The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles (27 page)

‘
There is a risk,’ said the End Machine. ‘The exiles could
escape before I arrive at Moros Gamma. You will send a message to
your commanders and tell them to offer the Morosians a peace
treaty. Tell the Morosians that they will have peace if they
deliver the exiles to us. I have calculated that they will give you
the exiles. The exiles must not be harmed; I want to examine them
closely before I destroy them. In three days I will arrive at Moros
Gamma, and I will take the exiles from your fleet. They must not be
allowed to escape.’

‘
They will not escape,’ said Gartax, bowing low. ‘What if the
Morosians refuse to hand them over? What if they don’t trust us to
keep the treaty?’

‘
They are desperate people; they will cling to any glimmer of
hope you give them. I will completely obliterate their world if
they do not agree.’

‘
What about the treaty? We cannot suffer the existence of a
human world at the centre of our growing empire.’

The End
Machine laughed, and the menacing laughter echoed throughout the
dome. A deathly silence followed. Gartax lifted his eyes and gazed
up into the swirling shadows above. Terror filled his entire
being.

‘
Your kind was built to consume. You are parasites and nothing
but an aberration. You have more in common with a machine than a
living creature. I attempted to rebuild a human being from raw
elements. You are the failed consequence of my ambition, entirely
corrupted. Your hollow minds are focused solely on the acquisition
of power; nothing else will ever matter to you. You only work
together for mutual benefit. For these reasons you would not be
able to honour a peace treaty even if you wanted to. Once you have
imprisoned the exiles you can continue your siege or do whatever
you want with the Morosians.’

Gartax bowed
his head low. ‘We will do what you ask.’

**

Michael sat at
the desk in his chamber. The strain of the enormity of the task at
hand was beginning to show. He felt the shadow of the machine was
growing nearer. His priority was to get off the planet as soon as
possible.

He lifted his
wrist-com. ‘Sara, how are the repairs progressing?’

‘…
Well hello, Captain…’ she answered. ‘…They’re nearly complete,
or at least we don’t have a hull breach anymore. Gopher is quite a
mechanic; even Ethan is impressed with his skills…’

‘
Are we ready to fly out of here?’

‘…
We can leave if we need to. Ethan and Gopher are working on
repairing the outer armour, but, Captain, to be honest, I don’t
think we can pass the alien blockade…’

‘
We made it through once. I’m sure we can do it again,’ he
said.

‘…
Captain, we had the help of the Morosian fleet, and the Out
Drifter was nearly destroyed. We narrowly avoided a rapid
decompression. A few more seconds and it wouldn’t have mattered if
I sealed off the cargo bay…’

‘
Do you have a plan, Sara?’

She didn’t
reply for a long moment. Michael looked at his wrist-com, thinking
it may have automatically switched off.

‘…
I’m working on it, Captain. It’s going to be very dangerous.
I’ll do my best…’

‘
You’re the best pilot in the galaxy.’

In that moment
the doorbell sounded. Michael crossed his chamber and hit the door
switch. The door slid open and Ajax was standing outside. Michael
could instantly tell something was wrong.

‘
What happened?’

Ajax didn’t
answer and instead signalled for him to step out. Michael glanced
left and right down the tunnel; Ajax was alone. The door
automatically closed behind him.

‘
They have planted listening devices in our rooms,’ whispered
Ajax.

‘
Are you sure?’ asked Michael in a low voice.

‘
I’m completely sure. I have an advanced spy-scanner integrated
into my wrist-com. I don’t trust these Morosians.
Cap, we have to get off this planet.’

‘
I agree. Sara said the Out Drifter is nearly ready to fly.
Once we make the credit transfer we will leave without
delay.’

‘
Sooner the better,’ said Ajax. ‘What should we do about them
spying on us? It’s not right, Cap.’

‘
Don’t do anything. My guess is they’re only spying on us as a
precaution. Pretend you haven’t noticed. It’s best if they don’t
know that we know. We’ll be out of here soon, and I don’t want to
create any unnecessary commotion.’

**

Cynthia,
Acacius, Ajax, Ivan and Michael were taken into a large luxurious
dining chamber which was adorned with fine tapestries. Before them
was a long oak table covered with dozens of prepared dishes. Khar
directed the company to sit along the right hand side of the table.
Five commanders of the Morosian armed forces were seated opposite
them. Khar took the seat at the head of the table.

‘
The tapestries are impressive,’ said Michael.

‘
Indeed, they are,’ said Khar. ‘These tapestries were woven
four hundred years ago by our people to record the history of our
civilisation. The first tapestry shows the era of settlement and
terraforming our world. Our world was never considered a prime
world by the Epherian Empire, but to us it has always been
treasured, and we would not trade Moros Gamma for any prime world.
Actually, I would be prepared to say the harshness of our world is
the precise reason we are so strong in our disposition. It takes a
strong world to forge a strong people like us.’

‘
They are well made,’ said Ivan.

‘
Yes, they are. Such ancient crafts have been lost elsewhere in
the galaxy.’ Khar lifted his chin; the haughty expression never
entirely left his face. ‘You will be happy to know we have pooled
the one billion credits together on a single GCTD.’ He reached into
his jacket pocket and drew forth a GCTD. He looked at the device
for a moment and he drifted off into thought. ‘I remember the time
when credits were important. Our trade with other systems was
always at the forefront of our minds. The alien attack changed
everything. Credits are worthless to us now. After our last trading
partner fell to the aliens we decided to abolish the guild credit
system. You see, there is really no need for credits anymore. We
only need to survive the invasion.’ He placed the GCTD on the table
and slid it across to Michael. Michael read the indicator which
clearly stated one billion credits.

He took out
the GCTD that Tyr had given him and connected it to the other which
was unlocked. The credits instantly transferred from one device to
the other.

‘
Thank you,’ said Michael.

‘
As I said, credits have little meaning to us. Gathering the
funds was a simple process. My people were more than willing to
part with them.’

‘
We will be ready to leave in the morning,’ said
Michael.

‘
The sooner the better,’ said Ajax gladly.

‘
Very well,’ said Khar, averting his eyes. ‘However, there is
one problem. My commanders believe there is no chance of your ship
breaking the alien blockade. We simply do not have a fleet able to
help you pass as you did before. For these reasons we have decided
not to lower our defences.’

‘
What are you saying?’ growled Ajax.

‘
Powering down the EPHX cannons again would carry a significant
risk,’ continued Khar. ‘The aliens are waiting for us to drop our
guard. We believe you should remain here permanently because it is
impossible for you to leave.’

‘
We have no intention of staying here,’ said Michael
firmly.

‘
Lowering our defences was never agreed to in the terms of the
deal with the Tunnel Makers. We only agreed to transfer of funds,
nothing more,’ said Khar, staring blankly at Michael.

Michael leaned
back in his chair and crossed his arms. ‘Obviously it goes without
saying. We deliver the goods and you allow us to leave.’

‘
Not necessarily,’ replied Khar. ‘My first priority, as I
previously stated, is the survival of my people. I will not put my
people at risk to benefit a small group of smugglers.’

‘
You knew this was the case when we arrived,’ said Michael,
raising his voice.

‘
Perhaps, but it does not matter. We are two and a half million
people; your needs are insignificant in comparison. You are a
reasonable and intelligent man, Captain Michael. Surely you
understand that it is not wise to risk the lives of so many for the
benefit of so few.’

‘
But we only need you to shut down the cannons for a few
seconds,’ argued Michael.

‘
Seconds we cannot spare,’ replied Khar
indifferently.

‘
You lied to us,’ said Acacius. ‘We would not have made the
delivery if we knew of these terms before our arrival.’

Khar lowered
his eyes and shook his head. ‘You will be given a place among our
people, which is a great gift from our perspective.’

‘
This is space rot!’ yelled Ajax, kicking his chair back and
standing up abruptly. He slammed his fist into the oak table. ‘We
don’t want your gift! I’m not staying here. I don’t care if I have
to use a jetpack to get off this planet!’

‘
I don’t want to stay here either,’ said Cynthia.

‘
Don’t worry, Cynthia; we will be leaving,’ said Ajax with a
snarl directed at Khar.

Khar ignored
Ajax and Cynthia. He looked directly at Michael. ‘Your ship would
be incinerated in seconds if you tried to pass the EPHX cannons;
nonetheless, you are more than welcome to make an attempt.’

Michael stood
up and stared harshly down at Khar. ‘You are pushing me into a
corner, General Khar,’ he said sternly.

‘
I don’t have a choice,’ said Khar, his voice icy. ‘We will
give you time to think about our terms. I’m sure, if you are
reasonable, you will see we are right.’

‘
You always have a choice,’ said Acacius.

‘
I do not agree,’ said Khar.

‘
This feast is over,’ said Michael. ‘Everyone, gather any gear
you left in your rooms. Return to the Out Drifter as soon as
possible. We need to discuss our options.’

**

Michael and
Ivan were walking back to their rooms together as their rooms were
located in a separate tunnel from those allocated to where Cynthia,
Acacius and Ajax.

‘
My facial and emotion recognition programming detected some
inconsistencies with what General Khar was saying to us,’ said
Ivan.

‘
What do you mean?’

‘
I believe General Khar’s mind is divided. I recognised
patterns of a person who is choosing between two
options.’

‘
It seems like he has made up his mind to me,’ said
Michael.

‘
No, Captain, he is considering a second alternative. He may
want to dispose of us, or something of a similar
nature.’

‘
Why would he want to kill us?’

‘
I do not know; nevertheless, murder is only one possibility
among many.’

‘
All the more reason we get out of here as soon as possible,’
said Michael, quickening his step.

They turned to
enter the tunnel which led to their rooms. They were met by a group
of ten heavily armed Morosian soldiers. Michael instinctively
reached for his pistol.

‘
Freeze!’ commanded the leader of the squad.

Michael’s hand
was resting on the holster. The soldiers had their plasma rifles
ready to fire. He considered using his powers, but he knew that
would only show the End Machine their exact location.

‘
What’s this about?’ he asked. The soldiers didn’t
answer.

A moment later
a second squad of soldiers appeared in the tunnel behind them,
cutting off their exit. General Khar walked up from behind the
second group.

‘
This is about the survival of my people,’ answered Khar.
‘Don’t worry, Captain Michael; you will not be harmed.’

‘
What do my crew have to do with your survival?’ said Michael.
‘We delivered the goods you requested and you paid us. We have no
further business.’

‘
You are right. I am sorry for treating you and your crew this
way, but my people face desperate times, and we must take every
available advantage.’ Khar turned so he had his back to them. ‘Just
before I met with you in the dining room I agreed to a peace treaty
with the aliens.’

‘
The aliens are not interested in peace,’ said
Michael.

‘
You’re wrong, Captain Michael. They offered us a peace in
exchange for you and the crew of the Out Drifter. They want you
unharmed. We agreed to the terms.’

‘
No!’ said Michael as icy shivers spread through his body. ‘You
can’t do this to us.’

‘
Regretfully, we have no choice. I already agreed to the
treaty,’ said Khar as he started to walk away. Michael felt three
darts strike his chest. The potent synthetic tranquiliser quickly
seeped into his bloodstream. He struggled to hold himself up, but
he collapsed within seconds and everything went dark.

***

Michael woke
and looked up at the reinforced metal ceiling.

To be
continued…

Rise of the
Exile: Book Two of the Epherian Chronicles.

AVAILABLE
NOW