He was old for a Captain of such a small ship, a little portly, and his face pockmarked as if he had lived a hard life. He was also calm and demanded respect, despite his look and his tunic hanging open.
“Captain Jones, and these are Lieutenants Sommer and Turan.”
He carried on without another word, but Jones glared at Sommer and shook his head at the horrific first impression she had made.
“You seen much combat in this old girl, Captain?” Jones asked politely.
“Plenty, and it’s always kept her crew safe, but that is more than I can say for many of the men and women we have carried. I cannot guarantee your safety once you step off this ship. That is your job, but once you are on board, I will do anything and everything in my power to ensure your safety, even those who do not have respect for an old girl like this.”
“I meant no disrespect, Sir,” replied Sommer.
“Yes, you did. You just didn’t intend for me to hear it,” he said. He stopped and looked back at her with an accusing point.
“What you are soon going to realise is that this ship, and this crew, they are one and the same. We have lost just two members of this crew since the war began. We are a family, and don’t let the look of this old girl fool you. Before the war began, the Attila was two months into a refit to bring her up to the operating standards of the newest vessels in the fleet. War broke out before the work could be finished, but she has the latest engines, navigational equipment, countermeasures, and everything we need to get the job done. If you treat her right, she’ll see you through. Treat her wrong, and you and I will have words.”
He didn’t wait for another apology, and Sommer looked mortified, but Jones smiled back in response. He could see that him and the Captain were going to get on just fine. They reached the bridge. It was a dark and crude looking setup, and the only lights were low. It looked like they had stepped into a museum ship, and not something that should ever fly. Sparks flew from a console as a mechanic was working.
“Combat damage?” Jones asked.
“Like I said, the Attila was going through a refit that was never quite completed. Despite the advantage of many upgrades, some of our older systems still require regular work to keep them going.”
“That’s it. We’re good to go, Captain!” yelled the engineer.
Lights flashed, and the whole bridge came to light. The walls projected everything around the ship with the three hundred and sixty degree view Jones was familiar with from far more advanced ships. Finally, he was impressed.
“Two losses in this war, you say?”
“That’s right, and that’s two more than I consider acceptable.”
Jones was content. That was just the kind of Captain he wanted to be flying with.
* * *
“Bolormaa,” said Dart.
“What of her?” Rogers asked. They were flying through the dense fog on their return to Atlantis for the seventh time that week.
“She must be taking notice by now? Bases attacked, her people killed. No evidence of who did it, and nobody taking responsibility. How long until she takes notice?”
“I guess that depends on whether she really is all knowing and all seeing, or if she really cares or not,” replied Taylor.
“That’s not much of an answer.”
“I think what the Colonel is trying to say is that none of us have any better an idea than you.”
“Well, hell, I hope somebody does. All I do is fly. The great minds of this war better know more than me.”
Rogers laughed. “He’s got a point, Colonel.”
“He sure does. The way I see it, Bolormaa has no care for anyone but herself and her sons. She has no care for the lives of others.”
“Even yours?”
“No, even mine. She only saved my life so she can be the one to take it further down the line. No, she doesn’t care about losses, but she does care about threats to her reputation. How do you think it will look to her and to the universe, that some unknown group is turning up at random and killing her soldiers, and that she is powerless to stop it?”
“It’s got to be pissing her off by now, then?”
“I can’t see how it wouldn’t,” replied Taylor.
“An angry enemy is not always a good thing, Colonel,” said Rogers.
“Bolormaa is always angry.”
“Are you so sure about that? We have seen some very calculated actions in the past.”
“Doesn’t mean she isn’t angry. She has a chip on her shoulder about something.”
“What do you think this is all going to achieve?” Dart asked.
“With any luck, she’ll go chasing an enemy that doesn’t exist. So long as we protect the identity of these suits, we can keep up this deception for a good time. Time enough that we can finish the development process and begin production,” said Rogers.
“You have faith that Rivers is capable of that? No offence, but he seems like a great mind with amazing theories and inventions, but does he ever finish anything? Does he deliver an end product? Has he ever?”
“Before the war, before you were brought back, he had achieved great things. I believe he can do the same again.”
“This is it!” Dart yelled enthusiastically.
It was a relief to them all. The journey to and from Atlantis was always a tedious one, and yet they all understood its necessity, but as they came in to land, they noticed several people and machines at work at the far end of the docking bay.
“What the hell is that?” Dart asked.
“Looks like a plan we have long had has finally come to fruition, something that would only be possible with the help of other key members of the Alliance. I guess somebody has been watching our progress these past few weeks,” said Rogers.
As soon as their Lynx landed, they were all out of the door and heading to the ongoing work to discover its purpose. Rivers was overseeing it all.
“Welcome back, all of you,” he declared, as if not surprised at all that they had once again returned without a scratch.
“What is this? What crazy scheme are you working this time?”
“Fast access for the Lynx craft, Colonel. When I first envisaged this facility, this paradise, I didn’t want anyone to be able to access or to communicate with it quickly. I wish that vision could have remained, but what Atlantis has become, it is not a sanctuary for the rich and powerful, it is a beacon of hope. It is here not to provide luxuries, but to save lives.”
“But what does all that mean?”
“A subterranean jump tunnel, I thought they were just theoretical?” Dart interrupted.
“Until a few days ago they were,” replied Rivers.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“What are you saying? What can this do?” Taylor asked.
“It means we can jump in and out of Atlantis, providing we have the precise coordinates,” said Rogers in amazement.
“Not only that, Captain, but the coordinates of the tunnel are not relative, they are a pass code if you like. Even knowing them, you still need permission granted from this side in order to arrive at this location.”
“How…how did you even get it working? Every test I have ever seen has failed…horribly,” said Dart.
“The science behind it will not interest or matter to any of you. All you need to know is that we now have access to this equipment, and that it works.”
Dart was still just shaking his head in amazement.
“As an additional bonus, we have data drones coming and going every sixty seconds that gather information from all around the universe. That means we now have a means of communication with the outside world.”
“What do you say to that, Colonel?”
“Can’t say that I am not impressed.”
CHAPTER 8
“Prepare to jump!”
“Jumping in five, four, three, two, one…jump!”
Jones felt the characteristic stomach churning as screens flashed before them, and in no t
ime at all they were on the other side. Sommer breathed a sigh of relief as if surprised they’d even made it through alive.
“Little nervous, Lieutenant?” Roworth asked her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever flown on a ship built before my grandparents were even born, is all.”
“She’s an oldie, but a goody, as they say.”
She groaned as if not convinced.
“There it is, Hajander. You know I never thought any human would return to this world. It is the thing of nightmares,” said Roworth.
“How do you mean?”
“I guess your Captain didn’t share that piece of information with you?”
“What information?’
“It was a long time ago,” replied Jones.
“Longer than any of us have been alive by a long shot, but there are some that still remember their history and keep the memory of those lost alive.”
“What are we getting ourselves into?”
“Hajander is home to a species that soon came to be known as Screamers, owing to the call they make as they hunt their prey and communicate their pack.”
“The truth is that nobody really knows what went on down there all those hundreds of years ago. Many reports said a virus had wiped out the inhabitants, but the truth is argued about by conspiracy theorists, and will be until the end of time,” replied Jones.
“Is that what you read in the official records? Because that is word for word what is says,” added Roworth.
“What reason would there be to hide such a tragic event?”
“When you want colonists to volunteer into new ventures, what do you think such a story might do for their enthusiasm for such an endeavour?”
“What do you believe happened?”
“I’d say, Lieutenant, whatever is down there is hostile to life, and anyone who travelled there knowing what we know is a fool.”
“And yet you still brought us?”
“I follow orders, and it is not in my mind to question the reason for them. But you boys and girls seem more than up to the task of handling whatever is down there. The colonists went there as civilians. You are marines.”
“That’s right, and a few hundred years of advancement means we are better equipped than ever to deal with whatever we find,” said Jones confidently.
Although deep down he was worried, it was a strange unknown. He had read the official files on Hajander, and none of it made any sense. They were closing in on it now and could see on the display screens that the surface was almost entirely covered by a dense forest. There seemed to be just one vast clearing.
“What is that?” Sommer was looking at the near perfectly shaped oval where nothing appeared to grow at all, but she could make out the shapes of manmade objects.
“The colony.”
“Why hasn’t it been overrun by the plantation around it?”
“That was a sterilisation process used centuries ago when a new colony was trying to establish itself on these dense jungle worlds. If you ask me, I have no idea why you’d ever want to come to one in the first place.”
“Why did they stop? That process, I mean?”
“Something about damage to the surrounding soil or similar. I can’t rightly remember.”
“It looks fine to me,” said Jones.
“So where are they, these people that have supposedly flocked here? No ships, no bases, no sign of life,” said Sommer.
“I’ll admit it’s a little strange, but it wouldn’t be the first time that Alliance intel was off,” said Roworth.
“We aren’t going to find out anything from up here.”
“What are your orders?”
“I’m not leaving until we have investigated whatever is down there. We need to get down onto the surface.”
Sommer looked concerned, and even Captain Roworth looked surprised.
“Sure thing, but what do you expect to find down there?”
“No, idea, that’s why I’m going.”
Roworth gestured towards his crewmembers to carry on with Jones’ request.
“All right, let’s load up and get this done.”
Nobody said a word as they left the bridge, but everybody was concerned about what they were going to find. They reached the shuttle bays. They were surprised to find that the craft were all nearly new, in stark contrast with the ship that housed them.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Sommer asked.
“No, but it’s not our job to question rumours. It’s our job to find out what the hell is down there.”
“And if those myths are right?”
“We have some of the best training and equipment of anyone in the universe, so I think we can handle a wild native population.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Let’s move out!”
He and Sommer climbed aboard the same ship and sat at the front. She looked morbidly terrified. She was pale and blank faced.
“Of all the horrors we have faced, and this is what scares you the most?”
“Is not the unknown what scares all of us? Is that not the stuff of nightmares? I think back to those colonists who came here to start afresh and make new lives for themselves, families and children. What fear they must have known to have been hunted with no means of escape?”
“According to the stories, I won’t believe anything until I have seen the surface with my own eyes.”
“And if it’s too late, then?”
“I think we can handle some primitive pack animals. You forget who we are.”
She groaned in agreement, but she was still unsettled by it all. The Krys around them showed no emotion at all. It was just any other day for them.
“Sure would be nice to have Taylor along, though, wouldn’t it?”
Jones couldn’t disagree with Sommer on that. The engines fired up, and they were soon on their way. As they entered the atmosphere, they could see it was a surprisingly beautiful planet. The skies were clear, and you could see as far as the human eye would allow. The forests were lush, and they immediately understood why someone would want to try and make it a home, but they soon reached the barren land of the former colony and came in to land. Jones opened a channel to the whole Company.
“Let’s make this brief. We only stay as long as we need to, Jones out.”
He felt the landing gear touch down, sealed his helmet, and was out the door in seconds. He checked his Mappad and had it scan for anything harmful, but the air was remarkably clean. He opened his visor and took in a deep breath.
The air was sweet smelling and remarkably pleasant, but the terrain was a desolate wasteland, several kilometres of barren ground. The surface that had been laid down for the colony was like concrete. Some of the buildings were still fully intact, but most had long fallen into disrepair. There was no sign of life at all. It was as described, a long deserted or lost town.
“Why on Earth would followers of Bolormaa come here?”
“I’ve no idea, Sommer, but that assumes they are even here. We’ve got no readings to suggest a human population on the surface, and yet the dense jungle might cause issues with that.”
“Or the intel we got was bogus.”
“That is entirely possible.”
“What if we have just been drawn here to expose us to the trap that are these Screamers?”
“Will you calm it down? What, if anything we find, we can deal with.”
She still looked jumpy as they paced through the ruins of the colony. Crates and containers were scattered about, labelled with the brands that had manufactured them. There were no signs of bodies, nor any sign that anyone had been there since the colony was lost. In the distance there were several craft abandoned amongst the buildings, and Jones led the way to investigate. As they drew nearer, they could see they were as old and decrepit as many of the structures around them.
“Why would they leave ships?”
Jones shrugged. The doors were open on all of them, but there was nothing and nobody insi
de. At the far end of the colony they could see the colony ship.
“Back then the colony ships were used as the first formal structure of a new town before others could be built,” Jones said, trying to reassure her, but as they continued onwards, they could see lines of other craft on the surface beside it.
“Nobody ever got out of here alive, did they?”
He was starting to believe that was a possibility, be he still couldn’t explain why. There was a crackle over Jones’ intercom, and it made him jump a little before the sound of Roworth’s voice followed.
“Captain, I am getting faint energy readings on the far side of the planet. They don’t make a lot of sense, but we are heading over there to investigate.”
“Okay, Captain, nothing to report on the surface yet, Jones out.”
They continued on through the colony. It was a bizarre experience. There was no sign of the colonists at all.
“No graves, no bodies, if a virus did this, then where are the bodies?”
“On a world like this, scavengers would have had anything there was to offer before news even reached Earth.”
“So what are you saying, nobody ever came here to investigate?”
“Would you, a colony is destroyed by either a plague or some man-eating beasts, so what is the best case scenario there? I’d mark it as a no-go zone and spread enough stories that you ensure nobody ever wants to go back.”
“That’s pretty cold.”
“I don’t see how. What can you do for a colony of dead people? Nothing.”
“I thought the Alliance would at least care enough to recover their bodies. What about their families and loved ones?”
“Back in those days, to come out here into the wild and try to make it on a new world was permanent. You brought your family along. Nobody would miss anyone who came here.”
Sommer didn’t look convinced at all. They carried on for another thirty minutes, looking for any sign of life, when they neared the far edge of the colony and the trees beyond. They could hear some strange whines and growls from inside the dense woods, but it was hard to tell what was from an animal and what was the wind tricking their ears as it rustled the foliage.
Once again Jones’ intercom crackled. He was prepared this time, but not for what came next.
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