The Archer's Paradox - The Travis Fletcher Chronicles (26 page)

“The fact still remains…”

“Don’t bullshit me!” Travis spat back. “I’m not in the mood. She’s a mess and she’s lost everything, her career, her friends, her life’s been destroyed and for what?” he finished, spreading his hands plaintively. “For honour?” he spat the word out with distaste. “If that’s what your Code of Honour teaches you then I want no part of it.” he finished with a chop of his hand indicating his wish to be away from the Xi Scorpii as soon as possible.

“And what will you do with the knowledge I give you?” Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e asked.

“I don’t know until you tell
me
.” he replied. “But if I think she should know, I will go and tell her.”

Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e smiled. “Well enough.” she acknowledged with a nod. “Then know this, Travis Fletcher. Wingu Kanzu not only sabotaged the weapon, he also altered Xnuk Ek’’s mind without her knowledge to ensure her conflict with you.”

“What the fuck!” Travis’ legs suddenly felt weak and they gave way under him as he sat down heavily. For a race that prided itself on their Code of Honour, they could be more devious and dangerous than anyone from Earth. “So her teacher, her boss, her mentor,
the
person she most respected in the whole universe…” he left the sentence unfinished with a look of disbelief on his face. “Why?”

Niji No Tori ran over and squatted next to her friend with a look of consternation on her face. She felt as if she was on a precipice and the ground was crumbling beneath her feet as everything she had been brought up to believe crumbled before her eyes.

“She suspected something was wrong and was going to confront Wingu Kanzu, so he made sure she could not spoil his plans for you.”

“How do you know?” Travis asked.

“I saw Wingu Kanzu’s signature on Xnuk Ek’’s mind where he had altered her thoughts.”

“And you never thought to tell her and put her right?” Travis accused.

“The Council thought it prudent not to draw attention to Xnuk Ek’ until…”

“What? Until the traitors had been exposed and executed?” Travis snapped sarcastically. “That was weeks ago. I know she and I didn’t get on too well, but if you saw her now…she’s just a shell, its pitiful.” he stood up and looked Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e straight in the eye. “Well I think we can put that right, don’t you? Finish what you have to and we’ll talk later.” With that, he took Niji No Tori by the hand and flew off to end the argument and show her some of his memories of Earth while Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e completed her final repairs.

The dark centre of the city now pulsed with power, more than Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e had seen for a long time, and at the centre a black jewel fed all the other higher functions such as telepathy, telekinesis, matter manipulation, heightened perception and so on. It was this jewel, or rather the area of his brain the jewel represented that now secreted the chemicals that would save the Xi Scorpii people. Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e felt a deep satisfaction; her work was done. He already had a limited range of skills, but they would start maturing at a rapid rate now. He would need careful tutoring or he would quickly become a danger to himself and to others.

They left the Mindscape and returned to the real world.

“I don’t feel any different.” he said, a little petulantly, when Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e explained.

“You will.” she promised, with a smile.

“Will you teach me?” he said, turning to Niji No Tori, who looked at Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e with a mixture of embarrassment and panic on her face.

“No! I cannot!” she stammered. “I am only
Paal Kanik
.” she insisted, her eyes pleading with her
Nuuktak
for support.

“But I
trust
you.” Travis insisted, laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I
like
you.” he added.

“We will discuss the best course of action,” Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e smiled, “but now I have to report your progress to The Council. They will want to know when you will be ready.”

“Shit, I’d forgotten about that.” he turned to Niji No Tori. “Will you stay with me? I feel the need for some company.”

Niji No Tori smiled and nodded. Satisfied, Sundaravāda Ci
ṭṭ
e left them to report to The Council. Maybe her work as
Ts’ats’aak
was complete, but she still felt she had the responsibility of making sure that Travis Fletcher was kept safe, not that she distrusted The Council, but the recent events with Wingu Kanzu had proved that other forces were at work here. And then there was her discussion with Travis Fletcher about the plight of Xnuk Ek’…

Fleet Commander Beadu Slecg surveyed the bridge of his flag ship. The Beorn was the newest and most advanced warship of the Níwlíc Éðel battle fleet and this would be its first action. And what an action it would be! It was a testament to his war record to be chosen as the Commander of the fleet that would snatch The Original from the clutches of the old enemy that was responsible for the destruction of their ancestral home-world so long ago.

If the reports from the undercover operatives secreted deep in the enemy camp were accurate then Travis Fletcher also had a direct ancestral line back to the old home-world, making him a Child of Éðel. Beadu Slecg considered it his duty to liberate this long lost ancestor from his captors. The loss of the infiltration team troubled him however. Their fate was unknown, but it was assumed that they had not survived discovery along with the turncoat they had enlisted, which is why a more overt action had been sanctioned. His orders were to secure The Original, Travis Fletcher, at all costs. He looked round the bridge. The panels gleamed, the crew was sharp and alert and everything smelled new. What this ship needed, he decided, was some battle scars. He had seen five campaigns himself, to secure Níwlíc Éðel’s borders from the other races and to annex worlds that could supply their requirements for raw materials, food and labour. Most of his bridge crew were veterans of those campaigns that he had handpicked himself and the rest came highly recommended.

The military governors of Níwlíc Éðel had determined that the remnants of the Last War were weak and corrupt cowards. According to the reports from the undercover teams, they had destroyed all their warships, disbanded their armed forces, and renounced violence. He snorted derisively to himself but did not wholly trust the word of soldiers that conducted their business behind masks, listening at doors and shooting their targets in the back from the shadows. But based on their reports, the governors had decided that the cowards would soil themselves and capitulate at the sight of his magnificent battle fleet. However, one report before they lost contact was that they had retrofitted one of their two capital ships as a warship. Only one against his one hundred plus? This was not a war; this was a massacre waiting to happen. But never underestimate your opponent; the voice of his drill instructor reminded him from the back of his mind; that is the first step to defeat. These ‘corrupt cowards’ however, still had hyperspace technology and with it the ability to find and return to The Originals’ home world. Whereas his fleet was powered by compression drives scavenged from the ancient warships of the Last War and maintained by engineers from the races they had conquered. These ‘corrupt cowards’ had also discovered and neutralised the, supposedly, elite undercover force that sent the reports. Fleet Commander Beadu Slecg gave another snort under his breath. One way to be sure of losing a war was to believe you were invincible and the enemy were cowards, but he had to keep those sort of ‘defeatist thoughts’ hidden away in the darkest corner of his mind.

The displays on his console indicated that they had successfully taken up positions behind the debris of Tocha without being detected. The ancient graveyard and ‘glorious victory of his ancestors’ would be their hiding place until the time was right. He could see coloured icons all around the centre of one display, showing over a hundred warships keeping station behind chunks of debris that had once made up the second planet of Xi Scorpii C. It had been a slow and careful insertion as they matched their velocity and trajectory to stay in the shadow of the debris and out of sight of Otoch’s eyes and ears.

As he watched, a blip over one hundred times larger than the largest ship in his fleet edged slowly onto his sensor display blotting out part of the fleet.

“Commander, the Eardgeard Cwellend has arrived.” A rating announced crisply.

Beadu Slecg thought he detected a note of awe in the young operator’s voice. “Thank you, Navigator.” Commander Beadu Slecg acknowledged. “I see it.” The one ship he hoped he would never have to commit to battle. He did not even want it in his fleet, but the Governors had ordered its deployment to terrorise the enemy into submission if necessary. Even its name made his skin crawl. A relic from The Last War of the Xi Scorpii, or The Fall as the Other Races called it. “Communications, bid their Commander welcome and direct them to take up position behind the rock we identified earlier.” He directed.

“Yes Sir!” The immediate reply was crisp and precise. Beadu Slecg could feel the young communications officer snapping to attention in his seat.

‘Rock’ was hardly a fit description; it was the size of a small planetoid which was more than enough to hide the lumbering bulk of the Eardgeard Cwellend and probably a quarter of the fleet besides. The largest, slowest, least manoeuvrable and oldest ship of his whole fleet edged with painfully slowness into position. Luckily its hiding place had a slow and predictable trajectory, unlike much of the debris, because this lumbering beast took an age to respond to its helm. All they had to do now was wait until the natural orbit of the debris brought them within striking distance of their target.

So.
He thought, looking at the huge blip overshadowing the rest of the fleet on his screen.
How does it feel to be hiding in the middle of your last atrocity?
“Communications, have the Commanders prepare for a strategy and readiness conference in two hours.”

“Yes Sir.”

Beadu Slecg stood and left the bridge in the hands of his Second.

In The Council Chamber on Otoch, K'an Aayin looked at the worried man before them. Vita Nyundo had been put in charge of preparing Otoch for war. There had not been a war since The Fall and the very mention of the word was repulsive to the four races, but since the appearance of The Children of Éðel, The Council had erred on the side of caution and prepared for what they prayed would never happen. Otoch’s two Interstellar Explorers were primarily science and exploration vessels, although they carried significant armaments, but only enough to defend themselves, not a whole planet. Otoch itself was also ill-equipped to defend against an attack, with most of their resources being used to keep the population alive under the dome and searching for a cure for their disease. Vita Nyundo’s task was to retrofit the ships, press them into service as warships and equip the City for a ground assault, all without panicking the population.

“We have completed the refit on one ship.” Vita Nyundo began. A tall, proud native of Xi Scorpii D, his smooth black skin glistened with sweat, his bright golden eyes were dulled by the stress and fatigue he was feeling and his high forehead was creased with anxiety. He was acutely aware of the dishonour of Wingu Kanzu and was making great pains to distance himself from the traitor. “The fighter squadrons have been installed as well as offensive weaponry, the defensive batteries have been upgraded and all non-essential equipment has been removed.” He paused for a long moment to gather his thoughts. “The problem is that we have not fought a war since The Fall. We have only a few warriors trained to fly the fighters, but we are training volunteers as fast as we can, using simulators we have built from archive records. We are also increasing the numbers of the City Guard but I fear that they will not be enough to repel a sustained ground assault. They are keepers of order, not warriors”

“What about the second ship?” K'an Aayin asked.

“It is still in orbit above Phaqsi.” The Interstellar Explorer had been relocated to Otoch’s moon as a precaution in case of a pre-emptive strike or sabotage attempt by The Children of Éðel. “The arms and fighters are installed but there is still work needed to commission the weapons.” He reported.

“What of
The
Children of Éðel?” K'an Aayin asked.

“They are secreted amongst the remains of Tocha. They have one hundred and eight warships, ranging from light cruisers to dreadnought class, but no close support fighters and their technology appears to have degenerated since The Fall. Our weaponry, shields and sensors far outclass anything they have. We have a ship gathering information about them from right under their noses and they do not even know they are there.” He finished with a proud flourish.

“Does the thought of another war excite you?” Njano Mamba asked.

Vita Nyundo hung his head submissively for a moment. “No, but we have to know the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses.” He explained. “They have strength in numbers, but we have the advantage of superior technology and if we can surprise them they may back away from a full scale assault and be more willing to negotiate without an all-out war.”

“Negotiate?” Ha
ḷ
adi Mosa
ḷ
e challenged.

“It is obvious they want The Original and that they are afflicted with the same mutation we are.” Kiiro No Wani reminded everyone of the recent meeting with their representatives.

“And they also have a World Killer with them.” Vita Nyundo interjected.

A stunned silence fell on the chamber as each member looked at each other in horror. K'an Aayin felt sick as his stomach knotted. He had not heard that phrase except in the archives of The Fall. The World Killers were ships that could tear a planet apart and were responsible for the destruction of Tocha and Éðel. The one that was sent to destroy Éðel was the first to be cannibalised to build the dome for The City after The Fall. To think that The
Children of Éðel were still in possession of one of these monstrosities was terrifying. Out loud he declared, “I will not be responsible for completing the genocide of the Xi Scorpii started by The Fall.”

“One ship against one hundred!” Njano Mamba exclaimed. “It does not matter how superior our technology is, we cannot hope to prevail.” He finished, adding weight to K'an Aayin’s statement.

“You forget the fighter squadrons.” Ha
ḷ
adi Mosa
ḷ
e reminded him. “If it is safety in numbers you seek, then we outnumber them.”

“Insects against a pack of predators!” Came the explosive response. “Plus they are hardened warriors, our crews are volunteers who have never flown in battle before.”

“Many insects can bring down a large animal,” Kiiro No Wani reasoned, “but your point is well made; we cannot win against such a foe, and to send our citizens against them without the hope of victory is madness. We should discuss and instigate a number of strategies.” He suggested.

Travis Fletcher paced his apartment, still furious and with no outlet for his frustration. He guessed that it had been nearly a month since the old doctor had finished her treatment and he had expected that now he was ready, that The Council would want to get their hands on the cure he carried as soon as possible. All he knew was that something big was happening and that he was effectively under house arrest until it was all over. Something to do with the kidnap attempt. There was a lot more activity in the City and he could see shuttles taking off and landing all times of the day and night beyond the dome. It seemed that whatever it was, it was getting serious. At least he had access to the City’s computers. His friend, Rainbow Bird the nurse, had finally been assigned, at his request, as his guide and teacher after much stamping of feet and tantrum throwing on his part. She had the patience of a saint, as he told her so frequently, plus they enjoyed each other’s company. She enjoyed his stories and descriptions of Earth and he was learning about the history of the Xi Scorpii. While he was alone he would trawl through the City’s archives, now he could use the computer terminal, and thanks to Niji No Tori he had found out why he was so important. He had pushed her so far and it had almost wrecked the only real friendship he had. The rest he had filled in himself.

Niji No Tori and Travis had been sipping a nice bottle of red the previous evening. Now that all the data that had been gathered from Earth had been assimilated into the City’s systems, Travis had been able to choose his own food, drink and even clothes. He had dressed himself in jeans, trainers and a white t-shirt and was beginning to feel more relaxed.

The Xi Scorpii, she had told him as they looked out over the moonlit city, had lived in peace for millennia. They collaborated on trade, science and exploration and had fleets of star ships that travelled all over the galaxy. There was no central government or treaties but, because the stars were so close together, they had to get along with each other. In addition to the inhabited home worlds, each star also had planets and moons they used for mining raw materials and energy. As they explored further and wider, they encountered races in every stage of evolution that shared similarities and even DNA with them. They also found hundreds of worlds where the dominant race had suddenly and inexplicably destroyed itself, usually by war. The eminent scientists and philosophers of all the Xi Scorpii worlds decided that every effort should be made to discover why most of the galaxy appeared to be human and why some races died prematurely.

What they discovered was astounding in its simplicity; the evolution of a human race always followed the same basic pattern and, running through the whole process, was religion.

“Religion!” Travis snorted derisively.

Niji No Tori nodded patiently. She was used to his outbursts. “Religion.” She affirmed with a nod. “Every civilisation the Xi Scorpii discovered, including their own…”