Heart of the Maelstrom: The Masters, #2

By Jeremy Reimer

Heart of the Maelstrom is the second book in the Masters Trilogy.

In Heart of the Maelstrom, we meet the Masters, an enigmatic and ancient race from a distant star cluster. We also meet Christopher Hunter, a new character whose simple life on Earth is going to get significantly more complex when he runs into the Masters.

Returning from the first book are Jack Davidson, Sarah Admunsen, and David Chang, three pilots on the Pegasus who are on the front lines in the fight against the Masters. Joining them are advanced robotic life forms, fuzzy intelligent aliens the size of small dogs, bird-like aliens with hammer-shaped heads, and sentient starships. They must all work together if they want to survive!

Heart of the Maelstrom is a story of military life in a science fiction setting, but it's also the story of very ordinary people who are forced into extraordinary circumstances.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeremy Reimer
• Release date: Mar 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301443093

Jeremy Reimer

I was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 16, 1972, to Louis Elton Reimer and Gail Patricia (Edmondson) Reimer. Our family moved to Winlaw (close to Nelson) in the interior of BC when I was just one year old, and then again to the small town of Gibsons, BC when I was three. I grew up in Gibsons and went to elementary school there, but when it came time to go to high school I went back to Vancouver to attend Eric Hamber Secondary. Thanks to the Challenge Program I was able to finish in just four years instead of five, and started my B.Sc at the University of British Columbia when I was just 16 years old. Some detours and interesting side-adventures later, I graduated with a B.Sc in Physics from UBC, and then got my Bachelor's of Education from UBC a year later. I taught at Kester Grant College (a private ESL high school) and then Saint George's Secondary for a year, then decided teaching wasn't for me and went on to other prospects. Currently I work at a software development company in Vancouver as a software developer and technical writer. Marital status Married since 2001 to my wonderful soul mate Jennifer. Quite simply the most amazing woman in the world. She is intelligent, gorgeous, caring, funny, and just all-around amazing. Kids None. Pets A beautiful tortoiseshell cat named Zoe. Education Bachelor of Science, Physics, University of British Columbia (1996) Bachelor of Education, Secondary (Physics), University of British Columbia (1997) Certificate of 2D and 3D animation, Vancouver Training Institute (1999) Diploma of Technical Writing, British Columbia Institute of Technology (2007) Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute (2010) Vital stats Age: 40 Height: 6 feet Weight: 172 lbs (more muscle than a couple of years ago!) Teeth: Still got 'em Current computers owned 2x2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook runningOS X 10.5 (CYLON_RAIDER) 2x1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo running Windows XP (ADAMA) 4x2.8GHz Intel Quad Core running Windows 7 (TELEVISION) 1.8GHz Pentium 4 running Ubuntu Server Linux (ZOE) 733Mhz Pentium /// running Xubuntu Linux 7.0 (GALACTICA) - flown into the sun... 800Mhz G3 AmigaOne running OS 4 (JEREMY) (Sadly R.I.P. ) 500MHz G3 Macintosh iBook running OS X 10.3 133MHz Pentium running DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.1 25MHz 68040 Maci...

Book preview

HEART OF THE MAELSTROM

A Novel

By

Jeremy Reimer

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Jeremy Reimer on Smashwords

Heart of the Maelstrom

Copyright © 2013 by Jeremy Reimer

To Jennifer, for being my sky and my stars.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Thank you for purchasing this eBook.

*****

HEART OF THE MAELSTROM

Book Two of the Masters Trilogy

*****

Prologue

The ungainly, elephantine beast shuffled down the corridor, not once looking up to the ceiling several kilometers above him.

His thoughts were as heavy as his pacing. Alone for an interminable amount of time, he finally reached the door. There was a rumble and the ornate gold portal slowly slid to the side. The beast went through.

Now, arriving at a sheer obsidian pedestal, he was forced to look up.

I am very busy, the voice boomed from the top of the pedestal. What do you want of me?

The creature strained his single eye to try and make out the face of his Leader far above him.

The others… he began.

Speak up!

The creature sighed and tried again. The others, he said loudly, they don’t understand the reasoning for our Plan.

They don’t need to understand! the Leader yelled. They are too stupid to understand. They don’t have my vision.

If you could try and explain, perhaps they could understand… the beast offered.

I don’t have time for that. You handle that. That’s your job.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

Was there anything else? the Leader barked.

It’s just that… the Plan. I’m sorry. It goes against everything we believe in. The idea of… meeting them. Of having to interact with them. It makes me sick to my stomachs.

The leader shook his massive head. Drops of spittle fell from his mouth and splattered on the creature’s head.

I find it just as distasteful as you do, the Leader rasped. But there is a very good reason. Now get out of my sight!"

*****

PART ONE – THE FALL

One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike— and yet it is the most precious thing we have.

— Albert Einstein

*****

A knock at the door

Admiral Sakaki squinted at the holographic display. He took off his glasses, cleaned them with an embroidered silk handkerchief, then put them carefully back over his eyes. It could be anything, he grunted finally. It could be an instrument malfunction.

Maybe, Captain Rostov replied, unconvinced.

It could be that a bunch of ships jumped at once, and the sensors saw it as a single node, the short, grey-haired Japanese admiral postulated.

Or it could be a single ship.

Sakaki whipped his glasses off again. Not at that scale! It makes no sense… there is no possibility of a ship that size!

Rostov paused. Unless…

I know what you’re thinking! Yes, it could be… them. His voice had lowered to barely above a whisper.

The Captain said nothing. In his mind, he was replaying the final words that the last Deathspawn had said, over and over, like a looped sample:

To our Masters, we are the cleanser, and you are merely the disgusting spill. They send us in to clean up, and like water, we are expected to evaporate once our job is done. They created us just as you would manufacture a chemical, or a simple tool. Their power is far greater than you can imagine. To them, you are now a particularly stubborn stain that their standard disinfecting spray has failed to clean.

I hope and pray that it is not them, Rostov said, shuddering at the memory of the disgusting creature. But we have to find out and we have to go now.

Sakaki chuckled, but the action caught in his throat and came out as a kind of crippled cough. So you’re ready to give me orders, Captain? he said. Just like you did that time on the Pegasus, right before the fleet went into battle?

Sir, I cannot apologize enough for my presumption and arrogance on that day. I was overwhelmed by the stress of the situation. Honestly, I thought that you were going to demote me on the spot.

Had I done that, neither of us would be standing here today, I think, the Admiral retorted. I knew what your meaning was, and I know what your meaning is now. You are completely correct, Ilya. You must take the Pegasus and investigate this newcomer, and you must do so immediately.

Rostov sighed. As before, we are not ready. The refit is not yet complete. But unlike last time, I am not going to stand around and argue with you. Pegasus will launch. He tapped a few buttons on his watch. I am recalling her crew now.

The Admiral walked away from the tactical display and over to the observation window. From the top of the United Nations Interstellar Navy administration building he looked out over the sleepy city of The Hague. The sun had not yet come up and dusted off the morning haze that stretched like cobwebs over the urban landscape.

I will mobilize the rest of the Fleet, he said, after a long pause. I only hope that it won’t be necessary to use them.

*****

Sarah was not at all looking forward to seeing the man she had promised to marry.

She found herself slowing her steps as she got closer to Steven’s apartment, as if an invisible force was impeding her progress. She had spent the last several hours going over imaginary scenarios in her head, playing their meeting over and over until she was sure she knew exactly what she was going to say, and what responses she would give to his questions.

Now she realized she couldn’t remember any of it.

It was a miserable grey day, with a thick sheet of clouds constantly threatening to dump their contents on anyone unlucky enough to be caught wandering outside without an umbrella. Sarah suddenly remembered that she had forgotten hers, but it was the least of her worries. She approached the thick, angular building and recalled a joke her history professor had once told her about architectural styles diverging so far from post-modernism that they had wrapped around to modernism again.

It was not a pretty building. It was stark, utilitarian, and practical. Much like Steven himself, she mused, then immediately tried to banish the thought from her mind. It wasn’t fair to her fiancé to compare him to other, more exciting people that she knew. He was who he was. And she was pretty sure she still loved him.

She reached the front door and waited for it to scan her and grant her entry. It did so with a grating buzzing sound, and she made her way to the elevator and hit the appropriate floor number. The elevator moved with irritating efficiency and soon she was at the door to his apartment.

There was no answer for a few seconds, and Sarah caught herself hoping that he wasn’t in. But the door opened and there he was. He looked terrible, like he hadn’t been sleeping for days. She noticed he’d put on a bit of weight since she had last seen him.

Two weeks, Sarah, he said, his voice cracking. Fourteen days since you got back. I’ve been counting.

She looked at her feet. Didn’t you get my e-mail?

I got your e-mail. What I thought I would be getting was you. Why didn’t you come earlier?

I’m sorry, she said, not believing herself. There was a lot of stuff to take care of on the Pegasus… we couldn’t just leave right away. There were forms to fill out, reports to write up… Some of this was true. The Captain had asked everyone who had seen action to write up everything they could remember. It hadn’t taken two weeks, though.

Steven sighed, and his voice cracked slightly. When I heard that you had been injured in combat, I was so worried, and when I couldn’t get in touch with you… Sarah looked up and stared at him; she had never seen him this emotional before. Look, come in, sit down. I’ll get you some tea.

Sarah walked into the apartment, gingerly pulled out a chair from the kitchen table, and sat down. Steven closed the door behind her. He started rummaging through the upper cabinets until he finally found an appropriate tea bag, then dropped it in the kettle. It’ll just be a couple of minutes, he said.

That’s fine.

He sat down next to her, taking brief glances at her eyes when she wasn’t looking. I… I know things haven’t been the best between us, he offered.

Really, it’s nothing to do with you. It’s nothing you’ve done. A long-distance relationship is always hard… Her voice trailed off. She had run out of things to say.

I knew this already when I met you, Steven said. I knew your career was going to take you away from me for long periods of time. I just didn’t think that when you did come back to me, you would still be trillions of miles away.

Sarah leaned over and placed her hands on top of her fiancé’s. I’m really sorry, Steven, she said.

Sorry for what? Sorry for being out of touch? Sorry for being distant? Or sorry that you’re leaving me?

What? I never said that I… Sarah exclaimed, but she never finished her sentence. Her watch had started buzzing and she reacted automatically, leaping up from the table and putting on her glasses in a single, almost balletic motion. Her eyes quickly scanned the message displayed on the lenses.

Just as quickly, she took the glasses off again. I have to go, she said.

Steven said nothing.

I have to go, she repeated, then opened her mouth to add some sort of explanation, couldn’t think of anything succinct enough, and closed it again, her face grim. She turned around and walked out briskly.

Steven watched her go, not even bothering to get up and close the door behind her until she had already left the building.

*****

Jack got the message while he was in the shower. As he rushed out to answer his wailing watch, he caught a glimpse of himself in the half-fogged mirror. He didn’t like what he saw. He hadn’t been exercising lately, and had been eating too many instant meals, and the results were there for anyone to see around his midsection.

He suddenly caught himself thinking about Sarah.

They hadn’t talked since they had both departed the Pegasus two weeks earlier. He remembered a hasty goodbye. Sarah had seemed distracted, confused. He knew she was going back to see her fiancé, but he couldn’t begin to guess what she was going to say to him.

He recalled their one and only night together. She had invited him up to her quarters to ride out the Pegasus’ first hyperspace jump with a bottle of wine and some pre-made Navy meals. Nothing had happened—in the real world, at least. They had held each other during the jump, and as their minds made the impossible jump into a different dimension, he had imagined them making love. Somehow he had known that she had imagined it too. They had never discussed it—life had gone on as if it had never happened. Which, of course, it hadn’t.

As he stood there dripping on the floor, his watch got even more insistent. Jack snapped out of his reverie and picked it up.

For some reason, as he listened to the message, all he could think about was how hungry he was.

*****

I’m stuffed, David Chang announced to his family, who were all seated at the large, round table. The restaurant manager appeared silently behind him and refilled his drink.

You enjoyed the food, yes? he asked, beaming with pride.

Xie xie, yes, David replied. Everything has been really wonderful. He looked around the table and saw nothing but happy faces looking back at him.

You will be going back to the Pegasus soon, David? his cousin asked.

After they finish up the refit, yes. The ship took quite a pounding in our last battle.

His young nephew, who hadn’t spoken up all evening, finally addressed him, his tiny face glowing with wonder. How many Deathspawn ships did you shoot down? he asked, his voice breaking softly.

Well, according to my computer, it was sixteen in our last battle. He blushed slightly. It was mostly thanks to my wingman and the other pilots that I was so lucky.

That makes you an ace! the child exclaimed, his eyes wide.

David took a sip from his drink. I guess so, he said, uncertainly. It doesn’t really feel like anything diff… He stopped abruptly, distracted by a tingling sensation in his wrist.

He looked down, and frowned.

It’s an emergency recall order, he said. His gaze returned to his parents, whose smiling faces were suddenly frozen in pain.

I’m sorry, everyone, he said.

*****

Ambassador Keila Elbethian turned over in her bed, stretching and yawning lazily. Her eyes focussed on the tall, gray, and slender form of the alien Ke’ea lying next to her. She admired his spare musculature, his carefully tucked-in wings, and even his oddly hammer-shaped head. He was making soft chirping noises in his sleep.

Honey, she said softly, wake up.

K’Rorthak stopped chirping and opened his eyes. Are you okay? he asked, turning towards her. Is everything all right?

Yes, it’s just that I got a recall message from the Pegasus, she said. They are about to leave orbit to intercept an unknown spacecraft, possibly an emissary. They want me on board to handle any potential negotiations.

Very well, K’Rorthak said. I will come with you.

It might be dangerous, Keila said, her voice uncertain. They haven’t been able to establish contact yet…

The Ke’ea sat up. It couldn’t be any more dangerous than when we went full ramming speed against that Deathspawn warship.

I know, sweetie, but maybe this time… maybe you don’t want… Her voice trailed off.

K’Rorthak took her right hand and clasped it in his. Wherever you go, Keila, that is where I will follow. It does not matter about anything else.

Oh, darling, she said. Thank you. I don’t deserve you.

Yes you do, he said, and winked one of his large, heavily lashed eyes at her. Now come on and get dressed. We have a starship to catch.

*****

The Pegasus’ engines lit up, briefly outshining the sun. On board, the full crew complement wondered just what kind of fate awaited them at their destination.

The ship they were racing to meet was already visible from the Earth in a telescope. It was heading towards the solar system in a perpendicular path, approaching just a few degrees away from Polaris. It was moving in normal space at a velocity of two hundred thousand meters per second, and decelerating.

Is the bogey continuing to ignore all hails? Captain Rostov asked.

Aye sir, Lieutenant Jane Yiang answered. The target does not respond to any requests, and it has been completely dark in transmissions.

Let’s have a closer look at this thing, Rostov said.

Affirmative, Yiang replied. Launching a probe. Her slim fingers danced over the Tactical console. It should be coming up on screen in a few seconds…

The main display changed to a first-person view from the probe, and the unknown ship briefly appeared in the center of the view.

It was shaped like a giant, triangular wedge, burnt yellow in color. On each of its six faces were hundreds of turrets, making it resemble a robotic porcupine.

Confirmation on the size of the unknown? Rostov asked.

Yiang had to close her gaping mouth. Object is eight hundred sixty kilometers in width, sir.

That’s nearly the size of Ceres, First Officer Mark Pearson said, gulping.

The screen went black and was replaced with the normal view. Probe has been destroyed, sir, Yiang said.

Any sign of a beam weapon or missile?

Nothing, sir. Threat detection grid is completely blank.

Rostov frowned. What’s our intercept solution?

Duke Henry, the Second Officer, answered from his navigation console. We are fifty-three minutes away from intercept. Bogey’s deceleration curve will put them at rest when they reach Earth. To match their velocity at intercept we should start decelerating in two minutes fifteen seconds.

There was a loud crack, followed by a rumble like an earthquake. Alarms and lights screamed to life on every console.

Sir! the voice of Chief Engineer Ruth Fischer crackled through the intercom. We’ve been hit with a massive grav shear! There’s damage on all decks! What the hell…

Helm! Rostov yelled, cutting the Chief off in mid-sentence. Immediate rotation, ninety-five degrees starboard and max engines!

The Pegasus strained as the maneuvering thrusters fired. The ship’s fusion reactors lit up space with an eerie blue glow as they increased to their full output.

Two more rumbles followed, but like aftershocks to an earthquake, they were shorter and lower in intensity.

Has the bogey changed course to intercept? Rostov asked.

Negative, sir, Yiang replied. Still heading straight for Earth.

The Captain rubbed his beard, then his eyes. Either they have a passive defensive system and we’re out of range, or they don’t care about us. Let’s give them a little parting gift. Launch six nukes at that thing, all on random trajectories, and keep track of their positions.

Aye sir. The tactical officer remained cool, but underneath her uniform she was starting to sweat.

As the Pegasus continued her orthogonal course away from the massive ship, half a dozen small points of light arced towards the target. When the missiles reached the boundaries of an invisible sphere surrounding the bogey, they simply vanished.

Sir, nukes have all disappeared, Yiang said, with just a tiny hint of desperation in her voice. Each one was just under five hundred kilometers from the target. She checked the computer. The same distance as the probe, sir.

Open a channel to Earth, Rostov said. Tell them we attempted to engage the bogey, but that it has a seemingly impenetrable defensive system. Tell the rest of the fleet not to approach nearer than five hundred kilometers.

A ship that size, moving that fast… Duke Henry wondered out loud.

Rostov frowned. It may be generating a bubble of inverted space-time and using it for propulsion. Such a system would double as a shield and would be impossible to get through. He tapped a button on the arm of his chair. Admiral, requesting new orders please.

The bridge was silent while they waited for their message to get to Earth. The reply came twenty minutes later.

Captain, the voice of Admiral Sakaki strained through the speakers. We have analyzed the threat, and there is nothing you can do against their technology. You are ordered to abandon the pursuit and leave the Solar System. Rendezvous with as much of the Fleet as you can. Further orders will be sent via jump pod if possible. Sakaki out.

You heard the Admiral, Rostov said, clearing his throat. Plot a course back to the solar ecliptic, slingshotting around Jupiter and towards the sun. Open up a jump portal from the sun’s gravitational well as soon as we are close enough.

Sir? Pearson asked, are we really going to leave Earth defenseless?

The Earth is defenseless either way, Rostov replied bitterly. This at least gives us a chance to fight another day. He rubbed his temples. And who knows? Maybe these new aliens are beyond the need to destroy other species. Maybe they have other plans for us.

The arrival

The giant yellow ship floated impossibly into orbit, obeying its own laws of gravity as it casually bent space-time to its own will.

Inside, the Masters waited.

The alien’s home world is in sight, Master Lower Sub-Officer Fourth Class Ranshid-Forn-War-Gthilnaw announced to the nearly empty bridge. He lifted his trunk-like arm and rubbed his massive eyelid folds. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

It is a hideous world indeed, Master Mid-Section Sub-Chief Llornd-Forn-Dar-Shith replied. He shuffled his bulk uncomfortably in the enormous, upholstered Captain’s chair. We should destroy it simply to remove a blight from the Cosmos.

We have our orders, Ranshid replied simply.

Oh, I know about our orders. Llornd spat on the polished platinum floor. I’ve lived our orders, dreamt about our orders, thought about nothing but our orders for the last twelve Cycles. I’ve probably thought more about our orders than any of our superiors, who you may have noticed couldn’t even bother to show up for the moment of First Contact.

Ranshid said nothing.

Well, we have work to do. Get the probes ready and launch them so I can go back to my bunk and get some sleep.

*****

Christopher Hunter walked out of his small church and into the courtyard. It was a beautiful day, without a single cloud in the sky. He tugged at his collar and raised his face to the sun.

That was when he saw the faded yellow triangle, floating in the sky like a children’s moon.

Holy hell, he said to nobody in particular.

He hit a button on his watch. What is that thing? he asked it, his voice trembling slightly. Were we expecting a diplomatic visit?

The object you were looking at is an unidentified alien ship, his watch said. There are currently four hundred thousand news reports underway on the subject. Would you like to view one?"

Sure. Pick one at random.

The watch projected a holographic display on the ground, about one square meter in size. An attractive blonde woman began speaking.

Nice choice, Christopher thought.

…and all attempts to communicate with the giant ship have been met with complete silence. It is not known where the aliens come from, or what their intentions are. The flagship of our fleet, the UNIN Pegasus, had previously attempted to intercept the ship but was forced to withdraw after running into the seemingly impenetrable shield and sustaining heavy damage.

Shit, Christopher said out loud. This does not look good.

*****

Suddenly, hundreds of millions of tiny probes launched from the giant ship in a shower of fireworks and headed directly to the planet. Earth’s automatic defense systems reacted immediately, but because the probes were propelled by smaller versions of the space-time bubble drive that had driven the main craft, the defense missiles simply vanished when they got too close.

Ships that were already in orbit barely had time to fire up their engines and escape. A few of them were hit by probes and immediately disintegrated.

The remaining probes screamed through the atmosphere. The air surrounding their warp bubbles ignited, covering the probes in white-hot flames. It was a hailstorm of fire, a more vivid image of the end of the world than had ever been imagined.

Each probe hit the ground with devastating impact, leaving a charred crater fifty meters in diameter. The probes were concentrated around population centers, and so the cities