The Arc of the Universe by Mark Whiteway

Author:Mark Whiteway
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, space opera, sci fi, space colonies, alien races, space action, alien cultures, father son, mystery scifi
Publisher: Mark Whiteway

~

With gentle leg pressure, Quinn squeezed the flanks of his chestnut mare, and it fell into a trot. His movements were fluid—instinctive, as if someone else was controlling him. The sensation was both frightening and exhilarating.

He fell in just behind the Elinare, and together, they headed up the winding trail.

“Who are you?” he asked again.

“We are the McGill brothers, Seth and Andy,” she replied. “According to the information in your memory cortex, we have just robbed something called the Bank of Harcourt Wells.”

She was female and not human, so the description “brothers” seemed absurd. He glossed over it. “No, I meant what is your real name?”

“I am Keiza. I have occupied your mind and am controlling your vessel. When you last encountered the Elinare, you were favoured with another presence, but I find no trace of him. What happened?”

“Aurek. He was lost. I’m sorry.”

“And now you return to us with our enemy at your back.” She glanced at him with burning red eyes. “That and this memory of yours shows you to be a highly dangerous individual.”

“You’ve got it all wrong,” he protested. “Aurek gave his life in an effort to combat the spread of the Damise’s AI. Then the Damise shanghaied me and forced me to track you down. As for this scenario, I don’t recognise it at all.”

“It is drawn from your accumulated experiences. You have clearly led a very violent past.”

“Who’s supposed to be chasing us?”

“A posse led by someone called Sheriff John Hightower.”

Hightower… Hightower’s Justice. A cheesy Western show on the EarthVid channel he’d watched during his early teens. He’d forgotten all about it, but then none of the episodes had been particularly memorable. “This is… this was a form of human entertainment.”

“Your race viewed this as entertainment? That is almost as disturbing.”

Quinn shrugged. “Well, you got me there, I guess.” He loosened the bandana around his throat and mopped his glistening forehead. Up ahead, the trail flattened slightly before disappearing over a ridge.

“Something’s wrong,” she said.

“Why, what’s the matter?”

She glanced over her shoulder. Their pursuers were now strung out on the trail, but their pace had hardly slowed. “Elinare have learned to navigate the eddies and currents of space-time in this universe. The Damise should have turned back, but they have not. If they have developed similar capability—”

“No, I don’t think so. The Damise seized on my plan of using a chain of ships to penetrate this space. If they could navigate freely, then they would’ve had no need.”

“But once they move beyond the portal’s range, they will be lost. Their actions make no sense.”

“Maybe they do,” Quinn mused. “I don’t know their vessels’ maximum speed, but I’m willing to bet it’s faster than one of their life pods. All they’d have to do is lock on to us and follow until we lead them to the rest of your people.”

“You’re saying this was a trap all along?”

“I’m afraid it looks that way. They used me because they reckoned you would want to know what happened to Aurek.

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