The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1) (11 page)
James sat staring ahead at the monitor for a moment.
‘Is there anything wrong?’ Kalrea asked concerned. ‘Are you still disappointed with me?’
‘No. No,’ James repeated. ‘I was thinking back to Normia.’
‘You did fine—’
‘Thank you, but that’s not what’s on my mind. When we were travelling through Normia, something strange happened. Normia seemed to disappear. Did you read anything on the scanners?’
‘I was out of action for some time. Tell me what you saw?’ Kalrea asked inquisitively.
‘I’m not sure what I saw. Normia disappeared for a moment. There was an erm… an orangey space. No, more of an orange mist, moving around the ship. It was probably me seeing things. After all, I was trying very hard to control the ship at the time.’
‘Amazing! Not many people have seen what you described. You see, Ka Glia Plyane made an astounding discovery whilst testing at Normia. To be able to refract vast amounts of energy, the Plyane hull exhibits signs of resonance at a molecular level, causing the hull’s properties to phase out in and out of this space. Some of the Plyane test ships resonated so much that they actually disappeared.’
‘What happened to them?’ James asked in fascination.
‘To this day, no one really knows what happened. Ka Glia Plyane did try to find out. He had two missiles constructed with Plyane hulls and a single event horizon drive. Both had several scanners onboard to transmit data back and tracking equipment to guide them home. They disappeared within Normia the instant the resonance of the hull reached what the scientists called “critical phase”. At that point the missile’s temperature was so high that they were no longer in harmony with the universe and entered an inner-space. The scientists kept recording data transmitted from the missiles, but the communication was interrupted three microseconds after their disappearance. No debris was found at Normia, and the data transmitted back was not enough to explain what happened. Pictures showed an orange and yellow swirling space.’
‘That must be what I saw!’
‘When we travelled through Normia we must have got closer to the core than I planned. The hull would have heated to such a degree that the
Aurora
almost left this space. However, that’s not the end of the story; two sykals later one of the missiles started to send a transmission again.’
‘So it survived?’
‘Not exactly. Parts were found but on the other side of the galaxy. Somehow, it travelled there through inner space. There was also something unusual in the telemetry data recovered. The internal chronometer was only twenty-three minutes on from when it entered at Normia.
‘But you said it was found two sykals later…?’
‘Ka Glia Plyane believed that they had entered another dimension and hypothesised that it had travelled forward in time, by means of a kind of hyperspace. Some scientists believed that there was a more sinister explanation: something evil. They began to speak about this hyperspace as if it was hell and should never be visited again. Some others instead believed the inner space was the creation of a superior being.’
‘God…?’
‘There was no evidence to support any of these radical theories. There was only one thing about the telemetry data on which all the scientists were in agreement.’
‘What was that?’
‘All variables measuring light and energy in the inner space were following very regular patterns. This convinced the scientists that the inner space had been artificially created. A group of them, including Ka Glia Plyane, began to call it the
Paradoxica
.’
‘Kalrea, you said Ka Glia Plyane believed that missile travelled forward in time. We just happen to have a diary that’s travelled backwards in time.’
‘Yes, strange coincidence that.’
‘Could there be a link?’
‘There’s nothing to support that at present. Maybe the diary will tell us once I have some data from it.’
‘Well, the sooner you break the encryption the better,’ James said.
*****
James still felt uneasy with Kalrea and realised he needed to get to know her better, so he spent as much time as he could talking with her while the
Aurora
sped towards the Ulio system.
James, wake up!
Kalrea said loudly, in his head.
Wa… What… What’s happening?
James thought drowsily.
He felt disorientated for a moment and wanted to open his eyes, but was unable. He suddenly remembered he had been asleep inside the seatra.
It’s gone
, Kalrea said.
James looked quickly around outside the ship with his mind.
Kalrea, you’re not making sense. What’s gone?
James thought.
There was a very faint signal being transmitted from the Pulsora.
Are you sure? Sorry, don’t answer that! Of course you’re sure.
I’ve located it again.
Kalrea, slow down or we’ll be light years away from it in minutes. Where’s it coming from?
The
Aurora
slowed.
The source of the signal is now only 0.3 light years from our current position, somewhere in the Tylom system.
Show me.
Kalrea projected a star chart into his mind.
Do you want me to change course?
Kalrea sounded eager.
How far are we from Qintaino?
3.7 hours.
Well, I suppose we can take a slight detour. Another few hours won’t make much difference. All right then! Head for the Tylom system!
The
Aurora
banked to the right.
Scanning the area for any ships,
Kalrea said.
The
Aurora
vibrated when the drives reversed, decelerating the ship rapidly.
The scanners are clear. No ships detected,
Kalrea reported.
Any sign of the Pulsora?
The signal is getting stronger, but the scanners haven’t located it. I’m triangulating its position.
The
Aurora
was now at the heart of the Tylom system and quite close to the signal source.
James, I’ve found it,
Kalrea sounded excited.
The Pulsora is 4.6 million kilometres away, directly ahead.
The
Aurora
coasted towards the rim of the system.
There’s a large structure ahead, which is orbiting an uninhabited planet called Uolcol,
Kalrea said.
The signal seems to be coming from there.
In his mind, James looked out ahead of the ship, which was rapidly approaching the small grey planet.
Wow, look at that!
James thought, as he watched a colossal space station emerge from the planet’s shadow. The light from the nearby star glinted off its metallic surfaces.
It’s enormous! Have you scanned it?
I’m not registering any life signs. It appears to be deserted,
Kalrea replied.
The Pulsora’s signal is emanating from 1425 metres within the structure, but there’s still nothing on the scanners.
Are you sure it’s in there, then?
The Pulsora’s internal emitters must have been configured to match the structure of the station. It’s definitely in there,
Kalrea said.
Have you contacted Sarhao?
There’s been no response. I’ll keep trying.
James’ mouth was open, as he looked at the ghostly structure, which dwarfed the
Aurora.
The scanners showed that the space station was just under ten kilometres high and wide and at least twenty-two in length. Its silver hull had few windows, but there were many large rectangular doors at least four times the size of the
Aurora
both open and closed. Through some of these doors the vast desolate interior could be glimpsed.
James was lost for words. He looked out as the
Aurora
slowed and flew parallel to the space station, passing between many large docking towers which extended out from the jagged side.
That’s... well, I was going to say incredible, Kalrea, but it’s... it’s unimaginable. I never thought you could build something so large in space!
James was overawed.
What is this place, Kalrea?
It’s a planetary trading station. It was built by the Uolcolians, who were the former inhabitants of the planet it’s orbiting around.
Were they attacked by the Treitans?
No, they abandoned Uolcol when its atmosphere collapsed. They left this galaxy in search of a new home over 700 years ago.
The name, ‘planetary trading station’, sounds like it was used for the trading of goods,
James commented.
Yes, it was a bit like a large shopping centre or market back on Earth and a place where any race could come to sell their planet’s produce. Over three hundred races used it at its peak, but it fell into decline after the Uolcolians left.
But it’s bigger than a city,
James thought.
The captains advertised their cargo on large holographic displays above their ships. The whole station had categorised areas; if not, you’d have never found what you wanted.
That I can believe. It would have taken me years to look around it.
Kalrea continued,
There were many sections, covering food, raw materials, specialised technologies, atmospheric transports, space ships
—
Space ships!
James repeated
. You could buy space ships.
Oh, yes. You could buy anything from a small shuttle up to a two kilometre long Hopt liner.
The
Aurora
reached what James considered to be the front of the space station. Turning the corner of the station, he looked on in amazement. Just ahead was the large entrance to the internal docking bays. It could have taken a ship twenty times their size.
The
Aurora
gracefully turned ninety degrees and slowly advanced into the dark gaping mouth of the space station. Once it entered, the
Aurora
illuminated the interior of the station with a subtle orange glow produced from its front and rear plasma tubes. James noticed there were deep marks on the floor of the entrance to the space station left by a ship that had miscalculated its entry.
He looked out the port side of the ship into three large control rooms. Through the rectangular spaces where there would have been windows, James could see that all the equipment had been removed. There was only the bare shell left.
Moving further into the station, the
Aurora
entered the large docking area. The walls were dominated by mechanical docking clamps with large symbols alongside.
Kalrea brought James’ attention to the floor of the docking area.
Large tracks gouged in the floor led to the rear of the
Pulsora
, which was partially imbedded in the wall. It was more damaged than in the recording Kalrea had shown him.
As the
Aurora
approached, James could see that part of the
Pulsora
had been repaired. The colour of the hull around the port event horizon drives was silver instead of black. Alongside were strewn a number of micnorit nuronic construction drones, floating and eerily motionless.
James looked at the drones.
What happened to them?
Their power cells have been exhausted
, Kalrea replied, her voice showing signs of emotion.
Check the interior?
James thought.
The port event horizon drives are damaged, but intact. The port engineering section has sustained severe damage—,
Kalrea said.
You’re not kidding. There’s nothing left of it!
The front reactor is still operational,
Kalrea continued.
But there’s only 0.15 percent capacity remaining.
So the drones couldn’t replenish their power cells,
James thought.
The bridge is intact,
Kalrea said.
The closed seatra is being powered by its internal emergency source. I’m unable to penetrate its casing.
Could there be anyone—
Kalrea interrupted:
I’ve just located two bodies inside the starboard drive room,
she said sadly.
There’s evidence of a massive plasma discharge. The event horizon drives have imploded.
Oh,
James thought despondently.
Could there be anyone else?
I’m not reading any other life signs,
Kalrea replied.
Can we land?
I’ll put Aurora down to the right of the Pulsora.
James watched the
Aurora
descend to the floor. It hovered, while three landing legs lowered from its belly to the metal surface; then the drives powered down and the landing was completed.
Have you contacted Sarhao, yet?
James thought.
I’ve accessed some of the Pulsora’s systems,
Kalrea said.
Sarhao is still not responding.
She paused a moment.
James, I think there’s someone in the seatra.
But you’re not certain?
The interface with the Pulsora’s seatra is registering one life form in suspended animation, but it’s very faint.
Kalrea, I’m going over.
As he climbed from the seatra, a panel in the wall of the control room slid open. Inside were four yellow spacesuits.
‘Is one of these supposed to fit me?’ James said, looking at the baggy suits. ‘They’re going to swamp me.’
Kalrea replied over the ship’s address system,
‘Put one on. You’ll be surprised.’
James pulled one from the rack. He put it on placing his head through a metal ring and looked for a zip or something to seal the suit.
‘What do I do now?’ James asked, and then thought,
these are useless.
‘Press the blue symbol on the right arm,’ Kalrea instructed.
James looked down at his arm.
Okay, then. Where is it,
he thought, trying to locate it. Just visible in between the folds of the rippled spacesuit he could see a blue symbol. He pressed it firmly.
Oh no, now what,
he thought, feeling a sensation of insects crawling all over his skin as the suit moved. The spacesuit sealed itself and shrunk tightly to fit James’ body.
‘I’m impressed,’ James said, admiring it.
He noticed there were small thrusters on his arms and legs. Feeling one of the thrusters, he said,
‘How do I control these?’
‘They’re intelligent,’ Kalrea replied. ‘When you try and move in the direction you want to go, they’ll power you.’
It sounds easier than I bet it is,
he thought.
James picked up a helmet and placed it over his head. The ring snapped onto the suit and air automatically started to enter it. He unexpectedly felt cold air enter his lungs, which made him want to take deep breaths. He started to breath quickly.
‘James, breathe easily. Like normal. There’s no need to take deep breaths. It will just make you feel faint,’ Kalrea said.
James felt light-headed, so he grabbed the edge of the seatra.
Breathe normally.
Slowly he composed himself.
‘I’m all right, Kalrea,’ he said, with the helmet muffling his voice.
He looked around the room to get accustomed to the helmet, before heading over to the pojin lift.
There’s no atmosphere onboard the Pulsora,
Kalrea informed James upon entering the lift.
I’ll guide you to the bridge. You should be able to pressurise the room from the main console.
James exited the lift and set foot onto the metal floor of the station. Even with the spacesuit on, he could feel the coldness of space through the material. He shivered.
It feels like winter out here.
It would be a lot colder without the spacesuit!
Kalrea replied.
James looked at the thrusters again.
Well here goes. Time to try and fly
, he thought and then tried to glide towards the
Pulsora
. The thrusters moved him quicker than he would have liked. He hit the hull of the
Pulsora
with a jolt, winding himself.
‘Damn,’ he said aloud, between the first deep drawn out breath.
Don’t you dare laugh, Kalrea! You should try these damn things.
James waited a minute to recover before clambering very clumsily over the hull of the
Pulsora
up towards a large slit in the hull, which had been made by a Treitan laser strike.
He looked down through the slit into darkness. He was about to ask how he would be able to see, when lights on each side of his helmet suddenly illuminated the interior below. He could just make out the outline of some objects. His heart pounded even though he knew there was nothing to fear. He slowly floated to the floor of the starboard engineering section and looked around. There was a large space in the centre of the room where the reactor would have been, and all around were severed ducts and cables that were once attached to equipment and machinery. A laser had hit a large cylindrical column, which was split in two. Debris lay strewn across the floor. The right hand blast wall of the engineering section was torn and distorted, where an explosion in the starboard drive room had intruded.
