Bara felt her anger grow. ‘Then why bring me here? Why show me all this?’
‘I wanted to meet you. I’ve been watching you for several years.’
‘Me? Why me?’
‘Because of Faron Dulac.’
The name was like a dagger to her heart. She inhaled, the emotion surprising her.
Gilani waved his hand and a glass of water appeared in front of her. She took it, hiding behind it while she recovered.
‘Five years ago, Faron Dulac gave his life to save the Ark Royal Caerleon during the destruction of the Solcor station . . . a Merred station. I’m sure you know all this.’
Bara nodded quickly.
‘Faron Dulac also saved eight hundred and twenty-nine Merred citizens. For that we are in his debt. We value family over everything else, Bara. So, I made it my duty to watch over his: You and your son, Galen. Oh, I know Faron wasn’t his biological father, but he raised him. Family, comes in many forms, don’t you think?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is it true that the House of Dulac deem a couple to be married if they have lived together for six years? No formal ceremony is required. It is a betrothal made in time rather than in the swell of young love, correct?’
‘Yes,’ Bara said again, her voice becoming smaller. She never spoke of Faron, she tried not to think of him, the pain was too great.
‘You were Faron’s wife, Lady to his Lord, two lovers making a life together, two parents nurturing a young boy towards manhood.’
‘Stop it,’ she said, finding her strength again.
‘I do not say this to upset you, Bara, but as an explanation. I have watched you since that day. I have seen your growing fight with the Church of the Infinite, and I understand how you have suffered. The Merred family moves slowly, Bara. We are dinosaurs amongst men. Do you know what a dinosaur is?’
The word held some vague memory to Bara, but its origin eluded her.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Gilani said, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand. ‘We are slow and patient. We watch and we learn. For example, the destruction of the Solcor station has always irritated me on a professional level. I am an engineer, like you, Bara. The Solcor station had defenses against coronal ejections from the Infinite, in fact I had designed some of those systems. Yet no warning came. The defenses failed and the station was destroyed. I spent a long time blaming myself for that, but then, as I studied what had gone wrong, I began to see that the flaw did not lie with me. My early-warning defenses should have protected the station. No one should have died.’
Bara began to cry. It was as if she could suddenly see that alternate life, with Faron beside her, alive and content. It was too much to bear.
Gilani fell silent, waiting until Bara recovered.
‘The Solcor station defenses were tampered with,’ Gilani said in a whisper. ‘The destruction of the station was no accident. It has taken me years to piece the evidence together, but my findings are irrefutable: The Church is to blame.’
Bara looked into Gilani’s eyes, trying to determine if she could trust him.
‘I’ve put my evidence into your ship’s computer. I would encourage you to study it for yourself, share it with your people, but I’m sure you will come to the same conclusion as I have.’
‘Why? Why would they try to kill all those people?’
‘For the same reason they hunt you. Scribe Mori fears that which he does not understand, that which he cannot control. He saw the Merred family as a threat and wished to minimize that threat.’
‘Then you will retaliate?’ Bara said, clenching her teeth to suppress her rage.
Regional Director Gilani closed his eyes and sighed. ‘As I said, the Merred family is slow and patient. I have presented my findings to the family, but they do not plan to act upon them yet. They need time to consider.’
‘Time?’ Bara stood, her hands becoming fists. ‘They want time? Sol!’
‘I see that we are in agreement,’ Gilani said, standing to join Bara. ‘You share my frustration. That is why I reached out to you.’
‘Reached out?’ Bara said, understanding what had happened. ‘There’s nothing wrong with your engines, is there?’
Gilani chuckled. ‘No. But your team will find a challenging problem to solve, nonetheless. They’ll believe they helped. In truth, our engines are far in advance of anything you’re used to, Bara. I’d love to show them to you, but then I’d have to kill you.’
Bara stared at her grinning host.
‘I’m kidding!’ Gilani laughed. ‘I’ll show you some time, I promise. You’ll love it.’
‘And the messages my son intercepted?’
‘He’s a bright boy, Bara, but he only decoded what I wished him to hear.’
‘You’ve used me. You used us all!’ she shouted.
‘Used? No. I merely wanted to meet you.’
‘You could have asked!’
Gilani shook his head. ‘The Merred family is also stubborn and proud, Bara. They would never have agreed to this meeting. This was the only way.’
Bara shook her head, furious. She walked back to the cannister and looked again at the ancient body within. ‘What do you want?’
‘To help you. You came here searching for allies against the Church. Well, you have one.’
‘But it’s just you, isn’t it? Not the rest of the Merred family. Just one old man in a box.’
Gilani walked to the casket and looked down at his aged body. ‘For now, yes. I must wait for the rest of the family to come to the same conclusion as I have. In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to assist you in your struggle, Bara. The Church will pay for those we lost.’
‘I need more than promises, Gilani. I need arkships and fighters. I need resources!’
‘I know, I know,’ he said, frustration coming to the surface, ‘but for now all I can give you is information.’
Bara eyed him skeptically. ‘What sort of information?’
‘You’ll know it when you see it.’ Gilani walked to the door, which opened with a small gesture of his hand. ‘For now, our meeting is at an end. It seems another arkship is approaching yours, so I must leave.’
Bara stood her ground. She had so many questions, but even before she could utter a word, the artificial form of Regional Director Gilani had faded to nothing. Alone except for the ancient body in the cannister, Bara wondered what she should do now, but then she heard footsteps approaching and she knew Administrator Wells would appear any second.
‘Your team have done an excellent job. The Merred family thanks you,’ Administrator Wells said, her fixed smile in place. ‘The agreed supplies have been placed in your shuttle. Our trade is complete.’
Bara nodded silently, her mind still reeling, and allowed Administrator Wells to escort her back towards the hanger deck.
EPICENTER
Everything came back in the wrong order. First, his eyes began to process light, but he didn’t have any memories, so the processed image meant nothing to him. Next came his hearing. Sounds merged with the images, but they made no sense. They were just frequencies, data moving through space. His sense of touch returned next, and he could feel something beneath him through his . . . he couldn’t remember what anything was called. His voice came next, but he didn’t yet understand language, so all he could do was produce a long tonal output. In hindsight, Gofal thought it was probably very close to a scream.
Next, his motor functions returned with a jolt of uncontrolled movement. He didn’t know how to sit up or walk. He simply flexed everything while his vocal output continued.
Finally, his cerebral matrix completed its reboot, and his memories, reasoning and physical control returned. He stopped convulsing, silenced his strangulated scream, and rested on the floor of the ship until he had completed his assessment of the situation.
‘Are you okay now?’ Otto asked. He was kneeling beside him, an expression of fear and concern on his young face.
Gofal sat up, accessing the ship�
�s clock to check how long he had been unconscious. Eighteen minutes, four seconds. ‘Yes, I think so. What happened?’
‘I . . . I don’t know. You just collapsed!’ Otto explained, his voice racing. ‘I had to get the ship away from that vortex thing, but I don’t know how to pilot it, not properly, but I think I got the hang of it in the end. It was really hard to–’
‘Vortex?’
Otto stared at him. ‘You don’t remember?’
‘No.’
‘You called it a four-dimensional vortex, I think. It was at the coordinates where that station used to be, the one the Haven went to.’
Gofal stood, checking his balance. ‘A four-dimensional vortex . . . Interesting. Thank you, Otto.’
‘What happened?’ Otto asked, falling into one of the flight deck chairs. He looked exhausted.
‘Something fascinating and unexpected,’ Gofal replied as he sat down. ‘I think that we may have stumbled upon a unique location: the epicenter of the Fracture wave.’
‘The epicenter? You mean that’s where the Fracture began?’
‘Perhaps, yes. I would need to study it further to be certain but–’
‘I thought it started inside the Sun?’
Gofal nodded. ‘That is the current theory, but I think it may well be incorrect. There are many variables that do not concur with the theory. Our encounter points to the wave starting inside the station that the arkship Haven visited. However, there is no record of a station orbiting the Sun there, except for in the Haven’s logbook.’ Gofal considered telling Otto of his vision but, given that he was uncertain of its origin, he decided to keep the information to himself for now. Was this another encounter with the beings known as the Infinite Gods? he wondered.
‘Why are we the first to know this?’
‘Another good question, Otto.’ Gofal scanned the region, checking the results carefully. ‘From here, outside of that area of space, there are no unusual properties evident. It is only once we had crossed the vortex threshold could we observe its effects.’
‘So, this is new?’ Otto asked, his excitement growing. ‘We’re the first to discover this?’
‘Very likely.’
‘Hah!’ He clapped his hands together, delighted. ‘The Horst-Gofal Vortex.’
‘Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,’ Gofal cautioned. ‘We need to do further study . . .’ He spotted Otto’s disappointment and added, ‘But it will need naming.’
Otto’s grin broadened.
‘Let’s do a complete system check and a deep scan of the region, then we’ll move a little closer and see what we can learn.’ Gofal said, already programming a series of commands into the ship’s sensors.
‘What do you think it means?’ Otto asked as they worked. ‘Does this change everything we thought we knew about the Fracture?’
‘No one has ever conclusively proven the cause of the Fracture. Many believe it was some sort of solar phenomenon, but I have suspected for some time that the cause was man-made. This discovery adds weight to that assumption.’
‘Man-made?’ Otto scoffed. ‘Those ideas are just conspiracy nonsense.’
‘We will find out.’ Gofal said, moving the ship to begin his scans.
As the Adventure settled into its new position, Otto sighed, looking pensive.
‘What’s wrong?’ Gofal asked.
‘Mother would love this.’
‘Still no word from Traum?’
Otto shook his head as he rechecked the com log.
‘That is unusual,’ Gofal conceded. He activated the com, tested the equipment was functioning normally, then sent an encrypted message to the Traum’s coordinates. Even if no one replied, the system should get a connection response, a piece of code confirming that the message had been received. It would take eighteen minutes to receive that confirmation, enough time to run several scans of the region.
After nineteen minutes, Gofal knew something was wrong.
APPROACH
‘There she is.’ Commander Watson said to Halstead, pointing to the holograph.
Prince Halstead stared at the blinking light as it grew in size and detail. ‘And the other ships?’
‘Three Merred arkships docked at one of their stations. They are powering up. I think they’re preparing to leave.’
‘Or attack?’
Watson shook her head. ‘They have plenty of gunships patrolling close to the station. They’d use them before their arkships got involved. I think we’re okay, so long as we keep our distance.’
‘Good. Maintain course towards the arkship Benwick. No response to our call yet?’
Watson rechecked the console. ‘Nothing yet.’
Halstead folded his arms, trying to imagine what Bara was thinking. He hadn’t spoken to her since just after Faron’s death five years ago. Five years without any contact between them. Five years since he’d seen his son. Galen would be twelve . . . no, thirteen by now, he realized. A young man. What would he think of his absent father? What would Bara think? The last time he’d seen her they’d argued, grief fueling her anger with him. Time might have tamed her rage, or perhaps it had only grown stronger over the intervening years. He couldn’t know. His stomach churned.
A voice cut through the air. ‘Ark Royal Caerleon, this is the Dulac arkship Benwick. We have received your rendezvous request. What is the purpose of your visit?’
Commander Watson raised the com unit to her mouth, about to speak when Halstead gestured to take it. She handed it to him, her expression full of misgivings.
‘Arkship Benwick, this is Prince Halstead Kenric on board the Ark Royal Caerleon. I bring you peaceful greetings from the House of Kenric and the House of Draig. We’re here on urgent business. I need to speak to Lady Dulac in person.’
The voice responded almost immediately. ‘Stand by, Caerleon.’
Halstead glanced up and saw Reader Aditsan had joined them on the flight deck. The old man walked to the prince’s side and gripped his shoulder in his sinewy fingers, reassuring him.
They waited in silence, just the background noise of the flight deck filling Halstead’s ears.
‘Caerleon, the House of Dulac welcomes you and your delegation. Permission granted to come aboard. I’m sending you a flight plan and landing coordinates. Your shuttle will submit to our harbor control on final approach. Confirm acceptance.’
Halstead activated the com, smiling with relief. ‘Confirmed, Benwick, and thank you.’
As the com died, Halstead’s relief gave way to anxiety. Soon, he would see Bara again, his ex-wife, the woman he loved – the woman he still loved. But his excitement and anticipation failed to outweigh the fear and trepidation he felt as he thought about their imminent meeting. He was here to deliver an ultimatum, one that could tear them apart forever.
Aditsan stepped closer, breaking Halstead’s uncertain thoughts.
‘What is it?’ Halstead asked.
‘I wanted to speak to the Constable, about the assassination attempt.’ Reader Aditsan said slowly.
‘He’s not here. I haven’t heard from him, he’s been unwell.’
‘He’s dead,’ Aditsan replied.
Halstead stared at the Reader, taken aback. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I couldn’t contact him,’ Aditsan explained. ‘I spoke to one of his constables, they broke into his room. They found him there . . . He’d been dead for almost twelve hours.’
‘How?’
‘Doctor Lund believes it was heart failure,’ Aditsan said quietly.
‘He was healthy!’ Halstead said, not wanting to accept the news.
‘I know. Convenient, isn’t it.’ The accusatory tone had returned to Aditsan’s voice.
‘What are you saying, Reader?’ Halstead retorted.
‘That your Chief Constable – the man responsible for investigating the assassination attempt on the Scribe’s life – is dead.’
Halstead reddened, aware that others on the flight deck were listening to their exch
ange. He gripped his chair, feeling the familiar sensation of unsteadiness deep within his mind. It was as if the answers to his questions were just out of reach, toying with him from the blurred edges of his thoughts.
‘I have to go,’ he said in a whisper. ‘We will discuss this on my return.’
‘I’ll be waiting,’ Reader Aditsan said as he turned to leave the flight deck.
FEED
The view out here was perfect, the vastness of space made more real by her closeness to it. There was only the contour-fitting material of her EV-suit between her skin and the great emptiness of the Cluster . . . between life and death. The immediacy and isolation helped her to think, away from the ever-present noise of the arkship. There was just her and the stars, alone amongst the ruins.
Valine let her breathing slow, relaxing her body, allowing the tidal forces of gravity and momentum to take her where they wished. At her back was the island of life that was the arkship Haukr, moving in time with her. She pushed on the thruster control, moving further from its gigantic surface. She wanted to be alone – truly alone – and this was the only way she knew how to do it. Out here she was vulnerable, an easy target, but she was also anonymous. There was no record of her leaving the arkship. She preferred it that way, just her and the isolation, and the closeness to death made her feel alive, her senses alert to the tiniest sensation.
Yet even in this blissful seclusion, Valine could hear things. Not just the whir of her suit’s life-support system or her own breathing, there were other noises as well. As the arkship’s Cube drive cooled, it periodically vented hot gasses into space which formed a rarified atmosphere around the hull, just dense enough to transmit deep soundwaves from the ship. She could feel the low rumble of the engines through her body, fragile tones that came and went, as if the Haukr was alive, breathing with her.
She turned to look at the stars, her helmet’s visor display identifying the position of Halstead’s arkship. At this great distance it was just a dot, barely visible to the eye, but this was as close as they dared get, for now. She smiled, relieved that she had trusted her instincts and followed this faint signal. It was indeed the Ark Royal Caerleon, rendezvousing with the arkship Benwick, a ship recently excommunicated by the Church. They would be glad to know its location, and if Halstead was found to be conspiring with known heretics, it would make her case against him that much stronger.
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