“Won’t Savrick be able to detect the other ship, do you even have another ship that can travel at FTL?” Kalian asked what he thought was an obvious question.
“You want to use the Fathom don’t you?” Li’ara was staring intently at Telarrek.
“We have used our own Starrillium to charge the stored Intrinium; your people’s design is quite sophisticated.” Ilyseal replied.
“You mean, for a bunch of apes?” Kalian could tell Li’ara hadn’t taken real offence at what he knew was meant to be a compliment.
Telarrek continued, “The Fathom will jump to Naveen with us, while Ilyseal takes the Valoran to Corvus. We do not doubt their ability to track both ships, nor do we doubt that they have smaller ships within. But they will have to divide their forces to catch both of us. It may just give us the time we need to discover some much-needed answers.” The humans looked at each other, weighing up the plan. Kalian knew the outcome though, they had no other choice.
“There is something else to consider.” Everyone looked to Ilyseal. “All scans and recordings have been filtered from the attack on the Conclave.” She slid something across her bracer and the information passed over into the central hologram. It showed Savrick’s ship shortly before it rammed the security vessel. Out of the three humans, only Roland reacted to the sight.
“That’s the ship they were holding us on!” The enormous ship silently moved over the top of the Laronian warship and appeared to swallow it whole. There was no explosion or firing of any kind, leading them to believe the ship had been captured and not destroyed.
“Our analysts believe they took the ship because of the humans within, though why they were not instantly destroyed we do not know.” Ilyseal added. Kalian could only guess at the reason they had been taken prisoner.
“Chances are that ship will follow the Valoran to Corvus and they’ll send a smaller one to follow the Fathom.” They followed Roland’s chain of thought; it made sense to send the big ship after the other big ship. “So I think I’ll stick with the Valoran.” The comment surprised all of them. Kalian had assumed he would want to follow them and get some answers, or at least stick with the two of them. “I’ve got some unfinished business with that Laronian ship.” He stroked his stubble- like a general planning a battle.
“How the hell are you going to get inside that ship?” Li’ara looked doubtful at Roland’s idea.
“I don’t usually plan that far ahead.” He turned back to Telarrek, “How long until the Fathom departs?”
“You have less than one human day.” With that Roland headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Kalian asked. Roland didn’t bother to turn around.
“To see if there’s a bar on this boat.”
After leaving the Observatory, Kalian and Li’ara headed for the Fathom in the hangar bay. They couldn’t help but smile as Namek was there waiting for them. He looked as brand new as the Fathom did. All of his bruises and cuts were gone, and Kalian could easily guess that Namek suffered internal injury as well as broken bones.
“Greetings of peace, Namek.” To Kalian’s surprise it was Li’ara who had used the alien greeting. He returned the phrase with a bow.
“I am glad you are both well.” They both noticed a new addition to his attire: a silver cylinder strapped to his long thigh. “I wanted to show you both the new upgrades we have made to your ship.” To this Li’ara’s tone changed.
“You’ve been messing with my ship?” Her face suggested she was not too concerned. Namek returned the playful comment.
“Only for the better, I assure you.” They entered the cabin which appeared the same, minus the blood. Li’ara made the armoury her first stop. She lightly touched some of the mounted weapons, like a mother checking her sleeping children. At the end of the room she opened a panel on the wall and entered the required code to unlock the cabinet beside her. Kalian recognised the dark undersuit as well as new plates of armour. When she was satisfied, Namek informed them that the medical room had been upgraded with a small version of the Medder that now rested in its housing above them. Li’ara subconsciously gripped her shoulder, slowly rotating it as she inspected the mechanical spider. As unsure as she was having such an alien device onboard, Kalian knew she couldn’t argue with the results.
The cockpit held the biggest changes. Just by entering the room the main console came to life instantly projecting green and blue holograms of all the internal sensors. Kalian couldn’t figure out why it looked so much bigger, they had even managed to fit two more chairs in. Namek explained that the two rear consoles had been removed to make space for the extra seating. Before Li’ara could complain, he went on to explain that everything could now be accessed from the main console and something to do with Conclave technology allowing for greater processing space. It went a little over his head as Namek showed Li’ara how the new touch holograms worked, as well as some new guidance systems. Kalian was mostly impressed with the comfy new chairs.
“Weapons?” Li’ara’s excited tone brought his attention back.
“We found a lot of unutilized space as well as some redundant mechanisms. Once removed or replaced we thought the ship would benefit from some defensive measures.” Kalian tuned out again as Namek explained the yield of the new weapons and how to use them. He instead chose to retire to the sofa in favour of his Datapad. He unrolled it on the table and activated the hologram setting so he could sit back and view the images. Again he found himself sifting through different images of all things human. He especially enjoyed the images from Century since he had never been there and seen it for himself. The thought of never being able to see any of it again made him tired as he was flooded with emotion. He let his head rest back and his dreams consume him.
His dreams were violent and chaotic until he emerged back in his parents’ car the night they died. He was sitting in the back while they argued. It had always been hazy in his memory; he could never remember what they were so upset about. The dreamy state of his surroundings took on a sharper edge as memory became very real. He could hear the rain hammering against the car as they hurtled over the mag track across the various sky bridges. It was dark outside with all the light coming from the holographic signs and bill boards they passed. He heard his mother’s voice and felt scared and frightened, knowing they were talking about him.
“We can’t do this, Joseph!” His mother shouted with tears streaming down her face. “Think what they’ll do to him, we’ll never see him again!” She turned back to look at Kalian with wet brown eyes.
“What else can we do?” His father shouted back with desperation in his voice. “They’ll have scientists and experts who can help him!” They were both facing each other, not even looking at the road ahead. The Mag-car would take them to their destination without any input from them. Kalian could see the display showing the path of the road in highlighted red as it curved around the buildings.
“You mean study him!” His mother countered. “He’s not some alien we found on Charon; he’s our son, Joseph!” Kalian felt suddenly upset that his parents were so angry with him. They were talking about sending him away because of the strange things that keep happening around him. He was upset because he was the reason they didn’t want him anymore and he was angry with himself because he couldn’t control it.
“Mary...” His father put his hand over his mother’s. “We have no choice.” Kalian heard the words and felt his finger tips tingle as the mag-car increased in speed as it approached the bend in the bridge.
“Kalian!” Li’ara’s cry woke him with a panic. As his eyes opened he felt the tug of gravity as he and the sofa dropped back onto the cabin floor. The table was upended with his Datapad on the other side of the room. He looked up to see Namek and Li’ara as well as three Novaarian technicians staring at him.
“Are you ok?” Li’ara moved to help him up but he had already managed it. He was surprised to feel embarrassment rather than the usual dread he felt when someone witnessed
such a display.
“Sorry about that,” The technicians had even larger eyes than normal with a purple tongue visible inside their open mouths. “Bad dream...” Kalian saw real concern in Li’ara’s green eyes as she looked him over with a critical inspection.
“We need to leave; these engineers are here to fit the last upgrade needed for Telarrek’s plan.” Li’ara gently guided them out of the Fathom with Namek close behind. When out of ear shot she asked, “What was that about?” Kalian thought about the dream and was shocked to have so vividly remembered his parents’ conversation. His entire adult life he had only remembered the odd word, never certain of what caused the argument. It was a revelation to know they had been arguing about his abilities. He didn’t know he had ever displayed any when he was younger. On the one hand he felt sorry for his parents having a child that was so alien to them they felt they had to get rid of him. Where were they taking him? His only conclusion was the UDC. His thoughts lingered for a moment on the two people like him Telarrek mentioned. Had he been close to their fate, stuck in some UDC lab never to be seen again?
He told Li’ara everything he had seen but she looked sceptical. She pointed out that it was only a dream and that he might have filled in the conversation for himself. If the dream hadn’t been so real he would be inclined to agree with her.
“We should find Roland and make sure he’s not drunk the ship dry.” Just saying his name Kalian could see Li’ara’s thoughts about the agent. He was the darker side to everything she had upheld as a UDC soldier. Thinking about what he must have gone through just to get this far impressed Kalian though, he kept the thought to himself but he was glad to have Roland North on their side.
After using the communication disc to contact Ilyseal they discovered his location deeper inside the ship. The central structure of the Valoran was a mirror of the Conclave. It was hollowed out and separated into rings with adjoining platforms. Roland looked a little ridiculous sitting on the Novaarian-sized stool at the ship’s bar. It was hard to miss the looks and hushed conversations from every Novaarian.
“How did you find the only bar on the whole ship?” Kalian climbed up onto the stool next to him, with Li’ara taking the other side.
“He could probably smell it, if it’s possible over that unique smell of his own.” Li’ara’s face relayed the smell Roland was giving off.
“You spend a week cramped in a cargo bay with a thousand people and see how you smell.” He gave himself a sniff inside his long coat. “That’s the smell of a real man sweetheart; you’ve been spending too long with the kid here.” He thumbed in Kalian’s direction. Roland continued to down the rest of his blue coloured drink until the glass was empty. “Tastes like Solarcite,” a mischievous smirk crept up his face, “but it doesn’t wear off after an hour.” As soon as he placed his glass on the circular coaster it began to fill up from the bottom like magic. “Two more for my endangered friends!” He slammed the bar as he slurred his words. They both inspected the drinks that emerged from their own coasters. The smell was enough to put them off.
Kalian wondered if this was Roland’s way of dealing with the news about Earth and Century. It didn’t sound like he had lost anyone he really cared about. Li’ara had lost her anchors with the death of her father and the destruction of the UDC, where as Roland had lost his life style and the control and freedom granted him by Central Parliament. Kalian felt like he had lost a culture he was feeling less and less a part of. The changes and revelations of the past week had given him a new sense of belonging. He was beginning to feel like he had always belonged out amongst the stars in a culture as vast as the Conclave. But when he looked at Li’ara he had other new feelings, feelings of attachment and loyalty to her, and whatever was left of humanity. He knew himself to be human, he felt human, but Savrick and his kind had fogged the issue.
They remained in the bar for a few hours, Kalian and Li’ara ordering a less deadly drink, while Roland continued to inhale the alien alcohol. Kalian hated to admit that the agent’s dry sense of humour was quite entertaining, even Li’ara laughed every now and again. Kalian felt his own stories weren’t as interesting as theirs, with his being mostly anecdotal jokes about teaching and theirs about action and adventure. The more Roland drank, the more secrets he spilled and the less jovial he became.
“You know all those separatists and rebels we spent so long trying to silence?” Every five or six words were interrupted by a hiccup. “It turned out they were all being backed by the same organisation.” Li’ara’s interest seemed peaked at the statement. “Some remnant of the Corporate Wars that wanted to take back control or something, I don’t know. It all seems so... what was the point of it all? All those missions, all those wars... all that time...” He looked off into the distance, as if he could see through the bar. “So we could make a better world?” He suddenly laughed at some untold joke. “All for nothing...” He was starting to sound bitter. “And what about you red, hanging onto some pathetic order to keep him alive? The UDC is gone, what’s left of it is sitting in a Laronian ship, and they don’t even know what’s going on!”
A smaller glass with yellow liquid shot up from the fixed coaster, Roland didn’t even bother to look at it before draining it. “We should just embrace this new culture and see what opportunities it can offer. Get away from all the human bullshit and red tape and just...” He imitated a ship flying off before rolling his tongue around in his mouth. “Fruity.” He blinked hard a few times before examining his surroundings. “Crap!” He picked up the small glass and gave it a smell. “It made me sober again!” Li’ara rolled her eyes and shook her head in despair.
“How you got this far I’ll never know.” They hopped off their stools as Ilyseal contacted them to inform them of the departure time. Roland followed them to the hangar since he had nowhere else to go. It was busier than normal with hundreds of crew and machines working on the various smaller craft. More than once they had to stop and allow for large containers and ship parts to be ferried across the bay. Seeing the Novaarians work in such a technical way, Kalian could see how useful having four arms was.
Telarrek and Ilyseal were waiting for them by the Fathom as Namek disappeared into the ship carrying supplies.
“The ship is ready; the Valoran will enter real space for only as long as it takes for us to depart.” Telarrek said.
“Roland, you are welcome to accompany me to the command bridge and use the Observatory for research. Your council in the coming battle will be appreciated. It has been thousands of years since our people have been involved in anything as violent as war.” Roland looked taken aback by Ilyseal’s words. He obviously wasn’t used to being spoken to quite so politely.
“Just keep me away from the blue stuff.” Roland pretended to be distracted by some distant engineering work. Telarrek and Ilyseal turned to one another and clasped one lower arm and one upper arm, then gently touched their foreheads before parting.
“Fight with the courage you have lived with and you will find victory, Charge Ilyseal.” Telarrek was bestowing her with the mantle of charge and giving her the Valoran. The seriousness of his words gave Kalian pause. The Valoran was going up against a ship that had already destroyed one human fleet, several Conclave security vessels, survived a miniature supernova and obliterated two solar systems. The odds were not on their side. It suddenly felt crazy that Ilyseal, Roland and the thousands of crew onboard would most likely die, just so that they might find some answers. Kalian was starting to feel the weight of countless deaths, just so that Savrick could have the satisfaction of killing him.
“I might be regretting my first choice.” Roland broke the gravity of the situation. “Maybe I should come with you guys.”
“Let’s go.” Li’ara walked past them, ignoring Roland and heading for the Fathom. He gave a large sigh as Ilyseal ushered him towards the Translift and the command bridge. Once inside Li’ara took her position in the pilot seat next to Namek with Telarrek and Kalian sitting be
hind. Hangar crew moved out of the way as Li’ara retracted the landing gear and manoeuvred the ship towards the shield. Everything seemed a lot smoother since the upgrades had been installed, and Li’ara took to the new controls like a fish to water.
Poised in front of the shield they waited a moment until the vast field of stars appeared in a flash of light. Using the new holographic domes, Li’ara flew the ship out into space. Only seconds later did the display show the departure of the Valoran as it continued its journey to Corvus.
“Nice...” Li’ara was impressed with the new navigational system. She was presented with a list of destinations the ship had enough fuel to reach. The Novaarian technicians had obviously encoded the Conclave network into the ships systems. After choosing Nova Prime it gave a sub list of surrounding planets and moons within that region. She chose Naveen and waited while the Nav computer worked through the complex mathematics of plotting the safest course, taking into account asteroids, black holes, stars, passing ships and other planets. Before she could activate the Intrinium ignition, Namek used all four of his hands to work the console.
“One last upgrade.” Namek depressed the touch console causing a mechanical sound at the back of the ship. The display showed them six cylindrical objects being jettisoned from a new hatch underneath. After a moment of free-floating they came alive, pointing in opposite directions before six small flashes lit up the view port.
“Savrick and his people will know of this tactic when they see we have stopped.” Telarrek explained. “If he splits his forces he will not know which Intrinium signature to follow. The Valoran’s will be clear to see but those six Intrinium drives will mask our own, giving them seven locations to choose from. This will give us more time.” Kalian heard the distinct sound of hope in his voice. Satisfied with the ship’s diagnostics, Li’ara pulled the lever forcing them back into oily sub space.
They would get their answers.
Intrinsic: Book One of the Terran Cycle Page 31