Endeavour (Atlantia Series Book 4) Read online

  ‘What are we waiting for?’ Lieutenant C’rairn asked.

  Evelyn turned and looked at the main hatch of the hold, the entrance still blocked by the hatch guarded by four Marines and the sea of squirming, dying poisonous creatures. Beyond in the dark holds echoed the occasional shriek as unknown species warred in the darkness, the shadowy forms lurking this way and that as they sought a way past the hatch.

  ‘We can’t get the people out of there?’ Evelyn persisted, horrified that human beings might yet be abandoned, trapped within Endeavour’s hellish confines.

  ‘They cannot be saved,’ Emma replied. ‘Many of them are too ill or injured, many more yet are dead.’

  ‘How do you know?’ Andaim asked her, and she gestured to the computer.

  ‘The Word knows,’ she replied. ‘We must leave, as fast as we can.’

  ‘Then let’s go,’ Bra’hiv said.

  The Marines behind them hoisted the computer into the air, one man on each corner as they guided it through the shattered wall. Further ahead, the Special Forces troops jogged as an advance guard as they sought to clear the way ahead.

  Evelyn joined Emma as they hurried out into the corridor, careful not to catch their uniforms on the jagged, torn metal of the hull.

  ‘The Word has internal power,’ Emma suggested to Evelyn as they hurried in pursuit of the Marines.

  ‘Not a chance,’ Meyanna insisted from behind them as she followed. ‘There’s no way we’re turning that thing on again until we are well clear of the ship.’

  ‘We may not get off this ship in one piece without it,’ Emma insisted as they emerged from the clouds of acrid smoke filling the corridor from the Marines charges.

  Evelyn said nothing as they hurried along, the corridor lit only by the Marine’s flash lights as they jogged, erratic blue beams of light slicing the blackness ahead.

  ‘We only have to reach the aft landing bays in order to get off Endeavour,’ Evelyn said. ‘There is a ship waiting for us.’

  ‘There is more than that waiting for us,’ Emma said in reply.

  ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ Andaim asked.

  A sudden scream echoed down the corridor from far behind, a shriek that sent a pulse of fear flashing through Evelyn’s spine as she looked over her shoulder into the blackness.

  ‘They’re out,’ Andaim realised. ‘It was only a matter of time before one of them managed to get through over those stinging creatures and the others followed.’

  As if in response Evelyn heard the crash of something massive against metal that echoed down the corridor in pursuit of them. Her imagination ran away with itself as she pictured huge, muscular beasts clawing their way out of the hold and down the corridor in pursuit of the scent of human beings, of prey.

  ‘We need backup to meet us,’ Bra’hiv said as he keyed his microphone in an attempt to contact Atlantia. ‘I don’t care how they do it.’

  Evelyn could hear the general’s voice as he spoke into his microphone through her earpiece, and she could also hear the hiss of static that responded, no communications audible from Atlantia’s bridge.

  ‘It’s no good,’ Andaim said. ‘Ship of this size and transmitters this small, we’ll never be able to contact them without signal amplification.’

  Another clatter of shrieks and crashes echoed down the corridor in pursuit of them, closer now and filled with a primal hatred as though humanity were to blame for events even here, against species whose origin was entirely unknown.

  ‘Switch the Word back on,’ Emma insisted, ‘it’s the only way.’

  ‘What can it do to help us?’ Meyanna asked.

  ‘It got us out of the hold didn’t it?’

  ‘Whose side are you on?’ Andaim asked.

  ‘Humanity’s,’ Evelyn shot back in Emma’s defence, ‘and right now we should be willing to do whatever it takes to get us off this ship, even if it means switching that machine back on.’

  The Marines carrying the terminal glanced over their shoulders nervously but said nothing as they moved. From her position behind them Evelyn could see hatches on the bottom of the terminal box that almost certainly allowed access to the batteries within. Although too small for fusion cores the terminal would likely contain high–density, low–energy nuclear reaction cells specifically designed to power such units in the absence of human intervention or external power for long periods of time.

  Evelyn ran alongside the Marines as she reached up and opened the panel.

  ‘I really don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Meyanna said.

  ‘You got any better ones?’ Evelyn challenged as she looked over her shoulder at the captain’s wife.

  The crashing clatter of pursuing animals grew louder and in the faint glow of the Marine’s flashlights the glow of alien eyes catching the light flickered in the darkness behind them like distant blinking stars.

  ‘Fire in the hole!’

  Evelyn saw Bra’hiv toss a plasma grenade behind them into the darkness, the grenade bouncing along the deck and off the walls as it vanished. Evelyn placed her hands over her ears as she ran, the Marines doing likewise and giving the computer terminal a shove so that it floated along in front of them as they ran.

  A deafening blast smashed the air inside the corridor as the plasma grenade detonated far behind them with a flash of brilliant blue light, the blast followed by the screeches of injured creatures consumed by the savage explosion. The shockwave from the blast hit Evelyn hard in the back as she ran and she stumbled as she reached up to the terminal hatch.

  ‘The blue cells,’ Emma said to her as she jogged alongside, one hand resting on the terminal to guide her. ‘Activate the power using them.’

  ‘How do we even know that you have our best interests at heart?’ Meyanna demanded. ‘We know nothing about you, so how can we trust you?’

  ‘She’s as human as we are,’ Evelyn snapped, surprised at her own passion for defending Emma.

  ‘Is that so?’ Meyanna challenged as they ran. ‘Then how come Emma did not have to cover her ears when the grenade went off, and how come she can both speak and hear so clearly despite the blast?’

  The Marines stared again at Emma as though uncertain of what exactly they were looking at. Emma’s reply sounded quiet in the aftermath of the deafening explosion.

  ‘My ears have not yet recovered from the hibernation sickness, just like my eyes,’ she said. ‘I did not hear the blast with the same intensity as you did.’

  Evelyn looked at Meyanna and saw the doctor staring at her with an expression that conveyed anything but faith. Evelyn waited only a moment longer and then she reached up and activated the blue cells. The terminal hummed into life as the tiny internal nuclear cell was spun up and the screen atop the terminal flickered back into life. Almost immediately the screen emitted the same warbling sound that Evelyn had heard before, a stream of unintelligible digital vocalisation that meant nothing to Evelyn but seem to immediately affect the way that Emma moved.

  ‘They are coming,’ Emma said.

  ‘Who is coming?’ Evelyn asked.

  ‘The Morla’syn,’ Emma replied as she listened to the warbling sound of the Word’s digital dialect. ‘They have come to finish what they started.’

  The Morla’syn were a species that Evelyn knew little about, except that they were vastly superior in technology and highly xenophobic, un–trusting of other species and ever unwilling to share new advances in their technology with those whom they shared the cosmos. Although the Morla’syn had never engaged in open warfare with any species as far as Evelyn was aware, they had on numerous occasions destroyed vessels that had wandered into their systems without you warning.

  ‘The Morla’syn did all of this?’ Meyanna asked.

  ‘The Morla’syn were the ones who attacked our ship,’ Emma replied as she ran alongside the terminal. ‘They damaged the fusion cores and our engine bays in an unprovoked attack and then left us adrift. They claimed that they opposed any human expansion
into the wider cosmos, told us that if we did not turn back we would be destroyed. We explained that we were an exploratory vessel, that we meant no harm and that our purpose was merely to observe the galaxy, but they would not listen.’

  Meyanna’s features creased with suspicion.

  ‘How could you have spoken with the Morla’syn before we had even encountered another species beyond our world? There were no vocal resonance translators back then.’

  There was no evidence of anger in Emma’s response she replied, staring straight ahead and running with one hand still placed gently upon the computer terminal to guide her.

  ‘Dialect is a species–specific means of communication,’ she said, ‘but mathematics is the language of the universe. When the Morla’syn first appeared we followed standard protocol for first contact and transmitted a binary code message announcing who we were, where we came from and our intentions as well as our greetings. A simple binary message would be easy to decode for any suitably advanced species, and we received a reply within due course, a matter of minutes in fact. Over the course of a few hours we were able to discuss in quite some detail who we were and why we were here, but the Morla’syn claimed that we had no right to be in their space. Before we knew what had happened they had tired of the conversation and suddenly opened fire. I have no idea if they intended to leave us drifting here in deep space, or whether they intended to return to destroy us but they never came back.’

  General Bra’hiv was listening closely from further ahead and called back down the corridor.

  ‘Well whatever they wanted or whatever they intended to do, it’s irrelevant now.’

  ‘Not if they still want to destroy us,’ Emma insisted, ‘because it is a Morla’syn ship that is awaiting outside.’

  ‘We’re coming up on a bulkhead!’ C’rairn yelled.

  Evelyn looked up and in the flickering light from the flashlights she could see a massive bulkhead at the end of the corridor, the hatch firmly sealed.

  ‘Pressure bulkhead,’ Andaim identified it. ‘It must be one of the bulkheads that automatically shut when Salim Phaeon’s gunship crashed aboard. We’re almost at the stern, close to landing bays.’

  Lieutenant Riaz reached the doors first and Evelyn saw him peer through a small viewing panel, a safety feature that allowed a visual inspection of the corridor beyond the pressure bulkhead to ensure the security of the atmosphere within in the absence of power to the door sensors. Far away, he could see two green lights above the giant double hatches to the landing bay.

  ‘The atmosphere is good,’ Riaz shouted. ‘But there’s no power to this door so we can’t open it, it’s in permanent lockdown.’

  The sound of pursuing creatures echoed down the corridor as the Marines all came to a halt.

  ‘Can we use charges to blow the hatch?’ Meyanna asked.

  ‘Not without blowing ourselves to pieces too,’ Riaz replied as he examined the outside of the hatch. ‘It’s too strong and we can’t get far enough away from the blast now.’

  More screeches, growls and snarls came from the darkness further down the corridor as whatever had escaped from the hold bore down upon them. Riaz looked at Emma and the glowing computer terminal hovering in mid–air beside the Marines.

  ‘Well you wanted that damned thing turned on, sister,’ he snapped at her. ‘How about you pull some magic out of your little box of tricks and get us out of here?’

  Emma appeared immune to the soldier’s caustic wit, her eyes staring into nothingness but her expression clearly that of a person listening to a stream of information coming from the computer terminal. Evelyn could see the digital face of the Word speaking quickly, the warbling sound almost comforting compared to the hellish cries of the predators bearing down upon them through the corridor.

  Emma’s voice broke through suddenly as she translated the Word’s communication.

  ‘The Word will open the hatch for us,’ she said.

  ‘Great news, tell it to get on with it,’ Riaz snapped back.

  ‘On one condition,’ Emma added. ‘The Word has some demands.’

  ***

  XXXI

  Mikhain strode onto the bridge as soon as he received the signal from Atlantia, and was immediately confronted by the executive officer, Djimon, who was uncharacteristically manning his post on the command platform and watching events unfold on the main viewing panel.

  ‘Captain on the bridge.’

  Mikhain stepped onto the command platform. ‘Situation report?’

  ‘The Morla’syn are holding position,’ Lieutenant Scott replied from the tactical console. ‘Their shields are up and their plasma weapons are charged but so far they have made no provocative action.’

  ‘Any word from Endeavour?’

  ‘Negative captain,’ the communications officer, Shah, said. ‘There is no active jamming in play so we can only assume that the team is deep enough inside the ship to prevent them from making a clear transmission.’

  ‘Atlantia?’

  ‘Holding position captain,’ Lieutenant Scott replied. ‘No new orders.’

  Mikhain looked at Djimon, the XO saying nothing as he examined the various displays.

  ‘Congratulations,’ Mikhain uttered as he took his seat on the platform. ‘This is probably the first time I’ve seen you at your post since you joined the ship.’

  ‘What do you suppose is keeping them so quiet for so long?’ the XO asked, apparently not hearing or choosing to ignore Mikhain’s comment. ‘General Bra’hiv would never have remained out of contact for this long without good reason.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Mikhain replied, ‘but I don’t like it.’

  ‘Don’t like it because you’re concerned for the team?’ Djimon asked. ‘Or don’t like it because you don’t know whether General Bra’hiv might have been talking directly to Sansin and cutting you out?’

  ‘Both,’ Mikhain replied in a low whisper. ‘The last we knew both Kordaz and Qayin were alive and now we haven’t heard anything since the gunship crashed into the landing bay. You damn right I don’t like what’s happened.’

  ‘If either of them had mentioned anything, or there were concerns about your leadership of Arcadia, somebody would have said something by now,’ Djimon assured him.

  ‘They damned well did,’ Mikhain hissed. ‘Your blasting of the gunship resulted in me being hauled over the coals by Captain Sansin. You’ve been making things worse, not better!’

  ‘Something needed to be done,’ Djimon replied without apparent concern. ‘You were not man enough to do it, so I took matters into my own hands.’

  Mikhain said nothing in reply, staring instead at the display panels. Since taking command of Arcadia he had felt able to put behind him the fiasco with Kordaz, safe in the knowledge that the Veng’en warrior had not survived the terrific bombardment of the planet Chiron and that Qayin had fled the system and would never be seen again. Now, the security of that illusion had been shattered by the arrival of the gunship and its spectacular descent into Endeavour.

  ‘The Morla’syn want to destroy Endeavour,’ Mikhain revealed.

  ‘That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?’ Djimon asked.

  ‘And us with it. They’re claiming that the Galactic Council has voted for the destruction of mankind.’

  Djimon barely reacted to the news, simply raising an eyebrow. ‘Then they’re no better than the Word.’

  ‘You already pushed our luck provoking Kordaz’s gunship and the Morla’syn seem unwilling to negotiate terms. Captain Sansin is intent on protecting our people aboard Endeavour and extracting them without delay.’

  Djimon stared at the screen for a moment before replying. ‘Then we need to get there first,’ he replied. ‘Whatever happens, Kordaz and Qayin need to be aboard Arcadia and not Atlantia where we can keep an eye on them.’

  ‘We are in a holding position riding shotgun for Atlantia,’ Mikhain replied. ‘If the team manage to get off Endeavour it will be Atlantia who will collect the
m.’

  Djimon was about to speak when suddenly a scratchy, distorted communication was broadcast over Arcadia’s bridge speakers.

  ‘Any callsign please respond, Bravo company.’

  Almost immediately Captain Sansin appeared on another display screen as he opened a channel to Arcadia and replied to the general’s request.

  ‘General this is Atlantia, pass message.’

  ‘Captains, we have a problem.’

  Mikhain and Djimon exchanged a glance but neither man said a word as they awaited Sansin’s reply. The general was broadcasting without video feed so they could see nothing of the Marines’ situation or indeed where they were aboard the ship, let alone whether they were in the company of Kordaz and Qayin.

  ‘Then you’re in good company, general,’ Sansin replied. ‘We have visitors.’

  ‘We know,’ the general replied. ‘The Morla’syn are here.’

  ‘How could you know that if you’ve been out of contact deep inside the ship?’ Mikhain asked.

  ‘We’ve been getting some help and you’re not going to like who’s been giving it.’

  Mikhain and Djimon again exchanged a glance but said nothing.

  ‘Can you get away from Endeavour?’ Captain Sansin asked urgently. ‘You’re not going to believe this, but the Galactic Council has voted for all species to eradicate humanity wherever they find it in an attempt to stem the flow of the Word. We need you off that ship as soon as possible before the Morla’syn attempt to destroy it.’

  ‘Nothing like kicking a species when it’s down,’ Lieutenant C’rairn replied from the background.

  ‘They could be lying,’ Bra’hiv replied. ‘According to a surviving crewmember we have found down here on Endeavour, the Morla’syn were responsible for damaging the ship in the first place. They attacked us.’

  Mikhain got up out of his seat as he saw an opportunity to intervene.

  ‘If that’s so we have every right to defend both Endeavour and ourselves against them,’ he announced. ‘Etheran Law, recognised by the Galactic Council, clearly states that our vessels are sovereign territory no matter where they travel and have rights of passage through all member civilisations’ space.’