Orchestra of Shadows

by Charles Nall

  “I command the battlegroup of this sector. I can send ships in to investigate if I damn well please,” declared Akeldamas sternly.

  Devereaux walked away from the map and began stepping down the stairs to the lower level of the bridge. “I have no doubt, but I would think Galactic Command would think it was highly irregular. Let's not waste our time with Jacob.”

  Akeldamas stood at the top of the stairs and raised his voice at Devereaux. “It will not be a waste of time! No matter, I have other, better ways of dealing with that gnat. I have more resources at my disposal. I will be in my quarters. See to it that any information regarding Exodus is sent to me.”

  The captain sighed. “Of course, sir.”

  A few minutes later, Akeldamas entered his quarters. He walked to the computer and tapped the screen. He started typing a command to the computer.

  “Come on, answer the damn link,” Akeldamas groaned.

  Noctis Reek, the hunched henchman of the mysterious “master” appeared on the screen of the computer with a scowl across his face.

  “I need to talk to the master,” Akeldamas said.

  Reek growled, “He busy.”

  “The benefactors have a ship in the Kappa Velorum ice fields. It needs to hunt the corvette that Jacob Carpenter is hiding in.”

  “No. Not for you. Not for your personal vendettasss.”

  “It's not personal! It's for the good of the universe!”

  “Not for you.”

  “Listen, worm. Contact that ship and make them hunt Carpenter. Carpenter is most likely in the Kappa Velorum system. The benefactors must defend themselves, they can't be found. They only attack if discovered, correct? Well they may be discovered! Activate the Sheol! Do it!” Akeldamas yelled.

  “I will sssend word. Waking a giant, you are. I will let the master know. He will deal with you if he doesn't agree. The fault will lie with you.”

  “It's the right choice. If the master doesn't agree, he's a fool,” Akeldamas said.

  “You are making a missstake. You will ssssee.” Reek cackled. “I will wake the giant. They will be angry with you.”

  February 8, 0270 AC - 14:12

  Rapture, Kappa Velorum

  Galactic Union Space

  Jacob Carpenter leaned back in the chair on the bridge. Arnold and Trevor were talking to each other about the status of the ship. Jacob didn't know where Sharon was, but he did not want to bother her. He felt around in his jacket and pulled out a book. It was the old book that Vis let him have.

  “What do you have there?” Trevor asked.

  “On The Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres,” replied Jacob, “don't ask, long story.”

  “That doesn't seem like light reading,” Trevor said.

  “No, not really, I'm not sure why I was told to keep this,” Jacob said as he opened the book to the first page. “Interesting, there’s something written here in black ink.”

  “Well, what does it say?” Trevor asked.

  “To Elijah, I know you like old physics books. You'll be out there among the stars. I love you. – Mom, year 122.”

  “122 AC? That's over a hundred years old, it's a relic,” Arnold said.

  “This book is even older than that, I think. It's ancient. It's still in good condition, considering,” Jacob said.

  “Well, that's special. Don't see that every day,” Trevor said.

  Sharon came up the ladder to the bridge. She avoided eye contact with everyone in the bridge and sat down at Arnold's former console. She buckled herself in.

  “Eh, sorry, Sharon, that console is busted. We'll get it fixed eventually. Rapture is probably going to be ready to jump within the hour,” Arnold said.

  Sharon continued avoiding looking at the rest of the crew. “And where are we going after we jump?”

  “Silver Cove,” Jacob said. “We can lay low there for a while. Who knows, we may try our hand at mercenary work. It's not all pirating and marauding, Silver Cove mercs are used to escort ships in shipping lines and sometimes to transport supplies themselves.”

  “We won't be able to do meaningful work without weaponry,” said Sharon, who finally looked over to Jacob.

  Arnold nodded. “Yeah, I'm not so sure how we'll do without weapons. We don't have any money and we can't just use our old credit accounts. This will be rough.”

  “Yes, but we'll get through it,” Trevor said. “Maybe we'll be the next Mad Cats. We'll need to actually define our roles and what we'll be doing on the ship. We don't want any freeloaders or anything.”

  Sharon sighed. “I don't want to be a mercenary.”

  “It will be okay. We're not going to do anything stupid. We just have to survive,” Trevor said.

  “Well, if we are setting up our corvette crew, I know who will be working our comms. Congrats, Trevor,” Arnold said.

  “Ah, eff.” Trevor sighed.

  “Well, if we're doing this foolish thing, I'll keep working on the engineering side of things,” Sharon said as she looked away again.

  “I'll do weapons or navigation. We don't have weapons yet, but we'll get them eventually. For now, though, I guess I'll be navigation,” declared Arnold as he eyed his monitor, making sure no ice was about to impact the ship.

  Jacob scratched his head. “Where does that leave me? We don't have weapons yet, I guess I could try that once we have them... I don't know.”

  Arnold laughed. “For now, I guess you are the captain.”

  “Whoa, whoa. Captain? No way.”

  Trevor smiled. “I mean, what else? It doesn't really matter at this point, we need someone to register this ship under. It's not a big deal, you'll figure it out.”

  “I appreciate the gesture, but I'm no captain.”

  Trevor chuckled. “None of us are anything. We'll get through this.”

  Arnold tapped on his console. “So, any objections to our current setup? Our captain, Jake, our engy, Sharon, our comms, Trev, and myself piloting the ship.”

  No one raised any objections, except Jacob about the captain's position.

  Jacob rested his head against the back of his chair. “I don't believe this.”

  Arnold smiled and pointed at the captain's chair. “I believe your chair is right up there. You can set up which console is which as well as override other console commands. You don't have to do anything, really, everything is set up so that we can go to any console we want and choose our role.”

  Jacob nervously laughed. “I'm going to sit here for now. I think I feel sick.”

  Sharon looked over to Jacob and managed to crack a smile. “You'll do fine, Captain Carpenter. Oh, actually that has a good ring to it. Are you sure you weren't meant for this?”

  “Guys,” Trevor said. “I'm detecting something. I can't get a good reading of it on the sensors.”

  “Oh no, did they find us?” asked Arnold, quickly pulling up information on his console.

  “It's a Galactic Union signature. Oh lord.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don't know, Arnold,” Trevor said. “This is really weird. It looks like an old fighter. It's coming up on our bow, we'll be able to see it on the viewscreen soon.”

  A damaged Peregrine fighter came into view. Scorch marks covered the body of the Peregrine. A large impact had shattered part of the wing of the fighter. The cockpit glass was fogged over with ice.

  “What is that doing out here?” Sharon said.

  Arnold stared at the derelict fighter that was drifting by Rapture. “That's old. A very old version of the Peregrine fighter. That's a remnant of the Vampire War. It’s an antique.”

  “That fighter may solve our money problems,” Trevor said. “It's worth something, right?”

  “Probably,” Arnold replied. “Let's get her in our loading bay. Everything is tied down in the bay, right? And the bay airlocks are closed?”

  “Yep, just checked that recently,” Sharon said.

  “I'm going to move Rapture on top of the fighter and gently ease that figh
ter into our loading bay. Once it's inside, we'll close the bay, open the airlocks, and go tie that fighter down in the bay. Congratulations on our first haul, guys!”

  February 8, 0270 AC – 14:56

  Rapture, Kappa Velorum

  Galactic Union Space

  The Peregrine fighter that was found drifting in the ice fields was tied down to the loading bay floor. The crew of Rapture, except Arnold who was still piloting the ship, floated about in zero gravity.

  “She's kind of beat up, hopefully she's still worth something,” Trevor said as he ran his hand across the fighter.

  Sharon floated up to the cockpit of the Peregrine. She let out a scream.

  Jacob drifted up to Sharon and held her. “What's wrong?!”

  “There is a dead guy in there,” she said as she clung to Jacob, “the windows are fogged a bit but you can tell if you get close.”

  Jacob looked at the body through the cockpit. “Maybe the ice preserved his corpse? It doesn't actually look dead. Well, we need to get him out of there.”

  “I’m not touching a dead guy,” Trevor said as he backed away from the fighter.

  Jacob grasped the bottom of the cockpit to try to gain access into the fighter. “Someone help me with this.”

  Trevor sighed and went back up to the fighter's cockpit and tried to help Jacob. “Ugh, this thing is frozen shut.”

  Finally, the cockpit gave way and opened up to reveal the pilot's body.

  Trevor motioned toward the body. “Okay, well, I have no idea where we will be taking this thing. Could just throw it out an airlock.”

  Jacob removed the fighter pilot's helmet, revealing a haggard face with an unkempt beard.

  Trevor looked at the body. “He looks so alive.”

  The body sat up and took a deep breath, startling the crew.

  “IT IS ALIVE! Shut the cockpit, shut it!” Trevor yelled. “I didn’t sign up for this!”

  The body started to cough and fell back down into the fighter's seat.

  “We need to get some ropes or something and tie him up. We have no idea who this guy is,” Jacob said as he pointed to the apparently alive man. “Can we take him to the lounge area or something? Tie him to a seat?”

  Sharon nodded. “I suppose so, well, there's some ropes in one of the maintenance closets. You guys pick him up and take him to the lounge.”

  “What if he wakes up again?!” Trevor asked. “Is it a zombie?”

  “That’s your first thought? A zombie?” Jacob laughed. “Let's hope he doesn't wake up. Let's drag him up there.”

  A few minutes later, the stranger was tied up in a chair next to the table in the lounge. Sharon replaced Arnold in the bridge, and Arnold was with the other two men watching their new captive. Jacob, Arnold, and Trevor buckled themselves into other chairs around the table.

  The lounge truly was used for about everything, including interrogation. A small refrigerator sat on the counter. It only had a few beer bottles and the remains of a forgotten meal inside. A first aid kit was fastened onto the wall, but it was mostly empty. The walls had plenty of outlets for appliances, but the outlets remained bare. The rusted stove was barely functional. A sink with a pile of dishes was located next to the stove. A few cupboards contained random canned foods. A dim, flickering light shown down on the central table.

  “Should we try to wake him up? What do we do?” Trevor asked.

  Jacob pulled out the old physics book out of his coat. “I don't know.”

  “I wonder who this guy is,” said Arnold, “it says Shepherd on his jacket.”

  The stranger started to come to. He struggled to get out of the chair. The stranger glanced around the room.

  Jacob questioned the fighter pilot, “Who are you?”

  “Who are you?” grunted the stranger.

  “He asked first,” said Trevor, pointing at Jacob. “Who are you and what are you doing out here in that antique fighter?”

  “Antique? What?” the stranger said.

  “Who are you?!” questioned Jacob again.

  “What are you doing with my book?” the man asked.

  Jacob furrowed his brow. “Your book?”

  “I used to have a book like that, Captain.”

  “Captain? How do you know I'm the captain?”

  The stranger glanced around the room and squinted. “I know things. And I am pretty sure that is my book. My mom gave it to me before I left for the Academy, I am Lieutenant Elijah Shepherd of the Atlas fighter wing.”

  Jacob turned to the first page of his book and looked at the blank ink he had read earlier. Elijah. From Mom. Jacob looked back at the stranger and asked, “Elijah, why do I have your book?”

  “I don't know,” replied Lieutenant Elijah Shepherd.

  Arnold palmed the side of his face with his hand. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Again, I don't know,” Elijah said.

  Arnold continued, “I don't understand. That fighter is quite old. What is the last thing you remember?”

  Elijah shuddered. “A vampire battle cruiser. It jumped out of hyperspace. I thought I was dead.”

  “When was this? There hasn't been an engagement with those forces for years,” Trevor said.

  “131 After Cataclysm. I was escaping an ambush at Listening Post 27-T.”

  Jacob glanced at his companions and then told the fighter pilot the uneasy truth, “It's the year 270 AC. That happened a long time ago. Are you saying you’re from the Vampire War?”

  “Holy shit. How the hell have you survived out here that long?” Trevor asked.

  Arnold rested his hand on his broad chin. “27-T was near the border of Union and Dynasty space. We aren't anywhere close to that. We're drifting in an ice field sectors away. Do you remember anything else?”

  “270? I don't believe you. Is this some strange vampire interrogation scheme? I don't get it. Well you don't seem to be pale like vampires unless you are some sort of collaborators. Well, Captain, you are a bit pale. Get away from me, I don't want your sickness,” said the time-lost fighter pilot.

  “Don't worry about that, Shepherd. I still don't understand how you knew I was a captain,” Jacob said.

  “I don't even know, sir. Are you guys Galactic Union? From the States? Perseus? Elsewhere?” Elijah asked.

  “Well, we're on the run from the Galactic Union, it's a long story. We're on our own,” Arnold said.

  Elijah closed his eyes in apparent pain. “Ugh. Bad headache. Wait. You need to take me to the bridge. To a sensor system.”

  “What? You aren't going to the bridge.” Arnold said.

  “You are needing a fifth member of your new crew. I am proficient with all the standard positions in a corvette. I did a few runs with a corvette before.”

  “How do you know this a corvette? How do you know we have a position available? What the hell is going on?” Trevor yelled.

  “The same way I knew this man was the captain. Ugh, my head hurts. I need to be in the bridge. You are in danger.”

  Arnold scoffed, “I see no reason to take you to the bridge. You are making some good guesses, but I have no reason to believe your story. There is no way you are from the Vampire War.”

  “Please. My mind is fragmented. I sometimes just know things. I have been given knowledge. From somewhere. Forward is backward. I... I don't understand it myself.”

  Arnold laughed. “This is ridiculous.”

  Elijah coughed. “There... There is a little bit extra I remember after the battle cruiser... I saw crystals. Crystals everywhere. There were four... I remember pain.”

  Trevor's eyes grew wide. “Guys. We need to get this guy to the bridge.”

  Arnold rolled his eyes. “Come on. There's no way we should do that.”

  Trevor stammered, “Look, look. This guy, this fighter pilot from a whole other time? He saw the crystals too. He's like me. He was taken by them! The aliens! He's like me! Trust me! Take him up there!”

  Jacob nodded. “He's right. This ca
n't be a coincidence. There are no coincidences.”

  “I can't believe this.” Arnold said in frustration.

  Jacob untied their new guest and the crew made their way up to the bridge.

  Sharon was startled seeing the fighter pilot. “What is he doing up here?!”

  Trevor sat down at the engineering console. “He had a similar experience to me. He knows something. He says we're in danger.”

  Arnold latched himself in. “He claims he is from the Vampire War. Can you believe that?”

  Sharon peered at their guest. “Strangely enough, I kind of do. I talk to a crazy lady regularly in a wasteland. I just watched my dad perish because he was being controlled somehow. I'm on the run from the only home I've ever known. Come on, I'm just waiting for the fairies and unicorns. I'm Sharon Rose, welcome aboard.”

  “Elijah Shepherd, pleased to meet you,” he said as he tapped on the console.

  Jacob took his seat at the captain's chair. Arnold sat at the busted console. Sharon sat at the navigation console.

  Arnold eyed Elijah's console across the bridge, trying to figure out what Elijah was doing. “I'm Arnold.”

  “Jacob Carpenter.”

  “Trevor Enoch Reynolds, as I've said before, I remember encountering figures in a crystalline ship. I think they did similar things to me. I just know things sometimes. I don't know, it's weird.”

  Elijah turned to Trevor. “We're the Two. We’re here to help the strand of time. I–I'm sorry, I really don't know what I mean. I have lowered the interference of the surrounding area. Something terrifying is approaching. We need to jump. Are we able to?”

  Sharon nodded. “Yeah, all systems are good.”

  Elijah pointed at a strange signature approaching on the sensors. “We need to get out of here.”

  Arnold laughed. “Really? That's probably just a weird chunk of ice. I agree we should get to hyperspace, but I still don't understand your game, stranger.”

  “Believe me, I don't either. I know my place is here. I want to be a part of your crew.”

  “Your place is here?” Arnold chuckled. “You just got here and you want a spot on our corvette?”

  “Yes. I'm out of my time. I do not need my fighter anymore. You can use it for whatever you wish. My calling is to help as best I can. You need a fifth and I will gladly volunteer. I don't even need a high pay.”