by S. T. Boston
Adam snapped awake. The first signs of dawn were filling the small window, light blues mixed with warmer oranges as the sun started to rise. His back was stiff and when he eased himself out of the chair, he noticed Oriyanna was curled up comfortably in the bed which had been covered in their paperwork when he fell asleep.
Taulass was clutching numerous sheets of slightly crumpled paper in his hands. It seemed he hadn't had the luxury of any sleep, but there was a broad smile on his face. “I was just about to wake you,” he announced excitedly. “I think we are ready.”
Any residual aches or remnants of sleep left Adam instantly. “Are you sure?” he asked, his body washed simultaneously with relief and dread.
“There was a time, not long after you went to bed when I thought it was going to be impossible. The power from a space jump and the power which can be gleaned from a planetary grid are so vastly different. But, yes – I believe I can alter the way the Taribium in the ship's hull transfers the energy to the hub, thus bypassing the anti-matter engines for the most part. We might need to take a little juice from them, but nothing which will jeopardise their use at a later date.”
“You lost me in the first sentence,” Adam said, attempting to smile. “If you say it'll work, I'll go along with it. What time is it?”
“Just gone seven AM,” Taulass answered, pointing to the small red LED clock on the night stand. “I took the liberty of setting the correct time when the power came back on.”
“If they've taken Sam to Peru, will they have arrived by now? What time will it be there?”
“It depends on how they transported him,” Taulass said thoughtfully. “Lucie seems to think it was around one PM when they attacked, so that was eighteen hours ago. I'd imagine they will be there, or close by now. The local time in Peru will be just after two AM currently.”
“Will you need long once we get the ship here?” Adam leaned over and gently shook Lucie awake.
“A half hour at the most, I hope. I have all the changes I need to make to the craft's systems here,” he gestured to the papers he clutched in his hand. “I'll work as quickly as I can, I'm aware that they will be watching to see what the ship does when they pick it up on their scanners, and I don't want them to second-guess us.”
“We're ready,” Adam said to Lucie, when she quickly came out of her deep sleep. Her eyes still looked red, as if she'd been weeping most of the night.
“To get Sam?” she asked, sounding hopeful.
“Yes. And to put a stop to this once and for all.” It was a tall order, and Adam realised they hadn't even discussed what would happen once they got aboard Arkus 2. He felt sick thinking about it.
By the time Lucie was up and straightening her clothes, Adam had woken Oriyanna, who seemed a little embarrassed at having nodded off.
“I thought it best if you rested,” Taulass defended. “I have been thinking about how we are going to play this once we are aboard. You two are going to need all the energy you can muster.”
“Care to share what the plan is?” Adam asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer. He watched Taulass rip up several sheets of paper and throw them into a small bin, which was lined with an old Tesco carrier bag. Once the room was tidied to his satisfaction, he folded his precious plans and placed them in the pocket of his trousers. He grabbed the small backpack off the floor, the one Sam had brought with him. Before they left the cottage, they'd collected up what weapons they could find. Unzipping it Taulass moved to the bed and shook the contents out onto the wrinkled duvet.
“This is our rather meagre armoury,” he announced, looking over the items. “We have one Taser, thanks to the dead man at the cottage. One round in it and four spare.” He placed it back in the bag. “We have my Glock, fully loaded,” he checked the safety and placed it in the bag, “and we have Oriyanna's Glock, minus one round. They must have taken the other firearms with them.” The second Glock joined the other items in the bag before he zipped it closed. “Now, on board Niribus, we have several hand weapons.”
“Arkkadian ones?” Adam questioned, hope flittering in his chest.
“Yes, of course,” Taulass answered. “They work on the same basic principle as your weapons, a point and shoot affair, but what they do is somewhat different. We are past the stage of using physical projectiles – bullets as you call them. Our weapons create something akin to a very nasty energy pulse.”
“In layman's terms please,” groaned Adam.
“Point it at your enemy, using the red laser point – just like your primitive guns have – to make sure you're aiming directly at your target, pull the trigger and it sends a shock of electrical power through them which literally shuts down every organ in the body.”
“That should do the trick,” Adam said, giving the room a once over to make sure they hadn't left anything important behind. He felt a little cheated that the Arkkadians didn't have laser guns, as so many science fiction movies had portrayed over the years. “You can fill us in on the rest of the plan on the way to Stonehenge.”
“Yes, agreed,” Taulass answered. “It's time we got moving.”
The pub was shut when they filed down into the lounge bar, the air smelt of cleaning products, and everything was prepared for a new day's custom. Adam felt a certain satisfaction in knowing that despite everything that had happened over the past few years, the old place was still in business. He had many fond memories of playing on the rope swing in the back field as a child, which had always been packed with campers during the summer months. He'd spent hours as a teenager, marvelling at the hundreds of crop circle photos decorating the lounge bar's walls like some new-age, glossy wallpaper. Now, standing in that same lounge bar, he was a little sentimental and wondered if this would be the last time he'd ever see the place. As the others filed out the rear exit and onto the canal's towpath, he took one last wistful look around and with a heavy heart, followed them out.
The late September morning was strangely cold, , as the last week had been, and a fine sheen of ice covered the front and back windscreens of the Mazda. Oriyanna placed the bag of weapons in the tiny boot, or trunk as she called it = much to Adam's annoyance, before climbing into the back seat.
With the engine running the icy glass soon cleared and he bumped his way down the small unkempt road leading away from the pub and down the side of the abandoned mill, coming out opposite his grandparents' cottage. At the narrow junction, he took a left and went over the canal before taking another left down what appeared to be yet another non-descript British country lane.
“Do you know the way?” Taulass asked.
“Sure, it's no more than half an hour's drive, so we should start figuring out how we're going to do this.” Adam paused, still not believing he was going into the hornets' nest once again. “I wish Sam was here, this kinda thing is much more his cup of tea.”
Oriyanna leaned forward from the cramped back seat that she shared with Lucie, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Last time, Adam, in the Great Pyramid – you saved us all, and you shot Buer. You are a different man to the one you were back then, I can feel it in you. You're stronger.”
Adam felt it, too. He'd survived the Egyptian ordeal by the skin of his teeth, and even though he still wished for Sam's greater experience, he fully accepted that he needed to go ahead and do whatever needed to be done, to stop this new madness.
Adam expertly navigated the twisted, treacherous Wiltshire country lanes, while Taulass turned in his seat to address everyone. “This is how I see this happening,” he began, removing the ship's recall device from his pocket. “Oriyanna and I ran though it briefly last night, before I persuaded her to get some sleep.” He flashed a smile at Oriyanna before continuing. “Once we have the ship here and I've made the necessary alterations to allow the hub to work from Earth's energy grid, Oriyanna, Adam and myself will go through to the Arkus 2. Lucie, you will be staying on our ship.”
“But—” Lucie started to protest.
“No,” Taula
ss said, cutting her off. “I need someone back at the ship, and in your delicate condition, it has to be you. I'm sorry.” He offered her an apologetic smile before continuing. “Once we gain a connection to the hub aboard Arkus 2 we'll have fifteen seconds to go through. It will then shut down, so if anyone figures out how we got there, they won't be able to come the other way and compromise our own ship. I'll be setting a little program to prevent a return dial from the other end. I'll set up a timed return window for a half hour after we go through.” He fixed his attention on Lucie. “You won't need to do anything, everything will happen automatically. The return window will also only be open for fifteen seconds, so it's imperative we watch the time closely. If we miss that window, a second opportunity will happen ten minutes later.” He paused for a second. “After that, well, we'll have a problem. That second window will be the final chance; I can't risk subbing any more power from our ship's engines. I for one, don't intend on spending more than forty minutes aboard the Arkus 2. Our situation is extremely time-sensitive; I suspect Enola will be going live today, and all indications suggest that in the next few hours, Earth's nuclear powers will all be back in the game. Asmodeous won't waste any time – the moment he can use those weapons, he will.”
“How do you intend on stopping the nukes?” Adam asked.
“I'm getting to that bit,” Taulass said, sounding a little impatient. “Although the systems on Arkus 2 pre-date ours, they are fundamentally the same. Enola will be designed to work alongside the alien technology=. I need to find a server room on the ship. Our craft will have the schematics for every craft ever built stored in its systems. It also has the codes for all the transportation hubs, hence why we can call any of them up. I can copy that information onto one of our portable tablets. If I can gain access to a server room, I will need thirty to forty minutes to find Enola and copy the program over to my systems. I'm hoping that if I can get a copy, I can control the launch systems and override their commands.”
“That sounds like a long shot, with lots of room for failure,” said Adam, sounding doubtful.
“It's the only way I can see it working,” Taulass defended. “I am good at what I do – have faith in me.” He eyed Adam sincerely. “But you are correct. It is a long shot, and ultimately, we may not be able to stop it.”
Adam swallowed hard and nodded. “I understand, I know you'll do your best.”
“Now's this is where you and Oriyanna come in,” he continued. “While I am working on Enola, you will have forty minutes to find, secure and recover Sam. Arkus 2 is a vast ship, but from the server room I should be able to access her life support systems. It will show us just where the crew are, and it will also allow me to track them. That craft can carry in the region of two thousand crew, but from what we know there are only a handful of Earth-Breed on board, just the ones who were advantageous to Asmodeous' plan, the ones he needed. I'm hoping we will be able to identify the part of the ship Sam is being held in, negating the need for a room-to-room search.” He grimaced. “Let's face it, we won't have the time to do a room-to-room search anyway. Once you have Sam you need to get back to the hub. If I get a copy of Enola before you two get back and I can return to the ship, I will. You have the second return window if you need it. I hope we can all get in and out together and the first half hour will be enough.”
Adam let out a long breath through clenched teeth. He was experiencing a strange acceptance of the situation he was about to enter, and it made him wonder if it was akin to the way a soldier feels when he's about to go into a battle with a high probability of failure and possible death. “He who dares wins, huh?” he said nervously.
“We are going to take a mixture of Earth and Arkkadian weaponry with us,” Oriyanna cut in. “Adam, you will take the two Glocks, and I'll use our tech. One of the weapons is for Sam, when we find and recover him. Taulass will also have one of our weapons, but we hope he can stay out of the fight; he is too valuable to risk in any conflict. Above all else he needs to get a copy of that program and get back to our ship.” Her face was deadly serious. “You need to be prepared for the fact that we might not be coming back. None of our lives are worth more than the job we need to do.”
“I know,” Adam answered in a low voice. “I can do what needs to be done, don't worry.”
“I never doubted you for a second,” she concluded with a smile. “This is where you come into it, Lucie,” she continued. “If the worst happens, if none of us make it back and Enola is successful, then you have your own job to do.”
Lucie fixed her attention on Oriyanna. “I'm listening,” she said in a voice laced with fear.
“The Niribus has an auto return program, it's designed to kick in if the ship gets into difficulties or the crew are incapacitated. Basically, it will take the ship directly back to Arkkadia. If we don't come back, and those nuclear weapons launch, I want you to manually activate the return program.”
“On my own?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“You will be taken to Arkkadia and we will make sure we encode a message into the ship's systems explaining what has happened here on Earth. You will be given asylum on Arkkadia by the council.”
“No offence, but that's not really much of a Plan B,” Lucie said.
“You have more than yourself to think about now,” Oriyanna said seriously. “If the worst happens, you will die here on Earth, and your child will never be born.”
Lucie nodded in understanding, a little shocked at the directness of Oriyanna's statement. “I know,” she said solemnly. “But I don't like it.”
“Promise me,” Adam cut in. “You promise me that if we don't come back, you'll use the ship and go to Arkkadia – you can have a life there.” Adam saw tears welling up in Lucie's brown eyes, building up until they ran down her pale cheeks.
“I promise,” she said in a broken voice. “I'm scared, though.”
“We all are,” said Oriyanna sympathetically. In the rear-view mirror Adam watched as she placed her hand on Lucie's shoulder. His sister instantly relaxed and he silently thanked Oriyanna for using a little of her hocus-pocus, as Sam called it.
The rest of the short journey was made in silence, with even the two Arkkadians needing a little quiet time to take stock and prepare for what they were about to do.
All too soon, Adam found himself taking a left off the A303 and bringing his trusty old Mazda to a stop on an unmade road, next to a footpath sign which read 'Long Barrow'.
“Where is the stone circle?” Oriyanna asked when he levered the driver's seat forward and let her out.
“It's a five-minute walk down this track,” he said, pointing the way. “You can get closer on the main road, but if we stop on the verge and hop over the fence we're going to draw attention to ourselves.” He suddenly realised that what your average person would refer to as a UFO was about to swoop down over the local countryside, so perhaps a few people climbing a fence wouldn't be such a big deal. “How close do you need to be?”
“The energy source is richest at the henge,” Taulass replied, shouldering the backpack and starting off down the path.
“Alright,” replied Adam as the group crunched their way up the gravel road. “It's not far.”. Yesterday's rain had given way to a bright but chilly morning, wisps of ground mist floating lazily on the light breeze, partially obscuring the grass in the field to their left. They cleared a small rise and when they did, the ancient circle of stones appeared.
“I'm amazed it's stood for this long,” Oriyanna commented, stopping momentarily and placing her hands on her hips.
“It's time,” Taulass said, a little unease in his voice. He cut to the right, vaulting the fence which separated the path from the field containing the ancient monument. The others followed suit, falling into line behind him. “As soon as the craft arrives and we are on board I can cloak it, but I fear we might create a bit of a stir to begin with.” He pointed toward the main road which was visible, a couple of hundred meters ahead of them on the other
side of the stone circle. Taulass produced the return device from his pocket and pressed his thumb to its surface, and the entire thing glowed green as it read his biometrics and fingerprint information. When the light on the device faded, they all craned their necks toward the crystal clear blue sky and waited.
Chapter 35
“May I be the first person to welcome you to Peru, Mr. Becker.” Sam heard an overly-confident voice announce as he opened his eyes. His head was hammering to a beat of its own and it seemed as if he'd been out of it for about a week.
“Is that your natural eye colour?” Sam asked, as the first thing he noticed about the man was his strangely haunting amber eyes.
The stranger grinned. “Yes, it's a rare pigmentation which affects less than half a percent of my people. Magnificent, aren't they?”
“Bit freaky, if you ask me,” Sam replied, suddenly realising that his hands weren't bound, nor were his legs. His shoulder hurt like a bitch, a stark reminder that he was back to normal again.
“I must say that it's an honour to finally meet the infamous Samuel Becker,” the guy said, his smile still covering the whole of his face. “It's cost me many men and resources to get you here. I had hoped to meet Adam as well, but you know what they say about best laid plans.”
Sam propped himself up on his elbows and shimmied into a seated position, then swung his legs over the edge of the bed he was on. He took a moment to survey the room. It was around fifteen feet by ten. Everything seemed to have been created simultaneously, the bed rising out of the black, onyx-like floor, as if it had grown there. Near the end of the bed was a sofa, which also seemed to be an organic growth from the floor. There was a desk-like fixture, recessed into the metallic wall. Just to the left of this was what on first appearance seemed to be a food dispenser, almost like a vending machine without the glass display cabinet. Sam didn't need to be told where he was –this had to be Arkus 2. Just like the Arkkadian craft he'd travelled home in almost two and a half years ago, where everything was alien, yet at the same time, strangely familiar. “Best laid plans are all very well,” Sam said, turning to look at the amber-eyed stranger, “until someone comes along and fucks them up for you.”