Shadow of the Blue Ring (29 page)

It was no less than James had expected, Artennes would have expected him to try and flee with the weapon and once again, he was prepared for this turn of events.

“Ok, James, what’s going on?” Ansare asked him as they walked back to the flyer, “you were ever so casual when you agreed to hand over the weapon, I thought you would have put up more of a fight than that.”

“Not here, wait until we get back to the ship, I don’t want them listening in on us.”

They stayed quiet until they reached the hangar once more, the flyer waiting there for them with Melina onboard keeping the engines primed for them. Fortunately, they were being allowed to return to the Evening Star and no contingency plans were necessary to get them off the council ship.

“I guess this means we don’t have to use plan T then?” Kosare said as they boarded the flyer, “just out of interest, what exactly was plan T?”

“Plan T, as in torpedo,” said James, “I had Lucy load a point fusion torpedo into this thing’s launcher before we left. If they sealed us in, we use a controlled explosion against the hangar doors to blast our way out. Clean and simple.”

“And be labelled as a criminal and fugitive!?” Kosare exclaimed, “you were seriously prepared to fire on the council ship?”

“If they steal the Shadow Bringer from us then there will be a lot more casualties,” said James, “I needed to prepare a contingency plan to ensure we get out of here and continue the mission. If we fail, we could see an entire planet destroyed. If my career has to be sacrificed to save the Adean homeworld or any alliance world, I will make that trade.”

“Well I’m glad it never came to having to use that torpedo,” said Ansare, “and just out of interest, I don’t think this was the only contingency you had in place was it?”

“No, in fact I think Artennes is in for a shock,” said James, “you see, the council is only going to think they are getting the Shadow Bringer, what they are actually getting is a fake.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Not at all, we set everything up as soon as we left Sharstrom,” James continued, “I had Connolly and one of his teams remove one of the spare power cells from the ship’s storage and modify it so that it looks like the Shadow Bringer. We then attached an encrypted data file that will take the Tolian engineers at least a few hours to decode. Once they do, all they will have is a blank database and they will not learn anything of the weapon or where to find the other pieces.”

“But the Tolians have blocked us in,” said Kosare, “how can you be sure they wont just search the ship to make sure we aren’t deceiving them.”

“Before we left, I gave Lucy an open commlink which was attached to mine. She and Connolly were listening in on our entire meeting. I asked them to prepare the device for delivery if Artennes made the decision to take it from us. If they followed my instructions, the real piece of the Shadow Bringer will be hidden in the cargo hold and if Isha relayed my message to Connolly, then priority package, or the fake, will be on it’s way down to the hangar bay now.”

“I’m not sure if you’re a genius or a madman,” Kosare chuckled, shaking her head, “I swear no other captain in the alliance would come up with some of the things you think up.”

“And long may it continue,” James said as the Mantis flyer approached the Evening Star. The ship had four Tolian battlecruisers surrounding it in close proximity, cutting off any kind of escape route. Two Tolian shuttles had landed in the hangar bay and their soldiers were all over the place. James noticed both Lucy and his chief engineer Connolly among the masses, as well as fake Shadow Bringer. Melina set them down alongside one of the Tolian shuttles, James quickly disembarking and heading over to where Lucy was stood.

“Everything going to plan?”

“They bought it sir,” Lucy said with pride, “they don’t suspect a thing, the fake is in their possession now.”

“James, are you sure this will work?” Melina asked, “I mean, wont these engineers recognise a simple power cell when they see one?”

“They would if it was from one of their own ships,” said James, “but as this ship is comprised of Jaiytid technology, a lot of it will be unfamiliar to them. It was fairly easy to pass one off as the real thing.”

“The two devices look remarkably similar,” said Lucy, “Connolly did an excellent job on it, if I didn’t know any better then it would have fooled me too. It’s a shame your meeting didn’t go better though, Artennes is making a huge mistake here, he could throw away a lot of lives by attacking the Hunters in their own region.”

“There is still time to stop this,” said James, “we’ll find a way to stall the attack while we try to work out where the remaining pieces of the weapon are.”

“Just out of interest, James, what do we plan to do if we find all the remaining pieces?” Ansare asked him.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” he replied, “all I care about at the moment is ensuring it doesn’t fall into the hands of anyone who might misuse it and that includes Jovan Artennes. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

All they had to do now was wait until the Tolian boarding teams had finished loading the fake Shadow Bringer onto their shuttles and made their move. They weren’t in any hurry though, it was almost as if Artennes had instructed them to watch out for possible deception, they were taking their time over such a simple recovery mission. It was twenty minutes after loading the fake weapon that they eventually decided to make their move and return to the council ship.

“Thought they would never leave,” James let out a sigh of relief, “oh well, at least we’re in the clear now, I didn’t want to have to give them a nudge on their way.”

“Don’t tell me you had another contingency in place?” Ansare laughed, “what was it this time?”

“Oh trust me, you don’t want to know,” Lucy chuckled, “just be glad we aren’t using it, I think we would have had a very unhappy councillor if we had put it into action though.”

“At least we still have the Shadow Bringer,” said James, “come on, lets get to the bridge, we should probably get out of here before they figure out that we just tricked them.”

“No arguments there.”

The hangar doors sealed up and the group made their way back to the command deck. The entire command crew, past and present, with the exception of Morelli and Saavoy who were still in the medical bay, were assembled and waiting for them to return.

“Your chief engineer just informed me of your scheme, James,” Isha looked impressed with his plan of action, “I have to admit, it was nicely done.”

“It was nothing,” James shrugged, “just doing my job and keeping the real thing safe. We aren’t out of the woods yet though, there are still two pieces of the weapon out there and we need to find them before the Hunters do. Kalmar, is there any indication of where the remaining pieces might be? Any clue at all?”

“I’m afraid we never found any clues regarding the remaining pieces,” Kalmar replied, “we never got the chance to investigate. The war with the Hunters took up far too much of our time and forced us to cease all exploration missions.”

“I guess we’re flying blind then, again,” Isha huffed, “I mean, we know nothing about this weapon, we don’t even know what it does or how to find the rest of it. Hell, we don’t even know enough about the Hunters, we don’t even know their real name. I doubt there is any living being in the galaxy who could tell us what we need to know regarding all of this.”

There were so few experts in the galaxy regarding the ancient Jaiytids and their secrets, even Kosare had barely scratched the surface when it came to learning about the ancient empires of the galaxy. If only there was someone who knew the ancient history of the galaxy that they could speak to, if only there was someone who could point them in the right direction… someone… or something…

“Wait a minute!” James suddenly sprang from his chair, “I’ve got it! Helmsman Daniels, we need to make a quick exit, can you get past these Tolian ships?”

“Well they’re starting to move away so I think we’re clear to move,” Daniels replied, “yeah, I can get us out of here, no problem.”

“What is it, James?” Isha asked him, “you have an idea?”

“Yes, and I can’t believe I was so blind as to not think of it before,” James said with a renewed sense of urgency, “helmsman, get us out of here then set a course for the Haldrian system. I have to go and visit an old friend…”

Chapter
Twelve

Retur
n
t
o
Raylia

James had almost forgotten the sight of that strange reddish planet that was Raylia, that remarkable world that held so many Jaiytid secrets inconspicuously beneath it’s barren surface. In a time when they needed answers, it seemed strange that a place like this was the one place he might actually be able to find them.

“Feels kind of strange being back here,” said Isha, “back where it all began, where we finally found the strength to overthrow the Vulian occupation. It seems fate has a way of bringing us here in times of need.”

“Another major discovery wouldn’t go amiss here,” said James, “with so much of the ancient history of the Jaiytids and the Antalaea here, I’m sure we can find something relating to either the Hunters or the Shadow Bringer.”

They could have learned so much had they had the time all those years ago but needs had called for them to focus their attentions elsewhere. Now, once again, James had all the collective knowledge of this place at his fingertips. It was not like they had any other options, this was their only chance to find the truth behind it all.

“No need to waste time, I’m heading straight down there,” said James, “we should be safe here for a while so anyone else who wants to come is welcome to do so. Just remember to dress accordingly, its midday where we need to go and it can get quite warm on the surface. Ivanov, you’re in charge while I’m gone, the rest of you are with me, Lucy, you too, I think you’ve earned yourself a place with the rest of us on the command crew.”

“I’d be happy to come along,” Lucy smiled, “this place is legendary, I’ve always wanted to see it in person.”

“And you aren’t leaving without me!” The whole team spun around to see a hobbling Loca Morelli making her way onto the bridge, “that place has a lot of interesting tech I didn’t get to have a look at last time I was here, some of it could come in useful against the Hunters next time we run into them.”

“Loca, you need to go back to medical bay,” James said, eyeing up her heavily strapped right ankle, “even with the new medical equipment, you wont heal that quickly. Markova said to take it easy for a while and besides, don’t you want to stay with Kasha?”

“Doc says the medicine is working, his body is producing extra cells to counter the blood loss,” said Morelli, “he’s going to be fine but the rest of the alliance wont be if we don’t find what we need to find down there. I’m coming whether you like it or not.”

“I guess you are,” James resigned, “but if you make the injury worse, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

“Noted,” said Morelli, “so what are we waiting for, lets go.”

With Morelli giving the order for him, James didn’t need to do anything except lead the way to the flyer. It would be nice to get off the ship and get some fresh air again. They hadn’t really had any since their brief visit to Adean, what with them all needing re-breathers while they were on Sharstrom. There was no need for all the excavation equipment this time either, they had already made their discovery, the only thing they needed now was answers.

Melina landed the flyer in almost exactly the same spot that she had done the first time they had touched down on the planet. The planet looked different this time though, there were remains of several dozen camps along the trail, all abandoned now, that would have housed the many science teams that would have visited over the past six years. The great hangar bay doors continued to lay open, the way into the hangar bays open and clear before them. James took the same path that he had taken six years before, through the ruined buildings and down the hidden staircase and through the tunnel into the main hangar.

“If only Alen Raviera was still here to see it all again,” Kosare sighed, “the things he could have done with this place if he had had the chance.”

“Maybe they should set up a memorial or something,” said Isha, “let the galaxy know who really discovered this place, who really made it possible for us to win the revolution. I think he deserves it.”

“Maybe once this is all over we’ll put one up for him,” said James, “we’ll make sure his legacy is never forgotten.”

There was only one part of the facility that James was interested in for now though and that was the console at the side of the main hangar bay. Just as it had done last time, it powered up as he approached and a familiar voice greeted him.

“Welcome back, James Tavarez,” said the voice of Iyacs, the facility’s sentient intelligence, “it has been six years and twenty-six days since your last visit to this facility. What brings you back here?”

“I’m afraid it’s bad business once again,” said James, “we’ve encountered an unexpected problem, an alien race that has been striking out at us from the Blue Ring sector.”

“The Blue Ring sector was home to nine different alien species that we know of,” said Iyacs, “I can help you identify them if need be.”

Iyacs brought up images and profiles of each of the listed alien races indigenous to the Blue Ring sector but James did not recognise any of them, the Hunters were not among them.

“None of them,” said James, “are you sure thats all of them?”

“Are you sure that the race in question is indigenous to the Blue Ring?” Iyacs asked in return.

“No, I don’t think I ever considered that,” said James, “if I put in the details, could you try and find a match for me?”

“I will do my best.”

“Ok, well they were tall, eight foot tall at least,” James began to describe the attackers, “they had grey skin, long and slender limbs, they moved very fast and they were very agile too. They wear silver armour and they travel on very large ships that are almost three kilometres long.”

Iyacs went silent for a moment before bringing up another image on the screen. This time it was more familiar.

“Yes, thats them!”

“You are sure?” Iyacs asked him, “these are the attackers that you faced in the Blue Ring sector?”

“I’m positive,” said James, “why do you ask?”

“I do not believe that this can be possible,” said Iyacs, “the race that you have described to me is presumed to be extinct. They were wiped out over thirteen hundred years ago. They are a race called the Al’cari, they are native to the Simagara sector, Xerion territory.”

“What exactly happened to them?” James asked.

“We don’t know the reasons behind it but they came into conflict with the Xerion faction in a very sudden move,” said Iyacs, “they raided three Xerion systems close to their homeworld and inflicted some pretty heavy damage on their forces in the area. Even though relationships between the Xerions and the other factions were starting to strain at this point, we were still an empire and we could not ignore them and so the Antalaea united against the Al’cari and began a campaign to drive back their attacks. Eventually we pushed them back to their home system and we were about to attempt to negotiate a truce when the Xerions decided to continue their attack and bomb their homeworld, Tiros. We believed that the entire Al’cari race was wiped out that day. If there were survivors, they would be seeking revenge against the races of the Antalaea, most notably the Xerions. Al’cari are very intelligent and very proficient in combat, their ships were immensely powerful and even the stronger Jaiytid cruisers had real difficulty engaging them.”

“The ones we encountered fought like brutes,” said James, “they didn’t attempt contact, they didn’t stop to ask questions, they just came at us like mindless beasts with the intention of killing us all. They nearly succeeded too, one of our crew is still in critical condition.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” said Iyacs, “and I am also surprised to hear of this change in Al’cari tactics. The ones that the Jaiytid ground forces engaged were organised and fought bravely. Had we not been engaged in hostilities with them, they would have been an excellent candidate to join the empire.”

“It’s hard to imagine them as an intelligent race from what we have seen,” said James, “attacking without warning, no offer of negotiation, brutally killing our people. They seem like no more than brutes and brawlers to me.”

“They were a very proud race once,” said Iyacs, “in fact, their race possessed one of the greatest war heroes in the history of the empire. When the Xerions made their attack on Tiros, they started by trying to eliminate the military camps the Al’cari had placed on the planet’s moon. Even though they had a physical advantage in combat, they were hopelessly outnumbered and it looked as if they were going to be forced into a full retreat. That was when one Al’cari captain stepped forward, a warrior named Arrokan. He stood alone at the heart of the last standing Al’cari base as wave after wave of Xerions soldiers poured in to try and size the facility, the last one on the moon that hadn’t fallen to the attackers. He held them there for so long, reinforcements from the homeworld were able to arrive and all of the beaten and bloodied troops who were cooped up inside the base regained their will to fight, joining the battle once more and pushing the Xerions back and eventually off the moon. They say he killed more than a thousand Xerions that day with simply his wrist blade and his pistol. If his race had not been supposedly wiped out, he would have been honoured as one of the greatest war heroes in history.”

“I only wish the ones we were facing now had that same kind of honour and bravery,” said James, “maybe they wouldn’t be trying so hard to kill us. Facing them in battle isn’t the biggest problem we have right now though. They are searching for an ancient Jaiytid weapon, something that is referred to as the Shadow Bringer.”

“So… the Shadow Bringer has been found…” if it was possible for a machine to sound sorrowful, this was it, “that was a secret that was meant to be buried forever. If the Al’cari were to possess this weapon, the damage that they could do is untold. It is fortunate that the weapon was divided into four pieces though and it cannot be used unless all four are combined.”

“So you know of it then?”

“Yes, I am aware of it’s existence,” said Iyacs, “in fact, one piece of the weapon itself lies in the vaults beneath this hangar.”

“Excuse me!?” James jumped up from where he had been sat, “there is a piece here!? Why could you not have told us this when we were here before?”

“I was instructed to withhold all information regarding any of the items hidden here unless the individual present already knows of their existence,” said Iyacs, “only a Jaiytid descendant who does not intend to use the Shadow Bringer for evil means is to be allowed to find it, and even then, I am not permitted to reveal the locations of the other parts of the weapon. In fact, I do not even possess that information, it has been removed from my memory core, likely by whoever left it here.”

“But now that we know of it, you can tell us how to get it?”

“If you want to take it, you may proceed to the vaults below the hangar,” said Iyacs, “but I must warn you, by retrieving this weapon and bringing it out into the open once more, there is a high chance that this series of events will end only by the use of the weapon itself.”

“All we want to do for now is make sure that these Al’cari can’t find it,” James assured it, “we have no intentions of using it ourselves, we just want to make sure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. If all else fails, we can destroy it and ensure that no one can ever use it.”

“The weapon cannot be destroyed James,” said Iyacs, “each piece of the Shadow Bringer contains large portions of unstable matter. While they are not a threat when left untampered with, if someone was to attempt to disassemble this thing, it could trigger an unpredictable chain reaction and cause untold devastation. This is why the Jaiytids went to so much trouble to hide the weapon, there is only one way this can possibly end.”

“So whatever happens, this is going to end badly for someone?” Said James, “if we were to detonate this thing in dead space, far from any star systems, what effect would it have?”

“If there is nothing in the proximity of it’s blast radius, it will not cause any lasting harm,” said Iyacs, “but used within the confines of a star system, it could wipe out an entire planet, if detonated close enough to it. Each of the three components extracted from the main part of the weapon contain a different form of unstable matter which when combined, trigger a chain reaction that will cause an explosion the size of a small supernova. If fired directly into a system’s star, it will amplify the effects and will likely result in the destruction of every planet and moon in the system.”

“Why would the Jaiytids have built something like this? Even with the war against the Xerions, could they really have sunk to the level of wanting to wipe out entire systems like this?”

“It was a desperate move by one of the last factions of surviving Jaiytids,” said Iyacs, “they knew the only way to save their race was by using a weapon of mass destruction on either a Xerion world or by massing their fleet and detonating it there. Either one could have changed the tide of the war and seen the Jaiytid faction survive. In the end, the weapon was declared too dangerous to exist in case the Xerions ended up taking possession of it and learning how to duplicate it. Jaiytid engineers tried to disarm the weapon but realised that it’s individual components could not be taken apart without triggering some kind of explosion. It was, however, possible to remove the matter containment cells from the weapon and separate them in secret locations across the galaxy. It was hoped that these pieces would never see the light of day again.”