The Awakening (The Hyperscape Project Book 1) (32 page)

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Authors: Donald Swan

BOOK: The Awakening (The Hyperscape Project Book 1)

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“Okay then.”
Arya released the breath she’d been holding then quickly checked the ship’s
systems. “If anyone was nearby, that would have got their attention. I think we
should get moving. Better hang on.”

Without wasting
any time, she fired up the ship’s engines. A gust of dirt-laden wind blew down
the tunnel as the engines came to life.

“Well, it still
works,” Nick said.

The ship rumbled
and creaked as it lurched forward. “We’re moving!” Arya exclaimed.

Nick’s legs felt
like rubber bands wiggling around from the earthquake-like vibrations of the
ship’s hull. He reached for the nearest chair and plopped his butt into it.
Through the window, he could see the opening of the tunnel getting closer as
they slowly roared forward. Daylight washed the cockpit in a warm, bright glow.
Nick was glad to see the light of day again. He’d had enough of this damn
tunnel.

He held his
breath as the cockpit gradually cleared the opening. The sheer drop of a
thousand feet had him digging his nails into the bottom of the seat. He’d never
had a problem soaring in a ship, but hanging off the edge of a cliff was a
whole other story.

The nose of the
ship peeked over the edge of the crevasse as the ship squeaked its way out of
the hole in the cliff face. Nick grabbed the chair harder as the freighter
jerked and lurched. In a pulse raising moment, the ship wobbled, dangling over
the valley below, then stabilized. The ship had finally cleared the tunnel and
was free. Arya pulled the nose of the freighter up as she maneuvered away from
the cliff.

“Damn am I glad
you’re a good pilot!” Nick crowed. He let out a whoop of relief, startling Karg
with the force of his yell.

Mist rushed past
the cockpit windows as the craft began to climb. Even with the ship’s inertial
dampeners, the acceleration forced Nick’s head back into the headrest. For a
freighter, it sure had power.

It wasn’t long
before the ship pierced the veil of thick atmosphere and they could see the
deep black of space in front of them.

Arya punched her
com-badge. “Arya to Sirok. We’re on our way back.”

“I can see that.
What are you doing on a freighter?” Sirok sounded puzzled.

“Long story.
Prepare the docking bay.”

“Yes, Captain,”
Sirok responded.

Nick stared at
the stars beyond the window of the freighter as it roared toward its rendezvous
with the Ashok. “Space. It’s beautiful, cold, violent, full of wonder….and
unbelievably large.”

Arya glanced up
at him. “Feeling nostalgic?”

“Feeling happy
to be alive.”

Arya frowned at
the serious note in Nick’s voice. She could tell he was feeling homesick,
missing his planet, his people. The knowledge made her feel anxious
inside. Nick had become a part of her crew, a part of her, and she had hoped
he felt a part of her world. Minus all the war and the chaos.
Perhaps that was why he still had trouble fitting in. Too much pain in
such a short time.

She didn’t know
what to say to make him feel better, so she simply turned back to the console
and the business of flying the freighter back to the Ashok.

“It won’t be
long now,” she murmured.

Nick’s weary
sigh lay heavy in her heart. She caught Karg’s eyes on her, briefly held
his gaze then looked back out the window. The big lug knew what Nick meant
to her.
Hetek
, the whole crew probably knew.

She would think
about all that later, though. Right now, she just wanted to get
home. In many ways, she could understand Nick’s pining for his
home-world. She also missed her planet, and longed for peace for her people. It
had been a long time since she’d known anything other than war and suffering.
She wanted that to change. She wanted….

She glanced back
at Nick. Perhaps she wanted too much.

Nick stepped from the ore freighter
and then turned to take a look. The ship filled the Ashok’s hangar. Even the
force-field had been moved back toward the outer door to accommodate the
vessel’s large size.

A maintenance bot whizzed past him,
carrying the case containing the hyperspace probe. Nick hollered after it.
“Hey, be careful with that. Take it to the lab.”

The bot continued on its path, a
computerized voice responding as it headed for the door. “Affirmative.”

“Damn bots. If
it so much as puts a scratch on it, I’ll—”

“What? Fist
fight with it?” Arya grinned, one brow raised as she passed. “Males.” She shook
her head and walked on.

Hours later,
after the crew had settled in, Nick found Arya in the cargo hold of the ore
freighter, her nose in one of the ancient Arisian manuscripts. She looked up
when she heard the door.

“Nick, you
wouldn’t believe all the wondrous things I have discovered.”

She frowned as
he drew closer. “You don’t look nearly as happy as I do. What’s wrong?”

“I just finished
repairing the data drive on the probe, as best as possible, anyway. There are
still some damaged sectors….” He sighed heavily. “Anyway, I found this.”

Nick activated
his PDU and played back a message he had found on the probe. It was another
human’s voice, and by the sound of it, he was in obvious distress.
“Mayday,
mayday, mayday, I’m caught in some sort of gravity well. I recovered the probe.
Repeat. I recovered the probe, but am hopelessly lost inside a gravity well.
Serenity, do you read? Mayday.”
After a few seconds of crackly silence, the
voice continued.
“I hope that the probe will record this message. There is
no chance of escape for me. Even if I can open a window, I’ll never make it
through, but hopefully the probe will. I’m going to attempt to release the
probe at the precise time to allow it to be thrown into the open hyperspace
window. Please tell my wife…Becky…. Becky, I love you. I’m sorry.”
There
was a long pause then he began to speak again
. “Opening hyperspace window
now. Have to time it just right…. Releasing probe. I—”
The recording went
silent.

Nick stared down
at the floor. “That was my best friend, John. He knew the only thing left for
him to do was save the probe. Dammit! It’s my fault. If it wasn’t for me
launching that probe, he’d be alive right now!”

Nick glanced at
Arya. Her ears were folded back, a reflex from the loud sound of his outburst.
He realized he had scared her when he shouted ‘dammit’. “I’m sorry.”

Arya’s ears
slowly picked back up. “It’s not your fault.” She got up from the table and
came to stand in front of him. After a pause, she laid her head on his
shoulder. “You had no choice. You had to protect your planet and your people.
You had no way of knowing that would happen.”

Nick sighed and
wrapped his arms around her slender body. “Yeah, I know. But somehow that just
doesn’t seem to help. Becky didn’t want John to join the program in the first
place, especially with a baby on the way. Now she may never know what happened
to him. I saw what my mom went through when my dad was missing in action. I
wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“It was his
choice. Respect that and remember him well,” Arya said. “Someday you’ll be able
to tell your people about his bravery. Without him, you wouldn’t have the
probe, and the Arisians would have one less prophecy.” She fell silent for a
long moment, her cheek resting against his strong shoulder as she listened to
his steady heartbeat.

“Did you find
out anything else?”

“Yeah, I think
so.”

Arya took his
hand and led him over to an antique couch of sorts that had been stored in the
archives. “Sit and tell me about it.”

Nick sat down
and leaned back. Arya tucked herself close and once again rested her head on
his shoulder.

Nick gazed down
at the top of Arya’s head. “Well…the data I retrieved from the probe gave me an
idea. Do you remember the covert hyperspace communication network Karg told you
about?”

“Yes.”

“I figure we
could set up a series of hyperspace transmitters at different locations. We
could not only use those transmitters for communication, but if they each sent
out an encoded carrier wave, we could also use them to triangulate our position
in hyperspace. That way, we can navigate through hyperspace and be able to
calculate jump points.”

“Jump points?”

“That’s what I’m
calling them. A place to open a window and make the jump into and out of hyperspace.
Jump points.
With the transmitter beacons, we would know where we were
in hyperspace at all times. We could then know where to initiate a jump point
back into normal space. At least, as long as we stayed within the network of
transmitters. It’s like the VOR or GPS systems we use back home. Hyperspace
amplifies the signals, so it should work over vast distances. I even think we
can power the units using the energy from within hyperspace. Humans have
speculated about harnessing vacuum energy for centuries, but they never had a
glimpse into the actual workings of hyperspace, like I have.”

Nick looked down
at the top of Arya’s head again. He was getting used to the feel of her leaning
against him. And he liked it. He liked it a lot.

Arya kept her
cheek resting against Nick’s shoulder, her long, slender fingers wrapped around
his bicep in a position that felt comfortable. “That’s brilliant, Nick. It may
be all we need to turn the balance of the war in our favor.”

He nodded. “Oh I
almost forgot. I had another thought. On my planet, during the war, the
Resistance fighters would broadcast a radio program every day to let their
allies in far flung places know the latest news. They used it mainly to help
with the morale of the Resistance fighters that were spread across large areas.
Why don’t we do the same thing over the hyperspace network? We can call it The
Voice of The Resistance.”

Arya sat up and
looked at Nick with delight. “I love it! It’s exactly what our people need. Who
can we get to do the broadcasts?”

Nick raised his
brow and smiled.

Arya’s eyes
widened in surprise. “Me? No, I don’t―”

“Why not? What
better symbol of freedom than the Queen of Aris?”

Arya pondered
Nick’s suggestion for a moment. “You’re right. It’s time I stop hiding and
start helping my people. They need to know their Queen is alive.” She stared
into Nick’s eyes, her expression filled with gratitude. “Thank you. Today has
been such a wonderful day. First the Royal Archives and now this.” She leaned
back into the comfort of Nick’s shoulder again and tucked her hand back around
his arm.

Nick knew she
could hear the beat of his heart quicken as he reached over and ran his fingers
through her thick, shiny green hair. She nuzzled his chest in contentment and
made a soft puttering sound. Nick’s eyes opened wider as he looked down at her.
She purrs!

Six months later….

“This is
Queen Arya Nuraku of Aris, and this is V-O-R, the Voice of the Resistance.
Yesterday, our forces, led by Admiral Bannon, simultaneously attacked Dragoran
and Mok’tu troops across the entire quadrant. Twenty three enemy ships were
destroyed in the attacks, including two Mok’tu Planet-Killers and one Dragoran
Dreadnought. But despite our new weapon, we still lost two ships, the Coranii
Destroyer Sprag and the Rakozian Death-Stalker Armageddon. Their brave
sacrifices will not be in vain. We will continue in their honor, and in the
honor of the millions who have already fallen victim to the cold hand of our
oppressors. We will not stop until every citizen on every world is free from
the tyranny of the Dragoran and Mok’tu empires. We do this for our children and
our children’s children. We do this so they will never again look up at the
heavens in fear. We do this because we must. We do it because it is right.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, know this: We stand beside you. We are the
Resistance.”