The Galactic Chronicles: Shadows of the Void Books 8 - 10

by J. J. Green

  “You too, Jas...Commander,” Toirien MacAdam replied.

  Jas clicked her tongue. “No need to call me that. At least not while we’re alone. I can’t stand all that formality, but I have to go along with it.”

  “I recognized your name when they told me where I was going and who I’d be serving under,” Toirien said, “but I wasn’t sure it was really you until I saw you. Who’d have thought all those years ago that when we met again you’d be in command of a Unity destroyer?”

  “A lot’s happened since we were stuck on that Shadow trap planet,” Jas said. “A lot.” She hesitated. “Did you have to travel far to get to the Unity recruiting station? Are you tired?”

  “No, not far,” replied the engineer. “I’m not that tired.”

  “Do you want to join me for a drink and a chat after you settle in? I need to organize a few things, but then we could catch up on old times.”

  “Sure. I’d like that.”

  Jas led Toirien through the ship to the chief engineer’s quarters and told her to where to find her office when she was ready.

  When Jas got back to her office, she drafted a long mail to Pacheco, reporting on the recent battle and highlighting the odd activity. She concluded,

  Admiral, I’m concerned that the unfamiliar designs of the two Shadow ships, the unusual strength of the second ship’s hull and force field, the high caliber of its fighter pilots, and the ship’s abrupt departure when it could have remained and possibly won the battle, are all significant.

  Now that I’ve had time to process the details, it occurs to me that the Shadows may be moving beyond their strategy of using the skills, knowledge, and technology of their victims. They may be developing to be better than them. They could be building their own, better, ships, maybe even inventing new genetic enhancement techniques to improve their pilots’ skills.

  I suspect that the Thylacine got off easy. I think the second ship jumped because they’d discovered what they wanted to know—that their technology is superior.

  Jas’ door chime sounded. She signed off the mail and sent it, then let Toirien in.

  “What can I get you?” she asked, going to the drinks dispenser as the engineer took a seat.

  “Water is fine,” Toirien replied.

  “Nothing stronger?”

  “No, thanks. I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since that time you caught me off my face aboard the Galathea.”

  “Ha,” Jas said. “I remember. Good for you.” Toirien’s alcohol and substance addiction had been a big problem, interfering with her work and judgment. Jas also recalled the engineer’s wish that she could have her children returned to her. They’d been placed in care due to their mother’s addictions.

  She poured Toirien’s water and ordered a mixed drink for herself. As she handed the beaker to the woman, they sat down on either side of the desk. The engineer indicated Jas’ drink and said, “Is it normal to have alcohol aboard a Unity vessel?”

  “I allow it for special occasions,” Jas replied. “A small celebratory drink when we win a battle helps boost morale. It keeps my spirits up too.”

  Toirien’s expression was doubtful, and she watched with concern as Jas took a sip of her drink. Jas noticed her look and attributed the engineer’s unease to her own past history. It wasn’t like that for Jas. Not everyone let their drinking get out of hand.

  “So,” Jas said, “who’s looking after your kids while you’re here?”

  “They don’t need anyone to look after them anymore. They’re all grown up now. Fine young ladies. They’ve both signed up to fight. Joan is a comm technician and Grace has followed in her mam’s footsteps. She’s serving as an engineer aboard the Camaradon.”

  The Camaradon was Pacheco’s command—the largest military space vessel ever built and the pride of the Unity fleet. It had been aboard the Camaradon that Jas had last seen Sayen Lee.

  “It sounds like you set a great example, Toirien. You must be very proud of them.”

  Toirien’s face twisted into an expression of regret. “I didn’t do right by my children for a long time, but I hope I’ve made up for that at least a little over the last few years.”

  Jas took another sip of her drink, the alcohol easing some of the tension from her muscles. It was pleasant to talk with Toirien and slip into memories of past times. So much had happened since they last met, and her life was so different. She wondered if she was even the same person anymore.

  “So, what’s been happening with you?” Toirien asked. “How did you go from security officer on a private prospector to Unity commander? That must be quite a tale to tell.”

  Jas grimaced. “It is, and I’ll tell you the whole story some time. But I’m curious to know about Earth. It’s been a long while since I was there. What’s been happening? How are things now?”

  “Hmm...not too bad. You know that Earth was declared Shadow-free late last year? It was a long, hard struggle to root them all out, but we made it in the end. So many people died during their invasion. It was terrible. And toward the end as the entire population was being scanned, it was odd. People were clinging to their Shadow friends and family. Sheltering Shadows and hiding them from the authorities, in total self-denial. They couldn’t face the fact that their loved ones were dead. The Shadows went along with the masquerade, of course, because the alternative was execution.”

  “How could they accept a Shadow in place of the person who’d been murdered?” Jas asked, shocked.

  “I know how weird it sounds, but on the other hand, I know how easy it is to lie to yourself if you want to.” Toirien glanced at the drink in Jas’ hand.

  “How’s the recovery going?” Jas asked. “Are things getting back to normal?”

  “Slowly, to be sure, but, yes, I’d say a kind of normality is returning to people’s lives. Things are different now, though. Battling the Shadows has brought people together. Evened things out a little. You don’t see the same separation between modded and naturals, for instance. A lot of the people who benefited from the divisions in societies, like the heads of corporations etcetera, they’re nearly all dead. They were the ones the Shadows targeted. So it’s like most of the very top layer of society was removed, and now people are trying to rebuild with a more equitable system. Basic modding for your baby is a right now, not a privilege. That’ll continue to even things up. And there’s more acceptance of people who choose a different way of life.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Jas recalled the underworlders and their struggle against a society that despised them. She wondered what Erielle thought of the changes.

  Her interface chirruped. Pacheco had replied to her mail. “Excuse me a moment.” She opened and read his message.

  Thanks for your report. I’ve noted your concerns. Prepare to ship out to the coordinates given at our meeting. The Thylacine must be ready for action in eighty-four hours.

  Chapter Six

  When Jas boarded the shuttle that would take her planetside, she was a little worse for wear after a long evening spent with Toirien. She took a seat in the cabin and comm’d the pilot that she was ready to go.

  She’d talked with Toirien about old times and old acquaintances, like long-departed, myth-addicted Captain Loba, self-serving First Mate Haggardy, and bigoted Dr. Sparks. Toirien had been entertained to hear of what had happened to Sparks after leaving the Galathea. Jas wondered if anyone had told the doctor yet that Earth was finally free of Shadows, or if he was still hiding out the war at chilly Ganymede Outpost.

  Jas couldn’t quite remember how her evening with Toirien had ended, but she’d woken with an aching head and sore stomach. She’d self-medicated to relieve the symptoms of her hangover, but she still felt light-headed and out of sorts. She hoped a visit to see how Trimborn was getting on with his Shadow sweep would distract her from her malaise.

  Her first officer only had three days to train the locals in how to uncover the remaining Shadows hiding among them, and he had to do it effectivel
y or the Shadows would regain control and a pocket of resistance would spring up.

  The shuttle was sweeping rapidly down through the planet’s atmosphere, buffeted by turbulence. Jas stretched her tender muscles and rubbed her eyes. She was tired, but it wasn’t only due to her over-indulgence the night before. She’d been tired day in and day out for months—a deep-down tiredness that the longest sleep never seemed to fix.

  “Touchdown in five, ma’am,” came the pilot’s voice through her comm.

  Jas rested her head on the back of her seat and closed her eyes as the shuttle made its final approach. By the time it landed, she’d drifted into a light sleep. The sound of the cabin door opening roused her, and the sunlight that streamed in made her squint and blink. It was a brilliant light, and the air that entered the cabin was hot and dry.

  Unfastening her harness, Jas stood and straightened her jacket. After smoothing down her hair at the back, she disembarked. Trimborn and a couple of his subordinates were waiting in a neat row a short distance away, but Jas was so blinded by the glaring light , she perceived them only as dark, indistinct figures.

  She lifted a hand in front of her eyes to block out the sun, but the gesture didn’t help much. The sun’s brightness was reflected and seemingly multiplied by the surrounding landscape. She made her way over to her officers, her eyes narrowed to slits. Already, her uniform was feeling tight and uncomfortably warm.

  “Good morning, ma’am,” Trimborn said cheerfully as she approached.

  “Morning...what are you wearing?” Jas asked.

  Her first officer and the two other officers with him had cloths draped over their heads and down their backs. They were wearing their uniform hats, so that the edges lifted the cloths into mini tents.

  “Only thing that keeps the sun off, ma’am,” Trimborn replied.

  Jas noticed he also had on thick sunglasses.

  The piercing light wasn’t making Jas’ hangover any better. “Is there somewhere we can go?”

  “Yes, Commander. This way.” Trimborn led her toward a flat structure raised only a meter or so above the ground. Jas hadn’t noticed it because it was yellow-tinged white, the same color as the rocky surrounding ground.

  “You could have told me what to expect, Trimborn,” Jas said as they walked together. “I would have come better prepared.”

  “I...er...I did, ma’am. I left a message as soon as I received notification that you were coming down. But don’t worry, once we’re underground, it’ll be fine.”

  Jas hadn’t checked her messages after she’d gotten up that morning.

  They arrived at a circular entrance with an overhanging roof, set halfway into the ground. There was no door, only a dark hole leading to the interior. Uneasiness settled on Jas, and for a moment she wasn’t sure why. Then she realized.

  “This is like a Shadow trap,” she blurted. She grabbed at her side, but in her hungover state, she hadn’t remembered to arm herself.

  “Yes, it is, isn’t it, ma’am,” Trimborn said. “Gave us the willies at first too. But there’s no cause for concern. It’s perfectly safe.”

  But Jas stopped in her tracks, her legs trembling. The last time she’d been near a Shadow trap, she’d been forced to watch people die while she stood by, helpless. And the time before that she’d had to kill the Shadow of someone she’d been close to.

  Jas swallowed, fighting the urge to vomit.

  “Commander,” said Trimborn, taking off his sunglasses and peering at Jas, “are you feeling all right?”

  She stared at her first officer. His ebony skin was glistening with sweat in the heat. Was he really who he seemed to be? Glancing at Trimborn’s two subordinates, she began to back away. She tried to remember how far away and in which direction the shuttle stood.

  Could she fight all three officers by herself? She was out of shape. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done any training.

  “Commander,” Trimborn said, “I think I understand your concerns, but we’ve followed all the protocols since landing. We are not Shadows.”

  Jas continued to step slowly backward out of the shade at the entrance until she was in the now-welcome, brilliant glare of the planet’s sun. “I want proof. I want to scan you.”

  “But—” Trimborn protested.

  “That’s an order.”

  Trimborn shrugged, sighed, and turned to one of his subordinates. “Pop inside and bring out a scanner, would you?”

  Jas and the remaining two officers waited in uncomfortable silence for the woman to return. Jas screwed up her eyes and hunched her shoulders in response to the pounding heat and sunlight.

  Time passed, dragging its heels.

  “The Shadow presence on this planet is minimal, ma’am,” Trimborn said. “It’s due to the Shadows’ method of capturing their victims, I believe. The natives only rarely go above ground, you see, so it wasn’t easy for the Shadows to entice them into their traps. And though the Shadow traps look similar to the local entrances to the underground cities, they look different enough to cause suspicion. Few victims would have entered willingly, I don’t think.”

  Jas didn’t respond. She would talk to Trimborn when she knew for sure he was Trimborn.

  The returning footsteps of the officer who had gone to collect a Shadow scanner broke the stillness and the tension a little. The hand held scanner she’d brought was far smaller and easier to carry than the long, heavy, tube-shaped models the Council had manufactured in the beginning of the Shadow War. The officer handed the scanner to Jas and quickly returned to the shade.

  Jas examined the device, running her fingers along its seams, checking for irregularities, such as if the instrument had been forced open. There should have been no way to open the scanners once they were sealed. They were designed to self-destruct if tampered with, so the chance that the scanner had been fixed to give a false reading was remote, but it didn’t hurt to check.

  “Okay, one at a time, come over here so I can scan you,” Jas said. “Trimborn, you first.”

  She ran the scanner down the back of her first officer. The mythranil inside it would react if Trimborn bore traces of that mysterious dimension where the Shadows existed. The display read Clear. Jas exhaled.

  “Stand behind me,” she told Trimborn. “You next.”

  It took just a few minutes to establish that neither of the remaining two officers were Shadows. Jas relaxed, but the headache that she’d forgotten about returned. She handed back the scanner. “Okay, let’s go in.”

  The entrance led into a tunnel not unlike the ones at the Transgalactic Council offices, except the walls were heavily decorated. The brilliant reflectiveness of the native rock, which seemed to be some kind of quartz, had been cut into complex, sophisticated patterns. As well as being entrancing to look at, the many angled surfaces seemed to have been cut to capture every last particle of light that entered from the surface, and transmit it deep underground.

  As Jas’ eyes adjusted to the gradually dimming light, she became more and more enchanted by the decoration, until she was compelled to stop and look at it more closely.

  “Don’t touch it, ma’am,” Trimborn said. “It’s devilishly sharp.” He raised a hand to display thin scabs on his fingertips. “Not that the locals think so. One of them told me they like to scratch themselves against the walls. Beautiful, isn’t it, though?”

  “Scratch themselves?” Jas asked. “What are they like? I was thinking they must be a sort of arthropoid species, like the Council officers.”

  “Errmm...not exactly,” Trimborn replied. He shared a meaningful glance with his fellow officers. “At least, not unless they have another stage to their life cycle. But you’ll meet them in a moment, Commander. We’re nearly there.”

  They continued for another few minutes, until they reached a slope in the ground that led to a hole roughly half as wide as the tunnel.

  “This leads to some kind of governmental area attached to a mine,” Trimborn said. “Careful whe
n you get to the bottom.” He sat down at the edge of the slope and pushed off. He slid down and disappeared through the hole. The other officers did the same, and Jas followed last of all.

  Though she’d encountered a wide variety of aliens over her career as a security officer and then in deep space military service, she couldn’t suppress the revulsion she felt when she saw what awaited them at the bottom of the tunnel.

  Chapter Seven

  Jas emerged into a domed chamber. At first glance, the place seemed to be full of human-sized maggots. The sentient species of the mythrin-bearing planet were long and plump, and they seemed to be segmented, according to what was visible of their bodies. They wore patterned and plain one-piece skin-like coverings in a variety of styles and colors.

  At one end of the creatures was a star-shaped opening that they flexibly moved, and surrounding the opening was a circle of black dots. The dots seemed to be eyes, because they turned toward Jas, Trimborn, and the others when they appeared. Folds of skin swept over the dots, covering and uncovering them, apparently randomly.

  The creatures moved by edging forward on their lower halves, born along on waves of movement that originated at their heads and progressed down their bodies. It was this style of locomotion, plus the fat, segmented bodies, that turned Jas’ stomach. The natives’ resemblance to maggots was so strong, she found it hard to push the thought out of her mind during her entire visit.

  Though she’d forgotten her weapon, Jas had, at least, remembered her comm. She switched on its translation function and fought the urge to step back as the aliens edged closer, uttering greetings and thanks for releasing them from the Shadows’ control of their planet.

  Around the walls of the chamber, hammocks were slung for some reason, and they were filled with yet more of the creatures. At Jas’ and the other officers’ appearance, they had begun to wriggle out and drop to the floor with soft squelching sounds. These individuals also edged over eagerly, so closely that they were rubbing up against each other.