Slave Empire - The Crystal Ship Read online

  “So you killed them? But you said you were unarmed.”

  “I am. I took them into the first dimension, which you call the transfer Net, and their ships were destroyed. I regret the necessity for my actions.”

  “But the Envoy’s ship uses the transfer Net just as you do.”

  “Precisely,” Endrix agreed. “Hence, I am powerless to prevent the Envoy from destroying the Atlanteans.”

  Chapter Two

  Rayne sat down on the pristine floor, facing the glowing sphere. “Why do you call the transfer Net the first dimension? What does that mean?”

  “There are three dimensions that my masters found, this one, which they called the second dimension, and the two on either side of it, the first and third. The first, as you know, is filled with unlimited energy, but contains no space, time or matter. This one is filled with those three things, and the third is nothingness, a true void in which even energy cannot exist.

  “There is a flow between them. Energy flows from the first into this one, where it is transformed into matter and time, then it is sucked into the third dimension, where it vanishes. There are several theories about its eventual reappearance; one says that it returns to the first dimension, and begins the cycle again, while the other says that it is stored in the third dimension, and when the balance tips, there will be another vast explosion to restore it.”

  “The big bang,” Rayne muttered. “Okay, this is fascinating, but not really what I came here to find out. You told me to get a ship from the Shrike, and I have. So what happens now?”

  “We wait for the Envoy.”

  “And you have no idea of how I’m supposed to stop it?”

  “No.”

  “And if I lose, what will happen?” she asked.

  “Chaos. The Atlanteans will try to fight the Crystal Ship, but will be destroyed. The Envoy will return to his universe with the news of fresh territory for his people, and others will come. None of the races currently occupying this universe can fight the Envoys, and many planets will be wiped out.

  “Perhaps I will be forced to awaken my masters to counter the threat, but this is not something I wish to do. The Sharvan encountered the Envoys several million years ago. Their culture is equally advanced, but utterly alien. The Sharvan chose not to confront the Envoys, from which I deduce that the threat is real to them as well. Since only six Sharvan remain, perhaps even they cannot stop the Envoys, and this universe will be stripped of its life.”

  Rayne stared at the floor, overwhelmed by the enormous responsibility that was being placed upon her. If Atlan fell, the Envoys would invade, and only she could stop this happening. It seemed ridiculous, laughable, that one insignificant human girl should be able to avert such a mammoth disaster. How could she? What was she supposed to do?

  Somehow, she must avert this first attack, then presumably no other Crystal Ships would come. The Shrike had destroyed the first Crystal Ship, at the cost of his world, and that had deterred the Envoys for fifty years. Would the destruction of a second prevent them from returning at all? Endrix seemed to think so, and she had to assume that he was right. There had to be a chance, however, no matter how slim, that the Sharvan prediction was wrong, and no Envoy would ever appear.

  Cheered by this thought, she shifted into a more comfortable position and changed the subject. “My ship can’t identify the substance the black ship’s made of. What is it?”

  “This is a question that, regrettably, I am unable to answer. Suffice it to say that it is a form of crystal unknown to your people, and to explain its composition would only confuse you. It is immensely strong and impervious to stress, but porous to the energy of the first dimension. I believe it was created with energy from the first dimension, but I am unsure.” Endrix paused. “I am pleased you took my advice and sought the Shrike’s aid. He has given you a fine ship.”

  She pulled a face. “It’s just a loan. He doesn’t like me.”

  “If he did not like you, he would not have given you a ship, Rayne.”

  “Oh, it’s nothing personal. He just thinks I’m a silly young girl who might become a nuisance with her dumb romantic ideas. He has a nasty habit of reading minds. He must be a monk, because he can’t have a girlfriend or wife if he never takes that damned mask off.” She paused. “Well, I suppose he could, but I pity her.”

  “I have followed the Shrike’s life with great interest. He is a fascinating man. He does not have a wife, although the Antians had the same sort of life bonding ritual as your people did. I should warn you that I doubt you will ever be allowed to get close to him. He has a morbid dislike for such things.”

  “Why?”

  “I cannot reveal his secrets.”

  She leant forward, the hard floor forgotten. “You know what he looks like, don’t you?”

  “Indeed. He looks like an Antian, what else?”

  “No, I mean details. Is he ugly, disfigured, what? Why does he hide behind a mask?”

  “Ah.” Endrix sounded amused. “I recall no disfigurement, but I am no judge of ugliness, so I cannot say. He has good reason to wear the mask, but that I cannot reveal.”

  Rayne sighed. “You’re a big help. So far, anyone who might have told me something knows nothing, and anyone who knows something won’t tell me anything.”

  “That is how he has survived. He will not live long once his rivals know his true identity.”

  “Why?” She raised her hands, forestalling his reply. “I know, you can’t tell me his secrets.”

  “Correct.”

  Rayne rose and stretched, walked around the chamber twice, then stopped in front of Endrix again. “Can I stay here?”

  “Why would you want to? This is a lonely and inhospitable place.”

  “I don’t want to go back to Atlan just yet, and there’s nowhere else. I just feel like being alone for a while. Perhaps it’s what I need to prepare. I’ll send Rawn a message.”

  “You are unhappy. You fear the Envoy’s coming, but remaining alone will only increase your feelings of isolation. You should be with friends. Forget about the future until the Crystal Ship appears. Not much time remains.”

  She suppressed a shiver and shook her head. “I need to get used to the idea, and try to figure out what I’m supposed to do about the Envoy. Also, I’ll be safe here. The Draycons will never find me.”

  “If this is your wish, I have no objection.”

  “Thanks.” She sighed. “I just need to get my head straight.”

  Rayne returned to Shadowen to collect some cushions and a little food and water, then settled down for some in-depth discussions with Endrix. The entity answered her questions, and created holograms to illustrate complex things. They mostly discussed the Envoy, and explored several ways in which she might be able to stop it, but none of the possibilities seemed more than slightly viable. She returned to the ship to sleep, spending almost all her waking hours in Endrix’s company. Sometimes she would just sit, thinking, and Endrix played weird Sharvan music for her, showing her scenes from the long-dead race’s past.

  Two days later, while they discussed her life on Earth, Endrix made an astounding statement.

  “When the Atlanteans found you, they thought your brother was your guardian, but I do not believe this is so. My masters surmised that you would have a guardian, although it was not mentioned in the prophecy. They also thought you would have a companion. I believe your brother is your companion, a source of strength to help you get through your transition from Earth to Atlan, but I think the Shrike is your guardian.”

  She hesitated, astonished. “What makes you say that?”

  “He was on Earth at the time when the Atlanteans took you. He saved you from a peril there, did he not?” She nodded, and he went on, “Then he saved you at the slave market, and returned you to Atlan. Now he has given you a ship to keep you safe and help you to fight the Envoy, and I believe he will help you again.”

  “He didn’t save me from the Draycon ship that tried to kill
me on Earth.”

  “Actually, he did. The Draycons would have searched the house to be sure they had killed you, but the Shrike chased them away. He did not know what they were shooting at, but his appearance caused them to break off their attack and retreat. By the time you emerged, he was gone.”

  Rayne swallowed a lump that threatened to block her throat. “I didn’t know. I wish I had. How do you know all this? Were you there too?”

  “No. My presence might have been detected, and the Atlanteans might not have rescued you. I have communicated with your ship, which is the same one he used. He does not realise what he is, of course, if, indeed, he is your guardian.”

  “Will I see him again?”

  “Probably,” Endrix replied.

  “Will I ever see his face?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “I wish I had more time. I’m not going to survive my confrontation with the Envoy, am I?” Hot tears stung her eyes.

  “If you defeat him, I believe you will survive. You must not despair. That is your enemy. You must be strong.”

  She shook her head, two tears making their escape down her cheeks. “How can I defeat a super-evolved being? I’m just a girl from a backwater planet that drowned itself in its own filth. I’ve got no special powers, no vast intellect. I’m a healer. What can I do? How am I supposed to kill this monster?”

  “Perhaps you should not be thinking of how you can kill him. That is against your very nature. It must be wrong.”

  “What am I supposed to do then, befriend him?”

  The sphere pulsed. “I sincerely doubt that is possible.

  “Then what?”

  “I do not know.”

  That night, Rayne decided to return to Atlan. The dead planet depressed her, and the constant discussions on the topic of the Envoy added to her despondency. Although Endrix was capable of interesting conversations on just about any topic, the coming confrontation ate at her nerves, and had become the most common subject they discussed.

  Endrix encouraged her to leave, saying that time spent with her brother would be good for her, and she should relax with friends. Rayne did not bother to point out that she had no friends. Perhaps it was time she made some. The prospect lifted her spirits, although she would far rather have returned to the Shrike’s base and talked to him. The memory of his insight into her private feelings stung her pride, however, and she decided it would be better to try to forget him.

  Rayne took her leave of Endrix and returned to her ship, carrying the equipment she had brought down. She ordered Shadowen to go to Atlan, and went to sleep.

  When the ship woke her, they were approaching Atlan, some eighteen hours later. She remembered waking during the flight and switching on the sleep inducer so she did not have to endure the tedium of a long, boring journey. She washed, changed into a fresh outfit comprising a pale, pearly top with a dark grey jacket and sleek grey jeans, and went to the bridge. When Shadowen’s approach to Atlan was challenged, she was forced to drop out of the Net and wait for clearance. It came in the form of Tallyn’s dark voice inviting her to dock over the spaceport. She asked for permission to land, and it was granted. Shadowen entered Atlan’s atmosphere, dropping through the clouds. The spaceport came into view through the haze, swelling as they sank towards it. When the ship settled on its anti-gravity cushion, Tallyn and Rawn waited outside with a gaggle of port technicians and engineers.

  Rawn embraced her, while Tallyn grinned at the ship. She had expected this reaction, and so his first words did not surprise her.

  “You did it. Well, I don’t know what sort of spell you’ve cast on him, but I would never have believed this if I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes. Are you sure you didn’t bring him with you as well?”

  “Quite sure. And I don’t have a spell on him. Endrix says the Shrike is my guardian.”

  “He’s a criminal,” Tallyn stated. “Even if he had a good reason for murdering his people, he’s committed worse crimes since then.”

  “He’s not a slaver, either.”

  “If he told you that, he was lying. I don’t know what kind of game he’s playing, but I know what he is.”

  Rayne smiled, her spirits buoyant. Returning to Atlan was a bit like coming home, and being with Rawn again filled her with joy. Even Tallyn’s predictable disbelief was a balm of familiarity, and she basked in it. After Farlaw’s deadness, she was glad to be back amongst people whose foibles were dear to her. “He said you wouldn’t believe me, but I just had to tell you. Now I need a bath and a good meal. And stay away from the ship. It’s off limits.”

  “We need to examine it.”

  “You don’t need to do any such thing, nor will you. I went to a great deal of trouble to get that ship, and I’m going to need it. If you start messing with it, he just might go home, and then I’ll be back at square one.”

  “He?” Tallyin asked. “Who are you talking about?”

  “The ship. This is what Atlan couldn’t give me: a sentient ship that thinks for itself. Go and tell the Council. He’s my ship, and no one’s to touch it.”

  The ship’s door slid shut as if to confirm her words. She laughed and slipped her hand into Rawn’s, allowing him to lead her to a waiting gravcar.

  Chapter Three

  Rayne sat at a table in the crowded pleasure house, her mind filled with a pleasant haze of wine, her eyelids drooping. Beside her, Rawn was deep in conversation with the handsome young Atlantean who was supposed to be her date. She should object to him monopolising Cryan’s attention, but she did not really care. Cryan, like most young Atlanteans, was quite boring. They had a vast intellectual scope, but very little imagination, and Cryan’s conversation lacked even the spice of Endrix’s measured tones. Mergan swayed to an alien tune on the dance floor, twined with a tall Atlantean man who had asked her to dance quite some time ago.

  The rest of Rawn’s friends gathered in a chattering group, passing a hallucinogenic cigarette around. Since joining Atlan’s social life, the variety of drugs available and the ease with which they were obtained had surprised Rayne. They had to travel to the nearby world of Mansure to get them, and they were expensive, but Mergan’s father had a considerable fortune, and she had no qualms about spending it on her friends.

  Mansure was not an Atlantean planet, and the excesses it offered were bizarre and unwholesome. Rayne had discovered that her fame opened doors and granted privileges reserved for the super-rich. Her association with Rawn had elevated Mergan’s status, and a crowd of social climbers had flocked to their group. The many vices the Atlantean youth shared with humans also surprised Rayne, though they did seem to be more in control of their situation. Drinking, gambling, sex and drugs were all part of the social scene, and all were expected to partake.

  In the six months since she had returned from Farlaw, she had done her best to forget about the Envoy, and had succeeded in reducing it to a dim memory, like a persistent ache. She fanned the embers of a faint hope that it would never happen, but could not quite convince herself of it. The nagging worry gnawed at her, and only an occasional overindulgence in wine drowned it out.

  The club’s smoky confines became intolerable, and a strong need for some fresh air overcame her. Rising from the crowded booth, she threaded her way through the packed club to the door. The two Andracan bouncers watched her pass without interest, their green eyes scanning the incoming patrons. Outside, she leant against a tree in the garden beside the door and breathed the cool air. The smoke from the hallucinogenic cigarettes made her queasy, and she needed to clear her head. She smoothed the silken material of the sleek one-piece cream suit over her hips, wondering if she should have worn a dress tonight. As yet, she had not spent a great deal of time or money on clothes, finding shopping tedious and tiring.

  A sound made her straighten, her head swimming. A hand clamped over her mouth, and a strange, bitter scent invaded her nose when she gasped. She tried to struggle, but blackness washed over her in a thick tide.

&nb
sp; Rayne opened her eyes a slit and winced, squinting in the bright lights that bathed her. Her head pounded from a combination of wine and whatever drug her kidnappers had used. She tried to sit up, but she was bound hand and foot to the table on which she lay. Lifting her head, she scowled at the two men who stood beside it.

  Her hackles rose at the sight of their scaled heads and shark-like grey skin. One smiled, revealing pointed pink teeth, and she shuddered. He leant over her, giving her the benefit of his rank breath.

  “So, we have you at last, Golden Child.”

  She fought an urge to spit in his face, if only to get him to move it away. “Why didn’t you just kill me?”

  “We weren’t sure you were the one we wanted until we tested you.”

  “Since when have Draycons worried about killing innocents?”

  “Our priests want you alive, to be executed on our world for all to see, and there will be much celebrating afterwards. Our priests have decided that the one to capture the Golden Child will rule.”

  “Where am I?”

  “Aboard a ship, heading for a Drayconar world,” he said.

  “If you kill me, the Envoy will destroy you too. He’s a monster. He feeds on pain, and yours will be as sweet to him as the Atlanteans’.”

  He showed his teeth again. “Don’t waste your breath. You’d say anything to save yourself.”

  Rayne jerked at the bonds on her wrists. Where was Shadowen? Did he know about her abduction? Had he called for help? Would anybody come?

  The Draycons swapped sharkish grins and left the room, the door in the featureless pale wall sliding shut behind them. From what she knew about them, they would probably take every opportunity to torture her on the way to their world. Without stopping to consider that such communications might be detected, she used her implant to call Shadowen. His answer was as calm and unflappable as ever.

  I have sent distress calls. If you wish, I can engage the Drayconar ship, thereby forcing them to drop out of the Net and fight, but I fear you may be harmed, and I will not be able to use my full capabilities with you on board the enemy ship.