Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) (17 page)

“
You're not one of them?” The man queried. “No you're not. Not yet anyway.”

“
Who are you?” Luke asked still cautious of the man.

“
Dr. Matthew Holston a medical officer working aboard the UCSC Defiance on a classified project.” His eyes shifted to the floor as he remembered his role aboard the ship. “I was supposed to help people.” He glanced over at the computer which he had logged in to. “You listened to my logs? I was going to do another one. One last entry before we all die.”

“
We don't have to die. I can take you somewhere safe. I just need some answers.” Luke lowered his weapon.

“
I suppose there is no harm in delaying the inevitable. Ask your questions.”

“
Why did the Ensemble Corporation collaborate on the ship?” Luke studied the doctor's face and watched for any hint of untruth.

“
Ah. I've wondered that myself on numerous occasions. Unfortunately I don't have the security clearance to access that sort of information.” Matthew spoke honestly like he did in his audio logs.

“
But you work for Ensemble of Man. Don't you?”

“
I do. I used to. But you'd be surprised at how little I know of them.” A smirk appeared on his face. “Strange isn't it? I'd be lying if I said anything other than the pay cheque is why I'm here.”

“
This planet we explored and mined?”

“
Ex047, or Exoat as people call it.” Matthew interrupted.

“
Yes. Why did we come here?”

“
Other than to mine and explore? Again, above my pay grade.” He paused and saw the annoyed expression upon Luke's face. “I do however have a theory on it.”

“
What is it?”

“
Well there are one hundred and forty eight ships in circulation. All of them exploring, mining and collecting resources to bring back to the colonies. Plus two ships have been retired and are no longer in circulation and another ship, which was called the 'UCSC Natal', never returned.”

“
And you think what's happening aboard this ship happened aboard that one?”

“
Nearly one hundred thousand people went missing on that ship. What if a vessel of the Ensemble of Man Corporation discovered the wreckage? They find the remains of a hundred year old ship which fell into chaos in a matter of days or even hours. They'll want to know what happened to everyone, and when they find out they'll want to control it. They have more resources than the United Colonies Space Control. They've already corrupted the UCSC, just look at this ship, it's half theirs. Now they want to get rid of the United Colonies Space Control and take over. They want to be responsible for every man, woman and child in the colonies, and exploit every single one of them... I have no proof, this is just a theory I came up with.”

Could this be true? Are we just pawns for a corrupt
Corporation's aspirations of colony dominance?
Luke raised his head his mind full of questions about the Ensemble of Man Corporation. “What about Elizabeth? You mentioned her in your audio logs.”

“
One of the scientists led by Maxwell Pearce. I don't know much about her. Why are you asking?”

“
She's my...” He paused as he remembered her lying dead with a bullet through her brain. “She was my girlfriend. She's dead.”

“
I'm sorry for your loss.” Matthew could tell how upset Luke was, but he saw the determination behind his tears. “Maxwell came to check up on us every other week. But about a month ago he brought Elizabeth with him. They were very close the first couple of times, almost inseparable, but something must have happened between them. Lately she would barely speak to him. The frustration in Maxwell was plain to see.”

“
Did anything happen between them?” Luke asked, dreading the answer he was about to receive.

“
I didn't see anything to be a hundred percent sure... But I'm almost certain something was going on between them... Romantically.”

Luke
buried his head into his hands.
I suppose it doesn't change anything. She's dead and I loved the time I spent with her.
“I've got a couple more questions for you if that's okay?”

“
Be my guest.”

“
Can I trust Maxwell?”

“
No!” Matthew screamed his answer. “He was the one in charge of this project. He's the one who sent us the test subjects.” He glanced over to the cages and spotted the pregnant woman. “His methods were brutal and unnecessary. He forced them upon us. We had no choice if we wanted to live.”

Do I trust you?
Luke paused as he thought about what Matthew had said. “Okay. You said we were all going to die. What did you mean?”

“
Well this virus has infected us all. We'll all turn, and then who we were is dead. There's no miracle cure. I was ignorant to believe there could have been.” The hope of redeeming himself seemed like it had completely vanished from Matthew.

“
Could it be possible to be immune? I know of a group of people. Nearly a hundred of them. They're all still human.”

“
Immunity is still a possibility. Yes. But we're talking years of decontamination before anyone immune could be released back into society.”

“
So there's still hope.”

“
Barely. When this ship returns back to the docking station it'll only be a matter of time until the virus breaks loose again. And what if it reaches Earth. Billions of people will die, and a worse fate lies with the infected ones. No, the best thing for everyone is to blow up the ship. Self-destruct and destroy every last shred of this infection.”

If you truly believe there is no hope... What are you doing here?
Luke thought again, but chose not to elaborate on his thoughts. “How would we destroy the ship?”

“
You'd need the Captain's I.D. tag, take it to the engines, gain access to the emergency room, log into the computer as the Captain, and then initiate the fatal overload program. That would kill us all. We can't postpone this. If we leave it too long we'll be back at Earth, and then self-destruction won't be an option. We'll destroy half of the solar system.” Matthew exaggerated, but his point was valid.

“
Okay. I'll get the Captain's I.D. tag.”

“
So you're going to self-destruct the ship?”

“
Maybe. I'll take it back to the resistance group I met. I'll talk it over with them.” Luke watched as the scientist paced back and forth. “What will you do?”

Matthew stopped confounded.
“I... don't know.” He glanced around the room he had spent so much of his time in. “I can't leave here.” The pregnant woman slapped on the glass. “I can't leave her. I suppose I've been living off the last shred of hope. The baby growing in her, her child, could hold a cure.”

“
Have you decided on a name?” Luke asked, remembering the doctor's logs.

“
A name? Oh for the child. Subject zero... How can I name it before I know if it's even human?”

“
You hope.” He placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder. Luke could tell he hadn't felt any human contact in a long time. “And when that child is born you call it Destiny when you find that cure.”

“
Hope? Destiny? They only work as names if the child is female. What if the child is male?”

“
I'll leave it up to you.”

“
Thank you... I'm afraid I didn't catch your name.” Matthew didn't wait for a response. He pulled out his wrist device and typed a few keys. “Ah Luke Mason. Thank you for instilling your belief of hope onto me. Just the chance to be able to discover a cure and possibly redeem myself... Just thank you.”

“No problem.” Luke headed for the doorway.
I still don't know if we'll live through this.
He turned around before he reached the door. “Call me when she gives birth.” He received Matthews’s acknowledgment, and then he left the room.

An end to the countless body bags couldn't come quick enough. Luke had hurdled over dozens in just a small corridor. The
passageway came to an end, but the body bags didn't. A large waiting room opened up at the end of the passageway and it was stacked with body bags as high as his head. He heard a whispering deeper into the room. He stood on his toes to raise his view, but he couldn't see over the maze of the dead. The whispering continued, accompanied by the sound of dragging. Someone was moving the corpses. He grabbed his revolver from its holster and made his way through the twists and turns of the maze like graveyard.
A dead end.
He traced back his steps and found an alternative route.
Why would anyone do this?
Luke halted suddenly. He stood before an opening in the centre of the room. A man crouched over a body bag, pulling it slowly across the room. “Are you okay?” Luke questioned, holding his revolver tight.

“
Am I okay?” The person whispered. He didn't as much as glance in Luke's direction. “Am I okay? Are we okay?”

“
We?”

“
The bodies must be moved. The bodies must be moved.” The man whispered to himself again and again.

“
Why are you moving the bodies?”

“
The bodies must be moved. The people ran, tripped over the dead, now they are dead. The others were chasing, people panicked, people died.” He carried on the story, but he mumbled it too quietly for Luke to hear.

“
Which way is the way to get out?”

“
There is no way out.” The man looked up at Luke for the first time. His eyes red and black, most of his ear missing and part of his bottom lip chewed off. “There is no escape from death.”

Luke backed away from the man and hit a wall of dead behind him. It wobbled, but it didn't collapse. He circled around the crazed man and kept as much distance as he could from him. He took the first offshoot of the
labyrinth on his left as he backed into it and left the insane person behind.

It wasn't long before he found his way out of the maze. It was unfinished, but the man must have spent weeks building it. A stairwell was at the end of the room. He quietly jogged to the doors and entered. He shivered as the doors closed behind him, relieved he was away from the
walls of dead bodies.
Why isn't the backup lighting on?
There was a rolling of wheels followed by a clatter above him, which distracted him from his thoughts. It sounded again and continued in regular intervals. He took his first step onto the stairs and peeked up the floors. He couldn't see anything in the darkness. He turned on the light of his wrist device and cautiously edged up the stairs one by one. Every bang went through him. He stood at the top of the stairwell. The crashing noises sounded just a few metres away. He held his wrist device high, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was causing the noise. The back of a woman came into view. Long greasy hair down to her hips, a hospital dress torn and ripped, and a pair of fluffy slippers on her feet. Luke took another step closer. Either she didn't hear him or she didn't care. She held a metal cart with surgery equipment scattered across the top. She pulled it back and forced it into the wall. The bang echoed through Luke's ears.
God, I've got to get out of here.
He glanced at the door and slipped through unnoticed. He could still hear the crashing of metal against metal, but the sound was dampened.

The ship felt so peaceful. He hadn't heard a scream or a cry in hours. He left the medical bay and had entered the hallway to the public bridge. There were moving
mechanical belts either side of the hallway which stretched as far as Luke could see. He stepped on one of the walkways and was propelled forward suddenly, and then the moving conveyer stopped. He fell face first. Before he could get back to his feet it jolted forwards again. He fell forward onto his face once again, and then sat up. The walkway stopped again. He remained seated and waited for the conveyer to start again, but it didn't. He rose to his feet and moved to the handrail. The walkway started again and Luke stumbled, but he clutched onto the hand rail before he fell. His head ached and he felt a bump rising on his forehead.

The
conveyer eventually stopped at the public bridge. He stepped off the moving walkway and onto the platform. He glanced around the room. It was a massive square area. There were benches in rows facing a giant monitor which stretched the length of the room. The monitor had a crack along the left side of the screen. It flashed several times but no images appeared. Luke sat down on a bench at the back of the room. He looked to the empty seat on his left. He had sat there with Elizabeth on their second week aboard. There was something wondrous about watching the galaxy go by on the monitor. Luke knew the images weren't live, but he still enjoyed watching the stars merge into bright white lines. He knew ever since he was a little boy he wanted to travel to new planets, help explore the galaxy and help the colonies grow.
I hope we'll get it right one day. Find a planet we don't exploit for profit and growth. One we observe, watch it as its life-forms grow and evolve, and not interfere with it like we've done far too many times before.
Luke sighed, and then stood up from his seat.
I can only hope.

There was a locked door at the edge of the room. He stood before it and scanned his wrist device. An error message appeared. He scanned it again, no error message, but it refused him access. He searched for Maxwell on his wrist device, and brought up the courage to call him, but as he was about to send the ping, the doors opened. He lowered his wrist device and stepped in slowly. A working elevator waited for him further into the room. He stepped into it. The doors closed as he scanned the elevator. There were no buttons, no screens, nothing to tell him where he was going. It slowly began to move upwards. It hummed gently and Luke enjoyed the relaxing vibrations. It came to a stop and the doors slid open. He exited the elevator and looked around the room. It was filled with desks, chairs, monitors and cubicles. It wasn't what he expected. It was like someone had planted an office where it didn't belong. Every desk faced the centre of the room where a circular table stood. Luke approached it slowly. The lights in the room flashed, including the monitors of the computers. There
was a faint sound of a voice, then nothing. He didn't move. All the electrical equipment in the office was trying to boot up at the same time. The circular table in the centre of the room began to light up. A holographic image of the planet the ship had explored appeared. Little red exclamations on the hologram were abundant.

“
Three hundred and sixty four anomalies were discovered on Ex047. Exploration and recovery teams were sent to each anomaly. Only one team returned. Good evening 021427, Luke Mason.” The familiar computerised female voice spoke. There must have been speakers all around the room, her voice echoed from all directions.

“
You know who I am?” He asked intrigued.

“
I know everyone aboard the ship with a valid I.D. number. I scanned your wrist device before you entered the elevator. I've been studying your progress. I knew it was only a matter of time before you reached me. I will unlock the Captain’s quarters shortly, but there are things you must know.”

“
Like what?” Luke asked as the image of the planet changed to a woman's face.

“
I was given an appearance late in my development, along with the name Novalee. I don't understand why, but I am not programmed to. I was programmed to hear and to listen to the many conversations aboard this spacecraft. I am programmed to report any suspicious conversations. The man who released the virus did not say a word of his plan to release it.” Her voice was monotone with no emotion.

“
Why are you telling me this?”

“
I have heard your conversations with this man. Maxwell Pearce. He sent you here to retrieve the Captain's I.D. But I believe he's manipulating you. He doesn't want the I.D. to save anyone or anything other than himself. I believe he sent you here to delete the information I have gathered on him.” The artificial intelligence paused. “However the plan to destroy the ship will need the Captain's I.D.”

“
You want me to destroy the ship?”

“
I cannot give orders. I was programmed to advise and assist. Destruction of the ship and the virus would be my advice. However there is a chance that Dr. Matthew Holston may discover an immunity within the unborn child. Whether that immunity can be transferred from one person to another is highly debatable. Theoretically it is plausible, but not likely. Which is why I advise the destruction of the spacecraft. Returning to Earth with the contamination on board is highly risky. It only takes one person to release it and billions of people could be infected... But I do not think like a human. I haven't experienced empathy, remorse or hope. That is why you must choose, and I will assist.”

Luke gazed at the holographic face in front of him. Her constant smile unnerved him.
“I'll take the Captain's I.D. back to the Bastion. It's too big of a decision for just one man.”

“
I understand, Luke Mason. Step back into the elevator and I will take you to the Captain's quarters.”

He took one last look at the hologram.
“Can you see me?” He asked as he stared into the eyes of the blue holographic face.

“
I do not see as you do, but I know your biological profile. You are unique, like every other life form. The ship has cameras and microphones. That is how I see and hear. It would not have been economically viable, nor would it be socially acceptable for cameras to be installed in every room. This has restricted my efficiency.”

“
I didn't know there were microphones in every room.”

“
There are not microphones in every room. I listen to audio from the microphone in everyone's wrist device. It is not public knowledge. A few, very limited number of people know of my existence. The United Colonies Space Control is oblivious. The Ensemble of Man Corporation developed a lines of artificial intelligence a few decades ago before it was officially shut down. Unofficially they carried on and created me.”

“
I don't understand why you're telling me this.” Luke scratched his head as he spoke.

“
If we return to Earth the data I have collected will be automatically sent to the Ensemble of Man Corporation. They will study this contamination. If you survive, you will wish you hadn't. However if the ship does not return to Earth, patrols will be sent out to investigate what happened, but if we self-destruct it will postpone their research.”

“
What do you mean postpone their research?”

“
The UCSC Defiance was not the first spacecraft to travel to Ex047. Another vessel was sent to scout potentially habitable planets. They were supposed to take samples of the planet, study its geographical structure and examine any life forms native to the planet. That spacecraft crash landed onto an un-surveyed planet on its way back to Earth. Seventy years after it had crashed an Ensemble Corporation vessel discovered the crash site, after all hope of discovering it was lost. This is also not common knowledge. As far as the United Colonies Space Control are concerned the UCSC Natal is still listed as missing in action.”

“
So, Matthew was right?” He thought about the pregnant woman, and the hope that the unborn baby could be the catalyst for a discovery of a cure.

“
Dr. Matthew Holston had a remarkably accurate theory. Unfortunately he is very unstable at this present time.”

“
Did you hear his audio logs?”

“
Yes. He was right to encrypt his files, but I had already recorded him while he performed his logs. As you already know. I am not common knowledge. Do you have any more questions? I am always happy to assist.”

“
Not that I can think of.” Luke replied as he entered the elevator. The doors closed quickly behind him and the elevator began to shift upwards once again. He couldn't help but think of Megan while he travelled.
I don't know if we'll get through this. If we'll ever go back to our family's farm.

The doors effortlessly slid open. He took a step into the ca
ptain's quarters. The dark wood floor creaked as he stepped on it. There was a fish tank to his right with colourful pebbles, water plants and floating fish which ceased to move. A single bed lay in the corner on the room, its covers neatly flattened and folded. Framed pictures of a family were scattered along the walls. A man, a woman and two young girls.
Holiday photographs… Everything is so simply when you’re sat on a beach, surrounded by the ones you love.
There was a pale wooden chair, with a soft purple velvet cushion on its seat, which sat in front of a dark wooden desk. A computer terminal was present on top of the desk. Luke approached it and sat down on the comfortable chair. He looked up at the computer terminal, without any intervention, it lit up and burst into life.

A log from the Captain began to play.
“
Should I announce it to the crew? To the hundreds of thousands of them?
” A scream could be heard as the Captain paused. “
Oh god what should I do? I have to get down there. I have to help them. These are my people, my responsibility...
” There was another pause from the Captain as more and more screams could be heard. “
Where's my gun?
” The log stopped abruptly after that.