A Brother's Shadow: Murder, Friendship and Deception, page 12
‘Yeah, in patches. I do things to help manage them.’
‘Same, the main technique being not sleeping,’ Jenkins said.
Marco let out a half grunt, half laugh. ‘It’s good to speak with someone who under—’
‘What are you doing?’ The pair rotated to see Ferreira hollering at Green who was about to place a half-eaten nutrition bar in the bin. Mystified, Green, who still hardly spoke, tossed the bar to Ferreira and walked off. Ferreira wrapped the bar in paper and placed it on the table.
Reed placed his tray of food by Jenkins, who had long finished. ‘She’s quite a character. Hope you haven’t felt too insulted by her though. She took a while to become accustomed to all of us, especially Blue and Green,’ Reed said.
Jenkins looked to Marco with raised eyebrows and got up. ‘I’m going to join the others for cards,’ he said as he walked away.
‘So, were you at the Vardovan academy?’ Reed asked Marco.
‘I was indeed.’
Reed slowly recoiled as if there was something rotten before him. ‘Oof, poor you. I heard the head of training was quite a brute.’
Marco sniggered. ‘You could say. I was once racing another guy across a course and I beat him over a thinly strung bridge a few metres up. Gregor, the head of training, ordered me to cut it down to confirm my win, but I refused. I had already won. He ripped the knife from my hand and did it himself. While the other guy cried below, he unleashed on me, saying I was a soft child more suitable for ballet.’
‘What an abhorrent man.’
After a few minutes of exchanging stories of their academies on Aurrum Terra, the pair were soon drawn in by a conversation between the group playing cards on the next table. Himinez was describing how he gained the scar across his face to Jenkins and Ferreira. Jenkins was his side of the table, Ferreira the other, next to Flower. ‘The flight was going well. We were just going over a forest when this pillock changed his course and cut right across me,’ he said, pointing a finger at Flower.
Flower placed his cards down and crossed his arms. ‘Piss off did I. You lost control, you rat.’
Himinez continued as if he had not heard. ‘His fighter hit my wing and before we knew it, we were both heading for the trees.’ While Himinez spoke, Flower was making increasingly agitated grunts. ‘Flower ejected but mine was jammed. My fighter shook like a bitch as I crashed through the top of some trees. Luckily the forest cleared, and the fireball I was sat in skimmed the surface of a lake before crashing along the shore. Some point between hitting the trees and the shore something cut across my face. I had lost vision in my eyes and the last thing I remembered was the feeling of blood pouring down my front.’ Around the table everyone was captivated. ‘Meanwhile this big guy, who landed safely, pissed himself seeing what he’d done, and ran off without even trying to help me.’
‘Himi could’ve died cause of you?’ Ferreira said with disgust.
Flower abruptly stood, sending his chair toppling over. ‘That’s not true! He crashed into me,’ he shouted, pointing a bulky thumb into his chest. ‘Then I went to find help.’
Himinez was also a far cry from calm. ‘You left me for dead!’ he yelled, chucking his cards at Flower.
Flower’s eyes looked like they were emitting steam and as the cards hit his face, he let out a demonic bellow. Ferreira took hold of him but Flower pulled away with force, all but tearing off his thin vest top. This revealed a thorny rose which wound up his back, travelling over its imperious contours. As Flower lunged across the table for Himinez, his contracting muscles shifted in inhuman ways. Himinez dodged the grab and Flower’s swinging mass sent objects on the table flying. Jenkins and Ferreira sprung from their chairs and stood back in an attempt to avoid the crossfire. Himinez started picking up loose objects and chucked them at Flower. They bounced off without making him flinch.
‘Woah! What is going on here?’
The commotion instantly paused as everyone looked to the doorway where a lieutenant from a different flight was standing. There was a small clatter as Himinez dropped a saltshaker to the floor. Flower stood, an awkward tower, with his rag of a top dangling from his waist.
‘Thanks, Frank,’ Sharpe said to the other lieutenant as he came through the doorway. ‘I’ll sort them from here.’
…
Sharpe did not hold back with his punishment. As was standard, the whole flight was punished and after making the kitchen spotless, they headed to the gym. By the time they finished, the group could hardly move. Sharpe looked at the collection of drenched bodies sprawled over the floor with a content smile. Only Green held a fragment of life.
‘Try to learn something from this,’ Sharpe said. ‘Now for the news I’ve been told I have to tell you.’ A few eyes looked towards Sharpe though there was no significant movement. ‘We have pieced together the evidence from that day with the freighter. Working with the those on the moons, we found the freighter was indeed hijacked from the mining division at Minimis. The duo we took out were miners from one of the moons. In the wreckage we found part of a contract indicating that the plan was to steal a Cyclone and exchange it for credits. A lot of credits. With whom was not visible, but obviously Cyclones are cutting-edge tech, so most other civilisations would pay a very large sum to get hold of one. We believe them knowing our route is due to leaked information, although a lot of people knew where we were going so it will be almost impossible to trace accurately.’ Sharpe observed the bodies who were still breathing heavily. ‘I must say, it’s nice not to have you guys interrupt for once. Finally, the fleet is being restationed to the Vytech headquarters in the Sol system. Apparently, the food there is very good, which I for one cannot wait for.’
There was a shuffle among the bodies then an arm raised in the air. Dangling from the hand was a pack of Tajoes in their orange splendour. ‘You can have one of these if you want, sir?’ Himinez said, with his head still on the floor.
Sharpe let out a muted laugh. ‘I honestly do not know what to say.’ He then left the room.
There was a large slap as Himinez’s arm fell back down.
Green was the first to stand. On his way out he made sure Marco was looking at him before speaking. ‘You bloody miners, scum the lot of you.’
‘He sought to save Blue, not kill him,’ Reed said before pulling his limbs into his body.
Green looked at him with distaste. ‘Did anyone ask you what you think?’ He then marched out of the room.
‘People need to watch out for him,’ Marco said.
‘I’ll look after him,’ Himinez called, eagerly raising his arm once more.
‘That’s not what he meant,’ Flower said cuttingly. ‘He meant you should be careful when around Green, so he doesn’t turn on you.’
‘No, he knows Green is delicate right now and needs looking after,’ Himinez argued.
‘If he had meant that, he would have said people need to watch out for him,’ Flower replied, with emphasis placed on every word.
‘Precisely,’ Himinez said with justification.
There was silence as both men evaluated their discussion.
Flower broke the silence. ‘What did you mean, Marco?’ But as he turned his head sideways, he saw Marco was no longer in the room.
…
Later that evening, Archer had the whole squadron gathered in a moderate-sized hangar. He leaped on top of a crate so the crowd of near one hundred could see him.
‘Hello, lads and lasses. As I’m sure you have heard, our fleet has been reassigned to the Sol system for the time being. This means tomorrow we shall be going through the S.T. gate.’ Archer paused as the crowd murmured among themselves. Some people looked excited whereas others seemed petrified. ‘Most of you will have never warped before but I can assure you, it doesn’t feel too weird.’ He waited for the discussions to die down before continuing. ‘But that is not the main reason I have brought you here today. My colleagues and I assembled this squadron from nothing, and I can confirm you have proved our decision to recruit you all correct at every turn. Well, almost. I am very proud of how we’ve progressed as a unit, but my time has come to step down.’
Noise grew within the crowd. Shouts of disapproval occasionally broke through the noise. A section of the crowd started calling ‘stay’, and like an infection, the shouts spread through the room. Soon the hangar was reverberating with the cry. People were stomping and clapping to add to the racket which became thunderous. Two fighters which were in the hangar started shaking and tools that were left on workbenches vibrated so vigorously, some fell off and crashed to the floor.
‘Blue Star,’ became the dominant chant from the crowd then Archer raised his arm and the noise halted within seconds as the crowd became fixated on their leader.
‘Thank you. I really appreciate it, but my decision is made.’ A groan went through the crowd. ‘You shall be handed over to your new squadron leader when we are in the Sol system.’
Marco was near the back of the crowd. Seeing Archer on the crate brought him back to the garden wall around his childhood house in Vardova. Due to Marco’s lack of height, Archer would give him a leg up onto the wall. From there, Marco would proclaim to be the ruler of the Milky Way. Despite the fact it was not him on the crate, Marco could not help but admire Archer. Even in their disappointment, the crowd had their gaze centred on him, waiting for his next words. The only exceptions were Ferreira and Green. Ferreira was whispering into Green’s ear while he gazed back towards Marco.
…
As promised by Archer, the next day the whole 13th fleet was stationed by the S.T. gate that also orbited Aurum Terra. Archer’s squadron were on the VSS Trogen, an Auger transport ship whose classes’ defining feature was a series of rings that protruded out to the front. Any ship entering would first have to travel through these rings which would complete an in-depth scan.
Marco was sitting at the window in a sleek lounge area with curving dark-leather couches, admiring the vast collection of ships. The might of the fleet was displayed with splendour, and it seemed incomprehensible that others could have fleets to match.
As the VSS Trogen drifted, the S.T. gate was gradually revealed in Marco’s window. His stomach tightened. The silver structure itself had two defining parts. The first was a colossal cylinder which was named the conduit. The conduit was hollow and its inner wall was lined with Goliath-metal strands. Following the chamber’s curves, they did not encroach on the cavernous waiting area. The second major feature, located on the exterior, was a rounded obtrusion which was held to the conduit by metallic fingers. Within their containment, and the power supply of the gate, was a gently glowing orb.
Marco groaned to himself as Reed entered the lounge. He did not dislike Reed but found his company exhausting. Reed sat by Marco’s side, smiling as if he had reached a state of enlightenment. ‘When I was a child, I would sneak out of bed to watch this shine in orbit,’ Reed said. ‘I can’t believe we are actually going to go through it.’
‘It is incredible,’ Marco said, struggling for more words.
‘You should see it start up. That orb becomes so bright. Then, just before the jump, it spits out a beam from its top.’ Reed hummed with satisfaction. ‘Do you know much about S.T. gates?’ he asked.
Marco tried to calculate the words which would most limit the deluge of information he could sense waiting to flow. ‘I’ve heard a mixture of stories. I know they’re High Locar tech,’ he replied.
‘Yeah, humans first ascertained their being back when we only existed within the Sol star system. League of Humanity explorers were scouting for suitable colony locations on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.’
Marco cursed inside his head. He had failed to put in place a blockade.
‘While scanning the surface they came across a section of ice that was much denser than the rest. They started excavating and bit by bit they eventually uncovered a ring like the front of the conduit there. Realising this was the first evidence of alien life, humanity went into a frenzy. The League and the largest space faring corporations of the time, of course including Vytech, sent out their crews accompanied by their best scientists. The idea was to divulge the secrets of this mystical structure. Theories were thrown around from it being a passage to the centre of Titan, to the moon itself being a weapon capable of eviscerating planets. One day some bright sparks had the idea to set off explosives on the thing.’
Reed looked to Marco who was still gazing out of the window. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble.’
‘Nah, it’s cool. Please continue.’ Marco replied, surprised by his own response. He had to admit he was slightly intrigued by aliens and their mysteries.
‘No, I’m sorry. I’ll stop.’
‘Continue.’
‘Oh, er, what happened next nobody was prepared for. The explosion set something off. A pulse was sent down the structure and anyone touching the exposed material perished instantly. The whole area began to shake as if the moon was falling apart. The survivors ran for their lives but before most could escape there was a whirring sound like an electric motor, but excessively louder.’ For the next sentence, Reed threw his arms across himself in a dramatic manner. ‘The ice sheet covering the top of the cylinder cracked and fell away, crushing machinery and anything else in the vicinity. This revealed a sphere like the one you see. The whole machine came to life and a blast of energy shot down the conduit. It is said only ten humans survived and to their shock, when they looked towards the entrance of the conduit, there stood the silhouettes of angel-like figures. These beings took the survivors, who were mostly suffering from severe burns, back into the depths of the conduit.’
‘How do you know so much detail?’ Marco asked.
‘Safe to say that I’ve done a lot of research into S.T. gates,’ Reed said.
Reed gathered his thoughts then continued. ‘They paused in the tunnel before there was a cascade of lights. When the lights finally ceased, the survivors were led out of the conduit to find a glorious landscape. It was a rugged scene with steep cliffs rising as towering islands from water below. Waterfalls spouted from all directions, their source invisible among mountains shrouded in mist. Vegetation was plentiful and displayed colours ranging from deep purples to pure golden yellows. Attached to the cliffs were sharp, imperious physics-defying buildings. Over the next days the ten humans were returned to full strength, given tours, and fed meals inconceivable to us humans. The species we now know as High Locar used translators which put our current ones to shame and were soon able to communicate fully. After this, wonderful things began to transpire. The High Locar eagerly shared their history and how they have had space flight technology for longer than humans have been present. They told stories of other alien species and how they have many more gates like the one on Titan. After growing fond of the humans, they even agreed to share their knowledge. One of the first things they began to explain was the S.T. gates. This was where it all went wrong.’
Marco was no longer looking out of the window but, instead, straight at Reed.
‘The humans were far from understanding the technicality of the gates, but they had possession of their blueprints and knew the immeasurable value of them to humanity. The potential money pulled them in as the fruit did Eve. Two of the ten humans had soon formed a plot to return to our solar system and be the first to sell the blueprints and make themselves richer than other humans could fathom. With basic knowledge of how to operate the gate, they managed to travel back to Titan. Upon arrival on Earth, they were hailed as heroes, the openers of space-time and divine saviours of humanity. With the money they made, they quickly built more gates than anyone else. They set up colonies which soon formed Horizon. Shocked by the greed shown after their boundless acts of kindness, the High Locar banished the other eight before they had the chance to understand the technology. High Locar swore never to let another human set foot on their home world again, or any species for that matter.’
‘Why are we not taught this at school?’ Marco asked.
Reed laughed as if Marco was a child innocently unaware of the blatantly obvious. ‘This happening prevented all alien species from accessing technology which would be beyond revolutionary. Swiftly confirming humanity’s nature, the League rushed to cover the true events. Various stories of heroism and misfortune were spread until lies could no longer be distinguished from truth.’
‘So, why’s your version the truth?’
‘My father spent his whole life finding it.’
‘Ah, and I suppose these events are why the relationship between Horizon and the League is so poor.’ A proud smile spread across Marco’s face as he put the pieces together.
‘Correct. They’re the largest existing human-run civilisation not to follow League guidelines, hence they are not in the Coalition, and this lost history is why there was always a rift.’
‘Do you think there’ll be a war between them and the League?’
‘Not as things stand. They may have more might than the League alone, but the Coalition is made up of us and all other human-controlled civilisations. As you know, most of the point of the Coalition is if one civilisation with a significant human population is under threat, then all the others will come to their defence. The League is not only the head of the Coalition but is also the cultural heart of humanity. Against the Coalition, Horizon would stand no chance. It would be a solitary swordsman attacking a spear wall.’
The conversation was abruptly halted as their ship drifted inside the conduit. The space within was so vast that even though many ships were docked inside, they did not begin to fill the jump zone. Marco and Reed sat in silence, inspecting the marvel before them.
The VSS Trogen was soon stationary. Marco and Reed were still placed by the window and gazed with fixed expressions at the metal strands on the inner wall of the conduit as they began to spin. Due to the lack of atoms in space, they could not hear the process, but Marco was sure that if they could, it would be loud. Different colours of light began to swirl past the ship. A feeling of unease entered Marco’s stomach as the space around them seemed to distort. The flow of lights around the ship increased to a torrent. All of a sudden, there was a flash. It was so bright it made sight impossible. Then stillness returned, leaving Marco in a daze. Reed stood and waddled away in the direction of the toilets.
