From the Depths of Time, Part One

By Marius A Smith

Shortly after an exploration ship visits the planet Copernicus a xenoarchaeological expedition on Turilsus is attacked by an alien menace, starting a chain of events that threatens the human race in the past, present and future.

When a visit to the distant future reveals that the Centaur race has returned from a millennia-long absence, and are hunting down the last remnants of humanity, the crew of the time ship Valentinian consider themselves obligated to apprise Temporal Security in the twenty sixth century of the impending threat before it arrives, but when Earth is attacked it seems it's already too late. With the means of invading time at different points simultaneously, the Centaurs are able to stage multiple invasions across human history, making themselves unstoppable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marius A Smith
• Release date: May 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311078247

Marius A Smith

Marius Augustus Smith was born in 1981 in Adelaide, Australia, and is a life-long fan of science fiction. He has travelled to many places around the world, with many more he has yet to visit, although some destinations can only be travelled to in the mind (at least until the invention of warp drive!). Also having an interest in history, especially ancient cultures, and Egypt in particular, Marius has incorporated these interests into his books. His favourite authors include Alexandre Dumas, Kevin J. Anderson, Drew Karpyshyn, Anne Rice and J. K. Rowling. Some of his not-so-common experiences include shovelling coal in a 1920s locomotive, and being an extra in a police line-up. Marius currently lives in Australia with his wife.

Book preview

From the Depths of Time

Part One

The Course of Time

BOOK SIX

Marius A. Smith

The Course of Time:

Larissa

Cerah

From Time to Time

The Time of Humanity

Time and Time Again

The Time of Sacrifice

Mysteries of Time

From the Depths of Time: Part One

From the Depths of Time: Part Two

Time’s Curse

In Times of War: Part One

In Times of War: Part Two

Copyright © 2024 Marius A. Smith

This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.

Published by Marius A. Smith at Smashwords

All historical individuals or places mentioned or referred to in this book are portrayed in a purely fictitious sense. All other characters are purely fictitious, and no resemblance to individuals living or dead is intended.

No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form without the prior permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

Hopeless Future

They say that time is a great healer... but they could be wrong.

Twilight was gathering over the archaeological site on the planet Turilsus. The warm evening air was still, with the only sounds being those made by small mammals called cansums that had made the extensive ruins their home. Their calls sounded like something between a yawn and a croak, but the two xenoarchaeologists finishing their dinner break weren’t bothered by them as they scurried about in search of insects. The chubby hamster-like creatures were the size of footballs, but were quite harmless, and after three months at the site the members of the expedition were used to them, and were even considering taking a few back to Earth as pets when their work on Turilsus was completed.

Come on, we’d better get back to it before Gibson gets upset, Jorg Panelli said as he dropped down off the low wall that they’d been sitting on to eat.

That guy really needs to relax a bit, Brice Harrington said as he followed after his comrade.

He’s just overly dedicated to his job, that’s all. Don’t forget, the poor chap’s a widower. His work’s all he’s got left. Jorg looked out across the ruins as they strolled along a stone-paved path that was overgrown with weeds. The place they were in had once been an extensive city many hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago. The structures were all made of stone, and although there was a minor degree of erosion from the passage of time, they were mostly intact with only an occasional exception where part of a building had collapsed here and there. The planet’s lack of tectonic activity and almost unchanging weather had helped to preserve the remnant of the Karathi civilisation. Much of the stonework was now covered in moss and lichen, mostly on the lower parts of the northern and southern faces that received little direct sunlight, and grass and weeds sprouted from the cracks between stones in the walls and paths. Most of the structures were no more than three levels high, with a few taller towers protruding above everything else. The place where Jorg and Brice usually had their evening meals was a good vantage point built on one of the higher parts of the gently undulating terrain from which they could see across most of the ruins to the thickly forested landscape surrounding them. In the distance two wide lakes were visible a relatively short distance from each other. The feel of the place quite often reminded Jorg of Machu Picchu, except that this city was many times larger and wasn’t built on a mountain, and had technological artefacts blended in with the almost ancient style of the city.

Do you reckon we’ll ever know for sure what happened to the Karathi? Brice wondered aloud.

Who can say? I tend to agree with those who think that it was something other than war, like Silvestri did back in the 2350s, otherwise there would be more than just occasional skeletal remains about the place. I’m inclined to think it was some sort of natural disaster, possibly a plague of some sort, and the few remains we’ve found belong to the last ones who died with no one left to bury them.

Possibly. It’s not likely that they just packed up and left the planet. There’s nothing to suggest that they were a space-faring people, no starships or anything. The height of their technology seems to be their androids.

Unless of course the starships are all gone because they all packed up and left. At least the androids help us to know what the Karathi looked like more accurately, Jorg said. At least more accurately than their impressionism artwork.

It’s a shame we can’t get them working. Just think of how much knowledge their datacores could’ve given us.

Maybe we can analyse an active one if we get clearance to join a temporal research team once we’ve learned all we can here.

I doubt Oriana would be too keen on you disappearing through time when you have a baby on the way. You’re lucky she let you come here. How far along is she now?

Four months, Jorg replied. Or as she puts it, seventeen weeks.

Why do women always put it in weeks? Then you’ve got to work it out in months to know what they’re talking about in normal terms, Brice asked.

Beats me. Anyway, it’s gonna be a boy, Jorg said, clearly very pleased about it.

It’s just as well you came here instead of the Copernicus mission, otherwise you’d miss the birth.

I’d definitely be in trouble then. Mind you, I am curious about Copernicus. I heard they’ve discovered some high-tech artefacts in an underground complex there.

I heard about that too. Apparently normal sensors missed it, and they only picked it up with those new ultra-fine sub-fermionic quantum sensors that only the very latest exploration ships have.

Then it sounds like they’re worth having. We should demand an upgrade for Shackleton.

They entered one of the largest buildings in the city and went to a ground-level area where their equipment was set up to scan and analyse a spacious but windowless chamber which had no apparent purpose, ceremonial or otherwise. It was square-shaped and undecorated, with a wide four-sided support structure that was not quite in the exact centre, made up of relatively small stone blocks. It could’ve been large enough to have a small room inside, perhaps for storage or ceremonial preparation, except that there were no doorways and the team’s sensors showed it to be just stone all the way through with no empty space within. The curious thing was that there were already several pillars in the chamber to support the ceiling, and the chambers on the floors above it were completely empty and had no need of extra support in that area, so it appeared to have no practical use. If anything it would be in the way, obstructing the view across the room, like in the event of a gathering being held there. Had the walls of the chamber been decorated with carvings like many of the other areas the xenoarchaeologists might’ve thought it to be a meeting place for religious purposes, but as it was that explanation just didn’t seem adequate.

I don’t think there’s anything more to get from here, Brice said, glancing around the chamber. It was well-lit by small but bright lamps that he and Jorg had placed there earlier that evening.

I guess we’ll just list it on the floor plan as ‘the empty room’ and go upstairs. Gibson’s analysing one of the androids up there, comparing it with a Karathi skeleton.

Brice’s multi-com ring gave a soft chime, so he raised his left hand palm downwards and touched the ring’s black stone. A hologram the size of his hand appeared above the ring showing the face of Alice Shea, the commander of their expedition. She was ex-military, and was in her late seventies, which was not even middle-aged with the latest developments in genetic manipulation. She had a perpetually stern no-nonsense expression. Yes, Commander? Brice answered.

Harrington, I’d like to see you in the station.

Certainly. I’ll be there in a minute, Brice said, and the hologram vanished.

What do you reckon that’s about? Jorg asked.

Probably something to do with the bullet pods. She assigned a couple of engineers to examine them earlier, Brice replied, referring to the high-speed Karathi transport system that used bullet-shaped capsules that travelled through underground tunnels.

I’ll pack up the lights and the rest of the gear and meet you up on second if you like.

Sure thing. Brice left the chamber by the other exit, which was situated opposite the way they’d come in.

Five minutes later Jorg had all of their scanning, imaging and analytical equipment packed away in their two cases, so he left the chamber and went up a wide flight of stone steps and along a passage that had light shining from one of the doorways halfway along. In that room, standing between two dusty old bodies, was a man with thinning and receding grey hair who was studying some scan results on a metre-wide holographic screen that was being projected from the omniscanner he was holding. The man didn’t appear to have noticed Jorg’s arrival, being absorbed in his scan results, so Jorg politely cleared his throat.

The man looked up at him. Ah, Panelli, how goes it downstairs?

All done, Gibson. Wasn’t really much to see down there. This looks much more interesting, Jorg said, looking down at the bodies. One was a complete skeleton, the other an android that hadn’t been operational since the Karathi disappeared so long ago. The android’s features were still intact, though its long and elaborately embroidered robes had decayed to little more than tattered rags. It was humanoid, but its main distinguishing feature was the prominent cranial ridge that protruded from the top of its hairless head from front to back, as well as a row of small upward-pointing horns along each side of its head. Its almost reptilian skin was mostly dark green but blended to a paler colour around its face and hands where it had a slightly coppery tinge. Its four ears were pointed, two angled forward and two back. Its jaw structure was made more prominent by its bony edge that was sharper than that of a human’s. Jorg found it a little disconcerting that its sapphire-blue eyes were open and staring blankly up at the ceiling. The skeleton beside it looked pretty much like a human one, other than the bony ridge and horns on its head, and the longer, almost vampire-like teeth that gave it a somewhat fearsome look, although all indications they’d found about the lost race suggested that they were a devoutly peaceful people.

Want to know something interesting? Gibson asked.

Sure.

The android even has a digestive system. The level of detail put into these androids would’ve made them so lifelike that they could’ve passed for ordinary people and no one would know the difference. Gibson suddenly noticed that Jorg was alone. Where’s Harrington?

Shea wanted to see him over at the station.

Gibson thought it a little strange that the commander would summon a xenoarchaeologist to examine something that was better handled by the team’s engineers, but he was too focussed on his own work to give it any further thought. His complete devotion to his research was the reason he’d never bothered to get any balding treatment, even though it was easily obtainable. Remembering that Jorg was still there, he said, I need holo-imaging done in the main room of the third level before we disturb anything for analysis.

Consider it done. I’ll have Brice meet me up there. Jorg activated his multi-com ring and a holographic touchpad appeared at the fingertips of that hand. He used it to initiate a call to Brice, but there was no response. He’s not answering.

If I see him I’ll send him up, Gibson assured him.

Jorg took the two cases and left the room, and continued further along the passage to another flight of stone stairs and went up to the next level. He was already familiar with the layout of the building, so he knew which room it was that Gibson wanted him to work on next. He set up the small lamps on the floor all around the room until the chamber was fully lit. In stark contrast to the last room he’d examined with Brice, this one had carved and painted motifs on every wall, all highly detailed. The artistry was masterful. The walls had numerous vertical niches spaced along them, as well as display podiums throughout the room, where an extraordinary range of artefacts were exhibited, from clay pots dating from ancient times to technological devices, the functions of which had yet to be determined. While clearly some kind of museum, Jorg hadn’t been able to determine if it was meant to have a specific theme. He took his holo-imager from his case and set to work capturing holographic images of the room at large, as well as taking closer and more detailed images of each artefact and wall motif, being extremely careful not to disturb anything.

Time passed, and a few hours later he’d covered every aspect of the entire room thoroughly, and still there had been no sign of Brice. He tried calling him again on his multi-com, but again there was no response. He tried calling Commander Shea, but received no response from her either. He turned to the door, intending to go and have a word with Gibson, but stopped when he saw Brice standing motionless in the doorway, watching him. Where have you been? I’ve already finished in here, Jorg asked. I tried calling you, but couldn’t get through.

Brice gave no response. In fact he didn’t so much as blink.

Jorg became a little unnerved by his friend’s completely impassive demeanour. He was sure Brice wasn’t playing some kind of strange joke, as it just wasn’t the sort of thing he did. He involuntarily took a step backward when Brice started walking towards him in an unnaturally stiff yet smoothly precise manner. Brice’s face held no expression, which in itself seemed menacing. As Jorg activated his ring, Brice reached up and grabbed his wrist in a crushing grip that he couldn’t pull free from. He heard a distant scream of terror that he knew to be Gibson’s voice just as Brice hit him in the side of the head with a perfectly aimed blow to immediately knock him unconscious.

*

Several hours later Jorg started to regain consciousness. He had a splitting headache, and when he reached his hand up to where he was hit he felt a damp stickiness that he knew immediately to be drying blood. He raised his head to look around and a wave of dizziness overcame him, leaving him with a nauseated feeling. He took a deep breath and tried again. He was in a Karathi transport station; a broad chamber of stone architecture that was networked across the city by underground tunnels along which the bullet-shaped transport pods travelled at extreme speeds. The chamber was illuminated by the same sort of lamps that he and the other xenoarchaeologists used for their work.

Jorg was alarmed as he was suddenly picked up by Commander Shea and Gibson, and hauled towards one of the silvery metal capsules. What the hell are you two doing? he shouted as he struggled to break free of them. His efforts proved futile, and he was unable to get out of their firm grips. Neither of them gave any indication that they’d even heard him. They lifted him and threw him ungracefully into the capsule and sealed it before he could dive back out. He beat his fists against the curved window and shouted out to them in a vain attempt to get an explanation. Looking around for a way to open the capsule, he saw that the internal controls had been smashed, and only then did he realise that the interior was lit under its own power. The pod had been repaired.

Just outside of it, Gibson and Shea watched him impassively as the commander activated the system remotely through her multi-com ring. The pod shot away down one of the tunnels, its cylindrical shape perfectly matching the metal-walled tube it raced along. Its thin displacement field kept it from hitting the sides of the tunnel and made the ride surprisingly smooth, though Jorg couldn’t see anything outside other than the tunnel wall. He was bewildered, unable to fathom what had come over his comrades.

After five minutes of travelling at ultra-high speed the pod began to slow, and soon it emerged into another station that was identical to the one he’d left. Here the old Karathi lighting system had been restored, so the place was fully lit. When the capsule came to a stop the door automatically released, and Jorg clambered out as quickly as he could. He took a few slow breaths to calm his anxiety. For a moment he could’ve sworn he heard the sound of heavy footsteps made by a large animal at least the size of a bear on the stone floor nearby. It was almost like a horse but it wasn’t exactly the sound of hooves. As he listened intently, looking all around, he could hear nothing at all. The place was completely silent. It was absurd to think there was any such animal down here, since this planet had no animals that were even remotely large enough to make a sound like the one he thought he heard. He realised that he could still be concussed from the blow to the head.

He looked around the station more closely and noticed a huddled shape in the far corner near one of the exits. With a shock he realised that it was a person lying on the ground, motionless. A lump of dread formed in his throat as he went over to have a closer look. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw who it was. Brice lay before him, most definitely dead, killed brutally as evidenced by the blood on the body and the floor around him. The look on the man’s face was terrifying.

Something was very wrong, and Jorg realised that he was most certainly in mortal danger on this planet. Although he had a pregnant wife waiting for him back on Earth, it was one of his brothers in particular that his thoughts went to, and he started to wish that he’d never left him and the rest of their family to start a new life.

A sound behind him made Jorg turn instinctively, just in time to see an inhuman beast lunge towards him.

*

Two months later the sixteen ground-based members of the expedition were gathered in an open outdoor area in the centre of the Karathi city. They all had their cases of equipment with them, and Commander Shea made sure everyone was present and accounted for, ready to return to the ship in orbit.

I already have several universities asking me to give lectures on what we’ve learned about the Karathi here, Gibson said with a proud smile of anticipation.

Better you than me, Jorg said. I hate public speaking.

Not that you’d have a great deal of time to anyway, with that baby due in a few months, Brice said.

That’s definitely going to keep me occupied full-time, Jorg agreed.

Right everyone, we’re off! the commander announced without wasting any more time. She gave an order into her multi-com ring, and with a shimmer of light they were all teleported up to the ship.

As soon as Shea entered the bridge she gave the order to break orbit.

Commander, a young woman manning the sensors console called out. I’m picking up a human life sign on the surface.

Shea went over and checked her console, and as soon as she’d confirmed the readings every person on the entire ship suddenly froze exactly where they stood, completely motionless. Shea alone started to move with a blank expression, and went over to the tactical console. Without hesitation, she targeted the life sign and fired the ship’s weapons down at the planet, and returned to the sensors console.

Suddenly everyone resumed what they were doing as though nothing had happened.

Sorry Commander, it seems to have vanished. It must’ve been a false reading, the sensors operator said.

It was probably an afterimage from when we came aboard, Shea said dismissively. Then she called out, Helmsman, set a course for Earth. I’m overdue for my long service leave.

*

Down in the empty ruins of the Karathi city a human body lay half-covered by broken blocks of stone from where part of the wall and ceiling had collapsed, blasted open by the expedition vessel’s parting shot. It was the featureless chamber with the unusual four-sided construction that they’d had no explanation for, only now one face of it had been broken open by falling chunks of stone. Had anyone still been alive there, they would’ve seen that it wasn’t solid stone right through as their sensors had indicated, but was hollow; a small hidden chamber filled with a shimmering blue light.

*

William and Luke were sitting on a lounge in William’s quarters watching a recorded wrestling match that they’d found stored in the ship’s database. Both were casually dressed in black jeans and a long-sleeved buttonless shirt, reminiscent of the basic uniforms they used to wear when they worked for Temporal Security. The match they were watching was relatively tame, considering the sort of bloodthirsty entertainment that the Romans went to the arena to see, although the winner of the match would get the opportunity to fight as a gladiator in the arena. Why anyone would want to was something that William and Luke were baffled by, especially as William had firsthand experience of fighting in the Colosseum. Even if there was a big money reward for those fighters at the end, many of the arena matches were to the death. The only rationale they could think of was that those who entered willingly probably had nothing left to lose. Not that it mattered now, since the timeline where the Roman Empire spanned hundreds of star systems no longer existed, but William and Luke were enjoying trying to guess who the winner would be. The fight was between an exceptionally muscular human and a member of a species that neither of the vampires recognised, whose skin had a faint purple tinge.

That alien guy’s about to get trounced by the human, Luke said.

Not a bit of it, the alien’s just playing him along, waiting for the right moment, William responded. He winced as the purple-skinned man was lifted and thrown several metres across the ring.

Your alien doesn’t stand a chance. He doesn’t even have nipples!

William took a closer look. You’re right. I hadn’t even noticed.

A call came through on the ship’s internal communication system, so William reluctantly paused the match and answered it.

Larissa’s face appeared on the screen. I’m sorry to interrupt you boys when you’re no doubt so very busy, she said with heavy sarcasm, though with a smile, but I thought you’d like to know that we’re coming up on a planet with a few hundred human life signs on it.

We’ll be right there! William replied enthusiastically.

I’ll let everyone else know, Larissa said, and ended the call.

I guess the match can wait, William said as he and Luke stood up. He picked up his long, double-breasted, black tweed coat that was draped over a nearby chair and put it on.

Well we can just assume that my guy beat yours. It’s pretty obvious that he was going to, Luke taunted as he too retrieved his jacket, a medium-length dark brown leather one. Leather jackets had become popular among the small crew since they’d found a clothing crate full of them in one of the cargo holds.

That’s it, we’re definitely going to have to watch the rest of it later. And you’ll see, the alien will make a well-timed comeback.

You seem pretty sure about that. Sure enough to make a wager, perhaps?

William was tempted, but reconsidered. Maybe not. The last time I made a wager with you I ended up cooking your meals for a week.

Together they left William’s quarters and made their way along the passage towards the bridge. The concave walls of the passage, like the rest of the ship’s interior, were made of a silvery-grey metal that had a slightly blue tinge, and the floors were covered in soft grey carpet. The ceiling also had a curvature like that of the walls, giving the passage a tunnel-like feel. They’d named their commandeered Roman time ship Valentinian as a sort of tribute to the ancient Roman emperor whom William had been forced to assassinate to restore the timeline from that of the space-faring Roman Empire. Valentinian the First had been a great emperor, and the two timelines had stemmed from the events surrounding his death. Killing him had been one of the hardest things that William had ever done, but it’d been necessary for the sake of the lives of billions of people. At least they’d been able to save six people from the Roman timeline, who were now their shipmates and friends.

The front section of the sleek, streamlined time ship was a 270 degree crescent with the tapered tips pointing forward, lined with weapon ports along the outer edges, with the bridge situated centrally inside it. The main body narrowed towards the rear, ending with a smaller crescent pointing aft with the engines built into its inner curvature for greater manoeuvrability. The entire hull was plated with a reflective silvery metal, and was three decks high at its thickest point where the body merged with the main crescent.

William and Luke entered the bridge. The spacious circular chamber also had concave walls, and was dominated by a stepped platform at the rear with three almost throne-like seats on it for the highest-ranking officers, though they were seldom used by William’s crew. A massive panoramic view screen extended across the entire front quarter of the room. In front of it were two long consoles in a V formation, each comprised of three operating stations, which opened out towards the screen so that the operators would all have a clear view. At present, Cerah was at the helm and Larissa was at the sensors console examining the incoming data about the planet they were approaching. William went over to Larissa and put his arm around her shoulders as he looked at the data as well, and Luke went over and gave Cerah a quick kiss before heading over to the sensors console too.

So where are we? William asked, noticing how good Larissa looked in her tight-fitting dark blue jeans, deep crimson top, and black, waist-length leather jacket that matched her black leather boots.

The planet’s not listed in the database, so it must be further out than the Romans ever ventured. Bear in mind that we have been travelling for a long time, Larissa replied with a smile, well aware of William checking her out, and pleased to know that he still did after being married for close to three years now. After visiting a colony hidden within the depths of the planet Neptune and exploring a few other places nearby, they’d decided to have a look at the future a couple of centuries after their time. Since they had no idea what to expect, it’d seemed prudent to start somewhere a considerable distance away from Earth to find out what the situation was before finding themselves in over their heads in an era that would be much more advanced than what they were familiar with. At least this way if things didn’t go well they’d have a better chance of getting away, being in a remote area.

Cerah set the ship to autopilot and stood up to stretch her legs, putting on her knee-length leather jacket to complete her outfit that was almost identical to Larissa’s, except with a black top, her selection having come from the same cargo crate.

The rest of their shipmates entered as a group, and with all eleven members of their crew now present, Larissa transferred the data from her console to the main screen and explained the situation in more detail.

It’s a small unnamed planet with mostly arid terrain and just over three hundred human life signs in a single colony. There are a few small starships on the surface, but they’re unpowered. Other than that there’s no evidence of technology.

So wha’ era ‘ave we ended up in then? Dobbins asked, his black British Cockney accent showing a hint of a northern inflection. He hadn’t shaved in a fortnight, and the scruffy look worked in perfect conjunction with his mess of short dreadlocks. His clothes were a mismatched combination of jeans with a few small holes and tears that’d been badly stitched up, a once cream-coloured buttoned shirt that was criss-crossed with discordant lines of supposedly decorative brown stitching across it that everyone suspected Dobbins did himself, and a faded black denim jacket with several badges and a few patches sewn on to it.

It’s September 30th, 2791.

Well, we wanted to see what the future’s like. Let’s go and meet these people, William said enthusiastically.

That’s the spirit! Pete said with a grin on his mildly chubby face, his accent closer to pure Cockney than Dobbins’.

Are you sure there’s nothing else we can learn about them before going down, just to be on the safe side? Argyle asked a little apprehensively in his pretentiously posh voice.

Mase shook his shaved head in disappointment. Man, where’s your sense of adventure? he asked in his contrastingly American accent. His outfit of choice was always black jeans and a black singlet that showed off the long, thin, tendril-like tattoos that snaked down his muscular arms.

I left it on Sargon where I was almost killed several times over, Argyle replied.

No one’s forcing you to go. Stay here while the rest of us go down. Anyway, we’ll need someone to bring us back later, Thea said, some annoyance carrying in her mellow voice. Her choice of a short burgundy leather jacket over a black top and jeans complimented her dark skin well.

I wouldn’t mind going down, Xujania said. We could do with some fresh supplies to cook with, assuming they’ve got any down there. Her taste of clothing always tended towards lighter tones, and during the visit to the Neptune colony she’d been fortunate to obtain a pair of tight beige jeans with a white top and a loose, light grey cotton jacket. She’d been dating Pete for about six months now, and Mase and Thea had also been dating for that long.

I’d like to go too, if you don’t mind, Ainsley said. The fully sentient android looked human, other than the distinctive pallor of his artificial skin, and his attire blended in with that of the rest of the crew in his jeans, grey shirt, and dark brown leather jacket that was similar to Luke’s. The vocal system that his artificial intelligence had been programmed with had a northern British accent, which he’d decided to keep. It’s possible that those ships on the surface crashed, and if so I may be able to help them assess and repair the damage.

We’re only a couple of minutes away, Cerah said. I’ve set the autopilot to put us in orbit, so we might as well head to the displacement chamber now.

Let’s do it, Luke agreed, and led the way from the bridge. Everyone else followed.

When they reached the spatial displacement chamber they all stepped into the wide circular alcove. In the end no one wanted to be left behind, not even Argyle, since it’d been months since their last stop anywhere. With their sunlight immunity, the four vampires didn’t need to take any special precautions on that account, but as a last minute thought, William stepped back out and went over to a wall locker and retrieved the four energy pistols of a silvery streamlined design and the four handheld scanners that were kept there. He went back into the chamber and handed them out, keeping a scanner for himself, and made a mental note that he really should stock it with enough equipment for every member of the crew to have both a pistol and a scanner.

Well somebody has to stay behind to operate the system, Larissa said.

Not me, Thea said blatantly. To justify her place in the departing group, she added, Well, somebody might be hurt down there, and I’m the only doctor.

My datacore has detailed files on human physiology and medicine, Ainsley said.

I’m going, Thea persisted adamantly.

An’ you don’t wanna leave me alone with the run of the ship. Who knows wha’ state it’ll be in when you get back, Dobbins said.

Oh tha’s for sure, Pete agreed.

Cerah sighed. Alright, Luke and I will stay aboard.

What? Luke asked, his excitement suddenly squashed.

Where would you rather be, some arid planet on the edge of known civilisation, or on a comfortable ship with your wife? Cerah asked, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

Luke knew there was only one right answer, at least only one that he could say out loud. Alright, I’ll stay, he muttered, and Cerah punched him in the arm for his obvious disappointment.

We’ll try not to be too long, William promised.

You guys do have your comm units, don’t you? Luke asked as he and Cerah stepped out of the chamber.

I do, Argyle said, holding up a small circular device with a screen on the front.

Me too, Thea said, patting the pocket of her jacket.

Two will be enough, Pete said confidently.

I’ll put you down near the outskirts of their settlement, just in case, Cerah said.

Good idea, Larissa agreed.

Cerah operated the controls on a wall console, and within the chamber the floor and ceiling started to glow. A mirage-like shimmer distorted everything around the group, which became more intense until everything was completely obscured.

When the distortion faded, the group found themselves standing on a rocky hillside with only an occasional half-dead tree or bush adorning it. It was night, and the air was dry and cold. A single large moon illuminated the landscape, and countless stars were visible in the cloudless sky. Further down the hill there was a small lake, not much more than an oversized pond, around which a makeshift colony had been established. It was comprised of rough wooden shacks that’d been built from what little wood could be scrounged in the nearby area. Amid them were three crashed starships, which looked like civilian craft, and didn’t appear to be in very good condition. A group of ragged people emerged from one of them and started coming towards William’s group.

They must have sensors that are still operational to have discovered us so quickly, Mase remarked.

Or at least omniscanners, Larissa said.

In a situation like theirs, they’re probably desperate. We should be careful, Thea added.

William nodded. You’re right, but we should still see if we can help them.

The excited shouts of the people coming towards them had alerted the rest of their settlement, and people started pouring out of the shacks and the other two ships as well, all herding towards them in a way that looked dangerously like a stampede. The four of them with a pistol held them ready, and William knew from Argyle’s anxious expression that it’d been a mistake to give him one of the weapons. Someone with such a deeply cowardly nature like him was likely to shoot in a moment of scared reflex if someone so much as sneezed. Thea took out her comm unit in case they needed to call Cerah and Luke to bring them back up to the ship in a hurry.

As the crowd drew closer their haggard appearance became more distinctive. Their clothes were dirty and worn, and they all looked gaunt and malnourished. When they could see their visitors more clearly they slowed down and stopped with some distance between them and William’s group. William was under the impression, based on their excitement turning to wariness, that the people weren’t so much worried about armed visitors as they were disappointed, having expected somebody else. One man stepped forward, appointing himself as a spokesman for his people. He was middle-aged, and had only a couple of days of stubble on his face, as was the case with most of the men present. Clearly they’d tried to retain some form of civilised dignity during what was no doubt an ordeal, living in such unpromising conditions, if only to prevent morale from plummeting into despair as quickly.

Hello, he began simply. Are you from Earth?

More or less, William replied. What’s happened here? You look like you could use some help.

To say the least. Do you have food? We’ve used all of our supplies, picked the berry bushes clean, and there are almost no fish left in the lake.

Sure, we’ll have food sent down, enough for you all, William assured him. I take it you came in those ships?

That’s right. We had four ships originally. We tried to take refuge as far from Earth as the ships would carry us, but we were attacked by the beasts. It was just one ship, and our combined armaments were sufficient to destroy it, but only just. Those three ships’ engines were too badly damaged to get us far, so we were forced to set down here. And I can tell you, we were lucky to survive the landing. With only meagre resources anywhere on this planet, the fourth ship set out to explore the local region of space to see if there was anyplace where we could better survive. When we first detected your landing party we thought you might be them.

How many of you are there? Xujania asked.

Three hundred and twelve. We’ve lost a few to sickness due to malnutrition, the man replied sadly. I don’t suppose you’ve detected our other ship on your travels?

I’m afraid not. No ships at all, in fact. We only came across your settlement quite by chance while passing through this region, William said.

Well, we shan’t give up hope for them. At least you haven’t been found by the beasts either, though somehow they always seem to find anywhere that human survivors set up camp in the galaxy.

William was about to enquire more about the beasts when Dobbins suggested, Why don’t we take ‘em somewhere else in Valentinian? We should ‘ave the room.

I was abou’ to say the same thing, Pete remarked. We could leave a message of some sort for their friends if they come back.

Argyle looked at Dobbins and Pete. I would say great minds think alike, but that wouldn’t really apply to you two, would it? They both glanced at him but didn’t grace his remark with a response.

The settlement’s spokesman clutched at the glimmer of hope. We’d be ever so grateful if you would even take us to another nearby planet where we’d stand a better chance of survival. I’m afraid we have nothing to offer you, unless you think you can salvage something from our ships. You would be welcome to whatever you could make use of.

That won’t be necessary, William assured him, then turned to Thea. Call Luke and get him to send down enough food for everyone here to have a decent meal while we make preparations to take them away.

Sure thing, Thea replied.

Returning his attention to the spokesman, William went forward and introduced himself with a handshake. I’m William Herschel.

Tom Graham.

Larissa interrupted their greetings and said to Tom, Actually there might be one thing you can help us out with. Our database is extremely out of date. If any of yours are still operable, perhaps we could download some information?

Only one ship still has power, the one we detected your arrival with, but like I said, you’re welcome to whatever you need. Tom was clearly overwhelmed by the relief of finally being able to leave such a desolate planet before starvation claimed the whole colony.

Thea came over and reported, Luke said that they’ll get some supplies together, and should start sending it down within ten minutes. Addressing Tom, she added, I’m a medic. Do any of your people need medical treatment?

No one’s injured, but thank you. Any ailments they have will be due to near starvation. All they need is some good food.

I’ll go and see what I can download onto this, Larissa said, holding up her scanner.

I’ll come with you, William said, considering that if he used his scanner as well they’d be able to retrieve the data in half the time. Ainsley, want to come with us? We might need your help linking up to their systems.

I wouldn’t miss it, Ainsley said.

Tom looked at the android apprehensively, having only just realised what he was, but said nothing.

As William, Larissa and Ainsley walked away down to the settlement, Mase started assigning some of the colony’s men to be ready to carry the food down when it arrived. The other members of Valentinian’s crew started introducing themselves.

*

On board Valentinian, Luke and Cerah were each carrying a large plastic crate that was so well laden with supplies that it even seemed heavy for the vampires, who’d carried them from nearly the other end of the ship. They placed them in the spatial displacement chamber with another couple of crates that they’d fetched earlier and stepped out.

That should be enough to get them started, Luke said, and operated the controls. When the crates had been sent to the surface, he added, A couple of the others could’ve come up to relieve us so that we could have a look around down there.

I’m sure there’ll be time. Thea did say we were going to relocate more than three hundred people, and that takes a while to get sorted out, Cerah assured him, almost feeling guilty for depriving him of the first opportunity for exploration that they’d had in months.

An alert started sounding throughout the ship, startling them. On a display on the wall console they received a basic sensor summary of what had triggered it. It showed an unusual energy spike coming from the planet’s surface close to the settlement, and it was causing a spatial distortion as it increased in magnitude.

We’d better see what that is, Luke said, and started running in the direction of the bridge.

Cerah activated the ship’s communication system through the wall console and called Thea.

Cerah, what’s up? Thea asked, her face visible on the display.

Not sure yet. We just got an alert from the ship’s sensors, something about an energy reading down there that’s increasing in strength.

A few of them have gone to one of the crashed ships to download what they can from its database. They might’ve powered up a few other systems, Thea speculated.

"I don’t think it’s that. This is coming from outside of the settlement, and it involves a greater magnitude of power than a few starship systems coming online. We’re going to the bridge, so I’ll let you know