The Cartographer

by Craig Gaydas

  “Damn, why didn't I think of that!” Jasper slammed his hands on the control panel. “Scan the moon!”

  Before he turned to the monitor the ship shuddered violently and I found myself surrounded by light. Explosions rocked the ship. The momentum sent me backwards for what seemed like an eternity—until my head slammed against a control panel. Flaming stars fell around me and I couldn't tell if they were caused by the attack or by my head slamming against the panel. I rolled to the side and winced from the sharp pain stabbing the rear of my skull. The back of my head felt sticky and I pulled my hand away covered in blood. The bridge was a scene of chaos. Satou struggled to stand while Jasper barked orders to the crew—what was left of them. Lianne lay unconscious in the corner while Embeth pulled an unconscious (or dead) Tek from the control panel.

  “Security alert,” Jasper shouted above the crackle of shattered machinery. “Battle stations!”

  The large screen at the front of the bridge flickered to life. An image of a man flashed across the screen. His skin was black and he had the pointed ears of an elf, similar to crewmembers I had witnessed aboard the Argus—from the planet Drith, I recalled. Long flowing white hair poured from the top of his head and a thick golden hoop earring dangled from each ear. He wore some sort of dark gray, flexible metallic armor that allowed him to fold his arms across his chest. A hard expression adorned his face—the look of a man who had seen many battles.

  “Greetings, Explorer's League,” he cooed. “I can't believe it but that son of a bitch Calypso was right. You people are way too predictable.”

  Jasper turned to the screen with fists clenched. “Who the hell are you?”

  A genuinely shocked expression crossed the man's face. “Oh my, where are my manners? My name is Shai; leader of the Scarlet Moon.”

  “HA! A gaggle of brigands and petty thieves,” spat Embeth. Disgust washed over his face.

  Shai frowned. “Is that any way to treat your new guest? I will see you folks soon.” The screen went black.

  “Can you put that on the main screen?” Jasper motioned toward the monitor in front of Embeth.

  The screen roared back to life but instead of an image of Shai, it contained several ships as they sped towards us from the moon. It was the same floating pirate ships from earlier and our fears were confirmed—the Scarlet Moon have allied themselves with Calypso.

  I got up on one knee in time to see a plume of fire explode from the lead ship, rocking the Argus and sending a fresh spray of sparks over me. I fell back and hit my head on the very same control panel. This time, however I only had a few seconds to curse my luck before drifting into unconsciousness. One of the Scarlet Moon vessels attached itself to the Argus and began boarding procedures.

  “The British are coming,” I mumbled and passed out.

  Homecoming

  Someone grabbed my shoulder and shook me violently. I threw a weak slap at the unknown assailant.

  “I don't feel like going to school today, Mom,” I croaked. My eyes were swollen slits throwing everything around me into a blur.

  Suddenly I found myself flying through the air when someone hoisted me up and placed me on a rolling conveyor belt. Prone on my back I stared up at Cyclops and an albino as they returned my gaze. With considerable pain and effort I turned my head and came face-to-face with a blue-eyed toaster. All around me the world was on fire. This was the weirdest dream ever, I thought.

  “Stay with us, Nathan,” the albino shouted.

  “He doesn't look good,” Cyclops admitted.

  “I am monitoring his heart rate and, although faint, it is strong,” the toaster replied.

  My dream took me through the hallways of a metal lunchbox until we entered a wide open area I recognized as the docking bay. The rolling toaster brought me into a school bus conveniently parked inside and placed me upright in a seat where the albino strapped me in.

  “I don't want to go to school,” I repeated.

  “What the hell is wrong with him?” Cyclops asked.

  I felt a pinch in my arm and saw the albino injecting me with something.

  “Hey!” I rasped.

  There was a small burning sensation near the injection site and a dull warmness traveled through my veins. Slowly my vision returned. Cyclops and the albino disappeared and Kedge and Wraith appeared in their place. The toaster morphed into Gard.

  “Welcome back,” Wraith grunted. “We have to get out of here.”

  He hopped in the pilot seat while Kedge secured his staff and strapped himself in beside me.

  “What's going on?” I looked out the window just as four Lumagom soldiers entered the docking bay, weapons drawn.

  Wraith gunned the engine and the shuttle moved forward. “We are getting the hell out of here, that's what's going on.”

  Flame poured from the rocket's thrusters, forcing the soldiers to leap back toward the entrance. The shuttle rocketed into space.

  “Gard, did the other shuttle make it?” Wraith slammed his hand on the control panel. “I can't read anything on these scanners.”

  “Scanning.” Gard's eyes switched from blue to white, periodically flashing, as he scanned the cosmos.

  “Well?” Kedge asked impatiently.

  “The shuttle has launched from Docking Bay 7.”

  “Good.” Wraith adjusted a lever on the console as we descended through Earth's atmosphere.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “I am going to attempt to land this bucket of bolts without killing us all,” he replied sourly. “Currently, my target is off the coast of Crooked Island.”

  “Crooked Island?”

  “Crooked Island: A tropical island district that is part of the Bahamian Islands and settled by American Loyalists—”

  “Alright Gard can you please not get all Wikipedia on me and just answer the damn question using the short version?” I threw up my hands in exasperation.

  “It is a convenient location for us to set up a temporary base and coordinate our resources,” Wraith replied. “There is a low human population in the area and less chance we will run into `prying eyes'.”

  We broke the planet's atmosphere and descended toward the Atlantic Ocean.

  “I'm not picking up any ships in the area,” Wraith said. “I will take us in low, hold onto your seats people.”

  The shuttle vibrated violently as we skimmed the surface of the ocean. In the distance an island loomed. We approached the northeast corner of the island at breakneck speed, revealing an expansive, white sandy beach in the distance. This part of the island was deserted—nothing more than coral reefs, sand and surf. Wraith slowed the shuttle down and landed on a flat section of the island surrounded by thick vegetation.

  “Gard, activate the veil.”

  “The veil?” I asked.

  Wraith unfastened himself and moved toward the back of the shuttle. “The veil is what we normally call the camouflaging device.”

  “Oh yeah, that thing, I almost forgot.”

  Kedge unbuckled himself and retrieved his staff. “Any word on the other shuttle?”

  Wraith retrieved a hand cannon from a locker and tossed me one. “Let's go find out.”

  For the first time in forever, I stepped foot again on Earth and inhaled the warm tropical air. A pelican soared overhead and I broke out a smile. I had very little time to enjoy my homecoming before it was interrupted by a disembodied door opening in front of me. It floated about fifteen feet in the air. Alarmed, I reached for the hand cannon and took a step back. Kedge appeared by my side, staff at the ready.

  “Wait a minute,” Wraith shouted.

  A Defense Fleet soldier appeared in the doorway before a ramp lowered from the door. Several soldiers descended the ramp and gathered on the beach. They were adorned in the same golden armor worn on Xajax.

  “Who is in charge here?” Wraith hurried over to the first soldier that exited the shuttle.

  “That would be me,” the soldier replied. “I am Sergeant Ma
jor Klax and I am the ranking officer here.”

  “How many of you managed to escape?”

  Klax looked over his shoulder while more soldiers poured from the shuttle. “A contingent stayed behind to fend off the invaders,” he replied grimly. “I haven't taken exact count but I'd say we have about 75.”

  “Sir, I have continued scanning Earth's news outlets and I do not see any other reports of unidentified objects or strange occurrences.” Gard rolled toward our group.

  Kedge shoved his staff in the ground and eyed the soldiers. “So what's the plan?”

  “Since we don't have the map, we do not know the exact location of the time hole,” admitted Wraith. “From my estimations it should be approximately eleven kilometers off this coast. The good news is it's a cloudless day.”

  “Which means we should see them coming,” I added.

  “Exactly.”

  A soldier popped his head out of the shuttle. “Major, I am receiving a hail from the Argus.”

  “I want a three mile perimeter established on this island,” Klax barked to the surrounding soldiers. “Discretion is top priority. We do not want to be seen.”

  The soldiers scattered and we followed Klax into the shuttle. A Defense Fleet soldier hunched over the shuttle's control panel. He looked up when we came in, revealing a long, angry scar along the left side of his face.

  “Put it on the screen,” Klax ordered.

  The screen flashed and filled with an image of Shai. His pompous demeanor grated on my nerves.

  “Greetings, Cartographer,” he beamed. “I apologize for not addressing you earlier, but I had no idea who you were until we accessed the records aboard the Argus.”

  “What do you want?” I snapped.

  A pained expression crossed his face. “Now that isn't very nice. But you get right to the point and I like that.” The screen panned out, revealing the prone figures of Satou, Lianne, Jasper and Embeth behind him. They were on their knees with their hands bound behind their back while Scarlet Moon soldiers held them at gunpoint.

  “NO!” I leapt forward but Wraith grabbed my arm.

  Shai smiled. It was the venomous smile of a deadly predator. “I see I have your attention. You cowards managed to escape my wrath, leaving these poor folks here to bear the brunt of my ire.”

  “Well, why don't you come down here and we can remedy that situation,” Kedge roared.

  Shai's smile faded. “Ah, the fallen Lumagom leader. It must really eat at you to ally yourself with your enemies.”

  “How it must eat at you to be Calypso's lapdog,” Kedge growled. “The mighty Scarlet Moon has indeed fallen.”

  Shai coughed out a dry chuckle. “I beg to differ, the Scarlet Moon is more powerful than ever.” Shai gestured toward the bound figures. “But enough about me, the reason I am here is to make this about them.”

  “Let them go, Shai,” I shouted. “You don't need them, it's us you want, right?”

  Shai shook his head. “No, I beg to differ. I do, in fact, need them.”

  The screen panned a little more, revealing the viewing screen behind them. A smile played at the corner of my lips. On the screen were two DFS ships as well as several smaller ships I didn't recognize surrounding them.

  “Well, it looks like the Swallowtail and Alacrity have made it to the party,” Wraith muttered.

  “Who are those other ships?” I leaned in close and whispered.

  “It looks like the Erudites chose to not sit this one out,” he replied. “It seems the High Prince had a wildcard up his sleeve.”

  “So you see, Cartographer, I do need them,” Shai continued. “We are surrounded, however I control the Argus as well as the fate of its crew.”

  “So what do you want?” I repeated.

  “My needs are simple,” he declared. “I need you to return to the Argus.”

  “That's not happening,” I replied. “I'll be damned if I sit back and let Calypso turn Earth into the new Mars.”

  “I don't think I made myself clear.”

  He turned and grabbed a rifle from the soldier behind him. “These are valuable hostages, from what I understand.” He circled the group. “It appears we have two captains, a member of the Council and your lead engineer—” He stopped and turned to Satou. “Oh wait a minute, I think you have been recently promoted, have you not?”

  Satou stared straight ahead—silent and unblinking.

  “No answer?” Shai chuckled. “No matter, my point is these hostages are very valuable to the Consortium and it would be unfortunate if something terrible were to befall them.” He cocked the rifle and pointed it at the back of Lianne's head.

  My heart leapt into my throat. “NO!”

  Shai raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you've grown fond of her, eh?” He pointed the rifle at Satou. “What about this one, Cartographer? Is it OK if I kill this one to drive my point home?”

  “Damn you,” I muttered.

  Shai tipped his hand behind his ear. “I'm sorry, what was that?”

  “Why do you want us?” Wraith interjected. “Surely your hostages are enough of a bargaining chip.”

  A wicked grin spread across his face. “We can't have you interfering with events on Earth. Calypso would be very upset.”

  “Screw Calypso and screw YOU,” I screamed. “This is my planet and you will take it over my dead body!”

  His grin faded. “That's a shame. I really hoped we could come to a bloodless solution here but I see the barbaric nature of your planet extends even to its kiddies.”

  Shai swung around so fast he was no more than a blur on the screen. Before I could process his intentions a flash of light exploded from the barrel and a charred hole appeared in the center of Jasper's forehead. Bluish blood wept from the wound and covered his face in a cyan veil. He remained on his knees momentarily, a shocked expression frozen on his face, before he crumpled to the floor in a heap. My jaw hung open and a high pitched scream pierced my ear drums. I thought it was me until my shock faded. It was Lianne.

  “Nooooooo!” Her voice trailed off as she crumpled to the floor.

  Lianne struggled against her bonds, her face wracked with emotion. Everything around me was covered in a red curtain—the crimson shade of rage. It covered my eyes like a pair of 3-D glasses. I lunged for the screen.

  “You son of a bitch, I'm going to kill you!”

  Wraith and Kedge grabbed my shoulders and a soldier came between me and the screen, which was lucky, because I might have smashed it in my fury.

  Shai turned to face the screen and his face was a ferocious mask of anger. “Kill me? No, Cartographer, I'm afraid not. But I will tell you who's going to die! The next person in this formation will die if you don't comply with my request!”

  Lianne, who collapsed to the floor in emotional agony had guards on each side, holding her down. Even though her hands were bound behind her back I had no doubt she would have found a way to tear out Shai's throat with her teeth. Despite her ferocity, she was next in line.

  My teeth cracked as I clenched my jaw. I grew fond of Lianne and we have become close during my time aboard the Argus. I couldn't let this savage kill her yet. I had to come up with an idea, fast.

  Wraith leaned in and whispered. “I know what you are thinking, Nathan. We can't go back, we would be walking into a trap.”

  I nodded but his words seemed far away. He could have just told me I won the lottery and I wouldn't care. I have never felt so lost, until the soldier hovering over the scanners made up my mind.

  “I think you guys need to see this,” he said and motioned us over to his screen.

  On the screen was a news reporter, from Fox 5 News in Washington DC, according to the logo in the corner. It quickly panned away from her to a live screen shot of a building on fire. I was about to ask what the importance of a structure fire was in DC but the reporter interrupted my chain of thought.

  “What you are looking at is a live image of the Pentagon building. We have unconfirmed reports of a t
errorist attack at the facility. We are attempting to assess the situation but—”

  The reporter stopped and looked off screen. She nodded and looked visibly shaken. “I'm sorry folks, but I have just learned that—”

  The screen went blank and I glanced at the soldier monitoring the station. “Hey what happened?”

  He shook his head. “I'm not sure. It seems to be some kind of interference…oh wait there we go.”

  The screen came back to life but instead of the Washington reporter it was Calypso. I gasped and stepped back, accidentally bumping Kedge which snapped him from his concentration on the screen.

  The soldier looked at Klax. “Sir every news station on the planet has been compromised.”

  Klax frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “What we are witnessing here is being fed live to every news agency around the world.”

  “Greetings, Earth. My name is Calypso,” he announced. “I assure you what you see here is real. The time for you has come to make a real difference.”

  Shai appeared to be monitoring the same thing we were. Although his face was locked on something off to the side, the smile he wielded told the story. Calypso had won.

  “The attack on your Pentagon was not from terrorists, well not any terrorists you know of. I have traveled very far to bring a message to Earth. Your planet is in danger.” He paused for dramatic effect before continuing. “There is an alien society monitoring you this very moment, preparing an offensive. This attack was only the first in a series of preemptive strikes.”

  “What the hell is he trying to do?” I asked.

  “I beseech the governments of the Earth to strike against the hostiles.” He pulled back his lips in a smile, revealing flawless white teeth beneath. It resembled the smile of a politician trying to sell something unscrupulous to his unsuspecting constituents. “As a matter of fact, they are gathering a large force right outside the planet's orbit at this moment.”

  “That son of a bitch,” Wraith muttered.

  “You may be asking yourself, `who is this guy and why should I believe him'. Who I am is not important, but I will explain the why part.”