Slave Empire - Prophecy

by T C Southwell

Chapter Five

  Tallyn settled onto his chair on the bridge. The main screen showed the star field around Ellath Three, and in one corner, the dull grey-brown orb. The sun was just starting to form an arc of gold along its edge, prelude to the dawn of another drab day on the surface. Only the twinkle of the tiny crystals that covered the many consoles broke the bridge’s silent gloom. A crew of five sat in front of them, their hands occasionally touching a crystal as they attended to the running of the ship.

  Dim holograms hung in the air in front of some officers, while lists of data scrolled up in front of others. The overall atmosphere was one of hushed industry, somewhat relaxed now that they were in orbit. Tallyn looked over at Marcon, who sat at the compiler’s console, his eyes flicking over three holograms. He monitored all the ship’s functions, ready to correct any errors other crewmembers made. As usual, Tallyn hated to disturb him; he always looked so busy.

  “Marcon, set course for Atlan. We’ve got what we came for; let’s go home.”

  “Yes sir.” Marcon touched his console’s crystals, causing those on other consoles to light and alert the officers who manned them to the new directive. They ran their hands over their boards, or pressed their palms to sensor slots to communicate with the ship’s neural net. Two pilots entered the bridge and lay down on their couches, strapped themselves in and pushed their hands into sensor slots to link with the ship. The whole exercise took a little over a minute, during which time the activity in the dim room rose to a high state of tension. Marcon reeled off the list of procedures for his commander’s benefit, in case he decided to change anything.

  “Course laid in. Pilots linked to the neural net. Back up net online. Proximity repellers charged, course changing. Preparing to link with the transfer Net.” He paused, his eyes scanning the scrolling holograms. “Link successful. Heading reached in five, four, three, two, one... Transfer Net charged, acceleration factor five, normal status, all systems functional.”

  Tallyn sat back and laced his fingers as Vengeance turned out of her orbit with ponderous grace, curving away towards a distant star. He envisioned the sun’s light glinting on her sleek silver flanks and the many protuberances that robbed her of any great claim to beauty. As a star ship designed purely for space, her array of antennae, weapons and emitters was only possible in a vacuum. He had seen many ships use the Net, and knew that a web of golden lines crawled over her, embracing her in a crazy cage of lambent power, like snakes of lightning. The transfer Net activated in a flash of pure energy, and with a twinkle, the ship shot away.

  During the five-hour trip, Tallyn ate a meal and relaxed in his cabin, enjoying a new holofilm from Atlan. On the bridge, the crew’s subdued industry continued. The pilots each spent two hours in control of the ship while the other observed. Marcon was relieved after three hours, his head undoubtedly aching from the strain of the high level of vigilance necessary from a compiler. His replacement, Vandiar, informed Tallyn of their approach to Atlan half an hour before the transfer Net dispersed. Tallyn entered the humming bridge and sank onto his chair, glancing up at the screen.

  “Report.”

  “We’re still decelerating. Fifteen minutes to Net dispersal,” Vandiar informed him. “You came quickly, sir.”

  “I usually do,” he grumped, settling back to wait.

  From inside the ship, Net dispersal was no more interesting than its initiation. Only the resumption of the external feeds brought any new sensations to the crew. After the prescribed number of minutes, the main screen filled with the welcome image of his home world.

  Tallyn said, “Get us an orbit, and have them send shuttles. I’m sure most of the crew want to go to the surface, and we’ll need a maintenance crew to replace them.”

  Tallyn made his way to his guests’ quarters and pressed the plate beside the door to activate the entry buzzer. The portal opened, and Rawn eyed him, looking sullen and dishevelled. He muttered and went into the bathroom to splash his face. Rayne slid from the shelf-like sleeping alcove, her hair tangled, stretched and smiled.

  Tallyn returned it. “I hope you’ve had sufficient sleep. We’ve arrived at my home world and will be disembarking soon.”

  Rayne’s eyes widened, and Rawn emerged from the bathroom, his expression shocked.

  Tallyn realised his blunder. “I apologise. I should have warned you before we left.”

  Rawn wagged a finger, water dripping from his chin. “Listen, buster, just a few hours ago, we were on our own planet, and now you tell us we’re on the other side of the bloody universe? You kidnap us, feed us drugs, fry us with weird lights, confiscate our clothes, and fly us a thousand light years without so much as a ‘by your leave’? Bugger ‘warned us’, what about ‘asked us’?”

  Tallyn frowned, a little nettled. “You’re in my care. You’ve come to no harm. All that was done to you was for your benefit, and the safety of my crew. It was unavoidable. The trip was necessary. Rayne had to be brought to the safety of Atlan, where she can be guarded and cared for. Informing you of our departure would have been a mere courtesy, and I did say you would not be returned to Earth. There was no point in staying in Earth orbit any longer.”

  Rawn wiped his face with a towel, looking incredulous. Rayne sat on a chair, her eyes downcast. Rawn tossed the towel onto a nearby shelf and stepped closer to Tallyn.

  “You may find that all quite satisfactory and logical to your little alien mind, but what about us? We never even got to see our world from space. We never had the chance to say goodbye. Maybe we have feelings you lack, but you could have found out about that first.”

  Tallyn inclined his head. “Perhaps. I regret any distress this might have caused you. I understand your anger, and I would have the same reaction if it was done to me. However, returning to view your planet is a simple matter, and can be arranged sometime in the future if you wish.”

  Rawn glanced at Rayne, looking mollified, but still angry. “You okay, Ray?”