by Colin Weldon
Barrington’s heart sank. They were now surrounded. It was probably a backup craft of some sort, come to finish off the job.
“Sir, I am reading a small object on an intercept course from the direction of the vessel. It looks like it deployed from the object. It looks like-” Chavel started to say, but stopped.
“Looks like what?” Barrington said.
“Eh … it looks like a person,” Chavel said looking around at the captain.
Barrington leaned forward in his chair.
“Engine room to bridge,” Tosh’s voice suddenly said on comms.
“Go,” Barrington replied.
“John, we are red lining down here. We’re looking at a breach if we don’t shut down,” he said.
Shit, Barrington thought.
The captain sighed. There was nothing he could do now. He thought about letting it go and allowing the engines to overload, but something inside him would not allow it. He suddenly felt something in his mind. Something familiar.
“Shut them down, Tosh,” he said suddenly, “David, I want a visual on whatever that is.”
“On it, sir,” Chavel said activating another view screen overhead.
The screen flickered to life and began following the small object Chavel had just detected. At first it just looked like there had been an error. There was nothing on the screen. Or whatever it was, was so dark that they could not see it.
“I can’t see anything,” Barrington said.
“Yes, sir, the sensors are correctly locked to whatever it is passing the ship,” Chavel said.
Barrington looked at the screen.
Father, came Carrie’s voice clearly inside his head.
He stood from his chair and looked at the screen as it showed nothing but moving stars. His mouth opened and his heart stopped beating.
“Carrie?” he said out loud.
Chavel and Boyett both looked at each other.
“What?” Chavel said.
Hold on, father, get ready to move the ship, Carrie’s voice said in his mind, as clearly as she was standing beside him. The captain froze and focused his thoughts.
My God, is that you? he replied in his mind.
Surprise, Carrie replied.
The dark image overhead suddenly lit up with a bolt of light. The familiar arcs of electrical energy that they had seen before. There was an explosion at the centre of the screen showing the mechanical planet. A small fireball erupted from its centre and moved outwards.
“Captain, the opposing force has stopped. The beam no longer has us,” Chavel said.
Barrington hesitated for a moment, but his training kicked in and he slammed his fist on the comm panel.
“Engine room, I want full power to thrusters right now or we’re all dead,” he said forcefully, “Charly, get us clear of this thing.”
Go, father, get the ship to the far side of the planet. I’ll see you soon, said Carrie in his mind.
Barrington stood looking at the mechanical planet looming ahead.
“Charly, get the ship to the far side of the planet,” he said to her.
“Aye, sir,” she replied.
The engines came to life as Boyett began to pilot The Agathon away from the incoming monster. On the view screen overhead they watched as more bolts of light came from the blackness. More explosions lit up the view screens as the bridge went silent. All they could do was watch.
Carrie flew past the ship. The last time she had been this close to it from the outside was when she was in a shuttle craft with David orbiting Mars. She could only marvel at its beautiful construction for a moment before turning her attention back to the monster. Her first shot had taken out the beam that was holding the ship. She watched as The Agathon manoeuvred past her and began powering away from the Targlagdu. She bathed in the feeling of happiness at contacting her father’s mind again. If what she was about to do killed her, then at least she got to feel his presence one last time. She looked forward towards her target and took a breath. The jaws of the planet were wide open, which made finding its heart easier. The detailed schematics of the beast had been drummed through her by Jack and Tyrell for hours and now it was up to her. She increased the power in her leg thrusters and flew directly towards the planet sized alien machine. She opened her mind to the gargantuan creature. It responded immediately with a booming mechanical voice.
Tar … Gla ... Gdu! it said, so loudly, that it made her turn her head away from the planet and wince.
She raised her hands up to her head to try and contain the presence that had just entered it. She closed her mind. It was too powerful. She looked back up at the approaching world and gritted her teeth. Positioning her palms behind her she activated the thrusters on her hands and felt her body push forward as her speed increased. The giant opening across the equator of the Targlagdu suddenly looked like it was beginning to close. She would be inside before that happened. She flew straight through the giant opening and down inside the surface. It was like penetrating an atmosphere and flying straight into the core of a planet. A minute later she had penetrated its surface and was making her way deep underground. All around her she could see thousands of miles of twisted metallic landscapes crisscrossing the horizon. She could see a million moving parts, all working in unison, as miles of cables and glowing structures pulsated light as she went deeper. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she tried to contain the fear of her almost certain death. She could not possibly be strong enough to complete her task. It was too large, but maybe she could disable it long enough for The Agathon to escape. She had called it a suicide mission, but Jack had disagreed. The ship that had carried her here from outside the galaxy was powerful, it had weapons. Jack had told her the Targlagdu had developed a defence against those weapons, but assured her he would do what he could when the time came.
She went forward. Clearing her mind as the chaotic interior of the planet surrounded her. She did not look back.
“Visual activate,” she said.
Her glass faceplate lit up with holographic images that leapt out in front of her. A guiding path was laid out in front of her in red. It was more advanced than the heads up display she was used to and it showed her every moving object and obstacle within a thirty-mile radius. All she had to do was follow a guiding light. There were structures up ahead as she went deeper inside the planet. She slowed herself by placing her palms in front of her. She looked back briefly and realised that she was surrounded on all sides by the interior of the alien world. She wondered where all the replicated life forms were stored. She could not detect any. She slowed herself even more and tried to get her bearings. She looked all around her at the astonishing level of technology. It was like being surrounded by a thousand cities. The guiding light told her she was within three kilometres of her target. The cube. The heart of the Targlagdu. She took a breath, plotted her course and increased the power in her leg thrusters. She suddenly reached the top of what looked like a thousand sky scrapers. Manoeuvring to her right, she stopped herself from colliding with the nearest one and made her way past it. She suddenly saw an arc of energy darting between the giant building-like structures. It was like flying into an electrical storm in the middle of a cityscape. There was no ground. The structures seemed to go on forever. Her manoeuvring space began to shrink. The build-up of machinery was making it difficult to navigate with her having to make skilful adjustments to her trajectory, every half second. She had to admit it, she was impressed with how well she was able to handle herself with all the obstacles. Going deeper into the darkness, she suddenly felt the heat of something move past her. She looked around and saw nothing, but was suddenly struck on her chest by an arc of energy as it passed between the metal skyscrapers. It felt like being kicked in the stomach, as she tumbled out of control, towards the surface of one of the buildings. At this speed she would certainly be killed on impact. She took a deep breath and fired her palm thrusters narrowly missing the razor-sharp edge of the building. She steadied herself.
The suit she was wearing obviously protected her from being electrocuted, but the force of the impact shocked her. She gritted her teeth and growled and could feel an anger growing inside her, as a pulse of electricity ran up her spine. She held it, contained her outburst and moved forward.
She was suddenly met with an array of curved metallic pipes and twisted conduits. Without her new alien heads up display, it would have been impossible to navigate, but the holographic images showed her a clear path through it. She manoeuvred through small passages and tight turns digging ever deeper inside the planet.
After several minutes of making the treacherous journey, the cave-like tunnels of twisted metal opened up to a clearing and there it was. She had seen it before of course. She had thought that she had defeated it.
Was it the same vessel that had captured her ship, or was it another one? she thought to herself.
It didn’t matter of course. She looked at the giant cube as it rotated slowly in its cave-like chamber. She slowed herself to a stop and stared at it. She crept closer. Watching it as it turned. It knew she was there; she was sure of it. Her suspicions were confirmed seconds later when a huge burst of energy erupted from the top of its perfectly symmetrical surface and shot out towards her. She reacted quickly and activated both her hand and leg thrusters to move her out of the way. She took a huge breath and channelled every ounce of energy she had. She reached out and felt the power grow inside her and unleashed a burst of all her power towards the cube. Bolts of lightning flew out from her hands and struck the turning cube. She held it for several seconds, then pulled back and looked on. The cube continued to rotate. It looked like she had had no effect at all. Not a scratch.
“Oh shit,” Carrie said out loud.
The Kandinksy
Escat watched the view screen carefully. The tactical team of Colonial Guards he had assembled were all in their positions near the airlock, waiting to board the ship on his command and he had placed a floating weapons lock on The Unity. He waited for Arturo’s next transmission patiently. He rubbed his eyes. The blinding headache he had been suffering with for the last several days was growing in strength every minute. Having Arturo on board had been stressful. His strange behaviour had been getting progressively worse as the years went on, but he had never seen him like this and it worried him. He was amazed that his old friend had not had him airlocked following Aron’s escape. He had not slept well. He had been expecting a knock on his door at any moment and for an escort of the chancellor’s private guard to send him into the blackness of space. Arturo was going insane. He was sure of it. His own sickness had preoccupied him over the last several months and he should have paid more attention to it. He should have made a move against him sooner. He suddenly felt a fear inside him. Something not even his terminal illness had given him. A real fear of being a slave to madness. Of living in a world where his remaining days would be filled with a dread, not originating from a fear of death, but of a fear of torture at the hands of his old friend. A humiliating death with no honour. No dignity. That was no way for a soldier to die. He looked at the screen and watched The Unity glide through space and it suddenly occurred to him. He had all his ducks in a row.
What was the old saying? he thought to himself, kill two birds with one stone?
28
The Unity
“I’m not able to establish a connection, Aron. We’re still too far away from the first relay buoy,” Vishal said from the comm panel in Aron’s flight chair.
“Try again, you incompetent fool,” Arturo suddenly said.
Aron looked at him and frowned. Vishal turned around.
“I don’t think you are in any position to be giving me orders anymore, all due respect,” Vishal said.
Arturo smiled a crazed grin at him. Aron was about to intervene when he was suddenly thrown head first into the bulkhead behind where Arturo was sitting.
“Weapons lock, hold on!” shouted India.
Aron’s head began to spin as everything darkened. The impact had not rendered him unconscious, but the warm trickle of blood down his face had told him it had been a serious enough cut. He could feel the sudden force of the ship as it pulled a hard turn. It must not have been a direct hit, otherwise they would not be here to talk about it. He suddenly realised he was lying on Arturo. He looked down to see the chancellor’s crazed face. He looked to his right and saw Florence lying on the deck. She looked unconscious.
“Report!” he shouted at India.
“He’s firing on us, the fuck!” she shouted back.
Her hands were on the flight controls and moving quickly. Aron looked out at the stars and saw them darting about in every direction, telling him India was engaged in evasive manoeuvres. He picked himself up and wiped a line of blood away from his eyes.
“Vishal, get out of that seat,” he shouted at the doctor.
Vishal responded immediately and vacated the seat. Aron pushed himself off the chancellor, made his way over to the chair and collapsed into it. His sense of balance was all over the place, as India flung the ship around the cosmos.
“What the hell is he doing?” India said.
“Calling our bluff by the looks of things,” Aron said, then turned to Arturo, “looks like your popularity has diminished, Chancellor.”
Arturo looked at him furiously.
“You did this,” he said through gritted teeth.
Florence began to move on the ground. She looked up slowly and pushed herself up from the floor.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
She was about to lean up when Arturo suddenly kicked out hard from the chair landing his leg squarely in her stomach. Florence screamed and crumpled back on the floor.
“Vishal, secure him!” Aron shouted as Arturo started to flail wildly in the chair.
Another hard turn saw Aron grip the sides of his chair, as he was thrust to one side. Through the window he could see the bright lights of a pulse cannon beam as it flew past the side of the ship.
“That was close,” India said swearing under her breath.
Aron could see beads of sweat as they made their way down her forehead. She was fighting for their lives at the helm of the small ship, while chaotic scenes from behind the flight chair unfolded. Vishal was on Arturo trying to subdue him, as he kicked wildly out in all directions. Aron was about to intervene when a sudden impact threw him off kilter. There was a sound of an explosion from somewhere deep inside the ship.
“He’s got us!” shouted India.
It was game over. Aron knew that Escat had just scored a direct impact. His console lit up with damage reports and warning lights. He could feel the air in the cabin begin to thin. He knew that in a matter of seconds Escat would finish them off. The stars outside spun wildly out of control as the ship lost its altitude controls.
“I’m losing her!” India shouted as she struggled to regain control, “flight controls unresponsive.”
Aron looked behind him and saw Vishal on the ground. Arturo had broken free of his bonds and was sitting on the doctor’s chest with his hands around his neck. He reacted quickly. If they were about to die, he was going to make sure that Arturo Verge would not harm anyone else. He leapt from his seat and dove on Arturo’s back. The pair tumbled off Vishal whose face was red and swollen up. Vishal gasped for air and rolled onto his side as Aron and Arturo wrestled on the ground. Aron was surprised at the chancellor’s strength, as he suddenly found himself lying on his back holding both of Arturo’s arms. They rolled from side to side as the ship’s direction changed. He felt the forces weaken and suddenly realised that India had stabilised the ship somehow.
“Flight deck, this is the engine room, we have a breach down here. I have to get out,” said Oliver’s voice.
He sounded like he was struggling to breathe.
“Seal it up as best you can, Ollie,” India said over the comm system.
Aron and Arturo continued to struggle as the chancellor’s strength pressed down on Aron’s
arms. He looked into his crazed eyes.
“You’re just dead fucking weight, you hear me, you were not the chosen ones. I should have killed you all. You will never see your daughter again. I’ll drown her. I’ll pull her plug and let her suffer,” Arturo said through a vile rage of saliva drenched mouth.
Aron saw red. The mention of Maya made him lose it completely. A rush of adrenalin surged through his veins. He screamed and launched his whole body upwards, letting the weight of the chancellor fall on his body as he smashed his head full force into Arturo’s face. He heard a crunching sound as he made contact with Arturo’s nose. It exploded like a water balloon. Blood went everywhere, as he collapsed beside Aron.
“Life support failure!” India shouted from the flight chair.
Aron wiped the blood off his face and looked at the unconscious Arturo beside him. He was about to turn and snap his neck when India spoke again.
“I have an incoming transmission,” she said looking behind her, “it’s The Kandinsky.”
Aron tried to control his racing heart as he sat up and looked at India. He pulled himself into his flight chair leaving the bloodied chancellor on the ground. They were still alive. He did not know why, but he had to respond to any chance that came his way.
“Let’s hear it,” he said trying to catch his breath.
The comm system bleeped.
“Kandinsky to The Unity, respond,” said Escat’s firm voice.
Aron looked at India and nodded for her to activate the channel.
“This is The Unity,” Aron said calmly.
“Mr Elstone, I am going to make this simple. I was going to just blow you out of the stars, but my readings indicate that you have lost life support and your ship is crippled. I have decided to let you all suffocate. I just wanted you to know that,” Escat said.
Aron looked at India and then back at the chancellor. Florence was suddenly sitting up looking at Aron. She had a nasty cut over her right eye which had swollen shut. There were tears flowing down her cheeks.