Novum Chronicles: A Dystopian Undersea Saga

by Joseph Rhea Rhea

  “What proof do you plan on showing them?” she asked. He glanced back at Jane. “Wait. You’re not thinking about handing her over to them, are you? Tell me you’re not that desperate.”

  “For all we know, the Beta army is already here. I just need to get their attention. I need them to believe me when I tell them to prepare for war.”

  She stared at him for a minute, before turning to Jessie. “Open all communication channels. Reception only.” She turned back to Jake. “Let’s see what’s going on out there before we broadcast our location.”

  Jessie’s eyes closed as she scanned the frequencies. Then she opened them and looked at AJ. “There’s nothing.”

  Jake walked over and switched the feed to the overhead speakers. Static filled the bridge. He started to reach for channel selector, but Jessie touched his hand. “I have better ears than you, Captain. I’ve been through every channel. There’s no one out there.”

  He nodded and she cut off the speakers. Silence filled the bridge. “Get us moving, Vee.”

  “Why bother, Captain? Let’s just go back home.”

  “Where’s home, Vee?” he asked more harshly than he meant to. “I’m sorry, but do you really want to go back to the torus and just forget about Civica? There were a hundred thousand people here when we left. Do you really believe they are all dead? Just because nobody’s broadcasting, doesn’t mean they’re gone. Maybe everyone’s in hiding. Maybe the Beta army arrived before we got here and the council issued a communications blackout or something. The thing is; we don’t give up on our own people.”

  Vee wiped away a tear. “I’m sorry. Setting course for Capital City. Going bubbly on your orders.”

  Jake walked up and put his hand on her shoulder. “We’re all worried, Vee. But we’re in this together, and we’ll get through it together.”

  She placed her hand on his without looking away from her console. “Promise?”

  “I promise. Now let’s go.”

  The viewports clouded over as the hull began releasing billions of micro-bubbles. As the thrusters quickly climbed to full power, the otherwise-lumbering Rogue Wave shot through the water like a torpedo.

  The eight-hour trip to the center of the colony was, thankfully, uneventful. Raines even took the time to prepare a decent lunch for everyone. Both Vee and Jane offered to help, but he declined, saying he needed some “alone time” with his dishes.

  When they were twenty minutes out, Jake had them drop back down to normal thrust so as not to alert anyone to their presence. One thing he had learned from the destruction of the Excalibur, as well as the lack of broadcast communications, was that he needed to proceed cautiously and quietly. He just hoped there would be someone left to receive his warning.

  “Should be coming into visual range any second,” Ash said.

  “Any ships in the area?” AJ asked Jessie.

  “Not picking up any thruster sounds,” she replied. “Obviously, I’m not using active sonar, so I can’t be sure.”

  “Keep listening,” AJ said. “Someone’s bound to be around.”

  “We didn’t see a single ship the whole trip here,” Vee said. “What does that mean?”

  “It means our luck is holding,” Jake replied.

  “There it is,” Ash said, “but...what’s wrong with this picture?”

  Jake looked out and saw what he was talking about. The lights of Capital City were just appearing out of the darkness, but they looked tilted about thirty degrees to the left. “Is that us or them?”

  “We’re flying level, Captain,” Vee said. “It’s the city.”

  As the massive dome came fully into view, AJ ordered Vee to cut the thrusters.

  “She doesn’t look damaged,” Ash said. “I mean, the dome itself looks intact.”

  “Plus the lights mean the main reactor is still operational,” Raines said.

  “What would cause it to tilt like that?” Jake asked.

  “I think it was intentional,” AJ said. “They did it to themselves.” All eyes turned to her. “It’s an old Shippers Guild trick to prevent boarding, but I never imagined it used on an entire city.”

  “I get it,” Raines said.

  “I don’t,” Jake said, turning to his engineer.

  “None of the docking ports will work at that angle, at least not the large ones.”

  AJ nodded. “I’m guessing that whoever is left inside the City did that to keep everyone else out.”

  Vee looked back at her. “Does that make whoever is inside the city good guys or bad guys?”

  Raines looked at his granddaughter and replied, “This is civil war, sweetheart. There are no good guys or bad guys. Just uninformed people fighting against themselves.”

  “Correction,” AJ said. “The good guys are whoever doesn’t shoot at us.”

  “Agreed,” Jake said.

  “So what’s our next step?” AJ asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. There’s no sign of the Beta army and there’s no sign of those hunter isopods, so that buys us some—”

  “We have an incoming vessel,” Jessie interrupted. “They were sitting motionless but are now heading straight for us.”

  “Do we run?” Vee asked.

  Jake held his hand up. “Set things up, but don’t do anything until I tell you. We came here to talk to someone and maybe this is our chance.” He looked at Jessie. “Send a message that we are not armed, but don’t tell them who we are.”

  “You want to tell them we’re unarmed?’ AJ asked. “Is that wise?”

  He nodded. “Good point. Tell them we don’t want to fight. Tell them we came to talk.”

  “Message sent, Captain,” Jessie said.

  “They are slowing,” Ash said, “but still heading straight for us.”

  “Slowing is good, right?” Vee asked.

  “Not necessarily,” AJ replied.

  As the ship came into view, Ash saw it first. “It’s the Scimitar!”

  “Bilge!” Jake cursed. “Open a channel to them.”

  “Channel open,” Ash replied.

  “They’re opening their torpedo doors!” Jessie yelled.

  “We surrender,” Jake called to the overhead speaker, trying to remain calm. Captain Steele wouldn’t attack them without provocation. This was just her way of trying to intimidate him.

  “I have four torpedoes in the water,” Jessie said. “Make that five. All locked on to us.”

  “I said we surrender!” Jake yelled.

  “They shut off communications,” Ash yelled back, panic in his voice. “Captain, they’re going to kill us!”

  “Not if I can help it. Hard to port, Vee, and hit it!”

  The bridge floor banked steeply to the left and then Jake grabbed the chart table as the supercavitation drive kicked in.

  “We’re not going to make it,” Vee said. Jake looked out the starboard viewports and saw that she was right. The torpedoes were close enough to see now.

  Jake faced his crew. “Seal the bridge! Maybe we can—”

  “Captain!” Jessie yelled. He looked back just in time to see the torpedoes pass right over the bridge.

  “What happened?” he asked. “Was that just a warning shot?”

  “No,” Ash said. “They were locked on to us.”

  “It was the isopods,” Jane said. “The little ones who brought us here. They must have followed us. They latched onto the torpedoes and steered them past us.”

  “Looks like they also managed to deactivate them,” Ash said. Out or the forward viewport Jake saw the isopods release the torpedoes and then return to his ship.

  “Captain,” Ash said. “The Scimitar has broken off its pursuit.”

  “She’s calling us,” Jessie said. “Steele wants to talk to you.”

  Jake looked at Ash. “Is this a trick? Has she really stopped?”

  Ash nodded. “She even turned her ship broadside to us. No way to launch torpedoes without turning first.”

  “She’s showin
g us her belly,” AJ said.

  Jake thought a minute then said, “She’s out of weapons. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “The Scimitar is a heavily-armed Colonial Guard ship,” Vee said. “How could she be out of torpedoes?”

  “The war,” Raines said. “We’ve been gone for months. We can only guess how bad it’s been.”

  “She’s still holding for you, Captain,” Jessie said.

  “Put her on.”

  “My apologies for firing on your ship, Captain Stone,” Steele said. “I hope no one was injured on board your vessel.”

  “You’re apologizing?” Jake asked. “The last time we encountered each other, you tried to blow us out of the water.”

  There was a pause before she answered, “The situation has changed a great deal since then, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

  “Actually, we’ve been out of the colony since then, so I don’t really know what’s going on,” he replied. “However, we found the Excalibur a while back, so I can guess.”

  “Captain Pike was a good friend of mine,” she said, “but he’s only one of a dozen friends I’ve lost in this war.” There was another pause, then she added, “I would like to meet face-to-face with you, Captain, if that’s possible. We have much to discuss.”

  AJ shook her head, and whispered, “It’s a trap.”

  “I understand if you don’t trust me, considering our past, but I’m willing to come to your ship, alone, to prove my sincerity.”

  Jake stared at the overhead speaker a moment before replying, “I’m at a loss for words, Captain.” He looked at AJ, whose face looked at bewildered as his. “I agree to a meeting because I actually have important news for you. Please do come alone. If there are any tricks, I’ll stop your shuttle as fast as I stopped those torpedoes.”

  “Agreed,” Steele said. “I’m already on my way.”

  Jake looked out the viewport and saw a shuttle leaving the back of the Scimitar. “Any way you can tell how many are inside?” he asked Jessie.

  “Not unless they talk to each other,” she replied.

  “She wouldn’t be that stupid,” AJ said.

  “We control our lockout,” Raines said. “I’ll watch on the monitor. If anyone steps out beside her, I’ll flood the chamber.”

  Jake nodded. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  Five minutes later, her shuttle docked, and all eyes turned to the monitor. Steele climbed up through the hatch and looked straight at the camera, her arms raised. She looked much older than Jake remembered. Obviously, the war had taken a toll on her.”

  Suddenly, the bridge went completely black. “Drown her,” Jake yelled in the dark.

  “What happened?” Vee said.

  “Something Steele did,” Jake said. “She brought something on board with her.”

  “I don’t think so,” Raines said. “Unless they developed a new weapon while we were gone.”

  “Where’s the Scimitar?” Jake asked. “Can anyone see it out the viewports?”

  Ash called back in the darkness. “It’s as dark outside as it is inside. No sign of the Scimitar’s running lights. I no longer see Capitol City’s lights either.”

  “Speaking of lights, where are our emergency lights?” AJ asked.

  Raines’ voice said, “No idea. I’ve never...”

  “What’s that?” Vee interrupted as a strange light appeared outside the viewports, bathing the entire bridge in an eerie glow.

  “Where’s that light coming from?” AJ asked. “Is the Scimitar above us? Are we being boarded?”

  Jane walked calmly over to the starboard viewport and looked up. “They’re here.”

  “Who?” Jake asked.

  She turned back to face him. “The Betas.”

  Everyone ran over to stand beside Jane and looked up. “That can’t be a ship,” Jessie said. “It looks like a huge ball.”

  “It’s a sphere all right,” AJ said. “I only see one so far, but it looks huge.”

  “It’s really high up,” Ash said. “It has to be above the upper border. Maybe up near the surface ice.”

  “Did it pass through the surface?” Jessie asked. “Could it have come from outside?”

  “That’s not possible,” Raines said.

  “It’s descending now, coming down quickly,” Jessie said. “Looks like it’s heading for a spot between us and Capitol City.”

  Jake was the only one not watching the sight outside the ship. Instead, he was standing over the forward command station, trying to turn the power back on. The panel wasn’t dead, exactly, as it still seemed to have power. It was as though everything had been put to sleep somehow.

  “Captain,” Vee said. “You need to see this.”

  Jake looked in her direction and saw Jane walking towards him, her face backlit by the glow from the viewports. When she reached him, she said, “I think they’ve come for me, Jake. Please don’t let them take me.”

  He pulled her close, then remembered his position and took a step back. “I’ll do everything in my power to stop them. I can promise you that.”

  It was an easy thing to promise, of course. If the Betas were half as monstrous as the legends said, none of them would be alive for long anyway. The colony was about as defenseless as it could be, torn apart by civil war. The Betas had chosen a perfect time to attack. Maybe they had planned it that way.

  He walked with Jane back to the view, but what he saw didn’t frighten him. “It’s beautiful,” he exclaimed.

  “Captain?” AJ asked beside him.

  “I’m sorry, but it is.”

  “I have to agree,” Raines said. “From a purely engineering perspective, it’s an amazing ship.”

  “How does a sphere like that move through the water?” Ash asked. “The drag coefficient must be overwhelming.”

  “If you boys are finished bonding over the new toy, I need to remind you that we are in serious trouble here.”

  “Maybe not,” Jake said. “These are Betas. Jane is a Beta. According to my mother, everyone on this ship has Beta blood in them. Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement.”

  Out of nowhere, AJ slapped him hard across the face. “Snap out of it, Jake!”

  “What the bilge did you hit me for?” he yelled, rubbing the side of his face.

  She grabbed his arm and pulled him down to the floor. “I think that light is doing something to you; messing with your mind.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said as he tried to stand.

  She pulled him back down. “Then prove it. Stay down here with me for a few seconds.”

  He really wanted to stand up but stayed down with her. “Anything to keep from being slapped again,” he joked, but then he felt the change inside him. They were in danger. “What just happened?”

  “Stay here,” she said, then stood and had the other women help pulled Ash and Raines down to the floor. Ash fought hard, even kicking Vee in the stomach. Risking contact with the light, Jake stood just long enough to get an arm lock around Ash’s neck and then flipped him to the floor.

  “Stay down,” he said as Ash struggled to free himself.

  “Are you people insane?” he yelled back but then a look of realization came over his face. “Wow. What are they doing to us?”

  “And why are only males affected?” AJ asked.

  “They are preparing for first contact,” Jane said. “It makes sense to calm the more aggressive members of your opponent before attempting contact.”

  “Then they want to talk?” Jessie asked. “That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

  “An alternative explanation,” AJ said, “is that they are attempting to placate us in order to kill us with less effort.”

  “I like Jane’s explanation better,” Jessie said.

  “I hope she’s right,” Jake said, “but let’s be ready for anything.”

  “It’s obvious their technology is superior to ours,” Raines said.

  “That doesn’t mean t
hey will beat us,” AJ said. “A child with a sharp stick can still kill a full grown person with a gun.”

  “You know, I think they misjudged who the most aggressive members are,” Ash said, “at least on this ship.”

  “Agreed,” AJ said, either missing the slam or more likely, agreeing with it. “So, what now?” she asked Jake.

  Before he could reply, the communications panel on Jessie’s console surged to life. A deep voice said, “Emissary respond,” and then static again filled the bridge.

  “Who, or what is the Emissary?” Vee asked.

  Jake looked at Jane, who was huddled by herself beneath the chart table. “Is that you?” he asked. She nodded and then started to get up.

  “Don’t answer them,” Jessie said, reaching out to grab her hand. Jane pulled away.

  “I have to,” she said, then walked silently to the console. “I’m here,” she said.

  There was a short pause before the voice replied, “Good to hear your voice, sister. You’ve done well.”

  “Sister?” Jessie asked.

  “Prepare for docking,” the voice said.

  “Docking?” AJ asked. Then the bridge lights came back on and the thrusters could be heard powering up.

  “Who’s doing that?” Vee asked, running to her helm console. “I have no control, Captain. I’m locked out of my panel.”

  “Looks like we get to meet them after all,” Jake said.

  “That’s better than fighting them, right?” Jessie asked.

  Jake looked ahead at the sphere they were heading towards. “I’ll let you know after we meet them.”

  The Rogue Wave moved smoothly towards the sphere, its enormous size becoming more evident as they got closer. Jake estimated its diameter to be about twice the Scimitar’s length, but due to its spherical shape, could probably hold twenty ships the size of the Wave inside. The thought of the Scimitar reminded him of his guest waiting below.

  “Is Steele still in the lockout?” he asked.

  Raines turned his monitor back on. “She’s there and looks pretty mad, or maybe a little scared.”

  “My guess is mad,” AJ said. “I’ll go down and get her.”

  “Take Ash with you,” Jake said, “just in case she gives you any trouble.”