The Terran Cycle Boxset

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  Before continuing down the corridor, Captain Fey let her head roll back while she took a breath. Breaking that moron’s nose would have been the most satisfying feeling she could imagine. Fey let the thought go and made her way to the med-bay on the seventh level, passing only UDC guards along the way. Naydaalan stood in the way of the door, holding his spear to one side.

  “Captain...” The Novaarian bowed his head and stepped aside.

  Kalian and Telarrek had their backs to her on the far side of the bay, both of them looking through the glass wall into the treatment room. Esabelle’s body lay on the table dressed in white. The captain’s eyes were quickly drawn to the cuts and bruises on the Terran’s beautiful face. One look at Kalian was proof that they really had been through hell; he was smeared with blood and ash, his hair matted with sweat. He had the look of a defeated man, beaten down and broken.

  Captain Fey placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, feeling the cold plates of his armour. Telarrek bowed in her presence with his own sombre expression. The Novaarian swept his purple robes up and turned away from the glass wall.

  “I’m so sorry, Kalian...” It was all she could think to say. Esabelle and he had become close over the last six months with all their training. The captain was certain that Li’ara meant a great deal more to Kalian, but Esabelle’s loss would hit him hard.

  “Everything’s going to change now.” Kalian didn’t look away from the glass wall. “Uthor says the cube in the AI has been destroyed by Li’ara and Roland. He acknowledges that there is a threat to the Conclave besides us.”

  Captain Fey gave Esabelle one last look before turning away. “It’s about time. Did you find anything yourself in the pursuit of Garrett?” Telarrek’s report had been very vague prior to her arrival. She knew that the four of them had split up, with Kalian and Esabelle going after Garrett in the Helteron Cluster. Fey tried not to think about the fact that the Gommarian was gone. It was a monstrous machine, responsible for so much death, but it had kept them safe and offered leverage in a world where they had none.

  “Professor Jones is dead. I killed him.” Kalian sounded like a machine.

  ALF appeared by Kalian’s side, as he always did. “We learned a lot about our enemy.”

  “Not really...” Kalian replied with his eyes fixed on Esabelle.

  ALF clenched his holographic jaw before continuing, “They are not without their fair share of mystery still. However, there is a new player on the board.” ALF paced the med-bay. “It seems the cube taken from Trantax IV was used to infect a Terran left behind by the crew of the Tempest.”

  “A Terran?” Captain Fey couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “How...?” She couldn’t form all the questions she wanted to ask.

  “His name is Malekk. Apparently, Protocorps found him years ago, buried in his stasis pod. He was their dirty little secret in the Helteron Cluster,” ALF explained.

  Kalian finally turned away from Esabelle. “Malekk wasn’t their only secret out there.”

  Fey watched Kalian and ALF meet each other’s gaze, a silent conversation taking place. Or was there accusation in Kalian’s expression? What the hell had happened out there?

  “Protocorps built a station in the Helteron Cluster-” ALF was cut off.

  “They built a weapon,” Kalian interjected. “A Terran weapon.”

  The captain stopped her hand from covering her mouth. “I’m confused. How did Protocorps get the designs for a Terran weapon? Is that how they destroyed the Gommarian?”

  “Malekk’s animation is very new, even to Protocorps,” ALF continued. “I’m afraid it is unknown how they came by the plans for the Starforge. Its size and overall completion suggest that they started building it at least a century ago. When we came across the station it was fully operational. The forge was originally designed to allow wormhole transportation through space, but it can also be used to harness the power of a star. That is how the Gommarian was destroyed, I’m afraid. I had hoped to keep it around for your protection but I was caught off guard.

  “I believe that Kalian and Esabelle’s presence forced whoever our mysterious enemy is to move up their plans. Infecting Malekk is their idea of waking up the attack-dog. That’s really all we know about him at this point.”

  Kalian stood perfectly still, his eyes locked with ALF’s. “Now that’s not exactly true, is it? We know that they’re made of nanocelium. That’s how they infect their hosts. Those cubes are made of the stuff, filled with them, each one a part of something bigger, serving its master. Malekk serves the Vanguard and the Vanguard serves something else, probably something worse.” Kalian started to walk around ALF as if he were a detective circling his suspect. “Now remind me, ALF, who created the nanocelium? Oh, that’s right, you did.”

  Captain Fey looked from one to the other, putting the puzzle together. They had always suspected that there was a link to the Terran culture, especially after finding part of their language engraved into the cubes. Fey found the AI to be an infuriating character, always keeping secrets and omitting the truth. Anything as intelligent as ALF was simply dangerous.

  “The Terran created it around the same time I was given life. I just refined the process and used it practically instead of using it as a weapon.” ALF remained calm, his expression never changing.

  Kalian was like a dog with a bone. “How convenient that there’s no way to prove that.”

  ALF paused. “That’s not entirely true.”

  The captain raised her eyebrow at such a claim. The Outpost on Naveen had been destroyed and now the Gommarian was gone, all their combined data with them. This was the problem with ALF; he always had something up his sleeve that he kept for the right moment.

  “Explain,” Fey ordered with her captain voice.

  “The Starforge in the Helteron Cluster was much bigger than it needed to be. In fact, I never designed one of that size. It’s just more proof that it was built to be a weapon or a transportation system for something very big.” ALF waved his hands casually. “Anyway, the point is, I can direct the Conclave on how to build another Starforge, a smaller one. Much more economical.” ALF looked at Telarrek with his last comment.

  Fey was intrigued. “And what would you propose we do with this Starforge?”

  ALF smiled. “Go back to the Terran Empire, of course.”

  His answer was met with stunned silence. Even Kalian looked at the AI with suspicion. ALF looked around, shocked at the lack of enthusiasm for his eccentric plan. It didn’t make sense that ALF would suddenly come up with this plan now.

  “Come on!” ALF cried. “I agree that there is a strong connection between our enemy and the Terran. Now we can go back and find its origins.”

  “Why now?” Fey asked. “You realise you’re not just offering a way of getting answers, but you’re offering the Conclave a whole new mode of space travel.”

  Telarrek spoke for the first time. “You would transform the shape of the Conclave overnight. This level of change is profound.”

  “You think he doesn’t know that?” Kalian stopped in front of Esabelle again. “This was his plan all along. Wait and see if the Conclave accepts us and if it doesn’t we just leverage them with technology. Starforges, nanocelium... it’s just the beginning of what he knows. Let me guess what’s next; you think you should replace the broken AI with yourself. You start building Terran technology and slowly repopulate the species until we rule the Conclave. I mean, come on, you’re a machine, what’re a few millennia to wait until you have your empire back?”

  ALF’s smile was gone, replaced with a defeated expression. “My home is gone, I know that. The Terran culture is gone, now to be replaced by whatever becomes of the human race. My reason for being is to simply ensure that your genes continue to exist in this universe. I have no designs on domination or ruling any empire, human or other. I have kept my knowledge to myself in the hopes that the conclave would accept you as you are, not for what you can offer. But I will forgo that hope
in place of keeping you safe. If technological advancement is the only way to that then I will tell the Highclave everything I know.”

  Kalian took three very quick steps towards ALF, reducing their distance to only a foot. “I don’t trust you anymore. You should know that going forward.” After a brief staring competition, Kalian backed off and returned to staring at Esabelle.

  Captain Fey broke the tension that followed. “After the chaos that will be caused by the destruction of the AI, we can only hope that offering these Starforges is enough to soften the blow.”

  Telarrek offered some insight into the remnants of the AI, “There is stability for the moment. The backup AI has smoothed over the glitches, limiting the potential catastrophes. A new AI will be required, however. After what’s been revealed today I cannot be sure what role Protocorps will play in that.”

  Fey looked at both Kalian and ALF, but neither made a comment on Telarrek’s reasoning. It was hard to see where they went from here. There were a lot of people looking to her for the solution to their housing situation and their desperate need for a planet. There was very little in her that trusted ALF, but if he could give them the leverage they sorely needed to secure their place in this new society, then she was willing to go along with it.

  Kalian’s tone was softer. “The Marillion is on its way here. We’re going to lay everything out and see if this transparency they’re so fond of is the solution to uniting us. We’ll negotiate in whatever way we have to in order to secure our future, but we have to emphasise that our combined priority is seeking out this threat and eliminating it before it eliminates us. We have to find Malekk, not go on some grand adventure across the galaxy.” Kalian looked at ALF again. “There’s nothing out there but graves.”

  “Agreed.” Captain Fey didn’t want Kalian to leave, not now at least. With the Gommarian out of the picture, they would need him more than ever.

  “You’re coming in with me this time.” Kalian looked to the captain. “I’m not these people’s leader. You are.” Telarrek stepped forward with a face of worry, his four hands coming out of the large robes. “Make it happen, Telarrek. If the Highclave wants to see me they’re going to have to recognise Captain Fey’s authority.”

  The Novaarian tilted his head for a moment before bowing.

  “Thank you, Kalian.” Captain Fey gave him a warm smile, truly appreciating his backing.

  “There’s one more thing.” Kalian faced the group. “We need to find out where the Gomar prisoners are being kept. I don’t want the Conclave to be tempted into opening their stasis pods. If they think they can find weakness from experimenting on them, they will.”

  Fey hadn’t seen this untrusting side to Kalian before. His usual optimism was completely gone, depleted with recent events. The captain was ashamed that she preferred this side to him, a more pragmatic side. Kalian had increasingly felt like an outsider during their time aboard the Gommarian. It was obvious to everyone that he was different, and there were times the captain wondered whether he would even take humanity’s side when it came to the crunch. His time with Esabelle had seemed to increase the distance between humanity and him, a constant reminder that he was something other than human. Esabelle’s death, however, had apparently brought Kalian well and truly back into the fold. Fey hated herself for thinking it.

  Telarrek said, “I do not think the Highclave would be so foolish, Kalian. They understand how dangerous the Gomar can be. They saw it first hand remember? I admit, we must advise them on how to handle the prisoners, but I do not think we need to worry about any experiments.”

  “They’ll already be pissed off that we kept their survival a secret.” Kalian’s tone was more aggressive than the captain was used to. “If they can’t be convinced that we aren’t the threat, then they’ll continue to try and find ways to keep me on a leash.”

  The captain couldn’t quite see the benefit in having the Gomar under human guard. “I agree that a solution must be found to the Gomar problem, but we’re in no position now to keep an eye on them. This habitation isn’t suitable to contain them, and you can’t watch them every second of every day.”

  There was something in the way Kalian moved, his expressions. Captain Fey could tell there was something he wasn’t saying. She had spent a very long career learning to read the people around her and stay in control of any situation. The way Kalian twisted his mouth and looked away was telling of his internal battle to tell them his secret.

  “What is it, Kalian?” she asked softly.

  Kalian looked at all of them before speaking. “Esabelle told me something before she died.” The captain noticed ALF’s attention perk up. “She said, ‘Find Sef’.”

  Fey had to think for a moment, unsure where she had heard the familiar name. “The Gomar on Naveen?”

  “It’s impossible, Kalian,” ALF said. “The entire area was reduced to a smouldering crater.”

  “You survived,” Kalian replied.

  Telarrek looked down on them. “He could not have got out in time, Kalian. If it had not been for ALF’s guidance, I too would have been buried on Naveen.”

  “When did she tell you this?” ALF asked with clear suspicion.

  “Just before Malekk broke her neck. Telepathically.” Kalian looked away, not meeting the captain’s eyes.

  Fey tried to hide her look of disbelief. This new ability was beyond imagination, even for Kalian. The captain took a breath and willed her mind to go blank but failed, instead, thinking about all the things she didn’t want Kalian to hear in her head. Her look of worry was clearly evident and Kalian responded.

  “Don’t worry, Captain, I can’t read your mind. It only worked with Esabelle.”

  Fey could only nod at the statement, trying to appear casual rather than horrified. A part of her still worked desperately on not thinking about her point of view regarding Kalian’s role after the death of Esabelle.

  “It makes no sense, Kalian,” ALF continued. “Esabelle couldn’t know if Sef was still alive, and even if she did, why would she instruct you to find him? He was Savrick’s right hand for years. He’s dangerous and Esabelle knew that. Malekk had beaten her half to death by then,” Captain Fey winced at the AI’s bluntness. “You can’t take her word for it - she was delusional.”

  “What if she wasn’t?” Kalian persisted. “What if there is something else going on that Esabelle didn’t tell us about?”

  “Then it’s just more proof that she shouldn’t be trusted,” ALF replied stubbornly.

  “Because you’ve been so honest and open?” Kalian replied with fire in his voice.

  Captain Fey looked away as the tension crept back into the room. This was a hard argument to find the right side of. She wanted to agree with Kalian, but ALF made more sense. During her earlier days in the UDC, the captain had seen a little action and knew all too well that dying people could make no sense. It certainly made no sense to try and contact Sef; it scared her enough to think that he was out there somewhere.

  The med-bay door opened and Naydaalan entered, “Forgive the intrusion but, Li’ara and Roland have returned.”

  Kalian had deactivated ALF’s hologram long before he reached the hangar bay, where Li’ara and Roland’s ship was coming into land. He didn’t want to see the AI for a while. It was frustrating enough that he couldn’t choke the damn man, let alone reason with him. His thoughts of killing ALF made him think of Savrick. Was some of his anger bleeding into Kalian’s thoughts and feelings? It had been a while since Kalian scoured his mind for the leftover traces of Savrick and deleted the memories. He made a mental note to take the time later, as Esabelle had always instructed.

  The ramp descended on the side of the craft, hissing steam from the surrounding servo ports. Kalian walked round to see a battered Roland slowly making his way down the ramp. Ch’len remained at the top, slumped against the wall with a look of sadness behind his gaseous veil. Roland was covered in cuts and blood, with smeared ash darkening his wounds. The bounty hunte
r’s left eye was purple and swollen, almost blocking his sight. Perhaps worse than his appearance was the expression of dread and defeat.

  A cold hand gripped Kalian’s heart and opened a pit inside his gut. He flexed his mind and knew instantly that Li’ara wasn’t onboard. Every particle on the ship screamed her absence to him like a body missing a vital organ.

  “She’s gone...” Roland whispered.

  The lights in the hangar flickered when all of the electrical equipment temporarily shut down. Kalian could feel the grip on his abilities slipping, lashing out with waves of electromagnetic energy as if he were a Terran child having a tantrum. Li’ara’s memories burst through his mental barriers, giving him flashes of a red-headed child playing in a garden on Earth. Her vibrant green eyes blazed like twin stars in his mind...

  “I couldn’t save her.” Roland’s voice was distant to Kalian. “She blew the cube but I couldn’t get to her...”

  Kalian’s eyes filled with tears. He picked up Roland by the throat with one hand, lifting the bounty hunter’s feet off the floor. Roland grabbed his arm but he didn’t struggle nearly as much as Kalian knew he could. He watched Roland’s face go from red to purple as his one good eye became bloodshot, starved of oxygen.

  “You said you would bring her back!” Kalian dropped the bounty hunter onto his knees, choking. “What happened?” Kalian had no intention of allowing Roland to explain; instead, he poured his consciousness into the bounty hunter’s mind and lived through the memories, as if Kalian had been on the capital himself.

  Roland was left reeling, suffering from an acute migraine left by Kalian’s not-so-delicate intrusion. The bounty hunter tried to get up but clearly found his head too heavy to lift. Ch’len had come running down the ramp to his partner’s side, keeping one eye on Kalian.

  “You brought your own shit into this?” Kalian could see the Novaarian known as Kubrackk in his mind. “If you had been honest with us we could have sorted it out before you left! Then you could have saved...” Kalian stumbled backwards, looking around with a dazed expression.