The Agathon Chapter 3
3
Time since Evacuation – Four Hours
“Chancellor, can you hear me?” came a familiar, yet distant voice. The haze began to clear as the senator looked outwards towards the twinkling light.
“The disorientation will pass. Try and open your eyes slowly. You are safe.”
She looked to her right, as the form of James Ryder came into focus. Her head felt groggy and her lips were dry. She cleared her throat, which felt tight.
“What the hell happened?” she said, holding her head.
“You are on board the Nexus,” came the reply.
She looked around and noted the unmistakable appearance of her personal shuttle. The comfortable surroundings and high clean lines were something she had taken a liking to when she had first sat in the luxurious ship. Two members of her security detail were seated on the other side of the shuttle. They nodded to her.
“How are you feeling, Chancellor?” came the deep baritone voice of her head of security, Greyson Kane, a formidable ex colonial Marine from the Congo region of New Africa. She was relieved to see him. The other member of her detail was Kevin Ruffalo. Although physically not as foreboding as Kane, his accuracy with a sidearm was legendary among the protection detail.
“Hello, Greyson. I am well, thank you. Would somebody please explain to me what is happening?”
Ryder sat back in his leather chair and glanced out at the stars.
“A few hours ago, I was given an order to execute executive order Alpha. Given that protocol there was no time to discuss actions until you were safely transported to the orbital platform. In order to do that you were rendered unconscious for your own safety.” He took a slow breath.
“Chancellor, it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that the planet Earth has been completely destroyed.”
She looked at Ryder.
“What?”
He continued, “As it turns out the shift in the signal carried with it a powerful Gamma ray emission which destabilized the core, causing it to detonate. I’m sorry, Sienna, but it’s gone. We barely survived ourselves. Our engines have sustained heavy damage and our life support systems are cutting out due to the ionizing radiation levels in the area. The outer shield is holding for the time being, but we still have a long way to go.”
This was a moment that she had never planned for and the magnitude started to overwhelm her. She turned to the window but was unable to contain the tear that rolled down her cheek. She covertly wiped it away and addressed her chief of staff.
“Survivors?”
“We lost most of the orbital platforms and orbiting vessels in the explosion. We set a course for Phobos the moment we got off world, so we caught the tail end of the detonation. There are several transport ships ahead of us. We don’t know how many or what shape they are in.”
“Who survived, Jim?” Sienna pressed.
“Your senior aides, the off-world colonies, obviously, and a few trade and supply vessels on various runs.” He paused again.
“We also lost contact with the moon. I am sorry.”
She felt a profound sadness take hold.
“My brother?” she asked.
“We have no communications with anyone at the moment. Radiation levels are too high, so honestly we don’t know. My guess is that the colony and structures were lost in the blast. We have no way of really knowing and are currently unable to do a visual due to the expanding debris field.”
The chancellor’s head began to spin.
“I need a glass of water, Jim.” Her chief of staff immediately jumped to order and poured her a tall glass from a jug that was sitting on a neighbouring platform. He handed it to her and she drank deeply. She steadied her shaking hand and looked at Ryder in the eye. He was clearly shaken.
“I suppose I owe you thanks for saving my life,” she said quietly, while watching the stars go by.
“Actually, I just took the order. The big man put it into effect.”
He nodded in the direction of Greyson Kane.
“Had him carry you to the shuttle once we’d knocked you out with anesthazine. Again, sorry about that but it’s procedure.” She looked at Greyson and gave the large African an earnest smile and a nod. He reciprocated and turned his attention back to the window.
“Young gave the order while you were on the phone?” she asked. Ryder gestured with his hands to indicate she had guessed correctly. She nodded. Thank you, Jerome.
“What do we know from the signal station on Phobos, before comms went blank?” she asked.
“Very little at this stage. We know that the signal amplification incorporated Gamma emissions and we evacuated on the orders of Jerome Young. We have not been able to raise anyone since the event and have set a course in the hope that the radiation levels will clear in the next thirty-two hours or so.”
The chancellor took a breath.
“Okay, Jim, let’s get everyone we have on board into the observation deck and have discussions about where we go from here. I need to get some input. Give me a half hour to get my thoughts together. These people need to know that someone is still making decisions. What is the headcount on board?”
Ryder paused.
“The head count?” he asked. “I honestly don’t know, Chancellor. We didn’t have time to take one. I will attend to that now and get back to you.”
Sienna was annoyed at that.
“Jim, if we are the only survivors of the planet Earth, it would be nice to know how many humans we were able to save on board. Don’t you think?”
“Of course, Chancellor, I will get right on it.” As he made his way to the oval door that reacted to his presence with gliding fluidity, she stopped him once more.
“Jim, did you get Laura out?”
He turned back and met her eyes.
“I am sorry, Chancellor, it was key personnel only and there simply wasn’t time.” He bowed his head and walked out of the room. The chancellor’s heart sank and her chest began to fill with rage. Her assistant and new mother-to-be had been such a vibrant spirit. Jerome Young, you son of a bitch.
Phobos
Time Since Evacuation – Four hours thirty minutes
“Emerson, get the reactor levelled off to ninety-two percent before we blow the whole place to high heaven!” shouted Tosh at the top of the metallic gangway.
The rising heat in the chamber was becoming unbearable for the large man, but he had remained to assist the young Irish engineer. Landon Emerson’s legs were visible from where Tosh was sitting on the bridge. The rest of his body was firmly hidden from view under the array of twisted metallic pipes and cables that made up the main base reactor.
“No shit, Tosh!” came the sharp Irish brogue.
“I am trying not to freeze myself solid with coolant right now, can ye gimme five fuckin’ minutes?”
Tosh responded with silence, but kept his eyes fixed on the rising pressure readouts from computers above the gangway. Tosh had given Emerson a wide berth, given his attitude and the situation they were currently in. The comms chirped.
“Tosh, it’s Young. Talk to me.”
“We’re at one hundred and three percent, Jerome. Landon is under the main coolant distribution nodes, trying to access the manual override. It’s getting pretty warm down here. Might be a good idea to start thinking about getting everyone off. If we can’t get a handle on this, we’re done here.”
Tosh didn’t fancy his chances of getting clear if the reactor went into meltdown. He didn’t like the idea of leaving his friend down here to die alone either.
“Tosh, I’m going to leave this channel open. I want updates every two minutes. Young out.” The comms chirped twice to indicate an open channel and Tosh acknowledged the head of Jycorp.
Beads of sweat were starting to roll down his ample cheeks. He had opened his tunic up and his sleeves were as far up his arms as they would allow. Tosh was still curious as to how they were all still alive. The feedback pulse from the Gamma burst that had destroyed the planet had shaken the small moon so violently that two of the equipment hangars had decompressed, killing thirty-four personnel. Through some miracle, the base reactor had remained relatively unharmed, other than a coolant lock that was now threatening a core meltdown.
“One zero four, Landon. I think it’s time to go.” Tosh was now beginning to get nervous. No response from Emerson down below.
“Landon!” he shouted.
“Come on, Paddy, it’s time to light some fires and get the hell outta Dodge.” Not that it will matter much, thought Tosh. At one hundred and six percent it was all over and, at this rate, the odds of even getting out of the chamber were slim. He looked at the gauge. One hundred and five.
“Emerson, let’s go! NOW!” He looked over the platform but couldn’t see Emerson any more.
“For fuck’s sake,” he shouted at himself. From beneath the curved and twisting metal a head appeared, which looked up to the platform and smiled.
“Got it!” Emerson shouted. Tosh looked up at the pressure reaction readouts. One hundred and one percent and falling. Ninety-nine, ninety-eight. He looked down at his large legs and sighed. Wiping a layer of sweat from his brow, he signalled to the young Irishman.
“Good lad. Good lad. Now get back up here, we have work to do before you give me a fucking heart attack.”
Emerson gave a mock salute.
“On my way.”
He slid out from under the machinery and stood up. His black overalls were covered in fluid and his hands were filthy. He made his way up the steps to the gangway, where Tosh was seated. With a shaved head and carefully unkempt stubble, Tosh often joked that he looked like Jack Tanner, a film star from back on Earth. He was a favourite among the female residents on the small moon and frequented the bedrooms of many of them on a regular basis. The playful rogue used his dry Irish humour, much to the delight and frustration of the opposite sex. He reached Tosh and put a hand on his shoulder
“Gotta say, Danny boy, I’m impressed that you stuck it out. I never thought of ending my days on this moon with you for company. No offence, but that’s not how I intend to check out.” Tosh gave him a grin and turned his chair back towards the main airlock, which had been sealed during the crisis. He keyed in some commands and the metallic circular door slid open, revealing a small group of onlookers all wearing the same overalls as Emerson.
“You all look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Tosh, as he slid past calmly.
“If you would all be so kind as to attend to the reactor, while we ascertain the level of damage to the base, that would be splendid.” He reached for the comms system on his chair and tapped.
“Jerome, this is Tosh. We got it under control here. Emerson and I are on our way back to signal control. Do you want to meet us there?”
There was a small pause.
“Well done, Daniel. See you in five. Young out.” The abrupt communiqué told Tosh that Young was probably elbow deep in problems up there. All hell had broken loose following the signal shift. There was a moment of total shock and awe, as the flash of broken rock had filled the observational screens. Comms from Earth had gone dead in an instant. The scientists and engineers in signal control had become statues. Like wide-eyed figurines waiting to be placed in position. Then the ground had begun to shake. Tosh had remembered looking at Young, who was looking at the screens. He had shaken his head in confusion and bewilderment when their eyes had met, and grabbed a nearby upright to stop his chair from flipping on its side. He had heard a female technician shouting over the noise.
“Reactor 2 is going critical! Coolant leak on 1.”
Tosh had screamed to Emerson who had fallen next to the processing tower at the back of the control room.
“Landon, let’s go!” Emerson had responded immediately and they had scrambled to the reactor.
Signal Control Room
Time Since Evacuation – four hours forty-six minutes
The pair reached signal control and were met with chaotic scenes. Broken screens suspended from cables hung haphazardly from the roof, some still spilling white sparks over the workers below. The red haze of the emergency lighting reflected off distraught and frightened faces. Tosh searched the floor for Young and spotted him out of the corner of his eye. He appeared to be working on one of the signal backup storage capacitors. There were five in total but only three were run on a full time schedule to conserve power from the base generators. The honeycombed clear glass structures had been analysing every nanosecond of the signal for the past forty-three years. Tosh and Emerson made their way through the sparks and joined Young by one of the honeycombs. He looked up and placed a hand on Tosh.
“Still ticking, old friend. Thank you.”
Tosh nodded his head.
“I hope to Christ we can still save the signal files. If we can’t we’re fucked. Pardon my French. I can’t raise Tyrell or anyone on the surface of Mars. At the moment, we’re on our own up here. Landon, I could really use your help with this. I have everyone working on damage control and communications.”
Emerson acknowledged the words and slipped between two of the glass-honeycombed structures. Young waited for Emerson to be hidden from view and pulled Tosh aside.
“What the fuck just happened? I want a frank answer, Daniel. The human race just went extinct! I find it hard to believe that after one hundred years the fuckers chose today to blow us out of the universe.”
Tosh looked at the head of Jycorp.
“I wish I knew, Jerome. I really do.”
A female shouted from over the fray, “Mr Young, we have comms back up to Mars Colony. I have John Barrington for you.”
“Say again?” Young said to the distorted face of Mars Colony 1.
The reply was fragmented but the resolution was beginning to clear.
“Mr. Young, simply put, we have to get everyone off the surface of Phobos and Mars and onto The Agathon.” Young stared. Barrington continued, “Tyrell has confirmed that the shockwave has accelerated a large debris field which will come into contact with the surface in roughly eight months. The shock will devastate the surface and possibly shift the orbit of the planet. Phobos’s orbit is too unstable to withstand the gravitational effects of this shift and, to be blunt, we currently have nowhere else to go.”
“John, the last time I checked The Agathon was missing half of its hull.”
The image of Barrington raised an eyebrow.
“Well, Mr. Young, I suggest we get a move on, because we have eight months before humans bid this universe a fond farewell.”
“John, can I speak to Tyrell?”
“One moment.” Barrington’s face vanished from view and was replaced by Tyrell’s.
“Doctor Tyrell, are you sure about this?” Young asked.
“Quite sure, Mr Young. To be honest, we don’t really have the time to debate this decision. Preparations need to begin immediately. I suggest you begin transitioning all personnel from both orbitals and the surface base to the colony down here. I will liaise with Doctor Tosh about salvaging all data from the Monolith—”
Young interrupted him, “Tyrell, where exactly do you suppose we go?” Tyrell looked at Barrington off screen.
“Tyrell?” Young pressed.
“Well it seems to me that the logical course of action would be to initiate the FTL technology on The Agathon and, should it prove successful, then…” He paused. Young waited.
“Then…” He paused.
“Then we set a course for the origin of the signal.” Young turned away from the screen and looked at Tosh, whose face had turned a pale colour over the last several minutes.
“Tyrone, did I just hear you right?” he said over Young’s shoulder.
“Yes, Tosh. That’s why we’re building the damn thing in the first place, no?”
“So let me get this straight,” Young added.
“You are suggesting we load what is left of the human race into an untested and unfinished ship, hit the faster than light drive, then pay a visit to the planet whose inhabitants have just destroyed ours?”
Tyrell again looked off screen to Barrington.
“In a nutshell yes. I am.”
Young answered after a moment of silence, “As I see it, we have one small problem with that plan.”
Tyrell knew what he was getting at and finished his thought.
“There isn’t enough room for everyone.”
Carrie Barrington’s residence
Main Habitat Ring
Time since Evacuation – two days thirteen minutes
21:32 Martian Standard Time
The sun had taken on a luminescent green hue as it set over the Martian horizon. Carrie stood by her curved window and watched as it sank into the red landscape. The mixture of the yellow, red and green light was beautiful. The peace of the evening had been a welcome friend, as the events of the last twenty four-hours navigated her mind. The gathering of the colonists in the main cargo hangar earlier in the day had taken its toll on her, as the devastation of two thousand people had flooded into the air. She could see their thoughts hovering over them, as if their minds had run out of space in which to store them. Thousands of dead faces had filled the air. The friends and families of loved ones left behind. Generations of those left on Earth. She had taken precautions before the meeting, by allowing her mind to lock itself safely inside her castle. The drawbridge pulled and all weapons firmly targeted at the entrance. At the moment of the announcement, she had opened fire and had successfully kept the wave of enemy feelings at bay. Only just. Some of the colonists had become distressed and had run out of the main hall. They had run, to no avail, to the closest communications terminal to try and contact anyone off world to confirm. Her father had let them go and urged calm while they had gathered more information about next steps.
What had followed was four hours of intense questioning from the settlers, most of whome were scientists or medical personnel. The anger of the military complement had proven to be more difficult for Carrie to deal with than she had anticipated. Their thoughts were a mix of focused, determined, and disciplined anger looking for revenge. Their surface was well guarded, but beneath was a sea of uncertainty. The castle was in danger.
As she looked on to the sunset she turned to the open Holo file she had running on the desk beside her bed. It was an old file her father had given to her, from when they were preparing for the journey to her new home. The live rendition was taken on the shores of the beach in Playa Norte in Mexico, with endless white sand and shallow water. Her mother’s smiling face as she looked on at the rolling waves was one of Carrie’s favourite images. She looked happy. She really had been a beautiful woman. Carrie lay on her bed and closed her eyes, while listening to the sea and laughter of her parents. She lowered the drawbridge and allowed the feelings of serenity to permeate throughout her mind. Her mother’s laughter filled the universe and Carrie could not hold back the warm smile that she formed involuntarily. As the drawbridge lowered, she saw her mother waiting for her. She saw her face as it found hers and the love that accompanied it wrapped around her like a thousand soft feathers.
The entrance chime to her quarters snapped her eyes open suddenly. It was unusual for her to be startled by the presence of another colonist, as she sensed them long before they normally approached.
“Come in,” she said.
The door, recognising the command, released the locking mechanism and slid open with a soft hiss. Chase Meridian was in the doorway.
“May I enter?” she said softly. Carrie smiled.
“Of course, Chase, no need to ask.”
She swung her legs up and sat against the headrest. Chase walked in slowly and stood at the foot of her bed. She caught the Holo image Carrie had been running.
“She was really hot stuff, wasn’t she?”
“She was,” Carrie replied.
“Still, I think you would have given her a run for her money.”
She sat at the end of the soft mattress and looked out at the failing light.
“I wanted to see how you were holding up,” she said, as she continued her gaze out onto the Martian landscape.
“We will have to leave here,” she answered quietly.
“Soon.”
“I am worried about my father. I do not think he is fully aware of what is expected of him from this time forward. He is afraid.”
Meridian laughed.
“Your father knows exactly what is expected of him, kiddo. Be careful not to confuse fear with acceptance of sadness. He has lost a great deal. Besides, he’s not alone. We’ve got Jerome Young himself preparing to land with all the crew from up there. Maybe he can buy us a new planet?” she said, pointing to the sky and smiling. Carrie feigned a smile and gazed. Meridian stood up from the bed.
“I want you to come with me. I want to show you something.” Carrie looked puzzled.
“Chase, the sun has gone down. Not much to see around here.”
“Trust me. Grab that scope I gave you for your birthday. It should do the trick nicely. I need to pick something up from my quarters first. Come on, now. While we still have a planet to go out from.” She raised her hand, took Carrie’s in hers and pulled her gently from the bed.
Martian Surface
22:13 Martian Standard
After a short RV journey, Carrie and Meridian stopped three kilometres up the southern face of Elysium Mons. The ancient volcano rose out of the soil and seemed to touch the stars when viewed from its base. The dim glow from the colonial lights could be seen in the distance. At the edge of the horizon, the Atmo processors worked tirelessly, although somewhat foolhardily given the circumstances, to fill the doomed world with breathable air for impossible future generations. Carrie loved being off base. The feel of the soil produced a strange sensation in her fingertips. There was something else when she ventured out. Another feeling. Something in her mind, something familiar calling her.
“What am I looking at, Chase?” Carrie asked, peering at the display screen of the infrared magniscope given to her by Meridian on her twenty-third birthday.
The relatively compact device sat on three legs and looked like a cube resting on one of its points.
“Hang on, let me get the coordinates.” Meridian tapped a few commands into her integrated wrist screen.
“Okay, sending to you now.” The scope bleeped and swivelled on its small turret.
“Locked,” said a computerised male voice. Jycorp had not bothered with humanistic vocals for this particular range of scope.
“There she is,” said Meridian. Carrie looked at the screen and the silver disk-shaped craft filled it in perfect detail.
“The Agathon?” she responded.
“The Agathon,” Meridian repeated, with pride in her voice.
The pair stared at the quietly rotating ship. The inner FTL ring was currently extended to a ninety-degree angle. They were obviously running a mechanical test of some sort. The aft section of the vessel showed exposed decks, as a series of surrounding construction platforms arced around the hull like a cradling spider, while sparks from plasma welders flashed brightly against the emptiness. They both looked on at the floating vessel silently. Carrie did not notice her attention shift at first, as she had thought her mind had been wandering while taking in the beautiful views. Her eyes came to rest at a point in the distance. She began to take notice when Meridian touched her shoulder.
“Hey there,” she said, waving her hand in front of her face.
“You still with us here?” Carrie stayed on the point in the distance, unable to take her eyes from it. She heard something. Something out there over the rim. She felt something. Something she needed to stay far away from. A sleeping evil. Meridian shook her shoulder.
“Carrie!” She snapped back to the moment with a sharp breath and looked the doctor in her eyes.
“I am sorry, Chase, my mind wandered.”
“Yeah, it does that a lot nowadays, doesn’t it?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“When are you going to start telling me what is going on in that Martian brain of yours?” she said. Carrie smiled and glanced back at the point in the distance, before turning back to Meridian.
“So this little trip was about The Agathon?” she said, changing the subject.
“No, little one,” she said, tapping commands into the control panel of the scope.
“This is why.” The scope shifted its axis and began to rotate to a different patch of the night’s sky.
“Locked,” it said dryly. Meridian looked at the display.
“See that?” she said to Carrie.
She approached the viewing screen and stared at the moving objects. “Debris?” she asked solemnly. The objects were too small to make out clearly with this class of scope, but were clearly moving at the same speed and seemed to be clumped together. In formation. She suddenly realised.
“Ships!” she said. She looked at Meridian.
“Ships,” she said smiling.
“Tyrell confirmed earlier this evening that multiple beacons have been detected. We knew that the transports would probably make it or at least have their courses automatically set when the pulse hit, but there are others. We got ourselves some survivors, kiddo, and they’re headed our way.”
“Any idea how many?” Carrie continued.
“Tyrell has clocked twelve at the moment, but there could be more and they’re moving fast.”
Carrie looked on at the little ships.
“Home,” said a dark voice within her.
She glanced back at the horizon, at the sudden interruption in her mind.
There was something old and evil out there and it knew she was here. A strange feeling began to run up her spine and her fingertips began to tingle as a light electric charge travelled through her body. She thought she must have left a circuit on her suit slightly exposed. Seconds later, it disappeared.
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