Stellarcide by Daniel J. Thompson

Author:Daniel J. Thompson [Thompson, Daniel J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-18T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

<-information could potentially be very useful; we’ll have to investigate it further. They appear to be directed just a few minutes off the center of the zone of error drawn up by the Minds. It could still turn out they’re going off a source we’re already aware of, but if they have some independent one of their own…we’ll have to add that to our collection. Don’t worry though, we’ll send someone to look into it. Your contribution will not go unheeded>

The flight back to Taikanni would take another day or so. Ellestine had relayed her observations of the Lamics’ behavior to the other members-to-be of the Enduring Echo’s crew once they had returned to the shuttle. They had taken off a few hours before. The vast bulk of the Vhemac Ring was already receding behind them.

Tsuto was talking enthusiastically about her discovery. The others had all seemed at least a little surprised. Even Dharata had seemed impressed, despite his earlier scorn.

<They’re still idiots, but they may well turn out to be useful idiots…I’ll give you that> he’d admitted, his usual laugh sounding rather strained. He sounded slightly tired too. Ellestine wondered vaguely what he and Zephanna had gotten up to in the day or so they’d been away. She didn’t have any particular desire to ask.

Ellestine was in a better mood leaving Vhemac. She had possibly made a contribution, something substantial, something that could shorten the voyage’s length, possibly by years.

A random cult, that seemingly no one had bothered to investigate, holding on to such ancient knowledge? She kept going over the words the boy had said to her, every one of them held clearly in her mind. She thought learning his language properly would be a good idea next. Could perhaps further clues be revealed?

What was more, somewhat to her surprise she had also learned that even on Vhemac, not everyone was all that bad. Crazy, but not all bad.

They were still only a small fraction of the way to Taikanni when it happened. Behind them Vhemac had shrunk to the size of a blue and white bracelet held at arm’s length. All the other Rings were sufficiently distant it looked like someone could have plucked them down and decorated their fingers with them.

Here and there the rapidly moving pinpoints of passing ships could be seen against the backdrop of the nearest layers of the Stellar Sphere, but otherwise all looked deceptively still. To their left the Sphere itself was a sheath of blinding gold, and only a shade less brilliant to their right.

And it was from that direction that, far ahead of them, a trio of objects, every bit as dark and featureless as black holes, suddenly blasted their way in from the Sphere’s outer layers.

Inside the minds of all the shuttle’s inhabitants, as well as the physical space inside the vessel, sirens both real and digital began screaming at full volume.

For a moment Ellestine was simply bewildered. Her ears were ringing with the noise. The adults around her all seemed to have frozen.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.