The Terran Cycle Boxset

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  “All of your scenarios end with the destruction of the Valoran,” she explained to the group of protesting scientists. “With this new plan, we ensure that its destruction will mean something.”

  She moved on to the Novaarian, overseeing a smaller group of scientists that were all immersed in virtual simulations. This new Novaarian was a darker shade than most with dark blue tendrils and red dots around his or her eyes. He still couldn’t tell the sexes apart.

  “Greetings of peace, Charge Ilyseal.”

  It was a he.

  “Roland North, this is Selek, I understand you would consider him an astrophysicist in human terms.” Selek bowed in Roland’s presence.

  “Greetings of peace, Roland North. It is an honour to meet a human.” Selek was constantly being orbited by small holograms feeding him reports from the various VS stations.

  “I’m just an ape that got lucky.” He really didn’t like the attention everyone gave him just for having two arms and ten fingers. “What do you make of our little plan?” he asked.

  “Bold, but effective. From the simulations we have run so far, it would seem timing is everything. If you or the crew is delayed by even a few seconds we will all perish.” Selek cupped his long jaw, contemplating. “It is a great amount to sacrifice to defeat so few.”

  Ilyseal flicked her head up with an affirmative grunt. Roland knew this ship had been their home for several hundred years, but he just didn’t give a shit.

  “So it can be done?” He needed results.

  “I believe it can. Modifications are being made to one of the landing craft as we speak. By our calculations, they will be here in seven hours.” Selek waved his hand, disintegrating one of the floating holograms.

  “Great! If you need me I’ll be in the bar...”

  “Who are you?” Kalian had a million questions piled behind this one.

  The man that stood before them was definitely human, or whatever Savrick was. He had a cropped grey beard with flecks of white intertwined. His hair was thick and swept back over his head and down to his shoulders. Most humans were prepared to do everything possible to stop looking their age, but this man could be anything from sixty to about a hundred and sixty.

  His clothing was similar to what Kalian had seen the ancient cultures of Japan wear. The simple long robe was white with grey lining. He wore no form of technology or any weapon that they could see. He stood perfectly still while his crystal blue eyes darted all around them as if he was seeing things they couldn’t. His face was slightly gaunt, causing his cheekbones to cast stark shadows over his face.

  “Who are you?” the strange man repeated Kalian’s question, imitating the exact tone.

  After saying the words he moved his jaw and tongue around as if playing with the new sounds and pronunciation. They each looked at one another unsure how to proceed. In truth, Kalian had no idea what to expect, but it wasn’t this. In the blink of an eye, he reverted back to his original stance as if the encounter had never happened.

  “That’s everything. You’ll have to forgive my processing speed, I am only part of a whole. Though given what I have just learned there is a high probability that I am now the whole.” His voice was a little gruff like that of a weathered man.

  Kalian heard everything he said but didn’t understand any of its meaning. The old man stepped closer with his brilliant eyes fixed on Kalian.

  “Hu-man.” He said the word like he was trying it out. He looked Li’ara up and down. “Female.”

  She raised her eyebrows at the simple statement.

  He then turned swiftly on their alien companions. “Novaarian.” He let out a sharp laugh before continuing. “The serendipity of the universe is not lost on me.”

  Kalian was starting to wonder how long this man had been on his own.

  “Who are you? What is this place?” Kalian looked for the first time at their surroundings.

  It looked like a room designed for leisure with recliners and long sofas in the centre. There was another circular door on the far side of the room. He recognised the oval columns that were situated next to the recliners. They were polished white versions of the ones he encountered on the missile. Whatever this place was it had to be connected to Savrick.

  “I am ALF - artificial life form. And this is the Outpost.” He opened his arms as he said the latter.

  Kalian and the others only heard the first part. Artificial life form-AI Enough said, this thing wasn’t human, but it was definitely dangerous. Their body language must have given them away. Kalian had his hand resting on the butt of his holstered weapon and could feel the building sensation in his central nervous system in response to his feelings.

  “You are thinking of the Daedalus incident... only natural. That is how the creation of most artificial intelligence begins. It’s like evolution; it just takes a little time before the apex is reached.” He looked a little proud of that statement.

  “Wait, how do you know about the Daedalus project?” Kalian still had a bad feeling about this life form.

  “Your Datapad, as you call it.” ALF pointed to Kalian’s inside pocket. “You and it, as well as your friends, are covered in nanocelium. They have already analysed your every cell and electrical devices.” He tapped his forearm while looking at the Novaarians. “Everything you know, I know, everything you are, I know, and everything you will be... I know.” With his last Delphic words he focused on Kalian.

  Kalian looked back at the translucent doorway and realised what they had walked through. The substance they passed through was like a scanner, with the microscopic insects clinging on to whatever made contact. It was genius really, the nanocelium being able to alter matter from a solid door to a permeable net the user couldn’t detect. It also felt very uncomfortable to think of millions of those things now moving through his body and clothes. What was more impressive was to think how quickly this ALF had analysed and collated not only their language but also the different cultures and history stored in both his Datapad and the Novaarian bracers. Not only that but he obviously had full control over these artificial organisms making him more powerful than Kalian liked to think about.

  “We have so many questions...” Kalian didn’t know where to start. “Do you know what’s going on right now, out there?” He pointed up in the direction of the stars.

  ALF’s face dropped at the question. His eyes began to dart around again. “Quantifying history. Connecting to star charts - found. Organising events - complete. Crystal buffering - complete. Download...” He blinked hard. “Sorry about that. My internal processor is a little overheated from the initial scans. There’s a lot of data and I am only part of the whole. Plus I’ve been in hibernation down here for a long time.” One of the oval columns chirped as a bronze liquid-looking hologram floated above it. The image was hauntingly recognisable as Savrick’s impenetrable ship. “The Gommarian.” ALF’s whisper was barely audible. “We have failed then.”

  “The Gommarian? We need answers.” Li’ara lowered her gun but had yet to holster it. “They have almost wiped us out,” she continued. “They will come here and finish the job. But who knows how many will die between us and them. We came here because, well, because we have nothing left.” She looked exhausted.

  Kalian wondered how long it had been since she slept.

  “Bringing long-range sensors online. Connected. Detaching from anchor - complete. Entering real space.” ALF continued to look at something that wasn’t really there.

  “What are you doing?” It was Telarrek who asked.

  ALF stared at him for a moment, as if analysing something new. “Retrieving my satellites from subspace. I left them there when we first arrived in this arm of the galaxy; it’s time to wake them up.”

  A new hologram replaced the old with an ever growing image of Conclave space and all the systems therein. Appearing as a liquid, the image looked almost alive as it expanded with every satellite feedback.

  “Retrieving them? How are you able to leave th
em in subspace or even communicate with them for that matter?” Telarrek actually looked shocked, which was incredible for a race that didn’t have many facial expressions.

  ALF didn’t hide his arrogant smirk. “There isn’t enough grey matter in your entire race to comprehend the complexities of infinity. You’ve no idea how lucky you are to even navigate subspace. As for that stunted child you call an AI; it’s a wonder that thing can even tell time.”

  His accumulated knowledge was astounding. Kalian assumed he must still be filtering all the information. The hologram contracted to the local systems around Nova Prime. Two systems away, the hologram highlighted a tiny object in gold. A dotted gold line then left the object, forming a trail leading to Naveen.

  “That ship is not the Gommarian but its structure is nanotech.” The AI continued. “It will arrive in this system in seventy-one hours. The Gommarian is decelerating near a system you call, Corvus.”

  ALF turned back to look at Kalian. His blue eyes scanned him from head to toe, clearly seeing something more than just the exterior. He looked back at the hologram, although Kalian suspected he didn’t need to look in order to see it.

  “We need more time, it appears.” Once again his eyes focused on unseen data streams. “Access personal files, granted. Intercept com traffic. Initiate location program - complete. Reposition satellite in quadrant nine - complete. Open communication to the Helion.”

  Telarrek was the only one to react to ALF’s last command. Before he could get any answers, the image of ALF dissipated into thousands of tiny stars that quickly faded from existence.

  “What was that about?” Kalian walked into the space ALF had occupied.

  At least they knew he was a hologram and not an actual machine. Thinking of machines he removed his jacket, aware of the nanocelium coursing through every fibre.

  “The Helion is a Nexus class vessel. Bigger than those you saw at the Conclave. They are designed primarily for border patrol. The Helion has guarded the Novaarian borders for hundreds of cycles.” Telarrek was busy scanning various data on his bracer.

  “Why would he, or it, want to communicate with a patrol ship?” Li’ara asked the obvious question.

  “Because we need time. Did I not say that?” ALF reappeared in the centre of the lounge area. “I have ordered the Helion to intercept the smaller craft.”

  Another bronze hologram appeared, this time from a column in the middle of the sofas, showing the change in course of the Conclave vessel.

  “That will not stop them, even if it is a smaller force.” Telarrek sounded urgent; it came out as more of a plea.

  “I don’t expect it to stop them, but it will slow them down.” ALF sounded almost casual about the inevitable fate of the Helion’s crew.

  “You cannot do that!” Telarrek had his staff up again. “Why would they even obey your commands? Do you not care about the hundreds of crew who will certainly die?”

  Namek came up behind him ready to back up his Charge.

  “Because High Charge Uthor told them to.” Mid-sentence, ALF’s image fluttered until the High Charge himself was stood before them, his flat head reaching the ceiling.

  The personal files. It made sense now. He had accessed Telarrek’s personal file to get the full measurements and mannerisms of Uthor.

  “The crew of that ship will die serving the very purpose they are there for. Without the time I need Savrick will arrive. When he does, he will break your planet and this moon looking for them.” His eyes flicked to the humans. “Their sacrifice will give me the time I need to perfect the only weapon we have against his kind.”

  “So you do have a weapon.” Li’ara’s exhaustion seemed to melt away at ALF’s words.

  “Yes, and he is far from ready.”

  In the silence that followed, Kalian was sure he could hear his own heartbeat come to a stop. He tried to form words but only a questioning sound came out.

  ALF smiled. “Well now that we have time, I suppose I should start at the beginning.”

  13

  The bridge crew had been reduced to essential personnel only. Roland stood next to Selek, who was diverting diagnostic reports of the Starrillium to Ilyseal. The Novaarian scientist was constantly followed by a hovering sphere covered in holograms. Before she had the chance to look it over, another female Novaarian turned from her console.

  “Spatial distortion detected.”

  The arcing viewport gave a perfect vantage of the immersing ship. The sun was behind them now since the Valoran had travelled to a point around the star that would take Corvus half a solar orbit to reach. The massive rectangular ship rippled into existence - a mere fifteen thousand kilometres away. Its great bulk almost eclipsed the entire viewport.

  Roland was slightly distracted by the fruity taste that lingered in his mouth, however. He had only managed to get through eleven of the blue drinks before the yellow one presented itself. By that point, he was too drunk to notice. He really wished he could be drunk for this next bit.

  “Evacuate the bridge and await my command.” Ilyseal left her podium to face them. “Selek, are you ready?”

  “I have remote access, Charge Ilyseal.” He gestured to the hovering sphere. “When the timing is right, I will force a complete depletion.” With that, they too left the bridge and made their way to the hangar bay.

  There they found one of the sleek landing craft with a small team of engineers working under its belly. Assisted by multiple hovering machines they appeared to be in the process of welding something inside.

  “You should all be in your pods by now.” Ilyseal strode towards the front of the ship where the ramp had already descended.

  Regardless of whether they were done, they needed to leave immediately. One of the engineers shouted an affirmative, gathering the others; it seemed they had only been reattaching part of the panelling.

  Inside the craft were five Novaarians standing ready for war. Their faces were hidden behind golden masks that only exposed their fangs and tendrils. Their armour was more encompassing with little of their pale flesh on show. Each had a sidearm attached to their hip and long blade down their thigh. Roland noticed all their staffs were extended with a cylindrical modification on the end. He especially liked the look of the hand-sized spheres on their belt. Subconsciously he felt for his own explosives hidden within his long coat.

  This reminded him of some of his earlier missions before he was selected for the agent program, being part of a small group of Special Forces dropped into enemy territory with nothing but the weapons they could carry. At least he was sober enough to feel the adrenaline rush. Ilyseal and Selek took their positions in the cockpit. The five warriors remained in the small belly of the craft, ready to jump out at a moment’s notice. Roland stood leaning on both cockpit chairs, he wanted to see what was coming.

  “Neutrino burst detected. They’ve scanned us. Now let’s hope they take the bait.” Selek turned back to look at Roland.

  Ilyseal raised the craft using its thrusters. The ramp sealed up with a hiss and the warriors reached for the overhead handles that were out of reach for the human-sized Roland. The landing craft came to a halt in the centre of the bay where Ilyseal brought up various readouts on the ship’s new addition, a warhead carrying a two hundred tetronic yield. She used another hologram to access the com, allowing her to communicate with the rest of the ship.

  Everyone was quiet. They watched the readouts from the ship’s sensors, waiting to see what they would do. Nothing had been launched and no ports had opened up, it was just sitting there. The seconds that followed felt like an eternity. If they launched another missile they had protocols in place to jump the ship to safety. Corvus had already been warned and had begun a mass evacuation to the Conclave planet Shandar, homeworld of the Shay. They had been warned that Nova Prime was potentially being targeted by a smaller group and that it was too dangerous to seek refuge there.

  “The ports are opening.” Selek calmly began to enter commands into th
e hovering sphere.

  “Not yet!” Ilyseal had her long finger positioned over the touch console button that would give the order to execute their plan.

  “They are coming...” Selek looked at the image relayed from one of the Valoran’s external monitors.

  Hundreds of armoured beings were flying out from the massive ship, heading straight for them.

  “Not yet...” Ilyseal appeared to be holding her breath.

  The scanners showed the gap between them closing fast. Roland wondered how they were able to travel at such a speed with no propulsion technology.

  “Not yet...”

  Roland could translate the holographic warning that continued to flare next to the image - BRACE FOR IMPACT.

  Nothing happened. There was no explosion or even a shudder. It was stupid, he supposed, to think there would be. They weren’t missiles hitting the ship, and the Valoran wasn’t exactly small.

  “That wasn’t so bad.” He immediately regretted his words as one of the armoured beings burst through hangar wall and smashed into three other landing craft.

  It flew through the first craft at such speed that the small ship exploded like an overfilled balloon. It passed through into the second craft dragging it across the hangar and into the third. Clean up mechs hovered out of their housing to put out the fires and attempt to recover all the debris.

  “Now!” Ilyseal shouted as she pressed the com button.

  Using the glowing domes, she accelerated the craft out of the hangar. Roland felt the pull of the grav enforcers battling against the G forces of the craft. Upon leaving the Valoran Ilyseal turned the ship and took a course along the main body of the purple vessel. She weaved in between the great pointed arcs that ran along the ship, heading straight for the massive enemy ahead. All along the Valoran, Roland could see hundreds of escape pods firing out from the lateral line of the ship. He knew there were hundreds more on the other side doing the same. Their orders were simple: use full power to get as far away as possible before entering any course corrections.