X-Calibur: The Trial (2 page)

“It's on a loop,” Steven explained when it began again. “The same message, over and over.”

“Contact the surface,” Celeste said. “We need to speak to Arthur, now!”

*****

Merlin was attempting to access his system code again, hoping that using the original hardware would help. The lab, deep beneath the Tor, had barely been used since Arthur and the others had landed. Merlin didn't sleep, and he didn't have a home as such, but the lab was where he always returned to when he wasn't engaged in the hangar or joining Arthur and the others on one of the ships.

His system code remained elusive, almost visible but just beyond his reach. He knew that the Teleri technicians had been through it and found nothing, but his sense of discomfort remained. Even when Arthur had told him what the technicians had said, he still had the feeling that something was missing, hidden from him, and he wanted more than anything to remember what that was.

The transmission from orbit brought him back to the present. “Arthur? Merlin?” Celeste shouted through the speakers. “Are you there?”

“Yes?” Merlin replied.

“Merlin,” Celeste continued anxiously. “Where's Arthur? I haven't been able to contact him?”

“He was meeting with Gar-Wan,” Merlin said. “Is there a problem?”

“We've picked up a message from the hive,” Celeste explained. “He's going to want to hear it.”

Merlin listened to what they'd manage to decipher of the message and assured Celeste that he'd find Arthur. He passed through the wires and cables to the hangar, expecting to find him deep in conversation with Gar-Wan. He was about to start looking elsewhere when Lance came running in through the hangar door, clearly distressed.

“Merlin, I'm so glad it's you,” Lance began. “There's a signal, from the hive. We need-”

“So I've heard,” Merlin said. “Contact Gar-Wan, ask him to come immediately. I'll find Arthur and Gwen.”

Merlin's hologram shimmered and disappeared before Lance could reply, reappearing in the cockpit of the Vanguard. Arthur and Gwen were nowhere to be seen, but the systems informed him of sounds coming from Arthur's cabin. Merlin transferred himself without a second thought.

“Merlin!” Gwen exclaimed, pulling the blanket up to cover her nakedness.

“We spoke about knocking!” Arthur added, similarly distressed.

“I'm sorry, my King,” Merlin replied, turning away from them. It was a gesture that they appreciated, though if they thought about it they'd realise Merlin didn't 'see' through his holographic eyes but through the various cameras and sensors located throughout the ship.

“You're not leaving?” Gwen pointed out. “Merlin, why aren't you leaving? We really are a little busy.” Arthur stifled a giggle.

“This cannot wait,” Merlin said apologetically. “There's been a transmission from the hive. You both need to hear it.”

Arthur groaned as Merlin disappeared. “Two days,” he said. “Two days without a crisis. I was foolish to expect we'd have some time to ourselves.”

*****

Arthur and Gwen entered the Tor a short while later, their hair unruly and cheeks still flushed. Lance and Gar-Wan were already there, as were the holograms of Merlin and Caran Doc. As Arthur and Gwen took their seats, Triltan stepped through the large doors to the hangar and joined them.

“I thought she might be able to help,” Lance explained when Triltan took her seat. Arthur nodded, though Gwen suspected there was more to it. Lance and Triltan had spent most of their free time together since returning to Earth. Triltan was understandably very upset about the destruction of Teela, and was often to be found staring at images of her lost home. Lance remained by her side, always there with a comforting hand or reassuring word.

“We've been able to decipher a little more of the message,” Caran Doc began. “The signal's incredibly weak, I think this is the best we can do.”

They sat in silence as the message played, the static in between the broken words hiding the answers they desperately needed. “Arthur. Camelot. . . fallen. . . taken control. . . forces are unstoppable. . . please. . . our only hope.”

“And you're sure it's from the hive?” Arthur asked.

“As sure as we can be,” Caran Doc replied. “As I said, the signal's incredibly weak, but tracing it back takes us close to this system here.” As he spoke, an image appeared above the table in front of them. It showed a small cluster of stars before zooming in on a particular system.

“That's where we left the hive,” Gar-Wan said. “Without working gravity engines, they couldn't have travelled far.”

“And last we heard,” Merlin added, “the gravity engines were still off-line.”

“So what does it mean?” Arthur asked. “It's clearly meant for me, for us. Is it a threat? A warning?”

“A trap?” Lance suggested.

“Oh, it's almost certainly a trap,” Arthur continued. “I just don't understand who for? Are they threatening Camelot? Whose forces have taken control? And of what?”

“How would the hive know our settlement as Camelot?” Gar-Wan asked. “It's not a word native to the Mori.”

“Someone here, in the city?” Lance suggested. “They could have been sending information back to the hive.”

“A spy?” Gwen remarked. “Do you really think someone would?”

They were quiet for a moment before Arthur said, “It's something we have to consider.”

“They'd need equipment to be able to contact the hive,” Gar-Wan explained. “I'd start with the functioning ships, the ones we dismantled had their communication systems dismantled for parts.”

“Unless someone put one back together,” Lance suggested. He continued to tell them about Gin and his home-made receiver. He'd examined it and found that it was definitely one way, with no way to communicate directly with the hive. But if one person had built such a device, so could others.

“Wouldn't we have picked up the transmissions?” Gwen asked. “From what you've said, it'd need to be pretty strong to reach the hive? And this is intended for us, not some spy?”

They were just as confused as when they'd started, no closer to an answer or explanation. Arthur was convinced it was a trap, but he had no idea how the trap would be sprung. “Okay, let's go over what we know,” he said, trying to organise his thoughts. “The message came from the hive, we're sure about that, and it seems to threaten someone or something with an unstoppable force. They also seem to be asking for help? The only hope part? And they mention me by name, and Camelot.

“Do you think they're threatening us and the city? If so, why warn us about it? Why not just jump in and attack?”

“Could they have been trying to contact another hive ship?” Merlin asked. “Is it a call for allies to attack us?”

“Unlikely,” Caran Doc said. “Our probes haven't detected any other Mori ships in centuries. Besides, the signal was narrow-beam, directed at Earth and only one other system.” The image floating above the table changed, zooming out before zooming in on another system further away.

“Ma'Han?” Lance said with surprise.

“They only sent the message to Earth and Ma'Han?” Gwen asked. “That doesn't make sense.”

“Not if there was a spy in Camelot,” Arthur agreed. “The hive would know we're on Earth.”

“Earth and Ma'Han,” Merlin repeated, thinking aloud. “That's where the hive sent the ships from the Mori-Gran-Ra. The human and Dorgan home worlds.”

“It's as though the hive doesn't know which planet we're on,” Lance said.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Arthur said. “We need to get closer to the hive ship, hear the full message.”

“I can have the Ardent Dawn ready as soon as you are,” Caran Doc suggested.

“No,” Arthur replied. “That could be their plan, to draw the Teleri ships away and leave Camelot open to attack. The city and its people have to be our priority.”

“Then what would you suggest?” Caran Doc asked.

“We'll take the Vanguard,” Arthur replied. “Jump closer to the hive and receive the rest of the message. Once we know what it means, we'll be better prepared.”

“No,” Merlin interrupted. “The message was directed at you personally, Arthur. Whatever else we know, you're the target.”

“What about a probe?” Triltan suggested, the people at the table turning around to look at her. “We can send it towards the hive to amplify the signal?”

“Caran Doc?” Arthur asked.

“That could work,” Caran Doc replied, looking appreciatively towards his daughter. “Two, maybe three jumps nearer should be enough. I'll get started immediately.”

“See?” Lance said with a smile. “I told you she'd be able to help.”

*****

Caran Doc stood on the bridge of the Ardent Dawn, looking at the enormous display screen in front of him. It depicted a map of the local star systems, reaching as far as the hive ship and the numerous stars in between. The probe, no bigger than one of the small fighter ships, blinked a short distance from the Ardent Dawn.  It had completed its first jump and was counting down the eight hours until its engines recharged to perform the second.

“I'll be in my chambers,” Caran Doc said to the officer to his right. “Inform me as soon as a clear signal comes through.”

Caran Doc left the bridge and returned to his quarters where Silan Daltas was waiting for him. She and her research team, recently released from the brig, were currently without a project and she was finding it difficult to take her mind off of her failure. She still saw the destruction of Teela as her fault, no matter what Caran Doc said to try to comfort her. She had found the solution, the super-heavy element, deep beneath the surface of a frozen ice world, but had been too late in returning to Teela to use it.

As Caran Doc entered, the aroma of food struck him, igniting his senses. “That smells wonderful,” he said aloud, unbuttoning his uniform as he approached the kitchen.

The Principal's quarters were much larger than any others to be found aboard the Ardent Dawn, with a separate kitchen area, sitting room and walled off sleeping area. Just like the rest of the ship, the walls were white and the rooms brightly lit with furniture merged in a perfect union of form and function. Unlike the corridors on the Ardent Dawn, however, there were none of the multicoloured symbols moving across the walls, only discreetly placed view screens and hologram projectors.

“Doc,” Silan Daltas said as she stepped from the kitchen area. “What kept you?”

“Human problems,” Caran Doc replied. “A cryptic message from the Mori hive.”

“Are you sure this alliance is a good idea?” Silan Daltas asked.

“They're good people,” Caran Doc said. “And they've proven themselves, more than once. We might find their ways a little strange, but yes, I think it's for the best, for all of us.”

“Then if we're going to stay,” Silan Daltas continued, “I'd like to discuss my next project with you.”

“Over dinner?” Caran Doc replied, smiling. “I can never say no to you when you offer me your home cooking.”

Silan Daltas smiled back at him, though it looked a little forced, more mournful than happy. Home cooking had ceased to have the same meaning, her home gone and the crops and produce she was so used to using now only grown in a laboratory. She had never understood the Followers of Ajoch and their rejection of technology, but part of her had always enjoyed her time on the surface of Teela, walking amongst the fields and watching the birds in the sky.

“Miltren's began examining some of the Earth creatures,” she said. “It's not my usual field but his enthusiasm is infectious. He believes he can modify the genetic codes of Teela's plants and animals to allow them to thrive on Earth.”

“Really?” Caran Doc asked. “That's remarkable.”

“With time,” Silan Daltas continued, “we could even terraform a region of Earth to look and feel exactly like home.”

Caran Doc was taken aback, her comments not what he was expecting. Though he had spent much of his adult life in space, aboard the Ardent Dawn or one of the other enormous vessels, Teela was and always would be his home. He had mourned the loss of his planet, and the countless lives that had been lost along with it, but now Silan Daltas was saying they could bring some of that back? It wouldn't be the same, but it was more than he had ever thought possible.

“Perhaps the North American continent,” Caran Doc replied, thinking aloud. “I'm sure I could convince the Followers to allow technology amongst them for such an important project. I'm assuming it wouldn't need to be there permanently?”

“Not once the plants have taken hold and begin to grow,” Silan Daltas explained. “The animals will take longer, but even so, can you imagine it Doc?”

“I can now,” Caran Doc replied, smiling over at her. “That would be, perfect.”

“But what about Arthur and the Round Table?” Silan Daltas asked. “Will they be so agreeable?”

“I don't see why not,” Caran Doc told her. “Leave it to me, I'll speak to them once this current crisis is over.”

“Thank you,” Silan Daltas replied, placing the hot meal in front of him. “To bring a piece of Teela to our new home, it really would help everyone.”