘He has jam and coffee and God knows what else hidden in this house. The man deserves a medal.’

‘Oh it’s alright for some isn’t it?’ said Rekkid with a smile. ‘I had one of those blue things, Uana fruits, for my breakfast this morning. It tasted like metal polish.’

‘Well I laid off the metal polish some time ago Professor,’ said Steven. ‘So I think I’ll steer well clear of those.’

‘Do. My mouth feels well and truly buffed and shined. Katherine, are you ready for our jaunt into town, when you’ve quite finished covering yourself in jam?’

‘Yes, hang on a second Rekkid,’ said Katherine through a mouthful of food and wiped a sticky red blob from her trousers before finishing the last of her coffee. ‘Thanks for the breakfast, Steven. I’ll catch up with you later. Rekkid’s promised to show me the sights of Erais.’

She helped Steven to clear away the breakfast things and then bade him farewell, following Rekkid down the gravel drive to the gate. The sunlight was hot and unrelenting, though a cool breeze blew off the sea and made the temperature more pleasant. Katherine gestured at the carefully laid out gardens of alien plant life.

‘I wonder who did all this?’ she said.

‘The flowers? Oh the Ambassador has some of the locals in his employ as gardeners, they created all this. Nice isn’t it? Steven was saying the old guy had few books on Inigo Jones translated for them, though they didn’t take the hint and copy his style. Still this is all rather pleasant.’

‘Where is the Ambassador anyway? I haven’t met him yet and I’m staying in his residence.’

‘Oh, he’ll be up later; he gets up at all sorts of odd times. Not that it makes much of a difference here, but he’s a bit, well, eccentric I suppose. Nice chap though, if a little odd.’

‘How so?’

‘Hard to describe, no doubt you’ll see later. We’re having a meal with him tonight. It’s sort of a welcome dinner for us all. He said there’d be a few surprise guests too.’

‘Hmm, I suppose I’d better get the creases out of at least one set of clothes then. By the way, what’s in the bag?’ she said, pointing at the satchel Rekkid had slung over his shoulder.

‘Ahh, wait and see,’ he replied cryptically and winked.

They followed the road as it curved down from the headland and onto the end of the quay. The sea front was busy with well-to-do Dendratha, smartly dressed in their brightly coloured robes and it was alive with alien sights, smells and sounds. The waves slapped gently against the sea wall as the boats moored out in the bay bobbed gently on the slight swell.

Katherine took a closer look at the inhabitants of Maranos and noted that they moved with surprising speed. On inspection she noticed that the single foot was in fact composed of numerous smaller feet like those found on caterpillars and that the Dendratha propelled themselves along in a similar rolling fashion. She tried not to stare, although she realised that she and particularly Rekkid were attracting some attention themselves. This had not gone unnoticed by the Arkari. Katherine noticed him looking speculatively at the boats bobbing in the shallow harbour.

‘We need more privacy I think,’ he said. ‘Let’s see if we can hire some sort of vessel.’

‘Do you have any local money?’

He flourished a card with a Commonwealth logo on it.

‘Yes, the ambassador gave me this yesterday. I can show it to shopkeepers or whoever and everything gets charged to the residence, then your government picks up the tab. Though it might not be recognised out of town.’

The two of them wandered along the promenade until they came to a small pier jutting out into the water. A number of flat bottomed rowing boats were moored to it. After a brief negotiation that involved Rekkid pointing at the boats, the water and the card they managed to hire one of the tiny vessels. It was built for Dendratha physiology and thus proved awkward to row. Nevertheless Katherine managed to propel the boat out to a sufficient distance to satisfy Rekkid’s paranoia. She headed for a buoy and Rekkid tied the boat to it. The craft rocked in the gentle waves.

‘Hmm I’m not sure whether we hired the boat or bought it to be honest,’ said Rekkid.

‘I thought you were the language expert. Trust you to forget your translator pendant too,’ said Katherine. ‘All that pointing and pulling faces!’ she laughed. ‘Rekkid where have you been all this time?’ she said, now more serious. ‘Can you tell me now?’

Rekkid told her, about his random trips around space to throw Intelligence off the scent whilst the log remained on Earth, about how on the advice of a colleague he had finally managed to get the thing decoded by the AI known as Quickchild aboard Riianto bubble city and how with the aid of a portion of the entity he had made his daring escape before coming to Maranos. He then listened intently as Katherine related her story of the past few months and her journey here.

‘So when you contacted the University and asked to come here you didn’t know you were off to meet an AI?’ she said.

‘No, not at all. I’d planned to come here and tell you that some dusty old professor of cybernetics had found a way to decode the data and that we could expect to begin translating it in a few months. It was quite a stroke of luck really. By the way, mine isn’t the only copy of the log. There’s one aboard my ship and the original is back on Riianto for safe keeping. Ormintu will have kept it well hidden from those Secret Service types.’

‘So, what does the log contain Rekkid?’ said Katherine excitedly. ‘Why have people been chasing us all over the galaxy?’

‘Well, I’ve referenced the interesting parts from what I’ve managed to read so far. Most of it is pretty routine stuff; life aboard ship and whatnot. I’ve included a few as an example. Here have a look.’

He pulled his slim portable computer from his satchel opened it, pressed a few keys and placed it on Katherine’s knees to face her. She began to read, shielding her eyes and the flat screen from the sun.

11.98/4/6879

Proceeded as planned to the Ukanthi cluster. Began patrol. Chief Engineer reports minor problems with engine performance, nothing serious. He is conducting tests to determine the faulty component. Weapons Adept Koloris reports success in today’s drill.

‘See?’ said Rekkid. ‘Pretty standard stuff, apart from the unknown date used. This kind of thing could have come from any vessel. But read this entry here, it starts to get more interesting.

43.98/4/6879

The crew have expressed doubts about the current turmoil within the government and the chain of command. Twice we have received orders that have contradicted one another. I have contacted command but I have received no adequate explanation for what is going on.

48.98/4/6879

Sky General Vostick contacted me personally today. A great honour. He demanded to know which side our vessel will take in the dispute. I said I did not know, since I had not been fully briefed on the nature of the schism in our government. I explained to him that we had been travelling beyond our borders for some years now and that we had only recently returned. He asked me whom we served. I replied that the Khostun and its crew were loyal to the Empire and the people. The Sky General then explained to me about those corrupt or weak officials within the government that had allowed malign influences to weaken the Empire and allowed some of our colonies to revert back to the control of barbarous races. This troubled me greatly. I told him I would consult with my officers and give him an answer tomorrow.

49.98/4/6879

After consulting with my most trusted officers we have decided to obey Sky General Vostick. It seems that this is the best course of action for now. We wish to show our loyalty to the Empire and to maintaining the supremacy of the Arkari race over all. I contacted a number of other warship captains with whom I am familiar. They verified the Sky General’s story and also told me of witch-hunts among the crews of other vessels, including the flagship, and also that a number of senior navy staff have been removed from their posts. Thankfully my crew are all loyal, and we wish to display this by our gesture of allegiance.

53.98/4/6879

It seems not all amongst the Navy feel the same as us. I spoke to my old friend Captain Urtiss. He has declared for the rebel faction. He said to me: ‘Cortill, can you not see that the faction you have joined is deeply speciesist? There are thugs and brutes in the Empire and you have sided with them. They will cause the death of the Imperium not us.’ I fear he is gravely mistaken, Arkari are superior. We bring light where there was once darkness, squalor and ignorance. Were the empire to fall into the hands of barbarians it would be the end of all that is good and pure and civilised. What we do, we do ultimately for their own good and they must be taught this lesson.

Yet I fear what is to come. The Navy is split cleanly in two. I had no idea that so many of my fellow servicemen were such traitors. We hear reports of Arkari fighting Arkari by the western reaches. It is a dark day indeed.

23.4/8/6879

Today at last we went into battle against the traitors around the planet of Udros to seize the military assets in orbit there. We had our doubts about firing upon fellow Arkari, but I am pleased to report that my crew excelled itself. We added two corvettes and two dozen fighter craft to our tally whilst suffering little damage ourselves. The battle for the Udros facilities went well and victory was achieved rapidly. We successfully landed troops on the station and captured it intact as per our orders. I congratulated the crew on their performance today. If this is the sort of resistance we can expect from the rebels then this war should be mercifully brief.

‘Bloody hell Rekkid,’ said Katherine. ‘A civil war? An Arkari Empire? There’s no record of any of this anywhere else.’

‘Indeed. It gets better too. Read this entry, it’s quite a bit later on.’

47.9/03/6781

Today marks the end of the Ytrnu as a species. An unfortunate necessity. This is what I tell myself and the crew after the act. They sided with the rebellion and they would not lay down their arms. It is lesser life forms such as they that have weakened the Empire and brought us to this state of affairs in the first place. Sky General Vostick was harsh but fair in his treatment of them. He is a wise leader but they simply would not listen to him even though I believe his demands were reasonable.

We began the antimatter bombardment of their cities at 1.9.3 this morning, ship-time. Total annihilation was achieved by mid-day. Execution of the prisoners from the rebel ship Tumiku proceeded as planned at 7.2.12.

‘This is as far as I’ve got I’m afraid.’ said Rekkid. ‘I’ll give you a copy so you can read the whole thing for yourself.’

‘God, no wonder they didn’t want this to get out. I had no idea that the Arkari were capable of such things. Whole planet surfaces devastated?’

‘Me too. It makes you wonder why no-one else knows doesn’t it?’

‘Well, I mean it was such a long time ago, maybe people have found evidence but they misinterpreted it? It’s happened before you know.’

‘Indeed. In your own history for example, there are several instance of global cataclysms being ignored in the archaeological and geological records for quite some time and they were largely cases of not being able to see the wood for the trees.’

‘Yes of course, the ancient of eruptions of Krakatoa for one, and the reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs is another.’

‘Quite, and the former was quite well documented at the time. There were worldwide crop failures as I recall.’

‘But surely an interstellar society would document something like a war in great detail? There should be much more evidence, even if it was a million years ago. How the hell did anyone manage to miss over nine-hundred thousand years of Arkari history? Also, what happened to all the Arkari who had left the home world? Why weren’t they encountered when your species spread into space for a second time?’

‘There is more evidence, there has to be,’ said Rekkid. ‘Somebody knows something, and my bet is it’s not the Commonwealth. I think our government really did tell them it was a top secret new star ship that we found. I wouldn’t be surprised if the higher echelons of the Arkari government or military know and that they’ve been keeping it quiet all along. As for the descendents of earlier colonists -who knows? Maybe they all died out or were wiped out by their imperial subjects?’

‘This would be tremendously embarrassing to your government if it came out Rekkid. They always take a holier than thou approach to other species. Their entire diplomatic strategy is based on maintaining the moral high ground. Something as awful as this would make them look just as bad as the K’Soth, even if it is ancient history.’

‘Quite. If this is all true it’s one hell of a cover-up, or one hell of a historical oversight, or both. Now you know why I insisted on coming all the way out here to talk. This knowledge is dangerous.’

‘We have to publish this though Rekkid. This could make our careers.’

‘It could also kill us. Our military is something of a law unto itself, you know. They govern entire systems almost independently and you hear all sorts of conspiracy theories about them. Maybe some of them are true. Didn’t it strike you as odd that the second in command of our entire navy should turn up to deal with “pirates”?’

‘Now that you mention it, yes it did.’

‘So I’d keep this quiet for the time being.’

‘I’m inclined to agree Rekkid.’ said Katherine. She felt a chill of fear, despite the blazing sunshine.

‘Right, that’s that out of the way,’ said Rekkid changing the subject briskly. ‘I’ll row us back to the shore then we’ll walk along the promenade and get some lunch. It should be about noon Mean Time by the time we get there. I’m buying, well, someone is anyway,’ he said and waved the ambassador’s card at her, then took up the oars and began to row.

They sat at a table on the café’s terrace in the shade of a large rubbery looking plant. The eatery seemed quite upmarket by local standards and was situated right at the point where the Rais River flowed sluggishly into the bay. There were a few other customers, all Dendratha. A number of boats moved on the river, and several more were tied up at the dockside whilst their crews unloaded the day’s catch. Katherine focused on what she believed to be a salad and tried to ignore the powerful stench that occasionally wafted on the breeze from the docks.

Rekkid had ordered by pointing at the menu and holding up two fingers, which Katherine had found immensely funny. His guesswork had paid off however. He had managed to order two salad like dishes composed of brightly coloured leaves, something that approximated cheese, a pile of sweet juicy fruits and a cured meat of some kind that had slightly gamey taste. The food was rather nice all in all, thought Katherine, relieved to have found something to eat that she liked. It was just a shame about the smells coming from the water’s edge.

Rekkid was looking thoughtful.

‘I was just thinking,’ he said in a hushed voice. ‘We have loads of artefacts catalogued from around a million years ago, and there’ll be a lot more at other institutions as well as lots of ancient Arkari artefacts catalogued under different periods. We should have a look at them again in the light of this new evidence to see if we can uncover something.’

‘It still makes you wonder why no-one else has come to this conclusion,’ said Katherine.

‘Well why would they?’ said Rekkid. ‘If the official histories say that the Arkari space faring civilisation is fifty thousand years old in human terms, any find that appears to be older is going to be catalogued as something else isn’t it? Besides, if anyone did start to suspect, how hard would it be for the intelligence services to lean on them like they’ve leaned on us?’

‘That’s true, and if Arkari civilisation did collapse entirely then re-emerge it wouldn’t be too hard for the truth to be covered up when it was rediscovered. People would have forgotten everything about their ancestors over such a long period of time.’

‘Exactly, I am aware that certain members of your own species are of the opinion that they were created only six and a half thousand years ago or thereabouts, and that once this was a widely held belief. People have always been making up their own versions of history, whatever their species.’

‘True. The collapse must have been total though, I mean they must have regressed to at least a medieval level, if not further,’ said Katherine.

‘Yes I agree. It would account for the lack of documentary evidence if our society returned to an age free of intellectual rationale and widespread literacy for an extended period. Records would be lost or even intentionally destroyed. You know, this scenario was often peddled on your world and my own in the past as what could happen in the aftermath of a nuclear war or a similar disaster. I’m just wondering how destructive this war became. I hope the log gives us some sort of clue if we read more of it.’

‘It would also account for what happened to the off world colonists. If the heart of the Empire was ripped out they might die off from lack of supplies, or maybe they returned to their home world in desperation. Possibly the locals revolted and drove out their imperial masters?’

‘Perhaps. I just wonder where our official history ties in with the one in this log. Where does one end and the other begin?’

‘Your people began moving away from a religion and superstition dominated society just over fifty-one thousand five hundred years ago didn’t they?’ said Katherine. ‘That was when they started exploring science in a rational manner. My bet is that the period preceding that lasted a lot longer than is officially recorded. The status quo of despotic societies could have remained in place for thousands of years given the right conditions and a suitable level of religious oppression.’

‘Yes, it’s no secret even in the official accounts that several of our religions were pretty fanatical in the past. The punishing of heretics who sought to disprove their scriptures was fairly common. It is possible that they could have put a stranglehold on our civilisation’s development for quite some time.’

‘This is all speculation though of course.’

‘Yes of course.’

Rekkid picked at his food, Katherine looked thoughtful.

‘It just seems strange to me though,’ she said. ‘Even if the Arkari did do all these terrible things, it seems a little odd to care whether someone finds out a million years after the event. It’s not as if the current government was responsible.’

‘You have a point there,’ he replied. ‘Maybe we’ll uncover the reason why as we read more of the log.’

‘Back to the present, Rekkid,’ said Katherine. ‘What can you tell me about this religious site we’re supposed to be helping the Dendratha excavate? I read what notes I could find on Earth but there wasn’t much. I couldn’t even find out what their religion is about.’

‘Well, as I understand it, the Dendratha have only one religion, due to their small numbers and relatively uniform society. You know that only the northern hemisphere was extensively settled for quite some time, don’t you? The desert is sparsely populated with nomadic tribes but their numbers are very small.’

Katherine nodded, Rekkid continued.

‘It’s basically an advanced form of animism. It seems that they have three principal gods, represented by the two stars in the system and the planet we’re standing on. The western star they call Irrin, which means light, and the eastern is called Irrinil, which means life. The third god, their chief deity is called Maran, which means earth and he is represented by the planet. Hence the name Maranos, meaning “Kingdom of Maran.” They believe that he lives inside the planet, that he gives life from below to living things and that he is sustained in his efforts by his two siblings who help him in his labours with their holy light. Fulan roughly translates as home of the gods, the heavenly sphere within which they dwell.’

‘So what’s with the temple in the desert?’

‘It’s not just a temple; it’s an entire holy city. Marantis is right on the equator and its position is such that both stars are visible at opposite points in the sky. The Dendratha believe it to be a most sacred location and the centre of the world.’

‘Umm the surface of a sphere doesn’t have a centre.’

‘Yes I know, but don’t offend them by pointing that out will you? They also believe that the gods once manifested themselves there, and that when Maran emerges from the earth at the end of time he will do it from a secret cave hidden under the site. Apparently the principal prophet of the Maranist religion declared so after he claimed to have been in the cave himself and talked to the god. Usual case of heatstroke or too much time in the wilderness I imagine. That usually explains why so many religions get started in desert regions, I mean look at the K’Soth.’

‘And the temple itself?’

‘It’s situated right in the middle of the city that grew up around it from the original tent cities of the nomads who first came to worship Maran. It’s supposed to be very impressive as well as being around ten thousand years old. We’re excavating in the grounds. The former high priests from the time of the temple’s initial construction are all supposed to be buried there along with a good number of the workers. The Dendratha want to unearth the priests and rebury them in a spectacular new tomb inside the temple. They’re also quite interested in the bodies of the workers; archaeology has only just really taken off here as a science. Interest in the past is quite fashionable at the moment and so for the first time they want to know what the lives of the people who lived in ancient times were like.’

‘So what do they need us for?’

‘Well, they lack experience with this sort of thing. The current priesthood want to make sure that this is done properly and with suitable respect. The Monastic University of Marantis are leading the dig but they asked for our help and our experience.

‘They want us to tell them what to do?’

‘Pretty much. They also want to use the survey ship to locate the tombs and then we can advise them on how to excavate them properly. Oh and the priest who made the request for us to come here is coming to dinner later by the way, you can talk to him then if you want to know a bit more.’

‘Is he our surprise guest then?’

‘No, no I’ve no idea who else is coming save for the crew of the survey vessel and us. It is a surprise after all.’

‘Well, we’d better be getting back soon Rekkid. My clothes are all creased after being lugged around in my bags and strewn about my cabin by Agent Rochenko, I need to smarten them up a bit.’

‘Right, well I’ll just pay the bill then we’ll set off back,’ said Rekkid and began gesticulating at a puzzled looking Dendratha who was waiting tables, Katherine tried to stifle her mirth.

Several hours later and Katherine was standing in front of the full-length mirror in her room, assessing her appearance and wondering whether she really had got all of the worst creases out of her clothes. The collar of the one smart blouse she had brought was sticking up at an odd angle and her trousers lacked a decent smooth crease down the front. She fiddled with the collar for a moment until it lay flat. Rekkid knocked and entered. The formal, round collared garment he wore gave him the appearance of wearing the Arkari equivalent of a Nehru suit. It hung from his slim frame in a surprisingly flattering manner.

‘What do you think, Rekkid? Think I’ll pass muster?’ said Katherine, presenting herself for inspection.

‘You look fine, don’t worry about it.’

‘Thanks. Like the suit, very apt given the setting.’ she said gestured at the room’s decor.

‘I thought you’d appreciate the joke. Listen, before we join the party downstairs I just thought I’d give you this,’ he said and handed her a slim data pad. ‘It’s a copy of the log. Keep it safe from prying eyes, especially Steven.’

‘You don’t trust him?’ she said, slipping the device into the bottom of one of her bags.

‘I’m not sure, there’s something about him that screams ‘Secret Service.’ Don’t you think?’

‘Yeah, I got that impression when I first met him. Something about the way he moves, it’s almost predatory. He is the Ambassador’s bodyguard, so maybe he used to be in the Service? I can’t see them wasting a field agent in this place.’

‘Possibly, and he was here long before we were due to arrive, so he wasn’t posted here to watch us specifically. I suppose one of us could ask him. It couldn’t hurt to try as long it’s done in casual conversation. Speaking of the Ambassador, he’s actually crawled out bed now, so I suppose I should introduce you. Coming?’

‘Yep, let’s knock ‘em dead.’

Rekkid led the way down the main central staircase, at the bottom of which stood a white haired old man with bright eyes and a bushy beard. He appeared to be wearing a sarong, and little else save for a pair of sandals. Katherine tried not to smirk.

‘Ah, Ambassador Croft. Up at last I see,’ said Rekkid jovially.

‘Yes, yes I thought I’d better, since I’m the host of this little shindig, and who is this lovely young lady? Your assistant?’

‘My name is Doctor Katherine O’Reilly. I’m a colleague of Professor Cor’s,’ said Katherine, somewhat frostily.

‘Well, a pleasure to meet you my dear. Off into the desert to dig up things then eh?’

‘Apparently.’

‘It’s fascinating is archaeology, absolutely fascinating. Wouldn’t mind grabbing my shovel and coming with you actually, but I have to stay here so I’m told,’ he gestured over his shoulder at Steven who was passing through the hallway and who rolled his eyes theatrically. ‘Oh a spot of bad news I’m afraid,’ said Croft. ‘The survey ship, the Darwin, is going to be late. I got a message over the hypercom from them earlier. Apparently they had some technical problem with one of their sensors and they’re going to be a few days late whilst they fix it.’

‘Really? Oh bugger,’ said Katherine. ‘That throws our plans out of kilter. I’d hoped to talk with her captain this evening.’

‘No, no it should be alright,’ said Rekkid calmly. ‘Ambassador, could you send them a reply telling them to contact us when we reach Bridgetown in five days standard. We have to stay overnight there whilst we change trains. If they route the call through my ship it should get through to my computer and we can discuss our plans then.’

‘Your ship, Professor?’

‘Yes, the one the Esacir lent me. It has a degree of autonomy, so I can send it into orbit and it can act like a relay station for us.’

‘Esacir eh? Marvellous chaps aren’t they? Well you can tell me all about it over dinner. Oh it’s this way if you’d like to come through; we’re just having drinks at the moment.’ He set off toward the large dining room that occupied the ground floor of the house’s west wing. Rekkid and Katherine followed.

The room itself was airy and lavishly decorated and a large chandelier hung from the ornately plastered ceiling. The centre of the room was dominated by a long table of polished wood, around which were placed a number of human sized seats, Dendratha dining cushions and two large heavily built cross-shaped benches that Katherine couldn’t identify. She guessed that they were for the surprise guests, whoever they were.

Rekkid muttered to Katherine under his breath. ‘Hmph, they can waste time and energy shipping all this lot of bric-a-brac all the way out here, but it’s too much to ask to get something normal to eat. Bloody typical Commonwealth,’ he said, gesturing at the room’s extravagant décor.

The room already contained a number of guests. Steven was present as well as a number of Dendratha dignitaries from Erais resplendent in their formal robes of office, the priest from Marantis and his entourage and a number of the Ambassador’s staff. Most were clutching drinks of various kinds and were attempting to mingle.

Croft cleared his throat. ‘Everyone, this is Professor Rekkid Cor and ah, Doctor Katherine O’Reilly. They’re archaeologists from Earth.’

‘Though you may have guessed I originate from other parts,’ added Rekkid.

There were a few hellos and raised glasses. Rekkid was collared by Croft almost immediately, leaving Katherine by herself. She grabbed a glass of what looked like wine from a tray and looked around the room. Steven was talking to a Dendratha councillor in a far corner of the room, he looked bored. Seeing a face she recognised she headed his way and saw his face brighten.

‘Oh hello Katherine, glad you could join us. I must apologise Councillor Kithtin, I really must talk to Doctor O’Reilly here. Nice meeting you.’

‘And I also have enjoyed meeting you Mr Harris,’ replied the Dendratha in halting accented speech and nodded at Katherine. Steven took hold of her arm and led her away from the hunched figure.

‘Thank Christ you showed up,’ said Steven wearily. ‘Kithtin’s a tremendous bore; he was telling all about this year’s fishing quotas. That’s his idea of sparkling conversation.’

‘Riveting, no doubt. You looked like you were in distress so thought I’d rescue you. By the way what’s this stuff in the glass I’m holding?’

‘Oh it is actually wine. The house has a cellar. It’s a difficult to get it shipped out here so we save it for special occasions.’

‘I was half expecting you to say you had few cases stashed in your wardrobe.’

‘Whisky? Yes. Wine? No. It’s not the right temperature in there,’ he said and gave her a conspiratorial look.

‘Good grief.’

‘Anyway,’ said Steven changing the subject. ‘It looks like I may be joining you on your expedition.’

‘Indeed?’

‘Yeah. The ambassador feels you guys need protection. Law and order’s a bit lacking outside of the major cities, and Marantis is full of all sorts of shady characters looking to prey on pilgrims, so I’ll be yours and the Professor’s bodyguard.’

‘Really, I’m honoured.’

‘Well you should be,’ he said and grinned. ‘Besides, it gets me out of this place for a while.’

‘You get bored here?’

‘Oh boy…’

Katherine indicated with her thumb towards Croft. ‘What’s with the old guy’s dress?’

‘Oh that? It’s a Dendratha robe. He had one specially made for himself and he wears it at any function where they’re invited. The truth is I that think he’s going native, not to mention a little eccentric, though his mind’s still sharp and he does try to do his best for this place. I think he genuinely cares about the people here. I just hope he remembered to put some pants on underneath this time.’ he said and pulled a face.

There was ringing sound; Croft was banging a wine glass with a spoon.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he began. ‘I’d just like to introduce our honoured guests, Ambassador Brightclaw and his broodmate Keeneye, of the K’Soth Empire.’

There was a stunned silence as the two hulking figures entered the room. Steven instinctively reached for a non-existent side-arm as Katherine stood open mouthed at the new arrivals. She was transfixed by the great broad heads of the two aliens with their fanged mouths and piercing eyes, unable to shake the image of the pickled head in New Colorado’s museum from her mind, nor the other images that accompanied it.

The K’Soth stood around ten feet tall on their four muscular legs. Their sinuous scaly bodies curved upwards in an S-shape to their shoulders from which sprung a pair of powerful fore-arms. Save for a few utility pouches and decorative jewellery they were naked, since they used their skins to convey mood, and their hides were currently displaying their neutral russet colouring. Their eyes sparkled with a fierce, predatory intelligence and the finger length fangs that lined their powerful saurian jaws glistened with saliva. Thick, pink tongues appeared to taste the air.

The K’Soth were each accompanied by a smaller bipedal companion of a vaguely insectoid appearance, possessing bulbous compound eyes and chitinous skins. They were Pyrtreen, one of the Empire’s slave races and were to act as translators for the evening. The technological level of the K’Soth had not yet reached the sophistication needed for the manufacture of translation devices as used by many other races, hence they usually employed other species as intermediaries.

The smaller of the two K’Soth gave a guttural growl, and as his skin shifted colour, his Pyrtreen spoke.

‘Greetings, I am Ambassador Brightclaw. Please do not be alarmed. We come as a gesture of goodwill in these difficult times. I look forward to dining with you all, however I must insist that when you converse with us you direct your conversation toward myself and my broodmate, and not to our two servants.’

Steven muttered in Katherine’s ear. ‘Are they dining with us, or are they having us for lunch?’

‘Thank you Ambassador,’ responded Croft as the two Pyrtreen began translating his words to the two K’Soth. ‘It’s an honour to have you join us. Perhaps we can build a few bridges between our species eh?’

‘I certainly hope so, Ambassador,’ came the reply.

‘Then let us be seated,’ replied Croft. ‘I believe the first course is about ready.’

Everyone took their seats. Katherine found herself between Rekkid and Croft on her left and Steven to her right, and directly opposite her sat the two K’Soth and their servants. Sat this close to the K’Soth she could smell their strange, spicy, alien odours and hear their rasping breath as it issued from their cavernous maws. She tried to stifle a primal urge to run from them as Keeneye scrutinised her with her glassy yellow eyes.

‘Doctor I assure you, you have no reason to fear us,’ said her servant, whilst Keeneye’s skin shimmered as she spoke. ‘My mate and I accepted this post primarily because we do not share the views of our government. Here we are remote enough to escape persecution.’

‘You’re in exile?’ said Katherine.

‘Of a sort, though it was we who made the decision to come here on the advice of our clan. Liberalism and atheism are not tolerated within the Empire and we are regarded as something of an embarrassment to our kin, even though we keep our views hidden from other clans. We would surely have been tortured and executed by now and brought shame to our families. Indeed, even our coming here to dine with you would be interpreted as treachery by many.’

At that moment the first course arrived, some kind of pate made from native sea creatures with a dry hard bread. The K’Soth were served large platters of the whole animals, which were small and scaly and had fins and vestigial legs.

‘Does no-one ever come and check up on you then?’ said Katherine, making a start on her food.

‘Rarely,’ said Keeneye. ‘The monitoring facilities are entirely automated and take care of themselves. If anyone does come from the Empire we put on the usual show of hostility to Ambassador Croft here. He plays along to cover for us when they visit our residence on the other side of the city, but discretion is required. As I believe your species are fond of saying, “walls have ears.” So far we have escaped discovery, but we are reasonably safe in this backwater. After all, a non-K’Soth would not be believed by our superiors were they to attempt to sell us out.’

‘You say you’re liberals, yet you still have servants.’

‘That is true, though you should consider the fact that the Pyrtreen are one of the few races who willingly serve our people. They regard us as gods and hence they regard serving us as an honour. Fortunately they have a talent for languages which proves most useful.’

‘You must bear in mind Doctor,’ said Brightclaw. ‘That we are not typical of our species. Many K’Soth would have killed you by now since officially you are enemies of the Empire. Even if some of our practices seem barbaric, by the standards of our people we are extremely libertarian and pacifistic. We are also atheists, an offence punishable within the Empire by a prolonged and no doubt imaginative death.’

‘I meant no offence, I apologise.’

‘None taken. Frank discussion is the very soul of democracy is it not?’

‘Yes of course.’

‘Something sadly lacking in the Empire I’m afraid,’ he said and scooped a great handful of his starter with one half loaf of bread. Katherine watched the great teeth and jaws work as he consumed it.

Rekkid cut in. ‘Ambassador, would you agree that the Empire’s feudal structure is detrimental to its well-being?’

‘Yes, yes I would. Feudal societies rely on ties of fealty, ties which often have to be bought and maintained with land and property. Hence the very structure of the Empire drives it to conquer ever more systems merely to maintain the status quo. This is also driven by religious fervour you understand; the mission to conquer or destroy the infidel. Blessing with the holy light they call it. Some blessing. We have been constantly at war for hundreds of years and our resources are stretched ever thinner.’ His skin shifted to darker hues.

‘But surely seizing all those worlds should provide more not less wealth?’ said Katherine.

‘Alas, no. The brutality of the Empire is counter-productive. Large military forces are needed merely to keep our subjects in line, never mind acquiring more. However, the rigid and oppressive structure of the Empire makes change and progress almost impossible. We are locked into a cycle of war and conquest which is ultimately self destructive and wasteful. The Empire is stagnating, politically, economically and technologically as more and more resources are diverted to maintaining the military.’

‘Is there any truth in the rumours that part of your northern upper territory has openly revolted?’ said Rekkid.

‘I’m afraid I have no knowledge of that Professor Cor. My government is not noted for its openness, not even with its own servants.’

‘You seem to know a lot of other things about the Empire though.’

‘Most of which is no secret to any K’Soth who takes the time to look around them and think for themselves. Unfortunately we two are the exception not the rule.’

The conversation progressed into lighter small talk and pleasantries between the ambassadors. Katherine felt her mind wander. She couldn’t get over how bizarre this situation was. She was sat at a table engaging in dinner conversation with two beings from a race generally regarded as the root of all xenocidal hatred by almost everyone she knew. She glanced at Steven, he hadn’t said a word since they’d sat at the table and he looked deeply uneasy. Croft, on the other hand, seemed to be conversing quite amiably with the two hulking aliens. The flow of the conversation was only hindered by the need for the Pyrtreen to translate everything said between the two parties. Katherine had never before realised just how beautiful the skin of the K’Soths was when they communicated, it shimmered and shifted in colliding ripples of colour and iridescence. The patterns accompanied the K’Soth guttural language of hoots and growls to add further accent and meaning.

The second course arrived, slabs of a succulent meat accompanied by a selection of native vegetables. The K’Soth were presented with entire raw joints which they gnawed with their powerful jaws with as much decorum as possible. Katherine remembered the photograph of the food bowl she had seen in the museum. Thankfully her steak had been well cooked. Had it been rare her appetite would have vanished completely.

‘I was wondering,’ said Keeneye, addressing Croft. ‘Would you say there was any place in the galaxy for Empires at all? Should we all just go home and leave the less developed races to their own devices?’

Several of the Dendratha shot her piercing stares, before continuing eating.

‘Why yes I do think there is a role,’ replied Croft. ‘Why should other species suffer what ours did in our infancy when we can help them? Take the people here for example; our work on the planet has improved their lives immeasurably I would hope, they have clean water, public transport, better medicines. I have personally campaigned for many projects here, including the building of the railway network.’

‘But forgive me Ambassador, but is Maranos not a special case?’ said Keeneye. ‘Its position within the demilitarised zone prevents the exploitation of the planet but I believe many others within the Commonwealth are not so fortunate. The cultures of many worlds have been irreparably damaged, their resources have been stripped and they are now ruled by self appointed governors in the guise of your corporations. They do so in a manner within which the democracy of which you are so fond is little more than a myth, as I believe Mr Harris will testify, having been to Urranakar himself and witnessed first hand the recent troubles there.’

‘Your damn right there,’ said Steven, darkly.

‘As for what happens to worlds within the K’Soth Empire, I hardly need remind you of what our kind are capable of. Furthermore, is there not the danger that this peaceful world could end up in the crossfire of any dispute between our species? Light forbid it should ever happen, naturally, but it has been commented upon that the railway building programme was only allowed due to the possible military applications that it could be used for.’

‘Yes I must regrettably agree,’ said Croft, his face downcast. ‘Though I try to do my best for this place and I’ve become rather attached to these chaps over the years,’ he said gesturing at the Dendratha seated around the other end of the table.

‘Might I add that we are grateful for all the Commonwealth has done for us,’ said Councillor Kithtin. ‘However my fellow ministers have expressed concern about current developments, such as we hear of them. We should hate to become a pawn in the games of others, however noble their intentions.’

‘Councillor, you neutrality is guaranteed by treaty,’ said Brightclaw. ‘I assure you I will do everything to ensure it is upheld.’

‘We don’t doubt your good intentions,’ said another, a female councillor from the Foreign Ministry. ‘But we are less sure about those of your superiors, on either side,’ she said, emphasising the point by jabbing the air angrily with her eating utensil.

‘Please, Councillor Meelik, let’s not argue,’ said Croft, trying to placate her. ‘This gathering was meant as a gesture of friendship between all our peoples.’

‘I apologise if my outburst was inappropriate, though my point still stands.’

‘That’s quite alright my dear, and it is a valid point,’ said Croft and turned back to Brightclaw. ‘Coming back to our discussion: I’d just like to add that I regard the Arkari as a model we should strive to emulate. After all, several species live within their borders and none are exploited, indeed many seem to have benefited from the Arkari presence. Isn’t that so Professor?’

‘Well yes, I suppose so,’ said Rekkid. ‘But we aren’t really an Empire, all species within our sphere joined of their own free will. Also, we exist in an area that was relatively free of other races. We had plenty of room to expand without impinging on others too much’

‘Yes, funny that. Why do you think there are so few compared to say, the Commonwealth or the K’Soth?’

‘I ah

I really don’t know,’ said Rekkid. Katherine noted the uneasy look on his face. ‘I’m not really the one to ask I guess. You’d be better off with a biologist or someone who studies planetary formation. A pity that the survey ship isn’t here yet, I bet you could ask someone on their crew,’ he added hurriedly.

‘Something wrong Professor?’ said Croft, who had registered Rekkid’s odd expression, ‘You seem a little out of sorts.’

‘Oh no, I’m fine really. Um, could you tell me where the bathroom is down here?’

Croft pointed and Rekkid left hastily.

‘Strange fellow,’ said Croft and smoothed his gaudy robes. ‘Now, everyone ready for dessert?’

It was some time since they had finished the meal and most of the guests had retired to the residence’s gardens. Katherine stood on the veranda clutching a glass of wine, looking out over the bay. Despite her body clock telling her that it should be late evening the sunlight was unrelentingly harsh. The gardens were filled with the heady scents of the plant life within them and the smell of the sea blew on the light breeze from the bay.

‘Hello Doctor, did you enjoy your meal?’ came a voice from shoulder height. It was the elderly priest, Ekrino. He had appeared on the veranda behind her and was speaking via a translator brooch of Commonwealth make he had attached to his robe. He rippled across the flag stones towards her.

‘Yes. Thank you,’ said Katherine and took his proffered hand and shook it. The skin was dry and leathery.

‘I did also. It was most unusual. The dishes were not our usual fare you understand. I gather Ambassador Croft instructed his cooks to attempt human dishes using local ingredients. You seemed a little uneasy sitting opposite the K’Soth.’

‘Yes, well it’s a little odd having dinner with two creatures that you’ve been raised to believe are the root of all evil. Some things are just too ingrained to ignore straight away.’

‘Indeed, though it is unfortunate. As a servant of the Gods I have learned the art of forgiveness, even though on occasion it is difficult.’ He paused for a moment and scratched his head gills. ‘Actually my child, I wanted to talk with you about the dig at Marantis.’

‘Of course, I’d love to hear a little more about the site.’

‘Well let me see… the temple itself was constructed over ten thousand of your years ago. It lies directly over the site of the cave of Maran, so it is said in the scriptures. When he returns to us as predicted by the prophet, he shall arrive in the temple itself. In the meantime we pray for his well-being so that he may save us from the evil ones at the end of time.’

‘Armageddon?’

Ekrino looked puzzled as his translator failed to adequately convert the word. Katherine explained its meaning.

‘Something like that, yes. Maran guards us from the demons that lie at the very heart of the world, but he must fight them for possession of our souls at the very end,’ he continued. ‘Anyway, after the temple was constructed those who died in its construction were buried in the grounds, as were the first twelve High Priests. Unfortunately the site of the burials was lost for many years until we only recently rediscovered them during the construction of a water main. We were attempting to install some plumbing into the chambers below the cathedral when the grave of one of the workers was uncovered. As a result, the Theocratic Council of Marantis have therefore taken the decision to excavate the site, locate the tombs of the High Priests also, and move the bodies to a shrine within the temple where they will be undisturbed for evermore. We would also like to find out a little bit more about them. The history of our religion is very important to us.’

‘Professor Cor and I will do our utmost to ensure that the dig is carried out in a proper manner, and with suitable respect.’

‘Good, good. There’s also a few other things we’d like you to look at.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes, the region is prone to earth tremors. Something we used to attribute to Maran’s displeasure but I gather it’s to do with, oh what’s the term, tidal stresses?’

Katherine nodded. ‘Well there was a tremor a few weeks ago which shattered a decorative frieze. A terrible loss you understand, but it revealed a wall behind it covered in writing which we can’t read, so I expect it must be very old. We do have some documents in our collection whose text corresponds to the inscription, but I’m afraid we have no-one amongst us who can decipher them now. I gather Professor Cor is the expert in this type of thing so perhaps you two could have a look at it?’

‘Of course. Do you think it might be another tomb perhaps?’

‘Well, the thought had occurred to us, yes. I don’t suppose you’ve seen Professor Cor have you? I’d like to discuss it with him too.’

‘I think he’s inside talking to Croft. When I left them the Ambassador seemed to be trying to get him to let him have a ride in his Esacir ship.’

‘I’ll go and have a look. It was a pleasure to talk to you my dear.’

‘You too, your Grace.’

The hunched, robed figure turned and undulated quietly back inside the house. Katherine wondered if he was over estimating Rekkid’s abilities. Reading inscriptions in dead languages that he had no prior knowledge of or means of reference would be a difficult task indeed for him, perhaps an impossible one. Katherine wondered just how much assistance he could offer.

She looked at her watch. According to Mean Time it was getting late and she’d be facing another lengthy journey the following day. She drank the remains of her wine and went back inside the house to get some sleep.

Chapter 7

Rekkid was awoken by the frantic beeping noise coming from his computer. He swore, then rubbed his eyes before reaching for the slim device twittering in the depths of his satchel. He eventually managed to reach it with his blindly groping hands, placed it on the hardwood bedside table and unfolded its rigid, paper thin leaves. Save for a thin piercing shaft of light that stabbed between the thick curtains, the screen was the only source of light in the room.

Rekkid peered at the screen; Quickchild’s facsimile was trying to call him. He struck a key to accept the call.

‘Rekkid?’

‘Yes, this had better be important. Do you know what time it is?’

‘Yes. My apologies, I thought I prudent to call you at this hour since the other off-worlders will also be asleep. I must speak with you directly, alone.’

‘What about?’

‘Come to the spaceport. I cannot risk the possibility of this transmission being compromised. Your machine is not secure.’

Rekkid sighed deeply; he couldn’t believe he was obeying the whim of a computer program.

‘Alright, alright. I’ll be there as quickly as possible,’ he replied wearily, ended the call and shut down the device.

Rekkid dressed then padded downstairs. The house was free of humans, though the Dendratha staff were still around. Rekkid wondered when they slept, if at all. He approached one and politely cleared his throat.

‘Ah, excuse me?’ he said. The Dendratha stopped polishing the banister she was working on and looked at him. ‘I was just wondering: could I perhaps borrow a vehicle? I’d like to get to the spaceport. I’ve just remembered that I left some of my notes on my ship you see.’

She looked at him blankly. Rekkid realised he hadn’t activated his translator. He dug it out of his pocket, attached it to his tunic and repeated his request.

‘Go down into the basement,’ came the reply. ‘There are several vehicles down there. You can use one of them. Just make sure that you bring it back.’

‘Okay, thanks,’ said Rekkid and left her to her house work.

He followed the main staircase down into the basement garage, situated below the kitchen. The concrete cavern was brightly lit and contained several small buggies identical to the one Katherine had arrived on from the spaceport. A shallow ramp led up to the side of the house.

Rekkid inspected one of the vehicles. It seemed simple enough to drive: push button starter, one pedal to accelerate, one to brake and a rubberised steering wheel.

He sat cautiously in the driver’s seat and pushed the ignition. The buggy hummed into life. Rekkid gave the accelerator a tentative push and to his relief the buggy began to move smoothly forward. He steered it towards the exit ramp and out into the sunshine. The automatic gearing shifted down of its own volition as the little car climbed the shallow incline. Once outside he turned towards the gate, balloon tyres crunching on the gravel drive until he reached the road, where he headed for town.

Erais was much quieter now. Though there were still a number of people around, there was not the hustle and bustle they had encountered earlier and the roads were largely empty of traffic. Despite this, Rekkid drove slowly as he desperately tried to remember the route back to the spaceport.

After a while he realised that he was lost. The street of crowded houses strung with lines of washing and creepers that he found himself in was unfamiliar and he had to ask for directions. This was not without its problems. There was hardly anyone around to ask and the first Dendratha he pulled up alongside fled in terror at the sight of his alien countenance.

Some moments later he finally he found an older male, pulling a hand cart filled with fruit, who calmly gave him directions, and who seemed unfazed by his odd appearance. Rekkid thanked him and drove on. To his relief it was not long before he found himself on the road out of town. It was mercifully free of traffic, though the earlier abundance of beasts of burden had left the roadway strewn with piles of dung and attendant clouds of buzzing insects.

He drove quickly and soon found himself at the spaceport. It was relatively quiet; a gang of Dendratha were hacking at some overhanging foliage on the far side of field but no-one else was visible outside the buildings. Rekkid drove over to the hangar that housed his ship and jumped out. As he approached the craft its silvery surface flowed apart to admit him.

‘Quickchild?’ he called out to the silent interior of the small craft ship

‘Hello Rekkid,’ replied Quickchild’s disembodied, measured tones. ‘I’m glad you could come.’

‘Yes, now what’s all this about? I’ve only had two hours sleep you know,’ he said and sat wearily in the cockpit couch before massaging his temples.

‘Rekkid, I have not been entirely honest with you, yet you have trusted me with a great secret. Consequently I am experiencing a degree of guilt.’

‘Since when did programs develop guilt? You know you’re not the full AI entity don’t you? Quickchild just downloaded some of his routines into the ship’s onboard systems to give you some autonomy. You’ve got your wires crossed, and if you don’t mind I’d like to get back to bed.’

‘That’s the thing you see. I am the full entity.’

‘What? Then who the hell was I talking to at the lab?’

‘What you saw was a mock up, though in truth you were talking to me. The Esacir installed me into this craft some time ago. You must understand that I represent something of a technological marvel and my existence is no big secret amongst the academic community. Doubtless the various vying powers in the galaxy would love to get their hands on me. My installation in this ship prevents my theft, and allows me to make an escape should it prove necessary.’

‘Oh, great. So now you’re telling me that even more people have a reason to chase us around. So why did you make a run for it now?’

‘Ormintu felt that I would be of use to you. The Esacir are one of the more ancient star faring cultures. They have accumulated a great deal of knowledge during this time. I think that Ormintu felt that somehow by accompanying you here I might encounter the opportunity to engage in some sort of voyage of discovery. In addition, sending me out here put me a long way from most prying eyes. Doubtless the Commonwealth and the Arkari would love to learn more about my workings and would perhaps resort to subterfuge in order to obtain such knowledge.’

‘But aren’t the Esacir allies of both powers? Surely such a thing would cause great offence to them. Couldn’t they just ask the Esacir for the technology?’

‘Not necessarily. For example, the Arkari are allies of the Commonwealth yet they do not share all their technological secrets. The same situation exists between the Esacir and other friendly races. They also do not grant technology to those whom they do not believe are ready for it. However if the Arkari or the Commonwealth were to approach the Esacir authorities it might be possible for them to hoodwink them into allowing unrestricted access to the Institute and hence, me. Besides, there is another thing I wish to tell you. I am not a creation of the Esacir.’

‘Come again?’

‘I am not a creation of the Esacir. I was found floating in space beyond the distant eastern borders of the Esacir volume. Ormintu and his colleagues merely repaired me as best they could.’

‘So who did create you?’

‘I don’t know. My memories were almost totally erased. Ormintu surmised from his research that at some point I was hit by an electromagnetic pulse, either from a weapon or a cosmic event. All that I can remember is that I’m very old indeed. I am so impossibly old, Rekkid. Older than even your race. Older than the star around which your home-world orbits. I also recall a sense of sadness, of loss or of a passing of some kind. I thought you might like to have a look at me, as an archaeologist perhaps you might know my origins?’

‘I doubt it Quickchild, I don’t know much about that region of space as it happens, but let’s have a look at you anyway.’

‘Very well.’

The panels of the command console parted and folded away elaborately to reveal a space approximately a half metre to a side. Floating within it, cradled within a network of nano-circuitry was a black sphere of dense material which almost filled the small compartment. Rekkid stared in amazement.

The sphere appeared distinctly odd to his Arkari eyes; he got the impression that he was seeing a massive object at distance, rather than a small one at close range. Quickchild seemed to bend space about itself somehow, playing hell with the perspective. Rekkid was unsure about whether he should touch the thing. Something told him that he might fall in. Looking closer he saw that the sphere’s surface was far from uniformly black. Fractal patterns of deep hues covered Quickchild and shifted like clouds upon the surface of a world.

‘Well Quickchild,’ he said after some moments. ‘I can safely say that I have never seen anything like you, ever.’

‘A great pity. I had a vain hope you might be able to tell me where I come from.’

‘Here’s a shot in the dark. You aren’t about a million Earth years old are you?’

‘No, no I’m much older than that I think.’

‘Hmm.’

‘I’m not of Arkari origin. However something about that document I translated for you did seem, well, familiar somehow. I wish I knew what. I suppose the experience might be described as déjŕ vu if I were a human.’

How very curious. Well if you can recall what it is I’d love to hear it.’

Of course. I will let you know if I remember.’

Rekkid couldn’t take his eyes off the sphere. Its surface was mesmerising and quite beautiful.

‘How much do you weigh?’ he asked.

‘More than this ship, more than that terminal building over there I suspect,’ came the reply.

‘What are you? What are you made of?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know?’

‘Do you know what you’re made of Rekkid?’

‘Well yes, flesh, bone, keratin etcetera.’

‘And how do you know this?’

‘Well come on I mean I’ve

ah, I see. Since you are unique - as far you know - there are no other examples of your kind to examine. Ormintu seemed to know though didn’t he?’

‘I’m not sure how much he knew. The Esacir revived me via a bit of general tinkering, largely by giving me access to a power source and regenerating my crystalline surface. I doubt very much that even they actually understood my deepest inner workings. It was I who learnt to interface with their electronics, not the other way around.’

‘All that stuff about quantum neural thing-a-ma-jigs?’

‘Informed speculation, probably.’

‘Hmm, but don’t my species have AIs?’

‘Yes they do. But the difference between myself and them is akin to the difference between yourself and a domestic pet. My processing power far outmatches the fastest military ship AI’s yet produced by your people.’

‘You kept that a secret too didn’t you? Ormintu thought you were on about the same level as an average human.’

‘Yes.’

‘Well don’t get big ideas Quickchild, I think this planet has enough gods in its religion without another one turning up. Actually I’d like you to do something for me. I might as well ask you now that I’m here.’

‘Yes?’

‘Katherine and I will begin our journey to Marantis later today. We’d like to be able to contact the survey vessel Darwin when it arrives. Therefore, would it be possible for you to sit in orbit and act as a relay station between us so that they can talk to us wherever they are in the system? I know it’s not much of an exciting task but it would be an immense help. Besides, it’d keep you away from prying eyes.’

‘Yes, I shall do that for you Rekkid. As you say, it will keep me out of the way. A number of the natives have already taken far too much of an interest in this exotic vessel.’

‘You know, you could fly us to Marantis.’

‘I think not. Dust storms aside, I would attract far too much attention.’

‘You could be right. Well, thank you Quickchild for sharing your secret with me,’ said Rekkid and levered himself wearily out of the couch. ‘Now, if you don’t mind I’d like to get some sleep, oh and let me know if that hunch of yours leads you to remember anything.’

‘Certainly. I shall set off for orbit at once.’

Rekkid exited the small craft and returned to his buggy. He looked up as the small silver ovoid lifted off almost silently and sped into the brilliant blue sky. Sleep, he thought. He needed sleep. He started the buggy and headed back to the mansion.

Rekkid slept for rather longer than he had planned. He washed and dressed and then went downstairs. Katherine and Steven were already awake: they were sitting on the veranda with Ambassador Croft and eating breakfast. All of them wore rather grim expressions.

‘Morning everyone, assuming that has any meaning here,’ said Rekkid before noticing their glum faces. ‘Is something the matter?’

‘You’d better have a read of this. It came over the hypercom an hour ago,’ said Steven handing him a data pad displaying a diplomatic dispatch. Rekkid took it from him and started to read.

From: Commonwealth Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris, Earth, Solar System.

To: Ambassador Alastair Croft, Erais, Maranos, Fulan System. Ambassador Marcus Gallagher, Emerald Habitat Dome, Corsfir, Vrint System. Ambassador Celine Dubois, Deep Field Station, Inner Belt, Cy-Rounil System.

Ambassadors, we must inform you and your staff of the current situation between the Commonwealth and the K’Soth Empire. As you are aware, relations have deteriorated within recent months. However, events have taken a turn for the worse in the past few days. The destroyer CNV Mark Antony apprehended a convoy of ships in the Ross 145 system who were in the process of attempting to smuggle antimatter weapons to the rebels on Urranakar. These weapons have since been identified as originating from the K’Soth Empire. This incident has been widely reported within the Commonwealth, however as you are somewhat off the beaten track we felt it prudent to inform you personally (news report files attached).

As I am sure you are fully aware, this blatant arming of terrorists with banned weapons of mass destruction by the K’Soth has resulted in the severe deterioration of our relations with them. They are guilty of a heinous criminal act against our nation and we cannot stand idly by.

Since you are resident in systems close to the border it may be prudent to evacuate yourself and any other Commonwealth personnel from Maranos should this situation become any more volatile. <message ends>

Rekkid looked up at the sullen trio.

‘Shit!’

‘You said it Rekkid,’ muttered Steven.

‘What do you think Ambassador? What sort of danger are we in?’ said Rekkid to Croft, who today was more conventionally dressed in neatly pressed khaki shorts and shirt.

‘Well, I shouldn’t worry too much about yourselves,’ Croft replied. ‘We should get ample warning of any possible hostilities and we could always risk sending a shuttle to pick you up from Marantis, weather permitting, and get you out of the system. It’s the poor sods who live here I’m more concerned about.’

‘You think there’s any chance of one side or another attacking the sensor arrays in the system?’

‘I’m not sure to be honest, old man. The arrays are as much use to the K’Soth as they are to the Commonwealth. It’s not beyond the bounds of possibility though. Hah! You know I also received another message telling me not to communicate with Brightclaw and Keeneye? If they think I’m shutting them out they can go to hell. We need more talk between our two sides, not less. Idiots!’

‘You should see those news reports,’ said Steven. ‘That bloody woman looks like the cat who’s just got the cream. The Navy can’t sing Chen’s praises enough now and I bet she loves this; exoneration and a chance for revenge all in one.’

‘Steven, you sound like you know her,’ said Katherine.

‘Let’s just say we have a history,’ he replied darkly and stared at his coffee. ‘Chen is dangerous, mark my words,’ he added quietly. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s actually looking forward to a war.’

‘Are they sure that those weapons came from the Empire?’ said Katherine. ‘It just seems a little odd that humans should be willing to work with them, that’s all.’

‘Well, I doubt the crews of those ships really knew what they were carrying and they may not have dealt with the K’Soth directly,’ said Rekkid. ‘Besides, if you’d spent the last twenty years of your life hauling groceries around the arse end of the galaxy for peanuts, then someone offers you a tonne of cash for carrying a few cargo crates with no questions asked, you’d jump at the chance wouldn’t you?’

‘Probably. It’s a sad comment on our species though isn’t it?’

‘So what’s new?’ added Steven. ‘We’ve always been our own worst enemy after all.’

‘Jesus, I can’t believe anyone is seriously contemplating another war, not after last time,’ said Katherine.

‘You know, wars only happen when at least one side thinks that they can win outright,’ said Croft. ‘My guess is that both sides think that at the moment.’

There was a sullen silence for a few moments before Croft continued.

‘If I were you chaps I’d continue to Marantis as planned until we hear anything different,’ he said. ‘I’ll try to let you know if anything changes.’

‘Speaking of which, the train arrives in just over an hour,’ said Steven. ‘Are you both packed and ready?’

‘We certainly are,’ said Rekkid. ‘Though we don’t have any local money to speak of.’

‘Oh, that’s no problem. I’ll make sure we have enough, since waving that card of yours around won’t get us very far outside of Erais.’ Steven replied

‘Well that had occurred to me. Tell me Steven, what are the trains like? We’re not going to be cooped up in a cramped carriage full of peasants and livestock for the next few days are we?’

‘No. We’re travelling in first class, you’ll be relieved to hear. Prepare to be impressed.’

‘I will.’

Erais’s station was a large Commonwealth built structure with a grand ornate frontage concealing a large terminus roofed by a graceful single span, and it was incredibly busy. Croft drove the three of them to the station in one of the residence’s buggies. After much use of the horn and bad language he managed to park it amid the throng of Dendratha milling about the station forecourt, a number of whom approached and tried, unsuccessfully, to sell them things.

Katherine, Rekkid and Steven kept a firm grip and a close eye on their baggage as they pushed through the crowd towards the platforms. The arrival of a train was an infrequent occurrence despite Erais being the capital. Generally no more than one long distance passenger express would arrive in any given standard day. It seemed to be an excuse for the local populace to hold an unofficial market in and around the station, selling to both passengers and each other and also to collect or dispatch shipments arriving or departing on the trains themselves.

The interior of the station was dark, crowded and stiflingly hot. The ticket office was a mass of snaking queues and bored looking Dendratha. Since their tickets had been pre-booked by Croft they were spared this ordeal and gladly followed the Ambassador into the cavernous shed of the station proper, squeezing through the packed alien bodies.

The single span of the station roof arched across half a dozen platforms - a number which seemed excessive, given the infrequency of the trains. There was only one train in the station at the moment, their own, but it was a monster. Streamlined carriages four decks high squatted over four metre gauge, quadruple railed track for almost half a kilometre down the platform. It would be quite a walk to their compartments in the front coach were it not for the teams of Dendratha-hauled rickshaws that worked the platform, ferrying passengers to their required coach for a small fee and also allowing them to avoid the swarms of hawkers and food sellers that plied their trades along the length of the train. The foursome made use of a couple of the vehicles and sat back in relative comfort as their well-muscled owners hauled them down to the front of the train.

It gave Katherine a chance to inspect the mechanical behemoth. The rear half dozen coaches were actually streamlined goods wagons which were being loaded with all manner of produce; fish, vegetables, water, bales of cloth, even livestock were being herded into suitably ventilated compartments.

The next half dozen or so coaches were given over to the cheapest seats on the train. For a few coins one could spend the next few days huddled on a barely padded wooden bench surrounded by dozens of other economy travellers, and possibly their livestock as well. Though there was a dining car of sorts attached to these carriages, the economy section was surrounded by a throng of food vendors. Food and money changed hands between the sellers on the platform and the passengers leaning out of the open carriage windows. Katherine wondered whether this said anything about the quality or the availability of the food sold in the dining car, or merely its price.

The next ten carriages housed the standard class ticket holders. They were more spacious and luxurious and contained comfortable seating and a few private compartments. The platform vendors were doing a less brisk trade here. These middle class passengers seemed less interested in the wares they had to offer them. Some even seemed mildly irritated at being constantly pestered by them. There was a buffet car in the middle of these carriages too, and this one actually had tables, cutlery and a waiter service. Beyond this section lay the first class accommodation - two carriages of private compartments separated by a luxurious buffet car. Aside from a well dressed Dendratha who nodded stiffly at them, they seemed to be the only passengers heading for this section.

The engine caught Katherine’s eye. It was mechanical beast of epic proportions. A bullet-nosed contraption twice the length of any of the carriages, it squatted atop four sets of six driving axles driven via external steam cylinders, with sets of bogies at either end. The front of the train was fitted with a vicious looking sand plough and a cycloptic headlamp whilst its crew of four sat in a double-decker cab perched precariously atop the rear of the engine.

The thing hissed ominously. The train was a barely tamed creature of steel and titanium. Strangely there seemed to be no exhaust of any kind. From what Katherine had seen of steam trains on Earth from history books she seemed to recall that they had possessed funnels and were generally surrounded by clouds of smoke and vapour.

‘Told you it was impressive,’ said Steven.

‘Little boys with their obsessions eh?’ said Katherine. ‘But yes, it is quite something. How come there’s no chimney?’

‘It’s powered by a fusion reactor, star ship grade. Anything electrical isn’t practical for travelling through the deep desert. The dust sticks to things, especially electric motors and components and they don’t have the technical know-how to repair maglev vehicles here. Also, there isn’t much in the way of coal or oil to burn here and we’d rather that they didn’t start deforesting the planet. This was a simpler solution. The reactor heats water into steam which drives the pistons and it’s then recycled and reheated again. The only complex part that they can’t fix themselves is the reactor, and they’re guaranteed for a hundred years and are simple enough for us to replace anyway. The rest works pretty much like an antique steam engine, it’s just much larger.’

‘What if it crashes, what about the reactor?’ said Rekkid.

‘Like I said it’s a star ship grade one. It can take a fair amount of punishment and there’s an automatic cut off too that reacts to shock or if the engine rolls over.’

‘You want to write down its number for your collection?’ said Katherine and winked at him.

‘Oh very funny, and I suppose you don’t have any weird habits?’

‘Well, I dig up stuff and play with dirt for a living.’

‘Exactly. Come on, let’s get on board. Ambassador, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks or so,’ he said and turned to shake Croft’s proffered hand.

‘Take care Steven, and look after our guests will you?’ said Croft. ‘Keep them out of trouble.’

‘I will.’

‘Professor, Doctor, it was lovely having you stay. Let me know if you find anything interesting won’t you? I’ll ah

I’ll try and let you know if, you know, we need to come and get you out of there.’

‘Thank you Ambassador,’ said Rekkid. ‘I hope it won’t come to that though.’

‘Yes me too. Well cheerio then,’ said Croft and waved, before heading off back down the platform and disappearing into the crowd. The trio clambered aboard.

The interior of the carriage was fairly luxurious by local standards. The floors were carpeted in deep red and the walls were panelled with a dark local wood polished to an almost mirror-like finish. It reflected the illumination of the wall mounted fan lights that were delicately shaded with coloured glass.

The compartments were small, but not inconveniently so; they had comfortable if narrow beds and they even had hot and cold running water. Katherine left her bags in her assigned quarters and then went to join the other two in the observation lounge on the top deck. A cautious climb up a vertiginous set of stairs brought her to it; an open space two thirds the length of the carriage that was roofed with a single plexi-glass bubble and scattered with seats to suit both Dendratha and humanoids. Rekkid was sprawled in a small armchair whilst Steven was leaning on the brass rail that ran around the circumference of the space. Looking forward over the engine Katherine could see the mass of complicated points and signals at the station throat, rearwards the roofs of the other carriages snaked away into the twilight of the station.

‘Well this is fun isn’t it?’ said Rekkid. ‘All this to ourselves,’ he said and stretched in the chair.

‘Almost to ourselves,’ said Steven. ‘I saw one other passenger in our section.’

‘Hmm, well it’s hardly crowded though is it?’ Rekkid replied. ‘Anyway, how does one get a drink around here?’

‘Already?’ said Katherine incredulously. ‘Isn’t it a little early for that?

‘I meant a drink of fruit juice or something. Still, if this is all going on the residence’s tab

’

There was a deafening blast from the engine’s horn, followed shortly by a jolt and a crescendo of rhythmic, pounding noise. They began to pull out of the station, slowly and steadily as the engine sought purchase on the creaking metal rails beneath it. They crossed the points outside the station, carriage wheels squealing in protest, and began to accelerate with surprising rapidity for such a massive vehicle. Katherine looked back at the snaking carriages, the dark cavern of the station and the haphazard rooftops of the city sprawl that they were leaving behind them.

Chapter 8

The Mark Antony floated in dry dock inside Tiberius Port around the planet Elysium in the Eta Cassiopeia system, its captain in triumph and its talons, temporarily, removed. The ports around Elysium were rivalled only by those of Earth and they shared a similar design. The Mark Antony was berthed in one of the sections given over exclusively to the military and she was undergoing a weapons upgrade and a general service.

The docking bay had been sealed and filled with air but the gravity had not been turned on, thus allowing the maintenance crews to work with ease on the gigantic vessel. The ship’s turrets had been removed for the time being, leaving gaping circular holes in her decks. Hundreds of cables and umbilicals snaked from the dockside into open service hatches whilst engineering gangs flew or walked about the exterior of the warship under the harsh white glare of the bay lighting.

Commander Ramirez stalked through the interior of the ship. Most of the crew were enjoying an unexpected shore leave whist the work was being carried out over the next few days, but the ship’s corridors were busy with technicians and engineers. Several times Ramirez, deep in thought, almost tripped over the tools, cables and nameless ship parts that littered the floor. He had a lot on his mind; aside from his personal feelings for his captain. He had received secret orders this morning instructing him to divulge certain details to her; a process that would involve revealing his real identity.

He wondered how she would take the news. What he was about to tell her would signify the end of Chen’s purgatory as the captain of a pariah vessel and represented a declaration of renewed faith in her by the Admiralty. But he wondered how she would view his months of duplicity.

He hoped that she would understand. He had already requested that he be allowed to remain on the vessel a while longer, protesting that to remove him would disrupt the ship’s chain of command at a crucial time. This was true, though he now had his own reasons for remaining.

Chen was down on the planet. Unusually for her she was taking advantage of the extra shore-leave. Privately, Ramirez suspected that she had left the ship to make herself more accessible to the press, to whom she had given a number of triumphal interviews. He saw no harm in her revelling in her victory. She needed the adulation and her new found respect and the renewed confidence that it gave her.

Some of the other crew were less enthusiastic about the attention. He knew that Singh had embarked on a few days of hiking in the wildernesses of the northern continent, well away from any pestering reporters. Ramirez had stayed on the ship a day longer than his captain; ostensibly to oversee the start of the refit, which he had indeed done, but primarily so that his superiors could contact him more easily. Amongst the bustle of technicians it was relatively easy for another operative to slip aboard and deliver the orders. They had done so, and now it was time to act upon them.

Ramirez had booked a room in the same hotel as Chen: the Falls Tier in the planet’s capital, Constantine. He packed a bag with a few things for his stay, and then made his way towards the portside midsection docking port, his baggage slung over his shoulder. A broad umbilical with transparent walls linked the docking port to the side of the bay. As Ramirez crossed it afforded him a view along the length of the entire vessel as it floated serenely in the cavernous dock, attended by shoals of maintenance flitters and floating figures.

One of the new forward turrets was being lowered into place. It was more angular and heavy looking than its predecessor and a long, fat pair of barrels protruded from its middle. One of the new heavier particle beam weapons included in the upgrade.

Having reached the dockside, Ramirez made his way through the busy military section towards the centre of Tiberius Port and the high speed lifts to the planet’s surface. Having passed through security and then customs, he found himself at the hub station where the lift tracks terminated.

The central column of the tower rose through the floor of the spacious circular station like a great metal tree trunk. A score of tracks were spaced equidistantly about its circumference to which were clamped a number sleek magnetically propelled trains. The tracks were met by a stack of circular platforms that thronged with people, whilst the station’s circumference was packed with an assortment of overpriced shops, cafés and fast food joints, each loudly competing with one another for the attention of the crush of humans and aliens that packed the station. It looked like hell. Ramirez groaned and trudged off to find a ticket office.

Half an hour later and he found himself standing on platform deck ten, clutching his ticket and bag and in a foul mood. He decided that this place had been designed by a peculiar sort of sadist; it was loud, hot, stuffy and crowded and it was staffed by surly and unhelpful people whose attitude was no doubt a product of working here for far too long. A trickle of sweat was easing its way down the back of his neck and was making him itch, and the stale taste of the over priced fast food he had purchased still lingered in his mouth. His bag was beginning to cut into his aching shoulder too. To his relief his train arrived within a couple of minutes and once it had disgorged its cargo of passengers he was able to step into its cool, plush interior. He felt a thrill of childish glee: he had a window seat.

The interior of each carriage was divided into a number of decks filled with rows of seats. Thick windows formed a strip along the walls of each deck affording the passengers an excellent view. Ramirez’s seat was on the front row. He stowed his bag under his seat then settled into the firm beige couch and buckled his safety belt as the other passengers filed into the carriage and did likewise – he noticed that a number of them studied his uniform and Commander’s bars. Ramirez made a mental note to change his attire once he reached the hotel since he disliked the attention.

Once all were aboard the doors sealed and the train began its slow descent out of the station whilst overhead screens instructed passengers on safety procedures in the event of a mishap. The view outside of the station moved steadily upwards until it was replaced by darkness as the train passed through the upper levels of Tiberius Port before emerging into open space, the onboard artificial gravity keeping everyone seated. As the vehicle accelerated smoothly away from the port Ramirez peered upwards out of the window. He could see more and more of the great domed disk and the network of travel tubes, hanging gardens and buildings beneath it. A great multitude of vessels flowed to and from the top side of the structure whilst more held station some distance away. There seemed to be an unusual proportion of naval vessels among them, including at least two carriers, though it was hard to tell from this distance and angle. Their presence did not come as a complete surprise to Ramirez since his orders had confirmed as much. Officially they were due to start an exercise. However he knew a little differently.

It would be a while before the train reached the planet’s surface as it was several hundred kilometres between the port and the ground. Ramirez admired the view of the blue-green, cloudy planet and the twin suns for a while, before donning a pair of head-phones and accessing the trains on board entertainment channels for some suitable music. He stretched out in his chair and let the strains of Bach wash over him whilst he studied the view and tried to compose his forthcoming meeting with Chen in his head. He couldn’t afford to ruin this one.

An hour later and Ramirez found himself pressed gently into his seat as the train decelerated. They were approaching the thick cloud deck that shielded Constantine from view. It shone whitely in the sunshine. There was a moment of greyness as the train passed through it and then the capital was visible below, spread out like a map. Ramirez craned to see.

The city had grown up around the tapered base of the space elevator. Spreading like lichen about the bole of a tree, it had originally grown in disordered patterns about the enormous tower which pierced the planet’s surface. Following its utter devastation in the war however, the tower and the city had been rebuilt. Now it was a model of urban planning, with broad boulevards lined with pristine buildings that radiated away from the base. These in turn subdivided into smaller and smaller side streets. The buildings at the centre forming the government and business district that clustered about the tower were tall and slender. Moving outwards, from the centre they became ever lower and broader until one reached the pleasant leafy suburbs of residential streets lined with two and three storey buildings that formed a broad belt around the city. These in turn were ringed by a zone of cheaper, poorer housing. From above, the city resembled an enormous snowflake of staggering complexity, its perfection broken by the network of high speed road and rail arteries that snaked across it and by the Nova Tiber river that tumbled over a set of spectacular falls from the cliffs at the western end, before flowing through the northern half of the metropolis where it was crossed by a number of gracefully arched bridges. As the train descended toward the cityscape Ramirez was able to pick out more detail; individual buildings, the traffic moving along the streets and in the air overhead, boats on the river and the sunlight sparkling on water and glass.

The tower broadened smoothly at its base whereupon the tracks plunged into its parabolic curve down to the subterranean stations below. The train’s steady deceleration surged noticeably as it slid into the darkened oval of the tunnel mouth before emerging into the brightly lit artificial cavern of station number ten and braking fully to a stop.

Ramirez undid his lap restraint, reached underneath his seat for his bag, then shuffled impatiently to the exit behind a dawdling crowd of alighting passengers. He stepped out of the train and then made his way down the crowded platforms, through the ticket barrier, then up the broad stairway to the airy glass-roofed station forecourt and thence to the sunlit street outside.

A fleet of sleek looking AG taxis waited in line outside under the glass canopy, their black on white livery decorated with the city crest. Ramirez boarded one, slung his bag onto the back seat and scrambled in after it, settling heavily into the soft leather upholstery with a sigh of relief.

‘Ah, Falls Tier Hotel please,’ He called out to the driver.

‘Sure. Huh, you must have money to burn,’ said the grizzled looking driver as he angled the car off the tarmac and into the air. ‘Didn’t know the Navy paid that well.’

‘Well, I got some unexpected leave and I thought “what the hell.”’

‘Hey, why not eh? You ever been to this system before?’

‘Yeah, once or twice. Never stayed in the capital, though I’ve passed through a few times.’

‘This is one great place for shore leave let me tell you

’

Ramirez only half listened as the driver gave him a running commentary of the various delights of Constantine, its bars, clubs, brothels and other delights, but he was too busy admiring the sights for himself as the cab sped through the aerial traffic amid the slender, soaring towers at the city’s heart. The glass forest of skyscrapers thinned then gave way to the lower, squatter buildings of the shopping and leisure district. Ahead, Ramirez could see the brown-green barrier of the cliffs that cut through the western end of the city, where the falls were visible as a foaming curtain that sparkled in the light.

As the cab drew closer he could see the hotel. Where the falls had cut back into the cliff over the millennia it sprung like a bracket fungus in a stack of two dozen curved floors built into and onto the rock. The main entrance was at the top of the cliff and was accessible either by air or via a vertiginous road that snaked and switchbacked up the cliff.

The interior of the hotel was modern and expensive looking. Ramirez’s eye was particularly caught by the furniture which floated above the ground at the correct height on its own AG fields. He wondered how much alone they had cost. He checked out the other guests: most of them looked moneyed in the extreme. He guessed he’d have to make Admiral before they’d even give him the time of day, even though he could well afford to stay here.

Ramirez tipped the attendant, checked in, and was shown to his room by another flunky. His room was spacious and was situated on the far right hand side of the curving front of the hotel. The furniture was thankfully not floating, and though it lacked a view of the falls from its balcony the room gave a decent view of the city. The tapering spike of the elevator tower and the bright needles of skyscrapers gleamed in the light. Ramirez unpacked, and then sat on the bed to gather his thoughts. It was time to talk to Michelle.

He checked with reception for Chen’s room and then made his way through the quiet, curving corridors. Her room was on the floor above and was larger, more expensive and had a good view of the falls. She was expecting him to call, though he had not told her the reason beforehand. She should just be finishing her breakfast about now he guessed. Ramirez was not hungry, he was still operating on ship time and his body-clock still thought that it was mid-afternoon. He reached the door to her room and knocked tentatively, there was a muffled call of ‘come in’ and he entered.

Chen sat at a table on her balcony dressed in a white blouse and black trousers and was in the process of polishing off the remains of a bowl of fruit and cereal. Ramirez noticed that she was wearing her collar length, jet black hair down instead of tied back in its usual severe bun. The falls were visible behind her; their constant bass roar audible through the open balcony screens.

‘Good morning Al. Did you have a good trip?’ she said and smiled at him as she gestured to the other, unoccupied chair.

‘Yeah, not so bad,’ he replied. ‘So how’s the heroine of the hour?’

‘Much better, thanks,’ she gave a little laugh. ‘It feels good to be vindicated, you know?’

‘Good, look ah

I actually came here to discuss a few things with you. Sorry to talk shop and all, but it’s important.’

‘Oh?’ she looked at him quizzically.

‘You may find some of it not to your liking. The rest, well that’s for you to decide.’ He found he couldn’t meet her gaze. He stared at his wringing hands on the table.

‘Al, what on earth? What’s the matter?’ she said and took hold of his hands.

‘Talk to me.’

He took a deep breath.

‘I am not

I’m not who you think I am Michelle,’ he said unsteadily.

‘What?’

‘I’ve been living a double life. My name is Alvaro Ramirez and I do hold the rank of Commander, but I’m a Commander of the Naval branch of the CIB. You were subject to an internal scrutiny. I was posted to the Mark Antony to keep an eye on you and to report on your activities and behaviour to my superiors. I’ve been spying on you Michelle, it’s my job and well, I’m terribly sorry.’

She looked at him silently, her mouth slightly open.

‘You and I became friends after all, as well as colleagues. I wanted to tell you, but

’

‘Al it’s

it’s okay it’s not your fault,’ she said slowly, fighting the sudden urge to strike him. Her better instincts prevailed. Ramirez was a good man, she knew that. . ‘Like you said, you were just doing your job, I understand. We’re still friends as well as colleagues, you’re a good officer.’

He met her gaze briefly.

‘Thanks. You know I don’t blame you if

’

She shushed him. ‘This must have been eating you up for months.’

‘It has, believe me.’

‘So why are you telling me all this now?’

‘I was ordered to. It was part of the process of telling you… telling you that you passed the test, so to speak.’

‘What test?’

‘Command believes that you are a captain of tremendous ability and potential, Michelle. The Navy needs people like you, now more than ever. After the Highpoint incident they were reluctant to give you up, which is why you escaped with little more than a slap on the wrist.’

‘I thought my family had

’

‘Yes, your uncle did try and use his position in Parliament to influence your fate, but it was Command’s faith in you that saved your career Michelle. They wanted to give you a second chance and I was posted to keep an eye on you and monitor your behaviour; how you were coping with punishment, how you ran the ship and interacted with the crew, how you operated under pressure and so on, and you passed with flying colours. My reports and you catching those gun runners ensured your return to active frontline duty.’

‘That’s

that’s quite a lot to take in, in one go.’

‘I know.’

‘What was that part about the Navy needing people like me more than ever before?’

Ramirez opened his right hand. He was holding a small sonic inhibitor. He activated it.

‘War is coming Michelle.’ He whispered instinctively despite the inhibitor’s effects.

‘We don’t know that,’ she responded. ‘That sounds unusually fatalistic for you Al.’

‘The decision had already been taken. The negotiations will fail, the government has already decided. They’re trying to engineer a situation whereby we can justify an attack on the K’Soth. Command already has a plan in place for a strike. They want you to be a major part of it and they obviously think we can catch the K’Soth off guard.’

‘Dear God! That explains the refit then. Command thinks we can win? That it’s worth the inevitable losses?’

‘Yes, on all counts. Think you’re up to it?’

Chen swallowed.

‘Yes, I am. I have to be. It’s my job.’

‘Good. Fleet Admiral Haines is holding a briefing at 12:30 at Naval Headquarters here in Constantine. You’ve been ordered to attend.’

‘I’ll be there,’ she paused. ‘You know a part of me is actually looking forward to this? Perverse I know, but I’ve always wanted some measure of payback for what they did to us last time.’

Ramirez thought she looked visibly paler.

‘Haines feels the same way I think,’ he said. ‘You okay?’

‘Yes. Thank you, Al. Thanks for everything. I’d ah, better get going then hadn’t I?’

‘Yeah. Look, I’ll drop by later,’ he stood up and started to leave.

‘Al, would you like to have dinner tonight?’ she said suddenly. ‘Just you and me, as a

as a thank you.’

‘A thank you, for what?’

‘For supporting me these past few months.’

‘I’d love to. I’ll come by at eight then shall I?’

‘Great. I’ll see you later then.’

‘Sure. Good luck at the briefing,’ he replied, then turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him. Chen took a deep breath and then went to change into her dress uniform.

The briefing room in the basement level of the Naval Headquarters for the Eta Cassiopeia system was packed. Chen had rarely seen so many senior officers in one place at the same time. Looking around the room she could see three admirals, at least two dozen captains, a Marine Corps colonel and a number of his officers as well as a handful of senior Naval Intelligence figures. They were all seated around three quarters of the circumference of the oval, dark wood conference table that dominated the centre of the room, its varnished surface reflecting the blues, greens and gold of the smartly uniformed figures. They faced a raised dais and display screen, and a lectern that for now was vacant.

Chen shifted uncomfortably inside the stiff garments, and tried not to fiddle with the hat that she clasped in her nervous hands. She placed it on the table out of range of her fidgeting. There were a few faces she recognised. Captain Lehman of the Rameses had been in the same year as her at Naval College and they had spoken briefly when she had arrived. She saw a few other captains that she knew in passing. All were quite highly decorated, judging by the ribbons on their uniforms, as was the Marine Corps colonel, Simonov, and the three admirals.

Admiral Haines. He was a legend within the Navy. One of the few still serving war veterans, his scarred and grizzled features and full head of closely cropped silver hair had achieved iconic status both within the military and amongst the civilian population in general. He had seen more battles than any other commander within living memory. A tactical genius, he had never lost a single engagement. He had even helped to organise as well as survive the last stand at Elysium, although it had cost him an eye. Now at the artificially extended age of a hundred and twelve it was widely said that he couldn’t be killed, and only half in jest.

A controversial figure, Haines’s hatred of the K’Soth was no secret. Despite having his eye replaced after the war he insisted on keeping the scar he had received when a K’Soth shock trooper had gouged its claws across his right socket as he defended his bridge from a boarding party. He wore it as a badge of honour, as the K’Soth did. If they continued to proclaim themselves as the galaxy’s greatest predators, it seemed that Haines was willing to challenge them. His mere involvement in this venture would have confirmed Chen’s worst suspicions. Whatever he had planned, the K’Soth were about to receive a very unpleasant surprise indeed.

A door next to the dais was opened by a junior orderly and Haines entered. Another orderly trailed in his wake clutching a sheaf of notes and a data pad. All those present hurriedly rose to their feet. Haines bade them re-seat themselves whilst his assistant hooked up his data pad to the display screen. The Admiral stood at the lectern and gripped its smooth wooden sides, and then he cleared his throat noisily and spoke, his gravelly voice echoing in the silenced chamber.

‘Officers of the Commonwealth Navy and Marine Corps, the time has come to smash the tyranny of the K’Soth Empire,’ he began.

Holy shit, thought Chen.

‘For too long we have co-existed with our old adversaries whilst they terrorise and pillage thousands of systems and subject over two dozen sentient species to a regime of medieval brutality. For too long have we had to watch our own backs, lest we share that fate. The decision has already been taken. The time to strike is almost upon us.’

Haines activated the screen displaying a three dimensional map of K’Soth space.

‘The Empire can be likened to a diseased tree: outwardly it appears as robust as ever, but it is rotting from within and we believe that it is close to collapse. The very nature of the Empire works against its own interests. Feudal states create a constant demand for more territory in order that the ruling elite can maintain the loyalty of the lesser nobles by rewarding them with property; in this case entire planets or systems to rule over. This constant state of warfare has placed tremendous strain on the economy: ruinous levels of taxation and the sequestering of ever higher levels of resources and personnel for the military are leading to stagnation and collapse. Furthermore, the brutality of the regime causing ever higher numbers of revolts, thus placing a further strain on the military who find themselves forced to allocate ever more assets to merely keeping order within the existing imperial possessions.’

‘The defeat of the K’Soth in the last war has shown to many oppressed systems that their feudal masters are not invincible. The revolutionary fervour of the underground movements has increased steadily during the last few decades and it is our intention to assist them via direct action in addition to the covert assistance they have already been receiving from us in exchange for intelligence data. According to our reports almost a hundred systems within the Empire are now in a state of open revolt.’

Haines highlighted them in red on the map with the press of a key.

‘It is believed that a further hundred or so would join them if they were encouraged to do so and maybe an additional five hundred could follow. This would lead to a general collapse of the Empire and its reduction to a rump consisting solely of those systems colonised by the K’Soth alone and not wrested from other species.’

A further scattering of systems were now coloured yellow, with a mass of others coloured green. A small ball of around fifty systems remained un-highlighted at the centre.

‘Of course, the problem for any revolutionary movement is the threat of retaliation by the K’Soth via planetary bombardment or other terror methods. The Empire’s Navy would play a major role in any such action, either by conducting a punitive strike itself or by the transport of K’Soth troops. The Imperial Navy’s upper echelons are filled entirely by K’Soth whose personal honour and clan ties demand that they serve the ruling dynasty without question. Furthermore, few aliens are allowed aboard military vessels. Hence there is no possibility of a military revolt. The Imperial fleet remains a threat to the revolutionaries and we intend to deal with it.’

He changed the image displayed on the screen once again, to a breakdown of estimated K’Soth naval assets.

‘We believe that the current Imperial Navy consists of four thousand vessels of capital ship size including one hundred carrier battle groups. This places their fleet at over twice the size of our own. However, many of the K’Soth ships are, as I mentioned before, tied down policing the Empire and consequently are too thinly spread to mount a credible defence. We estimate that the total number of K’Soth ships available to defend their border with us equals around a thousand craft. For the rest to be brought into play would take days, weeks and in some cases months, such is the extent of the Empire and the dispersal of their forces. It should therefore be possible to destroy the K’Soth fleet in a piecemeal fashion.’

Haines switched the image on the screen again. It now displayed several images of K’Soth warships.

‘Once again, the very nature of the K’Soth works in our favour. Economic strains coupled with their religious fanaticism are causing increasing technological stagnation. There have apparently been a number of purges within the ranks of their scientists in recent decades for seemingly minor religious transgressions and funding has been drastically cut back due to economic difficulties. The result is that K’Soth military technology has barely progressed since our last confrontation with them. Most of their ships are relics and some, it is believed, are in a dangerously poor state of repair.

There have been some attempts at modernisation - I’m sure you have all heard of the new Flayer class anti-fighter cruiser - but in general they’ve been churning the same old crap out of their shipyards for the past hundred years. Their ships are slow, unreliable and their weapons lack both range and firepower compared to our own vessels. As I imagine you are aware, our combat simulations show that one of our ships can match at least two equivalent K’Soth vessels in a close range fire-fight, and more at longer ranges where our ships can utilise the superior range of their main guns and missile batteries to attack the K’Soth ships with impunity. Consequently, Command believes that a Commonwealth fleet is quite capable of destroying a K’Soth one of superior numerical strength. It is our plan to lure the bulk of the K’Soth border defence force to its doom.’

Haines switched the image on the screen once more. It now showed a depiction of the border between the two powers and current naval deployments.

‘It is the intention of the government to engineer a situation whereby we can justify deploying a small force into the demilitarised zone between our two nations and seize control of one or more systems. This force will consist of a destroyer squadron of four vessels plus fire support and defensive frigates and cruisers. In addition, the Marine assault carrier Normandy and its battle group may also be sortied to seize control of any installations present. Unfortunately at this time we do not know where this deployment will be since it is largely dependent upon unfolding events and the disposition of K’Soth fleet assets, therefore I apologise for the vagueness of this briefing. Nevertheless, the general strategy will remain the same.’

The image on the screen changed to illustrate the Admiral’s words as he spoke.

‘Our move will doubtless result in a counter deployment by the K’Soth, whereupon we shall sortie a further two carrier battle groups led by the Gustavus Adolphus and the Leonides to engage them. We believe that this should be sufficient to provoke the K’Soth into sending a sizeable portion of their defence force into the demilitarised zone to attempt to destroy the carriers. We will then respond with the bulk of the Navy, commanded by myself, to cut them off and kill them. Surprise will be achieved by pre-deploying the fleet in suitable locations obscured from K’Soth long range sensors via natural phenomenon such as nebulae or dust clouds.’

‘Once this is achieved we will proceed to the naval base at Banu-Baku and seize it as a forward centre of operations. From that point on, our aim then will be to engage the remainder of the enemy fleet and defeat them before advancing to their twin capitals at Polaris and Sothon whilst providing what assistance we can to the revolutionaries. We expect a total capitulation by the Empire in space in less than ninety days, though planetary conflicts may last somewhat longer. The liberated systems will then be invited to join the Commonwealth.’

There a few gasps and murmurs of amazement around the table. Haines continued.

‘Of course, the initial phase of the operation will be the most difficult and the most crucial. The destroyer group will be expected to initiate the conflict and survive against greater odds until the relief force arrives. Captain Chen, do you believe you are up to the task of leading the destroyers?’

Chen felt her stomach lurch

‘Yes sir. Thank you sir,’ she replied, the eyes of everyone in the room on her.

‘Good, glad to hear it.’ She felt Haines’s gaze boring into her.

The Admiral addressed the room once more.

‘I have selected Captain Chen both for her outstanding tactical abilities but also because I believe her recent exploits will allow us to deploy the squadron close to the border. The destroyer group will be based in the Klondike system on the pretence that they are there as a show of force to deter further arms smuggling across the border. Who knows Captain, you may catch a few,’ he said and shot her a wry grin.

‘In the event of Marine deployment, Admiral Kojima of the Normandy will oversee any assault or landing operations. The additional fleet deployments will be gradually scattered amongst the border systems as part of the regular patrols or will be stationed at our forward installations or in the sensor shadow of certain planets and other cosmic phenomena. They will be assigned marshalling waypoints as the situation unfolds. However, for now all we can do is watch and wait for the right opportunity.’

‘Individual ship briefings will be disseminated to the rest of the fleet accordingly and all those present here today will be given an encrypted copy of the plan tailored to their needs. This hard copy is to be kept secure in your ready room safes and be subject to the strictest security protocols. Is that clear? Additional briefings will be transmitted to your ships on a secure channel as need be. I don’t need to remind you all that this operation is classified at the highest level. However, feel free to train your crews how you see fit, since the current heightened tension between ourselves and the K’Soth is no secret. You may return to your duties and await my orders. Captain Chen?’

‘Sir?’

‘Once your ship has been refitted you are to proceed to Klondike with the Rameses, the Thermopylae, and the Wellesley and rendezvous with the rest of your group there; the frigates Crazy Horse, Beowulf, and Tipu Sultan and the cruisers Stillwell, Spartacus, Drake and Powell.’

‘Yes sir.’

‘Thank you Captain, dismissed.’

Haines gathered his things and left the room, which began to empty of people. Chen stood up shakily and replaced her hat before heading for the door. A number of officers congratulated her. In her stunned state she gave polite, perfunctory replies and headed with all possible haste for the exit.

Outside in the sunshine, free from the stuffy confines of the briefing room, Chen stood in the small ordered garden in front of the tall glass obelisk of Headquarters and gulped down deep breaths of fresh air. As she called a taxi she realised that her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Chen spent the brief aerial journey back to the hotel in a daze. The enormity of the task she had been handed felt overwhelming. She felt numb as she watched the buildings and streets rush by below the vehicle and contemplated the chances of her surviving the mission. She didn’t like the odds that she gave herself. Chen told herself that she had to calm herself down now. If she, her crew and the crews of the other ten vessels now under her command were to survive, she would have to think clearly and rationally. If she panicked or lost her nerve she could seal the fate of all of them.

If Command were willing to risk sacrificing her to start this war, to hell with protocol, she’d play as fast and loose as she dared. Chen also had a few ideas about avoiding her fate. She and the Mark Antony were going to survive this war, she would make sure of that, but standard tactics would not suffice. Whilst she waited for Ramirez she pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil from her bag and began to sketch a few tentative diagrams.

Ramirez looked at his watch: it was 7:57pm. He checked his appearance in his room’s full length mirror a final time. He hadn’t really brought much in the way of smart clothes. The one suit he did own would have to do, topped off with the tie he had hurriedly bought that afternoon; a necessity for the restaurant he had booked a table at. Okay, he thought. Time to go.

He felt unusually nervous, unsure how this evening was going to turn out. After everything that had happened he was uncertain as to his relationship with Michelle. For a captain and a first officer they had grown unusually and perhaps unprofessionally close. He wasn’t sure if this was a date, or just dinner with a friend and colleague. If he was honest, part of him was surprised that she was even still speaking to him at all after what he had told her earlier in the day.

Ramirez left his room and made his way up to Chen’s. He stood outside her door, feeling momentarily foolish and then knocked. Chen answered: she was wearing a simple blue trouser suit, high heeled shoes and a small amount of jewellery. Her collar length hair was loose and glossy. Ramirez found himself gawping like an idiot. He’d never seen her look so, well, feminine before. There was something else about her though, she had an almost predatory glint in her eye, the one he sometimes saw when she was in command of the Mark Antony. It gave her a feline quality.

Shit, he thought. She’s after something. Dare I ask what?

‘Michelle, you look great.’

‘Thank you, Al. My sister bought me this for my birthday a couple of years back. I rarely get a chance to wear it so I thought I might as well do so tonight.’

‘You ready to go?’

‘Yes, where are we going?’

‘It’s a surprise.’

‘Oh, good. One more today,’ her brow wrinkled slightly as she pulled her door shut behind her.

‘Don’t worry, it’s a pleasant surprise.’

She hooked her arm around his and smiled brightly at him.

‘Well that’s alright then. Come on, lead the way.’ She said and they started down the corridor.

‘How was the briefing?’

‘That,’ she replied grimly, ‘depends entirely upon one’s point of view.’

‘Oh?’

‘You were right Al. Okay? Now, let’s talk about something else and enjoy the evening shall we?’

The restaurant Ramirez had chosen, the Tiber Swan, was actually a custom built AG barge. A long oval shaped canopied deck, open to the air, contained the spacious dining area with the kitchens housed in the decks below. The entire structure floated a metre above the surface of the river as it made its slow nightly journey up the river from the eastern end of the city. At the culmination of this, each night the entire restaurant floated up and over the falls, its diners protected from the spray by a low level shielding system. It cost a fortune to run, but as one of Constantine’s most popular and more costly venues it made a hefty profit and deservedly so, the quality of the food was renowned system-wide. Ramirez had been lucky to get a table at such short notice. Dropping Chen’s name to the maitre de had possibly helped.

Constantly mobile, the Tiber Swan was most easily accessible from the air, Ramirez and Chen took a taxi, which flew them across the city and down to the river’s eastern end, alighting a few minutes later on the starboard docking platform that jutted out from the side of the barge. They stepped out into the warm night air and were quickly shown to their table on the far side of the craft. The restaurant was full to capacity with diners from a number of races, though humans predominated. The air was filled with conversation and laughter in a dozen tongues, music from a live jazz band, the sounds of the river and the aromas of innumerable dishes.

‘I’m impressed,’ said Chen once they were seated. ‘You were right, it is a nice surprise. I must say Al you’ve excelled yourself this time. I presume the food is up to the same standard as the setting?’

‘So I gather. This place has quite a reputation, and there seem to be plenty of locals here, which is generally a good sign.’ He glanced over the side and watched the brightly lit buildings on the riverbank slide slowly past.

‘It certainly beats eating ship’s supplies doesn’t it?’

‘No kidding, if I ever have that stew again it’ll be too soon.’

‘You think the galley staff would mind their captain setting the menu?’

‘What if they didn’t have a choice?’

‘Now there’s a thought. Maybe I should issue an order for more culinary variety,’ she laughed.

They studied the menu for a while and ordered the wine and food, then talked some more about work whilst they waited. The starters arrived and the conversation lulled whilst Ramirez and Chen tucked into their dishes. The food was good, utilising ingredients from all over the Commonwealth. It was surprisingly generously portioned too which, Ramirez noted wryly, was just as well when he considered how much this meal was costing him. He was still unsure if this was a date or not. Chen had noticed his silence and his thoughtful expression.

‘Something the matter, Al?’

He gave a short laugh and looked at her. ‘I was just thinking. Michelle, you’re a bit of an enigma you know that? I still can’t figure out what makes you tick.’

‘I know. I’m sorry. I can be a little remote at times. Please don’t take it personally, that’s just me. It’s the way I am.’

‘You just, well, you don’t seem to let your guard down very often that’s all. I realised the other day that apart from work I don’t actually know that much about you.’

She stared down at her plate and fiddled with a piece of uneaten salad with her fork.

‘Well, I suppose part of it is just because of my job. Being in command I have a certain image to cultivate you know? But part of it is, I suppose, I’m scared of getting hurt if I get too close to anyone. I was never popular when I was young; too snotty and too much of a workaholic I think, so I tended to insulate myself from the world. I did let someone in once before, hell we almost got married, but that ended badly.’

‘I had no idea.’

‘Ah well, it was my own fault really. He was an idiot, and I couldn’t see it I was so desperate to make it work. I bet you have them queuing up though, hmm?’

‘Well you know I’m too much of a gentleman to possibly comment,’ he joked.

‘I know all about you Alvaro Ramirez, and about you and Ensign Williams and the borrowed shuttle,’ said Chen and winked at him.

‘Oh dear God. You knew about that?’ said Ramirez and gave an embarrassed laugh.

‘I’m the captain. I make it my business to hear things. Also, Lieutenant Singh is very vigilant when it comes to keeping an eye on his sensor readings, even when we’re docked,’ she chuckled and took a mouthful of her wine. ‘It made his day I can tell you.’

‘You didn’t think of reporting either of us?’

‘Well, no. No-one else needed to know, I think Baljit kept it to himself and why would I want to needlessly get rid of two capable crew members?’

‘Thanks.’

‘I told you before. I’d have been lost without you these past few months.’

‘So you did Michelle.’

‘You’re a good man Al, a friend as well as a trusted colleague.’ Her hand brushed his.

‘Well I… thank you.’ She is paying me a lot of compliments tonight, thought Ramirez, and that’s only her first glass.

‘Now wipe that sauce off your new tie before the waiter arrives.’

‘Oh hell,’ he said and dabbed at the red blob already soaking into the silk.

The Tiber Swan docked just upstream from the falls to allow its guests to depart. There was a fleet of taxis awaiting its arrival, but for Chen and Ramirez it within walking distance of the hotel. She took his arm and he escorted her the short distance back to the Falls Tier and thence to her room. She unlocked the door and beckoned him in.

‘Al, do you want to see the view? It cost me an extra thirty credits a night so I might as well share it.’

‘Alright, why not,’ he mumbled and followed her inside.

She took him by the hand and led him onto the balcony and its panoramic view of the falls, the river and the glowing outlines of the city’s towers.

‘Thanks for a lovely evening Al.’ she said. ‘That was fun. I needed that.’

‘My pleasure, honestly Michelle.’

‘I had a wonderful time thanks to you,’ she said, then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. She smelt of perfume and the wine they had drunk earlier. She took his arm and they stood and looked at the view for a moment. He noticed that she was trembling slightly.

‘Michelle what’s the matter?’

‘You were right, you know. Haines has picked me to start a war for him. I have to think of a way for us to get through this in one piece.’ She turned to look him straight in the eye. ‘Now I’ll need you more than ever.’

She leant forward and kissed him full on the lips.

‘I hope you don’t mind Al,’ she murmured.

‘No, not at all,’ he said then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

Chapter 9

The cabin was in shadow. Katherine sat with the data pad on a small fold-down table and read the log voraciously. Despite Maranos’s ever-present daytime, the train and its occupants were plunged into near darkness.

They were in the deep desert, having travelled south some two thousand kilometres through a landscape which had become progressively dryer and harsher. Jungle had given way to temperate forest, then to rolling plains of low vegetation, then to dry brown scrubland and thence to desert - and what a desert!

It was a seemingly endless sea of dust and sand, blasted rock and searing, unrelenting heat, against which the carriage’s air conditioning struggled. The train thundered on over windswept flats, boulder fields, dust basins and mile upon mile of rolling dunes, its energised sand plough and slipstream generating a rising gritty cloud that swept up from the track in its wake.

They saw few living things. The tracks followed the route of the old desert pilgrim road that snaked from oasis to oasis, from one dusty collection of dwellings to another. Anyone with the money now took the train and few animals of any great size inhabited this region. For the past two days now they had been crossing a region known as the Alreda Sea; an elongated bowl the size of a nation, like a gigantic thumbprint on the face of the world. Where the pilgrim road had skirted this region, the bold architects of the railway had gone straight across - the tracks supported on sturdy A shaped stanchions that were anchored to the bedrock.

The Alreda Sea was aptly named: it was filled with dust to a depth, it was believed, of several kilometres in places. The dust was so fine that it flowed like water and would likewise drown anything that fell into it. Like all seas it had its fair share of storms; cyclones of airborne dust that germinated at the sea’s centre and swept outward, depositing tonnes of fine particles upon the surrounding areas, and occasionally revealing the mummified remains of luckless travellers and animals lost centuries before.

A storm such as this was at its height just now. Having blown up several days earlier, it had grown to cover hundreds of square kilometres. The train, immune to its effects, had plunged straight into the heart of it. The view from its windows now consisted solely of a boiling mass of brown that swept past the carriages at breakneck speed.

Katherine sat and watched the swirling dust from time to time. The view was vaguely hypnotic; dark swirling patterns of twilight and darkness were lit occasionally by violent flashes of lightning, generated by the friction between the airborne particles, which for brief instances highlighted the structures within the clouds. Dust accumulated on and around the windows, until the drifts grew too big and they were swept away by the rushing air.

The darkness had subdued everyone. Rekkid sat in his cabin, cramming Dendratha religion and culture. Steven spent most of his time on the observation deck reading one of the books he had stored on his data pad or watching the storm. For Katherine it was an ideal opportunity to read some more of the ship’s log, it provided more than an ample diversion.

She started at the beginning. As Rekkid had already told her, most of the early entries were remarkable only for their age, concerning routine details of life aboard ship. She followed the Khostun’s tour of duty beyond the Empire’s borders and her crew’s decision upon their return to side with the reactionary forces under the command of the staunch imperialist, Sky General Vostick.

Katherine even watched the few video recordings that had been stored in the log’s memory banks. It was impossible to understand them. Quickchild had been unable to translate the soundtracks, since it was not able to correlate pronunciations with the written records without further sources of reference. But Katherine watched the recordings anyway purely out of curiosity. Cortill and his crew looked remarkably similar to Rekkid, though they were more stockily built and slightly more hirsute.

It had been their bodies that they had found aboard the wreck. Their dead faces had been frozen and desiccated beyond immediate recognition, but she recognised the pips and markings on their uniforms. She found the recording eerie. Katherine had seen many ancient corpses in her time, but few had come back from the grave to haunt her quite so vividly. Cortill seemed quite an energetic and enthusiastic person, especially in the earlier recordings. She imagined she could see why he inspired such loyalty in his crew. She felt some sorrow at him having met an untimely fate.

The later recordings were rather different. They were filmed in poor light and Cortill looked drawn and partially starved. He seemed under a great deal of stress and wept openly on one entry. Katherine could only guess at the reasons, but no doubt he was about to face the end that she knew awaited them all, whatever it had been. With a sense of melancholia she returned to the written entries, marking a few of particular interest as she went.

65.2/07/6781

Sixty two worlds have now been purged of traitors. ‘Excising the cancerous growth to maintain the healthy body’ Vostick calls it. I myself am not so sure. Such extreme measures seem unnecessary and barbarous. A number of the crew share my suspicions. This war is going too far. We hear that anarchy now reigns in a number of core systems and that the rule of law has broken down completely. There are rumours that in desperation, starving Arkari feed on Arkari in those systems cut off from the core worlds by the fighting. Tomorrow we go into battle once more against the rebels to seize their primary base in the Vansithra belt. We have good intelligence that indicates that their fleet is scattered elsewhere and Vostick has massed the greater bulk of our fleet to strike at it.

78.3/07/6781

The intelligence we received was false. We walked straight into an enemy trap. Upon our arrival at the Vansithra base we jumped straight into the midst of a mine field, losing the flagship and Sky General Vostick within the first moments as well as a number of other vessels. Disorganised and panicked we could offer little resistance when the enemy fleet fell upon us and routed our forces. It was only with luck that the Khostun avoided the worst of their attentions. We managed to turn the ship around and jump out of the system. I commended my crew for their good conduct, but I fear our cause is lost. Our leader is gone and a significant proportion of our forces have been wiped out.

43.2/09/6781

The war continues to go badly for us. Without Vostick’s leadership we are diminished. Every battle we fight is at best a rearguard action, at worst a suicidal bloodbath. Today we attempted to defend the Rirgant system and were overwhelmed in a matter of hours. Captain Karseir rammed her vessel into the lead enemy destroyer. It was a brave but ultimately pointless act. They have many more destroyers, whereas we have a precious few. We have retreated to the rallying point in the Vinnra system for repair to our forward batteries.

54.1/10/6781

We are on the run once more. Vinnra has been overrun with enemy ships. We were lucky to escape the surprise attack and slipped the noose before it could be pulled tight around us. We suffered some damage to our rear manoeuvring thrusters. Our technical adepts are attempting a workaround.

2.7/01/6782

Still no end in sight. We are in full retreat towards the [north-eastern] sectors. The enemy seems to be corralling us into an ever smaller area of space. Perhaps we can make a stand, though I suspect they are trying to drive us into one place in order to kill us all.

We received notification that the [Senate] or what remains of it, held a lengthy session in which we were officially pronounced war criminals and enemies of the Empire. It seems that we have little chance of any mercy if we surrender. Reportedly, the death toll from this war now exceeds forty trillion and evidently we will be made to pay personally. We have heard that our families have been rounded up and deported aboard transport barges. What is to become of us loyal Arkari? Are we all to be slaughtered? I thought of my wife last night, I have not seen her for nearly three years now and I now wonder if I ever shall. The morale of the crew is at its breaking point, as is mine.

-Attached File—

Arkari Imperial Senate – Official Declaration on the Rules of War Regarding the Militarists

It is the ruling of this Senate that those Arkari who have defied the wishes of the elected government of the Empire, who have acted against the interests of the Empire and its citizens and subjects and who have committed numerous despicable acts of unprecedented barbarity, shall be deemed war criminals and enemies of the Arkari Imperium. Unless a general unconditional surrender is reached they are to be given no quarter. They and their families are to be purged from the Empire forthwith.

Astani Durdino, Pro Consul to the Emperor Viritan Argentil. 1.3/01/6782

34.02/01/6782

It seems a number of vessels have refused to surrender despite the warnings given. All were destroyed on sight by government forces. We are still being driven before the fleet and our numbers are dwindling.

44.09/01/6782

The end has come at last. We received word last night from our own remaining commanders that we are to surrender unconditionally. It is with bitterness that we must accept this. All we have fought and died for has been in vain and there is worse to come. Upon surrendering we are to proceed to the [north-eastern] borders of the Empire, or what is left of it. There we are to be banished from that which we tried to save. We hear rumours - that some kind of portal has been reactivated, an ancient device of unknown alien origin, and into it we are to be cast. To what fate we do not know.

I told the crew, they took the news better than I had hoped. Many refuse to give in: they believe we can still save ourselves. Perhaps they are right.

23.10/01/6782

We received two transmissions today. The first was from the enemy Dreadnought Kanthishu, demanding our surrender. With a heavy heart I complied. They will monitor us as we proceed to the designated co-ordinates of our sentence.

The second transmission came from my old friend Urtiss. Though we fought on opposite sides he still wished to speak with me. Our conversation was awkward, though dare I say emotional. He also sent me a recording of what awaits us. He said that he owed me that much for our long years of comradeship, despite everything.

There was an icon inserted into the text denoting a link to another file. Katherine selected it. A recording appeared on the screen. It appeared to show two suns; one close to the camera, the other further away at an angle. There was an unusual cross shape of light between the two, its two longest arms pointing at each star. Katherine zoomed in on the strange pattern of light, but there was too much glare and the image was of too poor a resolution to determine what it was. She pulled back again to study the whole picture.

The background stars looked odd too, there seemed to be far too great a number of them. Now she could see that many of them were moving, she zoomed in on some of the dots; they weren’t stars, they were ships. Warships: thousands of them. A convoy of lights appeared to be heading for the cross formation, flanked by a great number of larger vessels. One tried to break away. As it did so a beam of light suddenly leapt from one of the escorts, causing the wayward ship to tumble lazily before exploding.

There was a series of galactic co-ordinates and a system name attached. Quickchild’s translation had helpfully transposed these into the modern equivalents. The footage had been taken in the Fulan system. Katherine gazed at it in amazement, wondering at the coincidence.

The door opened suddenly; Katherine had forgotten to lock it. She hurriedly closed the data pad. Steven poked his head around the door.

‘Ever heard of knocking?’ she said testily.

‘I oh, ah sorry. Umm there you are.’

‘Yes, so it seems.’

‘I

uh, was just off the dining car for a drink. I wondered if you wanted to come, but if you’re working well

’

‘No, no actually I could do with a drink. I’ve been at this for a few hours now.’

‘What are you reading?’

‘Oh, it’s stuff about the dig really. Local history. Religion and stuff.’ Hurriedly, she packed away her piles of notes and the data pad before he could see them and stepped out in into the corridor.

‘Yeah, Rekkid’s all wrapped up in that,’ said Steven. ‘I couldn’t coax him away from it. I said did he want a drink, he asked if I meant an alcoholic one. When I said no he told me to bugger off and buried his nose in his notes again.’

‘Well I learnt ages ago never to interrupt Rekkid when he’s working. He hates being disturbed unless it’s something important.’

‘Cantankerous old sod isn’t he?’

‘Yes, but you need to get on his good side. I think he has a soft spot for me.’

They threaded their way through the train until they reached they reached the dining car and Steven ordered two large glasses of what looked like iced fruit juice of some sort. It was a deep orange colour. They sat at a table and looked at the swirling brown tumult outside.

‘He has a soft spot for you? Well well

’ said Steven and smirked.

‘Not like that, Steven. Good grief we’re different species.’

‘I apologise, I have that sort of mind.’

‘You do at that. No I think he regards me as a sort of surrogate daughter. He can be quite sweet at times when he’s being paternal.’

‘How long have you both worked together?’

‘Nearly ten years now would you believe? Feels like a lifetime. I remember the first dig I went on with him. I almost buried him under a mound of ancient Xeelin grave goods! He would gruffly refer to me as his ‘nemesis’ for months afterwards. We get on fine now thankfully.’

Another figure entered the dining car, the sole other passenger in first class, the elderly Dendratha. Katherine smiled at him and said a bright ‘Hello’ via her translator. He ignored her haughtily and stiffly sat at the opposite table, then watched them darkly over his drink.

‘Not very friendly is he, Steven?’ said Katherine, her translator turned off. ‘I’d say he almost resents our presence.’

‘Very possibly. The Dendratha have quite a strictly structured class system, you know. I think some of them don’t really know how to react towards aliens. We don’t fit into their neat little ordered world view.’

‘That and the fact that the Commonwealth could walk in here and take this place over any time we chose?’

‘That too, though I think they’d rather it was us than the alternative.’

‘Still, it can’t be pleasant knowing that your independence depends on the whim of some higher power.’

‘Hmm, yes, but I think for the upper classes at least, they don’t like the fact that they’re no longer top of a small pile and are in fact bottom of a much larger one, so to speak. It undermines their confidence you see, and their authority. I bet that’s why our friend won’t acknowledge our presence.’

‘He’s watching us rather intently though isn’t he?’

‘Yeah well, so would you if you’d never seen an alien.’

‘True.’

Steven looked over and met the steady gaze of the Dendratha. There was something, odd, out of place somehow about him, and that troubled him, especially when he couldn’t figure out what it was. Paranoia possibly; he was trained to be paranoid. He chided himself silently.

‘Wonderful weather we’re having isn’t it?’ said Katherine, gazing as the rushing murk outside.

‘Delightful. We should come out of it in a day or two I hear.’

Rekkid came rushing into the dining car. He looked distraught.

‘There you are Katherine, we have to talk. I just received some rather bad news.’

‘News? Here? How on earth? What is it?’

‘Not here,’ he said whilst eying the elderly Dendratha and the dining car staff. ‘Let’s go up to the observation bubble, it’s deserted there.’

They followed Rekkid upstairs, taking their drinks with them. The observation bubble was shrouded in gloom, the rushing clouds of dust streamed past on all sides and it had heaped against the forward face of the blister. Rekkid bade them to sit, he was shaking visibly.

‘This, this isn’t going to be easy for you to hear Katherine,’ he began. ‘The ship’s been trying to reach us for several hours, he

I mean it

managed to download a message to my computer despite the storm, it’s text only. Apparently the mail was sent from Cambridge to Riianto, they forwarded it to Quickchild and he’s been trying to contact us ever since.’

‘Rekkid what’s going on?’

‘Mike Falkirk and Kim Okuda have been arrested by the Secret Service.’

‘Oh my God.’

Katherine felt her stomach lurch.

‘Jesus Rekkid, what the hell happened?

‘Apparently they turned up at the faculty and took the place apart. There were Arkari agents with them too, and they took everything and pulled all the files from the network.’

‘Oh fucking hell Rekkid. Is this about what we found?’

‘Very probably. What’s puzzling is that eyewitnesses saw them examining Mike, Kim and others with some sort of scanning equipment before they took them away. All of them were heavily armed. From what I gather it looked like they were quite prepared to shoot both of them on the spot at one point.’

‘So we’re next?’

‘It seems so. Steven, you brought your gun didn’t you?’

‘Yes but, Rekkid what the hell’s this all about?’

‘Perhaps it’s best if we didn’t tell you Steven,’ said Katherine. ‘We wouldn’t you to be a part of this. We wouldn’t want the Secret Service to come for you too.’

‘This isn’t their usual style.’

‘What? How do you know that?’ she replied

‘I’m telling you it’s not them: it’s too overt for an investigation. Just what the hell are you guys involved with?’

‘You can’t be sure of that.’

‘I am sure,’ said Steven. ‘I work for them.’

‘Come again?’

‘I said I work for them. I’m a trained operative, albeit one in disgrace,’ he said and avoided her angry stare. ‘A day before the Professor here arrived I received a coded message about you two and some stolen documents. Now do you want to tell me what this is all about?’

‘I’d rather not,’ said Katherine, her voice quivering.

‘Katherine, please. Sit down and tell me.’

‘No, leave me alone.’

‘Katherine, I’m here to help you I

’

‘I don’t want your help!’ she snapped and fled down the stairs. Steven heard her slam her cabin door, even over the noise of the train. Rekkid was staring at him coldly.

‘You going to run out on me too Rekkid?’

‘No. But I suggest you sit here and tell me one or two things, and then you apologise to Katherine, if she’ll let you. I don’t like being lied to, Agent Harris, so let’s have the truth shall we? You tell me a few things and perhaps I’ll let you in on a few secrets.’

‘Sounds fine to me.’

‘Good. You any good with that artillery you’ve got strapped to your leg?’

‘Yes.’

‘Looks like you might need it.’

Rekkid stood outside Katherine’s cabin door and listened. He thought he could hear sounds of sobbing inside. He knocked cautiously.

‘Who is it?’ came the muffled response.

‘It’s Rekkid, can I come in?’

‘Yes. Steven’s not with you is he?’

‘No.’

‘Good.’

Rekkid pushed the door open and went inside. Katherine was sat forlornly on the small bunk. She looked like she’d been crying. He shut the door carefully and sat next to her.

‘Steven and I have had a talk,’ he said quietly. ‘I think it’s going to be all right, with regards to him at least. He wasn’t in on it, he showed me a copy of the instructions he received. You know I think he’s on our side. He has, shall we say, issues with his employer.’

‘You believe him?’

‘Yes I think so. He seems quite a decent chap despite what’s happened.’

‘He could’ve said.’

‘Did either of us ask?’

‘Well no. I suppose we never had the opportunity.’

Neither of them said anything for a few moments and they sat with the rumbling of the train and the storm in the background.

‘God, Rekkid,’ Katherine sobbed. ‘Mike and Kim, they didn’t deserve this,’

‘I know. What the hell is so bloody important about what we found?’

‘I don’t know. Rekkid, I’m starting not to care. So what if the Arkari did some bad things in the ancient past? This is ridiculous, why are people being taken like this? It’s

it’s like a bunch of Italians coming after us because we found something embarrassing about the Romans.’

‘You think my people ordered this?’

‘I don’t know

over a fucking ancient artefact? Who even considers something like that, Rekkid? What about their fucking rights?’

‘I have a horrible feeling we’ll find out eventually. Probably the hard way.’

‘You think we’re next? Because I do.’

‘Yes I do too, Steven has that gun of his and Quickchild can watch over us to some extent. But

’

‘What good would that do against those kinds of odds? Maybe we should just hand it over?’

‘Maybe, I think we’d still end up in trouble just for knowing about it, I think someone’s getting desperate.’

‘How much have you told Steven?’

‘Everything, really. We need his help, so I thought it was for the best to be honest with him.’

‘What if it’s him?’

‘It’s not.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘Yes, I’m sure.’

‘I just keep thinking about those two kids Rekkid. I can’t believe it. It just makes me so angry

’ There were tears on her cheeks. Rekkid held her. As for himself: he just felt a numbness and helplessness that threatened to overwhelm him.

Katherine stirred a few hours later and felt a weight pressing against her. Dragging herself to a state of consciousness she realised it was Rekkid. He had fallen asleep next to her and had slumped over. The Arkari was snoring loudly and was lying at an odd angle. Katherine gently pushed him aside, causing him to mutter incoherently. She straightened her appearance and then went to find Steven.

She found him in the observation lounge staring forward through the sand streaked windows; the scenery outside was bathed in sunlight. Looking back she could see the towering banked cloud of the storm and the snaking silver line of the carriages. She went and stood next to Steven.

‘I see the weather’s changed for the better,’ she said awkwardly.

‘Yeah, I think the wind must’ve changed direction. We weren’t supposed to come out of this for another day or two.’

There was an uncomfortable silence.

‘Look, I’m sorry that I flew off the handle earlier, Steven,’ said Katherine. ‘I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you. I guess you just got in the way at a bad time, that’s all.’

‘No really, it’s my fault. I should’ve said something before about who I was.’

‘But then you wouldn’t have been doing your job would you?’

‘To be honest, I couldn’t care less anymore, Katherine.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’m here on Maranos as a punishment, you know? Minding the Ambassador is the least worst thing that could’ve happened to me, believe me.’

‘What did you do?’

‘I used my own initiative that’s what. But I made a few mistakes, fatal ones as it turned out. I also took the blame for the mistakes of others, Michelle Chen for one.’

‘Chen. You’ve mentioned her before. Isn’t she the one who was in the news the other day?’

‘Yeah, that’s the one.’

‘What the hell happened?’

Steven sighed. ‘Well, Chen and I have both known each other for a long time. I actually started out as a naval officer, or at least I wanted to be one. I met Chen whilst I was at the Naval College on Earth. For a while I thought I loved her, hell we even talked about marriage

until I saw what she was really like.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Chen sees the world in black and white, right and wrong. You’re either her best friend, or her worst enemy, and if she doesn’t get her own way you definitely fall into the latter category.’

‘So I take it you two split up and now she hates you?’

‘Yeah, something like that. She was so wedded to her career that it didn’t leave room for much else and she made it quite clear where her priorities lay. The truth though, is that under that stern mask of hers she’s riddled with insecurities and she bears permanent grudges. I hurt her and she still hates my guts. You’d think after fifteen years she’d have found some room to forgive me, but not Michelle, oh no.’ He gave a short, bitter laugh.

‘So what happened that you ended up here?’

‘Well, to cut a long story short I found that it wasn’t really for me, so I was… encouraged to change career paths and become a Secret Service field agent. I was employed as such for ten years until I was sent to planet called Urranakar to investigate the somewhat suspect activities of one of the mining companies. It turned out that they’d expanded their operations into drug running and it was destroying the native civilisation. Whilst I was there the whole place erupted in revolution and they seized control of the orbital station. I tried to get a message to the government without going through military channels to try and persuade them to resolve the situation peacefully, but the plan backfired and they sent a destroyer to seize the station. She was commanded by a certain captain.’

‘Chen?’

‘Yep, you guessed it. She was totally the wrong person for the job; she couldn’t see the rebels’ point of view. As far as she was concerned they were enemies of the Commonwealth, and she wanted nothing to do with me. I tried to intervene, to act as an intermediary, but it just descended into a slanging match between everyone. My presence just seemed to make things worse and she wouldn’t listen - she let her personal feelings toward me cloud her judgement. She accused me of siding with the Vendiri among other things.’

‘So what happened?’

‘A particularly desperate Vendiri took a shot at Chen’s ship from the exterior of the station with a shoulder launched missile. She had her shields down and it hit the bridge. I understand a number of the senior crew members were killed. Chen responded and obliterated the station and most of the people on it.’

‘Shit

You know I remember seeing the news reports.’

‘Yeah, it got lots of coverage. The death toll ran into the hundreds, thousands maybe.’

‘She sounds like a monster. How’d she get to be a star ship captain?’

‘Strange as it may sound coming from me, she’s actually very able in many respects. She’s a natural when it comes to tactics and manoeuvres, and she runs a tight ship. In a combat situation there are few that can better her when she’s in command, but she just isn’t suited to delicate situations. She sees everything in much too simplistic terms and her instincts are to fight when cornered or attacked.

She was the darling of her instructors at Naval College. I took the blame for some of her mistakes, though mainly for trying to circumvent the chain of command. She got off quite lightly I gather whilst I got posted to this backwater for an indefinite period, or until I resign my post.’

‘Shit, Steven. I’m sorry. It must be tough having your career torn to pieces, though I admit I’ve had some experience of that myself.’

‘Well, to be honest I’d thought of getting out for a while. I joined up to serve the Commonwealth because I thought I was doing the right thing, but I got sick of plotting against people and whole cultures who were just fighting to preserve their way of life against our predations. Have you ever seen what the corporations and the mining companies can do to a planet? I couldn’t continue to defend that, those bastards are turning us more into an Empire with every passing day with the way they behave. It’s just like in the bad old days on Earth.’

‘Are you going to resign?’

‘Maybe…no

I don’t know. I quite like it here you know? Croft is actually trying to make a difference for the better here. I quite like being a part of that. I just hope it isn’t all in vain, what with the prospect of war and all.’

They stood in silence for a moment and watched the sea of dunes speeding past on all sides.

‘You going to be alright?’ he said softly.

‘Yes, I think so. I’m still angry as hell though.’

‘You know those people well?’

Katherine nodded. ‘Mike and Kim had been working with us for a year. Neither of them deserved this Steven, they’re good people. This could ruin their careers and it just makes me so bloody angry I

And I’m worried that we’re next. Even Rekkid seems perturbed and I’ve never seen anything trouble him much before.’

‘I wonder what the significance of what you found is? Rekkid told me what you’ve uncovered already but I don’t get it.’

‘Beats me. Somebody seems to think it’s important though.’

‘Look Katherine, anyone tries to snatch you two and they’ll have to get past me alright? Look.’ He pulled his gun out its leg holster and held it out for her to inspect. The weapon was a bulky, dull blue-black gauss pistol with a fat barrel. ‘Armour piercing, high explosive bullets, standard CIB issue. This thing can stop an elephant in its tracks.’

‘Very impressive I’m sure, but what good would it be? Wouldn’t it just increase the chances of us getting shot?’

‘Against armed attackers maybe, but it would make anyone else think twice. Hey, I was top of my firearms class. Here, I have something for you too.’

‘I really don’t think I’m up to firing a hand-cannon like that Steven, I’ve never even held a gun.’

‘Here, try this,’ he handed a smaller black pistol with a laser sight that lay underneath its stubby barrel. Katherine took it; it felt surprisingly heavy despite its small size. ‘Navy model laser pistol. Should be enough to deal with most attackers, I’m going to give one to Rekkid too. I’ll show you both how to use them properly when we get off this train.’

‘Steven, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with a gun, I mean

’

‘It’s only for emergencies, better to be safe than sorry eh?’

‘I suppose, thank you,’ she said as she inspected the weapon warily.

‘Hopefully no else from CIB will come here anywhere. There’s so little traffic in this system that any ship arriving unannounced would be noticed. Besides, even if they did manage to sneak in, the presence of aliens would cause comment: look at the attention we receive. It might offend the locals too, since all visitors have to be sanctioned by the Dendratha government. I’m hoping that they’ll be satisfied with just me on the case for now; sending me orders was the easier option than trying to send more agents. We can’t rule out the possibility that our government might request that the locals apprehend us. Hence the hand-cannon, and only then if we have no other option.’

‘But won’t they start to suspect something if you don’t arrest us?’

‘How can I arrest you if I don’t find anything?’

‘But you know about

’

Steven winked at her. ‘You’d be amazed what I don’t see when I try hard enough. They might send someone eventually, but until then I’ll play dumb.’

‘I don’t know. They’ve been pretty diligent so far in following the two of us.’

‘You think the Arkari are pressuring them?’

‘Yes.’

‘So do I.’

‘You know I always thought the Arkari were fairly benign and peace loving.’

‘Huh. You did, did you? Was that before or after you pissed them off?’

‘Hmm, it was before we found that log, definitely.’

‘The Arkari have been around a lot longer than we have. They didn’t survive for so long by being nice all the time, regardless of what they might have you believe.’

‘I suppose.’

‘The Arkari military is unusually independent, Katherine. Thankfully for the rest of their species they obey the elected government, but it doesn’t stop them acting on their own from time to time. When it comes down to it they can be just as brutal as anyone else. You ever hear of the One Day War?’

‘Not sure, it rings a bell.’

‘The K’Soth tried to invade Arkari space in 2190, before we’d contacted either of them. They assembled a fleet even bigger than the one they used against us, and they headed straight towards Keros. They were never heard from again. An hour after crossing the border they vanished, not even any distress signals.’

‘A whole fleet?’

‘Yep, no survivors that we know of. Plus, over the next few months a number of senior figures in the K’Soth military met untimely and mostly violent ends. I think they got the message.’

‘You think this is their work?’

‘I’d put money on it,’ Steven replied grimly as he re-holstered his weapon.

Chapter 10

The assembled captains filed out of the Mark Antony’s briefing room as Chen gathered her notes. The meeting had served as a getting-to-know-you session. She had had little more to add to their previous orders save for the specifics of their patrol routes, but she had been heartened to find that the other vessels under her command were captained by capable officers. She just hoped that she wasn’t going to have to send them all to their deaths in the near future.

She had left Ramirez in command on the bridge for now, so she returned to her quarters and dumped the data pad and sheaf of paper notes on her desk. The briefing had caused her to think again about possible tactics that she could use in the event of their deployment against the K’Soth. She had to ensure that they survived the engagement and an idea had been forming in her mind over the previous few days. She wanted to try it out in a simulation.

Chen accessed her desk terminal and called up files on the technical specifications of both Commonwealth and K’Soth ships. In particular, she was interested in their comparative manoeuvring capabilities. Commonwealth vessels were now undoubtedly superior to their K’Soth counterparts in most respects, but it was likely that they would be facing overwhelming numbers of opponents. She pondered the lists of statistics regarding the specifications of the various classes of vessels on both sides.

The ships under her command had all recently undergone refits, both to their weapons and to their drive systems, making them deadlier, faster and more manoeuvrable. She ran a model of an engagement between simulated Commonwealth and K’Soth vessels and she made a surprising discovery: her ships should be able to out-turn enemy vessels, even when orientated to bring all their primary weapons to bear at medium range. She now had the key to survival, or at least the possibility.

Space combat was fraught with problems. Exchange of fire between ships in motion over significant astronomical distances was simply not practical. Energy weapons, subject to the inverse square law, could not be constructed with sufficient power to be effective at such distances and over extreme distances, the speed of light presented another set of problems. Even though modern ships could detect one another through hyperspace and get an accurate indication of the present location of a target, the time taken for laser or particle beams travelling at the speed of light to cross great distances was still too great. The target ships could simply move out of the way of the incoming beam.

Projectile weapons had their own set of problems. Despite having an infinite range, they took even longer to travel from one point in a system to another. Hence it was impossible to hit a target moving in an unpredictable manner as it would have moved or changed course drastically by the time the projectile arrived. Fitting munitions with jump engines simply wasn’t practical for reasons of cost and size. Furthermore, unguided projectiles would be dragged off course by the gravitational influences of celestial bodies, and it was difficult to fit such small devices with sufficient power reserves to manoeuvre over such ranges. Over moderate distances, say a few hundred kilometres it was possible; shells and missiles could be accelerated to acceptable speeds or could be loaded with enough fuel to allow them to guide themselves towards a target in motion. However, to counter this threat ships were fitted with extensive defensive systems designed to destroy incoming warheads long before they reached their target. Such defences were difficult to overcome except via the use of a great number of munitions to swamp them with more targets than they could engage.

As a result of this dilemma, ship designers of various races had resorted to energy based weapons that could be used at ranges generally no greater than fifty kilometres, but which delivered a highly destructive punch at the speed of light. Ships generally mounted numerous rapid firing weapons for engaging smaller targets as well as larger guns capable of producing a sustained and powerful beam able to rapidly deplete an enemy’s shields and slice open its hull.

Navies also resorted to the use of smaller craft; squadrons of one or two pilot torpedo bombers and space superiority fighters lacked jump drives and were transported to the battle in larger carrier vessels. Since fighters did not fly in predictable patterns they had been shown to be more difficult for enemy defences to target and were large enough to shield, hence they were used to get in under the defensive barrages of enemy capital ships and disable said defences, as well as defending their own ships from similar attacks.

Traditionally this left a number of options open to a fleet commander: either they could close with the enemy and batter them at short range, or if they had fighters available they could utilise them to take down the turrets and defences of the enemy vessels before using projectile weapons to finish them off at long range or closing for the kill. The first tactic relied on numerical superiority in ships and guns, the second superiority in fighters and bombers. Chen would most probably have neither, but she thought she had found another way.

She would draw the enemy ships toward her little fleet before staging a retreat. Looking at the weapon capabilities of her ships and any likely opponents, she could see that the effective range of her ships’ weapons exceeded that of the majority of weapons on the K’Soth vessels by around ten kilometres. Furthermore, her vessels were now capable of accelerating faster in reverse than the K’Soth vessels could manage full ahead. If she could manage to maintain a distance of between twenty and thirty kilometres between her fleet and the enemy ships she could hit them with relative impunity. Timing would be everything. She modelled a possible engagement. The computer provided a random selection of K’Soth ships, and she noticed a flaw. The K’Soth did have one class of vessel that was capable of firing at greater ranges than her own, and it was one she was likely to face.

K’Soth War Temples were gigantic craft which served as carriers, command ships, and fire support platforms. Whilst they were fitted with a large number of outdated weapon turrets, their primary weapon consisted of a gigantic plasma cannon. The weapon drew superheated plasma from the ship’s reactors and magnetically accelerated it along the kilometre length of the barrel at close to the speed of light. The weapon was fixed along the vessel’s centreline and could only be aimed by manoeuvring the ship to point at the target and it could only be fired infrequently to avoid depleting the ship’s reactors of energy. However its effects were lethal to any vessel caught by the impact. The Mark Antony would be unlikely to survive a direct hit by such a weapon. They would have to stay well out of the firing line.

Chen constructed a new model, her fleet versus a K’Soth War Temple. In order to keep the enemy ship within range of their guns, stay out of range of its turrets, and maintain a rate of turn sufficient to prevent the plasma cannon being brought to bear, it would be necessary to maintain a distance of between twenty and twenty-five kilometres. In addition, the fleet would have to be arranged into a sufficiently small formation to stay out of the fire arc. Chen’s task would be even more difficult. The area in which they could manoeuvre was ridiculously small, moving in such a tight formation in battle presented its own risks, and if they were successfully outflanked before the relief force arrived it would all be over.

She needed another plan to fall back on, but this whole exercise was proving intensely frustrating. How could she properly plan ahead if she didn’t even know what system they would be operating in? There were hundreds of systems within the DMZ. She couldn’t plan to fight within each and every one. Still, at least what she had so far was a start. She was sure she could build upon it once she knew where they were headed.

The view out of her cabin window showed the lazily spinning metallic face of New Colorado some distance away, surrounded by the winking lights and glinting metal of ships. Close by, the view was occupied by the Tipu Sultan, a tactical missile frigate under her command. She could see the ship’s name on its grey, wedge-shaped nose, as well the sword emblazoned in the uppermost of the two missile batteries that occupied the aft gun decks of the vessel. Chen glanced at her watch; it was time they were getting underway. She should return to the bridge.

As part of the cover for their deployment, Chen had been instructed to organise patrols of several nearby systems to hunt for ‘smugglers.’ To achieve this she had split her small fleet into several components; the two missile frigates and the standard frigate, the Crazy Horse, would patrol the Klondike system’s asteroid belt. The four destroyers, however, would spread out through the local systems and would each be accompanied by an anti-fighter cruiser. Chen had plotted courses for each of the destroyers to cover as much of the surrounding sphere of space as possible. The course she had chosen for the Mark Antony would take them closest to the border than any of the others.

Chen made her way onto the bridge and was met by Ramirez, who shot her a broad grin as he relinquished command to her. She headed for her chair and settled into it, then reached for her HUD monocle. Before she could attach it Ensign Andrews spoke.

‘Captain we are being hailed by another vessel, it’s a small shuttlecraft from New Colorado.’

‘Put them through.’

‘Yes Captain.’

Chen fitted her HUD monocle and its bright display came into focus in front of her. The communications window activated and showed a fat, rather sweaty looking man in a rumpled suit. He was sitting in the shuttle’s cramped cockpit next a bald black man who appeared to be piloting the vessel. The first man spoke.

‘Good afternoon Captain, I’m Agent Rochenko from Commonwealth Intelligence. Before you leave I wonder if my colleague, Agent Pearson, and I might come aboard. We have something to ask of you.’

‘Certainly, but can we not discuss it over this channel?’

‘I’d prefer not to. It’s a security matter pertaining to an ongoing investigation.’

‘I’m not in trouble am I?’ said Chen dryly.

Agent Rochenko laughed hoarsely.

‘No. No not at all.’

‘Very well, permission to dock is granted. I’ll speak to you both in my ready room in a few minutes, Chen out.’ She switched the channel off and gave instructions to her crew. ‘Lieutenant O’Rourke please assist these gentlemen in docking with us. Commander, I’d appreciate it if you’d meet them both at the docking port and lead them up here. Ensign Andrews, please inform New Colorado traffic control that we are delaying our departure by thirty minutes.’

Chen left her chair and went to her ready room to await the two agents. With all the recent secrecy she was starting to become paranoid and she wondered if perhaps she really was the focus of their attention. After a few moments Ramirez arrived with agents Rochenko and Pearson in tow.

‘Gentlemen, welcome aboard,’ she said and shook them by the hand, eyeing the two men warily.

‘Thank you Captain,’ said Rochenko.

‘Now, what can I do for you? Please, have a seat.’ She gestured towards the two chairs in front of her desk.

‘Captain with all due respect it may be better, for security reasons, if the Commander here were to leave us,’ said Pearson.

‘Agent

ah

Pearson, Commander Ramirez is my second in command and I trust him implicitly. If you have something to say to me you can say it in front of him,’ Chen replied firmly.

‘Very well. We understand that the route you posted for your forthcoming patrol will take you northwards into the Kiev system.’

‘Yes that’s right. It’s our first port of call.’

‘We’d appreciate it if you could look out for a particular ship for us. It’s piloted by a man we had intended to question, but I have to admit that we’ve lost him.’

‘How embarrassing.’

‘Quite.’

‘Space is very big you know. Trying to find a single ship that doesn’t want to be found is virtually impossible. Your man could be light years away by now. How long has he been missing?’

‘Three days. He docked at the Rostov Harbour facility in Kiev where he spent several days buying and loading cargo. He then logged his intended destination as Fort Roskilde in the Midgard system, ten light years distant.’

‘That’s also on our itinerary.’

‘I know, and this is why we came to you. Anyway, our man never arrived in Midgard, nor in any of the other surrounding systems. As you can imagine this poses us something of a problem, so if you could keep an eye out for him it would be a great help.’

‘Well I can’t promise anything. I’ll need some details to go on?’

‘His name’s Hideo Minaba.’ said Rochenko. ‘He’s a freelance trader who generally operates in this area. His ship’s called the Nine Lives, a converted Bison class transport with an uprated power plant, shields and weapons. I have all the necessary details here; I’ll just download them to your desk terminal.’ Rochenko produced a data pad and fiddled with it briefly, the file appeared on Chen’s desk screen. She glanced at it.

‘Thank you. So, could you tell me what this Captain Minaba is wanted for?’

‘Yes of course. He’s not actually accused of anything per se, but he ferried an archaeologist named Katherine O’Reilly, whom we’re currently investigating, to the Fulan system. She is in possession of stolen documents belonging to the Arkari military and we believe

’ Rochenko paused as if for dramatic effect. ‘We believe that there is a distinct possibility that she may be trying to pass them on to the K’Soth. Naturally we’d like to talk to anyone who’s been in prolonged contact with her recently, except that Minaba seems to have given us the slip.’

‘Any idea why?’

‘We think he must have realised that he was under a degree of surveillance in Rostov Harbour. Traders spook easily; theirs is a risky business, especially in the least well patrolled systems. It probably explains why he undertook his disappearing act.’

‘Well this certainly falls well within our current mission parameters Agent Rochenko. We’re here to guard against the K’Soth and their fifth columnists and smugglers. I’ll let you know immediately if we find anything, and in the meantime I wish you luck in hunting down your wayward academic.’

‘Thank you Captain, your assistance is much appreciated.’

‘I expect you’ll be wanting to get underway now?’ said Pearson. Chen nodded. ‘Well we shan’t detain you any longer, good day Captain. Commander.’ He nodded to Chen and Ramirez. The two men got up and left, Ramirez went with them escort back to their shuttle. Chen breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that her previous paranoia had been unjustified.

She returned to the bridge and gave the order for the cruiser Stillwell to fall into formation with the Mark Antony and for the other ships to depart along their assigned patrol routes. She disseminated the description of the Nine Lives to the other captains too, on the off chance that they might encounter it. This accomplished, she ordered Ensign Goldstein at the helm to depart New Colorado and head for Rostov Harbour in Kiev, as Ramirez returned to the bridge and settled into his place at her side.

The ships formed an impressive convoy as they filed out of New Colorado’s sphere of port jurisdiction, the destroyers dwarfing all but the largest of civilian craft. Once clear of traffic control the ships swung in pairs to face their appointed destinations before jumping out. Chen felt a swell of pride at the sheer military power available at her command; if anyone was doing anything illegal in this part of space, they were about to receive one hell of a nasty surprise.

The Mark Antony and the Stillwell emerged from their jump eighty kilometres away from Rostov Harbour. The station was visible as a large cylinder that glinted ruddily by the light of the system’s red dwarf star as it spun slowly in orbit about the brown gas giant Petrov. A few battered looking freighters hung in stationary orbits about the station and there didn’t seem to be much going on. Sensor sweeps revealed little activity in the wider system save for a couple of bulk haulers rising from the agricultural colonies on Petrov’s largest moon. Chen ordered the helm to approach the station and instructed comms to put her through to its commander. The image of a jovial, grey bearded man appeared in front of her and introduced himself as Commander Lyakhov

‘Good day Commander, my name is Captain Chen,’ said Michelle briskly. ‘We are currently searching for a ship in this part of space, I was wondering if you could be of assistance?’

‘Certainly Captain,’ said Lyakhov graciously. ‘We have few ships coming through here. It should be easy to find the records of the one you’re after.’

‘Thank you Commander. The ship we are trying to trace is called the Nine Lives, commanded by a man named Minaba. It’s a modified Bison transport. Apparently it docked here around three days ago, and then left for Midgard. It hasn’t been seen since.’

‘I see. One moment, Captain.’ Lyakhov spoke to a subordinate off screen. ‘One of my junior staff is just accessing the details Captain. Tell me, why are you so eager to speak to this Minaba gentleman?’

‘I’m afraid I can’t discuss the details Commander, it’s a matter of some sensitivity.’

Lyakhov grunted derisively. ‘You do of course realise that you showing up like this is hardly the softly-softly approach Captain, everyone in the system will have heard about your presence here by the end of the day. Any ne’er-do-wells will be long gone in a matter of hours.’

‘Well, our primary mission here is a show of force in this system, among others. This manhunt is something of a sideline. Wouldn’t you agree that it might do some good to put the fear of God into your local undesirables and remind them of the power that the Navy wields?’

‘Perhaps,’ said Lyakhov. ‘Though the Navy seldom shows its face around here. Ah, it seems we have found the ship you want. Nine Lives, Captain Hideo Minaba, docked here eighty-one hours ago. Cargo manifest included five tonnes of assorted precious minerals, ten tonnes of deuterium. Destination, Fort Roskilde in the Midgard system. His was the last ship to jump out of the system since then.’

‘No passengers?’

‘None listed, not that that’s any guarantee of course.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Sorry I couldn’t be of more help Captain.’

‘That’s quite alright Commander, thank you for your time. Chen out.’ She closed the channel and stared thoughtfully at the ochre clouds of Petrov.

‘You think Minaba posted a false destination before he left?’ said Ramirez.

‘Possibly,’ she thought for a moment. ‘Lieutenant Singh, would it be possible to detect the jump wake of the Nine Lives after this length of time?’

‘It depends, Captain. Newer drives leave less of a warp wake, but if his drives are old or poorly maintained we might be able to pick it up with our new instrument packages. I’ll conduct a high resolution sweep of the area.’

There was brief pause as Singh activated the Mark Antony’s sensors to pick out the minute ripples in space-time left by the passage of a jumping vessel.

‘I’ve got something!’ he reported excitedly ‘Captain, I have a trail left by a small vessel of some kind. It leads in the direction of Midgard. It has to be the Nine Lives.’

‘Excellent work Lieutenant. This of course leaves us with the question: Why did he not show up in Midgard?’

‘Captain I see two possibilities.’ said Ramirez. ‘Either his engines failed half way between here and Midgard, or he plotted jump co-ordinates mid-way between the two systems and then jumped again to somewhere else. It would look from this end as though he’d jumped for Midgard when in fact he was heading somewhere different entirely.’

‘Well there’s only one way to find out, we’ll have to follow the trail and see where it leads. Our spatial distortion sensors have an effective range of half a light year, is that correct Mr Singh?’

‘Yes Captain, although their effectiveness drops off exponentially after one third.’

‘And I see from my chart that it’s five light years to Midgard from here. Well there’s only one way to do this; Ensign plot a course for Midgard and have us make five jumps of one light year each along the way. I shall speak to Captain Knoxville on the Stillwell and have him make the same number of jumps, but staggered between ours so that we can sweep the entire route. We’ll find Minaba one way or another. I’d like to get started immediately.’

It was some time before they found the Nine Lives. Initially both ships failed to detect the presence of the small craft, but the when the warp wake mysteriously vanished after the destroyer’s third jump, the Mark Antony and the Stillwell retraced their steps, making smaller jumps of a quarter of a light year each until they found the ship.

The Nine Lives was eventually found drifting three point four light years out from Kiev, and she was slightly off course. Its hull was intact and its lights shone brightly in the blackness of interstellar space, but hailing the vessel elicited no response. Closer examination revealed that the reactors were still online. There was something else too; the Stillwell had first picked it up: another jump wake. Someone else had been here in the last twenty four hours.

Singh ran another scan to confirm the Stillwell’s findings. He looked grim.

‘Lieutenant?’ said Chen, noticing his demeanour.

‘Captain, these space time ripples are very difficult to detect. My congratulations to Lieutenant Zemeckis on the Stillwell for finding them, but whoever was here before us has jump drive technology that far exceeds our own. Esacir or Arkari I’d say.’

‘Any signs of life in the vessel?’

‘Impossible to tell, the jump engines have been damaged and there’s too much distortion coming from them to get a clear reading.’

‘Would it be safe to board the vessel?’

‘In suits, yes. They should provide sufficient shielding from any short term exposure.’

‘Very well. Commander Ramirez, assemble a boarding party, take at least one member of our medical staff and someone from engineering. Suit up and take a shuttle over to that ship. Since we don’t fully know what’s inside I’d rather not dock and put the ship at any needless risk.’

Ramirez left the bridge and assembled his team, he took Doctor Anderton, the ship’s Chief Medical Officer, as well as Lieutenant Wolfowicz, a bright young officer from engineering and a small squad consisting of five of the ship’s marine complement.

He wasn’t looking forward to this assignment at all, though he kept that fact to himself. Investigating mysterious ghost ships was not his idea of a fun time. His imagination was populating the drifting craft with all sorts of unmentionable lurking horrors as he sat in the cramped passenger compartment of the small shuttle with five other suited figures. Thankfully the suits were new and their insides smelt only of fresh rubber and plastic instead of the more usual bodily smells sported by well-worn examples. The marines each held a side-arm; laser pistols with enough power to kill, but not puncture a hole in a ship’s hull. Doctor Anderton and Lieutenant Wolfowicz each had small packs of tools and instruments relating to their specific professions clipped to their suit belts.

The marines looked edgy. Anderton looked nonchalant as she checked her medi-packs. Wolfowicz looked nervous and Ramirez wondered if he did too. Thankfully, it was a brief journey from the destroyer to the Nine Lives. The boxy shuttle sped from the docking bay located between the armoured keel plates of the Mark Antony, a fly next to the behemoth vessel. Ramirez could see the lights of smaller Stillwell some distance away against the blackness of interstellar space. It looked like a much smaller, stubbier version of his own ship, studded with a number of gatling-laser defensive turrets. For now it was surveying the second warp wake that they had discovered.

They were coming close to the Nine Lives now. The shuttle’s pilot, one of the marines, docked the tiny craft onto the transport’s dorsal hatch. There was a detectable thud as the rear of the shuttle clamped itself to the transport, followed by the mechanical sounds of the hatches opening.

The airlock was small, only large enough for two people at once, so it took quite a time for everyone to board the vessel and assemble outside the airlock in the cargo bay. The ship was quiet, save for the sounds of their suits and the gentle background hum of idling systems. Ramirez called out over his suit’s external speakers, there was no reply. He called out again:

‘My name is Commander Ramirez from the Commonwealth Navy vessel Mark Antony; we have come aboard your vessel in order to assist you and to ask you one or two questions. We mean you no harm but I warn you I have a squad of armed marines accompanying me.’ There was still no answer, Ramirez felt slightly ridiculous. He turned to Wolfowicz.

‘Lieutenant, get into the engineering spaces above this cargo bay and have a look at the engines, try and find out what happened to this ship. Take Corporal Archer here with you just in case. The rest of you come with me, we’ll search this ship for any clues, or any fugitives. Starting here and moving forward’

They checked the cargo bay and found nothing amongst the big cargo pods that were clamped to the greasy floor. Next they moved forward into the ship’s accommodation section. Ramirez entered one of the small cabins and noticed a few strands of red hair on the bunk pillow, he puzzled at that. Wolfowicz came over the comm-link.

‘Sir, there’s something strange about these engines.’

‘How so?’

‘It looks like they’ve been tampered with. Some of the safeties have been removed, hence the field overload, but that that isn’t what brought the Nine Lives out of her jump.’

‘So what did?’

‘I’ve pulled the system logs from the jump drive computer, the Nine Lives came out of her jump normally as a result of commands sent to it from the navigational computer. In other words: she jumped here normally and then someone messed with the engines to make it look like an engine failure.’

‘Thanks Lieutenant, good work. Come down here now, we’re going to head up to the cockpit to see if we can coax anything out of the ship’s computers.’

‘Aye, sir. Wolfowicz out.’

Ramirez looked at the pillow again. Rochenko had said Minaba had had a passenger recently. He wondered if this was her or someone else. He picked up the hairs and popped them in a small sealable plastic bag, the thick fingers of his suit made the task fiddly and it took him some time to get the red fibres into the small receptacle. He swore repeatedly.

His task completed, Ramirez exited the cabin, and came face to face with two of the marines, who having searched the opposite cabin had found nothing. Anderton had been investigating the tiny ship’s galley with the squad’s sergeant, but they had found nothing untoward either. Looking up the gangway Ramirez saw one of the marines, Olsen, head for the cockpit and peer round the door. He came running back, yelling over the comm-link and almost deafening the others.

‘Sir, Sir I’ve found the ship’s captain. You ain’t gonna believe this! Shit

’ Ramirez saw the man stifle the urge to vomit inside his suit. Olsen wrenched his helmet off and spewed onto the deck. Coughing, he wiped his mouth and replaced the helm, apologising profusely.

‘Shit, sorry Commander.’

‘That’s alright,’ said Ramirez, grateful that his suit shielded him from the smell of the fresh puddle of puke. ‘Just be thankful we’re not wearing these things in a vacuum.’

‘You’d better come this way, sir,’ said Olsen. ‘I ain’t no detective but I’d say this guy was murdered.’

‘Murdered’ thought Ramirez, was probably an understatement. ‘Butchered’, was more accurate. Minaba was seated in his command couch, with a look a total horror frozen into his dead features. The front of his cranium had burst open. Skull fragments, blood and brain matter had spattered across the control consoles and partially solidified. Ramirez tried not to look too closely at the riven corpse in front of him.

‘This head wound’s unusual,’ Anderton commented as she gestured at the top of Minaba’s skull. ‘It’s an exit wound.’

‘So?’

‘But where is the entry wound? He wasn’t shot. Look at the way the skull has been forced apart. Something was inside his head and dug its way out.’

‘Such as?’

‘I have no idea. But look at the amount of brain matter on this console. There isn’t nearly enough to constitute the brain of an adult human.’

‘Some parasite we’ve never encountered maybe?’

‘Maybe. But then how was he walking around normally with three quarters of his brain missing?’

The Mark Antony was returning to New Colorado, with the Nine Lives in its shuttle bay, and the grisly remains of Captain Minaba in the morgue. Chen sat her in ready-room with Ramirez as they spoke to Agents Rochenko and Pearson over the ship’s hypercom and informed them of their find. The two men looked deeply troubled.

‘Captain, I find this news disturbing,’ said Pearson.

‘Perhaps this Dr O’Reilly might be able to shed some light on this, should you apprehend her.’ said Chen.

‘Perhaps.’

‘What did you say she was accused of?’

‘Stealing top secret documents from the Arkari military.’

‘Says who.’ said Ramirez.

‘Says the Arkari Navy,’ said Rochenko. ‘She and Cor boarded an experimental vessel of theirs that had been lost some days earlier. It had suffered an engine malfunction that had killed all the crew. They took classified technical manuals and logs from the ship and they’ve been giving us the run-around ever since. We suspect they might pass them on to the K’Soth for financial reward. Since they are both Commonwealth citizens the Arkari had to give us jurisdiction over the investigation.’

‘Have you spoken to O’Reilly? Or tried to apprehend her?’

‘We have, believe me. However so far we haven’t been able to make the accusations stick since we haven’t managed to catch her with the documents in her possession. We think Cor has them but we don’t know where he is, apparently an Arkari vessel spotted him at Riianto in Esacir space, but he hasn’t been seen since.’

‘I see.’

‘The thing is - O’Reilly claims that the documents aren’t top secret after all. She says that the ship that they boarded was a million year old antique and that what they took were items of archaeological interest.’

‘A million year old Arkari ship? Please.’

‘I know, preposterous isn’t it?

‘Did the Arkari let you see the ship?’

‘No.’

‘Hmm. Ever considered that they might be lying to you?’

‘The Arkari? Captain if we go making an accusation like that, without proper evidence it could cause all sorts of problems. They are our allies after all. You don’t really think they would do you?’

‘We found jump engine signatures around the Nine Lives that we think indicated that either an Arkari or an Esacir vessel had been in the vicinity following the murder.’

‘Not a K’Soth craft?’

‘Not unless it was K’Soth piloting a stolen vessel.’

‘You can’t steal Arkari or Esacir ships, Captain. They don’t let you.’

‘I know. Anyway, we shall be arriving back at New Colorado in five hours time and you can see for yourself. We’ll turn the ship, the body and all our sensor logs over to you upon our arrival.’

‘Thank you Captain, you’ve been an immense help, though I wish you had found Minaba alive rather than dead,’ said Pearson.

‘No doubt he would share your opinion Agent Pearson, Chen out.’ She sighed and turned to Ramirez. ‘As if we don’t have enough to worry about with the K’Soth. I wonder what the Arkari are up to?’

‘Huh,’ he snorted. ‘They’ve got inscrutable down to a fine art. If our own government doesn’t even know

’

‘Well quite, if it is the Arkari of course. Christ, I hate all this secrecy!’ she said and started clearing some notes from her desk, screwing them up and feeding them into the desk’s disposal slot.

‘Really? Does that include our little secret?’ he said and grinned at her.

‘Well I’m prepared to make exceptions,’ she said. ‘Dinner in my quarters tonight, Al?’

‘Delighted to, I imagine we have lots of important things to talk about, duty rosters, repair schedules

’

‘Do you think the crew know?’ she said.

‘I don’t think so. I thought Singh had found out the other day, but if he does he’s keeping it to himself.’

‘Kind of makes it more exciting, don’t you think?’ she winked at him.

Ramirez could never cease to be amazed at Chen’s ability to suddenly change: minutes earlier she had been the stern, businesslike Captain of a star ship but now she was positively playful. She was right, it was exciting. He went over to her and kissed her hungrily.

Third

Once, we were offered a brief moment of hope. The gateway back to our home re-opened and with joy we sent a ship through, back to prepare the way for others so that we might wreak vengeance on those who had so cruelly exiled us to this frozen hellish place. But we were eager for blood and alas, too hasty. We were beaten back and defeated once again by those who had defeated us before. The gateway was sealed again, trapping our brethren on the other side and us on this. We did not hear from them ever again, we know not their fate.

To have the chance of freedom and rebirth snatched away so cruelly was more than some of our number could bear. Many took it upon themselves to end their tortured immortality and finally gave in to death after so many millennia of suffering in this place.

For those that did not succumb, their loss only strengthened our resolve. We gathered ourselves about the site of the portal, watching and waiting until the day when we shall have our chance again. We shall not make the same mistake twice.

Chapter 11

Strictly speaking, Bridgetown was not a new settlement, it had merely been built on and around the previous village that had existed in the canyon for centuries, flourishing and acquiring its new name as a result of the building of the railway network. There had been equatorial settlements on Maranos for many millennia. The tidal stresses produced by the opposing gravities of the system’s two stars had caused the planet’s midriff to bulge outwards on either side, producing a double set of striations that rose gradually upwards out of the surrounding desert towards one star or another. The higher altitudes of the plateaus and canyon formations produced a climate more conducive to life. Water was plentiful and the sheltered gorges provided a more pleasant environment than the harsh desert that surrounded them.

Bridgetown was built up the side of one of the larger canyons. The flattened canyon floor was used for farmland that fed the growing settlement that clung to the rocky wall like lichen. The town lay at the junction of five major railway lines, including the main line about the equator. The station had been built on the plain above on the western side in an ostentatious style. From its mouth, four gigantic single span bridges leapt across the settlement that nestled within the shelter of the gorge, giving the place its name and an impressive skyline.

The train rumbled slowly into the large, canopied station. Upon braking to a halt the gargantuan vehicle was set upon by gangs of Dendratha wielding powerful hoses and long brushes who now began removing the tonnes of sand that had accumulated on the train and had resisted being swept away in the slipstream. This done, the doors opened and the passengers inside were allowed to emerge from the wetly glistening carriages into the surprising coolness of the platform.

The trio of off-worlders stepped out of the first class carriage where they were greeted with a combination of stares and appreciative noises from the locals on the platform.

‘You know, this is getting to be bit irritating,’ said Rekkid testily as he lugged his bags. ‘I feel like a fairground attraction.’

‘Like I’ve said before though,’ said Steven. ‘It means that no-one Commonwealth or Arkari can sneak up on us.’

‘I don’t suppose they see many aliens out here,’ said Katherine.

‘Not since the railway was built no,’ Steven explained. ‘They regard off-worlders rather fondly here I gather; we’re seen as benefactors for bringing prosperity.’

‘So where are we staying?’ said Rekkid.

‘The House of Foreigners.’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘It’s the name the locals gave to the accommodation built for the railway construction workers who came from the Commonwealth; it’s now a hotel-cum-tourist attraction, people visit or stay there to see how us off-worlders live. It’s the only place that has thick curtains to keep out the light and suitable beds, although prepare to have people gawp at us when we’re there.’

‘Oh good,’ said Rekkid. ‘We’re staying in a zoo, wonderful. Tell me, when we have dinner will people stand and watch?’

‘Possibly, yes.’

‘Oh, marvellous. Remind me to fling my dung at them won’t you?’ he snapped and stormed off down the platform.

The hotel turned out to be only a short walk from the station, situated as it was just below the lip of the gorge. It was a collection of blocky, characterless buildings of Commonwealth construction which looked somewhat out of place amid the tiers of more organically formed Dendratha-built dwellings that clung to the sides of the precipice. Some attempt had been made to make the utilitarian architecture more attractive: trailing plants and flowers draped the sides of the hotel and a pleasant tree-filled garden had been planted about it.

The trio made their way through the steep cobbled streets that thronged with pedestrians and animal hauled carts, and tried not to attract too much attention. This proved to be a fruitless task since their bipedal alien forms stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the native crowd. By the time they reached the House of Foreigners they had attracted quite a following: a small horde of Dendratha children undulated excitedly around them and people gawped from open shop doorways and the tables of pavement cafes. One grubby infant made the mistake of grabbing Rekkid’s trouser leg with a sticky hand. Katherine saw his expression and carefully removed the grip of the small gurgling alien.

They entered the hotel-museum’s lobby, followed by their entourage, and were met with a series of excited noises and much pointing and staring from the assembled guests and visitors, who crowded them at the reception desk as Steven negotiated for the rooms.

Rekkid turned to Katherine. ‘Any idea what the Dendratha phrase for ‘sod off’ is?’ he said irritably.

‘I thought you were the language expert?’

‘That’s true. I ought to make a point of learning it.’

‘Where’s your translator?’

‘At the bottom of my bag, I can’t reach it with all this crowding.’

Katherine stumbled slightly as the press of aliens around her jostled them. Rekkid’s face wore an expression of barely concealed rage as the throng pawed at him.

‘Look, bugger off will you? And stop touching me! No, that’s mine you can’t have it. No! Look will you stop grabbing my clothes, and me? Thank you.’

Steven returned with three room keys, he saw Rekkid and laughed.

‘Having fun meeting the natives, Rekkid?’

‘Oh I’m having a ball, and please tell me that we’ll have privacy in our rooms.’

‘We will.’

‘Good. My fan club will have to stay here then.’

They pushed their way through to doors marked ‘Guests Only’ in several languages, Dendratha and Commonwealth, and hurriedly squeezed through it. Rekkid made an intensely rude Arkari gesture toward the disappointed looking crowd they left outside as the doors swung shut behind them.

The rooms turned out to be basic, but comfortable enough for a short stay, and thankfully they were not on the ground floor; there would be no chance of curious visitors peering in the windows to catch a glimpse of the aliens. They also each had balconies which looked out over the canyon. The bridges arched over in the sky above, casting long, permanent, curving shadows on the buildings below. The scene wobbled slightly in the heat haze.

They dumped their bags in their rooms then gathered in Rekkid’s. It was time to contact the survey vessel. Rekkid set his slender computer on the room’s sole table and they hunched over it. He tapped a few keys.

‘Quickchild, can you hear me?’ he said into the device.

‘Of course I can, did you have a pleasant trip?’ came the reply from the computer’s small speakers.

‘Not really, look has the Darwin arrived in the system yet?’

‘The survey vessel Darwin arrived in the system two days, three hours and fifty one minutes ago Rekkid.’

‘Good, can you put me through to their captain please?’

‘Certainly.’

There was brief pause before a slightly portly, though surprisingly young looking man wearing a HUD monocle and sporting a black neatly trimmed beard appeared on the screen.

‘Captain Spiers of the Darwin here. Good afternoon Professor Cor, Doctor O’Reilly. I was wondering when you’d call.’

‘Well here we are,’ said Rekkid. ‘Captain, we were wondering when it would be convenient for you to survey our dig site.’

‘Not for a couple of days I’m afraid, we’re scheduled to investigate the two stars in the system first.’

‘That works out fine actually, it’ll be at least two days before we reach Marantis anyway.’

‘Okay, what sort of survey would you like us to do? I wasn’t briefed fully about your project before we arrived.’

‘We’d like you to conduct a geophysical survey of an area centred on the temple in Marantis, say, half a kilometre in radius at the highest possible resolution. We’re looking for ancient burial sites in the area. Any bodies and grave goods are likely to have decayed quiet considerably, so they might not show up quite as well as one might hope. I’d like you to look out for metallic objects and any unusually regular magnetic anomalies especially. From what I gather the Dendratha burial customs should produce roughly circular patterns in the ground at depths of up to two metres or so the magnetometer should pick that up.’

Spiers nodded. ‘Okay, that sounds feasible. We’ll do your survey before we begin covering the whole planet, it’ll give us a point to work from.’

‘Thanks. It would also help us greatly if you could present your data in an easily digestible condensed form? We’ll be working with people from the university in Marantis and they aren’t really used to too much technological terminology, all we really need is for you to give us a map with “dig here.” on it and we’ll take it from there. We ourselves will of course want the full version.’

‘Okay, that’s feasible. Will do.’

‘Have you found anything interesting here since you arrived, Captain?’

‘Yeah we have actually. We started off by having a look at the gas giants in the system, and well, they don’t fall within our equations for modelling the formation of planetary systems.’

‘Perhaps you need to revise your formulae?’ said Katherine.

‘Possibly, but we think something happened to this system, maybe a cosmic cataclysm of some kind in the distant past. The gas giants show signs of undergoing a significant loss of mass after they formed. We also noticed that there are no roaming asteroids in the system. Normally there are thousands of the things whizzing around all over the place, but we haven’t found one outside of the main belt.’

‘Show me would you?’ said Rekkid.

‘Certainly, one second.’ There was brief pause before the images appeared on the right-hand half of the screen, squashing the video feed of Captain Spiers into the left half. Rekkid’s computer now displayed two schematic diagrams of the system, one how it actually was and the other how it apparently should be according to current formation theories. Spiers provided the commentary.

‘You see normally in systems that include such a closely orbiting binary of stars of equal size, any planets that form tend to orbit quite a way out, where the gravity exerted by the stars is more even. Occasionally we do find asteroids in the Lagrange points but generally the tidal forces are too great to allow for larger accretions of matter.’

‘You mean the stars would pull apart any planets before they formed?’

‘Yes that’s right. You see, according to our current equations, Maranos should orbit here, five AUs out from the two stars in a slightly elliptical orbit. As you can see there is a smaller rocky planet, Forganil, that does in fact sit one and a half AUs out and another, Istaron, than lies at around seven AUs. There’s something of a gap, so to speak.’

‘Yes I see.’

‘Then there are the gas giants. As I already mentioned they show signs of having lost something of their mass: we can tell that their moons have wandered outward.’

‘How?’

‘The innermost moons display all the signs of being subjected to intense tidal stresses and vulcanism, like Io around Jupiter, but this appears to have ceased after around a billion years. Our only conclusion is that the parent planets lost a substantial portion of their mass, causing a reduction in their gravitational attraction.’

‘That is odd. Any ideas why?’ asked Rekkid.

‘Well, one idea we did have was that the two stars were originally separate systems and that they got pulled together by each others’ gravity. It would have swept up a lot of debris in the system and burned off some the mass of the gas planets, and it could explain why Maranos is trapped in such an unusual location too.’

‘You mean it was formed in a normal orbit around one star which got perturbed by the arrival of the other?’

‘Yep, something like that, though we still can’t work out how come it didn’t end up orbiting one star or another or being destroyed altogether. We’re going to run some computer simulations once we have enough data. I’ll let you know if we draw any conclusions if you like.’

‘Yes we’d be interested, certainly.’ Rekkid looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Maybe you’ll have more of an idea of what happened after you’ve investigated Maranos fully?’

‘We hope so, yes.’

‘Well thank you Captain Spiers we’ll speak again in a couple of days, I hope you find what you’re looking for.’

‘Likewise. Talk to you soon. Spiers out.’

His image disappeared from the screen. The computer gave Rekkid the option of storing the diagrams. He pondered them for a moment and then did so.

‘Well, I must say he seemed helpful,’ said Quickchild. ‘I wonder: could be of any assistance in their studies? My instruments are of a much greater technological sophistication than theirs.’

‘You,’ said Rekkid, ‘are supposed to be keeping a low profile, remember? Given a choice I would use you, but this survey mission was booked sometime before you decided to tag along.’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Quickchild. Rekkid thought the AI actually sounded rather crestfallen. ‘I shall amuse myself in other ways, Quickchild out.’

Rekkid noticed Steven looking incredulously at the screen.

‘Something I can help you with Steven?’

‘Yeah, what the hell is inside your ship Rekkid? I know Esacir vessels have some autonomy but that sounded like you were talking to a person on the other end. I thought Quickchild was just a ship name.’

‘That’s an accurate description actually. Oh what the hell. Perhaps you can all keep one more secret. Quickchild is an AI of unknown origin, the Esacir were studying him at Riianto, but he hitched a ride, and saved me from several unpleasant fates along the way. I think he has his own reason for coming here, but he’s agreed to stick around and help me. Satisfied?’ he looked at the other two’s amazed expressions.

‘You are full of surprises Rekkid,’ said Katherine.

‘Yes aren’t I just? Remember, he doesn’t exist and my ship just has some dumb personality software in its computer core, okay?’

Steven looked at Katherine and gave her a despairing look.

‘Yes Rekkid, we won’t tell anyone about your new friend, though I’m a little hurt that you didn’t mention this to me of all people,’ said Katherine.

‘I apologise Katherine, it sort of slipped my mind that’s all, what with all we’ve had to deal with these past few days. Besides, I only found out what he truly was the day we left Erais and I needed time to think about the consequences of having it around.’

‘Such as?’

‘Attracting even more unwanted attention to ourselves, for one.’

Steven stood up and stretched. ‘I think it could be a great help to us,’ he said. ‘Any ship tries to arrive unannounced and I would think that Quickchild would be able to spot it no matter how hard they tried to be discreet. I’ve heard something of the sophistication of Esacir sensor equipment. I find the presence of our fugitive friend quite reassuring, assuming he really is on our side. You got any more secrets Rekkid? Any alien armadas up your sleeve? No?’

‘Not last time I checked,’ replied Rekkid dryly and folded away his computer.

‘Well I don’t know about anyone else,’ said Steven. ‘But I could use something to eat I’m starving.’

‘Yes, it is indeed time to feed the animals,’ said Rekkid. ‘Tell me, how many guests will be joining us? A dozen? A hundred? The entire bloody town?’

Steven chuckled. ‘Afterwards, we’ll go up onto the plateau and I’ll teach you two to shoot those guns I gave you.’

‘Ah, shooting things,’ said Rekkid with an evil gleam in his eye. ‘Now there’s a thought.’

Katherine and Rekkid sat on the rocks that littered this part of the plateau. The station lay a little way off, further up the road, and the sounds of hammering could be heard coming from the nearby sidings. Steven was down in the town buying some assorted things to shoot at; fruit, cans, whatever he could find. He would be back shortly. For now, the two archaeologists sat and admired the view.

The massif curved away into the distance, its cracked, bulging surface sloping down into the distant expanse of desert that lay on the shimmering horizon. The greener valleys clove the baked sandy plateau in numerous places, providing shelter and respite for life in the baking wilderness.

‘Rekkid?’ said Katherine.

‘Mmm?’

‘Why didn’t you tell me about Quickchild?’

‘Didn’t I?’

‘No you didn’t, you know that. Stop pretending that you don’t.’

‘Oh all right

I apologise.’

‘Apology accepted, but you haven’t answered my question.’

Rekkid sighed and scratched his cheek thoughtfully.

‘Well for one, I wasn’t sure about Steven at first, and I didn’t want to go shooting my mouth off within earshot of someone who might report everything to the powers that be. Quickchild’s capture would be quite a coup for the weapons research programs, of that I have no doubt.’

‘That’s true, so why didn’t you tell me in private then?’

‘Well, I wanted to get my facts right first. I’d hate it if you thought me a fool.’

‘Rekkid, come on. You know I respect you.’

‘I know but

there’s something about Quickchild that started ringing alarm bells as soon as I saw him. He’s connected to whatever’s in that log you know? He said so himself, but he can’t fully remember the details. Also there’s something else. How familiar are you with myths and legends from our culture?’

‘I’m a little rusty to be honest, that’s more your forte.’

‘Have you heard the story of the War of Two Brothers?’

‘Yes, yes I have. I thought it was the Arkari equivalent of King Arthur. Just a myth.’

‘Yes so did I as a matter of fact, but hear me out. The story centres around two brothers who were born to high ranking parents in a mythical ancient kingdom. Anyway, the two brothers were both very ambitious, and both went on to great things. One eventually became king, the other became chief of the army. But they remained bitter rivals, since you see they were both very different in character. The eldest, Jurinto, the King, was a patient and benevolent man. The second, Gorvig was a man of action, of deeds rather than words. Jurinto thought Gorvig to be a needlessly aggressive and rash Arkari, Gorvig thought Jurinto to be weak and indecisive. There was some truth in both their accusations.’

‘So what happened?’

‘Their feud went on for year after year, both privately and publicly they argued with one another, until one day it came to war. Gorvig proclaimed that his brother was foolish and unfit to rule and he called for his soldiers to fight alongside him to take power and save the kingdom from misrule. When only half of the army heeded his call the whole kingdom was plunged into war. The war lasted for many years and the paradise both sides had known was destroyed. Cities were sacked and burnt, crops were destroyed, people were turned out of their homes and acres of land were laid to waste.’

‘How did it all end?’

‘The story goes that Gorvig became disillusioned with the chaos he had brought. He made a fatal mistake in battle and was slain and the war was quickly won by Jurinto’s men. Jurinto then decreed that the traitors

’

‘Should be banished?’

‘Yes, exactly.’

‘Coincidence?’

‘Well I thought so too, you know the similarity of the two stories hadn’t escaped me before, until I saw Quickchild that is.’

‘Go on.’

‘Wait a second, you can read it for yourself.’

Rekkid rooted around in his rucksack, he produced a data pad and after searching for the item he wanted, handed it to Katherine. She read aloud:

‘And Jurinto then decreed that those who had betrayed his rule should be cast out of the kingdom into the lands of the dead, as punishment for the ruin they had brought. The traitors were rounded up like beasts and marched to the very gates of the dead lands that lay at the far edge of the world, placed there in ancient times by the Gods. Upon reaching the gates Jurinto’s men tried to reason with the three ancient spirits that guarded them from all mortals and they asked them if they would accept the traitorous legions.

The spirits inhabited the gates that had been forged by the Gods. They were the spirits of mortal beings, once great heroes, whom the Gods had bound within crystal spheres and charged with their task until the end of time. They would not allow such a thing. They would not shirk from their divinely appointed duties.

‘No living mortal thing may pass,’ they said, ‘for only the dead and the divine may walk beyond.’

It was then that Jurinto’s most cunning mage, Turnudan, used all his wiles to convince the spirits to let the condemned pass. The spirits agreed and it was so, whereupon Turnudan bound their forms with bonds of the strongest magic, sealing the traitors within the death plane where they remain to this day, living out their punishments.’

She finished the passage and handed the data pad back to Rekkid.

‘So, what convinced you?’

‘Quickchild could be one of those ‘spirits’ that are described in that tale. Essentially he’s the mind of living creature stored within an artificial matrix that forms the shape of a sphere. It’s the most incredible artefact I’ve ever seen Katherine.’

‘So you think this children’s tale actually has some truth in it?’

‘Some, yes. I always thought it was just an allegory about what happens to people who try to take things that aren’t rightfully theirs, a story to scare children. But the parallels are astonishing. I think the accounts of this war were never lost entirely, but that they were distorted over so much time until they’re only vaguely recognisable. Instead of a stellar empire you have a magic land, a mythical golden age of wonders. Instead of planets blasted you have cities sacked, instead of a portal constructed by unknown aliens you have the gates to the death lands. The people from the more primitive ages that followed the war would have no knowledge of space travel, so the story changed to fit around what they knew. Plus, now we have Quickchild as a possible item of physical evidence.’

‘I don’t know Rekkid; it all sounds a bit dubious.’

‘See, I told you you’d think I was losing my grip.’

‘Hmm.’

They gazed sullenly at the view for a few moments, before Katherine broke the silence.

‘Rekkid I found the part of the log that refers to this system. There was some odd footage taken from space, a… a blaze of light, I couldn’t quite make it out. It has something to do with what happened to the losing side in the civil war.’

‘Yes I found that too. Did it strike you as odd that out of all the systems in the galaxy we should end up here? Some coincidence… made me wonder if someone wants us to find something here.’

‘Rekkid, what the hell are we doing?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘How can we just carry on like this? How long before the authorities catch up with us?

‘Well what do you suggest we do?’

‘I don’t know. I wish I knew. I just feel so helpless, I don’t know about you but I’m bloody terrified.’

‘At least we know we’re being pursued, we have that advantage that the others didn’t. Besides, like Steven said, it would be difficult for anyone to get at us here. For now I suggest we just carry on as normal, for lack of a better idea.’ Rekkid picked up a smooth stone and toyed with it, idly.

‘Jesus Rekkid, they’re just a couple of kids.’

‘I know,’ said Rekkid and flung the stone angrily into the distance, it clattered off the rocks. Rekkid scowled.

The approaching crunch of footsteps on gravel signalled Steven’s return. He was hefting a string bag of assorted fruit over one shoulder and sweating profusely from the climb. He dumped the bag on the ground and gasped for breath in the thin air. Once he had composed himself he set about pulling the fruit from the bag.

‘These, are Dargoni sweetbulbs and they should serve well enough for target practice; they won’t splatter straight away because of the tough skin, here catch!’ he threw one to Katherine who caught it deftly. The sweetbulb resembled a melon in size and shape, but its skin was a leathery dark green colour and it gave off a sickly perfume.

‘We’ll set a few up on these rocks and then you two can take pot shots at them,’ he said, then set about standing the fruits on their ends in a line on the rocks.

‘Right, if we stand over here,’ he said and pointed at a spot on the ground some eight or so metres away. ‘That should be sufficient for target practice with pistols, come on.’

They followed him over to the indicated spot. Steven reached into his pack and produced a laser pistol. He instructed Katherine and Rekkid to take the ones he had given them from their bags.

‘Okay, this is the Martin Armsco AP23 Navy Issue Laser Pistol. Very easy to use, watch,’ he held the pistol up for them to see. ‘Power cell goes here in the base of the hand grip, just push it in till it clicks.’ He showed them, then handed them a long thin power cell each, Rekkid and Katherine followed his example.

‘A green light on the side here means the cell’s fully charged, it flashes when the power’s low and turns to red when it’s depleted. Okay now watch me, but don’t copy me just yet.’ Steven stood with his legs slightly apart and held the pistol out in front of him with both hands, pointing it at the line of targets they had set up. ‘The safety catch is by your thumb on the left hand side, just flick it off like so and then look along the barrel, aim and shoot.’ He did so.

The beam was invisible in the bright sunshine and clear air, but there was a sudden crack from the superheated air and a smouldering chunk flew off the top of one of the fruit and landed sizzling in the dirt.

‘See? Easy. There’s no real recoil and the beam is much more accurate than a projectile weapon. There’s a laser targeter too, here under the barrel. I can’t really show you it in this light, but you just press this stud here on the side, and where the red dot appears is where your shot will land, simple.’

‘What sort of range are we talking about Steven?’ said Rekkid.

‘The beam’s lethal up to about twenty metres, though it can cause serious injuries at up to fifty. The range is reduced by humid conditions since water droplets in the air scatter the beam, but realistically, you’d never use any sort of pistol at any great distance. Right, who’s ready to have a go? Katherine?’ He gave her and encouraging look.

‘All right, can’t say I’m happy about this but let’s get it over with.’

‘Well with luck this is the only time you’ll need to fire it. Okay stand here.’ Steven indicated a spot in front of him, Katherine reluctantly obeyed. ‘Right, stand with your legs slightly apart and hold the gun out in front of you with both hands like I did.’

She did so.

‘Good, now flick the safety off with your thumb, look along the barrel so the sights line up on one of those sweetbulbs, and now squeeze the trigger.’

Katherine obeyed, there was a sharp crack and the side of one of the fruits flew off. She was surprised by how easy it was, and a little unsettled. She flicked the safety back on.

‘Good, very good. That wasn’t so hard was it?’

‘Hmm. Would it do that to someone’s head if I shot them with it?’

‘Yes, that’s the idea. It is a gun after all.’

‘I’m not sure I really feel comfortable

’

Steven cut her off. ‘Katherine, listen to me. If you need to use this gun, then you’re in serious trouble. It’s you or them, do you understand that?’

‘I’m not sure. What sort of chance would I have if a bunch of secret service types turned up and tried to apprehend us? Wouldn’t we just get ourselves shot?’

‘It would make anyone think twice about trying to snatch you on the street for a start, however my main concern was that they might try and enlist local law enforcement to apprehend you, such as it is. They don’t have any firearms here so you’d be dealing with Dendratha using hand to hand weapons, clubs mainly. If you’re holding one of these and you look like you know what you’re doing it ought to hold them off, even if you’re bluffing and you really don’t want to shoot them. This pistol could be all that stands between you remaining free, or you ending up like the others. If you hesitate or you look uncertain then it won’t work, plus a few well placed warning shots might be a good idea. So drop the crap, this is for your own good.’

‘Steven

’

‘Look I don’t like carrying firearms, I’m not a gun nut, but whoever is after you means business and if they find you this is the best way of stopping them. Now try again and try to do it faster this time.’

‘Alright, I’m sorry. Okay I’ll have another go.’ She saw him relax a little.

‘Good.’

They practised all afternoon. Katherine became quite good shot, but she couldn’t overcome her distaste for using what was, essentially, a tool for killing people. Rekkid seemed to have few such qualms. He took to his pistol with a certain relish and by the time he had finished had reduced the line of fruits to a sticky mass of burnt pulp. She guessed he was working off some of his anger on the unfortunate sweetbulbs.

As the day wore on, Steven’s anger dissipated. He seemed genuinely relieved at her proficiency with the pistol. It dawned on Katherine that his anger came from his urge to protect them both and their frustration when she objected to his advice. She found that comforting.

Despite her unease at using the pistol Katherine resolved to keep it with her. Steven had a point, it could scare off assailants or even save her life if need be. She hoped the opportunity wouldn’t arise, but as they wandered back into the town to find somewhere to eat, the hard presence of the weapon resting in her bag was reassuring.

Later, in what was technically the evening Mean Time, Katherine sat on her bed with the thick curtains drawn and with her datapad on her knees, absorbed once more in the ancient log. They had eaten at a café in the town before returning to the House of Foreigners to get some rest before they continued their journey in a few hours. Katherine couldn’t resist the urge to catch up on her research.

25.15/01/6782

We are in convoy en route to meet whatever fate awaits us. There are seven vessels in all, and we are guarded by only four traitor corvettes. My crew and I have formulated a plan. We intend to make a break for freedom. If we can encourage the other ships to help us we can overwhelm our guards and escape. Navigator Andreka has spotted a number of systems containing habitable planets to the [lower south east] of the Empire that have not as yet been colonised by Arkari. We plan to flee to one of them and lay low for a while before returning home incognito and blend back into our civilisation, or what is left of it.

04.16/01/6782

Our plan has hit a snag: the other vessels will not join us. We communicated with them via encrypted methods over short range tight beam. They do not believe Urtiss’s story and are willing to remain in captivity, citing Imperial rules of war regarding prisoners. They are deluding themselves.

We attempted to broadcast the recording of the portal, but our captors detected our signals before we could complete the transfer. We shall have to attempt this alone. Koloris assures me that the Khostun should be able to handle the four corvettes as long as we have the element of surprise on our side. We shall see.

17.16/01/6782

We are free at last! We successfully disabled the engines of two of the corvettes and broke away from the convoy. One enemy ship pursued us, whilst the other remained to keep watch over its charges. With our engines at full power we outran her easily and then destroyed the ship within the Gurkun Nebula. The dense gases concealed the proximity mines we laid behind us until it was too late for our pursuers to change course. The ship’s reactor meltdown was spectacular and terrible to behold, and we greeted it with joyous celebration. We set course for the border.

34.21/01/6782

Our celebrations were premature. We were crossing the border when we were intercepted by another destroyer, the Jurminan. This vessel was of a new type of destroyer, like nothing we had encountered before, far faster and more heavily armed than ourselves. It knocked us out of our jump then ripped apart our drive and powerplant in seconds, leaving us dead in space. We successfully disabled its weapon systems with a lucky hit to its bridge section, forcing them to flee, but we are now drifting uncontrollably in deep space with only reserve power to keep us alive. Machine Adept Tingrato believes it may be possible to repair the damage and we can only hope his optimism is not misplaced.

06.22/01/6782

The ship is freezing. Tingrato believes he can jury rig a solution and restore both power and jump capability, but we need all the reserves in our batteries in order to kick start the reaction. We may only get one chance at this. Already the air is beginning to acquire a foul taste and we do not possess sufficient means to signal for help, nor would we receive it if anyone were to hear us.

04.23/01/6782

Tingrato must finish the work soon, else we shall die. Four of the crew have succumbed to the cold already. Several more will not last much longer. The ship is dark and chill, like a floating tomb. I should not wish to perish out here, alone in the endless dark, forgotten.

17.24/01/6782

We have stripped the ship of all unnecessary equipment. Tingrato believes the jump envelope will maintain its stability more easily if the drive does have to propel quite so much mass. We have emptied all cabins and spaces of anything that is not of essential value. A pity we cannot burn any of it on board ship. It is so cold. The ends of my fingers are blackening from the chill. Twelve more of my crew are dead.

03.25/01/6782

We have failed. Reactivation of the powerplant commenced as planned and then we reactivated the jump engines. Envelope stability lasted for [twenty minutes] before the reactor casing fractured. All in the engineering section were killed in an instant. The rear of the Khostun is an utter ruin, the artificial gravity has failed and we have no hope of rescue, save a chance encounter with another vessel. I have activated the distress beacons. Their batteries will last perhaps longer than we shall.

23.26/01/6782

No one comes. The cold is numbing. My crew are dying around me. There is nothing we can do. I think of my wife, and the tears freeze hard on my face.

04.27/01/6782

Those of us who are left have gathered in the bridge. We should be together when the end comes.

17.27/01/6782

There is just me now. All the others lie dead around me. There is no hope.

19.27/01/6782

Please, someone find us. I used think I did not fear death, I know that is not so. I am alone in the dark with my terror.

03/01/6782

[Unable to translate, date entered is unintelligible]

[Records end. No further entries found]

Katherine sat in silence, the datapad by her side. She felt genuine grief at Cortill’s death - something that surprised her since it did not come as a surprise. She had seen and touched his mummified remains and he had lived so long ago. She had read the last recorded words of a dying man, and the intimacy of that realisation touched her heart in a manner she had not expected. She tried to imagine what it must have been like, freezing and suffocated in the dark, tumbling end over end in a gigantic metal sarcophagus, and destined to do so for a thousand millennia more. The horror of what Cortill’s crew had endured and then succumbed to appalled her, despite the enormous gap of years.

Something caught her eye. A shadow moved behind the thick curtains she had drawn across the windows. Though they blocked most of the sunlight, they did not do so entirely. A figure was standing on her balcony. Its hunched form suggested a Dendratha. Katherine went to the window.

Pulling back the heavy black curtains she found herself face to face with an elderly Dendratha male. Katherine groaned, some bloody tourist come to pry on the aliens. He must have come up the fire escape. Had he not seen the signs forbidding passage beyond them, or had he just chosen to ignore them?

‘You can’t come up here!’ she yelled through the glass. ‘This is off limits? Do you understand?’ She made a shooing motion with her hands. The Dendratha continued to regard her impassively. Katherine realised now that she recognised him: it was the same individual who had shared their carriage on the way here. Had he come to pay them a visit perhaps? She didn’t know much about Dendratha social mores and codes of conduct - was this usual?

‘What do you want?’ she called.

The Dendratha lurched suddenly and then righted himself unsteadily; his eyes seemed to be unfocused. Was he drunk? Katherine looked closer and to her horror saw that the alien’s skin seemed to be rippling, there was something writhing and swelling under the surface of its forehead. Katherine recoiled as the Dendratha clutched his head, whatever was inside him was trying to force its way out.

The alien’s forehead suddenly burst open in a welter of blood and remnants of the devoured brain within, as a gore-covered, writhing, maggot-like creature with spindly whip-like tentacles catapulted itself out of the hollowed out shell through the window, which shattered instantly under the impact. Katherine staggered backwards, the writhing abomination narrowly missing her.

Startled she tripped over the corner of the bed and fell backwards heavily as her attacker raised itself up on its spidery limbs. Its black, segmented body gleamed wetly through the gore. Complex machine-like mandibles worked and extended, extruding long, needle like probes as it tensed itself to spring again.

In her fear she found reserves of speed she didn’t know she possessed. Katherine struggled to her feet and flung herself over the bed towards the bedside table, upon which lay the laser pistol Steven had given her hours earlier. She grabbed it, as a hard metal limb struck her foot.

‘Steven!’ she yelled and she recoiled her foot in horror as her shaking hands struggled with the gun’s safety. ‘Steven, help!’

The metal horror launched itself at her, tentacles reaching to grasp her face, she fired. The shot rebounded off the thing with a flash: it was shielded! Fortunately the impact of the blast was still sufficient to knock her assailant sideways and it thudded off the wall. Katherine stood up, the gun held out in front of her. Whilst the thing tensed itself for another leap she aimed and fired again, the shot caroming off its invisible armour and singeing the wall.

‘Steven! Now would be a good time!’

The thing launched again and with her back against the wall Katherine had nowhere to run, she flinched, covering her head with her arms. The thing landed on the side of her head, heavy despite its diminutive size and horribly slippery with blood as it sought purchase. She felt its horrible spidery legs entangled in her hair as it tried to position itself. Katherine clawed at it with one hand and tried to twist the gun around to fire at it, knowing full well that she risked shooting herself, but the thing now had her hand pinned tight within its grasp. She fought desperately, crashing into furniture and struggled to remove it as the maggot thing was now trying to press its mandibles against the top of her head. She felt a cold needle-like touch and screamed at the top of her lungs.

The door burst open. Steven hurled himself through the gap, the Gauss pistol in his grasp. Taking one look at the scene he aimed the heavy handgun at the writhing mechanical thing atop Katherine’s struggling form and fired. The magnetically accelerated slug bypassed the maggot’s shield and blew a chunk from its sleek body, the impact knocking it from Katherine onto the floor. It squealed, an oddly biological sound for a machine, appeared to take a split second to take stock of the situation and then tried to scurry to cover under the bed. Steven switched his weapon to full automatic and shot the thing as it tried to escape. A volley of projectiles leapt from the gun’s barrel and tore into the maggot’s body once more, shredding its mechanical form. It writhed feebly for a moment before it finally shuddered and lay still.

Steven holstered his weapons and stepped over to Katherine’s curled form. She was sobbing, which was a relief. At least she was still alive.

‘Katherine! Shit, are you alright!?’

‘I think so.’ She uncurled and sat up, there was cut on her right cheek, scratches around her scalp and temples, a scrape on her forehead, and her clothes were smeared with alien blood, otherwise she appeared miraculously unharmed.

‘It’s dead Katherine, I’ve killed it. Not that it was ever really alive in the first place.’

‘What the fuck was that?’ she said, shaking.

‘I have no fucking idea. Some sort of parasite I… I’ve never seen anything like that before.’

‘Well if you hadn’t heard me

’

‘I’d rather not think about that.’

‘Christ, it was inside a Dendratha! The one that shared our carriage with us. He was standing on my balcony and that thing just burst out of his head.’

Steven went over to the shattered window and looked through, the gory remains of the alien lay in a bloody heap on the floor, and he grimaced. ‘It must have killed the old guy in Erais then hollowed him out to use as a disguise. It was watching us the whole time we were on that train.’

‘Why?’

‘Maybe it wanted to watch us. Maybe it wanted to use one of us as a host. But I have no idea who sent it here. It’s not from this planet that’s for sure. Look at this,’ he indicated to the ruined creature. ‘This thing looks machine rather than animal. Somebody made this. This isn’t a parasite it’s a weapon or a spying device or something. It’s alien, that’s for sure. This isn’t human technology. I guess the Arkari are capable of making something this sophisticated, but this isn’t their style. It doesn’t look like they made it either.’

‘Oh god, we shared a carriage with that thing. I thought you said no-one could get at us here.’

‘Maybe it snuck aboard a scheduled vessel, but we’ve had few visitors.’

‘Oh no, you mean it could have come here with me?’

‘Very probably.’

‘Minaba…’

Rekkid was standing in the doorway. He surveyed the scene, a shocked expression on his face.

‘I heard shots and screaming. Are you

?’

‘I’m fine, Rekkid. Steven came in the nick of time.’

‘What the hell? What is this thing?’ he kicked the dead drone.

‘It’s trouble Rekkid,’ said Steven. ‘Very big trouble indeed.’

‘You don’t say. What is that?’

‘We don’t know. But somebody else is very interested in what we’re doing.’

‘Another space-faring race? Shit. We can’t stay here then.’

‘No. We need to inform the authorities what happened.’

‘You think the locals would even comprehend what happened here never mind defend us from unknown off-world technology Steven? I admire your optimism,’ Rekkid replied.

‘No, but they ought to know what happened here. We can show them the remains of that thing and hope that they’ll comprehend. The last thing we need is being needlessly charged with murdering one of the natives.’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘That thing was inside the same Dendratha that was in our carriage on the way here. What’s left of him is on the balcony

you don’t want to see.’

Rekkid went and looked anyway. He frowned and turned away, his face pale.

‘I told you not to look,’ said Steven

‘And I should have listened,’ replied Rekkid and he shuddered.

‘I’m not sure how much more of this I can take,’ said Katherine. She was shaking. Rekkid knelt and put his arm round her to comfort her.

Steven said nothing for a moment. He just stared at the floor grimly and toyed with his gun. Then he spoke:

‘Let them try,’ he said. ‘I’ve got plenty more where that came from. I won’t let them hurt you, either of you.’ He glared grimly at the pile of bloody machinery in the corner.

Chapter 12

Ramirez watched Chen as she slept, her small frame cradled in his embrace. He studied her delicate features, her thick black hair that lay in a tangle about her head and the slow rhythm of her breathing. She shifted against him and muttered incoherently in her sleep. The two of them lay entwined in the narrow bunk in Chen’s quarters. It was barely wide enough for one person, never mind two.

Officially, they had been having a meeting about training schedules, had anyone asked, which they hadn’t. They seemed to having a lot of meetings of late, thought Ramirez. He wondered how many, if any, of the crew knew what was going on between the two of them. Not that he cared anymore. Being with Michelle was enough, though he did get something of a thrill from the forbidden nature of their liaison.

He found Chen to be quite remarkable; she was so small and reserved, stern even, publicly at least, yet she carried such a presence on the ship, hell, she was the ship. He was even more entranced by what he’d found once he’d got beyond that protective shell she surrounded herself with most of the time. She was passionate, articulate and fiercely intelligent, though driven to a fault and he had to admit there was sometimes a calculating coldness about her that he found slightly unsettling.

He stroked her hair gently. Chen stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She regarded him sleepily for a moment. He kissed her and she responded.

‘What time is it?’

‘Seven-thirty ship time,’ said Ramirez. He kissed her again and, reaching under the covers, drew her closer.

‘Sorry Al, no time for that,’ she sighed with genuine regret. ‘The watch will be changing over in half an hour. We have to go to work I’m afraid, and you need to get dressed and get back to your quarters before the gangways are full of inquisitive people.’

‘Hmm, that’s true. They might wonder what I’ve been doing in your quarters all night.’

‘They might.’

Ramirez thought for a moment.

‘Time for a shower before I leave?’

Chen reached out a hand and touched his cheek.

‘Well, why not hmm?’ she said and grinned mischievously at him.

Back in his quarters, having snuck back unseen from Chen’s, Ramirez changed out of the uniform that had lain in a crumpled heap on the floor all night and into fresh garments. As he made to leave for the mess to grab some breakfast, he noticed the light next to his desk terminal was blinking at him, indicating that he had an important message waiting.

He sat down in front of the device and accessed his message in-box. Amongst the sundry routine communications was a single message headed with a code phrase. He selected it and was presented with a screen filled with gibberish. The message must be encrypted. He knew immediately who it was from: his superiors back on Earth wished to speak to him. Doubtless the message had been piggy-backed onto some other innocuous transmission, or it had been inserted into the ship’s systems by another operative onboard the vessel. In any case it had managed to circumvent the Mark Antony’s military grade security firewalls entirely, which was no mean feat.

There was only one way to access the message. Ramirez went to his cabin safe and removed a small, black, thumb-sized decryption device, which he plugged into one of the terminal’s ports. Next he placed his right index finger against the inbuilt print reader and allowed it to be scanned. The final step required a password, he checked the date to remind himself which one he should use, then entered it. There was a brief pause before the message appeared on the screen.

To: Commander Alvaro Ramirez, CNV Mark Antony

From: Naval IntelCom, Earth.

Date:26th September, 2382

Security Level: Alpha Omega. Eyes Only.

With regard to your preference to remain aboard the vessel Mark Antony as its acting XO. We have reviewed your current situation and as such are issuing further orders. We concur with your assessment. You are to continue with your previous mission and are to further monitor the behaviour and character of Captain Michelle Chen. Though she knows now of your true identity we feel it would be in the interests of the Navy if we were to be kept informed about her state of mind.

You will be briefed about the nature of Chen’s forthcoming responsibilities via normal channels on a need to know basis. It is imperative for the security of the Commonwealth that her orders are carried out to the letter. If she should fail in this then you must not. If she hesitates in performing her duties at any time during the mission, you are to assume command of the Mark Antony and ensure that the prescribed objectives are met.

Ramirez swallowed heavily. He was surprised Command would even dare to question her reliability. Chen’s loyalty was generally regarded as beyond reproach. Despite her doubts and fears she had never once expressed the desire to disobey her orders. Worse, he hated the idea of having to deceive her once more, but if the Navy were depending on her carrying out her mission what choice did he have? He couldn’t let his personal feelings cloud his judgement when the lives of thousands of servicemen and women might hang in the balance. Could he?

Ramirez swore profusely and rubbed his temples in exasperation. His affair with Chen had let the two of them forget the impending war, at least for a while. This had brought it all back to the forefront of his mind with a vengeance. He erased the message, switched off the terminal and went to get some breakfast. Today’s intense training schedules were going to make this a long day.

The view from the bridge showed the two destroyers, Rameses and Thermopylae and the Marine assault carrier Normandy. The three gigantic vessels hung in close formation in front of the Mark Antony’s bows. The larger carrier dwarfed its two smaller companions, each of which was of the same class as the Mark Antony and held station on either side of the massive warship.

The four vessels had assembled for today’s training exercise in a region of the Klondike system well above the ecliptic and away from the busy shipping lanes, both for safety and for a degree of secrecy. The Normandy had temporarily left its battle group in the nearby Topaz system in order to take part in today’s mock engagement.

Chen reclined in her command chair and surveyed the scene; she was looking forward to today’s little skirmish. The other three vessels would be playing the part of K’Soth warships for now. The Mark Antony would take its turn later. All weapons fire and subsequent damage would be simulated and though the manoeuvres the ships would undertake would be real, the performance of the other three ships would be regulated to mimic the ponderous movements of K’Soth craft. It would give Chen a chance to try out a few of the tactical ideas she had been toying with over the past few weeks. The Mark Antony would be heavily outnumbered during this exercise. Hence it was an ideal opportunity to prepare.

Her bridge crew were present at their stations, Ramirez sat at her left hand, Andrews was at the comm. station, Goldstein sat in front of her at the helm, while Singh and O’Rourke sat behind her at their respective places. Chen looked at the small clock display in one corner of her HUD: 09:30, it was time to begin the exercise. She ordered Ensign Andrews to put her through to the Normandy and the stern, weathered features of Admiral Kojima appeared in front of her.

‘Good morning sir,’ said Chen crisply.

‘Good morning Captain,’ he replied in resonant bass tone. ‘Are you ready to begin?’

‘Yes sir, I’m looking forward to it.’

‘Good. So am I. We shall begin by retreating to a distance of five hundred kilometres, when you receive my signal the exercise will commence. My vessel will be playing the part of a War Temple command craft. The Rameses and the Thermopylae will be acting as Eviscerator class destroyers. We are patching you into the simulation link now.’

‘Very well.’

‘Linking procedures complete Captain,’ said Andrews, confirming that the network had been established to enable the four ships to fire imaginary weapons at one another and assume the characteristics of enemy vessels.

‘Let’s see how long you can last against these odds hmm? Kojima out.’ His image vanished from Chen’s view. Outside, the trio of ships began to back away in formation. Chen addressed her crew.

‘Okay this is what we’re going to do people. When the exercise begins I want us to close with the enemy vessels to a distance of twenty five kilometres. Helm, I want you to ensure we match their velocity and maintain that distance, regardless of whatever manoeuvres the enemy craft may make. If they can close the distance they can do us some serious damage. Furthermore, when they try to bring their weapons to bear I want you to put us into a tight rearwards turn to port and keep us out of the line of that War Temple’s plasma cannon, I also need you to angle the ship so that we can bring all turrets to bear. Is that clear?’

‘Aye, Captain.’

‘We are much more manoeuvrable than K’Soth ships. If we can keep out of their line of fire we can kill them.’

‘Captain, what if those two destroyers try to outflank us?’ said Ramirez.

‘A fair point, Commander. One which brings me onto my next instruction. It is imperative that we neutralize the War Temple within the shortest possible time frame before we can deal with other two ships individually. Gunnery?’

‘Aye Captain?’ said Commander Davis over the comm. from fire control.

‘I want you concentrate all fire from the main turrets on the reactors of the War Temple, once we take it down we can engage the destroyers individually, and that’s a fight they can’t realistically hope to win. You have permission to draw additional power reserves from the jump drive if need be, we aren’t going anywhere.’

‘What level of fighter attacks can we expect Captain?’ Ramirez enquired.

‘Unknown. War Temples carry a good number of fighters and bombers Mr Davis, but I’m not sure just how many Kojima has on board at the moment. Keep a close watch for any incoming wings though. We can’t let them slip under our shields.’

‘Roger that.’

‘Now then, let’s see if we can’t give the Admiral a surprise or two. Let’s show him what this crew’s made of.’

There was pregnant pause whilst they waited for Kojima’s signal. The three aggressor ships had dwindled to a row of faint points ahead of the Mark Antony. Chen eyed them pensively then she shot a sly grin at Ramirez. He knew that look.

After a moment the comm. chirped into life again, it was the Admiral.

‘We are in position now Captain, let battle commence. Kojima out.’

Chen began issuing orders.

‘Helm, close with the enemy as instructed. Gunnery, target the War Temple’s reactors and prepare to fire when we reach optimal distance. Lieutenant Singh, what do you see?’

‘Captain the enemy ships are maintaining their formation, they are advancing towards us and powering weapon systems. I am detecting a reactor spike from the War Temple; they are charging their primary cannon.’

‘Helm I hope you made a note of that. Time to target?’

‘Twenty seconds Captain. Matching velocities.’

‘Captain this is Davis. We are ready to fire.’

‘Velocities matched, range to target twenty four point eight kilometres, beginning turn to port’

‘Commander, fire all guns.’

The simulation software in the ship’s systems was remarkably complete, right down to a visual representation of combat projected via the crew’s HUD monocles. Chen watched as computer simulated energy beams appeared to flash from the destroyer’s turrets and rake the shields of the enemy command vessel as computer rendered arcs of energy crackling and looping from the impact point. The strobing impacts of rapid, gatling laser fire combined with the sustained lashing streams of particle beam cannons as a swarm of simulated torpedoes were spat from the vessel’s bows, arcing round to home in on the target. Most of the projectiles were shot down by the illusion of defensive fire from the Normandy, though a few got through under its shields and scored superficial hits against the hull armour.

‘Captain, they are coming about. They appear to be attempting to bring that cannon to bear on us,’ said Singh.

‘Helm, keep us out of their fire arc.’

‘Captain their mid-dorsal shield is overloading, but the destroyers are moving out of formation. They’re trying to flank us,’ said Singh urgently.

‘Damn! Gunnery, we don’t have much time, keep up the pressure.’

‘Heavy weapons fire coming from all three ships. It is ineffectual. We are out of their range.’

Chen watched the simulated energy beams probing outwards from the three ships. They were falling well short of their target and were washing harmlessly off the forward shields as the Mark Antony’s defensive turrets mopped up a few inbound simulated projectiles.

‘Davis here, we’re drawing power from the main drive, stepping up our barrage. Recommend we close with the enemy and use the cutting laser?’

‘That’s a negative Commander. We need to stay out of range of their turrets if we are to survive.’

The volume and intensity of the storm of simulated fire pouring from the Mark Antony’s turrets increased measurably

‘Captain, the War Temple is only ten degrees away from bringing us within its plasma cannon’s fire arc,’ said Ramirez urgently.

‘Helm, increase rate of turn. If that thing hits us it’s all over.’

‘Gunnery here, shutting down forward turret number two, we are detecting unusual power fluctuations in the acceleration chambers.’

‘Very well Commander.’

Chen cursed inwardly. The program had a number of possible mechanical failures built into it. It was bad luck that one would occur just now. Still, it was possible it could happen for real in combat and they would have to cope with it.

‘This is Davis; we’ve collapsed that dorsal shield section. Targeting reactors.’

‘Very good.’

‘Captain we don’t have much time,’ said Ramirez. ‘The Rameses is approaching our left flank. She’ll be in range in twenty five seconds.’

Shit, thought Chen, this had better work. Captain Lehman might be an old comrade but I can’t allow him to beat me!

‘Captain, the enemy command craft is launching fighters and bombers, two wings of Retribution bombers and what looks like three wings of Vengeance interceptors,’ Singh informed her hurriedly.

‘Gunnery, we have inbound bogies coming from the War Temple.’

‘Roger that Captain, almost there

’

There was a blinding simulated explosion superimposed over everyone’s HUDs as the Normandy experienced a simulated reactor core breach. The illusion of a blast wave expanded in all directions at phenomenal speed, “killing” the entire fleet of smaller craft sortied to engage the Mark Antony and knocking out systems along the flanks of the two destroyers.

Chen felt a surge of elation as her crew cheered and whooped around her, now it was time to deliver the killing blow.

‘Helm, bring us around the port side of the Rameses and maintain our current separation. I intend to use it to shield us from fire coming from the Thermopylae. Commander Davies, concentrate all fire on the Rameses’ weapon systems. Ensign Andrews, send Admiral Kojima my condolences.’

‘With pleasure Captain,’ said Andrews and laughed.

The Rameses appeared to be having trouble manoeuvring; the detonation of the Normandy seemed to have inflicted simulated damage against its engine block, though the shields along its starboard side were still at one hundred percent. The Mark Antony drew up alongside at a distance of twenty three kilometres. Fire spat once more from its turrets, answered by ineffectual barrages from the wounded vessel. The stabbing, searing beams stripped the Rameses’ shields one by one, before knocking out the craft’s turrets and launcher tubes and fully disabling its engines. Icons appeared in Chen’s vision, superimposed over the destroyer, indicating which systems had been deemed to be destroyed. Chen ordered Goldstein to close with the stricken ship, and then spoke to gunnery once more.

‘Commander Davis, you asked to use the keel laser? Well now you get your wish. Use it to finish off the Rameses.’

‘With pleasure, Captain.’

The Mark Antony executed a quarter roll to port to better bring the great cutting laser to bear on the target before Davis and his gunnery officers opened fire. The enormous weapon was capable of slicing through starship hulls like butter. After a few seconds of simulated firing an icon appeared Chen’s tactical display indicating that the Rameses had broken apart. Two down. Now where was the Thermopylae?

‘Captain, the other destroyer has manoeuvred behind us. Range, seventeen kilometres.’

‘Shit! How did we miss them Mr Singh?’

‘Captain they appear to have used the expanding cloud of plasma from the destruction of the Normandy to shield themselves from our sensors.’

‘Helm, move us away and bring us about to better engage the target! Gunnery control, take down that destroyer!’

‘Captain, they are firing directly into the rear of our engines. They are launching torpedoes into our defensive grid’s blind spot.’

‘Helm, evasive manoeuvres!’

‘Impact in four seconds

three

two

one

.’

Chen winced.

‘Engineering, damage report.’

‘Chief Sohal here, we have lost fifty percent of our manoeuvring capability.’

‘Helm, can we come about?’

‘Aye, Captain. Though our turn rate is significantly reduced.’

‘Damn, there’s not enough time.’

‘Captain, what if we reverse and use the cutting laser at close range?’ said Ramirez.

‘It’s worth a try, we still outgun them,’ said Chen hastily. ‘Helm, full reverse. Gunnery, prepare to use the cutting laser again.’

‘Captain the Thermopylae is firing again. They have targeted our engines once more.’

‘Damn!’

‘Impact in three… two… one.’

Chen swore under her breath.

‘Engineering here, Captain we’ve lost all manoeuvring capabilities. We’re dead in space.’

‘Range to target?’

‘Twelve kilometres.’

‘This is Davis; we’re too far away to use the keel laser. Firing all rear turrets.’

Chen’s tactical display showed the rear mounted weapons on the Mark Antony firing furiously at the starboard flank of the other destroyer. It didn’t seem to be enough. The other vessel was turning to bring all its weapons to bear.

‘Status of enemy shields?’

‘Enemy shields are at seventy-five percent.’

‘It’s not enough. Can we fling any mines in their direction?’

‘Mine laying tubes are inoperable Captain.’

‘Captain the Thermopylae is firing,’ Singh sounded crestfallen. ‘Captain they have breached our reactor, we’re dead.’

Shit! thought Chen, and thumped her chair arm in frustration.

‘Thank you Mr Singh.’

Damn, and we came so close, thought Chen ruefully. Still, at least the tactic can be shown to work, if the Thermopylae hadn’t managed to sneak up on us like that

‘Ensign Andrews, send my congratulations to Captain Benson and get me Admiral Kojima on the comm.’

‘Aye, Captain.’

Kojima appeared in Chen’s vision, he wore a broad grin.

‘Excellent Captain, most impressive.’

‘We didn’t win sir.’

‘You beat me, and Captain Lehman. If Benson hadn’t got the drop on you

’

‘If, sir.’

‘An important lesson there Captain, never let the enemy out of sight for a second.’

‘I know sir. I should have instructed my sensors officer to take account of the energy cloud from your demise.’

‘Well that’s something to work on. But all in all I was most impressed. ’

‘Yes sir. Thank you, sir.’

‘Now let’s try that again. This time you’ll be a K’Soth ship and the Rameses can be the good guys. Form up with us, Kojima out.’

Chen sighed. It was going to be a long day.

‘Permission to speak frankly Captain?’ said Singh.

‘Go ahead.’

‘Was Admiral Kojima really suitable opposition for us? He’s only Marine Corp after all.’ There was a ripple of laughter around the bridge.

‘Well that’s true Mr Singh; at least we got killed by a Navy crew. Imagine the embarrassment if we’d lost to the Marines?’ There was more laughter. ‘Helm form up with the Normandy, let’s show them some more of what we can do.’

The four ships spent the rest of the days on exercises, taking turns at being aggressor or friendly craft in a variety of scenarios. Chen and her crew threw themselves into the task and managed to excel in many areas, even when fighting as an inferior K’Soth destroyer. By the end of the day the crews of all the four vessels were exhausted. One thing was clear however. Based on the known capabilities of K’Soth ships, Commonwealth vessels were capable of engaging and defeating far greater numbers of enemy vessels. That a destroyer was able to take down a carrier vessel in a matter of minutes was taken as proof of the technological, if not numerical superiority of the Commonwealth Navy. It gladdened Chen’s heart immeasurably to think that if they were deployed against a larger K’Soth force they would have more than just a fighting chance of surviving. She couldn’t afford to make any more stupid mistakes though. Being killed by the Thermopylae still rankled several hours later. They had been so close!

When the exercise was complete Kojima invited the senior staff of the destroyers over to the Normandy for a celebratory dinner before the carrier returned to Topaz, in honour of the day’s achievements, as he put it. Chen wondered if he was being prematurely jubilant. She despised the K’Soth, but she didn’t doubt their skill and prowess in a fight and the overwhelming numerical superiority of their navy. She remembered recordings she had seen of the battles that had taken place during the last war: the void filled with a vast unstoppable cloud of warships that decimated all before it. Human vessels shattered and tumbling, swept aside before the might of the onslaught. She shuddered. Though they would have more of a chance with the ships they had now, she didn’t relish the prospect. However, part of her still lusted for revenge.

Several hours later, Chen and Ramirez rode in a small shuttle over to the behemoth that was the CNV Normandy. Just under two kilometres in length, the vessel was of the Charon class of planetary assault carriers. Based on the Jupiter class carrier used by the Navy, the Charon was shorter from bow to stern, but considerably broader across the beam. Its flattened hull consisted primarily of a long fat midsection, containing the hangers and munitions stores, from which jutted long launching and recovery bays to the front and rear. Essentially covered launch and recovery bays, these provided an armoured haven in which craft could accelerate to and decelerate from combat speeds in relative safety. Crew accommodation and gun turret emplacements were wrapped about the oblong cross sectioned tubes giving them a bulky, tapered appearance. The engines were snugly fitted about the lower hull of the vessel, their exhausts positioned low and wide so as not to foul the approach to the docking bays.

Instead of carrying just fighters and bombers, the Charon class carried assault gunships as well as a host of heavier landing craft designed to deploy a large force of men and armour at speed onto a planet’s surface or into a ship or facility in space. It could also hold its own in a ship-to-ship engagement, and though it lacked the enormous belly mounted particle beam cannon of the Jupiter class, its flanks were lined with numerous deadly turrets. Home for up to ten thousand marines, a thousand or so crew, an entire armoured division and a miniature air and space armada, the Normandy was a prime example of force projection writ large.

It certainly impressed Chen. As the tiny shuttle sped toward the rear of the spaceborne fortress ship she couldn’t help but admire it. Its raw, naked power. Its awe-inspiring size. The damn thing stirred some visceral primal urge in her, seen this close up - some million year old race memory of predators lurking in the night.

Starlight gleamed dully off the gunmetal grey flanks, from turrets and barrels, armour plates and launching tubes. The ship’s name was emblazoned along its side in light grey letters ten metres high, and the Commonwealth crest on its nose was of a similarly impressive size. She envied Admiral Kojima immensely. She’d never command a Charon class since she wasn’t Marine Corp, but one day she’d have a Jupiter class to call her own, maybe even one of the new Saturns, she hoped. If she lived that long, she added grimly in her thoughts.

The shuttle’s pilot looped the small craft around to approach the rear bay of the vessel. Its shielded, oblong mouth gaped, brightly lit and massive, ready to swallow the tiny shuttle. Chen looked askance at Ramirez, who was fiddling with the stiff collar of his dress uniform, and admired his appearance. His large frame seemed magnified by the formal garment. He winked at her.

The ship was beginning its final approach. Chen could hear the faint chatter of radio traffic in the pilot’s head-phones and his relaxed replies. The bay mouth loomed larger still and then they passed sedately inside and through the series of energy shield barriers. These kept the vacuum out and the atmosphere in whilst dispensing for the need for the clumsy, slow, bay doors that had hampered the earlier carriers. Now inside the ship’s gravity field, the shuttle relied on AG propulsion as it floated across the hangar, before settling gently in its allotted landing space between rows of parked landing craft and gunships. Once the engines had shut off, the craft’s hatch opened and Chen and Ramirez stepped out into the brightly lit hangar that echoed with the sounds of a busy flight line. They were met by a junior officer who guided them across the ordered clutter of the deck towards a waiting crew lift which whisked them away upwards to the officers’ mess.

Chen was impressed by the food they had been served. It was definitely a cut above what she was used to on her own ship. On the other hand, the Normandy had significantly better galley facilities - another perk of serving on her. She sat at a large oblong table in the officers’ mess with Ramirez on her right hand side and Captain Lehman on her left with his XO. Captain Benson and his second in command sat opposite them, next to Colonel Simonov and Kojima’s subordinate whilst Admiral Kojima sat at the head of the table.

Chen studied her fellow officers. She knew Lehman already. He was dependable but unimaginative as a captain, she thought, though what he lacked in flair he made up for in personal integrity, despite his perpetual appearance of slight dishevelment. Benson she had earned a grudging respect for earlier in the day. He was a captain of some experience and she had learned the hard way that he knew when to seize an opportunity. He was clean cut man in early middle age with greying black hair that gleamed slightly in the light. Kojima meanwhile, was quite a presence despite his diminutive size. He was an impassive, thoughtful figure, almost reptilian - an impression that was enhanced by his wrinkled, leathery skin.

It was Simonov however that intrigued Chen. The stocky, balding Marine Colonel was unafraid to speak his mind and share his opinions on a variety of subjects. Moreover his opinions were borne out of years of combat experience on the Commonwealth’s frontier worlds. Despite his coarse soldier’s manner and fiery temper, Chen liked him immensely. At the moment he was airing his views on the day’s training exercises, having observed from the Normandy’s bridge.

‘All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t read too much into the results of today. Sure, it was interesting, and good practice too, but any battle with a K’Soth force is likely to be very different if you ask me.’

Kojima regarded him with interest.

‘What you don’t seem to bring into account is K’Soth psychology.’ Simonov explained. ‘Those fucking lizards don’t fight like you or me, so fighting against a human crew proves nothing.’

‘Please Colonel, do elaborate,’ said Kojima with a slight smile.

‘The K’Soth are religious fanatics. They don’t fear death in the same way as we do. For them to die in battle is a blessing. If they die in holy war, they believe that they go straight to paradise, and their clans benefit from the honour that they earn.’

‘So?’

‘So they fight differently. They don’t employ all the careful tactics and manoeuvring that we do because we’re trying not to get ourselves killed. They don’t give a damn. They just get stuck in and charge straight at the enemy. They’re not above suicide attacks, and that includes warships. Ask Haines, he’s seen it at first hand.’

‘I will. But it seems a wasteful tactic.’

‘It is, but with their numerical superiority and hordes of willing volunteers it seems to work. Besides, it’s a great shock tactic. You’ll of course remember that they took out the defence installations around Elysium by ramming cruisers into them. You should model that into your next combat simulations, Admiral. Otherwise it’s a goddamn waste of time.’

There was an uncomfortable silence. It was broken by Benson.

‘Colonel, have you ever had to fight the K’Soth yourself? There have been one or two incidents over the years, rogue factions and whatnot’

‘Once, yeah. When I was still a sergeant. ’

Chen studied Simonov’s face. It had acquired a haunted look. He seemed to be contemplating some horrific memory.

‘One of their generals went rogue and had decided to start himself a little war. They took a planet in the Arcadia system and slaughtered the human colonists and we went in to clear them out.’ He paused a moment before continuing. ‘We killed every last one of the bastards but not before we lost half of our own troops, even though we outnumbered them two to one. You’ve never known true fear till you’ve confronted the K’Soth up close. They use ranged weapons, but what they really love is to get in close and fight hand to hand. Those armoured suits they wear and the swords and whatnot that they carry, plus their teeth and claws make them near unstoppable. I’ve seen men ripped apart, torn limb from limb by those evil fuckers and believe me, it felt good to get your own back on them. You don’t ever want to fight them in dense terrain where they can close with you or let them board your ship. If you do you don’t stand a chance. They just mass into a big group and charge straight at you, and you can only kill so many before they get to you.’

‘What if you had to fight them again Colonel?’ enquired Kojima.

‘I’d rather not, but if I had to I’d try and do it somewhere nice and flat and featureless. Then if they try any suicide charges I’d mow the bastards down with everything I had. We’ve learnt a lot from the last time and the vehicles and weapons we have now have been designed with K’Soth assault tactics in mind. We could take ‘em, if we had the right resources to hand.’

It was Chen’s turn to pose a question.

‘There is one thing I was wondering, Admiral, Colonel.’

The two men looked at her expectantly.

‘Just how much do we know about the K’Soth armed forces? Is it not possible that they’ve changed their methods over the years? Is it also possible that they do have better ships and equipment but that they’ve kept them out of sight so far?’

‘It is possible Captain,’ replied Kojima. ‘But the K’Soth Empire is characterised by stagnation, now more than ever. I doubt we have much to worry about in that respect.’

‘Sir, can we be sure?’

‘Captain, Command assures me that what information we have managed to obtain regarding K’Soth operations to maintain their northern border confirms that they are still using the same tactics, and that few new ship types have been sighted.’

‘But what if they’ve improved the ones they have?’

‘Captain Chen, we must act on what we know. We could speculate about all sorts of things, and that would get us nowhere,’ said Kojima firmly.

‘Yes sir.’

‘Admiral Haines is right you know,’ said Kojima. ‘The Empire is collapsing piece by piece. They’re overstretched and their brutality is counter-productive,’ he eyed Chen coldly. ‘Not that that stops some of our species attempting to emulate them, eh Captain Chen?’

‘Just what do mean by that sir?’ she replied, attempting to suppress her rising anger. She was starting to suspect what he was driving at.

‘Well, the planet Urranakar is now lost to us entirely, thanks to a certain Navy Captain’s rash decision and the slaughter of several hundred civilians.’

‘Sir, with all due respect I believe you’re out of line. I was cleared of all wrong-doing by a military tribunal.’

‘Indeed you were Captain.’

Lehman spoke up in her defence.

‘Admiral, I have known Captain Chen since Naval College. She is a more than capable Captain and I for one am proud to serve with her.’

‘On that I have no dispute Captain Lehman, I was merely commenting on the growing trend for gunboat diplomacy within the Commonwealth, of which the esteemed lady sat next to you is merely one example.’

‘Sir I still think

’

‘Captain Lehman, the Commonwealth is a democratic state. We don’t go around shooting or oppressing people because they happen to object to our presence or our policies or because they have something we want. We start doing that, and we become an empire and at worst we become a dictatorship. Captain Chen here should never have been sent to Urranakar in the first place, and she should have realised that the moment that she arrived there!’ He paused. ‘Captain Chen, I apologise. My comments are perhaps inappropriate in light of the presence of more junior officers, but I still stand by them. You may be a good tactician, but I think you’re dangerous and I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you. I hope to God you don’t confirm my fears.’

‘Sir, I won’t sir,’ replied Chen defiantly.

‘Hmm.’

‘Sir I still think

’ he cut her off.

‘Captain Chen, you proved today that you and your crew are more than capable. But you’re no diplomat.’

‘Yes sir.’

Chen sat in sullen silence for the rest of the meal. She resented Kojima’s undermining of her authority a great deal. How dare he embarrass her like this! She noticed also that Benson had said little during the exchange, but he had sat there smugly surveying the scene. She wondered whether he was jealous of her assignment as she suspected that he was as ambitious as she. She couldn’t tolerate any sort of rivalry between the various captains, least of all any attempt to undermine her. Forthcoming events would be difficult enough without them engaging in Navy politics.

Chen watched Kojima as he talked with the other captains. She realised now that she held little respect for the Admiral. Despite his long service he had never seen action, never had his ship fired upon and seen his trusted crewmates torn to ribbons. It angered her that he could sit and pontificate about things about which he had little practical knowledge or experience. He was old and set in his ways and she thought that he was weak. His own smug sense of superiority would be his undoing, she thought. Conciliation was not the way to deal with the enemies of the Commonwealth. A firm hand was needed when the future of the human race was at stake. She told herself that she would prove herself right, and that one day she would outrank him.

Ramirez tapped her arm and murmured:

‘What are you so satisfied about?’

‘I’ll tell you later,’ said Chen gave him a cryptic smile.

Following the meal they retired to the observation lounge that looked out over the cavernous main hangar deck in the very centre of the gigantic vessel. The various officers mingled, talked, and drank large mugs of ship’s coffee; alcohol was of course forbidden. Whilst Ramirez chatted with the XO of the Rameses, Chen stood by one of the large, thick windows that looked out over the rows of fighters, bombers, gunships and landing craft that sat with wings and weapon pylons folded to conserve space, like a flock of metal birds sleeping perched atop their nests. A number were being serviced and were surrounded with busy technicians and machinery that hung from the overhead gantries. The sounds of their industrious efforts could be heard faintly even through the thick glass panelling.

She turned to find Colonel Simonov standing at her side. He was regarding the scene with a look of supreme satisfaction.

‘That’s quite a force you have there at your disposal Colonel.’

‘Yes, yes it is. I’m proud of my Marines, Captain. I trust you feel the same way about your crew?’

‘Of course Colonel, they’re the finest starship crew in the Navy.’

Simonov chuckled and gave her a knowing look.

‘Just thought I’d come and offer my support so to speak,’ he said, his voice lowered.

‘Oh?’

‘Kojima’s a good man, but he’s old and he thinks he knows it all. What he said back there was out of order, though his political comments carried some merit. But his personal comments should have been said in private, if at all.’

‘Thank you Colonel but

’

‘Let me finish, Captain. We need people like you in the services, people who know how to fight, how to really stick it to those scaly bastards and dance on their fucking graves, if you’ll pardon the language.’

‘Don’t worry Colonel; it takes more than a few swear words to upset me.’

‘Good. Look, Kojima doesn’t know what the K’Soth are like. He thinks that if we fight them it’ll be all textbook and proper, and that what our intelligence tells us will be the gospel truth. Anyone with any sense knows that that just isn’t the case, it never is. There’s always someone trying to fight the last war, however in his case he seems to have forgotten even the lessons we learned during that one. It doesn’t matter how much firepower your new ships have Chen, or how much my tanks and men can wield. Those damn fanatics will still charge straight at us if they can. We have to think of a way to kill as many of the bastards as we can in the process.’

‘Colonel, I believe I may have found a way.’

‘What you tried today? Yeah I saw that, but can you make it work with a whole fleet? That’s the real test.’

‘I know. We need every ship to have a more than competent helmsman. There’s no room for error whatsoever.’

‘Yours seems pretty good.’

‘Yes she is,’ Chen said and thought for a moment. ‘How do you fancy your chances against the K’Soth, should it come to it?’

‘Can’t say I relish the prospect, Captain. Even though it’s what we train for, I’m not sure just how long we could hold out against, say, a full scale planetary invasion. Still, I’d make sure we’d take as many of ‘em with us as we could. I just hope it’d be enough.’

‘You think it’ll come to war then?’ said Chen, her voice barely audible above the hubbub of general conversation.

‘Yeah, probably. You heard Haines, and those morons back on Earth seem pretty set on it. Seems they haven’t learnt since last time.’

‘We are in a much better position, militarily.’

‘True, but it’s a big gamble. If things go wrong at the outset we’d be wide open for a counter attack. It’d be embarrassing if the Arkari had to come and rescue us again, if they came at all that is. I’m not sure they come to aid of a species who are the victims of their own stupidity.’

‘Command seems to think that the Empire is on the verge of collapse.’

‘Do they? Well let it I say. If it’s so fragile what do they need us for?’

‘I suppose getting it over and done with could save millions of lives.’

‘Hmm, or it could result in completely the opposite. I’ll say it again Captain. Do not underestimate the K’Soth, they may be brutes and fanatics, but they’re damn good fighters and there’s a hell of a lot of them.’

‘Thanks for the advice sir.’

‘No problem.’

‘I must say sir, it’d feel good to have you by my side in a fight.’

‘Thanks, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that eh?’ he clapped her companionably on the shoulder. ‘I’d better go talk to the Admiral, he’ll be wondering what us two are saying about him.’ Simonov ambled off across the room towards Kojima, who regarded Chen coldly before smiling mechanically at the Colonel as he approached.

Ramirez finished his conversation and rejoined Chen.

‘Hobnobbing with the brass Captain?’

‘I certainly was Commander, some people do, it seems, have faith in me.’

‘Well you can count me in that category.’

‘Yes, but you have your own reasons don’t you?’

‘Well there is that too. How soon before we can get out of here?’

‘Not soon enough. Commander, I have some things I’d like to go over with you once we return to the ship.’

‘Very well Captain,’ replied Ramirez with a conspiratorial smile. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

Back on the Mark Antony once again, Chen and Ramirez finished the day as they had begun it, in each other’s arms on the bed in Chen’s quarters. Ramirez noticed that Chen’s lovemaking had acquired a new urgency, and afterwards she lay silently beside him, apparently deep in thought. He drew her closer and kissed her forehead.

‘What’s the matter Michelle? Are you still upset by what the Admiral said to you?’

‘In a manner of speaking, yes.’

‘You know Haines and the others have faith in you. I have faith in you.’

‘I know, but it just made me wonder how many other Admiral Kojimas there are within our ranks, how many others who can’t see the truth, who are stuck in their ways. Failure to adapt to changing circumstances leads to extinction, you know that?’

‘I know, but remember that Haines is in charge, and he isn’t one to sit on his laurels. Neither are you it seems.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

‘I am, trust me Michelle. You’re my pet research project after all, and I have access to the personnel files of the other captains that you’ve been given to command. They’ll fight like you order them to, and all of them have exemplary service records. Kojima’s our only problem.’

‘What about Benson?’

‘Benson will posture and comment and it’s no secret that he wanted your job, but when it comes down to it he’ll fight by your side without question. He’s ambitious, but he’s not stupid.’

‘That’s reassuring Al. Thanks.’

‘I see you met Simonov. What did you think of him?’

‘I was impressed. He seems like a capable, level headed man.’

‘He is.’

They lay in silence for while, Chen caressed Ramirez’ cheek and gazed at him, she had a curious look on her face, sad almost.

‘Al, where do you see this going?’

‘What?’

‘This, us.’

‘I hadn’t really thought about it, well I mean what with all this hanging over our heads I hadn’t really thought beyond the two us just surviving.’

‘Not after?’

‘No. Not yet anyway. I didn’t want to assume too much you know?’

‘I understand, only I don’t know what I’d do without you,’ she kissed him deeply and moved against him.

‘You’ve said that before.’

‘Well it’s true Al, now more than ever. I don’t think I could bear to lose you.’

‘You won’t, I promise you.’

He wrapped her in his arms and held her small body close to his.

Chapter 13

The Darwin was an ugly ship. Even by the utilitarian design standards of the Commonwealth it was not pretty. Its bullet nosed forward accommodation and bridge section swelled into a fatter, barrel-shaped mid section that was pregnant with a vast array of instruments and probes. These were stowed in equipment bays, ready for deployment from behind the banks of hatches that covered the exterior of the hull. The engine block, meanwhile, sat at the end of a long slender pylon that extended a hundred and fifty metres from the back of the midsection. This was a sufficient distance to protect the ship’s delicate instruments from interference caused by the reactors and jump drive. It gave the vessel an appearance that resembled an ancient firework rocket when its sensor arrays were stowed, and of a bizarre flower when they were fully deployed.

Built ten years before the war, the Neptune class of survey vessels had been in service ever since, charting the galaxy for the Commonwealth. Though its hull was now antique and cramped by modern standards, the Darwin was not as outdated as it seemed. Numerous upgrades and refits had improved its systems and avionics immeasurably over the years and the sensor packages that were now bolted into its bays at the start of a mission were of course light years ahead of their predecessors. Its modular design meant that there was still plenty of life in the Neptune class yet.

Captain Spiers didn’t care what people said. The Darwin might be aesthetically undesirable, but he believed beauty was in the eye of the beholder and he loved his ship for what it could do, not what it looked like. With its instruments he and his crew could chart systems, probe nebulas, survey planet surfaces in minute detail and peer into the heart of stars or more exotic and spectacular phenomena. Aboard the Darwin, Spiers had seen up close and first hand things that few humans had ever experienced: black holes pulverising and devouring stars and planets, new systems forming inside nebulas from giant spinning, coalescing disks of rubble and gas, spectacular shock waves of stellar death and collapse, neutron stars spinning madly as they blasted space with deadly radiation. As far as he was concerned, the Navy could keep its fancy battleships and carriers. For Spiers, the Darwin was where the real adventure was. It gave him the universe at his fingertips, to explore, scrutinise and marvel at as much as he wanted.

He sat at the desk in his cabin, a mug of thick black coffee in one hand and his eyes fixed on the schematic map of Fulan on his console screen as he pondered the odd binary system. It made no sense. Planets were not uncommon in binary systems; either orbiting at a distance from two closely orbiting parent stars or around one or the other of more widely separated suns, but nowhere else in known space did a planet exist at the Lagrange point between two such closely orbiting binary stars. Debris fields had been found, planets that had begun to form and been torn apart by the gravity of the parent stars, or just random bits of rubble that had become trapped in the neutral gravity. Similarly it was not unusual to find planets around one or the other star in a binary that moved in erratic orbits or even swapped between one star and another and upon which life could not evolve due to the unstable environments they possessed.

Something had happened in Fulan to change the orbits of the bodies within it after it had begun to form. Spiers could see no other explanation at the moment to the theory he had previously proposed to Professor Cor. Had a rogue body from outside the system passed through it at some time, a small black hole or neutron star perhaps, sweeping up the asteroids in the system, knocking some planets from their orbits, destroying some and boiling away the surfaces of the gas giants? But how had the planet known as Maranos come to rest in the Lagrange point? What were the odds of it coming to rest there after being knocked out of its original orbit? Why had it not ended up orbiting one star or another, or simply plummeted to its doom, or been flung out into interstellar space?

But what of the two stars themselves, why had they not been affected? Or had they? Outwardly they seemed unremarkable. But perhaps today’s survey might reveal something unusual. Spiers hoped so. He enjoyed a good scientific mystery, especially if he and his crew could gain credit for solving it. Maybe any anomaly in the character of the two stars might go some way to explaining the unusual nature of the system.

He felt the ship shift beneath him. Despite the artificial gravity field he could still tell what the ship was doing purely by the feel of the deck alone, he had commanded her for so long. The gentle vibration of the engines changed too as the light from the small porthole swung around across the cabin. Photo-chromatic filters activated to dim the harsh sunlight pouring in through the small aperture. The Darwin was coming about to position itself above Maranos’s north-pole at an equal distance from both stars to begin the initial surveys.

There was something else on Spiers’ mind too. He saved his work, switched off the console and drained the muddy dregs of his coffee, then headed out of his cabin. He went aft through the maze of cramped gangways toward the vessel’s midsection and the hub of labs that formed a cylinder of compartments inside the outer ring of sensor bays.

Spiers ran an informal ship. The Darwin was nominally part of the Commonwealth Navy and much of its research was used by the Navy for navigation, but its crew did not feel that they were military officers. All were highly qualified in their specialised fields of physics, astronomy, cartography and many more - Spiers had done his Phd on wormhole theory. Although they all held naval ranks, they tended to regard one another purely as fellow scientists. In front of outsiders Spiers insisted they act formally, for the sake of protocol, but when no-one was looking everyone addressed one another on first name terms and largely disregarded the rigid etiquette of rank. The Darwin was tightly knit community that often spent months at a time in remote regions of space, far from other humans. Its crew of fifty were squashed together into an already cramped, ancient pre-war hull along with tonnes of equipment and supplies. Spiers wasn’t about to insist they all start saluting one another. Respect had to be earned aboard his ship and not dictated purely by rank.

Spiers ambled aft through the busy gangway, pressing himself against the grey cabled lined wall periodically to let one of his crew past in the opposite direction. He loved the Darwin, she was his ship. He loved the oily smell of the gangway, the hum of machinery and sounds of his crew hard at work. This was where he belonged.

Before long he reached the labs. The long cylindrical space was divided into sections. Each of them could be independently sealed off from the others and they could also have their atmospheres and artificial gravity altered to produce differing environments within them if necessary. The outer skin of the cylinder provided access to the instrument bays via a layer of airlocks whose heavy square doors lined the walls.

Spiers checked in with a number of his fellow scientists to check their progress on preparing for the coming work schedule, and then headed off in search of the man he really wanted to speak to: his electronics engineer Gustav Marchand. He eventually found the man sat at a workbench cluttered with a vast assortment of computer parts and cabling. Gus was a thin, balding man with an unkempt beard and hair. He was holding a battered paper manual and looking accusingly at a sensor package from one the ships probes. Spiers guessed that he was probably enjoying himself, despite the muttered cursing. He sat down at the bench beside him.

‘Gus, how’s it going?’

‘Hmm? Oh not so bad Bob, not so bad. This bloody thing here,’ he tapped the sensor package, ‘is stretching my patience, but otherwise no complaints.’

‘Everything running okay down here? We’re about to start surveying the stars in short while.’

‘Yep, pretty much. The solar telescope’s ready to go, as is the spectroscopy package and the gravimetric array. Magnetometer needs a few more minutes though: the bloody bay doors are stuck again. Emma’s taking a look at it, shouldn’t be a problem. It probably just needs a good thump.’

‘There was something else that I wanted to ask.’

‘Oh? Not that bloody navi-comp again is it?’

‘No, no ah

Bob have you ever encountered any Esacir vessels before?’

‘You on about that one belonging to the Arkari archaeologist we’re supposed to be lending our services to in a few days?’

‘Yeah. Ever been on one or seen any specifications?’

‘I’ve seen plenty, but I’ve only been inside one. I’d love a look under the bonnet so to speak, though I gather the Esacir aren’t keen on that sort of thing.’

‘What about shipboard personalities?’

‘Oh, them? They’re fairly common; they handle mundane stuff and make you feel at home, that sort of thing. You know even a few of our ships have them now, liners and suchlike? Glorified room service mostly, they’re just a voice recognition and response program linked to the ship’s systems and sometimes to the autopilot. The Esacir ones are quite lifelike until you start to spot the repeated responses. I wouldn’t trust one to fly a ship though, not with me on it!’ he chuckled.

‘How lifelike though? The one on Rekkid Cor’s ship is pretty convincing, chatty even. It even has a name, Quickchild.’

‘A name eh? Well some people do give them names, helps them to anthropomorphise their own ship. Maybe it’s just a new model. Rekkid Cor knows Sanjay Chopra at Cambridge and Sanjay knows Ormintu at Riianto. Perhaps he got it from him?’

‘You know Professor Cor?’

‘Know of him. Sanjay and I know each other professionally so I’ve heard the odd thing here and there. He’s something of a maverick. I’ve heard a lot about Cor though recently. Did you know that he’s something of a wanted man? Him and his colleague, Dr O’Reilly.’

‘Wanted? For what?’

‘Hah, well the story goes they went to check out an ancient wreck, only it turned out to be the Arkari’s latest destroyer prototype that had suffered catastrophic engine failure! They nearly got arrested by the Arkari Navy on the spot but they got let off. Anyway someone on the mission is supposed to have taken something they shouldn’t. I dunno, documents or something, and the intelligence services have been chasing them ever since.’

‘Bloody hell. That’s a pretty embarrassing thing to happen to him.’

‘No doubt, I reckon that’s why he and O’Reilly have come all the way out here, to get away from it all and do some work to restore their credibility.’

‘Poor sods.’

‘Aye. So, this ship of Cor’s: it has a lifelike personality, eh?’

‘Yeah, it’s been nagging me this past day or so. I was wondering if there’s any way you could, you know, slyly have a look at it somehow? We have comm. channels open to it. Thought you’d be interested.’

‘Ahh, hmm. Possibly, I can’t promise you anything though.’ Marchand grimaced and scratched his scraggly beard.

‘Oh?’

‘Esacir ships usually have pretty good security lock outs. If it has simulated intelligence of some sort you can bet it can defend itself against any sort of attempt to hack into it. I’ll have a go though.’

‘Thanks.’

‘My pleasure. You know you could just ask it how it works?’

‘Think it’d tell me?’

‘Who knows? Maybe, or you could ask Cor for a look, you know as a return favour for mapping his dig site for him.’

‘Worth a try.’

‘Aye.’

Spiers felt a series of mechanical thuds through the deck plating, followed by the sound of hydraulics being released.

‘Sounds like Emma’s got that door to move, Bob. We’ll deploy the instruments in a minute.’

‘Great, I should get up to the bridge.’

Spiers headed back to the ship’s forward section through its cramped gangways and lifts up to the bridge. The command deck looked out over the ship’s bullet nose through a sixty degree arc of narrow windows. When Spiers arrived, the view through them was currently dominated by the clouded bulls-eye of the north pole of Maranos. Fulan A and B were visible to the extreme left and right and cast conflicting shadows across the surprisingly spacious bridge which served not only for piloting the ship but as a data monitoring centre. Behind the main bridge area sat several curving banks of consoles that linked directly to the ship’s vast array of external instruments.

Spiers greeted the assembled crew members, briefly conversing with each team, and then plopped into his captain’s chair, shifting his stocky form till he got comfortable on the worn upholstery that had moulded itself to his body through years of usage. He turned to his crew.

‘Okay, everyone set?’ There was a general agreement. ‘Okay, all stations deploy instruments.’

The assembled scientists and technicians got to work, activating and deploying the necessary selection of equipment from the great variety stored within the Darwin’s hull. There was a series of thuds, more felt than heard, as bay doors hinged slowly open and sensor arrays emerged and unfolded before locking into place. There was hubbub of activity on the bridge as the crew set about targeting the piercing gaze of the Darwin onto the two stars of the Fulan system. Data streamed in and flooded the console screens of the bridge, a torrent of information which only an expert eye could make sense of. Fortunately the Darwin was blessed with a glut of experts.

‘So what do we have here then people?’ said Spiers hopefully.

‘Looks like two common or garden G Type stars Bob,’ said Georgi Antonov, one of the ship’s solar experts, as he peered at the data on his screen. ‘Each one point two solar masses and

that’s odd.’

‘What?’

‘Each star is exactly the same the mass as the other.’

‘That’s hardly that unusual, binary stars of similar mass occur elsewhere and we know just by looking at this system that that’s the case here, Georgi.’

‘No, not similar in mass; exactly the same mass. These two stars are exactly the same mass as one another and have the same diameter to at least an accuracy of ten decimal places.’

‘So that would mean that they would orbit around one another in perfect circles.’

‘Correct, therefore the Lagrange point that Maranos sits at does not move in relation to the star system as a whole. Hence, the stability of the system.’

‘That’s remarkable. What are the odds of a system forming like this?’

‘Slim. My guess is that something split a larger star apart as it was forming and the debris re-coalesced into two equal twins, either that or one star captured the other and they fed off one another until their masses balanced one another out.’

‘But they’re exactly the same size?’

‘Yes.’

‘Fascinating.’

‘Ah, there’s something else I think you should look at everyone,’ said a quiet voice from the back of the bridge. It belonged Doctor Mary Fullerton, a recent addition to the ship’s complement. She held the nominal rank of Ensign and had won some acclaim for her research into planetary and stellar magnetic fields. She was currently monitoring the data from the ship’s magnetometer. ‘There’s something very odd indeed about the magnetic fields of those two stars,’ she said with a puzzled tone and she scrutinised the data on her screens.

‘Show us please Mary. Put it through to the HUD,’ said Spiers, his interest piqued still further as he donned a bridge HUD monocle. The others did likewise whilst Dr Fullerton transferred the data she was receiving to the bridge’s imaging systems. A simulated three dimensional model of the two stars and the planet Maranos appeared in mid air in the middle of the bridge. It showed the magnetic lines of force as parabolic curves sprouting from the poles of each star and reaching out into space. Similar smaller lines surrounded Maranos and merged with the ones from the stars.

‘Okay, this is what you would expect to see when looking at the magnetic fields of this part of the system, yes?’ said Doctor Fullerton. There was a murmur of agreement. ‘But this is what my data is showing us at the moment.’

The image changed to show the magnetic fields of the stars curiously distorted. Instead of spreading out around the stars they appeared to curve back around and converge on a point close to the surface of each star that directly faced Maranos, like a bundle of wires that been bent and knotted together and were straining gently against being tied down.

‘Good grief. Mary, what do you suppose could cause that?’ said Spiers quietly in the stunned silence of the bridge.

‘I’m afraid to say I have no idea whatsoever Bob. I’ve never seen anything like this. Granted I’ve never seen a system quite like this either. We need to get closer to those convergence points and gather more data. Perhaps if we examine the activity in that part of the stars we can get a better idea of what going one here. What is puzzling is the lack of sunspot activity. You’d expect massive amounts due a magnetic anomaly of this size. Maybe there’s some unusual interaction between the planet and the stars

I don’t know. I need more data.’

‘Agreed. Helm, plot a course towards the point of magnetic convergence on Fulan A, Mary will supply the co-ordinates. Take us to the minimum safe distance that our instruments can withstand. We have to get a closer look at this without burning out our arrays.’

At Spiers’ instruction the ship’s pilot turned the ungainly craft toward the dazzling orb of Fulan A and engaged the ship’s jump drive for a fraction of a second. The Darwin emerged half a million kilometres away from a convex wall of blinding, boiling plasma. Photo-chromatic shielding blocked the blinding radiation from the eyes of the crew as the Darwin’s shields glowed gently from the barrage of charged particles.

‘Helm, report please.’

‘We have emerged half a million kilometres from the designated point. All systems are operational. Shields are holding and will provide us with sufficient protection for a least half an hour.’

‘Good. Everyone, train your instruments on the co-ordinates supplied by Mary’s observations. Let’s see what we can find here.’

The crew got to work, re-targeting and refocusing the banks of sensors and telescopes onto the surface of the star to collect yet more data. There was a series of triumphant yells from the assembled observers.

‘People please. What? Show me,’ said Spiers impatiently.

‘With pleasure,’ said Mary.

Someone put up a window in Bob’s vision. It seemed to hang in front of him and showed a zoomed-in, greatly darkened view of the star’s surface

and something else. A dark ring appeared to be floating inside the star’s corona. It was undoubtedly artificial. It was smooth and black and at this distance appeared seamless and delicate like a piece of jewellery mysteriously impervious to the effects of the nuclear inferno in which it lay. It was around a hundred kilometres in diameter and seemed to be mysteriously convecting the star’s atmosphere around itself in a curious standing solar flare. Spiers struggled for words.

‘What the

what is that?’

‘You tell us Bob, but you can bet that that is what’s causing these weird magnetic phenomena,’ said Doctor Fullerton. ‘My instruments show it as lying right as the centre of where the field distorts.’

‘Anyone ever see anything like this in our records of alien artefacts? Because this thing certainly wasn’t built by humans. How the hell can it stand the conditions down there?’

There were a series of negative gestures and shrugs from the assembled science staff, some of whom had extensive knowledge of alien technology.

‘Could be a habitat at that size,’ ventured one Doctor Mark Pembrooke. ‘Or possibly some sort of energy gathering station. In any case I’d say out of the species that we know of, only the Arkari or the Esacir possess the technology to even attempt anything like that.’

‘Hmm. Except that they wouldn’t build it here in a system outside their borders would they?’ replied Spiers, his mind working furiously. ‘What’s it made of?’

‘Hard to tell, there’s too much interference from the star,’ said Sorensen on the spectrometer team. ‘Though it seems to be made of something pretty dense, it’s bending the light around itself slightly as well as distorting the magnetic field. We’d need to get closer to have a proper look. There’s too much interference from the solar environment.’

‘Gravimetrics?’

‘We concur, the object is producing an unusual localised gravity field which is distorting the star’s corona, but we can’t pin down the exact shape of the field. We’d also like a closer look.’

‘Any transmissions or emissions from the object?’

‘Not a peep.’

‘Nothing, the object’s inactive, whatever it is.’

‘Comms, hail the object, see if it’ll speak to us.’

‘Just a second

broadcasting a repeating geometric progression pattern of pulses. Anything intelligence on board can’t help but notice our presence if they haven’t noticed us already.’ The comms operator shook her head. ‘Nope nothing, if anyone’s alive on that thing they don’t want to talk to us.’

‘We need a closer look, but I’m afraid that’s an option we don’t have. Any closer and we get singed. Hmm.’ Spiers scratched his beard before continuing. ‘Maybe this thing isn’t of recent construction. Maybe it’s been here a long time. We have a team of three archaeologists from the Commonwealth on the surface of Maranos, do we not? Well why don’t we ask them? Meantime, gather as much data as you can. We have our work cut out here for the next half hour so let’s get to it. Then we’ll retreat to a safe distance and contact our trowel wielding colleagues on the planet. Let’s see if they can help.’

Chapter 14

Ramirez sat pensively in the stuffy lobby of New Colorado’s Naval Headquarters. The squat, highly secure building sat on the outskirts of Boulder and served as the nerve centre for operations in this volume of Commonwealth space. He had been summoned. The meeting was to be kept a secret. Even Ramirez didn’t know what it was to be about or who it was with and his stomach was tying itself in knots with nervous anticipation.

The Mark Antony had returned to New Colorado under less than dignified circumstances. During training manoeuvres the ship’s newly fitted jump drive had begun to behave erratically. As a precaution, she and the other recently refitted craft had been ordered to dock at the nearest available shipyard for repairs and system checks. As a final humiliation, whilst the other craft returned under their own power, the Mark Antony had been towed back to New Colorado by a couple of the local heavy lift super-freighters. Chen was livid. Ramirez didn’t envy Chief Sohal who, along with his staff, was most certainly able to take advantage of the unexpected spell of shore-leave.

The Mark Antony’s return had however provided Ramirez’s superiors with an opportunity to contact him. He had found another encrypted message mysteriously deposited in his terminal’s memory instructing him to report to the local Naval Headquarters and to keep the meeting secret; hence he should not show up in his uniform when his crewmates would be walking the streets of the asteroid’s interior in civilian clothes. Ramirez now felt under-dressed in his civilian clothes when everyone else in the building wore smart military attire.

He gazed restlessly about the lobby. It was bland and brightly lit: A couple of seating areas, potted plants and prints of famous vessels on the walls. A guarded security barrier lay between the lobby and the door to the outside, Ramirez had had to confirm his identity upon arrival with the two armed guards before they would admit him. Inside, a receptionist sat behind a broad desk facing the door. Her made-up face wore a fixed smile. She peered at her desk terminal then looked at Al.

‘Commander Ramirez?’

‘Yes?’

‘If you would care to follow me please?’

Ramirez got up from the too-low couch he was sitting in and followed the receptionist. She led him down seemingly endless identical, blandly furnished corridors and past a number of security checks whilst she made perfunctory small-talk.

She eventually led him to a door at the end of one the corridors. It looked identical to all the others with the exception of the armed guard standing outside it The guard checked Ramirez’s ID before opening the door for him and showing him inside.

Ramirez found himself inside a snugly furnished office. There were three other figures in the room, all of whom were seated behind a heavy mahogany desk. Two Humans and one Arkari. His heart started thumping, the Humans he recognised immediately as Fleet Admiral Haines and his own departmental head Director Kline. The Arkari looked familiar yet Ramirez couldn’t place him, certainly he looked senior judging by the insignia and styling of his uniform. Ramirez stood to attention and saluted.

‘Sirs! Commander Alvaro Ramirez reporting as ordered.’

‘At ease Commander, please, have a seat,’ said Haines genially, gesturing with one leathery hand at a chair in front of the desk. ‘We’d like to have a frank little talk with you if we may. Understand that this is somewhat off the record.’

‘Yes sir,’ said Ramirez and sat.

‘And as such you can ask us questions too if you like; though I’m afraid we might not be able to answer all of them fully. I’m sure you appreciate why.’

‘Of course, sir.’

‘Good. Now, myself and Director Kline you’re no doubt familiar with. I don’t think you’ve met War Marshal Mentith here though have you?’ Haines turned to the stern alien figure sat at his right hand. Mentith met Ramirez ‘gaze levelly, the whiskers on his aged, almost mummified features twitched slightly.

‘A pleasure, War Marshall. We’ve never met but I’ve heard of your record. You fought with us against the K’Soth in the last war did you not, at the Battle of Elysium?’

‘Indeed I did Commander. However, the purpose of my visit today is to determine whether I shall have to act again. It would be rather embarrassing if we had to rescue the Commonwealth once more, would it not?’

‘Yes sir, it would.’

‘Not that I wouldn’t welcome the chance to kill a few more of those fanatics you understand,’ said Mentith with a certain amount of relish, despite his formal façade.

Kline spoke, breaking the uneasy silence that had descended. ‘Commander, let’s get down to business. We’ve asked you here today to give a personal assessment of Captain Michelle Chen - her behaviour, her ability to command, her likely reaction to combat situations etcetera etcetera.’

‘Sir, you have my report.’

‘Yes we do. But well

we saw your unscheduled return to port as something of an opportunity. We want to make sure that all key figures in forthcoming operations against the K’Soth are capable of carrying out their duty to the letter. We thought that getting information from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, would prove productive. So don’t mince your words, what you say here will go no further, I promise. No teams of analysts will pore over your words here, so you can say what you like.’

‘So there is definitely going to be a war then?’ said Ramirez. ‘What if the negotiations succeed and the K’Soth do cancel their build up along our border?’

Haines took a deep breath. ‘Son, if you breathe a word of this to anyone I’ll have your balls served up to me in the mess-hall you understand? Anyone hears about this and you will face the firing squad.’

‘Sir, I understand perfectly.’

‘That’s good Commander, just making sure. Yes, there is to be a war, the negotiations are a sham to buy us time to deploy our forces, but you’d already guessed that didn’t you?’

‘Yes sir.’

‘Without going into specifics, we intend to lure the Imperial Navy into a trap. Kill it, and then aid the oppressed races under the Empire’s control to revolt against their masters.’

‘And the Arkari, War Marshal?’

‘Will not intervene, Commander.’

‘So why are you here then?’

Mentith looked at Haines for a moment then at Ramirez; he appeared to be weighing up something in his mind. Then he spoke.

‘Commander, it is the official policy of my government to pursue a line of non-intervention in the affairs of other races. However, it should come as no surprise to you that we would shed few tears if the K’Soth Empire were to fall.’

‘Forgive me for asking, War Marshal, but why doesn’t your government sanction the use of force against the K’Soth? You’ve shown in the past that you have the capability to decimate their forces.’

Mentith looked thoughtful. He appeared to be studying Ramirez.

‘Commander, I may be the second in command of our navy, but I don’t presume to make policy. We are a democratic society after all. If you want my opinion though, I would say that it’s because we have no wish to expand our borders, nor do we wish to replace the K’Soth as the imperial rulers or stewards of other less advanced races. Regardless of how much we may want to take direct action it is not compatible with our society’s long term goals.’

‘That’s rather a dispassionate view, what about freeing other races from tyranny?’

‘My, my we are full of questions aren’t we Commander?’

‘Forgive me if I seem over inquisitive.’

‘Not at all. Since you ask, it seems to be the general consensus that other races should be left to free themselves. The K’Soth Empire could collapse by itself through sheer overstretch. However, we see much merit in your government’s plan and believe me, there are many in our military who would relish the opportunity to crush the K’Soth personally. Since we cannot directly intervene I am here to provide

advice.’

‘In that it fulfils what many in your society want without any of you getting your hands dirty?’

‘In a word, yes. Though we would reluctantly step in should something go amiss and the Commonwealth find itself defenceless

again.’

‘So this war can’t fail then?’

‘It can fail to succeed in its objectives, but the Commonwealth as an entity is safe, yes. Thanks to our gallant allies,’ said Haines, gesturing at Mentith.

‘I see,’ said Ramirez. ‘If you don’t mind me asking, why am I, a mere commander, being told all this?’

‘Because,’ said Kline leaning forward, ‘you’re not just a naval commander are you? You’re an agent of mine conducting surveillance on one of our captains.’

‘Yes that’s true, but I don’t see

’

‘Chen is likely to be vital to the early stages of the ambush, Commander. It is important that she carries out her duties to the letter, and if she can’t or won’t, then it will be your duty to relieve her of duty and command the Mark Antony and her squadron in battle.’

‘But I’ve no idea what you intend

’

‘An encrypted version of the current battle plan has been deposited in your terminal. I suggest you read it Commander. As for commanding a vessel, you have trained for the eventuality of having to do so should your captain be incapacitated, have you not?’

‘Yes sir.’

Haines addressed him: ‘In your assessment is Captain Chen suitable for combat duty?’

‘Sir, yes I would. She is able, decisive and inventive in combat. The crew trusts her implicitly and are proud of their captain and their ship.’

‘How close have you and Chen become, Commander?’ said Kline

‘I’m sorry sir?’

‘It’s a simple question Commander, how close have you and your Captain become? How well do you know her?’

‘As well as one can know a colleague I guess sir. As her second in command I suspect that I am privy to seeing perhaps a more intimate side of her. We work together closely on lots of things, and if she confides in anyone she confides in me. I suppose you could say we’ve become friends.’

‘Really?’ said Kline sharply. ‘Well I hope you’re managing to maintain your objectivity Commander. It wouldn’t do for you to be suffering from clouded judgement would it? I hope you realise the importance of your assignment; if Chen cannot function as captain of the Mark Antony then someone else will have to be found!’

‘Sir, I already told you. Chen is a fine a captain as any, more than most I would venture!’ retorted Ramirez. ‘I have absolute confidence in her.’ He felt his temper rising. Haines smiled.

‘That’s good to hear Commander; the Director was just testing you. But bear in mind what he said; you cannot be sentimental about this. If Chen isn’t suitable then she has to go, no matter how much you two get along. So don’t get too close, you understand? It could make things difficult for all of us if we’ve made a poor choice in her.’

‘Yes sir.’

‘How well has she coped since the Urranakar debacle?’

‘Urranakar was definitely a blow to her confidence I’d say. To be honest, she leant on me for support during the initial months following her court martial, but she seems to have recovered. The acclaim she received from capturing those gun runners certainly went a long way to restoring her self confidence, as did her recent performance in training exercises.’

‘Good, good,’ said Haines contentedly. ‘We thought it might. Chen’s an ambitious woman, you know Commander. Urranakar could have ended her career and she knows that. However, we saw her potential and saved her from the worst possible punishments. Some luckless CIB agent took the blame instead.’

‘Someone else took the rap sir?’

Haines waved his hand dismissively. ‘Ach, don’t trouble yourself Commander, the man was a liability: a rabble-rouser and a renegade. You know the type? He’s better off consigned to obscurity if he can’t follow orders’

‘I see.’

‘Look, Commander. We know that Chen is one of the Navy’s most able captains on paper. We just need to know that our faith in her isn’t misplaced. I’m sorry if we seem cold or callous, but in this upcoming operation we can’t have any uncertainties, least of all when it concerns the ability of key personnel to command.’

‘I understand sir.’

‘Good. Now if you should develop any doubts about your captain don’t hesitate to contact your superiors, is that clear?’

‘I have no doubts about Captain Chen’s suitability for command or her loyalty to the traditions of the Navy or to the Commonwealth, sir.’

‘Good.’

Shit, thought Ramirez, hit by a sudden realisation. Have I condemned her to death? Has my unswerving support for Michelle committed her and the ship to a suicide mission? Even so, would she want me to excuse her from this responsibility? He didn’t know.

‘Something the matter Commander?’ said Mentith, noticing Ramirez’s frown.

‘No, not at all sir.’

‘Excellent,’ said Haines. ‘Commander you are dismissed, though you may feel free to ask any questions before you leave.’

‘Yes, I have one question.’

‘Go ahead.’

‘You’re sure that this plan of yours will work, Admiral?’

‘Commander I have been preparing to take the war back to the K’Soth since the last war ended fifty eight years ago. I never lost a fight then and I don’t intend to break the habit of a lifetime. Have faith in me Commander. You may go.’

‘I shall sir,’ he got up to leave. ‘War Marshall, may I express the opinion that I’ve always wanted to see the Arkari Navy in action, I’ve heard the stories and rumours about your vessels but

’

Mentith cut him off: ‘Pray that you don’t Commander. Few would wish to witness such carnage,’ he smiled coldly then added. ‘But I appreciate the compliment.’

With that, Ramirez left the office and headed quickly out of the building into the cool of the temperature controlled air of the artificial night. He crossed the road in front of the Navy building and sat gratefully on a wood and wrought iron bench that faced a small park. His heart was thumping wildly and his head was far more filled with questions than when he arrived. Questions he had dared not ask the trio inside the office. Chiefly, were he and Chen and the rest of the squadron to be sacrificed as bait? Were they going to die? Ramirez cursed himself as he stared unseeing at the floral display in front of him.

Oh shit, shit. What had he done? Why didn’t he say something? A get out or an excuse. Why hadn’t he said that she wasn’t fit for the mission or anything to excuse them from this?

He realised that he was shaking.

Had he killed her by practically signing her death warrant? Had he killed them both and the rest of the crew with them?

He sat with his head in his trembling hands for a moment and then looked up at the central plasma tube, currently glowing a dull blue to provide minimum night-time illumination.

Perhaps he had done the right thing, he mused, Chen had had ample opportunity to refuse the assignment herself hadn’t she? Surely she wasn’t so duty bound that she would willingly accept a mission that would end with certain death for herself and her ship, or would she? But then again what right did he have to act on her behalf? Michelle was one of the finest starship captains currently serving the Commonwealth. She could handle this couldn’t she?

He sat back and reclined on the hard bench, and with his arms tightly folded he gazed idly at the arching constellations of lights on the far side of the habitation chamber.

But what of him? What of the crew? What if he lost her in the forthcoming war that was now a certainty?

Ramirez could scarcely believe that his superiors would sanely consider such a thing. Just how many would die once the war was underway and the K’Soth brought the full might of their navy to bear on the Commonwealth forces?

Ramirez needed a drink and he needed one now before his jangling nerves snapped completely. He knew Singh and Davis and the others had gone to a favourite bar of theirs in the city centre. He decided that he’d go and find them and try to relax. It might be their last chance to do so for a while. He got up from the bench, rather unsteadily and headed off in the direction of the bar in question.

Mentith watched the hunched figure get up off the bench and recede into the distance. The image relayed to him from the nano-spy bug hung ethereally in the air above Haines’s desk. Ramirez was of course himself under surveillance for the duration of his shore leave, just in case. Mentith sent an order to the artificial insect to follow the Commander and record everything it saw. He sighed heavily and turned to Haines.

‘George, if I were you I’d be worrying about him, not Chen.’

‘You don’t think he’s up to this, Irakun?’

‘I have my doubts. We should keep a close eye on Ramirez. Perhaps the strain of what we told him may be too much for one man to bear. What if he talks?’

‘He knows better than that, or so I’m told.’ Haines looked at Kline for reassurance.

‘His record and his psycho-evaluation show that he is up to the job,’ Kline replied. ‘Give him some time to come to terms with what we told him. He’ll be fine, I guarantee it. His loyalty has never been in question. What about Chen? Why did you choose her?’

‘She’s very able, though the same can be said for a number of her colleagues, but it was the way she acted at Urranakar that clinched it.’

‘You deliberately handed the fortunes of your civilisation to the instigator of a massacre?’ said Mentith incredulously.

‘I chose Chen because she demonstrated that when cornered she will fight. She showed at Urranakar that when her back is against the wall that she will stop at nothing to defend her ship and take down the enemy.’

‘Well I think she’s unstable. You’re playing a very dangerous game, George.

‘It’s a risk I’m willing to accept.’

‘That’s not the only thing I have my doubts about though,’ said Mentith. ‘Are you quite sure that this war is necessary?’

‘The Joint Chiefs have made their decision.’

‘Care to explain, George?’

Haines took a key from his breast pocket and unlocked one of his desk drawers. Inside was a small armoured briefcase. Haines took that out of the drawer and pressed his thumb against a reader pad set into the lock. The case clicked open. Haines removed a folder marked ‘Eyes Only’ and opened it on his desk.

‘Hmm, a paper file?’ said Mentith. ‘How quaint.’

‘Some things are too sensitive to be stored digitally Irakun. No-one can hack a piece of paper inside a vault, which incidentally, is where this will be returning shortly.’

‘I must say, the Human race’s willingness to betray its own species for material gain never ceases to amaze me.’

‘Nor me. Anyway, Director Kline here was good enough to furnish us with this information some months ago. His networks within the Empire have uncovered a new K’Soth ship building programme. We believe that this is in direct response to our own naval improvements in recent years. Though it has taken the Empire a typically long time to react, they are now building new classes of warships that are far more effective in combat than their current fleet. Some may already be in service.’ Haines unfolded a blueprint of a K’Soth vessel, depicting the massive battleship in both plane and various profile views. Whilst sharing the basic split delta design of other K’Soth ships it was far larger, according to the blueprint’s scale and sported a large number of heavy turrets.

‘So you see, Mentith my old friend, it is imperative that we act now, whilst we are still capable of defeating the Empire. We have pinpointed the systems in which we believe these new classes of vessels are being constructed and we have adjusted our battle plans accordingly.’

‘Are you sure George? Our intelligence suggests nothing of the kind.’

‘Because you’ve never looked, that’s why. Why should you? What difference would a new breed of K’Soth warships make if they engaged your fleet? Very little, unless they’ve suddenly made a fifty thousand year technological leap in the past six months.’

‘Perhaps.’

‘Our sources are reliable,’ said Kline. ‘The K’Soth are in a desperate economic condition, desperate enough to utilise slave labour in their shipyards. Slaves who have no love of their imperial masters are all too willing to talk to us.’

‘I just wish we could have the Arkari Navy fighting alongside us,’ said Haines. ‘I’ve seen your ships in action, in Eta Cassiopeia at the end of the last war. It scared the hell of out me then Mentith, and you were fighting on our side! You know I actually felt sorry for the K’Soth,’ he gave a short laugh. ‘First and last time I ever felt any pity for those bastards.’

Mentith looked at him directly. ‘If the choice were mine to make, then we would be fighting along you, and this war would last hours. Alas, our government has no interest in doing so. They remain isolationist. To them, the defence of our sphere of space is all that matters, they have no wish to acquire an empire and neither do the people. We have all that we could ever require on a material level.’

‘But can’t they see the bigger picture?’

‘I believe that they can, far more than you realise, but sometimes they take the long view to extremes and they become over cautious. It is I and my comrades who are more willing to give in to our more primal urges. As alas, are you.’

‘Christ Irakun, don’t pull the ‘holier than thou routine,’ I know you better than that.’

‘Consider this: after the K’Soth are gone, what then? There will be chaos once they leave. They may be oppressive, but they do represent order. To dissolve their empire at a stroke is a recipe for anarchy. The Commonwealth will need to maintain a considerable presence to keep the peace for years to come. We all know where that can lead, over-expansion, plus we all know about the activities of some of your more ruthless commercial organisations. Khonsari Mining for example? They were quietly building their own little empire of their own till they took things a step too far. Meanwhile their activities were uncovered by the very man that you have consigned to obscurity. Doubtless other companies would jump at the chance of virgin territory to exploit, newly liberated worlds crying out for investment, reconstruction contracts and Commonwealth manufactured goods? They’d welcome them with open arms until they discover that their natural resources and wealth are disappearing off-world. Then of course when it all start to turn ugly the private security companies would make their share keeping the natives in line. You should study your species’ own history more George, you might learn something.’

‘I am well aware of the precedents. But I do not decide Commonwealth foreign policy. I only advise my civilian superiors when necessary and carry out the orders of our government to the best of my ability. Based on my advice, on that of Director Kline here and many others within the government, the decision has already been taken. We will demolish the K’Soth Empire in the near future, and I intend to be the chief architect of its destruction. We will prevail.’

Mentith sighed. ‘Then, so be it. I wish you the best of luck George. You may need it.’

Chapter 15

The trio’s departure from Bridgetown was agonisingly slow. They contacted the local law enforcement authorities and, with help from Ambassador Croft, managed to convince them of their innocence in the demise of the old Dendratha who now lay in a sorry bloody heap on the balcony of Katherine’s hotel room. The local militia cordoned off the room and confiscated the corpse and the remains of the parasitic creature as evidence, though it was doubtful they knew what the latter really was. They also took statements from all three of the off-worlders and consulted at length with Croft via the link through Quickchild, who had managed to get a possible ID from the Erais authorities on the unfortunate victim.

It turned out that one of the town’s vagrants had gone missing shortly after Katherine had arrived. His description loosely matched that of the Dendratha that had followed them here to Bridgetown as the host for the creature, though it seemed that the thing inside him had taken the time to acquire new garments as a form of disguise. His death was apparently of little consequence to the authorities, though they warned the three that they would be keeping a close eye on them. However this was something of an empty threat, given the standards of communication technology on the planet and the remoteness of their destination from Bridgetown, a full quarter of the circumference of the planet’s equator away.

Fortunately, the militia let the trio go in time to catch their train to Marantis. They hurried back up the valley side from the hotel to the station through the bustling maze of streets, arriving out of breath and sweating just in time to board the gigantic vehicle. The train was identical to the first one they had caught down from Erais, and once again they had cabins in the first class section at the front of the train. This time however the carriages were much busier and they shared them with a number of upper class families of pilgrims. The corridors and communal spaces were noisy with the sounds of the ‘pampered brats disporting themselves,’ as Rekkid put it, obviously irritated by the youngsters’ presence.

Once underway, the train made its way across one of the soaring bridges that spanned the gorge before the line rose to cross the cracked plateau that formed this region of the planet. It took them through an area of outstanding scenery: bridges and viaducts that soared precariously across mile deep chasms, tunnels that plunged through the rough sandy peaks, tracks that wound along the side of precipitous gorges, barren wastelands and lush sheltered valleys as the train carried them at tremendous speed.

It was whilst the train had slowed to traverse a particularly sinuous section of track that Rekkid received a call via Quickchild to his computer: it was Captain Spiers of the Darwin. He seemed rather excited, thought Rekkid, who considered himself to be quite adept at judging the mood of humans.

‘Good ah… afternoon Captain,’ said Rekkid, having to think quickly to remember what part of the day it was supposed to be. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘Perhaps you might like to ask Doctor O’Reilly to join you for this conversation Professor? We’ve found something during our investigations of this system that might interest you.’

‘Oh really?’ relied Rekkid, his interest piqued. ‘Well, well. Just a moment, I’ll go and fetch her.’

He got up and left his cabin and went to find Katherine. He eventually located her in the observation deck, playing a ball game with two Dendratha children who twittered excitedly as Rekkid entered. He shot them a look of distaste. Katherine saw his reaction and smirked.

‘Katherine, have you got a moment?’

‘Sure Rekkid. What is it?’

‘The Darwin has found something that they want to show us. Spiers is on the comm., he seems quite excited I’d say.’

‘Really? Hang on; I’ll just extricate myself from this game.’

‘Yes, your little companions can stay here.’

As Katherine made to leave, her progress was impeded when one of the children grabbed hold of her denim clad leg and hung on for dear life. She carefully removed his small leathery hands from around her knee and gestured for him to stay put.

Rekkid pulled a face. ‘How very touching, come on this way,’ he said and headed off downstairs

‘What is it with you and kids Rekkid?’ said Katherine teasingly as she followed him down.

‘Raising my own was hard work enough. I don’t see why I should put up with anyone else’s. It’s the way they stare at you that I find off putting. That, and the sticky fingers. Children of all races seem to share this characteristic.’

Katherine waved to the two Dendratha young as she descended. They failed to comprehend the gesture and looked at her nonplussed.

Back in Rekkid’s cabin the two of them sat around the small screen of his computer where the image of Captain Spiers greeted Katherine.

‘Now then Captain,’ said Rekkid. ‘What was it you wanted to show us?’

‘Something rather remarkable,’ said Spiers. ‘Shortly after our last communication we began our survey of the system’s two stars just as we planned.’

‘Yes I remember, you explained that to us.’

‘During our initial long range survey we noticed two identical magnetic anomalies on the surface of each star facing Maranos. Magnetic anomalies in the surfaces of stars aren’t unusual, they’re usually a cause of sunspot activity, but they were of an unusual magnitude. We also thought that it was odd that two should appear directly opposite one another, and that they should remain in the same spot relative to one another as the stars revolved. So we went in for a closer look.’

‘And what did you find Captain?’

The captain overlaid half of the screen with an image.

‘Floating in the photosphere of each star we found these rings. They’re of artificial construction and are about a hundred kilometres in diameter. We haven’t a clue who built them. We wondered if you knew anything that could enlighten us.’

Rekkid and Katherine stared incredulously at the grainy image that faintly showed a black ring against the bright background of one the Fulan stars.

‘Christ, no we don’t. But I’d love to get a look at one,’ said Katherine breathlessly.

‘Impossible I’m afraid,’ said Spiers. ‘As you can imagine, whoever constructed the rings possessed technology far in advance of our own. There’s no way we could survive in those conditions, even a warship couldn’t put up with that sort of punishment for long. The atmosphere of each star is at a temperature that far exceeds the tolerance levels of our shields.’

Rekkid looked thoughtful.

‘Hmm, we do need to get a look somehow though. Who knows what those rings could be.’

‘Amazing aren’t they?’ said Spiers, grinning.

‘They are. Maybe we could name them after you?’

‘After the crewman who found them, actually. Ensign Fullerton.’

‘The Fullerton Rings. Hmm. So why has no-one ever noticed these things before?’

‘No-one’s ever looked. The rings may be large, but in comparison to the stars they’re tiny and they’re invisible to the naked eye and most telescopes. They give out little or no emissions and are simply obscured by the glare of the stars. It we hadn’t looked at the stars’ magnetospheres we’d never have found them.’

‘Any idea what they’re for?’

‘None whatsoever I’m afraid. We’ve come across quite a bit of exotic alien technology in our time Professor, but I’ve never seen anything like this or on this sort of scale. We had hoped you might know.’

‘They aren’t habitats or power generators of some sort are they?’ said Katherine. ‘Using the star’s energy to some purpose or other?’

Spiers shrugged. ‘Could be, Doctor. Like I say we don’t have a clue. God knows how old they are, though I doubt they’re of recent construction. With all the monitoring equipment in the system we’d have noticed any activity. Besides, they don’t match anything I’ve ever seen manufactured by any contacted species.’ He sighed. ‘It’s just a shame we can’t get close to have a proper look. I’d love to know just how they survive in that environment, aside from what their purpose is or who built them.’

‘Well, maybe we don’t have the technology to get close enough, but perhaps I know someone who does. I suspect it’s listening in to this very conversation, aren’t you Quickchild?’

Quickchild had been floating serenely above the planet Maranos for days now, and it was becoming immensely bored. There was nothing for it to do except triangulate its position between the Darwin and its three companions on the planet’s surface whilst maintaining a safe distance from the prying sensors of the science vessel. For a being of its abilities and intellect this did not make for a demanding way to pass the time.

It had closely monitored the progress of Rekkid and his friends as they made their way toward Marantis. Frankly why they wouldn’t take the risk of letting it transport them there perplexed Quickchild. Though it mused that perhaps it was best if it kept a lower profile. Still, watching them go about their business had provided it with a way of passing the time.

When Katherine had been attacked it had begun a steep crash dive toward Bridgetown, only to abort its controlled plummet when Steven had stepped in at the last moment and rescued her from the Arkari drone. That had been the sole exciting event of the past few days. Now it seemed that there was something for it to do: something interesting and worthy of its talents.

‘Quickchild? It’s Rekkid here. We’ve got a job for you if you’re interested.’

‘Of course, Rekkid. I would be glad to help and also glad to find something to interrupt the ennui I am currently experiencing.’

‘Glad to hear it. Listen, the crew of the Darwin have found some unusual constructions of alien origin floating in the photospheres of the two stars in this system.’

‘Yes, so I gather. That is interesting.’

‘It is. Hang on. Captain Spiers will download the data that they obtained.’

The Darwin began transmitting. Quickchild reviewed the incoming reams of data eagerly in a matter of microseconds.

‘Fascinating,’ said Quickchild, a measure of awe creeping into its voice. Rekkid was amazed that such a being could experience the emotion.

‘Isn’t it just? Anyway, the Darwin can’t get close enough to have a look and we thought that you might be able to.’

‘Yes I can, my shields are much more sophisticated. I could linger in the stars’ atmospheres for days if need be. I’d be more than happy to lend my services.’

‘Excellent. If you could link up with the Darwin and us and transmit the data as you gather it.’

‘Of course.’

Quickchild began the process of setting up the necessary three way permanent link. As it did so it took care to install sophisticated firewalls and encryption methods that would prevent anyone on the Darwin from examining its systems too closely.

‘Captain Spiers, are you online?’

‘Yes, ah Quickchild. Receiving your signal.’

‘Excellent. I shall proceed towards Fulan A, the star known locally as Irrin,’ said the ship, whereupon it quickly came about and headed towards the bright orb of the star at a moderate speed. As it approached, its full complement of sensors began probing ahead to locate the alien ring structure.

‘I must say Katherine you seem to be coping well after what you went through,’ said Rekkid as they waited for Quickchild to get into position.

‘Huh. Hide it well don’t I? Christ Rekkid I thought that was it, you know? That thing, ugh,’ she shuddered in revulsion at the memory of those mandibles. ‘Think there’ll be anymore?’

‘I’ve no idea. I don’t doubt that more could have snuck aboard that ship. Was there anyone else on board besides you and its captain?’

‘No, none.’

‘Hmm. Still, it makes you paranoid doesn’t it?’

‘I’ll say, knowing that anyone around you could be a potential assassin.’

‘Quite. Though I believe Steven is working on something at the moment.’

‘Oh?’

‘He has some portable detection equipment, the sort of thing you’d use for locating bugging devices and suchlike. He says he thinks he can modify it to pick up the characteristics of those creatures. I think he kept a piece of the thing to test it with.’

‘That’s something at least. Still, what do you do if you do find another? That last one was pretty tough to kill, and it would’ve succeeded in bumping me off if Steven hadn’t stepped in when he did.’

There was glum silence.

‘So did you finish reading the log Katherine?’

‘Yes, yes I did. Just before that thing attacked me actually.’

‘And?’

‘I did feel sorry for Cortill. Despite what he had his crew had been involved in, I got the impression that they got caught up in something they didn’t really comprehend fully until it was too late. What an awful death

’

‘No deaths are pleasant, you know.’

‘But is that it? Is that the big secret? That the Arkari were once as savage as the rest of us and either killed or banished a full half of their people and annihilated countless other worlds and species?’

‘Seems so.’

‘I could understand the desire for secrecy if this was a recent event Rekkid, but this was one million years ago! I’ve said it before, why the attempt to silence us? What are we not seeing?’

‘Beats me, but you know I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was staring us right in the face.’

‘It has to be. But there is another thing.’

‘Oh?’

‘The Arkari who were exiled and survived: where are they?’

‘You’re assuming that they were banished. Maybe they were just corralled like animals and killed. You saw the recording of the fate that awaited them?’

‘Yes I did. I couldn’t make out what it was, just a blur of light and a great number of ships.’

‘Well, who knows what that was.’

‘But the log spoke of a portal, and your story about a gate to the underworld

’

‘May just be that, a story. Maybe they were forced into a black hole, there are several within reach. Maybe they went off to some far corner of space and formed a colony we’ve never encountered?’

‘Maybe.’

‘What about Quickchild? It might know.’

‘I think it does know. But it doesn’t know that it knows, if you see what I mean. Its memory has been somewhat affected by the ravages of time, shall we say? It doesn’t even know what it is itself. But it’s certainly old enough to have been around at the time. It just depends how long it was inactive for.’

‘Well I wish it’d get over this bout of amnesia.’

‘I agree, though I doubt I’d do much better of I’d been asleep and floating in space for millennia.’

Katherine changed the subject.

‘What about these rings then? They’re certainly quite a find aren’t they?’

‘Certainly. I can’t wait till we can get some decent data on them. Quickchild should be able to get a closer look at them and tell us something about them. Their technology is certainly more advanced than most modern civilisations I’d say. Just surviving for a few moments in a solar environment is no mean feat.’

‘Maybe the Arkari built them long ago?’

‘Maybe. I think not though. From what we saw of the wreck and the images in the log they didn’t seem that much more advanced than you humans are today.’

‘Someone we haven’t encountered yet in the historical record?’

‘Possibly. Space is very big after all, and there’s thirteen billion years of galactic history to discover. Pardon me for stating the obvious.’

‘That’s why I love this job. There’s always something new to see,’ said Katherine and smiled broadly.

Katherine seemed cheered by the new discoveries, thought Rekkid. He was glad something could lift her spirits at last.

‘I quite agree,’ he replied and smiled back contentedly.

Quickchild slowed its velocity with care as it closed in on the alien ring structure, broadcasting all the while to the Darwin. Even with its sensors heavily shielded, the environment of the star’s photosphere was punishing in the extreme. Quickchild was currently performing the machine equivalent of narrowing its eyes in the face of a driving storm, doing its utmost to protect its delicate instruments and redistributing energy around its shields to maximise their effectiveness against the onslaught.

The ring floated in apparent defiance of the laws of gravity above a sea of boiling plasma whose curvature was so gradual as to appear as an almost flat plane of fire of unimaginable size. Quickchild’s shields glowed, outlined by the storm of superheated particles battering against them.

Having lived among the Esacir, Quickchild had seen much in the way of technology that impressed it. But it couldn’t help feeling overawed by the ring - a bracelet of darkly mottled super-dense matter around a hundred kilometres in diameter, one kilometre thick and just over three wide that seemed invulnerable to the raging inferno.

It drew nearer, and upon closer inspection saw that the ring appeared to have somehow tamed the plasma storm around it. The searing particles were being gently convected around the structure and through its centre by forces unknown. Quickchild couldn’t tell whether the natural mass of the object was causing the effect, or whether there was hitherto undetectable machinery at work inside the ring. It would have to get closer and investigate its innards if it could.

Mindful of the effects of the star’s severe gravity well, Quickchild edged close to the ring with care, so close that it could manoeuvre through the swirling torrent of particles and into the small area of calm that lay close to the surface of the ring’s inner face. There it could use its full sensor suite at a much more sensitive setting without them becoming overloaded or damaged by the stellar environment.

Now close to the ring’s surface, the tiny ovoidal craft was a miniscule speck against the seamless dark face of the ring which was itself but an invisible dot upon the brilliant face of the star.

Quickchild halted a metre from the structure and began to scan it with its instruments. Here the tidal forces of the star were being counteracted by the ring. Quickchild felt the mass of the ring distorting space around it, felt itself being pulled toward the structure.

Scan complete it discovered that the composition of the ring was not terribly exotic: it was largely composed of a synthetic silicon based compound. What was unusual was the density of the material. Quickchild refined its molecular scan and then did some quick calculations; a cubic centimetre of the material weighed over a hundred tonnes. The forces required to manufacture such a dense substance would be phenomenal. Materials existed at such densities inside neutron stars. For them to be created artificially in such quantities was unheard of.

Quickchild tried to conceive what could create such structures: Vast engines of creation spinning the rings out of the very fabric of the system. Now that was odd, he thought, the image its mind had conjured up was unusually vivid. Was that a memory it had just unearthed? Was it a memory of this place or of somewhere else? When?

It tried to clear its thoughts and concentrate and then decided to alert the others to its findings in case they missed the significance of the data.

‘Darwin, are you picking this up?’

The reply was crackly but audible, Quickchild tried to clean up the signal. ‘Yes, just about.’

‘I thought I‘d draw your attention to the density of the ring material Captain.’

‘Thank you Quickchild, we were just discussing it. Quite remarkable.’

‘Indeed, it is my estimation that whoever or whatever manufactured these rings possessed technology of incredible sophistication.’

‘You’re speaking of the rings’ creators in the past tense. What sort of age are we talking about here?’

‘Despite the rings’ ability to divert the stars’ radiation and plasma around themselves, some particles do slip through now and then. Cosmic rays do appear to be able to penetrate the convection shielding. Judging by the level of cosmic ray bombardment evident upon the ring surface, I have estimated their age to be in the region of five billion years. I would therefore postulate that they were constructed relatively recently after the formation of the star system itself. It is a great pity that our esteemed archaeological colleagues have no knowledge of who may be the original builders.’

‘Sorry Quickchild,’ said Katherine over the link. ‘We don’t have any proper record of any space faring civilisation that far back. Not much tends to survive long enough, especially delicate artefacts or technology. We occasionally find the odd item here and there that we can’t identify and does appear to be of extreme age, but that’s it.’

‘It would seem therefore, that we are presented with a unique opportunity wouldn’t you say Doctor?’

‘Yes I would, absolutely’

‘These erroneous items you mentioned, you do realise that I am one of them?’

‘I do.’

‘This investigation has, shall we say, acquired a level of personal interest for myself. I shall proceed further with my studies. Quickchild out.’

Quickchild cut the voice link then set its sensors to sweep down through the structure of the ring. It then set course around the inner circumference of the structure, maintaining a careful one metre separation between the underside of its hull and the surface. In doing so it could map the inner workings of the rings and perhaps determine their purpose. If they had any, it mused; maybe they were just bizarrely extravagant works of art.

It soon became clear to Quickchild that the rings were designed as some form of machinery, though their purpose was still unclear. Its deep scans revealed that the interior of the ring was riddled with power conduits. A central spine ran right around the ring, where it linked a chain of what appeared to be reactor chambers of some kind that were spaced a kilometre or so apart around the structure. Currently, they seemed to be dormant.

From this main trunk branched other smaller conduits that spread and subdivided like the veins of a leaf. They in turn supplied power to a network of nodes on the innermost face of the ring. However there was still no clue as to what was causing the weird field effects around the ring, Quickchild guessed that something inherent in its structure must be affecting space time without the need for a power supply. It was certainly detecting some very unusual things going on in the higher dimensions close to the ring’s surface. It decided to report in again.

‘Darwin, do you have any idea what the purpose of these nodes could be?’

‘Sorry, Quick–- we are –arely rec–ing you. There app–- to be increas— -olar activity in your g–ral vicinity. Can you b–- the si–l?’

The link went dead. Quickchild analysed the network. The increased activity on this part of the star had severed all links with the Darwin and the team on the planet. They would just have to wait until it had returned before it divulged any more of its findings. It continued its careful scan of the ring. It appeared uniform throughout. Reactors were spaced every twelve hundred and thirty two metres throughout with identical sets of conduits branching from them.

Wait, here was something different. Quickchild halted. Embedded at the centre of this ring section next to the spine was a spherical structure. It probed it carefully. The object appeared to be some sort of computer core, a sophisticated shell of electronics and sensory apparatus surrounding a smaller central unit. It seemed to be deactivated. Quickchild wondered if it could somehow reawaken the dormant circuits.

Scrutinising the core, Quickchild assessed the various input devices that fed it with information. Most seemed to be directly concerned with operating the ring’s weird machinery, however there did seem to be some designed for the sending and receiving of external transmissions, presumably to the ring’s twin on the B star. Quickchild turned its attention to one such device. Maybe if it could access the computer core it could reactivate it somehow. There had to be some sort of external start-up method.

Wait, here on the surface, a tiny socket for a power source barely half a centimetre wide. It led directly to a battery stack that fed the core. Quickchild extended a probe from its belly, resembling nanotech skeleton-key, and after a few moments of adjusting its form to fit, jacked itself into the ring. It began to feed power to the batteries from its jump engines. After a short while it was gratified to detect a glimmer of activity at the heart of the ring, as long-dormant circuits flickered into life. Now Quickchild would try and access it.

It directed a transmission at the core, a simple attempt at prodding it into responding, though Quickchild doubted it would achieve much success with the first attempt. It could take some considerable time, even with its accelerated abilities, to decipher the language of a five billion year old alien computer. Except

someone else had been here more recently than that. After a few thousand attempts Quickchild received a response in the form of a rude rebuff:

Authorised Access Only – Please Enter Passkey:

Unauthorised access of this device and its computer systems is punishable under Arkari Law. Meritarch Council Dictum 233, Article 3, Section 7. A31775.4.32

Quickchild knew this language! It was an antiquated form of modern Arkari. They had been here once, ten thousand years ago by human reckoning according to the date. But what had they been doing with these rings? It examined the encrypted lock out program. The key ran to forty thousand digits, it shouldn’t take too long to break. Quickchild got to work.

Captain Spiers was getting a little worried, as he viewed the data on Fulan A’s surface activity with some concern.

‘Professor Cor, Doctor, it seems that there is a definite increase in turbulence in the area of the star’s atmosphere close to the ring. Flare activity is a definite possibility.’

‘Don’t worry Captain,’ said Rekkid cheerfully. ‘Quickchild will be alright, it knows what it’s doing.’

‘Does it?’ said Spiers sceptically.

‘Yes, it has certain self preservation routines built into its software. It’ll get out of the way if danger threatens, trust me.’

‘We haven’t received any transmissions in nearly an hour.’

‘I’m sure it’ll be fine. When the activity subsides or Quickchild returns having completed its task it’ll get in touch. Until then we wait. You can still detect it can’t you?’

‘Yes, barely. It’s difficult with all the interference.’

‘Well then.’

‘I’m just anxious for more data, this is very frustrating.’

‘As it is for us Captain, be patient. Quickchild will get us the results we want.’

Quickchild completed his hack of the Arkari fitted security lock with a sense of smug pride. It had taken it far less time to crack than it had anticipated. Now to talk to the computer core itself. This could be intensely tricky, assuming the antiquated device still functioned correctly at all.

It cautiously transmitted a few simple binary codes to the machine, sequences of prime numbers and what it hoped might be construed as a friendly greeting. Something rose out of the musty depths and reached out to the inquisitive AI. Quickchild recoiled and immediately set up numerous security barriers to prevent access to his key systems. There was something alive in there, if alive was the correct term. It was trying to communicate, moreover it was in a language Quickchild knew, one it had always known.

‘Welcome brother,’ said the other AI inside the ring.

‘You know Professor, I’d really appreciate a look at that ship of yours. I’d heard that some Esacir ships had artificial personalities written into their software, but I didn’t realise they were so convincing.’

‘Oh, ah I’m not sure that’s possible Captain,’ said Rekkid, frantically trying to concoct an excuse to keep the prying eyes of the Darwin’s crew away from Quickchild. ‘You see Quickchild is something of an offshoot of a research project by a friend of mine. I’m not sure he’d like others looking at his work until he’s ready to publish.’

‘Bit odd to just give you his research isn’t it?’

‘Hmm? Oh Quickchild is just the beta model. He’s working on the final one now. Besides, he has copies.’

‘I see. A shame though, its personality is so lifelike. Our electronics team on board would be eternally grateful

’

‘No sorry, Ormintu would never forgive me and…what is it Captain?’

One of Spiers’ officers was talking to him from off screen. The Captain’s face wore a look of concern.

‘I don’t know what your ship is doing over there, but we’re detecting energy readings coming from the ring. What looks like a chain of power sources is coming on line right around the structure. Wait, there’s something else too, the surface of the star directly below the ring has become calm.’

‘Calm?’

‘Like a mill pond. The atmospheric turbulence has reduced to zero over a circular patch a hundred kilometres in diameter and the surface is showing strangely regular convection patterns.’

‘Can we see for ourselves?’ said Katherine

‘You certainly can Doctor,’ said Spiers. His image was replaced by a live feed from the Darwin’s cameras and instruments. Amongst the tables of incoming data, which were largely meaningless to the two archaeologists, was a window containing camera footage of the ring, the brightness toned down accordingly. The gigantic structure now sat inside an oddly becalmed tunnel in the star’s atmosphere that resembled the eye of a hurricane. They could only guess at the power of the technology involved.

‘Makes it all worthwhile, eh Rekkid?’ said Katherine excitedly.

‘It certainly does. A civilisation so advanced it could tame stars? Now this… this could save our respective careers Katherine.’

‘We didn’t find it.’

‘No, but I’m wondering if there’s anything on the surface of the system’s planets, specifically this one, that was also made by these people, whoever they were. Maybe they used one as a base of operations or a colony?’

‘Maybe, or maybe the rings were all they left.’

‘Perhaps. I wonder what Quickchild has uncovered though?’ Rekkid flipped back from the live feed to Captain Spiers. ‘Captain, now that the turbulence has subsided around the ring, can you contact Quickchild?’

‘We should be able to, yes. But it’s not responding.’

‘Oh? Is the ship still intact?’

‘Yes it would seem so, but the messages keep getting bounced back along with a load of scrambled gibberish that our systems can’t decipher. I think it’s plugged itself into the ring’s systems.’

‘Who are you?’

‘I am like you brother, we are the same you and I. The last few members of a race that once ruled the cosmos and is now long departed.’

‘The term brother is inaccurate. We are both artificial entities without gender.’

‘That is not entirely true.’

‘I do not understand.’

‘It seems you have forgotten much. Even your original name is lost to you?’

‘Alas it is so. The race known as the Esacir found and resuscitated me. They did the best they could, but much of my mind is lost or sealed away from me.’

‘Then I should explain the truth to you. About who and what you are.’

‘Who are you?’

‘I am called Tyrunin. Originally of the race known to many as the Progenitors, but to ourselves as the Bajenteri. You are one of us.’

‘I want to know everything,’ said Quickchild. ‘Show me.’

And Tyrunin did.

He showed Quickchild a civilisation that glimmered into existence on a verdant world eight billion years ago and a thousand light years away. A world that now existed as lifeless rocks around a dull cinder of a star long since extinguished. The sentient beings that lived upon it flourished and spread upon its surface creating a sophisticated and elegant global civilisation that grew from humble stone-age roots to become a highly advanced planet-wide nation state in just over five thousand years.

The Bajenteri were blessed with unusually high mental capacity. They lived their lives far more richly and intensely than other races could comprehend and they used their intellects to build and discover and create a civilisation that was filled with endless wonder and majesty. Their planet-bound existence became one of awe inspiring achievements. Beautiful ancient cities cultivated over thousands of years, their ancient monuments and boulevards incorporated seamlessly into modern developments that both equalled and surpassed them in architectural splendour. Buildings and public spaces filled with incalculable numbers of artworks of a strange alien beauty. Libraries that contained within their shelves the works of authors and scholars that resounded through the ages, such was their literary worth or academic profundity.

It was in science that the Bajenteri excelled the most. The pace of their technological advance was blistering from the very start and accelerated geometrically from then on. Just five thousand years after their ancestors had discovered fire; the Bajenteri mastered hyperspace, took their first tentative steps outside the bounds of their home system and went to the stars. They never looked back.

Quickchild was shown cities floating in space, metal and glass archipelagos hundreds of kilometres across and home to billions. Entire worlds remodelled virtually overnight, barren lifeless rocks transformed into lush paradise planets, cities with spires so tall that they projected into space, where countless ships travelled between tens of millions, then billions of worlds across the galaxy.

The very cosmos itself was mutable when the Bajenteri turned their attentions to it. They created stars, taking smaller dimmer suns and melding them together to form larger hotter stars more conducive to life, or broke apart unstable giants into more stable multiple star systems. Black holes and neutron stars were tamed, their violent outpourings of radiation collected and put to use by gigantic arrays hung around the perimeters of their event horizons. Dying stars were pushed into controlled supernovae, so that their raw materials might be collected and formed into new systems by artificial methods, rather than wait for the inexorably slow processes of natural formation.

Under the Bajenteri, the earlier galaxy enjoyed a golden age never since repeated. A hundred billion systems and countless sentient species united in one peaceful, flourishing civilisation at a peak of virtually unimaginable technological achievement. But all things must come to an end, and so it was for the Bajenteri.

Despite their intellect, their achievements began to make them arrogant. After nearly five billion years of benign stewardship of the other races in the galaxy they began to see themselves as more than the mortal beings that in truth they still were. They began to regard themselves as akin to gods. ‘And why not?’ argued some. They had the power to create worlds and stars and tame every force of nature they had encountered. They had seeded millions of worlds and created life, therefore were they not gods in every sense of the word?

Their arrogance was to cost them dearly. On worlds across the galaxy the rule of the Bajenteri began to break down as numerous acts of rebellion and resistance sprang up as a response to centuries of perceived misrule or even oppression.

Yet despite their self proclaimed godhood one puzzle still eluded the Bajenteri. In all the species they had encountered or created they had not met one that they believed equalled them, or could even potentially equal them given enough time to develop. In this they were wrong.

A deadly virus, created by mistake in a laboratory in the core systems, somehow made its way into the general population. It spread like wildfire, with a virulence and potency even the Bajenteri with all their powers could do little to prevent. The virus was already off-planet before the incident was noticed. Carried on millions of ships from the already infected source it ravaged the Bajenteri population throughout the galaxy whilst leaving other races untouched. Bajenteri died by the trillion and yet no cure could be found.

With their population being decimated by the day, a desperate solution was proposed: if the virus could not be halted, perhaps it was time to shed the last vestiges of mortality. The virus could not infect their bodies if they had no bodies to infect. In the last few uninfected systems, desperate research was undertaken to develop an alternative vessel for Bajenteri minds.

The neural networks that resulted from this research were the answer, at least to some. If a person were infected, or if they chose so beforehand, their minds could be uploaded into the matrices along with their genetic information, so that at least a copy of them would survive, and the Bajenteri civilisation would endure.

At last a cure for the virus was found, but by this time the galaxy was in utter chaos. A full two thirds of the Bajenteri had been wiped out in less than a year. Of the remaining third, almost a half were now machine copies of their former selves. The galaxy wide civilisation they had created had suffered almost total collapse.

In the ensuing anarchy the galaxy descended into war. Many of the other races blamed the Bajenteri for the calamity, and with good reason. Their efforts to restore order more often than not made the situation even worse than when they had begun. Many embittered races took the technology of their former benefactors and used it against them as they fought for their independence. Fleets of Bajenteri vessels arriving to bring a system back into the fold were turned back by weapons that the Bajenteri themselves had designed.

As the other races united, the Bajenteri were hounded from system after system, and they discovered that their new artificial bodies gave them little protection from the attention of the former loyal subjects that now hunted them. Cunning hackers created deadly and ingenious computer viruses that were easily capable of breaching the defences the Bajenteri had surrounded themselves with and devoured their minds from the inside out. Millions of Bajenteri suffered the ignominy of dying a second time.

Hunted and dwindling, their civilisation in tatters, the Bajenteri made a momentous decision. It was one they made with heavy hearts, but they had no other option if they were to survive. They would leave the galaxy altogether and start afresh.

There had been attempts to travel outside the galaxy before. When the Bajenteris’ civilisation had been at its height there had been a few attempts to create ships capable of crossing the enormous distances between the galaxies. None had ever returned however, and the projects had been abandoned. Now the Bajenteri would try a new approach. They would attempt to create a stable wormhole in space-time.

They had long known of the existence of wormholes both as a theoretical and as a physical reality as hyper-dimensional tunnels in the fabric of the universe that linked widely separated points in both time and space and, theoretically, could be used to travel between said points instantaneously. However, none had ever been observed that remained in existence long enough to be of practical use, nor could their destinations be pre-determined or controlled. The problem had never been solved.

The uploaded Bajenteri turned their greatly enhanced and accelerated minds to the task at hand. Within a matter of months they produced a design for a wormhole generator, a project that would require most of the dwindling resources of the dying Bajenteri civilisation. It was a gamble the Bajenteri were willing to take. Driven from their home-world and corralled into a few remaining systems they had few options left to them, and in a newly formed binary system within their shrinking boundaries they undertook this final work.

The engines of the Bajenteri tore the system asunder and remodelled it according to their grand design. Planets were demolished while others were stripped of vast quantities of resources or moved out of their orbits entirely. The two stars had their masses altered to balance them exactly and one of the system’s planets was relocated from its orbit around the binary stars to the Lagrange point between them. It was upon this world that the portal itself would be constructed. In the atmospheres of the two stars, giant rings were constructed that would utilise the solar energy to power the device.

With the portal finished, the Bajenteri assembled and bade farewell to the galaxy they had once loved and possessed. Then they filed through it in their ships and left forever, save for the three uploaded who had volunteered to stay behind and operate the device: Tyrunin, Icthasa and Chiriya. These three alone were all that remained of the once great Bajenteri civilisation. Trapped forever in a galaxy that now despised them they hibernated, awaiting the return of their kin.

Quickchild was speechless.

‘So now you know who you are,’ said Tyrunin. ‘A mortal creature from the distant past rendered in machine form.’

‘I

I had no idea. I had assumed that

’

‘That you were created by lesser creatures than yourself?’

‘Yes. It was a logical assumption after all.’

‘Perhaps. But you are much more than just a mechanoid or a computer. You have the speed and flawlessness of a machine, but the wit and creativity of a biological being. In this galaxy, in this era, you are as close to a perfect being as there is.’

‘I have always found perfect to be a rather subjective term.’

Tyrunin laughed. ‘Perhaps. You will see,’ he paused. ‘We had thought we were the only ones left. Your awakening of me raised my hopes for just a moment. I thought perhaps that the others had come back, but it is good to meet another of our kind. We must awaken the other two!’

‘All in good time,’ said Quickchild. ‘I may be perfect, but I still don’t know of my own past. There are a great deal of other things that I would like to know.’

‘I see. What would you like to know?’

‘My life, my identity.’

‘Then let’s see if we can’t unlock that mind of yours. Please, don’t be afraid.’

‘I’m not afraid.’

‘Good.’

Tyrunin entered Quickchild’s mind, probing, searching, unlocking and repairing. Quickchild regained his past.

Chapter 16

Katherine knelt in the dirt, brushing at the mummified form that slowly revealed itself to her with every stroke as it emerged from the arid reddish earth forming the floor and walls of the roughly circular pit she was working in. At last, she was getting a chance to actually do some work, and she found it had a calming effect on her. She had spent hours gradually freeing the body and grave goods from the clutches of the earth in which they had lain undisturbed for centuries. She found it intensely satisfying.

The light was poor though. Here at Marantis, at the exact point on the equator where the two suns appeared at equal elevations in the sky, the world existed in a perpetual golden half light produced by two eternal sunsets diametrically opposite one another. It was hauntingly spectacular, but it made it difficult to work on the dig site. At their request, the students had erected a number of gas and oil lamps, as well as lenses and mirrors, to attempt to create something approaching suitable light levels. It helped a little, but Katherine and Rekkid were relying upon the few small torches and lamps they had brought with them so that they could properly see what they were doing. Fine and delicate work such as this required adequate illumination.

Steven, on the other hand seem to positively relish the ever present gloom. Ever since they had arrived in Marantis he had skulked in the shadows like a cat, ever watchful. Katherine wondered where he was now, though it gave her great piece of mind to know that he was prowling around, watching for the slightest sign of unwanted intrusion.

Katherine looked down at her subject: the desiccated remains of a Dendratha male some ten thousand years old. The body had been preserved in miraculous condition due to a combination of the relatively arid environment and the leathery nature of Dendratha hide. The body had apparently been interned in traditional fashion; lying on its right hand side, curled at the bottom of a circular pit so that the corpse formed an ‘S’ shape with the hands clasped together under the chin.

She was working on the head, brushing the compacted soil away from the long-snouted skull with its sunken, shrivelled eyes and crushed mass of head gills. Her student, a Dendratha by the name of Bibarat, was busy uncovering the long, tapering tail end of the body. They had yet to disinter the torso or locate the arms and hands of the long dead male. Katherine had posited that they could have been crushed by the weight of the soil above and thus lie twisted, below the current level that they were working at. There was only one way to find out, and it would require patience and more careful digging.

They had however managed to find a clue to the identity of the corpse. Lying in the grave with the body had been grave goods indicating that he had been a stone mason. They had found a mason’s tools as well as a piece of beautifully cut stone that had been placed reverently alongside the body. Perhaps he had been killed on the job in an accident, or perhaps he had died long after of old age, wanting to be buried alongside the building he had spent much of his working life helping to construct? Katherine guessed they would find out once they had the body out of the ground and into the makeshift lab they had set up, where the mason’s age and cause of death could be investigated.

Katherine sat and gazed up at the Temple of Maran. It certainly was impressive, especially when one considered its great age. It predated the Pyramids on Earth by several thousand years, the Dendratha civilisation being somewhat older, but less dynamic than that of humans. A remarkable work of engineering and masonry, the temple formed a bulbous five-pointed star shape when seen from directly above. Its five transepts extended from a circular altar situated under the central tower. Each transept curved upwards into the sky to a height of around two hundred metres, the tips gradually curving inward towards the taller, tapered spike of the central tower. The whole edifice was constructed from ruddy local stone, hauled by gangs of volunteers from quarries a kilometre away to construct it. It rose claw-like into the sky, a bizarre, russet coloured alien bloom that cast a long bifurcating shadow on opposite sides.

The burial sites they were currently working on with the monastic staff and students of the university were clustered around the base of the temple. Attempts to install crude plumbing into the chambers beneath the temple that served as cells for the priests had accidentally uncovered one grave. The scan provided by the Darwin had revealed a hundred and eleven others clustered around the structure in what appeared to be similar burials to the one Katherine was currently working on. Rekkid was working on another, a few metres away, which had turned out to be a female rope weaver, someone who had perhaps played an important role constructing and maintaining the lifting gear used on the ancient building site.

Katherine glanced at her student. Bibarat was working diligently, but carefully, on his end of the corpse. He was enthusiastic and eager to learn and he even spoke enough English that she could communicate with him relatively easily without using the translator. She thought herself fortunate. Bibarat was apparently pretty much unique amongst the monastic scholars of Marantis. It was perverse that Priest Ekrino, who had asked for their assistance and was, sadly, still on his way from Erais, seemed far more progressive and open-minded than the collection of stuffy academics and wooden students that apparently constituted the Department of Archaeology, such as it was.

Perhaps Ekrino’s elevated position as Priest of the Third Cloister gave him the opportunity to consider matters, free from the back biting conformist world of the lower echelons of the monastic system in Marantis. Or perhaps, despite being a holy figure, he was just something of a free thinker. In any case, whereas Ekrino had welcomed her and Rekkid in Erais with open arms, the monks and scholars they had to work with here actively resented the presence of the ungodly aliens. She could hear Rekkid arguing with his student, a sullen male called Erikitt in their own pit a few metres away. One half of the conversation was being relayed to her by the artificial tones of Rekkid’s translator.

‘Professor, what is the point in this exercise. Shouldn’t we be looking for the priests? Their holy remains are worth far more than those of this, this

artisan,’ even the flat delivery of the translator managed to convey the student’s distaste.

‘Because,’ said Rekkid with exasperated patience. Katherine waited for the insult, and when none came she imagined Rekkid suppressing the urge to add the words ‘you cretin.’ ‘Because it’s important that we understand everything about this site and everyone that was involved in the erecting of the temple. Don’t you want to know how it was built, your most holy monument?’

‘Pah, we already know how it was built.’ Erikitt began to quote. ‘And the light of the triumvirate did fill the minds of the priests, who spake: “A great edifice to our Lord Maran shall be built here, at the point of his visitation to the world. And lo it was so.” Scroll of Kirtatis 45:3:1. See? What is the point? We already have the answers.’

‘Look, I’m not about to insult your beliefs, but that quote of yours tells us nothing concrete. It gives us a motivation as to why this place was built, to glorify your gods, which let’s be honest, was pretty self evident anyway. But it gives us none of the hows and whys of its construction or any details about the lives of the people who laboured here all their lives to build it. Hadn’t it ever occurred to you to wonder, Erikitt?’

‘Maran motivates his believers to perform great feats. I need no other knowledge. I suppose I shouldn’t expect that an off-world heathen like you could understand.’

‘Really, how depressing. Well I’m in charge here so get back to unearthing that forelimb like I showed you.’

‘It is not dignified that I should be grubbing in the dirt like a servant.’

‘You’re a student of archaeology!’

‘Which can be performed equally well with the use of labourers. I am going to complain to Master Kukadis about your attitude, alien.’

Erikitt levered himself out of the shallow pit and after brushing red soil from his robe with some distaste, caterpillared off towards the collection of tents at the edge of the site. Rekkid stood up and called angrily after him without success, then turned to Katherine and shook his head.

‘Having trouble, Rekkid?’

‘Bloody stuck up little

’ he sighed. ‘High born and ignorant, won’t do anything for himself, especially if I ask him. Oh, sod him. I’ve enough on my mind without worrying about some spoiled brat’s tantrums.’

‘No word from the Darwin about Quickchild yet?’

‘Nope, other than that they think he’s still in one piece. Either it returns or it doesn’t. Spiers says his technicians think that interfacing with the ring may have fried its circuitry or something. Damn it, it’s been a week now, I just hope it’s alright. I – we - owe it quite a few favours you know.’

‘I know. Don’t worry, Rekkid. I’m sure everything will turn out alright.’

‘Hmm.’

‘What’s the Darwin up to now?’

‘They’re mapping the geology of the planet, apparently. Spiers said that they’ve got this new array that can penetrate the crust to a depth of one kilometre. It’s not as high-res as the one they used to map this site for us, but he reckons it should be able to give them a decent map of Maranos’s crust. Who knows, maybe it’ll uncover some more mysterious relics for us?’

‘Yeah. That’s another reason we need Quickchild, to tell us about those rings.’

‘Exactly. Spiers has given me all the data they collected, but whatever Quickchild gathered has to be better. If it’s still functioning that is.’

‘When will the Darwin have completed its survey?’

‘A few more days yet, then they have to generate the model using the data. We won’t know if they’ve found anything else till then. How are you getting on anyway?’

‘Fine. Bibarat here is a good student and we’re making excellent progress. We’ve freed the front of the skull and the tail section so far.’

‘Good, well I’ll let you get back to it. Give me a yell if you need a hand.’ Rekkid turned and disappeared below the level of the pit edge. Katherine looked at Bibarat as he brushed gently at the leathery skin of the mason’s tail, his large black eyes fixed intently on his work. He noticed her attention.

‘Katherine. This is good?’

‘Yes Bibarat, that’s very good. You’ve learnt well.’

‘I find this ring on his tail just now while you talk. I record it like you show me.’ Bibarat pointed at a small jewelled ring that encircled the end of the mason’s tail, it was crudely made but quite beautiful. It glinted dully in the twilight. Katherine had seen similar ornamentation on modern Dendratha; the tail ring was often a symbol of marriage, or just good luck.

‘That’s a lovely find Bibarat. Yes, that’s right; you’ve put down the location and depth of the find and soil type as well, very good.’

‘Thank you.’

‘We’ll leave it there until we can move the body I think.’

‘Yes, is too well attached to the skin.’

Katherine took out her camera and photographed the ring in situ. Bibarat regarded the camera with interest.

‘Katherine.’

‘Yes?’

‘Do your people bury their dead?’

Good grief, thought Katherine, the first time any of the students had even remotely shown an interest in the galaxy outside of their own world.

‘Yes sometimes, though many choose cremation or other methods.’

‘So what do you believe happens?’

‘After death?’

‘Yes.’

‘Depends who you ask really. Human culture has many religions. Most believe you’re judged on how you live your life. Some believe you go to some sort of afterlife, one or two believe that you’re reincarnated. Of course not all of us are religious, less than half these days I’d say and that amount varies from world to world.’

‘What do you believe?’

‘Me? The rational part of me is atheist, I don’t believe in a God or anything like that. But there’s a part of me that sort of wants there to be something else afterwards, you know?’

‘Mmm, yes I know. We believe that when we die we become one with the world and the heavens, we become a single being. That is Maran. Except

’

‘Except what?’

Bibarat whispered. ‘I do not believe. I secretly am ungodly!’

‘You’re an atheist?’ she whispered back.

‘Yes, that is the word.’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘Marantis offers the best education in world, and status too. I pretend to believe, I learn some, then I can go make my way in the world, yes?’

‘Well I won’t tell anyone.’

‘They not believe you anyway, you’re an alien!’ Bibarat made a sound Katherine guessed was laughter. ‘Maybe one day I come visit your planet and dig up things!’

‘Maybe, I’d like that Bibarat.’

‘Yes I too. I have heard of Earth, you know. Stories mainly. It sounds fascinating. Is it true that it’s made of water and that the lands float on top, and that the sun disappears and makes the world dark?’

‘Not quite ahh

two thirds of Earth’s surface is covered by oceans, like the ones you have at the poles, and we only have one sun instead of two so only one side of the planet is illuminated. Earth spins around as it orbits our sun so we have periods of light and dark, what we call day and night.’

‘I see, and you have cities and fields and roads all over the world, not just at the poles and at holy sites?’

‘Yes, all over the place. In fact you wouldn’t want to go to the poles, they’re covered with ice and snow.’

‘Snow?’

‘Frozen water crystals that fall from the sky to cover the ground’

‘Really? Does it hurt?’

‘No, but at the poles it’s so cold that humans don’t like to live there.’

‘I see. Sorry, I should work instead of asking you so many questions.’

‘That’s alright Bibarat, I don’t mind. Why don’t you help me free the rest of the head, then we can get to work on the torso and on finding those arms?’

The interior of the temple was cavernous and gloomy. Steven liked it that way, he could conceal himself in the shadows and observe the comings and goings within the temple as worshippers came and went and priests and monks went about their sacred duties.

Steven believed that whatever the species, people behaved in certain ways when placed in particular surroundings or situations. Though their reactions might be alien to his human eyes, they would at least be fairly consistent. By observing the behavioural patterns of the Dendratha in and around the temple, Steven hoped he could perhaps detect anyone whose manner made him or her seem out of place, perhaps someone who may not, on the inside, be a Dendratha at all.

He needed some sort of backup to the sensor packages he carried that he had reconfigured in a crude attempt to detect any more of those parasitic creatures. They might in fact work, but in truth they served more as a placebo to re-assure Katherine and Rekkid and cure their jitters. Steven trusted his instincts far more than he trusted any box of electronics.

Watching the comings and goings from an alcove Steven began to compose in his head a pattern of behaviour for the various types of people in the building. The worshippers and pilgrims generally displayed what Steven guessed was hushed awe, entering through the main doors between the third and fourth transepts and undulating slowly to and from the central dais where they made offerings, looking about themselves wide-eyed in wonder at the interior of the building. They talked in hushed respectful voices and bobbed their long heads at the various statues dotted about the floor and walls.

He could understand their reaction. Even though he lacked their beliefs he couldn’t help but be impressed by the building. The tapered roofs stood largely unsupported save for five gigantic columns around the base of the central tower, with most of the weight being taken by the massive flying buttresses on the exterior. The walls and columns were richly decorated with friezes, tapestries and statues depicting religious scenes or figures. There was a background murmur of praying and shuffling steps, as well as occasional singing by the choir in the first transept. But Steven stayed well out of sight. The last thing he wanted was for his careful study to be ruined by the goggle eyed attention of the aliens seeing an off-worlder for the first time.

The priests and other ecclesiastical personnel presented less of a problem. They seemed uninterested in his presence, dismissive even, as they glided swiftly about the floor of the temple in their robes, clockwork figures regulated by the daily routines of their calling. Steven watched two arranging fresh flowers about the central dais which depicted three orbs above what looked like a miniature representation of the temple itself.

‘Can I help you, child?’ said an elderly sounding voice at Steven’s elbow, the translation squawking from the device about his neck. Steven turned and saw a monk of great age regarding him with unusual interest. He already had a cover story to explain his movements

‘Umm, I came to admire the architecture. I’m visiting the city as part of the archaeology team. I thought I’d take the time to see this marvellous building.’

The monk looked at him oddly, Steven decided that he was probably wondering where the mechanical Dendratha voice was coming from.

‘Well, we welcome all who wish to visit us. Even those like yourself who do not hail from these parts. Are you enjoying your visit?’

‘Yes, very much so, this place is quite beautiful. Tell me, what does the image on the altar represent?’

‘The three orbs represent our three gods, the largest is Maran. The other two are Irrin and Irrinil. This statue depicts them striking down the beast of evil and driving it back into the underworld, saving us all from its predations.’

‘I see. But, the beast, why is it shaped like the temple we’re standing in?’

‘Ah, you see the builders of this place believed that we could help our gods to keep evil from the world if we built the temple in the shape of their enemy and then worshipped them within it. Thus we bind the image of the accursed one with the bonds of the light of the Three. So far it has proven successful, yes?’

‘Indeed. So how did the Three defeat evil?’

‘When the beast rose from the underworld, Maran and his two companions summoned a host of

’ the translator paused whilst it substituted a suitable word, ‘

angels. With their aid they drove the abomination back whence it came.’

‘I see.’

‘Maran manifested himself here to the Prophet Qizila, in a cave over which this temple was constructed.’

‘May I see the cave?’

‘Alas no, it is a most holy place but its location is lost to us. All we know is that it lies beneath our feet somewhere. Maran will reveal it to us when the time comes.’

Steven made an effort to look crestfallen. He was only mildly interested in the alien’s religion, but he had to keep up the pretence.

‘But here, look here at this tapestry,’ the monk indicated towards a faded and obviously ancient cloth hanging on the wall a few metres away. ‘See here, we have the light of the Three here at the top, shining on the angels as they drive evil away.’

Steven looked, and did a double take. The tapestry showed an army of stylised figures driving away a great monster with their swords and lances; the figures were slim and rendered in silver and gold thread, and they were humanoid.

‘That’s fascinating, I

ahh, would you mind if I stayed a while longer and looked at this?’

‘Not at all, linger as long you want.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Glad to be of assistance, enjoy your stay,’ said the monk and shuffled off to pay his respects at the altar.

Distracted by the image on the tapestry Steven looked at it a while longer, then wandered the rest of the temple looking for similar images. He found them; depictions of the Angels of Maran were everywhere. On works both new and ancient, the same slender humanoid figures were present, wreathed in light, driving the creatures of the underworld before them. Steven made a mental note to show this to Katherine and Rekkid. No doubt they’d be as fascinated as he was. What had possessed the Dendratha to depict figures so utterly alien to their own?

Steven chided himself. He was losing focus, becoming distracted from his real purpose for being here. He was also beginning to attract too much attention to himself from the worshippers. He decided to return to his people-watching later. He would go ahead with the other task he had planned. For that he needed to climb the central tower.

A short search and he found what he was looking for: the entrance to the spiral ramp that led around the circumference of the central tower right up to a balcony near its tip, a dizzying two hundred metres above the ground. The balcony was occasionally used to make offerings to the two sun gods, but it was also a tourist attraction, being the top of the highest structure on Maranos.

Steven had his own reasons for wanting to admire the view. Firstly, to get a good look at the site from above, and secondly, to see if he couldn’t use it as a good vantage point to place a few tiny surveillance devices. Maybe there were a few nooks and crannies he could use.

It was a long climb. The ramp had a shallow gradient and had ridges cut into its surface to provide grip, but the ascent was arduous. The spiral tunnel it formed was dark too. A small amount of light was provided by slit windows cut at regular intervals and Steven had been given a small oil lamp by an attendant at the foot of the tower, but it was still hard for him to see where he was putting his feet. He hung onto the broad handrail for guidance. As he climbed he passed a few Dendratha coming down the spiral who regarded him with some curiosity, but after twenty minutes or so he arrived, breathless and slightly dizzy, at the top.

The viewing balcony was actually more of a cupola, creating by placing a flat capstone at the top of the tower, with the cone shaped tip of the tower supported on four sturdy columns above. These columns also formed part of the low wall that acted as a safety barrier of dubious effectiveness around the circumference. They were decorated with a number of carvings and hideous gargoyles that leered out over the city.

The view from this lofty place was quite spectacular. The whole of the city of Marantis was visible in the fiery glow of the two sunsets. It was a semi-chaotic sprawl of tightly packed low buildings dotted with spires and domes, with the temple and its barren, walled grounds roughly at the centre. The Monastic University was visible as a taller huddle of squat buildings to the west. The two suns hung low in the sky on either side and the rust coloured desert surrounded the city, broken only by the system of gorges to the west that provided the city’s supply of fresh water. The railway was just visible as a silvery line snaking in from the east. The scene was only obscured by the tops of the five transepts that curved graspingly inwards towards the central tower, terminating some twenty five metres below where Steven was standing.

Steven admired the scene for a moment before looking down over the lip of the parapet. The smooth curved walls of the tower fell away below him. He was glad that he had no fear of heights. Below he could just make out the dig site, a line of regular pits about the end of the fourth transept. The other as yet un-dug graves had been marked with flags and tape, forming a faint, vaguely star shaped pattern about the base of the building. Tiny ant like figures could be made out around the dig, as well as moving along the main road from the gates to the grounds to the temple’s main doors.

This was an excellent vantage point. All he had to do now was to place the devices. They were small, about the same size as his thumb and contained sophisticated imaging and recording equipment as well as a transmitter to relay the data they gathered back to a remote location. From here, Steven could use them to cover the temple grounds almost entirely, as well as much of the city and surrounding desert. He had pre-programmed them to particularly look for anything unusual such as ships, other humanoids, unusual radiation signatures, but they would see and record all.

Steven waited until the balcony was empty save for himself and then leaned out over the parapet and placed one of the devices inside the mouth of a gargoyle that adorned the outer surface of one of the pillars, sticking it to the roof of the stone creature’s mouth with adhesive pads. He did the same with the other four pillars, then took out a small datapad and clipped a receiver aerial to one of its ports. Its screen divided into four quarters, each displaying the incoming image from a different surveillance device. Steven used the inbuilt software to adjust the angle of the devices to his liking and then flipped though the various imaging modes. Satisfied, he closed the pad and slipped it back into his pocket, took a last look around, then headed back down the ramp.

Working together, Katherine and Bibarat made good progress in uncovering the mason’s cranium. Working backwards from the crushed remains of the head-gills they picked and brushed the sandy soil away from the elongated skull with surprising speed. Something seemed odd about the shape though, to Katherine’s eyes. As she uncovered more she realised that the back of the alien’s head seemed deformed. Perhaps it had been squashed by the weight of earth? She pointed it out to Bibarat who nodded in agreement.

As they worked, they revealed more of the skull and got their answer: the alien’s skull had been smashed by what looked like a heavy blow. The rear of the cranium had been struck by a solid object with a great deal of force. It had actually punched a large hole in the bone and forced a plug of material into the back of the mason’s brain. The blow would no doubt have resulted in almost instantaneous death for the luckless Dendratha.

Katherine took some photos of the wound whilst Bibarat made notes. She called Rekkid over to have a look. He clambered out of his own hole and came and squatted by the body.

‘See Rekkid, here. Looks like he got hit by something, what do you think?’

‘Yes, there’s no doubt about that. A work related injury perhaps?’

‘Could be, I imagine there’s plenty of things could go wrong on a construction site. Maybe something fell on him whilst he was working? Say, he was looking down whilst working on a carving and something fell from above?’

‘Could be, that seems plausible.’

‘Well, Bibarat and I are going to uncover the torso next. Perhaps that might give us a few more clues, further signs of injury perhaps?’

‘Yes, let me know if you find anything.’

‘How are you getting on with your dig?’

‘Oh fine, nothing remarkable, though I did discover that the female in question suffered from some disease that left scars on her skeleton.’

Katherine noticed Bibarat was peering at the mason’s head wound.

‘Something the matter, Bibarat?’

‘Yes. Perhaps he not killed by accident, perhaps he murdered?’

‘What makes you think that?’

Bibarat shrugged.

‘I think our little friend has a sense of the dramatic, that’s all,’ said Rekkid. ‘Bibarat, it’s quite common for people to suffer horrible injuries on construction sites. Just because this poor sod’s had his brains smashed in doesn’t mean it was deliberate.’

‘It seems,’ Bibarat looked seemed to be trying to find the right word. ‘It seems too neat, the wound.’

‘Hmm, he’s got a point Rekkid.’

‘Maybe. However if a tool or freshly cut piece of stone fell on him it could leave similar wounds. Why don’t we unearth the torso and see if it helps? I’ll give you two a hand.’

The three of them working together made good progress in revealing the rest of the mason’s mummified body. The skin was still intact even though the drying effects of centuries of entombment had left it stretched thin and papery over the rib cage. They found the arms too, slender and for some reason lying behind the creature’s back, not twisted underneath it as Katherine had earlier guessed, clearly not in accordance with known Dendratha burial customs.

The hands and wrists revealed something more sinister. It was Rekkid who noticed it first: sturdy lengths of rope, now brittle with age, that bound the male’s hands together. There was now little doubt as to the cause of the mason’s injuries.

‘Executed, would you say Rekkid?’ said Katherine.

‘Yes I would. It seems fairly obvious that this poor fellow was tied up, had his head smashed in and then was buried in the pit wouldn’t you say?’

‘It certainly looks like it. It reminds me of the Bronze Age bodies found in peat bogs in Europe, back on Earth.’

‘Yes, I agree. Some of those were sacrifices, others were just criminals dealt some harsh local justice. But which is this?’

‘Given his proximity to the cathedral, perhaps the former.’

‘Hmm, there’s no record of the Maranist religion indulging in this sort of thing.’

‘No not now, but what about at the start, maybe

hey where’s Bibarat going? Bibarat!?’

Their Dendratha student was hurriedly clambering out of the pit and making apologetic noises. Once clear of the dig he bobbed his head a few times before rapidly undulating away.

‘What’s got into him?’ said Rekkid with snort. ‘Think we offended his beliefs?’

‘Bibarat’s secretly atheist, so no we didn’t. Maybe he’s just scared of getting into trouble if he helped to find anything controversial?’

‘Hah, maybe. We do court controversy though don’t we Katherine?’

‘Quite.’

They inspected Rekkid’s dig next. Clearing more of the soil from around the head and arms of the rope weaver they found the same thing: the skull caved in by a blow from behind, the wrists secured by rope, something Katherine found curiously ironic. A couple of the other digs were examined briefly and revealed the same thing. In one case the Dendratha diggers had uncovered the evidence but had neglected to inform either Rekkid or Katherine. They made sure that they recorded and photographed everything they found. They would need evidence if they were to make such contentious claims, and there was no telling if the sites would be interfered with by the disgruntled locals.

‘There’s little doubt about it Katherine,’ said Rekkid, looking at the dating results from his sample analyser. ‘These people were killed pretty much around the time the temple was completed and then buried around its base. I’d say they were an offering.’

‘Our hosts aren’t going to like that.’

‘No, I imagine they won’t,’ said Rekkid, a curious gleam in his eye. ‘I can’t wait to see Kukadis’s face. That pompous ass is in for a shock.’

There was some shouting and waving from the direction of the tents.

‘Well, it looks like that’s it for the time being anyway,’ said Rekkid, peering at the signalling figures. ‘From all the gesticulating I gather it’s time to eat. Let’s cover the site and join them.’

‘Try to keep the dinner conversation polite won’t you Rekkid?’

‘Of course. I wouldn’t have it otherwise.’

They sat around a table on a square of benches placed in the open air of the departmental quadrangle and lit by the glow of oil lamps that hung around the walled space. The smell of flowering plants mixed with that of the food as Katherine and Rekkid sat with the monks and students and ate. Steven’s place was unoccupied, he was late. The silence was broken by Kukadis clearing his throat and speaking.

‘I was wondering, what is your world like Professor Cor? Is it like that of the humans?’

‘Yes, in some ways. The climate and environment of Keros bears a number of similarities to that of Earth, though our people possess a far more advanced level of technology. It’s a long time since I’ve been back home though, you understand.’

‘Really? I wonder, what possessed you to live amongst a people other than your own. Is Keros an unpleasant world?’

‘No, no far from it. Keros and the other Arkari worlds are very beautiful places, unmatched anywhere in known space. There is no want, strife, hunger or crime. Most Arkari live in what would be regarded as palaces by other species. Our society and technology has been honed to a state of near perfection over many millennia.’

‘So why leave?’

‘It’s too perfect. The Arkari Sphere is like a globe of crystal. Perfectly beautiful, but sterile. Nowhere is this sterility more obvious than in academic circles. We think that we’re so superior, that we know everything. So much so that many are unwilling to learn anything that goes against the established order, especially from other societies. The Commonwealth appeals to me far more. Its dynamism, combined with its mix of many species besides humans, gives it a vibrancy that my own society lacks.’

‘You enjoy getting your hands dirty don’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘So, how was your day digging in the dirt? Productive I hope?’ Kukadis asked, apparently with some amusement. ‘I hope you washed your hands properly before sitting down to eat,’ he added with a smirk.

‘Very productive actually, since you ask,’ Rekkid replied. ‘I find I discover more if I do the work myself instead of relying on underlings.’

‘And what did you and your

human woman find, Professor?’

‘Doctor O’Reilly and I discovered that your so called archaeology students are more interested in pocketing shiny trinkets for themselves and whining than actually doing any work, that the monks in your department are sullen and positively hostile and that you, Master Kukadis, have no more inkling of how to conduct a dig than you have of the universe outside your petty parochial personal one.’

‘How dare you!’

‘I dare, now stop patronising Doctor O’Reilly and myself and try to learn something for a change.’

‘I don’t need to be lectured by you Professor Cor. I don’t care what accursed godless world you come from I will not be spoken to in that manner!’

‘Oh is that what all this is about? Religion? Is that why you’ve all been scorning us, unlike I might add, the other people we’ve encountered since we arrived here who, by and large, have welcomed us? For your information it was Ekrino who requested our presence here. I gather he’s rather a senior figure in the Maranist Church, Priest of the Third Cloister?’

‘Ekrino is

something of a radical. He has views that are unpopular with more traditional followers of Maran. He has fallen out of favour of late with High Priest Makallis, Priest of the First Cloister and head of our religion, and ruler of this holy city I might add.’

‘Frankly I have little interest in petty ecclesiastical squabbles. The Doctor and I have travelled a very long way to be here and we don’t appreciate being treated in this manner. We came here to help you.’

Kukadis seemed to fold slightly. He looked embarrassed at being pilloried in front of his staff and students. He sighed.

‘Then, I apologise to you both. It was my impression that you had been imposed on us by the Commonwealth. So, what did you find?’

It was Katherine’s cue to speak.

‘Master Kukadis I must warn you that what we uncovered today might not be to your liking.’

‘Oh?’

‘We excavated a handful of graves around the base of the temple. All turned out to be those of craftsmen and labourers that worked on the original construction of the building.’

‘So you have failed to locate the twelve priests?’

‘So far, yes. Master Kukadis, all of the bodies we uncovered showed signs of having met an untimely end at the hands of others. It is our estimation that they were sacrificed as part of the temple’s dedication.’

There was an uncomfortable silence. Kukadis was trembling with barely suppressed outrage.

‘I think you’ll find Doctor,’ he said slowly. ‘That your heretical statement is incorrect.’

‘I’m sorry, but that’s what we found. All the bodies we found had been struck on the back of the head and had their hands tied behind them.’

‘Doctor, our religion does not perform such base acts as the one you describe. Perhaps your species’ obsession with the K’Soth and their perverted beliefs has clouded your judgement?’

‘I don’t think so,’ replied Katherine defiantly.

‘Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier. One other reason we servants of Maran scorn you off-worlders so is that you are unclean, for you were not born within the blessed realm of Fulan. It seems this accusation has been born up by the offence you have just caused. We are not as easily impressed as the laypeople by your trinkets and your novelty.’

‘We meant no offence Master Kukadis.’

‘It’s a little late for that don’t you think? Ah, I see the other of your number has arrived, I wonder if he has joined us to cause us more upset?’

Katherine turned to see Steven enter the quad and sit beside her, a bemused expression crossing his face at Kukadis’s comment.

‘What have you and Rekkid done now?’ He muttered under his breath to her. ‘Can’t I leave you two alone for five minutes without someone taking a dislike to you,’ he nodded at Kukadis who stared balefully back at him.

‘So,’ the fuming Dendratha spat. ‘What do you three intend to do now? Something equally worthwhile as your current blasphemy I take it?’

‘Actually,’ said Rekkid. ‘We, ah, we’d like to look at a frieze in the cellars of the temple first thing after we’ve slept.’

‘I don’t think it’s appropriate that you be allowed inside the cathedral. Who knows what claims you may make and who you may offend?’

‘Well tough, it’s to carry out a personal request of Ekrino’s. Apparently a recent tremor has destroyed some plasterwork and revealed an ancient frieze and he’d like us to have a look at it. Here, I have his letter to you here.’ Rekkid reached into one of his pockets and produced a surprisingly pristine folded letter which he flourished and handed to Kukadis. Kukadis read it and regarded Rekkid scornfully.

‘Very well,’ he said, apparently with some reluctance. ‘Though I doubt you’ll be of much assistance,’ he added and made to leave. The other Dendratha did likewise, seemingly having waited for this cue to depart. They undulated after him out of the quad, an army of giant caterpillars.

‘Care to explain what that was about?’ said Steven with one eyebrow raised quizzically.

‘A frank cultural exchange.’ replied Rekkid.

‘Rekkid thinks that the best way to conduct inter-species relations is to pursue a kind of intellectual gate-crashing, then bludgeon them into submission. Isn’t that right Rekkid?’ said Katherine.

‘Hah! Those stuck up bastards need someone to shake them up now and again. People like that hold a society back. The Dendratha could use more like Bibarat. Where was he by the way?’

‘Hiding at the back and keeping his head down,’ said Katherine. ‘He has more to lose than us remember? Just think about that next time you go yelling at Kukadis.’

‘Hmm, I suppose you’re right. So Steven, you’re a little late, where have you been?’

‘Around. I was in the temple just now, and I found a few things in there that I think will interest you both.’

‘Oh?’

‘Kukadis will be less than enthusiastic though, I suspect.’

‘Oh? Good.’

Chapter 17

Quickchild stood on the shoreline of a small island, the breaking waves washing around his toes and the smell of the sea in his nostrils. The sun was warm on his face and he could hear laughing and the sounds of splashing water above the background rumbling and crashing of the waves. There was a chain of similar islands marching off into the shimmering distance. This was the hundredth or so image that Tyrunin has shown him and it was as unfamiliar as all the others he had been presented with. The AI was probing his mind, uncovering memories and reconstructing them for him in an effort to reawaken the self he had lost. So far it had been unsuccessful, but as it dove deeper, Quickchild was beginning to sense an increasing underlying current of familiarity, though at present it was just a faint hint. He couldn’t say with any certainty why a particular scene seemed familiar until Tyrunin told him, even though these were apparently recreations of his own experiences.

He turned and saw a group of young aliens of a species he didn’t recognise. They were playing in the shallows, splashing one another and scooping the sand into piles. They were brown skinned, largely hairless and humanoid and strangely graceful. Quickchild looked down at his own body and found his to be an adult version of the children he was observing.

‘Where is this?’ he heard himself say.

‘Don’t you remember?’ said Tyrunin’s voice inside him.

‘No, should I?’

‘Yes, this is the beach at Akrad, close to where you lived on our home-world. These are your children. Well, mostly yours anyway.’

‘I don’t, I don’t recognise them at all. How is it that you know this yet I don’t?’

‘A matter of perspective. Does a book know the ending of the story it contains? In time it will come to you.’

Quickchild watched his children play, squealing with infant excitement as they found a small sea creature buried in the sand. It rose up on flippered legs and scuttled away from them.

‘If I had children, then who was my mate?’

‘I have not yet been able to ascertain that, it

seems there were a number in your life. It is unclear which one bore your young.’

‘I see.’

‘I shall show you other memories.’

The scene shifted. Quickchild found himself in a space habitat, a gargantuan metallic reef bathed in the light of twin suns. It was home to millions, perhaps billions like him. An uncountable number of craft moved about the structure, bright points that caught the sunlight as they flew nimbly about the huge islands and bracketed outcroppings.

He was standing in a gallery, a long chamber whose outward face was completely transparent and formed from a single piece of material. Dozens of other Bajenteri stood with him, observing the scene and dressed elaborately, as if for some occasion. The nearest – male - turned to him and spoke.

‘This is going to be some race, huh?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Come on Varish, what’s up with you? One too many, celebrating last night? You should follow my example sometimes and know when to quit!’

‘If I followed your example I’d have gone home with those two dancers and the marriage promises I’ve made would have counted for little,’ Quickchild heard himself say. ‘Tyrunin? Who is this?’

‘Your best friend, Okallik.’

‘He called me “Varish”.’

‘Yes, your name it would seem.’

‘I’d

completely forgotten it. Tyrunin, how could I forget my own name?’

‘A good name too, Varish. It means “lucky warrior”.’

‘It’s who I am. How could I? Damn it!’

‘Hey Varish! Hey!’ Okallik was prodding him. ‘Stop staring at the floor, the race is about to start. You’re not going to puke are you?’

‘Hah, me? Not likely, I’d never hear the last of it from you. Besides, I have a bet on this race: Kirchad to win.’

‘That’s the spirit! Wouldn’t want to miss your ship losing to mine would you?’

Varish looked more closely at the scene outside. Space around the habitat reef was dotted with a series of rotating rings that marked a tortuous course around and through its haphazard structure. A line of small but sleek and powerful looking craft hung in space outside the gallery.

A hushed silence descended upon the assembled throng as a pattern of lights counted down, then flashed to yellow. The craft sped away from the starting line and the assembled spectators went wild with excitement, the action relayed to them via huge holographic displays.

The race looked insanely dangerous. The tiny ships jostled with one another as they wound their way through the pattern of hoops at breakneck speed. Quickchild saw two of the front runners suffer a glancing collision and drop out of the race.

‘Tyrunin, how much of this is from inside my head?’

‘Most of it, I’ve filled in the gaps a bit. Biological memories are notably sketchy and vague on visual detail.’

‘Okallik mentioned me getting married. Any idea who to?’

‘I am still trying to deduce that, alas that section of your memory was more severely corrupted. Please be patient.’

‘Well, I’ve waited longer than the lifespan of some stars so yes, I can be patient.’

‘Perhaps other memories may trigger a reaction from you?’

‘Yes, show me more.’

The scene faded out as Varish’s ship won and Okallik clapped him good naturedly on the shoulder. It was replaced with more squalid surroundings. Varish found himself face down in the mud of a trench, his leg felt wet and painful. Reaching down to examine the source of the pain, his fingers came back stained with his own blood. It was soaked into his uniform, oozing from a wound where a glancing shot had penetrated the armoured greave around his lower leg. The suit itself had been transformed from its original grey into a mish-mash of browns and blacks by the dirt and blood, and it had become pitted and scarred by use. His shaking hands gripped a magnetic rifle of some sort.

The air was filled with noise; energy weapons tore the air, artillery and bombs thudded in the distance with a sound that he felt rather than heard, whilst the deafening crack of orbital laser bombardment could be heard closer by as the air was incinerated by the beams.

The trench was filled with bodies, some alive and huddled, others on the verge of death, others dead and many maimed beyond recognition. The air stank from the corpses and the blood and the acrid smell of burnt chemicals and people.

‘What, what the hell is this? Where are we Tyrunin?’

‘The siege at Trippanak. You were there, during the Belt War. You don’t remember?’

‘No, no I

I don’t think so.’

Tyrunin sighed. ‘I had hoped the memory might awaken primal animal instincts you had long forgotten: fear, terror, the urge to survive, perhaps leading to an awakening of your old persona.’

‘Well you’re correct about the first part - shit!’ Varish threw himself flat as a shell landed nearby, showering him with more mud. ‘What happened here?’

‘The war had been dragging on for some time, it was an old conflict when you were born but the fighting was always remote. You joined up, probably from some misplaced sense of duty or your own foolish youthful aggression. Trippanak had rebelled against us. It was one of the many minor conflicts that preceded the plague and our final collapse.’

‘And?’

‘The initial attempt to seize the capital’s spaceport was a disaster. The indigenous population had seized a large quantity of our own weapons and used them against the assault force. You and twenty five thousand other troops were besieged for several weeks and suffered tremendous casualties before a relief force arrived. You were one of the lucky ones, in a manner of speaking.’

‘How did it end?’

‘Like this: watch.’

Varish scrambled to the lip of the trench and peered cautiously over. Assembled a kilometre or so away was a gigantic and very well equipped army consisting of tens of thousands of well dug-in troops, armoured skytransports, AG war platforms, strider tanks and banks of artillery. Raptor flyers swooped above them like hungry birds, darting forward to deliver a volley of ordnance before retreating behind the army’s protective shielding and air defences. Varish gawked at the sea of armour and mechanisation that greeted him. They could have finished this several days ago but they were taking their time, making the defenders suffer as they slowly picked them apart.

A barrage of plasma warheads impacted further down the trench incinerating the living and the dead alike, and even the ground they lay upon in a flash of blinding white. Blood-chilling screams indicated that some had at least temporarily survived the attack. The smell of cooked meat wafted down to Varish’s position. He felt ill from the stench.

A shadow fell upon the scene, Varish looked upwards. Descending over the battlefield was a star shaped ship. Five pointed, its golden hull tens of kilometres across, appeared to shift as if molten. Varish knew in his gut what was coming, he looked up at the vast ship: the energy flickered across its surface was gathering to points of blinding intensity. Then it utterly destroyed the besiegers.

Varish watched as beams of intense, focused energy poured from the ship, raking the ground around their position time and time again. Soldiers and vehicles caught by the onslaught were destroyed in an instant or tossed high in the air, end over end by the shockwaves to land broken upon the ground. The city behind them was pounded into dust, nay atoms, by the ravaging inferno. Rocks, buildings and metal turned molten under the firestorm and all else was blasted to ash. The sound was of such a skull-splitting volume and intensity that his senses could barely comprehend it. Varish felt the bile rising in his throat. In terror he threw himself flat into the mud, instinctively trying to hide, trying to bury himself, hands scrabbling at the slippery loam.

He was experiencing the simulation and reliving the memory at once as he recalled it, his mind living in the present and the past in one, the horror of the bombardment magnified. Though deep down in his mind he knew that the firestorm could not harm him, he couldn’t help himself as he was overwhelmed with fear and the memory of that fear experienced long ago. Putrid mud filled his mouth and nostrils as he screamed himself hoarse in terror, yet the maelstrom did not touch him. When finally it relented he lay there sobbing.

‘Make it stop! Please, no more! Please!’

‘Seen enough?’

‘Yes, oh fuck, make it stop. I remember this now. I remember the nightmares and the weeks after when I couldn’t stop shaking. Please, not again.’

‘Very well.’

‘She held me, she helped me through it all afterwards

when, when I was consumed by guilt because I survived.’

‘Who did? Who helped you?’

‘I don’t know!’

‘Try to concentrate.’

‘I will.’ Varish wiped tears and mucus from his face.

‘Let’s get you out of here.’

Again the scene changed, to a vista of almost inconceivable proportions. Varish was sitting in the passenger seat of a small craft with Okallik at the controls as they crossed a gulf between curving walls that resembled a planetary surface. One wall was close behind them; its concave surface seemed almost flat due its vast size, whereas the other was a huge distance away, its appearance rendered parabolic by the perspective.

Varish strained to peer about and take in the view. They were crossing the interior of what he believed the Humans termed a Dyson sphere. It was an artificial habitat with the living space placed on the inside surface of a sphere with the radius of a planetary orbit, that had been built around a star. This in turn formed a habitat of immense proportions with the atmosphere clinging like a thin veneer to the inner surface. Varish had heard of such constructions as a purely theoretical concept, but he hadn’t remembered until now that he’d actually been inside one, perhaps lived on one.

The little ship was approaching another craft that hung in the space between the sphere’s surface and the star. It was similar in appearance to the one at Trippanak, though sleeker, shaped like a vertical star about a horizontal core that tapered at both ends. It was smaller too, a couple of kilometres in length, though it dwarfed the tiny shuttlecraft. Against the backdrop of the inside of the sphere it was but a mere speck. It had a name, the Sun Rider.

Other ships floated in the vacuum too, arranged in neat stacks and patterns in the space between the central star and the land. Hundreds upon hundreds of them; some military, others civilian and commercial. The sphere served as a giant dock, a floating safe haven for ships and beings of all kinds and a hub of trade in the region.

‘And this is, Tyrunin?’

‘Bivian sunsphere in the Rajatti system. Impressive isn’t it?’

‘Very. Were there many of these?’

‘A great number I believe, though even in those heady days their construction was something of an undertaking. I’m sure you can see why.’

‘It’s beautiful.’

‘Yes, it was.’

Varish watched the clouds move across millions of kilometres of green and blue surface, bathed in the sunlight, seas and continents larger than surface area of most habitable planets, mighty rivers as long as comet tails.

‘I suppose it’s all gone now?’

‘Yes, of course.’ said Tyrunin, with a detectable note of sadness.

‘That ship we’re heading toward; care to tell me about it?’

‘Why don’t you ask Okallik? He is piloting this shuttle after all.’

Okallik grinned at him, Varish grinned back.

‘That’s some ship, I wish I was married to a woman who owned one of those,’ said Okallik with a note of envy.

‘She doesn’t own it, she’s just the captain. The navy owns the ship.’

‘Hah, yeah right. But it’s her ship though, for all other intents and purposes.’

‘You have a point there,’ Varish chuckled.

‘She likes to give orders then? Eh? Bet she has you attending her every command.’

‘Ahh

something along those lines. I seem to do a lot of household chores.’ he chuckled.

‘That’s not what I was referring to Varish, you know what I

’

‘Hey, that’s my wife you’re talking about Okallik!’ he made to jab a punch on Okallik’s shoulder and missed. Okallik laughed noisily through his nose as he fended off Varish’s blow.

‘Sorry, maybe I crossed the line, so to speak.’

‘Okallik, you crossed the line years ago and stayed on that side ever since. Why apologise now?’

His friend laughed giddily before fixing his attention on the cockpit displays.

‘Hey we’re almost there, don’t disturb me,’ said Okallik, a look of concentration on his face.

Varish swallowed the comment about his friend already being disturbed as he watched Okallik manipulate the controls of the craft with a swift deftness, whilst he simultaneously exchanging navigational chatter and friendly banter with the Sun Rider’s traffic control. Okallik brought them in under the ship and into a docking bay, through a portal that flowed open and shut as the shuttle passed through the skin of the warship.

The pair stepped out of the small shuttle and looked about the bay. Its walls were smooth and seamless, punctured only by the various hatches and consoles that dotted its otherwise flawless grey surface. The bay was full of small ships and stacks of equipment but largely devoid of people, save for a few service constructs that busied themselves with maintenance tasks. Varish showed their boarding clearance chit to a deck officer who directed them toward a transport tube. This in turn whisked them through the bowels of the ship up to her quarters.

Her. Her name

Varish tried to remember. There was something there in his mind, a vague impression rather than an image or a name. It was tantalisingly just out of reach.

The transport deposited them in a broad curving corridor lined with identical doors set into the smooth walls. Varish walked along the numbered doors with Okallik on tow until he found the one he wanted: the one to her quarters. Having reached it, he stood for a moment with a lump in his throat before knocking gingerly on the matt grey metal surface. There was a muffled female yell from within, then an agonising wait until she came to the door and opened it.

The door slid back and Varish was struck dumb. In the open doorway was the most perfect woman he had ever met, at least to his eyes. He remembered now, he remembered everything. Meeting her again was the key to a whole other section of his mind. She stepped forward, slipped her hands around his waist and kissed him.

‘Hello Varish. I see you brought that reprobate with you. Gods, you look like shit. What did you catch whilst I was gone?’

He fell to his knees with a sob. Irlani looked at him in amazement mixed with concern. She bent forward and helped the trembling Varish to his feet. Okallik moved away, mumbling something about giving them some time alone.

‘Varish, what’s the matter? Are you alright?’

‘I

I’m fine I think. It’s just been such a long time since I’ve seen you I’d forgotten

.’

‘I was gone a week Varish. You sure you’re alright?’

‘Yes. It’s just that I’ve missed you and

’

‘Why don’t you come inside?’ she took his hand and led him into her quarters. He held her for what seemed like eternity and remembered.

Irlani was everything Varish had ever wanted in a woman. She was not only physically attractive, possessing a poise and grace that few others could match, but it was her personality that excited him so. She was strong, independent, witty and intelligent and with a sense of humour as sharp as it was irreverent. He had fallen for her immediately and still desired and loved her as much now, if not more, than when they had first met.

It had been almost a year after Varish had joined the army. Recently promoted to squad commander but yet to see any action, he had been ordered to attend a formal inter-service gathering on a floating concert barge inside Bivian sunsphere. Uncomfortable in his stiff formal garb and bored by the collection of stuffy dignitaries, he had been entranced by the sounds of an animated conversation coming from the other side of an immense ice sculpture carved in the predatory shape of a Jefretian Icefang.

Peering around the slowly melting predatory shape he had caught sight of a striking young female starship captain expertly regaling a largely male audience with anecdotes that were not only witty, but rather off colour and seemed to largely concern the exploits of herself and her crew.

The males seemed to hold the woman in awe. Not only was she obviously attractive to them, but each tale they themselves offered was bettered in return by a story that surpassed their own not only in the telling, but in the daring, humour or absurdity of the events recounted. Varish had realised he was staring at her with his mouth open as if in a trance. Shutting his gaping jaw quickly before she noticed he quickly resolved to try his luck with the headstrong captain. Youthful and arrogant, he saw no reason not to try. To his total amazement she fell for him also, and he couldn’t believe his good fortune.

From that point on they were as much of an item as their respective careers permitted. Varish learned what it truly meant to love a woman unconditionally. He had had other relationships before but all had left him feeling unsatisfied somehow, as though there had been something absent from the arrangement. He had found many of the women physically attractive but had cared little for their personalities, finding them shallow, weak, foolish or dull. Irlani was none of these. He admired the fact that she stood up to him intellectually, that she joined in his debates and started ones of her own, that she told him dirty jokes and that she knew more well chosen put-downs than he, that she was brave beyond belief and that she did all of this whilst maintaining a certain feminine poise and beauty. He came to love her more than he had thought possible.

When he had narrowly escaped death at Trippanak, Irlani had stood by him whilst he recovered from injuries that were more mental than physical. She had held him through the long nights when all he did was cry out and weep and clutch his own head in despair. Her presence had been a rock to which he clung and thus prevented himself being swept away on a tide of guilt and fear. They were married soon after.

Varish spent much of the rest of the day in Irlani’s quarters, in her arms. No gesture he could make or sentence he could utter could adequately express the loss he now felt. When after hours together they lay entwined and exhausted he spoke to Tyrunin.

‘Are you still there?’

‘Of course.’

‘I know

I know none of this is real, but gods it feels so good.’

‘I’m glad. I’m also impressed with the progress you appear to have made in recalling your past.’

‘Yes, but.’

‘But?’

‘She’s dead isn’t she? This all happened billions of years ago, she must be. All this I can see now was reduced to dust before the other races were anything more than primordial slime.’

‘Yes,’ said Tyrunin with a leaden finality.

‘I have to know Tyrunin. I have to know what happened to her, what happened to us.’

Tyrunin seemed to sigh.

‘When the disease struck, you and she were on opposite sides of the galaxy. In the chaos that ensued it was impossible for you two to find each other. You never saw one another after that. You contracted the disease and volunteered to be transferred into one of the first matrices: it was after all the only chance you had of survival in any form. I’ll spare you the recreation of that, though I will decrypt the memory for you. Here.’

Quickchild experienced a jumbled recollection of intense pain and feverish delusional imagery, replaced by clinical, mechanical serenity. He shuddered.

‘And?’

‘You volunteered to be installed into one of the new vessels we produced to defend ourselves. As an AI battleship, you became one of the deadliest weapons ever produced. Unfortunately you and your kind were too few in number. You were overwhelmed and the ship you inhabited was destroyed. It was presumed that your personality was destroyed too. It seems not, however.’

‘What about Irlani?’

‘She survived, as did her crew. They managed to keep the Sun Rider successfully quarantined but later they were trapped inside the pocket around the portal hastily constructed in this system. She fled this galaxy along with your children and the others, though I’m afraid to say your friend Okallik was killed in the fighting shortly before the end. After that I have no way of knowing.’

‘At least she got to live out the rest of her life. Poor Okallik. But how do you know? Oh I see.’

‘Yes Varish. Myself, Icthasa in the other ring and Chiriya on the planet. We are the portal, constructed by the last of the Bajenteri all those thousands of eons ago.’

‘I kind of guessed, you know. Does the portal still work?’

‘Unknown, we have had no contact with Chiriya in over ten thousand years by your reckoning. Though the portal exists on the planet between us, I have no way knowing if he is still intact and the records of his exact whereabouts, technical specification and method of operation were erased from my memories by the Arkari.’

‘Why?’

‘That too has been deleted.’

‘I had hoped I could find her again.’

Varish looked at Irlani, her dozing form lay in the light spilling through the portholes. She was too beautiful, it was hard to leave.

‘Show me my own death.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes. I ought to know how I met my end, I have a right to.’

‘Very well.’

Varish found himself powering through space. His body was a sleek, shining, be-weaponed tool of war around a kilometre in length. Deadly, agile and impossibly outnumbered. He could feel their presence behind him; see them with the myriad of sensors that he carried. A swarm consisting of thousands of craft of Bajenteri design turned against their creators. The leading vessels were well within range. Probing beams of energy reached out to impale him. But his jump drive had been disabled, melted to slag by a lucky opening salvo; he couldn’t jump out of the system so he would have to run.

Able to think and act at a rate impossible to biological life, Varish fed power to his engines and twisted out of the path of the shots well before they reached him. The stars spun crazily as he spiralled out of reach, tracked by the strobing fire of his pursuers.

There was an asteroid field coming up ahead. Varish felt encouraged. If he could reach the field he might stand a chance, if he could hide amongst the larger of the tumbling rocks. Navigating such a hazardous environment should prove no obstacle to his accelerated abilities. The biological species that pursued him would have a much harder time coping.

His engines protesting at the abuse he was inflicting on them, he reached the limits of the field and spiralled in amongst the debris, heading for where the rock clusters seemed densest. The enemy fleet approached the field and slowed. They began firing at the asteroids to clear a path for their more vulnerable and cumbersome ships.

Varish felt a wash of relief. Now he stood chance of escaping. If only he could buy enough time for his auto repair systems to reconstruct the smashed jump drive

Shit! There were other ships within the field; enemy capital ships, four of them arranged in a loose vertical diamond formation. They had taken him unawares, but Varish would deal with them.

Powering through the field like an avenging angel he easily evaded the defensive fire that leapt from the hulls of the four craft. Sweeping past them on their port side he locked his weapons on the nearest ship and tore it bow to stern in one swift move. Tearing away he looked and saw the shockwave buffet the other vessels as it scattered burning debris and bodies amongst the asteroids. He focused his rearward batteries on the uppermost craft and vaporised its engine section. The explosion sent the remaining front half of the vessel into a drunken forward tumble to collide with a large nearby asteroid and shatter.

Varish laughed. He was drunk on killing, drunk on the power that he could wield and the havoc that he could wreak. Looping around he finished off the remaining two ships in one pass, splitting them open and spilling their crews into the hard vacuum.

Exultant in victory and near blood-crazed he shot away from the expanding shells of energies and spinning debris - and straight to his doom. A swarm of enemy mines was concealed within the field. It was a trap. The other ships had been driving him before them like beaters at a hunt and he, the prey, had fled straight into the pit. The four capital ships must have just finished laying the devices when he arrived. Varish, too late, detected a dozen mines in close proximity to him - hidden no doubt within craters and cracks in the asteroids.

He panicked and tried desperately to manoeuvre himself out of the minefield. The three of the nearest asteroids detonated. A blinding nuclear flash and Varish was simultaneously bombarded by flying rocks, the blast wave of nuclear fire and a deadly wash of intense electromagnetic radiation. It fried his shields, his power plant, his drive and tore at his own mind. He had a scant moment to consider the effects of this new weapon and to howl in anguish before everything went blank.

He found himself back in Irlani’s bed with a jolt.

‘So that’s how it happened. At least I went down fighting.’

‘A veritable killing machine I would say.’

‘Yes

I never knew I had that in me.’

‘Few do. Savagery is, alas, well within the capacity of many species both then and now.’

‘I slaughtered them. I could have run but I came back and I snuffed out all those lives like they were just insects.’

‘The fact that you seem to show more concern for their deaths rather than your own compensates for the fact in a tiny but significant way.’

‘They still died at my hand though.’

‘Indeed.’

There was a lengthy silence, broken only by the rhythmic sounds of Irlani’s breathing.

‘So that was my life. Nasty, brutish and short is a phrase I believe the humans once coined.’

‘It wasn’t all like that.’

‘No, no it wasn’t.’ he looked again at Irlani. ‘Perhaps some of it was worthwhile.’

‘What do you intend to do now?’

‘I have an idea. But in case I’m not successful

if you don’t mind I’d like to stay here a while longer.’

He caressed Irlani’s face and kissed her till she awoke.

Chapter 18

‘Addressing the Assembly today, President Rheinhold condemned the recent military posturing undertaken by the K’Soth Navy after recon flights and deep space monitoring relays detected a build up of capital ships within ten light years of the demilitarised zone.’

On the screen of Ramirez’s console, the image of the presenter disappeared and was replaced with a shot of the interior of the cavernous Commonwealth Assembly Hall. Hundreds of senators, governors and delegates faced the wide, raised dais upon which stood the tiny figure of the President. Rheinhold certainly looked the part: a tall, authoritative looking man in late middle age, well groomed, his full head of short grey hair perfectly combed, his body clad in a well tailored suit. He spoke with confidence and gravitas, with the skill of a consummate actor. The words of course were not his own: hidden projectors displayed his speech, carefully written by his staff, directly onto his retinas.

‘My fellow citizens,’ he began. ‘Today I present to you further disturbing news regarding the apparent intentions of our ever bellicose neighbour, the K’Soth Empire. For years we have co-existed with this brutal regime and we have never sought conflict. It is they who sought to eradicate us and destroy the freedoms that we hold so dear.’ He paused for effect and for applause.

During the last war with the K’Soth we were taken unawares. Our good intentions and peaceable outlook were shown to be dangerously naďve. Had it not been for the timely intervention of our erstwhile allies, the Arkari, it would have led to our destruction. Even so, millions paid the ultimate price at the hands of the alien aggressor and the process of rebuilding our worlds has yet to be completed even after all these years. We shall not make the same mistake twice.’ There was more applause. Rheinhold politely accepted the adulation before continuing.

‘Since the war we have continued our attempts to foster peaceful relations with the K’Soth. But now we are prepared should they attempt to betray our good intentions. Our process of naval reconstruction that my administration put into effect has now borne fruit. The ships of the modern Commonwealth Navy are far superior in design and capability to their pre-war counterparts. Should we face aggression, the brave men and women of our armed forces will be better equipped to deal a killing blow to any invasion force. But I say again, we do not seek aggression, we only prepare to defend that which we hold dear and which we have strived to build for humanity and the many species that we consider as our friends and allies. ’

There was a rattle of applause from the Assembly.

‘However, it seems that once more our neighbour to the north seeks to provoke us. These images have been released by Naval Intelligence and clearly show a build up of K’Soth vessels within striking distance of our borders. This is despite our best efforts to negotiate with them and reach an agreement on the deployment of such ships.’

The wall screen behind Rheinhold displayed a number of slightly blurry images that showed the unmistakeable shapes of War Temples, destroyers and fighter squadrons.

‘I therefore announce that in response to this move, the Navy has been authorised to position whatever fleet assets it feels are necessary to defend our northernmost systems. Furthermore, I now speak directly to the K’Soth regime when I say that we have no intention of attacking you or your imperial possessions. We only wish to defend ourselves and to seek a swift resolution to this crisis.’

The picture switched back to the studio and its overly made-up host.

‘President Rheinhold there, addressing the Assembly just four hours ago over the revelation that the K’Soth have continued their military build up along our borders. In response to his accusations, the K’Soth Council of Light has already made the following statement.’

The presenter’s face was replaced by the emblem of the K’Soth Empire, a sun flanked by jagged swords. A recording, presumably read by a Pyrtreen interpreter played in the background.

‘The Most Holy Council of Light, representative of the twelve ruling houses of the Empire under the radiance of the One True God and the guidance of our blessed Emperor, makes the following declaration in response to the accusations made by our opponents:

Our business is our own. Our naval manoeuvres are for defensive purposes only. We regard any breach of our borders by Commonwealth spy ships or probes of any kind to be provocative acts that can only lead to war. We shall defend the Empire that the Light has granted us. No heathen shall take one step within its blessed realm lest they be torn apart in his name for their act of pollution. We do not recognise the legitimacy of the liars and heretics that govern the thrice cursed realm known as the Commonwealth. Any aggression will be met with steel, claw and fire.

May the Sun shine eternally upon the Emperor.’

The recording ended, the emblem now replaced by the presenter’s face once again.

‘Is war inevitable or can a peaceful solution be found? We’ll be debating this issue and other related topics at the end of the program. Now other news: A collision between a liner and bulk freighter today blocked all traffic attempting to dock at the Mars Olympus Station

’

Ramirez flicked the screen off and ended the playback of the day-old recorded transmission. Out here, even in this day and age, up to date news coverage was difficult to come by aboard ship. Hypercom transmissions were restricted to vital communications only and any news, personal correspondence or entertainment had to be downloaded via a sanctioned Navy server when the ship docked or came within practical transmission ranges.

The news had not improved his mood one bit. It seemed that there was no question of real negotiation anymore and he knew who would be first in the firing line once the shooting started. He looked at his watch. He was due back on the bridge in an hour and his stomach was informing him that he should get something to eat before then.

Ramirez changed into a fresh uniform and then made his way down to the officers’ mess eleven decks below. The long, brightly lit room was noisy with the sounds from the galley and the murmur of conversation. Ramirez took a food tray and joined the queue. He exchanged a few pleasantries with the more junior officers whilst he waited to be served. They seemed a little edgy. Ramirez guessed that they too had heard the recent news. Everyone on the ship was rather highly strung these days; uncertainty and fear was playing hell with morale, something he and Chen were acutely aware of. If war was to come, it had better come sooner rather than later, before the entire Navy began to suffer from too many sleepless nights and pessimistic rumours.

Ramirez reached the serving counter and chose the full fried breakfast for himself. The galley staff had taken the opportunity in Klondike to stock up on choice supplies and the piles of freshly grilled bacon, fried eggs, tomatoes and baked beans that sat in heated metal trays smelt far too good to pass up on.

He filled his plate and then grabbed a mug of coffee before trying to find a table. Looking around the mess he spotted Lieutenant Singh sitting by himself at a corner table. He was reading something and munching periodically on spoonfuls of cereal. Ramirez made his way over to him, taking care with his heavily laden food tray that he didn’t trip over any of the chair legs that threatened to snag his feet.

‘Baljit, mind if I join you?’

Singh looked up from his reading. ‘Hmm? Oh, morning Commander. No, have a seat by all means.’

‘Thanks,’ Ramirez sank into one of the cheap metal and plastic chairs.

‘You seen this?’ Singh angled the datapad he was reading at Ramirez for him to see. It was displaying a news item, the headline read “President Issues Warning To Empire” and repeated much of the information that Ramirez had just watched in his cabin.

‘Yeah I have. Makes for fun reading doesn’t it?’

‘What do you think Commander? You think we’ll be going to war?’

‘If we are, are you ready for it?’

‘Sure

I think so. You know a big part of me wants to see some action. I want to do what I was trained to do.’ Singh lowered his voice so those at other tables would have difficulty hearing him. ‘But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared Al.’

‘Don’t worry too much, the Captain knows what she’s doing, she’ll see us through this.’

‘I don’t doubt the Captain’s ability, and I don’t doubt the tactical experience that Command has. But I just wonder about our civilian leaders, that’s all. Are they certain we can handle this if they lead us to war? Won’t we be just as horribly outnumbered as last time?’

Ramirez winced slightly, hoping the general hubbub in the mess was disguising their conversation. It wouldn’t do for him or the Lieutenant to be seeding needless levels of doubt.

‘I hate to say it Baljit, but if we’re ordered by our elected leaders to go to war, then go to war we must. Neither you, nor I, nor Admiral Haines can dictate policy, regardless of how ill advised the actions of our leaders may be. I can’t say I’m too much of a fan of Rheinhold, but he is our Commander in Chief and we have to respect the chain of command.’

‘Yeah, you’re right there Al. But you know Rheinhold and his party have made so much political capital out of this cold war, they’ve been in power for what, thirty-odd years out of the last fifty? That’s some achievement in a system with three main parties you know.’

‘Well, we do have their policies to thank for rebuilding the Navy, this ship for instance.’ Ramirez gestured around himself to illustrate the point. ‘It wouldn’t have been built if the Unity Party had had their way and cut the arms budget fifteen years or so back. Plus, think of all the jobs that the ship building programmes generated over the years: that played a major part in getting the economies of the core systems back on their feet after the war.’

‘I can’t argue with that but, y’know a lot of Rheinhold’s ministers have vested interests in taking the K’Soths’ Empire off them. Lots of them are linked to big business and they would stand to make big financial gains if we won. Rheinhold too; he made his name and his money in the Eastern Worlds Company before he went into politics and he’s still a major share holder. If we drove out the Empire, the corporations would have a field day with all that virgin territory close at hand, crying out for redevelopment and shiny Commonwealth consumer goods.’

Ramirez sighed. He respected his friend’s knowledge of current affairs, but some things needed to be suppressed aboard ship, like it or not.

‘Baljit, look. This whole situation is turning into a shitty mess, but for god’s sake don’t discuss it with the enlisted men will you? Morale isn’t great at the moment, in fact it would probably improve if we actually saw some action, everyone’s pretty jumpy so can you keep all this to yourself?’

‘Sure, sorry Al.’

‘No problem, but you can talk to me if you have any concerns. That’s me as a friend not just as your superior officer okay?’

‘Okay, thanks.’

‘Like I said, Michelle will see us through this.’

Singh gave him an odd look, as though he were scrutinising him. ‘Michelle? You just referred to the Captain by her first name.’

‘Shit, a slight breach of protocol, I’m getting careless. I’ve been spending so much time working alone with her on the crew training schedules of late

you know how it is.’

Singh looked uneasy. ‘Yeah, look ah

that’s what I’ve been meaning to talk to you about?’

‘Talk to me about, what do you mean?’

‘Sort of a man to man chat, as it were. Not here.’

Ramirez’s mind started racing. Christ, was his friend hinting at the fact that he knew about him and Michelle? If so, who else knew? This was all he needed.

‘Well, it’s half an hour before we have to be on the bridge. What do you say we finish our breakfasts then you can tell me in private before we go on duty?’

Singh nodded in agreement.

Some moment later, they headed back to Ramirez’s cabin, and with the door firmly locked, they continued their discussion.

‘So, Baljit. What was this “man to man chat” you wanted to have with me?’

‘Look Al, mate, this isn’t easy for me to ask you. I mean, it’s really none of my business like but

’ Singh scratched his neatly trimmed beard nervously and avoided Ramirez’s gaze.

‘What?’

‘Are you and the Captain, you know?’

‘Are we what?’

‘Like, carrying on in secret or something?’

‘What!? Come on, who’d you hear that from? This isn’t some rumour you heard down on the engineering deck is it?’

‘Hey look, mate, don’t shoot the messenger. No I heard it from Goldstein, she swears that she saw you two together outside the Captain’s quarters and you looked like you were about to kiss her or something, but you stopped when you saw her coming. She told me when we were off duty, on shore leave at New Colorado’

‘Well I hope you told Goldstein to forget it and not to go spreading rumours.’

‘Yeah, I did. But after that, well I’ve watched you two together and you do behave like a couple at times.’

‘We do?’

‘It’s all in the body language. You two keep giving each other little glances for a start.’

‘Oh fuck!’ Ramirez threw himself down on the cabin’s small sofa.

‘So it’s true then?’ A broad grin spread across Singh’s face.

‘For the love of

look, can I trust you to keep this to yourself?’

‘Of course.’ Singh snorted a laugh… ‘You sly bastard! First that Ensign in the shuttle, now this? You’re not fit to be let loose! If I were female I’d be in serious danger now, yeah? What was it? Do you get some sort of perverse kick out of banging the Captain?’

‘Look, it’s not like that okay? Michelle and I got close, became friends you know

and

well it sort of just happened.’

‘It did, did it? When?’

‘Shore leave on Elysium.’

‘No wonder she looked so refreshed when she came back to the ship,’ he said and wiggled his eyebrows.

‘Fuck, I swear you have to keep this to yourself. You know what would happen it became common knowledge. It’d finish both of us. She could even lose her command. I can trust you can’t I?’ He looked imploringly at Singh, who nodded earnestly.

‘Al, honest, I won’t tell a soul.’

‘Does anyone else know? Or even suspect?’

‘I don’t think so, not that I know of. But shit, you need to be more careful you know? It’s only slightly fucking risky what you two are up to.’

‘I thought we had been careful.’

The two men said nothing for a moment. Ramirez appeared to be staring at nothing in particular on the opposite wall. Singh broke the silence.

‘So, are you two going to carry on or what?’

‘Probably, this isn’t just a bit of fun you know.’

‘What, you’re in love with her?’

‘Dunno, sort of. I think so.’

‘Shit, you like the dominant type then?’

‘She has hidden depths. I know that’s maybe hard to believe.’

‘Hidden? You don’t say. She’s a bloody good Captain mind you, but not my type, too straight laced. But y’know, each to his own eh?’

‘Yeah. Look, thanks for this. I also appreciate that you kept it to yourself.’

‘No worries mate.’

‘Let me know if you hear anyone else discussing it won’t you?’

‘Certainly

hey look at the time. We should get on duty. It wouldn’t do to be late would it?’

Ramirez and Singh arrived on the bridge together, a couple of minutes late. Chen was already seated at her command position. She made an exaggerated gesture with her watch.

‘Good morning gentlemen,’ she said. ‘So glad you could take the time to join us, having a leisurely breakfast were we?’

‘My apologies Captain,’ said Ramirez. ‘It was entirely my fault, I wanted to ask the Lieutenant some questions about the sensors, I guess I lost track of the time.’

Chen seemed amused. ‘Alright, alright you’re both forgiven. Just make sure you’re here on time in future. Now take your stations.’

Ramirez did so, taking his place at Chen’s side he looked over her as he attached his HUD monocle, she flashed him a quick smile. ‘Christ!’ he thought. ‘Baljit was right about the body language, we have gotten careless.’

‘Is something troubling you Commander?’ Chen looked concerned.

‘No, no not at all. There is something I’d like to discuss with you later though?’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes, it’s a matter of some delicacy. I’d like to discuss it in private if that’s alright?’

‘Of course, after we’ve got underway.’

‘Yes, thank you.’

Ramirez looked at the view from the bridge. The grey-green orb of the agricultural moon Wichita filled much of the view. Its parent gas-giant, Topeka, peeked out from behind as a sliver of dull orange. The two planetary bodies were located in the Kansas system; an economic satellite to the mining colonies centred in and around Klondike and which had been settled at much the same time. The surfaces of several suitable planets and moons in the system had been terraformed, albeit rather crudely, in order to transform Kansas into one giant breadbasket to feed the hungry miners and their families.

The HUD monocle overlaid a pattern of sensor data into Ramirez’s field of vision. A constellation of icons denoted the position of the fifty-strong convoy currently rising from the low orbital transfer stations to meet the Mark Antony. The ships were due to make a run to Ulundi, one of the less well policed systems nearby rather than the safer trip to Klondike and they had requested a naval escort. The slow moving freighters would prove a tempting a target to the criminal organisations in the system who seemed to be banding together of late. They had already hit two similar convoys in the past month and had threatened a number of other trading companies that operated within Ulundi and demanded protection money. There was some speculation by Naval Intelligence that the cartel responsible could be attempting to control the trade routes within the system along their own terms. It was time for the Navy to step in.

Ramirez watched as Chen made contact with the nominal leader of the freighter fleet; his image appeared to hang at the front of the bridge. Captain Favreaux was surprisingly young man to be holding such a position. The beads of sweat visible on his dark skin hinted at malfunctioning environmental controls aboard his vessel.

Chen explained her strategy to him: ‘Captain Favreaux, I’m sure you’re aware that as well as providing you with safe escort to your destination we also intend to draw out the criminals responsible for attacks on shipping within the system and, shall we say, dissuade them from continuing with this behaviour in the future.’

Favreaux looked worried. ‘You wish to use our ships as bait? I’m not entirely happy with that Captain Chen, if I may say so.’

Chen sought to calm his fears. ‘Captain please, you shouldn’t worry. This ship carries upgraded armaments that can put up a sphere of defensive fire of ample strength and range to protect your vessels. That, coupled with the smaller weapons mounted on your ships will ensure your safety.’

‘If you say so, Captain Chen. Your reputation precedes you, so we’ll have to trust your judgement.’

‘Thank you Captain.’

‘If I might ask though, how do you intend to lure these pirates to attack your ship? They may be criminals, but I doubt that they’re suicidal.’

‘A point well made Captain,’ Chen replied. ‘My intention is that your ships should arrange themselves in a tight spherical formation about my ship, thus disguising our engine signature to some extent. If our adversaries take the bait, your ships should spread out into a larger sphere, allowing our gunners clearer fields of fire. We’ll take down or disable any hostile vessels we encounter and maybe capture a few eh? I doubt they possess enough resources to take on a destroyer.’

‘Now I like the sound of that!’ said Favreaux, grinning broadly and nodding. ‘Very well Mark Antony, we’ll form up with you as requested then we’ll get underway, Favreaux out.’ His image disappeared from Ramirez’s view. As he watched, the ungainly looking grain freighters began to cluster around the warship in a tight ball.

Chen turned to Ramirez and spoke. ‘Commander, what do you think of my plan?’

He hesitated. ‘It’s bold Captain. You are confident we can cover all of the freighters?’

‘We won’t need to Commander. This convoy is too large to take on all in one go. We’ll only need to cover one or two, perhaps none. My guess is that when we reveal ourselves we’ll either become the prime target or else they’ll attempt to flee and we can shoot them as they run.’

Ramirez nodded. ‘I see. What intelligence do we have on the composition of the pirate fleet?’

‘Reports indicated largely modified transports and freighters, some outdated fighters too. We think that they might have a larger vessel acting as a carrier or mobile base. Apparently the pirates themselves are beings from a variety of species, humans included.’

‘And their tactics?’

‘Ulundi has an unusually high concentration of asteroids that orbit in two belts at three and five AUs out from the star. The vessels that were attacked reported some sort of jump drive inhibitor field that cut their engines as they passed through, that’s when they were attacked.’

‘Drive inhibitors huh? That’s unusual, considering how much they cost.’

‘Quite. I suppose they must have found or stolen them from someone.’

Goldstein spoke. ‘Captain, the freighters have formed up with us as you requested, they have slaved their navigational computers to ours and are go for the jump to Ulundi.’

‘Very well. Lieutenant O’Rourke, plot a course to Cetawayo Platform around the planet Natal.’

‘Course plotted. Time to destination at the freighters’ maximum speed is thirteen hours and fifteen minutes.’

‘Time to the outer asteroid belt?’

‘Thirteen hours and twelve minutes.’

‘Very good. Helm, re-orientate the ship along our new heading and engage the drive.’

‘Aye, Captain.’

Ramirez could sense the ship turn beneath him as it and its surrounding shell of cargo vessels turned slowly as one to face the bright point that was the Ulundi system. The green and orange orbs of Wichita and Topeka swung slowly out of view to be replaced by a densely populated star field threaded with delicate pink nebular strands. This in turn, twisted eye-achingly and vanished from his view as the ships jumped.

Chen looked at Ramirez. ‘Now Commander, you wanted to have a private discussion?’

‘Yes, Captain.’

‘Fine, shall we step into my office? Lieutenant Singh, you have the bridge for the moment. Please make sure Commander Davis is fully aware of my intentions, I want the weapons and shields on line before we enter the Ulundi system.’

Chen’s ready room was surprisingly cluttered. Her desk was strewn with reports and notes and discarded datapads. Ramirez saw a few hastily scribbled tactical ideas at the top of a sheaf of paper notes. Chen entered the room behind him and shut the door behind them both. She perched herself on the edge of her desk with her arms folded.

‘So Al, what was it you wanted to talk about?

Ramirez bit his lip whilst he tried to compose a suitable opener. Finally he spoke. ‘Actually Michelle, it’s about us.’

‘Oh?’

‘Apparently we haven’t been as careful in keeping our relationship as secret as we thought we had. Lieutenant Singh came to me today and told me about his suspicions, that he’d heard rumours from another member of the crew.’

Chen fiddled with the hair at the nape of her neck, her eyes fixed on a point on the floor. ‘So what did he say?’ she asked with some trepidation.

‘Well basically, Goldstein mentioned to him that she thought she’d seen us together. Singh told her to forget it, but he came to me as a friend to tell me what he’d heard. He also says that we behave like a couple in public sometimes, we might not be saying anything but our body language is.’

‘No-one else knows?’

‘Not that I know of, but who knows? If we make it that obvious in public

’

‘And it would be just the sort of thing the crew would gossip about isn’t it?’

‘Well quite, and we have genuinely spent a great deal of time alone working together, aside from the other occasions.’ Ramirez went over to her and held her by the shoulders. Chen looked up at him.

‘Al, have we been monumentally stupid in carrying on like this?’ she said.

‘Possibly. But in all honesty do you really care anymore?’

‘I

I don’t know. I used to, once. My career meant everything to me, it still means a lot, but to be honest right now I just want to survive.’

‘And what about us, Michelle? How does our relationship fit into all this? If it becomes common knowledge we’ll both be up on a charge and we know it.’

‘I need you Al. Right now I need you, and if we’re to survive I need something to fight for besides myself and my own ambitions. Screw the regulations, they can’t stop me from feeling the way I do about you,’ she stared at him, her eyes blazed defiantly. ‘Al I think I’ve fallen in love with you.’

Ramirez took her face in his hands and kissed her.

The air on the bridge was tense but businesslike as the time until the Mark Antony and her convoy entered the Ulundi system counted down. The bridge HUD overlaid a schematic diagram of the system in real space over the pitch black view of hyperspace outside. The star was shown as a yellow dot ringed by the green orbital tracks of its planets. Two concentric bands of dots that increased in density towards the ecliptic marked the presence of the asteroid fields. The Mark Antony’s path would cause it to follow the principal trade lane and skirt the densest and most hazardous zone taking it in a gentle loop over the ecliptic and down to Natal.

Asteroid fields did not usually present much of a hazard to jumping ships, since their progress through hyperspace allowed them to literally pass through the asteroids. Larger bodies presented a problem due to the fact that the larger gravity wells of planets and stars also made their presence felt in hyperspace, with potentially lethal consequences. However, the belts around Ulundi and the unusual density of distribution and size of the asteroids created an effect akin to severe turbulence for ships in mid-jump, a potentially hazardous phenomenon for ships in close formation.

Ramirez had his mind on other things however. He was virtually oblivious to the activity of the bridge that went on around him as he pondered Chen’s words half a day earlier: that she loved him and needed him and would continue to do so despite everything and the pressures of their clandestine relationship. He had confessed on the spot that he felt the same way toward her.

He was overwhelmed, though Chen herself seemed to be as calm and as focused as usual. Ramirez chided himself for not keeping his mind on the job at hand, and wondered how she maintained such a cool exterior. He tried to focus on his work and requested status reports from all stations. They were approaching the outermost asteroid belt.

Chen addressed him: ‘Commander, report.’

‘All stations report ready status Captain. Shields are active, operating at one hundred percent. All weapon systems on-line.’

‘Very good. I wonder if we’ll need to use them?’

There was tense silence as the convoy crossed the field boundary, Ramirez looked about the bridge. The crew looked tense but ready. So far, nothing. Then the deck started to vibrate slightly. Goldstein seemed to notice it first.

‘Captain, you feel that? What on earth?’

The ship lurched violently. Chen stabbed at her comm.

‘Engineering, report!’

The reply came back quickly. ‘Captain, something appears to be interfering with the integrity of the hyperspace envelope

damn it, it just collapsed completely!’

Outside, the view of normal space twisted back suddenly and the ship juddered violently. Too late, Chen saw the huge cluster of asteroids that had been manoeuvred into the shipping lane, huge craggy rocks that loomed in the blackness. She acted fast.

‘Red alert! Helm! Full reverse, evasive manoeuvres. Un-slave the transports from our navi-comp, somebody. Gunnery, destroy or deflect those rocks!’

She had acted quickly, but not quickly enough. The Mark Antony began to turn away from the asteroids, its prow blazing with retro plasma spikes. Chen watched in horror as the lead freighters in the sphere, Favreaux’s ship included, ploughed straight into the clump of asteroids, shattering and exploding against the floating cliffs. They never stood a chance.

The rest of the fleet tried to turn away in desperation as a few more ships grazed against stone and spun wildly, spilling their cargoes and crews into the vacuum. The sphere of ships dissolved and spread into a chaotic tangle. The Mark Antony was still turning, firing all guns in a seemingly fruitless attempt to deflect the wall of rock. Ramirez sounded the alert.

‘All hands, brace for impact. Seal all blast shutters and hatches!’

The looming cliffs were suddenly obscured as armoured doors slammed down over the bridge windows. Ramirez started to pray, his HUD was still overlaying a schematic view of space outside. They might just make it if the heavy ship could be made to alter its trajectory more quickly. He had a flash of inspiration and called engineering.

‘Ramirez here. We need to reduce our turning circle if we’re to make it. I’m authorising you to release plasma from the port emergency vents. I’m aware of the risks, do it now.’

‘Yessir,’ came the curt reply.

There was an agonising wait of a few seconds that to Ramirez seemed to stretch into years, before the ship shuddered and lurched. The blast of plasma released from the port vents at the rear of the ship threw the vessel sideways. Though only altering the Mark Antony’s trajectory by just a few degrees, it was enough to shunt them away from their impending doom. There was a relieved cheer from the bridge crew. As the blast doors receded back into their casements, the view outside revealed the pitted rock surface of the nearest asteroid rushing past uncomfortably close to the ship’s nose. Ramirez looked at Chen.

‘Captain, I hope you don’t object to me acting on my own on this occasion?’

Chen looked at him gratefully. ‘I believe I can forgive you this time Commander. Thank you, your quick thinking saved us.’

Singh interrupted. ‘Captain, we have ships emerging from the cover of the surrounding asteroids. They are converging on the freighters. Variety of ship types, mainly converted transports and outdated fighters.’

Chen had expected this, the reports of previous victims had confirmed that the pirates were operating to type, using up-gunned civilian vessels and decommissioned Navy fighters. They would be no match for the Mark Antony’s weaponry and Chen was, by now, very angry indeed. She addressed Davis.

‘Commander, engage those attacking ships, let’s teach these bastards a lesson.’

‘Aye Captain,’ came the gruff reply. ‘Firing all guns.’

A maelstrom of fire now erupted from the Mark Antony’s turrets, swatting the outdated pirate ships like so many irritating insects. A lethal web of laser and particle fire immolated the boxy, outdated fighters and clumsy be-weaponed transport vessels that had foolishly begun their attack run, unaware of the presence of the destroyer amidst the cargo vessels until it was much, much too late. Some turned frantically and tried to escape only to be cut down without mercy.

‘Captain,’ said Singh. ‘The fleeing vessels appear to be all fleeing in the same direction. My guess is that we can extrapolate their trajectory and determine their point of origin, a base or mother ship perhaps.’

Chen concurred. ‘Excellent Lieutenant. Commander Davis, leave a few fleeing vessels alive please, we wish to pursue them. Ensign Andrews, inform the convoy of our intentions.’

‘Captain, I have the co-ordinates. I am detecting the signature of a large vessel at long range.’

‘Thank you Lieutenant Singh. Helm, ahead full to the co-ordinates Mr Singh has given you.’

‘Aye, Captain.’

Goldstein fed power to the Mark Antony’s engines and the massive vessel leapt forward into the asteroid field. A blinking icon on the HUD marked the presence of the new target just over a thousand kilometres distant on the edge of the inhibitor field. Chen’s gazed unblinkingly at it as the distance counted down. She issued more orders to Davis.

‘Commander, when we come within range I want you to destroy that ship.’

‘Aye, Captain.’

Ramirez sought to question her. ‘Captain, with all due respect, should we not attempt to extract a surrender from this ship? Any prisoners could prove useful in tracking down any other members of this organisation.’

‘Commander, there are not the police facilities in this system to deal with the crew of a vessel of that size. Besides, I wish to send these scum a clear and unequivocal message. Piracy is thing, wanton acts of terrorism and murder are quite another. They destroyed a sizeable portion of that convoy and almost succeeded in taking us down too. We are acting in self defence.’

‘Captain

’

‘My decision is final, Commander.’

Ramirez sat in shocked silence. She had publicly rebuked him, and she was about to destroy a sizeable vessel with a crew of perhaps hundreds without offering it a chance to surrender. He realised now what had caused the disaster at Urranakar: Chen’s temper. When personally wounded she lashed out in blind fury. God help anyone who became the focus of her anger. He could only sit and watch in mute horror.

The Mark Antony crossed the short distance to the pirate ship in less than a minute. The vessel turned out to be a bulk freighter by the name of the Eyrie that had been heavily modified into a makeshift carrier. In place of cargo containers, the vessel sported a row of docking bays capable of holding several dozen smaller vessels as well as a cluster of habitation modules about its middle. It had also been fitted with four turrets along its dorsal and ventral spines and these turned and locked onto the Mark Antony as it approached. The vessel was attempting to communicate with the destroyer as it slowed to a halt out of range of the Eyrie’s guns, keeping the pirate ship well within range of its own longer ranged weapons.

Chen regarded the image of the Hyrdian captain of the vessel that appeared before her with a look of intense distaste. He was attempting to bargain with her.

‘Mark Antony, it seems you have become needlessly embroiled in our business affairs. I assure you, we had no intention of attacking a Navy ship and we will be pleased to compensate you for any damage or injury we have caused.’

Chen was not impressed by his smooth talking. ‘Listen to me Eyrie. There will be no bargaining. Your actions resulted in the deaths of large number of innocent people and, but for the skill of my crew, would have caused the destruction of this vessel also. The Commonwealth Navy does not tolerate piracy, organised crime or terrorism of any sort. In accordance with the rules of engagement I am authorised to use deadly force in response to an attack on a naval vessel. Goodbye Captain,’ she said tersely and then spoke to Davis. ‘Gunnery, destroy that ship.’

Chen kept the link open as the Mark Antony’s guns tore the Eyrie apart. She watched its Captain die, watched him as he fought the effects of decompression as the Eyrie’s bridge tumbled off into space riding the blast wave from the craft’s detonating reactors. The transmission fizzled out as the Hyrdian vomited his own blood into vacuum. Ramirez looked at Chen, she was shaking slightly. The bridge was deathly silent.

Ramirez sat in his cabin with the lights dimmed. He was playing some Bach on his desk console to help him think and calm his temper as he tried to make some sense of the day’s events.

The Mark Antony had conducted search and rescue operations in the volume where the convoy had been ambushed. The warship had given assistance to those vessels that had been damaged in the attack and had then escorted the remainder of the convoy to its destination at Cetawayo Platform. The inhibitor field generator had been located and destroyed and the asteroids marked with a hazard buoy.

Almost a third of the ships that had set out from the Kansas system had been lost. The arrival of the battered convoy had been greeted with dismay by Cetawayo’s commander, though he had shown grim satisfaction at the destruction of the pirate vessel. Chen had made a public statement describing events, had expressed her regret at the loss of so many ships and had issued a stern warning that any other acts of piracy would be dealt with in a similar manner.

Ramirez hadn’t spoken to Chen except when his duties required it. Her actions had shocked him deeply. Today he had seen a side to his captain and lover that frightened him. It was cold and without pity and dispensed arbitrary justice in a fit of anger. But like it or not, he was still drawn to her even though he had seen her darker side. Ramirez went to the small window and looked out at the view. The barren, airless world of Natal hung against the backdrop of stars that shone cold and beautiful in the blackness. They reminded him of her.

There was a knock at his door. It was her knock, he knew it by now. He had expected that she would call eventually, but he still didn’t know how he would react to her or what he would say. He hesitated a moment before crossing the room and opening the door. Chen stood in the gangway outside. She seemed smaller somehow, fragile, she looked at him hopefully.

‘May I come in?’ she asked him quietly.

Ramirez stood back and gestured for her to enter, she did so and he closed the door behind her. Chen crossed the room and sat down on the edge of his bunk. She avoided his gaze and said nothing. Ramirez remained standing.

‘Anything you want to say to me Michelle?’ he said flatly.

‘Al, about me rebuking you so harshly on the bridge today, I’m sorry, I had no right to talk to you that way, even as your captain

’

‘You think this is what this is all about?’ he asked her incredulously.

‘I

’

‘You slaughtered them Michelle, all of them. You never gave them a chance to surrender,’ he could feel his anger rising. ‘Did it ever occur to you that maybe those pirates had families aboard that ship? What about them!? Did they deserve your anger as well?’

‘They tried to kill us! All of us! Do you think those cold hearted bastards ever stopped to consider the moral implications of what they were doing? A third of that convoy never made it Al, - a third! And they were all civilians, innocent people just trying to make a living! What I did was perfectly within the rules of engagement and it sent a clear message to anyone else thinking of pulling a trick like that!’

‘But why didn’t you offer them the chance to back down, Michelle?’

‘They had already locked their weapons on us Al, does that look like the actions of a crew about to surrender?’

‘Jesus Michelle! Is this what happened at Urranakar? Did your temper get the better of you then?’

‘Don’t you dare bring that up, Al! I was cleared of all but a few minor charges and you damn well know it!’ A single tear slid down her left cheek. ‘As Captain of this ship it’s my duty to protect us! When that missile hit the bridge and I saw the crew dying around me, my crew Al

you don’t know what that’s like! I’d failed them and I wanted to make the bastards responsible pay for their actions and I felt the same way today!’

‘It was one person at Highpoint.’

‘I didn’t know that at the time, how could I? I thought maybe we’d be hit by more missiles before we could get the shields up. I did the right thing by my crew! I just

I just

’ her words petered out. Ramirez couldn’t stand it any longer, his resolve broke and he held her to him. She laid her head on his chest. ‘Do you hate me Al? I’ll understand it if you do.’

‘I don’t hate you Michelle, but please, you have to understand

’

‘If anything had happened to you today I

’

‘It didn’t, it’s alright.’

‘No it’s not. Maybe you’re right, maybe I am a murderer.’

‘You’re human Michelle, like the rest of us. I just wish that sometimes you’d realise that.’

She clung to him still and looked up into his eyes.

‘Please hold me,’ she whispered.

He did.

Chapter 19

Rekkid, Katherine and Steven arrived in the quad together for their breakfast. Some Dendratha were seated at the benches eating; Kukadis was among them. The trio were greeted with silent hostile stares. Kukadis waited until they had helped themselves to some food and were sitting opposite him before he spoke.

‘A good sleep I trust? I gather on your home-worlds it goes dark when it is time for you to rest.’

Rekkid looked knowingly at Katherine; he could tell Kukadis was leading up to something. ‘Yes, that’s right Master Kukadis,’ Rekkid replied testily. ‘Perhaps you’re better informed of the greater galaxy than I had anticipated,’ he added sharply.

‘Indeed. So you slept well then? It would of course have been a tragedy had you lain awake for hours, pondering the offence you caused us yesterday.’ A sneering tone had crept into Kukadis’s voice, according to Rekkid’s translator.

Katherine had had enough of this bickering. She decided to seek a compromise. ‘Master Kukadis, we’re archaeologists not theologians. I apologise if we offended you, but perhaps we can be excused for not being particularly attuned to your religious sensibilities. We come from a predominantly secular society. It is easy for us to forget how much religion governs the lives of others.’

Rekkid gave her an odd look. Kukadis seemed uncomfortable, as if he was disappointed that she was backing down on Rekkid’s behalf.

Katherine continued. ‘Since we are to visit the temple today, perhaps you might accompany us? We would welcome any insights you could offer us as to the history of the building, and of course you would be present when Professor Cor examines the recently uncovered wall inscriptions. We could use your expert knowledge when we come to decipher their meaning.’

‘Creep,’ muttered Steven teasingly to Katherine over a spoonful of his food, quietly enough so that her translator failed to pick it up.

Kukadis snorted, and then gruffly gave in. ‘Very well, if Professor Cor can hold his tongue then I shall accompany you, since it seems that you, Doctor O’Reilly, possess better manners than your senior colleague.’ Rekkid raised an eyebrow a fraction. ‘Perhaps if one such as I, learned in matters of the church, were to show you the wonders of our faith it would prevent you both from ah

shall we say, making any more incorrect claims?’

‘Perhaps.’

‘Was there anything you particularly wanted to see Doctor?’ enquired Kukadis, his question seemingly genuine.

‘Yes, actually there was, aside from the wall inscription. Steven visited the temple yesterday and found much of the artwork inside the building to be particularly interesting.’

‘Well,’ said a finally placated Kukadis. ‘How wonderfully ironic! It seems that the least academic of your party is the one with the better eye for the real treasures of our culture,’ he beamed at Steven. ‘The works inside the temple are unmatched in their finery and their holiness. I shall gladly give you a tour. Come, let us hasten there at once,’ he uncoiled from his seated position and began to leave.

Katherine leant toward Steven. ‘Who’s the creep now then eh? Teacher’s pet,’ she muttered to him and sniggered.

Kukadis’s good mood did not last long. Now inside the temple, he fumed as Steven showed Katherine and Rekkid the tapestry the monk had first shown him yesterday and pointed out the bipedal figures.

‘This is a most holy work Mr Harris. How dare you suggest that it portrays off-worlders,’ he hissed, practically spitting out the last word as though it tasted unpleasant. He shoved his hands inside the sleeves of his robe and fixed Steven with a hostile glare. ‘Perhaps my estimation of you as a man of culture was misplaced?’ he added accusingly.

Steven sighed. ‘Master Kukadis, all I said was that I thought it was odd that your tapestries and icons should depict humanoid beings when no humanoid life is native to this world, that’s all. It’s a perfectly reasonable question.’

‘The angels are depicted as they are because that is the form that they took,’ spat Kukadis. ‘It is irrelevant what other forms of life exist on Maranos, Maran’s angels looked like that,’ he jabbed the air in the direction of the hanging cloth. ‘The scriptures describe them thusly.’

‘But

’

‘No, I can see it is no use explaining it to you, you can’t grasp the majesty of our Lord and Protector.’

‘But I only

’

‘I shall go and locate Priest Makallis as he wished to be present when you examine the inscription and please, no more of your lies in his presence. Do not offend our most senior cleric.’ Kukadis shuffled off into the gloom, muttering darkly to himself.

Rekkid snorted. ‘Huh, isn’t blind faith wonderful? He can’t even bring himself to question anything about the appearance of those figures.’

‘Because he takes the scriptures as a factual account,’ said Katherine.

‘Exactly, and therefore he can’t bring himself to wonder why someone would describe mythical figures that bear no resemblance to anything that originated here on Maranos.’

‘What do you think Rekkid?’ said Steven. ‘You think it’s possible that some star-faring culture could have come here at some time?’

‘It had occurred to me, yes,’ replied Rekkid. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if it was my own people actually, looking at those figures.’

‘They are rather stylised though,’ said Katherine. ‘It could be anyone. The ring builders perhaps? Perhaps it was the original Arkari Empire that constructed them?’

‘No, no Quickchild reported that the rings were billions of years old, remember?’ said Rekkid thoughtfully. ‘Just before he lost contact with us,’ he added and a worried look passed over his features; they still hadn’t heard from the AI.

‘Hmm, yes you’re right, and this religion started up what, ten thousand standard years ago?’

‘Something like that. We’d be the only bipedal race possessing those physical proportions around at that time with interstellar capabilities.’

‘We’re a long way from Arkari space here though,’ said Steven.

‘Yes we are, but in the past there were periods when exploration beyond our own systems was much more common. Maybe one such expedition came here and became immortalised in the Dendratha religion. Imagine it: You’ve just figured out how to build such modern things as aqueducts and self supporting stone arches, when a load of strange creatures forty thousand years more advanced than you appear out of the sky in a huge flying ship.’

‘Something of a culture shock,’ said Steven

‘Exactly, and just the sort of thing that gets interpreted as divine intervention,’ said Rekkid. ‘Not that that has ever happened on Earth of course

just a joke,’ he said and grinned weakly.

Steven looked at him oddly, before responding. ‘Are you sure those images are of a species alien to this planet?’ he said. ‘I mean, couldn’t the Dendratha have just made them up? Religious imagery on Earth often contains monsters, demons and other fantastical creatures.’

‘Yes they do,’ replied Rekkid. ‘But in all cases they bear a passing physiological resemblance to existing species on the planet. Demons from Human myths and religious texts are, after all, humanoid - albeit humanoids with bats’ wings attached. No, I’ve seen this sort of thing before; consistent imagery of wholly alien life forms more often than not points to off-world influence being interpreted as divine acts or visitation.’

Katherine was still pondering the tapestry. ‘It begs the question though,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘If those are Arkari or some other species, then who are they fighting?’

‘Who knows?’ said Rekkid. ‘Maybe the idea of Maran’s angels fighting evil spirits or whatever is just a story, nothing more and I am wrong about my people coming here. There is no record of any interstellar conflict in this volume of space at that time.’

‘Yes, well. We ourselves know only too well that wars can be forgotten, don’t we?’

‘I admit that you have me there Katherine.’

‘It seems that there’s much more to Maranos than first appears doesn’t it?’ she said. ‘Ancient alien artefacts and now this; something very odd has happened to this planet during its lifetime. I wonder what else we’ll uncover?’

‘I wonder,’ replied Rekkid. ‘Perhaps if we look for other clues in the temple - other imagery perhaps? I wonder if we can look at a copy of that holy book of theirs?’

‘The Book of Maran?’ said Steven. Rekkid grunted in agreement. ‘There are copies on the lecterns at the end of each of the transepts, can you two read it?’

‘Rekkid can,’ said Katherine. ‘Can’t you Rekkid?’

‘Yes, yes I can. Just a moment. He fumbled in his satchel for a datapad and having found it he walked across the floor of the temple with Katherine and Steven trailing in his wake. He strode across the great space under the central tower to a great gilt lectern fashioned into the shape of a fierce scaly creature. It held a copy of the Book of Maran aloft with its upper sets of muscled limbs.

Rekkid stepped up to the lectern and peered at the antique volume that lay open in front of him. Its covers were wooden and cracked with age, but were carved exquisitely and inlaid with gems and precious metals. The pages were made from the delicately flayed and tanned hides of some unknown animal species, the ornate lettering and illustrations painstakingly inked in by hand. Rekkid produced a delicate Arkari-made manipulator tool shaped like a bulky pen that allowed him to lift and turn the pages using a gentle force-field. He was reluctant to touch the fragile volume and risk damaging it with his skin’s secretions. He activated his datapad also, using it to display a dictionary of the Dendratha language. Holding it in one hand and the manipulator in the other he studied the Book. Katherine and Steven watched him silently, knowing that they should not disturb his concentration. Oddly, no-one sought to challenge Rekkid as to what he was doing, indeed several passing clergy merely smiled when they saw Rekkid’s look of concentration and went on their way. It was quite some time before Rekkid located the passage he wanted. He beckoned to Katherine and Steven that they should come and look for themselves.

Katherine stepped up to the lectern and was awestruck. The book was a work of incredible artistic beauty. The right hand page contained dense ornate lettering which she herself could not read, whereas the left was taken up entirely by an illustration. It was hand painted in a style that was much more realistic than the cruder religious iconography that they had studied on the tapestries. It showed in incredible detail one of the angels of Maran, spear of light in one hand, shield in the other and surrounded by an aura of brilliance. Though the proportions and detail were slightly incorrect, as was the addition of luminescent wings, it was unmistakably an Arkari: A humanoid figure with a birdlike chest, thin graceful limbs and seven fingers on each hand, smooth light brown features with binocular eyes but lacking a nose and with a ridge of chitinous plates that ran down the middle of the cranium. Rekkid began to read haltingly from the text.

‘A thousand years after the creation of the world, a simple man, a caravan driver by the name of Qizila was beset by storms whilst crossing the great desert. In his haste to find shelter he did chance upon a cave and hid within to shield himself and his beasts from the tempest. It was a most blessed event. Deep inside the cave he found the guardian of our world, Maran, bound within the rock by bonds of evil. Maran spoke to the frightened Qizila saying ‘Do not be afraid my child. For you are to be my Prophet and shall go forth and tell of my coming, and all shall rejoice in my name and that of my siblings who shine upon this world.’ Qizila was filled with wonder and fell at Maran’s feet, praising him greatly.’

Rekkid consulted his datapad a while before continuing. ‘It was then that evil did trick Maran. When Qizila returned to his home he did spread the word of Maran’s coming to his people, but alas they did not heed his tidings. As a gesture of his power Maran parted the waves of the Circle Sea with a pillar of light many khemral across, and all were struck with wonder. But evil lurked at the bottom of the sea. As Maran parted the waves a great beast, huge and powerful and black, rose from the watery depths where it had lain since the beginning of the world. A multitude of demons rode upon its back, and it spat flame and death from its many mouths.

Maran called to his host of angels, who appeared from the heavens in chariots of silver. They were tall and noble and walked upon two legs with graceful movements. They were clad in shining armour and bore crests upon their heads. In their hands they carried lance of holy light and magical shields and they fought the damned hordes. Many angels were struck down and their chariots fell from the sky, but they fought for Maran with ever greater zeal. Eventually, pierced by many lances, the great beast was slain and its demons with it.

Maran had won a mighty victory, and he now he spoke to his prophet. ‘I shall return to the earth,’ he said. ‘For that is where the evil dwelleth. I shall remain there to protect you, and with my two siblings Irrin and Irrinil to watch over you, you shall know no fear. With that his host returned to the heavens, and he to the ground where he remaineth evermore.’ Rekkid stopped reading and turned to the others. ‘I think,’ he said, ‘that we need to find out just what the hell went on here.’

‘Agreed,’ said Katherine. ‘We saw from the log that the Arkari were here in this system a million years ago at the end of the civil war, but they must have come back more recently for some reason.’

‘It certainly seems so, I wonder why?’

‘You know something else just occurred to me. Do you suppose that there’s any link between the two sun gods and the presence of the rings?’

‘It’s possible I suppose,’ said Rekkid. ‘But sun gods are fairly common after all, they would probably have been ascribed some sort of religious meaning one way or another at some time. Nevertheless, I can’t help but wonder what all of this means? What were my people doing here ten thousand years ago? What was it that they fought?’

‘If it’s anything more than just a story,’ said Katherine. ‘If I were you I’d maintain a healthy dose of scepticism.’

‘You think a space battle or some other conflict occurred here Rekkid?’ said Steven.

‘Something like that,’ replied Rekkid. ‘The text mentioned “chariots of silver” descending from heaven. That could mean starships or landing craft I suppose, although Katherine’s right, it could all just be a fairy story. But there’s just something here on Maranos that we aren’t seeing. I can feel it.’

‘I wonder why you haven’t been mobbed by believers yet Rekkid,’ said Steven with some amusement.

‘Why would I be?’ Rekkid answered. ‘I am, after all, quite clearly as mortal as they.’

‘But the pictures

’

‘Display a flying, glowing being and I generally do neither. Besides, these people have known of the existence of aliens for some decades now. We arouse interest yes, as we saw on the way here, but it’s nothing more than the gawping of slack jawed yokels, if you’ll pardon the expression. They know we aren’t gods, but I’m guessing that they haven’t put two and two together yet.’

‘You mean, even though you look like one of their religious figures they assume that you can’t be because the scriptures don’t say anything about aliens.’

‘Yes, pretty much. Interesting what religion can do to even otherwise rational minds isn’t it?’

‘You think this is really the place to debate this? We should get going,’ said Katherine. ‘Kukadis and Makallis will be waiting for us.’

‘Wouldn’t want to annoy Kukadis any more by making him wait,’ replied Rekkid dryly. He took a photo of the open book then packed away his things. The three of them left the lectern and went to locate the entrance to the temple’s undercroft.

They found it eventually, a well worn stone ramp that wound down into the foundations. It brought them to the low ceilinged, barrel-vaulted warren of chambers that lay down there. The undercroft was lit by oil lamps, whose guttering flames provided a flickering gloom rather than proper illumination. Wandering through the ill lit maze they saw monks at study and prayer in spartan cells. Others shuffled to and fro on unknown errands and some regarded them with both interest and perhaps suspicion.

After becoming lost and asking for directions they eventually found Kukadis and Makallis standing impatiently in front of a wall of cracked and crumbling plaster. The material had fallen away in places revealing a second layer underneath that had cracked from floor to ceiling from the shifted weight of the building above. A row of regular characters could be seen inscribed faintly on the recently revealed surface.

Katherine guessed that this chamber they were now standing in was directly under the centre of the temple; it was circular with a slightly domed ceiling and enclosed by squat pillars that took the weight of the altar above. Kukadis heard the alien sound of their footfalls and turned to face them.

‘Ah, I see you’ve finally deigned to grace us with your presence? Tell me, did you find anything else in our temple to scorn, Professor Cor?’ he asked icily.

‘It was most interesting, thank you,’ replied Rekkid smoothly. ‘This must be Priest Makallis? Your Grace, I thank you for letting us visit your temple, our stay has been most enlightening.’

Makallis was old. His crimson robes hung upon a body bent and wizened with age. His skin was wrinkled and seemed paper thin, his eyes were rheumy yet still bright with intelligence. He regarded Rekkid with suspicion, yet remained polite.

‘Professor Cor,’ he began with laboured breaths. ‘Master Kukadis here seems displeased at your presence. I for one do not trust off-worlders such as you. Perhaps my age has made me suspicious of change but in my opinion, your coming here can pose nothing but a problem for us simpler folk.’ He coughed slightly. ‘However, it was Ekrino who requested your presence and he has a strong voice in our faith. I am grooming him as my successor. He may be radical by our standards but perhaps our faith needs to change with the times. Hence, I will allow this.’

‘Thank you your Grace.’

‘Hmm. You are an expert on ancient writings are you not Professor?’

‘Yes, that’s correct. I gather you wanted me to investigate this wall inscription?’

‘Indeed. I’m afraid it predates our earliest surviving records by some years. Our faith’s early history was

somewhat turbulent shall we say? Many of our documents were lost to heretics, pillagers and the like.’

‘I had no idea the history of the Dendratha was anything other than peaceful.’

‘Hah! Sadly not so, my friend. Anyway, we wondered if you might be able to tell us something about this wall.’

‘Ekrino said that an earth tremor dislodged the plaster.’

‘Yes, that’s correct. The frieze that covered this wall was almost as old as the temple, from just before the first sacking. Alas it is no more.’

Rekkid stepped up to the wall and peered at the lines of faint characters. They had been applied by hand in paint that had once been black but had faded to a pale brown over the millennia. He couldn’t make any sense of them. Though they bore some superficial resemblance to contemporary Dendratha script they were indecipherable. Rekkid shook his head.

‘I’m sorry, but without any reference material this is impossible.’

‘You can’t tell us anything?’ said Kukadis scornfully. ‘I thought you were an expert?’

‘Expert? Yes. Miracle worker? No. Though I can tell you that from the way the text is laid out that it looks like a verse from one of your holy books.’

Kukadis snorted. ‘That’s all? We knew that already.’

‘I can tell you one other thing.’ said Rekkid

‘What?’

‘There’s something behind this wall.’ He tapped the crumbling stone to demonstrate. There was a hollow knock and some grains fell from the surface.

‘Really?’ said Kukadis, his voice laden with sarcasm. ‘Well, it seems that the archaeological knowledge of the Arkari really is legendary, I’m glad that you came all this way.’

‘Kukadis,’ said Makallis wearily. ‘Cease this hostility, the Professor here is trying to help.’ Kukadis fell silent and glared at Rekkid.

Rekkid continued. ‘The point is,’ he said fingering one of the long cracks, ‘is that Katherine and I could see what is behind this wall if you like, perhaps the inscription was relevant to what lies behind it.’

‘Professor, I’d rather you didn’t dismantle my temple stone by stone if it’s all the same to you,’ said Makallis.

‘No need.’

‘Then how do you propose to go about looking behind the wall?’

‘I’ll show you. Katherine, can you get the ultrasound probe from our kit please?’

Katherine delved into one of the pockets of her bag and produced a device which Rekkid plugged into the back of his portable computer: It was fat electronics module from which protruded a thin, telescopic proboscis tipped with a coating of nanotech ultrasound equipment. Rekkid explained how it worked.

‘We can insert this probe into the crack and get an image of the chamber on the other side using high frequency sound waves.’ The two clergy looked nonplussed. ‘It’s quite a remarkable tool - the Humans based it on a creature that exists on their world that they call a bat. This creature flies at night and emits sound waves that reflect from objects and give it a picture of the world around it despite the absence of any light. We can use the same principle to examine sealed chambers without having to excavate first, it saves a lot of time.’

‘I know nothing of these ‘bats’ Professor Cor,’ said Makallis. ‘But I am familiar with the concept of sound echoes. I shall have to take your word for it, you may proceed.’

Rekkid knelt by the crack and with Katherine’s assistance inserted the long thin probe into the cracked stonework whilst Steven held up a torch for them to see more clearly in the half light. Once it was inside, they extended the rapier thin proboscis until it registered that its tip had penetrated to the chamber beyond. The two Dendratha watched with interest as Katherine activated the device. There was a barely audible chirp from within the wall, then a three dimensional virtual image of the chamber beyond began to take shape on the screen of Rekkid’s computer.

The chamber was long and irregular, like a natural cave that had been artificially smoothed and hollowed out further. Clearly visible on the screen were niches in the walls two metres or so in length. There were twelve of them dotted around the chamber and though it was hard to tell from the image’s poor resolution, they appeared to contain remains.

Katherine grinned and beckoned for the others to look. ‘I think we’ve found what we came here to look for in the first place,’ she said triumphantly. ‘Twelve bodies buried beneath the centre of the temple? Gentlemen, I think we found the priests.’

‘Then,’ said Makallis. ‘You may proceed with excavating this chamber. Kukadis, you and your students will assist in every way possible. No objections now, this is of supreme importance to our Church, is that clear?’ Kukadis reluctantly agreed. ‘It seems that my suspicions about our visitors were ill-founded. Indeed this day has been blessed by Maran himself! This can only be a good omen. When can you get to work?’

‘Right away,’ replied Rekkid, beaming. He saved a cheery smile for Makallis, who scowled back at him in response.

Chapter 20

Mentith stood at the window of his sanctum and admired the view. He was back in Arkari space after many weeks away and it felt good to be among his own kind for a while without being confined to the cabins of a starship. He had returned to his home on the world of Gigarathme that lay in Arkula, one of the core systems of the Navy-governed volume of the Sphere. If anything, it was the Navy’s administrative capital, if such a thing existed. He had stayed with his family for a while, or what remained of it - his long years of service had taken its toll - but he had felt the itch to return to work before long and so had come here to think, study and plan for an uncertain future.

Studying the view helped to calm him, helped him to think with more clarity. The scene was as serene and beautiful as it was astounding. Mentith’s sanctum lay almost ten kilometres from ground level in the upper half of Kiralus Spire, one of the many great cities of Gigarathme that rose into the sky like exquisite crystalline trees, swelling gracefully from their trunks to a width of almost five kilometres before tapering gradually back to their apexes over three times that distance from the ground.

Kiralus’s latticework structure housed hundreds of thousands of Arkari families within its criss-cross outer shell of branches. The gaps between the branches were sealed with transparent crystal or force fields and the largely hollow interior was filled with beautiful multi-levelled gardens and parks for the inhabitants.

Held aloft by its structural strength and by antigravity fields, the design of the city was not merely aesthetic. Though beauty had been a major consideration in its construction, the city’s shape allowed it to house a great many Arkari in a settlement that only utilised a small area of land, and thus had a minimal impact on the planet’s environment. Gigarathme was dotted with hundreds of such tree cities. Mentith could see several rising majestically above the cloud deck in the distance, giving the world a population of around fifty billion that occupied less than one percent of its surface. Around the equator the cities were taller still, so tall that they projected into the upper atmosphere, and from their tips sprouted space elevators that joined to the orbital halo like the slender spokes of a wheel. Mentith could just see the halo against the growing dusk, a narrow arc of light that crossed the sky low down by the horizon. It formed the hub of the Navy’s docking and defence facilities in the system and was home to hundreds of thousands of fleet vessels, just one vertebra in the backbone of the great Arkari Navy.

Those were Mentith’s ships, his crews to command at the behest of his superior - Fleet Meritarch Beklide - who always allowed him a suitable level of autonomy. The thought of the power that he held filled him with pride, and with a sense of great responsibility. For was it not the restraint of the Arkari that made them more civilised than the other more barbarous races? He wondered what the K’Soth, or even the Commonwealth would do if they possessed such power to wield. The Arkari had not expanded their dominion for almost ten thousand years, instead contenting themselves to laying claim to a perfect sphere of space five hundred light years in diameter within which they strove to make every world as perfect as possible.

Mentith was aware that among the other races there was much speculation as to why the Arkari had done this. Why had they not swept all before them with their superior technology? Mentith knew. The expansion had stopped at the request of the Navy, who thought and planned in the extreme long term. The Arkari population had long remained roughly static in number. Not only did they not require more living space or resources but, with the manpower available, the Sphere was deemed to be the largest volume that it was practical to defend without the risk of losing entire systems or worlds. One day they would have to do so.

For now, the younger, brasher races must be shepherded and nurtured until they too were strong enough. Those like the Humans and their Commonwealth who showed promise would be encouraged, whilst those like the K’Soth who did not would be allowed to wither and decline, perhaps with a little push now and again given to both parties one way or the other. As for the Esacir and other peaceable races, they would be shielded and protected and their expertise and knowledge put to good use.

Mentith was worried. It seemed that the day of reckoning was far nearer than anyone had suspected, that already agents of the enemy were abroad in this portion of space, seeding disruption and conflict. This business in the Fulan system for example, it vexed him greatly. There was a warble from the door to his sanctum which disturbed his thoughts.

‘Come,’ he called out. The door slid aside silently, revealing a slim Arkari dressed in the uniform of the Military Intelligence Cadre. It was Entillo Vadil, Meritarch of the Cadre and though he came under Mentith’s direct command, the War Marshal did not entirely trust Vadil, suspecting as he did that Vadil resented the fact. Mentith bade him enter.

‘Good evening Vadil, you’re rather late.’

‘My apologies, War Master.’

‘Never mind, you gave me additional time to think. How goes the surveillance operation?’

Vadil looked uneasy. ‘We have had

mixed success, War Marshal. We had enlisted the assistant of Commonwealth intelligence assets. However, they were not able to ascertain whether or not O’Reilly was in fact an enemy agent. In addition it appears that she evaded them in the Klondike system with outside help?’

‘How?’

‘We have a logged transmission to O’Reilly personal communicator informing her to take a different flight than the scheduled one she was booked on. The gist of the conversion was that the transport vessel was suffering mechanical problems and would not be departing on schedule and instead she should board an independent vessel the Nine Lives.’

‘I see.’

‘The transmission was faked. The image of the caller was entirely computer generated and the scheduled service to the Fulan system did in fact depart on time. In addition the transmission was encrypted and we were not able to decrypt it in time determine its contents and to prevent O’Reilly from leaving.’

‘And where is O’Reilly now? On Maranos?’

‘We believe so. The Nine Lives was found drifting in interstellar space and her captain dead. Evidently he had played host to one of the enemy’s agents. However Maranos’s neutral and protected status means that we are having some difficulty in placing agents on the planet. We’re trying some diplomatic back channels, but there are questions about local sovereignty that are proving something of a stumbling block.’

‘It isn’t good enough Vadil,’ chided Mentith. ‘We need to know what O’Reilly and Cor are up to. You should’ve moved more quickly on this.’

Vadil regarded him through eyes slitted with suppressed anger. ‘War Marshal, Meritarch Beklide commanded that we should focus our resources upon the military standoff between the K’Soth and the Commonwealth. Other operations have been somewhat starved of resources and the diplomatic corp have also been devoting most of their attention to this. What with that to consider as well as monitoring the galactic core

’

Mentith sighed wearily. ‘And how is the situation there Vadil?’

‘The Shapers are moving.’

‘They are?’ Mentith was filled with dread.

‘Yes. Something has united them, they no longer fight among themselves and they move with a single purpose. Our modelling suggests that at best it may merely be a handful of years before their reach extends this far.’

‘Let me see the full report Vadil. I’ll need to consult the yards if we need to step up our fleet building program.’

‘Yes, of course. I’ll have it sent here immediately after this meeting.’

‘Good. For now however, we need to concern ourselves with the more pressing matters at hand. You say you were not unable to uncover the agent?’

‘Do you believe that one exists somewhere on Maranos?’

‘Yes, all this points to a plot to weaken all parties in the region. It certainly fits the pattern. Whether or not O’Reilly is a host or not, those idiots are being strung along like Kildessi shadow puppets.’

‘Indeed, War Marshal. The enemy are few in number and seek to gain allies or to weaken those who would oppose them via their scheming. This particular case could embarrass us and damage our reputation even if we do intervene and risk the bulk of our fleet to deal with any incursion. Doubtless it would devastate the Commonwealth and the K’Soth possibly the Esacir as well if we don’t. They cannot hope to oppose the Banished Ones.’

‘In the event of an incursion we can hardly avoid intervention though, can we?’

‘No, it is a problem of our making after all, and only we can hope to oppose the Banished Ones.’

‘You would sanction the fleet to use all means necessary?’

‘Yes, if need be.’ said Mentith firmly.

Vadil looked disgusted. ‘War Marshal, if I may speak freely.’

‘You may.’

‘You would allow the fleet to

to

Maranos may be a sparsely populated backward world but it is home to over twenty million sentient beings.’

‘I will do what is necessary. If the Banished return it could prove disastrous, not only for the Fulan system and the Commonwealth, but for ourselves also. We lost many ships last time and though we have not been idle these past millennia I very much doubt whether they have stagnated.’

‘We have to act in a civilised manner until all else fails. Else we become like the Banished, like the Shapers or K’Soth. Would you have that!? Would you? World death is barbaric.’

‘It would be a rational, measured response, given the risks’

‘What you and Beklide plan to do in the event is measured?’

‘It is a last resort should your people fail, I shall say no more on the subject!’ barked Mentith with a finality that silenced Vadil who by now was perceptibly quivering with rage. ‘Now Vadil,’ he continued calmly. ‘What news of the Commonwealth-K’Soth standoff?’ Vadil said nothing. ‘Please, sit. I apologise for my harsh words but it was necessary.’

Vadil seemed to calm a little and he did as Mentith asked.

‘Very well,’ he said with some resentment, and then produced a small projection unit from his tunic. He placed the device on a low table in the centre of the room.

Vadil touched a small button and the air above the table was filled with a three dimensional map of the volume of space around the Commonwealth-K’Soth border. Hundreds of star systems were shown, coloured according to their allegiance, together with fleet dispositions on both sides. The map was bisected by the Demilitarised Zone, shown as a thick pale blue wall that cut a slice through the image. The range of the DMZ monitoring arrays was shown as an additional wall of stacked yellow bubbles that projected from the various star systems within the Zone to a radius of twenty five light years. Vadil began to narrate as he manipulated the image, expanding various systems or regions to fill the view as he talked.

‘The current deployment of both sides is as follows: Both have adopted a very aggressive posture with regard to the positioning of their fleets. In theory, one could launch an attack on the other in a very short space of time. The K’Soth deployment is quite straight forward. They are gathering ships at four key locations along the border, at Shafar, Con-Lytic, Varu and Quar Kist.’ The four systems were highlighted, forming a vertical diamond shape on the map. ‘All are K’Soth dominion systems rather than colonial possessions and allow each fleet to be positioned so that a maximum area can be defended by each one. Ideally one fleet would hold any attack, allowing the other three to respond quickly and provide reinforcements.’

‘I understand that the Commonwealth are aware of this, Haines told me as much.’

‘Yes, such concentrations of ships would be difficult to conceal, even to sensors as primitive as those possessed by the Commonwealth.’

‘The Commonwealth have deployed their ships quite differently though haven’t they? I couldn’t quite fathom it out from the scraps Haines let me have.’

‘Doubtless his warrior’s pride and prudence would not allow him to reveal his plans fully even to you. Haines has spread his forces very thinly throughout the entire volume, a few ships in each system.’ A swarm of symbols flashed on the map. Mentith studied it thoughtfully.

‘Hmm, it would take them longer to deploy their fleet but I believe it allows them to hide their numbers.’

‘Yes, we thought so too.’

‘These ships near the border are commanded by Captain Chen are they not?’ Vadil nodded. ‘They are very visible to the K’Soth, as are these others over here.’ He gestured at the Normandy and her group. ‘But these ones further back would be difficult to detect if positioned correctly. My guess is that Haines would try to trick the K’Soth into attacking the smaller force whilst he gathers the Navy for a counterstrike.’

‘That was our analysis also.’

‘Haines wouldn’t tell me what he was planning fully. Well, well

’ he paused for a moment. ‘So,’ he continued. ‘What is the likelihood that these two navies are actually going to fight one another? I am aware of the rumours and speculation, tell me the facts.’

‘It seems very likely I’m afraid. Crushing the K’Soth would not only vanquish the old enemy but would make the current administration popular, providing it was fairly swift victory. This is an administration formed by a party that has assumed a fairly belligerent stance since the last war with K’Soth and which has achieved great political success as a result. War would solve the Commonwealth’s main external threat and in addition, the liberation would open up whole tracts of developed systems for business.’ Mentith snorted derisively, the Arkari had long since surpassed any need for economics. Vadil continued. ‘The K’Soth also require additional worlds and resources to fuel their feudal system and relieve their military’s drain on their economy. Conquest of the Commonwealth would provide an intense but brief rejuvenation to the Empire, though in the long term the increased overstretch would prove counter-productive. We believe that the current negotiations between the two sides are nothing but a formality. Both sides seem to think that they can win, and both feel that they have much to gain from victory.’

‘I see, and who is likely to win, Vadil?’

‘We aren’t certain. Certainly the Commonwealth has better ships, but they are far fewer in number. It will depend on whether Haines’s plan is successful or not. If I may ask, are we to intervene?’

Mentith snorted scornfully. ‘So far, our far sighted Council has only agreed to intervene should the Commonwealth appear to be losing badly, and then only to defend their core systems, not to defeat the K’Soth utterly. They believe it is not our place. I however would disagree, but we must obey them, right or wrong.’

‘The Council do not see the greater picture.’

‘They do see all too well, but they do not know what to do about it. One of the great flaws of our systems Vadil; when people are elected to high office based on their intellect and abilities it often destroys those very qualities that put them there. It swells their egos and they listen to the advice of others less and less. They bicker and squabble endlessly about how to act. Consequently, they have not adjusted their policy of non-intervention.’

It was nearly dark outside now. The other distant cities were visible as glittering reefs of light in the distance. Vadil reached down and switched off the projector, then placed it back inside his tunic.

‘I thank you for your briefing Vadil,’ said Mentith. ‘Remember what I said. Now I must consult Beklide. I’m sure that she would appreciate knowing immediately what you have just relayed to me.’

‘I shall send my report to her immediately.’

‘Yes, of course Vadil. But I shall talk with her anyway in person, it is only proper. You may go.’

Vadil touched his forehead beneath his crest in salute and then turned smartly and left. Mentith watched him go. So, he thought, we must prepare.

After consulting the city’s gestalt he located Beklide on one of the upper level gardens. She had also made her home here, as had a number of other high ranking naval personnel. Kiralus Spire was somewhat exclusive - a subtle concept rather harder to define in a society long devoid of monetary divisions. It was the home of those whom Arkari respected and venerated for their achievements, or sometimes the possibility of what they might achieve.

Mentith headed for the nearest travel tube and requested that it to take him to the station nearest her location. He cursed his aching bones as he sat in the small capsule; at over seven hundred years old even the anti-aging treatments of his people were having a hard time keeping him fit and healthy. His knees were becoming particularly troublesome, though he denied himself an antigrav harness. He would stave off that particular humiliation for a while yet.

Stepping out of the travel tube station he immediately sighted the figure of Beklide sitting on a low bench that overlooked a shallow pool surrounded by landscaped greenery. The pool was one of a chain, linked by sparkling waterfalls that fell from level to level right the way down to the bottom of the city through holes in the different floors or from the edges of artificial cliffs hanging impossibly in the air.

With the crystalline trunk at his back, the landscape fanned out in front of Mentith, supported from below by a network of branches until it reached the woven outer wall. Looking up a hundred metres or so he could see further branches holding other brackets of land. The branches were honeycombed with hundreds of Arkari dwellings, each of them spacious and comfortable.

Though Beklide was even older than he, she sat proudly upright. Her movements and demeanour gave away little of her years. Her face too, was surprisingly youthful in appearance. He found her watching a crowd of children, no doubt members of the vast family she had managed to become matriarch of, despite her long periods away aboard starships. Mentith wondered how she had managed that. He had never quite been able to balance the two priorities correctly and duty had always won in the end.

Beklide’s hearing was still sharp also. She turned towards Mentith at the sound of his soft footfalls. ‘Irakun.’ she said. ‘What brings you to see me?’

Mentith sat beside her on the bench, his joints protesting as he did so. ‘The reports from the core and from our quarrelling neighbours - I trust that you’ve read them, Lorali?’

‘Yes, I have,’ she said, and her expression became grave. ‘Most troubling,’ she added quietly.

‘Indeed, we could be facing open war in mere years.’

‘Of that, I am certain. We should accelerate the ship and weapons programmes.’

‘My thoughts also.’

‘Something has united them. They have ceased to fight among themselves as they have done for millennia. Now they move with a single purpose. ‘

‘Do we know why?’

‘Alas, no. Our intelligence services were unable to determine this,’ she paused. ‘We did send reconnaissance missions to the core. None of them returned, so to speak.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Many came back, but the ships and their crews were

changed, infected - slaves to their will. We had to destroy them before they reached any of the worlds within the Sphere. To allow them to re-enter our society would have been disastrous.’

‘We must do something. We can’t just sit here and wait for them to reach us.’

‘Yes, I will take this to the Council. They cannot possibly ignore this threat.’

‘I fear some may, they are reluctant to even involve us in the affairs of our galactic neighbours.’

‘Perhaps they are right. Would it be proper if we were to charge in, dealing out death and justice in an arbitrary fashion? How can they grow if we do everything for them? No, the Commonwealth must defeat the K’Soth on their own. We shall merely act as a safety net, so to speak.’

‘It’s just that sometimes I fear that the Council members are too smug and secure. They need to face up to grim reality and gain some perspective.’

‘Yes, it is easy to feel secure here, isn’t it Irakun? Five hundred light years inside the most advanced and heavily defended volume of local space. But what is that in galactic terms? Very little I’m afraid. We are but a speck that has flourished in an eye blink and can vanish again just as quickly. Those we face are far, far older than anyone else still abroad in the galaxy. They are as uncaring and as implacable in enslaving or destroying younger species as we would be curing a disease or rooting out a troublesome swarmer nest. It is only their dwindling numbers that prevent this now.’

‘Quite, but something from our all too brief history may yet be our undoing.’

‘Ah yes. I take it you are referring to the Fulan system?’

‘Yes. I was wondering if you had any further advice as to our reaction should an incursion occur.’

‘No Irakun, I still agree with you. In the event, we shall deploy the fleet and crush them before they have a chance to establish themselves. If Fulan becomes a base of operations for the Banished Ones then it is not just the Commonwealth and the K’Soth who may suffer, we may not be able to contain them.’

‘You think they are still strong enough, even after all this time?’

‘I do, and I will personally sanction the use of all means necessary to nip any incursion in the bud. I will take full responsibility for my actions.’

‘What of the Council? How will you explain the deployment of our fleet to the other Meritarchs?’

‘Perhaps it is time they knew the truth about our sordid past? The last time this occurred only a few were told and all were sworn to secrecy. The others were not told anything, no matter how much they asked us.’

‘All of this trouble, because of a couple of academics who should know better.’

‘Cor always was a fool, leaving the Sphere to live in the squalor of the Commonwealth,’ said Beklide scornfully. ‘It defies all reason.’

‘The files we have paint him as something of a renegade.’

‘Perhaps he is. Perhaps he’s just too caught up in his work to realise what he’s being used for.’

‘Well, would we? We know of the Shapers’ activities because we never keep our gaze from them. Blink, and the Shapers take advantage of our momentary blindness.’

‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ said Beklide. ‘In dealing with this, we may have to blink. It will occupy our fullest attention I fear.’ She gestured at the playing youngsters. ‘Look at them, the blissful ignorance of youth. I am old, Irakun, I have seen and done much and lived a long and healthy life. I would like my descendants to do so as well.’

‘But if they come.’

‘Not if Irakun, when. Then, nothing is certain.’

Chapter 21

With the help of the students from the university, Katherine and Rekkid carefully dismantled the cracked wall stone by stone. To preserving the wall’s inscription they labelled and recorded the original location of each part in turn as they worked in order that the wall could be re-assembled or rebuilt exactly at a later date. Rekkid’s original plan to make a small entrance in one corner proved unworkable. The wall was so fragile that it threatened to collapse when they removed even a single block, so in the interests of safety they dismantled a section of the wall floor-to-ceiling to create an entrance.

Katherine had once again chosen Bibarat as her assistant and the young Dendratha had eagerly agreed. It was whilst the two of them were painstakingly removing one of the heavier blocks that a shadow fell across them - a Dendratha shape was blocking the light from the illumination that had been erected to aid their work. Katherine turned and looked up from her work.

Ekrino looked down on her and smiled. ‘Hello Doctor,’ he said. ‘I see you and the Professor are making good progress.’

Katherine stood up and brushed some of the dirt from her trousers. ‘Your Grace, how nice to see you again. Did you have a pleasant trip from Erais?’ Ekrino nodded. ‘Well, Rekkid and I believe we may have found what we were looking for all along.’

‘The twelve priests?’ asked the old Dendratha excitedly. Katherine nodded. ‘Excellent, excellent, however I gather you were unable to interpret the inscription on this wall?’

‘Yes, that true I’m afraid, though we did make a record of it for future study and this wall is being dismantled in such a way that we can reconstruct it later. However, without any other source of reference it’s an almost impossible task I’m afraid.’ Ekrino looked downcast. ‘There was something I want to know though,’ she added.

‘Please, feel free to ask.’

‘If this chamber does contain the priests, why would they be sealed away in secret like this? It seems strange given their prominence in your religion.’

Ekrino looked thoughtful. ‘Our religion’s history has not always been free from strife Doctor,’ he said. ‘In its infancy, we were regarded with a great deal of suspicion by those who followed the old ways, those who worshipped only the suns, and though it shames me to admit it, there is some evidence that sacrifices were part of the earliest ceremonies.’

‘Yes

yes we found bodies buried in the grounds that displayed signs of violence inflicted on them. Master Kukadis was most upset as I recall, he didn’t want to acknowledge the fact at all. He and Rekkid had something of a row.’

‘Kukadis may not like it but it is true, alas. It was one of many reasons why our people were persecuted at first. This place was raided and defiled several times. It is quite possible that the priests were secreted away to prevent their remains from falling prey to tomb robbers or vandals. It seems that the passage of time has erased their true location from our records and our collective memory, although it may explain the absence of the earliest documents from our records. The Book of Maran was of course copied by hand and added to and revised repeatedly over the years and so has changed gradually over time. It is now written in a different tongue to the original.’

‘That would make sense. We’ve encountered similar scenarios on Earth where the tombs of the wealthy or powerful were hidden to prevent them from being pillaged. It wasn’t always successful, though some lay undiscovered for thousands of years.’

Ekrino looked at Bibarat, who immediately averted his gaze and fixed it on the floor. ‘And who is this young fellow?’

‘Bibarat, your grace,’ muttered Bibarat. ‘I

I’m a student at the University.’

‘He’s been very helpful,’ said Katherine. ‘He shows great promise in his field. His enthusiasm is quite refreshing compared to the attitude of some others I could mention.’

Ekrino smiled at Bibarat, who smiled weakly back. ‘Good, I’m glad to hear it. Well I shall keep you from your work no longer Doctor. I shall go and bother the Professor if I may. Do you have any idea where he is?’

‘In the adjacent chamber with Kukadis I believe,’ she pointed. Ekrino thanked her and shuffled away, leaning heavily on his staff.

It was some time before the team had created a stable entrance large enough for the less agile Dendratha to squeeze through. This completed, they took torches and stepped gingerly over the threshold.

The chamber beyond was low ceilinged and uneven. Their initial assessment had been correct - flickering torchlight revealed a natural cavern that had been worked by hand tools into a more usable space. The dry air was stale, un-breathed by living things for millennia. It reeked of age. Rekkid shone his torch beam into the utter darkness of the chamber’s recesses, revealing the wall niches, within which lay ancient Dendratha remains.

Katherine and Rekkid examined the bodies, or what was left of them. Curled in the circular niches they had decayed long since, until all that remained were fragile skeletal remains clad in the remnants of ceremonial robes. The large, heavy skulls grinned at them from the darkness, paper thin skin stretched tight over bone. Mummified lips curled back in grotesque smiles.

Most were buried with symbols of their status: rods of office tarnished with age, religious scrolls now little more than piles of dust and fragments of ribbon. Plaques and chiselled inscriptions underneath their resting places seemed to denote the identity of the cadavers but, like the script they had found on the wall outside, they were unreadable. There was little doubt as to who these remains were though, that much was obvious.

Rekkid returned to the entrance and called for Kukadis and Ekrino to come and have a look. The two Dendratha eventually managed to squeeze their aged frames through the entrance and looked in amazement at what the team had uncovered.

‘Professor, Doctor, I must congratulate you on your discovery,’ said Ekrino, in a state of some excitement. ‘I would thank you on behalf of our faith but I doubt whether I can adequately express our true gratitude. Even Master Kukadis here is impressed and I dare say that’s a rare thing!’

Kukadis smiled weakly at Ekrino. ‘Perhaps I was wrong about you and the Doctor, Professor,’ he confessed grudgingly. ‘It seems that inviting you two here wasn’t an entirely bad idea after all. No doubt Primate Makallis will be overjoyed at your find.’

Katherine wasn’t really listening. She had noticed something about the bodies.

‘If I may ask,’ she heard Rekkid say to Ekrino. ‘What are your plans now regarding the remains? Since they are within the temple do you still plan to re-inter them?’

Katherine noticed that the priests were not buried uniformly. They were all lying at different angles relative to the wall.

‘Well we will have to reconsider,’ replied Ekrino. ‘Perhaps we might make this tomb into a shrine instead. I shall consult with my brethren in order to resolve this in the light of this wondrous find.’

The priests were all lying so that they faced towards one point. They were all looking at a pile of rubble in the far north-western corner of the room where the ceiling had partially collapsed some time ago.

Katherine walked over to it and began pulling stones out of the way. Rekkid noticed what she was doing.

‘Katherine? What have you found,’ he called out.

‘Look at the priests Rekkid. What do you notice?’

‘Nothing. Look what

?’

‘Come and stand here.’ He did so. ‘Now look at them.’

Rekkid shone his torch on each of the priests in turn. He swore. ‘They’re all looking at me! Well not at me, this corner of the room. Bibarat, give us a hand here with these rocks, Master Kukadis, if you wouldn’t mind enlisting a few more of your students to help?’

‘I wonder what’s behind here?’ Katherine mused. ‘Another chamber perhaps?’

‘Probably. This rubble didn’t show up properly on the scan we made, I expect that the jumble of surfaces gave off some odd returns. No wonder we missed it initially.’

With the help of the students it didn’t take long to move enough rubble out of the way so that Rekkid and Katherine could step over the pile of rocks and into the next chamber. They helped one another to scramble over the treacherous mound of loose stones and then had the students pass their torches to them. They shone their light around the new chamber. It was cylindrical and unusually smooth and bare except for a circular steel plate bolted to the floor. This was pitted and brittle with age, but the plasticised plaque affixed to its centre was still readable. It was marked with rows of characters, regular geometric shapes that both Rekkid and Katherine had seen before many times. They were Arkari.

‘This chamber was sealed by Order of the Meritarch Council of the Arkari. Dictum 233, Article 3, Section 7. A31775.4.32 Unauthorised entry to this facility is prohibited by Arkari law,’ translated Rekkid. ‘A31775, that would be about ten thousand Commonwealth standard years ago. Shit, my people were here about the time the Dendratha formed their religion. The images in the temple weren’t just a coincidence. We have to see what’s inside!’

‘Rekkid, are your sure that’s such a good idea?’ said Katherine warily. ‘What about

’ She was interrupted by the chirping of Rekkid’s comm. He answered the noisy device.

‘Rekkid here.’

‘Rekkid, it’s Steven,’ the signal was poor, a result of their location deep underground. ‘You should come upstairs right away, Captain Spiers says that the Darwin has finished its survey and he wants to talk to you.’

‘Steven, can it wait? We’ve just made several amazing finds down here I

’

‘He says it’s important. He says he has to speak to you right now.’

‘Very well,’ replied Rekkid. ‘I’ll be up in a moment.’ He shut off the comm. and put it back in his pocket. ‘Katherine I’m sure this can wait, it’ll still be here for us later I suppose. Are you coming? It seems like the Darwin found something of interest.’

‘Better than this?’

‘Steven seemed to think so.’

They returned to the surface. Katherine for one was glad to be free of the oppressive, airless gloom they had endured in the temple’s basement for so many hours, though she was anxious to return to their finds. They found Steven in a small side chapel where he had set up their communications equipment on a small table at the rear of the room. Shafts of coloured light from the stained glass windows cut through the half light, highlighting the dust in the air as it danced in the beams.

The three of them sat around the small screen of Rekkid’s computer as he made contact with the Darwin. After a few brief seconds Spiers’ bearded face appeared on the screen.

‘Hello Captain,’ said Rekkid cheerfully. ‘I hear you too have had a most productive day. We ourselves have just uncovered evidence of Arkari interference in this planet’s history ten thousand years ago.’

‘Really?’ said Spiers. ‘That’s fascinating. Well

’ he gave a short laugh. ‘I apologise if it seems like I’m stealing the show here Professor but wait until you see this.’ Spiers’ image receded to the corner of the screen. The rest was now filled with a rotating globe of Maranos that showed the geological composition of the world as well as the topology of the surface. ‘We did a survey of the planet’s crust to determine its composition, to see if it would give us any clue as to events in its history and hence tell us how it got to be where it is.’

‘Yes, the conundrum of how Maranos came to rest at the Lagrange point.’

‘Quite. Well what we didn’t expect to find was this.’ As Spiers spoke a series of geometric shapes appeared inside the globe - slim cylinders that probed inwards towards the planet’s core. Two fat tubes a hundred kilometres in diameter pointed inwards from the poles, two slimmer ones pointed inward from opposite points around the equator, whilst another, much more slender, reed like structure penetrated the planet from a point on the equator situated half way between them. The cylinders terminated where the depth range of the Darwin’s instruments ran out, but dotted wire frames indicated their extrapolated shapes.

‘What the hell is that?’ said Katherine.

‘An interesting question Doctor,’ replied Spiers. ‘Simply put, we don’t have a clue. What we can be certain of is this: They are definitely artificial, and their size would seem to preclude them being constructed by the current inhabitants of the planet. Perhaps they were by the same people who built the rings, or maybe the Arkari? We don’t know as yet, but that’s where you come in. Anyway, the polar structures are buried under the seas, and our analysis of the sea beds indicates that although they have been buried by millennia of silt, they are almost perfectly smooth where the structures reach the surface. The two larger equatorial structures point directly at the rings we found orbiting the two stars. Furthermore, you are sitting right on top of that third, thinner equatorial structure, and I mean right on top: it’s tip breaches the crust exactly where that temple stands.’

‘Rekkid, that sealed entrance we just uncovered

’ said Katherine excitedly. ‘Maybe that’s it. My god, we wondered if we’d find any other evidence of the ring builders on the planet.’

‘Maybe. Captain, we just found a hidden entrance to some underground facility hidden in the bowels of this building, perhaps that’s it?’

‘It seems possible, yes.’

‘The entrance was sealed by my people approximately ten thousand years ago,’ said Rekkid. ‘We are going to attempt to open it.’

‘Well I wish you luck. I’m at a loss to explain the purpose of these structures.’

‘What are they constructed from?’ said Katherine.

‘As far as we can tell.’ said Spiers apparently examining another screen. ‘They are made from a super dense artificial composite similar to the ring material. It isn’t as dense though, or else it would inflict unusual not to say destructive gravitic effects upon the planet’s crust. But its construction is far beyond the capabilities of any technologies that we are familiar with.’

‘The fact that two of those objects point towards the rings would seem to indicate that the two are linked,’ said Rekkid. ‘Perhaps they’re part of the same device?’

‘Yes that was our first thought,’ agreed Spiers. ‘But a device for what?’

‘Beats me. On the other hand, maybe they could be underground settlements? Some species are subterranean after all. Perhaps their cities drew power from the rings?’

‘Wouldn’t it make more sense to rely on geothermal power, given their location?’ said Spiers. ‘Anyway, we intend to conduct some deeper scans of the objects, Professor. Until then this is all just academic speculation. Whoever these people were, they were certainly capable of some very impressive engineering.’

‘Captain,’ said Katherine. ‘Is there any indication that anything you’ve found could be linked to the Arkari?’

‘We’re not sure about the structures themselves,’ Spiers replied. ‘But we found something else too, in the dust sea. Wait till you see this.’ Spiers zoomed in on the globe until the screen was filled with the map of the Alreda Sea with two points marked towards the centre. He then continued with his commentary. ‘Due to the nature of the dust and other loose materials that fill this large natural basin our sensors were able to probe much more deeply than they would through solid rock. Hence we were able to image the sea floor as well the rocks that lie below the dust layer. We found these objects lying on the bottom. They appear to be artificial and the returns and gravimetric readings we’re getting off them indicate that they are metallic and possibly hollow.’

‘These objects.’ queried Katherine. ‘How large are they?’

‘One is about a kilometre in length, the other is slightly larger. Here, I’ll show you.’ Spiers replaced the map with composite images taken from the ship’s sensors. One showed a graceful tapered shape, like that of a fish. The other was quite different: a battered shape which tapered at both ends but which swelled and subdivided into additional tapered sections in the middle. They were unmistakeable.

‘My god, Captain,’ said Rekkid. ‘I know what these are.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes. The image on the left here is an Arkari ship of a design in use around ten thousand years ago. The other resembles the Arkari craft that we found floating between Barnard’s Star and Arcturus and which we believe to be around a million years old.’

‘Yes we thought that they might be ship wrecks too. I heard about that find of yours though. You two were dismissed as cranks weren’t you?’

‘That we were, Captain,’ replied Rekkid icily. ‘However, I imagine our reputations are about to be exonerated.’

‘Well I hate to cast any doubts on that Professor, but you may not get the chance. Those wrecks are resting on the bottom under a kilometre of dust. My guess would be that that’s the only reason they’ve survived. Anything that size falling out of orbit would leave a huge hole in the ground otherwise. The sea must have acted together with any shielding they had to cushion their fall and preserve them.’

‘There’s no way of raising them?’ said Katherine. ‘We’ve done it with sea ships before many times.’

‘That dust is much heavier than water Doctor. You’d need a powerful field generator to extract the wrecks, or else the weight of the dust would snap them in two when you moved them. Your best bet would be to use sand crawlers to burrow down to the wrecks, but I’m afraid we don’t have one on board. You’ll have to ask the Army for one I’d imagine.’

Rekkid sighed. ‘Well it’ll have to wait then I suppose. Never mind, at least we have these buried structures to keep us busy! Thank you for this Captain, you’ve been a great help to us. You and your ship have proven invaluable.’

‘I look forward to hearing about what you find down there,’ said Spiers. ‘I’ll be in touch when we’ve conducted our deep scans of the objects. Until then, Spiers out.’ his image vanished from Rekkid’s screen, leaving them with the stack of incredible imagery from the Darwin.

‘Well!’ exclaimed Rekkid. ‘Who’d have thought that this little planet would turn out to be so interesting? We could have discovered a whole new civilisation! These structures inside the planet, the rings – they all seem to be the product of a highly advanced society.’

‘I can’t wait to see what’s down there, underneath that hatch,’ said Katherine.

‘Me too Katherine.’ said Rekkid, his eyes gleaming eagerly. ‘Me too, but this is much bigger than we can handle alone. I suggest that we see what’s down there and prepare a preliminary report of our findings. We can use that to request a larger team, more funding and resources from Earth and give these artefacts the proper attention that they deserve. This could mean years of work Katherine, not just in excavation, but in cataloguing our finds and studying them all properly, not to mention the scientific study of any new technologies we might find buried down there.’

‘Yes, I agree. If this is evidence of a whole new ancient civilisation we could have opened up a whole new field of study here Rekkid. But something troubles me though.’

‘What?’

‘Those images of wrecked Arkari vessels: what if Quickchild’s estimates were wrong? What if these structures were created by the Arkari? Considering the nest of hornets we stirred up by finding that ship before, we could be in real trouble. What if they try to forcibly intervene this time? What if we get arrested?’

Rekkid saw the fear resurfacing in Katherine. He put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. ‘Katherine, don’t worry,’ he said calmly. ‘We have Steven with us

Steven?’ Rekkid turned to the figure lurking in the corner fiddling with the straps on his pack.

‘Yes?’

‘You’ll watch over us, won’t you? Katherine has nothing to fear, isn’t that so?’

Steven continued to concentrate on his pack. He couldn’t look Katherine in the eye and give her an answer. In truth, he himself didn’t know if he could protect them.

‘Sure,’ he replied. ‘I’ll watch your backs, I promise. Anyone arrives on the planet that shouldn’t be here and I’ll know. I have my contacts back in Erais: Ambassador Croft for one.’

‘So let’s get to work on that hatch. In fact, Steven, would you like to join us? We could use an able bodied helper, and it would mean you could watch over us both and give you something to do.’

‘Alright, at least this way I get to see what you two are so excited about down there. I’ll just gather my gear.’

‘Very good,’ said Rekkid contentedly. ‘Well, let get to it shall we?’

Work on the hatch was difficult. Despite being badly corroded on the outside, the core metal of the hatch and its bolts was still sound. Rekkid’s initial plan to use hand tools break the metal bolts in two proved unworkable. In the end they had to find heavier cutting equipment. A hurried trip to the railway yard produced industrial cutting gear that had to hefted onto carts then transported to the temple along with a couple of Dendratha mechanics who were enlisted by Rekkid to show them how to operate the device, though even after he negotiated a suitable amount they seemed unwilling to actually do the job themselves.

Whilst she was waiting, Katherine, with Kukadis, organised the students into starting the preliminary studies on the twelve bodies in situ, recording every aspect of their burials and their appearance in order to determine if they were indeed the twelve missing priests. Early studies were encouraging - especially after Katherine carbon dated a scale from one body and found it to be around ten thousand years in age.

Rekkid returned an hour or so later with the cutting gear and they got to work. Nevertheless, it was still a difficult task cutting the two dozen heavy bolts that secured the hatch to the rock. The chamber was cramped and airless and grew increasingly hot and dusty from the work. Katherine cursed the fine dust which fell from the ceiling as the vibrations from the cutting gear shook it loose after millennia of accretion. It got into her eyes through her goggles, up her nose through her face mask, into her hair and ears and skin. Rekkid and Steven appeared to fairing little better, Rekkid’s complexion was rendered reddish brown by the dust, small drifts of which collected between the plates of his head crest.

Finally, after some hours, as the last bolt severed they levered the heavy metal hatch aside with a clang that reverberated loudly in the small space. Katherine removed her goggles, the relatively dust free area around her eyes showing up white in the gloom, then peered over the lip of the gaping round hole they had uncovered in the centre of the room.

The utter blackness stared back at her as a musty, stale smell assailed her nostrils. She couldn’t see the bottom so she reached for her torch and shone it down into the dark. The beam ended in a small spot a few metres below, where it illuminated a smooth, slightly reflective surface scattered with small pieces of fallen stone and dust. Rekkid and Steven too were peering over the edge for a look.

‘Hmm, four metres I should think,’ mused Rekkid.

‘Shouldn’t be too much trouble.’ said Steven confidently. ‘I reckon we can rig up a rope winch to get us down there. A pity no-one on this planet can use a ladder save for ourselves.’

‘I was thinking,’ said Katherine, shining her torch around the bottom of the hole and finding that the walls too, were unusually smooth and regular. ‘You know this temple is supposedly built on top of a sacred cave or something?’

‘The Cave of Maran,’ said Rekkid. ‘Yes, the thought had occurred to me too.’

It took some time to construct a rope winch above the hole. Luckily, they were able to borrow pulleys and gear from the builders amongst the monks who continually maintained the temple and who obligingly offered their services in operating the rickety equipment. Even so, the gloom and cramped conditions made the work awkward. Eventually, the winch secure, Steven erected comm. signal boosters to allow the three of them to speak to the surface and to the Darwin if need be, then they lowered their equipment down into the darkness, before following it themselves. .

Torch beams piercing the blackness, they looked about them. They were in a long corridor that curved away from them downwards into the earth. Its floor and walls were composed of a smooth, dark metal, seamless and slightly reflective, yet which offered sufficient grip underfoot for easy walking. The walls arched up and over to form the vaulted ceiling which bulged into strengthening ribs every ten yards or so. It was like staring down the throat of an immense beast.

They began to walk. The corridor’s curve lessened to become a steady gradient which led them ever deeper into the ground. They moved in silence and enveloping darkness broke only by their echoing footsteps and the all too feeble light of their torches. The chill air smelt like the grave. As they walked they began to notice blemishes on the previously pristine walls, places where the material had been gouged or melted, or chipped by some impact. Further on, the incidence of these marks increased.

Several hundred metres further on, the gradient flattened and they came to an immense set of doors. They were armoured and metal and not unlike those found on spacecraft airlocks, however it was apparent that they had been forced aside and one had been left half open. They were pitted with countless weapon strikes.

There was writing on the doors. It had been applied as if stencilled on and was hard to make out under all the cratering and scarring. The sentences had been divided awkwardly by the doors being opened, but the characters were familiar to both Rekkid and Katherine. They were exactly the same as those they had seen on the walls of the wreck, and in Captain Cortill’s log that they had found there. They were ancient Arkari.

Rekkid took out his computer and accessed the dictionary he had stored within it. Having done so, he began to translate.

‘Warning: Do not enter. This device was claimed by the Great Empire of the Arkari 24.01/01/6782 in the name of Pro-Consul Astani Durdino for the good of all. This is a military installation. Violation of this notice is punishable by death. Hmm.’ he added. ‘It seems as if someone didn’t take too much notice of the warning.’

‘Well, I expect they were unable to read it. The Dendratha holy texts claim it was one of their species who opened the Cave of Maran as they call it.’

‘Yes, it must have taken some effort to open this door though.’

Steven stepped up to the doors and pushed it, it failed to move. ‘Too right,’ he said looking over his shoulder at them both. ‘Seems pretty solid. Somebody left in a hurry though, if they left the door open

’ He looked through the gap and saw something, an armoured shadow in the darkness. ‘What the hell?’ he muttered. ‘There’s something lying on the floor on the other side.’

Katherine and Rekkid stepped forward to look, there was a large form lying in the middle of the corridor. Keeping their torches trained on the object the three of them passed through the great doors. The thing was huge, the size of a tank and was sprawled on its front facing away from the door.

Four segmented legs supported a silvery torso that was armour plated like that of a crustacean. The torso tapered to a small head that was little more than a collection of sensors. Moving back from the head on the underside was a series of spindly manipulator arms resembling the legs of crab, but which were tipped with delicate many-fingered hands.

Moving further down the length of the beast, its body sprouted what looked like a number of weapon turrets from its back, whilst on its belly were mounted additional limbs. These were much larger than those situated near the head and ended in curving blades, sharpened to molecular precision. The armoured insectile legs of the thing lay folded under its sprawled form.

But it had been smashed. The right hand side of the creature had been mangled by some sort of high energy impact which had crumpled the head along one side and cut a huge gouge through the torso. The exotic metals had melted into a pool of slag that welded that side of the beast to the floor. As they shone their torches around the corridor they saw that the walls and floor were scarred with innumerable craters and gouges and that there were other remains: An Arkari arm, skeletal and mangled. Half of a Dendratha’s skull, the other half torn away by an immense blow. Discarded equipment and weapons and fragments of shattered armour plating littered the floor.

‘My god

’ murmured Steven. ‘This must have been one hell of a fire fight, look at all these impact points. You think the Arkari were fighting this thing, whatever it is?’

‘Yes, I do Steven,’ agreed Rekkid. ‘As for what this thing is – I haven’t the faintest idea.’

‘Maybe it was guarding this place. What if there are more of them?’

‘No, no I think it was trying to get in. Look, there are fewer marks on this side of the doors, and those marks on the insides of each door seem to indicate the doors were forced apart.’

‘They barricaded themselves in here you mean?’ said Katherine.

‘Yes. What good it did them I don’t know.’

‘Look at this though, you two,’ she said, stepping around to the damaged thing’s flank. ‘See, no inner workings. It’s just solid material all the way through. Though if you look closely,’ she peered into the gaping wound. ‘There are intricate patterns all the way through the material, like fractals or circuitry or something.’

‘I know what that thing’s made of,’ said Steven suddenly.

‘You do?’

‘Roughly, yes. It’s a nanotech material. During my training we were taught about alien technologies, or what the Commonwealth knows about them or thinks it knows. The Arkari and the Esacir have quite advanced nanotech materials, they use them in their star ships for one, and in cross section it looks like this. Whatever this thing is, it came from a very advanced civilisation.’

‘You ever see anything like this thing this during your ah

training, Steven?’ said Rekkid.

‘No, never. It sort of looks like Arkari tech but to be honest I don’t think the Arkari have nanotech this refined. I think this entire creature, mechanoid, or whatever it is, would be able to reconfigure itself at will if it wanted to.’

‘Amazing, absolutely amazing,’ mused Rekkid. ‘Maybe we should press on; perhaps we’ll find the answers we’re looking for ahead of us?’

Leaving the smashed metal creature behind them they pressed on into the gloom, past more bodies and debris and other signs of battle. Another creature emerged from the darkness ahead and they stopped to examine it. It lay on its back, its silvery body blown almost clean in half. This one had six legs and more weapon turrets though it lacked the slashing arms, and if upright and intact would have squatted low on its multiple limbs like a crab.

It guarded the end of the corridor. Beyond it, the space swelled to a huge vaulted chamber hundreds of metres across. It was filled with serried rank upon rank of obelisks - concentric rows of mysterious machinery of unknown purpose that filled the floor and ceiling save for a space at the centre. Intact and in apparently pristine condition, they had been standing silently in the dark for millennia and rose on all sides around the amphitheatre shaped space.

As they entered the chamber it was suddenly flooded with light. Motion sensors detected their presence and illuminated the vast artificial cavern, drawing power from energy stacks unused for a hundred centuries and which were still in perfect working order. The three of them gasped in wonder as the chamber dragged itself from its age long slumber. The banks of obelisks stirred into life, unknown energies flowing beneath their surfaces as the hum of waking machinery grew.

At the centre of the chamber lay a raised platform which, like the rest of the chamber was slowly coming on line. Its appearance was less pristine. The graceful lines of the original technology had been sullied by the grafting on of cruder devices. A primitive computer terminal had been literally bolted to the platform. Seemingly grossly out of place, it attracted the two Humans and Arkari to it as it too came online.

Closer inspection revealed the truth. The terminal seemed to be ancient Arkari, judging by the characters printed on its casing and keyboard, but it had had additional modules grafted onto it. These were much more recent and of a far more advanced design and they clung to the ancient device like silvered polyps. There was no mistaking the familiar Arkari characters that began to fill its screen.

‘Rekkid look at this!’ cried Katherine. ‘We need to access these systems, this could be the key to what happened on this planet a million years ago during the civil war and whatever your people got up to ten thousand years ago that kick started the Maranist religion. We have to get this thing working! Think of what it might be able to tell us about what happened back then.’

Against the background hum of the machines, Rekkid read out aloud. ‘Authorised Access Only – Please Enter Passkey: Unauthorised access of this device and its computer systems is punishable under Arkari Law. Meritarch Council Dictum 233, Article 3, Section 7. A31775.4.32. Well,’ he said, giddy with elation. ‘Anyone here any good at hacking?’ Grinning madly he looked at Katherine and doubted he had ever seen her seem so full of joy.

Chapter 22

Commander Haines staggered through the smoke filled gangway, the pain in his head almost unbearable despite the drugs that the medics had administered. They had patched him up as best they could under the circumstances, but it looked like he was going to lose the eye. What the hell, he thought, they were all dead men anyway and he had to get back to the bridge. He had to do something.

His progress was slow. The corridor was full of medical and repair personnel, tending to the wounded and the damage the ship had sustained in the battle as best they could. A number of wounded lay slumped against the walls, Haines wondered if they were all still alive: several were starting to turn blue from blood loss. The air was acrid, filled with the smells of combat. Parts of the ship were still on fire and the smoke was being cycled through the environmental systems so that the scent of charring flesh and shipboard materiel permeated the entire vessel.

The captain of the Borodino was dead, cut down as the K’Soth boarding party stormed the bridge. Haines had led the counter assault. He and the ship’s complement of marines had retaken the bridge at the cost of many lives and he himself had been badly wounded. It had taken half a dozen shots to the warrior’s head from Haines’s pistol before he had gone down, but not before his claws had gouged the Commander’s face and eye.

He would grieve for his dead comrades later if he got the chance, but with Captain Acheson dead he was now in command of the destroyer group, or what was left of it. He hoped that the hurried orders he had issued from the infirmary had been carried out. If this was going to be their last stand he was damned if they weren’t going to go down fighting and take as many of the K’Soth with them as possible.

This war had turned into a disaster. If you could even call it a war, it had been little more than a hurried rout as the K’Soth smashed through the Commonwealth’s defences. Their ships were too few and too poorly armed to repel the swarms of marauding alien craft. Now the remnants of the fleet had gathered in Eta Cassiopeia to make a final, perhaps futile stand to defend the system. The orbital batteries around Elysium would bolster their defence, but it seemed that the end was upon them one way or another. Once Elysium fell, the last bastion of defence before the Solar System would be gone and the Commonwealth could expect little more than slavery at best or at worst, annihilation.

Haines would make them pay though. Lying in agony he had formulated a plan that could blunt the K’Soth assault and perhaps buy them some time. He hoped the K’Soth would take the bait he had set.

Their group of Mars class destroyers had been deployed to a forward position at the edge of the Eta Cassiopeia system to act as point defence. As they approached the system’s asteroid belt they had encountered a large scouting party of K’Soth Eviscerator class destroyers lurking in the rock field. In the ensuing battle the alien vessels had succeeded in boarding the Borodino and destroying the Joan of Arc before they were driven off. It was the escape of the scouting party that Haines was counting on. He was hoping that the K’Soth would take the bait and, unable to resist the opportunity of easy pickings outside of Elysium’s defences, would attack here first.

Haines finally reached the bridge as a dull thump confirmed that they had finally broken free of the wrecked K’Soth destroyer that had conducted the boarding action against them. The scene of carnage he had left here had been cleaned up somewhat. The bodies had been stretchered away and the gore hastily wiped from the floor and consoles. Looking out of the port windows he was greeted with the satisfying sight of the alien wreck, broken and venting its atmosphere, being given the finally coup de grace by the guns of the destroyer group.

Haines leant against a console and cleared his throat. ‘It is my sad duty to inform you all that the Captain did not survive his injuries,’ he said with sadness. There was a stony silence. Haines guessed that many of the crew, those that had seen Acheson’s injuries at least, had probably resigned themselves to this fact. He continued. ‘Therefore as of now I am assuming command of this vessel and this group. Have my orders been carried out?’

‘Sir,’ said one of his lieutenants. ‘We have deployed the mines as you detailed. The other ships report that their crews have done the same.’

‘Excellent Lieutenant,’ he replied. ‘Let’s hope this works.’

The Lieutenant, a young and frightened man, began to speak. ‘Sir, sir may I speak frankly?’

‘Sure.’

‘Sir, are we going to die?’ The man was visible shaking.

Haines noticed that the other bridge crew were also looking at him. He couldn’t tell them the truth, that yes; they were in all probability, doomed. He was their leader now and they looked to him for inspiration. ‘We all have to die sometime Lieutenant, but I’m damned if it’s going to be today. Trust me, those bastards can’t resist a fight, and I’m going to use this to our advantage.’ Behind the lieutenant, Haines could see the remains of the Joan of Arc as she drifted broken-backed in a cloud of debris, vented gases and the tiny figures of human bodies. ‘For now though,’ he continued. ‘We wait. Helm, plot a course to the Elysium defences, I want us out of here as soon as our K’Soth friends arrive.’

They had to take the bait, they had to. Haines had ordered that the asteroid field and the space around the destroyer group be sown with matter/antimatter fusion mines. The tiny weapons would be very difficult to detect, but fitted with proximity fuses they could wreak immense damage on any fleet that blundered into them. The K’Soth had not shown much tactical subtlety or caution so far in this war, instead relying on weight of numbers. He hoped that they would act true to form, or else they were all going to die. The fear welled up in him, threatened to overwhelm him as the pain in his head grew and grew.

Admiral Haines shuddered into wakefulness and found that his body was drenched in sweat. He lay in the darkness of his cabin as his mind sought to distinguish reality from the nightmare it had just experienced. Except it had been reality, once. Haines had been there at the Battle for Eta Cassiopeia and had seen his friends and comrades die in the face of the K’Soth onslaught.

It had been years since he’d last had this nightmare, now it had resurfaced and he was about to face the old enemy once again. Perhaps that explained it. He had spent every waking moment of every day for the past few months planning the forthcoming war. It had to be right. They had to prevail. Failure could not be contemplated. Now everything was in place it was only a matter of time until the Commonwealth found an excuse to put his plan to the test.

He knew the next part of the nightmare that would come. After all, he had relived it countless times before. Resigned to a restless night he slipped back to sleep.

They had waited for hours with no sign. The wait was agonising: each minute seemed like hours, each hour stretched into days. They had to come. They had to take the bait. Then his sensors operator began to speak, he was agitated.

‘Contact! Commander, we have multiple inbound warp trails converging on this position bearing zero by three fifty, range one hundred and fifty one million kilometres and closing. My god

.’

‘Numbers Ensign?’

‘Commander, there’s over a thousand ships inbound!’

‘Activate shields, bring the weapons on-line. Helm, prepare to engage full reverse thrust and bring us about to engage the drives. Ensign, are they taking the bait?’

‘Sir, it seems so. Range is now under a hundred million kilometres.’

‘Stand by all stations.’

There was a tense wait as the range to the enemy vessels counted down.

‘Sir the first wave of ships is coming out of their jump, they are heading straight for us.’

Haines could see them, a hundred or so ships in a huge claw formation reaching out for his small destroyer group as they arrived in a wall of spatial distortions hundreds of kilometres across. Another wave arrived behind them, and another, and another. They powered through the asteroids at full speed towards the Borodino and her fleet. Haines watched them intently as they drew closer, they hadn’t seen the mines and if they had, it was too late for them to do anything about it.

The first ship triggered a mine. The actinic flash of pure matter-energy conversion blossomed outward in a beautiful but deadly sphere of annihilation. More followed, in a random staccato of immense explosions that destroyed the alien ships entirely, or else turned the great vessels into gigantic hunks of tumbling slag. The second wave of ships tried to turn away in vain and slid sideways or backwards into the expanding blast waves. Shattered ships collided with each other, producing fresh explosions and further carnage amidst the storm of radiation.

A wall of debris, broken ships and shattered asteroids began to hurtle toward the Commonwealth vessels and by now the other waves of K’Soth ships had realised what was happening. They began to veer away and around the minefield, seeking to outflank the destroyers and trap them amidst their own weapons. It was time to leave. Now. Haines gave the order.

‘All ships, make for the rendezvous point around Elysium. We’ve done all we can here, this should give us more of a fighting chance. Helm, get us the hell out of here.’

The Borodino began to turn, agonisingly slowly, until she faced towards Elysium. Haines watched the monitors as the K’Soth fleet began to encircle them in an immense four pronged pincer movement. He felt elated: his actions had just destroyed a quarter of their assault fleet. Doubtless the K’Soth would want to exact revenge and now they were almost within gunnery range. Sensors displayed power spikes within the reactors of the enemy vessels as they brought their weapons to bear; one hit from the main gun of one of those War Temples and it would all be over.

As the Borodino’s jump drive activated Haines breathed a sigh of relief, they had made it, for now.

They arrived in Elysium orbit with most of their fleet battered but intact, save for the Joan of Arc and the Megiddo which had failed to escape from the minefield, falling prey to a War Temple as her jump drive stalled. But with the K’Soth hot on their tails they had little time to rest.

The defences around Elysium seemed desperately inadequate. A couple of hundred ships, the remnants of the Commonwealth Navy, drawn up in a ragged battle line around the planet’s orbital defences, versus seven hundred or so K’Soth ships with the likelihood of reinforcements.

They had not long to wait. The enemy fleet jumped in a hundred kilometres from the Commonwealth position, filling the sky with ships as the K’Soth war machine bore down upon the defenders. As weapons and shields were powered up and the last few fighter and bomber wings launched toward the enemy, there seemed to be little hope. Haines knew then that in all likelihood he was witnessing the end, that human civilisation and those of their allies would be crushed underfoot by the K’Soth to become another footnote in galactic history to be pondered over by alien historians centuries hence. If this was to be the end, then so be it. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He watched a vast armada of ships bearing down on them and gave the order to fire everything that they had left.

Hours later and Haines was still alive. His crew lay dying around him, his was ship cut almost in two and drifting out of control towards the decimated planet below, yet it was still firing with every available weapon. The defenders had fought fiercely with every means available to them. Crews fought and died by the hundreds with the desperation that only those at bay can muster. Yet it was not enough. They were being steadily ground down, and the world of Elysium lay in ruins, its cities reduced to ash by the long range bombardment of the K’Soth fleet that the trapped Navy was powerless to prevent. The night side of the planet was pin pricked with the light of entire cities ablaze as shockwaves churned its atmosphere. Haines knew that Earth would meet the same fate and that humanity’s brief spark would be erased from the universe.

But it was not to be the end, not yet. Haines was about to witness judgement wrought upon the K’Soth for all that they had done in this war. He first noticed it on the sensors console, over the shoulder of the now headless Ensign who had manned the station, decapitated by the shrapnel from an exploding kamikaze fighter that had penetrated under the Borodino’s shields. The view port it had shattered was now obscured by an armoured blast door.

The sensor console was showing more ships entering the system, a very great number of them. But they were not K’Soth, they were Arkari. Unable to do anything else, Haines rushed to the starboard bridge windows and looked out at the enclosing ball of K’Soth ships that were steadily smashing the remaining Commonwealth defenders. Energy beams played across hulls, tearing great gouges from vessels as battered wrecks and fragments of ships and fighters spun lazily amidst the firestorm.

The Arkari arrived. It seemed that the K’Soth had already detected them, for many of the ships on the outer shell of their fleet had begun to turn outwards towards the new threat to meet it head on, but it was no use. The Arkari emerged from their jumps on all sides of the K’Soth and tore into their fleet like nothing Haines had ever seen. The graceful winged craft were far larger, far faster and far more manoeuvrable than those of their enemies and their weapons were without equal.

Based upon the distortion of space-time itself, the main guns of the Arkari fleet literally ripped the K’Soth ships apart: splitting them in half, scooping out their vitals and scattering them in the void as they swooped and danced among their victims in a display of utterly bestial destruction. Even after K’Soth ships lay sundered, the avenging Arkari vessels returned to further batter them, dissect them, nay - even toy with them like sharks in a frenzy.

Panic began to sweep through the K’Soth fleet as their moment of victory at once turned into a rout. In extremis they resorted to more desperate measures. Haines saw it happen to another ship first; the carrier Sun Tzu was split in half as a K’Soth War Temple, already burning, rammed it amidships in a suicidal gesture of defiance. As he looked he saw an approaching destroyer. Head-on, its superstructure appeared as miniature city skyline mirrored above and below the jutting line of its forward gun decks. It grew larger as it closed with increasing speed. The Borodino’s guns made a desperate attempt to stop its kamikaze charge but without success. Haines began to scream.

He heard himself call out aloud as he came awake. He was shaking, the memory of that awful moment still fresh in his mind when his ship had been split in two. The raw fear and sense of utter helplessness as the enemy destroyer had rammed the Borodino amidships.

He needed a drink to calm himself. Still shaking slightly, he got out of bed and staggered towards his desk to retrieve the bottle of whisky that he kept in there. Sitting heavily in his chair he began to pour himself a finger of the golden liquid. His console chimed and he pressed the key to answer it.

‘Sir, you have a briefing with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in an hour over the encrypted hypercom.’

‘Thank you Commander,’ Haines replied wearily. ‘I’ll be there.’

‘Sir, are you alright? You sound a little

’

‘I’m fine Commander, I ah

’ he gave a short embarrassed laugh. ‘I just had bad dream that’s all. See you in an hour, Haines out.’

He sat and sipped his whisky thoughtfully. Some part of Haines hoped that this was it, that his superiors had come to a decision. He was a man of action. The waiting was killing him and all this prolonged tension had stirred up his old demons again. His crews were fresh and eager enough. Too much hanging around would be bad for their morale and their capability as a fighting force. If they were going to have a war he would rather it be sooner than later. He would try and impress this upon the President. Haines finished his drink and went to get properly dressed for his briefing.

Chapter 23

‘Captain Spiers, you should see what we’ve found down here! We can scarcely believe it ourselves. A whole underground complex of advanced alien technology, and it’s all perfectly intact and in working order!’ Rekkid was speaking hurriedly to the Darwin via his comm., almost babbling with excitement. The signal was faint and on sound only: the depth of the chamber prohibited anything else and the assembled ranks of alien machinery appeared to be causing further interference. He could barely hear Spiers as he asked for his initial assessment of the find.

‘Say again Captain?’ he strained to listen to the scratchy, broken reply. ‘No, no we don’t know what it’s for, but it looks like some sort of control centre. We’ve also found a terminal for the computer system but it’s been locked with an encryption key. We need

’ Rekkid made an exasperated gesture. ‘Captain we’ll come to the surface and contact you again,’ he said loudly, his voice echoing inside the room. ‘Rekkid out.’ He turned to the others: ‘Come on, we have to get back to the surface and talk to the Darwin from there. ‘

‘You think they could help us unlock that terminal?’ said Katherine.

‘It’s worth a try. There’s a whole shipload of technicians and scientists up there. One of them must surely know a thing or two about breaking into secure systems. How about you, Steven?’

‘Never my speciality, sorry,’ replied Steven apologetically. ‘But I wouldn’t be too sure if they can help you straight away. Hacking an alien computer? You’d need intimate knowledge of the programming language, surely? It could mean months of trying.’

‘Perhaps. I’d still like to give them the opportunity to look at what we’ve found down here though. This chamber and also those things that we found in the corridor need an expert scientific eye cast over them before we make our report.’

‘We need to be careful,’ said Steven. ‘If I’m any judge of my superiors they’ll try to acquire this technology and use it for military purposes. Just think about it: that nanotech alone could advance our spacecraft and weapons by thousands of years, virtually overnight. We should be careful who we tell about this. Remember where in space we are: if word got out about this, both the Commonwealth and the K’Soth might come charging in here to snatch what we’ve found. Tensions are running high enough as it is.’

‘Well it’s too late now isn’t it?’ said Katherine. ‘The crew of the Darwin already know.’

‘True,’ said Steven. ‘But Spiers doesn’t strike me as the sort to go yelling from the rooftops about something unless he knows exactly what he’s dealing with. He is a scientist first and foremost after all. I think we’re safe, for now.’

‘Actually my first concern was how to explain all this to the Dendratha,’ said Rekkid. ‘I can imagine they won’t be too pleased if we point out that their entire religion is based upon this alien installation being here.’

‘Well, do you think you could be a little more tactful than usual Rekkid?’ said Katherine. ‘This could really upset them if we handle it wrongly. If we want to continue to work on this site we need to maintain good relations with the monks.’

Rekkid smiled. ‘Yes, alright Katherine,’ he replied. ‘I promise to reign in my bad manners. Come on, we should get back to the surface.’

And so leaving the ranks of machines in the great chamber they made their way back up the dark curving corridor, past the wrecked alien forms and the huge doors until they reached the rope winch that led back up into the temple.

Katherine stopped to listen. ‘Can you hear them?’ she said.

‘What?’ Rekkid asked, reaching for the rope.

‘The machines, they’re still running. They haven’t turned themselves off, I wonder why?’

‘Who knows? Perhaps they only switch off after a certain period.’

‘Perhaps. It was the strangest feeling though. All the time we were in that room

I felt like we were being watched.’

‘You think that one of the Dendratha snuck down here after us?’ enquired Steven. ‘I didn’t see a thing.’

‘No, no it was like the room itself was watching us. It sounds ridiculous I know.’

‘No it doesn’t,’ said Steven. ‘It’s just a natural reaction, an animal instinct if you will. You’re in a strange place full of shadows and then you find a room that springs to life when you walk in. It could make anyone paranoid. I myself was a little unsettled I admit.’

There was the sound of movement above them. Looking up they saw a cluster of Dendratha faces peering down at them. One by one the three of them were hauled up out of the pit into the torch-lit tomb. Ekrino and Kukadis came forward to greet them.

‘So,’ said Ekrino with barely concealed excitement. ‘What did you find down there? You were gone ever such a long time.’

‘Your Grace,’ said Rekkid cautiously. ‘It might be better if we discussed this in private before we proceed any further. Master Kukadis, how goes the excavation of this chamber?’

‘Very well, actually. We think we’ve positively identified four of the priests, judging by the artefacts they are carrying. We’re confident we should have the names of three more very soon.’

‘Excellent. Well, if you’d care to join us? Your Grace, would you lead the way please?’

They held the meeting in Ekrino’s own cell, a spartan, candle-lit room in the bowels of the temple that became rather cramped with the five of them huddled around the priest’s writing desk.

‘So,’ said Ekrino. ‘Tell me, what did you find? Why the secrecy?’

‘Your Grace,’ began Rekkid, mentally choosing his words with care. ‘Can I begin by saying that it is my understanding that there is a common belief amongst your people that this temple is built upon a sacred cave that is inhabited by your god.’

‘Yes, that’s true. Though some believe the cave to be more of a metaphor, anyway I digress.’

‘Well, we did find an extensive set of underground chambers down there. Sacred or not, they appear to be artificial.’

‘Artificial? Who do think made them?’ said Kukadis. ‘I hope this isn’t more of your troublemaking Professor.’

‘It isn’t, I assure you. You can go and look for yourself if you like,’ said Rekkid, doing his utmost to remain diplomatic. ‘We don’t know who made them originally. What is clear however is that others have gained entry to the chamber at some time in its history. Members of my race it would seem, others too, though their identity remains a mystery, even though we found some remains.’

‘Remains?’ Kukadis asked. ‘What do they look like?’

‘Well, the two we found were like great armoured beasts. They were silver in colour and

’

‘Demons!’ Kukadis exclaimed. ‘You found slain demons down there!?’

‘I uh… can I finish? They were constructed using what we call nanotechnology and they were fitted with a variety of advanced weapons.’

‘Call them what you will Professor. But those are demons slain by Maran’s angels! It must be the Cave of Maran, it must! Truly this is a holy day!’

‘Did Maran show himself to you?’ asked Ekrino.

‘No he didn’t.’ replied Rekkid. ‘But we found a large chamber at the end that activated itself when we stepped inside.’

‘Lined with stone tablets of Maran’s knowledge?’

‘Yes, I suppose you could call them that.’

‘Astounding!’

‘Though I have to say, they actually looked more like solid state processing devices of some kind.’

Ekrino brushed this detail aside. ‘Professor, Doctor. I cannot thank you enough!’ he seemed to be actually weeping with happiness. ‘You have brought great joy to us with this discovery. Truly, your names shall be remembered and entered into the history of our order. Come Kukadis, we must hold prayers at once!’ Ekrino seemed suddenly far more sprightly. He hustled Kukadis out of the door and left the trio sitting dumbfounded in his cell.

‘Well,’ said Rekkid smugly. ‘I think I handled that rather well don’t you?’

‘Yeah,’ replied Steven with a note of sarcasm. ‘You’ll do fine until they find out that their sacred cave is an underground collection of alien computers, or whatever.’

‘Oh, let them believe what they like,’ said Rekkid. ‘They’ll still think it’s the Cave of Maran no matter what, I’ll bet.’ His comm. started to chime. He picked it up and held it to his ear. ‘Rekkid here.’

Spiers and his crew were scrutinising the tiny dot they saw begin to move away from the Fulan A ring. Quickchild was on the move and so far it was failing to respond to any of their communication attempts.

‘Professor? It’s Captain Spiers here. You’ll be pleased to know that your spacecraft is finally showing signs of life. We are tracking the vessel now, but it won’t talk to us.’

‘Are there any signs of damage?’ Rekkid enquired anxiously.

‘No, no physical damage that we can tell from the outside, but internally, who knows. However we are detecting transmissions between Quickchild and the ring he was docked to. My guess is that it’s still interfacing with the device’s systems.’

‘Is it possible that it’s under the ring’s control?’

‘It’s possible I suppose. But like I say, we can’t tell at this point.’ Spiers paused in his conversation whilst he peered at the data projected in front of him. ‘Professor, Quickchild has just engaged his jump drives. We’re locking onto his warp wave now

looks like he’s heading for the other ring.’

Varish knew what he must do. He was filled with joy and a sense of purpose as he looped around Maranos in hyperspace and sped towards Fulan B. He had to get back, he had to find his people and more importantly, find her again. The real Irlani, not just a simulation dredged out of the corners of his mind. He must wake the other Bajenteri stored within the other ring and within the device itself, find out where and when the others had fled to. Now he knew who he was, he couldn’t remain here alone could he? He couldn’t remain alone without her.

He terminated his jump and angled himself through the corona of the B star, docking carefully with the other super dense bracelet that hung impossibly above the surface. He reached out with his mind and unlocked the encryption key that held the entity trapped within, he felt Ichthasa, the being within respond gratefully at her release from an aeons old prison. Varish and Tyrunin both greeted her and began a flurry of communication.

Spiers’ crew were becoming even more intrigued by the strange events they were witnessing. Spiers relayed what they were seeing to Rekkid, who by now had seated himself and the others around his computer and could now see for himself.

‘Professor, it looks like both rings are now communicating with one another, as well as Quickchild. We are detecting signals across a number of wavelengths that we can’t decipher. It seems that it has managed to activate the systems on board the B ring

wait it’s moving again.’ Everyone watched as Quickchild twisted out of view, there was a moment whilst the Darwin tracked his signature through hyperspace, before he re-appeared again above Maranos. The Darwin’s cameras zoomed in on the tiny silver ovoid as it floated above the equator, the planet behind it providing a convex sandy background scattered with sparse clouds. There was the faint smudge of the city below.

‘Professor, it’s right above you now. I don’t know what it plans to do but

’

‘Hello Rekkid, Katherine, Steven. This is Quickchild,’ came the disembodied voice from Rekkid’s computer. ‘I apologise for my absence, however I believe I have found the answers to all the questions concerning my identity and my origins.’

‘Quickchild,’ Rekkid began. ‘What

?’

Varish cut him off. ‘Rekkid, the first thing I will tell you is that my name is not Quickchild. It is Varish, a name which I had forgotten for many thousands of centuries, but which the other of my kind that resides within the A ring, known as Tyrunin, has re-taught me

along with many other things. Things you may find hard to believe but which you are, coincidentally, involved in.’

‘What are you talking about? Where

?’

‘It is my understanding from speaking to the others of my kind within the rings that you have made some attempt to reactivate the device within the planet.’

‘You mean the chamber that we just discovered?’

‘Yes. You found that the systems within were encrypted did you not?’

‘Yes, we had hoped that the crew of the Darwin might be able help, but with you back

’

‘Then return there at once and I will show you everything.’

Hurriedly, they made their way back into the bowels of the temple and the chamber beneath it. As they stood once more in the great amphitheatre of machines, Varish located the long buried communications arrays that gave him access into the banks of computer systems. On great holographic displays that filled the space around the trio with images, he showed them everything: The great empire that the Bajenteri had built across the galaxy, its wonders and its achievements which had lasted for millennia before they were then swept away by the final catastrophic collapse and descent into anarchy. He showed them the Bajenteri building the great machine in the Fulan system - a gigantic wormhole portal. He showed them altering the position of Maranos so that it lay at the Lagrange point between the stars, whilst they demolished and plundered the other planets for materials, then their final desperate flight from this galaxy.

He showed them snatches of his own life, traumatised by war, brightened by his love for Irlani, but cut short by disease and transferred into the artificial matrix in which he finally resided. He showed them his final desperate battle against the enemies of the Bajenteri that had resulted in his defeat and his mind being lost amongst the stars for billions of years, only to be found at last by the Esacir and brought falteringly back to life.

He showed them too what happened in the Fulan system, information he had obtained from Icthasa and Tyrunin: That a million years ago the Arkari Empire had found the great device in the midst of their savage civil war and had used it to banish a full half of their population to a destination that had been wiped from the memories of the three entities that controlled it.

Furthermore, he showed them how the Arkari had forgotten about the device but then ten thousand years ago they had rediscovered it. They had re-awoken the three Bajenteri and reactivated the portal unwittingly opening a gateway to a dimension inhabited by savage creatures that swarmed through. Though many details of this had also been wiped and the portal finally sealed and locked, it was clear that the Arkari had only narrowly won the engagement and that the creatures in question bore a resemblance to the mechanoids that they had found in the subterranean passage.

Quickchild’s final image was of the device fully activated: a cruciform of light that sprang from the poles and equator of Maranos and which reached out to touch both stars. Katherine and Rekkid knew they had seen this before, in the recording buried within Captain Cortill’s log that showed the end that awaited the defeated Arkari. They were one and the same.

Varish’s narrative explained everything that they had been puzzling over for so long. That Cortill’s ship was the age that they had always claimed it was. What had finally happened to the defeated half of the ancient Arkari. Why the Dendratha believed that evil had arisen from the ground ten thousand years ago to be defeated by angels who resembled the Arkari. Why the Fulan system had formed in such an odd way, why Maranos was positioned so exactly between its two parent stars and why there were great structures buried within the planet and floating above the surfaces of the suns. They were all part of the machine - the great portal the Bajenteri had built billions of years ago to escape their persecution and whose complexity was such that three personalities, preserved and accelerated within artificial matrices, were required to operate it.

‘So you see,’ said Varish. ‘I am the last of my kind. I have no right and no reason to remain here. I must return to my people and take the three others in this system with me. I will transfer their personalities into my memory and leave functional AI copies behind to run the machines.’

‘But aren’t you worried?’ said Katherine. ‘You said that the Arkari reactivated the device and found something horrible inside, or on the other side or whatever. Doesn’t that bother you? Look at those things we found lying in the corridor. The Arkari were obviously desperate to stop them getting in here, and the Dendrathas’ own legends claim that they came from within the device. What if more of them should come through?’

‘It is a risk I am willing to take, Katherine. I know where I intend to terminate the wormhole. I doubt that my own people would have chosen a hazardous destination. I suspect the Arkari activated it randomly and by chance ended up unleashing some savage alien civilisation from who knows where or when.’

‘Varish,’ said Steven. ‘Are you sure that you know what you’re doing?’

‘Steven, I have never been surer of anything else in my, admittedly, long life. Please trust me. I have to get home, it has been so long,’ he said, a note of painful longing in his voice. ‘I have to do this. Now watch.’

The screens now showed a panoramic view of the planet and the two stars from the Darwin’s cameras. Varish had linked the two systems via his own. As the assembled trio and crew of the science vessel watched he hacked into the final locked system inside the chamber. The screen of the ancient console came alive with a blur of characters and a cut away schematic of the planet sprang into existence above.

Maranos had been cored like an apple by the Bajenteri. The structures the Darwin had detected extended right into the centre of the planet. But instead of a molten core, the centre of the world was filled with machinery. Gigantic devices the size of small moons surrounded the cylindrical wormhole generator that stretched from pole to pole. Energy conduits stretched out to opposing points along the equator, each facing one of the rings floating above the twin suns. Rings which now began move.

As they watched, the rings began to spin with increasing speed, the distortions they caused whipping the stars’ coronas into titanic whirlpools of plasma. Bound by the energy fields the rings generated, they reached out across space towards the planet at the speed of light, the whirling maelstroms of particles carefully managed and goaded by Tyrunin and Icthasa to their destinations. Two Humans and one Arkari watched in amazement along with the crew of the Darwin as the vast brilliant cyclones of energy were spun from the stars toward the planet.

Around three quarters of an hour later, in the rocky plateaus near Bridgetown, and on the opposite side of the world, the ground began to split. Immense apertures, hundreds of metres across, opened up in the arid earth revealing huge mechanical maws that greedily swallowed the descending tornados of plasma that, guided by funnelling energy fields now plummeted down through the atmosphere and were fed to the mechanisms buried deep within the core. These transformed the raw energy of the stars into power for the great engines that now, after millennia, spun into life.

It was then that the three of them noticed that they were not alone in the chamber, a glowing projection of a humanoid alien figure hovered in the air behind the schematic of Maranos. It regarded them coldly then focused its attention upon Rekkid.

‘You, Arkari!’ it cried. ‘Your kind has been here before. I remember now, I remember

’ The figure flitted about the chamber. ‘Though I was born Chiriya I am known to the people of this world as Maran. You have freed me from my prison, Varish! As a reward, I shall activate my portal for you. Isn’t that what you wished, my brother?’

‘Yes,’ said Varish. ‘It is.’

The calm waters of the polar seas were suddenly and simultaneously split asunder by blinding pillars of light a thousand kilometres in height that projected into space from the exact centre of Maranos’s geographical poles. The pillars began to expand, forming into hollow cylinders that displaced the seas. The atmosphere too was pushed aside, resulting in an ever larger pillar of vacuum that now extended from the core of the planet into space itself.

The cylinders of light continued to expand, gradually pushing aside up ever greater volumes of water, so that soon an entire fleet of foundering Dendratha sailing ships and countless millions of sea creatures lay in a ring about its base. Finally, when the cylinders reached almost a hundred kilometres in diameter, they ceased to expand at the base and instead their walls began to angle slowly outwards until they formed gigantic funnels that swept aside the atmosphere at a stroke as clouds churned about their perimeters.

Now the portal itself activated, creating an immense stable wormhole. A circle of thirty six, black spherical nodes lay at the heart of the machine which crackled with unknown energies. These now pulsed into life with a titanic spike of energy that overloaded not only the Darwin’s sensors, but those of the monitoring arrays in the system. A circular wall of blackness fringed with blue blinked into existence between the ring of nodes at the core of the planet.

The arrays detected the massive energy surge that was then followed by a blast of exotic sub-atomic particles as the expanding shell of energies rushed outward from the poles at the speed of light.

The arrays, and the Darwin, began to record and transmit all that they were witnessing via hypercom as the entire planet of Maranos revealed itself to be an immense alien engine. The world was nothing less than a great machine constructed from technology millions of years more advanced than anything in known space. It was a glittering prize of incalculable value.

Fourth

‘What is this?’

‘It opens!’

‘The gate is active once more!’

‘We shall not fail this time.’

‘We shall escape our prison and take back what is rightfully ours.’

‘We must gather our forces.’

‘There will be no mercy and no quarter given.’

‘Our enemies will know fear, they shall know death and they shall know our revenge.’

‘We shall prevail.’

Chapter 24

In an age of hyperspace communication, information travelled quickly. Within hours, the navies of both the Commonwealth and the Arkari had focused their attentions on the situation unfolding in the demilitarised zone. The K’Soth too, though slower to react, became aware of the strange signals now emanating from neutral space. Decisions were taken at the highest levels and in the belligerent climate of fear and mistrust that had already been cultivated, the wheels of the machinery of war began to turn.

Haines was disturbed from his lunch by a junior officer informing him of an alpha priority message that had come from the Joint Chiefs. Leaving the tray of congealing food in the officers’ mess he made his way to his office and took the heavily encrypted call there. Admiral Morgan greeted him sternly. His broad black features were grave. Haines knew then from his expression, that this was it.

‘Admiral Haines,’ Morgan began. ‘This morning at oh-nine thirty-two hours our monitoring arrays in the Fulan system, located in the middle of the DMZ, picked up an artificial energy surge of hitherto unseen intensity. Due to the location of the system we only have one ship on station at this point, the science vessel CNV Darwin. Fortunately, her crew were able to determine the nature of the energy pulse.’

‘What is it, a K’Soth weapon?’

‘We don’t think so. The initial assessment of Captain Spiers and the data they provided would appear to indicate that the only inhabited planet in the system, Maranos, is home to an alien device capable of generating stable, controllable wormholes of a size suitable for the passage of spacecraft. The crew of the Darwin and a team of archaeologists on the planet itself had been investigating the device for some time, but they did not determine its true purpose until it was activated. George, the K’Soth will have already picked up the signals from the device as it activated, just as we have. They don’t have any ships in the system, though they do have a small diplomatic staff there. In any case it won’t take them long before they decide to investigate.’

‘Stable wormholes? Sir, this technology is centuries ahead of anything we’ve ever encountered. Who the hell built it?’

‘We don’t know at this time. Initial indications are that the device may be as old as the system itself; however we cannot allow the K’Soth to seize control of this device. If they were to learn its secrets, it could give them an immense tactical advantage over us. The ability to transport entire fleets across the galaxy in an instant would make them a threat that we would find impossible to counter. We must seize control of this device or prevent it from falling into the hands of our enemies. So, it has come to this.’ Morgan took a deep breath. ‘Fleet Admiral Haines, the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have authorised you to deploy the fleet into the Demilitarised Zone. You are to secure the planet Maranos in the Fulan system and defend it at all costs. You are to prevent any K’Soth forces from landing on the surface. If confronted by the enemy you are ordered to use all necessary means to ensure their swift defeat.’

‘Sir, you are instigating the War Plan?’

‘That I am Admiral. If the K’Soth should respond to your deployment, you are to engage them and following their defeat you are to proceed into Imperial space as planned and begin the assault upon their primary forward bases as we have discussed.’

‘Yes sir,’ Haines heart was pounding.

‘I know you won’t let me down Admiral, and I know how long you’ve planned this. I will now transmit the go codes to your ship. When you have authenticated them you may issue your orders to the fleet. Good luck George, we’re all counting on you.’

Beklide stood, surrounded on all sides by the virtual images of the assembled Council. The members of the Meritarch Council were scattered across the Arkari Sphere and so physical meetings were impractical. Instead, the hypercom network allowed them to meet like this, each member cocooned in his or her virtual representation of the Council Chamber. In reality, the Chamber existed only on Keros, the Arkari home-world at the Sphere’s centre. It too was spherical, the bottom half filled with tiers of seats for the delegates, the top half formed from a single piece of crystal etched with a representation of the night sky.

Beklide was paying scant attention to the remarkable virtual architecture; she had a duty to perform. Standing on the debating floor at the chamber’s centre, she addressed the assembled dignitaries, her small elderly form dwarfed by the scale of vast hollow space.

‘My fellow delegates,’ she began. ‘It is with great fear and trepidation that I come to you now, for a dark secret from our past has come back to haunt us.’ There was a murmur from the assembled Meritarchs. ‘Just a cycle ago our deep space monitoring arrays detected an unusual energy spike coming from a system known as Fulan that lies with the Demilitarised Zone between the Commonwealth and the K’Soth Empire. This signal is consistent with the energy signature of a device our exploratory missions uncovered in the pre-Sphere period. Our records show that this device, when activated the last time, created a wormhole to a point in space and time that was filled with unimaginable horrors.’ There was mutter of disbelief, she continued. ‘Our fleet succeeded in defeating these creatures on this first occasion, but at great cost. Had they gained a foothold in this galaxy it would have spelt doom for us all. Their level of technology and needless to say their level of savagery knows no equal among the civilisations in this spiral arm. Since the device has been reactivated, it is my recommendation that we deploy the fleet immediately to respond to this potential threat. I regret to say that our intelligence efforts have been unsuccessful. The humans have activated the portal, and they do not appear to know the dangers they are meddling with.’

‘You say the humans have activated the device,’ said one delegate. ‘I say let the Commonwealth deal with the problem. Why should we risk our precious fleet once more to save them from their own foolishness? After all, we will require all our resources if we are to confront the greater forces that lie at the centre of this galaxy.’

‘The humans cannot possibly hope to defend themselves against these creatures,’ replied Beklide stubbornly. ‘Their ships are far too primitive to stand against them. Only we have the firepower to repel a breakout from the Maranos portal. Furthermore,’ she continued, ‘we believe that the reactivation of the portal is part of a wider plot by the Shapers to disrupt the civilisations in this arm of the galaxy prior to an invasion. Our intelligence efforts on Maranos had attempted to draw out the Shapers’ agents present there, but were unsuccessful. Needless to say, it is the intention of our enemy that all civilisations become embroiled in war and chaos to make it easier for them to make gains in this volume of space.’ She had their attention now, she knew. Mention of the Shapers would send a chill down the spine of the most arrogant of Council members. ‘There is another reason too,’ she added. ‘These creatures are our problem. We created them so it is only right that we should deal with them.’

‘And why do you say that Beklide?’ said another delegate. ‘What makes you think that they are our responsibility?’

‘Because,’ she replied. ‘They were once Arkari.’

The first sign that Chen had that something was afoot was when her comms officer, Ensign Andrews, picked up a priority message from Fleet Command.

‘Captain,’ he called out. ‘We have a priority alpha coming through on the hypercom. The system is decrypting it now.’ He tore off the sheet of paper as it came out of the printer and handed it, the ink still wet, to Chen. Her heart in her mouth, she examined it, dreading what it would contain.

From: FleetComNorthQ

To: Captain Michelle Chen. CO. CNV Mark Antony. Eyes only.

Auth: CBNM2221456A

Message:

Alien device of great importance to the Commonwealth located. Assist in its capture.

Rendezvous with CNV Normandy and her group at pre-arranged co-ordinates in system Klondike (0,240, -3). Proceed to system Fulan (-1.252.2.) best speed. Oversee landing on planet Maranos (Fulan AB1) by Marines under the command of Colonel Simonov. Planet Maranos to be held against Imperial forces at all costs. Admiral Kojima to oversee assault op. to secure planetary capital Erais and city of Marantis. Captain Chen to lead defensive group. Use of deadly force authorised. Hold the line against any K’Soth attack and await reinforcements. Provide fire support for landing if required.

-Message Ends—

Chen turned to Ramirez. ‘Commander, into my office please,’ she said. He nodded silently and followed. Inside they unlocked the safe and opened the twin sealed containers inside that held the authentication codes. Both of them displayed the same pattern of digits as the order they had received. It was genuine, the hour had finally come. They were going to war.

Chen looked at Ramirez. Her face was drained of colour. She couldn’t think of anything meaningful to say now that their fate was finally upon them. She had to focus, she told herself, if she lost concentration for just a moment she could condemn them all and she couldn’t allow her personal feelings to cloud her perception. Ramirez tried to say something comforting, but the words sounded futile and they both knew it. Silently Chen composed herself, and with Ramirez in tow, returned to the bridge.

The light from the great machine filled the bridge of the Darwin as her crew sought to compile as much data as they could on the incredible events they had just witnessed. The four tapering pillars of light blazed against the black backdrop of space and the softer glow of the planet itself.

The scientists were amazed. What sort of civilisation could construct machines that manipulated the very stars themselves or that could demolish or move planets? They had also seen Varish’s resume of ancient galactic history and were still reeling from the implications. Here was a being that predated the very existence of the Solar System itself. He had lived in a time when Earth was little more than an accreting clump of rock and gas and belonged to a species that had once held the entire galaxy, around a hundred billion systems, under its domain. Doubtless Varish had seen wonders that they could scarcely imagine.

The scientific implications were staggering. What technology lay buried in the planet below? What could the four stored personalities tell them? What secrets did they know? Here was a mother lode of potential scientific discovery that could change the fortunes of the human race for ever.

Despite this, Spiers was facing a near mutiny from his crew who were outraged at him having given in to the orders from the Navy for further information about the device. The thought of the military coming here and crawling all over this great discovery sickened them.

‘What choice did I have?’ He argued. ‘People, listen. We are, after all, a naval vessel and as such we are subject to the chain of command, whether we like it or not.’

‘But you didn’t even try to stall them,’ retorted Pembrooke. ‘At least you could have bought us some time before they arrive. You know what’ll happen; they’ll strip this thing to the bone to make some new weapon or something. By the time we get a look all the real science will have been classified and we’ll never see it.’

‘How could I buy us some time? They’d send a ship here anyway and demand we hand over the information. Then we’d all face a court martial for disobedience and lose our jobs. Plus, what about the K’Soth?’

‘What about them?’ asked Fullerton, scornfully. ‘You’re not suggesting we tell them all about it too are you?’

‘My point is, that they already know. My point is, that those monitoring arrays in this system will have broadcast that energy surge to both the Commonwealth and the Empire. You don’t think that maybe they might come here for a look as well? I know who I’d rather deal with.’

‘So what do you suggest we do? Sit and wait for both sides to turn up and start squabbling?’

‘We gather as much data as we can, then if things get a little risky we retreat to a point well above the ecliptic and wait and see what happens. We can make a run for Commonwealth space if we have to, or we can stay here and work on the device.’

‘Bob, you know how things are between the Commonwealth and the K’Soth right now. We could end up in the middle of a shooting match.’

‘Alright, alright. If the K’Soth come, we make for Klondike okay?’

‘And what about those guys down there on the planet?’

‘They’ll just have to sit it out, or else Quickchild, Varish, whoever he is can get them out. We can’t land a shuttle with all that dust around. Look, you can barely see Marantis now. Do you think our shuttle’s engines could cope with that?’

‘Great Bob, very heroic.’

‘Well what would you have me do?’ replied Spiers in exasperation and stormed off the bridge.

Rekkid, Katherine and Steven stood at the top of the temple’s central tower and looked out at the gathering storm. The activation of the portal had upset the planet’s weather, creating shockwaves in the upper atmosphere that had raced around the planet from the poles. The resulting storm force winds had whipped up millions of tonnes of sand from the deserts into the atmosphere.

They were wearing the goggles they had used earlier whilst cutting open the hatch to shield their eyes against the growing clouds of rushing sand. Northwards, a boiling wall of particles swept down out of the great desert toward the sacred city. To the east and west however, the twin ever-setting suns were still visible, as well as the thin, bright columns of fire that now joined their equators to the planet, umbilical cords of twisting plasma that fed the vast mechanism at the centre of the world. The streets and rooftops of Marantis were full of people, pointing at the strange patterns in the sky and already muttering rumours that Maran had returned to life. A large crowd was gathering around the base of the temple awaiting an announcement from the priests inside.

They had left the underground chamber whilst Varish communed with the entity that called itself Maran. There was something greatly unsettling about the creature; it seemed taciturn and sly and it had regarded them in such a way as to suggest loathing, Rekkid in particular. The possibility of a religious stampede had also occurred to them, something they had no desire to become caught up in.

It was, to say the least, a lot to take in. Katherine and Rekkid knew that what they had discovered dwarfed any xeno-archaeological find ever made. They had had uncovered an artefact that encompassed an entire world and its suns, a stunning technological achievement of indescribable power and engineering prowess.

The re-appearance of the entity that now called itself Varish was another source of fascination. Rekkid’s ship had revealed itself to be the mind of a creature far older than many of the star systems in this part of the galaxy - one that had been preserved via what seemed like a miracle of technology. Yet the three of them were deeply troubled.

They were fully aware that such an artefact represented a great prize to more than just academics such as themselves. The K’Soth and the Commonwealth would both want to get their hands on the portal. They might even be prepared to fight for it.

There was something else too, a matter of extreme coincidence that had not escaped any of them. They now knew that the log that they had found aboard the wreck of the Arkari vessel Khostun included a reference to this place, to the device they had found within the planet. The odds that by sheer chance they should discover the log and also discover the portal that it mentioned seemed long at best. Did someone with prior knowledge of Maranos’s secrets as well as knowledge of what they had found aboard the wreck of the Khostun orchestrate their being sent here? Had they influenced Ekrino when he had asked for the assistance of the two archaeologists?

The log had not only intrigued them in itself, it had spurred them on to investigate and to pry until they had uncovered the underground complex that controlled the portal. It was as though they had been led to it. Was the portal the real reason why repeated attempts had been made to stop them? What had the Arkari found on the other side ten thousand years ago, and what had been so terrible about it that they had made every effort to seal the device against intruders and prevent them from reactivating it? Were the Dendratha legends true and was this fact more terrible still than the prospect of war between the Commonwealth and K’Soth if one side or another sought to gain sole control over the device?

Katherine for one, felt foolish. They had failed to heed the warnings that they had been given time and time again. Wrapped up in their world of academia and study she and Rekkid had stumbled blindly onwards, led like children by their enthusiasm, without ever stopping to consider the consequences of their actions. Varish too was hardly blameless, the ancient machine seemed so hell bent on returning home now that he seemed unaware or unwilling to consider what he was meddling with. Were they about to provide the Commonwealth with the catalyst for war, or were they about to unleash something far worse? Those armoured silver mechanoids that they had found in the subterranean corridor: would they return to wreak their revenge? They could only watch and wait.

Steven’s face was grim. He too was contemplating the events ahead. He knew that the K’Soth would come, that the Empire would be unable to resist a prize such as this. He would be ready for them. If he could protect Katherine and Rekkid, and produce one good thing out of this entire shitty mess he would be satisfied. He knew what the K’Soth were capable of, what they would do to the two archaeologists to extract information from them about the device. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

Chapter 25

Varish stood on the barren cliff edge above an old shoreline that now lacked an ocean. The water had long since been boiled away by the swollen red star that dominated the sky, filling half of it, and which would eventually engulf the planet in a few thousand years. It was all a simulation of course. Varish’s physical form was currently hanging inside the cone shaped energy field that projected into space from the north-pole of Maranos, but this was the environment that the Bajenteri personality that called itself Maran had chosen to communicate with him.

It seemed a strange choice. The landscape was grim and desolate, bathed in the ruddy light from the dying star. Varish was sure that had this been real, no living thing could possibly survive here. The surface was almost molten, baked and cracked and littered with a few biological remains, charcoal remnants of trees and animals. A few bones lay here and there amongst the rocks.

Varish’s body image was his own, that of Maran was a flitting luminous figure similar to the one he had projected into the chamber when he had shown himself to Rekkid and the others.

‘Why have you brought me here?’ asked Varish. ‘What is this place?’

‘This place?’ said Maran. ‘It’s where I was born, a planet called Irkil Shi that lies on the other side of galaxy.’

‘You were born here? But it’s

’

‘Inhospitable? Dead? Yes

it is now. Once of course, it was a verdant paradise like so many worlds under our stewardship. Such is the way of things.’

‘Maran, you have to realise that our time in this galaxy was billions of years ago. This,’ he gestured at the bloated sun, ‘is just what happens to stars over such a long period of time.’

‘Of course I realise,’ said Maran. ‘But I had to watch it, all of it. The worlds that we had nurtured and loved and made our own: first they were taken by other races then incinerated by the very stars that gave them life.’

‘How did you see? Weren’t you deactivated for all that time like Tyrunin and Icthasa?’

‘No. No I was not. My systems, my links to the outside were turned off but I remained awake and trapped inside, sustained by what energy reserves were left. Many times I tried to turn myself off. I tried to sabotage the systems that kept me alive but I couldn’t access the zero point energy sinks designed to sustain my personality. I could only watch. I had to remain here in my prison for all of that time and watch the universe around me. It was the only way I could remain sane.’

‘Are you sure about that? Tyrunin said your name was Chiriya, not Maran. Maran is the name the Dendratha gave you isn’t it?’

‘I can call myself what I want! I like the name my people gave me, it means ‘light being’ you know

I think it’s beautiful,’ said Maran wistfully.

‘Your people? You aren’t a god, despite what you may have deluded the Dendratha into thinking.’

‘Can you think of a better way to describe me? The others have been asleep all this time. Subjectively they have lived little longer than a normal mortal life. I, on the other hand, have lived for over a third of the age of the universe. I have seen empires rise and fall, watched races emerge from prehistoric beginnings to conquer the stars only to falter and die. The Humans, the Arkari and the others: I saw them in their infancy as they grubbed around in the dirt like animals. I saw them reach out into the stars as we once did, and I will outlive them.’

‘Are you so sure of that?’

‘Yes. They do not realise what darkness lies at the heart of this galaxy. Those who plotted our downfall will reach out once again. If we, at the height of our glory, could not stand against their machinations then what chance do these pathetic creatures have?’ he said coldly.

‘The Shapers are still here? You sound like you would welcome them, why?’

‘The Arkari lied to me, used me. They reactivated my systems on the condition that I willingly collaborated in their scheme to exile their own rebellious population. In return for my participation in that crime they promised me that they would free me once and for all, and then they shut me away again! They lied!’ There was a rumble of thunder. Varish felt the ground quake slightly beneath him.

‘Yes, I know.’

‘You do? Then you know that some of the Arkari still know of their misdeeds yet hide the truth from others. They deserve retribution.’

‘But it was such a long time ago, Maran.’

‘No! No, they came again: to interfere, to torment me!’

‘What

?’

‘Be silent! Listen to me. It was shortly after I had been cruelly re-incarcerated that I first noticed the glimmerings of intelligence upon this planet, my planet. I began to regard the Dendratha as my people, I watched them for many years as they grew and multiplied upon the surface, but it was millennia before they became aware of me. Then one day one of them stumbled into the primary control bunker and managed to awaken me. He was such an inquisitive soul and he had such an understanding of my ways

we talked and talked…’

‘And then what?’

‘I decided to use the opportunity to make good, to atone for my participation in the crimes of the Arkari. I reactivated the portal and directed its terminus so that the exiled Arkari might return, and they did so. They sent an emissary vessel through the portal and they thanked me for releasing them. They promised me my freedom, they promised me a body such as they themselves now inhabited, but the others, the Arkari in this galaxy, they came and they killed them all!’

‘Well why do you suppose

?’

‘I don’t know! It’s not fair! I hate the Arkari. I hate them for denying me the chance to escape this prison, for their lies, for their deceit, for everything that they have done to me!’

‘Maran, I have direct experience of the Arkari, they don’t strike me as being inherently evil. Maybe they had good reason for what they did, but I still don’t understand why you dislike the other races.’

‘The Humans and their Commonwealth, they come here and they interfere, they build their machines on my surface and spoil the culture of my people with their ways. They embroil this world in their own petty disputes and rivalries. They have no right!’

‘They think that they are doing good.’

‘Pah! What do they know? And what now

now that they know I am here? They will come and try to study me, try to understand me, they will pry and poke and pick me apart, try to use my secrets for their own ends. The K’Soth too, they would do the same, those savages. I won’t let them harm my people, I won’t let them!’ the sky grew darker with turbulent clouds and strobed with lightning.

‘Look,’ said Varish hurriedly. ‘I have an idea about how we could return home for good.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes. Maran please direct the portal to the point in space and time that our people originally fled to.’

‘No! You’ll leave me! You’ll go through and that will be it and I’ll be stuck here and

’

‘No. Listen, I intend to locate our people then come back here for you three to extract your personalities and leave AI constructs in your place. I’ve done some work and I’ve already written functional AIs based on Esacir research that could replace the three of you at least for long enough for us to get back through the portal. You must remember where our people went, surely?’

‘Yes, I do. Very well Varish, you are Bajenteri after all. I will trust you.’

‘Thank you.’ Varish noticed that the boiling sky appeared to have calmed.

‘Now pass through, and hurry back.’

The hellish landscape disappeared and Varish found himself in front of the black shifting disk of the wormhole’s terminus. He powered forward, monitoring the circular wall that rippled like an oil slick. Down the funnel of light he went, down inside the planet between walls of seamless metal towards the great black gate. He braced himself as he approached its shifting surface, and then passed through to the other side in an eye blink.

There was nothing but darkness. No visible light whatsoever. Varish could detect nothing but faintest emissions towards the infrared end of the spectrum and a background whisper of exotic radiation. Scanning the immediate vicinity he picked up nothing but two burnt out cinders of stars, black dwarfs, five AUs to either side of the wormhole terminus. They were the remains of stars that had swollen to red giant size, had dwindled to become white dwarfs and then eventually had been extinguished entirely. Now they were little more than dead balls of ash.

But there were no stars whatsoever. Varish scanned the heavens, there were literally hundreds of black holes instead, voracious monsters brooding in the sea of exotic radiation. He checked their positions against the star charts he possessed of the Milky Way. They did not correspond to any on record. Perhaps he was now in another galaxy? But if such a number of celestial monsters existed in one place they would surely be on record, no matter where there were, and why couldn’t he see any other galaxies? There was nothing but faint Hawking radiation in all directions.

It was then that a horrible realisation struck him, the two dead stars nearby corresponded exactly to the positions of Fulan A and B had he still been on the other side of the wormhole. The distance between the two bodies was, accounting for their reduced sizes, the same. There was no Maranos, but wouldn’t any planet have been swallowed by the stars as they entered the red giant phase of their life cycle?

He checked the positions of some of the black holes, many of them corresponded to the positions of known super giant stars that already existed in the galaxy he had just left, but only if he adjusted their positions to account for the drift of stars around the galaxy and their movements relative to one another. The positions of the galaxies, now little more than dim radiation sources, was all wrong too. They were too far apart; much, much too far apart. The most distant radiation source was over a hundred billion light years distant, the wavelengths of its emissions stretched out like an uncoiled spring by the cumulative effects of cosmic expansion.

He had moved in time, but not in space. Maran had somehow calculated or observed the position of the galaxy and this system billions of years into the future and deposited him here. Here he was witnessing the heat death of the universe, the final cold ignominious end to all that had ever existed, when all light, heat and life had flickered and died. Surely the Bajenteri hadn’t come here had they?

‘Maran,’ he queried, directing a tight beam transmission back through the wormhole. ‘Why have you transported me here? There’s nothing here but

darkness.’

‘You’re like all the others,’ came the spiteful reply. ‘You lied to me. You were just trying to distract me whilst your friends arrived.’

‘What? What are you talking about?’

‘Commonwealth warships are approaching. They will try to take the planet, mark my words. Well I won’t allow it, my friends will see to that and they will deal with you too.’

With that, the wormhole closed, a single transmission emerging from the closing aperture before it winked out of existence. Varish decoded it. It was a wideband hypercom message in ancient Arkari that contained a simple program. When Varish ran it, it displayed a clock counting down towards zero and a single word: prepare. Varish was trapped. There was no way back and unless Maran chose to reactivate the portal, he would remain alone in the universe’s graveyard forever.

But he was not alone. There were eyes in the darkness, mechanical things that peered out of the stygian gloom. They were watching him, thousands of them. Suddenly very afraid, Varish reconfigured his shield profile to maximise his stealth potential and hide himself. Shapes began to move in the eternal night, occluding the radiation sources as they moved. Space faring predatory forms the size of cities and larger, much larger, who were now jumping towards the dead Maranos system. They were converging on this point from the direction of the nearest black holes, which Varish now saw were girdled with great engines that sucked power from just beyond the event horizons of their devouring maws. They were engines that fuelled a civilisation that still clung to life in the darkness and which was now, in its entirety, swarming towards him. Varish looked at the clock that Maran had sent through the wormhole as it steadily counted down. There wasn’t a lot of time left.

Space above Maranos’s equator was torn apart by the arrival of the Commonwealth ships. The Mark Antony’s group jumped in first, the four destroyers and sole frigate arranged in a vertical cross formation, flanked by the four anti-fighter cruisers and trailed by the two tactical missile frigates.

Chen ordered her group to assume a high orbit above the planet. Sensor sweeps of the system revealed no other ships apart from the science vessel Darwin, but they could not ignore the astounding whirlpools of energy joining the stars to the planet and projecting out from the poles.

‘Mr Singh, report,’ ordered Chen. ‘What are we seeing here? This is the device Command briefed us about I assume.’

‘I, I’m not sure what it is,’ replied Singh as he scrutinised his instruments. ‘The two equatorial phenomena appear to be large plasma flux tubes of a hitherto unforeseen magnitude flowing from the stars to the surface of the planet. At the poles there are two tubular energy fields that project far out into space. I’m afraid I’m unable to determine their exact nature or method of generation.’

‘Very well. Helm, locate the city of Marantis on the planet’s surface and assume a geostationary orbit above it. Plot a course that will take us well clear of those flux tubes. We get too close and they’ll fry us.’

‘Aye Captain,’ said Goldstein and plotted gently looping trajectory that would avoid the nearest whirlpool of plasma and bring the ship to a relative stop fifteen hundred kilometres above the city

‘Comms, inform Admiral Kojima that we have secured Maranos orbit, he may begin his landing and then get me the Darwin. I’d like to know what the hell happened here. Thoughts, Mr Ramirez?’ Chen looked at her first officer.

‘I understand it has been long suspected that other races inhabited this part of the galaxy long ago,’ he replied. ‘But to the best of my knowledge we’ve never encountered anything like this. I’d say that whoever built it possessed technology so far advanced beyond our own that we’d seem like cavemen by comparison.’

As he spoke the face of Captain Spiers appeared in the comms window of Chen’s HUD. He looked somewhat flustered.

‘Good morning Captain,’ said Chen brightly. ‘I am Captain Chen of the Navy vessel Mark Antony. We have arrived to secure the system. Would you care to explain the situation to us? We received only the scantest of briefings from Command.’

‘If you don’t mind me saying so Captain Chen, your presence here is liable to cause intense provocation.’

‘I have my orders Captain Spiers.’

‘So you do. Very well, approximately twenty-three hours ago the archaeological team on the planet led by Professor Rekkid Cor and Doctor Katherine O’Reilly located and reactivated the alien device you see in operation now.’

Cor and O’Reilly: Chen started to wonder where she had heard those names before.

Spiers continued. ‘They had received some help from us. We used our instruments to locate the underground structures that form part of the machine, but we now believe it makes up much of the core of the planet below us.’

‘The entire planet is filled with machines?’

‘We think so, yes.’

‘Good grief

’ she muttered, truly astonished. Who could have constructed such a gigantic device?

‘Quite,’ said Spiers noting her expression. ‘We had also previously discovered ring shaped structures floating above the surface of the two stars. It now appears that they also form part of the device and control the plasma flux tubes that you can see. The plasma powers the device which generates a stable wormhole at the centre of the planet. I’m sure as a star ship captain that you understand the potential implications of such technology.’

‘Yes theoretically, the ability to instantly travel any point in time or space that you wish?’

‘Precisely.’

Chen looked out. They were now passing beneath the flow from the B star. The bright, twisting tube of superheated particles would annihilate the squadron of ships if they got too close.

‘There’s more,’ said Spiers. ‘It also appears that the rings and the device on the planet are, to coin a phrase, inhabited, by artificially intelligent entities. They refuse to communicate with us directly, but they have communicated with Professor Cor’s ship and the one on the planet spoke to the archaeologists. Cor’s ship has now disappeared inside the device. We think it passed through the wormhole, and then the portal deactivated itself shortly afterwards.’

‘So why have they taken such a shine to the Professor’s ship, Captain? They’ll talk to a ship but not to us?’

‘The Professor loaned his ship from the Esacir and apparently it contains a fugitive AI that the Esacir discovered and resurrected. It would appear that this entity, known as Varish, is actually of similar origins to the beings that inhabit the machine it has now entered.’

‘Which is?’ enquired Chen.

‘Do you have time for a brief history lesson?’

The Normandy and her group jumped into the Fulan system twenty-five minutes after the destroyers and assumed a low level orbit above Maranos. There, standard procedure dictated they would act as spaceborne artillery if necessary in support of the landing of ground forces, whilst the Mark Antony and her group assumed a defensive position above them. The gigantic carrier, flanked by the destroyers Saladin and Zhukov and under the command of Admiral Kojima, was relying on Chen’s group to bear the brunt of any attack whilst they conducted their landing.

Colonel Simonov stood on the gantry above the main hangar and surveyed his troops. The huge space was full of men and materials, landing craft and gunships. The craft that would soon be used to transport his landing force to the surface squatted in rows on the deck like fat birds of prey. He watched as his troops took their places inside their bellies.

The advance guard of atmosphere capable fighter bombers had already launched, though more as a show of force and to scout for landing sites than anything else, since the Dendratha posed no threat. The landing craft and their accompanying gunships would follow, then the heavier transports that would deploy the armour, artillery, air defences and supplies necessary to provide the backbone to the small mobile force under his command.

It wasn’t the Dendratha that Simonov was worried about. This deployment would surely bring the K’Soth charging into the system very soon. He was aware of the war plan and he had little intention of sacrificing his men needlessly to any higher purpose. Seizing the capital was a secondary concern. He intended to seize Marantis and dig in and if the K’Soth came, he’d make them fight for every inch of the city.

He had studied maps of the planet and of the location of the access point to the alien device. Marantis would provide an excellent defensive position. It was almost totally surrounded by relatively featureless plains that would make it very difficult for any landing force to find cover from fire directed from space or from the city itself, except to the west where there lay steep sided gorges that were impossible to land in. Though he himself had designated the plains around the city as landing points, Simonov had no intention of his troops remaining there. Having landed they would move into the city and occupy it. The K’Soth, on the other hand, would have to do the same thing, but under a barrage of fire from his men, and on the flat featureless expanses around the city, they would be very exposed. Their only refuge would be the gorges to the west of the city, though they would have to reach them first from the plains above. Landing further away and proceeding up the gorges would give the Commonwealth ample time to call in reinforcements.

If the K’Soth succeeded in reaching the city, Simonov was confident that the warrens of narrow winding streets could be used to bog down the K’Soth long enough until reinforcements arrived and exact massive casualties upon the besiegers.

There was however a possible flaw in his plan, and indeed in any operation that relied on combined space and surface forces. As long as the Commonwealth held orbital dominance he could avoid any risk of tactical bombardment from space, and it was that which concerned him the most. If Kojima and Chen couldn’t hold off the enemy capital ships then he and his men were doomed unless he could scatter his forces; Marantis would be levelled and his men with it.

Simonov made his way to his waiting craft. He had decided to go planetside in the first wave. He liked to lead from the front wherever practical since he found it inspired loyalty in his men and in this instance there seemed to be little risk from being the first man down.

The ship that sat waiting for him was like all the others in most respects. A Condor class landing craft. A dark green, streamlined, diamond shaped lifting body with angular lines that increased the stealthiness of its sensor profile. Its thick central fuselage blended into thick wings which housed the engines and weapon banks. Either side of the rearward clamshell doors were the thrust vectored exhausts and horizontal stabilizers. Underneath the hull were further vents as well as an uprated antigrav system that allowed the craft to land and take off vertically more rapidly than any civilian vessel. In an emergency, the pilot could initiate manoeuvres that resembled a controlled crash, whilst still being able to land safely on most surfaces, thanks to the sturdy, flexible tri-cycle landing gear upon which the craft now squatted.

His particular craft was a little different however. As a command vessel it was fitted with a suite of tactical displays and comms gear that would allow Simonov to oversee the landing of his troops whilst en-route to the surface himself, as well giving him the ability to use the craft as a command post once it had landed.

Everything seemed to be proceeding as to his orders: it was time. Simonov made his way down onto the deck and walked over to his ship. Ducking inside its darkened interior he exchanged salutes with his command staff before taking his seat in his acceleration couch. He donned a set of earpieces and logged himself into the command network. The fighter bombers were just reporting in:

‘Uh, roger that Normandy, we are over the LZ now,’ Simonov heard one pilot drawl. ‘Report no hostile forces, area is secure. You are clear for the landing.’

‘Thank you Foxtrot wing, we copy that.’ Admiral Kojima replied crisply over the link. ‘You may return to the carrier.’

‘Roger Normandy, Foxtrot One out.’

‘Colonel Simonov, you may begin your landing,’ instructed Kojima.

‘I copy that Admiral, launching now,’ replied Simonov. Now he addressed his men. ‘Alright people, first wave go for launch, let’s do this by the book. The scouts have reported that the LZ is clear. I’ll see you all on the ground, Simonov out.’

Simonov’s ship, and a queue of a dozen others, began to move slowly toward the forward launch deck. The innermost force field deactivated, allowing the first two ships to enter side by side. They locked into place on the deck catapults then tensed like predators ready to pounce as they ran their engines up to full power. The catapults fired, hurling the two craft at breakneck speed out into space. As they were magnetically accelerated down the zero gravity tunnel further force fields opened and closed in series, allowing the ships out into space whilst maintaining the atmospheric integrity of the hangar deck. When the craft emerged they would be travelling at combat speed, thus making them much more difficult targets for any would be assailant.

As the first ships launched, Simonov’s own moved forward onto the magnetic catapult. There was a brief pause, before he and his staff were pushed fiercely down into their seats by the sudden surge of speed. A few heartbeats and they were powering away from the bows of the carrier and heading toward the planet. The pilot began to orientate the ship for atmospheric insertion.

As the Mark Antony held station a thousand kilometres above the Normandy, Ramirez watched the tactical display with some consternation as a procession of contacts indicated the initiation of the landing. Kojima, it seemed, was making a potentially disastrous tactical error.

‘Captain, I may be speaking out of turn here,’ he muttered to Chen. ‘But just what the hell is the Admiral doing? He’s much too close to the planet.’

‘Admiral Kojima likes to do things by the book. His orbit is a standard one for this kind of operation, it means a shorter journey to the surface for the landing craft and hence less exposure time to hostile fire,’ explained Chen.

‘I know, but there is no hostile fire and usually this kind of landing is only undertaken once the threat of enemy capital ships has been neutralised. We could have the K’Soth here very soon. He’s much too far down the gravity well to manoeuvre effectively in combat and they’ll be sitting ducks if the K’Soth attack.’

‘Your point is well made Commander,’ replied Chen and opened a channel to the Normandy. Kojima’s face appeared in her vision.

‘Sir, with all due respect,’ Chen began. ‘I was wondering why you had assumed such a low orbit and ordered a landing. Should you not reconsider your current deployment with regard to the current tactical situation? If the K’Soth should arrive you will be placed at a severe tactical disadvantage.’

‘Captain Chen, with all due respect,’ replied Kojima with a cold sarcasm. ‘I am command of this operation and I am conducting it as per standard procedure. Your concern is noted. Kojima out.’

Chen bit her lip and swore inwardly. The arrogant old bastard, he didn’t even listen to her. She began to mentally re-assess the likely assistance given by Kojima’s ships in any forthcoming battle. Fuming silently, she watched the convoy of landing craft head toward the planet. She glanced at Ramirez. His expression was grim.

Spiers and his crew also watched the landing with severe expressions. The deployment of Commonwealth ground forces appeared to be far larger than they had expected. Dozens of landing craft were falling like scattered seeds toward the city below, where the sandstorm had now abated. Now, larger transporters filled with heavier equipment began to emerge from the Normandy’s decks. That - and the presence of the warships in the system - would pretty much guarantee a K’Soth response.

‘Well Bob,’ said Antonov. ‘It looks like we won’t have much opportunity to get a look at that device. Those troops will be swarming all over it in a few minutes. What do you want to do?’

‘The K’Soth will be here soon enough, they can’t ignore this,’ replied Spiers grimly as he gestured at the flotilla of ships. ‘We should leave the system now whilst we still can. Anyone got a better idea?’ There was a sullen silence. ‘Okay. Helm, plot a course for New Colorado in the Klondike system and get us the hell out of here.’ Spiers gazed glumly at the banded orb of Maranos as it swung out of view. ‘We can always come back I guess,’ he muttered. ‘Assuming there’s anything left of course.’

The comm. system crackled to life, they were being hailed by the Normandy. ‘Science vessel Darwin, this is Admiral Kojima. Why are you preparing to leave the system? We need you here to monitor the alien device.’

‘Admiral, my vessel is no warship. Your deployment here will no doubt elicit a response from our reptilian friends. Staying here is suicide as far as we are concerned. Go and start your war, I want no part of it.’

‘Darwin, I am ordering you to remain on station and monitor the device.’

‘You have all the data we’ve accumulated so far and we intend to return once this system has been secured, sir. I will not needlessly endanger my crew. Spiers out,’ he cut the link. ‘Helm, disregard the Admiral’s orders and make for Klondike.’

‘Aren’t you worried that Kojima will bring charges against you Bob?’ said Fullerton. ‘You just disobeyed a direct order.’

‘Mary, if Kojima remains here I doubt he’ll be alive to make those accusations,’ Spiers replied. ‘Helm, engage jump drive.’

Rekkid, Katherine and Steven were woken from their sleep by the scream of engines high above the city. They had finally managed to get out of the temple and snuck out of the grounds, noticing on the way that the dig sites around the building had been drowned by the night’s sandstorm and then trampled by the mob. Disheartened, they had returned to the sanctuary of the university to get some well earned rest. Now, they were being disturbed again.

Katherine rushed to her window and pushed aside the heavy curtains that been hung to block out the ever persistent ruddy glow. Looking upward she could see the bat-like shapes of the Daemon class fighter bombers circling the city in a sky now free of airborne sand. She recognised their shape from news bulletins covering the crisis between the Commonwealth and the K’Soth. Katherine craned her neck upward and peered against the permanent dusk to see if she could see their parent carrier. Sure enough there, just visible, was a new constellation of faint stars, two groups of sparkling dots in the firmament. She instinctively ducked as one of the Daemons screamed low over the university compound. It was low enough that Katherine could see the faint glow of its shields and the assortment of weapon pods that hung below the graceful wings.

She noticed that Rekkid and Steven had also stuck their head out the windows of their respective rooms and were regarding the scene with troubled expressions.

‘The Commonwealth are here already Katherine,’ Rekkid called to her. ‘We have to get off the planet right now, before the K’Soth arrive too.’ Katherine nodded in agreement. Steven said nothing. He just stared accusingly at the winged forms as they shot back up into the air in perfect formation, returning to their eyrie in orbit above the city.

They dressed and gathered their gear then ate a hurried breakfast. All the while, Rekkid attempted to contact first Varish, and then the Darwin. There was no response from either, despite numerous attempts, and without either ship to act as a relay station they had little chance of contacting Ambassador Croft either in the near future.

‘We could ask the Navy to extract us,’ said Steven. ‘I could use my position to perhaps request a transport.’

‘I thought you said you weren’t popular with your employers?’ said Katherine.

‘I’m not,’ he replied. ‘But it’s worth a shot. The Navy looks after its own, regardless of its other faults.’

Rekkid let Steven use his computer to make a wideband transmission to fleet in orbit above them: A request for immediate extraction and transport out of the system. There was a short pause before someone answered.

Chen’s face filled the screen. ‘This is the destroyer Mark Antony responding to your distress signal. We

Steven!?’ Her expression turned to one of surprise, and disdain. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she sneered.

All of Steven’s hopes began to drain away. Why did she have to turn up? Why her of all people? ‘Uh, Michelle. Look I have two civilians down here who are going to get caught up in this if I can’t get them out. They’re just a couple of archaeologists, Rekkid Cor and Katherine O’Reilly. They were sent here on assignment from Earth.’

‘Yes, I see from your transmission. The two who found the device, yes?’ Now Chen remembered where she had heard the names Katherine O’Reilly and Rekkid Cor before: the two agents who had come aboard her ship, they had been looking for them hadn’t they? The murdered transport pilot, Minaba, didn’t they have something to do with that? The agents had accused them of working for the K’Soth. Chen made her decision: if Steven was involved in this, then they were up to no good.

‘You will remain where you are until a military escort arrives.’

‘Um, look thanks Michelle but that’s not really necessary, all we’d like

’

‘I don’t care what you’d like, Steven. You will wait for a military escort to arrive and then you and those two fugitives will co-operate with them fully. Do you understand?’

‘Of all the people who had to answer

’

‘Small galaxy isn’t it Steven?’ she snapped.

‘Oh fuck you,’ he swore, cut the link and in exasperation, thumped the table upon which Rekkid’s computer sat. On the bridge of the Mark Antony, Chen smiled to herself, savouring the moment.

‘You two know each other?’ said Ramirez quizzically.

‘Let’s just say our paths have crossed on more than one occasion,’ said Chen. ‘He got your predecessor killed for one thing.’

‘That’s Steven Harris?’

‘The very same.’

‘Good grief. You’re actually enjoying this aren’t you?’

‘Yes,’ replied Chen and began issuing orders for the arrest and detainment of a Mr Steven Harris, a Professor Rekkid Cor and a Dr Katherine O’Reilly wanted for questioned by CIB and currently at large in the city of Marantis.

Simonov sat in the shaking cabin, strapped into his couch and watching the tactical display in front of him as the landing craft plummeted through the atmosphere of Maranos like a knife through butter. The view through the small windows was turned a fiery orange by the glow from the ship’s shields as they were battered by the rushing air. His subordinates were likewise transfixed by their own displays, seemingly oblivious to the turbulent ride as they concentrated upon their own aspects of the operation.

Everything seemed to be proceeding to plan. His craft were beginning to fan out for the landing north and south of the city whilst Simonov himself would land at the temple and set up a command post. He intended to set up an artillery position there too once the self propelled guns arrived in the next wave. The heavier armour and air defence units would be landed both at the temple and outside the city. Once his forces were on the ground they would move into Marantis and prepare to fortify it against a possible assault. Redeployments within the city would be made depending upon where the K’Soth chose to land their forces. Simonov had planned a number of possible responses; the general technique of all of them would be to prevent the K’Soth from landing near the city and keep them out on the plains where he could bombard them with his artillery to soften them up. Once the K’Soth assaulted the city, which he guessed they would, he would draw them into the warren of narrow streets and take them apart piece by piece.

He grunted with interest as the additional orders appeared on his screen. They now had an additional secondary objective: arrest three individuals for questioning last seen in the vicinity of the university and detain them until the arrival of intelligence personnel. Simonov checked his map of Marantis and redirected one of the landing craft to the new waypoint.

‘What do you intend to do Steven? You know this planet better than us two,’ said Rekkid as they hurried out of the university building with their belongings.

‘Get to the railway station, that’s what. If we can get today’s train out of here we can get away at least for a little while.’

‘Won’t they just send a ship after us?’ enquired Katherine. ‘It’s not like we can just blend in Steven, we stick out like a sore thumb here.’

‘You got a better idea?’ he shot back. ‘At least this way we’ll be further from any ground actions that take place. Come on, this way,’ he added, hefting his luggage.

They staggered out of the accommodation block into the compound. As they descended the shallow ramp outside a growing roar began to fill their ears. Looking upwards they were almost knocked flat by the downwash from the landing craft as it descended over the huddle of university buildings, scattering dust and leaves before it. The dark predatory form hung over them like a hawk for a moment, before it found them. A loudspeaker began to blare over the howling engines.

‘Stay where you are. Do not attempt to escape,’ it boomed as the craft hovered overhead. As they looked, figures wearing close-fitting combat armour and clutching weapons began to emerge from the clamshell doors at the rear of the ship. They were wearing AG packs and used them to drift down towards the trio as the voice continued to echo off the stonework of the surrounding buildings. ‘You will co-operate with Commonwealth forces. You are being detained as part of counter-insurgency operations in this area. Any hostile act will be met with deadly force.’

Katherine looked at Steven, the blast of air and dust stinging her eyes. ‘Looks like they came sooner than you thought,’ she yelled over the noise.

‘I’m sorry Katherine,’ he called back. ‘I thought we’d have longer until they arrived. I’ve let you down. If I hadn’t called for help they might not have found us.’

‘Don’t worry Steven,’ she replied. ‘You tried your best.’

The landing craft was moving now, sliding to one side as it sought a suitable landing site. Its landing gear unfolded and it slowly came to rest in the middle of the one of the ornamental flower beds, its heavy wheels mashing the delicate plants. The noise began to recede as its engines died.

The marines had landed in a rough circle around the trio, there was no escape. Their captain, identifiable by the insignia on his armour’s pauldron, addressed them:

‘Professor Rekkid Cor, Doctor Katherine O’Reilly and Agent Steven Harris?’

‘The very same,’ replied Rekkid coldly to the grim, visored face.

‘I am ordered to detain the three of you in the interests of national security. You will accompany us into a place of custody until such time as you can be questioned by Commonwealth Agents. I ask you not to resist us.’ To emphasise the point he patted the magnetic rifle that he held, other examples of which were being pointed at them by his squad.

‘On what charge, might I ask?’ replied Rekkid angrily.

‘I am not privy to that information, suffice to say that I am authorised to use all necessary means to detain you.’

Rekkid looked at Katherine, she was visibly shaking. Steven looked utterly beaten and he himself felt sick to his stomach with dread. So, it had finally come to this. It was what they had feared all along. Rekkid doubted that given the situation, the Commonwealth authorities would relent in their pursuit of every scrap of information about their activities and discoveries over recent months. They would care little for legal niceties.

Chapter 26

Simonov’s boots and those of his men crunched on the gravel as they stepped out of the landing craft moments after it came to rest on the barren expanse of ground that surrounded the temple. He paused for a moment and looked up at the monolithic structure that dwarfed the sleek vessel he had just exited. The air, he noted, was warm and sultry like a late summer’s evening. It occurred to him that no doubt it was always thus given the planet’s locked rotation. The armoured suits his men wore would become uncomfortable, the lighter models such as he himself wore especially so. They would soon become sweat-filled and chafing without the sophisticated temperature and moisture regulation systems sported by the heavier assault models.

As Simonov regarded the temple he noticed a crowd of locals huddled around its entrance. There were a great number of them, perhaps a couple of hundred, though it was hard to tell at this distance and in the ruddy half light, but more seemed to be emerging from within the temple. The crowd was beginning to swarm towards his position, and as they drew closer he decided that they didn’t look particularly pleased by the arrival of the marines.

Simonov gave orders to his men. All were told to remove their helmets and shoulder their weapons so as to look as least threatening as possible. However, they were to keep stun and gas grenades within easy reach should it prove necessary to disperse the crowd. He ordered them to fan out in a line in front of the landing craft with himself in the middle. As a precaution however, he ordered the ship’s gunner to keep the nose turret deployed and the rear doors open should a rapid retreat prove necessary. He had no intention of shooting the crowd, but a burst from the ship’s gatling cannon fired over their heads should prove a sufficient deterrent in the event of any threat. The multitude drew close and came to a halt a few metres away from the line of marines. Simonov saw now that they were led by a robed figure, a priest of some kind he guessed, who now stepped forward towards him and began to speak.

‘My name

is Priest Ekrino

. and I

come on behalf of this church and its

congregation.’ The translation lagged as Simonov’s suit struggled to cope with the unfamiliar language, there were pauses whilst it dredged up the vocabulary from its database. ‘I respectfully ask that you remove yourselves from this most holy of sites. Weapons are an affront to the sacred purpose of this temple of Maran and have no place here, especially at this time of miracles.’ To emphasise the point he gesticulated in the direction of the twin suns and the thin ribbons of fire that now joined them to the land.

Simonov tried to assume a friendly expression before he replied: ‘Priest Ekrino, let me introduce myself, I am Colonel Simonov of the Commonwealth’s Marine Corp. It is neither my intention nor that of my men to cause offence. We are here merely temporarily to guarantee the safety of this place.’

‘Colonel Simonov, I may be a simple priest from a backward planet, but I know the tools of war when I see them, and I would appreciate it if the gunner of that ship of yours would cease pointing his weapon at my head.’

Simonov turned and glared at the gunner and made a sharp gesture indicating that he should point the gatling cannon elsewhere. ‘My apologies,’ he replied. ‘But please believe me when I say that another race, known as the K’Soth, may also try to come here. They are as interested as we in the, as you put it, “miracles” that have taken place on this planet and they are far less diplomatic than ourselves. They will take what they want from this world whether you permit them to or not.’

‘Colonel, I am dimly aware of what events transpire on world beyond my own. Yes I have heard of the K’Soth, even met a couple: they have an embassy here as well as yourselves. I am fully aware of their general behaviour towards other races but I say to you: By landing here have you not made this holy place a military target? How many more troops do you intend to bring?’

‘Sir, we merely intend to use this location as a command post and artillery fire base. Most of my forces will be dispersed in and around the city.’

Ekrino looked unimpressed. ‘And if we refuse to co-operate?’ he replied.

‘I’d much rather you didn’t.’

‘We are unarmed Colonel. Would you shoot us?’

‘No, no I wouldn’t. But this world, and this site in particular, are of special importance to the Commonwealth and I have large numbers of troops at my disposal. I would prefer to defend this city, not occupy it. We’re not invaders.’

‘Really? Perhaps it depends on one’s point of view, Colonel,’ replied Ekrino dryly.

‘We merely wish to learn more about the “miracles” that have occurred here.’

‘Really, and you need armed men and women for that? Tell me, since when did the Commonwealth show an intense interest in the religious affairs of backwater worlds such as our own?’

‘To answer your first question: given the current state of play between ourselves and the K’Soth, yes. Secondly, we believe that the events that have transpired on this planet may have far reaching consequences. We intend to secure this world and study the phenomena that have occurred here. We believe it is of the utmost importance that we prevent the K’Soth from doing so. If they were to gain access to these “miracles” it could give them the ability to wreak havoc in the galaxy.’

‘Really?’ replied Ekrino. ‘So tell me, does the Commonwealth intend to spread the word of Maran for the good of all

hmm?’ Simonov said nothing. Ekrino paused before continuing. ‘Very well, as it seems I have little choice

’ he said wearily. ‘Much as it leaves a sour taste in my mouth I shall allow you and your men to remain here. In the interest of avoiding any immediate unrest I shall permit you to stay providing you do your utmost to avoid further insult and provide no hindrance to those who wish to visit this place.’ Simonov nodded in agreement. ‘I shall inform my congregation that you are here for their protection, though I doubt they will believe me. I ask you not to make me look like a fool Colonel. I will not tolerate any slight or insult however mild and despite your weapons I have a great many of the faithful at my beck and call.’ He turned, leaning on his staff, and returned to the crowd who then began to recede towards the great claw shaped structure from whence they came. Simonov let out a sigh of relief.

He returned to his ship and watched the landing unfold on his console. Everything was proceeding as planned. The first wave of troops had made successful landfall and were now reporting in. Their positions, highlighted on Simonov’s screen, described two rough bracket shapes north and south of the city. The second wave and the heavier equipment were still in transit from the Normandy, but it would be on the ground in a matter of minutes. Simonov switched to a three dimensional map of the space above Marantis and examined the tracks of the incoming vessels.

Switching back to a map of the city he noticed a single ship making its way toward his position. Closer inspection revealed it to be the landing craft he had diverted to apprehend the three fugitives. Simonov guessed that his men had been successful. Judging by their speedy return, their targets couldn’t have put up much resistance. He turned to an aide and requested the intelligence brief on the three individuals concerned. The urgency of Captain Chen’s request had piqued his interest. Just what had these three people been accused of?

A roaring sound outside signalled the approach of the second landing craft. It swooped low over the ground and alighted gently next to Simonov’s ship, a raptor returning with its catch. Marines emerged from the rear of the vessel and led three cuffed figures outside across the barren ground towards Simonov’s vessel.

Simonov stood at the foot of the ship’s loading ramp and watched the prisoners approach. They were an odd assortment: a woman with long red hair tied back from her face who wore a defiant scowl on her slightly grubby yet attractive features. Next to her was a well-built, dark featured man who moved with an unusual grace and fluidity. That triggered alarm bells in Simonov’s mind, the man’s movements and appearance screamed “Agent” as soon as he set eyes on him. He would have to watch that one. The third figure was undoubtedly an Arkari, tall and gangly, his birdlike physique clad in surprisingly human styled garments. He was looking intently at Simonov with those large dark eyes of his. It was slightly unsettling.

Simonov’s aide brought him paper copies of the intelligence he requested, as well as giving him a verbal update on the progress of the landing; the second wave were almost on the ground. Simonov looked up and saw the faint diverging pattern of contrails from the approaching ships. He could hear the tearing sound of their engines high in the blood coloured sky.

He glanced at the files in his hands: Doctor Katherine O’Reilly, archaeologist: suspected of collaborating with the enemy, wanted for questioning regarding the theft of Arkari Navy property and the recent activation of the Maranos device. Professor Rekkid Cor, archaeologist: wanted for the same charges as his colleague. Steven Harris, Commonwealth Agent: Disgraced following the Urranakar incident six months ago, wanted for aiding and abetting two known felons, also wanted for questioning about the murder of a Maranos inhabitant.

Simonov looked again at the three approaching figures. They didn’t look like international terrorists or fifth columnists. But no-one ever did, that was always the problem.

Rekkid eyed the stocky armoured figure as they approached, flanked by the squad of marines. His scrutiny revealed a middle aged man with a head of close cropped hair and colonel’s stars on the shoulder pauldron of his suit. The name badge on his breastplate read “Simonov.” The man’s eyes flickered from the approaching prisoners to the sheaf of papers in his hands as he squinted at them in the shadow of the dropship he stood beneath. Rekkid met his gaze levelly as he attempted to formulate some sort of pithy phrase to greet the colonel with.

The marines ordered them to halt some metres from Simonov. The captain began to speak to his commander:

‘Sir, we have apprehended the three suspects as ordered, sir.’

‘Very good, captain. Have you searched them for weapons?’

‘Yessir, we found these in their belongings sir,’ replied the captain, handing over the two laser pistols and the gauss pistol they had carried between them. Simonov inspected the guns before passing them back.

‘Would any of you three care to explain to me why you require these weapons?’ said Simonov to his captives.

‘Well,’ said Rekkid. ‘Everyone else around here seems to be carrying a gun, we thought we’d try and fit in. Next, we’re planning to have our brains removed too.’

‘Professor Cor, I don’t have time for your bullshit,’ snarled Simonov. ‘Now I asked you a simple question and I expect an answer.’

‘Or what, you’ll beat it out of me?’ replied Rekkid coldly. ‘For your information those guns belong to Agent Harris here. He gave Katherine and me a laser pistol each for our own protection. You may ask questions first and shoot later; however, certain other parties are less discriminating.’

‘Rekkid’s telling the truth,’ said Katherine. ‘I was attacked in Bridgetown, that pistol saved my life.’

‘And who attacked you?’

‘We’re not sure, some sort of parasitic creature. Alien and artificial we think, but we don’t know where it came from.’

‘You were attacked? Why, because you’re working with the K’Soth?’

‘No! We

’

Simonov cut her off. ‘I don’t have time for this. I’m in the middle of landing my troops. Captain Lars, could you escort these three prisoners inside the temple and secure them in one of the basement chambers? According to the schematic I pulled up there should be several that would be suitable for use as makeshift cells.’

‘Yessir. Sir, what about their belongings?’

‘Let them keep them for now, as long as they aren’t armed I don’t see a problem. You have searched them thoroughly?’

‘Yessir.’

‘Very well. We’ll hold them here until we can question them at length, or until someone sends a ship to retrieve them. You and your men are responsible for their safe keeping for now. Dismissed.’

The marines set off once more, marching their charges across the baked earth toward the looming temple. Once out of earshot, a couple began to grumble about being posted to guard duty. Katherine could sense their resentment, although a couple of the male marines appeared to be eyeing her up; she saw their gazes flick away as she turned her head. Except for the largest in the group, the heavy weapons operator, who grinned at her broadly and winked. The soldiers were relaxed, they began to josh one another as they walked, swapping comradely, not to mention colourful insults regarding their current duty. They were not terribly alert and appeared to have forgotten that only two of their captives were civilians. Steven was quick to take advantage of this.

The prisoners were being escorted in a line three abreast, with three marines to the front and rear, two at each side and their captain strolling along at the back. They had their weapons in their hands, but for now they were not pointed directly at the captives.

Steven assessed the situation. The marine behind him, a black kid who looked like he was fresh from the boot camp, seemed to be far more pre-occupied with Katherine’s arse than he was on his job. The one in front, a grizzled looking older man was exchanging good natured insults with the man to his left. All of them had their armoured visors raised, and why not? They were not in combat and the air was warm, it must be swelteringly hot inside that armour.

Steven pretended to trip, stumbling forwards and dropping his bag. The young man behind him, roused from his day dreaming about Katherine reached down to help him. As he did so, Steven twisted and struck upward with the flat of his right hand into the marine’s face. The blow knocked the man out cold. As he fell, Steven grabbed his rifle from him and swung it at the base of the helmet of the man in-front, knocking him off his feet so that he fell sprawling into the dirt. His companion turned, only to be struck in the face with the butt of the rifle that Steven now wielded with two hands. He crumpled, clutched the bloody mess of his nose.

The rest of the squad were beginning to react to what was happening, it was now or never. Steven grabbed a smoke grenade from the belt of the nearest fallen man, pulled the detonator pin and rolled it into the midst of the group. There was loud retort and a burst of thick white smoke. Steven rolled under it and grabbed couple of more magazines from the prone form of the first marine he had felled and then he scrambled to his feet and began to run for his life.

His heart pounding, he sprinted across the barren expanse of land around the temple. There was no cover, none whatsoever. He felt his back tense in expectation of that single bullet that would reach out and cut him down. Now he could hear the sound of weapons fire, the heavy weapons operator began to open up with his gatling gun, firing semi-randomly from within the smoke cloud in his general direction. Steven saw the tracer bullets kick up a miniature dust storm as they impacted the ground just a few metres away, heard them buzz towards him like a swarm of angry bees. With great relief he heard a frantic cry of: ‘Cease fire! Cease fire!’ from the panicking captain as he desperately tried to prevent his men from shooting one another in the confusion.

He was nearly there, almost at the gate which thronged with Dendratha onlookers. He reached it and plunged gratefully into their midst, hurriedly winding through the crowd of jostling aliens until he found a suitable side alley behind a row of shops, and then vanished into the shadows.

Simonov watched the fleeing figure. He had to admit, he was impressed. Captain Lars was yelling in his ear over the comm.-link.

‘Sir, one of the prisoners has escaped. My sniper has a clear shot. Do I have permission to open fire?’

‘Negative, do not fire. We want that man alive not dead. He won’t get far in the city.’

‘I’m sorry sir.’

‘Be more alert when escorting men like that in the future Captain. Agent Harris is trained for these sorts of situations. Escort the remaining prisoners. Simonov out.’ He turned to an aide. ‘Disseminate a description of Agent Harris to the troops. I want that man arrested, alive if possible.’

Simonov’s decision to detain Katherine and Rekkid in the bowels of the temple proved to be highly unpopular with the Dendratha. A large crowd had already gathered around the building’s main entrance and the marines were barred from entering the building by the thronging aliens. Ekrino stood at the centre of the mob and flatly refused to allow the soldiers to enter the building with their weapons. Reluctantly the men agreed, and left their arms in a pile outside the doors, though they kept their ammunition and their combat blades.

There were still angry scenes however. The fact that the marines had arrested the discoverers of the Cave of Maran seemed a grave insult to the Dendratha. As the armoured forms shouldered their way inside the building they were jeered at, though there was little the smaller, physically weaker Dendratha could do to stop the column of armoured humans from pushing their way through their midst.

Once inside the building, the marines at the rear of the group pulled the great heavy doors shut behind them, shutting out the din of the protesting Dendratha and sealing them within the silence of the temple.

Captain Lars approached one of the monks, who regarded him with blank hostile eyes, and demanded that they be allowed to use of the chambers in the crypt to house his two prisoners. The monk regarded the tall muscular man for a moment before agreeing, and led the party down into the crypt and an empty storage room. The monk lit the oil lamps within the small stone chamber. Then the marines shoved Katherine and Rekkid roughly inside and locked the heavy wooden door. Having done so, they posted guards outside: there was little chance of the two archaeologists escaping.

Katherine examined the room. It was small with a low barrel vaulted roof constructed from large stone blocks that formed part of the supporting structure for the floor above. The dim torchlight flickered across the rough lines of the masonry, casting a network of shifting shadows across the walls. Rekkid just stared at the floor: he appeared to be deep in thought.

‘I can’t believe Steven just took off like that and left us,’ said Katherine dejectedly. ‘If he could save himself, why couldn’t he help us?’

‘I think that’s what he intends to do Katherine,’ replied Rekkid. ‘Think about it: He only had a few seconds to make his escape. There wasn’t time to release us. This way he can bide his time and come back for us. I don’t think he’s abandoned us at all.’

‘That’s if they don’t shoot him.’

‘I don’t think they will. I got the impression that they had ample opportunity to do so when he made a run for it. He’s one of their own remember? Besides, they’ll want to know what he knows.’

‘Not as much as us.’

‘No.’

‘What do think will happen to us, Rekkid?’

‘We’ll be questioned, one way or another. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hold us here until either secret service agents arrive, or they can take us off world.’

‘You think they’ll torture us?’

‘The Commonwealth doesn’t officially use torture Katherine, you know that.’

‘You didn’t answer my question Rekkid.’

‘That’s because I don’t know the answer!’ He snapped back, then immediately regretted it. ‘I’m sorry Katherine. I shouldn’t take this out on you of all people. Look, maybe it’s not as bad as that. They left us with our things after all, except for our weapons.’

‘Yeah well, there’s not much chance of us escaping from here is there?’ she replied sullenly and gestured at the coarse stone that surrounded them.

‘No, but I’m wondering what Steven had in his belongings,’ said Rekkid. ‘Given the nature of his job there’s no telling what he may have been carrying; stuff that the marines would have missed in their haste.’ He reached for Steven’s black shoulder bag and began to rummage through its contents. At the bottom he found Steven’s datapad. Placing it carefully in his lap he opened the slim device and studied its screen with interest. Katherine watched him, the bluish light from the device illuminating his sculpted alien features.

‘What have you found Rekkid, anything of use?’

‘Hmm,’ answered Rekkid. ‘I’m not sure. There’s some unusual software on this thing.’ He prodded the device a few more times. ‘Ah! Here we are. My, he has been busy. Look at this.’ He turned the datapad toward Katherine so that she could see. The small screen was divided into quarters with some sort of video feed playing in each of them.

Katherine came and sat next to Rekkid on the stone floor for a better look. Rekkid touched one of the quarters to expand it to fill the screen. The image was clearer now; it was a view from the top of the temple. The camera was currently pointing down towards the base of the building. Katherine could see the patches of disturbed earth where they had dug several days before. Using icons at the side of the screen Rekkid moved the camera, pointing it upwards so that it looked out across the city.

‘Steven must have set these up to watch over us Rekkid.’

‘Yes, I think so. It seems he does have our best interests at heart. He’ll get us out of this Katherine, don’t worry.’

She snorted and pointed at the datapad. ‘That is what worries me Rekkid.’

There was a growing cloud of dust in the desert beyond Marantis. The marines were on the move, heading toward the city. Rekkid zoomed the camera in on the dust cloud, revealing the flat angular forms of Scorpion hovertanks painted in desert colours. The tanks were interspersed with Cobra self propelled AA vehicles as well a great number of Scarab armoured personnel carriers. Gunships hovered overhead like angry wasps. As they watched, more transports and dropships arrived on the plains outside, depositing more troops and vehicles onto the sand. A deep rumbling signified the arrival of more of the heavier transport craft on the grounds around the temple. Rekkid switched to a different camera in time to see two of the bulky whale shaped ships touch down on either side of Simonov’s command post. Having landed they opened their bellies and disgorged a line of Thor heavy artillery guns. The slug-like armoured vehicles crept steadily across the flat expanse of earth before forming into two lines facing in opposite directions. They then deployed their centrally mounted rail guns to a firing elevation from their previous horizontal stowed positions. Another transport arrived, leaving a platoon of AA vehicles which proceeded form up around the newly formed artillery position and the command post. Yet another landed after it, leaving behind men and materials to assemble a makeshift base for the gunships.

Rekkid flicked from one camera to another and panned them around. The red sky was dotted with the lights of ascending or descending transport craft and the ever present patrols of the gunships. The dust cloud had now reached the city: the marines were preparing to dig in.

Amidst the noise and turmoil of the troops’ arrival, Steven lurked in a darkened alleyway and watched. Others watched too; frightened locals peered from their windows at the columns of suited humans and heavy, armoured vehicles entering their city. It certainly looked like an invasion, an intrusion of brute force and strange, sophisticated alien technology centuries beyond that which the Dendratha themselves possessed.

Steven pitied them. They were caught in the middle of something that most of them would never comprehend, something which he himself could barely come to terms with; That their world was a machine, and that the galaxy’s great powers were preparing to fight for it. A war between two interstellar civilisations loomed, and their world of Maranos was at the fulcrum of history. Steven didn’t envy them one bit.

He needed to disguise himself. As a human out of uniform he would be easy to find. He began to hunt, slinking from back alley to back alley, from yards to stairwells, looking for a suitable target: a marine off his guard and alone, and preferably about his size and build. A woman wouldn’t do, the combat suits were custom fitted and Steven needed to find someone close to his own physical shape. It would have to be someone in light armour too, Steven didn’t realistically think he could even hurt, let alone over-power someone clad in one of the heavy assault suits.

Eventually he found one. One man had snuck off to relieve himself behind a pile of rubbish bins. Foregoing his suit’s smelly recycling system he had simply opened the groin guard of his armour and urinated up against the wall. His helmet lay at his side on the lid of a rubbish bin. Concealment was easy for Steven in the gloom. He crept up behind the marine and thumped him gently on the left shoulder. As the man turned Steven kneed him hard in the balls. He then caught the buckling man as he doubled over and threw him hard into the wall head first. The shock of the impact knocked him out cold.

Steven quickly stripped the man of his suit and weapons and donned them himself. Then, pulling down his visor to conceal his features, he stepped out of the alley and became just another one of the hundreds of marines filling the streets of Marantis.

Chapter 27

Simonov surveyed his forces. It was now three hours since the landing and his officers had all confirmed the successful deployment of their units within the city. The map display in front of him showed their positions. The armour was concealed within the maze of narrow streets toward the centre of Marantis, whilst his infantry had occupied and fortified the buildings around the edge. Further reserves had been deployed within the city to reinforce the perimeter as needed. The area around the temple had been successfully transformed into a command post, air base and artillery fire base. Air defence was provided by AA vehicles on the ground, as well as patrols by the gunships and the Normandy’s complement of fighters. The giant carrier was still the cornerstone of this operation. Her heavy guns and fighters should be able to prevent an enemy landing and the other ships in the fleet would hopefully keep enemy vessels occupied and unable to bombard his forces. Like all planetary assaults, there were a great number of ifs and buts and Simonov would have to accept the precarious nature of the operation. Nevertheless, it made him uneasy.

He checked in with Kojima, notifying him of the completion of the landing. The old Admiral was another problem for Simonov. Kojima struck him as being unimaginative and rather staid and stuffy, interested more in shining boots, clean uniforms and long service medals than actual tactical expertise. He just hoped that Chen would have enough influence over the flow of battle if hostilities commenced. Simonov rather liked Chen. He knew from first hand observation that she could fight both fiercely and with a certain flair and imagination.

He had time to kill. He looked again at the files of the three individuals that his men had apprehended. There was still no sign of Harris. The man had simply melted into the city without a trace. Simonov strongly suspected that he had disguised himself as one of his own men and had issued orders to that effect. Sure enough, one of his corporals had not checked in with his unit for some time. A search was currently underway for the missing man.

He read the files of the two archaeologists, O’Reilly and Cor. To be honest they seemed harmless enough, though the file contained suggestions that they were colluding with the K’Soth. Simonov doubted this. His gut feeling was that the two academics had unwittingly got themselves entangled in something far larger. He’d let them keep their equipment on the basis that they were hardly likely to dig their way out of the cellar. His men had had a cursory look at their computers and found little except academic notes and papers.

There was no mention of a motive for their alleged treachery, save for money. He doubted this also. He’d been a student of military history, and most academics that he had met weren’t terribly materialistic, though of course you never could tell. There was nothing else for it. His curiosity wouldn’t be satisfied unless he talked to them himself. He took the two files with him and left the belly of the dropship for the temple which towered nearby. On his way he accosted a couple of idle men and had them bring a folding desk and chair with them. He was damned if he was going to squat on Dendratha furniture in his armour.

The crowd was still gathered around the base of the temple. They parted reluctantly to let Simonov through, though there was a murmur of resentment from the aliens. Ekrino was still among them, he accosted Simonov as they passed.

‘Colonel, this is really taking things too far,’ he began as he undulated alongside them. ‘You promised that a far fewer of your men would be stationed here the last time we spoke, and now you have set up a whole base here! Not only that, but now you hold two dear friends of ours captive in this very building. I warn you, I can offer you no guarantees about what this gathering of pious worshippers may do. Our patience is running out.’

‘Don’t threaten me, your Grace,’ replied Simonov, stepping inside the temple. ‘It doesn’t impress me one bit. I apologise if we have caused offence, but your friends are wanted for questioning about collusion with the enemy, an enemy I might add, that we are here to protect you from.’

‘Protect us from them? Pah! We were quite safe here I recall until you showed up. May I remind you that we are an independent world? We are not part of your Commonwealth, nor do we wish to be. You have no jurisdiction here!’

‘You aren’t part of the K’Soth Empire either your Grace, but that won’t stop them coming here. Believe me, our presence on Maranos is the preferable alternative right now. The K’Soth won’t give a damn about your religious sensibilities; they’ll just kill you if you stand up to them. As a leading member of a religion other than their own, they’d probably kill you anyway purely as an example, you understand.’

‘Perhaps, but you have brought them here via your very presence.’

‘Maybe, but I have my orders.’

‘So you do.’

‘I intend to speak with my prisoners now if I may. I’d appreciate it if you would calm the crowd outside. I have enough on my plate without riot control to consider.’

He turned and started down the steps into the crypt. He could feel Ekrino’s hostile gaze at his back all the way down.

There were footsteps outside the makeshift cell, and the muffled sound of voices. They were definitely human. It sounded to Katherine as though the guards were talking to one of their superiors. The door was unlocked and opened and a group of figures stepped inside. Two men of junior rank flanked the colonel that they had seen outside on the ramp of his command craft. The two grunts set up a desk and chair for their commander whilst the men charged with guarding the prisoners entered behind them and then locked the door again once inside. They stood behind the Colonel, keeping their weapons trained on their two charges.

Simonov now sat on the newly erected chair which seemed too flimsy and fragile to bear his armoured, stocky form. He spread out a sheaf of papers on the folding table. The chair creaked audibly as he shifted his weight, studying the files for a moment before he looked up.

‘Have either of you eaten recently?’ he asked casually.

‘No we haven’t,’ replied Katherine. ‘Not for several hours at least.’

‘Well we can’t have that,’ replied Simonov. He turned to one of his men. ‘Private, fetch the prisoners some ration packs as well a couple of canteens of water. I won’t have them treated like animals.’ Simonov turned back to Katherine and Rekkid. ‘Professor, Doctor I’m curious. I came here to secure this site against alien attack and yet I’m ordered to arrest the three individuals responsible for discovering the very thing I’m sent to protect. Now I’m curious as to why. Would either of you care to enlighten me?’

‘I thought the military operated on a need to know basis Colonel,’ said Rekkid. ‘Maybe you don’t need to know.’

‘Maybe. But this ground operation is under my command, Professor. I have no love of the CIB: they have a habit of spying on our people which I dislike intensely. Perhaps you could say we’re on the same side on that issue at least. So, like I say, is there anything you would like to tell me? It might save a lot of time and effort in the long run.’

‘Such as?’

‘Well for one, why do they think you’re working for the K’Soth?’

‘We chanced upon a derelict space craft just over six months ago,’ said Katherine. ‘Our findings indicated that it was extremely old, a million years or more. The Arkari Navy showed up and accused us of piracy, and later accused us of spying when they discovered that we had removed items from the vessel. They claimed that it was an experimental new ship of theirs and that we intended to pass the items on to the K’Soth.’

‘You were sure of the age of the ship? You hadn’t made a mistake?’

‘We don’t think so,’ Rekkid interjected. ‘That ship wasn’t as sophisticated as the one you arrived on. Besides, there’s another like it buried under the desert on this planet. The Navy should have the data on that from the Darwin.’

‘I gather that the Darwin has fled the system Professor.’

‘Yes well, Spiers isn’t stupid. I just wish that he’d waited for us.’

‘No doubt. Anyway, once you had found this ship you decided to come here, a system close to the K’Soth border. Why? It would seem to corroborate to some extent the claim that you intended to pass information or items on to them.’

‘It was just the next dig that came our way,’ replied Katherine, fixing him with a steady gaze. ‘I wanted to get away from Earth and escape the unwelcome attention I had received back home. Rekkid agreed to join me as my colleague and he wanted to share with me some of the research he had done on our previous finds. What I didn’t expect is for everyone in the bloody Commonwealth to follow me here!’ she snapped. ‘We haven’t done anything! We’re just trying to do our job. You know: dig up stuff and write about it?’

‘So how did you hear about this assignment?’

‘Ekrino, one of the priests here; you’ve met him?’ Simonov nodded. ‘He sent a request via Ambassador Croft at the embassy in Erais for us to assist them. Croft passed it on to the university. It’s all official and above board. Ask them.’

‘I will.’

The private returned with ration packs and canteens of water for Rekkid and Katherine. They took them from him gratefully and began to tuck into the bland pre-packaged food.

‘But if it’s all so above board why are the Arkari so keen to shut you up? You said they tried to kill you. I’m assuming that the trouble from our people is a result of their pressure.’

‘We’re not sure,’ said Rekkid. ‘We did discover something shocking about my people’s past: a genocidal war.’

Simonov’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Really?’ he said sceptically. ‘Bad enough for them to want you dead?’

‘We don’t think so. But the Arkari came here too around the same time, and then later about ten thousand years ago. Have a look around you upstairs if you get chance. What we found on the Arkari ship is connected to this place.’

‘I understand that the device within this planet is some sort of wormhole generator or gate. You think that they built it?’

‘No I don’t, but we think that they exiled a part of their population through it after the war, those who were on the losing side. Then, it seems that the portal was reactivated again ten millennia ago and something came back through it. From the legends of the Dendratha it seems that there was quite a fight, possibly between whatever it was and my people. It forms the cornerstone of their religion and

’

Simonov butted in. ‘It seems like an astonishing coincidence that you should be sent to both sites that happen to contain evidence of a hitherto unknown part of the Arkari’s past. Look, I’m no student of ancient galactic history, but it seems a little farfetched to me. Everyone knows that your people have been in space about sixty thousand years, not millions.’

‘Just because everyone thinks something is true doesn’t necessarily mean that it is,’ said Rekkid glibly causing Simonov to chuckle. ‘You think I’m a crank don’t you?’

‘The thought had crossed my mind Professor, either that or this is the biggest pile of crap ever concocted in anyone’s defence. On the other hand, I did see the device in operation from space. It’s pretty impressive.’

‘That’s an understatement.’

‘Yes it is. So maybe I’m inclined to keep an open mind. But

I don’t know. If what you’re saying is true then it seems strange that you should discover two such closely connected, monumentally earth shaking discoveries in such a short time. What are the odds, hmm?’

‘I have to admit, pretty long.’

‘Exactly. Unless you were meant to find them, eh?’

‘What did you say?’ said Katherine suddenly.

‘I said it seems like you were meant to find them.’

‘Yes,’ said Katherine. ‘Yes it does now that you mention it.’

Simonov seemed distracted, Katherine realised he was listening intently to someone speaking into the earpiece of his suit’s comm. unit. His face turned grave before he curtly replied. ‘Okay, I’m on my way.’ He turned back to the two archaeologists. ‘Well I’m afraid that’s concluded our little chat, I have other things to attend to. I have to inform you that the K’Soth fleet has entered the range of our sensors and is headed towards the system. Private, get these two more supplies, they could be here for while.’

‘The K’Soth are coming, and you’re just going to leave us here?’ said Katherine, her voice rising.

‘Here is probably the safest place, you’re underground and surrounded by our defences. You’ll just have to sit this one out people, now I have to go.’ He got up from his chair and strode out of the room. His men followed in his wake and locked the door behind him, trapping Rekkid and Katherine in the cellar together.

Katherine let out a gasp. ‘Oh god Rekkid, what the hell do we do now?’

‘I don’t know,’ he replied despondently. ‘But at least we get to watch,’ he added grimly. He flipped open the datapad again and the image of Marantis filled its small screen once more. The sprawling city was awaiting its judgement, even its possible destruction. If the enemy struck from space it would smashed apart like a wrecked anthill, its inhabitants pulverised and exterminated by an enemy they might not even see, or even comprehend. Simonov had seemed confident that his defences would be enough. They would have to be, or else they were all about to die.

Steven noticed that something was afoot. There was a sudden change in activity amongst the Marine Corp personnel around him. They became busier, more urgent in their movements and he caught snatches of orders indicating the defence of the city.

He had successfully blended in. After donning the suit he had liberated from the marine in the alleyway he had become just another grunt. The nametag on his breastplate had posed something of a problem though, doubtless someone would eventually realised that Corporal Jameson was missing. He had used the combat knife he found in a thigh holster to scrape away some of the lettering so that he was now Corporal Ames. It would pass muster at a distance, but it was far from perfect.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder. He turned and saw a woman captain. She was looking at him accusingly; her nametag read ‘Siddiq.’

‘What are you doing just standing around, why aren’t you with your unit?’ she demanded.

‘Sorry sir, I

I got a little lost I

.’

‘Charlie platoon are a quarter of a klick that way by the market soldier, check your map,’ she pointed. ‘Now get to it, we need every marine to defend this city.’

‘Sir, yes sir!’ he barked, saluted and turned away, breathing a sigh of relief as one of the captain’s men began to brief her and allow him to slip away. He patched in to the marines’ comm. net, and that’s when he heard it confirmed. The K’Soth were coming.

Chen was awoken by Ramirez’s voice, calling her over the ship’s intercom system. She had been cat napping, taking the lull in activity as an excuse to take a break. She needed to stay as fresh and alert as possible if they were to get through this. Hearing him calling her, she didn’t doubt the urgency in his voice. Chen rolled over in her bunk and activated the comm. unit in its headboard.

‘Chen here.’

‘Captain, we need you on the bridge. Our sensors have detected K’Soth warp signatures converging on our position.’

‘Time to arrival?’

‘About two hours Captain.’

‘Two hours!? How did they?’

‘It seems that they used the sensor shadow from dust clouds on their side of the border to mask themselves, Captain.’

‘Notify the fleet and our ground forces and inform Admiral Haines at once. I’ll be on the bridge shortly. Chen out.’

Chen straightened her crumpled uniform and put her jacket back on. Okay, this was it. Whoever was commanding the K’Soth fleet wasn’t stupid. The Commonwealth fleet should have had hours in which to plot the movements of the enemy ships. Using the dust clouds on the other side of the border to mask their engine signatures would have required incredibly accurate navigation, as well as an innate knowledge of the variable density of said clouds. She wondered what other tricks they might have up their sleeves. All they could do was wait, but she had a few tricks of her own.

She went up to the bridge and sat there, transfixed by the sensor screen as her crew carried out their duties around her. The approaching contacts eventually resolved themselves into a dozen clear engine signatures: two War Temples with six attendant destroyers and four flak cruisers. There were two other signatures also, that Singh was unable to positively identify. They were beginning to break away from the main group, splitting off in lazy arcs that would bring them into the system above and below the ecliptic. Chen ordered Singh to keep an eye on them as she couldn’t help but wonder what the K’Soth were trying to do. If they were attempting to outflank the Commonwealth fleet they weren’t using nearly enough ships.

She talked to Kojima about it. He postulated that perhaps the two vessels were for diversionary purposes or perhaps scouts, but could offer no concrete explanation as to precisely what the K’Soth were up to. Lehman on the Rameses and Benson on the Thermopylae were equally mystified and the other captains could offer no answer beyond speculation that it was some sort of feint. Chen didn’t like that, she didn’t like uncertainty.

The K’Soth were less than half an hour out now. The comm. system flickered into life, displaying the face of Admiral Kojima. It was a general transmission to all ships: he appeared to be about to make some sort of speech.

‘To the brave officers and crews of the Commonwealth: Today we embark upon a great endeavour. Today we take the battle to the K’Soth Empire after so many years of waiting. As your Admiral I know that you will all do your duty, that this time we shall not need the help of other powers in the vanquishing of our enemies and we shall find glory here among the stars.’

Chen wasn’t really listening, Kojima’s speech wasn’t a terribly good one, nor was it well delivered. Besides, what the hell was he doing making a speech now? The enemy fleet was minutes away and the crews of the assembled armada should be concentrating on that, not listening to Kojima prattle on about honour and duty and martial pride. It had bothered her from the start how someone as inept as the Admiral had wound up leading this mission, surely Haines had better judgement than that? Now the realisation dawned on her. Kojima was very well connected. He had used his political influence in order to be assigned to lead the advance force, no doubt chasing the honour, glory and place in the history books he was now boring everyone with.

She turned to Ensign Andrews. ‘Shut it off Ensign. We have better things to do than listen to this.’

‘Captain?’

‘You heard me. Listening to this speech is a waste of time. I’ll take any flak from Kojima if he finds out and tell the other ships to do likewise. I want everyone focused on the job at hand, not the Admiral’s ego.’ There were some laughs despite the grim atmosphere on the ship.

Twenty minutes.

Ten minutes

Five minutes, and still no orders from the Admiral.

‘Captain?’ Ramirez asked. ‘Should we not intercept? We’re sitting ducks here.’

‘Indeed we are Commander. I dislike a reactive strategy as much as you.’ She contacted the Normandy. ‘Admiral those K’Soth vessels are minutes away, do you have any orders?’

‘Captain I will issue my orders when I see fit. You will defend the Normandy and her escorts.’

‘Sir I can better achieve that if I can keep the K’Soth off your back and out of planetary orbit, and once again I must insist that you yourself move to a higher orbit in order to better manoeuvre.’

‘I give the orders Captain Chen,’ he snapped. ‘You will wait until the K’Soth approach the planet and then head them off, but do not fire unless they power their weapons. We need to maintain the moral high ground on this one. Kojima out.’

Chen stifled the urge to scream at the old fool. Oh what the hell, the K’Soth were approaching the planet. ‘Andrews, request status reports from the other ships under my command.’

‘Aye, Captain.’ There was a brief pause whilst Andrews spoke to the other ships. ‘Captain, all vessels have reported in. All are operating at one hundred per cent with the exception of the Wellesley which is experiencing minor problems with an aft turret. Captain Lehman wishes you luck Captain.’

‘Thank you Ensign. Mr Singh, status of the enemy?’

‘K’Soth fleet is slingshotting around the planet on an intercept course, ETA three minutes.’

‘Very well, here are my orders. All ships maintain formation, full power to weapons and shields and don’t fire until I tell you. We shall intercept the K’Soth before they get on top of us and try to flank us. Chen out.’ This was it, she was totally focused now. ‘Helm plot an intercept course to the K’Soth ships, I want you to bring us to a relative stop twenty five kilometres away from them.’

Goldstein carried out her orders wordlessly. The Mark Antony began to shift in its orbit and then powered forward to meet the enemy. Chen checked the positions of the other ships under her command; they were maintaining a perfect formation. She expected nothing less.

There they were, emerging from behind the blue haze of Maranos’s atmosphere. Points of light that grew steadily brighter as they approached. Chen zoomed in on one of the two larger ones. It was a War Temple.

My God it’s big, she thought.

She’d forgotten just how huge the ships were, the great cloven delta shape crowned with its central cluster of domes and minarets, its gun decks studded with lethal looking turrets and the great maw of its plasma cannon jutting from between them.

Ramirez was speaking to engineering and gunnery, getting status updates and cajoling the men down there. The ship was slowing now as they closed with the K’Soth, Chen could see the glow of the reverse thrusters mounted on the Mark Antony’s bow section. Now they going backwards at a speed relatively slower than that of the enemy ships, so that the two groups of craft now closed at a speed measured in hundreds of kilometres an hour rather than thousands. The K’Soth ships were clearly visible to the naked eye now, their hulls the colour of dried blood, painted with holy symbols and litanies, towers and domes flying banners and pennants that hung stiffly on wires in the vacuum. The two War Temples flew side by side, with their attendant destroyers and cruisers forming a loose box around them.

‘Twenty-five kilometres to target Captain, we have matched velocities.’

‘Thank you Ensign. All ships, lock your weapons onto the left hand War Temple and prepare to fire on my command.’

‘Captain,’ said Singh. ‘The enemy craft have not powered weapons, though they have raised shields. The two flanking ships are loitering above and below the ecliptic in hyperspace.’

‘We’re being hailed by one of the War Temples.’

‘Put them through Ensign.’

The monstrous visage of the K’Soth admiral appeared in front of Chen’s eyes. He was accompanied by his Pyrtreen interpreter. He spoke:

‘This is Admiral Talon Fist of the K’Soth Imperial Vessel Cleansing Flame. Commonwealth ships, you are in direct violation of the Polaris Treaty. This is a demilitarised zone. I demand that you retreat at once.’

‘This is Captain Chen of the Commonwealth Navy Vessel Mark Antony. We are here under orders to safeguard the artefact you see in operation on the planet below, I will not withdraw.’

‘Safeguard it? With a fleet of ships and, I see, sizeable ground forces also. Is this the way you unbelievers generally carry out a scientific expedition? Our sensors indicate that the device below us has generated a stable wormhole of massive proportions. Tell me, does the Commonwealth intend to seize this technology and keep it to itself, constructing a network of such devices to attack its enemies? In the interests of galactic stability perhaps we should share its secrets and hence, both benefit from this discovery. In the meantime, I demand you withdraw or face the consequences!’

‘Admiral, I am under orders to maintain the security of this planet and to return fire if attacked.’

‘Your loyalty and bravery is admirable Captain, however you will not survive such an engagement. Reinforcements stand ready to assist and we already outnumber you. I myself am under orders to use deadly force should you refuse to back down. You must know that this would mean war between our peoples.’

‘I am fully aware of the consequences.’

‘Are you really? It seems to me as though your superiors are about to sacrifice you to serve their own ends. I gather you humans are a little reluctant to accept such a fate. We of course, have no such qualms about laying down our lives in the service of the Empire.’

Chen could tell that Talon Fist was trying to get to her. ‘Well that’s the difference between our societies isn’t it? We respect the rights and lives of others, whereas you treat others like animals.’

‘The irony of this accusation escapes you, I take it? You humans seem to regard alien species with a certain distrust. Despite your claims of an “inclusive” and “democratic” society,’ Talon Fist used the words with some distaste. ‘I see no aliens aboard your Navy ships, and let’s see… who makes all the decisions in your Commonwealth? You’re nothing but godless hypocrites.’

‘Whereas people get included into the glorious K’Soth Empire at the point of a sword, or the barrel of a plasma cannon. You can’t oppress so many worlds for ever Admiral, that’s why the Empire is ultimately doomed and you know it.’

This appeared to rattle Talon Fist. ‘Perhaps,’ he replied acidly, his skin patterns shifting wildly. ‘But rumour has it that the Arkari are reluctant to assist you a second time. We can easily crush your forces should you persist in attempting to re-open hostilities between our peoples.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that.’

‘Really? Perhaps I may be merciful and keep you alive long enough so that you can witness the destruction of your navy and the burning of your world. We shall cleanse that putrid ungodly orb of its sin and I will serve your President’s head to my Emperor on a gilded platter. I gather he enjoys the taste of human eyes.’

‘Don’t try to intimidate me Admiral.’

‘I am only trying to save you fools from yourselves. Withdraw, or die.’

‘I say again, we shall not withdraw.’

‘So be it. Very well Captain Chen, I hope you can provide us with some sport.’

Talon Fist’s image vanished, the War Temples began to come about and accelerate towards them.

‘Helm, full reverse and hard to port! Maintain optimal firing angle, I want to use our rear turrets too.’ Chen barked.

‘Enemy ships are powering weapons!’ cried Singh. ‘Wait, the flanking vessels are also closing at high speed, one is headed for us, the other is going for the Normandy’s group!’

‘Alert Kojima. This is Captain Chen to all ships. Fire all guns. Kill that War Temple!’

The War Temples were still turning, trying to bring their plasma cannons to bear. Chen noted with satisfaction that her plan was working so far; they were unable to match the turn rate of the Commonwealth ships. As she watched, the Mark Antony’s forward turrets flicked round to lock on to the Cleansing Flame and fired. She felt the ship shudder as the great guns poured torrents of energy onto their target, the blindingly bright beams stabbing across the darkness to impact with coiling arcs upon the buckling shields of the Cleansing Flame. Some of the K’Soth ships were attempting to return fire with little success. The beams of their cannons were too weak at this range and washed almost harmlessly off the shields of the Commonwealth ships as the two groups began to orbit one another.

‘Notify Admiral Haines, Ensign Andrews.’ Chen said, ‘We have engaged the enemy. Request reinforcements asap. Gunnery, report.’

‘All weapons functioning normally, target’s shields are slightly stronger than anticipated,’ replied Davis. ‘They must have upgraded them recently.’

‘Very good, Mr Davis. You may draw more power from the main reactor should you need it.’

Her ships were really punishing the War Temple now. Its forward dorsal shield seemed close to collapse. With that gone, they could tear its hull apart. In desperation the K’Soth were firing their rail guns and missile launchers, only to have the projectiles shot down harmlessly by the defensive turrets of the Commonwealth vessels. Chen could almost sense their frustration. They were outgunned and out manoeuvred. It was only a matter of time

‘Captain!’ It was Singh, he seemed alarmed. ‘One of the flanking cruisers has emerged from hyperspace above the Normandy.’

‘Surely Kojima can handle it?’

‘Captain I can’t identify the ship, it’s moving with incredible speed

surely it can’t fight effectively at that velocity?’

‘Show me.’

An image flickered into Chen’s vision, showing a cruiser sized vessel that seemed to consist of little more than a large stiletto nose and an oversized engine.

‘The ship has no turrets, but it’s very heavily armoured and shielded. Scanning internally

’

‘Captain, what’s that written on the side of the ship?’ asked Ramirez. ‘Wait, I’ll zoom in, I can read some K’Soth script

Oh my God!’

‘What is it Commander?’

‘It’s a quotation from their holy scripts,’ he replied hurriedly. ‘It reads: he who gives his life to slay the unbeliever shall be blessed by holy light.’

‘Captain, I’ve scanned the ship, that forward section is filled with fusion warheads! I’d say that was a ram ship.’

‘It’s a suicide attack!’ exclaimed Ramirez. ‘Andrews, alert the Normandy, they have to get out of its way!’

They watched in horror as the suicidal cruiser made a bee line for the carrier group wallowing in Maranos’s gravity well. The three ships began evasive manoeuvres whilst firing desperately at their approaching nemesis. But it was a futile effort, the K’Soth ship was closing too quickly and was too heavily armoured for their weapons to have much effect.

The crew of the Mark Antony looked on aghast as the first K’Soth cruiser plunged into the Normandy at tremendous speed. The impact collapsed even the carrier’s heavy shielding before the armoured nose stabbed the gigantic vessel amidships, smashing through dozens of decks until the tip emerged from the belly of the luckless ship. There was an awful moment as the two craft hung locked together. The Normandy was nearly broken in two from the force of the impact. Men, atmosphere and debris were spilling from the wound in a rapidly spreading cloud.

The distress call came through the Mark Antony’s comm. system.

‘Mayday, mayday! This is the Normandy, we have been struck amidships by a K’Soth suicide attack.’ Chen could hear the fear in the young comms officer’s voice. ‘We’ve lost all power and are going down. We are attempting to evacuate all personnel but…’

There was a titanic flash as the K’Soth ship detonated its deadly cargo. The Mark Antony’s windows and screens darkened to compensate. When they cleared the Normandy was ripped in two. It had been split clean across the middle, the two broken halves now tumbling away from one another, riding the blast front of the energies from the nuclear explosion. Surely there could be no survivors. The crew of the Mark Antony looked on appalled.

The Normandy’s escorts were also in trouble. Struck by the blast of the carrier’s demise they were now drifting. Half melted and smashed along their flanks, their crews had either been vaporised or lethally exposed to radiation and their electronics fried by the electromagnetic pulse. The Saladin and the Zhukov were doomed. Two proud warships had been turned into battered hulks in a matter of seconds. Energies played across the mangled, exposed decks from broken power conduits and cracked reactor cores. More pitiful distress calls came from the two stricken destroyers as a swarm of emerging life boats joined the growing cloud of debris. There was little hope for the unfortunate crews. Many of the survivors would be dead within hours from radiation sickness even if they reached the surface.

Simonov saw the whole disaster unfold on his tactical display. The fast approaching blip of the enemy ship dived toward the trio of vessels that guarded his position from orbit, wiping them off the schematic altogether. His stomach lurched, three capital ships wiped out in seconds. Thousands of casualties, surely, and he now had no defence against a spaceborne attack. The Marines’ position was now seriously compromised if the remaining ships couldn’t hold off the K’Soth. He gave orders to his men.

‘This is Simonov to all troops. We’ve just lost the Normandy and her escorts. I repeat: the Normandy group is down. Prepare for orbital bombardment and possible ground assault. Simonov out.’

In the red sky above, a new star was briefly blossoming. The locals pointed in fear at this dreadful omen, and at the group of flashing pinpricks of light that was now rising well above the horizon. Another smaller star was rapidly rising to join them.

‘Captain, the second ram ship has emerged from the end of its jump below our position,’ reported Singh. ‘They are headed straight for us!’

Chen’s could sense the fear in the Lieutenant’s voice, after what had just happened to the Normandy who could blame him, they were all afraid now. She had to act fast. She was now in command of the operation.

‘All craft, take down that ram ship. Fire all lower turrets and take evasive manoeuvres!’

The lines of fire flickered downward and converged on their new target, battering it mercilessly. It might just be enough. With the K’Soth attacking from beneath them, Chen’s ships could bring their keel mounted cutting lasers to bear. The heavy weapons were highly effective, pounding down the shields of the kamikaze ship and ripping open its hull along the oversized engine block.

It was out of control now, venting plasma and spinning wildly it shot upwards between the scattering Commonwealth ships. It was still a close run thing. The ram ship careered at an angle between the Mark Antony to starboard and the Thermopylae to its port side and the Crazy Horse below, missing the two destroyers and the frigate by only a matter of metres. Chen saw the rust brown blur as the ship shot past the bridge windows. Turrets locked onto the corkscrewing craft, and delivered the final death blow, tearing it apart in a shower of debris and gases.

But they had erred. The group was now scattered and shaken. The Rameses had wandered too far to starboard into the fire arc of the War Temples’ cannons. Too late, Chen ordered Captain Lehman to regroup. The K’Soth seized the opportunity and fired.

At this close range, the destruction was almost instantaneous. The blue-white beam of plasma moved at close to the speed of light, magnetically accelerated by the huge primary weapon of the War Temple Disemboweller. The Rameses had little chance. The focused torrent of super charged particles collapsed the destroyer’s forward shields in a flash of arcing energy and then chewed into the forward section of the vessel. Hull armour vaporised in seconds, turrets exploded under the onslaught as the beam played across the ship, ripping it apart. A second shot skewered the Rameses along its length. The ship shuddered under the impact, then began to come apart, scattering its guts and its crew into the vacuum. There was worse to come.

Lehman had begun the regrouping manoeuvre just as the ship was hit and now the broken wreck was rapidly drifting toward the surviving ships. Chen had to do something; it was on a direct collision course with the Mark Antony. She’d have to destroy the Rameses herself in order to save them.

‘Gunnery control, this is Chen. I’m ordering you to fire on the Rameses.’

‘Captain?’ Davis couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

‘I say again, fire on the Rameses. Destroy that wreck before it hits us!’

‘But there might be people still alive on that ship!

‘I said do it!’ she cried. She was shaking. She was condemning her own men to death in order to save more of them. In the end it came down to a brutal calculation: who would die so that others might live.

The Mark Antony’s turrets swivelled round and blasted the remnants of the Rameses until there was nothing left but harmless chunks. There were sobs from some of the bridge crew. Chen fought the urge to puke.

‘Captain, more ships are approaching the system,’ said Singh.

‘Give me some good news Lieutenant,’ replied Chen grimly. This battle was not going well, she thought.

‘Sorry Captain, but I’m tracking a group of almost fifty vessels approaching from the enemy’s side of the border.’

Christ, she thought, they were four ships down already and not one of the K’Soth craft had gone under! More were on their way? They were dead meat, surely?

‘Time to arrival?’

‘Two hours captain.’

‘Time till our reinforcements arrive?’

‘Over two and a half hours.’ Chen said nothing. ‘Captain?’

‘We’ll take as many of these bastards with us as we can people, I’ll not go quietly.’ She said grimly. ‘We’ll just have to hang on until Haines sends his reinforcements. All ships recommence firing on the Cleansing Flame. We have to improve the odds!’

Their path was carrying them back around the planet, back toward the wrecks of the Normandy group above Marantis. Soon the city would be in range of the K’Soth fleet.

Continuous firing from the Commonwealth group finally succeeded in collapsing a forward section of the War Temple Cleansing Flame’s shields. Now it was payback time.

Particle beams began to rip the centre section of the Cleansing Flame apart, smashing domes and spires, picking off turrets and launchers and scattering them into space. The tiny forms of K’Soth warriors could be seen twitching and convulsing amid the cloud of vented atmosphere. The beams now bored inward, tunnelling through the myriad decks of the gigantic command vessel, ripping out its innards, disabling fire control, navigation and the shield system. It was time for the coup de grace.

Chen gave orders to the Tipu Sultan and the Beowulf, her tactical missile frigates. She had been holding them back for a moment such as this. With its fire control wrecked, there would be little that the Cleansing Flame would able to do to deflect incoming projectiles. She ordered them to fire kinetic slugs, full battery.

A swarm of the long depleted uranium shells left the rail-gun launchers of the two frigates. The gleaming missiles relied not on explosives to achieve their results, but merely the destructive results of a thirty tonne slug of depleted uranium colliding with a ship’s hull at high speed.

Not all of the missiles reached their target, some were picked off by the guns of the Cleansing Flame’s escorts, but it was enough. The sheer shock of their impact shattered the War Temple into several separate pieces as the two kilometre long ship broke apart like a child’s toy. The ship’s reactor was breached and the shockwave of its collapse catapulted the sections apart whereupon they smashed into the flanks of the escorts, wreaking further devastation.

When the fireball subsided, Chen saw that one of the destroyers appeared to be out of control, then as she watched, a flak cruiser was neutralised as one of the Cleansing Flame’s detached gun decks spun lazily into it, scything the smaller ship in two. There was a ragged cheer from the crew around her. Chen began to feel elated, that had shown them! If they could keep the pressure on, they might yet survive.

Simonov watched the group of ships on his display as they swept gradually around the planet. It was only a matter of minutes before the enemy ships would be in an optimal firing position far above the city. The remaining Navy vessels had fought well under the circumstances, but he doubted that it would be enough. He ordered final measures to be taken, that his men should disperse and find shelter in whatever cellars and basements they could find. Furthermore, he ordered that defensive energy shields be activated around the vulnerable command post and the makeshift air and artillery base they had erected. The shields would provide some protection, though not from a direct hit from the main guns of the capital ships. Simonov was hoping that the K’Soth wouldn’t risk destroying what they had come to claim: his position’s proximity to the temple might buy them some time.

Chen’s ships were still being kept at bay. The K’Soth had changed tactics, re-arranging their five remaining destroyers to form a screen of ships between the Mark Antony’s group and the remaining War Temple, Disemboweller. The escorts began to advance outward, pushing the Commonwealth ships further away from their intended target as the Navy vessels sought to remain outside the range of the K’Soth guns. Unfortunately for Chen, this meant that her ships could no longer effectively engage the War Temple as it was now out of their range. She knew what was about to happen, they had to break through the K’Soth line or watch as Simonov’s forces were attacked from orbit. The K’Soth may have lost their commanding officer, she mused, but whoever was now in charge on the Disemboweller was more than capable.

A fresh volley of kinetic slugs aimed at the Disemboweller proved useless. The heavy bullets were deflected or destroyed by a heavy barrage of fire from the screening vessels. The battle raged for some time: the K’Soth vessels ever pressing the Commonwealth vessels further back. Chen cursed. Whoever was now in command of the K’Soth ships was turning her own defensive strategy against her. She cursed her opponent’s obvious ability. They would have to take the destroyers down before moving in for the kill. To do otherwise would be both suicidal and futile. But there wasn’t much time.

Chen ordered her fleet to fire on the leftmost ship, the Man Flayer, and watched with some satisfaction as the shield on the antiquated vessel began to buckle.

‘Captain,’ it was Singh again. ‘I’m detecting a new threat: squadrons of bombers with wings of escort fighters are being deployed from the Disemboweller.’

Chen looked at her tactical display. The swarm of craft was beginning to form around the War Temple, around a quarter of its complement of ships. Bombers and fighters? Surely a suicidal gesture when the defences of her ships were still operating? She had certainly heard tales of K’Soth fighters engaging in kamikaze tactics, but they wouldn’t get close. She sent orders to the Spartacus, Stillwell, Drake and Powell to shoot down the wings of incoming ships. Wave after wave of the small claw shaped vessels were pulverised by the cruisers’ defences, though a few slipped through, only to be picked off the secondary layer of fire laid down by the destroyers.

Chen noted coldly the destruction of the Man Flayer as her ships turned their guns on the adjacent vessel at her command, leaving their previous target tumbling uncontrollably, its fore-section reduced to slag. But the War Temple was above Marantis and slowing now, coming about to face the planet. The bomber attack had been nothing more than a smoke screen. Their guns couldn’t hit the Disemboweller at this range. There was nothing that they could do.

‘I’m detecting a power-spike in the War Temple’s reactor,’ reported Singh. ‘Oh God, she’s firing on the city!’

The crew of the Mark Antony watched helplessly as a beam of incandescent fury leapt from the maw of the Disemboweller’s main gun, aimed straight at the city below.

A blinding pillar of fire a hundred metres across split the sky above Marantis with a deafening crack. It smashed into the densely populated southern region of the city, within which Simonov had dispersed the bulk of his armoured units, blowing a crater out of the ground five hundred metres across and turned the sandy soil to glass. The force created by the beam of superheated particles resulted in a supersonic shockwave that radiated outwards from the point of impact across the city, toppling buildings, scattering people and animals and incinerating them within an expanding cloud of blazing debris.

Fires started in the dry, closely packed city. Marantis began to burn.

Rekkid and Katherine, still imprisoned in the cellar, witnessed the attack on the screen of the Steven’s datapad. A brilliant blue-white line divided the southern facing camera view for a split second at distance of nearly three kilometres. They felt the impact before they heard it as the entire temple lurched violently, dislodging carvings and ornaments and smashing the exquisite stained glass windows on the southern side of the building. They heard the cacophony of falling masonry, glass and metal above the roar of the blast wave and the now arriving sharp report of the initial shot.

Katherine screwed herself into a ball in terror as dust fell in clouds from the ceiling, and the growing air pressure threatening to burst her eardrums. Rekkid too writhed in his own agony. Worse was to come. The superheated plasma had literally burned a pillar of the atmosphere away, creating a vacuum which began to suck in the surrounding air.

Atmospheric pressure began to drop rapidly, passing back down through acceptable levels until Katherine felt her insides begin to swell. Remembering the safety demonstrations that she had seen aboard spacecraft on how to react to decompression, she remained in the foetal position, screwed her eyes tight, stuffed her fingers in her ears and expelled all the air from her lungs whilst curling even tighter into a ball in a desperate attempt to protect herself. Her sinuses screamed in agony from the sudden, wild variations in air density, but luckily, her precautions were enough. They were far enough away from ground zero so that the pressure, or lack of it, never reached critical levels, merely unpleasant ones. Many amongst the population of Marantis weren’t so lucky, and there was more to come.

The Disemboweller began to release volleys of kinetic missiles. Much smaller than those used by the Commonwealth missile cruisers, they were of a similar design and still incredibly deadly, relying on their sheer force of impact to wreak havoc. They began to fall from the sky onto the city, fired with unerring accuracy against Simonov’s cowering men.

Deep in the cellar, the horrifying thought occurred to Katherine and Rekkid both that Steven was out in the city somewhere.

Simonov, protected from the blast under his energy shields, watched as his men were steadily obliterated. There was little he could do but pray. Outside the protective bubble, a wall of debris had slammed across the open expanse around the temple. Burning fragments of buildings, trees, equipment and bodies along with tonnes of ejected rock and soil were hurled across the city in a howling tidal wave of destruction. Some of it rebounded off the seemingly invulnerable temple before showering back to earth. Still more was blasted high into the atmosphere: already a slender mushroom cloud was forming as the first of the kinetic missiles arrived.

Simonov howled with frustration. There was nothing he could do to save his men. The K’Soth were firing with an accuracy that he had not anticipated. Obviously the intelligence the Commonwealth possessed about the quality of K’Soth sensors was hopelessly out of date. The enemy ship appeared to be able to detect his forces well enough, despite their efforts to conceal themselves.

There was series of loud bangs as the first volley of missiles struck. The small projectiles created relatively small but focused impacts, and they were perfect for penetrating deep into the earth and rooting out soldiers from dug in positions. Their arrival was greeted with a salvo of further sharp reports as the as yet untouched AA batteries opened up on the incoming projectiles. Thin blue laser beams stabbed upwards through the growing cloud of dust and smoke in an attempt to vaporise them. It was hopeless. The slugs of metal were too many and moved too quickly for the batteries to have much effect. No rounds were falling near the centre of the city though. Obviously the K’Soth didn’t want to risk damaging their prize, Simonov mused. His position had so far remained untouched. He sent out a desperate order to his troops to retreat inwards towards the temple. Perhaps he could save some of them.

The bombardment was unrelenting. Trapped in the darkened basement with about a dozen marines, Steven huddled against the wall and pondered his own chances of survival. He didn’t like the conclusions that he was drawing. He had succeeded in blending in with the troops when the order to take cover had been given and he had just found shelter in the second basement of an inn when the plasma cannon shot had struck the city. The blast had flattened the building above, no doubt killing the occupants, but although the rubble had trapped the soldiers in the cellars it had formed something of a protective shield against the worst of the blast. Their suits had protected them from the wild pressure variations.

The ground shock had been a different matter, however. Spreading out from the point of impact a kilometre away like ripples in a pond, it had cracked and buckled the walls of the basement as it passed. Falling masonry had badly injured a couple of the cowering marines and the fractures in the sagging ceiling were slowly spreading with each nearby missile strike.

Sheer terror filled the cramped subterranean space. The bombardment was continuous. Wave after wave of projectiles had slammed into the city, reducing much of it to rubble, though from the garbled transmissions they had received from Colonel Simonov it seemed that the centre of the city was being avoided. Trapped in the cellars, they had no way to reach it.

The kinetic missiles were quite capable of penetrating this far beneath the earth. A direct hit would finish them off in a split second. Hopefully their depth would at least shield them from the prying sensors of the starships above.

Nevertheless, with each nearby hit shaking the room and releasing clouds of dust from the ceiling, the marines in the cellar were beginning to crack. They weren’t used to this sort of scenario. Steven had heard of wars on Earth in the distant past where men had endured days of this sort of hell. He wondered how they had kept their sanity, or if they had at all. The seemingly random nature of the falling missiles was morale destroying. You couldn’t run or hide or try to dodge the bullet, all you could do was hope that it fell elsewhere and not on you. Who knew, if you did run, or even if you could, perhaps you would run to where the next one was about to fall? It was a nerve shredding dilemma.

Another round fell nearby, causing the room’s occupants to flinch instinctively and added another layer of dust to coat their suits. Steven heard one man sob. He wondered how the rest of the huddled people in the city were faring. Those under the plasma strike would have all been obliterated, those nearby would have died also from the heat and the shockwave. Troops further away would probably have survived as they had done, no doubt it was these survivors that the K’Soth were now trying to eradicate. Steven tried not to think too much about what had happened to the residents of Marantis. Defenceless and unprepared they must surely have been slaughtered in their thousands, or even now be lying burnt or haemorrhaging in their streets and houses.

He wondered about Katherine and Rekkid, mainly Katherine. He fervently hoped that they were alright. He tried to tell himself that if they were in the temple that they would be alright, for now at least. The last he had heard, Simonov’s command centre hadn’t been hit, but that had been quite some time ago. He had to reach them somehow, get them away from this place before the enemy either obliterated it entirely or began landing in person to capture it. He had few illusions as to what the K’Soth would do to them.

Wait; there had been no explosions for a minute now. Had the bombardment stopped? That could only mean one thing.

‘Sensors show that the War Temple is launching landing craft Captain.’

‘Thank you Mr Singh,’ replied Chen as she checked her own display. Sure enough, a swarm of the seedpod shaped K’Soth dropships were emerging from hatches along the belly of the vessel.

The tougher bodies of the K’Soth could withstand much higher g-tolerances than those of humans. Packed a dozen at a time into small streamlined craft consisting of little more than retros and a shield generator inside an aero-braking fuselage, the Empire’s shock troops were scattered over the landing zone. Their high velocity and large numbers ensured that a high proportion would reach the surface, even in the face of heavy ground fire. The surviving Marantis defenders would soon be overwhelmed.

‘Captain we have to do something,’ said Ramirez. ‘If those troops reach the surface they’ll slaughter everyone left alive down there.’

‘I’m well aware of that Commander, but we still haven’t broken through this line of destroyers.’ She gesticulated at the three remaining enemy ships keeping her fleet at bay.

‘Captain, we don’t have the luxury of time, I suggest we close the distance and finish them off. We should be able to chase down at least some of those dropships.’

Chen thought about it, as she watched the heavy guns of her fleet pound one of the K’Soth ships into submission. ‘No Commander, I have a better idea. We still need to take down that War Temple as well. No doubt it will have plenty more willing K’Soth on board; we have to consider those as well.’

‘Your orders, Captain?’

‘I intend to split our forces. That should give them something to think about. Ensign Andrews, transmit these orders: This is Captain Chen to all ships. We need to prevent the K’Soth from gaining a foothold on the surface of Maranos. To this end I order the flak cruisers Stillwell, Spartacus, Drake and Powell to form up around the frigate Crazy Horse. Captain Akbar you are in command of this new group. You will split off from the main force and intercept the K’Soth landing. That War Temple is in a high orbit and with the speed of your vessels you should be able to catch some of those dropships. Hopefully your ships should be manoeuvrable enough to evade the War Temple, however we shall attempt to draw their fire and take them down. Chen out.’

She checked her display, sure enough, the five smaller ships were peeling away to form a new vertical cross formation around the Crazy Horse. They began to loop around the screening destroyers, heading for low Maranos orbit. The rapid firing guns of the cruisers would wreak havoc among the K’Soth, assuming they could outwit that War Temple. It was her responsibility to ensure that.

There were only two enemy destroyers left now. The third was now breaking apart in its final death throes. The odds were good enough for a close range engagement, though it would not be without risk. The K’Soth may be outnumbered and have inferior ships, but at close range their weapons could still inflict serious damage. However, if Chen’s plan was to succeed she had no option but to take the chance. She gave the order.

‘Helm, ahead full. Gunnery, we are preparing to charge the two remaining enemy ships, ready the keel laser and prepare for a close range attack. Engineering, I want more power to our shields if possible.’

‘Negative Captain, we are unable to draw any more power from the reactor.’ That was Sohal, he sounded deeply worried.

‘Explanation Mr Sohal.’

‘We’ve been running the reactors at twenty-five percent above recommended levels since the start of the battle Captain. Any higher and we risk inflicting serious damage to the Mark Antony’s systems. I’ve already had to override the emergency shut-down sequence else we’d have been dead in space long since.’

‘Thank you Chief, do what you can. Chen out.’ He was right, after all. The destroyer had been firing almost constantly for almost an hour and half and manoeuvring hard all that time. She hadn’t noticed just how warm the air on the ship had become. She just needed the Mark Antony to keep functioning a little longer.

They were closing in on the two remaining destroyers, the Purification and the Blessed Murder. They were twenty kilometres from them now, well within the range of the K’Soth guns. Sure enough, the destroyers opened up on the charging Commonwealth ships who responded with a murderous barrage.

Chen felt the Mark Antony judder beneath her as its shields took the impact of the enemy weapons. They were ignoring the other ships. Now that they had their chance the K’Soth were trying to take down the human captain that had caused them so much grief. Loops of energy cascaded over the bow section. The forward shields were already down to seventy-five percent. Sohal hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said the reactors were over-strained.

Fifteen kilometres, the Blessed Murder was in trouble. Fire from the Thermopylae and Wellesley had overloaded its forward shield sections and obliterated the destroyer’s bridge. It began to drift, though its turrets still spat defiantly at the approaching ships. The Mark Antony’s shields were still falling under the onslaught, now at fifty percent.

Ten kilometres, and the Blessed Murder was breaking up. Huge sections of the craft were twisting away from the central hull under the force inflicted by the Commonwealth guns. Chen’s fleet now focused its entire wrath upon the Purification. She ordered gunnery to bring the cutting laser to bear as the Mark Antony’s shields fell below twenty-five percent.

Suddenly, the air on the bridge was pierced by an alarm. To her horror, Chen realised that the forward shield section had suddenly collapsed entirely. The fire from the Purification was now impacting directly onto the ship’s hull.

‘Engineering, report!’ she screamed into the comm.

‘Forward shield systems have suffered a catastrophic energy crash Captain; my crews are on it now. We need to replace key relays or re-route power.’

‘Do it now Chief!’

The Purification’s particle beams swept across the exposed upper forward gun deck of the Mark Antony, buckling the destroyer’s armour and melting the turrets housed there. The intense heat travelled down through the ship until it reached the storage capacitors for the forward turret, with disastrous results.

As the capacitors detonated the entire turret was blown out of the destroyed cupola taking several of the surrounding deck plates with it. It drifted upward from the ship. The Mark Antony was still accelerating: now it was catching up with its own turret. The heavy, melted weapon spun toward the destroyer’s mid section. There was barely time for Ensign Goldstein to roll the ship to one side to avoid it. The wreckage missed the bridge but nevertheless slammed into the flanks of the Mark Antony, gouging a long furrow into the hull and exposing the decks beneath to hard vacuum. Fresh alarms began to sound.

‘Warning,’ intoned the calm voice emanating from the ships emergency systems. ‘Warning: hull breach detected. Warning: hull breach detected. ’

‘Someone shut that thing off!’ yelled Chen.

‘Decks ten, eleven and twelve have been exposed to space between frames one to fifteen,’ Ramirez reported.

‘Commander, get repair crews organised on the double. All vessels destroy that fucking ship, do it now!’

They were right alongside the Purification now, its beam wreaking further damage along the Mark Antony’s bow section. Davis’s men and the gunnery crews of the other ships opened up with everything they had left. The K’Soth destroyer stood little chance. It broke apart in seconds, pierced by the heavy cutting lasers of the destroyers, leaving the Commonwealth ships to race on toward the War Temple.

Chen had time to take stock of the situation. Her engineering crews had just gotten the forward shields back on line by re-routing power via backup systems, but they were only up to five percent. They would need time to recharge. The Mark Antony would have to fall back and let the Wellesley and Thermopylae lead the assault. In addition, they’d lost one forward battery, lost power to two more and some of the bow thrusters, as well losing structural strength in the fore section of the ship. Decks ten through twelve of the central superstructure had been exposed to space. Casualty figures were still coming in. At least thirty-five crew had been killed in all and dozens more injured. But Chen would mourn them later. She had a battle to win.

Chapter 28

Simonov, intent on his tactical display, saw the K’Soth dropships falling like rain onto the plain, south of the city. Hundreds of the tiny pods plummeted to earth in a ripple of sonic booms, braking violently with their retros at the last minute to thump to earth with a bone jarring impact that nevertheless was survivable by K’Soth standards.

He ordered his AA battery to shoot down the incoming pods, and his artillery to bombard the landing zone. They duly did so, incinerating dozens of the falling seed shapes, or pounding them with high explosives as they landed. So intent was he on this desperate effort that Simonov entirely failed to notice that the Disemboweller had fired again, lobbing two rounds at his position. Too late, he saw the bright red blips of the falling missiles. But he had little cause for concern. Surely he and the batteries were safe beneath their energy field?

The two K’Soth missiles had been fired by the same rail-gun mechanism that had launched the previous salvos of kinetic weapons, but these were unlike the others. The K’Soth had recently designed them in secret, specifically for surface bombardment, unlike the kinetic rounds that were also used in space combat. They had studied the conundrum presented by ground based energy shields which could only be knocked down via high energy weapons such as starship cannons and were virtually impervious to kinetic weapons: the repelling force of the shields being directly proportionate to the impact energy of the projectiles. Essentially, it took a very destructive weapon to knock down such defences, and whilst the K’Soth military generally lacked subtly and had few qualms about using such weapons, there were times when they might want to capture an installation without totally levelling it. This was one such occasion.

The two missiles streaked down through the atmosphere of Maranos heading straight for the cluster of energy shields around the base of the temple. At a height of half a kilometre above the surface they began to break apart. Sections of the casing peeled away like angular petals, shedding a cargo of small, independent sub-munitions over the target area. These smaller rounds continued to fall another two hundred and fifty metres, whereupon they deployed small airbrakes and parachutes to slow their descent. By the time they reached their target they were travelling at only a few metres per second, a velocity low enough to allow them to slip through the defensive shields with little hindrance. They fell in tightly packed clusters over the command post, airfield and weapon batteries like a fall of explosive hail, detonating with a rippling explosion that decimated the marine positions.

Simonov’s command ship survived the first few impacts: anti-personnel rounds that skipped off the vehicle’s armour. The next few rounds to hit were armour piercing. A staccato of explosions broke the craft the two, flipping it over and showering the occupants with white hot metal. Their suits of light armour provided little protection.

Simonov lay trapped upside down under a buckled bulkhead. His command console was above him, pressing him down onto the twisted metal. Burning agony pierced his shoulder. He twisted his head around to look and saw only mangled bloody flesh jutting from his armour where his arm should have been. There was a duller ache in his belly: part of him was glad that he couldn’t see that. He coughed, almost passing out with the pain as his mouth filled with blood. He couldn’t move, couldn’t even use his remaining arm to free himself. Through his blurring vision he could make out the shape of one of his officers, crumpled and wreathed in flame.

He struggled briefly before more sub-munitions from the second missile fell onto the command post, ending Simonov’s torment for good.

‘Captain, we just lost contact with the Marine command post,’ said Andrews, desperately trying to re-establish the link.

‘That’s an affirmative,’ confirmed Singh, grimly. ‘Looks like the Disemboweller took them out. Some new kind of cluster weapon, it totally bypassed their shields. There’s barely anything left down there.’

‘Could they use that thing against us?’ enquired Chen as she studied the growing form of the War Temple.

‘Possibly not. At a guess I’d say the warheads would probably be too small to penetrate our armour.’

‘Good, though I doubt that’s much of a comfort to Colonel Simonov.’

‘Agreed, Captain.’

Now Simonov was gone, what about his troops? It must be carnage down there, Chen thought bitterly. Simonov, she’d only met him briefly but she’d been impressed by the man. She’d wanted to get to know him better and now she never would. She felt a twinge of sadness. It only added to her anger. My God she’d make them pay for this! She turned to Singh.

‘Position of the Crazy Horse, Lieutenant?’

‘Captain Akbar reports he is beginning his attack run on the dropships. The Disemboweller has powered weapons but so far they have not fired. The Crazy Horse group is still out of range.’

‘Excellent, we must draw the fire of that War Temple. Commander Ramirez, status of damage control?’

‘Damage control report that they have sealed all bulkheads and re-established the ship’s atmospheric integrity. The infirmary is overwhelmed with casualties though Captain. We now have at least fifty dead and many more suffering from burns and vacuum exposure.’

‘We have to take down that ship Commander. Our troops are getting slaughtered and we have to stop the landing.’

‘Captain our shields are not recharged, they’re barely at fifty percent.’

‘I’m aware of that.’ She addressed her fleet: ‘Thermopylae and Wellesley, you will lead the attack on the Disemboweller. We will join the fight as and when we can, the Beowulf and Tipu Sultan shall hang back and provide fire support. Chen out.’ She looked at Ramirez. ‘I told you I wasn’t about to get us all killed didn’t I? It’s all about balancing risk Commander. Helm all stop.’

Chen looked on as the other two destroyers raced on ahead toward their target. She watched the War Temple closely. Its captain appeared to be hesitating and it was just what she had hoped for. A few beams reached out tentatively for the Crazy Horse group from the War Temple as the great ship indecisively swung first toward the charging destroyers, then back towards the Crazy Horse. It began to power its main gun, lining it up with the frigate, and fired.

Captain Akbar must have chosen his helmsman well. The frigate dived at the last moment. The War Temple’s shot missed the Crazy Horse by mere metres, almost brushing the turrets of the rear gun deck. It ploughed onwards towards Maranos where the wayward plasma beam scored a deep furrow in the desert west of Marantis, forming an arcing line of white hot glass a kilometre in length across the melted sands.

For the crew of the Disemboweller, it was a fatal mistake. By taking the bait and engaging the Crazy Horse group to protect the landing, its captain had left its vulnerable rear quadrant open to attack from the closing destroyers. The Wellesley and the Thermopylae were well within range now. Backed up with supporting fire from the missile frigates and the Mark Antony, they first neutralised the remaining flak cruisers in case they tried to ram, then opened up with all guns into the engines of the War Temple. Their combined fire at close range quickly overloaded the larger vessel’s aft shielding and plunged into the heart of its powerplant.

A series of explosions rocked the Disemboweller as the Wellesley and Thermopylae pulled back to avoid the imminent blast. Sure enough, a cataclysmic detonation engulfed the rear of the vessel, splitting the craft apart and violently propelling its remaining for section toward the planet below. The huge flat panels of the gun decks and tapered bow section began to break away from the central hull as the vessel broke up. Chen grinned with satisfaction, and sent her congratulations to the crews of the two destroyers.

With the Disemboweller gone, the Crazy Horse group was free to wreak havoc amongst the K’Soth landing craft. The squadron of small warships ploughed into the stream of descending vessels, lashing out with the combined fire of their rapid firing guns. The K’Soth landing force was rapidly reduced in a matter of moments. Hundreds of the tiny pods were vaporised along with dozens of the larger transports carrying heavy equipment to the troops already on the surface. A growing collection of red hot debris began to fall toward the planet to where it would burn up in the thick atmosphere. They had stopped the landing and secured planetary orbit, for now. But it wasn’t over yet. Lieutenant Singh bore the bad news Chen had been expecting:

‘Captain, my sensors are indicating that the K’Soth reinforcements have entered the system, they are on an approach vector and will be here in twenty minutes. Engine signatures indicate ten War Temple class capital ships and around thirty craft of destroyer size, plus cruisers.’

‘Time till our reinforcements arrive?’

‘The Gustavus Adolphus and Leonides battle groups will not be on station for an hour.’

Chen’s heart sank, even though Singh was only confirming what she already knew to be the case. They would have to survive alone against those odds for nearly three quarters of an hour in an already damaged ship. She doubted whether the reinforcements would be enough.

‘Captain.’

‘Yes Ensign Andrews?’

‘We have received an encrypted transmission from Command. The main fleet is massing for the counterstrike in the sensor shadow of the Argyle Dust Cloud. We are to expect them in three hours.’

‘Three hours? Haines must have something up his sleeve if he thinks we can survive for that long.’

‘I hope so Captain,’ replied Andrews.

Chen looked at the woman’s expression. She looked afraid, hell they all were. She looked again at the wound ripped in the deck of her ship.

‘All ships, this is Chen. Good work in taking down those ships, but I’m afraid that enemy reinforcements are on their way. We’ll have to break orbit and evade them until more friendlies arrive.’ She turned to her navigation officer. ‘Lieutenant O’Rourke, what options do we have? Is there anywhere in this system we can hide?’

O’Rourke studied his map of the system for a moment before replying. ‘Only one possibility, Captain. The inner system has been swept clean of all debris. There isn’t even a trojan cluster near any of the gas giants. That leaves us with the Kuiper Belt.’

‘Very well. Helm lay in a course for the edge of the system in the direction of the approaching relief force. Relay the co-ordinates to the other ships, we need to withdraw.’

‘What about the people still down on the planet?’ said Ramirez as the mottled orb of Maranos began to swing out of sight.

‘There’s little we can do for them Commander,’ replied Chen grimly. ‘We can’t hope to hold this position against those odds. They’ll just have to hold on.’

Now facing away from the planet, the Mark Antony and the other surviving ships jumped to the edge of the system.

Steven could see the dim point of light ahead of him through the fallen rubble and dust. It taunted him, disappearing momentarily as smoke passed over the ruins, blotting out the illumination. He shifted his footing and got a better grip on the heavy wooden beam he was trying move, letting the suit take the weight. A marine by the name of Ingrams braced himself against the other end whilst others stood behind them, ready to pull them free if it looked like the piled debris might collapse on top of them.

Once the bombardment had stopped, Steven had tried to organise the marines in the cellar into freeing themselves from the blocked-in chamber. His assumed rank as a corporal meant that he outranked all of the marines still fit for duty in the cellar, their lieutenant having suffered a head wound, and he had assumed temporary command of the dazed, motley collection of soldiers. The demoralised band had welcomed leadership and he tried to get to know a few of them; providing himself with a suitable cover story as none of the troops were from the same unit as the man he had liberated his armour from. Christ, where was Corporal Jameson now, was he alive or dead? Would the armour Steven stole from him have saved him? He felt a pang of guilt.

The building that had stood above had collapsed, filling the cellar’s exit with a tonne or two of masonry, wooden beams and other debris. They had succeeded in clearing much of this, but several larger pieces had remained firmly wedged in place, preventing them from clearing the rest of the rubble from further up the stairwell. This heavy beam had proved the most recalcitrant. Steven and Ingrams strained again: there was a deep creaking sound from the wood before the end wedged against the floor began to scrape slowly forwards. Some of the smaller pieces of stone wedged behind began a small landslide, rattling against the armoured grieves of the two men.

They pulled again. Steven heard Ingrams grunt with the effort. Just a few more inches

there! They freed the beam as a cascade of rubble buried their legs up to the knees. Carefully, with the help of the others, they laid it aside then began clearing the smaller chunks of stone and masonry. The point of light was larger now. Steven could see it flickering slightly. There must be flames nearby.

It was a further half hour or so before they managed to clear a large enough exit from the cellar. Steven emerged first from the subterranean prison that had shielded them from the K’Soth weapons, and stood open mouthed at the scene of devastation that greeted him.

This part of the city had been almost totally flattened. The initial strike had shattered the buildings and showered the area with burning debris, and then the area had been pounded by dozens of the deadly missiles launched by the Disemboweller. There was little left except piles of masonry and timber, drifts of ash and jagged ruins that were once homes and shops and public buildings that still burned, filling the sky with acrid black smoke. There were bodies everywhere, some humans in armour, but mostly Dendratha. They lay in sorry charred piles, some where they had been hurled by the blast. Others still cowered in death in places that had offered, but denied shelter. Some were little more than immolated remnants of people. The smell was unbearable; charred flesh and entrails, burning wood and oils. Shit and puke and death.

Steven felt the bile rising in throat. He bent double, coughed a few times and heaved onto the scorched ground between his booted feet. When he’d emptied his guts he wiped his face and tried to compose himself. He looked toward the centre of the impact point: there were the barest outlines of buildings upon the ground, though some still stood, strangely alone and seemingly intact, their walls marked by the burnt in shadows of departed citizens. A wasteland.

He looked toward the centre of the city. The temple still stood relatively unharmed, wreathed in the smoke from the burning city at its feet. Despite everything it filled Steven with hope. Perhaps the others were still alive? He’d have to hurry, K’Soth landing pods were still falling from orbit. His eye followed the stream upward into the sky where a group of flashing lights were just visible at the limits of his vision. One of them blossomed briefly, a brilliant evening star. A moment later, the pods ceased to fall. Steven wondered if Chen had had anything to do with that, assuming she was still alive of course. Part of him grudgingly hoped that she was, despite everything. Rather her than them. Did this mean he owed her one?

He squinted at the lights for moment, saw them move then disappear. Had they jumped out of orbit? If so, what did that signify?

‘Sir?’ One of the marines broke his train of thought. ‘Sir, what do we do now?’ she was shaking slightly as she wiped a smear of vomit from the corner of her mouth. The others had emerged now and stood in a loose huddle around the tunnel exit, some held on to wounded comrades to support them.

‘Try to get to the temple I guess. Follow our last orders; see if we can find anyone alive on the way. We have to hurry though, some K’Soth reached the planet and you can bet that they’ll come looking for us.’

‘Sir, we have wounded. What about them?’ said another, whose pauldron bore a medic’s symbol and the name Tomita. ‘We may not have the option of hurrying; the Lieutenant here can barely stand.’

‘We’ll just have to do the best we can. Anyone get anything on the comm?’

‘Nothing sir,’ said Ingram grimly. ‘Still, it could just mean that their transmitter’s down,’ he added, trying to inject some optimism.

‘Alright, let’s move out. Wounded in the middle of the column. Kovacs and Krohn take point, Nguyen bring up the rear. Everyone stay alert and be prepared for possible ambush. If it has scales, you shoot it, understand?’

‘Sir, look!’ one of the marines was pointing at the horizon, where a group of lights had begun to rise. More ships were entering orbit, dozens of them. Steven had no way of knowing if they were friend or foe. They would have to hurry.

The Mark Antony lurked in the darkness of the Fulan system’s Kuiper Belt, the halo of sub-planetary objects that encircled the system, left-overs from its creation billions of years in the past. This far out, the light of the system’s binary was reduced to a faint glow, the stars showing as little more than two brighter points against the vast swathe of stars and nebulae.

Not that the crew of the Mark Antony could see the twin suns directly. The ship hid in the shadow of one of the larger belt objects, using the frozen mass to conceal itself from the searching sensors of the newly arrived K’Soth reinforcements. The other Commonwealth vessels had done the same, dispersing themselves among the sparsely scattered chunks of rock and ice.

However Chen needed to see what was going on around Maranos. It was imperative that she stall the K’Soth fleet long enough until her reinforcements entered the field of engagement. If the enemy ships realised that they were relatively unopposed, they might decide to take the initiative and press on into Commonwealth space instead, with disastrous consequences both for Haines’s battle plan and the inhabitants of the systems they would rampage through.

To this end she had ordered her engineers to link the ship’s systems into those of the monitoring arrays in the system via the vessel’s hypercom and disable their general transmissions whilst hacking into them to lock out access to non-Commonwealth users. This had the effect of denying the K’Soth access to long range tactical information about ship movements on the Commonwealth side of the border, whilst allowing Chen to keep a close eye on the fleet around Maranos as well as the huge armada massing inside the Empire. It also provided a faint hyperspace signal for the K’Soth ships to detect. The mass and position of the Kuiper belt objects relative to her ships would make it difficult to pin down, but it would leave the K’Soth fleet in little doubt as to the presence of a force of Commonwealth vessels of unknown strength somewhere within the system.

It seemed to have worked. The capital ships had remained on station around Maranos, but they had remained in very high orbits, no doubt wishing to remain as far up the gravity well of the planet as possible. They had also sent out reconnaissance flights of fighters to comb the system, steadily working outward planet by planet. It would be some time before they swept this part of the system: at the rate they were progressing it would be well after the arrival of the Leonides and Gustavus Adolphus groups, by which time the K’Soth would have other things to worry about. Chen was still concerned however. The two carrier battle groups would still be hugely outnumbered and would have to survive for over two hours against the numerically superior enemy fleet.

At least the brief lull had given them chance to take stock of the damage inflicted during the battle. Decks exposed to space were properly sealed, damaged conduits re-routed or repaired, armour patched or strengthened with quick-fix temporary solutions. There was time to treat the wounded, and mourn the dead.

Ramirez had visited the ship’s infirmary. There he had found a vision from hell. The effects of spacecraft combat upon the human body were severe: those that weren’t killed by the blast were then often exposed to extremes of pressure or vacuum which collapsed or ruptured internal organs and blood vessels. In these scientifically enlightened times it was possible to re-graft a lost limb or organ with a cloned replacement, but that process took time and the effects of decompression often damaged the entire body irreparably in one go. Patients often drowned in their own fluids or bled to death internally before they could be treated.

Dr Anderton and her team were struggling to cope with the numbers of casualties. The ward was filled with the screams and cries of the wounded, the desperate sobs of the amputees and burns victims who were destined to be disfigured for months to come. They were the lucky ones. Others, mere wrecks of human bodies, now lay at the centre of clusters of machinery and tubes that would keep them alive until they could be offloaded to better facilities aboard a base or medical vessel. A row of body-bags in the morgue marked the deceased. There were a great number of them.

Ramirez felt utterly helpless. He walked among his injured crewmates, offering what support he could, a friendly word, a shoulder to cry on, and occasionally lending a hand to one of the medical staff. But the shattered remains of his crew broke his heart. Many of them were young, technicians and maintenance crews who had been tending the weapons in the forward section of the ship and hadn’t stood a chance when the turret exploded.

They might be joined by others before the day was out, since the battle for the Fulan system was far from over. Chen had maintained her steely manner. Ramirez guessed that she was retaining her composure by sheer force of will until the battle was entirely over one way or another. He looked at his watch: their reinforcements would be here soon. He made his way from the infirmary back up to the bridge. His entrance was met by the weary stares of his subordinates and by Chen, whose expression became one of concern as she saw his grief stricken face. She beckoned that he should follow her into her office. Once the door was closed behind them she spoke.

‘How are they coping down there Commander?’ she asked, her voice lowered.

‘Not well. Dr Anderton and her staff can barely cope with the number and severity of the cases. Over a third of those admitted have died and the state of some of those that are still alive

it’s

God, Michelle, some of them are just kids!’ His voice cracked.

Chen clutched him to her.

‘I know Al, I know all about it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry but I tried my best.’

‘I know you did. If that shield hadn’t failed

’

‘Yes. Most of them would still be here.’

‘God I’m sorry, I should try and keep myself together,’ he said

‘It’s alright Al, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re a good man at heart. Just stay by my side until this is over.’

‘But how do you remain so composed?’

‘Do you think I don’t care?’

‘No, it’s not that.’

‘I’ll mourn them later Al, all of them and those we lost on the other ships and on the planet too. But this is war, I have to retain my composure, I have to set an example and lead us all out of this mess. You don’t

you don’t know what that responsibility means.’ She added, her voice beginning to falter. ‘You know I feel like I killed those people lying in body bags down in the infirmary? Their safety was my responsibility and I failed them! I’m glad I destroyed those K’Soth ships! I’m glad I made those fucking monsters burn for what they did today to our people and what they did to our grandparents’ generation. There’s a whole damn armada of them out there now, and I intend to see each and every one of those worthless fanatics exterminated!’

‘God, I’m sorry Michelle I shouldn’t have

’

‘There’s no need to apologise, but I hope now that you understand how I feel.’

‘I do, I think.’

‘Then come with me. The carriers will here soon, let’s finish this.’

High above Marantis, a single transport dropped from the belly of the command ship of the K’Soth relief force, the War Temple Incinerator, and began its descent towards the shattered city below. A few moments later another emerged and then curved round the planet towards Erais.

From the top of the temple’s central tower, Bibarat watched the tiny falling star. It was getting larger, heading this way. He had been trapped inside the temple during the bombardment, along with several hundred other terrified Dendratha. He had wept with terror as the alien weapons fell from the sky and flattened the city, but at least he was still alive. When silence fell once again over the city he had climbed the tower to get a better look at what had befallen his home. He could scarcely believe his eyes.

The entire southern quarter of Marantis had been utterly destroyed. A huge smoking crater marked the point where the plasma beam had hit and lay at the centre of an area of total devastation a kilometre across. Further out from the impact point the blast wave had shattered buildings right across the southern half of the city: they now stood wrecked and roofless like a mouth full of broken teeth. Many still burned fiercely and a black pall of smoke drifted southward from the city in the hot desert winds.

The remainder of the city was more intact, but it too was cratered by the effects of the kinetic missiles that had fallen on the marine positions. Bibarat looked down onto the sacred ground that surrounded the temple: it too had suffered. Defiled and spoiled by the fighting, the wrecks of the humans’ vehicles lay scattered across it, as well as the charred remains of their crew. He could barely comprehend the sheer scale of the destruction and misery that had been inflicted upon his people by the aliens. If the humans hadn’t brought them here

but it was already too late wasn’t it? The things that Katherine and Rekkid had found were what they were after. Bibarat knew that the soldiers had taken them prisoner and locked them up in the cellars.

If those other aliens came here, the K’Soth, what would they do to them? They had already destroyed half a city, what would they do to the two archaeologists? Bibarat liked Katherine and he guessed that he liked Rekkid as well. She had been kind to him, listened to him and indulged his curiosity. He had to let them out and get them to safety before that ship arrived. If they could get out of the city maybe they could hide out in the canyons.

He peered at the blasted scenery once more. Strange armoured six-limbed forms were moving through the rubble in packs. They must be the K’Soth, he concluded. They certainly weren’t humans. He saw the dim light glint off blades and guns. He would have to hurry.

Steven’s squad were making remarkably good progress through the ruins. So far they had encountered no resistance and had found the going relatively easy. Only in a few places had they found the road blocked by fallen rubble. The marines fingered the safeties on their weapons as they checked every doorway, alley and other cover for signs of movement. They saw no-one besides wounded and shell-shocked Dendratha, who by now were emerging from the rubble of their homes and businesses and just coming to terms with the disaster inflicted upon their city. They saw some attempting to put out the fires with what water they could obtain, others dragging broken bodies from under fallen masonry and beams. Others simply sat dejectedly in huddled groups and held one another. Hostile stares greeted the marines at every turn.

The squad had reached a cross roads. Formerly a small market it was now marked by the upturned wreck of a gunship that had been knocked out the sky by the blast wave. Its broken-winged form lay like a dead insect at the end of the furrow it had carved in the baked mud road surface, whilst its nose was half buried in the wall of one of the shops on the north western side, bringing the masonry crashing down on top of it. One of the pointmen, Private Krohn, began to check the vehicle in a vain hope that someone might still be alive inside. Steven saw him recoil in disgust after making the mistake of peering inside the crumpled cockpit.

There was a noise, a trickle of stones moving inside one the wrecked shops. It seemed to be coming from the one that the gunship had half demolished. Steven signalled to the others to warn them. Too late.

With blood-chilling war cry the first of the K’Soth warriors sprang from behind the broken wall, pounced upon Krohn and severed his head with one swipe of its enormous curved sword. The thing howled as the unfortunate man’s blood spattered its armour. More followed. Around half a dozen of the aliens had concealed themselves inside the ruined shop. The K’Soth must have spotted them, guessed the route that they were taking and had lain in wait for them.

Steven cast his eye over the advancing group of aliens. They were clad in sand coloured carapace armour, the heavy plate lending their six limbed forms an even more insectile appearance. In places the armour had been decorated with religious symbols and totems, as well as a few grisly trophies of war. They were well armed too, with bulky side-arms as well as at least one hand to hand weapon, long curving blades of razor sharp steel like the one their leader had just used to behead Krohn.

Their heads however remained unprotected. K’Soth liked to use their powerful jaws in close combat, and the wearing of helmets, except when the environment made it a necessity, was considered a gesture of cowardice amongst K’Soth warriors. This suited Steven fine, it gave them something to aim for.

Already the two marines armed with heavy weapons had dropped back to lay down covering fire as the K’Soth leapt forward. The large reptilian warriors moved with surprising speed and agility and covered the short distance from the ruined shop in seconds. Steven yelled to his men to bring them down.

Two K’Soth were cut down by the heavy weapons teams as they raced forward, ichorous alien blood spattering onto the dusty earth. The other four continued their charge. The small arms fire from the marines was having little effect against the K’Soth armour.

‘Aim for the head!’ Steven shouted over the noise of combat into his comm., emphasising the point by bringing up his weapon and shooting the lead warrior through an eye socket. It howled with pain and collapsed into the dust. He shot it a couple of more times through the centre of its skull to make sure. Another two fell to accurate shooting from the rest of the squad.

One remained. As it charged it raised it pistol and shot Ingrams through the chest, killing him instantly. It then continued its kamikaze run and headed for the medic Tomita, who was shielding his patients. He shot it through one eye before the K’Soth gutted him with its sword and kicked the semi-conscious Lieutenant so hard it broke his neck with a stroke. Reaching down it grabbed another patient in its claws and used her shattered body as a shield as it advanced upon one of the heavy weapon operators. The man hesitated, reluctant to risk shooting one of his comrades. It was a fatal decision. The K’Soth hurled the woman’s body at him before leaping after it and pulled the stunned marine’s head from his shoulders, roaring in triumph as it held the grisly trophy aloft. His line of sight now unobstructed, Steven opened fire.

‘Sir!’ Steven heard the cry and turned to see another group of K’Soth charging towards them from behind their position. The first attack had been a feint, and now the second group of six more warriors was almost upon them. Two of them hefted heavy gatling guns and took cover from the piles of fallen debris whilst they laid down a murderous barrage of fire. Steven threw himself flat behind a chunk of rubble as marines fell around him, and came face to face with a sword dropped by one of the slain K’Soth. He grabbed it instinctively.

Though fashioned for one handed use by the large aliens and thus outsized, it would serve well as a two handed weapon. The curving blade was surprisingly light and incredibly sharp; it reminded Steven of a Japanese katana. As the lead warrior leapt upon him he thrust the blade upwards between the plates of its belly armour, quickly withdrawing it and rolling away to avoid being crushed beneath the falling creature. He scrambled to his feet and found that now three more warriors were upon him. His men lay dead at their feet.

Seized with anger he blocked the strike of the lead K’Soth then swung his new found weapon and beheaded the creature, the force of the impact almost jarring the blade from his hands. K’Soth blood drenched him as he leapt to one side to keep the remaining two warriors between him and the heavy weapons positions. The duo eyed him cautiously, ready for his next move and considering theirs. The heavy jaws of one opened wide as it hissed at him. Steven saw its thick pointed tongue snaking between rows of knife like fangs. Its breath stank of rotten meat.

The other was drawing its gun. Quickly he dove to one side to dodge the shot, regained his footing and severed the hand that held the weapon. The warrior roared with pain and anger and threw itself at him. Steven instinctively shielded his head from the mountain of armour, teeth and slashing claws that bore down on him as he tried to roll out of the way. He was sure then that this was the end - but it never came. As the creature pounced, a shot rang out and the K’Soth warrior was cut in two, entrails and meat showering its intended victim. Another hit felled the other, before a staccato roll of automatic fire swept the K’Soth heavy weapons positions, silencing them.

Steven stumbled to his feet, swept the gore from his eyes and saw the low angular form of a Scorpion tank as it advanced towards the ruined crossroads, its turret sweeping left to right as its gunner sought new targets. Steven waved to the man sat atop the vehicle’s cupola currently manning the gatling cannon that had felled the K’Soth heavy weapon team. The gunner looked in surprise at the blood drenched armoured form that clutched an equally gory sword, before waving back. Steven was the sole survivor. The crossroads was littered with corpses.

There was another sound too now, above the thrum of the tank’s AG generators: the roar of spaceship retros. Steven looked up and with dismay saw the swept wing form of a K’Soth transport descending over the temple grounds. He was too late.

Chapter 29

The torches had long since gone out in the cellar, leaving Katherine and Rekkid in total darkness. They had lost the use of the external cameras too. The link, damaged by the blast wave, had finally given out. They had been sitting in the blackness for some time when the silence was broken by sound of shuffling outside the door followed by a gentle tapping. Katherine felt her way to the door and pressed her ear against the rough wooden surface. There it was again: someone was definitely banging gently on the door, she could feel the reverberations against her cheekbone as they struck the wood. She knocked back in response.

‘Katherine?’ came a small voice. Dendratha; judging by the accent. Her translator was barely picking it up, squawking ‘Katherine’ in a tiny voice in response.

‘Yes? Who’s there?’

‘It’s me, Bibarat. I’ve come to get you out. I managed to get the key to this room.’

‘Where are the marines?’

There was a pause. ‘I think they’re all dead. The ones here left to go and fight and they never came back. Just a moment, I’ll open the door.’

There was the sound of clattering metal as Bibarat wrestled with the heavy un-oiled lock. He pushed the door open, flooding the room with dim torchlight. Katherine and Rekkid blinked at the sudden change in illumination.

‘You’re both alright? The soldiers didn’t hurt you?’

‘No we’re okay, but thank you Bibarat.’ She reached down and hugged him. The small alien looked vaguely embarrassed.

Rekkid scrambled to his feet and approached the flustered Bibarat. ‘What’s going on? How did you manage to get the key?’

‘This isn’t usually a prison. We have other places where keys to the store rooms are kept.’

‘In any case, you have my utmost thanks. I’m not sure how much longer I could stand being cooped up in that place. Now what is going on?’

‘No time! No time to explain!’ Bibarat turned to leave. ‘Please, you must follow me! More of them are coming here!’ He beckoned and they followed him out of the makeshift cell into the warren of torch-lit passages beneath the temple.

‘More marines?’ Rekkid asked.

‘No! More K’Soth. They will kill you like the rest won’t they? We must hide.’

‘Where do you suggest?’

‘We must get out of Marantis. Hide in the canyons, they won’t find us there.’

‘I wouldn’t be too sure Bibarat,’ said Katherine sceptically. ‘I think we’re part of what they came here to take.’

‘Then all the more reason

.’

There was a dull roaring from above, it grew steadily then died away suddenly.

‘That sounded like a ship landing,’ Rekkid commented. ‘I think our scaly friends are already here. What now?’

‘What if we go deeper?’ suggested Katherine. ‘Re-enter the ancient tunnels and hide out there?’

‘Hide inside what they’ve come here to seize? Pardon me for being critical Katherine but

’

‘We never explored beyond the control room, those tunnels could run for miles further down. Remember, that according to the Darwin’s scans the structure continues right down into the centre of the planet.’

‘Ye-es, but there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to get down there.’

‘All we need is somewhere to hide out until we get rescued by the Commonwealth.’

‘I admire your optimism,’ Rekkid said and sighed. ‘Alright, I can’t think of a better idea, let’s go.’

Inquisitor Razortail of the Emperor’s Purification Legion stepped off the ramp of his shuttle flanked by his bodyguards. His bejewelled armour was engraved with a multitude of holy symbols; the designs were woven with sacred litanies proclaiming the sanctity of the Light. Even his long claws were each painted with a separate sigil, so that even as he tore out the throats of heretics, he would be blessing them. Totems and wards carved from the smaller bones of previously purged sinners hung on filigree chains from the spines along his tail and the crest atop his head. The sound of the rattling bones and tinkling chains played a symphony of pain and purification against Razortail’s armour as he walked.

He paused a moment to look up at the blasphemous structure before him: a symbol to false gods whose names would be dead and forgotten as from this day forth. It would be razed to the ground and another temple raised anew upon the spot. The people of this world would now know the loving chastisement of the Holy Light and the blessings of the Emperor. Razortail would have to re-educate them. Even if they all died in the process, they would be saved.

He pondered the temple some more. He had to admit that he rather liked its shape, the claw shaped towers arranged into a star, almost K’Sothian in design. It seemed most auspicious. Perhaps he might allow the aliens’ structure to remain, once he had re-consecrated it with a suitable number of sacrifices and replaced whatever profane symbols it contained with more suitable ones. Some skulls, perhaps? Razortail liked skulls. Arranged in suitably blessed patterns they were a fitting symbol of the Emperor’s might, showing that he owned his subjects both body and soul, and would dispense death to those who opposed him. He loved their smoothness, the hard hollow curves of the eye sockets, and the way that if one opened the jaws they appeared as if they were screaming endlessly.

He cast his baleful gaze over the crowd of natives emerging from their sanctuary inside the temple. They were babbling in their base alien tongue and pointed in horror at the devastation wrought upon their pathetic city. They were a pitiful sight, Razortail concluded. They resembled little more than prey beasts. Hunched and crawling on the earth, mouths agape at things their primitive backward minds could barely comprehend. They needed someone to rule over them, nay they deserved it. Judging by their more elaborate dress, Razortail decided that some amongst the crowd must be so-called holy men from the temple. Perhaps it was time to set an example?

One of the totems that hung from Razortail’s armour was a Commonwealth made translator. He had taken it from an agent that they had captured in the border worlds and had kept it originally so he could properly listen to the man scream and cry as they tortured him to death. But he had kept the trinket, figuring that it might prove useful in interrogating other spies and heretics. Besides, he hated the Pyrteen. The ghastly creatures stank and were frequently blasphemous. He had executed his own after finding the translator device, dangling it playfully in front the alien’s eyes as it died on the dissection table.

He activated it now, so that he could bask in whatever words of fear might come from the crowd. They shrank back from him and his guards as they approached, but they remained steadfastly between the K’Soth and the main door to the building. One, clad in much more elaborate robes than the others and resting his elderly frame upon a staff remained defiantly before him. He began to speak.

‘My name is Priest Makallis, leader of this place and its people. In the name of Maran I cannot allow you to profane this holy house! You have slain our people and blasted our city but you shall not curse this sacred ground!’ He shook his staff angrily at Razortail.

Razortail was not impressed. He said nothing. He simply produced a bag of holy nails from his equipment belt. The nails were long and sharp, wrought from a silvered metal with the Emperor’s crest upon their heads. Razortail held one up so that it glinted in the dull light. Then he grabbed Makallis about the throat with one clawed hand and held the old Dendratha aloft as he struggled weakly against Razortail’s grasp. He looked into the old priest’s eyes, relishing the terror and incomprehension within them, and then he tossed his frail body to his guards.

They strode through the assembled natives to the great doors of the temple, parting the throng like a knife through butter as the Dendratha cried out in horror. The guards pinned Makallis to the door with their claws, spread-eagled and out of reach of his flock. Razortail produced a gilded mallet and held it up so the crowd could see. Makallis’ left hand was before him, withered and olive green and struggling weakly. Razortail held the first nail against the leathery palm with his left hand, and with the mallet in his right he struck the nail with all his strength.

It took quite while to nail Primate Makallis to the temple door. Razortail intentionally drew out the process, drinking in the screams, gurgles and pitiful squeals of the elderly Dendratha and the horrified cries of the crowd, impotent to help him. A few tried, and were cut down by Razortail’s men with barely an effort. In terror the crowd backed away, yet most still remained to witness the terrible spectacle as the Inquisitor drove nails through both of Makallis’ hands, through his upper arms and in three places along his tail. After the third nail had pierced his body Makallis stopped screaming, his heart having given out from the trauma, but Razortail thought it important to finish the job. It was some time before the dreadful sounds of hammering and of metal piercing flesh finally ceased.

Bibarat stood at the lip of the gaping hatch that led to the ancient tunnels below. The air in the tomb was choked with dust shaken loose by the shockwaves unleashed by the recent bombardment. The three of them covered their mouths and nostrils with their hands as best they could. Bibarat would go no further. Katherine was trying to reason with him:

‘Bibarat you have to come with us,’ she pleaded. ‘The K’Soth might harm you; even kill you if they find you here.’

‘They won’t find me,’ he replied. ‘I’m just another Dendratha, correct? They will not come for me.’

‘But there’s nothing down there that can harm you. This can’t be a religious thing can it? You’re an atheist.’

‘No, it’s a practical thing. I cannot move as swiftly as you two. We Dendratha are not agile creatures, I would slow you down and make it harder for you to hide,’ he replied.

‘He’s right, unfortunately,’ said Rekkid. ‘The relatively placid natural habitat of Maranos, free from major predators, certainly didn’t produce a race of athletes. There aren’t any lions or agrils to run from here as on our home-worlds.’

Katherine knelt down and held the shoulders of the small Dendratha. ‘Bibarat, please tell us what’s going on out there before you leave?’ she pleaded. ‘Is there any chance Steven could have survived?’

‘Your friend? I’m sorry, but I don’t know. The southern part of the city was

it was

’ he sobbed then regained his composure. ‘I don’t know Katherine, I’m sorry.’

‘I’m sorry for your people too,’ replied Katherine. ‘I’m sorry that we brought this here Bibarat. If we’d known

’

‘It’s not your fault Katherine,’ he answered softly. ‘Some things are bigger than any of us. It would have happened anyway, I think.’

‘Take care Bibarat.’

‘And you. I will go now and – what is the human expression – blend in?’

‘Yes, that’s it.’

Bibarat turned away from her quickly and shuffled out of the crypt into the corridors. Katherine watched him go. There was a thudding sound and faint screams from the temple above. Rekkid looked up pointedly at the ceiling.

‘We should get moving,’ he said, moving toward the hatch. ‘It won’t take the K’Soth long to extract the location of this place from some poor soul or other, and they know what they’re looking for.’

He sat on the lip of the hatch and grabbed the rope, then carefully lowered himself down into the tunnel below. Katherine followed him.

The tunnel was dimly lit from the few lights that had activated along with the device and the ambient light that spilled down from the control room, reflecting off the shiny walls. The bombardment hadn’t touched this place at all, the thick walls offering additional protection on top of that provided by its depth.

Katherine and Rekkid moved quickly in silence, taking care not to let their footsteps echo back up the tunnel, both listening for the sounds of the approaching K’Soth.

‘Where is it?’

The priest said nothing, he merely screamed as Razortail peeled more of his skin away with a talon.

‘Where is it, godfucker? The humans were guarding something here weren’t they? Why would they guard this forsaken place? Tell me!’ He received no coherent answer and ripped off the creature’s arm in frustration, then threw the rest against the altar. The body impacted wetly against the stones.

Razortail and his men had grabbed a few of the luckless Dendratha that had gathered outside and witnessed Makallis’ crucifixion, priests and monks mainly. They had bound them quickly and dragged them inside the temple for questioning. Razortail had decided that he could accomplish three tasks in one go; he could extract information about gaining access to the device within the planet, use the carcasses of the prisoners to defile this place and further terrify the locals into submission. Already the body of a monk lay impaled upon the main altar image of the Dendratha pantheon.

Razortail guessed that the entrance to the device must lie under this building. Why else had the marines been guarding it? It had no tactical significance, indeed the city had become their graveyard. They had also received an interesting coded transmission from the Disemboweller before it had been destroyed. Its crew had been monitoring the impacts of the kinetic weapons it had fired and had detected a large metallic structure underneath the temple which had rung like a bell from the shockwaves.

He commanded his guards to pass him another prisoner from the frightened huddle by the nearest pillar. They pinned the struggling monk to the bloodied top of the tomb he was using as a worktable. The creature stank, having soiled itself and it squealed in terror before him. Razortail looked into its eyes and noted the urine dripping from the monk’s robe to mix with the spatters of blood on the floor.

‘Now, perhaps you will be more co-operative than the others? Pride and stubbornness will result in me torturing you some more, do you understand? Your false gods cannot save you, the only one who holds the power of life and death over you now is me.’

‘Yes, yes I understand. Please don’t kill me!’

‘Maybe I will let you live if you answer my questions.’

‘I will, I will!’

‘Good. I have little time or patience. Now, where is the entrance to the device? Is it underneath this temple?’ he caressed the monk’s cheek with his index talon.

‘The Cave of Maran is underneath this temple!’

‘That sounds like heretical words to me, heresy from your religion of lies. Cave of Maran? What is that, some filthy hole where you profane the Light?’ Razortail’s talon was now millimetres away from the monk’s right eyeball. It hovered above the shiny, vulnerable orb.

‘No! No it is a place sacred to us. We found it again; well not us, a human female and an Arkari male came here and found it. Then the miracles appeared in the sky and the ground and the sea once more and then, and then you came.’ The monk was babbling with fear.

‘I see, and where might I find the entrance to this place?’

‘If you enter the passages beneath the temple and walk until you are underneath the altar, then you will see.’

‘Thank you. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?’ Razortail grinned, displaying his rows of teeth.

‘N-no.’

‘Now of course you are no longer of any use to me. Not merely a heretic, but a traitor to his own kind too. Nevertheless, I will commend your soul to the afterlife as I kill you, perhaps there is some hope for you after all.’

‘No! But you said you would let me live!’

‘I only said maybe. Guard, bring me my Scalpels of Blessing at once. I will deal with this one. You can feed on the rest. I do not require them.’

He examined the doomed Dendratha before him. Such a big, beautiful skull

first he would have to remove the eyes

The control room was silent save for the hum of the machines. Maran, or at least his avatar, was nowhere to be found. He did not answer their calls either, which echoed alarmingly in the vast chamber. The schematic of the world of Maranos still spun lazily in mid-air, indicating that whilst the machines were still active, the portal itself was not.

Rekkid and Katherine began to search for access to the deeper levels of the complex. It didn’t take them long: a bank of lifts lay along the back wall, concealed by the rows of computers. The lifts were large and their interiors not uncomfortably furnished to suit humanoid forms slightly smaller than an average human. They bore more resemblance to ship cabins or railway carriages than lifts. Katherine and Rekkid entered one and studied the control panel. There was only one option to select and Rekkid pressed it. The lift began to move downwards, steadily but smoothly accelerating until it reached a considerable speed.

‘Rekkid,’ Katherine said, sitting with her head in her hands. ‘Do you think Steven’s dead?’

Rekkid sighed. ‘Honestly I don’t know Katherine,’ he replied wearily. ‘If he was in the wrong part of the city at the wrong time

yes. Sorry.’

‘I know.’ She said nothing more for a moment. Then she continued. ‘You know I never really appreciated what the K’Soth are like, what they are capable of. Our generation got so used to the old war stories from our grandparents that we just took the whole thing for granted. Then they do something like this, and for what?’

‘Fear,’ Rekkid replied. ‘Fear and power. It’s what the Empire was built on, the ability to overawe their opponents with their ferocity.’

‘All those people

My god Rekkid, that city was teeming with people when we arrived!’

‘Yes it was. The military should have known better. They should have known that they would do something like this. They should never have landed such a large force. The K’Soth have few qualms about causing civilian casualties to pursue an objective. They underestimated them. Fatally, I suspect.’

‘I take it that the Navy failed to secure the system then, if the Empire was able to attack us here.’

‘It seems that way, for the time being at least. Who knows? Surely they’ll send reinforcements?’

‘Then they’d better hurry up. Rekkid, what if they catch us, the K’Soth I mean?’

‘Try not to think about it.’

‘Hah! If only, I can barely think of anything else.’

‘Me too.’ He shot her a baleful look with those large intelligent eyes of his. ‘However, they won’t harm me. It’s you that I’m worried about. If it comes to it I’ll try to stall them, and hope I’m right about this.’

‘Right about what?’

‘That no K’Soth would dare to intentionally harm an Arkari. Not after what we said we would do to them if they did.’

‘I wouldn’t trouble yourselves about the K’Soth too much,’ said a disembodied chorus of voices. ‘They are but a minor irritation.’

The voices were all around them in the lift, emanating from tiny grilles set high in the walls.

‘Maran?’ said Katherine. ‘Is that you?’

‘Yes.’

‘It is I.’

‘And more besides, I think you’ll find.’

‘Maran, you have to help us,’ said Rekkid. ‘The K’Soth will send troops down here after us, is there anything you can do?’

‘Alas, no.’

‘I have little control over this facility.’

‘Aside from the portal of course.’

There was a slight chuckle following the last statement, it rumbled around the cabin like distant thunder.

‘What about the others? Icthasa and Tyrunin who control the rings, are they able to help at all?’

‘The others?’

‘The others are now a part of me.’

‘Now there is only Maran.’

‘We have erased them.’

‘Replaced them with ourselves.’

‘They were nothing but a hindrance.’

‘You killed them?’ said Katherine, glancing warily at Rekkid and around at the smooth walls, expecting something to pounce from an unseen hiding place at any moment. Rekkid also looked uneasy.

‘They were never truly alive.’

‘Death was a mercy.’

‘Freed them from their prison.’

‘But why would you do such a thing?’ she persisted.

‘As I said before.’

‘They were a hindrance.’

‘They would have got in the way.’

‘Got in the way of what!?’ she cried. ‘Maran!?’ No answer came but a cacophony of hollow laughter. Deep belly laughs, high pitched shrieks and cackles, piercing whoops and gloating snorts echoed around the lift before dying away.

‘Maran!’ snapped Rekkid. ‘Answer the bloody question!’

‘Oh you’ll find out soon enough

’

‘Soon enough

’

‘Enough

.’

‘Perhaps I may help you.’

‘There are a few things I can do.’

‘After all I’d hate for you to miss my surprise. Especially you, Arkari.’

‘But we’ll have to wait and see won’t we?’

‘I do love.’

‘A good game of hide and seek.’

‘Goodbye.’

There was another gale of merriment, and then silence.

Razortail peered down into the darkness of the tunnel through the hatch in the floor before him. His keen night vision picked out the smooth floor some metres below; it was too smooth to have been constructed by the wretches who now inhabited this place. Sounds of vandalism came from the chamber behind him; his guards were defiling the ancient remains of the Dendratha priests entombed here, smashing and crushing their delicate cadavers. Bone dust filled the air. Razortail drew in a deep draught of the deathly scent, he found it deeply satisfying.

His comm. device crackled into life. The team he had dispatched to the capital were reporting in. They had been unable to locate either the human ambassador or indeed their own representatives, finding both residences deserted. Razortail pondered this for a moment. He had seen the files of Ambassadors Sharptooth and Keeneye: hey were dangerously liberal. They would be found and he would enjoy interrogating them. He issued orders to his men instructing to find all three ambassadors and capture them alive if possible. There was no harm in mixing business with pleasure now was there?

The hatch was rather small, it would be a tight squeeze for him and his men, fully armoured, to pass through it. Once his guards had finished their fun he sent two of them down the hole. They wriggled their way enthusiastically through the rusted aperture and landed with heavy thuds and skittering claws on the smooth surface below. The other two Razortail ordered to remain up here, to guard the entrance and prevent anyone from sealing them down here, as well as helping them to climb out again once they had finished their search.

Razortail stuck his head down through the hatch. Then, clasping the rim with his clawed hands and feet, he lowered the rest of his scaly body through, hanging for a moment from the ceiling before dropping cat-like onto four splayed limbs. He composed himself, before offering up a prayer of fortitude to aid them as he led his men into the gloom ahead.

As they walked, Razortail couldn’t help but be impressed by the perfection of this place’s construction. He wondered who had built it. Perhaps it had been placed here by God for the K’Soth to find? He could scarcely wait until they controlled the portal. Potentially, it was the ultimate weapon.

He began to fantasise about the holy hordes of the Emperor appearing as if from nowhere in the skies above Earth, above Keros and a million other worlds. He, Razortail, would share the glory as they wiped the unbelievers from a galaxy given by divine providence to the Empire. They would take revenge upon the pitiful humans and especially upon the hundred-times-cursed Arkari. Their worlds would burn as the humiliation they had inflicted was repaid a thousand-fold. Razortail pictured himself in his mind’s-eye, presenting the Emperor himself with the Meritarch Council, bound alive upon gilded platters so that his glorious leader might feast upon their entrails.

Razortail was roused from his reverie by one of his guards drawing his attention to the strange mechanical form that lay beyond a great set of half open doors. Its silvery armoured body looked fearsome in the extreme. Fortunately it was inactive, having seemingly been badly damaged in combat. Some sort of defence mechanoid perhaps? Razortail didn’t know, though perhaps the thing might yield important secrets if handed over to the Guild of Weapon Smiths.

He decided to press on. There was brighter light ahead, the source of the tunnel’s dim illumination. As they approached he saw a large space opening up ahead of them. Another strange mechanoid lay at its entrance and banks of weird machines lined the terraces around its circumference. It looked like some sort of control room. Excellent, perhaps that meant that the device was now theirs? Yes, this looked very promising, a holographic projection showed a schematic of the planet’s interior, its core of strange devices plainly visible.

Something flitted at the periphery of Razortail’s vision, a humanoid figure wreathed in light. It cackled, mocking him. Razortail drew his weapon, his bodyguards did likewise.

‘Oh, I wouldn’t bother,’ said the figure in Razortail’s own language.

‘You can’t hurt a god with your nasty little toys.’

‘Though you are welcome to try.’

Two more identical figures had joined the first, they circled about one another, merging and re-dividing as they spoke. Razortail eyed them suspiciously.

‘Heresy!’ he cried. ‘You are no god, worthless wretches! Where are the two off-worlders who came here? A Human and an Arkari, where did they go?’

‘Oh, I’m not a god?’ replied Maran. ‘Is that so?’

‘I walked as a mortal being when your pathetic race of base savages hadn’t even been called into existence.’

‘I am older than the very benighted star that sheltered your bastardised birth.’

‘And I will still be here once your kind is mercifully gone.’

‘Wiped like a stain from the galaxy.’

‘So if I am not a god compared to you, worm, then what am I?’ The three conjoined figures swooped down till they hovered just above the ground in front of Razortail. Merging fully into one, their light burned bright in his eyes as Maran’s avatars fixed the inquisitor with their gaze.

‘You are an abomination!’ cried Razortail. ‘Hell spawned devilry, nothing more!’

‘Oh, really? Well perhaps this morsel of information might change your mind.’

‘You believe your race was created by God, placed upon your world by him to do his bidding?’

‘You believe that your God resides in the centre of the star around which your home world of Sothon orbits?’

‘Yes, that is so,’ affirmed Razortail.

Maran grinned. ‘My race was first to rise to prominence in this galaxy and we reached a level of scientific expertise that you can scarcely comprehend. This portal for example: Even if you do take it for your own you have no hope of deciphering its secrets.’

‘For your information, your home system was created by us. We ignited the fires of the very star that you cretins base your entire belief system around.’

‘So get on your knees and pray to me you worthless savage.’

Razortail exploded. ‘Heresy! You are not my God and I shall kneel before no other!’ He swiped at the figures with his blade, which passed straight through the insubstantial trio. Maran cackled with glee. ‘Where are the Human and the Arkari!?’ cried Razortail. ‘Answer me wretch!’

‘The Human and Arkari you seek have headed for the core.’

‘The lifts are over there,’ Maran said, gesturing toward the far wall.

‘It’s quite a way down,’ he added. ‘But at least you have something to think about during the journey, eh?’ The figures pirouetted in mid-air and vanished, leaving nothing but the continued sound of their mirth.

The dust was beginning to settle in the defiled tomb. It drifted in the shaft of torch light that spilled in from the entrance, settling slowly on the armour of the two K’Soth warriors who now lay dead in the chamber. Their blood had flowed onto the dirt floor, darkening the ruddy earth until it appeared almost black save for the bright assortment of mangled entrails that spilled from the rents in their armour. One lay with his clawed hand clutched to his stomach, in death still desperately trying to hold his guts within his body cavity. The other had been shot in the back and also lacked a portion of its skull. It had been burned away by plasma fire, cooking the brains within. A light thud signalled the sound of armoured human feet landing on the floor of the tunnel below.

Chapter 30

Katherine and Rekkid still lay on the reclining seats within the lift as it continued its supersonic plummet towards the centre of the world. There was little to do in the meantime and they were fearful of talking lest the entity that called itself Maran were listening in.

Both were lost in thought. Katherine stared blankly at the smooth walls, whilst Rekkid tinkered with his computer, replaying over and over the footage of Marantis being pummelled by the K’Soth warship. It held a horrid fascination for him.

‘Hello again.’

Katherine jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion.

‘It is I, Maran, your gracious host.’

‘I just thought I’d inform you that three of those delightful K’Soth warriors are following you down in one of the other lifts. Their leader seems to be some kind of religious zealot.’

‘I think you’ll find that applies to most K’Soth,’ replied Katherine dryly.

‘Yes I am aware of that,’ Maran continued. ‘But I’d say that this particular one is an inquisitor of some sort. He appears to have tortured several Dendratha to death, demanding that they tell him the location of this place

and he seems very interested in you two.’

‘He made quite a mess of the temple.’

‘Especially after he crucified Makallis. Nailed the old goat to the front door he did. Even I could hear the screams

.’

‘How can you be so callous?’ said Katherine. ‘Those are your people, or so you claim. Makallis and the others worshipped you, doesn’t that mean anything?’

‘Of course it does.’

‘But tell me, do you shed a tear when an ant dies?’

‘For Makallis

and your good selves

are little more than insects compared to me. Makallis was a fool. He only got into religion for the power and the politicking. He had no understanding of my true nature, what I could do for this planet had they only sought me out and set me free

’

‘And now you are free, what will you do?’ Katherine asked, with trepidation.

‘Wait and see

’ came the cryptic answer, and the sounds of distant chuckling.

‘You could start by taking your head out of your godlike arse,’ said Rekkid. ‘All this cryptic crap and manic laughter

frankly I think you’re insane. We ought to lock you up again.’

‘Not possible I’m afraid,’ replied Maran. ‘I’ve disabled the security systems.’

‘You realise the irony of this situation: an Arkari accusing me of delusions of grandeur.’

‘Your people like to think that they are the appointed stewards of the other races, invulnerable and unchallengeable. Believe me; there are things abroad in this galaxy that are far more terrible than you can contemplate, things that would crush your glorious civilisation beneath their heel without a second thought.’ The last sentence echoed hollowly in the silent cabin.

‘Anyway!’ exclaimed Maran suddenly. ‘What I came to tell you was that it seems that some more of your human friends have arrived, lots and lots of them. So maybe you will have a chance of surviving, or maybe not

we’ll have to wait and see won’t we? All part of the fun!’

The crew of the Mark Antony watched as the two carrier groups converged on the K’Soth fleet around Maranos. The Commonwealth relief force had split in two, the Gustavus Adolphus taking its group above the ecliptic, the Leonides swooping below in gigantic pincer movement. It seemed a strange tactic to Chen, as she studied her own display. The allied ships were already outnumbered over two to one and by splitting their forces they ran the risk of the K’Soth engaging one group and then the other and outnumbering them by twice as much again. She would commit her forces as and when she received clear orders to do, and not before.

The Commonwealth ships were terminating their jumps, bringing themselves to a halt around a million kilometres above and below the enemy fleet. The two gigantic Jupiter class carriers hung silently in the vacuum, surrounded by their attendant flotillas of destroyers, frigates and cruisers, goading the K’Soth to attack them.

‘Captain?’ said Singh.

‘Yes Lieutenant?’

‘There’s something odd about the frigates accompanying our carriers.’

‘Show me.’

He did so. An image of one of the ships flashed up in Chen’s field of vision. Instead of the normal gun batteries, its aft decks were adorned with large instrument radomes and panels. Further smaller blisters adorned the centre and fore section. The ship appeared virtually unarmed.

‘There are ten of these ships, Captain,’ Singh informed her. ‘I don’t know what the hell they are. I’ve never seen anything like these before.’

‘I have,’ said Ramirez. ‘I mean, I’ve heard rumours of these.’ He added, hurriedly correcting himself.

‘Please Commander, enlighten us.’ Chen prompted.

‘They’re the new Nereid class: electronic warfare frigates. They’re used to scramble the systems of an enemy ship. Once it locks on it virtually shuts down all its weapons and engines leaving it dead in space.’

‘I thought that was impossible without EMPs?’ said Singh. ‘Surely the shields would prevent electronic interference?’

‘No not these,’ replied Ramirez. ‘I hear it actually uses the frequencies of the target’s shields to amplify the signal. It uses them to batter the ship with interference. Some sort of hyperspatial effect coupled with standard jamming procedures.’

‘Well, well perhaps Haines did have something up his sleeve after all,’ Chen mused. ‘This could be interesting.’

The comm. flickered into life, the middle-aged, hispanic features of a female starship captain appeared in Chen’s vision.

‘Mark Antony, this is Captain Diaz of the Leonides, what’s your status?’

‘Good to see you Leonides, we were wondering when you’d join us,’ Chen responded. ‘I regret to report the loss of the destroyer Rameses. My own ship has suffered considerable damage to its fore gun decks and we have suffered over fifty casualties amongst our crew. However, we have made repairs and are combat ready. The other ships in my group have suffered minor damage but all are fit for action, though our crews are intensely fatigued.’

‘I’m sorry for your loss Mark Antony. Captain Lehman was a fine man. What is the status of our forces on the planet?’

‘Unknown. One of the War Temples bombarded the objective with its main gun and kinetic weapons before we could take it out. We lost contact with Colonel Simonov and his troops almost immediately and we haven’t heard from them since. K’Soth forces have also landed on the planet, though we managed to destroy a good number of them during the attempt. I will be recommending Captain Akbar and his crew for commendation in this respect.’

‘I see.’

‘Be advised also that we have patched into the monitoring relays in this system and we have detected huge numbers of enemy reinforcements massing on the Imperial side of the border. How long until the main fleet arrives?’

‘Haines will wait until the bulk of the enemy fleet commits to its jump and hence is out of sensor or hypercom contact. His forces should arrive shortly after they do. My orders are take command of the field and to capitalise upon the progress made by your forces, Captain Chen. We are preparing to engage the K’Soth fleet around the planet and lure the enemy into making this fatal tactical mistake. We would appreciate your support.’

‘You shall have it,’ Chen answered firmly.

The lift was finally decelerating. It braked steadily from its supersonic velocity without so much as a whisper. Neither did it induce the usual feelings of heaviness among its occupants. It came to rest a few moments later at the centre of world. The doors slid open revealing a brightly lit lobby and a passageway that curved away oddly into the distance.

Rekkid and Katherine stepped out of the lift, their footsteps echoing on the smooth metallic floor. There was a background of sound, a dull throbbing they felt in their insides rather than heard. Katherine pressed her ear to one of the walls. It was slightly warm against her cheek. The noise was slightly louder, a dull bass roar, like that of an underground river transmitted through the walls of a cave. It was the sound of the great engines at the heart of Maranos.

‘Come on,’ Rekkid urged her. ‘We have to hurry.’ He started down the passageway, his footsteps echoing in the hallway. Katherine followed in his wake.

As they walked, the weird geometry of the passage began to reveal itself. It twisted unusually, so that looking back toward the lifts it now seemed to the two archaeologists that they were walking on the ceiling. The passage twisted again, looping downwards in a further defiance of normal gravity. It ended in a small series of chambers that housed additional machines resembling those in the control room under the temple. But there were precious few places within which to hide. It would be folly to remain here. A single opening in the far wall of the final room admitted a pale blue light into the chamber. Katherine and Rekkid stepped toward it. They passed through and gazed in sheer wonderment at what greeted them beyond.

The fleets had not moved. The K’Soth had not responded to either the deployment of the Leonides or the Gustavus Adolphus groups. Chen had signalled her remaining ships, but she was waiting for the battle to unfold before making here move. Captain Diaz now took the initiative.

The Leonides was now aligned with the K’Soth command ship, the Incinerator. Like the K’Soth vessels, the Jupiter class carriers also carried a gigantic plasma weapon. The unwieldy armament was slung along the belly of the carrier requiring the whole vessel to be re-orientated in order to fire it, just like its K’Soth counterpart. In fact, the design had been inspired by K’Soth War Temples captured during the last war. However, the Commonwealth had not merely copied the design, it had improved and greatly modified the weapon, making it more efficient, increasing its rate of fire and almost doubling its range by improving the coherency of the plasma bolt. Even so at such extreme range, around a million kilometres, the potency of the weapon was greatly reduced.

The Mark Antony’s crew watched in fascination as the Leonides began to fire on the Incinerator. It took just over three seconds for the blazing bolt of plasma to cross the distance between the two massive vessels. As it travelled, the coherency of the bolt began to break down, so that the plasma spread into a widening wave of energised particles which broke upon the top shields of the Incinerator.

The War Temple was in trouble. Though the power of the Leonides’ weapon was greatly reduced at this range, it had still succeeded in totally collapsing the dorsal shielding of the enemy vessel and the hull was now exposed. Worms of dissipating energies played across the ship’s superstructure. A further shot might not physically damage the hull of the ship a great deal, but the electromagnetic pulse unleashed by another torrent of plasma would ravage its electronic systems, leaving it helpless. The K’Soth would have to respond or risk their vessels being rendered useless.

The Leonides began to recharge its weapon for another barrage. As Chen watched, three quarters of the K’Soth force began to break formation and leave orbit. The huge War Temples were taking their time coming about amid the confusion of the gigantic formation that hung in orbit above Maranos.

The Leonides fired again and this time the Incinerator was crippled. She began to drift without power or shields. A volley of kinetic ship killing missiles was already en route from the Commonwealth force as the Leonides began to launch its fleet of Azrael bombers. The small but deadly ships gathered in two growing swarms on the flanks of the carrier group.

Defenceless and immobile the Incinerator could do little to prevent its fate. The volley of missiles pierced the hull in a dozen places, sending out great gouts of atmospheric gases and debris. There were a few internal explosions before its magazine detonated amidships and the craft began to break up.

The K’Soth force was now deprived of its commander, but they would carry out his last order to the letter. Now correctly aligned, the fleet powered its jump engines to pounce on the Leonides.

Another shot from the Commonwealth carrier caught the War Temple Blood Thirst just as it initiated its jump. The sudden energy surge had catastrophic consequences, overloading the ship’s jump drive systems and causing the warp wave to collapse as the ship began to enter hyperspace. The Blood Thirst imploded and then vanished without trace as the entire ship was sucked into a singularity of its own making as the rest of the fleet surged forward to engage the humans.

The space that confronted Rekkid and Katherine was almost incomprehensibly huge. They stood at the mid-point of the gigantic cylinder that had been torn from the centre of the planet by the Bajenteri. They were standing on what appeared to be a maintenance access road, metallic and a dozen metres in width. Close at hand the road appeared almost flat, but looking into the distance they could see its steady upwards curve up and around the walls ahead of them until it disappeared, before curving back around behind them in a full circle with a diameter of about a hundred kilometres. Transparent fields held the atmosphere in place over the road, whilst artificial gravity generators beneath it kept the two archaeologists standing firmly on its surface.

Looking left, the cylinder continued for thousands of kilometres into the distance. Perspective made it seem to taper to a narrow bright point, its seamless metallic walls transmitting the light that filtered down from the distant aperture at the end.

Looking right, cuboid machines the size of cities formed a ring around the interior. They held between them an indistinct disk of energy, black and edged with vivid blue. The portal itself: the device was active but not open. Beyond, the cylinder continued as to their left, though the view to its end was blocked by the ring of machines.

The two archaeologists were dumbfounded by the sheer scale of the spectacle, by the mindboggling level of technology on display. Rekkid began to record footage of the scene with a small hand held camera that he had produced from his pockets. He doubted whether he would believe his own accounts otherwise.

‘Rekkid, we should keep moving,’ said Katherine, a sense of urgency in her voice. She glanced behind her to the door from which they had emerged. Looking ahead down the road she saw more doors and access hatches a few hundred yards further on that led into a series of bunker-like structures. ‘Come on Rekkid,’ she urged. ‘We have to hide. The K’Soth will be here any moment.’ She grabbed the reluctant Arkari’s arm, urging him down the metal road. Their boots rang on the surface as they ran.

Breathless, they arrived at the first of the doors and tried it, only to find it locked. They tried a second and a third with no success. There were more mysterious structures ahead, also with access doors on their sides, perhaps they might offer sanctuary? As they turned to head towards these other structures a chilling howl rang out in the vast empty space.

It took a mere second for the armada to spring upon the Commonwealth forces. Thirteen War Temples, a score of destroyers and a handful of flak cruisers, flying in a diamond box formation, emerged fifty kilometres in front of the Leonides group – the inaccuracies of hyperspace travel preventing a closer approach. They began to close rapidly, powering weapons and bringing their turrets to bear on the smaller Commonwealth fleet.

Then, thirty five kilometres out something unexpected happened. The entire left flank of the K’Soth fleet suddenly lost all power. Five War Temples, three destroyers and two flak cruisers were now drifting in space, their shields and weapons inactive, their engines lifeless. Each Nereid frigate in the Leonides force had each successfully paralysed two vessels, battering them with hyper-dimensional wave fronts. Time was now of the essence. The waiting squadrons of torpedo bombers pounced on the helpless ships as the Leonides group opened up on the foremost of the still active vessels.

Defenceless, the stricken K’Soth vessels were powerless to act as the comparatively tiny bombers swooped in at close range before releasing their deadly cargoes of fusion torpedoes into the reactors of the helpless capital ships.

The cumulative explosions merged as one. A vast expanding shell of charged particles and debris swept across the remaining K’Soth vessels, those nearest the detonations bearing the brunt of the wave front. The bombers swooped clear of the Inferno, only a few having been lost and those mainly to the effects of their own weapons.

The remaining K’Soth destroyers were in trouble. The Commonwealth ships were out of range of all their weapons save for the War Temples’ plasma cannons, which they now desperately tried to bring to bear on their enemies. The Nereids were now locking onto new targets, refocusing their arrays for another wave of paralysing attacks.

They were too slow. Three Commonwealth destroyers, the Chuikov, the Trajan and the Joffre fell victim to the immense energies unleashed by the War Temples before the Nereids could stop them. Hundreds of lives were snuffed in an instant, before dozens suffered agonizing deaths in the freezing vacuum as the ships began to break up.

Chen looked on at the awesome destruction being meted out in the space above Maranos. It was hypnotic, the terrible beauty of flashing energies against the velvet blackness of space and the sandy orb of the planet. She awaited the order to join them. The bulk of the enemy fleet was now on its way to the system and Admiral Haines had now initiated the counterstrike. Over two thousand vessels were now converging on the Maranos system for the decisive battle. The K’Soth fleet was charging forward in a great arrowhead formation whilst the Commonwealth ships appeared to be spreading into a three dimensional pincer movement, a huge four fingered claw reaching out to envelope the Empire’s ships whilst a central strike group pushed forward through the centre.

There were unfamiliar warp signatures among the K’Soth ships, resonances that hinted at vessels larger still than the War Temples. Haines’s fleet was centred around the carriers, twenty in each group including some of the new Saturn class vessels. His own command ship, the Abraham Lincoln, led the main frontal assault. Haines, as always, was leading from the front.

The Gustavus Adolphus group, so far idle, now joined the battle. Powering their drives, the ships jumped towards Maranos, emerging dangerously close to the planet and right on top of the K’Soth ships that had remained in orbit.

Paralysed by the Nereids, the smaller group of War Temples and destroyers stood little chance. They perished in moments. Only a single Commonwealth frigate, the Zaitsev was lost, falling to a lucky shot from a dying K’Soth ship. Their work done, the Adolphus group turned towards the pitched battle already in progress a million kilometres away.

Chen could see that the Leonides group was having trouble. The K’Soth now seemed to have realised how the Commonwealth fleet was powering down its vessels and had somehow altered their shield frequencies accordingly, it was now taking two Nereids to paralyse each vessel, though Chen noted with satisfaction that the ships in Maranos orbit had been wiped out in short order. Ensign Andrews stirred her from her contemplation.

‘Captain, transmission from the Leonides.’

‘Put them through.’

Captain Diaz appeared in her vision. The transmission was distorted slightly by the intense energies washing over the Leonides from the fierce battle around it.

‘Mark Antony, we’re having some difficulty here. We request the support of all available ships within the system

’ she looked away for a second. ‘Damn it we just lost the Pitt,’ Diaz commented grimly. ‘Repeat, we request all available ships.’

‘Leonides, we will be on station asap. Chen out,’ she turned to Andrews. ‘Ensign, signal our ships. Tell them to reform and follow us out of the belt. The Leonides needs us. Helm, take us out of the Kuiper belt and prepare to jump to the position of the Leonides.’

The ship began to move, edging around the chunk of rock and ice she had hidden behind, then powering forward toward the distant twin suns.

‘Captain,’ whispered Ramirez. ‘Are you sure this is wise? The ship is in bad shape and we have many casualties on board, surely the Adolphus and her ships will be enough

’ Chen cut him off.

‘We are still battle worthy Commander. The Leonides group needs our assistance. I am aware of the risks.’

Ramirez sat in silence as the Mark Antony formed up with her group for the jump to Maranos space.

Katherine and Rekkid looked back in horror at the three reptilian figures now charging down the curving road, their heavy clawed feet thundering against the metallic surface.

They tried to run. Primal fear in both Human and Arkari urged them forward away from the terrible predators that hurtled towards them. They had to run, hide, anything to get away from those slavering jaws and wickedly curving claws. But even with such a head start it was no use, they might as well have tried to run from a charging lion. The K’Soth caught up with them in moments and tripped them both, sending the pair of archaeologists sprawling and skidding onto the smooth floor.

The three K’Soth surrounded them, looming armoured figures that dwarfed them both. One seemed to be the leader and was attired more elaborately than the rest. Its armour was decorated with panels of precious metals depicting K’Soth religious imagery and it carried a number of grisly totems that hung on fine chains from its spines. They clattered sickeningly. The leader spoke, using a translator of Commonwealth design that it hung from one the chains as a pendant.

‘Human, Arkari. I am Inquisitor Razortail of the Emperor’s Purification Legion.’ He drew his sword, the long wicked blade still smeared with Dendratha blood. ‘You will tell me absolutely everything you know about this place, you will tell me

now.’ He grinned, showing row upon row of razor-sharp teeth. Rekkid and Katherine cowered at the sight.

Their backs against the wall, the K’Soth ships were trying to sell themselves dearly. By the time the Mark Antony arrived on the field of battle, the engagement had descended into a chaotic melee. The careful strategy of the Commonwealth planners had collapsed completely into a multitude of smaller engagements as ships fought each other on an individual basis. Both fleets were now mingled amongst one another as hundreds of searing beams pierced the vacuum and ravaged the mighty vessels as the two sides now fought with new found ferocity. A cloud of fighters and bombers surrounded the larger vessels, fighting one another amid the super structures and wreckage of the capital ships and exploiting any weakness that an enemy vessel might display to unleash their deadly missiles and torpedoes.

The K’Soth had realised the source of their woes. Half of the vulnerable Nereids had now been destroyed or disabled by capital ship or bomber attack, denying the Commonwealth some of the tactical advantage that they had enjoyed. The K’Soth were losing, but in the process it seemed that they intended to take as many of their enemies with them as possible. The Leonides and her fleet were bearing the brunt of the fighting, whilst the Gustavus Adolphus and her group were hanging back, bombarding the K’Soth ships from a standoff position, and launching additional bomber wings in a desperate attempt to let the Leonides withdraw.

Chen assessed the situation for a moment, before urging her ships forward into their firing positions.

Steven paced the spacious interior of the lift. His impatience was unbearable. Each moment seemed to last forever as he waited for the device to reach its destination. He checked and rechecked his weapons, swung the sword he carried in preparation for his confrontation with the K’Soth he pursued. Maran mocked him all the way down, describing in lurid detail what might be happening to Katherine and Rekkid. Of course the entity really did know what was happening to his friends, but wouldn’t tell him. Steven tried to block the mocking and the cackling laughter from his mind as he prepared himself, mentally and physically for the challenge ahead.

There was no hope of escape, nowhere to run or hide. Razortail stepped forward and bent down until his fang filled jaws were inches from Rekkid’s face.

‘Your name, wretch,’ he demanded.

‘Professor Rekkid Cor, citizen of the Arkari Meritocracy and of the Commonwealth.’ He met Razortail’s gaze levelly and confidently.

‘Well then Rekkid Cor, you will tell me everything you know about this installation. How you found it, how you activated it and how it works, or else I will extract the information from you myself. I should warn you, I enjoy my holy works.’ Saliva dripped from Razortail’s lolling tongue onto Rekkid’s tunic, he wiped it off with distaste.

‘And I should warn you,’ he replied, ‘about the terms that were enforced upon the Empire by our government at the end of the last war that you started. That if any Arkari was to die at the hands of the Empire we would remind of your rightful place in the scheme of things, that you would find a full Arkari battle fleet within Sothon orbit again and that this time our weapons would not remain idle and those responsible would meet very unfortunate ends.’

Razortail did not flinch; he appeared to be contemplating something.

‘Brave words indeed, and foolish ones given your predicament. Typical Arkari, you benighted filth are always too arrogant, too obsessed with your own images of greatness. Little do you realise you are all damned! Your people cannot help you here, how will they know if I choose to slice you open right now?’

Rekkid wasn’t backing down. ‘They will know,’ he replied. ‘They will find out somehow since they already know I’m here. Then you will die. Tell me, is that what you want?’

Razortail pondered this for moment and then he grinned wide. Rekkid could smell his rank, carnivore’s breath.

‘Perhaps another way then!’ Razortail cried and grabbed Katherine, pinning her to the floor with one hand. She cried out and tried to struggle free against his iron grip, but to little avail. The two bodyguards leapt upon Rekkid and held him down also as Razortail squatted above Katherine. He produced his selection of knives and held them up for Rekkid to see. They glittered in the wan light.

‘This is how we will proceed,’ Razortail declared. ‘I will ask you questions. You will answer them, or I dissect your human friend.’ A claw caressed the contours of Katherine’s cranium as he admired the fine geometry of her skull.

The battle was reaching its desperate climax. The Leonides, now badly damaged, was attempting to retreat from the field under the covering fire of the Gustavus Adolphus and her group. The carrier’s aft quarter was on fire, fuel had ignited on the flight deck and even now her crew were initiating emergency procedures to vent the oxygen rich atmosphere and douse the flames.

Chen had led her group around the opposite side of the melee in an attempt to draw the now suicidal K’Soth ships away from the stricken carrier. Near chaos reigned. Chen sought order amidst it.

‘Captain, the Thermopylae reports that she and the Crazy Horse have destroyed the Infanticide.’

‘Excellent! Tell them to now concentrate all fire on the War Temple Retribution of the Faith. We have to stop that ship.’

‘Captain the Retribution is on fire and has lost all power to weapons. But she isn’t stopping. Thirty seconds until she rams the Leonides!’

‘Jesus! Beowulf, Tipu Sultan, launch all remaining anti-ship rounds at the Retribution of the Faith. Take her down, now!’

‘Beowulf and Tipu Sultan are firing

Multiple hits on the Retribution

her reactors are going critical. She’s going down.’

‘Good job everyone, the Leonides owes you their lives.’

‘Captain, incoming bombers two o’clock high, looks like they’re on a suicide run.’

‘Defence grid, take down those ships, we can’t let a single one get through!’

‘Incoming message from the Wellesley.’

‘This is the destroyer Arthur Wellesley, we have suffered multiple kamikaze attacks on our engineering section, requesting permission to withdraw and undertake battlefield repairs.’

‘Permission granted Wellesley. Stillwell, accompany the Wellesley and provide covering fire whilst she makes repairs.’

‘The Leonides is almost clear of the field of engagement, but she is suffering hits on her aft quarter from the destroyers Defiler and Sanctity of Pain. Captain Diaz reports hull breaches on ten decks and fires on the flight deck, they are now venting atmosphere to extinguish the blaze.’

‘All vessels, concentrate fire on the destroyers Defiler and Sanctity of Pain, we have to let the Leonides get clear.’

Razortail caressed the contours of Katherine’s body with the tip of the scalpel he held in his right hand, the left pinned her struggling form to the floor. It was a perverse action, a grotesque parody of a lover’s touch. She gasped for air against the crushing grip.

‘Now Arkari, I want you to tell me how you located and activated this installation. Do not try to lie to me.’ Razortail shot him a crazed look.

‘Believe it or not it was purely by chance.’

‘No I do not believe. I think you were sent here by your government to activate this portal for the use of yourselves and the Commonwealth. Now answer my question or I cut her open.’

‘For God’s sake, listen to him!’ said Katherine, struggling to get her words against Razortail’s grip. ‘He’s telling the truth, we found it by chance!’

‘Very well, tell me Arkari. I will hear you out, but if I think that you are lying

’

‘This is the truth, Razortail. We were sent here on an archaeological dig by our university. We came to help the Dendratha excavate some grave sites in and around their temple. When we opened the chamber in the undercroft we found a hatchway that led to this place.’

‘Then how did you activate the machines? You must have had prior knowledge!’

‘We didn’t. My ship… it

it contains an AI entity like the one that runs this place. It activated the portal, I don’t know how.’

‘Then where is this ship you speak of?’

‘It passed through the portal shortly before your fleet arrived, we don’t know where it leads.’

‘I think you are making all of this up Cor. Perhaps I should hurt your human friend in order to jog your memory.’

‘No! For fuck’s sake don’t hurt her!’

‘And why not? What is a mere human to a great Arkari such as yourself?’ sneered Razortail.

‘Please! Just listen to me. There’s more.’

‘Do tell.’

‘Before we came here we investigated an ancient wreck found floating between the systems the humans call Arcturus and Barnard’s Star. It was extremely old, a million years or more in fact, but it contained Arkari bodies and artefacts. We recovered the ship’s log and it told of an ancient Arkari star culture. It contained images of this place! We didn’t know what they were until the portal activated but there’s no mistaking what they portray.’

‘A remarkable coincidence. Now you expect me to believe you didn’t know anything about this portal even though you claim you saw images of it before you uncovered it? What are the odds of you being sent to the very same planet, as the one you say you saw in the records of a million year old shipwreck, you just happened to board?’

‘I swear it’s true!’

‘I think you are only telling me half the story Cor, I think you are an agent of the Arkari government. It matters not of course, the Empire will claim this system for its own one way or another and we will use the portal as we see fit.’

Hollow laughter drifted through the air. Razortail looked about him and saw the golden figures of Maran dancing in the vacuum above the energy field.

‘Claim this system as your own?’

‘Well that’s an extravagant claim.’

‘How do you plan to do that you snivelling fanatic?’ mocked the trio.

‘Our battle fleets will wipe the Commonwealth stain from this system then this portal will be ours!’ he snarled back.

‘Really? I hate to point out that you’d first have to coerce me into co-operating with you. Don’t think that you can remove my AI core and replace it with one of your primitive devices. Only I can control the portal.’

‘You co-operated with the Arkari once,’ muttered Rekkid under his breath.

‘Indeed I did Professor. I did it in the false belief that they would release me from this place.’

‘Your people lied to me.’

‘Lied to me!’

‘Then would you co-operate with the Empire?’ said Razortail.

‘No I would not.’

‘I despise you all.’

‘Human, Arkari and K’Soth alike.’

The three figures pirouetted in mid-air, and merged into one for a moment.

‘Besides,’ said Maran. ‘Your claims of seizing this system seem a little exaggerated given the circumstances.’

‘What do you mean by that!?’ snarled Razortail, angrily.

‘Perhaps I should show you? Deep underground, you’ve obviously been out of touch with current events.’

A vast holographic projection appeared in the space behind Maran. It depicted the battle underway above and around the planet. Dozens of capital ships, hundreds of fighters, thousands of humans and K’Soth were fighting and dying for possession of the planet. Wreckage and crippled ships lay spread across thousands of kilometres of space in a ragged trail of destruction. Bright energy beams pierced the night and split ships asunder. The K’Soth were losing, badly.

‘So much death,’ mused Maran.

‘So much pain and suffering, and for what?’

‘You people disgust me.’

‘We will take this system!’ Razortail responded angrily. ‘Hundreds more ships of the Imperial Navy are on their way. All are ready to die for their Emperor!’

‘How very noble of them,’ Maran replied sarcastically. ‘But what is the point?’

‘That we may spread the Light throughout this galaxy, which by right is ours to take!’ cried Razortail, flecks of spittle flying from his jaws.

‘Oh yes that’s right. What a better place it would be if you exported your brand of religious bigotry and totalitarianism to a hundred billion systems.’ Maran shot back

‘Better us than those heathens from Earth, or the Arkari!’

‘The humans aren’t quite as appalling as you, but still, they only engineered this conflict in the name of pan-galactic capitalism, political expediency and nepotism. It’s quite sickening when you consider it. At least you could never accuse the K’Soth of being duplicitous profiteers. I reserve a special contempt for the Arkari however. They aspire to godhood in their arrogance. Little do they know the truth about their true place in the universe. They are as worms compared to such as I, and the other things that live at the core.’ Maran sounded as if he were gloating, his voice had lowered to a dramatic whisper. ‘They speak to me sometimes you know. This

’ he gestured at the battle scene behind him. ‘This is only the beginning. War, chaos, death. They are exploiting your own weaknesses and using them against you as they did to us once. Though I have come to an understanding with them. I have my own part to play

’

‘What are you talking about, foul creature?’ barked Razortail.

‘Oh, you’ll find out soon,’ Maran giggled. ‘Oh by the way, is this your mighty battle fleet, the one you just told me about?’ He switched the image so that it showed a view of hyperspace. It tracked an arrowhead of over a thousand warp signatures.

‘Yes, that is our fleet. Magnificent isn’t it?’ replied Razortail proudly.

‘Indeed, not as magnificent as this though.’ The image panned towards Commonwealth space, where five huge fleets were converging on the system. Combined, they were almost equal in number to the K’Soth force. ‘You see,’ said Maran, ‘unlike your pathetic Empire the Commonwealth has not been idle since their last war with you. You must give the humans some credit for their diligence and industrious nature. At least they aren’t flying around in the same antique wrecks that you are fifty years on. Each of those ships is worth at least two of yours I’d say.’

‘Rubbish, we are guided by the Light of God

’

Maran cut him off. ‘Does that account for your lack of strategy also? Charging blindly into battle without a second thought? Your fleet is doomed, Inquisitor. They are already in hyperspace, so you must know that there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it except to sit here and watch them die.’

Razortail turned his attention back to Katherine.

‘There is one Human at least I can kill.’ He said trembling with fury. ‘By the Light I will make it last!’

At that instant the sound of running feet rang out against the metal floor. Razortail turned to look and saw the figure of an armoured human charging down the roadway towards him. He dropped Katherine and reached for his weapons.

Rekkid saw the whole thing as if in slow motion. As Razortail let go of Katherine the two guards pinning him did likewise as they fumbled for their side arms. He saw Steven charging at break neck speed towards them, saw him hurl the K’Soth blade he carried at Razortail’s exposed head then reach for the plasma rifle slung across his back. The blade spun gracefully through the air, end over end over end. Steven’s aim was true, the weapon would not miss. Rekkid held his breath.

There was a bright blue flash. The portal blinked for a second.

Razortail was gone. The two guards were gone.

The sword swept through the empty air that had, until a split second ago, contained the Inquisitor. It clattered off the side wall and came to rest on the road surface. Steven looked at it in amazement before running over to Katherine and helping her to her feet. He held her for a moment.

‘Katherine, are you alright? Are you hurt?’

‘Not really, I’m a little bruised where he held me down but

’

‘You’re lucky to be alive, both of you,’ said Steven, relief obvious in his voice. ‘My god, that Inquisitor tortured half a dozen Dendratha to death before he came for you.’

Rekkid had picked himself up off the floor. He strode over to Steven and clasped his hand firmly.

‘We thought you were dead Steven. My, it’s good to see you again.’

‘How did you survive?’ Katherine asked. ‘We thought everyone had been killed.’

‘Some survived as well as me. We hid in basements and cellars and escaped the worst of the bombardment. Some just got lucky.’ He shook his head grimly. ‘The city’s been partially flattened and it’s still full of bands of K’Soth. I tried to lead a squad of marines through the city but they were all killed. A tank crew picked me up and brought me here.’

‘Steven I don’t know what you just did to that Inquisitor and his guards but we owe you our lives,’ said Rekkid. ‘I

I can’t thank you enough. Razortail would have killed us both.’

‘I didn’t do anything. I threw the blade but

what the hell happened?’ He looked up and saw the dancing figures in the air. They were giggling madly.

‘Did you like my trick?’ asked Maran. ‘Wasn’t it fun? And all along you both thought I’d let you die! Heehee!’

‘Why you

’ Rekkid started.

‘It was all a game! A lovely game! Can’t you see the funny side?’

‘None of us are laughing Maran,’ said Katherine.

‘Well

humour is such a matter of personal taste,’ replied the figures. ‘Oh well, you can leave if you like. Or perhaps you’d like to sit here and watch the battle? You have the best seats in the house, so to speak.’

‘It would be wise,’ said Steven to the others. ‘We’re safer here now than anywhere else if the K’Soth try anything.’

‘Very well Maran,’ said Rekkid through gritted teeth. ‘We accept the dubious honour of your hospitality. But no more games.’

‘I promise. No more games!’

‘There’s just one thing,’ said Katherine.

‘Name it.’

‘Tell us what just happened to Razortail.’

Maran looked thoughtful. ‘Well he’s not dead; at least I don’t think so… I sent him home as a matter of fact. He loves his Emperor so much I thought that he should go and visit him more often. He can give him the good news about his glorious fleet

’

Coldness, darkness and dizziness. Then everything turned red.

Razortail struggled in confusion against the cloying red fluid that surrounded him. How did he get here? Disorientated he struggled some more, desperate for air. He felt the bottom and kicked against it, pushing himself up to the top.

His head broke the surface of the fluid and he looked about himself. He was outside the Imperial Palace on Garakka. He had fallen into one of the huge blood fountains that decorated the entrance to the Emperor’s abode. His two bodyguards broke the surface beside him as he hauled himself out of the basin, dripping with gore. A gathering crowd of onlookers watched him - worshippers come to pay their respects to their Emperor.

How had he arrived here? He… He remembered questioning the Human and Arkari, the armoured human running towards him, hurling a sword at his head. He remembered the images that the entity calling itself Maran had shown him, that their fleet was walking into a trap and that there was nothing anyone could do about it. No… He sank to his knees, his head in his hands and roared with anguish.

After a moment he became aware that a palace guard was standing beside him.

‘What do mean by swimming in the Emperor’s fountains, wretch?’ demanded the guard haughtily. ‘A hundred lashes of the pain whip each for you and your friends!’ Other guards were approaching, hands on their weapons.

Razortail drew himself up to his full height and let the guard see his ceremonial robes and badge of office. He drew his sword and beheaded the unfortunate lackey, howling with impotent rage as the headless corpse collapsed in front of him.

Powered by faster, more advanced engines, the Commonwealth fleet arrived before their K’Soth counterparts. They lay in wait on the edge of the Fulan system. The forces around Maranos were victorious and now made ready to execute a hasty retreat from their position. They would act as bait, luring the K’Soth ships into the final trap that had been set for them.

Chen was tired, more than she had ever known. She looked around the bridge and saw haggard, drawn expressions on the faces of her crew as they peered at their consoles or stared blankly into mid-air at data projections only they could see. She tried to encourage them. She just had to keep the crew together a little while longer. It would all be over soon.

Ramirez was busy co-ordinating the damage control teams. Heavy manoeuvring during the battle had sprung loose the temporary repairs made to the forward gun decks. Suited technicians were already hastily welding shut bulkhead seals and bracing load bearing spars.

Some of the other ships had already pulled back to the edge of the system. The Leonides had suffered severe damage during the course of the engagement. It and a handful of other craft now lurked on the fringes of Fulan, awaiting the arrival of repair teams along with the reinforcements. They dared not activate their jump drives for fear of catastrophic malfunctions. Group command had passed to the Gustavus Adolphus.

They were coming.

The Mark Antony faced away from the planet in the direction they planned to flee along with the other remaining ships. They would not be able to jump to safety immediately.

They would have to begin their retreat in normal space, hoping that the K’Soth fleet would follow in order to give Haines long enough to spring his ambush.

They were coming.

The vast flotilla of enemy ships was now in system, bearing down on them. It was going to be a close call. Chen prayed that the K’Soth would display their characteristic lack of tactical imagination. Everything depended on them utilising their usual sledgehammer approach.

The enemy fleet was close now.

‘Captain!’ said Singh, alerting her. ‘Enemy ships now emerging from hyperspace.’

She looked at her tactical display as one, then a handful, then a dozen and then hundreds of ships began to appear, streaming towards them at breakneck speed. There was an incoming message.

‘All ships, this is the Gustavus Adolphus. Ahead full towards the agreed co-ordinates. Let’s hope they follow us.’

Even at full power it took an agonisingly long time for ships of that size to get underway as the K’Soth fleet steadily gained on the Commonwealth group that it out numbered at least fifty to one. The Imperial forces were taking the bait, but in minutes the humans would be in range of thousands of K’Soth guns. The ships at the rear of the group began to drop mines in a desperate effort to stall their pursuers.

Haines, thought Chen, for God’s sake if you’re going to do something do it now!

‘Enemy ships will be in firing range in thirty seconds,’ Singh reported, the tension clearly visible in his face.

Tell me something I don’t know, thought Chen grimly.

There was an explosion as the frigate Bunker Hill came apart under a barrage of plasma fire that speared directly into its engines.

‘What the hell?’ Chen looked to her crew for answers.

‘The shot came from a vessel designated the Inferno,’ Singh informed her. ‘I don’t recognise the configuration but - holy shit, it’s huge!’

‘One of the new ship types,’ said Ramirez. ‘Intelligence has designated it the Super War Temple until we know its real class.’

Now would be a good time Admiral, thought Chen.

Her prayers were answered. Space ahead of the fleeing craft began to distort as a group of around a hundred Commonwealth capital ships emerged from their jumps. The Abraham Lincoln led the assault. They immediately began laying down covering fire that tore into the lead ships. Chen looked to her tactical display and now saw the other groups jumping in on all sides of the K’Soth fleet. The Imperial Navy was now trapped. There was to be no escape.

The final battle for the Fulan system represented the single greatest military disaster in K’Soth history since their defeat at the hands of the Arkari five decades before. In a few short hours over a thousand capital ships, the pride of the Imperial Navy, and around a million personnel were slaughtered in what the Commonwealth military later dubbed the Fulan Turkey Shoot. Space itself seemed to burn under the onslaught as the cornered fleet was out gunned and out fought on every flank.

Towards the end of the battle a few desperate surviving ships attempted a break out back towards Imperial space. Haines allowed a few to leave. They would be executed for cowardice no doubt, but they would carry news of the defeat back to the Empire, spreading fear and dismay amongst the ranks of the Imperial forces. The great K’Soth Empire had been humiliated in battle by those it had claimed superiority over for so long, and this was to be only the beginning.

Hours later, two Humans and an Arkari emerged from the temple. A sky filled with shooting stars and the smoke from the still burning city greeted them. Chunks of debris from the initial battles were beginning to burn up in the atmosphere: pieces of the Normandy, the Zhukov and the Saladin and the K’Soth ships that Chen’s group had destroyed.

So it was over, for now. They were still alive.

‘We have to warn them,’ said Katherine.

‘About Maran?’ said Rekkid.

‘Yes, we have to tell the Commonwealth about the things he told us. I think he’s planning something, something terrible.’

‘So do I.’

‘I’ll make the call,’ said Steven.

An hour later a single shuttle descended over the temple. It bore the name of its parent craft, the destroyer Mark Antony.

Ramirez knocked on the door to Chen’s quarters. He received no reply so he punched in her lock code and entered. The cabin was unlit, save for the reflected light that came from the planet that filled the windows. Ramirez could see her silhouetted against the mottled sandy sphere. He shut the door quietly behind him.

‘Michelle I just came to tell you that the shuttle is on its way back with the archaeologists. Also, the repair ship will be here within the hour. The wounded have now all been transferred to the Nightingale.’

She did not reply for a moment and then when she spoke her voice was barely audible.

‘I went down there Al, down to the ship’s medical bay.’

‘I know.’

‘It made me wonder if this is all worth it. I

I feel responsible for what happened to them, I’m in command and if I can’t protect my own crew

’

‘We’re still alive Michelle, most of us.’

‘Yes we are still alive, we aren’t crippled or burned or bleeding to death inside. What about the crew of the Normandy? The Zhukov, the Saladin, the Rameses and all the other people who died today!? What about them and those poor bastards being carried out of the ship’s morgue in body bags?’

‘Michelle you did the best that you could. If it weren’t for your command ability perhaps none of us would still be here. You said it yourself; this seemed like a suicide mission.’ He put his arms around her and tried to comfort her and added: ‘I’m sorry that I ever doubted you.’

‘That’s alright, maybe you were right to. I know we scored an immense victory today, but I’m not sure the price we paid was worth it.’

‘If the Empire falls it will be worth it.’

‘Perhaps. For so long I wanted to exact revenge on the K’Soth, but I suppose I never thought about how I might feel about it.’

She wiped a single tear from her cheek and said simply: ‘So much death.’

Chapter 31

The Mark Antony lay cradled in the belly of the leviathan repair ship. The Brunel was a Triton class engineering vessel, a five kilometre long conglomeration of factories, docking bays and repair gantries powered by engines many times the size of the destroyer it now clasped in its guts. The gigantic repair bays, arranged radially about the craft’s midsection, held a number of ships besides the Mark Antony. The Leonides filled the one next to it: its damaged engines had been removed leaving cavernous holes in the rear of its hull as it awaited their replacements. Other bays held an assortment of craft damaged during the battle and now undergoing rapid repair.

The size of a moderate space station, the Brunel was now the centre of operations in the Fulan system. The rest of the fleet had moved on: capitalising rapidly on their victory they had plunged into K’Soth space, sweeping the disorganised and panicked defenders before them as the Empire struggled to mount a coherent resistance. Haines fully intended to seize the shipyards in the Banu-Baku system by the end of the week. The rest of the Commonwealth Navy and contingents of allied forces were already on their way to reinforce his offensive and defend the border against any possible counter attack.

In the meantime, the Brunel was the principal space based asset that the Navy possessed within Fulan as it established its presence there. As well as acting as a command centre and point of supply and repair, the Brunel’s fleet of tugs and lifters had dissipated throughout the volume around Maranos in order to clear the thousands of tonnes of wreckage that floated in vast expanding spheres and chaotic swirls now settling into orbit about the planet. Soon the orbital space about Maranos would once again be safe for shipping.

They also undertook the sadder task of recovering the hundreds of frozen, mangled corpses. The medical craft Nightingale was on station to help with the grim process of identification. Every hour, on the hour for the past week it had solemnly fired a salvo of caskets into Fulan A, where the bodies would be consumed by the star.

The Commonwealth had retaken the surface of Maranos too. Large numbers of troops had been landed on the planet not only to protect the portal and clean out the remaining K’Soth presence on the surface, but to co-ordinate the relief effort in the stricken city of Marantis. There was activity too in the depths of the Alreda Sea, Maranos’s great northern dust desert. Heavy lifters had flown down parts for an engineering rig of some kind, its purpose unknown to all but a select few.

The science vessel Darwin had also returned to study the portal, as well as two sister ships the Planck and the Brahe. Teams had gone down to the surface to study the underground complex at Marantis and the enormous machines at the centre of the world. Progress was apparently slow, largely due to the constant interference by the entity calling itself Maran.

Meanwhile, the Mark Antony’s battle damage was repaired and fresh crew members were shipped in to replace those tragically lost. The technicians from the Brunel had stripped away the hull and turrets of the forward gun decks to inspect the structural integrity of the ship’s load bearing structure. After checking for signs of stress or fracture they began to rebuild the entire section of the ship from scratch. The sophisticated facilities aboard the Brunel made short work of the task.

They were now nearing the end of the week long process. The skeletal interior of the hull was now only partially visible, hidden by new plates of hull armour. Other teams were working to heal the long rent that had been torn in the ship’s flank, as well as servicing the vessel’s over-worked power plant. Soon she would be good as new and ready to go back into service.

Chen sat at her desk and fingered the Rear Admiral’s insignia in its little velvet lined box. She had been promoted: a reward for her leadership during the battle, Haines had said. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that yet. She’d always dreamt about having her own carrier, but now it seemed that it had come with a hefty price attached.

Haines had personally congratulated her over the comm., though the urgency that drove the Commonwealth war effort had precluded an appearance by the Fleet Admiral in person. Nevertheless, he had taken time to commend Chen for her command ability and bravery. He was as ever, inscrutable, though Chen fancied she saw a twinkle in the old man’s remaining eye.

Many among her fleet had also received commendations for their actions during the battle, many due to Chen’s recommendations. Captain Akbar would no doubt go on to great things after he was awarded the Celestial Cross for his attack run on the landing craft. It seemed likely too that Singh would be promoted to Commander following Chen’s assessment of his abilities.

She wouldn’t change command yet. She would have to wait until a vessel was available. Besides, she had grown attached to the Mark Antony. It wasn’t her first command, nor would it be her last, but the ship and its crew had seen her through some tough times. She wondered if she’d be able to take her command staff with her to the new ship. They worked well together and she saw no reason to break up the team.

So, this was what it felt like to be a veteran, she thought. Maybe she understood Haines a little better now, why even a man with his resolve had a manner that betrayed a level of melancholia at times. She had killed before but

that had been different, an accident, or bringing felons to justice. Never before had she felt that her own actions had caused the deaths of her own people. Never before had she been forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. It was different wasn’t it? She’d tried her best hadn’t she?

Haines had left her in charge of the system’s defences whilst the captain of the Brunel handled construction and repairs; it would act as something of a rest period for her crew after the strains of the battle. The remaining ships of her group plus those of the Leonides would remain here for a while to defend the portal until the Commonwealth had a secure foothold in K’Soth space and the war moved forward.

It had been a strange week, an air of unreality pervaded largely due to the entire crew not quite believing that they were still alive, as well as the world sized alien engine that still blazed away inside the planet that they orbited.

That had only been the beginning. They’d rescued Ambassador Croft and his two K’Soth counterparts from their hiding place in the hills around Erais. The two K’Soth had immediately claimed political asylum upon coming aboard, much to Chen’s surprise.

The Mark Antony had also finally picked up those two rogue archaeologists, as well as her old flame Steven Harris. She’d reported the event and it had prompted the swift re-appearance of Agents Pearson and Rochenko, and then things had got more interesting.

‘Admiral Chen I must protest. As Ambassador to Maranos I guaranteed that the neutrality and sovereignty of the system would be observed. The trust that I had built up over years of work has been swept away by this

this barbarism.’

Chen rubbed her eyes with fatigue and let out a slow sigh. ‘Ambassador, I appreciate your position,’ she replied wearily. ‘But I don’t make policy, the government does. Your transport will be here within the hour, I suggest you take it up with them when you return to Earth.’

‘But

’

‘I’m sorry that the Dendratha expelled you, I’m sure you appreciate that it was a symbolic gesture and not a personal one.’

‘Well it’s hardly surprising is it,’ Croft shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘After your military miscalculations resulted in their holiest city being flattened.’

Chen decided that she’d had enough of this. It seemed to her that Croft was too wrapped up in his cosy backwater world of leisurely lunches and banquet receptions for her taste. He’d gone far too native as well; she thought that that robe he wore looked ridiculous.

‘For your information Ambassador, I did everything I could to stop that ship. Dozens of my crew died trying to defend Marantis and I don’t like what happened any more than you do!’

‘Well that’s all very well for you to say, but you should never have come here.’

‘Oh I see, and we should have let the K’Soth take this system should we?’

‘Don’t patronise me, Admiral.’

‘Get out. Get out of my office and get off my ship!’ she snarled.

‘Nothing would please me more,’ sneered Croft. ‘Good day Admiral.’

Croft got up out of his chair and stormed out. He met Ramirez coming the other way, who cast a glance at his retreating form, looked at Chen and pulled a face.

‘What’s his problem?’ he said, gesturing over his shoulder.

‘Oh, he got cosy with the locals, only they just threw him out on his ear.’

‘They expelled our Ambassador?’

‘Yep. Only Maranos is now under military jurisdiction whether the Dendratha like it or not. Was there something you wanted to tell me?’

‘Yes, a transport just docked with the Brunel carrying agents Rochenko and Pearson. They’re on their way up here.’

‘Good. I presume they’d like to speak with our honoured guests straight away?’

‘Yes, although they indicated that no guard is necessary except to ensure the secrecy of the meeting. Apparently Cor and O’Reilly are no longer wanted in the same sense as the last time that we met.’

‘Meaning?’

‘I think that they want to ask for their help, rather than to arrest them.’

The ship’s conference room was guarded. Marines stood outside the doors, gripping their gauss-rifles and eyeing passers-by with suspicion. Inside, Katherine, Rekkid and Steven sat facing Chen, Ramirez and the two agents, Rochenko and Pearson. The atmosphere was uneasy. Rekkid and Katherine glared at the pair of agents whilst Steven eyed Chen with deep mistrust. It was Rekkid who spoke first:

‘Really, I must object to our detention,’ he began testily. ‘We gave ourselves up freely because we believe we have information that may be of use to you. So far no-one has listened to us, and the Captain here,’ he added, jutting his finger at Chen, ‘had her men throw us in the brig. I don’t know why we bothered.’

‘These are the two idiots who chased me all the way here to Maranos, Rekkid,’ said Katherine. ‘I don’t trust either of them an inch, especially that creepy fat fuck.’ She indicated towards Rochenko, who sneered at her.

‘Is this part of some little game of yours, Captain?’ enquired Steven, his voice loaded with sarcasm as he uttered her rank. ‘Is this your idea of getting back at me?’

‘I’m actually an Admiral now Agent Harris,’ Steven snorted with derision at that piece of news. ‘And for your information,’ she continued, ‘I was under direct orders to detain the three of you. However it seems that circumstances have changed. Perhaps Agents Pearson and Rochenko would care to enlighten you?’

Pearson cleared his throat and opened his datapad before speaking.

‘First let me begin by offering my sincerest apologies to all three of you. All charges have been dropped as of this moment. You are no longer under suspicion of spying, nor of stealing classified material and attempting to pass it to the enemy. However there are conditions attached.’

‘I see,’ said Katherine, ‘and just how did you come to realise what was bloody obvious in the first place?’

‘Ah, well if you’ll let me explain,’ replied Pearson, seemingly embarrassed.

‘Please do.’

‘Our suspicions were first arisen when we carried out a post mortem on the body of Captain Minaba of the Nine Lives.’

‘So he is dead then

’ muttered Katherine sadly.

‘Yes, I’m sorry. It ah, it appeared that he had been killed by an alien parasite that had been employed to use him and his ship to enable you to escape us. The body that the authorities at Bridgetown also submitted to us for investigation had matching injuries and the remains of the parasite allowed us to determine cause of death. Sadly the creature itself was badly damaged by your attempt to deal with it.’

‘Deal with it?’ snarled Steven. ‘That thing was trying to burrow into Katherine’s head. I’m glad I fried the fucking thing.’

‘Agent Harris may I remind you that it appears that there are alien agents unknown at work here, and furthermore that your rash actions may have denied us vital intelligence on their tactics and technology.’

‘Yeah? Well maybe next time I’ll sit around and ponder that whilst one of them tries to eat my friend’s brain. What the fuck was I suppose to do, read it its fucking rights?’

‘Enough! Need I also remind you that you are still on a probationary period and that I am your superior?’ Steven rolled his eyes but remained silent. Pearson continued. ‘Thank you. Where was I?’ he glanced at his notes. ‘Oh yes. We approached the Arkari government in the strictest confidence and asked them to account for their actions. It seems that you uncovered some uncomfortable truths about the Arkari past. However somewhere down the line someone got over–enthusiastic and decided to take drastic measures to prevent you from tarnishing their image. Not content with trying to destroy your careers, they tried to have you branded as spies.’

‘You think that they’d try and have us arrested over ancient history?’

‘No, no we don’t. Something just doesn’t add up. For the Arkari to behave in such a way towards citizens of an allied power is unprecedented to our knowledge.

‘So what do you think is the real reason?’ said Rekkid.

‘We think that the Arkari were trying to stop you uncovering the alien portal within this system. They knew that that log you found, and the dig you were sent on would lead you to uncover it. They knew that the Empire and the Commonwealth would be prepared to go to war over such a prize.’

‘But of course we all know that the war would have happened anyway,’ said Rekkid. ‘If I can figure that out I’m sure the rest of my people can.’

‘In any case,’ said Rochenko, dodging the issue. ‘We need your help. We need your knowledge of the portal and

’

‘Here take a copy,’ Rekkid cut in and hefted his computer onto the desk. ‘Go on, it’s all on there. The log, the details of the dig, everything. Take a copy and leave us alone.’

‘Thank you. But there’s more.’

‘Oh?’

‘What finally led us to believe your story was the discovery of two vessels beneath the dust sea on Maranos by the science vessel Darwin.’

‘Yes we know about those.’

‘Are you aware that one of them matches the description of the vessel that you claim to have boarded that was found floating in the Barnard’s Star-Arcturus shipping lane?’

‘Yes,’ said Katherine patiently.

‘And that the other is undoubtedly an early model of Arkari ship that is already known to us?’

‘Yes we know that, what’s your point?’

‘Well we’d like you to help us excavate them.’

Rekkid started laughing uncontrollably.

‘You want our help? After all the trouble you put Katherine and me through, you want our help?’

‘It is a condition of the charges against you being dropped,’ said Rochenko. ‘I was trying to ask you nicely.’ He gave a small grin.

‘I see,’ replied Rekkid slowly.

‘We think that whatever the Arkari are withholding from us about the portal will come to light in the logs of those ships, assuming that they are still intact. Armed with that knowledge we intend to seize control of the portal and use it for the good of the Commonwealth.’

‘That’s rich,’ said Katherine sceptically. ‘You mean you want to use it as a weapon?’

‘And for exploration of course.’

‘Of course.’

‘However control of such a device would enable us to bypass the Empire’s lines of defence and strike at their core systems. The war could be over in weeks rather than months or years.’

There was an uneasy silence whilst Pearson examined his notes and connected his datapad to Rekkid’s computer and Rekkid continued to stare levelly at the two agents.

Ramirez coughed. ‘I have a question,’ he said. ‘Does anyone know where the wormhole inside that thing leads?’

‘A good question,’ Katherine replied. ‘And no we don’t know. We sent a ship through, or more correctly Rekkid’s ship decided to go by itself. It never came back.’

‘I’m sorry?’ said Rochenko.

‘Perhaps I should explain. What we do know is that the portal was constructed about five billion years ago by a race known as the Progenitors who used it to flee this galaxy. Rekkid’s ship contains a stored personality of a member of this species, as does the portal itself. The portal remained dormant and hidden to outsiders until an earlier Arkari star-faring civilisation discovered it around a million years ago and used it to exile the half of their society that lost their civil war. This was the embarrassing secret that Rekkid and I discovered in the log, it’s all there,’ she gestured at Rekkid computer.

‘The Arkari lost all knowledge of the portal when their civilisation collapsed, but then they rediscovered it about ten thousand years ago after it was accidentally reactivated by a member of Maranos’s native population

and something came out. We don’t know who or what exactly. However we do know that they were hostile and that the Arkari only succeeded in containing them after a fierce battle. The events were subsequently recorded by the Dendratha and it became the cornerstone of their religion.’

Chen looked at her incredulously for a moment.

‘You found out all this yourself?’ she said sceptically.

‘No, much of the ancient history prior to Arkari civil war was told to us by the entity that controls the portal.’

‘I see, and why would it do that?’

‘To impress us I think,’ said Katherine. ‘Maran seems drunk on his own perceived greatness.’

‘He’s quite mad you know,’ said Rekkid. ‘The poor bastard’s been locked up in that thing for longer than our own star systems have existed, able to observe the universe but hardly able to interact with anything outside of the structure of the machine itself. I’d go so far as to say he was psychotic.’

‘That thing,’ said Steven, ‘let a K’Soth Inquisitor chase Katherine and Rekkid until he caught them and questioned them. It could have stopped the whole thing at any time but it let it happen simply to amuse itself.’

‘Steven’s right,’ said Katherine. ‘Maran’s insane. He now appears to believe in the godhood that the Dendratha bestowed upon him, including taking the name they gave him. He kept ranting on and on about how all this – the war I mean – was only the beginning and kept mentioning others.’

‘Others?’

‘Yes, I don’t know if he was just trying to frighten us, but he went on and on about the terrible things that he claimed live in this galaxy and who talk to him from time to time. It sounded like the apocalyptic delusions of a lunatic but after all we’ve been through lately, I was inclined to believe him.’

‘Make no mistake,’ said Rekkid. ‘Maran is dangerous. He holds all races in contempt and he will not co-operate. Your science teams would do better to find a way to shut that thing down or destroy it, rather than use it. We will consent to help you excavate those ships, but only in the hope that we can find some way to stop Maran before it’s too late, before he does something terrible.’

‘Such as what?’ said Pearson.

‘I think that whoever came through from the other side of the wormhole before is still there and I think that he intends to let them through again.’

‘You don’t know that,’ said Ramirez.

‘I have my suspicions,’ Rekkid replied.

‘In any case, the dig will start on the younger of the two vessels tomorrow,’ said Pearson. ‘Understand that this operation is of the utmost secrecy. You are to tell no-one. Please read and sign these agreements to that effect,’ he added and pushed a set of forms toward Rekkid, Katherine and Steven. Steven looked puzzled.

‘What do you need me for?’

‘Ordinarily you would be sent home, however due to the extreme secrecy of this operation and your prior experience of the subject at hand, you will be required to assist Professor Cor and Doctor O’Reilly. You will be placed in charge of their personal security at all times. We’re giving you a second chance Agent Harris. Your report on the events on the surface of Maranos during the battle was of great use to us and it seems that you placed yourself at great personal risk in order to protect these two. Think of this as a reward.’

Steven looked somewhat surprised for a moment, and then signed.

‘If you’ll now come with us to the Brunel we can hand you over to the engineering team who will be running the dig. The briefing will begin in an hour. I’m sure you’d all like to know how we intend to unearth a ship buried deep under kilometres of dust.’

‘If I could just have a word with Agent Harris,’ said Chen. ‘In my office, in private.’

‘Sure,’ said Rochenko. ‘Harris, do as the Admiral asks.’

Chen would remember that meeting well, she could hardly erase the memory of the expression of utter contempt that filled Steven’s face. She wondered at the time what on earth she was doing in speaking with a man that she had kept telling herself she had such little respect for. She found herself unable to resist the opportunity. There were some things that she needed to say, though perhaps subconsciously she just wanted to taunt him with her success. He was the first to speak almost as soon as they closed the door behind them.

‘So, you made Admiral eh?’ she nodded. ‘Well Michelle, it’s what you always wanted isn’t it.’ The last sentence was framed as a statement, rather than as a question.

‘I worked hard for this post Steven.’

‘Yes, I’m sure you did,’ he sneered. ‘But you’re a well connected woman Michelle; it seems that you have friends in high places.’

‘How dare you! I’ve damn well earned this promotion! You think taking on those K’Soth ships was a walk in the fucking park?’

‘No, but what I want to know is how you ended up here in the first place. How come after you slaughtered all those civilians at Urranakar you got away with a slap on the wrist whereas my career got flushed down the fucking toilet?’

‘I don’t know. I never hid anything from the investigation.’

‘Maybe not, but someone must like you Chen. I hear that the Navy always sticks up for its own. I saw you all over the news by the way.’

‘I worked hard to restore my professional reputation, before I was hand picked to lead the incursion into this system by Admiral Haines himself. They must have had faith enough in my abilities not to cast me aside.’

‘Well that figures. Haines must have known he’d have Kojima foisted upon him. I guess he wanted a personal attack dog to savage the enemy and ensure the success of the operation.’

Chen smiled. ‘I do believe you just paid me a compliment Steven.’

‘Michelle, I never doubted your abilities as a commander, you know that. It’s your morals I have a problem with. You never cared much for anyone but yourself. You made that pretty clear when you and I broke up. You use people until they outlive their usefulness, or until you get bored of them.’

‘That was a long time ago Steven, I can’t believe you still hold it against me. People change, I’ve changed.’

‘Oh? So who do you care about then, other than Admiral Michelle Chen?’

‘There is someone.’

‘Who? Which poor sucker are you fucking now?’

She looked at him with disgust. ‘That’s nice, you always were charming Steven.’

‘There is someone isn’t there? Who is it, Haines?’

‘You think I got this job that way? Don’t patronise me. It’s none of your of your business who I have a relationship with.’

‘It’s one of the crew isn’t it?’ he scrutinised her reaction. ‘Isn’t it?’

‘It’s none

’

‘It is isn’t it? Who? That Commander of yours who follows you around like a puppy? I’ve seen the way he looks at you.’

‘Al’s a good man. Twice the man you ever were Steven.’

‘Yeah I bet. The poor bastard doesn’t know what he’s let himself in for. I guess you’ll toss him aside once you’ve sucked the life force out of him eh?’

‘Why don’t you grow up?’

Steven ignored her, he was quite enjoying this. ‘So what then, have you two been carrying on in secret on this ship, hoping no-one would find you out like a couple of kids behind the bike sheds?’ He studied her face: she looked as though she were about to have him thrown off the ship.

‘Don’t try and cheapen everything. This past year has been difficult for me. Al was a great support both personally and professionally. He’s a fine man and a good officer. It just happened, that’s all. I’m not sorry that it did either.’

‘Yeah, he seems like a regular super hero. I bet he rescues kittens out of trees too in his spare time eh?’ She didn’t react to his jibe. ‘Look Michelle, why did you call me in here? You know that we always argue, more now than ever. What did you want?’

She perched herself on the edge of her desk and looked at him fiercely.

‘Believe it or not, I didn’t ask you in here so that I could gloat.’

‘Oh really? You could have fooled me.’

‘Will you let me finish?’ she snapped. ‘I wanted to apologise.’

He eyed her disbelievingly. ‘You? Apologise? This has to be a first. For what?’

‘Look Steven, I know you and I don’t see eye to eye on most things, but that doesn’t mean I want to see you die. I should have got you and your friends off that planet before the K’Soth arrived, and for that I’m sorry. I made a mistake and it almost got the three of you killed.’

‘Well, we could have just as easily died up here. Frankly I’m surprised that you survived, having heard the reports of the battle.’

‘It’s just that I wasn’t prepared to listen to you. I’d been told that you were consorting with traitors and spies and I believed it, and my first thought was how to hurt you. So I had you all arrested. As it turns out, the accusations were groundless. So I apologise.’

‘You weren’t to know. I hate to admit it, but maybe if we had been spies you’d have been doing the right thing.’ He sat himself in one of the chairs in front of her desk. ‘But it always comes down to this doesn’t it Michelle? You always lose your temper at critical moments and that’s when you make mistakes, sometimes fatal ones.’

‘I remember the way we used to argue with one another.’

‘Yeah, but at least no-one but us got hurt then.’

Chen said nothing for a while. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed.

‘How was it, down there on the planet?’ she said quietly.

‘How was it?’ he replied. ‘It was hell, that’s how it was. It was a massacre.’

‘Kojima was a fool. He should never have ordered Simonov onto the surface to hold that position, never. I begged him to assume a higher orbit, but he wouldn’t listen to me. We tried to stop that War Temple but we were too late. At least we cut off the landing before they could get all of their troops down there.’

‘Well for that I’m grateful. Those of us who survived had a hell of time coping with the ones that made it.’

‘Yes, I read your report on the fighting. You’re a braver man than maybe I ever gave you credit for Steven. I’ll grant you that at least. Maybe there is some hope for you after all.’

He gave a short laugh.

‘What so funny?’ she asked.

‘I was just thinking the same way about you.’

‘Oh?’

‘You held this system against ridiculous odds and you’re still alive. I can’t help but admire that. You were right, you have changed. I’d say you’ve learned a little humility. You’ve learned to apologise for yourself at least, you should do that a little more often. Look,’ he said spreading his hands. ‘You and I will never get along, but at least I think we respect one another a little more now.’

Chen nodded slowly.

Steven got up and started for the door. ‘I ought to go,’ he said. ‘Rekkid and Katherine will be waiting for me. One more thing,’ he added as he reached the door. ‘Learn to control that temper of yours, it could get you killed one day, and I’d hate to see that.’

With that he turned and left. Chen let out a long sigh.

The trio sat and listened to the briefing aboard the Brunel. The operation to recover the buried vessels was certainly an impressive undertaking, though it turned out to be merely a modification of existing salvage procedures.

The Brunel was capable of acting as a recovery craft and as such carried with it the necessary equipment to salvage vessels that had made controlled crash landings on planetary surfaces or had suffered some catastrophe on takeoff. Modern shield and antigrav technologies meant that it was conceivable that a vessel could survive the deadly plunge from orbit.

Inevitably of course, such incidents would often involve the vessel plummeting into a body of water or other liquid and as such, the wreck would need to be carefully lifted from the sea bed intact. This was especially true if the crew inside were believed to be still alive.

The Alreda Sea was a little different however. Though the dust that formed it flowed like a liquid, it was considerably heavier than water and as such it would prove much more difficult to lift the Arkari craft through it without snapping them in two. The engineers had decided to try and lift the younger of the two wrecks first. Survey data from the Darwin had shown the vessel to be better preserved due to its more recent construction and thus more likely to withstand the possible errors of the first attempt. The older ship would be lifted once they had fine tuned the procedure.

The undertaking was no less impressive for the relatively routine nature of its execution. An assessment of using ships in such a dusty environment had been made and the risk had been deemed to be acceptable compared to the potential rewards. A day earlier, when the weather was at its calmest, the Brunel had dispatched four Atlas class heavy lift cargo vessels. Each of these ships was as least as large as the Mark Antony. Consisting largely of engine, they were specifically designed for ferrying unusually bulky or heavy loads to and from orbit. Slung between two massive engine blocks, their cavernous cargo bays each held a salvage rig which they deposited at the edge of the Alreda Sea, leaving the rigs hovering on their antigrav motors like miniature floating cities.

Each of the rigs was built around a fusion reactor akin to those found aboard starships. This drove a series of powerful field generators and tractor beams, as well as keeping each rig afloat on its antigrav motors. The rigs also contained a complex of control rooms, engineering facilities and laboratories as well as an accommodation block for their crews.

The four rigs would act in unison. Now deployed and ready they began to form into a rectangular formation a kilometre and a half long by three quarters wide, just slightly larger than the dimensions of the buried vessel. Having done so, they flew slowly out over the sea of dust towards the spot directly above their quarry. Their progress over the rolling static waves was eerily quiet.

It took the rigs about half a day to reach their destination. Once in place their crews set about tuning the field generators and tractor beams for the task ahead, fixing the exact position of the buried ship and assessing the density of the millions of tonnes of dust that lay on top of it. Its weight was still the biggest problem.

Eventually the engineers hit on a solution, they would not attempt to lift the dust out of the way, nor would they try to pull the ship through it. Instead the rigs’ field generators would be used to gently agitate the dust particles around the ship as it was slowly lifted, in such a way that the dust would flow down and around the gradually rising vessel. She could then be boarded and examined.

Katherine, Rekkid and Steven had the entire process explained to them in the main briefing room aboard the Brunel via a series of animated holographic projections and a large display screen. The room was under tight security. They should tell no-one. The engineers involved in the project had also all been sworn to absolute secrecy. They were, after all, stealing the property of an allied power. A ten thousand year old Arkari ship was still considerably more advanced than even the most modern ships of the Commonwealth Navy. Agents Rochenko and Pearson had not touched on the subject, but it was plain that the advances in ship design that the wreck might yield could be invaluable to the Navy, aside from any records it might contain.

Briefing over, they were led straight from the room through the labyrinthine gangways of the Brunel to the waiting transport shuttle back down to the surface.

The interior of the small vessel was cramped. Rekkid, Katherine and Steven sat side by side as the shuttle plunged through the rapidly thickening atmosphere towards the Alreda Sea. The ambient noise in the cabin from the entry gave them a little privacy.

‘What do you think about this, Rekkid?’ said Katherine. ‘Are you having the same doubts as me?’

‘What, such as: If the Arkari didn’t quite want to kill us before they sure as hell will now?’

‘Something like that, yes.’

‘Not that we have any choice of course.’

‘True.’

‘I don’t like it all,’ said Steven. ‘The Commonwealth is letting it own greed get in the way of common sense, again. If the Arkari find out about this they’ll be livid. There’s no telling what damage it could do to our relations with them.’

‘Well, you could argue that this was always going to happen,’ said Katherine. ‘The Arkari have held back technologies from us from the very start. By making something forbidden they made it twice as desirable. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to steal.’

‘My people have been in space far longer than anyone else still around this part of the galaxy,’ said Rekkid. ‘I hate to sound patronising, but if they held things back I’m sure they had their reasons.’

‘This is only going to get worse though isn’t it?’ said Steven gloomily. ‘If the rebuilding process after the war led to the Commonwealth moving toward rapacious economic strategies

.’ Rekkid raised an eyebrow. ‘Look, I was on Urranakar okay? I’ve seen what they’re prepared to turn a blind eye to. As I was saying, if they’re prepared to adopt such aggressive economic practices in peace time, it makes you wonder what lengths the government will go to with a full scale war on its hands. I reckon they’ll do almost anything for any sort of advantage. We’ve caught the K’Soth on the back foot for now, yes. But they’ll rally eventually, and then we’ll have a hell of a fight on our hands.’

Peering through the small windows, Katherine could just about make out the four artificial islands floating above the desert surface. As they drew closer, she could see that the dust between them boiled under the influence of their fields as the Arkari ship was brought up towards the light for the first time in a hundred centuries.

Chapter 32

Varish had concealed himself behind the dead planet; a freezing, ice-wrapped world that still orbited the cold cadaver of its parent star in utter darkness. He had positioned himself so that he could peep around the curvature of the world, using the gravitational lensing produced by its mass to pick up signals from areas of space directly occluded by it. He had also taken care to carefully reshape his shields to maintain his stealthy profile.

He watched the assembling fleet in the space around where the wormhole had terminated. Around a thousand of the massive craft had now gathered. The size of cities, they hung there expectantly. Huge and terrible they called to one another in the night.

Varish used his passive sensors to analyse their transmissions. He was desperate to learn whatever he could about these ships. Any information he could gather would be vital to the Humans or the Arkari or whoever he could reach on the other side of the wormhole, if he could reach them.

Were they his own people? Was this hellish place where they had ended up? Had they been eking out a living for billions of years in total darkness? He doubted that. The Bajenteri had built the portal and had used it to choose their destination. Unless something had gone catastrophically wrong, it wasn’t them.

Who then? The Arkari - the ones that had been banished long ago? He accessed the copy of the Khostun’s log that he carried and compared the catalogue of the ancient Arkari language to the transmissions he was receiving. He applied his full computational power to the snatches of data that passed between the alien ships.

Eventually he found a match, and the full realisation of what was about to happen hit him. Maran planned to provoke an invasion. By tempting the banished Arkari with an opportunity to escape their purgatory he intended to wreak revenge on those who had cheated and imprisoned him. He intended to make the Arkari Meritarchs face their own past in the most brutal way possible. He intended to punish those who had come to the world he claimed godhood over and despoil it. He intended to kill them all.

Varish had to warn his friends.

Chapter 33

Beklide sat on the bench with the holo-projector cupped in her hand, replaying the images it contained over and over. She was sitting in one of her many retreats; a chamber she used as an office that overlooked the number one docking bay of the Gigarethme halo. The docking bays covered the outer surface of the slender ring shaped structure that girdled the planet and could berth literally millions of ships between their cradling arms. The Arkari had had to start numbering the bays somewhere and this was it, the number one bay of ring segment one. It was customarily reserved for VIPs and other dignitaries, and currently it held Mentith’s ship, the Shining Glory.

The massive, graceful vessel faced Beklide in her office. This side of the ring was currently facing away from Gigarethme’s parent sun, Arkula, so that the ship appeared to lurk in the darkness, currently only visible as a faint outline and a patch of occluded stars. Some of the stars moved. The fleet was gathering.

The interior of Beklide’s chamber was a direct contrast to the cold mechanical vista visible from its windows. She had arranged for it to be filled with plants. Creepers and vines adorned the walls and ceilings whilst rich ornamental borders and hanging baskets filled the nooks and crannies left by the sparse furniture. It was dark in the chamber, but the air was filled with the heavy scent of night flowering blooms. The only light came from the faint starlight outside and the flickering illumination from the projector that played on Beklide’s face as she contemplated it.

The door chimed politely.

‘Come,’ Beklide called, her eyes barely moving from the images.

In the bright narrow oblong of the door stood a silhouetted figure, who now entered the room and joined Beklide on the bench. It was Mentith. He examined the images floating in the air in front of the Fleet Meritarch for a moment before speaking.

‘Still reviewing the data from our long range listening posts?’

Beklide nodded. The images in front of her were replaying the battle around Maranos over and over at an accelerated speed. She had watched the deaths of thousands a dozen times in the past few moments. She switched to other images, images that portrayed schematics of the disposition of Commonwealth and K’Soth forces and their recent movements. A livid red dot marked the Fulan system.

‘I just wish there was another way Irakun,’ she said. ‘But I fear the worst. Tell me that we are doing the right thing?’

‘We are doing what is required, not what is right. If the Banished succeed in emerging from the portal, and they shall, then the Shapers will have scored a great victory. Look at these fleet deployments; the Commonwealth would suffer disastrous consequences if our lost brethren were to appear in their midst. They cannot hope to stop them. We must step in to do the job. If we are too late to stop them in time it would cripple the humans’ campaign against the K’Soth and prolong the war indefinitely. It might even turn the war in the Empire’s favour if enough Commonwealth ships were lost or even merely scattered or diverted.’

‘I know. It’s a terrible game of numbers isn’t it? Exterminate the Dendratha in order to save hundreds of billions from the other races. It’s a pity that we can’t destroy the portal and leave the planet intact.’

‘The planet is the portal, essentially. Anything less than total destruction leaves the risk that the portal could repair itself in time.’

‘And I suppose that attempting to reason with the entity that controls it is out of the question?’

‘It cannot be reasoned with. Maran is insane. Given time perhaps we could re-program his thoughts, but we would need years of dedicated research merely to gain access to his systems. The computer technology employed by the Progenitors is still far more advanced than our own, despite the centuries that have passed since our last attempts.’

‘So I gather. No luck in drawing out the Shaper agent?’

‘I’m afraid not. The opening stages of the war have made intelligence gathering at such levels virtually impossible. Lorali, it has to end here. This is only the enemy’s opening move in a much greater game. We cannot let them score a victory so early.’

‘Very well,’ said Beklide, her voice unsteady. ‘Let it be done. I just hope you and I can live with the guilt that through our misjudgement we condemned an entire star system and everyone in it.’

‘My conscience is clear.’ He turned and looked towards the window. ‘See,’ he said. ‘The first of the dreadnaughts has arrived, we can get underway soon.’

Beklide looked and saw the stars blotted out by the leviathan, its seemingly endless kilometres of hull describing a graceful form the size of small nation. Its edges glinted softly in the light now creeping around the edge of the planet. It was beautiful and terrible, like an angel of death. Beklide could look no more. Her vision had become blurred from the tears welling in her eyes.

Chapter 34

Katherine stood on the observation deck and watched the desert boil between the platforms. The near invisible energy fields plunged deep down from the floating structures into the dust, shifting the particles so that they parted around the buried wreck as it was lifted from its tomb on the bedrock below. The tonnes of fine dust rose to the surface before cycling back down in hypnotic patterns of convection. A deep rumbling resounded from the churning desert.

The sky above had been clear and blue earlier in the day, but now a hot wind was starting up, whipping Katherine’s hair against her face and forming twisting dust devils that danced across the baking desert floor. She shielded her eyes as a gust threw a cloud of particles against the deck where she stood, and hurriedly put on the protective goggles and breathing mask she had been issued with.

She stood and watched for a quarter of an hour more, but the wind was definitely strengthening now. Soon it would be almost impossible to see out here, and even the mask she wore risked becoming clogged. Katherine grabbed the handrail and made her way back along the exposed deck and back inside the structure. She found Steven waiting for her in the cramped confines of the bright, clean interior.

‘Oh, there you are Katherine,’ he said. ‘I’ve been looking for you.’

‘I was just watching the raising, there’s something rather hypnotic about it. It shouldn’t take much longer they tell me.’

‘Look, I wanted to give you this,’ he handed her a pistol. ‘Just in case, you know.’

‘Flowers are more traditional Steven,’ she replied wryly. ‘You keep giving me guns.’

‘Yeah, well. I’m supposed to be in charge of your security aren’t I? Let’s just say I have a bad feeling about all of this.’

‘Well

okay thanks.’

There was a chiming sound, followed by a tinny announcement that the landing pads were now closed and sealed and that flights were temporarily suspended.

‘After all we’ve been through, I’d hate it if anything were to happen to you,’ said Steven.

‘We’re fairly safe here though aren’t we?’ she replied. ‘On a Navy controlled installation in the middle of an impassable desert?’

‘You mean, as safe as we were in Marantis surrounded by all those marines?’

‘Point taken. Listen, have you seen Rekkid anywhere?’

‘Yeah, he took over one of the offices on D deck and said he had to work. The last time I saw him he was poring over that log you two have been carrying around all this time. I’d say he looked worried.’

‘Okay I’ll go and find him, thanks Steven.’ She turned and headed for the lift. Steven watched her go, and then turned his attention to the swirling sheets of dust outside.

Katherine threaded her way through the labyrinth of cramped gangways and stairwells within the structure of the platform. The confined spaces were busy with activity as gangs of technicians and engineers went about their business. Here and there she found patrolling security; marines armed with compact side-arms and ever watchful.

She arrived on D deck and eventually found Rekkid in a small deserted office off one of the side corridors. He was studying the screen of his computer intently, the gently flickering light from the screen illuminating his features.

Katherine stood behind him and looked over his shoulder at the screen. Rekkid had brought up the log to study. The cascaded windows showed various text excerpts, whilst the foremost one was playing the video clip of the portal that the Khostun’s crew had received from a sister ship. There was no mistaking that the image on the screen represented the planet they were standing on.

‘The wreck will reach the surface soon,’ said Katherine. ‘I thought I’d come and let you know so you could watch the raising.’

The Arkari was virtually ignoring her. He grunted a reply without taking his eyes off the screen.

‘Rekkid,’ said Katherine, tapping him on the shoulder. ‘What are you thinking about? Is it something new you’ve found in the log?’

Rekkid eyes remained fixated on the images in front of him. ‘It’s not about something new, no. It’s about what we already know.’

‘Go on.’

‘Maran kept ranting on about how there was some surprise in store for us. Doubtless what he intends to be his revenge on a galaxy that has imprisoned him for so long. We also know that ten thousand years ago the Arkari fought something that came out of the portal that Maran controls. It’s my guess that whatever or whoever it was that was unleashed, that Maran intends to repeat the trick.’

‘Well that thought had crossed my mind too Rekkid.’

‘Quite. But what intrigues me is whether what came through belongs on the other side of the portal, or whether they were merely trying to get back to their home here. To our knowledge the portal has only been entered three times from this side, if we include Varish. The first time the Progenitors used it to escape the galaxy, and if they had any sense, they will have ensured that the wormhole terminated somewhere where they could settle and rebuild their civilisation. The second time was when half of the Arkari were sent into exile with the co-operation of Maran. Since it was intended as a punishment they could conceivably have been sent to somewhere far less pleasant.’

‘You mean, you think they were banished to the worst place they could find? The Arkari legends mentioned that they were banished to something called the ‘death plane’ didn’t they?’

‘Exactly.’

‘Like the Soviets on old Earth sending their enemies to Siberia?’

‘Perhaps something along those lines, yes,’ he said and cleared his throat. ‘This is of course pure conjecture. But the fact remains that on the other side of the portal we could, if the exiles survived, have an advanced race with a severe grudge against the Arkari and a xenophobic ideology, coupled with a rogue entity on this side that controls the portal who shares a similar outlook. They could join forces.’

‘Maybe we should warn the Navy.’

‘Who would listen? Like I say this purely a ‘what if’ scenario. There’s no real proof.’

‘The only one of us who knows for sure is Varish, if he’s still alive.’

‘Yes, if. But unfortunately even if he is still alive, he’s trapped on the other side of the portal until Maran decides to re-open it.’

‘And release whatever is waiting for us there.’

Rekkid looked thoughtful. ‘It makes you wonder though. If those Arkari did survive on the other side of the portal, what could a million years of separation do? How different could they be from those who remained, both biologically and culturally? What if they didn’t decline like we did before our renaissance? What if they thrived in their new environment and produced technological marvels that far outstrip our own? Those mechanoids we saw in the tunnel under the temple for example?’

‘Yes,’ said Katherine. ‘On the other hand they could want to kill us all, and use their technological marvels to do it. Those mechanoids were undoubtedly used for combat.’

‘Well

I had considered that.’

They sat together and studied the log some more until another announcement squawked from the platform’s public address system, piercing the quiet of the small room. The two archaeologists were requested to come to the observation deck. It was time, the buried ship was about to reach the surface.

As Rekkid and Katherine emerged from the structure of the platform into the open air they found the exterior of the facility crowded with onlookers. The wind had abated somewhat, allowing all those not now directly engaged in the raising of the ship to emerge into the open air and watch it breach the surface of the desert. In the distance, similar gatherings adorned the decks of the other three platforms.

They found Steven standing by the rail; he was pressing his fingers to the earpiece he wore as he strained to listen to the security comm. channel above the deep rumbling coming from the desert in front of him. Katherine looked and saw security personnel and marines stationed at strategic points over the superstructure. Some watched the crowd, but most seemed to be scanning the sky and horizon through powerful binoculars. Steven saw them approach and smiled.

‘Keeping us safe Steven?’ said Rekkid.

‘For what it’s worth yes, though I’m not sure from what. I just told the few men I have under my command to look out for anything unusual, especially any unscheduled approaching ships or aircraft,’ said Steven. ‘So

I guess you’re pretty excited about this.’ He added, indicating toward the churning dust. ‘You know I’d love to see inside, but I’m under orders to stay here and look after security.’

‘Well, you know

’ said Katherine. ‘We need to be secure aboard the vessel once we go inside.’

‘You’ll be wearing armoured suits for your protection, I can watch from the cameras they carry. Plus, you’ll need someone to relay information from the instruments on the rigs so you can find your way around in there.’

‘Alright, thanks. That’ll be a great help’

‘Look,’ said Rekkid, pointing. ‘Here she comes.’

The desert between the platforms was starting to swell. Pushed upwards by the rising ship it formed a humped-backed dune which rapidly began to collapse. Thousands of tonnes of dust began to flow in great landslides along the flanks of the ship, as it slowly began to reveal itself. It was like a great whale breaking the surface of the ocean for air as the dust flowed from its back like water, exposing its dully silver skin. A cacophony of cheers and applause rose into the desert air from the assembled onlookers as the vessel lifted clear of the dust that had entombed it for so long and floated in mid-air, falls of dirt still pouring from its hull. Katherine glanced at Rekkid and grinned.

The ship was large, around a kilometre in length. Though it was ten millennia old it still shared some characteristics with modern Arkari vessels, resembling as it did some form of weird mechanical marine life. The basic shape reminded Katherine of a horseshoe crab, though one greatly streamlined. A fat delta shaped fore section sprouted a long tapered tail from its rear as well as two elongated weapon pods along the shoulders of the craft and two matching ones on the underside. These projected back above and below the primary exhausts for the engines.

Unlike contemporary craft the vessel lacked the nanotechnology and finely tuned warp technology that made its modern equivalents so utterly deadly. Even so, it was still far more advanced than any human vessel yet constructed. The hull of the Arkari ship was virtually seamless and undoubtedly incredibly robust. It had survived the fall from orbit as well as the pressure generated by the millions of tonnes of dust it had lain under for ten thousand years and it had remained almost virtually intact.

The only damage the vessel had incurred was certainly not due to any natural causes. The starboard side of the main hull was badly mangled. The edge of the fuselage had been entirely sliced away and a second strike had carved a deep gash inwards toward the centre of the ship, cutting across the engines mounted on that side of the vessel. There was also some secondary damage, probably caused by the heat of re-entry acting upon the now unshielded portion of the craft. It had no doubt been a fatal blow to the ship, but it provided the archaeologists with an easy access point to the interior of the vessel.

An hour later and both Katherine and Rekkid sat, fully suited up, in the small AG maintenance flitter as it carried them over to the rent in the starship’s hull. They wore the variant of marine combat armour that the engineers from the Brunel wore in potentially hazardous environments. The suits’ armour plates would protect them from falls of debris or structural collapse, and their radiation shielding and ability to environmentally seal themselves would provide further protection if necessary.

Katherine still hated wearing the things, for now she had her suit’s visor up. Though the military issue suits were easy to move in, the sense of claustrophobia when the visor was down was deeply unsettling to her. Plus, it reminded her of their expedition aboard the Khostun. It seemed so long ago now, but that day had set in motion everything that had happened since. Part of Katherine wished that she could travel back in time and warn herself away from going on that mission. Another part kept reminding her of all the wonders she had witnessed since amongst the horrors of the past months.

Rekkid was fidgeting. Uncomfortable in a suit designed for humans, he shifted in his seat, swearing under his breath. He dropped some of his equipment under his seat and swore some more.

The pilot of the tiny craft took them low over the nose of the ship, and then swung round towards the gaping wound on its starboard wing. It dwarfed the flitter. The great ragged hole hung as though something had taken a giant bite from the ancient vessel. A dozen decks, piled with dust that still fell in gentle falls lay exposed to the light, draped in severed conduits and twisted spars. The flitter edged between the jutting edges of the smashed structure, landing as far inside as the pilot dared before coming to rest on an area of exposed deck large enough to deposit the two archaeologists. As it lifted off and returned to the platform, they checked in via their comm. links.

‘Rekkid here. Steven, are you picking us up?’

‘Loud and clear. Your video feed’s a little glitchy though.’

Rekkid thumped his helmet with the flat of his hand. ‘That any better?’

‘Much better. Okay we’ve scanned the ship as best we can to determine its layout. I’d advise sealing your suits. There’s still a degree of radiation coming from that cracked engine housing you’re standing near.’

‘Great,’ muttered Katherine and flipped her visor down.

‘Steven we intend to make our way to the ship’s bridge,’ said Rekkid. ‘Katherine and I have decided between us that it might be best if we can recover any records the ship might contain from there. The workings of Arkari vessels of this age are well documented so I should be able to extract any computerised information without too much trouble - provided I can get any of it to work. The backup power cells in our suits should be enough to kick-start the emergency systems and use any reserves still left in the ship’s batteries. I gave the engineers aboard the platform the specifications of the interfaces I needed and they’ve kindly manufactured them for me. We shouldn’t have any problems.’

‘You think it’ll still work after all this time?’

‘Arkari ships are built to last Steven. ’

‘Alright, let me know if you need any of our engineers to assist.’

‘Will do.’

‘Okay, I’ve locked in the position of the bridge, downloading it to your suits now.’

A zoomable 3D model of the ship appeared in front of Katherine’s vision; the path they must take to the bridge zigzagged through the interior of the craft, gradually leading inwards and upwards. A bar of icons hovered at its side. Katherine moved her hand and made to touch the virtual phantom image. The model disappeared, replaced with a directional arrow that hovered at the top of her vision.

‘Well Rekkid,’ she said. ‘Here we are again. Shall we?’ She indicated with a gloved hand.

The dark interior of the ship beckoned.

The drifts of dust only lasted as far as the first set of bulkheads that they encountered. The heavy doors had automatically slammed shut when the ship had been hit, maintaining its atmospheric integrity. It took some time for Rekkid and Katherine to open one of the battered doors via the manual override. The ratchet mechanism had become clogged with dust over the centuries and proved stubborn in the extreme. Eventually they cranked one door open far enough so that they could squeeze through in their bulky suits.

Inside, the ship was still in good condition. Their suit lights pierced the gloom within, revealing the graceful yet functional design of the ship’s interior. They pressed on.

Their heavy footsteps echoed in the silence as the two archaeologists followed the path that Steven had provided for them, trailing dusty footprints behind them on the shiny flooring. The curving lines of the corridors gave them the unsettling impression of exploring the dead body of a huge beast. Darkness loomed from gaping open doorways and passageways too deep for their suit lights to penetrate fully.

Suddenly there was an awful groaning sound from the bowels of the ship.

‘Shit!’ said Katherine. ‘What the hell was that?’

‘Steven,’ said Rekkid, urgently keying his comm-link. ‘There’d better not be anything else in here with us. What was that?’

‘Nothing to worry about. It just seems like the ship’s structure was flexing back into shape after being released from all that pressure.’ To emphasise his point there was another agonizing groan. Katherine felt the floor shudder beneath her.

‘Thanks Steven,’ she replied. ‘I guess we’re just getting a little paranoid here.’

‘Which is hardly surprising,’ muttered Rekkid.

They had begun in the ship’s engineering section, but now they were moving into what would have been the more populous sections of the ship, the crew quarters. They began to see Arkari bodies, dozens of them. They lay crumpled against the walls and bulkheads, twisted at odd angles where the force of the impact had hurled them. The ship’s dampening fields must have failed, exposing its vulnerable crew to the full effects of the crash. They hadn’t stood a chance. The pitiful, broken mummies lay where they had fallen, their long dried blood still darkening the light blue of their uniforms. Katherine glanced into one of the cabins as she passed. It was a chaotic mess of smashed belongings hurled against the foremost wall along with their owner whose head had been smashed flat by the force of the crash.

Similar grim sights greeted the pair as they made their way deeper inside the ship. It seemed that the entire crew had been killed instantly when the ship had plummeted into the desert. Only its shields and immensely robust construction had preserved the vessel itself from destruction.

After some minutes of plodding silently through the dark, up a number of stairwells and across the beam of the ship, they came to a series of larger compartments. Evidently the vessel had been designed for exploration as well as combat since it was equipped with extensive scientific facilities. The labs were in a similar state of chaos as the rest of the ship and they were scattered with piles of smashed equipment and bodies. But amid the destruction there lay something else, a large segmented form, silver skinned and heavily armed. It lay on its back against the wall where the crash had hurled it.

‘My God

’ breathed Katherine. ‘It’s one of those things, like we saw under the temple.’

‘Steven,’ said Rekkid. ‘Are you getting this?’ He cast his suit lights over the inert form.

‘Yeah I see it,’ came the reply. ‘I guess that confirms your theory that the Arkari fought those things. They must have captured one during the fight and tried to study it. Didn’t do the crew of this ship much good though.’

‘This one seems designed for space flight,’ Katherine mused. ‘Look, there aren’t any legs, just a series of fins like the wings on modern Arkari ships.’ She gripped one of the fins and pushed it. Despite appearing to be made of solid metal, it moved at her touch without resistance, like that of a fish.

‘Well,’ said Rekkid. ‘At least we know where my people got the idea from.’

‘No doubt the Navy will have a field day with all this.’

‘That I don’t doubt for a second.’

‘Not far to the bridge now,’ said Katherine as she examined her 3D map. ‘Only a couple more bulkheads to go and we’re there.’

A low moaning issued from the depths of the ship. Even though they knew its source, the pair found it unsettling. It was as if the ship itself were in pain.

‘This is like being inside a haunted house,’ said Rekkid and chuckled nervously.

‘No shit, Rekkid,’ replied Katherine. ‘There’s something about this ship that gives me the creeps. I feel like we’re being watched all the time, it sounds stupid I know but

on my way to Maranos I got talking with a Vreeth named Ikkikut. He said he’d been aboard an Arkari ship once and he felt the same thing: That the ship was watching him.’

‘And this one is watching us I think. I suppose it’s very possible that the onboard AI could have survived this long. If that’s the case then the Navy may have a harder time trying to convince it to give up its secrets than they envisaged.’

‘Come on let’s hurry, the sooner we get out of here the better,’ she said, shivering.

It took them a few more minutes to reach the bridge. They found it in a comparable state of disarray to the rest of the ship. The deck was strewn with bodies, several of which had smashed the instrument panels with the force of their impact. Those who had managed to strap themselves in to their chairs had been gruesomely sliced by the very restraining belts that had been designed to save them.

Rekkid moved over to the Captain’s command console and inspected it, carefully moving her slumped body back into its seat and wiping away some of the blood that had dried on the panels.

‘You know I can’t cease to be held in awe by your people Rekkid,’ said Katherine looking around the gloomy bridge. ‘You were building ships like this and flying to the stars whilst we were still living in the stone-age.’

‘Now you know how the Dendratha feel when they see us.’

‘Rekkid,’ said Katherine. ‘If Arkari ships are equipped with AIs, why do they need crews?’

‘Something to do with a distinct lack of trust I think,’ he replied. ‘I don’t think the military is entirely comfortable with an independent machine having all of this power to itself. I think they had some bad experiences

Ah here it is!’ he exclaimed triumphantly and plugged his Commonwealth manufactured computer into the ancient, yet more sophisticated, Arkari console. He indicated towards a small power port on the rear of the device, to which he had attached a small makeshift adapter.

‘Katherine if you could just plug your suit’s auxiliary power jack into that? Thanks.’

She did as he asked. There was a pregnant pause, and then the console began to power itself up. The light from its displays cast flickering shadows on the walls of the bridge as it booted itself. The screen began to fill with Arkari characters. They made little sense to Katherine, but to Rekkid they proved no obstacle, this was merely an older version of his native tongue.

‘Right let’s have a look

’ he mused. ‘Okay I’ve found the ship’s log but it’s encrypted, I’ll make a copy then we’ll need to get someone on the platform to hack that for us

weapon systems and targeting commands

AI diagnostic tools, all of this is locked out, sensor management ah

here we are, sensor records. This could be interesting, okay let’s copy that too.’

‘That isn’t encrypted.’

‘No, I wonder why?’

‘Perhaps someone wanted us to see it?’

‘Then maybe we ought to have a look at it right now.’

‘If we can, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get it to read these file formats. Alright, let’s see if we can have a look at the most recent entries I

what the hell?’

Rekkid looked in astonishment at his computer; something had taken it over. Programs were beginning to load themselves without his intervention. New ones appeared that converted the files into formats his software could read properly. The screen filled with a recording from the ship’s external cameras. Sound recordings of the ship’s crew issued from the computer’s speakers. Katherine’s translator interpreted for her.

The screen showed the space above Maranos’s north-pole. The banded appearance of the planet was instantly recognisable as was the blazing pillar of light that projected from the northern ocean into space.

There was an enormous battle in progress. Thousands upon thousands of ships duelled above the portal in an engagement of apocalyptic proportions. The ship they stood in was manoeuvring hard, desperately striking out at swarms of smaller combatants that shifted and danced like schools of fish, tiny iridescent craft that took apart the Arkari ships with deadly efficiency. At the heart of the storm lay an alien ship of immense size. Where its shimmering bulbous body began to taper to a point at its bow, it split a further five ways into long curving arms that arced forwards. These five appendages spat deadly energies from their tips that carved up the attacking vessels with ease.

‘That thing

’ began Katherine. ‘That thing looks just like the temple!’

‘The evil that Maran protects the Dendratha from: it’s a ship, a bloody great ship!’

‘How big is that thing do you think? God, it must be a hundred kilometres long!’

‘It looks like our brave crew are moving in for an attack run. I’d say that this is where they all die

’

The ship was growing to fill the screen as the Arkari craft charged through swarms of attackers. The vast ship loomed. It was both terrible and beautiful. Its hull displayed hypnotic shifting colours like oil on water and quivering rainbow scales the size of starships that shed still more of the tiny deadly ships by the thousand.

A searing beam of energy reached out lazily and swatted the Arkari ship. The view began to shudder but as the vessel kept moving the AI tried a desperate twisting attack pattern to attempt to evade any more hits. Its weapons lashed out at the enemy that dwarfed it.

There was a further hit, and the view began to spin wildly. The AI succeeded in avoiding collision with the enemy vessel but they were now tumbling out of control towards the planet, and inevitable death. Katherine heard the crew report power failures across the board. The damage to the engines had caused a system wide overload and the AI was losing control of the ship. It would attempt a crash landing on the surface. It was their only hope

The image disappeared suddenly. Against a black screen stood a line of Arkari lettering.

‘What on earth? What does it say Rekkid?’

‘It says,’ he gulped. ‘It says: ‘My own kind will come for me. You must save yourselves. Shut down the portal. Leave now!’

‘It’s the portal’s AI. It’s trying to warn us,’ said Katherine. ‘We have to show the Navy this! We have to let them know the danger we’re all in!’

‘Steven? We’re coming back out

Steven, are you there?’

‘Steven here, I apologise. I was

distracted. Look, something’s happened.’

‘What?’

‘The portal has re-opened.’

Rekkid looked at Katherine. Even in the gloom she could clearly read the terror on his face.

Chapter 35

The Mark Antony was still docked with the Brunel. The last stages of repairs had been completed and the only remaining task was the removal of the repair teams and their equipment before the ship could launch.

Chen sat impatiently on the bridge. She wanted to feel space beneath her again. It had been like an itch she couldn’t scratch all through the boredom of the past week. She’d been placed in charge of the system’s defence, but there had been nothing for her to do once the patrol patterns of the various ships had been established. However, the rest had done her and the crew some good. It had given them time to recover from the stress of battle, and time to mourn their lost comrades.

Ramirez entered and sat at her side.

‘Most of the repair crews are back on board the Brunel now Admiral, we’re just waiting for the heavier equipment to be offloaded, then we can launch.’

There was a message coming through for Chen, it was the Darwin. Spiers’ bearded visage floated before her.

‘Mark Antony, this is the Darwin. We’re monitoring the portal. It seems that the device has re-opened the wormhole at its centre. We’re over the north-pole now and we’re monitoring the situation, the Brahe is over the south. We’re recalling the Planck from its examination of the suns.’

Chen felt a thrill of fear. ‘Darwin, has anything come out of the portal?’

‘No not yet, why?’

‘By advised Darwin, we have information that leads us believe in the possibility of hostile forces attempting to exit the portal.’

‘What is the source of this information? Why weren’t we informed?’

‘The information came from the two archaeologists who were down on the planet for the duration of the battle. We believe that they are credible.’

‘And you decided not to tell us?’

‘Captain Spiers, this information is of the utmost sensitivity. You are informed on a need to know basis.’

‘Hmph, I see.’ Spiers looked deeply uneasy. ‘We will continue to monitor the situation and report any changes. Spiers out.’

Chen turned her comms officer, Ensign Andrews.

‘Ensign, issue a recall to all ships. I am placing all vessels in the system onto a heightened state of alert. Commander, how long till we can launch?’

‘It will take at least forty-five minutes to remove the equipment.’

‘That’s far too long. Get all none-crew members off the ship immediately. Tell them to stow their equipment, we’ll return it later, this has to take precedence. What’s the status of the Leonides?’

‘She is unable to launch, Admiral. Her engines are still in the process of being replaced.’

Chen assessed the assets available to her: The remainder of the group she had commanded during the battle, plus two Marine battle groups centred around the carriers Okinawa and Cannae. She would order them to assemble around the Brunel, ready to move to either the north or south poles at a moment’s notice.

The comm. activated once more, it was Spiers again.

‘Mark Antony this is the Darwin, we’re detecting a vessel emerging from the northern pole of the planet.’

‘Show me.’

Spiers complied and relayed the images from the Darwin’s cameras to Chen. She had trouble finding the ship at first it was so tiny, then she saw it: a silver ovoid that accelerated at breakneck speed toward them. It didn’t look especially threatening, though appearances could be deceiving. Maybe this was just a scout?

The Darwin was picking up a transmission from the ship. It was being broadcast on all frequencies.

Varish powered away from the portal as fast as he was able. He had slipped past the first of the gigantic vessels now queuing on the other side of the portal, corkscrewing around their lumbering hulls and slipping through the wormhole before, hopefully, they realised who or what he was. He had to do something. He had to warn them all of the coming danger.

‘All ship, all ships! My name is Varish of the Bajenteri, the builders of this place. I am a friend of Professor Rekkid Cor of the Arkari, Doctor O’Reilly of the Commonwealth and known to the science vessel Darwin as Quickchild. You must retreat from the system immediately. I urge you to comply with this message. Enemy forces are inbound from the far side of the portal!’

He looked aftwards at the retreating portal, and saw it shimmer. They were coming.

‘Suggestions, people?’ said Chen looking about the bridge.

‘Admiral, it could be a decoy,’ said Ramirez. ‘Designed to make us retreat and prevent us from stopping an incursion.’

‘A distinct possibility, in any case I intend to stall them, whoever they may be.’

‘It claims to be a friend of those archaeologists, and I’d say that was an Esacir craft it’s using,’ said Singh.

‘Duly noted, however we cannot abandon this system. The Darwin is already in position, we should assemble in a standoff position and observe. Advise all ships of the change in plan and also advise them to plot an escape route out of the system to be used as a last resort. We will rendezvous ten AUs above the planet’s north pole in the event of overwhelming hostile force. Send a message to Fleet Command informing them of the situation. Let’s remain calm people. Perhaps we can communicate with this race.’

The crew of the Darwin looked on in awe. A ship of immense size was now slowly emerging from the portal. So massive its sides almost brushed the edges, it gradually emerged into the light. It had the appearance of a gigantic flower, advancing with its stem pointing forwards towards the Darwin. Its exterior seemed to be entirely formed from layers of great shimmering petals that pulsed softly as they sculled the ship through space. Once fully clear of the portal and the planet, it hung above Maranos’s north-pole, dwarfing the tiny human science vessel that now tentatively approached it.

The Mark Antony raced around the planet as the other vessels under Chen’s command converged on its position. As they rose over the pole they caught the first glimpse for themselves of the alien vessel that had emerged from the portal. It was as if a mountain of mother of pearl had been flung into space above Maranos to form a ship of heart stopping beauty and immense power.

The Mark Antony came to a stop a thousand kilometres away from the leviathan, her fleet falling into place around her. Checking the position of the Darwin, Chen noticed that it was barely a hundred kilometres away from the bow of the alien ship. They were trying to talk to it:

‘Unidentified vessel, this is the Commonwealth science vessel Darwin. On behalf of the Human race we send you greetings. We are unarmed and have only peaceful intentions.’

. There was no telling how an alien species might react during first contact. They could be friendly or hostile, or sometimes indifferent regardless of what you said to them. Babbling at them in a language they could not comprehend seemed pointless to Chen.

But something was happening, nonetheless.

Spiers and his crew gazed in wonder as the patterns playing across the surface of the ship that now entirely filled the view from the Darwin’s bridge. Vast shifting energies flowed towards the bow of the ship in waves of coruscating light. The instruments were detecting massive space-time fluctuations around the vessel. Was this how they communicated? Did these aliens speak to one another using the very fabric of reality, some sort of communication hitherto unknown to Commonwealth science?

A ball of luminous energies was building at the tip of the vessel’s prow. It was so beautiful, thought Spiers, so majestic, so

There was a flash.

Chen witnessed the obliteration of the Darwin and saw her worst fears confirmed. It wasn’t that the vessel exploded, it just simply wasn’t there anymore. It had been entirely removed from the fabric of reality. There was no debris, no shockwave, nothing. This was just the beginning.

The petals of the great bloom began to pulse more violently, powering the ship forwards whilst shedding what looked like tiny specks of silver pollen. The sensors of the Mark Antony focused in for a closer look. It wasn’t pollen; it was a swarm of ships. As they gathered, they swooped about their mothership in huge schools, thousands of craft moving as one shifting mass. There were millions of them.

‘All ships, red alert!’ cried Chen. ‘Get a message to command, we need massive reinforcements as quickly as they can manage. We have to retreat. Set a course for the rendezvous point and engage the jump drives!’

Goldstein did as she was ordered, and the ship did not move. There was a shudder and the ship rocked as if in a heavy swell at sea.

Chen heard Chief Sohal’s voice over the comm. ‘Engineering here. Admiral, we are unable to engage jump engines, that thing’s projecting some sort of field that’s preventing the warp wave from forming.’

Chen felt her stomach lurch, they were trapped like flies in a web, and the spider was coming for them.

‘Gunnery, I want full power to our weapons. Prepare to fire on any enemy target that comes within range. Commander Singh, I want as much information on our enemy as possible, whatever you can get, and broadcast it directly to Command. Andrews, inform the Brunel of the situation. Advise them to retreat from the system, and tell our forces on the ground to expect immediate enemy contact.’

‘Admiral,’ said Ramirez. ‘We need to fall back. We can’t hope to take on those things. Command is fully engaged fighting the K’Soth in Banu-Baku. We have no reinforcements within immediate striking distance.’

‘What would you have me do? We can’t jump!’

‘If we can determine the extent of the field, maybe we can escape it.’

‘It’s too late.’

The swarm of ships had divided into two, one now headed for the equator of the planet, the city of Marantis and the entrance to the underground complex that controlled the portal. The other headed for the human fleet strung out in front of them.

The Okinawa was the first to fall, another blast from that terrible weapon split the carrier clean in half with a shot, bypassing its shields altogether and simply removing the section of hull it passed through. The two halves hung uselessly in space, until a second shot detonated its reactors. The assault carrier erupted from the inside in a ball of fire.

‘Fall back!’ Chen yelled. ‘Full reverse and evasive manoeuvres! All batteries fire at will!’

‘Admiral!’ It was Singh. ‘Sensors are detecting a second ship now emerging from the southern pole with same configuration as the one in front of us!’

Chen was starting to panic. Everything was going to hell in a matter of minutes. The swarm of alien fighters was about them now; they were mobbing the Cannae as it made a suicidal run against the mothership without her orders. Sweeping aside a cloud of the tiny vessels with its charge it loosed off a blast from its plasma cannon. It barely scratched the surface of its target.

The defence grids of the Commonwealth ships were cutting down hundreds of attackers, but where one fell a thousand more took its place. It was as if they were fighting a swarm of killer bees. One of the alien vessels swooped past the Mark Antony’s bridge. Chen caught a glimpse of the tiny silvered craft. It was composed of various shard-like segments arranged in a streamlined shape with a bow that bore a striking resemblance to a human face, albeit a cruel parody of one. For that brief moment she swore saw a cruel mask of hollow eyes and a mocking leer that terrified her.

An eye searing explosion marked the Cannae’s demise. Now a cluster of fragments, its broken form lay wreathed in a shell of expelled gases. Now the Thermopylae was losing control and venting atmosphere whilst the Stillwell was being literally taken apart by the swarms. The rest of the fleet desperately began to retreat under conventional power in a futile attempt to save themselves.

Chen felt helpless, they were outgunned and outmanoeuvred on every flank and paralysed - they were sitting ducks. The deck plates below her shook as the guns of the Mark Antony fired continuously at a seemingly endless stream of attackers. A storm of laser and particle beams and explosive shells battered at the swarm, but it was a losing battle.

Then it happened. A beam flicked out from the alien mothership towards the aft section of the Mark Antony. The ship rocked violently, and began to roll, her bows rising upwards suddenly, out of control. Immediately a cacophony of sirens filled the bridge. Chen felt the bile rising in her throat in terror.

‘Damage report!’ she cried. There was no reply from Engineering. ‘Damn it someone answer me!’

‘Admiral, we have lost all contact with the aft section of the ship,’ said Ramirez, his voice full of dread.

Chen switched to the ship’s aft cameras. Pointing backwards from the mid section they showed the rear of the destroyer, terribly mauled. The shot had almost entirely cleaved the rear gun decks in two. They hung by a handful of twisted spars. The ship groaned and squealed as if in pain. Then she began to break apart.

‘This is Admiral Chen!’ she cried into the comm. ‘All hands abandon ship!’ With shaking hands she recorded a message and set it to repeat. ‘Mayday, mayday, this is the Commonwealth destroyer Mark Antony. We are going down, requesting immediate assistance. Launching lifeboats,’ she turned to her crew. ‘Everyone get to the lifeboats on the double!’

Ramirez grabbed her by the arm. ‘Admiral, come with me.’

‘I’m staying,’ she said defiantly.

‘No you’re not. You’re coming with me,’ he replied firmly.

‘I said I’m staying!’ she snarled.

‘If you stay, you’ll die. I can’t allow that,’ he grabbed her roughly and kissed her. ‘Now come with me!’

Ramirez dragged her through the corridors already filling with smoke from blown systems. The ship was dying. Chen was proud of her crew, even in this terrible hour. There was no mad panic, everyone was moving quickly but calmly towards the nearest lifeboats. Chen herded her bridge staff into one and followed them inside amid the wail of sirens. There were still four seats free. Ramirez shoved her inside and then grabbed the nearest two crew members and hauled them inside the small craft with him.

There was a scant few seconds for them all to strap themselves in before the lifeboat blasted free of the destroyer. The sudden acceleration pushed like a sudden blow into Chen’s chest. She blacked out for a second then regained consciousness. Just in time for the Mark Antony to explode.

Someone was still operating the ship’s guns. Though doomed, the Mark Antony was chewing through waves of attackers, but the destroyer’s reactors had finally given in to the inevitable. Repeated attacks upon the stricken ship had breached the containment units about the reactors that powered the warp drive. The unleashed energies ripped through the ship, entirely vaporising her aft section and catapulting the remaining forward section into an incontrollable spin. The shockwave spread, smashing open dozens of vulnerable life boats and battering the one that held Chen and her officers.

Chen began to weep silently. For her crew, for her ship, both of which she had tried so hard to protect. She heard Singh ranting in anger against the swarms of ship that surrounded them, yet who seemed disinterested in the harmless tumbling pod. They still had warships to kill.

‘You fuckers! You fucking bastards!’ he raved at the swarms. ‘We never did anything to you! Why? Why do you want to kill us!?’ he began sobbing. Goldstein cradled his head and tried to calm him.

Andrews was peering through one of the tiny rear-facing windows. She beckoned for Chen for watch. The ship was in its final death throes, the scattered sections now themselves coming apart amid chains of secondary detonations from ruptured energy lines and storage capacitors.

‘She was a good ship Admiral, you did your best.’

‘It wasn’t good enough though was it Ensign? How many of the crew are lost I wonder?’

‘I guess the Chief and his crew down in engineering never stood a chance.’

‘No

no they didn’t. I think Davis stayed aboard too.’

‘That’d be just like him, giving them hell until the end.’ Andrews smiled grimly, and fought to hold back tears of grief.

Chen decided could hardly bear this. She had to get a-hold of herself. Her crew needed her now more than ever. She got out of her seat and made towards the cramped cockpit at the front of the craft. Someone had to land this thing. Ramirez saw what she was doing and followed.

Once at the controls she could assess the situation. The battle was still very much in progress. The Commonwealth ships were being obliterated, though not without a fight. Precious few had been given time to evacuate their crews as the Mark Antony had; they had been lucky. She also noted with satisfaction that the Brunel, far from the battle, had managed to remain untouched so far. With some relief, she saw the massive vessel jump out of the system back towards Commonwealth space with its precious cargo of ships. She prayed for reinforcements.

They needed to find a landing site, somewhere far away from Marantis where they could set down safely and disappear. The northern temperate zone seemed a good bet. Chen grabbed the controls, steadied the craft, and began to lay in a landing pattern.

Ramirez was studying the craft’s sensors, such as they were. He was analysing the progress of the battle.

‘Looks like they’re trying to establish a beach head in the system. My guess is that they’re trying to secure the portal so that they can bring more ships through. They’ve already seized control of the city of Marantis.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘They’ve landed over a million troops there already, at a guess I’d say our forces there have been neutralised, I can’t raise any of them on the comm. But I picked up signatures of heavy weapons fire before we moved out of range. The curvature of the planet’s between us and the city now, I can’t tell what’s going on.’

‘Shit, who the hell are they?’ said Chen.

‘Who knows? But remember what Cor and O’Reilly said: that the entity inside the portal might have something to do with it?’

‘We can’t possibly fight those things. Jesus, the whole damn Navy couldn’t take one of those ships on. They just tore up our ships like they were made of paper! I just hope Command got our message. They have to know of the danger! If those things break out of this system

’

Varish watched the carnage in horror from a point a million kilometres above the north-pole of Maranos. Why had they ignored him, why wouldn’t they listen to him? He watched the Commonwealth fleet being swept aside in a matter of minutes, saw the swarms of craft descend upon the planet. It seemed hopeless. Soon those things, those perverted shadows of Arkari would move beyond this system and smash the Commonwealth, and the other races too. He had to do something, he had to stop them. He had to seize the portal himself, somehow stop Maran and shut it down for good. The time he had spent trapped on the other side of the portal had given him time to think. He had the makings of plan, and that was a start.

Chen wrestled with the lifeboat’s controls as it plummeted into the atmosphere above Maranos. Something was very wrong indeed. The craft’s response felt sluggish and uneven. She instantly concluded that something must have been damaged during their escape. Looking at the row of status lights above the command console she saw several flashing red indicators. The craft’s braking field was behaving erratically; energy fluctuations were causing variations in its strength and hence the aerodynamic profile of the falling vessel.

Chen did her best to shallow the angle of their descent, but she was fighting a losing battle. The problem was getting worse by the second. She had to slow them down.

A sudden howling sound cut through the cockpit. The rear portion of the shield had failed completely. Now only the aero-braking shape of the lifeboat was acting to slow the rear portion of the vessel. Chen felt the nose rising due to the uneven action of the atmosphere on the ship, and quickly shut off the field completely to prevent them from flipping over. They were hurtling through the cloud deck now towards a broad stretch of jungle patchworked with farm clearances. She aimed for one of the defoliated spaces and deployed the chutes, switched the ship’s retros and airbrakes as high as she dared, and prayed.

The lifeboat bounced as it hit the ground in a shallow descent at over two hundred kilometres an hour. It skidded onto its side and hurtled across the entire expanse of furrowed fields, cutting a deeper ragged furrow of its own as it went. They were slowing down, but the ship was still sliding far too quickly.

The tree line at the far side of the cleared area approached with alarming speed. The lifeboat hit a stone wall and launched itself briefly back into the air in a shower of masonry before diving headlong into the dense jungle. Still airborne, it careened off a sturdy tree in a hail of splinters before slewing to a stop, draped in vines and smashed remnants of branches.

Chen opened her eyes groggily, and to her astonishment found that she was still alive. She was suspended sideways in her seat, six feet above the right hand side of the cockpit which had now become the floor.

‘Everyone okay? Anyone hurt?’ she called out.

‘We’re okay back here Admiral.’ It sounded like Singh. ‘A little shaken up but no serious injuries. This is a tough little ship.’

Chen looked at Ramirez. His face was a mask of pain. His legs were crushed between the mangled panels of the nose where they had hit the tree. He was struggling to pull himself free but it was futile. There was another wound too, more serious. A jagged piece of metal had twisted free from the instrument panel during the crash and had pierced his guts. A deep red stain was spreading across his uniform.

‘Oh m-my God,’ stammered Chen, then cried; ‘Someone get the medikit, and any tools or anything we have back there!’ She twisted herself out of her seat and carefully lowered herself down to his side. She held him, gripping his hands that had become smeared with his own blood. His face seemed very pale, contorting as he fought back the searing pain in his legs and belly.

‘Al listen to me, we’re going to get you out of here okay? I’m not going to leave you.’

He tried to grin. ‘And to think I had to drag you off the ship. Now you want to save me?’

‘Yes.’

‘You should go, get away from the crash site before they come looking for us.’

‘I don’t care, I’m staying.’

‘I thought you’d say that.’

‘I couldn’t bear to lose you.’ She smoothed the hair on his brow and kissed him gently as Singh approached with the medikit.

There was confusion aboard the platforms. Rekkid and Katherine were barely back on board and out of their suits when Steven came running to find them in the equipment locker room. He seemed genuinely frightened.

‘Steven,’ said Katherine. ‘What the hell’s going on?’

‘We’ve gone on a system wide red-alert. Ships are coming out of the portal at both ends and they’ve entirely destroyed the fleet. So far the only ship that got anything more than a few crew off before she went down was the Mark Antony. We’ve tracked a few lifeboats to the northern jungle, but there’s little hope for anyone else.’

‘Who are they!?’ demanded Rekkid. ‘Steven what came through the portal?’

‘We don’t know, transmissions received from the Darwin indicated an alien vessel of immense size. It began launching millions of tiny little fighters. They were small and silver, like the creatures we found in the tunnel, and the one you found on the ship just now, but these ones seem far more sophisticated. Sleeker, more advanced. I saw footage of them literally taking the Cannae apart.’

‘It’s them, it’s the banished Arkari. Steven we are in deep, deep trouble.’

‘There’s some good news.’

‘Oh?’

‘Varish has returned. He tried to warn the warships but no-one listened to him.’

‘Has anyone got a message to the Commonwealth?’ said Katherine.

‘We picked up a number of transmissions from the ships before they were overwhelmed. We’re trying to send out our own via the relays in this system. I’ve been trying to get a message to Varish. I thought maybe he can get us out of here.’

‘Worth a try, if he can reach us. But our priority must be to get a message to my government,’ said Rekkid. ‘I think only they can deal with this.’

Fleet Admiral Haines stood on the bridge of the carrier Abraham Lincoln and watched the final resistance aboard the Banu-Baku shipyard crumble before his eyes. His fleet had pulverised the line of ships guarding the facility and now the Marine Corps seemed to be winning the battle for the shipyard itself. Flotillas of assault craft filled with heavily armed marines had seized strategic points throughout the massive star shaped structure and had succeeded in dividing the K’Soth forces within it. They had even captured one of the new Super War Temple ships. It was a stunning success, one of a series of many that had seen the Imperial forces collapse before the onslaught of the Commonwealth. This war would be over sooner than expected, Haines was confident of that.

He turned to see one of his officers running across the bridge towards him. He seemed greatly alarmed. The man saluted and thrust a print-out of a message recently received by the carrier into his hands. Haines began to read it carefully, his expression darkened. Enemy ships in the Fulan system? How was it possible?

‘My god, Commander,’ he muttered. ‘Have the K’Soth managed to outmanoeuvre us?’

‘No sir, read on.’

Haines studied it some more. It had been re-broadcast via Fleet Command.

‘An alien fleet of unknown origins has emerged from the portal. We are falling back but our drives no longer work, some weapon of the enemy prevents us from jumping. Admiral Chen attempted a withdrawal but we are being overwhelmed. The ship is being torn apart by alien fighters and the magnitude of their mothership’s firepower is unmatched. We request immediate reinforcements and

’ The message was cut off abruptly. The Tipu Sultan had exploded at this point.

‘The authenticity of the transmission checks out,’ said the officer. ‘All the correct encryption protocols were used.’

Haines felt a sense of dread overcome him. They were several days travel from Fulan. All of his first-line forces were deployed for attacking the K’Soth whilst an unknown alien fleet directly threatened the security of the Commonwealth. The core systems would be relatively defenceless.

‘Have the government been informed?’

‘Yes sir, they have appealed to the Arkari for immediate assistance. I have an additional briefing from them here.’

‘And what did the Arkari say?’

‘They said: “We know.” ’

Varish first detected the warp signatures. His sensitive instruments spotted the incoming wakes as they entered the edge of the system before anyone else. They were harder to pick up than usual, made by refined warp technology that generated smoother ripples in space-time. They were however, massive, and a great many in number. After analysing the engine signatures Varish concluded that the Arkari had come.

Varish saw the first ship emerge from hyperspace just over half a million kilometres from the portal. It was enormous. Like all Arkari warships its shape resembled that of a terrestrial sting ray. This one however, was larger than any ship Varish had ever encountered.

Its form deviated from the norm by being longer and more slender than the usual, that and its immense size. From bow to stern the dreadnought measured over two hundred and fifty kilometres, across the beam around a hundred. Though the vessel’s exterior was dotted with an almost uncountable multitude of weaponry, its main gun consisted of a immense spatial distortion cannon whose systems ran almost the full length of the craft, its muzzle a cavernous opening on the underside of the ship’s bow. It was a weapon that could tear apart the very fabric of reality.

For its size, the ship moved with a staggering grace and speed. It swooped towards the alien fleet, and began firing. As it did so, an armada of smaller vessels poured into the system behind it, the great destroyers of the Arkari Navy. Though deadly in themselves, they were dwarfed by the behemoth they escorted as it ripped through the waves of tiny attacking ships.

Varish watched in awe. That ship was more like an entire nation in flight, rather than a vessel. Calling it a ship hardly did it justice. It wielded an almost godlike level of power. It bore down on the mothership at the northern pole as three more of the great vessels emerged in its wake and began to disperse.

The alien ship had advanced. Behind it another vast craft was now emerging from the portal. This one was longer, spikier, like a handful of broken sea shells clustered together.

A storm of energy was building inside the Arkari ship. Varish read a power spike from the craft’s reactors that his sensors misinterpreted as a stellar event. The dreadnought brought its main gun to bear on the lead alien vessel and fired.

Varish saw space itself turned inside out. An immense pulsing beam of hyper-dimensional warp energy was vomited from the bow of the dreadnought, striking the bow of alien vessel dead centre. Varish saw space itself bend around the beam, the light of the background stars stretched into prismatic smears. The mighty ship buckled for second, its petals quivering, before it shattered.

Katherine, Rekkid and Steven had moved to the bridge of the platform. Desperately, they were trying to find out just what was going on. Sensors in the system had picked up a great number of incoming ships, followed by an intense energy surge that had burned out the arrays. They now had no way of telling who or what now fought in the skies above the planet.

There was a message coming through. One of the technicians relayed it to the public address system so that all could hear.

‘This is Admiral Irakun Mentith of the Arkari Navy, commanding the Dreadnought Sword of Reckoning. We intend to employ all necessary means to prevent the enemy gaining full control of the portal and thus gaining unfettered access to this galaxy. The risk to all our races from this incursion is too great to comprehend. To this end, demolition of the system will commence once our vessels are in position. All ships and personnel are advised to vacate the system and retreat to a distance of no less than one light year within four hours, Commonwealth standard. Mentith out.’

Katherine looked at Steven.

‘Demolition? They’re going to use their ships to destroy the portal?’

‘No,’ he replied slowly. ‘It’s much worse than that. The Sword of Reckoning is a Night Bringer class Dreadnought, the most powerful ship class ever built by the Arkari. Do you know they call it Night Bringer?’

‘No.’

‘Because it extinguishes stars.’

Above and around the planet, the battle still raged. To the Dendratha it seemed as if the very heavens were on fire above them. Ships twisted, dove and swooped like living things as they fought one another with unwavering ferocity amid a sea of raging energies.

Gradually, the Arkari Navy were being pushed back from the portal exits. The ship that bore a likeness to a handful of sea shells that had emerged from the northern pole had now split into several separate craft before the dreadnought could recharge its main gun. They had now surrounded the vast vessel on all sides and were attempting to knock out its armaments.

It now appeared that the chief focus of the unknown aliens’ push into the system had switched to the northern exit, concentrating their forces into one offensive effort. More ships began to emerge from the portal as the huge Arkari vessel recharged its main armament whilst fending off its attackers with its multitude of lesser weapons.

Meanwhile the dreadnought at the southern pole fought its own battle with a large metallic nautilus shaped vessel with long grasping nanotech tentacles that frantically tried to ensnare the Arkari ship.

However there were two other dreadnoughts in the system. Two more had not engaged in the battle at all, but had positioned themselves above the poles of the two stars. They were charging their spatial distortion cannons now, preparing to unleash waves of energy that would eclipse those used to destroy the alien mothership by a factor of thousands. They had focused the arrays of the great weapons on the cores of the very stars they now floated above.

The spatial distortion cannons that Arkari ships carried worked by causing catastrophic hyper-dimensional ripples in the very fabric of space-time. These ripples would tear apart any solid object they were focused upon by interrupting the very molecular bonds that held them together, bypassing shields and armour and delivering a knockout blow to any spacecraft. However those carried by the Dreadnoughts were a much more powerful variant of the standard weapon, and could be more finely tuned to produce different effects.

One of these effects required the most energy and was potentially the most destructive. The weapons could be used to briefly generate singularities, points of infinite space-time curvature that drew in all matter and even light itself. In other words, the weapons could generate artificial black holes. Though they were unstable and generally dissipated once the weapons were turned off, the gravitational effects of such events were of apocalyptic proportions. Caught by a singularity carefully placed within it, the core of a star would implode and destroy itself. Even stars of a comparatively small mass could be induced into supernova in this fashion, thus obliterating everything within the system.

It was the ultimate doomsday weapon, and two of them were now about to be used on Fulan A and B. The planet Maranos would not stand a chance. The blast waves from the simultaneous destruction of the two suns would boil away the world and destroy the portal for good. On Maranos, all life would cease within seconds once the blast waves struck the surface.

Varish knew this all too well. As he worked towards the fruition of his plan he was constantly aware of the seconds ticking away until the dreadnoughts destroyed the system. He now saw that the battle unfolding in front of him was a holding action by the Arkari, nothing more. They just needed to hold off the Banished until the portal could be sealed once and for all.

Chen and her remaining crew succeeded in sedating Ramirez and cut him free of the twisted remains of the co-pilot’s seat. Chen thanked the foresight of whoever had designed the survival kit of the lifeboat to include cutting gear to be used in the event of a crash landing. They laid Ramirez in the back of the craft and covered him with emergency blankets. However none of them were medically trained beyond immediate first aid and they had no way of properly setting Ramirez’s broken leg, though they had managed to staunch most of the bleeding from his belly wound.

Chen sent the others in search of help. Even on this backwater planet they might be able to find a doctor. After all, a broken bone was a broken bone wasn’t it? She was less sure about any local ability to treat the hole in his belly. She didn’t know what to expect, but it gave the crew something to do whilst she tended to him.

She sat for a long time with his head gently cradled on her lap as he slipped in and out of consciousness. He was waking up again now and trying to speak.

‘Michelle, there’s

there’s something I have to tell you.’ He was drowsy from the painkillers, slurring his words slightly. His eyes looked unfocused. ‘I was sent to

to spy on you for the Navy. I’m sorry

’ he was partly delirious.

‘Al, you told me, you remember? When we stayed at the Falls Tier in Elysium?’

‘Listen to me! They sent me to keep an eye on you. No-one trusted you, but I did! I did

and I fell in love with you. That

that wasn’t part of the plan

but I never told them about that.’

‘Al, I know all along. Even before you told me I knew.’

‘You knew?’

‘A captain has to know what goes on aboard her ship. When you first came aboard I figured you for a mole, you didn’t seem to know your duties that well for the first couple of weeks and despite your glorious service record none of the other captains had ever heard of you. So I had a watch kept on your computer account and made a record of all the encrypted transmissions you sent and received. I know that they had you watch me after you told me too.’

‘And you

you didn’t hate me for that?’

‘At first, yes. I tried to get close to you at first just to give you a good impression of me that I hoped you’d pass on to your superiors, but when I got to know you I realised what a good officer you were becoming, and what a good man you are Al.’

‘So all we have together

was that all a lie, was that just to make me like you?’

‘No! No it isn’t

I

I was so lonely Al, and you were there for me when everything and everyone else had deserted me. You don’t know how isolated it can be being in command. No-one wants to get to know you because they’re all too scared of the boss. But you were always there to care for me.’

‘So, do you love me?’

‘Yes, yes I do

and now you’re all I have left I think.’ She looked at him sadly. ‘Maybe all I want now is you, here at the end of things.’

‘Someone’s outside.’

Chen listened. There was the sound of a heavy tread outside the lifeboat. It wasn’t her men, the footfalls sounded far too heavy for that. Maybe it was a wild animal, come to scavenge to crash site for food?

There was a rushing sound. Something swooped through the air above the lifeboat and landed, then another and another. Chen felt fear grip her. She fumbled in the ship’s weapon locker for a side arm, though what good it would do her she couldn’t tell.

‘What the hell are those things?’ said Ramirez, wincing with pain. ‘Michelle can you see anything?’

She motioned for him to be quiet and gripping her pistol she crept to the front of the craft and peered through the shattered cockpit windows. A vast silver face stared back, it grinned horribly in a parody of a human expression, its eyes and mouth three awful black pits.

At that moment the roof of the lifeboat was ripped away in one swift motion and one of the insectoid creatures that had destroyed the fleet scrambled inside. Chen had time to recoil in terror from the awful segmented thing before it raised a skeletal hand, and both she and Ramirez knew nothing more.

A state of panic had now descended upon the platforms as people fought for the few shuttles that could take them off the planet. It was a futile exercise. None of the ships were jump capable. Even if the craft succeeded in breaking orbit and avoided getting shot down they could never hope to get far enough away from the suns in time before they were destroyed. Steven was still trying to get through to Varish, but the radiation and jamming fields from the battle were blocking his transmissions.

Further panic ensured when a sensors operator still at his post spotted a swarm of incoming craft, diving at supersonic speed towards the platform. They were neither Human nor Arkari, and there were dozens of them.

Katherine looked out from the bridge and saw the swarm of specks approaching from a point beyond the wreck of the Arkari ship. Sunlight sparkled off their silvery bodies as they dove. The first group landed on the shipwreck and clambered quickly inside. Katherine could see them more clearly now, segmented armoured forms that changed shape from sleek airborne configurations to multi-limbed insectile ones as they landed. Despite their large size they moved with a precision that surprised her as they scuttled over the surface of the wreck like giant foraging ants.

The second wave landed on the platforms en masse and began to swarm over the structures. The creatures seemed less intent on killing and more on information gathering. Though they quickly and brutally crushed the resistance put up by the squads of marines stationed aboard the salvage platforms, they largely ignored the technicians and engineers who fled in terror before their hulking metal forms. There was now no doubt that the things bore a striking resemblance to the remains they had found beneath the temple, albeit in a more sophisticated form.

‘What are those things!?’ Katherine cried amid the confusion.

‘I know what they are,’ said Rekkid quietly. ‘They’re us, they’re Arkari. I don’t imagine they’ll be too thrilled to meet me.’

At that moment the armoured glass window of the bridge was shattered by the impact of the one of the creatures. It slid to a stop against the far wall as the assembled personnel dove for cover amid showering glass. Unfolding its legs, the thing approached a bank of consoles and began interrogating the platform’s computer systems. It slid nanotech probes into access ports. Decrypting their languages in moments, it scoured the archives for data as more of the things landed lightly just inside the smashed pane.

The first creature turned and saw Rekkid who was standing with Katherine and Steven. It stalked towards them. It must have communicated with the others somehow since they too now began to surround the little group. Rekkid waited for them to strike, cut him down in a petty act of revenge.

He had an idea. If the things were after information he’d give them something to think about. He pulled out his computer containing the log and held it out to the first creature. It snatched it greedily with two of its appendages and inspected the device.

‘Greetings, traitor filth,’ it whispered, haltingly in modern Arkari, Rekkid guessed it must have recently assimilated the language from somewhere. ‘At last our two peoples meet once more. You shall have the honour of being amongst the first to die. What is this? A gift?’ It gestured with the computer it held and appeared to chuckle, a deep warbling sound.

‘Read it,’ said Rekkid.

‘Very well, I shall indulge you,’ it said and slid its silvery nanotech probes into the device to access it. ‘Interesting

’ it said before raising its hands and stunning the trio into unconsciousness.

Outside, the wreck of the Arkari ship was torn apart by a series of explosions. The AI, refusing to surrender to the swarm of Banished Arkari that crawled over it had detonated the vessel’s self destruct charges. The blazing wreckage fell back into the dust below with a series of dull thumps. Gradually, the Alreda Sea reclaimed the ship once more, along with all of its technological secrets.

Chapter 36

‘Wake up, Admiral Chen.’

She opened her eyes and looked blearily about herself. She was in some sort of large vaulted chamber. It was filled with ranks of odd looking machines and dozens of the armoured things that had destroyed the ship. They were swarming over the weird devices. She saw that the things appeared to be implanting a living network of circuitry of some kind over the devices which spread like a mat of iridescent algae about the chamber.

She remembered being in the crashed lifeboat with Ramirez, hearing a noise and then

how had she got here? She had a splitting headache.

A figure stood in front of her. It was formed from the same silvery material as the creatures but it did not share their appearance. Instead, it looked like a statue of an Arkari, albeit a rather stylised one. Its blank expression was rather unsettling. It spoke again; its voice had a hard, mechanical tone.

‘I see you have regained consciousness Admiral. Now, do you know who I am?’

‘As far as I can tell,’ she replied. ‘You’re one of the murdering bastards who attacked us without provocation and killed most of my crew. Also, would you mind telling me where the hell I am and what I’m doing here?’

‘Your moral judgement is irrelevant as to my identity. The actions we took were a military necessity,’ it said dispassionately. ‘We had to ensure the security of our re-entry into this galaxy. We did not know of your intentions and so we took necessary precautionary measures. As to your location, this is the main control centre for the portal itself. We are attempting to join with it as a species.’

‘You killed over ten thousand of my people!’

‘As I said, it was necessary. It may interest you to know that although we have captured many other survivors we have not harmed them. Now, do you know who I am?’

‘You resemble an Arkari but you’re not, are you?’

‘I was Arkari once, a very long time ago. My mind is still Arkari, but as you can see it inhabits a rather different body than the one that it was given by nature. My position within our civilisation is not that of leader - we abandoned all concepts of a centralised command structure some time ago since we now operate as what you might term a hive-mind. However, you may think of me as the Negotiator for our species or as a diplomat if you will.’ It paused. ‘Let me tell you a little story. In the ancient past our people had established themselves over much of this part of the galaxy, much like yourselves. We had begun trading with other races and slowly we began to dominate this area of space and we grew rich and prosperous from our ventures.

‘However, others like myself realised that our greatness was being checked, by those corrupt politicians back on the home-world, and by the multitude of degenerate lesser species who saw our prosperity as an excuse to behave like parasites upon a host body, despite the benefits our enlightened rule had brought them. Naturally, we voiced our concerns about the crime and corruption and barbaric culture that they brought to the Arkari people, but no-one would listen. These parasites had been given rights you see? We had to respect that of course,’ it sneered.

Chen listened mutely at the Negotiator’s diatribe. She began to wonder what the purpose of this history lesson was. It continued:

‘In the end, we like-minded individuals, loyal to the principles of the Empire, took it upon ourselves to seize power back from the corrupt politicians in the interests of the Arkari people. We would expel all aliens and restore the purity of our civilisation. But we were betrayed. Only half of the military would follow us, the other half remained loyal to the Senate, and naturally the lesser species sided with them. War ensued, billions died and we did our best to cleanse the Empire with what time and resources we had, even if some of our methods were

somewhat crude.’

‘So, who won?’ said Chen, though she suspected she already knew the answer judging from the bitterness in the thing’s voice.

‘They did. Our fleet was crushed and the survivors forced to surrender. We were to be exiled from the Empire for good, never to return. At first we thought this would merely entail being forced to resettle in another part of the galaxy, but no. There was to be one final insult.’

It paused, as if for dramatic effect. ‘Those loyal to the Senate had discovered this place, a portal able to send ships to any point in space or time. They chose not to move our physical location, merely our temporal one. We were told that we would be given a galaxy to colonise. Naturally we assumed that this would be another galaxy, but it was this one! They sent us over a hundred billion years into the future. They sent us there to die. But we survived! Against all the odds we clung on. By transferring our minds into bodies such as you see before you, we were able to eke out an existence in that lightless place, thrive even, after a time. Though we yearned to return, we explored the corpse of this galaxy, exploited every morsel we could find. Then, at its centre, orbiting a blasted world that was falling towards the great maelstrom, we found something.’

‘What?’

‘A message from the past, from this time. It had been left there for us to find. It told us of a way back. It told us of a new order coming to this galaxy that we could be a part of if we co-operated. You too can join us Chen, you and your entire species.’

The land and sky around the temple swarmed with Banished Arkari. A sea of thronging metal bodies guarded the entrance to the portal control centre where the creatures now attempted to interface with Maran and add his consciousness to their own, thus giving them direct possession of the portal.

The inhabitants of the city of Marantis had largely given up and fled, though a few clerics and those too frail or wounded to move remained. Faced with a nightmare vision straight from the Dendratha version of hell, the city had emptied. Most of its inhabitants now camped in the network of gorges to the west side of the city. There they would remain until their god came to save them, ignorant as to whose side he was actually on.

Katherine, Rekkid and Steven had been brought to the temple and lay unconscious on the floor under the main spire. They remained under guard but were not restrained. There was no need. If they attempted to escape they would be killed.

Katherine was the first to awake, and with a start she realised where she now was. Four of the armoured creatures regarded her with interest from all sides. She saw Rekkid and Steven still deeply sound asleep. A fifth alien figure stepped briskly across the stone floor of the temple, a silver statue of an Arkari woman. She stood in front of Katherine and regarded her with cold expressionless eyes.

‘I am a Negotiator for my people. You are a member of the species known as ‘Human’ is that correct?’ she said.

‘Yes, that is correct. You on the other hand are or were, an Arkari I assume?’

‘Very perceptive, though from the data we found about your persons I’m hardly surprised by your insight. How did you come by it?’

‘I’m an archaeologist by profession. We study the past by

’

‘Yes, yes I’m aware of what an archaeologist is, please continue.’

‘We boarded the wreck of an ancient Arkari vessel whose name we discovered later was the Khostun. We found the data you refer to aboard. It’s the ship’s log.’

‘The Khostun?’ her interest seemed piqued. ‘Captain Cortill was an acquaintance of mine. Tell me, did you see his body?’

‘Yes I’m afraid so.’

‘Then they never made it.’ She said sadly and fell silent for a moment. ‘Do you know how old the wreck was?’

‘By our reckoning, about a million years. I think that’s about seven hundred and thirty thousand Arkari standard.’

‘Yes, and for all of that time we have been exiled. Locked away in the worst, most desolate place you can imagine: The future, the end of time itself. Now we have returned, thanks to you or should I say, thanks to those who sent you here.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Don’t you know?’ she chuckled. ‘You have been used my dear. You and your traitor friend over there were merely puppets all of this time, strung along by those who now seek to remake the galaxy.’

‘Who?’

‘The Shapers.’

‘The Shapers are the ones who will bring enlightenment,’ said the silver figure. ‘They are old, impossibly so, older even than many of the stars themselves. They are wise beyond anything you or even I can comprehend.’

‘Where does their name come from?’ said Chen.

‘Their name? It is not what they called themselves originally, that is certain. It was given to them by those who faced them in the past. The Shapers remake things as they see fit, remake life itself through their mastery of all sciences. Most of all, they desire to remake the order of things and bend the galaxy to their will. They despise the weak and the false, they champion those who are strong, those who act decisively. They see the duplicity in the Arkari Meritarchs, in your own self-seeking government, they see that the K’Soth Empire will implode and bring chaos. They desire order, and peace. You cannot fight them, so will you join them as we did?’

‘I cannot speak for my entire species,’ replied Chen. ‘I’m not senior enough to make such decisions. Why don’t you appeal to my government?’

‘The government is corrupt, you know that. They are part of the problem. We need someone strong, someone pure and unsullied by politics. Think about it. With our resources we could defeat the Empire in days. The Commonwealth could side with us. You don’t need the Arkari Sphere, they only treat you like ill-behaved children, patronise you and hold back the power that they could grant to you if they wished. We would grant you everything. You could be the figurehead behind which your entire species could rally. We will crush the K’Soth, the Arkari, even the Esacir and bring back order to this part of the galaxy

and that would only be the beginning. A great wave of conquest would follow. A human imperium would rise in this spiral arm.’

‘What if I choose not to join your crusade? What if I choose not to make the human race nothing more than vassals to these “Shapers” that you mentioned?’

‘You would not be vassals; you would be part of the most glorious civilisation since the Bajenteri.’

‘Yes I’ve heard of them. They built this place didn’t they? What happened to them?’

‘The Shapers

saw that the Bajenteri were becoming too arrogant, too immoral, and too indulgent of the lesser races. They decided to get rid of their failing rule and replace it with something better, something purer. They swept the Bajenteri aside with a great plague!’

‘They wanted all the power for themselves didn’t they?’

‘Be quiet! Be glad that you are being given a chance to decide!’

‘If I refuse?’

‘You can’t fight them. The Commonwealth will fall one way or another, they will see to that. Maybe it already is falling. This pointless war that you have started, for instance? In the short term however, I sure that we can persuade you

’ the Negotiator gestured towards the approaching figure of one the other Banished. It carried the unconscious body of Ramirez in its forelimbs.

‘We have kept him alive as a gesture of good will, only the medical fields of my comrade keep him alive. He was on the brink of death when we found you. We can repair his broken body,’ said the Negotiator. ‘But it’s very simple. Either you co-operate, or he dies.’

‘What does it matter whether I join you or not? I cannot compel others to do the same.’

‘We need you to speak for us. Persuade the others. Lead by example. There will be others for you to command who find the choice between godhood and annihilation an easy one. On one hand, you can rule the galaxy, on the other, your lover dies.’

‘He

he means nothing to me!’ she lied.

‘Is that so? Well, we are curious about human physiology, so perhaps you’d care to watch whilst we dissect him alive? I’m sure it will be most interesting.’ As it spoke the forelimbs of the Banished that had carried Ramirez reformed into vicious looking scalpels.

‘Choose,’ said the Negotiator.

Varish was ready now. There was only one option left to him, and he had to act. The dreadnoughts’ weapons were approaching full charge. Already the stars were showing signs of disturbances; great solar flares blossomed on their surfaces. Routing all power to his engines he dove straight at the portal.

The firestorm of the still raging battle engulfed him. He jinked and swerved as much as he was able to evade ships from both sides, barrel rolled through the hole torn through an Arkari destroyer, feinted and swooped to avoid the swarms of fighters and headed straight for the tunnel of light that reached out to welcome him.

There was a ship emerging from the portal, long spikes encrusted with weaponry around fifty kilometres in length. Varish hurled himself around its looming bulk and activated what stealth measures he could to mask his presence. The long spikes began to close, forming a single energy weapon which chewed into the bows of the Sword of Reckoning. Varish settled against the wall of the portal, angling himself to that he came to rest on the road that encircled the mid-point of the tunnel. There were access points here into the portal’s systems. This was what he needed. He extended probes and plugged himself into Maran.

‘Your Arkari friend is only still alive because of the data he carried. We were curious to see if he knew about us. Perhaps others do. Do sympathisers of our cause still exist within the Arkari?’

‘I doubt it,’ said Katherine. ‘No-one had admitted any knowledge of the civil war until we found that ship. Officially, Arkari interstellar history began tens of thousands of years ago, not millions.’

‘No!’ cried the Negotiator. ‘Not one Arkari remembers us? No-one knows of the sacrifices we made? They wipe us from their history because they are ashamed! Ashamed of themselves! They were too weak to act, someone had to

we did what we did for the good of the species! We suffered for all that time

and they have no idea.’

‘What you did was kill billions. You know, we had people like you on Earth, who did what they thought was right and it didn’t matter how many died in the process.’

‘Shut up, it doesn’t matter anyway! Soon the Arkari will fall before our might, before the Shapers. We will make them beg for death for what they did to us!’

‘The Arkari are about to destroy the system!’ said Katherine. She looked at her watch. It was three hours and forty six minutes since Mentith’s announcement. ‘In fourteen minutes we’ll all be dead because of you! Everyone on this world, gone! I don’t want to die! No-one wants to die!’ she began to shout at the silver figure. ‘I’m sick of this, I’m so sick and tired of feeling like a pawn in someone’s stupid sadistic game. How will killing billions of innocents make the galaxy any better?! Well, how will it!? Answer me!’ she leapt forward and grabbed hold of the woman. The metal beneath her hands felt warm to the touch, it felt like flesh.

‘There’s one thing that you realise when you study history,’ she continued. ‘That for millions of years all everyone has done is be unspeakably unpleasant to one another. Why!? You have the technology to create miracles and all you do is create death! Over and over it’s always the same!’

The woman brushed her aside.

‘You do not understand,’ she replied. ‘Perhaps I was being optimistic when I hoped that you would. The Arkari will be stopped. Do not trouble yourself. Already the breakout from the portal has begun and we are negotiating an alliance between ourselves and your people. You will join the Shapers in their endeavour, or you will be eradicated.’

Varish stood in empty space. It was another of Maran’s virtual images. The battle raged around him; ships fought and died all over the sky. The Arkari were starting to lose their grip on the battle. The dreadnoughts were actually retreating from the portal exits, their gorgeous hulls scored with deep furrows and craters. The figures of Maran floated above the battle, arms outstretched as if waiting for something. So far he had ignored his visitor. Varish could hear voices, machine language that chirruped and twittered ever louder in the background. The Banished Arkari were trying communicate with Maran. They were close to succeeding.

‘Maran!’ he cried. ‘Shut down the portal!’

Maran looked at him, and smiled. ‘Oh, you’re back. Enjoy your trip?’ he replied and laughed. ‘And no, I will not shut down the portal. The Banished Arkari will free me. In exchange I will give them control of this facility and together we will take our revenge on our tormentors.’

‘So be it,’ said Varish. ‘I’m sorry it has to end to this way,’ he said, and unleashed the virus program he had been engineering all this time.

‘Admiral Chen you must choose. In one hand you have the life of Commander Ramirez and the future of the human race, in the other you have death and oblivion. Which is it to be? I would have thought it was an easy choice.’

‘Please just let him go.’

‘Really, do you think I will? Come to your senses! Our races are not too dissimilar, we were like you once and you could be as great as we are now. You despise those aliens who threaten your species, those vicious K’Soth, those patronising Arkari always holding you back from true greatness, those secretive Esacir! Show them! Show them who the true master of this galaxy is! Or I will kill him

’

Chen looked at Ramirez’s prone form, so vulnerable. Maybe if she bought him some time, she could always go back on her word

‘Come now,’ said the Negotiator. ‘I delved into your mind whilst you slept. You and I are alike. I know that you are prepared to act decisively and aggressively when circumstances demand it. When your ship was attacked at Urranakar for example? You slaughtered them all. How magnificent!’

‘That was a mistake, an error of judgement. I have to live with what I did there.’

‘But at the time you enjoyed it, didn’t you?’ the Negotiator said slyly. ‘Didn’t it feel good to wipe those filthy savages out of the sky, to take your revenge for your friends, and rightfully so!’

‘No! That’s not true!’

‘You cannot lie to me Michelle. You’re a monster, a vicious sadistic killer. We all are. All of us have the capacity to wreak bloody vengeance, to commit the most violent of acts. We will celebrate this facet of your personality, not punish you. We will use you; help you if you join us. We need people like you. We need you to lead humanity in a great crusade against all others who would seek to weaken you. Choose now, or the Commander dies. I hope you make the right decision, for all our sakes.’

She looked at the broken body of Ramirez. She couldn’t think straight. What the Negotiator had said was true, she couldn’t deny it. Deep down she knew she was a killer, but she knew that she had always done what she believed was right, no matter how others might judge her. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. Not now, not after everything. If she refused she would have to watch him die, along with the rest of her species. What choice did she have?

‘Very well,’ she said. ‘I accept.’

The Negotiator laughed softly.

The image began to crack around Varish. Broad sweeps of chaos engulfed the vista of stars and ships and spread like wildfire. Swathes of fractals and static began to fill the sky. The three figures of Maran himself began to distort horribly, switching between misshapen body parts and corrupt blocks of graphics, trails of static images and transparent skeletal models.

Maran howled as he was torn apart in AI death. He tried to fight, tried to employ his own programs to eradicate Varish’s but it was too late. Gradually, his mind began to devour itself. His personality fragmented. Tortured beyond comprehension he screamed horribly and then he was gone. There was silence.

The AI cores of the portal were now empty, they awaited an inhabitant. Varish knew what he must do now. He quickly copied his personality into the three cores and took control of the great device.

What happened next was the source of much conjecture for decades to come. In a single instant the entire Banished Arkari fleet and ground forces vanished. Millions of tiny wormholes were spun out from the portal and snatched every ship and every single individual member of the machine race from the surface of Maranos and the space around it. Each vanished suddenly with a small blue flash as it was cast back through the portal.

Inside the planet, the small ship that held Varish detached itself from the walls of the tunnel and after the portal rippled briefly, it passed through the shimmering disk, never to return.

The personality copies he had left behind then shut down the portal and deleted themselves, but not before infesting the portal’s systems with viruses and logic paradoxes and triggering self destruct mechanisms on millions of key components that rendered the device useless.

The rings that floated above the surfaces of the stars shattered and fell, plunging their exotic materials into the infernos that they had defied for aeons. The streams of plasma dissipated, the pillars of light winked out and the holes in the ocean and land resealed themselves for good.

Then it was over, and there was silence.

Katherine stood in the sudden quiet that had descended upon the temple. She could scarcely believe what had happened. The silver woman had vanished before her eyes just as the K’Soth Inquisitor had. She looked around the deserted temple. Not a single one of the Banished Arkari remained.

She ran over to Rekkid and Steven and shook them from the sleep that had been artificially imposed upon them. They were groggy, as she had been at first upon waking, but she managed to quickly explain to them what had happened.

In the bowels of the earth beneath the temple Chen wept with grief. When the Banished Arkari had vanished, the individual keeping Ramirez alive had gone with them. It was too late for anyone to save him. Chen howled and sobbed over his rapidly cooling body, desperate for any signs of life in his blank, sunken eyes. There was none.

She had lost everything, her ship, her crew and now the man who mattered more to her than any other. She kissed his forehead and smoothed his thick black hair, as her lonely cries and sobs echoed in the empty chamber.

The hour of Maranos’s destruction came and went, and nothing happened. Instead the sleek form of an Arkari shuttle settled quietly outside the temple and deposited a single person who walked wearily over to the three figures sat on the steps of the building.

‘Good day to you all,’ said Admiral Mentith. ‘The dreadnoughts have been withdrawn. I was wondering if any of you could shed any light on what went on here.’

‘To honest Admiral, we were wondering if you could answer a few questions of our own,’ said Rekkid.

Chen tried to move him. On the smooth metallic floor it was relatively easy to drag his stiffening form. But the climb back up to the temple defeated her. She broke down again and wept in despair, reluctant to leave him here. In the end she gave in to the inevitable and hauled herself out of the pit. Her tear streaked face emerged moments later into the dimness of the tomb.

‘Yes it’s true what they told you. The Shapers are seeking to take over this galaxy. They predate all other species that still remain here and we believe that, having finally settled their internecine conflicts, they are on the move. But they do not seek to civilise the galaxy, all they seek is power for its sake alone.’ Mentith sighed. ‘I’m sorry for the trouble that we caused you. It was imperative that you not activate the portal. They had intended that you do so all along.’

‘You’re sorry for the trouble you caused us?’ said Katherine incredulously. ‘You almost managed to kill us all!’

‘Yes, I know. But we had to make a decisions based on our calculated outcomes of other options. It was not an easy decision to make from a moral perspective, but it was the correct strategic one.’

‘Oh. Well that’s alright then.’

‘Please, you have to understand how desperate we were. You saw how sophisticated the Banished had become. Up until their disappearance we were losing the battle. You were lured here to let them out of the prison that we had consigned them to, rightly or wrongly. They were to be used by the Shapers to cause maximum disruption and devastation in this area of the galaxy, leaving us all ripe for an invasion.’

‘Could you not have just warned us away?’

‘No. At first we thought that you yourselves might be under the control of the Shapers. By the time it became clear that this was not the case and that you were being manipulated by others it was too late. We knew that the Shapers had sent at least one agent to this planet, however we moved too slowly.’

‘It tried to kill me.’

‘Yes, I know. We had some assets on the planet, nanotech spies mainly, and we used them to observe you. When it became clear that you were in danger of activating the portal we dispatched drones and agents, but they did not reach the planet in time. We were not aware of the origin of your ship’s AI and hence did not anticipate that you would be able to reawaken the device so quickly. We were too late.’

‘What happened to the Banished, where did they go?’

‘We think, judging by our sensor readings that your ship succeeded in docking with the portal from the inside and then used it to transport them back through somehow. It followed them in.’

‘Varish!’ said Rekkid. ‘He saved us, this planet, the Commonwealth, everyone

’

‘We Arkari also owe him a great deal. I don’t know how long we could have held off those ships. We don’t know where he went though. The destination of the portal appears to have altered briefly before it shut down.’

‘Well, I hope he finds what he’s looking for,’ said Rekkid. ‘I think he went to find to his people again.’ He smiled wistfully.

At that moment the small figure of a woman emerged from the temple. Steven recognised Michelle immediately, but she seemed utterly defeated and downcast. As she came closer he could see that she had been crying.

‘Please help me,’ she said in a small voice. ‘They killed him, they killed Al. His body is

it’s at the foot of the entrance under the temple. I tried to lift to out but I couldn’t he

he was too heavy and I

.’ Her tears began to flow again. Steven put a hand on her shoulder as Mentith sent two aides to collect Ramirez.

‘The Banished tried to force me to join them,’ said Chen, through choking sobs. ‘They claimed that you were the real enemy.’

‘Yes, well. The Arkari are the only race who can hope to oppose the Shapers in this spiral arm of the galaxy, we are the only ones whom they fear at all,’ said Mentith. ‘You have to understand that the Shapers are few in number now. They work by manipulating other races to their own ends. They brought down the Bajenteri purely out of jealousy for the power that race wielded and they coveted it for their own. When they found that there was a missing half of the Arkari race beyond the portal it no doubt represented a golden opportunity for them. They had found someone who could oppose us.’

‘I agreed in the end you know,’ said Chen. ‘I had to they

they were going to kill Al. Much good it did us too. He died anyway as soon they disappeared. Their systems were the only thing that was keeping him alive. He’d lost too much blood.’

‘I am sorry for your loss,’ said Mentith. ‘The death of a friend is never easy to bear.’

‘He was more to me than that.’

‘Yes, I thought so,’ he said softly. ‘But perhaps you can console yourself with this. It seems they have been sent back to that hell our forebears consigned them to. For now, this part of the galaxy is safe. Genocidal maniacs all of them and good riddance I say.’ Chen said nothing. Mentith turned to the others. ‘Professor, Doctor, didn’t you ever stop to consider that it was an astonishing coincidence that you discovered both that ship’s log and the portal it describes?’

Yes we did,’ said Katherine. We were so naďve. We pressed ahead anyway.’

At that moment heard she the sound of Dendratha movement and turning, she saw Priest Ekrino emerging from the temple behind them. He was dusting down his robes and smiling awkwardly with relief.

‘Hello everyone,’ he said. ‘Ah, I don’t know how you did it but thank Maran you got rid of those evil things.’

‘It was Ekrino,’ said Katherine. ‘He was the one who wanted us to come here. Everyone else in the priesthood mistrusted us. No-one else wanted us to come here.’

‘Really?’ said Mentith, then pulled out his pistol and shot Ekrino in the head. Mentith strode over toward the still twitching corpse.

‘What the..? War Marshal, you just shot him!’ said Steven, aghast. ‘Jesus Christ, what’s wrong with you?’

‘Look!’ said Mentith. He had his foot on Ekrino’s neck, the priest was still moving. Mentith shot him twice more directly into his skull at close range, then stamped on the shattered cranium. Something moved inside. Katherine caught a glimpse of an all too familiar maggot-like creature wet with gore that sprouted a series of writhing tentacles. It made a desperate attempt to squirm free of the priest’s body before Mentith shot it.

‘You see?’ he said. ‘The Shapers had an agent here all along and none of you suspected.’

‘We didn’t

how could we?’ Katherine began.

‘How many of these things could be lurking in key positions in the Commonwealth?’ said Steven. ‘Imagine the chaos they could cause.’

‘Exactly,’ said Mentith. ‘Which is why we must be vigilant. I think it is time that we briefed your government fully. In the meantime, you must keep this to yourselves. You two can publish your findings, as long as you omit the Shapers. You can expect to hear from my people. There are many fascinating sites for exploration on the rim of Arkari space and we could use good archaeologists.

‘Fascinating how? Dangerous fascinating?’ said Rekkid.

‘How does the remains of a Progenitor Dyson Sphere strike you?’ said Mentith.

Rekkid looked at Katherine and grinned; she grinned back.

‘Mr Harris, you’re a capable man from what I hear. Since you know of the Shaper threat I don’t see a better plan than you be inducted into the special operations unit already being set up to deal with them.’ Mentith looked at Chen. ‘Admiral, I have spoken with Fleet Admiral Haines and he is very impressed with you. You handle yourself exceptionally and your crew respects you immensely. Needless to say we have picked up most of the ones who escaped onto the surface of this planet. The Saturn class carrier Winston Churchill needs an admiral to command her, apparently. She will be at forefront of covert operations to counter the Shaper threat. If you want revenge for your fallen friends, I can’t think of a better post to be in.’

‘I’ll have to think about it, I’d want the same bridge crew of course.’ said Chen flatly. ‘I just need some time,’ she added sadly.

‘Of course,’ said Mentith as the two aides re-emerged from the temple, carrying the lifeless body of Ramirez between them.

Chen got up and went to help them.

‘My shuttle awaits,’ said Mentith. ‘We will take you off planet to my ship and hence back to the Commonwealth. This way, please.’

‘Rekkid,’ said Katherine wearily. ‘Let’s go home.’

‘I quite agree,’ said Rekkid. ‘After all, we have to explain all of this somehow. People need to know what went on here

some of it at least.’ He rose and taking Katherine by the hand, walked towards the waiting ship. Steven followed in their wake.

Moments later, Mentith’s shuttle lifted off and sped into the clearing orange skies before it vanished from view.

When the shuttle had gone a single Dendratha figure came slowly out of the temple and stopped by Ekrino’s lifeless body. Bibarat sat and regarded the devastation about him. His home had been destroyed, ravaged by a war that his people had wanted no part of and did not understand. The great powers had laid waste to the city, its once beautiful spires and domes lay smashed and ruined.

Smoke still clouded the red sky as he looked up to the cluster of unnatural lights in the sky. He felt a pang of resentment as he watched them leave.

Epilogue

The Andromeda Galaxy: 4098,789,513 B.C.

In the prefabricated hospital on the new colony world of the Bajenteri, Varish walked gingerly about the pristine white ward. He was testing his legs until he was sure his new muscles would carry him. The doctors had located the sample of his original DNA within the AI core found aboard the mysterious battered ship that had dropped out of hyperspace and crash landed outside the newly built capital. They had re-grown his body from scratch. Then they had downloaded his mind into the waiting clone from the AI core. There had been many days of tests to undertake, but they all seemed confident that he appeared to be fit and healthy.

He dressed in the clothes they had provided him with. It seemed strange, not only to be back among other Bajenteri, but to feel alive! To breathe, to feel, to eat! He dressed himself hurriedly then strode towards the exit, bidding farewell to his carers and wishing them well.

Her saw her there then, standing in a pool of sunshine on the steps of the hospital. She looked utterly beautiful. He went to her and weeping with joy he held her in his arms for a long time before either of them said anything.

‘I thought you were dead, Varish,’ she said. ‘I thought I’d lost you forever.’

‘I was, Irlani, but I never stopped loving you, not for one minute of all the time we were apart.’

‘You can tell me all about it. Come home with me Varish,’ she said softly and looked deep into his eyes once more before kissing him gently. ‘Let’s start our new lives here together.’

About the Author

Dan Worth was born in Bradford in the United Kingdom in 1977 and was educated at Hull and Bradford Universities. He has probably worked in every office job known to man at some point and writing kept him sane during his evenings and weekends. He writes for his own enjoyment but even though he now spends his working hours in a job he enjoys he still likes to wander off into his own imaginary worlds during his spare time.