Closer To The Core (25,000 Light-Years Book 1)

by S. Hansen

  ‘Patrick said it hurt. I didn’t know how an emotion could hurt, now I know.’ Stark’s head rolled back as he grasped at his chest over his heart and deeply sighed as he lightly shook his head in disbelief. He discreetly smiled to himself as his head lowered and he quietly spoke.

  ‘You knew right where to hit me. Come on Daneel, you came to the right man.’ He gently gripped her hand and began to lead her through The Asteria just in time for Patrick to see them merrily skip away hand in hand.

  ‘Oooh your hands are freezing.’ Patrick stopped abruptly before stomping away toward the bridge with his jaw clenched yet tighter. He found Mazar motioning gently for the holographic cube and he inhaled deeply in a bid to gather his courage.

  ‘We have to get Addison back!’ Mazar’s head slowly twisted around before he spoke huskily.

  ‘Do we?’

  ‘Yes! I can’t stand Adam any longer!’

  ’Then can I suggest we get rid of Adam but don’t get Addison back? That way we are both happy.’ Patrick’s lips parted slightly as he considered the idea before he shook his head and calmed his speech.

  ‘No, I don’t think I can do that.’

  ‘Why not? Nothings ever going to happen between you.’

  ‘Have you ever heard of friendship? It’s a strange concept we have that involves an emotional connection between two people without any romance.’ Mazar turned his head back to the white cube and slowly shook his head.

  ‘And you think that’s what you and Addison have?’ Patrick tossed the question over in his mind and decided not to lie to Mazar or more importantly himself. He stood silently watching Mazar who had begun to lean across the shimmering surface while resting on his arms. The silence didn’t seem to bother Mazar but Patrick’s mouth opened and closed as his mouth worked for the right words. He ran his fingers through his hair and began to leave the bridge before finding his nerve and turning back to Mazar.

  ‘Okay fine, you obviously don’t value psychological connections with people but surely you can understand that there must be some kind of serious implication to Addison being in the wrong reality?’ Without any change in expression Mazar responded.

  ‘Now you are thinking clearly, remove “psychological connections” and you can think with reason. I think I can find a way to get Addison back. The image of The Asteria seems to flicker slightly from time to time and I’m hoping they are signs of a tear in reality.’ Patrick slowly moved toward Mazar and fixed his gaze on the holographic image of The Asteria waiting patiently for evidence of Mazar’s claims. The stern of the ship wavered gently for a few brief seconds before stabilising. Patrick folded his arms and pursed his lips before speaking.

  ‘How do we get Adam and Addison through a rip that lasts only three seconds when we don’t know where on the ship it will appear?’

  ‘I’m hoping that the reason it ripples through the ship is because we are moving. Perhaps if we can position the ship over a ripple we will have enough time to complete the trade.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll just reverse the ship…. And hope we don’t knock anyone else through the rip.’ Patrick settled into the pilot’s chair and gently moved The Asteria guided by Mazar’s best guess.

  Chapter Thirteen – Now It Makes Sense

  ‘I’m not moving the ship!’ Patrick waved his hands in the air so that Mazar could clearly see them. ‘See?’ Mazar briefly glanced at Patrick before studying the flittering image of The Asteria with greater intensity. Patrick swivelled smoothly in his chair and began to absentmindedly study Mazar. Mazar’s muscular arms pushed him away from the cube in frustration, he took a step back and stood upright with an imposing posture. His arms folded tightly across his chest and his eyes followed the intermittent flickering of the image as the rips opened and closed throughout the lower decks of The Asteria. Patrick expected to see Mazar begin to talk himself through the problem although he wasn’t sure why. Mazar’s lips remained tightly sealed. All motion on the bridge ceased as Patrick watched Mazar watching The Asteria. Occasionally Patrick would notice that he had begun to hold his breath and try to quietly begin breathing again. Mazar raised his forearm and began closely timing the glitches.

  After what felt like an hour to Patrick Mazar’s arm dropped suddenly and he turned to leave. The movement broke Patrick’s vacant stare as his head swivelled to follow him. Mazar strode with confidence and purpose through The Asteria’s halls briefly glancing in the adjoining rooms as he went by.

  He found Stark and Daneel on the floor of a room that lay largely empty and until this point did not seem to have a purpose. Stark sat with his legs crossed and his tongue poking ever so slightly out of his mouth while he laboured over a pile of rags and scrap metal. Daneel listened carefully to Stark’s movement with intrigue, she enjoyed the slow pace, methodical pace he worked at and she found listening to it helped soothe her. Stark had created half a bouquet of flowers that varied in vibrancy and colour when Mazar’s hand grasped Stark’s shoulder and pulled him to his feet. Stark looked disappointedly at his incomplete bouquet on the floor then turned his gaze on Daneel.

  ‘Well I guess I’m going now. If you can make some more flowers they’d be more impressive. And you know how to carry out the other mission objectives.’ Mazar checked his watch and began to drag Stark out of the room with a tight grip on Stark’s bicep. As Mazar dragged Stark along he huskily spoke.

  ‘You haven’t done anything stupid have you?’ Stark tried to look as innocent as possible without appearing too submissive.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Good.’ Stark’s eyebrows raised.

  ‘I don’t think female Mazar would have taken my word for it.’

  ‘Wouldn’t she?’ Before Stark could think about it they arrived in the kitchen and Mazar pushed him towards the table. He bumped into Addison as he fell back into his reality. Then he surprised female Mazar by undressing hastily and throwing Addison’s clothes back as he was hit in the face by his. Stark maintained eye contact with the person he decided was the true Mazar while he casually redressed himself.

  ‘Well that certainly was interesting wasn’t it?’ Mazar rolled her eyes and looked at him with dissatisfaction but kept silent. ‘I certainly won’t look at Dantil in the same way for a while. How did you like me?’ Mazar walked away leaving Stark to hop after her as he put on his trousers. When Stark was able to catch back up with Mazar she was leaning over the pilot chair watching every move Polly made. Polly looked with determination at the device growing closer and closer to The Asteria before she noticed Stark saunter into the room.

  ‘Oh thank God you are back.’ Stark grinned widely and wiggled his eyebrows as he moved toward the vast window.

  ‘I am pretty spectacular I can see how you would miss me.’ Polly disguised a smile as she continued to control The Asteria.

  ‘No I just really didn’t like Addison.’

  ‘Oh? What was wrong with her?’

  ‘It would take too long to explain.’ Mazar interjected in complete seriousness before Polly hinted at their reasons.

  ‘Let’s just say she’s unusually resourceful and it would be best for Dantil’s sanity if he never sees ice cubes and silk again.’

  ‘I just don’t understand where she got a mop, a syringe, a litre of apple juice and the inner tubing.’ Mazar’s eyes had opened a little wider as she thought about the recent events aboard The Asteria and Stark watched her profile with disinterest as he considered Addison’s superior ability to possess and or find unusual objects. The Asteria drew yet closer to the device causing a dramatic change in reality for the entire ship and her crew. Each of them found themselves flitting through the past and future with images surrounding them in quick succession as though a flickering light revealing a new scenario upon every new illumination. Each of them desperately grasping at the unfamiliar and trying to attain some glimpse into their future or something to make them hopeful. Dantil was somehow able to struggle through the rushes of history and future and stumble towards the bridge. Th
e lack of stability in his surroundings made it almost impossible for him to hear his location thus he was forced into relying on his two-dimensional vision and feel alone. When he arrived he found Stark and Mazar in a heated debate regarding their plan to destroy the device but listening to the conversation was hard work as the skips in time would cause the brief disappearance of any of the crew or would occasionally throw Dantil backward or forward in the conversation.

  ‘You are only volunteering because you…’ Mazar was able to say before fading away and reappearing ‘because you have a death wish.’

  ‘No I just want to play…’ Stark vanished but when he reappeared Dantil had found himself far later in the conversation when Mazar spoke with a steady professional tone.

  ‘How will you neutralise the device?’

  ‘Umm… Can I just hope it has an on off switch?’ Mazar was incredibly unimpressed with his response and it showed on her face. ‘I don’t know, how can I know? I’ll stay in communication while I’m out there and we can work on the fly.’ The Asteria flickered and Dantil was back in the present or what he thought was the present but he was struggling to keep up.

  ‘I just want to play in zero gravity.’ Stark sped the words out before time cut him off again. Dantil gripped his head as it began to throb while Polly, concerned about controlling The Asteria given the current situation, moved over to the table. She tried to settle her queasy stomach with a few deep breaths but was largely unsuccessful. When Mazar had had enough of the confusing conversation she relented and worked with Stark to get him into a space suit before struggling towards the air lock.

  ‘Don’t bust your stitches open. That was my last suture kit and I would hate to think I wasted it on you.’ Stark mockingly placed his hands over his heart and smiled warmly.

  ‘The fact that you care means so much to me Mazar. I feel the same.’ Suddenly the flashes stopped and without thinking twice Stark and Mazar rushed to get him out and neutralising the device while Dantil and Polly relaxed into peaceful silence on the bridge.

  Mazar stepped away from Stark who was now comfortably wearing a slim line but heavy looking armoured and enclosed suit. The black and white suit looked rigid and encumbering but Stark found it moved with flexibility and comfort. He curiously poked and prodded the different sections to discover that the material had a smooth metallic appearance but folded and curved under his gentle movement. To his surprise, he found the more firmly he tapped the armour the less give it had. When he saw Mazar step back he checked the fastening of his helmet which had a full-face visor. Mazar slammed a large button on the wall with an open hand and watched the thick metal door crunch shut between Stark and herself.

  She purposefully strode back to the bridge and watched the device with anticipation. Upon her return Polly felt it necessary to stand beside her and watch for Stark with anxiety while Dantil calmly knelt in the corner nursing his head.

  ‘Weee!’ Stark’s voice echoed around the bridge. Mazar’s eyes rolled back and her head gently shook at the same time as Polly tried to stifle a smile while turning her face from Mazar. She saw Stark swim past on his way to the device and her smile widened uncontrollably.

  ‘Can you try and be professional for just one mission?’ Mazar spoke sternly and firmly planted her hands on the edges of the control panel as she leaned toward the window and awaited his response. Without moving or even opening his eyes Dantil cut the silence with his soothingly rhythmic voice.

  ‘I believe you are required to use the headsets.’

  ‘What headsets?’ Mazar began scanning the area for likely culprits.

  ‘The ones on the shelf by the yoke.’ It was then that Polly found what she decided to be the largest flaw in the Dantan language translation. The more Dantil’s language chip was able to communicate with other chips the more English he seemed to know. He now knew words that Polly did not and it being English was not translated into a known word for Polly.

  ‘What’s a yoke?’ she queried more to herself than to anyone in particular, meanwhile Mazar stretched across Polly’s seat of privilege and grasped the headsets from below what Polly had until then called the joystick control thing. Mazar hastily fitted the question mark shaped object around her ear and discarded the remaining five onto the empty chair between herself and Polly.

  By the time both women had sorted out the relatively simple communication problem Stark had latched on to the device and begun to inspect it. However, the mechanical devil would not be stopped as easily as Stark might have hoped. The pause in its headache inducing effect had merely been the eye of the storm or the prelude to such rushes through time as might have convinced any of the humans that the time had come for the final flash of life before their expiration. Though instead of their own lives the crew on board found themselves rushing through Stark’s life with varied feelings on the matter. The images on the whole flickered by with such expediency that they had little meaning or value to anyone other than Stark.

  As they grew closer and closer to Stark’s most recent history they began to slow and even allow brief glimpses of their current time. Stark grew anxious and where possible he frantically searched for any kind of control but upon failing in this endeavour he struck the object of his misery repeatedly. Intermittently the crew found themselves observing Stark’s last day on Earth. Dantil calmly rose to his feet only grimacing in pain slightly and moved over to Polly’s side.

  ‘There isn’t any way to turn it off!’ Concern flowed over Polly’s face as she heard the glimmer of panic in Stark’s voice. But without missing a beat Mazar issued her command in an authoritative voice.

  ‘Then do what you do best and destroy it!’ Stark gladly began attacking the machine in every way he could. Pawing, clawing, thumping, kicking, pulling, crushing. However, through a combination of the machines strength, Stark’s lack of power in anti-gravity and the intermittent glimpses of his drive through London he was unable to achieve any more than a slight dent.

  ‘I’m not ready to say I’ve failed yet... but this may take some time.’ Polly, being the only one present enough to hear and respond, fearfully encouraged him to continue but struggled to watch his movements any longer as he became an indistinguishable speck on a bright light. In its travel across the sector the device had made significant progress and now lay between The Asteria and a star that the crew were unaware they would ordinarily call the Sun. So distracted was Stark that he remained completely oblivious to the protection his exo-suit provided against the radiation and unbearable heat of the star.

  Dantil returned from a pleasurable ride in Stark’s car and quickly assessed his surroundings as he heard Stark muttering to himself.

  ‘Dammit! Stupid hunk of junk. Why won’t you die?!’ Dantil opened his mouth to respond but before he could he found himself watching a rewinding fight between Stark and Mazar. A broken bottle in Mazar’s hand reassembled itself on Stark’s face as he turned into it. It was a confusing fight to watch but soon he was watching them walk backwards down the street with Stark leading the way. He lost them when they entered a pub and the world stopped around him. A car alarm stopped sounding, the wind stopped blowing, pedestrians and vehicles stopped moving and the forces that stopped Dantil from controlling himself released their vice like grip on his movements.

  He darted after them knowing exactly what he hoped to achieve. He burst through the door to ‘The Drunken Lord’ with his golden eyes sparkling as a light bulb nearing the end of its life flickered above him. And his burning hair wavered as he focused on Stark in search of the eye contact he had learned humans seemed to require before abruptly shouting hopefully.

  ‘THE STAR!’ He had planned to explain himself but the time shift forced his departure. He was thrown into his own past peacefully seated beside his betrothed on a vast balcony overlooking the celebrations of Drium. The balcony was an unfurling wrapper of grass around the global council chambers at the heart of Kanarik. The building provided a spanning view of the cities celebrations and t
he wave like movements of the Dantans washing over the streets but Dantil was focused on Tanika. Her crimson lips made her stand out even when the noise of the city made her image less defined in his mind. She was smiling widely and softly gripping his hand.

  ‘Trim purlim amir ud pisma stil um Dantil, ud tifskaum, U rulatim vam fusk tip trima stafta. Kir U munstil skar trim.’ [You have been so good to me Dantil, so supportive, I couldn’t stand in your way. But I worry for you.] He was glad she had said as much, amongst the artificial smells being released he was unable to determine her feelings so although he couldn’t smell the worry he now knew it was there. He stood up, reluctant to release her hand, and turned to face her as she looked up at him.

  ‘U sku am pisma, U mir nima U sku am ufsir strikam trim kamsit um.’ [I will be fine, I’m sure I’ll be back before you miss me.] She suddenly looked offended but her voice remained calm.

  ‘Dantil, trim purlim iirtimtrimantan ara arta ti mirtim ti U purlim iirtimtrimantan ara uup ulasivarum arik. Trim purlim afitan um kista par tupta flakair stilmirtim ark tut kim U amtali afita trim, krurpta trima iirtimtrimantir Dantil.’ [Dantil, you have dreamt of this as long as I have dreamt of a beautiful garden city. You have pushed me along the first few steps towards it and now I shall push you, fulfil your dreams Dantil.] She gently kissed his hand and released it as she rose to her feet. ‘U sku vam vufstik trima uspir, Drium sku sparl spiikis tar urim hunditais vamka ikluutramir.’ [I won’t demand your return, Drium will keep turning if our marriage never happens.] He had always imagined his exploration of the galaxy would involve regular visits to Drium and his expectations didn’t change even when given permission to ignore his betrothal on Drium. He gently laughed and reassured Tanika that he would return soon. They stood side by side with their hands resting on the grassy railing both observing with glee the sprawling city below them and it wasn’t long before the masses below acknowledged their presence above them. In a world that demands equality the people desperately clung to an ideal and something to strive for. The people of Drium adored the blood lines and the marriage that would join the last two pure bloodlines was a source of excitement and joy for many Dantans. They cheered and the air grew thick with the scent of admiration. Tanika smiled and politely waved while Dantil shied away. Tanika’s acceptance of their admiration made the cheers louder. She turned her head to Dantil and grasped his hand.