‘We’re spinning,’ Bara said quickly.
For a second the power failed, and the bridge became dark. One by one the systems came back online, and Bara had control again. The noise of the debris lessened and she opened the shield again. Light flooded through the windows, but it wasn’t the light of The Infinite, this was the blazing glow of dozens of explosions.
Out of the dock came the other ships, each one filled with the refugees of Bara’s former home. The first ship limped clear of the explosions, but the next was crushed by rock. One by one the ships were consumed by fire until the entire view was filled with burning vessels.
‘Melchior,’ Bara whispered, watching as the asteroid broke into pieces. Wynn gasped as he caught sight of the beautiful gardens exposed to space, the giant Circadia burning up.
He looked past the conflagration and saw a massive ship watching over the destruction. He recognized it at once: it was the same arkship he’d seen during his escape from the Obsidian.
The lone surviving evacuation ship powered up its engines, moving away from the expanding cloud of debris. Two points of light erupted from the enemy arkship and made contact with the fleeing vessel. The ship’s engines spewed smoke, and the craft stalled in its escape.
‘They’re rounding up survivors,’ Bara said as she worked at her console. ‘Lex, we need to look like debris.’
‘Understood. Shutting everything down,’ the ship replied. ‘Good luck.’
The lights died once more, and with it so did the engines. Wynn felt the slow change in gravity as it ebbed away. The air pumps stopped and the ship became silent except for the intermittent rattle of objects hitting the hull. They were adrift in amongst the debris field, slowly rotating as their momentum took them away from the arkship. They watched in silence as the giant vessel docked with the disabled evacuation ship, obscuring it in its massive shadow.
Bara stared out of the windows. ‘What are they doing?’
‘Taking prisoners,’ Wynn suggested.
‘They’ll kill them all.’
‘No, I don’t think so. They could have easily destroyed them without docking.’
Bara pulled her feet up onto her chair, lost in her thoughts. ‘Twenty thousand people, Wynn. Twenty thousand, all living in peace on Melchior. That ship might have seven . . . eight hundred, if we’re lucky. The rest are . . .’ her voice faltered. ‘The rest are dead.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’
‘I just don’t get it. We’ve managed to keep ourselves out of sight, kept our home secret for more than two hundred years! Until today. Today it all goes to shit. And why? What for? We haven’t hurt anyone. We don’t have any enemies. Why would anyone want to destroy Melchior?’
Wynn festered in his thoughts. He had an uneasy feeling about all of this. ‘Bara . . . that arkship out there, do you recognize it?’
She checked the view. ‘No. If Lexica was online we could I.D. it.’
‘I know it,’ Wynn replied. ‘Or at least I recognize it.’
Slowly, Bara turned to face him, her bloodshot eyes wide.
‘It’s the same ship that destroyed the Obsidian. I saw it from my lifeboat.’
‘You . . . you’re sure?’
‘Positive. Bara, I think they’re connected, the destruction of the Obsidian and Melchior . . .’
Bara’s face contorted into confusion, then anger as she thought about Wynn’s statement. The only thing that connected them, the only thing that linked the Obsidian and Melchior was–
‘You!’ Bara screamed. She unbuckled her harness and threw herself at him. ‘This is your fault! They were after you!’ She screamed as her fists bore down on him. ‘My parents are dead, my home is gone, because of you!’
Wynn raised his hands to protect his face, but he didn’t fight back. He let her take out her anger on him, knowing that she was right.
‘I’m sorry,’ he managed. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Your fault!’ Bara cried, her voice hoarse. Her grief overwhelmed her and her barrage slowed. She fell onto him, sobbing.
Wynn took her in his arms and held her to his chest, listening to her cries get quieter and quieter.
The spinning view turned away from the arkship, and the windows filled with the rising light of The Infinite.
‘Did you realize?’ Bara’s voice was barely audible. ‘Did you know they were hunting you?’
‘No. If I had I wouldn’t have come here.’
She looked up at him. ‘Who are you, Wynn? What’s so special about you?’
‘I wish I knew.’ He held back tears. The thought of so many dead people weighed heavily on him. He was drenched in the blood of others.
The Infinite drifted across the windows, rising out of sight. The stars turned slowly, marking time, and the air became crisp, cooling his skin. Eventually, Bara lifted herself up from Wynn’s chair and floated over to her own.
‘It’s not your fault,’ she said quietly. ‘You didn’t kill them, I know that. But I need time, Wynn. Right now, I’m . . . angry, and I can’t look at you. I need to think.’
Wynn felt smothered in guilt. He understood her feelings, but he couldn’t help but feel wounded by her words. He let his eyes rest on the view. Clumps of debris moved with the ship, slowly rotating, catching the light, a hypnotic dance that pulled at his vision, luring him into a restless sleep.
He awoke to Bara cursing.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, noticing her console was illuminated.
‘I thought it was time to check the systems,’ Bara said, angrily. ‘I did a minimal power-up, so as not to get anyone’s attention. I only wanted to check our air and power.’
‘And?’
‘We’ve got neither. We took a lot of damage on the way out of Melchior, more than I realized. The air tanks are almost empty, they’ve been venting out for the last few hours. I’ve stopped that now, but there’s not much left in reserve. The power’s down to minimal, ramscoop is fried, I can just about get the drive system working, if I’m lucky.’
‘Sounds like our run of luck is holding,’ Wynn said dryly.
‘That’s not our most pressing problem.’
Wynn’s heart began to beat faster. ‘It isn’t?’
‘No. My power-up, they spotted us.’
‘Who? The arkship?’
Bara jabbed her finger at the console in front of him. A navigation holograph showed their position in the middle of a blizzard of debris, and a huge ship bearing down on them.’
‘How long have we got?’ he asked quickly.
Bara inhaled sharply. ‘Not long enough.’
LOST
The flight deck of the arkship Fenrir was deathly silent. The body of Commodore Thorwald had been removed, but his blood still marked the floor where he had fallen.
Orcades walked amongst his crew, sensing their fear as he approached. He liked that. He had been too lenient with them, he saw that now. He had treated them as equals. That had been his mistake. He had allowed dissent to grow, for people like Durante and Thorwald to get close to him. He would have to be more cautious from now on. He made a note to have all his senior crew re-assessed. He would oversee their psych tests personally, and remove anyone who did not match up to his expectations.
Orcades turned aside, put his hand in his pocket and found the bottle of tablets. He would have to increase his mental defenses, in case someone else like Durante tried to manipulate him. He took three tablets from the bottle and swallowed them.
‘All prisoners are aboard,’ a crew member announced as Orcades approached his station.
‘Good. The men?’
‘Executions are ongoing.’
Orcades nodded, satisfied. ‘Put the bodies back on the ship and set it loose. Let me know when we are ready to get underway.’ He turned to speak to the guards at the doors. ‘Where is Durante? I ordered him to be brought here.’
The two soldiers glanced at each other, hesitating.
‘Sir . . .’ the closest guard spoke. ‘I d
on’t recall your order.’
Orcades reddened. The Reader had manipulated them, it seemed.
‘Give me your side arms,’ Orcades barked.
The two guards faltered.
Orcades inched closer, his voice full of menace. ‘Give me your guns. Now!’
The men obeyed. Orcades checked the weapons and held one in each hand. ‘Come with me,’ he shouted as he marched off the flight deck, the guards in tow.
He took a pod to the accommodation levels. After their confrontation on the flight deck, Orcades had ordered Reader Durante confined to his room, his door guarded. He turned the corridor and was satisfied to see the soldiers still in place.
‘Where is he? Orcades asked.
‘The Reader? In his room,’ the guard said confidently.
‘Open it.’
The guard obeyed and Orcades stepped inside. The room was empty, the Reader had gone. He’d even taken the ancient painting that used to hang on his wall.
Orcades pressed the com panel on the wall.
‘Flight deck? Is Reader Durante’s shuttle still in the hanger bay?’
‘Checking,’ a voice replied. There was a short pause, then, ‘His shuttle’s not in its berth.’
Orcades felt his anger growing, pushing on his skull. The headache was getting worse. ‘When did it leave?’
‘Sir, I’m sorry . . . I know this doesn’t make any sense but his ship’s not on our system. It says he never docked.’
Orcades took a moment, massaging the side of his head, trying to think. ‘Scan for any ships in the vicinity. He can’t be far.’
He returned to the corridor and gave the guns back to his guards. His vision blurred at the edges, but he couldn’t show weakness. He inhaled, then marched back to the pod.
The flight deck’s lights hurt his eyes, piercing his brain with needles of pain. He shielded his face as he approached the Traffic and Obstacle Control desk.
‘Well?’ Orcades asked the crew member on the scanning console.
‘No ships in range,’ the crewman replied quickly.
‘Extend the range. Run the scan again. Increase the . . . increase the . . .’ He couldn’t remember the words.
‘I’ll run a high-resolution pass, sir.’
‘Yes! Do that.’
‘It will take longer.’
‘I know that!’ Orcades replied. He retreated from the console, finding solace in the dark view out of the windows. The Infinite was below the ship, its light out of sight. He saw the broken shell of the asteroid, surprised to see patches of rich color on the interior spaces. Were they fields? Parks, perhaps? When this was all over, he must ask some of the prisoners. He would like to hear more about this place. He focused beyond the debris and saw the great span of the Ouranos Cloud, a sliver of frosted blue that stretched to form a horizon. Its name sounded peaceful, but he’d been there once. He’d witnessed its arcane temper with his own eyes. It was a place of folklore and lies, but no sane captain would take their ship into it.
‘Heir Valtais,’ the TOC controller said politely as he approached. ‘I have found something.’
RED LINE
‘Drive system is online and ready,’ Lexica stated. ‘Destination?’
‘Inside the Ouranos Cloud,’ Bara replied, pointing to the thin seam of blue matter that stretched out before them.
‘May I remind you that is an extremely unstable region. You’ve put a lot of time and effort into my repairs.’
‘Sol! Just do it, Lex! If we stay out here there’ll be nothing left of you to repair.’
‘If I must,’ Lexica complained.
‘You must,’ Bara muttered as she stared at the holograph of the approaching arkship.
Wynn felt the familiar pull of the drive as it accelerated, pressing him into his seat. This time the gentle pressure did not go away, it just kept on building and building until he couldn’t move his head. Every part of his body ached.
‘Maximum velocity,’ Lexica said after a moment.
The view shifted from blackness to a cool grey-blue as the cloud grew bigger. Wynn could make out denser regions within the expanse, dark patches of swirling gas that dragged at the material around them. Here and there were clusters of rock which seemed to shoot through the cloud with ferocious velocity.
Lexica said, ‘We are outrunning the arkship. It’s the Fenrir, by the way. Draig registered.’
‘Draig?’ Wynn said quietly. ‘Derward thought the House of Draig might be behind the attack on the Obsidian.’
‘Drive cut-off,’ Lexica announced. ‘That’s all I have for you. We are low on fuel, Bara. Maneuvering thrusters only now, I’m afraid.’
‘Thanks, Lex,’ she replied. ‘I’ll try to get us out of this one.’
‘Promises, promises,’ Lexica said, sounding resigned to his fate.
Bara turned to Wynn. ‘This place is rough. Gravitational eddies, plasma vortices, micro meteorites travelling at supersonic speeds. If we’re lucky that arkship won’t be stupid enough to follow us in here. A ship that size would get pulverized.’
‘And we won’t?’ Wynn asked.
Bara wavered. ‘Look, I wouldn’t take us in here if we had any other options. Besides, we’re smaller, we can react quicker.’
‘The arkship is slowing,’ Lexica noted.
Bara’s face lit up with relief. ‘See? Told you.’
‘And now they’re firing.’
A dozen new dots appeared on the holograph, bright green lines aimed at Lexica.
Bara hit the console. ‘Launching countermeasures.’
A new group of signals blinked onto the holograph, spreading out behind the ship. Three of the approaching missiles made contact with the new icons and disappeared in a burst of light.
Ahead, the edge of the Ouranos Cloud stretched out to greet them. The wispy tendrils snaked up, jostling the ship from side to side. Bara aimed straight for the gas, ramming the ship into it. The shaking became violent, throwing Wynn from side to side.
‘Three missiles still locked on.’ Lexica warned.
Bara pushed the nose of the ship down, straight towards a twisting hurricane of gas. The noise grew louder and louder as the driving vapor buffeted the ship.
‘Used to be a planet,’ Bara shouted conversationally over the racket. ‘Gas giant. Quite pretty. Big blue ball, thin ring around it. Not any more. Now it’s this mess.’
A small rock smashed into the hull, just in front of the window. The impact tilted the ship to one side, throwing them into a spin. Bara fought against it, jostling for control of the ship. She turned them towards a larger asteroid, banking directly at it.
‘You need to pull up, Bara,’ Wynn warned.
‘I concur,’ Lexica said.
Bara did not reply. She navigated to the edge of the asteroid, skimmed over its surface then launched upwards. The rumble of an explosion chased them.
Wynn checked the holograph screen: one of the missiles had hit the asteroid. The screen blinked, and a mass of new signals appeared.
‘Great,’ Lexica observed, ‘instead of one big asteroid we’ve now got hundreds of small ones to avoid.’
‘And one less missile,’ Bara reminded him.
‘We still have two missiles locked on,’ Lexica said. ‘Impact in nine seconds.’
‘Lexica, you always were a pessimist.’ Bara pulled on the control yoke, spinning the ship in a violent turn.
‘I’m not designed for that level of G,’ the ship reminded her.
The missiles whizzed past them, corrected their course and turned to find their target once more.
Bara seized on her advantage and headed straight for the dark eye of a turbulent storm just off their starboard wing. She slammed the ship into it, holding on as they were tossed and thrown about.
Wynn watched the two missiles on the console display as they chased them into the storm. They were gaining, only seconds from impact. He held his breath, his fingers digging into the arm of his chair. There was a massive vibration a
nd the entire ship began to spin. The holograph screen flickered then died, then the power blipped across the entire bridge. The ship fell through the storm, dropping past its outer edge. Gradually, Bara regained control of the ship and stabilized their path.
Wynn blinked rapidly. ‘The missiles?’
‘Destroyed,’ Bara said, relieved. ‘Lex, can they track us in here?’
‘I’ve shut down everything but flight control and life support. We should be almost invisible to them now.’
‘Good, they’ll presume they got us,’ Bara replied. ‘I’ll plot a course for the outer edge, away from them. It’ll be rough, but we should be able to make it.’
Relived, Bara turned to Wynn and her face broke into a grin.
‘Bara . . .’ the ship said quietly.
She sighed, her eyes closed. ‘Don’t say it.’
‘I’ve checked the level of fuel . . .’
‘Don’t say it.’
‘We are past the red line, Bara. We do not have enough propulsion to get us out of this cloud any time soon.’
‘How soon?’
‘Sixty-eight days. The air will be gone in thirteen hours . . . If you sacrificed Wynn you might last a day.’
‘Not funny, Lex,’ Bara seethed.
She kicked the console, tears in her eyes. ‘You know, I almost thought we were going to make it.’
‘You did good, Bara,’ Wynn said.
‘Not good enough,’ she replied bitterly.
Wynn watched the swirling clouds outside, listened to the constant wail of the wind about the hull. The ship jostled from tiny impacts, rocking him in his seat. There was nowhere to go, and yet he wasn’t ready to give in. As he stared into the eye of an approaching storm an idea began to form in his head. ‘Do we still have coms?’
Bara stared at him. ‘What?’
‘Communication. Do we still have it?’
She checked the console. ‘Yes, why?’
‘We can’t run, we can’t fight, we can’t hide, but we can talk.’
Arkship Obsidian Page 14