The Voyages Of The Seven

By R.E Weber

The Seven: the first wave of humanity among the stars.

Theopolis James Logan is finally living his long-cherished dream. Whisked away from his mundane life on Earth - along with six other gifted teenagers - by an alliance of peaceful, alien civilisations known as The Affinity, he has forged a life of excitement and wonder on another world. To his friends, he is a technical specialist, adept in the use of super-advanced technology. However, in secret, he is a covert operative for The Star Agency: the Affinity’s secret service, defending the galaxy against the shadowy forces of the Metah Dah, the Affinity’s sworn enemy.

For centuries, the Star Agency has helped maintain a fragile peace, but when a devastatingly powerful secret weapon is lost, presumed stolen, it sets in motion a chain of events, pushing the Affinity towards the brink of war and plunging the seven human friends into a nerve-shredding battle for survival. Can they survive in a universe more dangerous and unpredictable than they can possibly imagine, or will the dark forces of the enemy triumph, tearing the Affinity apart?

Meanwhile, back on Earth, an old friend is looking for answers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.E Weber
• Release date: Feb 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310055430

R.E Weber

R.E.Weber began his fiction writing career in January 2013 by publishing THE STAR AGENCY - an Interstellar Secret Agent adventure, aimed at readers aged 9 and upwards. The second book in the series THE VOYAGES OF THE SEVEN has now been released and will be followed by further books in the coming years.When not reading or writing, he is often to be found indulging in his other passions, which include running, astronomy and cinema going.A Yorkshireman, born and bred, he now lives in Bedfordshire, UK with his wife & cat.

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Prologue

With a piercing squeal of its rusty brakes, the old bus drew to a halt in the gravel layby, outside the spectacular walled monastery, high in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus. Moments later, its doors creaked open to reveal a group of eager tourists, who were led down the steps and away from the bus by a tour guide, holding up a plastic, Greek Cypriot flag so she could be more easily seen. Once the gathered tourists had moved away towards the monastery entrance, its two remaining occupants – a taller than average, six-year-old boy and an elderly lady dressed in the traditional black garb of a Greek widow – slowly descended the steps and remained at the roadside until the bus had pulled away.

Without waiting to be asked, the young boy pulled a folded walking stick out of his shoulder bag and snapped it open to its fullest extent. Then he held it out towards the elderly lady, who grasped it in her bony, wrinkled hand and planted it firmly on the ground to rest for a moment and steady herself.

‘Are you ready now, Grandma?’ said the young boy in Greek, once he had satisfied himself that the old lady looked well enough to walk.

Without a word, the old lady took a few wheezy breaths and began shuffling towards the monastery entrance, with the young boy walking slowly by her side, gently supporting her other arm. Manoeuvring around several piles of melting snow, they reached the ornately decorated entrance. The boy pulled out a ten euro note, handed it to the ticket attendant and waited for change. Then they proceeded through into the open courtyard beyond.

For a moment, they stopped and looked around them at the beautiful arched walls and gold frescos gleaming in the late morning sunlight. Then the old lady lifted her arm and pointed to a doorway across the courtyard.

‘This way, Cristos,’ she croaked.

The pair walked slowly across the courtyard and through a door held open by a smiling member of staff, who attempted to help the old lady through but was brushed casually aside with a wave of her finger.

Once inside the chapel, it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness after the glare of the morning sun, but once they had, Cristos looked around, wide-eyed and stunned at the sight that met his young, innocent eyes. Every wall and ceiling in the chapel was adorned with the most beautifully ornate images he had ever seen – paintings of clothed and semi clothed religious figures, many of who had gold discs surrounding their angelic looking faces. Some were standing in front of fortresses or castles, while others were on river banks, reaching out towards figures on the opposite sides. Others still were cradling angelic looking babies, whilst one figure – a bearded man – on the wall closest to him, was pinned, spread eagled to a large wooden cross, his head lolling to one side, looking at the ground with sad eyes.

‘The saviour,’ whispered his grandmother, who had been standing quietly by his side, watching Cristos stare in amazement at the spectacular chapel.

‘Why is he stuck up there on that cross, Grandma?’

‘He suffers for us all.’

‘But why?’

‘For our sins.’

‘What are sins, Grandma?’

‘When you do wicked things and think wicked thoughts.’

Cristos stared for a moment at the painting of the man on the cross. Then he turned and looked towards the front of the chapel. Hanging above the central aisle were several large golden chandeliers, each holding maybe two dozen lighted candles, which were flickering eerily in the half-light of the spectacular chapel.

Without waiting for Cristos, his grandmother walked towards the altar, and she had almost reached the front before he had noticed and rushed dutifully to her side to help steady her frail legs.

For a moment, the pair stood in silence, staring at the stunning gold-leaf paintings behind the altar and the trail of worshippers moving slowly from left to right, occasionally kneeling and making the sign of the cross invisibly across their chests.

‘Why are they doing that, Grandma?’ whispered Cristos.

‘They are asking for forgiveness.’

‘Why, what have they done?’

‘They have sinned.’

‘Have they been bad then?’

‘We all sin. We are all bad sometimes.’

‘I don’t sin, Grandma. I’m a good boy. That’s what you keep telling me.’

‘Yes you are, Cristos. You are a good boy. But we all have bad thoughts sometimes, even you.’

‘Even you, Grandma?’

‘Even me, Cristos.’

Cristos continued to stare at the chapel, mesmerised. Everywhere he looked, gold seemed to be reflecting back at him, almost as if it were lit from within.

‘Is that real gold, Grandma?’

‘Yes, it is.’

Cristos looked around him, puzzled.

‘But I thought gold was expensive?’

‘It is,’ said his grandmother abruptly.

Cristos looked away to one side, his mind clearly elsewhere. Then he turned back to his grandmother. ‘But the people in the village – you said they were poor, didn’t you?’

‘Times are hard, boy,’ said the old woman.

‘But the church is good though, isn’t it?’

‘Only God is truly good. The church just tries to follow God’s example.’

‘So why don’t the people who work in the church sell all the gold and give the money to the poor people in the village? Then they would be good, wouldn’t they?’

‘That is not for a boy such as you to decide,’ said the old woman, clearly irritated at her grandson’s impudence.

‘It’s wrong,’ said Cristos, suddenly raising his voice, so much so that several worshippers stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him angrily.

The old lady took a deep breath to calm herself. Then she smiled back at him. ‘You are young, Cristos. And the Universe is much more complicated than you can possibly imagine.’

However, Cristos didn’t say anything. Instead, his mind began to drift away, as it often did, to a place more distant and alien than his grandmother could possibly imagine. A place where everybody was fair to everybody else, and nobody suffered or starved while others lived in luxury and riches.

Chapter 1 – Athonesis Report

‘Governor Tallus, I trust the moment finds you in acceptable well-being?’

‘It does, First Mentor.’

‘I am gratified. How may I assist you?’

‘I have reviewed the preliminary report into the Athonesis incident involving Operative Logan.’

‘Good. Is the content of the report acceptable?’

‘The report is, as I would expect, factually correct. However, there are several points which require clarification for my needs.’

‘Of course. Continue.’

Governor Tallus retrieved the report notes he had compiled earlier and scanned the list for a moment before responding.

‘First of all, with regard to the device which generated the power disruption field, I noted that you were able to determine the point from which the field was triggered, yet were unable to locate the device itself, despite being deep underground and shielded from the base explosion.’

‘Correct.’

‘Can you suggest an explanation for this anomaly?’

‘I believe the device underwent a total matter to energy conversion in order to generate the field. In essence, it became a pulse of energy, leaving behind none of its original form.’

‘Is this possible?’

‘Theoretically, yes. However, we have been unable to construct such a device.’

Governor Tallus poured over his notes once more, before continuing.

‘And in the matter of the distress call and the subsequent alert, can we be certain the Star Agency secure logs have not been tampered with in any way and that the events detailed are accurate?’

‘Yes, I believe that is a safe conclusion.’

‘Good. So we are certain that the distress call was received by the Star Agency prior to the launch of the rescue mission?’

‘Yes.’

‘Yet the individual who received the distress call and raised the coded alert has yet to be identified?’

‘Correct. And to pre-empt your next question, I believe the only reasonable conclusion is that the message was relayed by a self-annihilating, limited facsimile – in essence, an artificial intelligence designed for a specific purpose, which was then able to destroy all traces of its existence from the Star Agency computer node.’

‘But does this not in itself constitute unauthorised tampering with the node logs?’

‘No. If you recall, such facsimiles have been used before. As I recall, one particular use was authorised by yourself, was it not?’

For a moment, Governor Tallus stiffened in irritation. Then after a sharp intake of breath he responded.

‘And you will no doubt recall that I also requested the removal of such facsimiles. Was this not completed, as requested?’

‘It was. But there was always a possibility, however remote, that one might have developed an ability to mask its presence. In essence, it could have remained undetected within the operating system core.’

‘Then it appears we may need to accelerate the development of a new core.’

‘I would concur.’

‘I would be grateful if you could oversee the development yourself. Any reasonable additional resources will of course be made available, if required.’

‘I will proceed without delay.’

‘Good. I noted that in the matter of the Athonesis star shield, you have yet to reach a satisfactory conclusion as to how its threat detection systems might have been compromised?’

‘Correct. This is still under investigation, although I do not expect a definitive answer.’

‘Do you have a hypothesis?’

‘The most likely explanation remains a root code update. This may also explain how the research station’s node was compromised. However, we have been unable to find any evidence to back up this hypothesis.’

‘You are saying that core operating system components of both the star shield network and the research station may have been overwritten?’

‘Yes. However, since both were based on obsolete technology, we may never know for certain.’

Governor Tallus stood up from behind his desk.

‘I am of course aware of this. And since all artefacts were removed from the site beneath the research station long ago, it was never deemed of sufficient importance to deploy an updated star shield network around Athonesis. Yet despite this, the Metah Dah believed that access to the station and its resources was important enough to warrant an incursion. Can you perhaps suggest a reason why?’

‘I can only suggest that they believed important artefacts remained undetected, and that they might be able to recover them.’

‘They believed that with their obsolete technology and limited animal intelligence, they might somehow discover something missed by our investigative teams? If so, their arrogance has risen to new levels.’

‘And yet the investigative teams did miss the evidence of damage to the research station’s observation window, caused by an implement composed of a material unknown to Affinity scientists. Evidence, I might add, discovered by Operative Logan – an untrained pre-operative at the time.’

‘So you are saying that the Metah Dah discovered something we missed?’

‘The possibility remains, however unlikely it might seem.’

Governor Tallus took a slow, deep breath, then sat down again.

‘Then perhaps our own arrogance has led to carelessness and blinded us to the ingenuity of the Metah Dah.’

‘Paranoemenos continually exceeds our expectations. I have always said that we should never underestimate him.’

‘Or indeed, Operative Logan. Despite his lack of discipline, his abilities continue to surprise.’

‘They do indeed.’

‘So in summary, can you be certain of the report's conclusion – that of a discontinuity event having taken place?’

‘All possibilities have been explored. The conclusion remains the only logical explanation.’

‘The only possibility is an impossibility?’

‘A discontinuity event is not an impossibility. It is simply an event for which no scientific framework exists.’

‘So you are saying that a distress call could have been received before it was sent. That despite the protestation by Affinity scientists that effect cannot precede cause, this is exactly what occurred?’

‘I believe the humans have a saying which would describe the situation well. When you eliminate the impossible, that which remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’

‘I cannot deny that this troubles me, First Mentor. Accepting the fact that our scientists may not understand all the physical laws of the Universe, the fact that the distress call was received just in time to launch the rescue attempt suggests an alarming possibility, does it not?’

‘Indeed. Were a quirk of the laws of physics to cause the message to shift randomly through time, the chances of it arriving at the correct moment to allow a rescue attempt are extremely small. It is more likely, however improbable, that the message was under intelligent control.’

‘Can you suggest who or what might have the technology to do this?’

‘Not as yet. Although the success of the rescue mission suggests the actions of an ally, we cannot rule out the possibility that an enemy might have done this for reasons we do not yet understand.’

‘Indeed. Could it be that whoever did this has an interest in Operative Logan? The rescue ships did, after all, arrive just after he sent the distress call.’

‘That is certainly a possibility. The circumstances surrounding this mission were unique. Protah Haarrnn Toh took an unprecedented risk in sending an untrained pre-operative into such a situation. Operative Logan might be an easy target for manipulation by enemy forces due to his lack of experience. It may have been in the interests of such an enemy to keep him alive for future use.’

‘This concerns me greatly. Whether an enemy or an ally, it would suggest access to advanced technology, detailed intelligence and maybe even the ability to intercept secure transmissions. It might also suggest unauthorised access to the Star Agency node.’

‘There is also the suggestion that two different forces were at work: one whose motivation was to sabotage the mission and another whose was to save it.’

‘Clearly we will have to investigate this further as a matter of urgency.’

‘I concur. I will relay the matter to Commander Haarrnn Toh without delay. How much of this should we relay to Operative Logan?’

‘Discontinuity events are deemed Prime Secrecy. This should remain the case. I am sure you will be able to draft a convincing explanation, which will, shall we say, bypass the truth.’

‘Of course. Do you have any further questions regarding the content of the report?’

‘Not at present, First Mentor.’

‘Good. Then I will wish you sleep without dreaming.’

Governor Tallus stood up once more and looked along the line of paintings on the wall of his office. ‘Your servant,’ he replied simply before closing down the conversation and heading out of his office towards his private quarters.

Chapter 2 – The Journal of Theo Logan

OK, so here’s the deal. My name is Theopolis James Logan (god, I hate my first name), and I live on a space station, around a planet called Polisium, five hundred light-years from Earth. I’m surrounded by technology, which still amazes me even though I’ve been here for over a year. I’ve got an advanced computer, known as a companion, wired directly into my brain and all my senses, which I can control with just a few flicks of my eyeballs. Yet here I am, with a top quality, no expense spared, plastic pen, complete with ink (or something similar anyway), and an old-fashioned diary made of plain paper. And I’m writing with that pen onto that paper. Why, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you why. Because Ruby, my best friend, thought it would be a good idea to retain some of the traditions from Earth and write down my thoughts on paper, old style. It’s time-consuming and messy compared to dictating into my companion. Yet somehow, I let myself be talked into it. And even worse, First Mentor and Governor Tallus agreed with her. By the way, First Mentor is an immortal creature of pure energy, and Governor Tallus is the head of the Affinity (an alliance of twelve advanced civilisations) just in case you were wondering.

‘Traditions are important’ Governor Tallus once told me. That’s why he paints pictures using brushes made of chamon hair and colours made from concentrated plant extracts, just like artists on Earth. And worse still, because I’m in The Star Agency (the Affinity’s secret service, obviously) I have to keep two journals: one I can show Ruby, Weng or any of the other recruits from Earth (there are seven of us in total) and this one, which I have to lock in a secure vault every night. I’m surprised Protah Haarrnn Toh allows me to do this since security is so important in the Star Agency, but he accepts it. Protah Haarrnn Toh is the Star Agency commander. The best way of describing him is like a bad tempered, walking octopus. Anyway, I digress.

Well, it’s been an eventful time, this last year and a bit. To sum up, I’ve left my family and friends back on Earth, to live on another planet – well in orbit around another planet anyway. I’ve learnt an entirely new language, Affinity Common, which is a minor miracle in itself since I was useless at languages at school. That’s the wonder of these companions. Anything you hear, you can remember forever if you want to. Mind you, Ruby puts us all to shame. She speaks several Earth languages such as English, Sinhala, Tamil, Hindi and Spanish. And then she speaks fluent Affinity Common – not just speaks it but teaches it to the rest of us can you believe? She also speaks the Protah primary dialect, and she’s even trying to learn T’hal’e’nad: the first language of the H’th’hka, which hardly anybody speaks because it’s all clicks, squeaks, burps and other weird noises. Still, she’s training to be a paltoor for the Affinity, so I guess it comes in handy. A paltoor is a planetary liaison officer, which is a kind of ambassador and negotiator rolled into one. They negotiate with other Affinity worlds for the exchange of technology, resources and information, as well as help settle disputes, of which there have been quite a few since I arrived. And she absolutely loves it. Anyway, I digress again – I keep doing that.

So I came to Polisium and spent the first few months learning their language, learning about all the other Affinity species and the weird (or should I say varied) ways they behave, their history and just about anything else you can think of. It’s called orientation, and it was like being at school but way more intense. Of course, the companions help you learn quicker, but it’s still hard. Imagine cramming what would take years on Earth into a few months and you’ll get the idea.

It was also during my orientation that I first learnt about the He’tal, or Metah Dah as they prefer to be called. They're basically cloned ancient Polisians, who were servants of the Affinity before they turned violently against them. Ever since they fled Polisium a hundred odd years ago, they've been at war with the Affinity. If you wanna know what kind of people they are, well they're the kind who slam asteroids into defenceless planets, killing thousands. And then there's their leader, Paranoemenos. Don't even get me started on him.

Anyway, just before my orientation finished, everything changed for me. I got dragged out of my room in the middle of the night and taken to the moon – the Polisian moon, I mean. Then I learnt all about the Star Agency. And somehow, in a moment of unbelievable stupidity, I agreed to go on what was referred to as a reconnaissance mission to the planet Athonesis, to prove myself to them. A good idea that was. To start with, everything went well and I completed my primary mission on the planet’s research station easily enough. But then I went and got myself trapped there, with the self-destruct clock ticking towards zero. That was when it was time for my escape plan – a plan so ingenious, I nearly got myself killed. The only way out was through the observation window, so I blew a big hole in it, got myself sucked out of the station (rather violently I might add) and flung into a very deep canyon, without a spacesuit and with no way of slowing my fall – not really big issues when you’re gonna get blown up anyway, but still a bit of a worry. So anyway, I carried on falling for a while before eventually passing out – well technically, I died for about a minute, but I won’t bore you with the details. Then, just before I hit the bottom, I got rescued by my ship and escaped from the planet.

Once we were back in orbit, it looked like we were gonna be safe – I say we, because First Mentor and Orientator were there (Orientator’s a riot, I tell you) – but then we were attacked by the very thing that was supposed to be protecting us: a star shield weapons platform. Just as we were about to die again, two Affinity Navy warships arrived from nowhere and rescued us. I still wanna know how that happened. I mean, it makes no sense. We’d already sent a distress call and established there were no ships in the area. So where had they come from? The Star Agency still haven’t given me an answer for that one.

Anyway, once we got back to Star Agency command, they asked me to join them. And stupidly I said yes. Don’t I ever learn? Anyway, I’m pleased to tell you I haven’t had any more near-death experiences since. Not that it’s been boring mind you. Although the training has been tough, very tough, there’s been some good stuff too. I’m now an automation auditor, which is a fancy way of saying I test technology. Basically, I get to test all the new stuff they develop for field operatives. I’ve got a knack for it, apparently. Plus it happens to fit in well with my cover story, which is that I work at the Teng Muah Technological Research Academy – obviously, being in the Star Agency is top secret so I need a cover story.

Basically, I try all the new tech and report back. It’s so cool. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff I’ve been given to try. For starters, there are threat bots, which kick in when you’re in danger. They’re a kind of heads-up display for your companion, warning you of any threats to your personal safety. They only help you with physical danger though – they can’t read minds. So if somebody decides they want to strangle you with their bare hands/tentacles/tongues (delete as applicable), it won’t help. They’re already using them out in the field, and they’ve saved quite a few lives apparently. They’re going to give me one soon, which I can’t wait for.

Then you’ve got personal shields. They can protect you from any kind of weapon, and they work in conjunction with the threat bots. It’s just a shame they can’t stay active for long – only a minute or so.

But the best thing is remote reconnaissance, or drifting as I prefer to call it. It’s a brand-new technology, at least as far as integration into a companion is concerned. Basically, they plant these sensors everywhere. Well, when I say everywhere, I mean in all public places. Then the sensors scan in the environment and build up a three-dimensional map. But they don’t just record the way things look, they also record smells, noises and even how things would feel if you could touch them, and they do it all in real-time. To use it, you start the companion app – well I call it an app, the Star Agency refers to it as an exofeed. Then you can take a trip wherever you want, virtually. It’s so crazy. It’s like an out-of-the-body experience. However, it’s real in a sense and not a simulation. You’re really there in a way, seeing and feeling what happens, as it happens. Of course, you can’t interact with anything and nobody can see you. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever used. Currently, they’re only installed on specific orbital habitats. But soon, hopefully, they’ll be using them everywhere.

So anyway, that’s where I am. That’s my job – my lot in life. And it’s really amazing. I’ve left Earth behind, good and proper. I don’t miss it much now. Yes, it was where I grew up and became who I am. But now, out here among the stars, that’s where I feel at home.

The only thing I miss about Earth is Jules. She was my best friend, indeed my only friend. And she helped me get here. Part of me thinks she should be here instead of me, because without her, I’d still be on Earth. But then it was my dream to be in a place like this. My head was always in the clouds. And anyway, I’ve got new friends now. There are six other people from Earth. They’re all about my age too, which is great. No moaning grown-ups telling me what to do when they don’t know any better themselves. Not that being here is a walk in the park. No, it’s hard work. But somehow, it feels different. For one, you’re treated like an adult. That’s because in most alien cultures, being my age (or the equivalent) is being an adult.

So anyway, onto my friends. Well, first of all, there’s Weng. He’s Chinese American. Or is it American Chinese? Anyway, he’s got a wicked sense of humour, and he’s probably the most confident person I’ve ever met. He’s not afraid of making a fool of himself, not to mention the rest of us. He gets people to do the craziest things you can imagine. I don’t know how he does it, but he does. He’s joined the Affinity Navy as a cadet. You can bet yourself he’ll be rising up the ranks quickly. Officer material and no mistake.

Then there’s Cristos. He’s what you might call the strong silent type. He’s a big lad at six feet, yet he’s as gentle as anything. You can always rely on him to do exactly what he says he’ll do. Although he’s quiet, he’s strong in himself. He’s got a very real sense of right and wrong, and he’s not afraid to speak up if he sees something that isn’t fair. He’s a great guy to have on your side.

Next there’s Abubakar, or Abs as he prefers to be called. Although he talks quietly, he’s not quiet if that makes sense. Somehow, although you can hardly hear him, he gets you to listen to him. He’s what granddad used to describe as wise beyond his years. Somehow, people listen to him, even the non-humans (we’re not supposed to call them aliens, apparently).

Then there’s Lara. She lives in her own world most of the time. But then just when you think she’s not been listening to anything you say, she’ll suddenly blurt out something you said weeks ago, word-for-word. And she’s incredibly intelligent. She’s already grasped how most Affinity technology works. I get the technology and