Earth Quest: Space Rogue, #7

By Jay Toney

Nathaniel and the crew of the Carpacia are getting closer to finding the Earth. Along the way, he discovers there are creatures that are worse than spiders, and they are hungry.

A misunderstanding leads to a fight. Jewel and Amber go to a pirate space station instead of returning to the Carpacia for repairs. Can their leader, Salazar, convince Captain Roberts to take them back? If so, how much is it going to cost him?

The starliner gets harpooned while protecting a leviathan. It is a thorn in Persephone's side and she insists on having it removed, and the ship repaired in the next star system they visit. With the repairs nearly complete, the Carpacia is hijacked.

The fleet divides with the crews of the Vengeance and the Valkyrie wanting to make Edymoon their new home. It is an Earthlike planet colonized by Terrans. The colonists welcome the fleet. Nathaniel has promised his people that they will find Earth and he is determined to keep his promise.

The pirate captain has told Nathaniel that he will have to face the Alliance before reaching Earth, and that they maintain a fleet in the Alpha Centauri star system. Can he defeat him with the loss of two of his capital warships and the starfighters aboard them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jay Toney
• Release date: Jun 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781393900580

Jay Toney

I got hooked on reading early in life, reading nearly everything I could get my hands on including the Encyclopedia Britannica. As well as being an avid reader I enjoyed bicycling, skateboarding, fishing, and building models and puzzles. As far back as I can remember, I loved anything to do with aircraft. I joined the USAF as an aircraft mechanic working on the F-4, T-38, F-117. and the F-16. A knee injury stopped me from working on aircraft. My knee couldn't support me on the odd angles and slick surfaces anylonger. While in the USAF I attended college. My second love was tormenting my English teacher. I found out she had a fear of death, then she was at my mercy. Anything she said not to do I did just to show her I could. Every essay or theme I wrote dealt with the topic of death, from a first person perspective of a person under going an autopsy, being buried alive, and rising from the grave. She was glad when I graduated. Some authors who inspired me are Robert Heinlein, Harry Harrison, Alan Dean Foster, Piers Anthony, and much more.

Book preview

Dedications

Edited by Ann Attwood , Editing and Proofreading Services

Introduction

Nathaniel and the crew of the Carpacia are getting closer to finding the Earth. Along the way, he discovers there are creatures that are worse than spiders, and they are hungry.

A misunderstanding leads to a fight. Jewel and Amber go to a pirate space station instead of returning to the Carpacia for repairs. Can their leader, Salazar, convince Captain Roberts to take them back? If so, how much is it going to cost him?

The starliner gets harpooned while protecting a leviathan. It is a thorn in Persephone’s side and she insists on having it removed, and the ship repaired in the next star system they visit. With the repairs nearly complete, the Carpacia is hijacked.

The fleet divides with the crews of the Vengeance and the Valkyrie wanting to make Edymoon their new home. It is an Earthlike planet colonized by Terrans. The colonists welcome the fleet. Nathaniel has promised his people that they will find Earth and he is determined to keep his promise.

The pirate captain has told Nathaniel that he will have to face the Alliance before reaching Earth, and that they maintain a fleet in the Alpha Centauri star system. Can he defeat him with the loss of two of his capital warships and the starfighters aboard them?

Amun Ra

Ihave a plan for finding the Sol system that should get us close to it. I have several holograms that show the stars as seen from Earth’s northern hemisphere dating back to fourteen thousand years ago. Not every star still exists today. Some, like Antares, have gone nova. More than enough of the brightest stars exist that we can use them to triangulate where the Sol system was in our past. From there, we can calculate its movements around the galactic core.

Persephone and our daughter are up on the bridge working on the calculations. Obelisks cover most of the floor space, with barely enough room to walk between them. Each of their six sides are covered with equations, using glowing symbols that I have never seen before. If I was up there with them, I would just get in their way.

Persephone uses my neurochip to call me. Come to the bridge. I am nearly finished with my calculations.

I take the elevator up one level to the bridge. It is filled with black obelisks as tall as I am, covered with bright yellow glowing equations. I walk across the floor to Persephone, doing my best not to brush against them.

I ask, Have you found the Sol system?

Not yet, but I think I am as close as I am going to get to it. Demi, explain it to your father.

Yes, mother. She says to me, It is not as simple as using the positions of the stars to triangulate Sol’s position in the galaxy. Every star has a wobble to it and moves in a different orbit around the galactic core. There are also the effects caused by the stars that have gone supernova that need to be added into the equation. The wobble and difference in the movements of the stars isn’t noticeable in a human lifetime, and it is hardly noticeable in ten lifetimes. We are way beyond that.

I thought your mother said she was close to finding Earth?

She is, sort of. Quantum theory can only take us so far.

It has to do with the correlation of time, mass, and gravity, doesn’t it?

Precisely! We don’t have all of the variables, nor do we have answers to most of the ones we have, so we have to calculate them as best we can and take a guess. It is not as bad as it sounds. We have been able to narrow the search area considerably, to a search box that is manageable.

Persephone says, I’m finished with these equations. The obelisks sink into the floor and vanish. They are replaced by a hologram of a star chart with the stars of the Orion spur. She makes most of the stars disappear, leaving only the brightest stars. Then she makes a circle appear that is two hundred light years in diameter and twelve light years deep. This is our search area.

It is the best news I’ve had since arriving in this galaxy. We’ve narrowed our search from hundreds of millions of star system to hundreds. I have no doubt that we will find Earth soon. I can’t wait to let Jewel and Amber know. The three of us take the elevator down to our cabin.

We step out of the elevator. Demi shouts, Grandmother! and runs to her and hugs her. I was ready to celebrate our good fortune until now. Leave it to Demeter and Athena to spoil the mood. They do it every time.

Amber and Jewel come out of their room to see what the noise is about. Demeter says, I’m glad to see that you are all together. It saves me from having to repeat myself to my daughter and son-in-law. I have wonderful news. Demi and Selena have been accepted to the Academy of the Gods! Chiron is coming out of retirement to personally instruct them. Athena and I will also be instructing them.

I don’t want to say anything, but it looks like Demeter and Athena are putting on weight. They are wearing loosely fitting clothing, but I can still see their bulging bellies. Demi says, Grandma, that doesn’t leave me much time before my eighteenth birthday.

No, it doesn’t. We leave in fifteen minutes. Say your goodbyes.

I say, What happens when she turns eighteen?

She marries Hades. It has all been arranged. She is taking Persephone’s place as Queen of the Underworld. In exchange, Hades has agreed not to kill and torture the two of you. At least, not until after the honeymoon.

There is no way in the seven hells that my daughter is going to marry that steaming pile of skirax droppings!

Demi says, Yes, I am. It was my idea to do it, not Grandmother’s. I want to do it. With me as his queen, Hades won’t be able to do more than shout empty threats at you. I will see to it that he doesn’t harm either one of you. He has agreed to give me my freedom, and not try to bind me to the underworld, like he did to my mother. The three of us, will be allowed to visit any time of our choosing. I will see to that, as well as taking over the management of his kingdoms. He hasn’t done a good job managing it himself.

You are too young to marry him, I say.

My mother was twelve when she married him. I will be eighteen.

Demeter says, Athena, get Selena. It is time for us to leave. We will return in a few weeks, maybe a month. When Demeter, Selena, Demi, and Athena are all together, she opens a portal. They go through the portal, then it closes behind them.

Amber starts crying with the loss of her daughter, even though she will be back soon. She runs into her room with Jewel following her. Persephone stops me from following them, and says, Leave them be. You will only make it worse.

I ask. How long is the academy?

"Eight years. Demi and Athena won’t start school until they turn eight years old. My mother and Athena are taking Selena to an alternate timeline so they can start school together. Being selected to attend the Academy of the Gods is an honor that few receive.

I was selected to attend the academy, but my mother wouldn’t let me go. She told me that nature goddesses have no need to attend school. I think she made a deal with her brother, and knew about my abduction ahead of time. She may have arranged it.

We go back up to the bridge. Nugget and Astrea join us a few minutes later. He says, It is about time you got rid of all those column things. There wasn’t any room up here to work or think. Where are Jewel and Amber?

They are in their room, crying I say.

What did you do to them this time?

I didn’t do anything to them. Demi and Selena were selected to attend the Academy of the Gods. They are with Demeter and Athena getting ready for their first class.

Astrea says, Do you realize what an honor it is to get accepted? Of course, you don’t. Nugget, I want our children to go too.

They haven’t even been born yet, he says.

The earlier applications have a better chance of being selected. I demand that our children attend the Academy! She says to me, Who is teaching their class?

Demeter said something about Chiron coming out of retirement to be one of their instructors, and she and Athena will be teaching too.

Our children must attend their class too! Astrea says to Nugget.

Why? What is the big deal?

Everyone Chiron has taught has become a great king or queen. He only teaches royalty.

Royalty sucks! I know that from personal experience.

So, do I, I say.

Just think of all the parties we will attend, Astrea says.

Skirax poop and politics—forget it, Nugget says.

Fine dining.

The food is probably poisoned.

A life of luxury.

We already have it.

The wealth.

We already have more money than we can spend. If we need more, Nathaniel is not the only thief.

I knew it! He is stealing from me.

Astrea and Nugget ignore me. She says, I want it all for our children, and us.

Then you shall have it, babe.

I say to Nugget, If you are done daydreaming, it is time to move on.

Did Persephone find the Sol system?

Not exactly, but she managed to narrow down our search to a few hundred star systems. Set our course for the Cervantes system.

He looks at the star chart, then says, That is a long jump. It is going to take us two months to get there.

Persephone says, I’ve let the other captains know that we are leaving, and given them the hyperspace coordinates."

****

PERSEPHONE FEEDS THE sensor readings to my neuro chip. Through it, I see each of Cervantes’ four planets. The two inner planets orbit the star too close for life to exist. The outer planet is a gas giant. The third planet lies within the habitable zone. It is a large, rocky world with oceans, lakes, and rivers of liquid methane—no life there.

It looks like we struck out with this star system and can move on as soon as our jump capacitors charge. That is one down, about three hundred to go. I close the sensor feed to my neuro chip, then I activate a hologram of the star chart that shows the star systems in the search area.

Persephone says, Did you look at the moons? Cervantes three has three moons, one of which is an arboreal moon with a nitrogen oxygen atmosphere. The sensors are also detecting a source of geothermal power.

It is not Earth and this is definitely not the Sol system. The Sol system has eight planets, ten if you count Ceres and Pluto as planets. A geothermal power plant operating below the moon’s surface means someone is, or was, there recently. It is worth investigating. Nugget, set course for the arboreal moon of the third planet, and enter orbit when we get there.

The fleet enters geostationary orbit above the power source. Persephone uses the sensors from orbit to confirm that the power source is definitely a geothermal power plant. It is worth taking a trip down to the surface to investigate. Amber won’t go, she refuses to leave the cabin until Selena is back. Jewel won’t take a shuttlecraft to the surface without her. Nugget has to stay aboard the Carpacia. Astrea is huge, as big around as she is tall—and I thought Persephone was big when she was pregnant with Demi. She looks like she can pop at any moment. There is no way I am taking Miranda and Doc down to the surface with me. If they want to go, they can do it on their own.

I say to Persephone, It looks like it is just you and me. Let’s go.

Nugget says, Not so fast, I am coming with you. I need some time away from Astrea. You know how it is with women at the end of their pregnancy.

Other than being fat, no—tell me.

Astrea says, I am not fat! Like hell she isn’t, I’m surprised she was able to squeeze through the elevator doors.

Nugget says, Grumpy, and always complaining about having to pee. I told her she should cut down on the amount of wine she drinks, but no, she won’t do it.

Persephone says, Drinking wine is healthy for goddesses.

Not the amount that she drinks.

Astrea says, I don’t drink to get drunk!

I didn’t say you did, babe. It is just that it makes you have to pee a lot.

The three of us leave the bridge before Astrea does something to Nugget that he will regret. My Medusa assault shuttle is still being repaired. It’s engine has been repaired and reinstalled, but half of the ship still has to be reskinned. I decide to take my launch. Persephone says, I want to fly it. She sits on the pilot’s seat. She has never flown in atmosphere, but I can take over if I need to. I sit on the copilot’s seat and strap myself in. Persephone starts the engines and repulsor-lift. Then she taxis to the take-off line. She gets clearance to take off, and advances the throttles.

The launch isn’t even close to matching the performance of a starfighter. It is almost twice the size of a transport shuttlecraft, built for luxury, and has a hyperdrive that is capable of a three-light-year hop, but it has civilian-rated engines. It won’t get you anyplace in a hurry. For going to and from a space station or a starport on the surface of a planet, it is perfect.

Persephone forgets that Nugget is in the back and does a couple of rolls and a loop before turning towards the moon. Nugget shouts, You are as bad as Nathaniel! Any more of that and I am going to puke. He does get space sick, I’ve seen it.

I’m sorry, I forgot you were back there. She fires the braking thrusters and attitude thrusters for entry into the moon’s atmosphere. Then she increases the pitch angle for aerobraking. The wings and nose of the launch glow bright red, then the glow turns to flames. She does a series of gentle turns to slow the ship, staying over the landing site. When the flames fade away, she lowers the pitch angle and begins her descent.

For Nugget, it is a good thing she is flying and not me. I am always in a hurry to get to the surface. I look out the cockpit windscreen at the ground. All I can see is clouds, with a few breaks that show patches of green. Persephone says, I’m going to descend below the clouds and start looking for a landing site. She fires the forward thrusters to reduce our airspeed, then she begins descending through the clouds.

Lightning flashes and strikes the launch. Nugget screams. Turbulence shakes the ship, and we hit a downdraft that causes us to suddenly descend a thousand meters, Nugget screams, We’re going to die! I grab the controls to assist Persephone if she needs my help. She doesn’t. She maintains control, and switches to IR sensors so she can get a better view of the ground on the SDU.

She circles the area looking for a place to land. Except for what looks like the top of a pyramid, all I can see is trees below us. She starts the repulsor-lift, decreases engine power, lowers the landing gear, and fires the braking thrusters until the ship is at a relative stop. Then she slowly reduces power to the repulsor-lift. Branches crack, snap, and scrape against the hull. The sky turns darker as our altitude drops below the level of the treetops. The launch shudders when it hits larger branches. Persephone maintains her descent. The landing gear touches down and the launch settles on the surface. Then she shuts down the engines and the repulsor-lift.

Persephone says, It is going to be a few minutes before we can open the hatch. She adjusts the cabin pressure regulator to increase the inside air pressure. We unfasten our seat harnesses and go aft to the passenger compartment. As soon as the pressure equalizes, I open the hatch and lower the boarding steps. Light rain is falling and dripping from the leaves. I climb down the steps to the muddy ground. Persephone and Nugget follow me. Ahead of us is the remains of a stone path.

We follow the overgrown path to the entrance of a pyramid. Stone pavers cover the ground, and a dozen stone columns, covered with hieroglyphics line each side of the path. The symbols on them are too faint to read. They have faded with time and exposure to the elements. Persephone closes her eyes and concentrates while releasing some of her stored power. The columns glow briefly, then fade. The hieroglyphic symbols sharpen, the color darkens, and the missing details are restored. She gets closer to one of the columns and reads the symbols. She says, Each of these columns tells the story about a different Egyptian god. The histories tell a different story than those on Earth, but they are the same gods, with the same ruler, Amun Ra. She goes to each of the columns in turn, reading the histories.

I say, I remember the name from my ancient Terran history classes, but that is about it. I have no idea who Amun Ra was, or why he was important. Terran history is one of the classes that I had no interest in and failed.

That is probably a good thing. It is less that you will have to unlearn. Later, when we have more time, I will correct your lack of a proper education. She makes her body incorporeal and merges with me, body and mind. Then she says, "It is easier to give you a brief history this way. The Lord of all Creation was bored with nothing to do to keep him occupied. He decided to create a universe filled with galaxies, stars, planets and moons. To help him build all that the universe contains he created the Titans.

"He was happy with the progress of his creation, but there was still a lot of work to be done before it was completed. He noticed, his creation had a flaw, it lacked creativity. Everything was the same. The Titans were good at construction, but they lacked the imagination to design and make new things. What the universe needed the most was a variety of new life. He altered the DNA of the Titans to bring life to his newest creations, us. We are the children of the Titans.

"The creator looked upon his newest creation and was satisfied. To help him, we were given dominion of the planets and moons. Then he seeded the galaxy with the elements needed for life. It is up to us to nourish and help that life evolve. My mother and her brothers and sisters were given the domain of Earth to govern. Humans were made in our image, from our DNA. They are like us in all ways but one—their lifespans. They were given a mortal life.

"Humans were created to serve us and to maintain all that we built. In exchange for their service, we were to help them to evolve and become more like us and eventually to spread throughout the universe.

If what I have read on these columns is true, we are not the only gods the Titans gave birth to. We thought the Egyptians were another evolution of man, copying the Greek civilization like the Romans did. Each of these columns are records of other gods. This one tells about Amun Ra. While we were just getting started with teaching and developing the mortal creations, Amun Ra was already spreading his creations to the stars.

I’ve heard the name, but I don’t understand who or what Amun Ra is.

He is a higher creation. Higher than the gods or the Titans. It is possible he is like Bob.

Persephone separates from me and makes her body corporeal. I use my comp to make a recording of each column. She asks, Why are you recording them?

After we get back to the ship, I want to pick out the ones that I like the most and replicate a smaller version of them. I need at least four columns to decorate our cabin. Two by the entrance, and two by our bedroom door. Your mother and Athena aren’t going to like it, but the Statue of Selena is going to have to go—into storage where it won’t be seen by anyone.

You are right, if you move the statue she is going to be as mad as hell. Why not just take the columns you want, or all of them?

How? They are too big.

I’ll help you. Which ones do you want?

I definitely want Amun Ra’s. I pick out five other columns for Seshat goddess of wisdom, Osiris god of the underworld, Isis goddess of just about everything, Geb god of the Earth, and Sekhmet a sun goddess. Then I say, What the hell, I want them all.

Persephone reduces each of the columns so they are one meter in height. Then Nugget and I carefully load each one into the back of the launch, and strap them down so they won’t get damaged.

We walk across the pavers to the pyramid. The entrance looks barren without the decorative columns lining the path. Stairs lead up the side of the pyramid to its entrance. Nugget says, Tell me, the two of you aren’t seriously thinking about going inside.

Persephone says, We are going to try.

Everyone knows that all pyramids contain five things, dead bodies, snakes, spiders, scorpions, and flesh-eating beetles. I am not going anywhere, where there are snakes.

"They also have treasure. I am going to go inside and claim my share. If