by Rexx Deane
Duggan patted the cube. ‘Indeed you did. Cullen was knocked out by it completely. I think the effect had a greater impact because of how long he’d been possessed.’
‘How long has he been possessed?’ Sebastian asked.
‘Um, about sixty years, or three weeks – depending on how you look at it.’
Sebastian unclipped the helmet from his pressure suit and took a deep breath. ‘All this action’s been exhausting. I need some sleep, I’m still running on station time.’
‘Go and get some rest, then. The autopilot can cope and I’m sure the SI can take over if needs be.’
‘Let me know when we arrive.’ He made his way down to the cargo hold, and fell asleep on the netting in moments.
***
For several minutes the street remained silent, a thick layer of dust coating everything in sight. Aryx stifled a cough. The vegetables in the gardens were going to be gritty after all that.
Out of the dust cloud came movement: a man in his late forties or early fifties, waving at someone farther down the street. Aryx moved to get a better view. Two figures entered by the bottom gate and a red dot appeared in the bottom right of his vision.
‘Hello, Aryx,’ came Wolfram’s voice from the mobipack.
‘They’re here!’ he said, grabbing Janyce’s hand, and they ran into the street. The man staggered back as they passed.
‘Seb!’ Janyce yelled, flinging her arms wide. ‘I thought you were killed!’ She jumped up to hug him, almost knocking him over. Erik ran up and embraced both of them around their waists.
Aryx waited for them to finish and hugged Sebastian briefly. ‘Good work. I’m glad you’re okay.’ He smiled.
Duggan put his hand up, pointed to himself, then up the street, and headed up the hill.
Sebastian nodded and turned back to the group. ‘What are you all doing here?’
‘The Folians told us it wasn’t safe to stay there,’ Aryx said, ‘so we brought the runner.’
Sebastian blinked. ‘But there are foot controls in those older ships!’
‘Yes, Janyce piloted it.’
His eyes widened.
‘Believe it, girlfriend,’ Janyce said, hands on hips.
Sebastian laughed.
‘So, what happened up there?’ Aryx asked.
Sebastian nodded in the direction of the man Duggan now approached. ‘Come with me and you’ll find out.’
As they drew close, Duggan spoke in English. ‘Kibble Vardstrom, I’d like to introduce my friends. Sebastian Thorsson you know, and this is Aryx Trevarian, Sebastian’s sister-in-law Janyce, and her son Erik.’
‘Trevarian? Sounds familiar. I think my sister was dating someone with a name that sounded like that.’ Kibble shook hands with them in turn and gripped Duggan by the arms. ‘It’s good to see you.’
‘It’s good to see you again, too, old boy.’
‘Heh, look who’s talking! Old. How long has it been?’
‘Sixty-odd years.’
‘Soddin’ hell! It’s taken that long for us to get back?’ Kibble shook his head. ‘I can’t believe it. How the heck did we even get so far away? Is there a space anomaly around here, or somethin’?’
Aryx snorted. Space anomalies indeed – whatever next?
Duggan slapped a hand on Kibble’s shoulder and steered him in the direction of the bar. ‘Ah, yes, about that … I’d be grateful if you could tell the others that it was a space anomaly, assuming Cullen didn’t already tell them.’
‘He told us nothing, just that he’d changed his mind about staying here, and that we should go to the planet below. Never knew why. What did happen?’
‘Are we okay to talk? Nobody else is going to follow you out of the ship, are they?’
‘Daniel’s out cold, and may be for a while. I told the others to stay put until I tell ’em to come out, so yes, we can talk.’
The group entered the rickety saloon and, after searching for some chairs, nestled around the only table sturdy enough to sit at.
‘So, what’s really going on?’ Kibble asked.
Duggan took a deep breath. ‘It’s a long story, and you’re not going to believe most of it, but humour me anyway.’
‘Whatever, just start at the beginning.’
‘As you may remember, William and I left to visit the planet below—’
Kibble nodded. ‘Yes, that was just a couple of months ago.’
‘Sixty years—’
‘Yeah, whatever. Sixty years, three days …’ Kibble waved his hand dismissively. ‘It’s all the same.’
Duggan’s face reddened. ‘We left for Achene, where we bumped into the Folians, the native species of intelligent life in the form of trees. They taught me how to use the mineral we found here – you know, the one that disappears – to perform magic.’
While Kibble wore an expression of aloof disbelief, there was a look in his eyes that betrayed a subtle hint of acceptance, as though he’d already suspected something unusual was going on from the start. Perhaps events surrounding William had prepared him for it.
Duggan continued. ‘If you use it incorrectly, there’s a possibility of being temporarily possessed by a kind of extra-spatial entity. They appear to be the same things referred to in old religions as demons. Judging by what we found in your diary, it seems that if a possessed person brings someone else to the point of death, that entity can jump into the victim permanently.’
‘That’s what happened to Daniel?’
‘Yes. William was temporarily possessed—’
‘—because he’d been doing “magic”?’
‘Uh, well … We don’t know for certain, but whatever the reason, the entities must have seen the Folians as a threat and decided to use Cullen to destroy them. The Folians’ only defence was to teleport the Iceni and everyone in it away.’
Kibble scratched his head. ‘Where do these guys come into it?’ he asked, gesturing to the others around the table. ‘And why the hell are you all dressed like a kids’ slumber party?’
Sebastian went to speak, but Aryx put a hand up to stop him. ‘You’ll complicate it, and your English is terrible,’ he said, and turned to Kibble. ‘Because of how long you’ve been travelling, to you, we’re effectively from over two hundred years in your future …’ He continued to explain the situation aboard Tenebrae and the link between the demons and the ITF. ‘… They used Duggan to blow up the lab, and it was the investigation of the explosion that led us to him, and so, to you.’
Kibble slowly shook his head. ‘This is very convoluted.’
‘I know,’ Duggan said, ‘and I’m sorry I can’t make it any simpler.’
‘What do these demon things want and why didn’t they just get the ITF to tell Gladrin to stop the research?’
‘If they had told him to stop, he would have questioned it and may have discovered what was going on. Instead, they used my abilities to cause the explosion.’
Kibble rubbed his chin. ‘If the entities already knew where Achene was, they’d have sent the ITF to destroy the Folians long ago, wouldn’t they, rather than getting us to come back to do it?’
‘I … suppose.’
‘And the ones that have been possessing you didn’t know where Achene was because you had your memory wiped. So there can’t be any direct communication between them.’
‘The ITF knew where Yazor was, so there must be some communication between them and the entities.’
‘Perhaps it’s difficult, or there’s some kind of schedule.’
‘It’s more likely,’ Duggan said, scratching his chin, ‘that they can’t communicate with others in their realm while they’re possessing people in this world.’
‘So how did they relay our location to the ITF?’ Aryx asked.
Kibble’s eyes narrowed. ‘They might have someone in the ITF that gets possessed on purpose in order to receive messages.’
Duggan shuddered visibly. ‘What a horrible thought.’
‘We’re not sure what t
he entities want,’ Sebastian said, ‘but they seem to have been interfering with Humans for centuries. Without knowing exactly what they are and where they come from, we have no way of knowing why they’re trying to possess people. If they’re doing something with terrorists, you can bet it’s something bad. That’s why we’re here, Kibble. I had to bring my family here to keep them safe, just in case they try to get to me through them as they did with Gladrin.’
‘I see. So they’re going to stay here with us for a bit, and we’re not going to get whisked across the galaxy again?’
‘No, as long as you don’t try to kill the Folians,’ Duggan said. ‘And if anyone tries anything stupid, they’ll have me to deal with.’
Kibble clapped his hands together. ‘Right! That’s all I need to know. I’ll fill Daniel in when he wakes up. I s’pose we should get the ultrasonics set up before it gets dark.’
‘No need,’ Aryx said, ‘the Folians have sent two of their people here to repel the flies from the town and anywhere else you wish to settle.’
‘Are they here now? Can I meet them?’
‘They’ll reveal themselves to you in time, when they think you’re ready to accept them,’ Sebastian said. ‘It’ll take a while for you to earn their trust. Duggan knows them well and will stay with you. I’d advise not cutting down any trees that look like people.’
‘Well, I guess that’s a wise move. It seems we’re a bit out of touch with the galaxy, after all. None of us have ever met an alien, so it’ll be a bit of a shock if we’re not led into it gently.’
Aryx had never considered how different it must be for them, to have grown up on Earth with no exposure to alien culture at all. It was just as well the Folians were hiding.
‘Speaking of which,’ Kibble said, ‘what’s up with yer legs?’
Aryx looked down at himself. ‘They’ve been amputated.’
‘I mean the glowy shins.’
‘It’s a prosthetic device I built myself.’
Kibble raised an eyebrow.
‘I’d be happy to explain the principle to you sometime. I imagine you’d find it interesting.’
‘I’m sure I would, at that.’
Erik made a small snorting sound; he’d already fallen asleep sitting on Janyce’s lap.
Sebastian rose from his seat. ‘I think someone needs to get to bed. Aryx and I will spend the night here and head off in the morning.’
‘It’s a bit early for going to bed, isn’t it?’ Duggan said.
Aryx prodded himself in the chest. ‘Running on station time, remember?’
Kibble pushed himself up from the table. ‘I’d better let you all get settled in, then. I’ll keep the crew on the ship overnight and tell them it’s because of the flies or something – I’ll let them out after you’ve gone. That’ll give me time to think up how to introduce your family. God knows how I’m going to explain that one.’
‘I’ll help you,’ Duggan said. ‘Just don’t tell them about the galaxy at large. They won’t be ready for it. It took me long enough to get used to the idea after I met the Folians.’
Aryx stifled a yawn. ‘On the plus side, if they think there’s nowhere else to go, it’ll stop them from nicking the runners and getting lost, or revealing the colony’s location.’
‘I’ll see to it, and will see you anon.’ Kibble waved, and stumbled over the half-hanging door on his way out.
‘Do you think he’ll be able to keep it under his hat?’ Sebastian whispered.
Duggan scratched his nose. ‘He’s a good chap, I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. I’ll fill Cullen in on as much as he needs to know. I’m not sure how comfortable he will be with it, but at least he’s likely to listen to Kibble, even if he doesn’t listen to me.’
Aryx stood and turned to leave. ‘Right, let’s get some sleep before we all pass out.’ The beds in the hospital were calling, no matter how filthy they were.
The sun was beginning to set. Firefly-like insects crawled around on the roofs in the warm twilight and the fragrance of night-scented stock met him as he walked down the steps, reminding him of the farm back on Earth. It would be good to visit the place again when things calmed down. Yes, someday soon. Waiting for the station’s free five-yearly round trip would be too late.
He looked up at the horsetail clouds brushed across the sky, where the bright spray of Yazor’s once-comet hung – it wasn’t exactly discrete. Good luck explaining that, Duggan.
They settled down for the night in the hospital; Janyce cuddled up on a cot with Erik, while the others lay on individual beds. For the first time in weeks, they all slept soundly.
***
Sebastian woke spontaneously, and completely refreshed – a dreamless sleep had worked wonders. It was still dark, but Achene’s faint orange glow came through the window in a parody of moonlight.
‘What time is it?’
‘Monday, zero-eight-hundred, station-time,’ Wolfram said. ‘The local equivalent is zero-four-hundred.’
‘Excellent. We need to get a move on before the colonists wake up.’ He rubbed his face with a squirt of water from the N-suit and went to the snoring Aryx and nudged him awake.
Aryx rolled over and blinked sleepily. ‘What.’
‘Oh-eight-hundred. Need to go.’
He sat up and stretched. Sebastian handed him the cube and left him to put on the mobipack and AR glasses while he approached Janyce and gently roused her from her sleep.
‘We’re off now. Don’t wake Erik. He won’t want us to go.’
She smiled. ‘Stay safe, and try to contact us when you can. If you can, send us an infoslate with Encyclopaedia Galactica, too. I don’t like having to keep him away from school any longer than I have to.’
‘I will.’ He squeezed her shoulder and bent down to kiss Erik on the forehead. He was getting used to having them around. ‘I’ll come back as soon as I can. If you need anything else desperately, Duggan should be able to get a message to us.’
‘Bye, Seb. Love you.’ A tear rolled down her face onto the pillow.
He stood and gave her a reassuring smile.
Aryx strode over and stood beside him, his legs glowing faintly in the darkness. ‘I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble, Jan.’
Her smile returned. ‘I’m sure you will.’
As Sebastian left, he paused on the threshold. Janyce and Erik would be safe with Duggan, wouldn’t they? He turned to look at the huge column of the colony ship at the top of the hill; it was a shame he and Aryx wouldn’t get a chance to meet the colonists before leaving.
‘Aren’t you going to say bye to Duggan?’ Aryx asked, as they walked down the hill.
‘No, he needs his rest, too. I think yesterday wore him out – he’ll understand.’
‘Do you think Gladrin will have managed to brush the investigation under the carpet?’
‘I hope so. The video evidence wasn’t on the main systems, so that’s not a problem.’ He wasn’t sure how much of the investigation was truly secret, but there was no need to worry Aryx unnecessarily.
The pair exited the gate at the bottom of the street and turned right, following the path back to the clearing, rather than risk another mud incident.
‘EarthSec will need to pin the incident on somebody, won’t they?’ Aryx asked.
‘I guess so. Gladrin will either have to claim it was a mechanical fault, or blame Kerl for the explosion.’
‘Why does he have to say anything? You’re the investigating officer! You’re in control of the situation.’
‘Oh, Gods!’ Sebastian slapped his forehead. ‘I’ll say it was a faulty fire suppression system. At least that way when it makes it into the official logs, if there are any possessed monitoring them, it’ll look like I’m co-operating with them. I’ll check the logs when we get back to networked space, then call Gladrin to reinforce it.’ He hated the thought of having to lie again, especially on the record, but the safety of Gladrin’s family was now at stake as well as his own.
&nbs
p; The pair boarded the Ultima Thule and Sebastian programmed a route that would take them back to the station via Kimberley depot. With some clever hacking, it would look like they’d been in that system all along.
With a final press of the initiate button, the ship lifted off, flaring brightly in the darkness of the early sky.
***
Sebastian sat back in the seat and allowed the autopilot to take them out of the system. After everything that had happened, it would be good to get back to the station and be in familiar surroundings again.
‘Did you learn any magic on Achene?’ Aryx asked.
‘No, we were interrupted by the colonists’ return. I think I’ve got the gist of it, though – the overtoning is going to be the difficult part.’
‘You won’t get me trying it, thank you very much. I’ll stick to engineering, if you don’t mind … I take it you know how to do it without getting possessed?’
‘I think so. Duggan modified his invisibility spell and it worked without him trying to strangle me. When I get time back on the station, I’ll see if I can do the lucid dreaming spell. Maybe then we can get to the bottom of these nightmares once and for all.’
‘Will you require my assistance?’ Wolfram asked.
‘No. If I happen to get possessed, I don’t want the entities finding out you still exist. I also don’t want them being able to find out anything about me by having access to the terminals or things in my quarters, so I’ll just lock myself in a secure room. I’ll wear some life sign monitors, too – that way we can get some data about the process if I do happen to get taken over.’
‘I still don’t like the idea,’ Aryx said, ‘but you’ll do what you want, anyway.’
Sebastian frowned at him. ‘That’s not true. I do care about your input. Very much so. And I’ll need you to verify that I’m still me in the morning. If needs be, you can get Wolfram to purge me through the door, but for now, this happens to be something I have to do on my own.’
Chapter 46
With a stomach-wrenching lurch, the ship dropped out of superphase in the region of Kimberley depot.
‘Only a few jumps left,’ Sebastian said. Leaving Aryx to pilot the ship, he moved over to the diagnostics console. ‘I should be able to connect to the security net now.’ Several seconds later, he had downloaded the investigation logs. The detailed forensics record contained no information about the traces of carbyne he had initially entered – a good sign. In addition to the lab equipment, an unregulated open-flame burner was listed; Kerl’s records indicated he had smuggled the illegal item in when he came aboard the station. Gladrin had been thinking ahead.