The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1)

by Adrian Fulcher

  They went through the motions once more. James could feel Londuo’s heart pounding.

  Her heart’s beating fast. So is mine. Is this what love feels like?

  ‘Now you try,’ Londuo said.

  James repeated the movement as close as he could, but his mind was elsewhere. The triangle left his hand and flew straight across the room.

  ‘How was that?’ James said, feeling pleased and then looked around at Londuo.

  She smiled and nodded. James looked into her eyes, and they stared at each other for a moment.

  James thought, I think I could be in love with you, Londuo. I wonder if you feel the same way.

  ‘We’d better make a move,’ Londuo said suddenly, when Kira brushed up against her legs.

  ‘Yes… Yes of course,’ James replied, as Londuo moved away.

  ‘Sorry Kira, we have to go now, but Kalrea will play with you,’ James said, bending down and stroking her back.

  Londuo and James descended three levels of the Lonori.

  They approached a large blast door, which was guarded by four security personnel, who were all carrying laser rifles and small side arms. One of the guards raised his rifle, and another pointed a small grey box at James and Londuo. They passed the security guards and entered the access room to the main fighter bay.

  James asked curiously,

  ‘What was that device?’

  ‘You mean the Security Authorisation Scanner?’ Londuo asked. ‘They were checking if we have clearance to be in this section of the ship.’

  James looked down the long slim room, which stretched far into the distance. He noticed the left wall was tilted at an angle and had large metal doors at regular intervals along its length. Two shiny strips of metal ran the length of the room in the floor. A fighter was standing on a large metal platform in front of him.

  ‘This is where my squadron is stationed,’ Londuo said proudly. ‘They’re launched from these bays,’ she said, pointing to the large metal doors.

  James looked down the wall.

  ‘How many fighters does the Lonori have?’ James asked.

  They started to walk slowly down the centre of the room.

  ‘We can launch fifteen from this side and eleven from the other,’ Londuo replied. ‘There’s about another twenty-three onboard. Each has its own platform, like that one, for loading into the bays.’

  They stopped at an open bay door. James could see it was hinged at its base and rested neatly on the floor of the launch bay. He looked inside it. A fighter stood on a large ramp that extended for thirty meters, and at the end of it there was another door.

  ‘The far door tilts down to form the last part of the ramp. This door…,’ Londuo said, pointing down at her feet, ‘closes before the fighter starts the pre-burn drive tests, which is the reason why it is so blackened. We used to have the drives powered on exit, but after all the bays on the Horopila were destroyed, we are now propelled out into space before we start the drive.’

  ‘What happened to the Horopila?’ James asked curiously.

  ‘The Treitans changed their tactics and started to ram the fighter bays, if they managed to get close enough. On the Horopila they caught three of our fighters. The explosion of the charged drives destroyed the whole of the port launch bays. Since then, we’re not allowed to run the drives up until we exit the bay.’

  ‘What do you do if the drive doesn’t start when you clear the ship?’ James asked.

  ‘There’s not a lot you can do, I’m afraid. After a few attempts it may fire; if not, you wait for a shuttle to grapple your fighter and tow you back onboard.

  James was concerned.

  ‘It’s never happened to me, yet,’ she smiled. ‘Come on! I’ll show you the cockpit.’

  They walked into the launch bay.

  ‘The fighters aren’t very big,’ James remarked, studying the dark-grey fighter, which was about size of a small aircraft and was standing on three thin retractable landing legs.

  They walked past a flat delta-shaped wing that extended out from just beneath the drive unit, which had an open access panel in its side. Five instruments were neatly arranged on the wing and wires extended from two of them into the access panel. On the side of the drive were some symbols and the word ‘GAMMA2’. They reached the front of the fighter, which was wrapped with a yellow, orange and green brightly painted dragon-like beast.

  ‘The one plasma drive is capable of zero point eight-two phase now,’ Londuo said. ‘The Treitan fighters are slightly faster, about point eight-four, but ours are about two-thirds the weight of a Treitan fighter and can easily outmanoeuvre them.’

  ‘What about the design on the front?’ James asked. ‘When you and Gulino landed onboard the Aurora, I can’t remember seeing one of those.’

  ‘No,’ Londuo replied. ‘We were assigned those from Brinoli, instead of using our fighters onboard the Lonori. It is unusual to be assigned “Mark Five” fighters, but now I know the objective of the mission, all becomes clear,’ Londuo said quietly.

  James looked puzzled.

  ‘They’re a lot lighter than other versions,’ Londuo continued, ‘being configured for optimum atmospheric performance and ideal for planetary combat situations. These—,’ Londuo pointed to the fighter, ‘—are used for combat in space.’

  ‘Is yours in one of these launch-bays, then?’ James asked.

  ‘No, when the fighters are not in use they are moved down into a storage area.’

  ‘Does your fighter… have a design on it?’ James asked, smiling.

  ‘All the fighters stationed on the Lonori are personalised like that,’ Londuo said, looking at the design. ‘It’s just something that happened over a period of time. I suppose it made us feel lucky. This one belongs to Frasin.’

  ‘What’s painted on the front of yours?’ James asked.

  ‘I call it the planet of fire,’ Londuo smiled. ‘There’s a huge ucapion claw.’

  What’s an ucapion? James thought.

  ‘It’s like the one you see here on Frasin’s, holding a bright-blue fiery planet. It stretches from this side of the ship and across the top. The fire reaches out to cover the front of my ship.’

  James nodded, trying to visualise it, before commenting,

  ‘You like claws, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose, I do,’ Londuo replied and chuckled.

  ‘I can’t see any weapons,’ James remarked.

  ‘They’re mounted in the nose and up there behind the cockpit,’ Londuo said, pointing at them. ‘Frasin’s a Mark seven, so it has four front-facing pulse lasers and one rear-mounted multi-directional laser.’

  ‘Like the Aurora’s?’

  ‘No, the Aurora’s lasers are probably about twenty to thirty times more powerful.’

  ‘Really?’ James replied.

  Londuo reached up and pressed a large button just underneath the blacked out windows of the cockpit that then opened. James climbed up the foot-holds in the side of the fighter and peered inside. There was a plain dark-grey padded seat with belts to hold the pilot in place. A black slanted console circled the seat, and a small monitor was positioned directly in front. A helmet was lying on the seat.

  ‘There’s not much to see, really,’ Londuo said.

  ‘It’s similar to an aircraft on Earth,’ James commented. ‘Except… that’s odd!’

  ‘What?’ Londuo questioned.

  ‘There are no controls. No joystick. How… do you control it?’

  ‘Through the helmet,’ Londuo replied. ‘It’s similar technology to what you use to instruct Kalrea, except this is far more bulky.’

  James picked up the helmet.

  ‘It’s heavy,’ he said with surprise.

  ‘Oh, yes. I forgot about that,’ Londuo replied.

  ‘How can you forget something this heavy?’ James replied cheerfully.

  ‘It’s not heavy when you put it on,’ Londuo replied. ‘There are hover attachments near the neck, so you hardly notice it.’r />
  ‘What happens if your fighter gets hit? You know, if they have to get out.’

  ‘We eject. The whole cockpit is a self-contained pod, which can be fired away from the fighter.’

  ‘Sounds very dangerous.’

  ‘It’s better than being blown up.’

  ‘What do you think you two are doing here?’ a loud voice suddenly said.

  Londuo and James turned around.

  ‘Gulino,’ Londuo looked pleasantly surprised.

  ‘Hi, Londuo, James,’ Gulino said, with a large grin across his face.

  James handed the helmet to Londuo and climbed down from the fighter. She stretched up and closed the cockpit, while James walked out of the bay and over to where Gulino and a young woman were standing.

  She’s tall! Very tall, James thought, looking at the woman. Her long black hair was tied in a bun on top of her head, which made her look even taller than Londuo.

  ‘How are you two getting on?’ Gulino asked James, while Londuo was still in the fighter bay.

  ‘Very well,’ James replied, his voice lowered.

  Londuo walked over.

  ‘Hello Frasin.’

  ‘Hi, Londuo,’ Frasin replied. ‘This must be James,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  ‘All good I hope?’ James replied.

  Gulino placed his arm around Frasin’s waist.

  ‘We’ve just come from the viewing area.’

  ‘That’s where we’re heading next,’ Londuo said, glancing over at James. ‘So don’t give too much away. I want it to be a surprise.’

  ‘You won’t be disappointed, James,’ Gulino said.

  ‘I’ve just been showing James your fighter, Frasin,’ Londuo said.

  ‘They’re going to withdraw it from service, if they can’t sort the stabiliser problem out,’ Frasin said.

  ‘What’s the problem?’ Londuo asked.

  ‘It’s got a tendency to roll slowly,’ Frasin replied. ‘I have to concentrate constantly to keep it under control.’

  ‘Who’s been assigned to it?’ Londuo asked.

  ‘Peiton,’ Frasin replied.

  ‘If he can’t fix it, then no one can,’ Gulino said.

  ‘He will,’ Londuo replied. ‘In fact; I’d say he’s almost finished it. I noticed he has already reconfigured the alignment nozzles.’

  James noticed Frasin give Gulino a prod in the ribs, making him jump.

  ‘We’ll leave you two alone now,’ Gulino said, looking at Frasin.

  She nodded and smiled. As they walked away, Gulino looked back.

  ‘Oh! Londuo! Our mission briefing will be in the Ferdol room tomorrow morning,’ he said.

  ‘Thanks,’ Londuo replied. ‘We need to go this way,’ she said to James.

  They exited the launch bays through another large blast door, which was also guarded, and preceded down a long corridor.

  James could see long lines of rectangular windows to the right-hand side. As he approached the first, he peered through it. What place is that? Directly below him, he could see the top of a frigate, and in the distance the rear of the Aurora was just visible. Ah, it must be the internal docking bay.

  ‘That’s incredible,’ he remarked.

  ‘It’s still nothing compared with what you’re about to see,’ Londuo replied.

  ‘Why carry other ships?’ James asked, while they walked. ‘I mean, I know the Lonori is a carrier, but there are others travelling alongside us, so why carry ships inside?’

  ‘Speed!’ Londuo replied. ‘The ships you see here have smaller event horizon drives, which can only achieve Q1.5, so the carrier transports them to where they’re needed. Cruisers and destroyers are also able to carry up to two frigates or assault ships by securing them to the hull.’

  Looking at the several ships in the internal docking bay, James said,

  ‘They don’t look as damaged as the other ships I’ve seen.’

  ‘Ships that size, with the exception of the Aurora of course, can’t take a lot of damage and are destroyed very easily. They’re either in perfect condition or in a million pieces, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Why use them, then?’

  ‘Well, the assault ships are the largest we have that are capable of entering a planet’s atmosphere. We use them to move large pieces of hardware, supplies and personnel between the ships and any ground base we set up. They are not armed, unlike the frigates.’

  ‘I assume the frigates are used in combat, then?’

  ‘Most definitely. The targeting range of a destroyer is far greater than that of a frigate, but the frigates are very manoeuvrable and are used at close quarters to attack larger ships, especially now they’ve all been extensively modified to carry more firepower than a destroyer.’

  James was surprised.

  Londuo continued,

  ‘They have five plasma torpedo tubes located along the port and starboard sides, two at the front and two at the rear, as well as a defence matrix.’

  ‘A bit like an old galleon,’ James remarked.

  ‘Galleon?’ Londuo looked puzzled.

  ‘They were ships used at sea on Earth, from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries,’ James said. ‘You mentioned cruisers, but I haven’t seen any. I assume they’ve all been destroyed.’

  He noticed Londuo’s expression dull, as she walked.

  ‘Yes they have been,’ she replied, her voice was sadder. ‘All except the Vornosio were destroyed during the attack on Qintaino.’

  ‘What’s wrong, Londuo?’ James asked.

  She looked up.

  ‘Nothing.’

  Must have been something I said about the cruisers, he thought and then said,

  ‘There’s something wrong, isn’t there?’

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it; sorry,’ Londuo replied.

  I’ve definitely mentioned something that’s upset her.

  ‘The viewing area’s just down here,’ Londuo said, managing a smile, before she stopped. ‘Close your eyes,’ she said, holding out her left hand.

  James gripped Londuo’s hand gently and shut his eyes.

  ‘Don’t open them until I say, will you?’ Londuo said.

  ‘I won’t. I trust you,’ James replied and then thought, I wonder what she’s going to show me.

  Londuo led him slowly into the viewing area and up to a handrail, just in front of the thick glass. She placed each of his hands on the handrail.

  It’s cold, feels like metal, James thought. Shall I take a peek? No.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Londuo asked.

  ‘Yes,’ James replied and smiled in anticipation.

  ‘You can open them now,’ she said.

  James stood in silence for a moment.

  ‘Wow,’ he said, gazing outside the Lonori. ‘That’s unbelievable.’

  He could see a destroyer travelling less than fifty metres away, parallel to the Lonori. The light of the passing stars softened its huge bulk and the front appeared to be sparkling where space debris was hitting it. Occasionally, both ships banked together, the destroyer lifting or falling when they turned. The light of the stars constantly changed the tones and shadows made on its hull.

  ‘That’s an amazing sight,’ James said. ‘I feel like I could reach out and touch it.’

  He could tell Londuo was pleased.

  ‘Which destroyer is it?’ James asked.

  He read the name ‘Nanopila’ ahead of the fighter bays.

  ‘The Yemolopila,’ she replied. ‘If you look near the front of it, you will see they have a similar viewing area.’ Londuo pointed out. ‘Look, there are four people watching us from there.’

  James peered towards the front of the Yemolopila.

  ‘Oh, yes, I can see them now.’

  He felt overwhelmed by the view, and turning to Londuo said,

  ‘Thanks for showing me this and for helping me, since I’ve been here.’

  He paused a moment.

  ‘I enjoy being here with you.’
r />   Londuo looked uneasy.

  ‘I don’t know how to say this, James… Deep inside, I feel I’ve known you for a long time...’ She looked at him. ‘That moment on Qintaino when I first saw you, it was like it was meant to be.’

  James stared at her.

  ‘It felt like I was meeting you again,’ Londuo added.

  ‘It’s funny you should mention that!’ James replied.

  ‘I’m sorry. Forget I ever said it.’ Londuo looked embarrassed.

  ‘No, what I mean is, I feel as though I’ve met you before somewhere. I seem to remember your eyes; they’re so distinctive.’

  Londuo placed her hand on top of his.

  ‘James! Have you ever thought about being old?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ James answered perplexed.

  ‘How it would feel to be old,’ Londuo replied.

  ‘No, I’ve never really thought about it. Why?’

  ‘Because I don’t think I’m going to live long enough to be old.’

  Londuo sounded sad.

  ‘Why would you think that?’

  ‘The war; the Treitans; the never-ending battles; the running, hiding; everything,’ Londuo said. ‘I mean, how am I going to be able to get old? One day I’ll make a mistake in battle or be in the wrong place and then I’ll die.’

  ‘Don’t talk like that, Londuo,’ James said in a concerned voice.

  ‘But it’s true. How many old people do you see?’

  ‘I don’t know! Haven’t noticed,’ James replied and then thought, why is she thinking like this?

  ‘That’s because there aren’t many. People die before they get old, James.’

  James shook his head and looked into her eyes.

  ‘I don’t know what to say, Londuo. I haven’t thought of dying young.’

  ‘Well I think about it every day.’

  James’ eyes suddenly widened.

  ‘Your eyes! Now I remember where I’ve seen those eyes before. It was back on Earth, the day my mother died, when I met the old woman at the cottage. Her eyes were the same as yours.’

  He paused and thought for a moment.

  ‘But that’s not possible… Couldn’t be.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Londuo looked puzzled.

  ‘Sorry Londuo, I’m not making sense, am I? Forget what I just said; it must be just a coincidence.’

  They stood for a moment in silence. James looked into Londuo’s eyes. He wanted to kiss her but was uncertain. And then the moment had gone. A crew member entered the room and Londuo turned away quickly.