Frontier's Reach: A Space Opera Adventure (Frontiers Book 1)

by Robert C. James

  He put the cases on the maintenance console. “I’ve stumbled upon a possibility. However, you must understand if we attempt it, I can’t guarantee success.”

  “We don’t have much of a choice. Out here alone for fifteen years in the unknown is hardly something the Argo is up for. Replenishing food, supplies, and fuel will be difficult if not downright impossible. Not to mention if we don’t get Doctor Tai to the proper facilities, she’s going to die.”

  Petit steepled his fingers. “While I’m a long way from figuring out how to use the Iota particles to generate a trans-space vortex, there may be a means to force open the corridor we came through.”

  “I’m listening.”

  Petit brought up a series of scans on the console before them. “At the point the vortex closed, there’s still a slight concentration of Iota particles. The study I’ve done on them suggests if we bombard that area with the particles we’ve captured, it might reignite the vortex and hopefully the trans-space corridor.”

  “Which would return us to Orion V, where we entered?”

  “Theoretically.”

  “It’s better than nothing.” Jason turned to Aly. “How long until the necessary systems are up and running to make an attempt?”

  “Three hours. Give or take.”

  “Good, let’s do it.”

  Jason walked into the Argo’s communal bathroom and stopped in his tracks at Althaus hunched over one of the washbasins. The mirror in front of him was shattered and his fist was bleeding.

  Jesus.

  He sidled up beside his uncle and twisted the faucet. A cold spray of water burst out, and he wiped his hands and face. He and Althaus caught a glimpse of each other before turning back to their separate basins.

  Jason finished up and grabbed a wash towel and proceeded toward the exit.

  “I came to think of him as my own son.”

  Althaus spun around—a drip of blood trickled onto the deck beneath him.

  “I knew he was always your favorite.” Jason looked away, ashamed. Now wasn’t time for their usual back-and-forth.

  “I’ve never had much in this life,” he said bitterly, stepping toward him. “And now, because of you, what I had left is gone.”

  Jason didn’t argue. Althaus had a fair point. And he couldn’t be bothered fighting about it. Tyler was just as much Althaus’s relative as he was his.

  “You’re right.” Jason had seen him pissed off before, but he’d never seen him broken. “You should get your hand checked.”

  With that, he turned and walked out.

  Forty-Seven

  Kevin’s words melded together into one giant jumble. While Jason knew Tyler’s eulogy would be beautifully spoken, he couldn’t quite bring himself to listen to it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, he just couldn’t.

  He stared at the empty cargo containers representing Tyler, Marquez, Nash, and the Marines, feeling as hollow as the boxes that sat in front of him.

  Soon after Kevin’s tribute, Corporal Higgs spoke of his men, and then Professor Petit read some words put together by Doctor Tai, for Captain Marquez. Jason was surprised, considering her condition, how well she’d been able to convey her feelings.

  It was his turn to say something about Nash. He’d already been to his memorial four years ago and thought it’d be easier the second time around. But it wasn’t. When he finished speaking, he couldn’t even remember what he’d said.

  After the solemn service, they launched the containers into space and everyone stood on the bridge to watch them float away into the abyss.

  It was like any funeral. Lousy. Jason never understood them. They were supposed to represent closure. But to him, they were just another reminder of what had been lost.

  There was a wake in the mess. It folded up early. No one seemed in the mood. Kevin and Kione returned to the infirmary to keep Tai company, Petit and Aly proceeded to the engine room, and Althaus and the Marines went back to their quarters.

  Jason stepped onto the bridge to find solitude. Instead, sitting at the systems station, staring into oblivion, he found Aly. She hadn’t left for the engine room after all. Her eyes and cheeks were as red as Barnard’s Star.

  “Keeping yourself busy?”

  “Professor Petit is making final preparations.” She wiped some tears from her face. “I didn’t want to get in his way.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Anyway, I figured I’d check over some data during the battle with the weapon ship. I noticed something strange before the Seeker vessel exploded, but with everything that happened, I haven’t had time to check it.”

  “Strange in what way?”

  “We’ll see in a moment. The computer’s still checking.”

  Jason sat at the helm and stared into her bloodshot eyes. “Have you taken any stims?”

  She smiled, no doubt remembering their conversation a few days earlier. “No. Have you had a drink?”

  Even at the wake, Jason hadn’t so much as reached for the bottle of whiskey doing the rounds. “Not yet.”

  He preferred drinking alone anyway.

  “Well, I’ll make you a deal,” Aly said. “You don’t drink, and I won’t take any stims.”

  Jason wasn’t sure it was a promise he’d be able to keep, but he humored her regardless. “Done.”

  The systems console beeped, and Aly examined the readings.

  “Something?” Jason put a hand on the back of her chair.

  “The Seeker ship transmitted a message, just before it was destroyed.”

  “Where?”

  “Two hundred and eighty-three light-years from here. That direction.” She pointed at the star chart which was mostly incomplete.

  “Long-range telescopes have barely scratched the surface of that region of space.”

  “It’s a long way.”

  “For us.” The hairs on the back of Jason’s neck stood up. “But not with trans-space technology.”

  “Maybe it’s the Seeker homeworld,” Aly pondered.

  “Or a base perhaps. There’s obviously a reason they’ve sent the message in that direction.”

  Yes, there is...

  Jason had put off the inevitable ever since returning to the Argo from their mission to the weapon ship. He’d have put it off longer but owed it to Tyler to get it over with.

  He, Althaus, Kevin, and Aly stood around the wall monitor in the rec room in anticipation. “Activate,” Jason said. “Open last will and testament of Tyler James Cassidy.”

  Tyler appeared, sitting in his quarters, staring down the barrel of the camera. Jason darted his eyes away for a moment, not yet used to the idea of seeing his deceased brother.

  “Hi, everyone. Well, I guess if you’re watching this, I’m dead. Uh, I don’t really know what to say, but I hoped I died heroically.” He chuckled. “I’ve left a list of items in my holding and who I’ll leave them to. But this message concerns the ownership of the Argo. It’s my prized possession and the thing I care most about. Except for all you guys.

  “Now, this is not a decision I take lightly. When I took command, I was still a teenager. I’ll never be more thankful for the help Kevin and Uncle Conrad provided so I could take care of the ship. And, Aly, you were pretty helpful, too. The Argo wouldn’t be the same without you. And I guess I have to thank Jason for the opportunity he gave me by handing her over to me when he left for the academy. I may not have become the person I did otherwise.

  “And it’s because of that that I’ve changed my will since you’ve come back aboard.” He leaned forward in his seat. “Jason, I want you to take the Argo.”

  Jason opened his mouth, not sure what to say, knowing it would be pointless arguing with a ghost anyway. Out the corner of his eye, he sensed Althaus’s steely glare.

  “It’s your ship and your crew now. Make something of it. Cassidys all the way, right?”

  Tyler disappeared, and the monitor went blank.

  No one said a word.

  Althaus was the first to l
eave, followed by Kevin who slapped Jason’s back in somber congratulations. Aly hugged him with a few more tears rolling down her cheek before leaving him alone with his own thoughts.

  Hell…

  Jason stared at the captain’s chair. It’d always been his father’s. Even when Tyler had sat in it, it hadn’t been right.

  He parked himself down and glanced around the bridge. Kevin was at the helm, while Althaus took a seat across at the systems station. Aly and Petit did the final preparations at operations.

  Through the viewport, Psi-Aion stared back at him. An Eden among the stars. Home to a people who were now free to continue as they had. Perhaps it would be them who would make contact with humanity next time.

  “Are we prepared, Professor?”

  Petit nodded.

  “When you’re ready.”

  Petit gestured at the console, and Aly ran her hands over the keys. Ahead of the Argo a flash sparked to life, and a small vortex formed. It got steadily larger until it looked exactly like the one that pulled them in at Orion V.

  “It’s working!” Aly smiled with glee.

  “And the trans-space corridor?” Jason asked.

  Petit checked the readings. “It’s seems identical to last time and appears stable.”

  Jason hoped the professor was right. It was this or take fifteen years to get back to the commonwealth. A trip the Argo would unlikely make and one that Doctor Tai certainly wouldn’t.

  “Let’s do this.”

  Kevin nodded and steered the Argo toward the vortex. While Jason longed for home on the other side, he realized with what they’d all seen in the last few days, things would never be the same again.

  Epilogue

  Unknown Planet

  Thunder boomed down and the ground rumbled.

  Jaliia opened her eyes and her heart raced from the sound roaring outside her window. The morning sun was up, and the sky was its natural shade of green. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. It was so clear, that two of the three moons could be seen.

  She wondered where the storm was coming from, and threw her blanket off to find out. Through her door and down the stairs she went to find her father grabbing his rifle from the locker near the kitchen.

  He noticed her from the corner of his eyes. “Stay inside.”

  “What’s going on?” she asked, stepping toward him.

  “Nothing.” He kneeled beside her. “Now go to your room.”

  “But—”

  “Jaliia, you’re eight years old. Do as you’re told.” He pointed back up the stairs.

  She did as he asked and bounded off in a huff, back to her room. At her window, she peered out at her father hurrying across the family farm and toward a plume of smoke billowing from the wilderness beyond their fence line.

  Jaliia raced back downstairs and put on her boots. She pushed the outside door open and waded into the mud around their home. Against her father’s wishes she followed his footsteps, up and over the ridge toward the boundary of their property, beyond the tree representing the edge of the wildlands—a green but dry landscape of unfarmed land, full of many wild animals. She’d been told to only enter with an adult but figured it couldn’t be too far until she caught up to her father.

  With a duck of her head, Jaliia slinked under the wire fence and pushed on into the scrub. Using the tracking skills she’d been taught, she followed her father’s path and found him standing next to a large tree, blackened from top to bottom.

  “Jaliia, what did I tell you!” he scowled.

  “What happened?” she asked, motioning toward the charged mess around them.

  He frowned and drew her close to him, pointing into the valley. More scorched trees dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see. The ground was burned to a cinder, while errant flames searched for the last patches of green to envelop. Scattered chunks of metal filled the apocalyptic terrain. Jaliia’s father took her hand, and they walked toward one of the largest pieces nearest to them.

  He gently touched it, ensuring it wasn’t too hot and brushed a thick layer of ash off it. “There’s writing on this.”

  Jaliia studied the large bold text. It didn’t look like any letters she’d seen or of any language teachers had taught her at school.

  “We better get word to the authorities.” Her father pulled a small notepad from his top pocket.

  With a pencil, he wrote the same strange symbols they’d found on the chunk of metal: MAYBELLE.

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