Children of the Old Star (29 page)

"Red?” questioned McClintlock, huddled in his quarters. Suddenly he realized he was seeing more orbs than were on the Cluster. Not only that, but the orbs were separated by some distance. The symmetries were the same, but the scales were radically different. It was not the Cluster he was seeing. Instead, he was sensing something very different, a globular cluster.

In a flash, he sensed a presence. The presence was vaguely metallic and somehow alive. Its appearance was almost momentary, but definitive. “I'm here, my Lord,” called McClintlock. His voice disappeared as soon as it came from his mouth.

Metallic, alive, and home were the three sensations that rattled through Ellis’ mind. He no longer felt like he was falling. Instead, it seemed as though the ship was climbing up a steep slope. Yermakov, Peters, and Papadraxis all reappeared in their rightful places and reality slowly faded in.

"Jump complete,” reported Yermakov. “What a rush!"

Ellis shook his head then regretted it as he felt a wave of nausea hit. “Position report, Ms. Peters?” he asked with his eyes closed.

"Alpha Coma Bereneces system,” she said.

"Nice place,” said Natalie Papadraxis, dreamily. “They say it's even prettier than Earth."

Ellis opened his eyes. Although he had never been to the human colony at Alpha Coma, he felt he knew it well. It was the home of one of his heroes, Admiral Barbara Firebrandt; the woman credited with eliminating piracy in the galaxy. Briefly, Ellis wondered if he would find his place in the history books here.

"Mr. Mahuk is calling from engineering,” said Natalie.

"Thanks,” said Ellis as he reached over and activated speakers. “What can I do for you?"

"Captain, the port side EQ generator went out of alignment with this last jump. I'd like to put into port at Alpha Coma to do some adjustments,” he reported.

Ellis took a deep breath and rubbed his chin. “How bad off are we?"

"We could do two or three more jumps,” admitted Mahuk. “However, we aren't scheduled to be near another human colony until after the fifth jump. I wouldn't put these repairs off, Captain."

"I understand,” said Ellis. “I'll talk to Ms. Smart and do what I can.” With that, he turned off the intercom. Sitting back, he looked at Yermakov. “What do you think?"

"If we have to stop, I'd rather stop at Alpha Coma than either of the next two worlds.” Yermakov shrugged.

Ellis stood and got the feel of the swaying deck. Stretching, he looked at the empty holographic viewer. “Give us a forward standard view,” said the captain.

Natalie grinned and activated several switches. The sight that greeted the captain should have been terrifying. However, he almost expected it. Instead of the blue oceans and green continents of Alpha Coma Bereneces, the viewer was filled with silver orbs, hanging menacingly. “Standard view?” asked the captain, quietly.

Natalie sat with her mouth hanging open. Ellis turned to Yermakov who gripped the armrests tightly. Seeing everyone stunned, Laura Peters looked past Natalie's shoulder. “Standard view,” she reported. “The Cluster is one hundred meters in front of us."

Ellis felt captivated by the image filling the viewer. He walked slowly forward and tried to put his hand up to touch the hologram. “What's our status?"

"All stop relative to galactic rotation,” reported Peters. “Cluster is also stopped."

With a force of will Ellis retracted his arm. “Maintain position,” he ordered. “Let's not do anything to get it mad."

"I think that's the most sensible order I've ever heard,” said Yermakov, swallowing hard.

Kirsten Smart emerged from her office followed by G'Liat. They both gaped at the image of the Cluster filling the hologram. G'Liat stepped up to Ellis. “Have you tried anything?"

"Not yet,” said Ellis forcing calm into his voice. “Last time I tried anything, a ship was destroyed."

"The time before that, a planet was saved,” said G'Liat, gently.

"Fifty-fifty odds aren't that great,” said Ellis, nervously. “I thought I was ready for this meeting.” Looking back at the image of the Cluster, the captain felt an overwhelming sense of peace. “I think we should just wait."

G'Liat put his hand on the captain's shoulder. “You know what you have to do. Waiting could get us killed."

Kirsten Smart stepped up to Ellis. “Is that true?” Ellis stood, staring blankly at the viewer. “If that's true, you better do something."

Ellis swallowed hard.

Down in his quarters, McClintlock felt the deathly stillness of the ship and somehow knew the Cluster was near. “My Lord,” he cried. Love and fear welled to the surface and tears spilled down his face. “Show them the error of their ways. You are the one true God in heaven!"

McClintlock felt his vision blur. He balanced himself against the table to keep from falling over. In an instant, the table vanished and Clyde McClintlock found himself in a desert. Ancient ruins stood in the distance. Within a few seconds, the evangelist recognized he was standing in the Holy Land.

Turning around, he saw a woman with piercing green eyes. The evangelist blushed momentarily when he realized she wore no clothes. However, he could not see any features of her body clearly. All he could focus on were the eyes. She held the bible and the Koran. She shook her head and lay them on the ground. Turning her back on the evangelist, she moved off toward the ruins.

"The Cluster's moving off,” reported Peters. “It's slow, less than a kilometer per hour, but definitely moving."

"Match speed and follow,” said Ellis. He moved away from G'Liat and Smart.

"Follow it?” asked Yermakov. “Are you crazy?"

"Possibly,” said Ellis. He felt beads of sweat form on his forehead and palms. He sat down in the command seat.

Smart put her hands on her hips and glared at the captain. “I told you to do what you needed to protect the ship. I didn't tell you to chase this thing."

Ellis sat quietly and thought about his actions. His order to follow had been intuitive, however there seemed to be some sense to it. “Every ship that has been destroyed has either maintained position or tried to run away,” he said. “Let's try following."

G'Liat moved to Ellis’ side. “Do you sense anything?"

"Nothing definitive,” said Ellis, shaking his head.

"Clyde,” said Natalie Papadraxis, slowly. “Clyde is talking to it."

Ellis was on his feet. Natalie looked up at him with wide eyes. “Clyde is very agitated,” she said. Natalie looked toward the viewer. “The Cluster is calm. I'm not sure it wants to talk to him, but he's the only one who hears it right now."

The captain fell back into the command chair. G'Liat's massive hand was on the captain's shoulder. Ellis shrugged it off. With deepening resolve, he looked at the image on the viewer and tried to project the same sensations of peace and tranquility he felt whenever he saw the Cluster.

Sitting in the command chair, Ellis began to feel the comfort of his home on Nantucket. Memories of his mother cooking breakfast and running on the moors with his father slowly filled his mind. “Home,” said the captain, simply.

McClintlock sat in the sand, tears burning his cheeks. What he was seeing must be a lie, he thought. Impressions that the Cluster was nothing more than ancient life kept impacting his emotions and the evangelist simply could not accept those emotions.

Looking around, Clyde McClintlock realized he was back in his quarters. Nothing seemed to make sense any more. Somehow, Ellis must be making him see these visions. He could not accept that it was the Cluster.

"Why would Ellis want me to see false visions?” asked the evangelist, standing. “Why would he want to lead me on a false quest?” Suddenly the answer occurred to him. Only one being could deceive a true believer as thoroughly as this. Gathering resolve, McClintlock knew what he had to do to save his followers.

The crew on the command deck blinked in astonishment as the Cluster vanished from view. “It's jumped,” announced Peters. “What should we do?"

"Maintain course and speed,” said Ellis, in a daze.

G'Liat motioned for Ellis to stand. The warrior looked uncomfortable as he sat down in the captain's seat. Quickly, he ran a number of calculations. “We've been following a jump point in addition to the Cluster. If we jumped, we could follow it home. I've taken the liberty of plotting a specific course. We could go with your order, captain."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that, Skipper,” said Yermakov, sniffing. “I think we've gotten away lucky and we should get away from here as soon as we can."

"We'll do that,” said Ellis bitterly, “as soon as you're captain of this ship.” He turned to Peters. “Maintain course and speed."

"Aye, aye, sir,” said Peters. “We are following the jump point."

"What do you think, Natalie?” asked Ellis, putting his hands behind his back.

"I don't think the Cluster would harm us if we followed. I think it wants something.” Natalie folded her hands in her lap.

"It's been looking for something all along,” said G'Liat standing from the captain's seat. “You sensed that in the beyond."

"But, if the Cluster's been gone for a month, what have I really been sensing?” Ellis rubbed his hands nervously.

"The beyond is time,” said G'Liat simply. “Perhaps you sensed the future or the past. Perhaps you sensed the Titans in the present. There's more in the beyond than the Cluster."

"Prepare to jump,” said Ellis calmly.

Yermakov swallowed hard. “I really must protest, sir,” he said, standing. “You gave me your word that you would not endanger this ship. Is this all your word is worth?"

Ellis aimed his finger at the first mate. “Mr. Yermakov..."

Kirsten Smart marched toward Ellis and grabbed him by the elbow. She led him to the rear of the command deck. “For once, I think Simon is right, we should get out of here."

"G'Liat said you've wanted to know where the deep space nodes lead,” countered the captain. “This is your chance to find out. You've been mapping known trade routes for years, this may be your one chance to make a mark in history; your one chance to explore something new."

"My chance for the history books or yours?” countered Smart. She looked into the eyes of the only true confident she had known in years.

"History books or not,” said Ellis, his voice softening, “isn't this what science is all about? Do you back me or do you remove me from command?"

Smart took a deep breath and shook her head. “Mr. Yermakov,” she called, “follow the captain's orders."

Yermakov bit his lower lip and returned to his chair.

"Maybe I could love you, after all,” said Smart. She kissed her finger and touched it to his nose. With one last look at the command deck, she turned and entered her office to prepare for the jump.

Ellis looked longingly after her, then moved back to the command seat. He heard Peters sound the jump warning. G'Liat moved back to Smart's office. “All decks report ready,” said Peters. “Mahuk is a little nervous about this, though."

"We're all nervous. If I'm right, though, we'll be back in this system after only two jumps,” said Ellis. “Mahuk can repair his engines then."

"If you're wrong?” asked Yermakov, no malice in his voice.

The captain put his hand firmly on the first mate's forearm then looked forward. “Jump,” he ordered, his voice cracking.

The ship tumbled down a figurative rabbit hole. The captain's mind could not focus on a sense of reality. There were no colors and no sounds. In a sense, the ship seemed to be moving through fourth dimensional reality faster than it ever had before. Time lost all meaning and the captain's brain could not keep up. In the end, Ellis simply blacked out.

John Mark Ellis awoke slowly. His limbs hurt and his head throbbed painfully. The other members of the bridge crew had also blacked out. Yermakov stirred slowly, his head slumped forward into his hands. Peters awoke next, looking vaguely green. Finally, Natalie opened her eyes and almost automatically activated the viewer. Bright, reddish light flooded the command deck. The hologram was crowded with stars.

G'Liat appeared behind the captain. He, like all the other crewmembers on the deck, was in awe of the sight before him. “I presume we're somewhere around the perimeter of the globular I told you about,” said the warrior.

"Why the edge?” asked Ellis, holding his hands up to block the glare of thousands of suns. He was relieved when Natalie showed the presence of mind to cut the intensity of the image.

"I suspect if we were near the center, the gravitational forces would rip the ship apart,” commented Kirsten Smart, who emerged from her office, rubbing her head.

Ellis grunted acknowledgment. “Where's the Cluster?"

Peters shook her head, woozily. “I'm sorry, Captain, I don't show it around anywhere."

Mahuk's voice burst through on the intercom. “You've done it now, Captain,” called the engineer. “We burned out engine number four. We can't jump again until it's repaired."

"Then repair it,” growled the captain.

"I would need a dry dock to repair the damage that's been done,” reported the engineer.

Ellis pounded the armrest of his chair. “Do the best you can.” The captain looked at his first mate. “Perhaps you were right."

This time Yermakov put his hand on the captain's forearm. “Damage is done, Skipper. We're here, we might as well find your Cluster.” The mate's voice held only a small amount of bitterness.

Ellis looked toward Smart. “I told G'Liat we may get a paper out of this mission,” she said. “If we survive, this will be the most famous voyage in the history of space flight."

"If
we survive,” said Ellis.

"Captain!” came a panicked voice from the intercom. Ellis thought he recognized it as one of the cooks. He believed the name was Frank.

"Natalie, why aren't you monitoring the calls as they come in?” asked Ellis, shaking his head.

"I think you'll find this one's important,” she countered.

"Go ahead,” sighed Ellis.