Timeless (The Cartographer Book 3) (5 page)

They had gambled and lost.

The Descent

“
We are past the Harmus Asteroid Belt and are making our final approach to Gliese
,” Lianne announced over the loudspeaker.

My eyes snapped open and I leapt out of bed. After grabbing my things, I hurried to the door, but in my haste I almost ran face-first into it. I was eager to see the planet from space so I sprinted to the observation deck. Luckily, it was located on the same floor as my room so it didn't take more than five minutes to get there. I did, however, bowl over two startled crewmembers in the process. Surprisingly, when I reached the observation deck, Gard and Kedge were already there.

“
I have been here since the ship launched from the Gordian Knot
,” Gard explained, noticing my surprised look.

Kedge shrugged. “What can I say? I'm a light sleeper.”

The panoramic window was guarded by a railing to prevent people from falling between it and the area where the floor ended. I grabbed the railing and peered into the great beyond. The planet Gliese was just coming into view and it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. The resemblance to Earth was eerie. Continents lined the surface, split by vast oceans. White swirls of clouds covered most of the continents, and one in particular appeared to be the beginning of a hurricane. This is where the similarities ended. Unlike Earth, a purple metal ring surrounded it. The ring was wide, and when we approached it, I could see small satellites embedded in its surface. The view from the Stellar Horizon was breathtaking.

“It sure is pretty from a distance,” Kedge muttered.

There seemed to be something ominous in his tone. When I looked at him, his face was stony, as if in deep concentration. I had only seen that look once. He had that look when we were preparing to confront Calypso.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

His knuckles formed white dots in contrast to the dark gray railing. He chewed on his bottom lip before answering. “Something just doesn't feel right.”

Gard turned toward him. “
What do you mean
?”

“I came across the Order of the Sun one time as the leader of the Lumagom,” Kedge explained. “We were short on supplies and had just lost a battle with the Defense Fleet. At the time, Gliese was a true neutral planet, pledging allegiance to no one. My desire at the time was to trade some of our excess technetium as well as our extra supply of yellow pearls from Exorg-7 for medical supplies, fresh food, and clean water. Their leader at the time, the Prophet Ereto, agreed to our terms rather quickly.” Kedge let go of the railing and ran his hand over his face, wiping a thin veil of sweat from his eyes. “They commanded us to remain in the bay where we landed. I thought it was strange at the time, but did as they asked. The docking bay connected to the other districts by monorail and at that particular moment a train had just rolled in from their Riverlands District. When the doors opened, several soldiers stepped out, guarding five people who were shackled hand and foot. They had forlorn looks and followed the soldiers reluctantly. When they passed me, they glanced at me, and I could have sworn I saw fear in their eyes. They boarded the train heading to the Temple of the Sun so I just wrote them off as prisoners, but later on, I learned they were actually slaves. For some reason, I felt they were heading to their death…or something much worse.

“What could be worse than death?” I asked.

He slowly turned to me and chuckled. It was dry and devoid of humor. “Let's hope you never have to find out.”

“So you never found out what happened to them?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. My mission was to go in, get supplies and get out. At the time, I was just happy someone had been willing to trade. With the Consortium breathing down our necks, it was hard to find a planet willing to talk, much less deal with us.”

He returned his attention to the window and watched as the planet closed in. His face was a chiseled block of tension. His jawline was rigid and I heard the faint sound of teeth grinding. It reminded me of someone crushing peanut shells in their hand. His apprehension at our upcoming meeting made me nervous and I believed he knew more than he admitted to.

“Are we doing the right thing?” I finally asked.

The question seemed to take him by surprise. He relaxed and smiled. “Right and wrong is subjective.”

I sighed audibly. “Can you give me a straight answer for once?”

He picked at the metal plate covering his throat. “Sometimes we have to pick the lesser of two evils to achieve the greater good. Do I think overthrowing Calypso is a good thing? Yes. Do I think aligning ourselves with the Order of the Sun is a good thing? No.”

The ring of Gliese were right below us at that point. We were about to enter the planet's atmosphere. Kedge returned to his silent brooding. I turned to the window and joined him.

After several moments, it was Gard who broke the silence. “
From what I recall, the Order of the Sun is officially classified as a theocracy according to the Explorer's League records
.
Their beliefs may differ from ours in many ways, but I do not believe they are considered 'evil'
.”

“Evil is also subjective,” Kedge grumbled. When he noticed my sour look, he waved his hand in the air. “Fine, I'll clarify. For example, on some planets, slavery is considered evil. On other planets, slaves are treated well and even given a certain social status among the owners.” He moved a lock of hair from his good eye. “Slaves on some planets are oppressed, beaten and starved while others are handed lands and titles. Is slavery really evil or is it simply a misused idea?”

“Good point.” I really had no rebuttal to the statement. “But you still didn't answer my question. Do you think we are doing the right thing by joining with them?”

Kedge sighed. His breath created a metallic rattling noise inside his chest that caused me to wince. “Calypso needs to be dealt with. His twisted version of a new Consortium is an insult to the guiding principles it had been founded on. We are doing what needs to be done to address the situation. It may be the only thing left to do at this point, which makes me believe it is the right thing.”

I turned back to the window. As we flew past the outer rings of the planet, I observed several objects orbiting between the rings and the planet itself. They appeared as silver basketballs embedded with spikes. Gard caught me studying them.

“
Those are orbital tracking buoys
,” he explained. “
They allow the Order to track any incoming vessels and can be remotely detonated to destroy those with hostile intentions. This allows them to combat invaders without having to divert military resources
.”

“Interesting,” I replied, even though I was actually thinking it was rather odd for a planet who had considered themselves neutral, to be equipped with such drastic defense measures. From what I had gathered, the planet regularly traded with various races across the universe, making them out to be an exotic interstellar pawn shop.

The Stellar Horizon passed perilously close to one of the buoys. I gripped the railing and braced for an impact that never came. If it was this dangerous just approaching the planet, I could only imagine what it would be like on the surface.

I didn't realize just how right I was.

The Terminal

When we exited the ship, we were greeted by two men adorned in golden armor similar to that which the Defense Fleet wore. Full-sized helmets covered their head and face with the exception of cross shaped cutouts. One of the soldiers stood about six feet tall and the other was a hair over five and a half feet. As they stood next to each other, I couldn't help but think of them as a pair of mismatched bookends. The taller soldier approached and locked on us with hardened hazel eyes. A large scarlet cross had been etched on the front of his armor and a starburst covered the area where the lines connected.

“Braxii extends his apologies for the delay,” the soldier offered gruffly. “He insists you wait here for further instructions. There are refreshments available in the vending machines at each end of the terminal. We have also dispatched a crew to refuel and conduct any routine maintenance you require aboard your ship.”

The docking bay was enormous. I had never been to Grand Central Station, but I assumed the Gliese terminal dwarfed the New York City train station. Several maintenance workers passed us and started to working on our ship. They were short with dark skin and protruding foreheads, but it was their eyes that stole my attention. They seemed filled with sorrow and despair, and that was when I realized they were the slaves alluded to earlier.

“Wait here?” Vigil balked. “This is outrageous! This meeting is extremely important and we do not have time to just stand around and stare at the sky.”

“No offense, sir, but I suggest you make time,” the guard barked. He placed his hand up to the side of his helmet and cocked his head. “Um…yes sir,” the guard spoke into his helmet. “It seems Braxii will not be able to make it at all.”

I clenched my teeth and turned to Vigil, who seemed to be on the verge of an epic meltdown. Before Vigil could erupt like a volcano, the guard held up his hand.

“He has requested that Minister Mazu sit in for him during negotiations. The Minister is on his way from the Obsidian Isles as we speak. His estimated time of arrival is fifteen minutes.”

The burning flush in Vigil's cheeks subsided and he stomped off toward one of the vending machines. Kedge glanced at me and shrugged indifferently. Before I could follow Vigil, Lianne stopped me.

“I'm going to stay behind with the ship and keep an eye on their 'maintenance crew',” she stated. I didn't need to ask to see she distrusted the Order's men. “I think the three of you can handle it from here.”

“I'm sure this will be just a blast,” Kedge replied sarcastically. “Especially with Captain McFunbags over there.” He gestured with his thumb toward Vigil, who just so happened to be embroiled in an argument with the vending machine.

Lianne tossed him a wry smile before vanishing inside the ship. Based on her eagerness to return to the ship, she probably felt the same way about Vigil. He certainly wasn't going to win any popularity contests.

Kedge and I drifted over to one of the vending machines. Instead of a clear Plexiglass front, like vending machines on Earth, it had a digital touch screen encompassing the entire front of the machine. Kedge slid his hand across the screen and cycled through the products contained inside. All the product logos were Greek to me, so I had no idea if it was food or drink that he was cycling through. Kedge stopped at a logo that looked like a metal garbage can with a halo on top. He pushed down on the screen and a can appeared in a slot at the bottom.

“What is that?” I asked.

Kedge bent over and retrieved the can. He held it up and smiled. “Wow, it's been a long time since I wrapped my lips around these.”

He tossed the can at me and I caught it awkwardly. It was heavier and thicker than a soda can, but it wasn't metal. It seemed to be made of some kind of wood and it looked more like a miniature barrel than a traditional can. I had to shift hands because it was cold as ice.

“What is it?” I asked, turning the can over in my hands.

“It's a Kamilian Cooler. I'm surprised they have it, it should be rare to these parts. Guess I'm just lucky.” He smiled, popped the pull tab at the top, and took a sip. “
Ahhhhh
, it tastes just like heaven.” When he viewed my skepticism, he frowned. “Just try it, you'll see.”

I took the can reluctantly and lifted it to my lips. It was as bubbly as a soda, but it was much sweeter, almost like drinking straight syrup. I accepted the cool liquid reluctantly at first, but as it flowed down my throat, I engorged myself on more, taking one large swallow.

“Wow it tastes like raspberries,” I exclaimed. “It does taste like heaven,” I chuckled and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “It's probably the best thing I have ever tasted.”

“Whoa there sport, don't be drinking the whole thing!” Kedge grabbed the can and drained it. He let out a hearty burp and tossed the can in a nearby garbage can. He turned to me and grinned mischievously, causing me to narrow my eyes suspiciously.