Far From Home: The Complete Series (64 page)

“Well, I’m sure we’ll come to the bottom of it. The important thing is the destruction of the
Inflictor
destabilized the entire Draxx Dominion. It would seem both the Draxx Queen and Prince Sepix were aboard at the time, and with both lost so quickly, the Dominion didn’t know what to do with itself. Command saw the opportunity to act and took it.”

Jessica sipped her tea. “How did it go? I’ve been too preoccupied with the
Defiant
to read the news feeds.”

“They took the capitol planet in less than two days. Just sent every available ship there and stormed it. We estimate the Union has control of over forty per cent of the Dominion. And it won’t stop there,” he sighed, but it was a contented, happy sound. “Finally, this war is ended.”

“I’m glad,” Jessica said. “It’ll be good to know peace for once.”

“Which reminds me,” Grimshaw said. “The
Defiant
‘s objectives have changed. We’re putting her on new mission parameters.”

“Yes?”

Grimshaw nodded. “We’re sending her out to explore. She’s going to travel to the outer edges of our galaxy and survey what’s there. Make contact where possible, introduce them to the Union. It’s an exciting time.”

“Who’s our new skipper?” Jessica asked him.

Grimshaw’s eyebrows rose. “You are. I’d have thought that was obvious.”

She couldn’t speak. “I –”

The Admiral raised a hand, stopping her mid-stammer. “There’s nothing to say, Captain King. Just drink your tea.”

She did as she was told, taking long swallows to quench her dry throat.

Grimshaw got up, walked around the desk and produced a metal pin.

“Stand please,” he said.

Jessica stood. He pinned it to her lapel.

“Wear it with pride, Captain. And honour your father. Follow his example, and you’ll be all right.”

She beamed with pride. “I will sir.”

* * *

Days later, the
Defiant
vibrated with the steady hum of her engines.

“Ensign Banks, take us out please,” she commanded.

“Aye Ma’am,” Banks said. His hands flew across the controls and the
Defiant
responded instantly, backing away from the station and turning to face open space.

“Where are we going?” Commander Greene asked her.

Jessica stared at the viewscreen, at the infinite sea of stars twinkling ahead of them. “Out there, Del. Wherever the winds take us.”

17.

Selena Walker felt a tug at her elbow. She turned to find a young man behind her. Crew bustled past them as they stood in the middle of the corridor.

“Can I help you?” she asked him.

The man smiled. “Yuh don’t remember me, d’yuh?”

She thought for a moment, trying to place him. His face seemed familiar, but… she couldn’t connect it with anyone in particular.

“No,” she said with a shake of her head and an embarrassed giggle. “Sorry. I’m really bad with names and faces.”

The man laughed. “It’s okay. It’s been a long time. We met once. Name’s Dolarhyde, but most people just call me Dollar.”

“Dollar. That’s a strange name,” Walker said.

Dolarhyde shrugged. “Blame Mom, that’s what I say,” he quipped.

“So where did we meet?”

“At a party.”

“Oh,” she said, trying to remember.

“Hey, yuh got time to go to the mess hall, grab a drink and catch up?”

She thought about it for a moment. It couldn’t hurt, could it? After all he was charming and handsome all at the same time. And how could she resist teasing him about his name?

Selena Walker nodded her head. “Sure, why not?” she said with a grin.

The man formerly known as Hawk let her lead the way to the mess, and when she asked him if he was new on board, he answered that yes he was.

“What did you do before?” she asked him as they walked.

“Travelled, mostly,” Hawk said. “Got into adventures and stuff. You wouldn’t believe half of ‘em.”

“I look forward to hearing a few of your tall tales,” Walker said.

Hawk – now Lieutenant Dolarhyde – could only smile. It was exactly as he’d wanted it. A fresh start.

18.

Captain Jessica King retired to her quarters and stripped free of her uniform. She felt tired, dirty, and knew that soon she’d be fit to hit the rack.

She showered, tied a towel around herself and padded back into her living area. As she passed her personal terminal, that was when she noticed the message flashing up on the screen.

SCHEDULED MESSAGE

She frowned, sat down in front of the console and opened the message. A timed message like that was something sent hours or days ahead, but she couldn’t remember setting such a message herself…

It was a video file. When she started it playing, she was taken aback to find herself looking back at her on the screen.

“Jess, I know you must be surprised to see me. Believe me, if this were as strange as it was going to get, you’d be lucky. I have a lot to tell you, and I’ll be brief as possible. You have an entire galaxy to explore and I don’t want to stop you –
us
 – from living that dream. A dream of a simpler time, an age of peace. When we can revert to being explorers again. See what’s out there…”

The woman on the screen took a deep breath.

“Jessica, there’s only one way to tell you all of this. Some of it will be hard to hear, some of it will confuse you. But you must hear it. So let me start at the beginning…”

AFTERWORD

I‘d like to thank the authors and friends who have supported and helped me along the way, without whom I could not have started on this journey – let alone completed it. There are far too many to list their names here, but you know who you are. Indeed, a lot of you ended up
in
the series as characters and place names here and there …

I owe a huge debt of gratitude, as ever, to my wife Lesley who gives support and encouragement every step of the way. And to my kids, who drive me crazy (in a good way) and who I love dearly.

But the biggest thank you of all goes to the kind people who have read and reviewed
Far From Home
as it has progressed. Your positive energy and enthusiasm for the series has really kept me going.

I hope you’ll come with me as I journey with them on their further adventures, because so far it’s been a lot of fun. Now it’s time to see what’s out there …

Tony Healey

Note on Bonus Content:
What follows is the first half of a two-part crossover between the Far From Home and Grendel Unit universes. Part 2 (Suicide Planet), is written by Bernard Schaffer and available wherever ebooks are sold.

BONUS CONTENT:

SUN HAMMER PART 1

1.

The doctor waited for the doors to his quarters to automatically sense his bio-signature and open. It didn’t. He impatiently pressed his palm against the sensor pad to the side, making a mental note to have a technician check it over. The doors slid open.

He didn’t bother to raise the lights as he walked in, tossing his data pad on the desk to his left. In the corner, a round fish tank emitted a cool, thin light. It was enough to see by. The doors whooshed shut behind him.

After his hours in the bright white sterility of the lab, it was pleasing to him to experience something akin to nighttime. It helped the doctor relax. To unwind.

He walked to the fish tank and peered at the miniature school of Tadarian Neons that rushed toward him, eager for food.

“Hello my little friends,” the doctor said in a tired but contented voice. It had been a long day, but a fulfilling one. They’d achieved much.

He took the cap off a pot of food and started to sprinkle some of the brown flakes onto the surface of the water. The Neons snipped at it, their tiny mouths working through the skin of the water.

The doctor didn’t see the shape in the corner of the room, where it was darkest. He was not aware of the shadow that coalesced into the form of a man as it drew nearer the glow from the fish tank.

“Good evening doctor,” a voice said.

The doctor spun about. Before he could even register the shadowy figure, a hand clamped over his mouth. There was a sting to the side of his neck and his legs buckled seconds later.

He lay sprawled on the floor, his mind racing to understand what had happened as he felt something cold cover his face.

The intruder took the device away and peered leaned in close. The doctor watched as the young man pressed a finger to the side of his neck. The man’s face changed. It shifted. His features widened, became older.

Familiar.

“For now we see through a mirror darkly,” the other man said. “Face to face.”

Then he felt another sting . . . and nothing more.

2.

“Slow to full stop,” Captain Singh ordered. “Banks, standard docking procedure.”

“Aye,” First Lieutenant Banks said.

The Captain turned to Commander Jessica King. “Are we good to go?”

She nodded. “Ready when you are sir.”

“Good,” Singh said.

Jessica finished up what she’d been doing with Lieutenant Chang, then headed for the exit.

Captain Singh left the command chair and stepped down to the helm. He rested a hand on Lieutenant Banks’s shoulder. “You know the protocol. I’ll leave her in your hands.”

“Aye Captain,” Banks said.

Commander King waited for the Captain at the threshold of the exit. They walked along the adjoining corridor. “Greene has the men ready?”

“Just as you asked,” King said. “I’ve gotta say, I still don’t get the skulduggery.”

“Neither do I, Jess. But those were the orders. Proceed here at maximum speed, maintain communication silence, and be ready to accept new cargo,” Singh recited their directives from command.

“It’s odd,” King said.

The Captain shrugged. “Always go on the assumption that you’re the last to know anything.”

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Greene stood waiting by the airlock with four other men.

“Ready to go, Del?” Singh asked him.

“Aye sir,” Greene said. “Any idea what it is we’re bringing on board?”

Captain Singh shook his head. “For all I know it could be the Commander in Chief’s birthday cake, a monolith of Victoria sponge with jet black frosting.”

Jessica chuckled. Singh turned to her, his face deadpan. “You laugh, Commander, but I’ve known stuff like that happen.”

Lieutenant Commander Greene accessed the airlock controls, and they watched the lights turn from red to green. The airlock hissed open, and they walked through the decontamination jets. On the other side, the awaiting station remained silent. Singh had expected to find a welcome party but the reception area was empty.

“Huh?” King asked. “They know we’re here.”

Captain Singh put his hands on his hips and frowned. “You’d think -“

The door at the other end opened and a whole team of people filed into the reception area, led by an Admiral bearing more decorations than a Christmas tree.

“Attention!” Singh snapped. King, Greene and the four other officers from the
Defiant
stood at attention as their Captain strode forward to shake the hand of the approaching Admiral.

“Arthur!” Singh said with a grin as he clasped the older man’s hand.

“Good to see you, Andrew. I wish it were under different circumstances,” Admiral Clarke said.

Singh turned to introduce his people. “This is Commander Jessica King, my right hand. Then Lieutenant Commander Del Greene, and Ensigns Garcia, Fox, Holloway, and O’Quinn,” he said.

Admiral Clarke shot them a salute. “At ease.”

They relaxed a little.

“So, uh, what’s all this about, Arthur?” Captain Singh asked.

“Walk with me. Bring the Commander along, too,” Admiral Clarke said. He led them past the entourage that had followed him into the reception area. The Admiral stopped to talk to one of the men, then continued.

“That was Rafferty, the commander of the station. I told him to work with your crew in getting the cargo stowed properly in the
Defiant
‘s hold,” Clarke explained.

“What sort of cargo?” Singh asked.

Clarke looked about, tapped the side of his nose. “Not here.”

The station was an older model, all ladders and gangways. Small and compact, it functioned as little more than a whistle stop in deep space. The Admiral moved fast for someone of his age. Andrew Singh and Jessica had to keep up.

Eventually they came to an office. The doors sensed Clarke’s bio-signature and opened for him.

“Come in; take a seat,” he told them.

The Admiral settled in on the other side of a long desk. Captain Singh and Commander King sat. They watched as Clarke removed his thick glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He slid the glasses back on before continuing.

“I’ve had hardly any sleep in the past thirty-six hours,” he explained. “So forgive me if I appear to be a little tired.”

Singh sat forward. “What’s going on here?”

“Top secret shipment, Andrew. I’ve only just found out what it is myself. Orders came straight from the President,” Admiral Clarke said. He let what he’d just said sink in for a second. “It seems the fleet’s research division has opened Pandora’s Box.”

“What do you mean?” Singh asked.

Clarke looked from Singh to Jessica. “Commander King, what you are about to hear is highly classified. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that if you breathe a word of this to anyone, you’ll spend the rest of your life rotting in a penal colony somewhere out on the frontier.”

Jessica swallowed. “No, Admiral.”

Singh raised his hands. “Arthur, with all due respect . . . what’s good to say in front of me is good to say in front of Jess.”