Shadow Core - The Legacy (5 page)

In an ideal society there would be no need for smuggling. Colonial powers would not restrict the flow of essential goods to its people because of political manoeuvring by those in power. Taxation of goods would be fair and put to use for the benefit of all colonists. But the galaxy was not an ideal place and all the hidden cargo holds of the Icarus were often filled to capacity with the most basic of necessities: foodstuffs, medicines and coffee. Not exactly the most lucrative things to smuggle, but at least Kade had no problems sleeping at night. 

Kade reached into the compartment and pulled out a small box, opening it to reveal what she was after: the reason that had brought her all the way here.  

The box contained a small black sphere, no more than three centimetres in diameter, its surface was covered by a chaotic pattern which never seemed to look the same way twice, though Kade had never actually seen the pattern change with her own eyes. 

The sphere seemed to glow faintly as Kade held it in her hand. It was as if it was surrounded by a thin blue aura. But it only ever seemed to glow while she was holding it with her bare hand.

Kade didn't really understand why the sphere would glow like that. She had often thought about asking her sister to analyse it, but couldn't risk the sphere being destroyed by the process. So she had never mentioned it, fearing that her sister's abnormal natural curiosity would eventually win out against her common sense. Something that happened a lot.

To Kade, it didn't really matter what the sphere was, or how it worked. It was a keepsake from her grandfather so she had no reason to fear it.  

Regardless of how bad things got, or how lost she felt, holding it would always make her feel better.

Kade held the sphere in her right hand and smiled broadly as she thought about the image of the Zenith she had seen on the bridge. A feeling of joy filling her entire body as she thought to herself – "I've finally found it!" 

Kade opened up her suit's utility pouch and stored her portable systems breaker inside it. It was an interesting 'toy' her sister had made for her, a 'toy' which would undoubtedly come in handy later on.

The thing wasn't much bigger than one of those old fashioned calculators that people could go and see in museums of affluent capital cities. Technology had certainly come a long way if the ancient humans had once needed to use so much space to house such a simple device.

Kade paused for a moment as she held the sphere, looking around the room to see if she was forgetting anything and then noticed she still had a few minutes to spare. 

She sat down at her desk and activated her private console, waiting for a second as the holographic view-screen linked up with the ship's main computer.

The interface was displaying the status of various ship systems, allowing Kade to see the general 'health' of her ship. The ship would need to refuel relatively soon, the reactor's particle reserves were down to a few weeks worth of fuel, but this was still more than enough to get to the nearest friendly base.

All other systems were operating normally. So, since nothing else demanded immediate attention, Kade decided to use this chance to update her log. 

Kade's Log:
[12 : 01 : 107 : 4 – 15:31]
 

It has been six years since I started this search but it appears that I've finally found it. Though it is still hard to believe the stories were actually real. I half expected it all to have been no more than gramps' imagination. He always could spin a good tale.
 

And yet, here it sits, in Sol of all places. Large as life and just as he described it. Almost four kilometres long, two kilometres wide and one kilometre tall. Calling it imposing would be the understatement of the century. They don't build them like this anymore. In fact, up until I saw it with my own eyes I didn't actually believe they ever built them like this.
 

I wonder, just how much of gramps' tale was true?

Could this ship possibly do all those crazy things he claimed? Is there a chance that all of it was true?

A ship that can travel the stars using a hyper-light drive which puts the most advanced Burst engine to shame? A drive that enables the ship to go anywhere its captain wishes, without having to rely on explored Burst routes which offer clear paths between areas.

In the end it doesn't really matter how fast we can push our ships with the ballistic unrestricted spatial transfer drives, we are still restricted to using pre-explored routes when travelling faster than light. The risk of collisions at FTL speeds while travelling through unexplored space is just too great.

But according to gramps' stories, the Shadows had developed a drive which could overcome this limitation. The final evolution of the Burst theory, he used to say.

Then there's the ship's armour... strong enough to survive a point blank hit from a dreadnought's main cannon? Eh eh eh, I'm sure that one was made up. Nothing can stand in the way of that much focused destructive fire-power.

And of course, my personal favourite, is it really controlled by them? Nova and Nexus. The twin female artificial intelligence units with beauty and intelligence beyond compare.

So much of those old stories seemed to be straight out of a fairytale book that I had never considered that there could have been any truth to any of it.

When my grandfather asked me to do this I thought he had gone insane, but I promised him I would anyway. I spent years looking for clues and the only thing I ever managed to find was a galaxy full of tall tales about the mythical Shadows. I got so fed up of it all I even started hating the very name... I mean 'Shadows'? Who calls a group that? And what the hell is it even supposed to mean?

Still, I guess I will get to keep my promise to him after all. I still don’t understand what’s so special about this ball or why he asked me to bring it here. But I've managed to find the Zenith and even if the rest of it comes to nothing, it was still worth it. Even if I only get to walk the halls of that ship once.
 

I mean, how often does a woman get to walk through the halls of the fantasy place that captivated her imagination as a child?

Still... something feels very wrong with this entire situation. I tried for years to find this ship and came up empty. Almost as soon as I'd given up hope and finally decided to move on with my life, I got that contract to deliver a full shipment of coffee beans to John on Titan Orbital II.
 

The pay was certainly good, coffee is so scarce that the import fees on a shipment like that could bankrupt a small colony, but he said it was for personal use... just how much coffee can one guy drink? I seriously don't trust that weasel!

To think that the information which would finally lead me to the Zenith would have come from him of all people, it's almost enough to make me sick.

And how did he managed to find it? Out of all of my contacts he's by far the most useless, there are even rumours he's in bed with the Union. Though that could explain why the patrols avoided us on arrival.
 

I swear! If that weasel has set me up I'm gonna shoot him and his coffee into the freaking sun!!

Hmm, on second thoughts I'll keep the coffee. No point wasting the good stuff on the likes of him.

Something else doesn't feel right... all that I know about the Zenith came from gramps.

I've scoured every source for any information about the Shadows and never came across any records of the Zenith, so how did Nick know about it?

Was he just making it up?

He dismissed it like it was nothing, but some of what he said did match what I know of it.

Anyway, I wonder... if gramps was right about this, then does that mean the Shadow Core is real?

It seems strange that grandfather never actually mentioned the core in his tales, yet it is an almost permanent fixture in the stories told on all the other colonies. Though it does vary wildly from place to place, from the 'gateway to ultimate knowledge' to 'the mysterious dark shadow home-world'.
 

And the Shadows... this ship is proof they exist. So who are they and why are they such a mystery?
 

Records about them are virtually non-existent and that’s almost unthinkable in this day and age.
 

It's almost as if someone, or something, has purposefully wiped most traces of them from every single network. But who
?
And why?
 

Kade felt a frustratingly familiar feeling as she held the sphere and updated her log. It was as if the answers to her questions were just within reach and everything made perfect sense. The reality however, was still shrouded in mystery.  

These 'events' were becoming more frequent. The Zenith felt familiar, to an almost impossible degree, but she didn’t know why.  

Kade had lost track of time while trying to make sense of her thoughts but was quickly snapped back to reality when Nick started speaking over the intercom... they were on final approach to the Zenith.

She shut down the console, the holographic interface disappearing from view as she put the sphere she was still holding into her suit's utility pouch and then began to put on her gloves.

She slipped on the gloves, opening and closing her hands several times in order to get the right fit and looked on as the nano bonding material formed an almost seamless seal against the rest of the suit. 

Out of all the space suits she had used in the past this was still her favourite. It was strong enough to withstand the rigours of a space walk for hours at a time but not nearly as bulky as a standard model and it highlighted her figure nicely. 

Almost as if on queue the two sisters opened the doors to their quarters at the same time and stopped just before stepping out into the corridor. They both had the same model of space-suit, the main difference being that Kade favoured the colour red while Jude preferred blue. And that Jude could fill out her suits' top section slightly better, a fact which had always annoyed Kade a bit. 

“Ready?” Kade asked excitedly. 

“Definitely!” Jude answered back enthusiastically as the two sisters stepped out into the zero gravity corridor and headed towards the bridge.    

Nick was still overseeing the docking procedure as the sisters walked into the bridge. Not that there was much to do since the whole process was automated, so he looked bored out of his mind.

“Status?” Kade asked as she sat down on her chair and activated the captain's console. 

“The good news is that the Zenith's docking system is fully functional. The two ships established a positive connection and we are being guided into dock, which simplifies things considerably,” Nick said without turning away from his station. 

“There are bad news?” Jude asked. 

“Yeah, there's nothing for me to do but watch!” 

“That's the kind of bad news I can live with,” Kade said as her console finished initialising. 

“But it's bori...” Nick started saying as he turned around, becoming speechless as he saw the sisters in their form fitting space suits. 

“It's what?” Jude asked as she checked the engineering console for any new information that had been compiled since she left the bridge. 

“Huh? Nothing... never mind,” Nick said.  

“Well, if it's nothing then go get suited up. I'll keep an eye on the docking procedure while you get ready,” Kade said as she routed navigation control to her console, taking direct control of the Icarus. 

“Oh and when you're done, pass by the engineering bay and pick up my cases. They're by the door, you can't miss them. Bring them with you to the airlock when you're ready,” Jude added. 

“Sure,” Nick replied as he got up and left the bridge, trying his best not to stare... and failing. 

Kade couldn't help but smile with a little devilish grin. That suit of hers would always cause that reaction in men. They were such simple creatures.

Kade could feel the navigation thrusters firing as the ship started to turn while approaching the Zenith from its fore section, slowing as it did.

The Icarus was now travelling parallel to the Zenith, decelerating gently as it neared its destination: one of the many external docking ports on the Zenith's massive structure.

“This ship seems so familiar for some reason,” Jude said absent-mindedly as she leaned back on her chair with her hands behind her head. 

“How so?” Kade asked, wondering if her sister still remembered the old stories their grandfather used to tell. 

“Don't know, “Jude replied. “It's like trying to remember a dream. Frustrating to put it mildly. But this behemoth is very real.” 

“Indeed it is,” Kade said, a bit disappointed that her sister seemed to be oblivious that this was the ship from the old stories, but not entirely surprised by it. After all, she was a few years younger than her. 

“Bet you feel silly for buying that new docking collar which can burn through a ship's hull, only to find out that the docking system is fully functional,” Jude said. 

“In hindsight, it was a rather large waste of money. But better safe than sorry,” Kade replied. 

“You say that, but according to sensors the Zenith's armour is so dense that the collar would degrade from old age long before it could cut through it.” 

“Damn! That really was a complete waste of money then.” Kade scowled.  

“Why did you think that we were gonna need to burn our way in through the hull anyway?” Jude asked.