The Ruins of Arlandia Complete Series

by William Wood

  “So it might not work at all?” Calvin asked, shocked. All that work, putting their lives in danger, and for what?

  “I don’t know,” Astra admitted. “It worked in computer simulations.”

  Calvin was speechless. A new nightmare occurred to him. They get to the Pentazian base, put all the segments together and nothing happens. Calvin found this new information to be very unsettling.

  “Are you mad at me?” Astra asked. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but we’ve never had any guarantee this would work.”

  “I’m not mad at you,” Calvin said, wondering if she could read his mind. “We knew it was a long shot from the beginning. There’s no guarantee in anything we do in life. We do the best we can and hope it all works out. That’s all we have.”

  The door opened and Dev shuffled into the room. He looked rough, like a dark cloud was over him.

  “What’s wrong?” Astra asked. Dev sat down at the table across from them. It took him a second to speak.

  “We just picked up a distress signal from Ohniah Prime. The Goremog attacked the colony. My people, they’re all gone!”

  “Are you sure?” Calvin asked, horrified.

  “Yes I’m sure!” Dev cried. “The signal came from a Tryvellen satellite in orbit. I watched it happen!”

  Calvin was shocked. What could he say? What could he do? Nothing.

  “They killed everyone!” Dev cried uncontrollably. “They’re all gone!”

  “I’m so sorry Dev,” Astra whispered.

  “What am I supposed to do now?” Dev cried. “I’m all alone.”

  “You’re not alone,” Calvin said, but his words fell flat on the floor.

  Calvin and Astra sat with him and tried to console him. But Astra told Calvin there wasn’t anything they could do except just ‘be’ with him. It was heart-breaking. Dev was drowning in sorrow and despair. When Wexton found out what happened, he also tried to help Dev feel better, but Astra reiterated there wasn’t much they could do. Eventually Ion was able to help Dev by giving him some medication and a sleep generator to help him rest.

  The next morning, everyone gathered in the dining room for breakfast. Calvin was happy to see Dev there, after Wexton was able to convince him to eat something. He looked tired, and his countenance was dark and downcast. Calvin felt terrible for what he was going through. He just found out that he’s the last Tryvellen alive in the entire universe.

  “I’m not trying to minimize your loss,” Astra said. “But I understand how you feel. My home world was destroyed too, and my people have been hunted to the brink of extinction. We don’t have very much hope left. If the weapon doesn’t work, I don’t see how we can survive.”

  “You’re in good company,” Nils chimed in. “My people have been destroyed too. There’re only a few of us left; somewhere out there, hiding.”

  “The same for me,” Wexton said. “My planet was destroyed very recently. We’ve all been through it.”

  “All hope is gone now,” Dev said. “The Goremog are going to kill everyone. I’m all alone now.”

  “No,” Calvin said emphatically. “You’re not alone.”

  “That’s right,” Wexton said. “You’re going to stay with us now.”

  “Thank you,” Dev said, wiping his eyes.

  Later that night, alone again with Astra in the library, Astra got both of them a cup of hot tea and they sat down in front of the window.

  Calvin felt the dark depression that filled the ship hanging over him too.

  “At least he’s not alone,” Calvin said.

  “And he’s in good company,” Astra said. “We’ve all lost our homes.”

  “Except for me,” Calvin said cautiously.

  “Well, you lost your home world,” Astra reminded him. “You were fortunate enough that your ancestors escaped to your last colony, and successfully hid it.”

  “And I’ve never been more worried about that than I am now. How long can we stay hidden?”

  “I’m scared for your people too,” Astra said. “If New Arlandia falls, the last surviving human civilization will cease to exist.”

  “It all hangs on the success of one weapon,” Calvin said. That thought hung in the air. New Arlandia was the only intact civilization left, and they don’t even realize it. They should build a space fleet to defend it, but they won’t. That made Calvin angry.

  “Speaking of the weapon; tomorrow is a big day,” Astra said. “We’ll arrive at the location of the sixth segment in the morning.”

  “I know,” Calvin said. “I can’t wait. What time do we get there?”

  “We’ll drop out of hyperspace at seven-thirty.”

  Despite the excitement of collecting the sixth segment tomorrow, the mood was very subdued all day, with everyone reliving the end of their civilizations, and Dev living through his for the first time.

  In the evening, after dinner, they all met in the library. A large monitor on the back wall lit up, and displayed an image of a large dark gray asteroid. Except for two long antennae’s extending from a flat spot on a rock surface, it looked like nothing more than a rock floating in space. Everyone sat in chairs facing the screen. They were attentive and quiet as Astra began.

  “This is space station ninety-one, in the Spera Void. It’s drifting in the emptiness between star systems. There is nothing around for tens of lightyears. The sixth segment is located in a lab on the fourth level.”

  She gave everyone a minute to study the image of the base. “I predict this will be a very easy mission. Board the station, get the segment, and leave; easy. This is an Alerian space station, so I don’t foresee any complications.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but how old is your information?” Nils asked.

  “Well,” Astra said carefully. “I’m not sure exactly how old.”

  “That’s a good point,” Wexton said. “Do we have any way of knowing the Goremog haven’t found the base?”

  “No,” Astra answered. “That’s why I’m going to suggest that we go in fully armed just in case. All the combat robots will escort us, and we’ll be outfitted with heavy combat gear. No messing around on this one. We’ll assume the worst.”

  “Thank you,” Wexton said. “Where do you want us?”

  “I’d like you to man the turrets,” Astra answered. “Would you mind training Nils, Petori and Freks?”

  “I already have,” Wexton answered. “But we’ll go over it again.”

  “Excellent,” Astra said. “Please have everyone in the turrets and ready when we drop out of hyperspace.”

  They studied the base schematics for over an hour, and planned out the route they would take. They also planned several alternate paths in case something bad happened.

  After they were finished, Calvin pulled Wexton aside and spoke to him in private.

  “You’re not planning on taking Petori and Freks along, are you?”

  Wexton thought for a second. “Yeah, I was. Why?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Calvin confided. “They’re wild; impossible to control. They don’t listen to anyone.”

  “I admit they’re wild, but I’ve seen their type before. I’ve been working with them for three weeks now. I can keep them under control.”

  Calvin was beyond skeptical, and his expression must have been easy to read.

  “They’ve been working hard lately,” Wexton said. “They deserve to go on this mission. You have to admit we can use the extra guns out there. Don’t worry sir, I’ll keep an eye on them.”

  “OK,” Calvin said uneasily. He wasn’t sure, and didn’t like the idea, but he’d learned to trust Wexton.

  Later that night, Calvin went to bed, exhausted and emotionally drained. He fell asleep quickly, without any sleep aids.

  CHAPTER FOURTY-FOUR:

  THE DEBRIS FIELD

  Calvin wasn’t surprised that he couldn’t sleep, but he was highly annoyed by it anyway. The previous week had been marked by boredom an
d depression. Finally he was getting a chance to get off the ship again and go after the sixth segment. He was so excited that it was robbing him of sleep he desperately needed. Despite what Astra said, Calvin wasn’t as optimistic. In and out; no problem? That’s not how collecting the first five had gone. Finding each piece had been a terrifying search followed by a harrowing escape. No, he was planning for the worst. He was sure they would find the space station either occupied by the Goremog or infested with Dark Terrors. That’s why he needed sleep and why he knew he wouldn’t get any.

  At four-fifty he got up, tired of staring at the ceiling and watching the hours pass. He showered and dressed, then made his way to the dining room.

  At five-thirty he was standing in front of the food computer, which Dev had nicknamed the electro-chef, trying to decide what to eat.

  He couldn’t choose, so he got a little bit of his favorites plus a large cup of coffee. Two minutes after he sat down to eat, Astra entered the room.

  “I could smell your food halfway down the corridor,” Astra said. “What did you get?”

  “Everything,” Calvin said, taking a bite of bacon.

  “Were you afraid of missing breakfast?” She asked jokingly.

  “Hey, I’ve learned the hard way,” Calvin said. “You can’t go on any kind of mission, especially segment hunting, on an empty stomach.”

  Astra giggled. She got her breakfast and sat across from him. Within ten minutes everyone else was there. They all were in better spirits, except Dev. He was downcast, but Wexton sat with him, making sure he ate.

  When they left the room, the only thing Calvin could think about was the darkness he saw in Dev, the deep misery. It was a feeling that had been felt by everyone on the ship, except Calvin. He didn’t wonder if his planet would be destroyed by the Goremog anymore; now he wondered when that would happen. He forced himself to think about something else.

  Unfortunately, conversation over breakfast was light and sparse, so Calvin could think of nothing else as he tried to identify with Dev’s pain.

  Twenty-five minutes later everyone put their dishes back into the food computer to recycle. Astra walked with Calvin to the bridge and they took their seats. Ion was already there.

  “Good morning Master Calvin, Mistress Astra,” Ion said. “I hope you slept well.”

  “I slept all right,” Calvin said yawning. He stretched back in the chair and looked at the flight instruments.

  “What’s our status?” Astra asked.

  “All systems are operating normally,” Ion said. “We will drop out of hyperspace in two minutes.”

  Calvin buckled himself in and watched the clock run down to zero.

  “Preparing to drop out of hyperspace,” Ion said.

  The blue hyperspace cloud dissipated and the stars returned to normal. Calvin gasped. A massive debris field spread out ahead of them; as far as the eye could see in all directions. Instinctively he checked the short-range sensors for enemy ships, but the screen was blank.

  “What in the world!” Calvin said. “What is this?”

  “This doesn’t look good,” Astra breathed. “Ion, the sensors are locking up, can you boost the power?”

  “They’re not locking up, they’re overwhelmed,” Ion said “There’s too much debris. The sensors are trying to identify everything at once. Stand by.”

  Calvin glared through the window, trying to see the asteroid. But it was no good. The debris field stretched off in all directions further than the eye could see.

  “Where’s the base?” Calvin eventually asked. No one answered. The alarms didn’t go off, but Calvin heard the silent one go off in his head.

  “What happened here?”

  “It was a space battle,” Astra said. “It must have been huge.”

  Calvin glanced at the sensors screen again. It was slowly filling in with data. Still no red dots, he was happy to see. “No hostiles in the area,” he said. “At least for now.” He pushed the throttle forward slightly, gently edging them towards the perimeter of the debris field.

  Time passed slowly; Calvin could feel the tension in the air. The scanners silently swept the debris field. As they got closer, individual pieces of debris became clearer and easier to identify.

  “That’s a lot of ships,” He said. “There must be hundreds.”

  “The initial sensor scan is fifty percent complete,” Ion reported. “At this point, I am detecting the hulls of over two thousand different space ships and over sixty thousand rock fragments.”

  “Rock fragments?” Calvin felt a stab of panic.

  Ion’s reply came back flat and emotionless. “Yes, it can only be the remains of the asteroid base.”

  “The base was destroyed,” Calvin said slowly.

  “Sensors indicate seventy metric tons of material, including fuel, computer components and magnacrete. There is enough material to account for the entire base.”

  Ion’s report hung heavy in the air.

  “Look at that,” Astra pointed out the window on the right side. A Goremog Battleship sluggishly tumbled end over end in the darkness not far away. Calvin half expected it to open fire on them, as if it were playing dead. Floating nearby was another ship, which looked completely different. It was covered with guns, but the design looked familiar. As if to confirm what he was thinking, Ion said,

  “There are two distinct ship signatures out there. Goremog, and an unknown ship type, similar to the light carrier we ran into two weeks ago.”

  Without really knowing what to do next, or why he did it, Calvin carefully guided Azure Frost into the debris field. Ships of all sizes, from tiny fighters to giant battleships drifted lifelessly everywhere. Only a few looked like they were intact and undamaged; most were heavily damaged; no more than fragments of ships, floating in their own debris. Scattered throughout the destruction were tons of charred pieces of metal, large and small, mixed in with rocks of all sizes. It was a mess.

  “This is good right?” Calvin asked, trying to see the positive side of the situation. “Someone is fighting the Goremog. I wonder who it is.”

  “I wonder who won the battle,” Astra said.

  “That’s a good question,” Ion said.

  “This can only be good news for us,” Calvin said. “They’re enemies of our enemy. Maybe we could join forces with them.”

  “Not if it’s the No’Rath,” Astra said. “You can’t make friends with them. They’re worse than the Goremog.”

  “They were ancient enemies of the Goremog in the Great-War, right?”

  “That’s correct,” Ion said. “The Great-War engulfed the entire galaxy, but the main opposing forces were the Goremog and the No’Rath.”

  “They fought for a hundred years,” Astra said. “Until they didn’t have anything left to fight with. It looks like they’ve rebuilt and are fighting again.”

  “Great,” Calvin said. “Again I say this must be good news. Maybe they’ll be focused on each other and we can just slip through.”

  “Somehow I don’t think it’ll be that easy,” Astra said.

  “How bad could it be?” Calvin asked.

  “How bad? History could repeat itself,” Astra said. “A new war would set the galaxy on fire. Nearly everything was wiped out the first time. Nobody will survive if it happens again.”

  Azure Frost slowly moved through the debris. Calvin looked at the pieces of spaceships floating by with a sense of shock; so many ships. It was like going through a graveyard.

  “I don’t believe it’s the No’Rath,” Ion said. “These ships do not match any of their previously recorded designs.”

  “They could have come up with some new designs in the last eighty years,” Calvin said.

  “Any idea how long ago this happened?”

  “Judging from the residual radiation of weapons fire and associated dissipation rates, I would estimate four or five days ago,” Ion said.

  What about the sixth segment? Calvin wanted to ask, but was afraid he already knew th
e answer.

  “Ion, are you detecting any signals from the sixth segment?” Astra asked.

  “No, there is no sign of it in the area, not even pieces of it.”

  “It was on the asteroid base,” Astra said. “Do you think it was destroyed too?” Nobody answered right away.

  “I think we should avoid making assumptions at this point,” Ion said. “The scan of the debris field is not complete. Let’s wait until it is. There is a chance we could find it, albeit a slight one.”

  Calvin didn’t say anything, but his hopes of finding the sixth segment were nearly non-existent. He believed it was destroyed and was beginning to get a funny feeling in his gut. He feared that whoever won the battle wasn’t far away, and might be watching to see if the other side called for reinforcements. But, he didn’t want to leave without knowing for sure.

  Calvin slowed the ship, carefully navigating through a dense cloud of wreckage. He could tell scanners were working at full capacity, trying to scan each piece of debris. Hundreds of dots were appearing on the screen each second. There was so much clutter it was becoming impossible to identify individual items. In addition to the ships and rocks, there were also a million tiny pieces of robots. Calvin decided to forget the sensors and rely solely on what he could see out the window. Then something caught his eye. It was a small object that glinted in the starlight.

  “What’s that?” Calvin said, pointing ahead. “Is that a body?” Astra centered the object on a monitor and enlarged it.

  “It’s a robot.” she said. “Ion, do you recognize the design? Does it look like a No’Rath robot?”

  “I have to admit,” Ion said. “I do not recognize that type, but as Master Calvin pointed out, the No’Rath could have developed new robots and ships. We may have to re-assess an old enemy from the beginning. I do not like change.”

  “No one does,” Calvin said, surprised by the robot’s response. Ion was programmed to act human, but sometimes Calvin wondered if his friend was actually capable of feeling emotions. Ion’s last statement definitely had an air of annoyance.