Frontier's Shadow: A Space Opera Adventure (Frontiers Book 3), page 11
“It’s as if it’s studying us,” Jason said.
“Perhaps figuring out whether or not it wants to grill or fry us,” Althaus added.
Footsteps sounded from the far end of the walkway, and the creature retracted its tendril and faced the opposite direction. Three figures appeared, all wearing dark-green EV suits, completely different from anything Jason had ever seen. The faces through the helmets were equally unusual.
What was most alarming, however, was the weapons in their hands. Each sported a large cylindrical rifle-style gun at least a meter in length. They took aim at the creature and fired. Massive bursts of blue energy discharged from the weapons, making contact with the animal.
It shrieked out in agony and convulsed, unable to move against the immense firepower. Its creamy whiteness changed into a dull gray goo, and it shriveled from a large mass into nothing more than a puddle of muck.
Aly cautiously approached the dead creature and placed her boot in it. “It’s like something from The Wizard of Oz.”
“Funny, I thought that was a family movie.” Jason stared up the walkway where their saviors put their weapons down by their sides.
Kevin appeared behind them and rushed to Aly to give her a fatherly embrace.
“Kevin, who are these people?” Jason asked.
“Is that the thanks I get for saving your life?” he said, unable to wipe the smile from his face with the sight of his daughter alive and well.
“They’re the ones who fired the blue stuff to take that thing down, so technically, it was them who saved us.”
“I guess you’re right. Let’s get back to the ship, and I’ll explain everything.”
Cargo Ship Argo
If Jason were asked to describe Captain Vorholan’s species, he’d say it was a cross between a dinosaur and an ancient creature that once lived in the molten center of a volcano. He did his damnedest not to stare at the bone protruding from his head.
The salvage ship captain sat at the poker table of the rec room with his dour second-in-command, Haralan, standing behind him. Everyone from the Argo, except Aly, stood around the room curiously watching him take a sip of coffee.
“It’s got an interesting flavor,” Vorholan said, screwing his face up. The small, almost invisible translation device beneath his earlobe gave them the ability to communicate with one another.
Jason smirked at the alien commander’s attempt to not offend them and revealed a flask from the breast pocket of his jacket. He poured some in Vorholan’s mug. “Try it now.”
Marissa looked at him suspiciously. “Do you always keep a flask on you?”
“Uh, mostly.”
Vorholan’s eyes widened. “What do you call this?”
“Bourbon. It’s alcohol.” Jason went to put more in the mug, but the Sansarak’s captain stopped him and grabbed it from his hands.
“May I?”
Jason nodded, and Vorholan took a sip. He was so impressed he chugged the rest of it down, emptying the remains.
He returned the flask. “That’s very nice.”
“As a show of gratitude for our rescue, I’m sure I could find a bottle for you.”
Vorholan nodded in thanks.
“We’d also like to ask some questions, if that’s okay?” Jason put the flask in his pocket and scratched at the ointment Doctor Tai had administered for the radiation damage on his skin. “As you know, we’re the new kids on the block out here.”
“That has been made abundantly clear.”
Jason took a seat across from him. “That thing. That creature—”
“It’s called a kwigalark,” Vorholan said.
“And it was the source of our Iota particles.” Aly passed through the hatchway and planted an EV boot on the poker table.
Jason picked the boot up and studied it. “Aly?”
“Before we left the ship, I brought a sample of the creature with me. When I returned to the Argo I scanned it, and sure enough—”
“You detected kwigans,” Vorholan said. “The golden elixir to interstellar travel.”
Jason added it all up. “The debris we found. The creature probably escaped from its enclosure, ran rampant on the ship, and put that hole in the side of the hull. That’s why the debris we found floating in space was covered in Iota particles.”
“Wait a minute,” Tai said. “Are you telling us that trans-space flight is achieved with the extraction of Iota particles from these beings?”
“No.” The captain shook his head. “At least not anymore. Once upon a time their species were hunted for exactly that. But that was centuries ago. Kwigans are now artificially synthesized by the interstellar-faring races of the galaxy.”
“Then why did the crashed ship have one of these kwigalarks on board?” Marissa asked.
“They appeared to be on an expedition. They must’ve thought a kwigalark was something to add to their collection. How very wrong they were.”
“And what do you want with its remains?” Aly looked at him with an accusatory glare. “I noticed you taking its leftovers with you.”
“The kwigalark is rare. Even a dead one fetches a high price.” Vorholan shrugged. “As salvage hunters, we do what we must to make a living.”
Jason couldn’t blame him. He’d grown up on a cargo ship where they constantly chased work to make ends meet. Though this was a little morbid. “That vessel down there. Who does it belong to?”
“You really are new out here, aren’t you?” Vorholan smirked. “That is a Company ship.”
“Company?”
“They act primarily as the trading arm of the Alliance in this region of the galaxy. But they also take care of Alliance affairs and other such ventures as well.”
“Other ventures?” Jason remembered what he’d seen on the Scorpius planet. “The emblem on the bridge of that ship down there matched the one I saw inside an observation post, several light-years from here. However, the remains of the people there were a different species to the ones on the planetoid.”
“To be wide-eyed and full of questions.” Vorholan smiled. “Do you have any more of this bourbon?”
Jason glanced at Kevin who retrieved a bottle from the galley. He poured a glass for the Sansarak’s captain and handed it to him.
“The Alliance…” Vorholan knocked back the drink. “It comprises thousands of worlds and controls a vast mass of the known galaxy. My planet, Natrusia Prime, is one of those planets. You’ve seen different races because the Alliance is a multicultural coalition of species.”
Something Jason hadn’t been able to get out of his mind was the star chart he’d seen on the Company ship’s bridge. “All empires are kept in check by expansive networks. On my world, the Romans constructed roads for their armies, the British built ships for their navies, and when humans reached out beyond our star system, we developed FTL travel. I imagine the Alliance uses trans-space to do the same.”
“You’re talking about the gateways?”
The green circles on the star charts?
“You’re right,” Vorholan continued. “The Alliance long ago connected each corner of its sphere of influence with a massive gateway network. No longer did vessels have to create the corridors on their own.”
“Though some ships still have that ability?”
“My ship does, and so does the Company ship down there. We have no choice, as the gateways aren’t situated beyond the Alliance’s borders. Not yet anyway.”
“However, there is one nearby.” Jason pulled a data tablet from his pocket and placed it on the table. “I noticed this searching through the Company’s computer systems. The star looked familiar to me, so I verified it with our own star charts, and it matched up.”
Vorholan studied its small screen. “That’s Tadrosia.”
“It’s thirty-eight light-years away.” Jason steepled his fingers. “It would take the Argo two years to travel there with conventional FTL. With some help we could be there almost instantaneously.”
“Are you suggesting what I think you are, Captain Cassidy?”
“You said it yourself, you can open a trans-space corridor of your own. If you could find it in your heart to open one to Tadrosia for us, we could ride it there and we’d then be able to use the network to complete our mission.”
Vorholan eyed Jason and the rest of the crew. “As a salvage hunter, I’m not in the business of giving something away for nothing.”
“I’m more than happy to make a trade. If there’s something—”
Haralan whispered into his commander’s ear.
Vorholan nodded and turned his attention back to Jason. “Perhaps we can come to an agreement. However, opening a gateway for you wouldn’t be one of them. Understand we’d prefer not to use our power reserves this far from home unless absolutely necessary.”
“Then what—”
Vorholan put up his hand. “I’d be willing to sell you a small part of the kwigalark’s remains. You should be able to extract enough kwigans from it to power this trans-space actuator of yours.”
Jason narrowed his eyes. “Why not the artificial kwigans you normally use?”
“Because, frankly, Captain, the remnants of the kwigalark this far from home won’t make me money. Storing them will cost me. If I can offload some…”
Jason pondered the proposal. “What do you think, Aly?”
“Uh…” She hesitated. “Our trans-space actuator only incurred damage to the particle replicator. With fresh Iota particles, I don’t see any reason why I can’t use them to create a vortex.”
“With no ability to replicate them, the particles will be finite,” Althaus said. “We’d need enough to get us to Tadrosia.”
“I’ll make sure you have a suitable amount,” Vorholan assured him. “After that, you’ll never require them again should you gain access to the gateway network.”
It all sounded so simple. Jason peered across the table at the Natrusian, trying to sum him up. “Now comes the question of what you want in return.”
“I scanned your vessel when we first came into contact with it. Standard operating procedure.”
“Just in case we became something in need of salvaging?”
“Something like that.” Vorholan grinned. “I am sorry to say we didn’t find much of value.”
Jason frowned. “There must be—”
“You said you’d give me one of these bourbons as a gift. How many more do you have?”
Everyone in the room looked at Jason as if he were on trial in the Spanish Inquisition.
“I guess I could scrounge up another bottle,” he said.
“There’s a case of it stashed in the cargo bay.” Althaus smirked.
You son of a bitch…
“Then we have a deal.” Vorholan stood and handed Jason his glass. “We’ll conclude the transaction within the hour.”
He walked from the rec room with Haralan in tow, and Jason stared around the room, catching the eye of Kione. His alien friend simply crossed his arms and frowned.
Twenty-Seven
Captain Vorholan handed Jason the sealed black container, no larger than a briefcase. And while it appeared innocuous, what lay inside it was a monumental lifeline. All their hopes now rested on Aly being able to use the Iota particles to get them to Tadrosia.
Jason passed it to her and she rushed off with Althaus by her side. “Take this and figure out how to open a vortex.”
She nodded and rushed off to the engine room with Althaus by her side.
Jason led Vorholan to one of the many containers in the cargo bay. He cracked it open and reached for a box, revealing the dozen bottles of Blue Jacket bourbon inside. “With this case gone, I’ll be the commander of a dry ship.”
“I’m sure your crew will manage,” Vorholan said optimistically.
“They may. I won’t.” Jason chuckled. “All work and no play…”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t worry.” Jason yanked a bottle from the box and held it as if it were a small child. “Promise me, Captain, when you drink this, take the time to savor it. I realize it’s just cheap liquor, but I’ve crawled into many a bottle like this over the years and—”
“I think you have a problem, Captain,” Vorholan cut him off. “Perhaps when you get back to this Earth of yours, you should seek some help.”
“You’re not the first person to say that.” Jason hated admitting he had an issue. And even though he hadn’t drunk to excess since his return to the Argo, the thought of being unable to have the tiniest sip of the brown nectar horrified him.
Vorholan took the case and made his way to the starboard airlock. Jason put out his hand, and Vorholan did the same, not quite sure what to do with it.
Jason clasped it tightly. “Thanks for the rescue. I guess we were lucky you were in the right place at the right time.”
“An unusual expression along with an equally unusual custom,” Vorholan said, staring down at their hands.
Jason chuckled, pulling his hand away. He opened the airlock and allowed Captain Vorholan to depart. With another mash of the panel, the hatch closed, and the grungy salvage ship maneuvered away into the distance.
The elevator came to a halt behind him, and Kione stepped off. “The trade is done then?”
“Aly’s working with the Iota particles now. With any luck we’ll be back on the road soon.” Jason led him back toward the elevator. “Talk to me, Kione. You have reservations about this?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Always.”
“Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”
They stepped inside, and he directed the car up to A Deck. “In what sense?”
Kione seemed to have trouble putting the words together. “We’re using the remains of an intelligent being that was killed.”
“Kione, that kwigamanthingy is dead.” He furrowed his brow. “And do you know why it’s dead? Because it was trying to kill us. If it weren’t for the Natrusians, me, Aly, and Althaus would be six feet under right now. I don’t think it would’ve cared about our remains. It certainly didn’t care about the crew of that ship. It was a bloodbath over there.”
The elevator stopped.
“I understand that, but ethically—”
“Ethics be damned.” Jason stepped out of the elevator and headed into he galley. “Our trans-space actuator is useless, and the only way to get anywhere soon is by using whatever’s left of that creature. Vorholan would’ve sold it at some point, it might as well have been to us.”
Jason opened a cabinet, hoping to find a hidden bottle of bourbon or a half-empty flask he might have forgotten about. Having no luck, he turned around to the puppy dog eyes of his alien friend.
“Look, Kione, I get it. Do I feel completely comfortable with this? No.” Jason sat down. “But the stakes are high. I will do what I have to do to reach the Horizon Cluster to bring my brother home. If that means using the remains of that killing machine to get me there, then so be it.”
“The colonists of Scorpius said the same.” Kione leaned on the chair at the other end of the table. “We all chastised them for what they did by releasing that bioweapon, but they were doing what they thought was right. It saved their lives, even if it killed every other living being on the planet. Would you have made a different decision in the same circumstances?”
“Kione, this isn’t the same. I don’t recall killing the creature over there.”
“I understand that, but there are some among your species who believe in something known as karma. It’s when—”
“I know what karma is, Kione.”
“Let’s hope bad karma doesn’t bite us on our backsides, should this be the wrong course of action.”
Jason’s head fell backwards. “If we were closer to home, knowing you were uncomfortable here I’d—”
“I made a promise I’d do everything in my power to help you achieve your goal,” Kione said, cutting him off. “After all, if you hadn’t rescued me from the Seekers, neither Captain Marquez nor your brother would be where they are now. You have my word, bringing them home is a promise I’m determined to keep.”
Jason smiled. “Thank you.”
Kione sat opposite him. “However, I was raised by humans. The morality of your species was drummed into me from a very young age. You can’t blame me for wrestling with questions such as these when they present themselves.”
“When I look at you, I see someone so unlike me,” Jason mused, “but I’ve learned you’re actually more human than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“That’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me.”
The pair continued their talk into the night, while Jason wished he could’ve enjoyed it over a few drinks.
Jason hoped Aly knew what she was doing with the complicated trans-space actuator in her hands, because he sure as hell had no clue. Knowing his way around a conventional FTL engine was one thing, but the contraption Professor Petit had devised was something else entirely. From what he could tell, Aly was bypassing the fried-out particle replicator and feeding the new Iota particles from the kwigalark directly through the system.
“It’s no different than if we were using the artificial particles,” Aly said.
Jason trusted her judgment, and they set off to the bridge where everyone was patiently waiting. They strapped themselves in, and Kevin plugged in the calculations for their destination. Tadrosia couldn’t come soon enough.
“Let’s do this. Is everyone ready?” Jason asked them all.
Everyone gave him a nod to the affirmative from their respective positions.
“Activate the trans-space emitter,” he said.
Aly did as instructed and pushed in the relevant commands at the operations station. Nothing happened at first, but eventually, a small spec of light flared up, and the familiar sight of the purple-and-red energy vortex began to take shape.
“Is it stable, Aly?” he asked her.
She studied the scanners and nodded. “It appears so.”
“Excellent. Take us in, Kevin. Nice and slow.”
