Intrinsic: Book One of the Terran Cycle

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  The next five minutes was a lot to take in. The two humans were escorted in by the weirdest looking alien yet, and that was saying something. He decided he liked the red head, though. Soon after, five very different aliens ascended from somewhere within the podium that towered over the humans.

  Was this some kind of trial? His sensory reflexes automatically clocked the fourteen guards that lined the triangular arena on a raised platform. He wasn’t consciously aware yet that he was already planning his attack. Whatever his new agenda he couldn’t help but feel a pang of responsibility towards those he had left aboard the alien ship. This was why he preferred his old work, no attachments or need to engage a conscience. He decided his best course of action would be to free these two and find a better way of getting the others back.

  What I wouldn’t do for just a sniff of whiskey.

  How long had he watched her sleep? How many years had he stood over her wondering what could have been? But that life was gone now, robbed from him with any chance of happiness. He regretted using her to power and subsume the ship that had ultimately become their home. He had spent more time on their long journey coming to terms with the way he used her than he had anything else. Every time he reasoned it in his mind he would look at her and the conflict would resume. The truth was that any one of his crew including himself could take her place. The fact was undeniable however, that she needed the ship as much as the ship needed her.

  During their journey the crew had spent thousands of years at a time in suspended animation in the Rem-stores, while the ship searched for the appropriate life. While they slept the ship would still need its power source as well as the intelligence to govern its prime objective. Without the Harness she was truly the only one who could generate the necessary power. He couldn’t help but wonder how much she was really aware of. He was aware of the minor glitches Elandar had been trying to eradicate. Random words and unfinished sentences would appear in holographic form above her. Elandar had reassured him that it could not be her; she was firmly situated inside the virtuality. He ran his fingers over the dark tube that ran directly from the floor into various sections of her body. He only wanted to see her eyes again, to see her open them of her own volition.

  “What does she dream of, Elandar?” He didn’t need to look to know Elandar was watching him very closely. He had tasked him countless centuries ago with the care of their pilot. He monitored her vitals and nutrient uptake as well as the energy output she poured into the ship. He maintained the precise levels required to keep the equilibrium between her needs and the ships needs. He knew that interacting with the tubes would put Elandar on edge. He was a true brother of the cause as well as a friend.

  “I created a virtual world for her to live in and explore,” he ran his fingers across an adjacent hologram checking her heart rate. “You’re there, as well as...” Elandar didn’t finish his sentence; it had been a long time since either of them had said that particular name. Elandar knew that name above all others would fuel his leader’s rage.

  The cerebral link attached to the back of his neck informed him they were dropping out of the slip-stream. Feeding his thoughts back through the link, the command module began to transform. To their eyes it appeared as though the entire front half of the module was breaking away to the vacuum of space. He knew it wasn’t of course, the giant hologram created the image that would be seen, had there not been over a mile of bulkhead between them. The clarity was perfect however, giving most cause for hesitation before walking around.

  This wasn’t the first time he had looked upon the broken world of the Conclave’s capital planet. He marvelled for a moment at their technological feat at manipulating the planet, for primitives anyway. His own people had the power to manipulate and transform entire star systems with multitudes of planets. Their first encounter with this collective had been thousands of years ago after the ship had detected their transmissions across the cosmos. They had nothing the ship couldn’t provide and a cursory scan of their A.I showed no homo sapiens among their society.

  The ship had automatically entered stealth mode before emerging into real space. The hologram highlighted specific ships in the distance that would retaliate if attacked; their armaments were impressive but not threatening. He sent a silent command, searching for the Novaarian ship that contained his prey. The pilot found it in less than a second and magnified the hologram until it was visible on the outer reaches beyond one of the broken moons. It was surrounded by three red warships that had formed a barrier blocking its advance. After another command he was quickly informed that there were no humans onboard.

  “Where are you hiding?” The pilot responded to his needs by emitting a system wide scan in one neutrino burst. As always, her mind was able to collate the information in just over a second before filtering for the required information. As a result the hologram removed the Novaarian ship and focused on the central tower in the middle of the planet. A side note appeared in his mind informing him it was called; Clave Tower. The clarity of the image shifted to a more digital one as the tower became transparent revealing its many layers. In the centre ring were two small red dots that pulsed with life.

  Found you...

  Before he could give his next command the pilot sent him a message. The hologram moved to the left, making it appear as though the ship was changing course. A magnification presented them with the image of another ship that had two large engines each side. Another side note appeared telling him it was Laronian in origin. Before he could ask its relevance, the ship took on the same digital appearance as the tower. The ship’s outline was instantly blurred by the thousands of red dots pulsating from within.

  He couldn’t help but laugh at his fortune. He looked to Elandar who only appeared confused at the sound of his master’s glee, or perhaps it was that he had forgotten the sound of laughter.

  “Our alien friends have saved us some travelling.” He sent a message through his link to the rest of his crew informing them of everything he knew. He felt their elation in response. In his mind’s eye he saw another message waiting for him from the pilot. He accessed it commanding the hologram to show him the details. There was a strong signal coming from one of the buildings in close proximity to the tower. The signal was being emitted on all channels and impossible to miss even with the most primitive of technology. It was a beacon. He understood instantly what they were doing; they were calling to all the stray humans that might have survived his attacks. He silently informed his crew of the development and commanded that they leave the building intact to continue its message.

  “Let’s announce ourselves properly, shall we?” Through his link he brought up the schematics for one of the red warships not far off their bow. He couldn’t quite believe the data in front of him. Were they really stupid enough to put a star inside the heart of their ships? He couldn’t help but smile at his own thoughts. He gave the pilot the mental image of what he wanted, as well as informing the crew of what was about to happen. The hologram showed the ships advancement as they gathered speed towards the warship.

  “What about the others on the Laronian ship?” Elandar asked. He sent him the image through his link of what he wanted Elandar to do once they had begun their attack on the tower. Elandar simply nodded and returned to monitoring the pilot. He looked to the sleeping pilot again, hiding the concern he felt. He was afraid this next manoeuvre might cause her some stress.

  Leaving Elandar to his tasks he left the command module having instructed the pilot with his needs. The new joining room was bare except for the reclining chair in the middle. He relaxed into it as a liquid-like hologram appeared above the arm rest. He called up the relevant language and selected it for instalment. The ceiling parted into eight sections revealing a machine that resembled the barrel of a cannon.

  The machine descended until it rested above his seat, rotating the cannon to face him. Several extensions parted from the main structure, with each piece coming back together to form a mask
that covered his neck and head. A language as simple as this would only take a minute to fully download and comprehend. After it was finished he left the room and returned to the command module, testing his new words as he did.

  He was aware of the communication methods used by the Conclave and knew that he only had to use one language for them all to understand him. He felt it appropriate to use the human language as it would be the last thing Kalian Gaines ever heard, that and the sound of his own skull crushing within his hands.

  “You have the sympathies of the entire Conclave, your loss is unimaginable.” The Highclave Novaarian had introduced herself as Elondrasa as well as her fellow counsellors. To the far left was Brokk, the councillor from Arakesh, representing the Raalak. Next to him was Lordina, a female Laronian from Vallara. Elondrasa occupied the central seat with Ch’lac next to her. The stubby alien was from Ch’ket, representing the Ch’kara. There was no way Kalian was going to remember all those particular names. On the far right sat Nu-marn, the councillor from Shandar, representing the Shay.

  Kalian tried to commit them to memory, knowing these were the five most powerful people in the galaxy. He bowed his head in acknowledgement.

  “We have sent out a signal on all bandwidths, if there are any more of your kind out there they will come here.” It was Brokk that gave them this hopeful news. Kalian looked at Li’ara expecting to see some elation. She continued to stare at the Laronian councillor, Lordina. He recognised that look now; she was suspicious of the Laronians. Since she made no attempt to respond he assumed he would be doing the talking, for now.

  “Thank you councillors, we are unsure of how many survived the attacks. But we do know of a terraforming expedition that is still alive. We call it-” Lordina cut him off with a raised hand.

  “It does not matter what you call it, human, that planet is Laronian. You had no right to claim it as your own.” Her voice had an almost seductive quality to it.

  “How were we supposed to know that?” Now Li’ara spoke up. “The last we heard you sent a warship to investigate; I demand to know what you’ve done with our people.” Kalian couldn’t help but wince at her tone.

  “That ship has already arrived. There were some casualties with the confusion often resulting from first contact.” The Laronian councillor paused looking at Elondrasa. Kalian could see what was going on. The Laronians were pissed that the Novaarians had kept the humans a secret. “The subsequent population has been brought here, though their fate has yet to be decided by this council.”

  “Their fate?” Li’ara’s fists clenched. “You will release them immediately!”

  “You are in no such position to make demands; you are not even a member of the Conclave.” Lordina retorted.

  “That has not been decided by the Highclave either, yet.” It was Nu-marn who had spoken up. His voice was croaky, like he was unable to produce saliva; Kalian then wondered if that was the actual case. Lordina’s head whipped around at the Shay who appeared unaffected by her steely gaze.

  “The ship in question has only just returned. I am certain the Laronians will give their full cooperation to Conclave security as they handle the matter.” It was Highclave Brokk that perhaps saw some sense in Li’ara’s claim. Lordina sat back in her chair never taking her eyes off Li’ara.

  “Of course we will...”

  “What of Naveen?” Kalian wasn’t sure he heard the Ch’kara right as he said it so quick. There was a murmur from the vast audience as though they were one organism reacting to the same thing. Elondrasa sat forward with both pairs of hands resting on the podium.

  “Do you deny that your kind has ever visited Naveen?” She asked. They had obviously gone through the information provided by Telarrek, and seen that humanity did not possess the technology to have visited the distant moon so long ago.

  “I have studied the history of my kind dating back to our origins and I can assure you, we have never ventured further than fourteen light years.” Kalian knew that probes had actually travelled further than that in humanity’s search for celestial answers, but no person had ever gone further.

  Ch’lac responded, “Then how do you explain this?” He reached for something out of sight and the space between them was filled with a floating image of a sand-coloured wall with a single hand print resting in the middle. Underneath were a series of hieroglyphs that made no sense, with a karyogram in the middle of the text. It was astonishing to see, knowing it was a real human handprint on an alien moon. How had it got there?

  “I can’t explain it. It’s as much a mystery to me as it is to you.” There was silence after that. The councillors looked at one another with silent questions. The masses of people around them were all conferring with each other, deciding whether he was telling the truth.

  “What about those who attacked us, can you explain that?” Li’ara was still in attack mode.

  “That sounds like an accusation.” Spat Lordina. Elondrasa raised her upper hand to calm both their tones.

  “I am afraid that too is a mystery, Li’ara Ducarté. We are looking into the matter at great depth with High Charge, Uthor. Our preliminary examination would suggest they are of alien origin and not part of the Conclave.” This again set the audience off with a wave of whispering and conspiracy theories, not to mention the idea of yet another alien race besides the humans.

  “There is also the matter of, Kalian Gaines.” Nu-marn spoke this time. Kalian was beginning to get the idea of how this worked. They could ask all the questions they liked but the Highclave would steer the topic to one they wanted to discuss. No doubt they had already conferred on most of the matters he and Li’ara had brought up.

  “Yes,” Lordina was smiling again. “According to Charge Telarrek’s findings you posses unique DNA to that of your race, one that matches The Wall.” Kalian didn’t know what to say to that. He had a thousand questions on the matter as well but could offer no answers. He certainly wasn’t going to show them what he had been practising on the Valoran with Li’ara. Before either of them could speak the Nix stepped away from its position at the side. Its chevron head tilted to the side moments before an alarm could be heard all over the tower.

  “What is happening?” Brokk’s deep voice echoed across the stadium. The Nix stood beside Kalian making his skin shiver as he heard the scuttling under its robe.

  “Display.” In response to its robotic voice, the centre of the large chamber was taken up by a three-sixty holo image of a giant rectangular ship hurtling towards them. Kalian felt his spine tingle and his hands became hot to the touch.

  “They are here.” It was Telarrek standing behind him, totally ensnared by the image of the titanic ship.

  “What are they doing?” Uthor had drawn closer as well. The giant ship was clearly heading straight for the Conclave security ship that lay in its path. Compared to it the massive warship looked like a blemish against its black surface. The chain of events was hard to follow after that as the humongous ship rammed into the red vessel. The entire image was filled with white light as the Starrillium detonated, causing a miniature supernova.

  “Activate the defence grid immediately.” The Shay Councillor had stood up from his chair. Uthor responded appropriately by barking orders into his bracer. The star was minute in comparison to a normal sun, but Kalian had a horrible feeling its shock wave would still reach them.

  “It’s too late, brace for impact!” Uthor shouted it to the whole stadium with a bellowing roar. His last words were drowned out by screams as the whole tower shook violently. Glass could be heard shattering from every level; thankfully the spiralling tower above was still in one piece. The holo image faltered for a moment before showing them the aftermath of the collision. Kalian looked as shocked as Li’ara; the enormous ship was still coming with no sign of damage. He noticed the attention of most people was on High Charge Uthor, who couldn’t seem to get the words out. Telarrek stepped forward.

  “Get the Highclave to safety at all costs. Manoeuvre any
ships left to fire on it, use heavy munitions only, world breakers if they must. If any missile leaves that ship it must have a priority intercept, regardless of its direction.” The other security personnel looked from him to Uthor, unsure of the person giving them orders. “Now!” Telarrek’s roar could not be denied.

  It was too late.

  They heard the glass shatter above before any shards hit the ground. Like gods falling from the sky, four armoured beings in black impacted against the floor around the stadium. Two of them crushed multiple people as they landed on their chairs while the other two landed in the central triangle. The floor beneath them cracked under their bulky mass. The resulting shockwave had knocked most of them over with only Uthor and Ilyseal still standing. Kalian couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing in front of the podium was the towering goliath from the Icarus station. Its armour was still covered in the same dents and scratches from previous battles. Its breathing could be heard like a caged beast through its skull-like helmet.

  The two in the distance stood as statues, making no move to attack anyone, though the crowd had begun to scatter away from them in every direction. The figure standing before Kalian was much smaller than the goliath, from his prone position he guessed it to be around his own height. Its appearance was the same as the goliath with almost identical armour. Its chest was bulky with plating upon plating of dark armour descending its arms and legs. The light reflected several sections in-between the armour that was copper in colour. The eyes were concave, two black holes looking down on him. The helmet covered the entire head like the goliaths but the lattice work across the faceplate was different with more intricate patterns.