Endeavour (Atlantia Series Book 4) Read online

  ‘It was Djimon who betrayed me on Chiron,’ Kordaz replied. ‘He informed the pirate King, Salim Phaeon, of my mission to destroy the generators there.’

  Sansin nodded, finally understanding what could have driven Kordaz to commit such a heinious crime as the murder of a Colonial officer on his own ship.

  ‘The civilian counsel we have installed is responsible for holding any trials that may take place aboard ship,’ the captain informed Kordaz. ‘I will ensure that they are apprised of this new detail and that it is taken into consideration during your trial.’

  ‘I get a trial?’

  ‘He gets a trial?’ Bra’hiv echoed.

  ‘It was Kordaz’s courage that allowed us to take control of Arcadia, and in return he was betrayed, abandoned and as a result infected by the Word,’ the captain said. ‘He gets a trial.’

  Kordaz’s leathery skin flickered with vibrant colours as he took hold of the bars of the cell and looked into the captain’s eyes.

  ‘Trial or not, it is unlikely that your civilian contingent will wish to find a Veng’en not guilty of murdering somebody they considered to be a model officer.’

  ‘I’m not going to lie to you Kordaz – right now the chances of you being freed are pretty slim,’ the captain admitted. ‘You should have come to me with this and not taken matters into your own hands.’

  Kordaz’s skin flickered again with new colours, a deeper red than before. ‘My mind is no longer entirely my own. The Word, it speaks to me and I am unable to ignore its commands.’

  ‘Another reason we should wash our hands of him,’ the general pointed out.

  ‘It must remain in the hands of a trial by jury,’ Idris insisted. ‘I won’t have mob justice aboard my ship.’

  The captain turned to walk away but one of Kordaz’s giant hands landed on his shoulder and held him firm as the Veng’en spoke.

  ‘Arcadia’s Executive Officer was not acting alone,’ he said. ‘There must be another traitor aboard Atlantia.’

  Idris considered this for a moment and then nodded before moving on with Bra’hiv in pursuit.

  ‘Damn it, we have enough going on without having to deal with treachery among our own people,’ Bra’hiv muttered under his breath so that the surrounding Marines would not hear. ‘We need to get our house in order before we go any further, or we could just as likely end up killing ourselves. What are you going to do about it, captain?’

  ‘You ask like you think I know who’s behind it all.’

  ‘Don’t you?’

  Idris decided not to reply.

  *

  ‘So, is it true?’

  Meyanna Sansin stood before Evelyn and Emma as they sat in Atlantia’s sickbay before a display monitor upon which was portrayed the genetic code found in their blood. Evelyn’s voice was touched with trepidation and an uncertainty of how they might react to what she heard.

  Meyanna glanced one last time at the display as though to confirm it to herself.

  ‘Believe it or not, you are not exact clones of each other,’ Meyanna replied. ‘However, your genetic make–up is almost identical. You share a common ancestor from around one hundred years ago from whom you have drawn most of your genetic material, hence your extraordinary similarity in appearance. You are more like identical twins than true clones.’

  Evelyn and Emma looked at each other. ‘Identical twins born nearly a hundred years apart?’ Evelyn asked.

  ‘It’s hard to know how this came about except within controlled conditions in a laboratory,’ Meyanna admitted. ‘Evelyn, I know this is going to be hard to accept, but you being here is almost certainly a result of the Word attempting to manipulate human genetic material. It is perhaps an explanation for why the Word decided to hunt you down with such brutality before the apocalypse on Ethera. Your immunity to the Legion’s Infectors represents not just a weakness for the Word but also evidence of its presence in your conception. Had you discovered this on Ethera soon enough, it could have been used as a reason to curb the Word’s power and perhaps even as a means to avoid the apocalypse in the first place.’

  Evelyn sat in silence for a long moment as she thought of her long dead husband and son, of the parents she remembered so fondly. Although relieved that they were now not figments of her imagination, she felt great pain at the loss of so many people close to her that may have had no idea why their lives were taken.

  ‘I was kept alive only to be studied?’ She asked.

  ‘The Word ensured that you were isolated far from Ethera and a hated criminal,’ Meyanna confirmed. ‘As soon as it got chance it would have gained access to you and begun a series of tests to understand why you are immune to Infectors. I suspect that the apocalypse it had engineered had to be instigated earlier than the Word had planned, and thus you escaped with us.’

  ‘So we are sisters?’ Emma asked as she glanced at Evelyn.

  ‘In everything but your dates of birth,’ Meyanna confirmed. ‘If Lazarus had not placed you in stasis, Emma, then you would never have met. This is a quirk of fate, something the Word on Ethera would never have intended to happen. But yes, you are sisters.’

  Evelyn felt a distant emotion of warmth flood her as she looked at Emma, and was surprised to feel Emma take her hand and hold it in hers although she said nothing more. Having had her entire family taken away from her, the last thing Evelyn would have expected was to suddenly find herself sitting right alongside a new sibling.

  ‘What do we do now?’ Evelyn asked.

  ‘That will be for you to decide,’ Meyanna replied. ‘But I would suggest the first act would be to help Emma here integrate with the crew. Some of them are still uncomfortable with what they think of as a pure creation of the Word, something not entirely human. We need to show them that that is not the case.’

  ‘That may become a little easier now,’ Emma replied with a gentle smile. ‘I find that it helps to be able to see properly.’

  ‘Your vision will improve further with time as the hibernation sickness wears off and blood flow increases,’ Meyanna assured her. ‘And your skin pallor is also improving.’

  ‘It also helps to look less dead,’ Evelyn pointed out with a grin.

  ‘What about the Word?’ Emma asked. ‘It did what it said it was going to do and protected us. Why is it again imprisoned?’

  ‘That will be for the captain to say, and perhaps the Board of Governors,’ Meyanna replied. ‘I don’t know what they have planned.’

  ***

  XLV

  ‘These matters are deeply troubling.’

  Councillor Vaughn sat perched upon the edge of the table in the homestead, deep inside Atlantia’s sanctuary, councillors Ayek, Gredan and Morle seated in the front row of chairs before him.

  ‘How can we be in a position where our faith is being placed in a computer, in the originator of the Word?’ Ayek asked. ‘How can we be sure that the security promised by Captain Sansin can be maintained?’

  ‘We cannot,’ Vaughn answered. ‘The captain has repeatedly assured us that the Word, or Lazarus as it calls itself, cannot obtain control over Arcadia’s systems but we have only his word for that. The fact of the matter is that if Councillor Gredan had not entered the bridge when he did, we might never have known that the Word was aboard Arcadia at all.’

  ‘I doubt that Captain Sansin would have withheld such knowledge for long,’ Ishira Morle insisted. ‘He has shown himself willing to confide in us when it is required.’

  ‘Indeed,’ Gredan answered, ‘but who judges when it is required?’

  ‘Captain Sansin and his wife are largely responsible for saving my life and that of my family,’ Ishira shot back. ‘From all that I’ve seen, their judgement is spot–on.’

  ‘But their motivations are uncertain,’ Vaughn replied. ‘And what of the cloned woman, found on Endeavour? She is a product of the Word is she not, and her pilot clone a former convict entrusted with some of Atlantia’s most dangerous missions! How can we place our faith in any of
them?’

  ‘Because I do,’ Ishira replied. ‘I would put my life in their hands without a moment’s thought.’

  ‘That does not instill in me any sense of either their reliability or your judgement,’ Vaughn smirked.

  Councillor Gredan stood and walked to the main bench at the head of the hall and turned, leaning back against it as he folded his arms.

  ‘I don’t doubt that Captain Sansin has our best interests at heart, but he is in an extremely difficult position and virtually every action he makes is fraught with danger. I have personally witnessed life aboard Atlantia’s bridge now, and I can say with some confidence that no single event is without compromise, no decision without risk. It is as if we are living every single day on a knife edge and at any time everything could fall apart.’ Gredan rubbed his eyes with one hand. ‘I don’t believe that any of us could at this time shoulder the burden of responsibility that weighs down upon Captain Sansin every single day.’

  Ayek frowned. ‘Are you saying you support the captain in his decision to ally us to an infected Veng’en and Lazarus, to entrust our safety to the very computer program that murdered several billion human beings?’

  ‘No,’ Gredan replied.

  ‘What then?’ Vaughn demanded.

  Gredan looked at his boots for a moment before he replied.

  ‘I am saying that no such burden could, or should, be shouldered by any one man. It is my opinion that even with two captains and two vessels we should not be attempting to contain or fight the Word. We are not strong enough. It is my belief that our best course of action is to plot a course for the Galactic Council and state our case to them directly.’

  Ishira Morle’s eyes widened. ‘You heard what the Morla’syn said: the Council wants us destroyed. They passed a vote on it!’

  ‘So the Morla’syn captain said,’ Gredan agreed. ‘But we have only their word for it, and no evidence to support their assertion. Given their determination to locate the Colonial soldiers found hiding aboard Endeavour, and the captain’s belief that the Morla’syn may have their own agenda and may even have originally caused the damage to Endeavour, the Galactic Council may have no knowledge of our presence out here and no intentions whatsoever of attacking us.’

  ‘Is that a chance you’d want to take with a full battle–fleet ranged against us?’ Ishira challenged. ‘It was claimed that they intend to destroy Ethera entirely!’

  ‘I’d rather take our chances against the Council’s fleet than against the Word,’ Vaughn replied to her. ‘At the very least the council would presumably allow us to state our case before them.’

  ‘Presumably,’ Ishira echoed with a hint of mockery in her tone. ‘Not exactly a guarantee of success. At least our captains have our backs for sure.’

  It was not the councillors that replied, but a voice from behind them. ‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that.’

  Ishira turned to see a young lieutenant standing behind them, and she recognised the newly promoted Executive Officer of Arcadia walking toward them. He looked resplendent in his uniform, but his expression was tense and uncertain.

  ‘Lieutenant Scott?’ Gredan greeted the officer. ‘What can we do for you?’

  Arcadia’s XO walked up to the table and looked at each of the councillors in turn before he spoke.

  ‘I believe that the greatest threat to our survival may be within our own ranks, and I don’t have anywhere to turn but here.’

  Ishira Morle stood as she peered at the young officer. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean that I cannot turn to Captain Sansin with what I know because I believe he will attempt to cover it up if he is not already, and there is no other authority aboard the fleet but this council. I also think that your plan to take everything we know directly to the Galactic Council is the best course of action, before somebody does something that could endanger us all.’

  Gredan pushed off the table, his arms still folded across his chest. ‘What is it that you know, exactly?’

  Lieutenant Scott, clearly conflicted, reached into his pocket and produced a small recording device.

  ‘What I have on here must not be shared outside of this council,’ he said as he activated the device. ‘I want your word on it, each and every one of you.’

  One by one, caution and curiosity in their tones, the councillors all agreed to Lieutenant Scott’s demand.

  *

  Captain Sansin watched through the shuttle’s windscreen as Arcadia’s hull loomed before them, the landing bay lights glowing as the shuttle pilot lined up for landing. Andaim carefully manipulated the controls and the craft glided gently into the huge bay, the CAG following a series of automated lights that directed him towards a landing spot close to the bay exits.

  ‘So, there are two of them.’

  ‘Two of what, captain?’ Andaim asked.

  Idris suppressed a smile, knowing damn well that Andaim knew what he was talking about. ‘Two Evelyn’s, I thought you’d be pleased.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Well, there’s twice the chance of you getting together with her now.’

  ‘Evelyn is a colonial officer, captain, and I have no intention of fraternising with a fellow officer when to do so is a clear violation of Colonial rules of conduct and…’

  ‘Take the stick out of your backside, Andaim,’ Idris murmured as he leaned back in his seat. ‘I think those rules went out of the window when Ethera was conquered. To be entirely honest, the human race needs to start breeding if we are to survive this. Maybe I could issue a Colonial order that all officers are required to fraternise on a regular basis?’

  ‘That would cause chaos within the ranks, captain,’ Andaim replied as the shuttle settled down onto its landing pad and the atmosphere was reintroduced into the landing bay.

  ‘I don’t know,’ the captain went on, enjoying needling the commander. ‘And you of course would have the best of both worlds. You could even practice your technique on one and then…’

  ‘We’ve landed captain. You may disembark.’

  Idris choked down the chuckle that threatened to escape from him and he unbuckled himself from his seat and strode into the rear of the shuttle as the main ramp opened. Captain Mikhain awaited him at the foot of the ramp.

  ‘A sight for sore eyes,’ Mikhain greeted him as they shook hands. ‘Sensors have detected no evidence of pursuit by the Morla’syn. We should be safe, at least for a while.’

  ‘Have you sent shuttles down to the surface to collect supplies?’

  ‘Four of them,’ Mikhain replied as they began walking, Andaim following close behind. ‘Both of the moons have liquid water and vegetation that is currently being tested. We should be able to restock both frigates with ease, which will take the pressure off the farmland in the sanctuaries.’

  A young officer appeared inside the bay exit, apparently having landed alongside them, and Mikhain gestured to the officer with one hand. ‘My new executive officer, Lieutenant Scott.’

  Idris shook the officer’s hand. ‘That was quick. You must have impressed the captain.’

  ‘I think it was more like right time, right place and no choice,’ Lieutenant Scott replied with a grin.

  Idris had always been a good judge of human character, or so history told him, and he felt a flash of warmth in the young lieutenant’s presence. Unlike the robotic Djimon, Lieutenant Scott had a humanity and a presence that reminded the captain of a young Andaim.

  ‘Okay, where is it?’

  ‘This way, captain.’

  Lieutenant Scott led them to the elevator banks and they rode down deep into Arcadia’s hull before travelling aft beneath the rotating sanctuary to a secure area of the ship that was heavily armoured and used to store plasma weaponry and fuel. Double skinned walls separated each compartment from the next, designed to prevent the spread of fire in the event of attack or accident. As they approached a particularly heavily armoured storage compartment, Idris saw the high–intensity frequency emitters, microwave scr
amblers and a duty guard of four Marines at the entrance.

  Lieutenant Scott stopped at the entrance to the storage facility and looked at Idris.

  ‘The Word is being kept active via battery power and we have ensured that there is absolutely no way for it to control any of Arcadia systems from within the storage unit. It is effectively isolated.’

  Capt Sansin nodded and gestured for the door to be undone. Two Marines, widely spaced, used separate access keys to deactivate the locks on the hatch and it hissed open to reveal the softly lit interior of the storage facility. Even as the hatch was about to open the microwave scramblers intensified their emissions, designed to prevent the Word from passing or receiving signals from the ship beyond its prison while the hatch was open.

  Capt Sansin walked briskly inside the storage facility and heard the hatch shut immediately behind him.

  The computer terminal that was the Word was facing away from him, presumably to prevent any opportunity for it to gain a glimpse of the corridor outside. Idris guessed that it was a pointless gesture born more of fear than actual security, for the Word would almost certainly by now know every inch of Arcadia’s schematics and probably also where it was being held as a result.

  Idris walked slowly around to face the terminal and saw the features of Dr Lazarus, his eyes closed.

  ‘So you are the Word.’ Idris announced.

  ‘I am what the Word should have been,’ Lazarus replied.

  Lazarus opened his eyes and surveyed the captain for a long moment before he spoke again. ‘You honour me with your presence, captain. My greatest fear was that I would be locked away down here and left alone for months, unable to help you and your people.’

  ‘I’m afraid that our greatest fear is your helping us,’ Idris replied without preamble. ‘You understand that it is difficult for any of us to believe anything that is said by a computer, a creation of mankind that we now know is responsible for our destruction.’