Entering into a high orbit around Gitane, the ship’s AI reported 3 weapon locks from the defensive stations scattered above the planet.
The French colonists had changed little from their pugnacious descendents on Earth. Taking their defensive role more seriously than most other planets, the Blazing Trumpet’s AI was interrogated thoroughly by the planetary defensive stations before allowing the ship to descend to a lower orbit.
Below the massive ship, the planet rotated slowly, providing an unparalleled view for any of the ship’s crew that could be bothered looking. With a diameter of 16,000km, Gitane was slightly larger than the Earth known by its earliest colonists. Ninety percent of its surface area was taken up by water, which seemed even more dominant, thanks to the lack of any continental landmasses. The many islands, due to the wide spread cultivation of tobacco, appeared as reddish brown freckles on the blue face of the planet, some of them completely unpopulated and off limits thanks to the Governments early use of a orbiting crust slicer. Initially intended to raise more land from the seabed for cultivation purposes, the crust slicer, much to the Governments chagrin, had merely succeeded in irradiating large areas.
Still fuming, Princess Gabriella sat in her command seat on the bridge, contenting herself by haranguing her flustered and nervous bridge crew.
The ships captain, nursing a black eye, hesitantly approached her dais and informed her that Knights Captain Tynan, having arrived 2 hours earlier and already in geosynchronous orbit on the other side of the planet, wished to speak to her.
“Oh, very well," she said grudgingly. “Put him on.”
Tynan’s face appeared on one of the 2-meter high bridge screens. His handsome countenance showed some concern. “My Princess. Are you all right? We were worried.”
Gabriella waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah, of course you were. What do you want?”
Tynan, slightly taken aback, took a few moments to find his voice again. “Well, I was concerned for your safety, and, of course, I await instructions.”
Gabriella gave him a slight smile. “Do nothing for the moment. If the hijacked ship should emerge, contact us for further instructions.”
“And what about the Watcher ship Princess?”
“What!”
“The Watcher ship. It followed from Fever and is in orbit about 20,000kms away.”
Gabriella paused to consider this development. Unbeknownst to that worthy, Asel was working for the Areopagites. Through Sammael, Gabriella had brokered a deal with Asel’s father, Semyaza, the chief of the Watchers, promising to share the Overdrive technology in return for his assistance and support in her upcoming bid for the Areopagite crown. Inherently duplicitous, Gabriella had no intention of honoring her promise. Once the Overdrive was in her possession, she would make her play for the crown, and after securing that prize, would eliminate any would be allies.
Semyaza had instructed Asel to recover the Overdrive at any cost, although he had not made his son privy to his arrangement with Gabriella. This suited the Areopagite Princess for the moment. If any news of this alliance leaked to Metatron, the physical embodiment of god would utilize the not insignificant forces of the Areopagite’s to hunt down and destroy her. In the meantime, if Asel should get his hands on the prize, Gabriella felt confident that his father would instruct him to hand it over, or more simply, she would take it and then destroy him.
“Maintain your distance,” she said finally. “If they interfere in your efforts to capture the freighter, fire a warning shot.”
“That might be unwise Princess. My ship is no match for a Class 1 Trireme.”
“Leave that to me," she said irritably and cut the link.
Turning towards her captain, Gabriella ordered him to dock with one of the defense stations in order to affect repairs on her somewhat damaged ship. As the harried captain hastened to obey, she turned to Sammael who was standing passively at her side.
“Are you sure Semyaza is securely in our pocket?”
Sammael nodded. “Definitely, Princess. He gave me his personal assurance that he would instruct Asel to hand over the Overdrive if it came into his possession.”
“Sammael?” said Gabriella.
“Yes, Princess?”
“Have you ever known me to lie? And be honest.”
Sammael hesitated. “Well, erm, various circumstances have sometimes dictated that you omit certain truths,” he said cautiously.
Gabriella smiled at him. “And do you think its beyond the ability of Semyaza to do the same?”
Sammael looked uncertain, finally shrugging before answering. “I suppose not”
“Good. Then you’ll understand that if Asel should take possession of the Overdrive, you are to kill him.”
A flicker of a smile crossed over Sammael’s face. It wasn’t everyday he was given an order to kill a Watcher Prince.
“Yes, my Princess.”
◊
Logan rubbed his head. “God, haven’t felt this bad since we drank the bar dry that time and I ended up in the dumpster.”
Tarquin slumped in the command seat with his head in his hands. He looked up at the sound of Logan’s voice. “Was that the same night we played nude beer-a-hole-golf without the clubs?”
“Nah. Different night.”
Tarquin shrugged and returned his head to his hands with a groan. Two seconds later he brought his head up with a jolt. One of his eyelids closed automatically.
“What is it?," asked Logan.
“The ships reporting a large object moving towards us”
“How far?”
“160,000 klicks and closing, but slowly.”
“Could be an asteroid?”
Tarquin shook his head. “Don’t think so. Its approach vector is far too regular and its not showing any spin. An asteroid would have picked up at least some spin during its travels.”
“Then what is it?”
Tarquin shrugged again. “Buggered if I know but the ship estimates its at least 50km long.”
Logan’s eyes opened in alarm. “Good grief. Can’t be human then.”
“No," said Tarquin. “Not human.”
“You don’t mean…”
“Yep. This trip could be a first on a whole lot of different levels.”
Logan stood. “I might go and check on Felix and see if he needs a hand.”
“Good idea.”
After Logan had left the bridge, Tarquin settled back in his chair and began interrogating the ship’s AI in detail. If the approaching object was what he thought it was, they could be in a lot of trouble.
“And I thought being a gladiator was action packed,” he said to himself.
◊
In the engine room, Felix had just finished taking the Overdrive apart. Crystal, the only other person present, was sitting in one of the cramped corners eating one of the packaged meals. They both looked up when Logan walked in. He stopped dead when he saw the Overdrive lying in pieces.
“Did you have to take the whole thing apart?” he exclaimed.
“Well," said Felix defensively, “if you want me to get us back to a recognizable part of the galaxy, I’m gonna have to find out what’s wrong with it.”
“Yes, but did you have to take the whole thing apart?”
“Yes, I fucking well did.”
Logan put his hands up in a placating gesture. “Alright, alright. No need to get excited.”
“I wasn’t getting excited. I was getting defensive.”
Logan smiled. “Well, that’s alright then.”
Felix put the tool he was holding on the ground and glared up at Logan. “Did you come in here for any particular reason or did you decide annoying me might be fun?”
Logan studiously avoided looking at his friend and began intently picking at a bit of skin on his finger. “You need to put the Overdrive together again. Right now.”
“What?”
“I said, you need to put…”
“I know what you said.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Shut up.”
Logan shrugged. “Ok."
Felix looked down at the product of 3 years of research and development lying in pieces at his feet. “I thought I had a few hours. What’s the rush?”
“Tarquin thinks there’s something moving to intercept us.”
“What?," said Felix excitedly. “Is it a ship?”
“Could be.”
“Well, why don’t we wait?” asked Crystal, speaking up for the first time since Logan’s entrance. “They could help us make repairs, to say nothing of us making first extra terrestrial contact.”
“Just imagine that," said Felix, an idiotic grin on his face. “Us. Galactic explorers. Ambassadors for the human race.”
“Yes, yes. Blah blah,” said Logan impatiently. “Did you stop to consider that there’s a reason why no ship sent to this part of the galaxy has ever been heard from again?”
“Well, yes,” said Felix slowly. “Maybe ship malfunction or perhaps they encountered some natural phenomena.”
Logan raised his eyebrows at his friend. “Honestly, Felix. Sometimes I wonder whether they gave you your doctorate out of sympathy." He put his hand up to forestall Felix’s come back.
“I’ve spent my entire working life assessing dangers and eliminating threats. Its what I do, and right now I think that our best bet, what with an object 50km long bearing down on us, is to put your toy back together and get the fuck out of here.”
“Shouldn’t we at least wait and see what they want?” asked Crystal.
“You can hang around if you want, but in the meantime, Felix can get the Overdrive up and running.”
Felix shrugged. “I can do that.”
“Good," said Logan. “If you need me, I’ll be on the bridge.” He turned to Crystal. “What’s the food like?”
“Alright," she said noncommittally. “It says chicken on the display but it doesn’t taste like it.”
Logan grabbed a bit of her meal with his hand, popped it in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “That’s because its lamb.”
Crystal’s face suddenly drained of color. “What?," she exclaimed.
Logan winked at her. “I won’t tell Ram Terry if you don’t.” He turned and walked out.
Felix looked at her and smiled. “Don’t worry. He’s joking. I think.”
Crystal threw the package into a corner in disgust. “I’ve just lost my appetite.”
◊
Asel, locked in his personal quarters aboard the Class 1 Trireme, The Sweet Bejesus, contemplated his recent failures. Since arriving in orbit above Gitane, he had repeatedly run through his AI’s recording of the battle between himself and the unknown female on Fever. Obviously, the long kept secret of Shiva DNA had finally been uncovered. But how did the Shepherds get it? He felt sure his father, Semyaza, formerly the Areopagite’s chief genetic engineer, would never have revealed that information. That meant that traitors existed either amongst the Areopagite’s or amongst themselves.
He played the recording one more time and studied the images frame by frame. The woman possessed the speed, strength and field generative power of a first hierarchy angel. Disturbing to say the least. He idly wondered if she also had the ability to control Shiva and navigate Nospace as the Watchers and Areopagites’ could. He spent some time contemplating the effect on the galactic status quo if this information should become common knowledge, before dismissing himself as a fool. If the Overdrive data should be released to the galaxy, the secret of Shiva DNA would become redundant. His father would doubtless be less than impressed, having spent at least one century of his life working to perfect the genetic manipulation process – first for the Areopagites, and then for their rivals, the Watchers, whom he birthed and currently ruled.
His AI reported an incoming message being routed via the ship. It was his father. “Speak of the devil," he said aloud, chuckling at his little joke. The Areopagite’s often referred to Semyaza as “he of the horned countenance."
His father appeared on the screen before him. Having met Metatron on a few occasions, Asel was constantly surprised by his father’s similarity to the Areopagite ruler. Not that he should be. Metatron and Semyaza shared the same genetic heritage. They were brothers.
The handsome, silver bearded chief of the Watchers glared at his 27th son. “Well?," he demanded.
“The Overdrive will soon be in our hands father.”
“Yes. I heard of your efforts on Fever.”
“That wasn’t my fault. One of the Shepherds, a woman, has our powers. I was lucky to escape with my life. Then we were almost incinerated by a Nova burst, before losing the ship with the Overdrive. I assume they activated it…”
“Irrelevant," his father interrupted. “What progress have you made since arriving in Gitane’s system?”
“The Areopagites, whom I followed here, believe that the ship containing the Overdrive will shortly arrive. They have two ships currently in orbit. One is Gabriella’s personal Valkyrie.”
A small smile played at the corner of Semyaza’s mouth hearing the name of the Areopagite Princess.
“Show me their positions.”
Asel quickly opened a graphics file showing the Areopagite ships in relation to himself and Gitane, and sent it to his father.
Semyaza took a moment to examine it. “Ok son. This is what I want you to do…”
◊
On the bridge of the Hot Tucker, Logan and Tarquin sat in grim silence watching the approaching object. On the large display screen in front of them, the unknown object was a large, slow moving red dot. The Hot Tucker was represented by a smaller blue dot.
Tarquin, trying to take his mind off current events, broke first. “Oh for fuck’s sake”
“Aha," said Logan triumphantly. “That’s two dozen beers you owe me.”
“Well, if you ask me, its a pretty stupid time to play, ‘first person to speak buys the beer’."
Logan shrugged indifferently. “Should have thought of that before you agreed.”
“Idiot.”
“Double or quits?," inquired Logan hopefully.
Tarquin indicated the negative with a one-fingered salute.
They sat in comradely silence for a while. Finally, Tarquin could bear it no longer. “What the hell is Felix doing back there?”
“At a guess I’d say he was putting the Overdrive back together. Its a wild stab in the dark, I know, but sometimes you just have to use your gut instinct.”
“Stop being a dickhead,” said Tarquin impatiently. “That object is less than a 100,000kms away.”
“Well, there’s not much we can do about it.”
“Is someone helping him?”
“Crystal’s in there but its pretty cramped. If anyone else goes in, it gets a little indecent.”
“What about the others?”
“Last time I saw them, they were playing cards. It looked to me like, pardon the expression, Ram Terry was fleecing them.”
A smile briefly found its way to Tarquin’s face. “Ah, religious types. Gotta love them.”
Another dot suddenly appeared on the screen, accelerating away from the approaching ship and heading rapidly towards them. Logan and Tarquin’s eyelids immediately dropped down in response.
Tarquin was the first to interrogate the ship. “Its a small object. Perhaps five meters in diameter. No propulsion detected. Impact in 10 seconds.” He ordered the ship to bring the Ion drive on-line, rapidly bringing it up to maximum acceleration. Both men intently watched the screen and breathed a sigh of relief when the object apparently flew past them.
“Fuck me. What was that?” Logan enquired mildly.
Tarquin shrugged. “Ship thinks it was a small asteroid. Probably propelled by a kinetic missile launcher. Pretty primitive stuff but lucky for us.”
“Not a particular pleasant way to instigate relations between two space faring races.”
“No. But something tells me they don’t give a toss.�
� He indicated the screen.
Five more objects were moving away from the approaching vessel, all rapidly approaching the Hot Tucker. Tarquin, not trusting the ship’s ancient AI, took over the manual controls and began maneuvering vigorously.
The sound of straining engines and stressed metal could be heard reverberating through the ship. Logan leant over and shouted in Tarquin’s ear. “Felix says that he can have the Overdrive on-line in 5 minutes. It would be sooner if we weren’t moving about so much.”
Tarquin gritted his teeth and concentrated on the graphics in front of him. “Tell him to make it 4. The engines, and the ship for that matter, won’t take maximum thrust for any longer.”
In the cargo bay, Ram Terry, Walter and Bruce had finished up their game of cards, mostly as a result of their cards now being covered by lamb curries. As soon as Tarquin had started his heavy maneuvering of the ship, the meal packets had started raining down.
“What’s going on?” said Walter.
“I think," said Ram Terry, despondently examining his coat that was now covered in Indian takeaway, “that we should ask.”
Using the walls of the narrow corridor as leverage, the three made their way to the tiny bridge and crowded inside.
Logan noted their entrance. “We’re under attack,” he shouted matter of factly.
“Really?” Bruce shouted back. “I thought Tarquin had decided to go joy riding.” The gorilla was covered in chicken tikka masala turning his once brown fur an orange color.
Logan ignored him. “Go back into the cargo bay and try and find some vacuum suits. There’s no room for you up here.”
They turned and reluctantly made their way back, staggering now and again as Tarquin made a particularly violent maneuver.
“Look on the bright side," said Walter to no one in particular. “At least we haven’t been hit yet.”
The ship suddenly shuddered and rocked violently towards one side. The unmistakable sound of escaping gases could be heard.
“Whoops,” said Walter.
◊
The Class 1 Trireme ignited its maneuvering thrusters and moved slowly towards the Areopagite ship, The Divine Retribution. Knights Captain Tynan watched impassively from his seat on the Divine Retribution’s bridge, finally ordering the crew to maintain the 20,000km distance between the two ships.
Overdrive Page 21