The Cartographer

by Craig Gaydas

  Jasper turned and slammed his hand down on the communications panel. “Helm, turn us around and set a course for Earth,” he said through clenched teeth. “Notify Royal Command that we are changing course and will be delayed.”

  “Aye, captain.”

  “Get off my bridge,” he growled.

  I headed to the exit but Lianne blocked the entrance. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “I'm not sure,” I replied. “But it's the way it needs to be because I don't belong here.”

  I slid past her and ran to my room without looking back in an effort to hide my tears. I just wanted to bury my face in my pillow and cry until my eyes became nothing more than saturated sponges. In my haste I knocked Calypso's journal off the table. I reached over to pick it up and it opened, dropping a picture of Earth to the floor. As I reached down to pick it up I noticed an entry. In my curiosity, I began reading it but collapsed to the floor before I completed it. I opened my eyes to see Lianne standing over me with a concerned look on her face.

  “Nathan, are you alright?”

  Everything was hazy and I felt a migraine coming on.

  “What happened?”

  “I don't know,” she replied. “I have been outside your door for some time, but you weren't answering.” She gestured her thumb over her shoulder. “Sorry about the door, but I assumed you were in trouble.”

  I propped myself up and looked past her. My door was hanging—barely—by a single hinge. Lianne clipped her sword to her belt and lifted me to my feet. I rubbed my head and felt a knot forming at the back of my skull.

  “Ow, I hit my head pretty hard,” I said. “I think I fainted from exhaustion.”

  Panic set in when I noticed the journal in Lianne's hand. She read the entry that it was open to and her eyes widened.

  “Caelum is not Calypso's next target!” she gasped.

  “Yes,” I replied. “We need to bring this to Jasper!”

  “If Calypso has mobilized already, we will never reach Earth in time.” She was busy flexing her hands, like she tried to grab an object that wasn't there.

  I paced the room like a caged tiger. Perhaps the journal entry would provide clues I may have overlooked the first time. I opened the journal and skimmed though the entry once again:

  The human has unlocked the Universal Map. We can move forward with our plan sooner than anticipated. Kedge will be removed from the equation as soon as possible. Satou, a recent transfer to the Cirrus, will be taking over engineering duties, allowing me a chance to eliminate Madoc. His refusal to abduct any more humans will lead to his downfall. Satou should make an adequate, albeit unaware, replacement. The Lumagom have sworn loyalty to me. This may have been hastened by the allegiance of Shai and the Scarlet Moon. Despite the alliance, my army is not large enough to attack Caelum directly. The journal of Ales Banda will provide me the details of his failings and I intend to adjust and correct his mistakes when I make my move. For right now, Earth has proven to be easily manipulated in the past, so I hope to assimilate the strongest inhabitants into my army. They are so easily swayed by money and power, and their technology should prove useful. Events have been set in motion to release Shai from Carcer-4. By the time the Consortium realizes what I have done it will be too late for the humans. Once Earth has been conquered, access to the Atlantic wormhole should be uninhibited.

  “What in the world does he want with Earth?”' Lianne asked. “What does he hope to gain by accessing the wormhole?”

  We locked eyes and she recognized the anguish in my face. I wanted to return to Earth but not under these circumstances. Now I must prevent everything I love from being destroyed.

  It was Mars all over again.

  All Along the Watchtower

  “This doesn't make any sense!”

  Jasper stood in the doorway with Calypso's journal clutched in his hand. The journal did not reveal any more clues to Calypso's motivation, but it did divulge that he was not the person calling the shots. There seemed to be someone pulling his strings, but I couldn't find any more information in the book. Although he wasn't discreet naming people in the journal, he conveniently left out the name of his “boss”.

  “This is serious,” I countered. “We need to stop him.”

  Jasper and Lianne exchanged looks and my heart sank. I knew what they were thinking. We were the closest ship to Earth but still two days away and it was questionable whether we would beat Calypso's forces, especially since they had a head start. Ships launched from Caelum would take a week at least. Others were scattered throughout the universe and could take even longer. It was up to us—an exploration vessel—to slow them down long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

  Jasper barked into his communicator. “Tek, are you there?”

  “Yes sir,” a voice came from the other end.

  “Patch me through to the warden on Carcer-4.”

  “Aye.”

  Moments later, a voice boomed from the other end of the communicator. It was deep and melodic and reminded me of Barry White.

  “This is Colonel Noz.”

  “Colonel, this is Captain Jasper of the ISS Argus representing the Consortium.” Jasper took a deep breath and looked at each of us before continuing. “We have a…situation. There is a chance that a rogue member of the Council is on his way to Carcer-4 to break Shai out of prison.”

  There was a long pause on the other end. I wondered if the warden had disconnected until his voice bellowed from the other end.

  “There is no indication anything is amiss in the holding cell area. Guards conducted a routine check of the cell block and Shai is there, happy as can be under such circumstances.”

  I sensed the Colonel's smugness through the communicator. Jasper frowned and seemed to sense the same.

  Jasper reached into his pocket and pulled out a square object that looked like a smart phone. He opened the journal and held the device over the book.

  “Colonel, I am scanning a page directly from a journal detailing the plot. I uploaded the image to your prison computers.”

  There was a muffled rustling of paperwork in the background followed by a bang—a desk drawer slamming.

  “Captain, we are very busy and we receive threats like these on a daily basis. I assure you that prison security is equipped to handle any threat to the prison population. I am sure that the Consortium is aware of our capabilities. If we require assistance, I will be the first to notify you.”

  Jasper clenched his jaw so tightly I was sure a cracked tooth would fly from his mouth. Before he had a chance to reply, the other end of the line went dead.

  “That pompous son of a bitch!” Lianne roared.

  I fell into my desk chair and rubbed my face in frustration. “It looks like we are alone.”

  Jasper's communicator beeped. “Sir, I am receiving visual of three vessels approximately twenty five kilometers off our starboard side and approaching fast.”

  “Lumagom?” Jasper asked.

  “No sir they um...” Tek trailed off.

  “Dammit, man, out with it!” Jasper roared.

  “Sir, they appear to be Erudite vessels.”

  “What is an Erudite?” I asked. “Please don't tell me it's another bad guy, I don't think my heart can take it.”

  Lianne turned to me and smirked. “No, Nathan, they are not hostile. They are watchers.”

  “Watchers?”

  “They are a reclusive collective of scholars,” she explained. “They also sometimes act as messengers because their ships are much faster than any other technology in the universe.”

  “Some people think they tap the power of wormholes to achieve their speeds,” Jasper grumbled.

  “Which had never been proven,” Lianne finished.

  Jasper shrugged. “Tek said there were three vessels. They normally travel alone, so they must carry an important message.”

  Lianne's smile faded. “You're right. Do you think it's possible that the Lumagom or Scarlet Moon has compr
omised them?”

  “For our sake, let's hope not.” Jasper turned to his communicator. “Tek, have you established communications with the vessels?”

  “No sir, they are not responding…wait a minute.”

  The line went dead and I gripped the armrests tight enough I almost broke a fingernail.

  “Tek?” Jasper's face swirled with anticipation.

  “Sir they have responded and they request permission to come aboard. They insist it's urgent.”

  “Permission granted. Tell them I will meet them at Dock Five.”

  “Aye.”

  The line went dead and Jasper grabbed Lianne by the shoulders. “I know you weep for your crew but there will be a time and place for that. I need you to brief the crew and prepare our defenses.”

  Lianne scowled. “I am aware of what is needed.”

  Jasper's face softened. “We will avenge them, I promise.”

  Lianne walked through the door with her head lowered. Jasper called to her and she turned around.

  “Lianne, I love you.”

  Her scowl faded and a smile played at the corner of her lips. She responded with a firm nod and left.

  “What about you?” Jasper glanced at me.

  I wanted to go home, forget everything and go back to being a semi-normal teenager. Calypso's plot changed all that and I might no longer have a home to go to. Earth was barbaric and technologically inferior by the Consortium's standards but it was my home. There was only one choice for me now.

  “I'm in. What do you need me to do?”

  “There may be hope for you yet…Cartographer.” For the first time since our initial meeting, Jasper smiled. “Let's greet our new guests.”

  When we reached Dock Five it was empty except for one confused crewmember who shrugged at us when we entered.

  “It appears they have not arrived yet,” Jasper said. “They should be here—”

  Before he completed the sentence a wisp of smoke appeared in the middle of the docking bay. At first it appeared as faint mist, gradually taking shape until it formed into the outline of a figure. The mysterious figure, hooded and cloaked, crouched low to the floor.

  Jasper reached for his gun but stopped when the person stood up and pulled back the hood, revealing a lizard-like countenance. Two bulbous black eyes peered at us above a wide mouth resembling that of a catfish and a pair of stumpy horns protruded from the top of his head, measuring no more than three inches long. When he looked up and saw us he waved.

  Jasper released his grip on the gun. “It's been so long since we have come across their kind that I forgot about their ability to phase.”

  “Phase?”

  “They have the ability to transport short distances using a method they call phasing. The process basically dematerializes them from one location and allows them to materialize to another. The Erudites are considered masters of travel, but very secretive. We have tried for many years to learn the secret, but to no avail.”

  “Hail! My name is Bree N'Dadi, leader and chief ambassador of the Erudites.”

  Jasper returned the wave. “Hello, I am Captain Jasper, welcome aboard the Argus.”

  Bree frowned. “I fear this is not a social visit, Captain. We have received reports that there may be a disturbance within the Council of Five.”

  Jasper looked over his shoulder at me. Bree followed his gaze and blinked his bulging eyes at me.

  “Your reports are accurate,” Jasper said. “We are working on dealing with the situation.”

  “Captain we normally do not interfere in the affairs of others,” Bree replied calmly but he stiffened and his demeanor turned serious. “Our concern lies solely in the events as they unfold. If the reports are true and Calypso plans to travel to Earth, we have concluded it is for more than conquering humans.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Calypso plans on using the time hole on Earth.”

  “But he can't do that without the map,” I said. “He needs the map for the exact location of the time hole. Only I have access to it and it is safe and sound on my computer in my room.”

  “Ah, so the rumors are true. The Consortium has indeed found a new Cartographer.” Bree turned and fixed his eye globes on me. “That is why Calypso has chosen this moment in time to make his move. The map has been unlocked.”

  “Yeah, but it's on my computer,” I replied.

  Bree folded his arms across his chest. “Are you sure about that?”

  My eyes widened and I turned to Jasper. Recognizing the panic on his face I raced to my room. I burst through the door and scanned the area. Gard sat in the corner, but judging by his dark eyes he was in shutdown mode. I ran to the desk and examined it. Everything seemed to be in order (I suppose I expected the room to be in disarray like a burglary). I looked at the side of the computer with dread.

  The disk was gone.

  I ran my fingers through my hair scoured the room and prayed that somehow it became dislodged from the computer and dropped to the floor. I looked under the desk and banged my head when I sat up, silently cursing. Calypso must have snuck in my room when Lianne and I were with Kedge.

  I stood up in time to see Jasper in the doorway, breathing heavily. He saw my face and clenched his jaw.

  “How could we have been so blind?” Jasper muttered. Bree walked around the corner and appeared behind him.

  He looked in the room and frowned. “So it is true, Calypso has possession of the Universal Map.”

  Jasper spoke into his wrist communicator. “Tek, contact the High Prince and patch the visual link into Nathan's quarters.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Jasper moved to the wall opposite my bed and slid a panel aside where a large, flat screen monitor had been embedded in the wall.

  “Well that's cool. I wish someone told me there was a TV in this room, it sure would have killed all this boredom.”

  Jasper ignored my quip and focused on the dark screen. After several minutes passed, the screen flickered to life and an image appeared. The person on the other end was a Caelumite who bore a strong resemblance to Jasper but was much older. He had long, dark colored hair similar to dreadlocks that were streaked with gray. His goatee, a similar color, was also marked with gray stripes. He stared at us through dark, sunken eyes filled with wisdom. When he spoke, his voice was raspy with a slight accent I couldn't quite place. It sounded British.

  “A British cat,” I whispered and chuckled.

  Jasper turned to me. “What was that?”

  “Um, nothing.” I focused my attention on the screen and Jasper narrowed his eyes.

  “Hello Captain Jasper. I assume by your demeanor that the news is not good.”

  “Indeed High Prince. I would not have bothered you directly with this if it was not of utmost importance.”

  Meta waved his hand dismissively and frowned. “I understand that the situation is more dire than first reported?”

  Jasper looked over his shoulder and Meta followed his gaze. His frown vanished when he saw me.

  “Ah, you must be the human, Nathan Chambers.” He smiled.

  I took a step back and nodded sheepishly.

  “You are younger than I thought. A boy of few words, eh?” Meta chuckled.

  I felt tiny standing before the High Prince of the Consortium. Even though he was millions of miles away, his wisdom and power emanated off the screen like a vapor.

  “Anyway, what news do you have to report, Captain?”

  “Calypso has stolen the Universal Map, sire.”

  Meta looked past us and paused when he saw Bree. “So this is worse than I expected if you are here, old friend”

  “Indeed it is, High Prince,” Bree responded.

  “You appearance here means that Calypso has much more devious intentions in mind,” Meta admitted. “That means that his pretext of Charr's problems has nothing to do with his actions.”

  “We believe it was just an excuse,” Bree offered. “Ales Banda's original e
xploration of the planet Earth indicates that a wormhole located beneath the ocean on Earth is indeed a time hole. It cannot be confirmed, of course, until someone travels through it.”

  “It might only be a door to another planet,” I insisted.

  Bree nodded. “Indeed it could be.”

  “We cannot take that chance,” Meta growled. “I will order all available vessels to Earth. The DSS Swallowtail is the closest Defense Fleet vessel to your location and will pass through the Neptune Belt in a little over two days. I'm afraid that other vessels are at least a week away.”

  “We are about a day away from the Neptune Belt,” Jasper groaned and turned to me. “It's just us for the moment.”

  Bree stepped forward. “As you know we are scholars, not warriors but I am sure you noticed we have three vessels orbiting your vessel at the moment.”

  Jasper smiled. “I appreciate the offer, Bree, but I'm afraid you won't be of much help—”

  “No, I am not offering the services of the Erudites, that would be foolish,” Bree interrupted. “We took the liberty of picking up a contingent of soldiers who were working on upgrading an outpost on one of the moons of Exorg-7.”

  Lianne entered the room and I smiled when the person standing behind her came through the door. It was Embeth.

  “Thank the cosmos you grabbed us off that godforsaken cesspool,” Embeth roared and Lianne broke out in a smile.

  “You wanted me to prepare our defenses,” she beamed. “I assumed a hundred Defense Fleet soldiers would assist me in meeting my directive.”

  Jasper matched her smile. “Indeed it does.”

  “Bree, once again you prove invaluable to us,” Meta roared with laughter. “Embeth, I assume you will take over preparing the troops for a ground assault?”

  Embeth frowned. “I am not very familiar with Earth's terrain. I hope our new Cartographer could lend his assistance. Unless, of course, he plans on sticking to his resignation of the position.”

  I felt the gaze of everyone in the room (plus the one on the screen). I felt heat rising in my cheeks and lowered my head.