Harvest End

by Max Dane

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  CHAPTER 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Harvest End

  Max Dane

  Jerry Cochran (2013)

  * * *

  Rating: ★★★★★

  Four hundred years have passed since Earth first colonized other star systems. Spreading out into the Milky Way, humanity has found new worlds to embrace in a galaxy-spanning governorship called the League of Worlds. Peace, lasting for nearly a century, is broken only by pirates and the voices of a distant separatist movement. It is a time when the extended family of man prospers.

  Traveling the trade routes across the League of Worlds, a merchant vessel arrives at Madras, a world far out on the fringe of colonized space. Apprehension begins to build when the once-busy colony refuses to respond to the usual hails. Bringing their ship planet-side, they are shocked to find the colony reduced to sand and its twenty thousand inhabitants missing. The mystery of Madras lingers over the merchant vessel, haunting the crew as they resume their journey. Eager to reach the next marketplace, they are unaware that something has come back with them. Invisible, voracious, and relentless, it is a killer of worlds. And it is spreading to each colony they visit.

  Join our hero, Finn Holt, the young and courageous Captain of the military ship, Ajax, as he receives orders to escort a Science Council vessel to Madras to investigate. The routine assignment quickly turns to horror when the magnitude of what has happened becomes clear, and disaster looms when he realizes the Ajax is contaminated and showing signs of a deadly transformation. As ship systems begin to fail and fear grips the crew, an impossible survivor arrives to tell his desperate story. ‘The scourge,’ he says, ‘is spreading from colony to colony across the inner systems. Millions upon millions have already perished, and time is running out.’

  Come with Finn and the crew of the Ajax as they search for answers amidst a growing chaos. In a horrific and mind-bending climax, Finn comes face to face with the ravager of the human empire and is shocked to discover its origin. Stunningly suspenseful, Harvest End is an exciting sci-fi thriller placed in the future, in the style of Niven and Pournelle, and Frank Herbert, and a dash of Stephen King. (It is a full-length novel with +85,000 words.)

  Books by Max Dane

  Harvest End

  The Dane Chronicles:

  The Dane Commission

  Forever Lost

  Harvest End

  By

  Max Dane

  Harvest End (rev 1.1) is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2013 by Jerry Cochran

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book and or portions thereof in any form.

  Cover art Copyright 2013 by Jerry Cochran

  A very special thanks to my editor for her tireless and devoted work.

  Third Time’s a Charm!

  CHAPTER 1

  Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole.

  - William S. Burroughs

  The crew of the Juliet waited in nervous anticipation as the tiny ship approached the final jump point.

  “Keep us at a nice steady clip, Bowman.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Russell Bowman sighed and set the ship’s chronometer. This was nothing new. He’d been with Captain Cervenko, Miles to his friends, for seven long years now. Together they went through jumps just like this one on every supply run. Sure there was risk, but after countless successful trips the novelty had worn thin. Bowman sat back in his chair, the details wrapped up. Now they just had to wait.

  “Can you explain it again?”

  It was the soldier they’d picked up in New Brazil. During their last stop on the supply run, they’d found him trying to book passage to the Madras colony in the Cetus Beta system. After a brief discussion, the Captain agreed to take him if he would help arrange a meeting with his father, apparently the local planet steward. It could mean a new trade route and some additional business.

  Bowman stared ahead, pretending not to hear. At the station next to him, Sarah sensed his mood and swiveled around. “I can take this one,” she said as she turned to look at their passenger. He was young, maybe too young to be a soldier, and he looked anxious.

  “Your name is Marko isn’t it?”

  He nodded.

  “Marko, didn’t they teach you about space travel in school?”

  “Yes, but I guess it’s different when you’re actually here.”

  “Sure,” she smiled. ‘He’s right,’ she thought, ‘the jumps can be a little scary.’ She remembered her first trip. Oh she’d studied and knew every detail of what to expect, but even so, it was something else to actually experience it for yourself.

  “Well, Marko, about two hundred years ago, they discovered that space is not uniformly distributed. Gravity from planets and stars naturally form areas where opposing forces butt up against each other creating what they call a ‘gravity differential’. Basically, they form ‘rivers’ in space that flow very quickly from the start-point, along the differential, and ending where the gravity from either side falls below the gravimetric threshold.”

  “The threshold?”

  Cervenko leaned forward, “Yes, my young friend. It’s the place where the gravity becomes too weak to hold the slipstream. That is where we exit.”

  Sarah checked her readings and nodded, “And in just a few minutes, our singularity drive will distort the jump point, allowing us to enter and move very quickly along the gravity differential to your home on Madras.”

  Marko seemed to think about it for a minute. “What about the stories of ships going through and disappearing forever?”

  “Well, actually that’s very rare,” she said trying to reassure him.

  “Yes, but it does happen.” It was Dr. Alex Stiles, the ship’s science officer stepping onto the bridge. Looking from Alex to the boy, she wondered ‘Why did he have to come up here, now?’

  “Marko,” she said frowning at the science officer, “what Alex meant, was that it has happened, but that the chances of it are infinitesimally small.”

  Alex walked up next to the captain’s station and said, “It happens because something changes the path of the differential. A new star is born, another dies, planets get knocked out of orbit, that sort of thing. Anything that can affect the mass on either side of the differential will almost certainly change the exit point. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. If we’re lucky, it will eject us somewhere safe. The tricky part is when you come out too close to a star, or a comet or something. Those ships don’t have a chance to turn around and come back through. They’re the unlucky ones.”

  “Thanks, Alex,” she said annoyed while looking back to Marko, “that was very useful.”

  The boy was clearly nervous, gripping the arms of his chair tightly, but he seemed to be okay. She sighed loudly and turned around to face her console. They were within two minutes of the jump now.

  Captain Cervenko turned to the science officer.

  Laughing lightly, he said, “Alex, why are you up here?”

  “I wanted to see the Cetus system from the bridge. My late wife’s parents moved there years ago, and they always described the rings as being beautiful.”

&
nbsp; “Well strap yourself in quickly, Dr. Stiles, it’s almost time.”

  Bowman activated the one-minute alarm. “Attention crew of the Juliet, we have less than one minute to the jump point. Cease your activity and prepare to enter the gravimetric slipstream to Cetus Beta.”

  The captain checked his belts and looked over his shoulder at the boy to his side. The young man was strapped in and looked safe enough. Miles was looking forward to this trip. He could always use more business, and bringing supplies to the Cetus system might prove to be very profitable. They were nearly a hundred light years away, requiring four jumps to get there. This far off the beaten path, his goods would be highly sought after by the colonists.

  Bowman gripped the console. “Get ready, Captain, we jump in three, two, one- ” Space at the jump point distorted and the universe suddenly seemed to fall away around them. There was a shudder through the Juliet, as unimaginable forces pulled the trade ship across the curved horizon of the gravity shear, the ‘slipstream’. And as their senses tried to cope with the mind-numbing ride through the enormous stellar distance, as quickly as it started, it was abruptly over. In sharp focus before them was Madras, with a line of planets trailing off into the far reaches of the Cetus Beta system.

  The captain rubbed his eyes, slowly regaining his senses. His vision clearing, he could see that Bowman was already scanning the surrounding space. “B-Bowman, could you wake up Sarah, please?” She was slumped over her console. Bowman reached over and nudged her shoulder. “Sarah, wake up. We’re through.”

  From the station behind the captain, Alex said, “About one percent of the population can feel motion during the jumps. It’s something like being seasick. I could give you a pill that might help.”

  “No,” she said, shaking it off, “that’s okay. I’m awake; I just noticed that one a little more than most.” She blinked and focused at the readouts in front of her as she sat back up.

  Cervenko said, “Sarah, could you please lay in a course for our friend’s home world and begin hailing their port authorities.”

  “Yes, sir, right away.”

  Moments later, the Juliet veered away from the star and streaked across the system towards the colony. “Greetings, Madras, this is the trade ship, Juliet.”

  Moments passed, but there was no reply.

  Sarah checked her settings and tried again. “I repeat, this is the Earth merchant ship, Juliet, hailing the Madras Port Authority. We are inbound and seek permission to land.”

  Still no one responded.

  Captain Cervenko leaned back in his chair; this was odd. He had enough experience to know that colonies this far out on the edge had a tendency to grow apart. Usually they were a bit cagey and distrustful of ‘Earthers’. It wasn’t often a problem for him because he wasn’t a part of the politics here or back home. He brought goods and supplies and he didn’t overcharge. He also didn’t judge. So far he he’d been accepted nearly everywhere.

  Curious now, he said, “Sarah, try again.”

  She nodded. “Greetings, Madras Port Authority. This is the merchant ship, Juliet. We seek permission to land. We carry the Planet Steward’s son, Marko Venn, with us. Please provide a landing vector.”

  “Captain,” said Bowman, “we have reached orbit above the Madras Colony.”

  The display screens showed a brown and dusty world with several icy, reddish rings.

  Bowman turned around, “Captain, it looks like there is a storm moving in from the south. It should reach the colony in just a few hours.”

  “This is the merchant vessel, Juliet, hailing anyone from the Madras colony. Can anyone hear us?” She amplified the signal and tried again, but only silence greeted them.

  Dr. Stiles stepped forward and said, “Are you broadcasting on one of the standard hailing frequencies?”

  “Yes, Doctor,” she said annoyed. “Actually, I’ve been transmitting on all of them.”

  “Well, how about listening,” said the doctor, “can you hear anything from the colony?”

  It was a good idea; she adjusted the settings on her console and opened the receiver to the whole bridge. The computer moved rapidly across each transmitter frequency pausing only long enough to record the silence. After several moments it was clear that the colony was silent.

  “Well, that’s odd,” said Dr. Stiles.

  “Yes, I agree,” said Cervenko. “Sarah, can you pull up the data on the Madras Colony.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And, Mr. Bowman, how about charting a course back to the jump point.”

  “Already done, Sir.”

  “Good man.” Cervenko didn’t like to be surprised, and this was becoming more than unusual. ‘Whatever’s happening here, we should be ready for a hasty retreat.’

  Marko unbuckled his belt straps and stood up. “There must be something wrong with your communications. You’re just not hearing them. We have a community of more than seventeen thousand colonists.”

  “Confirmed,” said Sarah, “it says there should be nearly twenty thousand colonists, administration, and armed forces down there. They have a successful colony that has grown since about ten years ago when they first found the jump point that provided access to Cetus Beta.”

  “Well, they’re quite silent today,” said Stiles, “Marko, could this be some sort of holiday, or maybe a religious day?”

  The boy shook his head.

  Captain Cervenko looked at Alex and shrugged; they weren’t going to learn anything from here. “Everyone take your seats. Sarah, see if you can locate their landing facility and take us down, slowly, very slowly. And, Mr. Bowman, you keep your eyes on the way back to the jump point. Stay ready.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The Juliet began to descend. In a wide arc, Sarah took them down on a very obvious and ‘non-threatening’ course. It wasn’t long before they touched down on the quiet and desolate landing pad. She tried again to contact the colony, “Greetings, Madras Port Authority. We have landed and seek permission to disembark. Please respond.”

  After another minute of silence, Sarah swiveled around from her station, “Captain, there’s no one here.”

  “That’s not true,” said Marko walking to her console. “You must be reading this incorrectly. Let’s go outside.”

  “Hold on my friend,” said Captain Cervenko, “I decide when we disembark, and who goes.”

  “Please, Captain, let me go outside and we can clear this up.”

  Cervenko turned to the science officer, “Alex, please prepare four environmental suits. You, Sarah, Bowman and Marko will take a look.”

  Alex nodded and left the bridge. Bowman stood and said, “Marko, you and Sarah are with me; let's go.”

  Together, they left the bridge and made their way to the airlock below the cargo bay.

  Marko paused and touched Sarah’s shoulder to get her attention.

  “Why do we have to wear environmental suits? Madras has an earth-type environment with breathable air.”

  Before she could answer, Alex met them with a cart holding the suits. “Well, it should be obvious,” he said, “there might have been some biological agent involved. Maybe some kind of weapon or plague.”

  Marko was growing more anxious and angry as they stood there. He turned quickly to the doctor, “You are wrong, sir, and I will not hear any more talk of plagues.”

  Bowman took a suit and began to put it on. “Marko, I’m with you. This is probably some sort of mistake, but until we know for sure, we are required to take precautions.” He turned to Sarah and smiled; “Now let's get suited up, and go for a visit.”

  The day was clear and sunny in the Madras Colony. There was a comfortable temperature with only the slightest breeze. The star was slightly more red than the sun back home, and a little smaller. But looking across the small city, it could easily pass for Earth.

  On the landing pad, the belly of the supply ship opened to reveal four figures on its cargo platform. The long rectangular carrier descended slow
ly to the surface. The figure in the lead opened a gate, and they all stepped off onto the landing pad.

  “It looks like a beautiful day,” said Sarah. Her voice was mechanical and breathy at the same time, digitized by their suit radios. They stepped forward, looking everywhere for signs of life.

  Alex said, “Bowman, look at Juliet’s landing struts.”

  He looked back and saw what Alex was pointing at; the struts had pushed right through the surface of the landing pad. They looked to be buried about two meters below.

  “I don’t understand, Doctor,” he said, “This pad should easily handle the weight of the Juliet. I’ve been to places like this before, these landing facilities are meant to serve the big fleet ships.” Sarah reached out to Bowman’s arm, “Stop, look at your tracks.” Looking down, he saw that they had left tracks in the pad surface. He pushed with his toe and flaked off a piece of the surface.

  “Doctor?”

  Alex looked confused, “I don’t know. That shouldn’t happen.”

  Knocking the fragment off of his boot, Bowman turned and pointed to a clump of buildings in the distance. “Okay, let's find the colony administration building. It should be over there, somewhere in the middle.” Walking slowly through the empty port, they followed him as he walked across the grounds and then into the street.