An Obsidian Sky (11 page)
Aeniah growled
in response, she clearly had her misgivings. However she said
nothing and so Blue Dawn took this as an agreement. ‘Very well. The
fastest way to the docks is via mass-transport. I have isolated the
problems inherent in my first attempt and rest assured you will
arrive safe and sound. I also have the capability of furnishing you
with an army through which you can retake the ship. However I
require your authorisation to issue the command to the Equinox
subjects.’
Without giving
time for Aeniah to reply I asked, ‘the Equinox project, they are an
army?’
‘Not
necessarily,’ she replied coyly. ‘The subjects involved in the
project were much like you George. They had a great affinity with
the genetic modification required to reach the state of Ascension.
It was believed that arranged as a coherent body of persons the
Equinox subjects would provide the perfect policing agency for the
abilities gained by others, being both stronger and more
intelligent than they were.
‘However the
result of the project was somewhat a failure. Their augmentation
caused them to lose a little of who they were. Installation of a
command infrastructure worked at best, intermittently. Instead they
became unpredictable. Their purpose was simple. They were to be
vessels of energy through which the citizens of Ascension could
delve into and draw upon for their use. This use manifested itself
in abilities somewhat akin to magic. This is of course not the
case, but I have little time to explain.
‘When the use
of these abilities became widespread among the inhabitants of
Ascension, what we called casting, the Equinox subjects began to
cut people off from their source of energy, seemingly at random.
When this occurred the population was often extremely violent
towards them and several were killed. When the station descended
into chaos I lost the ability to administer control over them. We
now have little contact,’ she concluded.
‘I need to
know more, Blue Dawn, why did the population attack them? What went
wrong?’ Blue Dawn appeared to be about to open her mouth in
response but was cut short by Aeniah.
‘There is no
time for that right now George. Dawn I’ll give you whatever
approval you need, just help me get my ship back.’
In front of
Aeniah a new screen appeared. From where I was standing the text
was blurred and illegible. She appeared to scan the document,
searching for some hidden clause. Biting her lip she pushed her
palm against the pad and drew what I presumed was her
signature.
‘Temporary
Equinox control established,’ Blue Dawn sounded in a distracted
manner. ‘Preparing mass-transport. Mass-transport available. I
shall drop the three of you in the quarantine zone outside the
docks. That way you should avoid any surprises. Mass-transport in
three.’
I held my
breath. What would we find? I had never been too fond of surprises
and right now I seriously hoped there would not be any waiting on
the other side. ‘Two.’ The floor beneath me began to hum more
loudly than merely the background of Ascension. ‘One.’ I felt my
feet beginning to lift off the ground as I experienced an awful
stretching sensation. ‘Mass-transport’ and all was night.
We arrived, or
more
appeared
, in the gloom of the quarantine zone. Red
lights pulsed along the ceiling above us and the floor beneath. I
looked around. Quickly I spotted the blue light of Sean, then the
strong figure of Aeniah, soon the slight frame of Blue Dawn and
finally the others. The angels stood around us, their wings
outstretched, shielding us from some unimagined horror. They gave
off an aura of impossible kindness, of unrivalled benevolence. They
seemed to draw you towards them.
Each was
slightly different in appearance but in reality all looked very
much the same. One of them, who was standing behind me, placed a
hand upon my shoulder. A burst of utter sorrow flowed from him and
into the very core of me. It shook my very soul. It was as if he
was trying to communicate his compassion with our situation. I
wondered how could this be an army when all I felt from them was
the very manifestation of love. I wanted one to hold me, to tell me
that everything would be okay. That there was no reason to fear the
night, for there would always be day. But instead the hand withdrew
and he settled protectively behind me. I knew that they would give
their all to protect us. Even Aeniah seemed awed by their
countenance, their mercy.
She spoke with
a cracking voice. ‘Oh for the love of...Let’s just get on with this
shall we?’
Blue Dawn
turned towards Aeniah. ‘I am unable to access my sensor gird beyond
this point. You should be prepared for anything. The Equinox
subjects should offer some limited protection but I would not
wholly rely upon it. Perhaps you would prefer something with a
little more explosive potential than that glorified pistol of
yours.’
‘I think that
this will be more than enough Dawn. Right then, open her up.’
In front a
symbol flashed from red to green. The door sighed as it heaved
itself open. The view of the dock opened slowly before us. The
lights were low and everything had a faint blue tinge. By the
opening of the door lay several bodies. All bore the Eternis
Systems logo.
‘Oh no,’
gasped Aeniah. She rushed towards their bodies, checking them over.
The angels soundlessly filed out and made a protective circle
around her. Through the mass of gentle wings I could see Aeniah
pause by one body. A tear seemed to trickle from her eyes. Sean
floated and descended within the circle. He seemed to whisper
something to her. She touched his little frame with kindness and
rose confidently. She wiped something from her eye. I wondered if
it was a tear. With some effort she began to pace smartly towards
the vessel. I followed after her.
The docks were
in a bad way. There were cracks about the glass that gave a
panoramic view from the docks into space. There were scorch marks
pitting the part of the dock closest to the ship. A few bodies lay
scattered around the ground between us and the vessel. We
cautiously stepped around them.
Swiftly we
reached our destination at the umbilical which connected the
station to the ship. This was in an even worse condition than the
docks. The angels appeared to scan around the section listening
intently. I understood that they must be listening for the telltale
hiss of the environment being vented into space. It occurred to me
that this was a perception that I might not have had a couple of
weeks ago. But now my brain appeared to have been re-wired, many
things were beginning to make sense.
Aeniah thumbed
a pad on her arm. A communication broadcast about us. ‘Knightly the
pressure doors are under lock-down, get them open.’
Knightly’s
rather shaky voice became audible over the comms. ‘Yes Aeniah, the
security cordon about the vessel appears to have been quite
successful in keeping away the rebels. I don’t hear the sound of
explosives anymore.’ The angels had circles tightly around us. Each
one of us had protective arc. Blue Dawn looked distinctly
unimpressed by the damages made to her docks. Indeed she seemed
almost disappointed at the lack of a challenge so far.
‘I am not sure
about the reactor state,’ Knightly continued, ‘ship systems are
giving a denial of service on any attempts to check up on it. The
rest of the ship’s systems are responding normally, although
several reports of damage are coming in through automated
channels.’ Knightly’s voice began to sound a little uncomfortable
as he delivered the rest of his report. ‘Most worryingly, there has
been no response from anybody outside of the CIC. I am unable to
raise anybody on any channels. What are your orders Sir.’
Aeniah looked
at us and said, ‘we are coming to take back the CIC, hold it at all
costs. When we get to you we will have to come up with a strategy
to take the ship back.’ As she spoke Knightly must have authorised
the opening of the pressure doors into the vessel because the doors
hissed just for a second and rolled away revealing the airlock into
the vessel.
‘Confirmed
Sir, Knightly out.’
From my
position behind the others little was visible. The heavenly mass of
wings veiled the view into the airlock. Aeniah, taking point, moved
into the airlock with Sean a close second. For some reason Blue
Dawn was sticking next to me. We moved together and into the
airlock. The pressure door closed behind. After a few seconds the
pressure door leading into the vessel flashed green and rolled
away. We entered into the hanger of the ship.
The hanger was
a state. Where there had once been row after row of light
spacecraft there was only charred wreckage. Somebody had gone up to
each individual light-craft and detonated explosives within them.
In the centre was a mass of bodies. From our vantage point we could
see several figures dragging the corpses of others onto the pile.
They we giggling and discharging rifle fire into the already
decimated corpses beside them.
I rushed
forward to the front where Aeniah crouched low. My angels
gracefully merged with hers to form a more strategic ring of
protection. I raised my lancer up to my shoulder. The reticule went
red and I fired.
An explosion
of light erupted from the muzzle and burst into the nearest figure.
He was lifted into the air by its force and cleaved in to two.
Aeniah let out several pulses from her pistol into the others. Blue
Dawn folded her arms. There were not many and so within a matter of
moments Aeniah and I had dispatched them all. The angels never even
moved at the sound of the gunfire.
I moved
towards the bodies. I began to look into each of their faces, not
sure what I was looking for. And then I realised, in a moment of
horror, that I was looking for him. Frantically I began to heave
the bodies aside trying to get a glance of more, but Aeniah pulled
me away.
‘George,
George, shush, shush. It’s okay. He isn’t here. Do you see those
markings?’ I nodded. ‘That means that these were guardsmen. Adrian
can’t be with them. He is probably just holed up somewhere waiting
for rescue. Once we take the CIC, we will find him, I promise
you.’
I shook my
head. ‘Aeniah, I have tried my best. I really have. I have tried
not to worry, not to care. But I just can’t. I have to find him. I
just have to be sure. You take my angels and I will go and find him
by myself. I think I have learnt enough to know how to get by. I
got through Ascension and found you so I’m certain that I can find
him in here.’
Before Aeniah
even had time to say anything Blue Dawn interjected, ‘No. I can’t
allow you to do that. Your loss would be irretrievable. George your
genetic affinity with the Ascension project means that I simply
cannot afford to allow you to die. You are the only person left
that has any possibility of removing the Artefacts, saving the
world. I know you don’t fully understand why, but you must believe
me, I will explain everything in time.
‘But I also
know that I can’t ask you to leave him alone for any longer. I will
come with you and we will take just two angels, one each. Aeniah
and Sean can have the rest. That should be more than enough.’
‘I don’t even
need that,’ Aeniah broke in. ‘It is okay, you two can go. By the
way Dawn, you do realise that I can’t have Knightly opening the
doors for both parties at once, he has enough to do.’
‘Your lockdown
will not be a problem,’ she replied dryly.
Aeniah
shrugged her shoulders. ‘Knightly open west side hanger door.’ A
door to her left opened and with no further ceremony they were
gone.
I turned away
from the rapidly sealing door and looked at the mess of the hanger.
Quickly I found what I was looking for. It was an undamaged
wall-screen. Thumbing the interface I was about to call up a ship
schematic when Blue Dawn interrupted me.
‘That will not
be necessary. I have a full scan of the ship and access to its
entire information database.’
‘But where is
Adrian? We were away for much longer than I thought. His injuries
should have healed. He could be anywhere. If he is outside of the
medi-chamber then he is not safe.’ I was getting worried now. It
occurred to me that we may have had to scour the entire ship. In
fact, I realised, we may never find him. The maddened crew may have
dragged him away. In fact he may even be among the rebels, braying
for blood. My eyes looked up at Blue Dawn who appeared amused at my
obvious lack of understanding.
‘I have access
to the
entire
database. Adrian was a patient in the medical
bay under the care of Doctor Natieah. Due to complications arising
during surgery the patient required additional time in the
medichamber. The patient was discharged two days ago. According to
medical records his doctor was administering secondary level care
at the time of sensor loss. In all probability he is still
there.
‘The infirmary
is located on the upper floor in the aft section of the vessel. The
most efficient route would appear to be to avoid main hallways and
the lift systems, as both will be impassable if a full mutiny is in
place. At the end of this hanger there is a launch tube for the
vessels. Tube three is pressurised. There is a maintenance hatch
M-44-2-M inside. From there it is simply upwards two floors along
the maintenance shaft and we should arrive at the right floor. From
there the infirmary is one hundred meters away.’ Smiling with
satisfaction she turned and began to walk to the launch tube, past
the wreckage of the light-craft.
The angels did
not appear to follow her, but me. They opened their wings and
wrapped them about me as I walked along calmly. Everywhere there
was the sound of burning wreckage. The heat was intense as I passed
each flaming husk, but still I was calm. The angel’s soft touch
isolated the world from me. I drew on their strength and continued
into the open tube.