Deep Space Dead (24 page)

19

Three rovers set out per day, each carrying ten colonists plus as many supplies as could be loaded. It would be a long time before the Tula IV was completely evacuated but in the meantime the rovers returned from the Suki II with plentiful supplies of food. Even though she missed Jak a great deal Arianna had decided that she would be one of the last to leave. The exodus to the Suki II lifted the atmosphere of doom and dispelled the distrust between the Council and the colonists. Ambra was released and permitted to go back to live in the administrative apartment with her mother. The children went first; all except Ambra that was. Having gotten her back Arianna was determined not to let her daughter out of her sight.

The colonists arrived and were immediately set to work by Jak and Gan Cuk, who had also come over, to clear the arboretum. They set about their task with gusto, amazed at the jungle that had grown up within. Jak saw Guya but only sparingly. The humanoid never sought him out or asked to meet with his and seemed entirely uninterested in what the colonists were up to. At first Jak had asked permission to make alterations to the living arrangements of the starship but Guya had always agreed in a manner which suggested he did not care at all and after a few days Jak had stopped asking him completely. The other colonists had never seen the humanoids at all. Given their resemblance to the revenants outside perhaps this was just as well, thought Jak.

Jak was tired. It had been a long day and yet he was enthused because the arboretum was coming along so well and a huge space cleared already. The colonists coming over from the
Tula IV
were positive and happy and looking forward to starting their lives anew. He had just finished a call to Arianna and Ambra and was about to recline on his bed and go to sleep where there came a loud but measured knocking upon his cabin door. Jak went over to answer and was surprised to find the humanoid Guya towering above him. Jak was surprised. It was unheard of for Guya or any of the other revenants to come down to the human living quarters. Jak wondered why they hadn’t radioed him and was wary of the humanoid’s presence although he greeted Guya politely enough.

“You have done much in the short time you have been here,” said Guya with his usual flatness, getting straight to the point as usual. “On reflection we should perhaps have realised the arboretum would need to be cleared out but we did not anticipate visitors, at least not after so many years.”

“It must have come as a shock to see us,” said Jak conversationally, trying to lure out some humanity from beneath the humanoid’s icy veneer.

“Not a shock, no” replied Guya. “It was more of a surprise the human race, with all its unpredictability, had managed to survive so long.”

“Yes well,” said Jak sheepishly, intensely uncomfortable. “I daresay you called to see me for a reason?”

“Indeed so,” replied Guya. “We have been watching you, Jak and it seems you are very much the leader of this grouping. Nonetheless the rest of your colonists seem to know what they are doing. The agricultural man, Gan Cuk, is supervising them well and your own rangers are perfectly capable of piloting the rovers. Soon, I think, your work will be obsolete. The colonists will not require a leader of your caliber.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” replied Jak guardedly. “The colonists will always look for leadership from strong men. Perhaps you have forgotten than in all your years of - evolution.”

“Not so,” countered Guya. “You are, as you say, a strong man but in times of peace people look for stability, not strength. Soon your style of leadership will be unnecessary, Jak, for you are by nature a military man.”

“That remains to be seen,” said Jak. “I wouldn't actually mind a long retirement.”

“No,” said Guya simply. “I do not think you will retire. Come with me, Jak. There is something you should see. We would like to assist you.”

Jak followed Guya down some steps deep into the bowels of the starship, in an area he had never visited before. As he walked he noticed the area seemed heavily armoured with large rivets attached to the iron walls and his heart leapt. Perhaps the humanoids had been working on a way to take down the revenants after all. Guya led him through a pair of thick doors and into a large chamber where Jak was surprised to see the rest of the humanoids were already gathered. Their large eyes stared at him blankly. Jak felt an icy chill on the back of his head, but he reassured himself the humanoids were there to help them.

“You cannot surely want to be slaves to the revenants,” remarked Guya as he came to stand before him. “And if you relied upon us to protect you, why you would be little more than pets. You need to develop the powers to fight back, to live amongst them just as we do.”

“Of course,” replied Jak, although he was not at all sure what Guya was trying to tell him. Suddenly Guya raised his hand and struck Jak with a hard blow against the side of his face. Jak fell to the floor; his vision blurred. Darkness descended upon his senses. All was quiet. He felt nothing.

Jak had stopped communicating with the
Tula IV
. For the first three days Arianna had not been worried. Jak had missed communiques before though being too busy but never three in a row before. Instead Gan Cuk would come on the radio and tell them how Guya had told him that Jak was in some sort of training and would not be available for the foreseeable future. Arianna was instantly suspicious and demanded to speak to Guya personally and yet the humanoid never seemed to be available either. But by the fourth day Arianna’s patience was at an end. “Listen to me,” she said to Gan Cuk sternly over the radio. “You can tell Guya we won’t be sending any more rovers until I get to speak with Jak.”
“You’re not authorised to make that decision,” protested Gan Cuk.

“No but I am,” put in Sol. “And Arianna is quite right. It is intolerable we are unable to speak to the leader on the ground. What is this about training anyway? You do not seem to know a thing about it. And Jak certainly never mentioned it the last time we spoke to him. You’d have thought if he was going to be away for so long he would have known about it in advance and given us some sort of notice.”

Guya was on the line within five minutes. It was almost as though he had been waiting for the ultimatum outside the door. “Everybody is working hard to settle in,” said Guya. “They are most interested in their living quarters but especially the arboretum. There is much to be done there.”

“Can I speak to Jak?” Asked Arianna.

“Mr Roj is kept busy with the work of settling your colonists in,” said Guya. “He cannot return your calls at present.”

“All the same we need to see him,” snapped Arianna. “I want to come over there, see for myself what you’re up to. Unless you let me come there shall be no more colonists sent over.”

There came a long silence. Eventually Guya’s monotone came back on the line. “Very well,” he said flatly. “Although you will arrive sooner than we would have expected. It is true there have been developments, Arianna; developments we have not yet told you about. Still, come over at your own behest, and see for yourself the future of the human race.”

Arianna and Sol set out together early the following morning on the rover’s first run of the day. Arianna was nervous. Sol was unsettled too. It was clear he was nervous about visiting the starship; indeed this was his first time outside the
Tula IV
since the revenants had attacked.

Guya may or may not have been perturbed to see Sol and Arianna but he welcomed them on board nonetheless. His expression, as usual, was unreadable. “Now you are here you must stay,” said Guya. “Come and partake of our hospitality.”

“We’re going back,” said Arianna sternly. “If we don’t come back today no more of our people are coming over.”

“There is no need to become aggressive,” said Guya. “Come with us and you will see everything is just fine.”

Sol looked around in wonderment as they walked through the starship, taking everything in. “Don’t allow yourself to become overawed,” Arianna warned him. “Remember we’re here for information and nothing more.”
“How do we know we haven’t walked into a trap?” Asked Sol. “They could easily keep us here, you know that.”
“We’re at their mercy,” agreed Arianna. “We have to trust them whether we want to or not.”

Thirty people from the Tula II turned out to meet Sol and Arianna, many of them children. Hari Shorr was also present. He had been one of the first over and his soft hands and increased girth indicated that he had perhaps not been working as hard as the others. “Thirty people,” said Arianna doubtfully. “Out of the hundred we have already sent over.”

Sol stepped forward and began to question them about the others. “We don’t really have time to mix with them,” said one of the colonists, whose name was Orcia. “To be honest we are mostly kept busy with our own tasks; decorating our quarters.”

“Do you ever see them around the arboretum?” Asked Arianna.

“Not really,” replied Orcia.

“Something is very wrong here,” said Arianna, in an aside to Sol. “I want to see Jak.”

“I have not seen Jak,” said Hari Shorr arrogantly when questioned. “And I would know if I had. Truth be told I did not even know he was here on the starship.”

“It seems you have lost contact with many of your fellows,” stated Sol critically.

“Maybe. For ourselves I can vouch we are most contented here,” said Hari Shorr.

“You see how everybody is working hard,” said Guya. “Your leaders are efficient and your colonists keen. They are grateful for their salvation and work hard towards a better future. Jak is the same. He too can look forward to a bright future.”
“I want to see him,” said Arianna with determination.
Guya nodded. “As you wish,” he said flatly.

Guya led Sol and Arianna down several flights of dark steps deep within the centre of the starship. Arianna was instantly uneasy, knowing she was more or less at the mercy of the humanoids. And yet the remaining crew of the
Tula IV
were under strict instructions that no more colonists were to be sent over until Arianna and Sol returned.

Guya opened the door to a darkened room. Arianna squinted and saw through the gloom that the room was empty and windowless. Empty, except for a hunched up figure sitting on  the floor in the far corner. “Jak!” Exclaimed Arianna.

Jak’s hair was a mess; in certain places it appeared to be thinning. His eyes bore a vacant expression. There was no warmth in his kiss. He did not raise his arms to hold Arianna when she called his name and hurried over to embrace him. “Are you okay?” Asked Arianna. “You look sick. What is wrong?”

“I’m sorry,” replied Jak vaguely. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“What are you doing in here?” Demanded Arianna. “In the dark and all alone sitting on the floor like this?”

“It is not as though there is much else to do,” replied Jak. “It is as Guya says. My work here is done, for the colonists have their instructions and set about their task keenly. This leaves me plenty of time to develop my own abilities.”

Arianna looked accusingly at Guya. It was clear to her Jak was having some sort of breakdown, one that the humanoid, with his complete lack of anything resembling human compassion, appeared completely uninterested in understanding. “Come along,” said Arianna gently, placing an arm around Jak’s shoulder. “I’m taking you back to the
Tula IV
.”

“I cannot come back,” said Jak. “There is so much I still need to do here.”

“You have to come back,” said Arianna. “We need you at the
Tula IV
as well.”

Arianna was somewhat surprised that Guya made no attempt to stop them leaving, which they did quickly, almost as soon as she had found Sol. In the rover Arianna attempted to engage Jak in conversation but he was distant and monosyllabic. “You look pale,” said Arianna kindly. “You should go to sleep.”

“I don’t need to sleep,” said Jak, staring vacantly ahead of him.

“Aren’t you even pleased to see me?”

“Of course Arianna,” replied Jak. “I’m very pleased. I look forward to seeing Ambra too. I have missed you both very much.” He said the words flatly and without meaning.

“The others say they have not seen you in the arboretum or anywhere else for that matter,” said Sol conversationally. “Not recently anyway.”

“I have been engaged in the engine room,” replied Jak. “I have slept there as well. There has been a lot for me to do.”

“Are you not even going to ask how Ambra is?” Asked Arianna.

“If there was any problem with her you would have told me by now.”

“What?” Arianna stared at him aghast.

“So tell us, Jak,” said Sol conversationally. “What do you make of our prospects on the
Suki II
? As you know this is my first visit and so far I’m pretty encouraged. The arboretum seems to be coming on in leaps and bounds whilst the colonists are well fed and happy.”