The Cartographer (24 page)

I tried to discreetly crawl away from the drink and was so focused on getting away that I almost missed the question. Choking back the bile, I managed to utter a single statement.

“I want to go back.”

“Back?” he asked, puzzled.

“I want to go home.”

It was hard to miss the pained expression that crossed his face. The Explorer's League lost their leader and were about to lose their Cartographer. It was a lot to absorb in one day.

“I should have seen this coming,” he admitted. “You are young and it was unfair to bring you into this against your will.”

“It wasn't exactly against my will,” I offered. “I admit the excitement of space travel and experiencing new worlds overwhelmed me.”

“It is hard for me to believe Calypso prearranged the events leading to your abduction. I played right into his hands.” Satou lowered his eyes and studied his hands, as if the answer to life's questions were written there. “He anticipated my every move. Am I really that predictable?”

I shrugged, but realized the question had been rhetorical. Satou had a need to purge his soul, so I remained quiet and let him do what he needed to do.

His eyes, full of sadness, met mine. “Jasper wants to return to Caelum but Lianne insists on mounting an offensive against Xajax.”

“What do you want to do?”

He hesitated and shook his head slowly. “I suppose we should bring you home. Come with me.”

I followed him to the bridge. When we arrived Jasper was in the middle of an animated conversation with his communications officer. Satou interrupted them and advised him of my decision to return home. His expression of displeasure came as no surprise.

“We need to rendezvous with the Defense Fleet first, Satou! I don't have time for side trips.”

“This is not a request,” Satou growled. “This child has been brought aboard this ship under false pretenses. We will make this right by returning him to his planet.”

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “Did you just give me an order?” He glanced at his tunic and pointed to an insignia pinned to the collar—two vertical diamond shapes lined side-by-side. “According to this I am the captain aboard this ship, not you. I give the orders around here.”

“Indeed you are,” Satou acknowledged. “According to Calypso's journal this child was brought aboard under nefarious circumstances. Since recent circumstances has deemed Calypso a traitor, any actions consistent with his would imply collusion. I would not want the High Prince to look upon you in a negative light.”

Jasper balled his fists at his sides and a crimson blush crept into his cheeks. “You are really reaching, Satou,” he growled. “You statement could be regarded as mutinous.”

“He is right, though.”

We turned to see Lianne standing in the entranceway of the bridge. She took a step forward and added, “Calypso has spent a great deal of time aboard this ship. It would look bad if we continued to keep Nathan against his will.”

Jasper turned and slammed his hand down on the communications panel. “Helm, turn us around and set a course for Earth,” he said through clenched teeth. “Notify Royal Command that we are changing course and will be delayed.”

“
Aye, captain
.”

“Get off my bridge,” he growled.

I headed to the exit but Lianne blocked the entrance. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I'm not sure,” I replied. “But it's the way it needs to be because I don't belong here.”

I slid past her and ran to my room without looking back in an effort to hide my tears. I just wanted to bury my face in my pillow and cry until my eyes became nothing more than saturated sponges. In my haste I knocked Calypso's journal off the table. I reached over to pick it up and it opened, dropping a picture of Earth to the floor. As I reached down to pick it up I noticed an entry. In my curiosity, I began reading it but collapsed to the floor before I completed it. I opened my eyes to see Lianne standing over me with a concerned look on her face.

“Nathan, are you alright?”

Everything was hazy and I felt a migraine coming on.

“What happened?”

“I don't know,” she replied. “I have been outside your door for some time, but you weren't answering.” She gestured her thumb over her shoulder. “Sorry about the door, but I assumed you were in trouble.”

I propped myself up and looked past her. My door was hanging—barely—by a single hinge. Lianne clipped her sword to her belt and lifted me to my feet. I rubbed my head and felt a knot forming at the back of my skull.

“Ow, I hit my head pretty hard,” I said. “I think I fainted from exhaustion.”

Panic set in when I noticed the journal in Lianne's hand. She read the entry that it was open to and her eyes widened.

“Caelum is not Calypso's next target!” she gasped.

“Yes,” I replied. “We need to bring this to Jasper!”

“If Calypso has mobilized already, we will never reach Earth in time.” She was busy flexing her hands, like she tried to grab an object that wasn't there.

I paced the room like a caged tiger. Perhaps the journal entry would provide clues I may have overlooked the first time. I opened the journal and skimmed though the entry once again:

The human has unlocked the Universal Map. We can move forward with our plan sooner than anticipated. Kedge will be removed from the equation as soon as possible. Satou, a recent transfer to the Cirrus, will be taking over engineering duties, allowing me a chance to eliminate Madoc. His refusal to abduct any more humans will lead to his downfall. Satou should make an adequate, albeit unaware, replacement. The Lumagom have sworn loyalty to me. This may have been hastened by the allegiance of Shai and the Scarlet Moon. Despite the alliance, my army is not large enough to attack Caelum directly. The journal of Ales Banda will provide me the details of his failings and I intend to adjust and correct his mistakes when I make my move. For right now, Earth has proven to be easily manipulated in the past, so I hope to assimilate the strongest inhabitants into my army. They are so easily swayed by money and power, and their technology should prove useful. Events have been set in motion to release Shai from Carcer-4. By the time the Consortium realizes what I have done it will be too late for the humans. Once Earth has been conquered, access to the Atlantic wormhole should be uninhibited.

“What in the world does he want with Earth?”' Lianne asked. “What does he hope to gain by accessing the wormhole?”

We locked eyes and she recognized the anguish in my face. I wanted to return to Earth but not under these circumstances. Now I must prevent everything I love from being destroyed.

It was Mars all over again.

All Along the Watchtower

“T
his doesn't make any sense!”

Jasper stood in the doorway with Calypso's journal clutched in his hand. The journal did not reveal any more clues to Calypso's motivation, but it did divulge that he was not the person calling the shots. There seemed to be someone pulling his strings, but I couldn't find any more information in the book. Although he wasn't discreet naming people in the journal, he conveniently left out the name of his “boss”.

“This is serious,” I countered. “We need to stop him.”

Jasper and Lianne exchanged looks and my heart sank. I knew what they were thinking. We were the closest ship to Earth but still two days away and it was questionable whether we would beat Calypso's forces, especially since they had a head start. Ships launched from Caelum would take a week at least. Others were scattered throughout the universe and could take even longer. It was up to us—an exploration vessel—to slow them down long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Jasper barked into his communicator. “Tek, are you there?”

“
Yes sir
,” a voice came from the other end.

“Patch me through to the warden on Carcer-4.”

“
Aye
.”

Moments later, a voice boomed from the other end of the communicator. It was deep and melodic and reminded me of Barry White.

“
This is Colonel Noz
.”

“Colonel, this is Captain Jasper of the ISS Argus representing the Consortium.” Jasper took a deep breath and looked at each of us before continuing. “We have a…
situation
. There is a chance that a rogue member of the Council is on his way to Carcer-4 to break Shai out of prison.”

There was a long pause on the other end. I wondered if the warden had disconnected until his voice bellowed from the other end.

“
There is no indication anything is amiss in the holding cell area. Guards conducted a routine check of the cell block and Shai is there, happy as can be under such circumstances
.”

I sensed the Colonel's smugness through the communicator. Jasper frowned and seemed to sense the same.

Jasper reached into his pocket and pulled out a square object that looked like a smart phone. He opened the journal and held the device over the book.

“Colonel, I am scanning a page directly from a journal detailing the plot. I uploaded the image to your prison computers.”

There was a muffled rustling of paperwork in the background followed by a bang—a desk drawer slamming.

“Captain, we are very busy and we receive threats like these on a daily basis. I assure you that prison security is equipped to handle any threat to the prison population. I am sure that the Consortium is aware of our capabilities. If we require assistance, I will be the first to notify you.”

Jasper clenched his jaw so tightly I was sure a cracked tooth would fly from his mouth. Before he had a chance to reply, the other end of the line went dead.

“That pompous son of a bitch!” Lianne roared.

I fell into my desk chair and rubbed my face in frustration. “It looks like we are alone.”

Jasper's communicator beeped. “
Sir, I am receiving visual of three vessels approximately twenty five kilometers off our starboard side and approaching fast
.”

“Lumagom?” Jasper asked.

“
No sir they um..
.” Tek trailed off.

“Dammit, man, out with it!” Jasper roared.

“
Sir, they appear to be Erudite vessels
.”

“What is an Erudite?” I asked. “Please don't tell me it's another bad guy, I don't think my heart can take it.”

Lianne turned to me and smirked. “No, Nathan, they are not hostile. They are watchers.”

“Watchers?”

“They are a reclusive collective of scholars,” she explained. “They also sometimes act as messengers because their ships are much faster than any other technology in the universe.”

“Some people think they tap the power of wormholes to achieve their speeds,” Jasper grumbled.

“Which had never been proven,” Lianne finished.

Jasper shrugged. “Tek said there were three vessels. They normally travel alone, so they must carry an important message.”

Lianne's smile faded. “You're right. Do you think it's possible that the Lumagom or Scarlet Moon has compromised them?”

“For our sake, let's hope not.” Jasper turned to his communicator. “Tek, have you established communications with the vessels?”

“
No sir, they are not responding…wait a minute
.”

The line went dead and I gripped the armrests tight enough I almost broke a fingernail.

“Tek?” Jasper's face swirled with anticipation.

“
Sir they have responded and they request permission to come aboard. They insist it's urgent
.”

“Permission granted. Tell them I will meet them at Dock Five.”

“
Aye
.”

The line went dead and Jasper grabbed Lianne by the shoulders. “I know you weep for your crew but there will be a time and place for that. I need you to brief the crew and prepare our defenses.”

Lianne scowled. “I am aware of what is needed.”

Jasper's face softened. “We will avenge them, I promise.”

Lianne walked through the door with her head lowered. Jasper called to her and she turned around.

“Lianne, I love you.”

Her scowl faded and a smile played at the corner of her lips. She responded with a firm nod and left.

“What about you?” Jasper glanced at me.

I wanted to go home, forget everything and go back to being a semi-normal teenager. Calypso's plot changed all that and I might no longer have a home to go to. Earth was barbaric and technologically inferior by the Consortium's standards but it was
my
home. There was only one choice for me now.

“I'm in. What do you need me to do?”

“There may be hope for you yet…Cartographer.” For the first time since our initial meeting, Jasper smiled. “Let's greet our new guests.”

When we reached Dock Five it was empty except for one confused crewmember who shrugged at us when we entered.

“It appears they have not arrived yet,” Jasper said. “They should be here—”

Before he completed the sentence a wisp of smoke appeared in the middle of the docking bay. At first it appeared as faint mist, gradually taking shape until it formed into the outline of a figure. The mysterious figure, hooded and cloaked, crouched low to the floor.