Aeon Read online

  Midway down the hallway, right beside where an inner wall had caved in, Reaghan froze. Something had rattled the piping that pumped water and life support to different areas of the ship. Her ears strained as she sought to determine where exactly the source was. She was just about to give up when she heard it again, only much quieter. She crept along, taking as quiet of steps as she could.

  By now, the blue of her Eiha filled the corridor, as well as the chamber of her gun. Reaghan took several deep breaths in an effort to not broadcast so much of her strength. Having some idea was good. It kept you safe in the galaxy. Having exact quantities was a different story. That was just asking for trouble, especially if you were outnumbered.

  “Who’s out there?” a sharp voice demanded. They spoke Banal, though it was heavily accented, as though they weren’t used to speaking it.

  “Reaghan O’Neill, captain of the Aeon,” she called out, hoping she wasn’t being too rude by assuming that role. “We found your ship when we were passing through this region of space.”

  Three heads poked around the corner. Two, more or less resembled the more human-looking lifeforms in the galaxy. The last clearly had more subterranean ancestors with their thicker, almost leather-looking, skin.

  “Where’d you come from?” the subterranean man demanded.

  Reaghan stopped, gun still aimed at the three of them. “We ventured into this space about three weeks ago.”

  “Your ship still works?” the woman asked, her voice quaking.

  “No, she’s just sitting here because she flew through the vacuum,” the last man, the original hailer, snapped.

  “How long have you all been here?” Reaghan asked.

  “About as long as you’ve been sailing this cursed region,” the subterranean man answered. “I’m Urg, by the way.”

  “And I’m Ja, and this is our captain, Miraz,” the woman said.

  All three poured into the corridor, clenching their makeshift weapons in front of them. Reaghan lowered hers as well, if only to make them relax a little bit. Their uniforms were torn and singed, as though they had all been close to the electronics when they blew.

  “So how’d your ship get like this?” The question seemed simple enough, though Reaghan was looking for an explanation since the parallels of what happened to the Scavenger couldn’t be ignored.

  “Damned if we know,” Miraz replied. “We’re sailing through the Urbica system to get our delivery done. The next thing we know, we’re getting tossed around and everything’s blowing up.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Tell you what, Reaghan. Since it’s clear you have a way out of here, think you could give us a lift? We have a few credits we could toss your way.”

  “We’re still figuring navigation.” She opened the comm with a slight shrug of her shoulder. “And we don’t have much in terms of quarters.”

  “We’ll take a cargo bay,” Urg said. “Anything to get us off this hulk of metal and back into civilization.”

  She chewed her bottom lip as she stared at them, weighing her options. They didn’t seem like much trouble, and she already had a feeling that Twi was determining how to best protect them. It was still a risk, but despite the danger, she didn’t feel right leaving them here to die.

  “Get your stuff,” she said at last. “We’ll take off in a couple hours.”

  “Thank you!” Ja’s relief was almost contagious.

  Even Miraz managed a slight smile, then the three raced off down the dark corridor, guided by their flashlights. Reaghan tilted her head in confusion. Most would use their Eiha to light their path, unless they didn’t have the reserves to spare. Once she was sure she was alone, she turned her attention to the open comm link, waiting to speak until she was sure it’d be difficult for even her to hear Twi on the other end.

  “What do you think of that?” she murmured.

  “I think it’s a risk taking them aboard, though a risk that is understandable. If we don’t take them, the odds of survival aren’t in their favor. Still, by my estimate, there is about a twenty percent chance of them causing trouble.”

  “Can you do some prep? I don’t want obvious measures, but we need a few things in place in case they turn on us as soon as we’re away from here.”

  “It’s being done as we speak. It should be in place by the time you’re ready to come back on board.”

  “Good. I’m going silent again so they don’t think anything’s up,” Reaghan said.

  “Be careful.” Twi signed off.

  Alone again, Reaghan tapped her foot against the deck plates. To keep herself from going crazy while she waited, she decided a bit more exploration was in order. She followed in the same direction the crew had vanished, glancing in the dark rooms as she went while keeping her gun at her side. Even though she had invited them on board, she wasn’t about to send the message that her guard was down. Eventually, she found Urg stuffing a duffel full of personal effects.

  “Need any help?” she asked.

  “I’ve got it, thanks,” he replied, half turning toward her. “Ja and the captain might need some in the cargo bay.”

  “And that’s in what direction?”

  “Just down the hall from here.” He jerked an arm in the direction she hadn’t explored yet. “Can’t miss it.”

  “Gotcha.” She left him to his work. The further down the hall she went, the darker it became. Despite being among friendlies, she still didn’t dare make her light. Most Eiha-wielders made orbs of energy, not stars. Toward the end of the hall, Reaghan found herself staring down a large double door. With how silent the ship was, she could hear even the smallest shift of weight on the other side.

  “Grab everything you can,” Miraz ordered. “Only the big stuff is being left here.”

  “Well, why don’t we ask the glowy girl to help us?” Ja asked. “Seems like she had enough Eiha to spare.”

  “Because she’s already offering us a way out of here. We can’t push our luck, not when we don’t know if another way out is coming our way.”

  Reaghan let out a tiny cough to let them know she was there. The two jumped, completely caught off guard. She crossed her arms, her right hand still holding the gun. “Looks like you could use a hand.”

  “Are you offering?” Miraz asked.

  “Wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” She holstered the gun finally and dusted off her hands.

  Most of their cargo was simply crates of goods, split between what was for the ship and what was for their delivery. The difficult part would be figuring out what to do with the tractors and other farm equipment along the rear wall.

  “I don’t think even I could help with that,” she said, pointing to the machine parts. “But this won’t be a problem.” Eiha flowed and coated most of the boxes around her in blue. “I’ll be back for some more in just a few.”

  Miraz grunted in acknowledgment, though he seemed more preoccupied with his own boxes. Ja passed her in the corridor in silence, despite the fact that Reaghan had to lift her burden to the ceiling to avoid hitting her. Either the other woman was annoyed by how easy it was for Reaghan to lift everything or was so focused on getting back to grab more stuff that she didn’t notice.

  Upon reaching the departure point, she studied what was there with a frown. Between the collapsed ceiling and what Ja had already set down, there wasn’t much room to work with. “Twi, can you start transporting this stuff over there? We’re gonna be buried alive if we don’t do something.”

  The comm beeped once and everything disappeared in a flash of light.

  “What was that?” Urg asked, joining her.

  “My ship’s teleporter. You guys load everything by hand?”

  He nodded.

  “The ship’s a few models out of date for that tech,” Miraz said, joining them, Ja balancing what looked to be the rest of the cargo in a web of Eiha behind him. The wo
man’s limbs shook and sweat ran down her face with the effort it took to keep the ten items aloft. Reaghan wondered how she was managing it all since she couldn’t detect much Eiha within the other woman.

  “We all set?” she asked, putting it to the back of her mind.

  “Yeah, let’s get moving,” Miraz replied.

  Reaghan watched him set his burden down and join Urg off to the side. Clearly the man was used to giving the orders. Part of her wanted to dispel that illusion since it wouldn’t serve him aboard the Aeon. At the same time, it wasn’t worth her effort. She was just the flesh representative for Twi and the AI didn’t have any problem asserting her authority when needed.

  “Okay, then.” She activated her comm. “Twi? You there?”

  “Yes, I am.” She could tell the AI was putting more effort into appearing humanoid.

  “We’re all set over here.”

  “Stand by.”

  The baggage vanished first, including the items Ja was still holding aloft.

  “That’s freaky,” Ja commented, though she looked physically better with the strain on her gone.

  Even though she had been expecting it, Reaghan jumped when they suddenly were standing in the center of a nearly full cargo bay. Twi had set out three cots for their passengers to use, and she noted there was also a replicator set into the rearmost wall.

  “Welcome aboard the Aeon,” she told them.

  She left the three of them in the middle of a meal before settling the rest of the way in. Given the amount of food they had made, it was a good thing the replicator ran off Eiha or they’d be in trouble. The further she traveled down the hall, she noticed the automatons that had become a distinct part of life on the Aeon were gone.

  “I decided it was best for their presence to be minimal until we get a complete measure of our guests,” Twi said as though reading her thoughts. “Please come to the bridge.”

  “How do you do that?” she demanded.

  “You are fairly observant in terms of patterns,” Twi replied. “Since our assistants operate as discreetly as possible it is easy to overlook them. And yet, you don’t.”

  Reaghan clambered up the stairs, coming to a sudden stop at the sight of a human in the middle of the bridge. She looked to be in her younger twenties, with her long hair tied back in pigtails. Her wide, dark brown eyes gave her an air of innocence.

  “Greetings,” she said with Twi’s voice.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “A facsimile I devised when you said they were coming aboard. It will look better if you have another humanoid aboard the ship, and they’ll be less likely to try and take advantage of you.”

  “But how are you creating this image? And where’s your normal body?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m well hidden. Being in this form doesn’t affect my functions.”

  “I’m more worried about whether or not I can find you in case we need to make a quick getaway.”

  “That shouldn’t be a concern. I’ll find you. As for how I am creating this image—the Aeon is equipped with holographic projectors all over the vessel. I believe this was so the automated systems that run the vessel could interact with anyone they came across while in the Void.”

  “Well, I think our guests are going to be in the cargo bay for a long time. They’re feasting.”

  “Should I have given them traditional quarters?”

  “No, but while they’re asleep I think we should work on getting this place looking like it’s lived in.” She paused. “I’d also like to set aside a private area for just us.”

  “Of course.”

  “Anything else I should know about?” Reaghan asked.

  “I’ve conducted a long-range scan and found some odd readings in the Eiha that flows through the Void. I think we should check it out. It might be a way out of here.”

  “Great!”

  “Let’s just hope it doesn’t give us the trouble it did when we came in.”

  “Well, you said this ship was built for this type of travel. Maybe luck will be on our side. Either way, I’ll be happy as long as we can reach a populated planet.”

  Twi tilted her head, a curious expression across her face. “Usually you avoid many populated planets.”

  “We need to get access to our accounts back and see what work there might be. Never mind the fact that our guests have to get back to their lives too.” Reaghan threw herself in a chair. “I wonder how many others ran into trouble with the Void?”

  “It is hard to say since these are the first that we can confirm did it, though I suppose others might have returned but didn’t report what happened.”

  “Um, Captain?” It was Ja. The three of them stood awkwardly near the staircase.

  “Come on up,” Reaghan beckoned, sitting up straight. She noticed Twi stood straighter as well, though she moved a bit too much to be entirely natural. “This is my second, Twi.”

  “Nice to see you,” Miraz said, while Urg simply nodded. “Sorry for just coming up, but we’re wondering if you had a time frame on when we can get back.”

  Reaghan looked at Twi for the answer. “Our long-range scans show that an opening will be in about a week. We should reach it with a couple of days to spare.”

  The relief from their new companions was so great, it flooded the bridge.

  “Is it just the two of you?” Ja asked.

  “We have a few other members. They mainly keep to themselves,” Reaghan answered. “We don’t need a large crew to handle our jobs.”

  Miraz swung his arms absently. “Well, if you need anything you know where to find us. We’re skilled in the basics, not that it helped us on our ship.”

  “To be fair, I think we got lucky,” Reaghan said with a sympathetic smile. “We lost a couple of systems ourselves when we were pulled in.”

  “We appreciate the offer,” Twi said.

  A loud rumbling filled the air. All five of them turned to Urg. “Was that your stomach?” Miraz demanded.

  “Sorry, Cap. It’s been awhile.”

  “I’d suggest you take it easy, but the replicator in the cargo bay should have plenty,” Twi said. “That sleeping arrangement is fine for you all, right?” She shifted weight as though she were nervous over the answer.

  “It’s fine. It’s not like it’s for long,” Miraz replied as another grumble came from Urg’s stomach. “Come on, you two; lets finish getting settled in.”

  “You’re not telling them about the Scavenger,” Twi noted once they were gone.

  “Like you said, we don’t know what they’re about. I’m just making sure the twenty percent you were talking about doesn’t happen.”

  “A wise choice. And don’t worry. Your rooms are already keyed so your bio sign is the only one who can enter.”

  “How is it that this ship is more advanced than the one we lost when it’s ancient by comparison?”

  Twi simply smiled.

  Reaghan ran down the hallway, her long hair billowing out behind her. With the passengers she had, she found it hard to relax since she expected them to burst into the room at any second. It wasn’t that she was necessarily hiding anything, but she wasn’t used to being so guarded on her own ship.

  She swung around the stairs to the bridge, then continued back down the hall. Another set of footsteps quickly fell in step with her.

  “Mind if I join you?” Ja asked with a grin.

  Reaghan shrugged, more focused on saving her breath for the workout then making small talk.

  “It must get dull living on a ship like this with just a few of you. I get annoyed with just the three of us sometimes,” Ja continued. “You do this a lot to break it up?”

  “As often as I can,” Reaghan replied. “Don’t like to be lazy.”

  They rounded a support and made their way back down the hall. After a f
ew more laps, Reaghan came to a halt, Ja staggering to a stop beside her.

  “I’m going to call it for today,” she said.

  “Seems like we just started,” Ja panted.

  “It always does.” Reaghan handed her a towel. “I do it fairly often so join in if you see me out here.”

  “I will.” Ja smiled, took a few skipping steps, then stopped. “You don’t have any combat skills, do you?”

  “Only with my blaster.”

  “Good. You barely broke a sweat. I’d hate to see what you could do in a sparring match.”

  Reaghan’s eyes narrowed, then she made her way to the bridge. Plopping herself in the seat, she swung her legs over the arm.

  “What’s bothering you enough this morning that you had to do twenty laps down the hallway?” Twi asked from the pilot’s seat.

  “Nothing was bothering me when I started. Then Ja asked me a question about my training.”

  “What’s odd about that? I’m sure she hasn’t seem someone run as much as you do.” Twi turned in her chair.

  “It wasn’t the fact that she asked, it was how. She only asked after commenting about how little I sweat. I might not be the greatest at social stuff, but even I wouldn’t make note of that.”

  “Would you? I seem to remember the incident with the Kiniam. They were insulted you didn’t find their tusks appealing. And then I had to save you as you hinted that they were ugly.”

  “Don’t remind me. Besides, that was when you had more direct conversational programming than I did.” Reaghan stood, wiping her palms on her leggings. “If you need me, I’ll be around.”

  “Around? How can you get around? The ship is rather linear in design.”

  “You’re being too literal again,” Reaghan called, hurrying down the stairs.

  Instead of going toward her quarters, she went in the opposite direction. She had searched all those rooms for Twi’s actual body. Despite the AI’s assurances, she felt uneasy about the lack of knowledge. Though if she didn’t know any better, she’d swear Twi was actually moving around the ship to avoid her.

  The automatons had been busy with situating furniture and other items inside while the humanoids aboard slept. She swept through each room, careful to not stay too long in order to avoid drawing attention to what she was doing.