Opposite him stood Reader Durante, his hands resting at his back. After their last encounter Orcades had found himself troubled. He had left the meeting with a sense of love and devotion towards Durante, and towards the Church as a whole. This was entirely new to him and, even though the sensation filled him with gratitude, he knew something just wasn’t right.
Orcades made a habit of recording his meetings. It came in handy for future reference, as a learning tool, and sometimes, as a way of keeping his enemies in check. So, when he couldn’t shake his feelings of unease, he had retrieved the data log of his last encounter with Durante.
What he saw had startled him. Reader Durante had tackled him to the floor, threatened him and deactivated his mother’s holograph. That’s not how he had remembered the meeting going. His recollection was of a robust discussion followed by a deep understanding by both men. They had agreed on strategy, and he had left the meeting with a newfound optimism and loyalty to Reader Durante.
Everyone knew about a Reader’s mental ability, they were trained in the art of manipulation. Charm and suggestion were their weapons. But there were rumors of other abilities; mind-reading, telepathy, extra-sensory-perception. Orcades had never believed them, but after watching the recording of his meeting with Reader Durante he wasn’t so sure.
As a precaution, he had started to take a course of maxidopamil, an antipsychotic drug that was said to have the side-effect of blocking a user’s latent telepathic function. If he was under some sort of mental attack the drug should help to counteract it. The headaches had been terrible, but at least he felt like his thoughts were his own again. He knew the risks – this was the same medication found in Gravel – the drug of choice for the idle classes – and could be highly addictive and cause paranoia, but he was no feeble-minded waster. He was a Draig. He could cope.
Orcades eyed the three personal guards that he had assigned to the flight deck. They were dressed in standard crew uniforms, but they each wore a discreet sidearm. They had orders to disable Durante if he came too close to Orcades; an additional precaution in case the Reader tried to influence him again. Always have a back-up plan, he reminded himself.
He sensed Commodore Thorwald waiting at his side, and Orcades turned to face him.
‘We are locked on to the co-ordinates you provided, Heir Valtais. We are tracking for orbital drift but there’s still no signal from the target,’ Thorwald said in a hushed voice. He had already expressed concern about the validity of the location, and the doubt remained in his voice. Was he trying to avoid embarrassing Orcades?
Reader Durante approached the Commodore, his hand touching his arm. ‘I do not expect there will be a signal. You must have faith, Thorwald.’
Commodore Thorwald turned to the Reader. ‘Yes, of course . . . but–’
‘Continue towards the target,’ Orcades barked.
‘Yes, sir,’ Thorwald replied.
‘The Gods will guide us.’ Orcades smiled to Reader Durante and wondered if he knew what he was really thinking.
The Reader simply nodded his approval and turned back towards the windows.
Orcades grinned to himself, aware of three unassuming crew members whose hands hovered over their weapons. They went unnoticed, just three more people on a busy flight deck.
Preparations were underway for cube flight. This was the part Orcades always enjoyed; the rising tension as the moment approached, the increase in chatter as information was relayed quickly, the sense of anticipation that seemed to fill the flight deck.
‘Cube drive is powering up, sir,’ Commodore Thorwald said. ‘You should strap in.’
Orcades nodded as he took one of the cable clips from the edge of the ops map and fastened it to his belt. He did the same on the other side, testing their grip by leaning back from the table.
‘All hands, secure for cube flight,’ Thorwald announced over the flight deck com system as he clipped himself to the table. An alarm sounded, heralding the imminent shift.
Thorwald picked up a pad and referred to its glowing screen as he spoke into the communication system again. ‘All stations, this is the COM. Cube drive status check: give me a go, no go for flight.’
The responses came quickly over the flight deck speakers:
‘FIDO is go, COM.’
‘Guidance is go.’
‘VIRO is go.’
‘Go from EECOM.’
‘GNC, we are go, COM.’
‘Control, all systems green. Go, COM.’
‘Network is go.’
Thorwald smiled. ‘We are go for cube drive initiation.’ He turned to face the station directly behind him. ‘CUCOM, you have control.’
The young woman nodded, speaking into the communication system. ‘COM, I have control. Initiating cube drive. Power levels are good. ST bubble is stable and growing.’
Orcades felt the uneasy shift in gravity, then the odd sensation of falling. Automatically, he held the edge of the table.
Voices overlapped as they relayed status updates.
‘Stand by for cube drive flight in ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . ‘
‘ADM looking good.’
‘. . . seven . . . six . . . five . . .’
‘Free fall.’
‘Tachyon flow is green.’
‘. . . four . . . three . . . two . . .’
‘Hull stress is nominal.’
‘. . . one.’
A moment of silence, of nothing, and then the ship was moving. The stars outside shifted, appearing to untangle into threads of color, and Orcades became weightless. His feet lifted from the deck, drifting upwards. In front of him a stray pad glided off the ops map. Thorwald pointed to it and an officer grabbed it and placed it under the table.
‘Cube drive is running. ST bubble remains stable. All systems are green.’
‘Flight time is thirteen minutes, ship time.’
There was sense of relief across the flight deck as people monitored the maneuver.
‘Thank you, CUCOM,’ Thorwald said to the young woman at her station. ‘I have control again.’
‘COM, you have control,’ she acknowledged with a small nod.
The Commodore checked a console screen and smiled with satisfaction. ‘An excellent ship, don’t you think, Heir Valtais?’
Orcades nodded benevolently. ‘A ship is only as good as her crew.’
‘Of course.’
A voice broke from the speakers overhead. ‘COM, FIDO.’
Thorwald turned to look at a control station on the right hand side of the vast space. ‘COM, go ahead.’
‘COM, I’m picking up an object along our flight path.’
‘Collision potential?’
‘No, COM. It’s at our destination. From my readings, it could be an asteroid.’
‘Thank you, FIDO. Keep monitoring.’
Thorwald turned back to Orcades, his eyebrows raised. ‘So, not empty space after all.’
‘No, Commodore.’ Orcades replied, aware of Reader Durante pulling himself along the table to join their discussion. ‘That is our target.’
Behind him, the doors to the flight deck opened and a dark figure entered.
‘Valtais on the flight deck,’ someone called.
Valtais Sinnsro Draig, unaffected by the lack of gravity, walked towards the ops map.
Orcades acknowledged his mother, making room for her by his side. Her face was stern, her eyes narrowed.
‘Would someone care to inform me of our destination?’ she asked, her voice like ice.
‘Valtais,’ Commodore Thorwald began, ‘we are approaching an uncharted asteroid at a set of co-ordinates provided by your son. It is–’
‘Reader Durante has been kind enough to supply us with information,’ Orcades added.
His mother glared at each of them in turn. ‘I am still Valtais, and yet I was not informed of this. I was not consulted. My heir, my Reader and my Commodore – newly appointed, I might remind you – did not see fit to seek their Valtais’
advice. Why is that?’
Reader Durante stepped forward. ‘Forgive me, Valtais, this was my error. I spoke to your son and told him of the urgency of this matter. I promised him that I would speak to you, but in my rush to confirm the details I have neglected my duty.’ His voice was measured and hypnotic, and Orcades found himself wondering if Reader Durante was capable of manipulating a holograph as well as a human.
‘Reader, what is so urgent that you could not find time to inform me?’ Sinnsro asked.
‘Unfinished business,’ Orcades said.
‘The Church has learned that the heir of the House of Kenric survived the destruction of the arkship Obsidian.’ Durante explained.
‘Yes, yes, I am aware of the rumors,’ Sinnsro replied sharply. ‘You yourself told me of them, Reader.’
‘Yes, I did. But new information has come to light, about the prince’s whereabouts. We believe he is hiding inside the asteroid ahead.’
‘Inside?’
‘It is an unregistered arkship, ancient, from before the Fracture.
‘Populated?’
Reader Durante hesitated. ‘Yes, we think so.’
‘I see,’ Sinnsro said, pondering the information. ‘And you intend to apprehend the prince.’
A collective silence fell between the four people grouped together at the head of the operations map. Eventually, Reader Durante replied. ‘No Valtais, it is the Gods’ will that the target be destroyed.’
‘Destroyed? Is the destruction of arkships becoming some sort of addiction?’
‘No, of course not, Valtais. But the Gods have spoken. The people hiding there are non-believers . . . deviants. It is the will of the Infinite Gods that this asteroid be destroyed so that their souls can be saved.’
‘Reader,’ Sinnsro began, her face troubled. ‘Does that not seem excessive to you?’
‘It is not my place to question the will of the Gods, Valtais,’ he replied, adding, ‘nor is it yours.’
The Valtais Sinnsro Draig bristled. It was easy to forget she wasn’t real, Orcades noted.
‘Very well,’ she said eventually, her words clipped. ‘If the Gods wish it.’
‘They do,’ Durante confirmed.
Sinnsro glared at him. ‘Then who am I to stand in their way?’
‘Approaching target, COM.’
Commodore Thorwald bowed politely to the Valtais. ‘Please excuse me.’
She dismissed him with a flick of her gnarled hand. The Commodore turned to the ops map and spoke to his flight deck crew. ‘All stations, this is the COM, stand by for cube inversion. Go, no go for inversion?’
The responses were rapid, and the ship began to vibrate as power built.
‘. . . cube drive power curve-down beginning in five . . . four . . .’
‘Prepare for superluminal threshold.’
‘. . . three . . . two . . . ‘
‘Shockwave displacement deployed.’
‘. . .one.’
There was an instant of violent vibration which quickly subsided to a low background noise.
‘Inversion is go!’
Gravity began to reassert itself, and the ship creaked and groaned in response. Orcades watched the stars become dots once more, glad to feel his feet pushing against the deck.
‘Particle displacement complete.’
‘Cube drive shutdown.’
‘Locking Tachyon funnels.’
‘Zero shockwave.’
‘. . . normal drive redeployed . . .’
‘Location is confirmed. Target coordinates achieved.’
Ahead, out of the window, Orcades saw a grey rock, hidden in shadow. They were at the edge of the Cluster, far from the prying eyes of the other families. Whatever happened here today would go unnoticed.
Commodore Thorwald turned to face the others, pride on his features. ‘Valtais, Heir Valtais, Reader. We are at the target location. It is possible they have detected us. We should take countermeasures, disable their systems.’
‘Very well,’ Orcades said.
Thorwald activated his com. ‘Weapons, target the asteroid. Two Black Stars.’
A voice responded. ‘Confirmed, two Black Stars ready for launch. EMP shield is activated. Gilgore grid powering up. Black Stars away . . . locked on target . . . running true.’
HUNTED
‘It’s moving towards me?’ Bara shouted into her wrist com.
‘Yes,’ Lexica said. ‘I suggest you defend yourself and return inside.’
Wynn scanned the ship’s surface, looking for movement, but could see nothing unusual.
‘Damned hunter,’ Bara seethed, picking up her tools and running for the hatch.
Wynn hesitated, still looking over the hull.
‘C’mon,’ Bara shouted after him.
He began to make his way towards the hatch, his fingers twitching to find a gun at his empty belt. Did he know how to shoot? he wondered.
A metallic clatter caught his ear and he turned to see an object rising over the wing. At first, he couldn’t tell what he was looking at. Strange tube-like shapes telescoped over the edge and dug into the hull, followed by a longer segment. An arm! A thin robotic arm with pistons driving it forwards. It seemed to struggle for a moment, trying to force itself higher, then it gained purchase and pulled itself up so that Wynn could see its face.
Two dark blue eyes locked onto him, and the hunter stopped. A fragile laser light scanned over Wynn’s body, then it pulled itself up to full height. It was over two meters tall, its frame a thin mass of wires and parts sitting atop two powerful-looking legs. Its right arm was damaged, just a splinter of it remained, a mess of exposed wires and tubes hanging from the socket. It had other damage as well; scorch marks along its right side, cracks and dents to its outer casing, but its movements were sudden and agile. It jolted towards Wynn, its feet hammering along the wing top.
A rush of adrenalin pushed Wynn into a sprint, sliding towards the hatch. He fell into it and his fingers hammered on the control panel. The hatch door began to close, its progress desperately slow. The gap narrowed, just a thin line when four metal fingers shot through the slit, halting the hatch. The door mechanism whined, complaining loudly, then it gave in and the hatch was forced open.
Bara pulled at Wynn, dragging him away as the hunter pushed its narrow frame through the hatch and fell to the floor in a clumsy heap.
Wynn looked around and saw a long wrench in Bara’s toolkit. He picked it up and swung it at the bot, catching its head. The hunter’s eyes rocked to the side, then it corrected itself and its arm lunged at Wynn, dragging the tool from his hand.
He felt Bara pulling at him again, and he didn’t resist. They stumbled through a bulkhead door as Bara hit the emergency close pad. The door slammed shut, cutting the hunter off from its prey. Through a narrow window in the door Wynn could see the machine. It scanned the bulkhead before working at the door’s control pad.
‘What’s it doing?’ Wynn said.
‘Trying to override the control,’ Bara replied. She raised her com to her mouth. ‘Lex, it’s on board.’
‘I know that,’ the ship’s voice replied. ‘I can feel it trying to access my functions.’
‘Can you stop it?’
Lexica didn’t reply.
The hunter stared through the glass, its blue eyes watching them as it worked on the door.
‘Sol!’ Bara exclaimed. ‘Those things are programmed with military combat tactics. It’ll break into Lex’s command code and open the doors. We need to go, now!’
The pair retreated, moving through the ship.
‘Aren’t we going to the bridge?’ Wynn asked as they ran down to the lower decks.
‘It’s already got access to some of the ship’s systems. We need to get out before it uses them against us.’
Ahead was the entry ramp that led to the dockside. As they approached it the ramp began to close. Bara rushed towards it, down its length and jumped out of her ship. Wynn followed, trying to make it to the en
d. He fell to his knees as the opening narrowed, pushed himself through the gap, and tumbled to the deck, landing uncomfortably on his shoulder. Wynn lay there, watching the sealed entry ramp.
‘It’s got the ship,’ he said desperately.
‘It doesn’t want the ship,’ Bara replied, helping him to his feet. ‘It’s just being methodical. Once it figures out we’re no longer aboard it’ll come out here to find us.’
‘Why does it want us?’
‘Just doing its job, I think. Mopping up survivors from the Obsidian.’
There was a hiss of expelled gas, then the entry ramp began to open again.
‘Sol, it’s fast!’ Bara exclaimed.
They ran through the dock, past the other ships, retreating into the shadows.
‘We need weapons,’ Bara noted as they crouched behind a stack of cargo boxes.
A distant alarm sounded, echoing through the dock. People ran past their hiding place, shouting as they came.
Wynn whispered. ‘I think it’s been spotted.’ He peered over the edge of the crates and saw the metallic skeleton walking towards them. Its shape was dark against the lights of the dock, but it’s blue eyes burned out of its silhouette.
Wynn took Bara’s hand and ran. He didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t have a plan, he just hoped they could stop this thing from killing them. Behind him he heard the deep thud of footsteps getting faster and faster, closer and closer.
Wynn turned right, then left, weaving through the lines of cargo. He heard crates falling behind him, but he didn’t dare to stop and look. He threw himself down a flight of stairs, checking that Bara was still with him.
‘This way,’ she shouted, turning in a new direction.
Wynn followed, keeping at her heels as she rushed towards a large elevator. The doors were already open. They slipped inside and pressed the button to close it.
The hunter appeared at the end of the deck. It turned, saw them cowering inside the elevator, and marched in their direction, just as the doors juddered and began to close.
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