Arkship Alliance

by Niel Bushnell

  He swung his legs over the side of the bed and lowered his bare feet to the cool floor. He tested his muscles and stood. He felt normal . . . healthy.

  ‘Is someone there?’ he called out as he walked towards the corridor. It was deserted.

  He walked to the main reception area, expecting to see someone at the desk.

  Wynn shouted as loud as he could. ‘Hello?’

  Nothing.

  He found the com panel behind the reception desk and tried to activate it, but the unit was dead.

  ‘Let her go,’ the voice said again. Wynn jumped. It sounded like a whisper in his ear, as if someone was stood right next to him. He ran away, fear pushing him on, until he came to an atrium of windows. Outside he saw the harsh light of The Infinite. The arkship was close to it, basking in the glow of its shifting tendrils. Wynn knew at once that it was impossible: they were nowhere near The Infinite. Orbiting this close was far too dangerous, they would be in its gravity well. That was when he realized he was dreaming.

  ‘No dream.’ The voice again. It was calm, a forceful whisper coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

  ‘Who are you?’ he shouted.

  ‘You know the answer.’

  He shuddered. It was true, he knew.

  ‘We are Infinite,’ the voice said.

  Wynn had encountered them before, when the Vengeance had fallen into The Infinite. They had gifted him with images of the future, just enough information to allow him to save Bara. Now, here he was again, communing with these unseen entities.

  ‘What do you want of me?’ he asked.

  ‘You know the answer.’

  ‘I . . . I won’t let her go,’ Wynn replied desperately. ‘I can’t.’

  ‘You must.’

  ‘No!’

  Outside, The Infinite tore itself apart, its terrible power cascading towards Wynn. The light slammed into him, obliterating everything else. He saw a stream of images, of two possible futures, both revealed to him at once. In the first, Wynn was with Bara and they were happy. They wallowed in their own selfish love for each other, content while the world beyond became blood. The Kenric fleet burned, thousands of lives snuffed out. Then, the wave of death caught up with them and he watched as Bara too died, screaming his name. In the second future he was the lone ruler, Prince Halstead protecting his people. The Kenric fleet endured. Bara was far away from him, but he knew she was alive. They would never be together, and he would never truly be happy, but she lived, and his people survived.

  ‘Choose,’ the voice demanded.

  BALANCE

  Faron Dulac gasped, watching in disbelief as the arkship Benwick erupted in a scar of fire. He pictured the interior of his home, imagining the terror that was unfolding there right now.

  ‘My gods! I should be there,’ he muttered.

  ‘Did those shots come from us?’ Bara checked.

  Watson shook her head. ‘There’s a Draig gunship close to our hull.’

  ‘Kill it,’ Faron demanded, his face lost in emotion.

  Commander Watson looked to Bara for approval. She nodded solemnly, and Watson went to carry out the order.

  The holograph map was a confusing display of arkships, fighters, gunships, and other vessels around the Carter & Grey shipyard, The Caerleon led the battle, with the Evanine close by. The Addington fleet circled the edge of the shipyard, focusing their attack on two of the Draig arkships while the rest of the enemy fleet targeted the Kenric vessels, and the newly-arrived Dulac armada. Just beyond the battlefield was the Li Zhang arkships, orbiting in attack range, but they had not yet joined the fight.

  ‘How does it look?’ Bara asked Watson as she returned to her side.

  ‘Evenly matched,’ Watson decided after a moment of review, ‘but the Li Zhang ships hold the balance of power.’

  SERVICE

  Valine stared at the com, dreading what was coming. The old feeling, long suppressed, returned; things were falling out of her control.

  ‘Genshu Hoshino,’ she said, trying to sound commanding. He must hear it, she guessed, the fear in her voice, the dread of the inevitable. ‘The Kenric fleet tries to attack you, and yet you still have not joined the battle. Didn’t I order you to do so?’

  ‘Valtais Valine,’ Hoshino began. The image flickered, breaking into blocks of static, then reforming again. ‘Your attempts at manipulation have become unsubtle and desperate. You have lost the faith of the board.’

  ‘You speak for them?’

  ‘I do. We have voted to remove you as Chair, effective immediately.’ He stood, shoulders back, as if he was waiting for a blow to his face.

  Valine smiled, trying to look unperturbed, feeling scared. ‘Need I remind you, Hoshino, of our agreement?’

  The Genshu nodded, lowering his eyes. ‘My conduct has been below that of my position, I see that now, and I will step down once this crisis is over. I have already sent notification to the Shusho’s of my arkships, detailing my behavior. They will decide my fate and choose my successor. You have done me a great service, Valine. You have shown me what it means to step away from the path of the righteous leader. Another step and I would have become like you: devious, treacherous, scheming. So, you see, you have no power over me any longer. Our agreement is at an end. We are not part of your empire, and my last order as Genshu will be to target your fleet.’

  Valine opened her mouth, but no words came to her. She stared into the defiant face of Hoshino, and she saw the peace in his eyes that had always eluded her. Trembling, her fear became anger. ‘I will kill you, Hoshino, before the day is out.’

  ‘Perhaps,’ he replied with a smile, ‘And perhaps I will deserve it. But what do you deserve, Valine?’

  Hoshino looked down on her, his smile forming laughter.

  Valine killed the com and turned to find an outlet for her rage. ‘Larsson! Target the Kanzan-Maru.’

  ‘Valtais, they are firing at us!’

  THE TURN

  ‘They’re doing what?’ Faron checked, staring out of the windows on the Caerleon’s flight deck.

  ‘The Li Zhang fleet has turned on the Draig fleet,’ Gofal repeated. ‘It seems the Draig Empire is falling apart.’

  ‘Let’s hope so,’ Bara said, joining them to see for herself.

  Behind them, Commander Watson orchestrated the Kenric alliance’s response, focusing their firepower on the Draig arkships.

  Outside, the gaseous vapor glowed with the heat of battle, lighting up the view with pockets of deep crimson and neon. The Caerleon shook from another bombardment, but it seemed to Faron that the onslaught was easing off. His gaze turned to the damaged Benwick, and he yearned to be there, to help his people to safety. The entire region was littered with debris as parts of the burning arkship broke away to form an expanding cloud.

  ‘Look,’ Gofal said, gesturing up to the Draig fleet.

  Faron and Bara looked up and saw one of the arkships moving away, a bubble of distorted space-time forming around it. In a flash of silver light, it disappeared, followed by another.

  ‘They’re retreating,’ Bara laughed, relieved.

  Her voice was warm, comforting him. She stood beside Faron, and her arm brushed against his own. He felt safe next to her, as if this was where he belonged. Bara looked up into his face, and he realized he had been staring at her, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away. Instead, he smiled. She returned the gesture, without hesitation or formality, pushing her shoulder against his own. Finally, Faron looked back to the battle, watching as the Draig fleet broke apart. Only three arkships remained now, retrieving their remaining fighters and gunships, defending themselves against the increased bombardment.

  ‘Is one of those the Gargan?’ Bara asked.

  Gofal stretched out his hand, pointing to the closest of the beleaguered vessels, its surface lit by the star-like impacts of alliance missiles. One of its engines flickered, trailing smoke as fire engulfed the interior structure, eating through the cowl and erupting into space.
The other arkships disappeared, leaving the Gargan alone against the combined forces of Kenric, Li Zhang, Dulac and Addington arkships. It continued to defend itself, indiscriminately firing volleys of its slaan-hamer missiles while its surface was torn apart, piece by piece.

  ACCEPTABLE LOSSES

  Valtais Valine watched in dismay as the other Draig arkships retreated, violating her orders to remain. Now, the Gargan stood alone, the entire might of the alliance vessels trained on her.

  ‘Valtais, we must retreat!’ Larsson pleaded, his eyes wide with desperation.

  Valine stared out of the windows, watching as more missiles were launched towards them. There would be no mercy, it seemed.

  ‘Cube transit is authorized,’ Valine said.

  Larsson nodded, relieved. ‘Destination?’

  Valine sighed regretfully. ‘Does it matter?’

  Commodore Larsson went to carry out the order, overseeing his terrified flight deck officers, then returning quickly to her side. ‘Valtais, the Cube drive is online, but the engines have sustained so much damage that if we transit we’d endanger ripping the ship in two. We’d lose the engine stack, and most of the rear section.’

  Valine checked the holograph, confirming his analysis. ‘But we would survive?’

  ‘The Cube transit would be brief and violent, but the rest of the Gargan should make it through. But we have thousands of people back there; engineers, pilots, civilians . . .’

  ‘An acceptable strategic loss. Do it.’

  ‘Valtais, I can’t do that. Those people are our–’

  Valine found her gun and fired, piecing Larsson’s forehead. His body, fell to the floor, spasming, then was still. She turned to one of her officers. ‘Cube transit. Now!’

  As the terrified officer obeyed, Valine came to a startling realization. All her plotting and scheming had brought her here. She had become as desperate and unstable as Orcades Draig.

  She fought to calm her breathing, cursing herself for losing control. It would be difficult to repair the trust she had just destroyed. Her officers would obey her out of fear, but fear was an unsustainable emotion. Everything was falling apart.

  She pictured the retreating Draig arkships. They had deserted her, leaving her to die at the hands of the enemy. Somehow, she had to reform the Draig Empire, if she survived the day. Already, her commodores would be plotting to overthrow her. She would have to prepare for a civil war. Luckily, she had already given this outcome a great deal of thought, and she had a plan.

  ‘Cube transit in five seconds,’ the officer shouted over the growing rumble. The vibrations formed a deafening wail of metal and energy, until the exterior became a wall of white light and the arkship Gargan ripped itself in two.

  QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

  Derward limped towards the hanger bay, holding Keres for support. Around them, people ran to safety, climbing aboard their shuttles and launching into space. No one paid them any attention, all far too concerned with their own imminent survival.

  ‘This is going to make our escape a little harder,’ Derward noted as another shuttle closed its hatch and powered up its engines. ‘There’s not much left to choose from.’

  ‘That one.’ Keres pointed to a lone shuttle waiting further along the docking bay. They shuffled towards it, Derward trying to move as fast as he could, closing the distance to the waiting ship. They were almost at the entry ramp when it began to close. The engines fired, forcing them to retreat as it rose into the air.

  ‘That was the last one,’ Keres said, watching the shuttle drift away from the docking bay.

  ‘No,’ Derward smiled. As the shuttle departed it revealed one final ship, nestled at the far end of the dock. It was an older craft, tiny and unremarkable, but Derward recognized it immediately, and he began run towards it.

  ‘Wait!’ Keres called, sprinting to catch up. She put an arm around him, catching his clumsy stagger.

  As they neared the shuttle, Derward saw the ramp was open, and a lone figure stood at the bottom. He grinned to himself, knowing who it was even before his eye could confirm their identity.

  ‘It’s her,’ he laughed. ‘I should have known.’

  At first, Keres didn’t seem to recognize the figure, but then she gasped, covering her mouth.

  ‘Scribe,’ Keres said, bowing her head.

  ‘Not today,’ the Scribe replied. ‘I’m just Ermengarde.’

  Derward let go of Keres and staggered towards the Scribe, falling into an embrace.

  ‘What have they done to you?’ she whispered, looking at his tortured face.

  ‘Nothing that won’t heal,’ he said, feeling a wave of emotion coming to the surface. ‘You came here, alone?’

  ‘I came to find you, Derward. I got tired of waiting.’

  He kissed her, holding her face, wallowing in the smell of her skin.

  The Scribe pulled away, turning to the ship. ‘Time to go,’ she said. ‘You might not have noticed but there’s a war going on out there.’

  ‘Wait,’ Derward said, finding his strength.

  The Scribe and Keres both turned to look at him.

  ‘I made you a promise, that when I saw you next I would ask you a question . . .’

  The Scribe blushed, glancing at Keres. ‘Derward, there will be time for that later.’

  ‘I must know. I must have an answer.’

  ‘Very well,’ she replied, walking back towards him. ‘Ask.’

  ‘Ermen . . .’ Derward’s voice broke. Suddenly the suppressed emotion of his ordeal began to find its way out. He fought against it, desperate to speak. ‘Ermen. I’ve been away from you for too long. Since the first day I met you, all I ever wanted was to be at your side. I’m no longer young, I have nothing to offer you, but I will ask my question, and you must answer, or condemn me to a greater torture than anything I have endured before. Years ago, before you were Scribe, when we first met, you said you’d be my wife. But it was not our time. I had to leave . . .’ He hesitated, glancing at Keres. Did she know the sacrifices he’d made to keep her safe? He put the thought aside and looked back at the Scribe. ‘. . . and you had the Church. Time has passed, we are not those same people any more, but I must know . . .’

  ‘Yes,’ the Scribe said, tears rolling down her beautiful face.

  ‘I have not asked my question.’

  ‘You do not need to. You have your answer: yes.’ She kissed him, holding him in her arms, then she turned to Keres and smiled. ‘Come with us,’ she said.

  Keres stared at them both. ‘Where?’

  ‘Anywhere,’ the Scribe replied, laughing through her tears. ‘We can be a family for each other.’

  Keres shook her head, looking trapped. ‘I can’t, not after what I’ve done.’

  ‘By the end of the day I will no longer be the Scribe, but before I am replaced, I can do one last act of faith: I forgive you.’

  She held out her hand, and Keres took it. Derward smiled, feeling whole for the first time in his life.

  Derward, Ermengarde and Keres turned towards the little ship, and a new life together.

  REALIZATION

  ‘What happened? Where is the Gargan?’ Faron Dulac asked.

  ‘Cube transit,’ Commander Watson confirmed. ‘They seem to have sacrificed most of their engines to get away. They won’t be far, we can begin a search and finish them.’

  Bara shook her head. ‘There’ll be survivors over there.’ She gestured to the spinning remains of the engines. ‘Begin a rescue mission, we can deal with the Gargan later, once we’ve assessed the damage here.’

  Faron smiled approvingly. ‘I must go to my people,’ he said.

  Bara nodded sadly.

  ‘But I will see you again, I hope?’ Faron asked.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure of it.’

  He turned to leave, stopping to glance back as if he was about to speak, but he said nothing. Suddenly the flight deck seemed vast and empty. Gofal came to her side, silently comforting her with his presence.


  ‘Is it over?’ she asked him, taking in the view of destruction. The giant arkships had all sustained damage in the battle, and the space between them was filled with spinning fragments. The chaos was at an end, but in its wake was a tense emptiness, a feeling of uncertainty that she could not shake.

  ‘The battle is won,’ Gofal confirmed. ‘The Draig fleet has left, and the Carter & Grey board have removed Valine from its number. Her influence is greatly diminished.’

  Relieved, Bara sat on the edge of the window frame, her back to the view of destruction. Almost immediately, exhaustion caught up with her. She felt the weight of all those senseless deaths, the needless destruction, some of which she had sanctioned. It all seemed like such a waste.

  ‘I understand how you feel,’ Gofal said quietly, moving closer so that only she could hear.

  ‘You do?’

  The bot nodded. ‘This has been a difficult time for you and Wynn. This is not the life you want, is it?’

  Bara couldn’t answer. It was as if the words might condemn her.

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,’ he said.

  She shook her head. ‘You’re not, really. I need to talk to someone about this, don’t I? Who better than you?’

  ‘Wynn,’ Gofal said.

  Bara felt the tears coming, and she forced them away. She nodded to Gofal, knowing he was right. He put his giant hand on hers, tilting his head to one side. ‘Talk to him. He will understand.’

  WITHDRAWAL

  When Wynn opened his eyes, he was glad to see Bara and Gofal looking down on him.

  ‘How do you feel?’ she asked.

  Wynn’s chest throbbed with pain. Every breath was an ordeal, forcing him to speak softly. ‘I’m alive.’

  ‘They couldn’t save your lung,’ Bara explained. ‘Your remaining lung will adapt, they say. You should be fine, in the long-term.’

  There was something about her tone that sounded like she was delivering bad news. He stared into her face, and he knew what was coming. It was too soon, he didn’t want to face it yet. Anything but this. He pulled himself up, feeling weak. ‘What’s happened?’