“Whats the area like around the complex” Arun asked Micheals, as he started to plot a decent course.
“Err…Slightly muffled radar and ladar returns. These sensors don’t show it, but there are also very slight variations in heat and of course the faint light patterns. We where assuming it is some kind of forest or jungle, that would be consistent with these readings…on other worlds in any case”.
Kerrson nodded. “That makes sense. Not planing to land in the complex then?”. He asked.
“Nope, I’m not about to put the ship down inside an unknown base, no matter how flat and easy it would be to land there”.
Again Kerrson nodded, a useless gesture since Arun was in front of him. “Makes sense”.
Arun turned around and looked at Kerrson. “Oh I’m glad you agree”. Luca was still at his console, Arun was sure he would be.
“How are the systems?” Arun asked Luca, as he turned back to his own console.
“Everything is looking, good. As good they can given the situation. We shouldn’t have any problems with an orbital decent”. Luca’s voice was calm once again, but maybe a little shaky, Arun thought. He hoped that Luca had understood the question. Arun had wanted to know how Luca was as well as the ship.
“Is there a good looking landing site anywhere with in reasonable distance of the complex?” Arun asked.
“Are we going to be on foot or do we have vehicles?” He asked. Kerrson stepped forward and looked down at the console, operating some controls on one side of it. Micheals looked at him, but continued working.
“We have a cargo tractor. Good for about 100 km, but it’s slow. Lets say with in 10 km of the place”.
“Okay, the terrain is mostly flat, but every where around has this forest. No idea how thick that is from up here, we might be able to land in it, we might not”. Micheals reported.
“We’ll have take a look when we get down there, then”.
“Is that wise”. Kerrson asked, pointedly.
“We need to get supplies. We don’t have a choice. If the rest of the world is like this then it probably doesn’t matter where we land”.
“We only know that 29% is like this. There could be lots of different terrains on 71% of a planets surface”. Kerrson pointed out.
“True. Any signs of technology or activity in the complex it’s self?” Arun asked, dismissing Kerrson’s concerns.
“There is probably some sort of power source in the pyramid, there is a heat source at it’s centre, just below the surface, but I can find no clues as to what sort it is”.
“Right, let me know if you see any power spikes there”.
The decent was uneventful.
The world had a thin cold atmosphere, which made for very little turbulence on the way in. Arun’s course took the Annic Nova down in a loose spiral a few hundred kilometres away from the complex. If there was anything unfriendly there, Arun wanted to have chance to to react to it. If they used an energy weapon of course he wouldn’t have time but Arun was relying on the fact that all known energy weapons generated large power signatures as they readied for firing. Micheals and Kerrson beside him saw nothing like that on the sensors.
The spiralling path also gave them a good chance to survey the land around the complex. As Micheals had stated, there was very little difference in the sensor readings for any of the land that they could see. It was all reasonably flat and covered in some sort of forest. Micheals was sure It was forest now. Kerrson agreed it could be little else.
Finally at a 10 kilometers up, Arun broke the Annic Nova out of is slow downward spiral and made a long, looping pass over two sides of the complex. By the end of these passes, the Annic Nova was just a kilometre over the surface and was now having to use it’s engines to keep it’s self flying, the kentic energy from there orbit having been used in the manoeuvres. It was time to land.
Arun had a site in mind, it was a little future from the complex than he had hoped for, but it was the flattest land within reasonable distance.z
Micheals and Kerrson worked together to do a detailed scan of the site. Kerrson was working well with the Association man, but Arun was sure that was just because it was his own life on the line if he didn’t. Arun had timed the landing to happen just after local sunrise. He wasn’t sure it would make much difference, the white dwarf, after all was hardly a star.
Arun switched the main screen to show an external forward view. The dwarf star was rising on the left side of the ship, it was just a bright star in the sky, a point of light rather than a disk. It cast a ghostly white frost over the scene. As the Annic Nova descended details of the trees in the strange forest became apparent. They where tall, some getting up to 100′s of meters in height, but looked very thin and spindly. Kerrson and Micheals where in agreement that the light local gravity would mean that the trunks would not need to be strong and that the ship could land on them. They would just give way or be blasted out of the way by the landing thrusters.
The ‘leaves’ of the trees where large, slightly domed disks. Each one of these was probably meters in diameter. And it was from these leaves that came the faint flashes of light seen from orbit. From time to time the edge of each leaf would light up in a sudden bright flash. This flash would seemingly trigger neighbouring leaves to flash as well. Irregular circles and other shapes of light continually rolled across the thick canopy.
The Annic Nova touched the top of the canopy and as predicted it didn’t offer any real resistance. Arun gently worked the controls, constantly trying to keep the ship level as the branches and trunks gave way around it.
The decent through the canopy took just under a minute, but Arun felt like it had been much longer. Finally he was able to cut the lift thrusters and the Annic Nova settled on it’s landing feet. Arun waited for a few moments before finally relaxing, just in case the ground wasn’t able to take the weight of the ship. The sensors of the feet reported no shifts in the under laying soil.
They were down.
The screen showed only darkness of a few moments, but the trees around the clearing that the Annic Nova had made suddenly responded to this strange new object’s arrival with a storm of light. It seemed everyone of the large circular leaves flashed. Was it a warning or just a response to the damage caused by the ship’s decent through the forest? Arun didn’t even begin to have an idea.
The leaves seemed to be responding to each other. After a few seconds of bright white light, the flashes started to space out more. The human eye could now follow the wave of light as it radiated out from the flash of one of leaves. Some leaves didn’t seem to respond so quickly and hence the waves to light became broken and disjointed.
It was an amazing display. Arun suddenly realised he had been transfixed by the show for nearly a minute now. He looked around to the others on the bridge. The flashes of lights briefly illuminating there faces and casting odd shadows. It seemed everyone else was effected the same way to.
Arun cleared his throat and stood up. “Spectacular”.
“Isn’t”. Kerrson said. He didn’t sound impressed, but he had responded the same way as the others to the show, with awe.
“We have work to do”. Raven announced loudly. Everyone else seemed to snap out of it, apart from Luca.
“Yes we do”. Arun said as he switched the screen off.
Luca blinked for a moment. Where those tears in the big mans eyes? Arun wondered. This was after all a place that which was a legend in his faith and he was here now. Arun wondered how that felt for him, but he knew he couldn’t understand. Arun had never understood religious faith, he had faith, but it put that in things he could see, hear and feel. Him self, his crew and his ship. They had not let him down in this hardest of test so far.
“Right, Luca, what’s the atmosphere like out there?”.
“Oh er yes”. The big man looked at Arun for a moment and then started to work his console. “Thin but breathable and oxygen. Cold too. The intake compressors will take around 40 hours to restock reservoirs”.
“Can we extract any water from the air?” Arun asked. Luca shook is head. “Too cold, the air is dry. Any moisture must freeze out at nights. The local day is long 32 hours”.
“Right so to get water we are going to need to get out there”.
Luca couldn’t help but smile. “Okay get those compressors running”.
Alex returned to the crew common room.
Adams was there, sitting alone, scowling at everyone and muttering darkly under his breath. Arun knew he was going to be problem. Probably more of a problem than Raven, at least with Raven, he knew the man and could predict pretty much how his going to react, religious fanatics like Adams where prone to going mad. This place could be just enough to push Adams that far.
Arun had been right to guess that Sung and Seaton where together. They sat next to each other, there hands tightly clasped together.
“Now…” Raven called from behind Arun, but him waved him off and rushed over to the sick bay.
Annalaver was getting out of bed. Alex stood there helping here as best he could with just one arm.
“Hey. Your no supposed to be up and about yet”. Arun said from the doorway.
“Ah…oh. It’s okay I’m good…oh”. She stood unsteadily and the sat backwards on to the bed. “Or maybe not”. Alex checked her over. “So we made it then?” She asked with a little giggle.
“You always knew we would didn’t you?”
“Well…yes. And wow what a rush”.
Raven arrived behind Arun. Arun turned to face him. “Who is she?” Arun noticed Ravens eyes linger just for a second on Annalaver. Her figure, was only thinly hidden under her tight fitting white jump suit and it was many mens idea of the perfect figure, long shapely legs, a thin taught stomach, small but firm breasts and wide athletic shoulders. It seemed even Raven was still just a man under all those layers of Association procedures, bureaucracy and training.
Arun smiled. “You records aren’t quite as complete as you thought then? This is Annalaver, the best jump space pilot there ever has been. She is the reason we are here. I notice you seem to be lacking a jump space pilot?”
Raven said nothing for a moment. “I wouldn’t tell you who my jump space pilot was, they are too important to us”.
“So your pilot didn’t make it…”
“I…”. Raven tried to interrupt.
“Don’t try to cover it up. Annalaver is the best and this jump nearly killed here”. Arun hissed quietly. “You have no jump space pilots left. I know jump space pilots, they are very…different, odd if you like and there is no one left in your crew that could do it. I know that”.
Arun’s mind was racing now. This changed everything. Without a jump space pilot, they needed Annalaver as much as he did. Their ploy to get life support supplies, while they clearly needed some, was probably just a way to get on board and kidnap her. But Annalaver would never jump their ship for them…would she. Jump space pilots where all pretty much hooked on the experience, it was like a drug. How long would she be able to hold out for? Would her loyalty to the crew be strong enough? Maybe the way they said they had found didn’t involve jumping out? Maybe without any jump space pilot they didn’t yet know that they probably wouldn’t have the power to jump out of here?
That one small change was snowballing and changing everything.
“Ahh”. Annalavers voice came from behind Arun. He turned around to see Alex lay on top of her. He was attempting to move his arm to push him self up but it wasn’t working properly. “Oh no”. Arun muttered under his breath.
Arun rushed to help Alex and Annalaver. He lifted Alex while Annalaver slipped out from under him. Alex felt light, but hot, to hot for a person, probably to hot for a synthetic. It was time.
“Luca, Savanna, Kerrson”. Arun shouted out.
He laid Alex on the bed.
“I am sorry, I think I that I’m no longer going to be any use to you”. Alex’s voice didn’t sound any different from normal. It was still calm and even.
“It’s okay, you have done so much all ready”.
Savanna arrived at the doorway, she was ready for a fight, her knife drawn. Raven backed away from her and looked for his guards. She looked in to the sick bay and realised what was going on. She seethed the knife. Luca was only a few seconds behind her.
The two of them sat by the Alex’s bed.
“Coolant reserve is almost gone and I am going to have to shutdown the fuel cell very shortly. My memory store is intact so I can be restored with the proper facilities”.
Arun knew that the facilities to make and maintain synthetics where lost in the war. Alex was one of the last of his kind still active.
Kerrson arrived at the door way and stepped in.
“This is need not be good bye”. Alex said.
“No it wont be friend”. Luca held Alex’s hand. “You have urned your place in the Star Lords realm. We will met again one day there”. Alex smiled, he knew in detail the legends of Luca’s faith. “Thank you”.
“You have fought bravely along side us. You will not be forgotten”. Savanna said, giving the standard blessing her her people to a fall warrior.
“Yeah, you’ve ridden the jump with us for so long now, I’m sure I’ll catch up with you when I’m ridding the jump alone. We’ll meet again”. Annalaver told him.
“You are clearly the best of your kind”. Kerrson said from behind them all.
“Thank you. All of you. I hope that I have been of service to all of you”. Alex’s voice was starting to sound…different. Not strained or in pain, but just different.
“You have been, friend”. Arun squezed Alex’s remaining hand.
“I can no longer hold off the shut down of my fuel cell. Goodbye all”. And with that his eyes became blank and lifeless, his body lose. He was just a collection of mechanical parts now, not the friend that Arun had come to know over the years. That’s what we all are in the end, Arun thought, once the spark of life departs.
No one said anything for a few moments. Savanna broke in to tears.
Luca stepped forward. “May I?” He asked all them. Arun looked at his crew and nodded.
Luca performed a brief ceremony, committing the soul of deceased to the safe keeping of the Star Lords realm. It was a ceremony, Arun had seen him perform once before. The second time didn’t make it any easier. It never got any easier losing friends. How many have I lost? Arun asked him self silently.
“Thank you”. Arun sighed. “We should all get back to work now. Alex wouldn’t have wanted us to delay getting home”. Everyone nodded.
“What are get going to do with Alex’s body?” Kerrson asked.
Arun was surprised to hear Kerrson ask this, he was surprised that he had said something to Alex before he died. Maybe there was something else under that thick layer of logic and self interest. “There are no more synthetics workshops that we know of, but a lot of these places where just lost in the war. We might come across one. If we have his memories, there is a chance, if we don’t there is none”.
Arun nodded. You couldn’t argue with Kerrson’s logic. It felt wrong to Arun, to be talking about how they might restore their friend while still standing by his death bed. He looked to the others for some sort of direction. Savanna nodded. Luca did and said nothing, would the Star Lords be angered by this? Arun wondered. Annalaver nodded to.
Yes Arun wanted his friend back, but it still seemed…wrong to him. “Okay. Do you know how to extract the memory core?” He asked Kerrson.
“Yes”.
Arun was relieved. He in fact knew the procedure, but doing that to his friend so recently after his death. Again it seemed wrong, but if there was chance, any chance that they might be able to restore Alex, he would take it. “Okay. We’ll leave you to it then”. Arun led the others out of the sick bay and closed the door.
Raven said nothing to Arun. They had both lost crew now, they both knew what that felt like. It was Arun that broke the silence, he wanted to get his mind off the loss of Alex. “So with no pilot what is your plan for getting home? I’m guessing it doesn’t involve a jump?”
No point in betting around the bush with this, Arun thought, that I know what he might be planning.
Raven looked like he was caught off balance by this question for a moment, he then shook his head. “No details yet. You still haven’t recharged my ships life support”. He said with a thin cold smile.
“Your ship which leaks air and is probably more badly damaged that this ship”. Arun replied. “And since I have you here, now, on a planet with a breathable atmosphere, I think my conuince would be clear if I left you here”. He added in a deliberate, slow and cold tone.
“We have there greater numbers. If I where to say just the right word, my people would take your’s in moments”. Raven cast a glance around the room. All of his people where there.
“Then where would you be stuck on this world. Do you think I wouldn’t have anti-hijack systems in place. And I’m not going to fly us out of here with your gun in the back of my neck”. Arun moved in very close to Raven, there noises where nearly touching. The Association troopers responded by lifting there rifles to a ready position. Kerrson responded to that by drawing his pistol.
Arun pulled back. “See you wouldn’t be able to take us without a little problem”. He said quietly. “I’m sure none of us want any more problems do we”. Arun said, now addressing the whole room. Raven nodded to his troopers, they lowered there weapons. Kerrson kept his drawn.
“See any attempt to ‘take us’ will result in a fire fight. That is likely to result in more casualties and you need all of us. And I’m not talking about your orders here. None of us knows all of the anti-hijacking override code. One of us dies, we aren’t leaving this planet, let alone the Dark Nebula”. The two adversaries just starred at each other for a moment. “So your plan then, what is it?”
“Whats the area like around the complex” Arun asked Micheals, as he started to plot a decent course.
“Err…Slightly muffled radar and ladar returns. These sensors don’t show it, but there are also very slight variations in heat and of course the faint light patterns. We where assuming it is some kind of forest or jungle, that would be consistent with these readings…on other worlds in any case”.
Kerrson nodded. “That makes sense. Not planing to land in the complex then?”. He asked.
“Nope, I’m not about to put the ship down inside an unknown base, no matter how flat and easy it would be to land there”.
Again Kerrson nodded, a useless gesture since Arun was in front of him. “Makes sense”.
Arun turned around and looked at Kerrson. “Oh I’m glad you agree”. Luca was still at his console, Arun was sure he would be.
“How are the systems?” Arun asked Luca, as he turned back to his own console.
“Everything is looking, good. As good they can given the situation. We shouldn’t have any problems with an orbital decent”. Luca’s voice was calm once again, but maybe a little shaky, Arun thought. He hoped that Luca had understood the question. Arun had wanted to know how Luca was as well as the ship.
“Is there a good looking landing site anywhere with in reasonable distance of the complex?” Arun asked.
“Are we going to be on foot or do we have vehicles?” He asked. Kerrson stepped forward and looked down at the console, operating some controls on one side of it. Micheals looked at him, but continued working.
“We have a cargo tractor. Good for about 100 km, but it’s slow. Lets say with in 10 km of the place”.
“Okay, the terrain is mostly flat, but every where around has this forest. No idea how thick that is from up here, we might be able to land in it, we might not”. Micheals reported.
“We’ll have take a look when we get down there, then”.
“Is that wise”. Kerrson asked, pointedly.
“We need to get supplies. We don’t have a choice. If the rest of the world is like this then it probably doesn’t matter where we land”.
“We only know that 29% is like this. There could be lots of different terrains on 71% of a planets surface”. Kerrson pointed out.
“True. Any signs of technology or activity in the complex it’s self?” Arun asked, dismissing Kerrson’s concerns.
“There is probably some sort of power source in the pyramid, there is a heat source at it’s centre, just below the surface, but I can find no clues as to what sort it is”.
“Right, let me know if you see any power spikes there”.
The decent was uneventful.
The world had a thin cold atmosphere, which made for very little turbulence on the way in. Arun’s course took the Annic Nova down in a loose spiral a few hundred kilometres away from the complex. If there was anything unfriendly there, Arun wanted to have chance to to react to it. If they used an energy weapon of course he wouldn’t have time but Arun was relying on the fact that all known energy weapons generated large power signatures as they readied for firing. Micheals and Kerrson beside him saw nothing like that on the sensors.
The spiralling path also gave them a good chance to survey the land around the complex. As Micheals had stated, there was very little difference in the sensor readings for any of the land that they could see. It was all reasonably flat and covered in some sort of forest. Micheals was sure It was forest now. Kerrson agreed it could be little else.
Finally at a 10 kilometers up, Arun broke the Annic Nova out of is slow downward spiral and made a long, looping pass over two sides of the complex. By the end of these passes, the Annic Nova was just a kilometre over the surface and was now having to use it’s engines to keep it’s self flying, the kentic energy from there orbit having been used in the manoeuvres. It was time to land.
Arun had a site in mind, it was a little future from the complex than he had hoped for, but it was the flattest land within reasonable distance.z
Micheals and Kerrson worked together to do a detailed scan of the site. Kerrson was working well with the Association man, but Arun was sure that was just because it was his own life on the line if he didn’t. Arun had timed the landing to happen just after local sunrise. He wasn’t sure it would make much difference, the white dwarf, after all was hardly a star.
Arun switched the main screen to show an external forward view. The dwarf star was rising on the left side of the ship, it was just a bright star in the sky, a point of light rather than a disk. It cast a ghostly white frost over the scene. As the Annic Nova descended details of the trees in the strange forest became apparent. They where tall, some getting up to 100′s of meters in height, but looked very thin and spindly. Kerrson and Micheals where in agreement that the light local gravity would mean that the trunks would not need to be strong and that the ship could land on them. They would just give way or be blasted out of the way by the landing thrusters.
The ‘leaves’ of the trees where large, slightly domed disks. Each one of these was probably meters in diameter. And it was from these leaves that came the faint flashes of light seen from orbit. From time to time the edge of each leaf would light up in a sudden bright flash. This flash would seemingly trigger neighbouring leaves to flash as well. Irregular circles and other shapes of light continually rolled across the thick canopy.
The Annic Nova touched the top of the canopy and as predicted it didn’t offer any real resistance. Arun gently worked the controls, constantly trying to keep the ship level as the branches and trunks gave way around it.
The decent through the canopy took just under a minute, but Arun felt like it had been much longer. Finally he was able to cut the lift thrusters and the Annic Nova settled on it’s landing feet. Arun waited for a few moments before finally relaxing, just in case the ground wasn’t able to take the weight of the ship. The sensors of the feet reported no shifts in the under laying soil.
They were down.
The screen showed only darkness of a few moments, but the trees around the clearing that the Annic Nova had made suddenly responded to this strange new object’s arrival with a storm of light. It seemed everyone of the large circular leaves flashed. Was it a warning or just a response to the damage caused by the ship’s decent through the forest? Arun didn’t even begin to have an idea.
The leaves seemed to be responding to each other. After a few seconds of bright white light, the flashes started to space out more. The human eye could now follow the wave of light as it radiated out from the flash of one of leaves. Some leaves didn’t seem to respond so quickly and hence the waves to light became broken and disjointed.
It was an amazing display. Arun suddenly realised he had been transfixed by the show for nearly a minute now. He looked around to the others on the bridge. The flashes of lights briefly illuminating there faces and casting odd shadows. It seemed everyone else was effected the same way to.
Arun cleared his throat and stood up. “Spectacular”.
“Isn’t”. Kerrson said. He didn’t sound impressed, but he had responded the same way as the others to the show, with awe.
“We have work to do”. Raven announced loudly. Everyone else seemed to snap out of it, apart from Luca.
“Yes we do”. Arun said as he switched the screen off.
Luca blinked for a moment. Where those tears in the big mans eyes? Arun wondered. This was after all a place that which was a legend in his faith and he was here now. Arun wondered how that felt for him, but he knew he couldn’t understand. Arun had never understood religious faith, he had faith, but it put that in things he could see, hear and feel. Him self, his crew and his ship. They had not let him down in this hardest of test so far.
“Right, Luca, what’s the atmosphere like out there?”.
“Oh er yes”. The big man looked at Arun for a moment and then started to work his console. “Thin but breathable and oxygen. Cold too. The intake compressors will take around 40 hours to restock reservoirs”.
“Can we extract any water from the air?” Arun asked. Luca shook is head. “Too cold, the air is dry. Any moisture must freeze out at nights. The local day is long 32 hours”.
“Right so to get water we are going to need to get out there”.
Luca couldn’t help but smile. “Okay get those compressors running”.
Alex returned to the crew common room.
Adams was there, sitting alone, scowling at everyone and muttering darkly under his breath. Arun knew he was going to be problem. Probably more of a problem than Raven, at least with Raven, he knew the man and could predict pretty much how his going to react, religious fanatics like Adams where prone to going mad. This place could be just enough to push Adams that far.
Arun had been right to guess that Sung and Seaton where together. They sat next to each other, there hands tightly clasped together.
“Now…” Raven called from behind Arun, but him waved him off and rushed over to the sick bay.
Annalaver was getting out of bed. Alex stood there helping here as best he could with just one arm.
“Hey. Your no supposed to be up and about yet”. Arun said from the doorway.
“Ah…oh. It’s okay I’m good…oh”. She stood unsteadily and the sat backwards on to the bed. “Or maybe not”. Alex checked her over. “So we made it then?” She asked with a little giggle.
“You always knew we would didn’t you?”
“Well…yes. And wow what a rush”.
Raven arrived behind Arun. Arun turned to face him. “Who is she?” Arun noticed Ravens eyes linger just for a second on Annalaver. Her figure, was only thinly hidden under her tight fitting white jump suit and it was many mens idea of the perfect figure, long shapely legs, a thin taught stomach, small but firm breasts and wide athletic shoulders. It seemed even Raven was still just a man under all those layers of Association procedures, bureaucracy and training.
Arun smiled. “You records aren’t quite as complete as you thought then? This is Annalaver, the best jump space pilot there ever has been. She is the reason we are here. I notice you seem to be lacking a jump space pilot?”
Raven said nothing for a moment. “I wouldn’t tell you who my jump space pilot was, they are too important to us”.
“So your pilot didn’t make it…”
“I…”. Raven tried to interrupt.
“Don’t try to cover it up. Annalaver is the best and this jump nearly killed here”. Arun hissed quietly. “You have no jump space pilots left. I know jump space pilots, they are very…different, odd if you like and there is no one left in your crew that could do it. I know that”.
Arun’s mind was racing now. This changed everything. Without a jump space pilot, they needed Annalaver as much as he did. Their ploy to get life support supplies, while they clearly needed some, was probably just a way to get on board and kidnap her. But Annalaver would never jump their ship for them…would she. Jump space pilots where all pretty much hooked on the experience, it was like a drug. How long would she be able to hold out for? Would her loyalty to the crew be strong enough? Maybe the way they said they had found didn’t involve jumping out? Maybe without any jump space pilot they didn’t yet know that they probably wouldn’t have the power to jump out of here?
That one small change was snowballing and changing everything.
“Ahh”. Annalavers voice came from behind Arun. He turned around to see Alex lay on top of her. He was attempting to move his arm to push him self up but it wasn’t working properly. “Oh no”. Arun muttered under his breath.
Arun rushed to help Alex and Annalaver. He lifted Alex while Annalaver slipped out from under him. Alex felt light, but hot, to hot for a person, probably to hot for a synthetic. It was time.
“Luca, Savanna, Kerrson”. Arun shouted out.
He laid Alex on the bed.
“I am sorry, I think I that I’m no longer going to be any use to you”. Alex’s voice didn’t sound any different from normal. It was still calm and even.
“It’s okay, you have done so much all ready”.
Savanna arrived at the doorway, she was ready for a fight, her knife drawn. Raven backed away from her and looked for his guards. She looked in to the sick bay and realised what was going on. She seethed the knife. Luca was only a few seconds behind her.
The two of them sat by the Alex’s bed.
“Coolant reserve is almost gone and I am going to have to shutdown the fuel cell very shortly. My memory store is intact so I can be restored with the proper facilities”.
Arun knew that the facilities to make and maintain synthetics where lost in the war. Alex was one of the last of his kind still active.
Kerrson arrived at the door way and stepped in.
“This is need not be good bye”. Alex said.
“No it wont be friend”. Luca held Alex’s hand. “You have urned your place in the Star Lords realm. We will met again one day there”. Alex smiled, he knew in detail the legends of Luca’s faith. “Thank you”.
“You have fought bravely along side us. You will not be forgotten”. Savanna said, giving the standard blessing her her people to a fall warrior.
“Yeah, you’ve ridden the jump with us for so long now, I’m sure I’ll catch up with you when I’m ridding the jump alone. We’ll meet again”. Annalaver told him.
“You are clearly the best of your kind”. Kerrson said from behind them all.
“Thank you. All of you. I hope that I have been of service to all of you”. Alex’s voice was starting to sound…different. Not strained or in pain, but just different.
“You have been, friend”. Arun squezed Alex’s remaining hand.
“I can no longer hold off the shut down of my fuel cell. Goodbye all”. And with that his eyes became blank and lifeless, his body lose. He was just a collection of mechanical parts now, not the friend that Arun had come to know over the years. That’s what we all are in the end, Arun thought, once the spark of life departs.
No one said anything for a few moments. Savanna broke in to tears.
Luca stepped forward. “May I?” He asked all them. Arun looked at his crew and nodded.
Luca performed a brief ceremony, committing the soul of deceased to the safe keeping of the Star Lords realm. It was a ceremony, Arun had seen him perform once before. The second time didn’t make it any easier. It never got any easier losing friends. How many have I lost? Arun asked him self silently.
“Thank you”. Arun sighed. “We should all get back to work now. Alex wouldn’t have wanted us to delay getting home”. Everyone nodded.
“What are get going to do with Alex’s body?” Kerrson asked.
Arun was surprised to hear Kerrson ask this, he was surprised that he had said something to Alex before he died. Maybe there was something else under that thick layer of logic and self interest. “There are no more synthetics workshops that we know of, but a lot of these places where just lost in the war. We might come across one. If we have his memories, there is a chance, if we don’t there is none”.
Arun nodded. You couldn’t argue with Kerrson’s logic. It felt wrong to Arun, to be talking about how they might restore their friend while still standing by his death bed. He looked to the others for some sort of direction. Savanna nodded. Luca did and said nothing, would the Star Lords be angered by this? Arun wondered. Annalaver nodded to.
Yes Arun wanted his friend back, but it still seemed…wrong to him. “Okay. Do you know how to extract the memory core?” He asked Kerrson.
“Yes”.
Arun was relieved. He in fact knew the procedure, but doing that to his friend so recently after his death. Again it seemed wrong, but if there was chance, any chance that they might be able to restore Alex, he would take it. “Okay. We’ll leave you to it then”. Arun led the others out of the sick bay and closed the door.
Raven said nothing to Arun. They had both lost crew now, they both knew what that felt like. It was Arun that broke the silence, he wanted to get his mind off the loss of Alex. “So with no pilot what is your plan for getting home? I’m guessing it doesn’t involve a jump?”
No point in betting around the bush with this, Arun thought, that I know what he might be planning.
Raven looked like he was caught off balance by this question for a moment, he then shook his head. “No details yet. You still haven’t recharged my ships life support”. He said with a thin cold smile.
“Your ship which leaks air and is probably more badly damaged that this ship”. Arun replied. “And since I have you here, now, on a planet with a breathable atmosphere, I think my conuince would be clear if I left you here”. He added in a deliberate, slow and cold tone.
“We have there greater numbers. If I where to say just the right word, my people would take your’s in moments”. Raven cast a glance around the room. All of his people where there.
“Then where would you be stuck on this world. Do you think I wouldn’t have anti-hijack systems in place. And I’m not going to fly us out of here with your gun in the back of my neck”. Arun moved in very close to Raven, there noises where nearly touching. The Association troopers responded by lifting there rifles to a ready position. Kerrson responded to that by drawing his pistol.
Arun pulled back. “See you wouldn’t be able to take us without a little problem”. He said quietly. “I’m sure none of us want any more problems do we”. Arun said, now addressing the whole room. Raven nodded to his troopers, they lowered there weapons. Kerrson kept his drawn.
“See any attempt to ‘take us’ will result in a fire fight. That is likely to result in more casualties and you need all of us. And I’m not talking about your orders here. None of us knows all of the anti-hijacking override code. One of us dies, we aren’t leaving this planet, let alone the Dark Nebula”. The two adversaries just starred at each other for a moment. “So your plan then, what is it?”