by Tony Healey
“Well,” the Chief said. “I could bring across Lieutenant Belcher. He’s a good man. We work well together. He should be familiar with these older systems, too.”
Greene exchanged a look with the Chief, no doubt with regards to just how well she worked with Gary Belcher. But the Chief was having none of it, and rolled her eyes at his silent suggestion.
“If you want him, Chief, then put the call in,” King said. “Get him up here ASAP.”
“Will do.”
“So. My reasons for keeping this a small task force are simple and, no doubt, self-evident. I don’t want to put unnecessary lives at risk. Not anymore. We’ve lost enough already.”
“Fair enough,” Hawk said.
“This ship will run just fine on a skeleton crew,” King explained. “We slip in, do what we’ve got to do and get out with minimum fuss.”
“And Commander Chang?” Gunn asked.
“Captain Chang will stay behind and hold the fort until we return,” King said. She registered their faces and decided to explain before she got a barrage of endless questions. “And yes, I promoted her myself. This morning.”
“Well, she sure deserved it,” Gunn said.
“Yes. She did us proud.”
She looked across at Commander Greene and felt a twinge of guilt that she’d not promoted him for all he’d done. But it just didn’t work like that, and she knew Greene understood because she saw no sign of resentment or envy on his face.
“So we’re headed straight for the Big Kahuna?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not right away. We have a slight detour first. Captain Dolarhyde, if you’d like to explain?”
Dolarhyde cleared his throat. “Uh, yes. I spent a lot of time around these things, and I think I have pretty good idea of how to operate them. Each one’s different of course, but the principle is the same.”
He tapped his temple slowly with the tip of his finger.
“Mind control,” Greene said.
“Yes and no. Think of it as a mental interface. And the more you use it, the more adept you get at accessing the device’s many functions. One of them being, in fact, control over time.”
The Commander folded his arms and looked about in disbelief. “That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it?”
Before Dolarhyde could answer, Captain King was there at his side. “Not really, Del. Remember, we did a little bit of time travelling ourselves arriving here. Time slowed down for us just as it continued on for everyone else. That, in itself, is time travel, don’t you think?”
“I guess…”
Dolarhyde raised his hands. “Listen, I don’t expect you to take this hook, line, and sinker right off. I plan on showing you all. I plan on demonstrating it. In my years alone, I discovered the capability. However I could never use it to get home. Only the master pyramid will permit time travel of that magnitude. At the most, I could travel back a matter of days. With the ‘Big Kahuna,’ as you put it, we will be able to achieve travel through time and space across whatever distances we wish.”
“But what’s the purpose?” Greene asked.
“Because if we can do it, then you can bet that it won’t be long before General Carn will be able to do the same,” Jessica cut in. “And that we can’t have.”
King walked to the navigation console and brought up a star chart on the viewscreen. It was the same chart on which Dolarhyde had pinpointed the location of the master artefact before – the monolith that would unlock all the others.
The one with every bell and whistle ready to go, right out of the box.
On the chart, where previously their course had been straightforward, there was a minor diversion to a system of two planets circling a red giant.
“Any idea on what kind of planet that’ll be?” Hawk asked.
“Hospitable but not habitable. We’ll have to suit up for it. And it has two gees, so it’ll be heavier going than we’re used to. Certainly much stronger gravity than what we use on board. But, if Captain Dolarhyde is right… it’ll be worth it,” King said.
Dolarhyde regarded them all one by one. “It will be. I promise.”
* * *
They left the Krinuan’s home world behind hours later, headed into open space with Captain Praror’s Naxor vessel at their flank.
“Is the device ready?” Captain King asked.
“The Chief says it’s fully operational,” Commander Greene said. “All boards show green.”
King got up, and rested her hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “Captain Gerard, if you please.”
“With pleasure,” Hawk said and flicked a switch.
The lights on the Warrior dimmed momentarily before the power could redirect from the auxiliary banks.
Commander Greene turned to Dolarhyde, who had his hand up to his earpiece, listening to Captain Praror’s ship. He looked up. “They say we’ve disappeared. Vanished.”
Jessica smiled. Finally, a break. “Good. Tell them we’ll proceed to our first stop, three quarters speed.”
“Very good,” Dolarhyde said.
“Increasin’ speed to three quarters,” Hawk said, his hands swift and sure at the helm controls. The Warrior answered his needs, the engines responding by ensuring they were a fast, however invisible, traveller of the stars.
4.
The two planets swung around a huge, engorged red sun on elliptical orbits. The innermost planet burned white hot, like a miniature sun itself. However, their destination stood farther out, a cooler world devoid of most of its once-breathable air. The nova had stripped most of its atmosphere away. What was left trailed behind the planet now, like the vaporous exhaust of a passing comet.
“Friendly lookin’ joint,” Hawk said with a trademark lop-sided grin. “Might have to come prospectin’, maybe sink a well, build a farm…”
“Another time, Mister,” King said with a slight chuckle. “Take us into orbit and scan the surface for anything resembling one of those pyramids. Then we can prepare for a landing.”
“You know, she’s not landed anywhere in a long time…” Dolarhyde said.
“She’ll be fine, Captain,” Jessica said. “I feel this ship is a tough old broad.”
Like mine, she thought. How I miss her…
She watched as Hawk slipped the Warrior into a low orbit. It didn’t take long to locate the giant, black pyramid, resting atop a plateau. It was fortunate, really, as it made it easier on them for landing and takeoff. The plateau was wide and flat, and thousands of feet below it, volcanic eruptions filled the air with black smoke. Rivers of lava burned down there, liquid fire caused by the planet’s increasing internal temperatures.
“Looks like this world will join its sister soon,” Greene remarked.
“Well, we’ll be in and out before it does,” Jessica said. “Dolarhyde, contact Praror and ask him to remain up here in orbit. Hawk, disengage the cloaking device and prepare for landing procedures.”
* * *
The Warrior settled upon the flat rock with a jolt and the hiss of escaping gasses from her landing gear, four legs extended from the belly of the ship. When landed, the ship resembled a rather big fly, minus wings and bug eyes.
“Distance to the monolith?” King asked as she suited up.
Hawk shrugged his arms into his own suit, and then grabbed a data tablet from a work station to the side. “Thirty minutes’ walk north.”
“Good. Commander, you comfortable in there? I know these suits are older models, but they should do the same job.”
He gave a thumbs up as Dolarhyde settled the helmet over his head and locked it into place. A second later, the lights inside the helmet came to life, as did his internal radio.
“Better?” Jessica asked him.
“Yeah. Smells musty in here, though,” Greene said.
Jessica laughed until her own helmet was on and secured. Then she wrinkled her nose. “You’re right. It smells like a Mummy’s armpit!”
The Commander laughed over the internal comm.
Hawk put on his own helmet without fuss, then helped Dolarhyde into his. They fetched their equipment and signalled through to Chief Gunn for her to equalize the pressure with the outside and open the cargo bay door.
Moments later, the red light above the exit ramp changed to green and the door opened. The world outside was a fiery, smoky hell.
“Gentlemen, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” King said.
* * *
The pyramid was like a giant, ebony arrow head at the summit of the plateau, its topmost peak aimed at the thinning red atmosphere and the veil of stars beyond. Soon, the rest of the planet’s ozone would dissipate, surrendering to the exertions of the giant red sun it called master. Then it would be yet another fiery, broken world, coasting through the void on an inevitable dance of death. And would the black mountain remain? If it chose to, yes.
“Now, it should open somewhere around here,” Dolarhyde said. He stopped at a small mark at the base of the pyramid and used it to activate the pyramid’s entrance. The door opened to reveal shining white innards.
“Déjà vu,” Commander Greene said.
Jessica tapped her comm. “Warrior, this is King. We are going inside the artefact. Expect loss of radio. Continue to monitor. Over.”
They waited a moment for confirmation from the Warrior. Then they stepped inside.
* * *
Dolarhyde took a seat at the angular chair in the middle of the vast, white space. The moment he did, all light died. Apart from a solid shaft of light that fell from the roof to Dolarhyde’s helmet-covered head.
YOU HAVE TRAVELLED FAR, a not too unfamiliar voice boomed in their heads simultaneously.
“Yes, we have. Travelled to reveal your secrets,” Dolarhyde said to it. The others remained silent.
If it hadn’t been for their twinkling suit lights, they wouldn’t have been able to see each other in such thick, soupy darkness. There was only the shaft of light, and a suited-up Dolarhyde within it.
DO YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE?
“Yes I do. And, if you will permit me, I will put it to use,” Dolarhyde said aloud.
AS YOU WISH
Dolarhyde remained perfectly still. Then the light intensified. It grew so bright they had to shield their eyes. The light grew to fill the room. Their heads vibrated with a deep, heavy hum.
Then it was over. The light vanished completely before everything returned to its previous state of clean, white, hospital sterility.
And Captain Dolarhyde was gone. Vanished into thin air.
* * *
They spent over an hour at the pyramid, trying to determine if he was, in fact, somewhere within the structure. But they had no such luck as to have their doubts answered so directly. Before long, Captain King gave the order for them to return to the Warrior and try to make some sense of the situation.
“Chief, any sign of Dolarhyde?” Greene asked over the radio as the Warrior came into view. It was still a good fifteen minutes’ walk away.
“Yes. He arrived shortly after you left. I wondered where you’d all got to, to be honest,” Gunn said. “I figured he must have turned back for some reason.”
“Wait a minute,” King said. She stopped and activated the suit controls to project the camera feed from her helmet onto her visor. It showed the Warrior up ahead. She zoomed in, and sure enough, Dolarhyde was sitting on the access ramp with his arms folded waiting for them to come back.
“I don’t believe it . . .” she said.
“What?” Greene asked.
“Zoom in. He’s there. It must’ve worked,” she said. “I can’t believe it.”
She watched as the Commander did as instructed, his face changing from cocksure to gobsmacked.
“Well I’ll be damned…”
* * *
The cargo bay door slid shut and the atmosphere within the sealed room flooded in from vents in the ceiling. It took a matter of seconds to equalize the cargo area so that they could remove their helmets.
“So, Captain Dolarhyde,” Greene said. He offered his hand. “Congratulations are in order.”
Dolarhyde shook his hand, a smile beneath his shaggy grey beard. “I believe I’ve proven my point.”
“Indeed,” Jessica said. “And now, if you could explain it . . .”
“I’m not sure I can. It’s merely a case of allowing the pyramid into your mind. Offering no resistance. The more you open to it, the more it opens to you.”
“I’d imagine that’s something our friend Carn is struggling with,” Greene said.
“He’ll master it soon,” Dolarhyde said. “And I believe you yourself have had some experience of interacting with one of those devices.”
“A little bit,” King admitted.
“I believe that if pressed, you could work one of the machines too,” Dolarhyde said. “I merely thought of where I wanted to go, regardless of when. There was a kind of tingling all over my body and when I opened my eyes, there I was. Sat on the ramp. I’d got back to the ship before we’d even reached the pyramid. I time travelled.”
“And if you can, it’s only a matter of time before Carn will be able to do the same,” King said. “And who knows what sort of damage he could inflict?”
“If yuh think about it, what’s stoppin’ him goin’ back and leading a Draxx fleet to Earth when it was just startin’ out? Before the foundin’ of the Union?”
Jessica locked eyes with him. “What’s stopping him? We are.”
5.
With the ship safely back in orbit, they held a brief meeting on the bridge.
There was coffee all round – the freeze-dried variety, found perfectly preserved in the Warrior‘s stores – and they discussed the neat trick Dolarhyde had managed to pull off with the pyramid on the surface.
“So how do we know he won’t come here for this one?” Hawk asked.
“Well, there’s nothing to say that he won’t,” King said. “However, it won’t matter. As far as we know, he doesn’t know about the master pyramid yet. It’s a little advantage we have, which makes a change for once.”
Chief Gunn stood next to Gary Belcher, one hand resting in the pouch at the front of her overalls, the other gripped a paper cup filled with strong coffee, a little too much cream, and a certifiable overdose of sugar.
“Hey, uh, so we’ll be heading straight into the lion’s den on this one?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so, Chief. It’s in the heart of Naxor territory . . . right under the General’s nose.”
“You know, one thing I’ve not worked out yet,” Gunn said. “And that’s why the Naxors are working with Carn. What possible agreement could he have with them, for them to put everything they have at his disposal?”
Jessica shook her head. “I’ve not figured it out myself, yet. I’m sure they have their reasons. Knowing the General as we do, I think we can safely assume it isn’t just an act of friendship.”
“You can say that again.”
Commander Greene nodded toward the viewscreen. “You know, we never did get to see a lot of this galaxy. I know it’s rough down there, but what a view.”
They all turned to see what he was talking about. Below them, the planet around which they were in orbit fell to darkness, the last glow of its giant red sun turning the atmosphere into a smear of ochre against the black. And in the distance, like a ball of fire, its sister planet shone like a small star.
“Hellish, but beautiful,” Jessica said.
A bit like our time here, she thought. We may not have done as much exploring as I’d have liked in other circumstances, but we’ve survived. Well, most of us have. And that’s not too bad. None of it is.
As she sipped her coffee, and the others chatted amongst themselves, she felt a not too unfamiliar numbness rise up her legs. Like a creeping cold, its fingertips working their way into her muscles. She made her excuses and retired to one of the bunks farther down the corridor to rest in the hope that her illness wasn’t about to rear its ugly head once
more.
She remembered Dr. Clayton telling her that it could be triggered by stress. As she lay there with her hands folded on her stomach, staring up at the ceiling, she admitted to herself that she found the idea of what they were about to do frightening. She’d have never said as much to the crew – not even to Commander Greene. But Jessica knew that this was it. The final offensive against a vile enemy, hell-bent on their total destruction. There would be no further chances.
If the General could go back in time as Dolarhyde had, then they were doomed. Simple. He would go back and erase them from existence.
I’ll be damned if I’ll allow everything we’ve been through to stand for nothing, she thought. But legs, don’t fail me now. See me through this.
It seemed a good thing to hope for, and yet Jessica knew it was foolhardy.
Everything would pan out as it was meant to.
I just hope we get there before he does.
Presently she got back up and made her way to the bridge, careful not to go too fast. There she gave the order to continue on with their mission. If she had not felt the urgency before, she did now.
“Inform Captain Praror we are continuing with the mission immediately,” she ordered. “Everybody, after that we go silent. Communication blackout. We’re going into enemy territory.”
6.
The Warrior cruised through space, all communication circuits disabled for full silence and the cloaking device running at full power. Captain Praror’s ship at their wing, under the guise of just another Naxor ship travelling back into “friendly” territory.
She couldn’t sleep, and when Jessica wandered up to the bridge in her slacks and a vest, she found Hawk there with his feet up on the helm.
“Captain Nowlan, I didn’t think anyone would be up here,” she said.
He started at the sudden intrusion. “Jeez! Yuh made me jump, Cap.”
“Sorry. Everyone else is getting some rack time. You should be too,” she said.