Rift Breaker (10 page)

‘Wouldn't that be nice?' Tazman added, fluttering his eyelids.

Luylla turned and marched towards the cockpit. ‘Seal that hatch,' she ordered. Once she was beyond speaking distance she yelled, ‘Touch my ship again and you're both dead!'

Fleet Commander Viceon Raegar gazed out at the supremely ordered cityscape below. Beyond the buildings, green rolling hills consumed the land to the horizon. Cenyulone was a clean and ordered military city where everyone knew their place. The capital, from which the planet was named, was the primary headquarters of Tranquillian Composite and home to officials, military and their families.

The elevator in which he stood sped up the side of the highest construction on the planet: The Tower of The Overseers. Skyscrapers were weed stems in comparison.

Around the tower, the city was shaped in a perfect circle. A massive armoured platform, in the shape of a ring to match, stood on pillars extending high over the buildings. The war
memorial was known as the Nimbus. The dated piece of technology served as a staging point for defences during the civil war, when Cenyulone had the mere status of a command outpost. Its hover systems, although currently unused, were maintained by enthusiasts over the years, turning practice into tradition.

Every time he took this elevator trip, Raegar marvelled at the Nimbus. He had seen it in action, effectively taking down enemies that dared harm those who sought refuge. The hope it bestowed had driven Raegar forward in times of conflict. He was grateful for the part he played and for the opportunities to serve. But he could only hope the Tranquillian Composite could live up to its name in current times.

‘That old thing should be torn down,' said his colleague. Fleet Commander Magnus Leroy leaned on the door behind with arms folded.

‘Show some respect,' Raegar snapped at the young Human.

‘Look at it,' Leroy continued. ‘It doesn't do anything. It just sits there. The Nimbus is so old the city developments have passed way beyond its coverage area. Orbital defence makes it redundant. And now with the hypersat, no enemy has a chance of getting near this world.'

Raegar simply grunted at the statement, much to Leroy's amusement. The hypersatellite to which he referred was about to spark a revolution in the Composite's system of communications. The Weinians had discovered a way to warp and aim a transmission through hyperspace, spanning interstellar distances
in a short time, and then receive and decode the message on the other side. The station's construction in orbit would soon be complete and Cenyulone would be more efficient at giving instructions to off-world forces. The hypersat would revolutionise Composite protocol when fully active.

The elevator stopped. Leroy chuckled on his exit. Raegar glanced at the city again before moving on. He made his way down the gold archway that followed along the curve of the tower. Tapered angular pillars cut diagonally through the arch from the outer edge.

Leroy strode ahead and stopped at the bronze triangular doors. He had to wait; both commanders were summoned and were to enter simultaneously. Beyond the doors, the overseer chamber waited. The council was responsible for the major actions and decisions of the Composite.

Thankfully, the officials would not gather today. This meeting was with their representative Jhaia, of the flying Daeyliox race. Talking to her would mean a less formal discussion, less pressure to perform. Despite her importance, she never looked down on others. Raegar agreed with her when she said ‘there is always someone higher to serve.'

He caught up with Leroy and faced the doors. They swung open slowly and silently. Raegar inhaled and relaxed his tense shoulders. Once the doors had stopped moving, both officers marched in unison to the centre of the chamber, the precise geographic centre of the city. A holo-image of the galaxy lined
the dome ceiling. Below its edge the balcony where the overseers would normally sit ran along the wall.

‘Gentlemen.' Her smooth, articulate voice bounced off the wall designed for the purpose, calling from above. The air submitted to the thumping of her wings as she began her brief.

‘The Lubricians are threatening to emancipate. Apparently there was an incident on their space platforms involving what was described as, and I quote, an “egotistical Composite commander with no respect for local protocol”.'

She swooped low. Her talons clicked against the hard polished floor on landing. She fluttered and stretched her wings before folding them in. Light glistened against their pattern: bright yellow rings set against a shimmering green with blood red feather tips. Aside from the wings and talons, her body seemed Human, with a lighter frame to accommodate flight. She wore her golden hair tied back and an official's uniform, full bodied and dark blue.

Leroy braced himself for the reprimand.

‘Do you realise what you have done?' Jhaia began. ‘Repercussions will ripple. Not only do I have a decimated space colony with no one responsible but now I have to deal with another world breaking off the alliance. If this complication isn't resolved others will follow.'

‘Madam, my actions were justified given the circumstances,' said Leroy.

Jhaia folded her arms. ‘I'm listening.'

‘The evidence trail of the
Orisurrection
tragedy revealed the outlaws had flown directly to Lubric. In pursuit, I was halted by Lubrician authorities. The outlaws then resorted to drastic measures and their apprehension required equal initiative. Lubric was unwilling to exercise decisiveness so I took the liberty, much to their disagreement. Unfortunately Lubric's hindrance allowed the suspects to slip away.'

Raegar cleared his throat. ‘They escaped because someone put a load of magnetic waves into the orbital defences.'

‘What evidence do you have on your suspects?' Jhaia asked.

‘Firstly, their ship was sighted fleeing the scene of the crime,' Leroy explained.

She raised a hand to silence him and turned to Raegar.

The old Kharla sighed, ‘The attack was a clean one. No solid evidence of what happened was found. Three quarters of the station had drifted away by the time I got there. But it is true, extreme radial scanning revealed a single craft present on the site.'

‘Ma'am,' said Leroy, ‘I managed to convince the Lubricians to hand over the captured intelligence of the perpetrators. I think you'll find this interesting enough.'

Leroy pulled back his sleeve and twisted the dial on the holographic mechanism strapped to his wrist. A personal flat screen rose and flipped to face her.

The image showed a lady holding two others at gunpoint. The pictures cycled through with close ups of each of their faces.
Leroy squeezed a button and the image froze on a wide shot of the trio.

‘The suspicious craft transported a party of three,' he explained. ‘The Human and Freegu were registered personnel stationed on a Nova Corp science vessel. Its last reported location was the
Orisurrection
, before it disappeared from the grid. So, we have connections to a missing ship and a destroyed colony, coincidence? But it gets even better …

‘Our databases confirm the Freegu as a Tyde agent, one Tazman of Luppino. He's worked in the syndicate for zircles, mostly with information theft and trafficking. It is common Tyde practice to station an agent on a vessel of interest; he studies the flight plan and sets off a frequency at a time when the ship is vulnerable. The Tyde then know its exact location, and a pirate ship conveniently shows up and cleans it out. The vessel is never heard from again. It is obvious that these two were the insiders.'

‘And the third?' Jhaia pushed.

Leroy pressed a button and the image continued to play. The Tyde agent Freegu laughed at something. Then the lens turned to face the barrel of a pulse pistol. A bright flash washed out the picture; when it cleared, a brief view of the ground hitting the side of the lens then blinking out.

‘Judging by her hardware, the lady is most likely a merc or a Tyde agent. We aren't dealing with amateurs here. When confronted they ran. Guilty is as guilty does.' Leroy looked into her gaze with his commanding blue eyes, ‘Ma'am, I'm
determined to find them. They escaped once. They will not evade me again.'

‘No they won't, Leroy, because you are pulled from this investigation. Raegar, I'm assigning you this responsibility.'

Raegar's round eyes widened. Once he realised what she was saying he bowed modestly. A rush of Kharla adrenaline filled his veins.

‘What?' Leroy protested. ‘Jhaia, I have …'

‘That's my decision, Fleet Commander,' she snapped.

Leroy grunted.

‘Commander Raegar, you are to issue a manhunt with the hypersat — they must be found. I want an enticing reward on each of their heads. I want their faces to be sent to every known civilisation.'

‘Yes ma'am,' Raegar replied, ‘I am always willing to serve the overseers and the Tranquillian Composite.'

‘Commander Leroy, you will stay on Cenyulone. Lubrician officials are en route to discuss their withdrawal. You will address them in person and make a formal apology for the way you conducted yourself.' Leroy looked away in resentment. ‘Other worlds are becoming agitated with the separation of Lubric. I fear they will follow suit. Do not let us down, gentlemen. The fate of the Composite may well depend on your next course of action.'

Ten

The
Inhibitan
's navigation computer went blank when asked what lurked in the coordinates the gold disc gave.

‘We'll have to trust the disc then,' Milton said. Luylla winced at the remark.

The disc was accurate when its data was laid alongside the existing maps from the navi computer. But, unlike the
Inhibitan
's database, it did not contain any information about the inhabitants or government of worlds. Luylla had to enter the new destination manually into the computer. Tazman corrected her when she got the numbers wrong — a matter for which he was quite proud. After much squabbling, the trio was finally back in hyperspace.

Milton sat up, thinking. That guy in Lubric had known his name, which was unusual, as Milton had lived on Stoneia his whole life until enlisting in Nova Corp at the end of last zircle. He couldn't recall the creature from anywhere. Thinking about this and the attacks on the outer rim got him very curious.

Luylla spent the trip with her boots on the console and pistol crossed over her chest. She looked relaxed, but Milton could see her watching her passengers in the reflection of the forward pane.

Tazman curled up awkwardly on the passenger seat and snored most of the way. Sometimes he mumbled words, none of which made any sense. ‘Tribe you to pieces' was the clearest thing Milton could decipher.

The destination indicator bleeped. Tazman's tail snapped back against his face; he rolled off the seat and clattered to the floor. Luylla set her pistol on the console and grabbed the controls. Outside, the purple tube shook and blew away into oblivion.

The nebula's splendour illuminated the cockpit. The supermassive tufts of thick gas formed a giant bowl that blurred and blotted the view of space beyond. Milton looked to the top of the pane where he saw three stars burning bright, their light carving out the bowl shape over time. From his perspective they were a little smaller than his extended fist, relatively close. Their light pierced the gas and created a green shimmering glow with yellow highlights.

Tazman came over, leaned forward between the seats and yawned. Luylla tensed and slid her loose gun into its holster. She ran a scan of the area. Apart from indicating some floating mineral, the results were blank — no planets, no life, and no machinery — an endless green void.

Luylla huffed. ‘I knew this would be a waste of time.'

Something glinted in the distance. Milton caught the flash from the corner of his eye. He leaned forward with elbows on the console. Something was out there; he had no trace of doubt. He scanned carefully in that direction. The shine came again and he perked up.

‘There,' he exclaimed, pointing.

‘What?' fumed Luylla.

Tazman had also seen it. ‘There's a little black dot right there,' he said, pointing. ‘Just go forward … Captain, ma'am.'

Luylla burned the thrusters. The spot soon became apparent to all and Luylla turned the ship to centre it in the forward pane.

Milton was riveted. The details became evident. Not surprisingly, he'd never seen anything like it. Its shape was organic and without specific design. Clusters of black spines jutted in every direction forming a bizarre clump. The
Inhibitan
drew close and Luylla decelerated. The thing was massive, about three times the size of a large class transport.

‘Space junk,' stated Tazman.

The incoming transmission light flashed, rounding up everyone's focus. Not breaking her gaze from the spiny thing, Luylla moved slowly to flick the switch. A strange sound burst from the receivers. The moan sounded like a rusty girder twisting out of shape.