Arkship Obsidian Read online

  THE ARKSHIP SAGA

  Arkship Countdown – The Arkship Saga Prologue

  Arkship Obsidian

  Arkship Vengeance

  Also by Niel Bushnell

  Altitude

  THE TIMESMITH CHRONICLES

  Sorrowline

  Timesmith

  Visit NielBushnell.com for more information.

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  Arkship Countdown – the Arkship Saga Prologue

  ARKSHIP OBSIDIAN

  By

  Niel Bushnell

  The Arkship Saga Book One

  First published in 2017 by

  Magic Number Books

  www.magicnumberbooks.co.uk

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  The right of Niel Bushnell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  Copyright © Niel Bushnell, 2017

  For Diane, with all my love

  ‘We are all reflections of a Fractured God.’

  The Changed Time, Chapter 3, Verse 9 from The Word of The Infinite, Scribe Barrahaus III Edition

  Contents

  ESCAPE

  LANDFALL

  SORTING

  THE INFINITE

  DRAIG

  LEXICA

  HUNTER

  SHIP OF SHADOWS

  CIRCADIA

  VAMPIRE

  THE COURIER

  LEUGHADAIR

  MEMORIES

  BETTER TIMES

  ENLIGHTENMENT

  MOVEMENT

  MANEUVERS

  HUNTED

  ANALYSIS

  BOMBARDMENT

  HOMECOMING

  CHURCH AND STATE

  REFUGEES

  BROTHERS

  ESCAPE

  TRUST

  CHAIN OF COMMAND

  ADRIFT

  LOST

  RED LINE

  THE CLOUD WATCHER

  SURRENDER

  EAVESDROPPING

  THE VISITOR

  RHAPSODY

  ARRIVAL

  KNOWING

  ECHO

  CHANGE

  REUNION

  NAMING

  AN AUDIENCE

  TERMS

  ORDERS

  FIGHT OR FLIGHT

  BATTLE PLAN

  FIRST STRIKE

  SIGNS

  RAMMING

  CONTACT

  ATTACK RUN

  DESPERATION

  BOARDING

  DEPARTURE

  RESURRECTION

  LAST COMMAND

  DEFEAT

  SURVIVORS

  ICARUS

  AUTHOR’S NOTES

  ESCAPE

  ‘Warning, proximity alert.’

  The voice was distant, isolated in a fog of echoes, just a single star of noise in a black nothing. He felt cocooned, surrounded and sheltered. Safe. The words repeated, luring him towards them. It was a woman’s voice, cool and measured. There was no hint of fear or desperation in the words, yet he sensed the urgency in their message.

  ‘Collision alarm. Collision alarm.’

  The voice was louder now, closer, drowning his ears in a muffled claustrophobia. He felt afraid. Adrenaline surged through him, kick-starting his senses. He had to open his eyes.

  ‘Brace! Brace! Brace!’

  Light flooded his vision. For an instant, he saw a blurred shape rushing towards him, a giant mass of smoke and fire. Instinctively, he raised his hands to cover his face, just as the flaming object struck. The impact jarred him, ripping him to one side, filling his ears with rage, searing his eyes with white hot light, stinging his face as pin pricks of molten metal danced over him. Something tore at his shoulders, pushing into his skin. Straps? He was pinned down, he realized, held in place, in a chair. He felt as if he was spinning, twisting, falling, and his stomach lurched in response. He couldn’t see any more – smoke filled the space in front of him – but he could hear a cascade of sound: twisting metal, churning and grinding, the crisp chatter of flames, a rhythmic beep tapping out an unnecessary warning. And over all the noise was the woman.

  ‘ . . . hull rupture. Stabilizing trajectory. Cabin atmosphere compromised. Initiating purge.’

  There was a rush of air striking his face. The pressure increased, pushing on his ears until they popped, then he felt the air being dragged away from him, taking the noxious smoke with it. The gas cleared, and he coughed in relief. Blinking, he wiped his stinging eyes, letting them focus.

  The first thing he noticed was the window in front of him: a circular dome of glass that was covered in a spider’s web of cracks. As he watched a small metal appendage telescoped from somewhere beneath his chair and began to inject a gel onto the fractured glass. The segmented device continued its repair, covering each crack in turn, then disappeared out of sight. Cautiously he reached out and touched the translucent gel with his fingertips. Already it was hard to the touch and had formed a neat seal with the damaged window. Then he saw beyond the glass, to the hellish vision outside; a wall of blackness broken by lines of light that streaked past his window in jagged arcs. Something came into view, a giant shape that was dotted with fire. In between were fragments of metal and plastic, a sea of objects that collided with each other, bouncing off the window with frightening regularity. The view turned from the burning object, and fell into a cloud of red gas, smearing the window with ochre ash. Then, as the gas cleared, the rotating vista slowed, and the lines of light became dots, fierce pinpricks of white and blue and yellow against the blackness, and he realized they were stars.

  Space! He was in space. He gasped, panic overwhelming him. He pushed back in his chair, his legs scrambling to retreat to safety. But there was nowhere to go. He was in a tiny spherical capsule; not much larger than the chair he was strapped into. The curved walls were lined with a cream-colored padding which had come away in places to reveal the metal structure beneath. In front of the chair was a small display screen with a carousel of numbers and statistics that flashed impatiently. He ignored the screen and focused on the exposed metal skin of his world. He reached out: it was hot to the touch. Something outside banged against the surface, three times in rapid succession.

  ‘Hello?’ he said. No one replied. Another bang came, this time from the opposite side.

  ‘Is someone there?’

  ‘Hull collisions.’ It was the woman’s voice again, louder and clearer, as if she was standing behind him. ‘We are passing through a debris field. I am adjusting course to compensate.’

  ‘Who? Who are you?’ he asked, startled. ‘Where am I?’

  ‘You are in a lifeboat. Please try to remain calm, you may have concussion.’

  ‘A lifeboat?’

  ‘Lifeboat SA-0709, out of the Ark Royal Obsidian. I am the on-board computer system. We have sustained damage during our escape from the battlefield but life-support remains intact. I am currently searching for a safe harbor to dock with. Once I have a confirmed our flight-plan I will inform you. In the meantime, is there anything you need?’

  ‘N–no,’ he said. This was too much to take in.

  ‘How do you feel?’

  He stared at the view, not answering. As he watched something fell past the window, something that looked like a person.

  ‘I cannot find your I.D. chip,’ the female voice said, it’s tone almost conversational. ‘I am unable to access your medical records without it. What is your name?’

  The que
stion was like a knife to his brain, and a dread realization followed it.

  ‘I . . . I don’t know,’ he said, feeling terrified. How could he not know his own name? Then, as he searched his memories, and he realized he knew nothing about himself. His family, where he lived, everything up to the moment he’d opened his eyes inside the lifeboat, it was all a sickening empty page. ‘Who am I?’

  ‘I have no information,’ the computer responded.

  ‘What did you say earlier?’ he asked desperately. ‘You said something about Ark . . . Ark Royal . . . ’ He couldn’t remember.

  ‘The Ark Royal Obsidian,’ the computer said. ‘That is where you came from. It is the capital arkship of the royal family of Kenric. It was attacked earlier today by an unknown force.’

  He searched his mind for some recollection, but found nothing. ‘Show it to me.’

  ‘I do not understand your request.’

  ‘Show me the Ark Royal Obsidian,’ he demanded.

  ‘I’m sorry, the visual display system has been damaged. I have audio communication available. Would you like that?’

  ‘No. Show me the Ark Royal. In the window.’

  The computer paused. ‘I am trying to preserve our fuel until a safe harbor can be found. I would not recommend unnecessary maneuvers at this time.’

  ‘Please, I need to see it,’ he insisted.

  There was a hiss beyond the metal skin, and the lifeboat turned, adjusting itself. After a moment, a vast structure inched into view, a beautiful curved body of metal and glass and stone that shone out through the debris field. The head of the ship was a massive structure of docking bays and sensors cut into the polished skin of the ship. Behind, the rounded hull divided and stretched into three elegant arms that housed the ship’s engines, all dead, spewing dark smoke into space. Even at this distance he could tell it was vast. Tiny rows of lights marked its contours – windows, he guessed, hinting at the colossal scale of the vessel.

  ‘The Ark Royal Obsidian,’ the female voice noted.

  Along the arkship’s graceful body were the scars of impact craters that had torn into the skin of the ship to expose the interior decks to the vacuum of space. Fire dotted its length, eating into the damaged body of the ship. He didn’t know why but he felt connected to that dying craft, and its loss filled him with remorse.

  ‘Would it help to listen to the Ark Royal Obsidian’s command frequency?’ the computer offered.

  ‘The command frequency?’

  ‘It is the official channel for communication between the arkship and its support craft. We are unable to communicate on that frequency, but we may listen.’

  ‘Yes, do it.’

  The computer obeyed and a static-ridden channel filled his ears.

  ‘ . . . still people in the aft section. I can’t get to them.’

  ‘ARO Command, Demon Star, are you away?’

  ‘ . . . too many of them. I need back-up! Please! Anyo–’

  ‘–emon Star . . . I can see her. She’s on fire.’

  The voices overlapped, too many conversations to keep track of. He listened, watching this beautiful vessel being torn apart. A smaller craft emerged from the front of arkship, trailing fire in its wake.

  ‘That is the Demon Star,’ the computer said.

  ‘ . . . Hunter One is on board the Demon Star,’ the static voice shouted. ‘All ships, defend the Demon Star, at all costs.’

  The little ship cleared the mouth of the arkship and began to gain speed.

  ‘–is Demon Star to ARO Command, we are burning up. We need–’

  The voice broke off as the distant craft became a silent point of light, flickered, then faded into the background.

  ‘Demon Star is down!’

  ‘ . . . was he on board?’

  ‘–lost him. We lost–’

  ‘–all remaining fighters, converge on my co-ordinates. Defend the Ark Royal at all costs–’

  As he watched the battle he felt a sickening dread fill his stomach. Those tiny points of light were people dying.

  ‘Hunter One was the codename for Prince Halstead,’ the computer noted.

  The name meant nothing to him. Frustrated, he tested his memory once more, trying to recall his own name, clawing to know this one tiny piece of information. In a flash, it came to him.

  ‘Wynn,’ he said, startling himself. ‘My name is Wynn.’

  ‘I have checked the population list for the Ark Royal Obsidian: I do not have a record for a Wynn, first or last name. I am sorry, my files may be damaged.’

  Wynn settled into the padded chair, satisfied to know something about himself. In front of him the battle waged on. It was hard to see detail at this distance, just the explosions that tore into the Ark Royal Obsidian’s hull. The static voices continued, increasing in tempo, their tone full of panic. They were losing this battle.

  ‘Who are they fighting?’ Wynn asked the computer.

  ‘I do not know. There is another arkship nearby which appears to be giving tactical support to the attackers. The ship is not listed in my directory.’

  Wynn thought about this as he scratched at his face. The skin about his left eye and cheek was uncomfortably tight. As his fingers touched it he winced in pain.

  ‘Are you unwell?’ the female voice asked.

  ‘My . . . my face.’

  ‘You have suffered severe burns to the left side of your head. Your nose is also broken. I have treated them as well as I can but you must seek medical attention as soon as possible. I am negotiating with a Ciation medical ship to see if they will treat you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Wynn said, his eyes drifting back toward the battle. The arkship was almost in two, its once-gleaming surface torn by a string of erupting bombs. The vast structure buckled, ripping itself apart as another series of detonations dotted its surface. The rear of the ship disappeared in a giant explosion which pushed the rest of the structure ahead of it. Wynn watched as the giant Ark Royal Obsidian crumbled in a cascade of explosions. As the fireballs dissipated all that was left was a tangle of debris. He felt rage build inside him, and with it came a desire, overwhelming and pure: revenge.

  ‘I was on that,’ he whispered to himself. ‘I was on that ship.’ He tried to picture himself there, but no images came to mind. He had no memories to cushion him. Was he glad to be alive? Had he struggled to survive? He didn’t know. He was lost in his own mind, he might as well have been one of the bodies adrift in that maelstrom of metal.

  ‘Warning, proximity alert.’

  Wynn’s eyes widened as he pulled himself out of his reverie. ‘What is it?’

  ‘The debris field from the Ark Royal Obsidian is expanding,’ the computer explained.

  ‘Can’t you out-run it?’

  ‘This lifeboat is not equipped with a high velocity thrust system. I have negotiated your passage and treatment on board the Ciation medical ship Bardolino, but we will not be able to dock with them before the debris field overtakes us. The Bardolino will not wait. I am sorry, Wynn.’

  Out of the window Wynn saw the growing dots of metal chasing him. ‘There must be something you can do!’

  ‘I am sorry.’

  ‘How long have I got?’

  ‘The debris field will overtake us in eight minutes.’

  ‘There has to be other ships nearby?’ Wynn asked, ‘some other survivors who might help me?’

  The soothing tones of the computer’s voice filled the confined space of the lifeboat. ‘Only one vessel is in range, Wynn. I’m sorry, but it’s not a Kenric aligned ship.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘This is a Kenric lifeboat, from the Ark Royal Obsidian, the capital arkship of the royal House of Kenric. You are therefore a citizen of the House of Kenric, so–’

  ‘I realize that!’ Wynn interrupted.

  ‘ . . . so, a ship this close to the battle that is not in allegiance with the House of Kenric must be in allegiance with the attacking ships.’

  Wynn stared out of the window
at the approaching wreckage. ‘We don’t have a choice. Plot a course for the other ship.’

  The computer voice hesitated. ‘I do not think that is wise, Wynn.’

  ‘Do it!’

  ‘I have plotted a course . . . stand by . . . stand by . . . ‘

  ‘What’s taking so long?’ Wynn asked impatiently after a moment of silence. ‘What’s happening.’

  ‘I am sorry to say they are powering up their thrusters. They are moving clear of the debris shock-wave, away from us.’

  ‘How long till they’re out of range?’

  ‘They are already too far away from us. We cannot keep up with them. I am sorry, Wynn. The debris field is now five minutes away.’

  Wynn stared at the cracked window. It couldn’t withstand another onslaught. ‘Turn us around. Turn the window away from the debris field and put us on a perpendicular course to it. I want as much speed as you can manage.’

  ‘Course?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Wynn barked. ‘We just need to ride out the wave, that’s all. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes, I understand, Wynn,’ the computer replied, ‘but putting us on a high-speed trajectory without a course will almost certainly leave you adrift without fuel far from any possible rescue.’

  ‘One problem at a time,’ Wynn said. ‘We have to survive the debris field first.’

  ‘I am uncomfortable with–’

  ‘Do it, please. Turn us around and get us moving, now.’

  Wynn heard the familiar hiss of the thrusters turning the lifeboat. The disturbing view changed as the vessel rotated. The oncoming debris field fell away. Ahead he saw a giant silhouette shape, cut out by the stars. ‘What about that? Are they in range?’

  ‘No. That is the other arkship I mentioned. It is far away. Its size can confuse the human eye, Wynn.’

  ‘They attacked the Obsidian?’

  ‘I believe so.’

  Wynn took a moment to study its shape. It was an elongated structure, not as elegant as the Ark Royal Obsidian, with a rocky outcrop close to the front. ‘It’s built out of an asteroid?’