by J McGovern
‘What’s up?’
‘I have to ask a favour of you. It’s very important.’
‘Well, what is it?’
‘Not here. I need to tell you in person. I can see that you’re in the Wreck; what is your current galactic position?’
‘Erm … I’ve just left Opus.’
‘Oh, how fortunate. You’re very close. I’m only in the next system. Can you meet me?’
Glitz didn’t know what she wanted, but seeing her face again had stimulated a familiar feeling of warmth. He nodded at her without hesitation. ‘Sure. I’ll meet you.’
Chapter Sixteen
The small ship approached the unusual planet. The Wreck was easy enough to pilot, even for one person, but Glitz was always very conscious of the fact that if it ever broke down there was very little in the way of spare parts on board. He longed to return to his old trading vessel, the Merchant’s Luck, which had been a reliable companion for many years during his time working for the East Galaxy Company.
The planet he was approaching had clearly been heavily engineered. The surface itself was a bewildering mixture of sweeping beaches, mysterious deep forests, urban jungle, and tropical paradise. The idea was, presumably, that it would cater for all tastes when it came to holiday destinations. Whatever your idea of a good holiday, you would find something to meet your needs on the Pleasure Hive.
Glitz used the ship’s communication system to communicate with the OTC, requesting permission to land on the planet’s surface. Permission was speedily granted, and he was quickly allocated a landing slot. Without wasting any time, Glitz expertly piloted the Wreck and landed in the designated area. He brought the ship down into a small open-roofed metal hangar, which was intended for new arrivals. As soon as he stepped off the ship, robotic arms carefully lifted the vessel away for storage. The proprietors of the Pleasure Hive made sure that visitors didn’t see their ships until the end of their vacation; the last thing the managers wanted was for people to sleep in their ships.
With some irritation, Glitz realised that the only way he would be permitted to enter the planet was to purchase a holiday package. He got into a prolonged argument with the young female attendant, arguing that he only wanted to meet a friend on the planet. But the poor girl clearly was not authorised to allow such a thing, and there was no way to speak to her superiors without a long wait. Obviously, this was a planet that sought to extort as much money as possible from its visitors, without caring too much about customer satisfaction. Presumably they kept holiday prices just low enough to keep a steady flow of custom despite their poor service.
‘Fine,’ Glitz muttered angrily. ‘I’ll book a one-night stay on the cheapest package you have.’
‘That would be the Forest Adventure package, sir,’ the attendant explained calmly. ‘The price includes an overnight stay in a one-man tent in the Forest Zone.’
‘Fine.’
Glitz reluctantly paid up, and took his securi-key from the woman. The device would enable him to check out his tent when arriving at the accommodation storage depot in the Forest Zone. He slipped the key into his pocket, privately doubting that he would stay the night on the planet. He had never really been one for holidays.
He left the welcome area of the planet, and found his way on to a beach. It must have been artificially-engineered, but it looked very realistic. The blue sea — from which the distant horizon was barely visible — lapped softly against the yellow sand, and bikini-clad girls splashed around in the warm shallows. The sun overhead was comfortingly warm, and Glitz started to wish that he had agreed to meet Alyce there. He had never liked holidays, but he would have appreciated a few hours to stretch out in the sun.
Reluctantly, he boarded one of the grav-trains that connected all parts of the Pleasure Hive. He sat down in a comfortable seat in first class, despite only having purchased a third class ticket, and stared out of the window as the train began to move. As the gravity-defying train shot forwards over its tracks, Glitz watched as he passed through several different ‘zones’. Several people got off the train at each stop along the way — some to the Combat Zone, others to the Love Zone (an island connected by causeway to the mainland, which was filled with brothels), and still more at the Arts & Crafts Zone.
Eventually, the train arrived at Glitz’s intended destination, which was the Fishing Zone. As he stepped off the transport, he realised that even the atmosphere was different in this zone. While the air had been warm and dry in the Beach Zone, there it was cool and moist. The zone consisted of a winding river surrounded by green land. The river was covered with fishing boats of every type — right from rickety old plasthyne canoes to shiny hoverboats. People were also lined up all along the edge of the river, which had to be miles in length and at least half a mile in width.
At a small lagoon, Glitz spotted Alyce. She was wearing mud-repelling boots, along with a plasthyne body cover. She waved when she saw him approach.
‘Lovely day,’ Glitz said, staring out at the river.
‘Isn’t it?’ Alyce cast her fishing rod into the river; it penetrated the water with a small splash. ‘Some people believe that these kind of rods have been used for over ten thousand years, but no one knows for sure.’ She glanced around at the other fishers. ‘All these people love their atomic nets, or their nucleic fishing rods. But you can’t beat the old-fashioned way. It’s so relaxing.’
Her face lit up. ‘Wait, I think I’ve caught something!’ She reeled in her line quickly, pulling something up out of the water. She held up the flapping blue creature. ‘It’s a skyfish — they’re actually rare, but I imagine that the Pleasure Hive staff keep the rivers topped up with them.’
She tossed the fish back into the river and laughed. Glitz was impressed by how relaxed she was away from official duties. Her hair was hanging loosely in the breeze, and she had an easy naturalness about her smile and posture. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, but her face had a light, unblemished complexion.
‘Thanks for coming,’ Alyce said, stretching out a large plasthyne sheet in front of the muddy lagoon. ‘Please, sit down.’
Frowning slightly, Glitz sat down, cross-legged, on the sheet, and Alyce sat down next to him.
‘I would have told you more over the Net,’ Alyce said, ‘only I couldn’t be sure that no one was listening in. That’s the beauty of the Pleasure Hive — it’s a strictly bug-free environment. The staff scan for them every ten seconds. You can’t relax, you see, if you’re worried about things you say coming back to haunt you. Quite literally, what happens on the Pleasure Hive stays on the Pleasure Hive.’ She grinned.
‘So what’s so urgent?’ Glitz said.
Alyce’s face became a little more serious. ‘Before we begin, I need to tell you a little bit about myself. For one thing, my real name. It isn’t Alyce Wickham. It’s Alyce Rejak-Thohne.’
‘Rejak-Thohne?’ Glitz repeated her words; it took a few seconds for the full import to sink in. ‘You mean you’re part of the Rejak-Thohne family?’
She nodded. Glitz had heard the name, of course. Everyone had. The Rejak-Thohnes were famous for being one of the oldest and richest noble families in the Imperium. They had plantations stretching nearly from one end of the galaxy to another; they were the masters of hundreds of worlds, and commanded millions of men.
‘I didn’t want any special favours when I entered the Navy,’ she explained. ‘Plus there was another reason to conceal my real name. The Rejak-Thohnes, although powerful, have a certain … reputation among the rest of the aristocracy. Of course, most of this reputation doesn’t filter through to the proletariat. Most commoners regard us simply as a family of great standing.’
Glitz shook his head. ‘So what’s this reputation you have?’
‘Do you know the legend of the Zierons?’
‘Of course. I mean — I know we’re not supposed to talk about it these days. But yes, the Zierons were the aliens that brought humanity the phase drive in the old myth.’
&
nbsp; Alyce nodded. ‘That’s right. The legend says that the Zierons came to our galaxy through a natural wormhole, a singularity resonating on the same frequency as another point, far away in another galaxy.’ She paused. ‘Well, according to my family history, one of my distant ancestors, a man named Cillian Rejak, was one of the people privileged enough to make contact with the Zierons during their visit to our galaxy.’
‘Interesting. But you can’t believe it? The Zierons weren’t real. It’s just a story for children.’
‘Perhaps. But perhaps not. According to my family history, the Zierons gave Cillian Rejak a machine which enabled him to easily mine precious metals from asteroids, thus paving the way for him to build up a fortune. He ended up getting married to a woman called Martha Thohne — and our noble tree was born.’
‘So this reputation of yours …?’
‘My great-grandfather became infamous for his unwavering belief in the truth of the family legend. He was also convinced that the only hope for humanity was to relocate the Zierons, so their compassionate wisdom could guide us into an age of peace. He openly believed that the family fortune was only a lot of refuse, unless it was used to locate the Zierons. He was convinced that if the Zierons could be persuaded to return again, the problems inherent in the Imperium could be solved, making way for a nobler and fairer empire.’ She grinned. ‘My grandfather wasn’t put off, either, by the way my great-grandfather was treated by the rest of the aristocracy. He too devoted his life to finding the Zierons.’
‘And your father?’
‘He was a little more pragmatic. By the time he received his inheritance, the family riches were seriously dwindling. He has spent his years restoring the family finances — and has done a fine job, too.’
‘Which brings us to you.’
‘It does. Well, I am no idealist like my grandfather. If the Zierons do not exist, no amount of wishing and blind faith will conjure them into existence. While the family legend is attractive, I had not received any convincing proof of its authenticity. There did not seem to be a shred of evidence pointing towards a meeting between my ancestor and a benevolent alien race.’
‘Had not? So you’ve seen proof since?’
Alyce smiled. ‘I think so. Three days ago, one of my uncles died. The funeral is to be held next week. The thing is, when he died, my Aunt Callia — another believer in the Zierons — immediately went into his study and made a search of his papers. In among a pile of ancient, dusty papers, she found a star chart.’
‘Pointing to the location of the wormhole?’
‘Perhaps. The paper bears the Rejak seal, and the signature clearly reads ‘Cillian Rejak’. It’s clear that my ancestor drew up this chart — pointing to a specific area in space, somewhere in the Nosferatu Sector.’
‘Interesting …’
Alyce nodded enthusiastically. ‘Of course, it’s most likely nothing. The Rejak-Thohnes are pretty stubborn, but you can’t make a legend true simply by believing in it.’
‘But you still want to look?’
‘Yes. Because what if the story is true? Imagine the implications. If we could bring the Zierons back, we could fix the Imperium — usher in a new age of peace and prosperity.’
‘Or start an intergalactic war …’
‘I don’t think so,’ Alyce said. ‘Most stories about the Zierons agree that they were a peaceful race. After all, the old legend says that they gave us the Phase Drive. If they were that advanced thousands of years ago, they could have easily wiped us out if that was their desire.’
‘That’s true.’
Alyce took hold of Glitz’s hand suddenly. ‘I need you to come with me. I’m a decent pilot, but you have years of experience circumnavigating the galaxy. More than that — I trust you. If I’m to have anyone by my side, I want it to be you.’
Glitz paused. He was intrigued by the idea of possibly finding the mythical aliens, but the Nosferatu Sector was infamous for piracy. There were even tales of a vampiric life form, pulling in unwary ships with its tractor beams, breaking into them, and sucking the blood out of their occupants. Now there was a children’s story he didn’t want to verify.
‘I’ll pay you, of course,’ Alyce said, sensing his reluctance. ‘My family have great pools of resources. You won’t have to worry about money once the trip is over.’
He squeezed her hands and looked into her eyes. He felt a warm feeling rush through him, quite different from the sensation of lust that he was quite used to while in the presence of a beautiful woman. No, it was something else entirely.
‘No,’ Glitz said.
Alyce’s face fell. ‘Oh. I see.’
‘No, I won’t take your money.’ Glitz grinned at her. ‘I’ll come with you, but because I’m your friend. If the Zierons are out there, we’ll find them together.’
‘Really?’ Alyce hugged Glitz. ‘Thank you.
Glitz stood up, stepping off the plasthyne sheet back onto the muddy ground.
‘Now?’ Alyce said.
‘Why wait?’ He smiled at her. ‘Let’s see if we can find ourselves a wormhole …’
They returned via the grav-train to the Welcome Zone, and requested the return of Alyce’s ship. It was mutually decided to leave the Wreck on the planet for recycling or salvage, once Glitz had removed his possessions. They had only bought it in the first place to sneak to Chaos without being spotted, and Glitz had no sentimental feelings for it. By her account, Alyce’s ship was far more comfortable.
Once Glitz had retrieved his possessions, they boarded Alyce’s ship, which was named Middlemarch. Alyce explained that it was named after a book of questionable veracity, which was possibly from the times before the Imperium. Most scholars doubted its authenticity, claiming that it was a forgery created by humanities students at Edo University, but if it was true, it painted a picture of a past human civilisation far more alien than that of the Snakes or other alien species known to the Imperium.
The Middlemarch, which was Alyce’s private cruiser and not owned by the Navy, was incredibly luxurious. The exterior design was quite muted; Alyce explained that this was to avoid the attention of space pirates who might otherwise smell rich pickings. But when they entered the ship, Glitz was astounded by the interior. The floors were all richly carpeted, and the walls were panelled with limewood. Holo-paintings hung on the wall corridors, depicting members of the noble Rejak-Thohne family.
‘Ostentatious, isn’t it?’ Alyce said, with some distaste. ‘It used to belong to my mother, but she doesn’t fly anymore because she was diagnosed with Heronie’s disease.’
‘You mean you don’t like it?’
She grinned. ‘I wouldn’t say that. It’s just a bit … over the top. I guess I’m just a simple girl with simple pleasures. Talking of which … the dining room is through here. Oh, wait, let me set the autopilot first.’
Alyce brought the ship into phase space, and set the ship to travel towards the Nosferatu System. If there were any problems, there was a remote console in the dining room, which she could use to perform course-correction. Glitz and Alyce entered the dining room, which had a long limewood table. They were greeted by a smartly-dressed waiting robot, who showed them to the table and took their orders.
‘So we can order anything?’
Alyce nodded. ‘The ship is fitted with a marvellous food synthesiser. That’s one thing about the ship that is to my tastes.’
Glitz ordered a beefsteak. When it arrived, he stared at it suspiciously — it more resembled a block of grey rubber than a delicious steak. He tasted a chunk, warily, but to his surprise the texture and taste were identical to a real steak. It was simply the appearance that was inaccurate.
‘So when do you return to work, Captain?’
‘There’s no need to call me Captain. Alyce is fine. I’ve still got nearly a week of leave — the Navy were very generous after our mission. I’m assigned to roaming duties around the outer worlds for the next few months — I told the Admiral I would rather fig
ht Ozytan on the front line, but he thinks I’m too inexperienced. And that after we found out about the Weerms in the first place!’
‘All the same, you must be looking forward to going back.’
‘In a way …’ She paused. ‘I don’t know. In a way, I feel more like myself when I’m not commanding a ship.’
‘I’ve noticed a difference in you,’ Glitz observed. ‘You seem a lot calmer. Happier.’
‘I’ve always wanted to command a ship — ever since I was a little girl. I had posters of every type of spaceship you can imagine pinned up on my bedroom wall, and I’d spend hours dreaming about planets right out on the Rim. I figured that joining the Navy would be the best way to travel — I’d be seeing the stars and serving the Imperium at the same time.’
‘But it’s not what you thought?’
‘I suppose …’ She paused thoughtfully. ‘The actual travelling is wonderful. And I love to serve the Imperium. But there’s so much red tape, so much damn bureaucracy. You can’t even carry out a simple reconnaissance operation without filling in half a dozen forms afterwards. The whole Navy superstructure is, in my view, stifling.’