The Terran Cycle Boxset

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  Kicking a root aside, Kalian knelt down and brushed his gloved hand over the soil, before grabbing a handful. He watched it fall through his fingers intently while thinking about its importance. ALF was by his side, watching him. How long he had been standing there, Kalian didn’t know.

  “How does it feel?” Naydaalan asked. “To be the first of your kind to return here…”

  Kalian dropped the handful of dirt and stood up, with one eye on ALF. “Underwhelming.” The blue sky was becoming stained with the long fingers of the approaching storm. “I’ll look for the Starforge while you work on the Advent.”

  Naydaalan wasn’t convinced. “It would be safer if we stay together. We can both search for the Starforge when I’m finished.”

  Kalian looked up at the tainted sky. “We don’t have time. The speed of those winds will sweep us across the horizon. I’ll be back soon.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and left.

  ALF pointed down what had once been a busy street. “The Starforge is this way.”

  “I know.” Kalian continued to stride through the foliage, using subtle telekinetic movements to push the large, hanging leaves aside. “I walked these streets inside the subconducer.”

  They walked in silence for a while as they navigated the overgrown jungle and toppled buildings. Kalian was forced to lift tons of rubble out of the way, allowing them to pass through a skyscraper that now lay across the ground like a fallen giant. Certain parts were not easily moved, due to structural integrity, making Kalian search for safer routes through the heart of the ancient city.

  “There’s nothing left of them…” Kalian commented, scanning the ground. “No bones. No sign that anything ever lived here.”

  “Savrick was thorough,” ALF replied in a sombre tone. “I failed him most of all.”

  Kalian looked at the AI, wondering for a moment if ALF could see his face inside the helmet. ALF had often spoken of his role in the Terran community, usually comparing himself to a parent, but rarely taking any blame. The part of his construct left on Naveen was only a part of the whole, he had always said. The AI had split his personality into three pieces in order to effectively run the Terran society. One part to oversee and govern the day-to-day living, transport and energy requirements across an empire that spanned thousands of lightyears. The second part was there to meet the Terran on their level, as an interface. It was in their homes and on their ships, a guiding hand through life.

  The part left on Naveen, the part that was currently bound to his exo-suit, was the third and final piece. This particular portion of ALF had been designed to teach the Terran about their natural abilities. Of course, to the Terran, there were no three sides to the whole, there was just ALF.

  “They made me to help them,” ALF continued, surveying the remains of Albadar’s capital. “Before me, they only knew war. I watched them develop their natural abilities and find their place in the universe. I was proud to be among their creations, their achievements.”

  Kalian stopped in the middle of what his memories told him was once a plaza. “Just stop!” Kalian wanted to pinch his eyes in exasperation. “Savrick found the first cube on Hadrok, just like the Conclave discovered the cube on Trantax IV. They’re ancient. Older than you, apparently. You told me that the Terran were at war long before your creation and that nanocelium was their weapon of choice.” ALF nodded along. “Then you came along and brought an end to all the wars and took control. Are you telling me that you didn’t catalogue everything that came before you? The cubes are made of nanocelium, meaning they must be creations of the Terran. The cubes must have been in a database or something!”

  “I can see that you’re frustrated,” ALF replied irritatingly. “How long has it been since you slept, or meditated?”

  “I’m rested!” Kalian lied. “This is about you and the Terran! Whatever’s hunting my people down, whatever drove Savrick to start the civil war and destroy Earth, it started here, with you.” Kalian was pacing now. “And what’s Evalan?”

  ALF’s mouth was half open, ready to respond with an answer until Kalian asked his last question. Evalan was a mystery to them all. The word had been found on both cubes, and Kalian was confident that had he been able to inspect the cube inside Protocorps HQ, the word would have been engraved on it too.

  “I already told you,” ALF said, “I don’t know.”

  Kalian swivelled on the holographic projection. “It was written in a language you created!”

  “A language you can understand,” ALF countered. “You know as well as I that it has no meaning in Terran. There was no person or place called Evalan in the Terran Empire!” It was the first time ALF had matched Kalian’s aggressive tone. “As for everything else; I have no idea! Yes, I catalogued everything, but the Terran were at war for years after my creation. It took me an age to earn their trust and turn things around. Things get lost in war. The cubes are… I don’t know what they are. If they were indeed made by the Terran then they were made eons ago, before Earth even had oceans.” ALF paused as if considering his next words. “We should go to the Criterion. There are no answers here.”

  Kalian didn’t know what to think, and that was the problem. He had no Li’ara or Esabelle to help him. No one he could trust. ALF’s words made sense, but none of it sat right with Kalian. The heads-up display inside his visor informed him of the rising levels of radiation. Thanks to the suit, he was in no danger, but the rising levels were a forewarning of the approaching storm. Without another word, Kalian pressed on.

  After clearing the road of a giant stone head, covered in foliage, Kalian finally came across the central square of the city. The Starforge was positioned in the centre of the square, with six other roads leading away from it, like the spokes on a wheel. The forge was a ruin. The semi-circular piece of technology had been snapped, twisted and bent out of shape. The ground beneath it was like that of a mountain range, having suffered the effects of multiple earthquakes over the millennia.

  “It wouldn’t have mattered if it was in perfect condition,” ALF offered. “Its power source is based several hundred miles from here, in the ocean. The connections between it and the Starforge will have been severed in the initial attack. It’s dead.”

  Kalian looked at the small icon in the corner of his HUD and activated the comm-link to Naydaalan. “We found the Starforge…”

  “Judging by your tone, I assume it is inoperable?” Naydaalan replied.

  “Inoperable is an understatement.” Kalian scanned the area, looking for nothing in particular. “Have you fixed the array yet?”

  “Not quite. Those nanocelium leeches should be avoided in the future...” Naydaalan sounded frustrated, and rightly so. Kalian had been treating him as if he were nothing but an unwanted tag-along.

  “I’m heading back now. We should leave before that storm…” Kalian broke off, looking into the distance with a furrowed brow.

  “Kalian?” Naydaalan inquired.

  Kalian narrowed his vision to the alley between two buildings, beyond the Starforge. Somewhere in all the vines and giant leaves, he was sure he could see something, something with eyes. There was more movement, this time from a third-storey window above the alley, and then another flicker of movement in his peripheral vision. Kalian used the suit’s sensors to initiate a quick sweep.

  “Don’t rely on the suit,” ALF said.

  The creatures were immediately surrounded by a red outline, via his helmet’s HUD. They were large animals, the size of a horse at least. The scans produced a small holographic image that only Kalian could see. The creatures had four legs, each with three razor-sharp claws. Their face was somewhere between that of a lizard and a lion, but most certainly full of teeth. A long tail whipped out behind them, not dissimilar from a rat.

  They were predators.

  “What are they?” Kalian asked aloud.

  “They look like Bragans,” ALF’s hologram had disappeared now.

  Kalian searched for the name in the Terran
databanks that filled his subconscious mind. A Bragan had been a small reptile, native to Albadar thousands of years ago. At the time of the Terran civil war, they had been no bigger than a man’s arm.

  “So that’s what two hundred thousand years of irradiated evolution looks like…” Kalian shut down the scan and expanded his awareness. His mind filled the square, taking in every molecule as if he were a part of it.

  “Kalian? What’s happening?” Naydaalan asked.

  There were hundreds of them. Kalian’s awareness found all of them in the blink of an eye, their intelligence glowing like stars in the dark. Most of them were hiding in the greenery and decimated buildings around the square. Not only could he feel their intelligence, but Kalian could also feel the adrenaline pumping through their blood. The Bragans had found today’s meal.

  “Naydaalan? Are you still outside the ship?” Kalian had visions of the beasts prowling around the Advent, stalking the Novaarian.

  “Yes. I am just replacing the array panel now.”

  “You need to get inside the Advent, now.” Kalian took some cautionary steps back.

  “Is there a problem, Kalian?” Naydaalan asked, concerned.

  “Not everything on this planet was wiped out. Some of the local wildlife has taken an interest in me.” Kalian used telekinesis to push aside the branches and vines behind his feet. As he moved backward, so too did the Bragans advance forward.

  “Do you require assistance?”

  “No he doesn’t, just -” ALF’s reply was cut off when Kalian disabled the audio.

  “I’ll be fine, just get inside the ship and keep the engine running. I’ll be back in a moment.”

  “By my calculations, it took you an hour to reach your current destination.” Naydaalan sounded as if he was moving.

  The Bragans closed in.

  “The Sentinel was a pretty cramped ship for something so big. It’s been a while since I stretched my legs…” Kalian had already mapped out his route back to the Advent.

  The Bragan sprung from their hiding spots at the same moment Kalian turned around and dashed for the nearest building. Their roars were accompanied by the thundering of hundreds of feet. Kalian ignored the sounds and focused on his surroundings, allowing his mind to spill out into the old streets and feed him an image of the terrain that lay ahead. Contorting his body into every shape possible, Kalian jumped through jagged holes and over fallen walls, all the while avoiding the thicker branches and entangled vines. A Bragan, who thought it had been lying secretly in wait, exploded from behind its concrete cover. Kalian didn’t stop for the beast, but instead held out his hand, palm open, and forced the Bragan through a wall with telekinesis. After the creature burst through to the other side, Kalian jumped over its limp body and continued his sprint.

  The Bragan were fast, faster than any land animal Earth had ever known. Kalian was reminded of his daily runs with Esabelle, aboard the Gommarian. The four-legged animals were coming up on his side now, tackling the terrain with ease and experience - the pack had hunted in these grounds before.

  To keep the Bragans on their toes, Kalian increased his speed, using telekinesis to push him further with every stride. Just when one of the beasts thought he was in their grasp, Kalian skipped a step and altered his trajectory in a single bound, causing many of the Bragans to skid into one another. A tumble of limbs and angered roars brought a smile to his lips. It was perhaps the first time in three months that Kalian had found a genuine smile on his face. Unleashing his powers like this and enjoying his Terran abilities was impossible inside the Conclave. Being what he was scared them.

  Kalian continued to use every acrobatic manoeuvre he knew to evade the hungry Bragans. Every now and then he was forced to send a ball of organic plasma in their direction to steer them off course. When his speed worked against him, Kalian had no problem charging through a wall and allowing his nanocelium suit to take the brunt.

  The sound of the Advent’s engines broke through the sound of the chase. Kalian pushed his senses and felt the craft rising gently into the air. Changing direction at the last second, Kalian ran through the wall to his right and leaped upwards, pushing through the multiple ceilings, until he came to rest on the building’s third floor. The Bragans were close behind, finding different ways onto the floor in an attempt to ambush him. For all the prey that they had ever hunted across Albadar’s scorched surface, a Terran was not one of them.

  Kalian launched himself from the torn building, passing through the jagged hole where a wall had once been. The Bragans skidded to a stop at the ragged edge and huffed in frustration at their elusive prey. Kalian came to land gracefully on top of the Advent, where he altered his body’s electromagnetic field, magnetically binding himself to the hull. Naydaalan continued to manoeuvre the ship, angling for a straight shot into the sky. Kalian could see the radioactive storm now, almost upon them.

  “You’re going to have to be inside for what happens next…” Naydaalan’s voice came through the helmet.

  Kalian could feel the Advent’s thrusters gearing up for an expulsion of gravity-defying force. “Open the hatch on top.”

  Having dropped back into the ship, Kalian quickly made his way back to the bridge and took his seat beside Naydaalan. A wiggle of his fingers deactivated the helmet and gloves in his suit. So sensitive were his nerves now, that Kalian could feel every nanocelium scurrying across his skin.

  The Advent shook gently as the storm began to encompass them. Warnings came up, alerting them to potentially harmful particles that could damage the hull and interfere with the ship’s sensors.

  “I am starting to get the feeling we are not welcome here,” Naydaalan commented.

  Kalian was inclined to agree. “If there was ever any answers here, they’re long gone, along with everything else.”

  Naydaalan keyed the ignition and sent the Advent hurtling into the sky, tearing free of the encompassing storm. Kalian sat back and watched the grey become blue before finally fading to black. The stars greeted them with their familiar sight and promise of endless wonder. Kalian massaged his forehead, noting the absence of any sweat, considering the speed and length of his run. Esabelle would be proud…

  Kalian brought up the nav-comm and input a new set of coordinates.

  “What are you doing?” Naydaalan asked.

  “Plotting a new course,” Kalian replied, flatly. He silently berated himself again for the way he continued to treat the Novaarian.

  “But there’s nothing there.” Naydaalan examined the coordinates that would put them relatively close to Albadar’s star.

  “I know. It’s for Esabelle.”

  Naydaalan looked at Kalian and nodded after a moment of respect. The Novaarian accepted the coordinates into his console and redirected the ship.

  Kalian made his way to the hold, while Naydaalan saw to their flight path. A rectangular outline was visible on the far wall, where the Conclave engineers had placed a cryo-pod, specifically built to keep Esabelle’s body from degrading. Kalian could feel her beyond the wall. The daughter of Savrick was nothing more than a collection of dead cells now, all her potential and incredible power gone, forever. Esabelle had been stronger than him, she could have taken the human race into their next phase with an experienced, guiding hand.

  The memory of Malekk snapping her neck flashed across his eyes, the image as sharp as the moment it had happened. Sometimes Kalian cursed his Terran brain.

  As was becoming his habit, Kalian relied on his telekinesis to pull the pod out of the wall. The seal hissed and a cold breeze accompanied the pod as it slid into the hold. Kalian didn’t bother wiping the glass to see inside, but instead waved his hand over the entire pod, removing the covering completely. He put the glass covering down gently, not wanting to ruin the moment of seeing her again. Esabelle demanded respect and more ceremony than she was going to receive. Had Kalian not made it abundantly clear, the Highclave would have confiscated her body and experimented on her. He didn’t want the C
onclave to see him as a threat, but sometimes it served its purpose.

  “We are here, Kalian.” Naydaalan’s voice came over the hold-speakers.

  Kalian knew what he had to do. It was the oldest Terran tradition that demanded that any death should see the person’s body returned to the star of their birth. Esabelle had been born on Albadar over two hundred thousand years ago. Kalian tried to settle his feelings, knowing she was finally home and at peace, a part of the universe once more. It was more than Li’ara had gotten. There was nothing left of her to bury or cremate, and there was certainly no star to return her to.

  He could do nothing for Liara now. At least he could still send Esabelle’s body into the next life with the respect she deserved. Without her, Kalian would have felt an outcast aboard the Gommarian, as well as lost as to how to develop his powers without ALF. His time with Esabelle had been brief, but her impact would be unforgettable.

  “You may have been the oldest being in the galaxy, but you deserved more life than was granted.” Kalian didn’t consider her virtual existence inside the Gommarian a life worth counting.

  With only a glance at the door, leading to the bridge, Kalian keyed the lock, sealing the hold off. After altering his suit to cover his hands and head, he instructed Naydaalan to turn the hold door towards the sun. The room instantly depressurised with a loud hiss, though the artificial gravity kept everything in place when the door finally opened. At this distance, Albadar’s star was the size of Kalian’s closed fist, burning brightly in the dark. The HUD informed Kalian of the instant rise in temperature inside the hold. Despite the cold vacuum of space intruding the ship, the light of the sun could not be contested.