Arkship Vengeance Read online

  He walked away from the ship, stopping at the edge of the landing pad where he could take in the entire ship; it was old and battered, probably stressed well beyond its design limits, by the look of the reinforced and repaired struts that ran along either side of the hull. Its body was narrow, with the blackened engines positioned above the main deck, making it look as if it might topple over on its narrow landing legs.

  ‘You’re quite the ship, aren’t you?’ Derward muttered.

  ‘Do you expect a reply?’

  He whirled round to see Wynn had been watching him from the entrance to the dock, a mischievous smile on his face.

  Derward laughed as he strode to greet his friend. ‘I dread to think what this little ship might say, if it could talk. It’s good to see you, Wynn.’

  ‘You too. Present from Ermengarde?’ Wynn asked, nodding at the vessel.

  ‘You will call her the Scribe,’ Derward teased. ‘Not even a prince gets that privilege. But to answer your question: yes. My last ship was destroyed rescuing you and Bara, remember?’

  ‘How could I forget? I’ve had to apologize to you every day for the last two years.’

  ‘She was a good ship,’ Derward said, wistfully.

  ‘And I’m still sorry. There, you’ve had my penance for today!’

  ‘That will suffice, until tomorrow.’

  Wynn walked round the little ship, inspecting the Lupaus from every angle. ‘We have a signal, from the Fields of Venus.’

  ‘The Draig refueling station?’

  Wynn nodded. ‘We’re going there tomorrow, if we can nail the engine problems.’

  ‘A big if.’

  ‘Commander Van Leeuwen seems confident we can fix it.’ Wynn said. He looked away, his brow wrinkled.

  Derward had known him long enough to see that something was on his mind. ‘What is it?’

  ‘We’re risking a lot . . . I’m risking a lot, aren’t I?’

  ‘It’s a bit late for second thoughts, Wynn. We talked this through before we left Icarus.’

  ‘I know, but . . . we’re relying on the Church’s information.’

  ‘They’re not your enemy, Wynn.’

  ‘But they put a Reader on the Vengeance.’

  Derward sighed. ‘It’s their way, you know that.’

  ‘But can we trust her?

  ‘Mallory?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Derward hesitated, thinking how much to tell Wynn. ‘You trust me, don’t you?’

  ‘Of course!’

  ‘I’ve known Keres Mallory since before she was a Reader, since she was just a girl, in fact. So, if you trust me, then you trust her.’

  Wynn nodded, but Derward could tell he wasn’t convinced.

  ‘I’d trust her with my life,’ Derward added.

  ‘We all are,’ Wynn noted darkly.

  ‘It’s not too late, Wynn. You don’t have to attack the Fenrir. We can keep testing the Vengeance and wait for our moment.’

  ‘No. This is our moment.’ He’d made up his mind.

  Derward rested a hand on Wynn’s shoulder, reassuring him.

  ‘I should go,’ Wynn said.

  ‘Bara?’

  They both laughed.

  ‘Am I always so transparent?’

  ‘Only to me,’ Derward said with a smile.

  NIGHT VISITORS

  Bara released her boot clasps and let them fall to the floor, glad to finally be alone in her room on board Lexica. She had been assigned a room on the Vengeance, but she preferred to sleep here. This felt like home, or the closest thing to it. She needed time alone, to think about what Gofal had said, to consider her own feelings, to confront her future here with Wynn. She couldn’t stay, she was certain of that. She couldn’t stand by and watch another home be destroyed. The horror of Melchior was always there, at the edge of her mind, an open wound that only needed the right memory to bleed anew. She dropped onto her bed and closed her eyes, clearing her mind, thinking about what she’d like to eat, when the com pinged. Groaning, Bara ignored it.

  ‘I’m done for today!’ she muttered.

  The com pinged again.

  Cursing, she lifted herself off the bed and hit the device. ‘What?’

  ‘Bara?’ It was a woman’s voice, fragile and hesitant. She had expected it to be the Chief with another problem for her to fix.

  ‘Who is it?’

  ‘Keres . . . Reader Mallory,’ the voice replied. ‘Can I come on board?’

  Bara cut the link. ‘Sol! Don’t I get any peace?’ She opened the channel again and said, ‘I’ll meet you at the ramp.’

  She climbed down to the lower deck, activated the entry ramp from her wrist com, and waited. Reader Mallory appeared at the bottom, her movements pensive and hesitant.

  ‘Come on up,’ Bara encouraged. ‘I was just going to make something to eat. Hungry?’

  ‘No, thank you,’ Reader Mallory said as she entered the ship. ‘Today is a fasting day.’

  ‘Oh, right,’ Bara replied, feeling awkward. She began to tidy up some of the cargo boxes dotted around the ramp, stacking one on top of another to offer the Reader somewhere to sit.

  ‘I am sorry for the lateness of the call,’ Reader Mallory replied as she rested.

  Bara hoisted another box into place and sat on top of it, crossing her legs. ‘What’s up.’

  ‘Nothing, not really. I just wanted to get to know you a little.’

  ‘Oh,’ Bara said, surprised. ‘Okay. Well, maybe we could get together after the shakedown tests are finished, I’ll have more time–’

  ‘I’m sorry, but it really must be now. In the next day we will be at war with the House of Draig. Time is short, and I feel the Prince will need my counsel during the coming hours and days. You see, a Reader is there to help the people of an arkship, but also its rulers. I wish to be of service to Wynn . . . to Prince Halstead. I can only do that if I know and understand him, and he trusts in my advice. The surest way to know a man is to know the company he keeps. So, I have come to you, Bara. Will you help me?’

  Taken aback, Bara hesitated. The Reader seemed full of conviction, desperate to fulfill her duty. She was older than Bara, yet there was a naiveté to her. ‘Have you ever been assigned before?’

  ‘Assigned? No, I was only recently elevated to Reader. I have studied for many years as an Aspirant, I have prepared for this day, and I am ready to do my duty, Gods willing.’

  Bara smiled, trying to put her at ease. ‘I’m sure you’re prepared, but you can’t make someone trust you by study. It’ll take time, Reader . . . do you have a first name?’

  Reader Mallory blushed. ‘Keres, but it is proper to use my title.’

  ‘Okay, Keres,’ Bara said, ignoring the Reader’s advice. ‘You’ll only gain Wynn’s trust in time, not by forcing it. But you’re right, he’s going to need you in the days to come. He’s going to need all of us. So, we all need to be ready to serve. But you don’t need to quiz me about him to do that.’

  ‘I just feel that, if I knew more about him, other than what I’ve read in his file, I would be able to help him further.’

  There was a file on him. Bara wondered if there was one on her as well. She put the thought to one side, realizing she wasn’t going to be able to dismiss Reader Mallory easily. ‘All right, what do you need to know?’

  ‘You and the Prince, you have known each other for some time?’

  ‘Just over two years, since the destruction of the Obsidian. I’m sure this is in your file.’

  Reader Mallory smiled pensively. ‘What does he like to do, when he’s not on duty?’

  ‘He’s never not on duty,’ Bara laughed dryly. She thought for a moment, adding, ‘We often walk together, through the station or aboard the Vengeance. It helps him to think.’

  ‘What do you talk about?’

  ‘Nothing . . . the future, his duties, my work.’

  Reader Mallory nodded, her eyes wide with interest. ‘How would you describe your relationship with Prince Hal
stead?’

  Bara blinked quickly. The question had taken her off-guard. She laughed to cover her surprise. ‘That’s complicated . . .’

  ‘Do you live together?’

  Bara composed herself. She felt out of control. ‘I thought you wanted to know about him, not me.’

  ‘You are connected.’

  ‘What about you?’

  The Reader hesitated. ‘I’d rather talk about the prince.’

  ‘Well, I’d rather not.’ Bara snapped. ‘It’s been a long day, and I just realized I don’t know anything about you, Keres. Maybe that’s how you build trust with Wynn, and me.’

  ‘There is little to tell. I have been raised in the embrace of the Church. I have trained for this day all my life. Now, I am a Reader, and I want to serve my prince, and his arkship, to the best of my ability.’

  ‘And what do you do when you’re off duty?’

  The Reader looked down. ‘Like the prince, I am never off duty.’

  There was a hint of sadness in Reader Mallory’s voice, and Bara couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

  ‘Look,’ Bara began, trying to sound calmer, ‘if you want Wynn to trust you all you need to do is be ready to help. When he needs you – be there! You do that, and he’ll trust you till the day he dies. Ask Derward. You know him, don’t you?’

  ‘A little, yes.’

  ‘Good. Wynn trusts him, he turns to him for advice all the time. But you can’t force that sort of relationship. It comes with time. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes, I think so.’

  ‘Okay,’ Bara smiled warmly. ‘Well, like I said, I’m hungry. You can stay, if you like, but I don’t suppose it’s much fun watching someone else eat, right?’

  ‘No,’ Reader Mallory laughed. It was as if she had finally let her guard down, and allowed Bara to see inside.

  The Reader turned towards the entrance ramp and descended to the dock. At the bottom, she faced Bara and said, ‘May the light of the Infinite Gods reflect upon you.’

  Uncertain how to respond, Bara gave her a polite wave, watching the Reader until she had gone. Already their conversation was fading from her mind as she rearranged the cargo boxes, planning her evening meal. Her mouth watered as she turned to hit the entry ramp controls.

  ‘Wait!’

  The voice was Wynn’s.

  Bara lowered the ramp again, and ran down to meet him. They embraced, holding each other.

  ‘Gods, I’ve missed you,’ Wynn whispered, his mouth close to her ear.

  She wallowed in the warmth of his breath, realizing how brief and fragile moments like this had become.

  ‘Have you eaten?’ she asked as they pulled apart. ‘I was just going to make something.’

  Wynn looked up the entrance ramp. ‘I want to, really I do . . .’

  ‘But . . .’ Bara said, anticipating what was coming next. It was always the same.

  ‘We found a signal, Bara. You know what’ll happen tomorrow. There’s so much to do, but I wanted to see you first. I needed to see you.’

  Bara stared into his eyes, losing herself in them, knowing she had to say something. She couldn’t keep her doubts to herself any longer.

  He found her hand and squeezed it. ‘The next few days . . . well, it’s going to be busy.’

  ‘Wynn . . .’

  ‘I’m not going to have a lot of time,’ he continued, not listening to her. ‘Tonight, I had to come see you . . . Bara, I love you.’

  His words stunned her. The statement wasn’t new, but Wynn barely ever exposed his feelings. She hadn’t realized how scared he was until just now.

  ‘I love you and I need you,’ he continued, his eyes glassy. ‘I need to know you’re here, by my side, hand in hand.’

  ‘I’m here, with you,’ she said, ‘and I’m not going anywhere.’

  She held him again, and tears came to her eyes as she realized she had chosen her future.

  BATTLEFIELDS

  ‘ST bubble is stable,’ the flight deck officer called out.

  Wynn tensed as he felt the sensation of sickness course through him. He always hated this part. The arkship Vengeance accelerated into the bubble of distorted space-time that it had just created. As it passed over the threshold, the mighty vessel shook, adjusting to the shifting energy density.

  ‘Negative mass achieved,’ another voice shouted.

  The feeling of nausea passed, and Wynn opened his eyes to a wall of color bleeding through the flight deck windows.

  ‘Cube drive stable . . . clock is running.’

  He glanced at Commander Van Leeuwen. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.’

  ‘Nobody does. We just grimace and pretend it’s fine,’ he joked. He glanced down at the consoles below him. ‘All looks good, so far.’

  ‘So far,’ Wynn replied with a note of caution. Hardly any of their shakedown tests had gone smoothly. He wished they’d had more time before–

  ‘Tachyon flow rate alarm!’

  ‘Hull stress increasing on starboard sensors.’

  Wynn looked to the commander, hoping this wasn’t serious, but Van Leeuwen was fighting with the harness that kept him in his seat, leaning over the railing and staring down on his officers.

  ‘Compensate the flow!’ he demanded.

  ‘Flow regulator number three is offline.’

  The hull began to creak, little jolts and pops that grew louder.

  The voices came quickly, overlapping with each other as the situation became more serious.

  ‘We have ST bubble asymmetry.’

  ‘Heat spike detected.’

  ‘Tachyon wall failure.’

  Commander Van Leeuwen returned to his chair. ‘Disengage Cube drive.’

  ‘Cube drive shut down!’

  The flight deck shuddered, then became silent. Gravity returned as, outside, the psychedelic lightshow broke apart and was replaced by an ochre swirling fog.

  Wynn caught his breath, only vaguely aware of the officers reporting their status to the commander.

  ‘We’re inside the Fields, but we’ve fallen short of the target,’ the commander explained as Wynn caught his attention. ‘Once we resolve the problem, we’ll be underway again.’

  ‘What about the Caerleon?’

  Commander Van Leeuwen checked his console. ‘Station-keeping until we signal them.’

  ‘Commander, MST.’ The voice came through on the chair’s com system. Wynn glanced down and saw one of the officers waiting for their attention.

  ‘Go ahead, MST,’ the commander replied.

  ‘I’ve scanned the target location. We’re much closer now, so the level of clarity is higher. Sir, the target beacon doesn’t seem large enough to be a fuel refinery. I’d expect to see a much bigger signature than the one I’m picking up.’

  ‘Conclusion?’

  The officer hesitated, rechecking his console. ‘Sensor malfunction, false signal, scattering from the gas cloud, or . . .’

  ‘Or it’s not a fuel station,’ Commander Van Leeuwen supposed.

  ‘Yes, sir. Recommend caution,’ the officer said.

  ‘Thank you. Run your scan again, full spectrum.’ He turned to Wynn, speaking softly. ‘This could be a trap.’

  Wynn nodded, feeling a growing sense of trepidation. ‘Contact the Caerleon, let Tanis know our situation and–’

  ‘Multiple signals! All around us.’

  The arkship rocked, as the gas about them shifted, and Wynn noticed a dark shape ahead.

  ‘Arkships, inbound. Six . . . seven . . . nine arkships!’

  ‘Launch fighters!’ Commander Van Leeuwen barked. ‘All decks, battle stations.’

  The fog outside lit up with points of light, tiny temporary stars that revealed the outline of arkships hiding in the nebula.

  ‘Incoming ordnance. Brace, brace, brace!’

  ‘They were waiting for us,’ Commander Van Leeuwen gasped. ‘They were hiding in the cloud, and we landed right in the middle of them.’

 
; The arkship jolted. The lights flickered as smoke began to fill the flight deck.

  ‘Return fire.’ Commander Van Leeuwen ordered. He activated the holograph in front of his chair. At its center was a representation of the Vengeance. Alongside was another arkship. Further out, the flickering ghosts of another eight arkships moved to surround them.

  ‘We don’t stand a chance,’ Van Leeuwen said, his face full of anger. ‘We need the Caerleon.’

  ‘No,’ Wynn responded, grabbing the commander’s arm.

  Commander Van Leeuwen glared at him. ‘But without them we’re dead.’

  ‘If they come here they’ll be dead as well. We’re on our own, Commander.’

  The commander held Wynn’s stare, rage behind his eyes, then he blinked and looked at the mist outside. The gas was burning with enemy fire.

  ‘Recall our fighters, prepare the Cube drive. Sound the retreat.’

  PARTINGS

  ‘We are under attack?’ Reader Mallory whispered. ‘So soon?’

  Derward stared at her young face, trying to remember every line. ‘I should go.’

  ‘To the shelter?’ she asked, standing.

  Another bombardment rocked the small chapel.

  Derward steadied himself on the wall. ‘You go, I have to help.’

  ‘Help? How can you help? You must come to the shelter with me.’

  She took his arm, as if to lead him, and for a moment Derward felt weak. He wanted to go with her. He wanted to hide until this was over. But he had a mission to fulfil.

  ‘I can’t,’ he replied, shaking her off. He turned to leave, but found himself drawn back to her.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked as he stared into her eyes.