The Terran Cycle Boxset

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  Li’ara looked at her readout again. “Whatever it was we need to get moving.” She pushed off towards the rocket in a dive position.

  Kalian winced as her body passed through the alien threshold and plummeted to the floor in a clatter of metal on metal. “Are you ok?” The answer was evident as she was already standing up.

  “I’m fine. Just... come on.” She switched on the dual torches on either side of her mask.

  Kalian decided to leave the subject alone and passed over the threshold himself, feet first. Entering slightly higher than he wanted, he had a small drop to the floor.

  “Gravity seems alright.” He tapped his foot on the floor.

  Before Li’ara could answer the area was flooded with lights from above. They were on a walkway in front of a T-junction. The walls were a light copper colour and smoother than the exterior of the rocket. Turning off the torches Li’ara checked her wrist pad.

  “Oxygen levels are normal too.” She didn’t sound like she quite believed it. She took off her mask and inhaled a breath. “So they breathe oxygen too.”

  “Yeah, but so do the Novaarians.” At this point, they couldn’t really build a picture of this new species. Kalian took off his own mask and left it by the door. “Do you even have a plan beyond this point?”

  “Yep! We’re going to blow it to hell.” She tapped a chunky pouch on her hip.

  He hadn’t even seen her pick up any explosives.

  “Great plan, but this thing looked as big as the Centurion. How do we even know what to blow up?” They walked into the middle of the T-junction.

  “Now we’re inside I can actually get some readings off this thing.” She examined her wrist pad for a moment. “There appears to be a large chamber in the centre. The sensors don’t really know what they’re looking at. Everything being fed back is coming up as unknown.” Li’ara looked up to the left-hand corridor. “If the telemetry is right, we’re on a walkway that reaches all the way around. Fifty metres up there’s what looks like an access door, which should lead us in.” Without hesitating, she began a quick jog down the corridor.

  “Into what...?”

  The corridor was dark with sparse overhead lighting. The walkway beneath them was a grated mesh that rattled under their feet. Looking down they could see silver pipes that ran along the walkway. The rocket was so colossal in its circumference that neither of them could see the curve up ahead. For such an advanced race, it seemed devoid of technology.

  They soon arrived at the large copper door that opened with their proximity.

  He was wrong about the technology.

  There was no mistaking the impressive vista before them. The chamber was beyond massive and seeing it from the inside Kalian couldn’t believe it was mostly hollow. The central piece occupied most of the space but both Kalian and Li’ara were puzzled as to what they were really looking at. The two pyramids that met in the centre of the chamber were bigger than the ancient pyramids of Earth. One pyramid was at the bottom stretching up to the same level they were on and the second pyramid reached down from the domed ceiling. Where the two met was a small gap but, from this distance, it was hard to say how small it was. Both structures were lined with dark gradients from top to bottom, giving them smaller levels as they reached the apex. It gave the top tier the appearance of being a smaller, individual pyramid.

  Everything was lit by giant spotlights around the base of each structure. The pyramids themselves had a slight green tinge to them. From their position, they could see three walkways that bridged the gap to the point where the pyramids met.

  “What is this?” The Li’ara who normally took everything in while looking for exits, hostiles and any weak points, could not keep her mouth closed. They were going to need more explosives.

  “Have you ever seen anything like this?” Kalian hoped in all her travels and training she might have seen something similar.

  “No...” Li’ara slid a different screen onto her touchpad. “Twenty-three minutes, let’s go.”

  With time running out, she sprinted to the nearest bridge twenty metres away. The bridge itself wasn’t exactly small; they had to run flat out for two minutes before they reached the centre. The fact that there were no rails didn’t make it easier. Kalian avoided the urge to look down into the abyss below.

  Standing at the apex of the lower pyramid, they could see that the higher one was at least thirty feet up. Kalian walked to the edge and examined the top of the lower pyramid. It wasn’t pointed as it had looked from afar. The top was a flat surface with a black hole in the centre. He was sure he could have fit his entire apartment in that hole. Kalian could see they were on one of four platforms that surrounded the structure in a solid black semicircle that resembled marble stone.

  He saw Li’ara searching the immediate area and he came to the same conclusion.

  “There are no consoles, no touchpads, nothing.”

  She was right; there was no clear way of seeing how this thing was controlled. With the closing time frame, they both frantically moved from one side to the other, searching the giant chamber for any sign of hope.

  “Ok, so...” Kalian turned to Li’ara, “where else can we put the explosives?”

  He was no demolition expert but he was sure she must have blown some stuff up before. Li’ara faced away from the edge and back to Kalian who was standing in the middle. He noticed her eyes fixed on his feet and followed her look. The black marble around him was shimmering like a desert heat. The area took on the appearance of liquid like a black moat forming around him.

  “Whoa!” He froze somewhere between fear and curiosity as the floor raised up in columns around him.

  The liquid began to solidify as the columns formed from the ground up. He counted seven oval-shaped columns, each one a different size but all higher at the back tilting down towards him. Fully formed they were now in an arc around him; they looked solid and indistinguishable from the black floor. As one, they all lit up with different symbols in bright white light. Each now looked like a console showing different displays. One to his left had a row of symbols six characters long. The symbol at the end was constantly changing until it disappeared completely. A couple of the others had graphs and shapes on them that were obviously supposed to be telling him something.

  Li’ara marched round to his side to inspect the strange protrusions.

  “What the hell did you do now?” She looked over every symbol and graph but understood as much as Kalian.

  “I didn’t do anything, I don’t even know where they came from!” Kalian stepped away from them allowing Li’ara more room to examine.

  Was that me?

  She held her arm over them while reading the information being relayed into her touchpad. She cursed under her breath before sliding the screen again. “Fourteen minutes.”

  Kalian had the sudden urge to run. “Can you figure any of this out?” He waved at the consoles generally.

  “How can I? It’s all gibberish! I was taught to read the same language as you!”

  “You translated that word back on the Valoran!” Kalian quickly replied.

  They were both becoming slightly irate in their frustration.

  “Well, it’s not working now.” Li’ara began to unclip the chunky pouch on her hip. Her hand froze over the clip. “What’s that?”

  The central column blinked to life and looking back at her was the armoured faceplate of one of the aliens. The sunken pits where the eyes should be just stared up at her from the angled console. Being so close she could see the intricate lines that ran across the surface of the mask. Kalian came up beside her to see what had stopped her from removing the explosives. The masked figure turned away for a moment before looking back and cutting the feed. A mechanical groan erupted from somewhere deeper inside the rocket.

  “We’re speeding up!” Li’ara was checking readouts on her arm.

  Kalian could see over her shoulder as it recalculated the time before reaching the corona. Panic and desp
air mingled as one emotion at the sight of the number four on her arm. They now only had four minutes to backtrack and somehow escape this nightmare.

  “At the new speed, the Fathom won’t be able to keep up for long.”

  Li’ara roughly tore the clip off her pouch and removed two halves of a sphere no bigger than her hand. The surface was covered in bits of tech Kalian had never seen before. Putting the two together they connected with a magnetic hum.

  “What’s that? A bomb?” As Kalian asked, the seven columns switched off and began to sink back into the floor like melting chocolate.

  “A Nuke.” Li’ara cradled the sphere while activating different sections.

  Kalian couldn’t believe his ears. “You had that on board? You had it attached to your hip?” He couldn’t say everything he was thinking.

  Why they had brought a nuclear bomb aboard for a diplomatic mission he couldn’t imagine.

  They were both knocked to the floor as a blinding column of light connected the two pyramids. The noise was deafening with the roar of what sounded like a primal beast. Bolts of green lightning shot from one apex to the other mixing with the beam of light.

  “Run!” Li’ara jumped up leaving the nuke where it fell.

  Pulling Kalian up by the arm, they both broke into yet another run for their lives. He wasn’t sure how many minutes they had left but he knew it was less than four. Looking back at the spectacle he saw the nuke shining in the light. It was only a quick look but he was sure the same black liquid from the floor was surrounding it, blocking out the flashing red LED. He had no time to think about it now, his focus was on not falling over.

  They were back in the corridor running towards the T-junction. There must be less than a minute left. Almost crashing into the wall and each other they made the sharp turn back to the airlock. The passage between the two vessels looked different now. The Fathom was clearly being dragged as the tungsten filament was at a diagonal angle, obscuring the hatch. Li’ara jumped through the gap head first and deftly span mid vacuum. Her slim form slipped through the emergency hatch allowing her to land on her feet, adjusting to the change in gravity. Kalian was not so lucky. Unsure of the correct strength to apply, he copied Li’ara’s technique and dived head first. Using too much spin, he ended up facing the hatch head first again.

  Shit!

  Li’ara was able to move out of the way as he crashed into the cabin floor in a heap of limbs. She quickly kicked the ladder off its axis and typed commands into her touchpad. The consequent thud from above came as the filament and frame fit back into place.

  By the time Kalian had regained his senses, Li’ara had already left for the cockpit. He clambered through the door and fell into the seat beside her. From the view, it was clear they were spinning through space as they detached from the rocket. Century and the orbiting battle were too far to see. The viewport was almost entirely black, having dimmed so much to compensate for Solson’s proximity.

  Li’ara frantically punched in commands on the console.

  “Come on you advanced piece of shit!” As if responding to her rage, the viewport levelled out and they found direction. “We’re going to be too close.” Li’ara hesitated. “I’m activating the Solar Drive.”

  Even with his sore head that didn’t make sense to Kalian. “But we haven’t charged the Solarcite!”

  It was common knowledge that all Solar Drive powered ships needed time within the star spot to charge. As he argued his point, a horizontal lever ascended from the middle of the console. Putting her hand over it Li’ara paused, the readout on her arm hadn’t informed her of the nuke’s detonation. They had failed. Every hologram and sensor activated at once with warnings that flashed emergency red. Kalian could no longer hear Li’ara screaming over the different alarms, her hand resting on the lever.

  Solson had gone supernova.

  Time seemed to slow down for the next few seconds. The exploding light overwhelmed the viewport allowing for a brief glimpse of Century, though only a speck from here. Billions of lives currently existed on that planet. Humankind’s last hope for survival was yet again caught in the wave of a god. It couldn’t be tempered, it couldn’t be bargained with, and it couldn’t be stopped. Even as their last shred of hope died, Li’ara couldn’t switch off her survival instincts. Through blurred eyes, she pulled back on the lever. Only moments before the nova engulfed them, the Fathom blinked from existence penetrating the space between spaces.

  6

  The dome covering of the Valoran Bridge had tinted immediately to protect its occupants from the barrage of light. Century’s star had collapsed in a heartbeat, its immense energy surging out into the solar system. Telarrek’s crew were well trained and highly experienced, plotting an emergency escape vector without waiting for his command. Standing at his podium, the old Novaarian felt overcome with emotion. He had watched the humans for centuries, absorbing their culture and observing their every way of life. The spectacle of witnessing another supernova was lost on the sobering consequences.

  “They are gone...” Telarrek sagged in his command post, resting his lower limbs on the bar.

  The Bridge crew were looking at one another in shock. They had taken part in this mission and invested just as much as he had. The humans had meant something to all of them. He felt anger bubbling to the surface at the thought of the hulking ship. The Conclave had a history of sins it couldn’t hide from, genocide included, however accidental it was, but to actively seek out another race and wipe them from the face of the galaxy? It was monstrous.

  He felt Ilyseal’s hand rest on his own. He could tell from her expression that anger was not her current emotion. He squeezed her fingers to stop her skin from changing shade. It was important the crew saw them as strong and ready to act.

  “My Charge, we have detected the Fathom’s Solar Drive!”

  It took a moment for Telarrek to process the information. “Where?” he asked the crewman.

  “They have dropped out of subspace three light years away.”

  Telarrek looked to Ilyseal in astonishment. How could they have escaped the nova?

  “We need to take a closer look at that ship,” Ilyseal said with a flicker of hope on her face.

  Telarrek felt a special bond with Kalian. He supposed it was to be expected, given their level of involvement in his life since the day he was born.

  “If they survived, it is possible others did as well.” It was a candlelight of hope in the dark, but he would hold onto it. “Set course for the Fathom, maximum yield.”

  “I would not advise that, Charge.” It was Lakrandil, his chief engineer. “The radiation flash from both novas has damaged the Starrillium. I wouldn’t feel comfortable pushing it past sixty percent.”

  It was minimal damage compared to what a supernova was truly capable of. They had been lucky.

  “Very well,” he conceded. “We will pick up the Fathom and continue home. When we reach a safe distance from the effects of the nova, we will stop to make repairs.” The complement of nods saw his orders put into action.

  Carrying its previous momentum, the Fathom ruptured the fabric of reality and emerged in real space. The ship was burnt black from Solson’s heat; no UDC ship had been designed to get that close. The main exhaust port flickered as the fiery blue light from the thrust was no longer maintainable. It died out completely, leaving the ship to float out of control as it continued on its path.

  Both occupants in the Fathom’s cockpit sat very still. The only sound was coming from the main console as a small hologram next to the engine symbol flashed from red to blue. Kalian heard himself swallow; his mouth was dry, unlike his eyes. The details in front became blurry as tears streaked down his cheeks, giving him a salty taste on his lips. His voice was croaky as he turned to Li’ara.

  “What just happened?” The copper ringlets of her hair covered her face.

  He sat looking at her for a while as she didn’t seem inclined to answer. He saw her chest plate rise as she i
nhaled a long breath.

  “We failed...” Her voice sounded fragile like she was trying to say as little as possible.

  Kalian knew what she meant though; they had failed to save Century. Humanity had become an endangered species in a single day. Kalian was confident that not every human being had been on Century or earth when they perished. Central Parliament was always sending explorers and scientists into the deeper reaches of space. But that probably didn’t equate to more than a thousand at most. And how would they all find one another without the UDC or Central Parliament?

  To have the power to decimate two solar systems and an entire species in a day, what were these creatures? How were they so powerful? Why did they even attack? Kalian couldn’t fathom what could fuel a race of advanced beings to wipe out a lesser species they had never met. It obviously wasn’t for fuel or resources, they clearly didn’t even want the population. Just complete annihilation.

  He looked out across the spinning star field and wondered where they were, though a part of him wondered if that even mattered anymore. Where would they go, how would they survive in a galaxy without Earth or Century?

  “How did we get here?”

  It took a moment but Li’ara finally responded. She tapped two buttons silencing the engine alarm and using her right hand, lifted a new hologram from the central projector. It showed the Fathom in comparison to Century. From the looks of it, they hadn’t travelled too far away, just enough to escape.

  “I programmed a random jump to take us one parsec away. That was all we had the fuel for anyway.” Her hair fell away from her face to show a rogue tear falling down her pale cheek.

  Kalian thought about reaching his hand out to her own, he didn’t really know how to comfort another person. He spent a moment wishing he had spent a little more time around people than he had history books. Before he could reach out, Li’ara stood up and walked over to the monitors behind them.

  It just hit Kalian what she had said. “How did we even jump at all?” he asked. “We weren’t even in a star-spot. And what the hell is a parsec?”