Slave Empire - The Crystal Ship (14 page)

Several
minutes of sliding down a steep, slimy tunnel, whizzing around
curves at a break-neck speed and caroming off the walls with
undignified yelps ended when she plunged into a pool of warm liquid
seething with glowing red tadpoles. She splashed and yelled in
alarm as the beasts wriggled over and around her in a packed mass,
each the size of her head. The sensation of their firm, slimy
bodies pushing against her filled her with an irrational dread, and
she struggled to swim to the nearest bank while the Ship
communicated assurance and amusement.

Reaching a
smooth, fleshy bank, she hauled herself out and sat dripping,
staring into the seething cauldron of glowing red beasts. They
seemed to find her presence alarming too, and were rapidly
disappearing down a submerged tunnel. She realised that once they
were all gone she would be left in the dark. The chamber seemed
like the one that dominated Scrysalza’s thoughts, but there was no
sign of anything that resembled an Envoy. Not that she knew what an
Envoy looked like, she mused, but, apart from the departing blood
beasts, the chamber was empty. The Ship communicated its
satisfaction at this, and she slumped, almost resenting its
determination to keep her away from the Envoy.

As the light
faded, she wondered if Shadowen was safe. The Ship replied that
Rayne’s metallic shell was safely suspended within its shields, but
it had blocked his attempts to communicate, fearful that he would
upset her. In fact, he was becoming something of a nuisance,
stretching the Ship’s resources and consuming power it considered
ill spent. If it withdrew its shields, the dead entity would cease
to exist.

The idea
seemed to appeal to the Ship, which alarmed Rayne. Until now, it
had not pondered Shadowen’s presence, but since she had reminded
it, Scrysalza was seriously considering this option. Rayne
protested that she needed her metallic shell, and did not want him
harmed. Her disquiet brought a rush of assurance from the Ship, but
she was not so easily placated. If Shadowen was a burden, could the
Ship send him back, she wondered. It could, it assured her, if that
was what she wanted. It was, she replied, relaxing. At least he
would be safe, for who knew what would happen when the Envoy woke
up?

Tarke glared
at the scrolling holograms. The messages from his scientists all
said the same thing. None of them could think of a way to get into
the void dimension, as everyone was calling it. They put forward a
plethora of theories and explanations for this, ranging from the
impossibility of even finding the dimension in question, to those
that agreed with Scimarin’s theory.

Any matter
entering the void dimension would be instantly consumed, and the
energy shell necessary to form a reliable shield was too powerful
to be sustained without a link to the Net, which would be
impossible in the void dimension. The underlying excitement at
finding this new dimension only soured his mood further. He thumped
the arm of his chair.

“
Idiots. All they can think up is excuses.”

“
Their theories are logical and probably correct,” Scimarin
told him. “I doubt anything but a crystal ship could enter that
dimension at all, never mind safely. It is, essentially, the same
as a black hole, and no one has dared to venture close enough to
study one of those. I might even theorise that black holes are
gateways into this void dimension.”

“
This is all fascinating, and at another time I would be
enthralled by it. But right now, I need to find a way to get in
there.”

“
I’m afraid, based on current data, it’s
impossible.”

Tarke opened
his mouth to reply when the empty area of space where the Crystal
Ship had vanished vented a lance of pure white light that ripped
through the fabric of space and time, momentarily blinding him, and
sending Scimarin into a frenzy of analysis.

“
Unknown light source, white spectrum, origin, tentatively the
void dimension...”

The light
faded, leaving Tarke with glowing afterimages on his retinas. He
blinked and squinted as the ship continued its liturgy.

“
Photon shockwave passing energy shell
perimeter...”

The ship
seemed to surge as the shockwave momentarily increased the
gravitational pull of its dense underbelly.

“
No damage sustained,” Scimarin said, “ionised plasma
spreading from the site of the light wave. Sensors are picking up a
ship at epicentre of the disturbance... small. It’s
Shadowen.”

“
Contact him. Find out if Rayne’s aboard.”

“
That would blow our disguise.”

“
Bugger our disguise!”

A tense moment
passed, then Scimarin said, “Shadowen is unpiloted, and the
Atlanteans are closing in on us.”

“
Where’s the girl?”

“
Aboard the Crystal Ship. Shadowen claims that her biorhythms
are stable; she is in no apparent danger.”

“
Is he damaged?”

“
No. The Atlanteans are hailing you.”

The Shrike sat
back, forcing himself to relax. “Shed the energy shell and open a
space line with Tallyn. Let’s hear what he has to say.”

As the golden
power leeched off the screens, the wafer-thin crystal slid from its
slot, its initial hazy glow replaced by a crisp image of Tallyn’s
grim visage. A slight smile curled his thin lips as he studied his
enemy.

“
So, Shrike. Nice of you to visit. A neat trick, pretending to
be a distressed freighter. If we hadn’t been so distracted, you
wouldn’t have got away with it.”

“
I was counting on it.”

“
I’m sure you were. But now that we all know who you are,
don’t you think you’re a little too close for comfort?”

“
Mine or yours?” Tarke asked. “Rest assured, you’re in no
danger of catching me. And putting aside these petty issues, don’t
you think it’s more important to find out what’s happened to your
Golden Child?”

Tallyn’s smile
became forced. “So, you’re taking your role of guardian seriously,
are you? Even entering the lion’s den.”

“
Guardian?” Tarke tilted his head. “What are you talking
about?”

“
She didn’t tell you? I am surprised. She told me that you’re
her guardian, according to this guide of hers, the Endrix
entity.”

“
That’s news to me. I’m only interested in making sure my
planets aren’t next on this creature’s menu.”

Tallyn’s grim
smile faded. “What do you think you can do? If she succeeds, the
Ship won’t return, and the prophecy says she will succeed.”

“
It doesn’t give much in the way of details, though, does it?
It says she can save Atlan, but it doesn’t say she must do it
alone.”

“
You think you can follow her? Have you spoken to her
ship?”

Tarke shook
his head. “I haven’t had much of a chance. And whether or not I
share that information with you depends on your current attitude
towards me.”

Tallyn glanced
at someone off to the side, and turned back looking rather sour.
“Perhaps we could work together for the duration of this
crisis.”

“
Considering that I have much more to offer than you do, and
it’s your world that’s threatened, that doesn’t surprise
me.”

“
Just find out what’s happening to her.”

Tarke looked
at the holographic readouts that scrolled up in the gloom. Scimarin
had continued to receive data from Shadowen, but there was little
of any use. Shadowen only knew that he had been sucked into another
dimension, and his sensors had been crippled by a vast energy
shield that had encompassed him and prevented him from moving.
Having lost his link with the Net, he had concentrated his power to
keep his systems running. He had been unable to communicate with
Rayne, but was certain she was aboard the Crystal Ship.

After an
indeterminate length of time, which he could not measure, due to
the fact that his timepieces had all ceased to function in the
other dimension, he had been ejected from the Crystal Ship’s energy
shield and squirted back into this dimension with no clue as to how
to return to the void dimension.

Tarke turned
back to the Atlantean commander. “I’m afraid Shadowen only knows
that he was abducted and returned. Rayne is alive aboard the
Crystal Ship, but there’s no way of finding her.”

Tallyn glanced
at someone off the screen again, and Tarke guessed it was his
lieutenant, Marcon. “Well, you’re not as much help as I had hoped,
Shrike.”

“
We’re dealing with a new dimension, which no one knows
anything about. My ship has detected traces of coded yellow light
seeping from the void dimension. But apart from that, there’s no
trace of the Crystal Ship, and no apparent way of reaching it. If
your scientists can come up with one, I’d like to hear
it.”

“
Coded yellow light?” Tallyn glanced sideways once more. “We
hadn’t noticed that... We’ve detected it now.” He faced the screen
again. “It’s not much help, either, but I’ll have our scientists
study it.”

“
Mine already have. Entering the void dimension is impossible,
according to them, for anything other than the Crystal Ship. At
least you now know she’s still alive.”

Tallyn nodded.
“There is that. But I fail to see what you think you can do here.
Unless you can enter this void dimension, how can you help
Rayne?”

“
I don’t know, but I have a feeling the Ship isn’t going to
stay there indefinitely, and I want to be here when it
returns.”

“
Why?”

“
Because I think when that happens, she’s going to need help,”
Tarke said. “If there was a way to go to her, I would, but since
there isn’t, I have no choice but to wait here.”

“
If I let you.”

“
Tallyn, I’ve always thought you to be reasonably intelligent,
for an Atlantean, so don’t prove me wrong now.”

The commander
frowned. “One of these days, Shrike, you’ll pay for all your
insults.”

“
If you live long enough.”

Tallyn broke
the connection, and the space line screen slid back into its
slot.

A phalanx of
silver ships surrounded the Shrike, all eager to attempt his
capture. None would, however, while the fate of their planet might
rest with him, should the Golden Child require his aid. As long as
that uncertainty existed, and the Atlanteans believed their
legends, he was safe.

Chapter Seven

The seething
mass of blood beasts fascinated Rayne with their roiling turmoil in
the clear fluid. Their return had brought light back to the
chamber, but her exploration had revealed no other tunnels leading
down. Hunger troubled her, and the Ship was concerned. It had
prodded her to offer a solution to her discomfort, and she had
explained her need for food, but the Ship’s offer to let her eat a
blood beast had revolted her. Apart from her dislike of the idea,
there was no way of knowing if the blood beasts were suitable as
food.

The Ship had
explained the reason for the blood beasts’ seething. Apparently
this was their way of absorbing oxygen from the air. Her
predicament occupied part of its massive brain, and from time to
time it would suggest a way to provide food for her, all of which
were unsuitable, in her opinion. She rejected offers to eat its
slime, its beasts and its flesh. Equally, the Ship rejected her
perception that the chamber was a trap, and she would die here. Its
assurances to the contrary made her challenge it to prove
otherwise. As soon as she did, she sensed the Ship’s response, and
stood up.

A cocoon of
brilliant light engulfed her, blinding her as she yelled and threw
up her hands. The light faded, and she staggered in a sudden lack
of gravity. As the spots faded from her eyes, she gazed around at
the bizarre breathing chamber she had quit hours ago with a mixture
of surprise and dismay. She groaned, sat down on the damp moss and
hung her head. There was simply no way to beat a creature that was
her world and her protector, and she resigned herself to waiting
for the Envoy to awake. Then surely the Ship would have to let her
help it.

When would the
Envoy awake? The Ship had said that no time passed in this
dimension. Did that mean the Envoy would sleep indefinitely? Would
she be stuck here until the Ship was forced to return to the real
universe to gather more power, in a few decades time? Decades would
pass in the second dimension, but no time would pass here, yet the
Ship’s visit to this dimension was measured by its need for power
to sustain itself. Surely that was a measure of time?

It was
certainly a measure of something, and if not time, then what? Her
hunger was a clock of sorts. If she required food and water, that
must mean time was passing. She asked Scrysalza, receiving a
puzzling answer about personal time and outside time, a concept she
found confusing. How could she consume time while none passed
around her? She could, Scrysalza assured her, for she had her own
finite destiny, consuming energy and aging as she always had. The
difference, it said, was in the way time passed outside. At this
moment, none had passed in the second dimension at all.

Then Shadowen
had reappeared at the same instant he had disappeared, she thought,
but the Ship told her it had sent Shadowen back several hours
ahead. Rayne shook her head in bewilderment. Did that mean any
outside time was accessible from the void dimension? Could the Ship
re-emerge at any time in the second dimension? Of course, Scrysalza
replied, there was no time in the third dimension. The Ship could
re-emerge into the second dimension a million years in the past or
future, an hour before it had disappeared, or a few days after.
Whenever it chose, in fact. That was how the dimensions worked, and
why the transfer Net took no time to move a person from one point
to another.