THE GALAXYMBION ODYSSEY

Cancadmius stood at the rim of a massive crater, looking into its abyss with both fear and wonder. “I have never seen such formations anywhere else,” he shouted down into the gauged-out bowl.

“Yes,” a fellow geologist, Aralkodar, shouted back up from the rocky basin. “It is amazing; this area is almost entirely quartz sculptures like flowers, trees, people, other animals, even ribbon snakes like those that were discovered recently on Kytonia, haphazardly strewn around.”

“But this is supposed to be an unpopulated planet!”

“Maybe not as unpopulated as we thought; it is at least visited frequently. And it’s completely eccentric down here.”

“Be extremely careful and check your readings regularly. What does your scanner say at this moment, Aralkodar?”

“A powerful energy canopy or bubble surrounds this whole area; no causal fluctuations at all within it, though not everything is of this time frame. It is impossible to scan beyond the perimeter, however. I’ve just counted the people statues, Cancadmius; there are nineteen of them, all made from quartz and time-polished like super-reflective mirrors. Isn’t that the number of crew Canmark Rarnimdi lost on this planet in the future?”

“I wouldn’t know; we’ll check that with our own archive or Central Transplex when we get back. What else?”

“Readings are a little peculiar, I must admit. Chemical analysis tells me this stuff is quartz but there is no temporal signature at the quantum Pulsewave level. These formations could have been here for billions of orbits or sent here from a billion orbits in the future and we wouldn’t scan any difference. There is an invisible gate or portal nearby giving off low level graviton and tachyon radiation out of sync with everything else. I wonder to where or when it leads. Imagination and unregulated thought no doubt; monsters from long ago rise and in contentment grow. It had been a time for heroes, an episode steeped in courage.”

“Will you quit reciting heraldic poetry every ten lapses, Aralkodar? Anyway, it is time we got back to the ship as Commander Bexar is awaiting our report and you know how she likes punctuality.”

“Okay, okay, I’m on my way. I’m transmitting my data to you so that you can forward it to The Jsarn Nesentor. Should keep our commander happy until our return.” She climbed into her sand rover and throttled it forward up the steep dustbowl.

Cancadmius called their ship. “Jsarn Nesentor, Analyst Cancadmius reporting; we are returning to our Aldebaran 5. Please clear us for planetary exit. We will be back shortly.”

“This is Jsarn Nesentor, Bexar in command. Have you gathered data and appropriate samples of the geological irregularities?”

“We have visual and electromagnetic spectra of this entire area. Commander, there are many graviton and tachyon anomalies here including an energy barrier. It is stable, but we decided not to collect samples in case they are hazardous.”

“Very well. What sort of anomalies, exactly?”

“The anomalous sort, Commander Bexar; highly reflective quartz sculptures like mirrors, which do not have defined pulse-wave signatures. And nineteen of them are people shaped. Aralkodar thinks that is how many people from Canmark Rarnimdi were lost on Braagan. Additionally, she detected an invisible source of ambient temporal radiation. She believes it is a hidden portal connecting the present with other times. It may be synchronised to the energy canopy sealing this area off from the rest of Braagan.”

“An interesting pair of hypotheses, Cancadmius. I suppose it is Aralkodar who believes these mysterious statues to be the lost crew from that Iclaani cruiser. Still, I look forward to receiving all your data; and I do not have to wait too long, either; we are receiving your transmission right now. Proceed to your A5 without delay; you are cleared for planetary exit.” Bexar closed the comm link.

“You did not tell them of our discovery, commander,” her Second commented, careful not to sound critical.

“Let them see it for themselves later. Speaking of our discovery, set appropriate intercept course as soon as our geologists have docked. I am intrigued to learn more about this mystery. What are your thoughts, Celastrion?”

Her Second was well aware of Bexar’s scientific pedigree and measured his answer very carefully in scientific terms.

“At present there is too little information to speculate about the artefact, Commander. Further scans at close quarters are essential if we are to correctly understand what it is and why it is here.”

“Leaving science aside, what is your personal opinion?”

Celastrion shifted uneasily on his feet. “Opinion cannot be informed where evidence is scarce or lacking.”

“And that is all you have to say?”

“It is all that can be said; Scholar Martesius - Canticles of Science and Reasoning, 11th dynasty.”

“Come, come, Celastrion. Martesius lived over four thousand orbits ago. Quoting him whilst standing in a starship seems anachronistic.”

“Perhaps, Commander. But I prefer to quote Martesius rather than leap to unfounded assumptions about a derelict space vessel.”

“Aha, so you do have an opinion, noble Second. You believe our discovery is a derelict space vessel. How did you arrive at such a conclusion, since it broadcasts no registration or identity?”

“Our preliminary scans indicated a hollow metallic hull with some evidence of shell-matrixed fabric construction and circuitry. There were obvious yet inoperative propulsion and navigation systems consistent with those found in Galaxymbion interstellar cruisers. Additionally, biological readings were taken that indicated a crew from Iclaan and the presence of substantial amounts of some dormant parasitical organism.”

“Hmmm. When I looked at the scans of our mysterious discovery it appeared to be only half a space vessel. Something had bitten a rather large chunk out of its right flank, leaving an untidy serrated edge that showed signs of scorching as well as remnants of the viral form of Letungexeva. There was no proof from our scans that this curious discovery was derelict, since Iclaan biological readings can be inconclusive. Many of their crew might still be alive and hiding or in stasis.”

The Second officer knew where this was going. “Excuse my lack of precision, commander. I SHOULD HAVE SAID I prefer to quote Martesius rather than leap to unfounded assumptions about a possibly derelict half space vessel.”

“Better. We must be absolutely accurate when evaluating the unknown, Celastrion. I would also remind you that the Canticles of Science and Reasoning are not found to be helpful or apposite in modern scientific research. Lacovria of Trinth proved at least half of them flawed.”

“Scholar Martesius was a philosopher in a pre-scientific age; the 11th dynasty. Scholar Lacovria was a scientist in a post-philosophical age; the 14th dynasty. Sirantiga, her contemporary and main academic rival, suggested that Lacovria took too narrow a definition of science in her Principles of Scientific Philosophy. Sirantiga maintained that Martesian Canticles were valid in any situation where empirical evidence was questionable or non-existent. ‘It is all that can be said’, the famous Martesian maxim, was meant to deter scientists from arriving at incorrect conclusions as a result either of incomplete knowledge or insufficient theoretical testing of scientific models or hypotheses. It was also intended to make all academics consider cautiously whether they were arriving at conclusions from reality’s evidence or personal desires. Sirantiga, as you well know, had such far-reaching influence and respect that the Thesa-xians named their moon in his honour.”

“Indeed they did, Celastrion. What else could they do? He died there, in that moon’s First Citadel. I really enjoy these debates with you, noble Second. You will make a great commander when you have refined your oratorical skills. Now, back to our present concerns. I see our Aldebaran has docked and we are on perihelion trajectory. Navigator, how soon will we arrive at our contentious and debatable discovery?”

“Five lapses,” the navigator supplied. “The jagged, burnt arc of life hangs in heaven; an empty floating crypt swollen then lost in time; cast upon astral seas as a memory.”

“Cease your flowery language, you grundling little nibbert. You sound like Aralkodar with her incessant poetry recitations.”

“Yes, Commander,” the navigator huffed in mock indignation. The three officers shared some mild laughter, joined by their on-looking colleagues.

“Okay, here we are; let’s see what we have. I want autonomous robot investigators sent over there first. Take them through that vessel nucleon by nucleon until we know exactly what happened. Equip medic sentry robots as well, in case any survivors are found.”

“Of course, Commander. Launching automated Aldebaran 9 now. And Commander, Aralkodar and Cancadmius are on their way to command. They still do not know of our discovery; I positioned the Nesentor so that it was all they could see.”

“Splendid work, navigator. Put the derelict on screen, enhanced magnification. They will see it as soon as they enter the pod. Tell me, noble Second, do you believe our discovery has any connection with our geological team’s findings on Braagan?”

“I prefer not to speculate, Commander Bexar.”

“Shame on you, Celastrion,” Bexar admonished. “We had that discussion already. I am not going to debate it again, so you can relax.”

“All the same, we need to have information from our remotes before being able to establish or exclude connections.”

“A fair enough observation. And if their findings are inconclusive or partial in that regard?”

“Then more detailed information, coupled with deeper investigation and analysis, would become necessary.”

“If it became necessary would you be enthusiastic to lead an analytical team over there, Celastrion? Ah, here are our planetary detectives. They could be useful in your team, if you are willing to have them.”

“I would be privileged to lead a team with such esteemed colleagues. We need to resolve these mysteries and both of them are admirably qualified.”

“That is settled. Now, Cancadmius and Aralkodar. As you can see we have experienced some excitement of our own in orbit. An Aldebaran 9 is on its way with robot investigators. We expect their video data streams shortly. There is a possibility that our discovery and yours are connected, and a further investigation by crew may be necessary to establish what is going on over here. Our noble Second would be pleased for you to join such a mission under his leadership, if I deem it necessary. For now, please resume your duty stations and analyse incoming data; compare it with your own experiences.”

“Yes, Commander,” the two officers said almost in unison as they returned to their science consoles.

“Initial information being transmitted from Aldebaran 9,” the navigator announced. “Routing to science stations one and two. A9 reports it is docking with a functional external port. Probes one and two released, robots one and two entering hatchway.”

“This should be interesting,” Cancadmius observed. “Interior is largely intact, despite evidence of attack from within. No residual atmosphere remaining; it must have all vented before sections could be sealed. Robots one and two proceeding to propulsion control. Robots three and four now inside and searching for life. Robots five and six preparing to enter and locate command centre computer. Probes one and two performing proximity scan of external hull, probes three and four initiating Pulsewave analysis, probes five and six preparing to leave Aldebaran and investigate the serrated edge. Aralkodar, can you sequence incoming information with our data from Braagan’s surface?”

“Of course, Cancadmius,” she replied. “No obvious correlations so far. No, wait a moment, one of the probes has located the vessel’s identity panel. Vessel registration accessed and confirmed manually; it is the Canmark Rarnimdi, under Iclaan registry. What is left of it. As you know this planet has been under remote observation for some time, due to its odd temporal characteristics. Satellite drones probably detected a vessel in orbit and Rarnimdi was despatched to investigate. It disappeared on that mission to Braagan only to return a few revs later with slight damage, nineteen crew missing and evidence that it had been briefly thrown three hundred orbits into Braagan’s future. Hence we are now here to follow up on Rarnimdi’s experience and report our findings back to the Interworld Triumvirate Unison. On Braagan’s surface we found odd crystalline sculptures, nineteen of them people-shaped.”

“Further curious information being received; Pulsewave analysis is undetermined, so Rarnimdi appears to be suffering from the same absence of time signature as the crater we investigated on the planet’s surface. Robots three and four report no life encountered, either. Just dead Letungexeva. It would appear that the crew abandoned ship in time and survived.”

“Where are their escape pods, then?” Bexar questioned nobody in particular. “Direct the remaining robots and probes to visually check the hangars for Aldebarans and other internal fleets. Five and six should prioritise searching immediate on-board records documenting the final moments of the Canmark’s flight. I want to know where those survivors went.”

The searches continued for almost two perchrons, prompting commander Bexar to call three meetings of her section chiefs to discuss incoming data from their robots. All in all, the situation of the Canmark Rarnimdi was baffling; according to Iclaani Spacefleet Registration itinerary the vessel was still docked in Iclaan orbit, following its return from that failed mission to Braagan. It was now receiving comprehensive repairs and upgrades prior to undertaking a return mission to try and rescue its crew members from their future demise. According to the computer flight record of the Rarnimdi which Bexar’s crew had discovered, it had indeed been to Braagan three centuries in its future and lost nineteen crew to Time Guardians at mysterious lava pits. Furthermore, the flight manifest clearly showed that Rarnimdi had extricated itself from that situation and returned home, then several decorbs later returned to Braagan accompanied by its sister ship Canmark Soryah and two new Time ships, Rinmark Skaresh and Maidenquest. But nothing remotely like lava pits currently existed on Braagan’s surface.

Its ‘return’ visit was well documented in the flight record, yet all of that must have happened in the future. The dead hulk in front of them was out of its own time apparently only by a few decorbs. Cancadmius had attended all three meetings and had pointed out once more that those weird people-shaped sculptures on Braagan’s surface could be the missing nineteen crew from Rarnimdi’s first visit. Unwilling to risk any more people to Braagan’s temporal whims, Bexar ordered a robot unit to return to the surface and attempt to analyse those statues further. In a seemingly expanding mystery all the quartz statues had vanished, leaving the robots empty-handed. Well, not exactly. Several of them underwent sequential disjunction – subatomic aging at different rates in different locations of their structure. And their Aldebaran had not fared much better; technically with shell-matrixed materials such a thing should not be possible.

Left with only one logical choice, Bexar and Jsarn Nesentor’s section chiefs decided to recall all robot searchers and re-examine Rarnimdi’s computer archive for personal entries. They found one of great interest and so they were in a fourth meeting now, viewing the final mission updates recorded by the stricken vessel’s captain.

VESSEL ARCHIVE 32457.904

SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS CRITICAL, ALL DATA TRANSMITTED TO CANMARK SORYAH, RINMARK SKARESH AND MAIDENQUEST. LIFE SUPPORT FAILED. 57 CREW DEATHS RECORDED. REMAINING CREW ORDERED TO ABANDON SHIP. DECOMPRESSION EXPLOSION SECTIONS 1 TO 25 FORWARD TO AFT. ALL SYSTEMS DEACTIVATED TO CONTAIN VIRUS. VESSEL NON-SALVAGEABLE. 45% HULL LOSS. CAPTAIN MAR TOX TOLVIS RECORDING.

“This is my final entry as Captain of Canmark Rarnimdi. We have already lost nearly sixty of our colleagues either to the Letungexeva virus which has consumed half the ship, or explosive decompression resulting from structural collapse caused by Letungexeva. More than two hundred crew are unaccounted for, whereabouts unknown. I fear that they have been consumed by virus and converted into its cells, making them unrecognisable and untraceable. As we clear Rarnimdi’s vicinity to seek sanctuary on our companion vessels we have witnessed our noble starship breaking in two, accompanied by a rupture in time. The larger section of our starship has been pulled through a rift into some other time or place. Our mission here has thus been terminated by the appearance of a shadowy object called The Ovum, which we believe attacked us in some way and released the virus into our vessel. Equally mysteriously The Ovum disappeared from existence as soon as Rarnimdi broke up.”

“What do you make of that, everyone?” Bexar looked around the table to see who might be willing to speak first. On Jsarn Nesentor there was no protocol for the order in which opinions were given.

Aralkodar unfolded her arms and sighed. “Perhaps our most interesting clue in this bizarre situation is not so much The Canmark Rarnimdi existing in a large fragment, or even its apparent battle in the near future. It is my belief that those highly reflective quartz statues were indeed missing crew from Rarnimdi’s first visit to Braagan.”

“The excursion three hundred orbits in the future?”

“The very same, Commander. The presence of ribbon snakes also frozen in reflective quartz seems to bear that out, given that those crew disappeared in an event and a place where Time Guardians, described in Rarnimdi’s computer as ribbon serpentines, apparently held court.”

“Very interesting,” Celastrion observed. “How would you recommend proceeding, geologist Aralkodar?”

“Return home and report our findings to the High Council. I believe they will understand how to resolve this mystery, better than we will.”

“Why not merely transmit our data to the home-world and remain here to investigate further and carry out their instructions?” commander Bexar asked.

“Because we have no idea what tricks Braagan will surprise us with; we do not wish to experience Canmark Rarnimdi’s fate.”

“Anyone disagree with our noble geologist’s conclusions?” Bexar asked. All present indicated ’no’s by holding out open palms. “Very well. Upon return to Command Point we will leave this system placing a warning marker at its outer orbital. I want our Planetary Congress advised immediately; send them all our data concerning current status Braagan and Canmark Rarnimdi wreckage. Meeting adjourned; please return to your stations, except for geologist Cancadmius.”

The section chiefs and noble Second left quietly and in an orderly manner. Cancadmius shifted uneasily in his chair.

“Relax, noble geologist. I need your further insight concerning your experience on Braagan’s surface. This may sound a little fanciful, but I would like to know if you truthfully concur with Aralkodar’s assessment.”

“Of course, she is a professionally trained geologist of high calibre.”

“Yes, I am quite aware of her ability in her chosen field. I wasn’t actually asking if you find her scientific conclusions valid. What concerns me is her emotional condition following Braagan. Is she reacting to an emotional connection with events and experiences there?”

“You believe her recommendation is based solely on fear?”

Commander Bexar inclined her head briefly in affirmation.

“My personal observation is that my fellow geologist is above such subjective reactions. Her recommendation is a perfectly logical one based on unseen dangers posed by a world we have little understanding of. Data recovered from Rarnimdi does not contradict the validity of Aralkodar’s conclusions.”

“Did you notice that our noble geologist spoke of Braagan as though it were alive? Did you experience any impressions of any units of consciousness present on Braagan’s surface?”

“Not exactly, Commander.”

“Elucidate ‘not exactly’ for me, please; either there were or there were not, surely?”

“That planet is creepy. Something had to construct that energy canopy and that invisible gate or portal which gave off low-level temporal radiation. Then there were those quartz formations without any Pulsewave signature at their quantum level. Just like Canmark Rarnimdi. Everything there is weird and out of temporal synchronicity with everything else. Then, when we sent a robot crew to retrieve those quartz formations, they and the portal and canopy had disappeared; events seem contrived.”

“If you are not exactly suggesting the actions of a consciousness then to what do you ascribe these mysterious phenomena?”

“The Crisis. I believe that is Aralkodar’s conclusion also.”

“The Crisis,” Bexar echoed. “Very well, noble geologist. You may return to your station. I wish to stay here for a while and study all our information again, just in case we missed something. Tell our noble Second that I may be occupied for a while; a very long while. You may instruct helm to set Pathfinder; we are returning home.”

“Of course,” Cancadmius stated, getting up to leave. Bexar waited for the door to slide shut after him, then she retrieved her personal cipher reader and attached it to the meeting room’s computer scan plate.

COMPUTER CIPHER RUNNING. PERSONAL CODE INPUT COMMANDER BEXAR, CURRENTLY IN COMMAND JSARN NESENTOR. PLEASE ENTER YOUR TRIUMVIRATE AUTHENTICATION CODE

“GH-90798NM-347105”

CONFIRMED, VOICEPRINT MATCH. ACCESSING TRIUMVIRATE COMMAND ARCHIVE CANMARK RARNIMDI. TRANSFERRING TO SCREEN IN THIRTY PULSES.

“Lock the door to this room.”

DOOR LOCKED. VIEWING MODE READY.

“Proceed.”