“Ros?”
“Yes.”
“He’s back?”
“Kind of. He astral-projected here.”
“Astral-projected?” said Grunt, a huge frown stretched across his forehead.
“Yes, that’s why I am on my way to the control room, to tell everybody.”
“To tell her you mean,” he said, thunder echoing around the corridor.
“Well yeah,” he said. “If you want to put it like that. Vyleria may have changed a lot, but she’s still got more experience in space than the rest of us put together. We need her.”
“You’re wasting your time, she’s changed, we all have,” said Grunt, looking off down the corridor.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing, you wouldn’t understand.”
“Of course, I would Grunt. I…”
“No, you wouldn’t,” said Grunt, voice breaking with violent thunder. “You’ve only got eyes for her and you always will, you are under her spell, admit it. That’s why you left me back on the planet, to be… to be attacked by dreadnuts.”
“What are you talking about?”
“See, that’s what I mean. You’ve no idea.”
“I’m sorry Grunt, I’m not following you.”
“Back on the planet when Vyleria flew off to fight the lava man you just left me all to myself. There were hundreds of dreadnuts, Jack. Thousands even! I barely escaped and what’s more you didn’t even notice, you didn’t even care, you just thought that I’d magically re-appeared on the spaceship unmolested. I could’ve been killed, Jack! I could’ve become a dreadnut, here on this ship, with all my strength and my power. And then what would’ve happened?”
“You would have taken over the ship, or at least gotten very close to it. We all might have died… or worse.”
“Yes, and for what? For Vyleria?”
“I love her.” There, it was out now.
“Why? She doesn’t give a shit about you. All she has eyes for these days is Jorge, you’re making a fool of yourself.”
“I am?”
“Yes.”
“And if you ask me that’s what Vyleria wants; it’s just another way for her to hurt you, to torture you, the dreadnut half…”
“Is still there?”
Grunt nodded. He looked like a great oak swaying in the wind.
“I think so too,” said Jack, shaking his head.
“You do?”
“Yes, even if it is just an echo.”
“Then why…”
“Do I continue to chase her?”
“Yes,” said Grunt.
“Because I love her. I always have, and I always will, ever since I first met her.” Jack smiled. It felt like the first time in ages. “She’s changed – yes – perhaps irreparably, but I can’t allow myself to give up on her. If the dreadnut part of her wins she will suffer in the end, perhaps we all will. Each member of this ship is too valuable to give up on. The safety of the whole galaxy is at stake.”
“But back on the planet…”
“I was selfish, blind, vainglorious… in love,” said Jack, closing his eyes. “It won’t happen again. I promise.”
“You do?”
“Yes,” said Jack. “What I did endangered you, this ship, the crew and countless solar systems. I won’t allow my personal feelings to get in the way again, the consequences could be disastrous. No matter where you are Grunt, I’ll be your friend. You have my word on that. Space boy’s honour,” he grinned. “Now are we going to jump or not?”
“What are you talking about?” asked Grunt.
“Look down,” said Jack, pointing at the floor.
The corridor had completely disappeared. In its place was a dark red planet, a huge jagged scar cutting across its face, a white hat of ice perched precariously across its North Pole. A few thin wisps of cloud snaked across its Northern hemisphere like vipers.
“What is this?”
“Mars,” smirked Jack.
“But how?”
“The simulations don’t need to be confined to the rooms anymore, I tweaked the program. They can be situated anywhere now.”
“Then why aren’t we…”
“Falling?”
Grunt nodded furiously, eyes hooded like dark and gloomy caverns.
“I’ve placed a seal on the program; in effect, the corridor is still there, we just can’t see it. But once I activate it…”
“What then?”
“You’ll see,” said Jack, a huge grin stretched across his face. “Now are we going to jump or what? The thin atmosphere should ensure quite a ride.”
Grunt’s face wore a mask of fear. Jack hadn’t seen that in quite a while. Good, he thought, we all need to be afraid once in a while, to experience the reality of our own mortality.
“But what about telling Vyleria and the others about Ros’ message?”
“It can wait. Another hour or so won’t make the least bit of difference. I’ve neglected you Grunt, I can see that now. Besides, if the rest agree to my suggestions we won’t have time for games for a long time.”
“You call this a game?” said Grunt.
“Sure. What do you call it?”
“Stupidity.”
“All the best games started out stupid Grunt. People just refined and codified them, that’s all. Now are you ready or not?”
“I…”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Whatever force had kept them from falling suddenly vanished. They tumbled down to the surface quicker than bullets, the thin atmosphere causing them to plummet faster and faster and faster.
They pierced a white film of clouds, the red surface getting larger and more definite with every passing second.
“When are we going to activate our parachutes?” shouted Grunt, waving wildly. Jack!”
“Not yet,” said Jack, unable to remove the smile from his face. “Enjoy the ride.”
“But Jack!”
The malevolent scar got bigger and bigger beneath them, the rest of the planet flattening out like a pancake. Still they tumbled, hurtling like comets, wind whipping their faces.
“Jack! Parachutes!” shouted Grunt, tapping away furiously at his holowatch.
“Now that would be…”
He was going to say boring, but the meteor-scarred floor of the Valles Marenis interrupted him. They slammed into the remains of a briny river at approximately ten thousand miles per hour, Grunt’s screams muffled by one mile of bare, boy-crushing rock. Jack tasted dust, rock before the regolith spat them back out into space, their descent slowed by a flurry of silver sprouting from their arms.
“You call that fun?” gasped Grunt, his space wings folding up into his space suit as soon as he landed.
“Sure. Don’t you?” said Jack, landing by the side of a cascading waterfall.
Grunt shook his head violently. “I’d rather face an army of dreadnuts.”
“Well you may get your wish soon. It all depends on what I have to tell Vyleria and the others. This war is about to take an unexpected turn, and yet perhaps not an unwelcome one.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll reveal all in the meeting, now come on let’s get going,” said Jack, the bright lights of the corridor enfolding all around them. “Vyleria will be a tough nut to crack, never mind Jorge.”
Jack looked back at the cracked, bloody surface of Mars. Olympus Mons poked out between some clouds; the Northern ice cap glistened in the afternoon sun. It was wildly beautiful. When would he see the like again?
Chapter Nine: Parting Ways
“You can’t be serious. Do you expect me to believe that nonsense?”
“Vyleria, I…”
“Why is it nonsense?” asked Padget. “If Jack says that he saw Ros, then I believe him.”
“Me too,” said Kat.
“And me,” said Grunt, folding his arms.
“You lot will believe anything that comes out of his mouth,” said Vyleria.
&nbs
p; “There was a time when you did too,” said Padget.
“Listen,” said Jack, sounding calmer and more composed than he felt. “We’re not going to get anywhere arguing. I saw Ros earlier – you have to believe me Vyleria – and he told me that the Earth was about to be attacked, I swear. Even if he was wrong, even if I imagined this whole thing I still have to go back and check – it’s my planet, my home. After what happened last time with Nevada I can’t afford to take any chances.”
“But…”
“If necessary I’ll go alone and take one of the smaller craft.”
“You can’t do that,” said Padget. “It’s not safe.”
“No, it’s okay,” said Jack. “It’s my problem, my world. I shouldn’t involve you guys at all, it’s not fair. I’ll try and stop the attack and then come back as quick as I can to help you with the Scourge. I don’t know why Ros’ people want to destroy Earth, but if I’m lucky I’ll be able to stop the attack without too much trouble and I may even be able to arrange a peace treaty of sorts. The Scourge are our common enemy; I’ve got to make them see that, without that we are lost.”
“He’s right,” said Jorge. “We should go with him.”
“What?”
“But you said earlier…” said Vyleria, reaching for Jorge’s hand. Jack tried not to look, but he couldn’t help it. Jealousy burned bright within his heart. His throat was as dry as the sun. Vyleria what have you done to me?”
“Forget about that,” said Jorge, his eyes locking onto hers like heat-seeking missiles. “That’s irrelevant now. Things have changed, events are more fluid than I realised. Besides, he’s right. If Earth is destroyed or if there’s a prolonged interstellar war between Earth and the Asvari then it will only weaken us and strengthen our enemy.”
“So we should go in one of the smaller spaceships like he said?” Vyleria asked.
“No… if we’re going to go at all we should go in force.”
Jack nodded. What is your game Jorge? What are you planning?
“When do we leave?” asked Padget.
“We don’t,” said Jack.
“But you just said…”
“I only agreed to Vyleria and Jorge coming to Earth. I have other plans for you.”
“What plans?” asked Padget. “What are you talking about?”
“Well for starters I need you to go back to your home planet, Padget; you too Kat, since you live on the same one.”
“Hardly,” said Padget. “Our planet is tidally locked. One side drenched in eternal sunshine, the other…”
“Total darkness,” said Kat, the colour draining from her face. “Jack, you don’t know what you’re asking, you don’t know what it’s like down there… nobody does.”
“Sorry Kat,” said Jack. “I didn’t realise it was that bad. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, I only really need Padget for this, I just thought...”
“No,” said Kat, looking at her palms. She was shaking. “I understand, I have my duties, besides I have to find somebody.”
“Who?” asked Padget.
“Oh nobody, just someone I knew once. You don’t know him. None of you do.”
“Kat…”
“I said it’s fine, don’t worry about it. I can take care of myself. I’ve been looking after myself for a long time.”
“Okay, but only if you’re sure,” said Jack.
“I am.”
“Wait, what am I to do there?” asked Padget.
“I need to you to convince your father to join us in the fight against the Scourge.”
“What? I’ve been excommunicated, remember? All my cheques have bounced. The last time I saw him he was about to blow me and Kat to the stars. He’ll never agree to your request. Everything he does is out of self-interest.”
“Then you’ll have to persuade him.”
“Persuade him? Are you…”
“Mad? Quite possibly. Look, you’re just going to have to take care of it. I’m counting on you. We all are. Me, Grunt, Vyleria, the whole galaxy. We need as many powers together if we are to have even the slightest chance of survival.”
“Okay, I’ll… I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will,” said Jack, grasping him by the shoulder. “You’ve come a long way, Padget.”
“I’m next, aren’t I?” asked Grunt, his voice ricocheting round the control room like gunfire.
“Yes. I’m sorry, but…”
“It’s okay, I want to go.”
“You… you do?”
Grunt nodded. Again, Jack was reminded of a giant oak tree swaying in the wind. “I want to do something for the team, for the mission, for this war. I’m sick of playing second-fiddle to you and Vyleria. I want a piece of the action. I want to lead. Where are you sending me?”
“To find the Xenti.”
“Jack, you can’t be serious,” said Vyleria.
“Unfortunately, I am. We need them too. They are a naturally aggressive and violent species.”
“Yeah towards us,” said Vyleria. “Don’t you remember the last time we saw them? They were trying to kill us, they had just finished wiping out seven whole planets, Jack. If you had seen what the General was capable of…”
“I know, Vyleria. But Xylem was put on this ship for a purpose – we all were – perhaps there’s good in him after all, perhaps that’s what the Alliance was thinking when they picked him up, I don’t know…”
“You don’t know?” said Vyleria. “That’s pretty thin, considering you are about to send Grunt off on a suicide mission.”
“Perhaps, but we have to take the chance. We all do. One more soldier, one more ship may yet tip the balance in this thing.”
“You…”
“It’s fine, Jack. I’ll go.”
“Grunt, how can you say that so easily? They were the ones who left you for dead, who cast you away on their home planet like a piece of garbage.”
“I said I’ll go, Vyleria.” More gunfire. “And that’s all there is to it. No more arguments.”
“But…”
“Look, Jack’s my friend. And if he says he needs my help – their help – then that’s enough for me. Right Jack?”
“Right. You can give them this if they need a little persuading,” said Jack, handing over a small black stick.
“What’s this?” he asked,
“It’s similar to a USB. Well, it’s more like a mini supercomputer actually. On it you will find all the details related to the Scourge attack on the Xenti homeworld. If that doesn’t bring them round, nothing will. It also contains a mini-version of this ship, plus lots of technology that will help you accomplish your mission, so don’t lose it. There aren’t any replacements in outer space.”
“Do I get one of those too?” asked Padget.
“Yes – you all do – hopefully with all this you should be able to get things sorted in no time. Oh, and one more thing this thing also acts as an intergalactic microphone so keep in touch.”
“Where will we rendezvous?” asked Grunt.
“For now, we will say Earth. You’ll find it easy enough in your star-maps. But if I get things done quickly I will come to you. Agreed?”
“Yeah,” said everybody, though Vyleria was still shaking her head.
Jack scoffed down his fish and chips, taking care to dunk each morsel into a side plate of mushy peas. Scrumptious, he thought as he finished his second haddock, space food never tasted so good…
Even Padget abstained from his diet for once, tucking into a mound of steak pies like they were a jar of M&Ms. He probably won’t see the like again in quite a while…
After gulping down a mouth-watering assortment of desserts (Grunt poured honey all over some wriggling worm-like insects) it was time to leave. Jack’s falling-out with Vyleria aside, he couldn’t remember a previous time when they had all seemed so united, so together in friendship and purpose. Perhaps there’s hope after all, thought Jack, as Grunt picked-up Padget and gave him a giant-sized hug. Perhap
s there’s hope for all of us…
A few minutes after finishing dinner, Jack jumped into the pilot’s console, the semi-translucent panels folding-up all around him. He felt the ship’s power at his fingertips, pulsing through every cell, every inch of his DNA. It was good to be back, good to be home. Stars shimmered in every direction, a horseshoe-shaped splodge of red and orange gas towering up in front of him.
Then he zeroed-in on a blue/green dot in space, the fabric of space-time warping around him like a piece of intergalactic silk.
Chapter Ten: Comet
“I thought you said Ros and his people were near Earth,” said Vyleria.
“I did,” said Jack.
“Well then, where are they?” asked Jorge. “There’s nothing around here that looks even remotely like a planet or a space station.”
“It must be hidden,” said Jack. “Invisible somehow.”
“Doesn’t matter,” said Vyleria. “The ship’s instruments should still be able to detect it, wherever it is.”
“Look, I only know what Ros told me,” said Jack, a little more tersely than he intended. “It’s here, I’m sure of it. Ros wouldn’t lie. We just have to find it, that’s all.”
“Maybe you were just imagining things,” said Vyleria, smirking at Jorge. “Going space crazy.”
“For the hundredth time, I’m not crazy. If Ros and his people are here I’m sure we’ll find them. We’ve just got to do some more scans.”
“But how can we do that stuck behind this mountain?”
“It’s not a mountain,” said Jack. “It’s a comet, it’s made-up of…”
“I know what a comet is!” snapped Vyleria. “It just looks like one from down here,” she said, pointing at the dark wedge of rock and ice through the view screen. “Why are we here, anyway?”
“I’ve already told you. We need to shield ourselves from Earth’s radar. They almost detected us when we came out of interstellar space; and but for this comet and our anti-grav stabilisers they would have.”
“I don’t understand,” said Jorge. “I thought you said you have been to Earth before.”
“Yeah, we have,” said Jack.
“Well then shouldn’t you have anticipated the radar?” asked Jorge. “It reaches almost to the outer edges of the solar system, all the way to the Oort Cloud in fact.”
Jack Strong: Dark Matter Page 4