Shadows Bear No Names (The Blackened Prophecy Book 1) (24 page)

Chapter THIRTY-THREE

MARA’TTHANE: PART II

“If I have to tell who we are one more time, I’ll start shooting!” Sarah fingered the flight console.

“It’s a wonder some trigger-friendly sergeant hasn’t shot us yet.” Ray checked the communications terminal. “I think we have clearance. They’re sending the docking barrier codes.”

“Half an hour! One would think bureaucracy stops when there’s a hostile alien fleet hovering in the distance.” Sarah mumbled something colorful and started the thrusters.

“Wow, some ship,” Brother Cavil was mesmerized by the super-dreadnought’s size as the
Fox
approached the docking bays under the belly of the ship. “It must be thousands of meters long!”

“Eight thousand something,” Sarah said.

“And she looks marred.” Ray pointed at plasma marks on the hull. “Those look recent.” Dozens of personnel hovered around the hull plating in EVA suits and utility tugs carrying scrap pieces, patching the wounded ship. The drone traffic around the super-dreadnought was like the airways of London, buzzing with activity.

“I don’t know, that thing looks pretty scary to me.” Sarah waved at the huge Baeal mother ship standing on top of the planet in the distance. “Yeah, this one looks cool and all that, but I wouldn’t bet my money on her. I’m glad that there’s some distance in between us.”

“Is this the ship that destroyed yours, Ga’an?” Ray asked, turning to look at the tall man. He’d been awfully quiet since they arrived on Pendar.

“No,” Ga’an nodded slowly. “But there were many escort ships, like this one.”

Sarah’s jaw dropped, “
That’s
an escort ship?”

“It is, Sarah Davis. The mother ship I clashed with was many times larger.”

The flight computer beeped three times, halting their conversation.

“All right, buckle up, we’re entering the gravity field,” Ray warned them.

The
Fox
flew past the escorts and cut the engines, positioning under one of the hangar doors with a huge
“3”
written on them. The group watched the massive gates open slowly, illuminating them with shining bright light from inside the ship. Now the only thing they could see was the super-dreadnought’s hull plating.

The ship ascended slowly, entering the hangar. Fighter craft were positioned near launch tubes, numerous men and women in orange uniforms working on them like bees in a hive. Sparks flew near one of the bigger ships—
a bomber,
Ray reasoned—while technicians tried to fix its broken wing with their welding torches. He silently admired the pilot who’d landed the thing without a wing.

Larger ships were parked at the far end of the hangar. From the corner of his eye Ray saw a small freighter and a gunship very much like
Fox
, but focused his attention on landing his own. The service platforms were as tall as small buildings, with big cranes attached to their intersecting rails. The cranes hovered above the crew and extended meters above the docking clamps. The hangar bay looked like an industrial district of a city.

“I am glad we landed in one piece this time,” Brother Cavil said, giving Ray a meaningful look as he heard the satisfactory sound of landing gear touching down with a gentle shake.

“If you count the asteroid, this is the second time, old man.” Ray smiled, patting the Brother Cavil’s shoulder, “All right, let’s do this as quickly as possible.” He gestured them to follow. “Oh, and Ga’an, don’t tell them you’re an Ancient unless it’s a matter of life and death.”

“Why not?”

“Because, well, you’re an Ancient.”

Ga’an raised a brow.

“The
first
Ancient my kind ever met. Not everyone, especially the military, would be so welcoming. Hell, before we know, you could end up in a laboratory. You look human enough. Weird, but human. If we don’t tell, most people will take a glance and pass by.”

Ga’an didn’t say anything, but clasped his hands behind his back.

“I am glad that we will finally—” Brother Cavil’s smile froze when he saw the armed soldiers when they reached the gunship’s ramp.

“Hands above your head!” one of the marines barked. “Now!”

They ended up detained no matter how hard Brother Cavil had protested and Reverend Marcus
educated
them about today’s youth being disrespectful. Ray tried to explain the soldiers why they had come and that they’d been cleared by one Admiral Conway, but the squad commander was deaf to their pleas, especially after the rather lengthy sermon from the elder duo.

The guards escorted the group to a cellblock. Brother Cavil still tried to reason with the commander, but Ray had accepted their fate and shifted his attention toward inspecting the craftsmanship of the colossal ship. He admired the engineering work behind the behemoth and wondered what it would be like to captain a super-dreadnought, no matter how much he hated authoritarian structures.

“Great Light!” Brother Cavil puffed, slumping down on a bench in the cell, watching the guards disappear down the corridor. “No matter what, we always end up crashing or in jail.”

Sarah tried to calm him. “Relax, old man. They wouldn’t have even let us dock if someone important wasn’t interested in our story.”

“Humph,” Reverend Marcus took a seat at the other side of the cell and pulled an old pocket-size book from one of his sleeves. Soon, he had shut out the world, giving himself to his read.

“Any ideas?” Ray turned to Ga’an. The man stood in front of the barrier blocking the door, looking at it with great interest.

“I do not understand why they have these rooms, Raymond Harris.”

“It’s Ray. And this is a jail cell, Ga’an. You don’t have those?”

“The level of comfort is too high.” He turned and scanned the cell. It was illuminated with warm, bright light and had seats that converted into beds. “If this were the Empire, we would have been executed by this time.”

“Well, I’m glad we’re not in the Empire,” Ray said, smirking. “Do you have any ideas on how we can find the next stone? Is it really here?”

“It should be, the Ijjok pointed Pendar,” Sarah said.

“I am sorry, Raymond Harris. I do not know.”

“No sweat.” Ray smiled, then went back into the corner to sit and relax.

It looked like they’d be staying for a while.

***

“Wake up!” someone shouted in front of their cell.

Ray opened his eyes immediately, jumping to his feet. “What?” he mumbled, trying to come back to his senses. He had no idea how long he’d been asleep.
Long
, he figured from the numbness of his body.

“The admiral will see you now,” the man in uniform said in a formal tone.
A lieutenant commander,
Ray realized from the insignia.
You don’t send a lieutenant commander to escort everyday prisoners.

The group roused to follow the officer. They were battling with their dullness all the way. No matter how comfortable it looked, it was still a cell. Six armed men and women escorted them to a nearby meeting hall.

“Ma’am, the detainees,” their escort announced.

Two soldiers stood at the far end of the room, one in each corner. In the middle of the room, a clerk in his early forties took notes from star charts on one of the screens embedded into the ellipsoid table. The only other thing in the room was a tray with several metal mugs and a coffee pot, on the meeting table. The woman was staring through the observation window, hands behind her back. The stars on her white uniform were unlike any other they’d seen on their way. Although she looked upright, gray hairs hinted at the toll of her position.
The Admiral.

The doors opened and another man with a data pad in his hands entered the room. “I’m sorry I’m late, Admiral, I must have overslept with the pills the doctor gave me.”

The Admiral didn’t say a word, but in her reflection on the window Ray saw her jaw tighten and eyes focus on this new man.

“Have a seat,” the man said without looking at the group, seating himself beside the clerk. “I’m Commander Matthews and I believe you’ve things to tell.” He looked at the data pad he held.

Ray felt the group looking at him, expecting him to lead them. He grunted. He wasn’t sure he liked this shift from friendship to admiration.
The girl thinks I’m special. The priests think I’m special and the alien thinks I’m a prophet. Great.

He cleared his throat and told about their encounter with Baeal back on Asteroid B-533, the scriptures about the Arinar, how the gate stones worked and how he and his group had ended up involved. He chose his words carefully, leaving out the part about Ga’an being an Ancient and himself being the Lohil
.
Wow, no matter how many times I tell the story, it sounds weird and crazy.

“Interesting story,” the commander said, raising his head from the data pad and looking at the group with judgmental, even teasing eyes. “So, you’re telling me that this…What was their name?”

“Baeal,” Ray said evenly.

“
Baeal
, yes. They are from another
plane
, and the only way to stop them is to use these stones you speak of.”

“Yes.” Ray nodded, trying to control his anger. Every second they messed around, the enemy drew closer; invading their space and who knows what they were doing on Pendar. It wasn’t the best strategy to circle around words and mockery.

“So, where are these stones you speak of?” Commander Matthews stood up, wandering around the room. Ray saw marines with eye bags darker than space. Technicians in the hangar bay were like walking zombies. Commander Matthews looked different. He looked lively, his face showing no signs of exhaustion.
Some pills they must’ve been.

“We’ve recovered two of the five. One’s located here on Pendar and that’s probably why they’re hovering over the planet like flies on a pie,” Ray explained patiently, clenching his teeth.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Harris but we have no time to lose with chasing after fairy tales,” the man finally said, “Lieutenant, please escort these people back to—”

“Admiral!” Ray darted from his seat, dashing through the room to reach the woman who had stared through the observation window this whole time.

“Hold it right there!” As expected, the guards were on him like hawks, their weapons aimed at his chest.

The man who had questioned him blocked his path to the admiral, gun in hand. “Detain this man!” he barked to the guards.

“Admiral, please!” Ray begged, “Just listen to our plea.” He struggled to free himself from the guards’ grasp without success. “Our whole race’s in danger!”

The group was on their feet but the prison escorts were on top of them, guns pointed at their heads.

“I can activate the stones!” Ray cried out in despair, “Let me show you! This isn’t a crazy fairy tale!” Ray tried to free himself from a marine’s grasp. “Look out the goddamn window and tell me you see these things every day!”

“Stand down, Matthews,” the Admiral said calmly after a brief moment, completely ignoring the chaos behind her. She sighed and turned to Ray.

***

Rebecca’s father had taught her a person’s words and actions may be nothing but lies, but the eyes cannot hide the truth; a precious teaching, one she’d always found useful in her fifty-some life span. This man believed what he said, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. And then there was the fact that an alien fleet hovered in the distance.

“Commander Matthews, you can resume your duties.”

“But, ma’am…” Matthews protested but she silenced him with a stare.

“
Commander
Matthews, perhaps your beauty sleep hindered your ability to hear. I said resume your duties.”

He saluted, although his stance hinted he would do otherwise if he could, and left the room with the prison guards, leaving Rebecca and her personal guards alone with the group. Rebecca couldn’t help but wait for the commander to leave before saying anything. The man had been absent for over a day, couldn’t be found in his quarters and popped out of nowhere to join a meeting with these strangers. It didn’t add up. She had to look into it after resolving this mess.

“Now, where are these stones you speak of?”

“They are on board our ship. Sarah can bring them here,” Ray said.

“Me? Sure, yes, of course!” she bowed curtly, seeming unsure about how to behave before an admiral.

Rebecca nodded, “Airman, escort this lady to her ship and report back here on the double. You will only report to me.” She reached for the coffee pot on the table, the guard and Sarah out of her head as soon as they left the room. “Now you will tell me your story again,” she said, pouring herself some coffee, “and this time, you will tell the parts you left out last time.”

“I…”

Rebecca raised a finger without looking at Ray, focusing her stare on the tall man sitting at the other end of the table.

Ray smiled apologetically and waved Ga’an forward.

Chapter THIRTY-FOUR

MARA’TTHANE: PART III

Ray looked at Ijjok, his hands twitching every now and then.

“Whenever you are ready, Mr. Harris.” Admiral Conway watched Ray with hawk eyes.

Ray felt the sweat running down his temples. “Here goes nothing.”
Please work and help us keep our heads on our shoulders.

His fears were in vain. The stone reacted to his touch like an obedient servant. First, the stone flickered and then became brighter and brighter like a fireplace fed with coal. A moment later, the stone was like glass. Inside it, the stars whirled.

Admiral Conway’s stare was still judgmental, but she also looked intrigued. “So, what does this stone do?”

“Truth be told, I’m fairly new to this myself. Reverend Marcus’s the expert in these stones.”

Reverend Marcus saluted Admiral Conway, earning a raised brow from Ray. “What? Showing respect to elders is important. She is the eldest of this ship from what I can tell of her age,” Reverend Marcus raised his chin in defiance.

Behind him, Ray heard Brother Cavil murmuring something about how doomed were they and how badly he needed a kumat. “Anyway,” Ray faked an apologetic smile, “Reverend, to the matter at hand…”

“What?” Reverend Marcus looked around in confusion but his face brightened when he noticed Ijjok sitting
right before
him with some serious lightshow going on
inside
the stone. “The Arinar, yes! This one is Ijjok, it is a map and we can use it to find the other Arinar.”

“So, these stones are important beyond anything.” Admiral Conway leaned back in her chair. “Tell me again.”

It was Ga’an who spoke. “I fought the war with Baeal for forty cycles.”

“Something like forty years,” Brother Cavil intervened.

“
Years
. We had the stones but no one in the empire could activate them and when the enemy gates were active, we could not hold them back. We fought hard, we bled and we died. They were simply more powerful.”

“So, these stones are weapons?”

Reverend Marcus replied, “Not exactly. They are like tools with certain capabilities. But they need a special touch to channel their energy. This gentlemen here, has that special touch. The Nucteel, Ga’an’s people, did not have a Lohil.”

“Mr. Ga’an, you are telling me your people lost their war with Baeal.”

“Yes,” Ga’an nodded.

“Then why did the ruins we found talk of them as folklore and focus on your species instead?”

Ga’an looked confused.

“The ruins are from your species and not from Baeal. If Baeal was successful in destroying your empire, how come there are no signs of them left behind to this date?”

Ga’an shook his head. “I cannot answer this, Admiral Conway. In my final moments, before I found myself on this moon called Tarra, I watched my fleet eradicated.”

“Maybe those ruins are of structures from an earlier era,” Ray suggested.

“Maybe. Anyway,” Admiral Conway stood up and walked around the table toward Ray and Ijjok. “Find the next stone.”

Ray nodded and closed his eyes. He repeated Mara’tthane’s name several times and felt a feeling of joy passing through Ijjok. “Here,” he opened his eyes. The vision inside the glass swirled and zoomed into Pendar.

“It’s here, all right,” Sarah said, looking over Ray’s shoulder. “And that’s us.” The view passed over the Consortium fleet, toward the planet’s northern hemisphere.

“That explains the buzzing activity.” Admiral Conway licked her lips. “The enemy fleet is ignoring us and the evacuation shuttles. They arrived a few hours earlier than you and formed over that mountain region.”

“They’re looking for the stone as well.”

“There should be a temple in that region similar to the one on Bunari,” Reverend Marcus said. “If I am allowed to use your database, I can find some more information about the place.”

“I am sorry about Bunari, Reverend. We heard about the incident.” Admiral Conway nodded in sincerity. “Airman, escort the reverend to an information terminal he can study.”

“Humph.” Reverend Marcus said, leaving with the marine.

“What about the other stones?”

Ray thought of Serhmana and Ijjok zoomed out from Pendar, the view passing over star systems one by one. Then it slowed down and zoomed in to a bluish star.

“I know that constellation,” Admiral Conway said. “That is the Leo.”

“Leo?” Sarah asked.

“The constellation. I believe it’s Zosma. There’s Wyss there.”

“Planet Wyss… That’s all the way in Zosma? It would take us weeks to travel there with jump gates!” Ray argued. “By that time, the whole core systems could be overrun!”

Admiral Conway nodded. “I agree. We will have to divide our attention. But first, we have to acquire the stone from Pendar.”

Ray didn’t argue. Zosma was light years from where they were, while Pendar, with a hovering Baeal fleet, was right before them. He switched his focus to Yrrha. “That’s strange.”

“What?” Sarah asked.

“I can feel Ijjok touching Yrrha but it doesn’t show it. It’s as if I’m blocked from reaching it.”

“Well, we cannot do anything about that. First, we get this stone. While you are at it, we will try to find a solution for Serhmana,” Admiral Conway said, concluding their meeting.

***

“Lieutenant Jong, I want an escort team ready at docking bay three,” Admiral Conway commanded, making way for the bridge with such pace, Ray had a hard time keeping up. His legs were sore from sitting still for well over an hour, telling his side of the story with Ga’an, and the search for the other Arinar, in detail .

“Ma’am?” Commander Matthews raised his head from the tactical station, his face turning cynical the moment he spotted Ray.

“They will take Mr. Harris and his group to these coordinates.” The admiral zoomed in to coordinates near Pendar’s northern pole. “Mr. Jong, carry my orders.”

“But ma’am,” Matthews objected, “that’s right in the middle of the alien fleet!”

“Mr. Matthews,” Admiral Conway sounded threatening, and leaned close to the man’s ear, “I am not in the mood to be interposed by you at every turn. I asked you to be competent, not arrogant or insubordinate.” She gently grabbed the man’s collar, “Either be useful, or be removed from my bridge.”

Rebecca let go and yelled more orders to several other stations. She didn’t notice it, but Ray saw revenge in Matthews’ eyes, staring at the admiral’s back a good long time before returning to his station.

“I thought the relationship would be somewhat smoother between two commanding officers.”

Admiral Conway bent her head slightly. The message was obvious:
Our newfound relationship doesn’t extend that far.

“Not my place, I’m sorry.”

“No, it is not.” Her iron stare went on for another moment before she closed her eyes and gave a sigh, “But, you are right, Mr. Harris,” she looked behind her commander. “Mr. Matthews was never suitable for the job but circumstances are hardly suitable for anything concrete at the moment. Still…” Admiral Conway narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue.

Ray nodded in understanding but there was something else in her stare. She hadn’t told the whole story and with the way Admiral Conway looked, she had her own suspicions about the commander for reasons beyond Ray’s knowledge.

“Mr. Harris, I have seen the strangest of things in these last few days that I have seen in my life time. Your show with those stones was…interesting.” Admiral Conway paused a moment to check a data pad an ensign brought. “I am not totally sold to the idea of stones and ancient magic, rituals and prophecies or time-travelling aliens.” She stopped and looked Ray in the eye. “However, strange times need an unusual perspective to have a grasp of things.”

“Admiral, even
I am
not sold to the idea. But here we are, and there they are.” Ray pointed at the red dots hovering over the planet on the holographic map.

Admiral Conway nodded. “Your priest friends told me more than a few times we need to get all the stones to make them work.”

“Yes, so it seems.”

“A team of marines will accompany you to the surface,” the battle-hardened woman said, ascertaining everything was in order on the bridge from the corner of her eye. “We will use your ship to infiltrate. Anything military would attract their attention,” she waved to a nearby airman to escort Ray to the hangar bay. “You should be able to slip through their grid while their focus is on the region around the northern pole, doing whatever they are doing. The civilian fleet’s evacuation creates some chaos in the air. It will be your disguise.”

“We also have a radar cloak installed to the
Fox
. It’ll help us. I mean, hopefully. Thank you, ma’am,” Ray nodded.

“The reverend and the priest will stay here and work on these other stones you have spoken of. If they are what you suggest, I will not let the chance of having a weapon in my hands slip because of prejudice. We will also try and locate the other stones this Arinar has shown to you. Perhaps we can make things work in our favor.”

“Wyss’s too far to reach in time.”

“True. I will think of something,” Admiral Conway waved his hand, sending him away.

Ray saluted the admiral one more time and left the room with the guards escorting him, making their way to the hangar bay. Some of the passages had been sealed off by the damage containment crew working to fix the breaches. When he reached the
Fox
, parked near an armored transport shuttle, he saw Sarah and the others were ready to disembark. The technicians were cutting off the fuel lines and hydraulic pumps. Six men armed to the teeth were also near the ship’s ramp, chatting quietly to one another.

“Mr. Harris.” A soldier with a large build and a huge scar on the right side of his face approached. “I’m Colonel Pats. This’s the Bravo team. Me and my men will take you to the target zone.”

“Thank you, Colonel,” Ray took the man’s hand, shaking it wholeheartedly. He was trying to stay strong for his crew but in truth, Ray was frightened to the bone. These armed men gave him slight comfort.
Slight.
“I’m glad Admiral Conway listened to our plea.”

“Well Mr. Harris, I don’t know the reasoning behind her decision, it’s well beyond my pay grade, but one thing I
know
; they don’t make you a fleet admiral if you don’t have the brains.” He looked over his shoulder. “Captain Samir!

“Yes boss!” another man came, looking in his early forties.

“This is Mr. Harris and we’re ordered to protect his team at all costs.”

“Like we always do, boss.” Samir reached for Ray’s hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you Mr. Harris.”

“Yes, like we always do,” Colonel Pats nodded. “So, what are we looking for exactly?”

Ray smiled. “What we are looking is a stone statuette, round with carvings on it,” he gestured the size with his hands. “It’s an artifact of utmost importance and we must find it before the enemy does.”

“Understood. Mr. Harris, you’ll follow our directions to the letter when we’re on the ground,” Colonel Pats warned him. “No heroics. We go in, we retrieve the package, we go out. Are we clear?”

“You have the lead, Colonel.”

“Anything we need to know about the enemy?”

“Well, I already told you all we know.” Ray knit his brows. “The guns we had didn’t do much against them and the Baeal we faced had this pet, the size of a huge tiger. It appeared out of nowhere.”

“Yes, we switched to thermal clips. These are high velocity projectile rounds with super heat charges. It’s like an overheated oven drilling inside your body. Nasty.”

“I hope they’ll work.”

“You and me both, Mr. Harris.” The veteran soldier gave a curt nod and waved his men to board the ship. Ray boarded the
Fox
last and made his way to the cockpit. Ga’an was already seated and Sarah was hailing the control tower for departure.

“All right, let’s find us some stones.”

“We are looking for only one stone, Raymond Harris,” Ga’an said, his inability to understand the joke making Sarah chuckle.

Ray smiled, “Whatever you say, big friend.”

After clearance from flight control, the
Fox
took off with a subtle shake. Ray turned the ship around slowly and moved her toward the hangar doors, following the instruction signals. The
Fox
passed through several fighters and bombers before the ship reached the bay area and they felt a joggle as they passed through the barrier field and positioned itself over the access doors.

The loud sound of alarms warned the personnel inside the hangar to get ready for bay doors opening, clearing the area around the huge doors. The force field would keep them from being sucked into space but it would be unfortunate to have personnel crushed under the smuggler gunship.

“We’re clear,” Sarah announced, checking the proximity sensors. “No escorts?” Looking at the Baeal fleet, Sarah wasn’t able to hide her concern. “How are we supposed to slip through
that
?”

“It would attract attention.” Ray wished his explanation was more comforting. “The airspace is buzzing with evacuating ships and Baeal are simply ignoring them. We’ll blend into the traffic and keep our heads down.”

Sarah pursed her lips. “Great plan.”

“Well, the gods of cosmic creation seem to like stupid plans. We’ve avoided certain death more than a few times so far.”

“Survival of the stupidest.”

“It happens.” Ray chuckled. “All right, let’s hit it,” Ray pushed the throttle and a few minutes later, they were clear of the fleet traffic, leaving dozens of escorts and drones flying around the huge battleships, heading toward Pendar and the gigantic alien fleet orbiting it.

No one spoke for the rest of the journey, the planet filling their view slowly. All eyes were on the huge Baeal ship and the black dots hovering around it like a flock of crows.

***

“Oh my…” Sarah finally broke the silence, making Ray jump. “I know I ask this a tad too often but, how are we supposed to get through
that?
”

They were closing in on the temple Reverend Marcus had found in his notes. The presence of huge Baeal landing ships left no room for doubt; the Mara’tthane was here.