The Shanti thumbed at the command module over her shoulder and Clio looked in Captain Grimshaw’s direction. He gave her a quick smile and nodded to Aegis Eline before returning to his discussion with Lieutenant Dann.
“Fine,” Clio huffed. “Booster, you’ll have to take an operations terminal.”
The puck spat and muttered curses under his breath as he unstrapped. Furrows cut across Marilda’s forehead as she watched him stomp off. She belted into his seat, muttering foreign phrases of her own.
“Don’t disturb me while I work,” Clio warned.
The Shanti pulled the co-pilot flight control helmet over her head. “I’ll observe until you need me.”
Clio was going to remind her that she didn’t need a co-pilot when Ascari announced her status update. “Defense protocols check complete. All systems ready for launch.”
She relayed the message to Captain Grimshaw.
“Good work, Evans,” the Captain said. “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. Take her outside.”
Clio executed the Captain’s order and lifted the SS North Star off the landing bay, tilting her toward the giant hangar door. They drifted through the opening and it shut behind them.
Clio manually guided the vessel through the Sentinel’s superstructure. Ancient supports crisscrossed above their path, and countless irregular formations dotted the cavernous walls and floors.
They approached the primary external door without incident.
“All hands to stations,” Grimshaw announced. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us out there.”
Being a primary junction, serving everything from frigates like the North Star to large transports and cruisers, the monstrous external door dwarfed the internal door by an order of magnitude. It slowly rolled open, much like the first, and within minutes Ascari cleared Clio for exit.
“Good to go, Captain?” Clio asked.
“Are you sure they’ll not mount an offensive?” Grimshaw asked Eline.
“I agree with Zora,” she replied. “They might risk a few short-range shots, but they won’t have time to coordinate anything serious. It would take them hours to clear the shipping lanes.”
Clio switched her visor’s view to the Sentinel space navigation map. Countless white triangles defined hundreds of ships in the nearby area as they travelled to and from the station. Even Chimera would be insane to risk hitting a transport full of civilians. Such an act would cause mass-outrage.
“Take us out fast, Evans,” Grimshaw ordered.
She pushed the acceleration control and they shot toward space.
Uncertainty about the Sentinel’s reaction hung over the bridge as the North Star sped away.
The bridge’s secondary VD switched to the ship’s rear cameras and the monolithic station took up most of the screen.
Clio held her breath, keeping her eyes peeled for trouble. The Sentinel gradually shrank to an unrecognizable ring, and she exhaled. Eline and Zora had been right. There were too many ships in the area to mount an attack. Clio enjoyed a good chase as much as anyone, but she was still too sore to move, even with pain meds, and she didn’t want to risk messing up in front of Marilda.
They arrived within viewing distance of G-Gate Sentinel in under an hour, the North Star cruising faster than most vessels Clio had ever studied.
The narrow rocky ring was barely visible against the backdrop of space.
“Scheduled traffic incoming in sixteen minutes,” Eline said from the communications station.
“We’ll make it through first if we hurry,” Grimshaw said.
“Transmitting coordinates for G-Gate Shanti Beta,” Eline said. “G-Gate Sentinel will be ready for travel in thirty-eight seconds.”
Blue lightening cracked across the distant ring as Eline counted down. The lightening gradually grew more regular and intense.
The count-down hit zero and a white light exploded from the center of the gate, rainbows spreading out to meet the ring, creating a swirling circle of geometric colors that defied the laws of physics.
“G-Gate Sentinel stable,” Eline announced.
“Take us through,” Grimshaw ordered.
Clio adjusted the North Star’s trajectory and angled them toward the gate.
She stretched out a spasm in her leg. “Ascari, you said you learned music. Play something from twentieth-century Earth.”
“I have over ten thousand songs from that era in my archives. Please specify a genre, artist, or song name.”
“Be adventurous,” Clio suggested. “Pick something with a good beat.”
“I do not understand what it means to be adventurous,” Ascari said, sounding almost-sad.
“Play something random,” Clio pushed.
“Playing Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.”
Bands and songs had such strange names back then, Clio thought.
The unusual song played in her helmet, slow and melodic.
Five minutes later, the North Star drifted toward the swirling disc, and the song picked up momentum.
“Entering G-Gate Sentinel in ten, nine, eight…” Aegis Eline announced.
Clio found herself tapping the pilot control panel in time to the music. Marilda looked at Clio as if questioning her sanity, but she didn’t care. The music made Clio feel the way she hadn’t felt in a long time. It made her feel good. It made her feel free.
The gate caught hold of the North Star, throwing Clio against the pilot’s seat despite the vessel’s powerful gravitational stabilizers, hurling the crew through paraspace toward the Shroud.
36
Enter The Shroud
The journey to the Shroud took seven standard days. It would have taken half as long, but Grimshaw had Clio and Marilda navigate a meandering route to avoid the busier Shanti shipping lanes. With the Shanti civil war in full swing, there was no telling what trouble they might run into so close to Shantalla, not to mention anyone who had tried to follow them through the galactic gate. Grimshaw ordered the North Star’s ghost-drive to run when they had no choice but to skirt inhabited systems, but even that offered no guarantees.
Clio was glad they took the long way around. Despite several visits to sickbay, her body still hurt, and the two nights of full rest Andrews had ordered didn’t feel like enough.
Initially, Clio reluctantly handed the helm to Marilda. Two days into the journey, she was happy each time the Shanti pilot relieved her from the flight deck, though she was careful never to show as much.
When they exited G-Gate Shanti Beta, the Shroud was no more than a distant green blob hanging in a black void. By day five, it blotted out the bridge’s primary VD.
Now, Clio watched the monstrous nebula as she guided the North Star toward a violent swirling vortex the size of a large planet.
“I think that’s close enough, Evans,” Grimshaw said. “I’d rather we didn’t get sucked into that thing.”
“Bringing her to a stop, sir,” Clio said.
“Are you sure this is the right place,” Grimshaw said on the bridge comm system. “All I can see is a storm big enough to tear an entire fleet to pieces.”
“Zora said that these are the coordinates the Omnion provided with their last communication.”
“And you’re sure the artifact is working?” Grimshaw asked, not sounding overly certain.
“It’s putting on the usual light show. Whether that means its working or not…” Taza’s words trailed off. “Hold on, the lights are changing. It’s doing something.”
“The storm,” Eline said, pointing at the VD.
The lightening vortex surged, and for a second, Clio thought it was going to explode outward and enveloped them. Instead, it caved in on itself, forming a cruiser-sized hole.
The hole bore deeper as though some invisible machine attached to the North Star drilled into the violent, green nebula. Eventually it stopped, a distant white pinprick hovering around the middle.
“Zooming in on the light source,” Aegis Eline said.
&nbs
p; The VD shifted and the camera slowly focused, revealing a star inside the Shroud.
“It’s a tunnel,” Grimshaw said. “It’s huge.”
“It must be thousands of miles long,” Clio whispered.
“A little over nine thousand,” Eline confirmed.
Booster chirped the way he did when he was impressed. He sat in Marilda’s seat while she was off duty.
The crew remained silent as they waited for Grimshaw’s order.
Clio was beginning to think he’d lost his tongue when he finally decided to speak. “Take us in, Evans.”
She obeyed, steadily pushing the North Star into the tunnel, crateful to stay as far from the edge as possible.
The electric-green tunnel swirled and rotated around them and lightening forked across its diameter. One bolt cut across the North Star, but the ship seemed unaffected.
Clio realized she was holding her breath, and by the silence on the bridge, she wasn’t the only one.
She inhaled and increased their speed.
Eline finally spoke. “It looks like we’re nearing the end.”
“How far away is that star?” Grimshaw asked.
The VD zoomed in on what turned out to be a red giant.
“It’s far enough away from the opening to be any threat,” Eline informed them.
“Are scanners picking up anything yet?” Grimshaw asked.
“There’s still too much disturbance,” Eline answered. “Wait, what’s that?”
The VD shifted and focused in on a spec moving beyond the tunnel’s mouth.
Clio squinted, trying to make out what it was. “Is it a planet?” she wondered out loud.
“No,” Eline almost gasped. “It’s a ship…or perhaps a station…”
“Look at the size of it!” O’Donovan added.
“It’s hailing us, Captain,” Eline announced.
“Patch them through.”
The VD shifted with static before settling on an image of pristine white. Clio thought they were staring at a blank wall until part of the image moved. Her eyes and brain adjusted, and she realized that she was actually staring at a creature with skin a shade or two darker than the backdrop. Her eyes could only focus on its outline when it moved. The creature looked like a human void of hair, an albino. It wore no clothes Clio could make out, and it stood with an awkward slump to its shoulders. Its features were a little flatter than a human’s, but it had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, like most sentient life-forms in the galaxy.
The creature’s mouth moved, and a second later, words emitted from the comm system.
“Welcome to the Shroud.”
Continued in The Shadow Falls…
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The Shadow Falls
Galactic Sentinel - Book 3
1
Rattled Cage
The Kragak giant chuckled, its voice thundering through the torture chamber, rattling the tools on Artax’s table. The creature referred to itself as Marigoth. So far as Artax could tell, Marigoth was male, though the medical scanners had trouble penetrating its dense armor plating, so he couldn’t be sure.
Artax and Gorde viewed the prisoner from beyond earshot. They spoke in hushed tones all the same.
"We are fortunate to have such a specimen," Gorde said, his words tinged with ecstasy. "I hear it killed six of our guards in the most recent incident. I’m surprised General Ovious hasn’t ordered it exterminated."
"The General needs information on the Kragak," Artax spat at the thought of the Shanti. "But I doubt his patience will last forever."
"I’m glad he saw it fit to spare the beast, even if only for a while."
Artax eyed his assistant. "One might think you’re enamored with the creature."
"I’ll admit I’m impressed, sir." Gorde said, straightening himself. "Aren’t you?"
Artax regarded the monstrosity. "I suppose looking at it, I can see why they caused the galaxy such trouble back in the day."
"What amazes me," Gorde said, "is that the Terrans somehow put an end to those wars."
"I’ve been pondering on that myself lately. Terrans are such fragile creatures. How could they have delivered such a devastating blow to that thing and its people?"
Gorde shrugged. "It goes to show that we should never underestimate our enemies. When the Kragak first attacked the Terrans, the other species believed—and perhaps even hoped—that they would put an end to them as they had so many others. And they almost did. Yet, the Terrans prevailed in the end. And still, no one knows how. This also fascinates me."
"It doesn’t make the Terrans any less puny in my mind."
Gorde looked up at him. "It eventually won them their seat on the Galactic Council."
"I’ve heard many horror stories about the Kragak," Artax said. "When I was a child, my mother scared me with such tales. They were exaggerated, like all stories."
The Kragak chuckled again, the instruments shaking in their trays.
Gorde cleared his throat. "I wouldn’t be so sure about that."
Artax still wasn’t convinced. The creature emitted a palpable sense of dominance, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe that the Kragak were as unstoppable as some accounts claimed. "If the Terrans could challenge them, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about."
He reached out with his mind, once again probing the edges of the creature’s consciousness, keeping a safe distance at all times…just in case. The maelstrom swirling around its awareness was so wild and mindless, Artax had trouble deciding whether Marigoth was a sentient being or a semi-intelligent beast.
It or he—Artax still couldn’t decide—seemed like a twisted combination of both: an experiment gone horribly wrong. Or horribly right if the intention had been to create a colossal monster so strong it was impossible to tame and exceptionally difficult to contain.
"Let’s get a closer look," Artax motioned towards the giant suspension ring containing the Kragak.
"Are you sure the new restraints will hold, sir?" One of the Rivarian’s eyes twitched as he studied the custom-built contraption splaying the giant like captured game.
"I’m fairly certain they’ll hold," Artax said, annoyed at having to reassure Gorde again.
"Fairly certain sounds rather ambiguous…sir," Gorde croaked.
"You sound surprised, Gorde. As though this entire thing hasn’t been one big enigma."
"I don’t like not knowing, sir." His voice faltered. "It makes me…uneasy."
"Really? I hadn’t noticed." Artax turned his attention back to the Kragak. "The maintenance crew spent weeks building the new suspension ring. The magnetic manacles are three times bigger than the last ones and ten times more powerful."
"The energy required to keep the unit ticking over is too much," Gorde said, checking the readings on his SIG. "It’s around double what the shields were the last time the beast broke free."
"So far, physical restraints have proven useless. As you’ve pointed out, shields weren’t much better. So, it’s back to square one. As for whether it will work…" Artax flashed Gorde a smile. "I guess we’re about to find out."
As they approached, Artax tried not to think about the trouble the beast had caused since being brought on board. Before the restraining ring had been finished, Marigoth had been contained in a standard brig cell. He’d broken free and killed a unit of guards before they could harry him into a solid metal cell. Even that had barely held, the scrapes and scratches on the monster’s horned armor, and the container’s warped sheet-metal, signs of its relentless savagery.
The giant growled as he struggled against the restraints. The suspension ring hummed and crackled, electricity sparking around the giant fetters that encased Marigoth’s hands. The Kragak pulled the magnetic shackles and they moved inches outside of the ring.
Officer Gorde mumbled a curse, reminding Artax that he was there. "Should I call the guards?"
Artax held up a hand, signaling for the Rivarian to hold off.
He
usually made the stubby assistant wait in the antechamber, preferring to work alone. Torture was an intimate affair, after all, not entirely unlike love-making. But, he decided to make an exception this once, given the prisoner’s…tenacity.
Gorde pointed his stun-gun in Marigoth’s direction, doing his best not to shake.
"Even with the upgraded power crystal, I doubt that’ll be much use," Artax said indifferently.
"But the engineers have removed the conversion limiter matrix."
"Whatever makes you feel better…"
No mere stun-gun would stop that thing, even if its blast was powerful enough to smash through plate armor. That was why Artax had the plasma turret installed. He looked past the prisoner to the heavy gun mounted on the ceiling.
Now that will make short work of the monster…if it comes to it. He hoped it wouldn’t.
It would be a pity to spoil such fun.
Marigoth relaxed for no more than a second before pulling on the restraints again. For a heartbeat, Artax thought the Kragak was going to break free this time, but the magnets snapped his limbs back into the ring.
The Kragak regarded the manacles with a smile, as though it were playing a child’s game.
While the giant was distracted, Artax eyed the turret once more, making sure it was still trained on the beast. Satisfied it was lined up correctly, he stepped forward.
Marigoth stood twice as tall as Artax and weighed a little over two-thousand pounds. If the beast managed to get a hold of him, he wouldn’t last long.
Artax checked his SIG as his most powerful medical scanner completed its readings. He cocked an eyebrow at the results. Even the Mark-2000 scanners didn’t pick up much. The Kragak’s armor shell was over an inch thick in most places and only a little thinner at the joints. It was an unusually tough yet agile material, but Artax still couldn’t figure out whether it was part of the creature’s anatomy or simply worn as a protective suit. Looking at the readings further, he assumed the former.
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