The Archer's Paradox - The Travis Fletcher Chronicles (31 page)

K'an Aayin’s complexion turned various shades of red and purple as fury, embarrassment and fear fought for the control of his face muscles as he tried to compose a retort. He had been caught completely off guard so Kiiro No Wani pressed home his advantage and launched into the story of how he had followed the Council Leader and eavesdropped on his meeting with the hidden infiltrator. K'an Aayin tried weakly to counter Kiiro No Wani’s onslaught by questioning the honour of spying on a fellow Council Member but he knew in his heart that he had lost.

“Do you deny the charges against you?” Ha
ḷ
adi Mosa
ḷ
e questioned him finally. “Do you deny that your actions lead to the deaths of other Xi Scorpii and that you went against this Council’s wishes to keep The Original safe?”

“What is the death of one primitive, compared to the destruction of our whole civilisation?” K'an Aayin retorted, his head held high.

“It was our contempt for others and the conviction of our own superiority that led to The Fall.” Njano Mamba countered quietly.

“The Children of Éðel are still Xi Scorpii and we need to bring them back to us.” Kiiro No Wani added. “Without them, we are incomplete.” he indicated the empty table for the Xi Scorpii E delegation. “But neither can we allow them to tear open the old wounds that would only serve to complete what our ancestors started.” he looked around the chamber to see all the other delegates nodding silently in agreement, including the other four Xi Scorpii C representatives.

K'an Aayin’s response was as immediate as it was unexpected. He leapt to his feet with energy balls cracking in both hands and aimed them at his accuser. It was not a serious attack, but as he knew he had lost all honour in the eyes of the Council, this was his only course of action. Before he had a chance to release them, he was struck by several balls from other members. His charred body collapsed backwards into his chair, as if he had just sat down heavily. Smoke curled from multiple wounds and black, dead eyes surveyed the room. The remaining Xi Scorpii C delegates recoiled in a mixture of shock, a survival reflex and to distance themselves from their dishonoured leader. As the Council looked on at the horror they had just wreaked, K'an Aayin’s final thought hung in the air between them like a portent of doom

Time will vindicate me.

Across the City, Áhýdende Snaca felt the traitor’s demise. He snorted derisively and turned to his communicator. He had taken the coward’s way out, so now, it was time to act.

On The Beorn, Beadu Slecg looked round the bridge at his crew who looked at him expectantly, muscles tensed to react to his orders to prepare for war but he held his nerve. No need to go wading in for maximum bloodshed, no matter how much the crew or the military governors back on Níwlíc Éðel wished it. He wanted to give his new secret weapon a chance to bring the fleet to battle readiness, but slowly, as a diversionary tactic. He was sure that other spies floated out in the void, undetected. Keep the enemy focused on the fleet and maybe he could get them to urinate in their pants when they realised what a full battle fleet looked like in full flight. He smiled to himself as he gave his orders.

On Interstellar Explorer One, Vita Nyundo received the information about K'an Aayin’s demise with sadness. About the same time he also had despatches coming in from the sentries secreted just outside Tocha’s debris field. He had already lost one ship and its crew, presumably destroyed, as they had heard nothing since the final message that they were surrounded by a dozen attack craft. He saw no reason to lose more when just as much data could be gathered at a safe distance - not that there was any such thing as a ‘safe distance’ in war. The fleet of Níwlíc Éðel was preparing to move. The sentries had picked up propulsion units being warmed up and armaments being tested; so many weapons, soon to be pointed at him. He felt sick as he looked at the volunteers around him, faces eager, but dread in their eyes, and the thousands more in the hangars and the newly finished weapon bays. Hardly a warrior among them, but all willing to stand against the storm for the sake of the Xi Scorpii. Four races that had once tried to annihilate each other, now standing together against a common enemy.

At his word, two thousand sleek darts sped off into the void from the ship’s hangars in four directions skirting - he hoped - the extreme range of the opposing fleet’s sensors. They would need time to get into position and until
they were ready he was alone; just one ship against more than one hundred. He was confident they had the advantage of superior technology, but would it be enough?

A tiny silver speck in the void streaked between the red-brown of Otoch and the pale grey moon that orbited it. On board, Travis Fletcher was lost in his own thoughts. Pansā No Ashi had left him to converse with the rest of the crew, about fifty in total, who were to take him home. Xnuk Ek’ was still deep in conversation with Lak’in. Although she had never mentioned him since she ‘lost it’ on the way here, Travis got the impression that she had done something to him about the same time, judging by the vibe he had got from her when they boarded. Whatever it was, it was taking a long time to work out and it looked like Lak’in was being sympathetic. Maybe he should not be so hard on her. She did, after all, help him to get away, and the conversation they had in the desert showed a side of her that he would never have guessed existed. Maybe she would like to stay a while, when they got back to Earth. He would like to show her around properly, rather than as a scientist studying an insect colony. He smirked to himself as he pictured her in Earth clothes, sitting in a restaurant or in the pub. Dark glasses would be a must! Those eyes stand out, just a little. And what beautiful eyes they were, and her smile and…an image popped unbidden into his mind. Xnuk Ek’ looked up from her huddle with Lak’in having caught the edge of his thoughts and looked down out of the cockpit at him, a playful smile on her lips. He blushed, cursing himself.

His thoughts returned to home; clouds, air you can breathe and sun you can stand in without being fried, beer, wine, good food, rain, drab buildings, drab existence, noise, pollution, small minded and self-serving dickheads trying to fleece you at every turn. He was starting to think like one of them! Did he really want to go home, if home it was. He had had a taste of what the wet dreams of sci-fi geeks were made of and he wanted to see more. Surely the whole universe was not out to kill him or cut him up, it just felt that way. He wanted to see other planets, ones that had not been torn apart by war. Maybe even…but it was too late, his destiny was not in his hands…again.

Xnuk Ek’ left the cockpit and joined Travis back in the main cabin with a look a satisfaction on her face. Whatever they had been discussing, she was pleased at the outcome. Although her thoughts gave nothing away, her eyes had regained some of their original fire and her whole body seemed to glow. Lak’in was working at the controls and an air of expectation charged the passengers who strained to look out of the windows they had created. Travis cast left and right, not knowing where to look or what to look for. Out of the port window Otoch’s moon slid gracefully by. Their velocity had slowed dramatically but Travis had not noticed the deceleration. Xnuk Ek’ tapped Travis on the shoulder and pointed out of the starboard side of the craft with a long delicate finger, allowing Travis to get his first glimpse of his ride home. It looked familiar but also different. Surely this could not be the same ship he arrived on. It looked almost identical in design but he did not remember the low domes that broke the perfect lines along the spine and belly of the craft. As they arced round the aft, he noticed that two of the huge nacelles were missing; leaving only the stubby pylons that connected them to the main body of the ship and spoiling its perfect lines and curves. It looked to Travis like a thoroughbred racehorse with two of its legs amputated, it was still beautiful, but less that it should be. He guessed that it was the two that originally housed the games centres, as he remembered that the hangar decks were either side of the main fuselage and it was the top and bottom ones that were missing.

As Lak’in lined the little craft up to the approaching maw on the port hangar, Travis idly wondered why the ship was in orbit round Otoch’s moon and not the planet itself. Maybe something to do with their stealthy exit, he reasoned with himself and put the thought to one side to watch Lak’in’s skilful manoeuvrings. The inside of the hangar looked different as well. It was uncharacteristically untidy and had an unfinished look about it; as if they had had the builders in and they had nipped out to the pub for lunch but never came back. Machinery and packing crates were strewn around randomly and Lak’in was steering a course around them. The platforms that lined the sides of the hangar looked smaller and more cramped. Each mezzanine now contained dozens of small crafts like the ones Travis had seen before they left, all lined up with their tails facing inwards. Travis quickly lost count but there must have been hundreds of them.

A sudden jolt that threatened to throw him out of his seat jerked him violently out of his reverie. The piercing shriek of metal on metal tearing each other apart gave Travis a sickly feeling of déjà vu as the front of the ship yawed crazily upwards. Inside, the little ship’s artificial gravity was having a battle with itself as it tried to reconcile the gravity of the hangar outside with the ever changing attitude of the shuttle. The seats automatically adjusted themselves to lock the passengers in to stop them being flung around the cabin, but the resultant unnatural play forces made Travis feel queasy and he would have regurgitated his last meal except for the fact that it was now decorating the T-shirt he had left in Turix Dayak’’s car. The rear of the shuttle hit the deck of the hangar with a terrible screech of tearing metal and the rear quarter of the cabin started to buckle, crushing the rear passengers in their seats. The screams of the injured added to the cacophony of the on-going crash. Travis saw looks of shock and incomprehension on the faces around him, not least on Xnuk Ek’ sat next to him. Up in the little cockpit Lak’in wrestled uselessly with the controls as he tried to bring the stricken craft under control. There was another jolt that jarred every bone in Travis’ body as they hit the hangar floor and the undercarriage collapsed under the impact. They were now skidding round and moving forwards, but at least they were the right way up. Travis thought he glimpsed another ship behind them, also in the process of crashing as they spun round. Finally a third jolt and the little craft came to a halt.

Lak’in and Pansā No Ashi jumped up to attend to the injured.

“What happened?” Pansā No Ashi enquired of Lak’in as he worked his way to the rear where the worst cases were.

“I do not know.” Lak’in replied, perplexed. “It felt as if we were struck from behind just after we entered the hangar, but I received no collision warnings or proximity alerts.” he added. He shook his head a moment as if to clear debris from his mind and he looked up with a look of authority and determination on his face.

“I saw…” Travis started but his voice was lost in the din.

“Emergency disembarkation!” Lak’in announced. “We can determine reasons later but we must get the injured to the White Room first.” His tone was suddenly authoritative and he had the attention of everyone in the cabin. He waved at the two crew closest to the door to get it open and ordered everyone else to prepare to exit the shuttle
quickly and head for the hangar’s exits. A woman from Xi Scorpii B and a male from Xi Scorpii D wrestled with the door controls which seemed to have been damaged in the crash while the rest waited patiently.

Finally the door opened and the pair stood framed against the hangar outside when a number of short, sharp reports split the silence, closely followed by two screams as they collapsed backwards with smouldering wounds in their chests, closely followed by screams of panic from some of the other passengers. Travis realised in horror that he had heard those sounds before. Without a moment’s hesitation Lak’in leapt forward to close the door again, along with all the window openings. He made it to the control just as three more reports cracked the air and he crashed lifelessly to the floor.

“Lak’in!” Xnuk Ek’ screamed as she clambered over seats to get to her lover, but it was too late; pandemonium broke around Travis, whose tenuous grip on reality had finally slipped.

He buried his head in his hands and wept. “No no no no no!” he repeated to himself. “Not again!” Above the din he could hear the distinct report of weapons’ fire and occasional screams of the injured and dying as the attackers randomly peppered the fuselage with fire. First there was his friend, the Commander’s son, there were the guards that were protecting the old doctor and now these poor souls that did nothing except try to take him home. It was more than Travis could bear.

Belatedly, Pansā No Ashi ordered the survivors to lie on the floor to present a smaller target. Travis looked down the aisle to where Xnuk Ek’ was still forlornly holding the body of her dead lover, rocking him gently back and forth while looking as if she had nothing left to live for. Gathering the last remnants of his wits together, he operated the window controls to peel back a small opening; just enough to see out without revealing his presence. Outside he glimpsed about a dozen black uniformed men. They all had blond hair, blue eyes and were carrying the same type of guns that had killed Jagā No Ashi in his apartment. He stood up, surveyed the death and destruction around him and came to a decision. An unnatural calm descended over him and his brain pushed all the sounds around him into the background. His fear evaporated and was replaced with a feeling of relief and euphoria as he realised what he must do. He was already a dead man, he reasoned to himself. He had died back on Earth months ago, but he had been given the chance to see some amazing things and to meet some incredible people before his consciousness finally expired. Maybe it had all been a dream anyway and he was just hovering between life and death in his hospital bed and this was all just the random firings of his brain as it shut down. Well now it was time to end it all. A favourite song drifted through his mind, which seemed appropriate; he had always thought he would like played at his funeral.

“Seasons don’t fear The Reaper,” he hummed to himself as he climbed over seats and bodies, “Nor do the wind the sun or the rain,” he sang quietly to himself as he looked dispassionately at the horror surrounding him, “We can be like they are,” no-one took any notice as he calmly made his way to the door, “Take my hand.” He purposefully smacked the controls on the last syllable of the line he was singing.

He stood in the opening, half expecting a stray shot to suddenly end his life, or what he was imagining to be his life, but would that be so bad anyway?

The firing stopped and all he could hear were the moans of pain and anguish behind him. Into the silence he shouted, “It’s me you want!” he looked to where Lak’in lay in Xnuk Ek’’s arms. “Leave everyone else alone and I will come quietly.” he announced, raising his hands behind his head in surrender.

“Travis Fletcher!” Xnuk Ek’ gasped, “Have you lost your sanity?”

“No,” he replied under his breath while keeping an eye on the soldiers outside as they altered their positions, “what’s happening here is insane.” he nodded at the bloodbath behind him. “It has to stop.” he paused for a moment before adding, “And I promised Dragonfly I would look after you.”

“Step off the craft!” A soldier with more braid on his uniform than the rest had stepped forward and stood with his hands on his hips.

“Promise to leave everyone else alone first!” Travis countered.

The officer looked uncomprehendingly at Travis, then whispered to the soldiers to his left and right. “Step off the craft or we will take you by force.” he reinforced his order by gesturing menacingly with his gun. It occurred to Travis that the officer was unsure of his ground or else he would have his soldiers rush him the moment he appeared. This gave him a little more bravado than he should have felt. Even though he had convinced himself that this was all a dream created by his dying brain, it still felt too real to ignore.

“No, not until you give me your word of honour.” Travis repeated. His resolve began to waver as he saw the officer motion to his men and weapons were steadied towards him. Travis’ heart stopped.
This is it.
He thought and he silently bid farewell to his life before he became aware of Xnuk Ek’ standing by his shoulder.

“Travis Fletcher asks that the survivors,” she indicated inside the shuttle, “be allowed to live, and he will come with you without a struggle.” she stated in a clear voice. To Travis, she whispered, “Your language is unknown to them, they do not understand you.” she raised her voice again, “And I will accompany him to act as interpreter.”

“No!” Travis gasped at her.

“The choice is mine.” she replied. “And I also made a promise, to Niji No Tori, to keep
you
safe.”

The officer consulted another soldier for a moment before turning back. “You may accompany Travis Fletcher,” he said to Xnuk Ek’, “and we will attend to the wounded and survivors.”

Travis felt Xnuk Ek’’s cool fingers wrap round his hand to bolster his flagging courage. This time he did not flinch or recoil but he squeezed back, looked up at her and smiled wanly. “Then, let’s keep each other safe.” he said as they stepped off the stricken craft and onto the hangar floor.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, two burly warriors frog-marched them to the commanding officer who looked them up and down with a sneer curling his lips. His bright, blue eyes glinted cruelly as he motioned his men towards the shuttle. Travis could see a second craft, similar in design to the one they had just left, behind and to the right. It too had suffered substantial damage. Its nose was crumpled and the fuselage twisted to the right. Travis surmised that the second shuttle had rammed theirs as they were manoeuvring to land, but whether by accident or design, he could not tell.

“So, you are Travis Fletcher.” The officer smiled, his voice dripping with malice. I lost my pilot and two of my best men when we collided with your ship.”

Travis pulled himself up to his full height, still a few inches shorter than the man in front of him and locked eyes with him. “And you killed half a dozen passengers then shot our pilot and two others in cold blood when we tried to get out.” His voice full of indignation. How dare this arsehole blame him for this mess?

The officer looked at Xnuk Ek’ for a translation. “Travis Fletcher says that our pilot is also dead along with a number of passengers.” she paraphrased. The officer just snorted derisively. Just then a number of sharp reports split the air, along with screams of pain. Travis realised with horror that the soldiers were not saving the survivors but killing them! He whirled towards the shuttle then back to the officer to see him pointing his gun directly between Xnuk Ek’’s eyes, who was backing away slowly with her eyes full of dread.

“And neither do we need an interpreter, Otoch scum.” he spat. “We have no need to have a conversation with him.”

Hot tears of anger burned behind his eyes. “No!” Travis launched himself forwards with his hands outstretched and with no real plan but was parried by a vicious blow to the side of his head for his trouble. He collapsed sideways, his head reeling and the taste of blood in his mouth. He floundered wildly, trying to get back to his feet, but his knees buckled beneath him and his sense of balance seemed to have deserted him. He was dimly aware that the massacre on the shuttle had stopped.
All dead.
He thought to himself.
Because of me.
His resolve drained away and he slumped back to the ground.

As Travis reeled away from the blow, Xnuk Ek’ saw an opening while the warrior was distracted and off-balance. She summoned her mental energy and lifted a large packing crate off to one side and sent it hurtling at the warrior. It struck him with considerable force on his upper right shoulder and sent him crashing to the ground cursing in pain, his weapon skittered away across the hangar floor. She was aiming for his head, but the effect was good enough. She also detected that the killing on the shuttle had stopped and discerned that the others would be returning momentarily. She reached down, grabbed Travis Fletcher under his armpits and hauled him to his feet, shaking him to get his attention. “We should run.” she urged.