Jewel of The Stars - Season 1 Episode 1 - Earth's Remnant Read online

  The navigator nodded and pressed a control. A slight vibration tickled Les’s feet through his thin soles. The bridge dimmed for a moment. A blurry white orb glowed through the front window. They were at warp.

  Les’s smile faded.

  “Now, time to face the music.” He pressed a control on his wristband, patching his voice ship-wide.

  “This is Captain Les Miller speaking.”

  Chapter Three

  Haylee Scott stopped in the middle of the red-carpeted hallway and put her finger to her mouth.

  “Shh.”

  If they could reach their cabin without a major incident she could start to unwind.

  Her son Austen stopped talking. Finally.

  “The captain is making an announcement,” she whispered.

  “But—”

  She pointed at him. He fell silent.

  “I want to stress that this decision has been made in the interests of your safety.”

  Ronald, her husband, flashed a sympathetic smile. He started walking again, following the porter who pushed the cart with the bags they’d checked in at the New York spaceport.

  “We take this very seriously at United Earth Cruise Lines.”

  “United Earth is—” Austen said.

  Elsie poked him in the ribs. “Be quiet, Austen. Mom said—”

  “Elsie!” Haylee snapped. “Your brother isn’t your responsibility. I’ll handle him.”

  “Yes, Mom.” Elsie’s face dropped. She leaned back against the wood-panelled walls. She was a good kid. It was hard enough being the older sibling. Harder still when her little brother had special needs.

  “I’m sure you’ll agree that the views you’ll soon be seeing of the Helix Nebula are worth the diversion.”

  “When will we leave Earth?” Austen whispered.

  Haylee let out a long breath and shook her head. The captain was winding up his speech now. What did it matter?

  “We’ve already gone to warp. Did you feel that little shake in the deck a moment ago?”

  Austen shook his head.

  “That was the ship entering the warp bubble that allows us to travel outside of normal space.”

  “What’s normal space?”

  “Thank you for your attention, and please enjoy the cruise.”

  Haylee ran her hand through her hair. This was no time for a physics lecture.

  “Try to be quiet until we reach our cabin, okay?”

  They rounded a corner. A large glass door invited children into the playground within. Austen’s eyes lit up. “Mommy, I want to go in there.”

  “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

  Austen screwed up his little face. “No. I want to go in now!”

  “Austen, follow us.”

  “I’m going into the playground.” He reached for the door.

  “Austen,” she yelled.

  Behind the glass doors, parents and children alike looked up, eyes wide.

  Haylee’s cheeks burned. Yeah, they could look. She’d like to see them come out and try to handle him. Some days she wished she could hang a big sign around Austen’s neck that said “High-functioning Autism.” Then people wouldn’t judge her so often. Maybe.

  “Austen—” Elsie said.

  “Elsie!” Haylee snapped.

  Elsie stamped her foot and ran to her father. Ronald turned and walked back towards them. Finally. He grabbed Austen’s hand and started to pull the boy along. Austen screamed but followed his father.

  Haylee watched as the two walked down the hallway, taking deep breaths together. Ronald had always had more patience for Austen when he was having a melt down. Sure, Haylee knew all the strategies, but they were easy to forget when frustration set in.

  The porter was waiting outside the elevator down the hall. Haylee jogged to catch up and fell in step next to Ronald.

  “Try to cut him some slack, hon. His routine is totally messed up today,” Ronald said.

  Haylee nodded. Ronald was right.

  “Mom, will the ship fall back to Earth?” Haylee envied Austen’s ability to change mood so fast.

  “No, we’re outside of the planet’s gravitational field.”

  “What’s a gravitational field?”

  “It’s what pulls objects down toward the centre of the earth. It’s why you can stand on the ground and not float away.”

  “What if we did float away?”

  Haylee snorted. “Then I guess we’d get lost in space.”

  “Would the ship rescue us?”

  Haylee bit down, stifling a groan. “I don’t know, Austen.”

  They reached the elevator that would take them down to their deck.

  “What makes the ship move, Mom?”

  “The engines.”

  The porter pressed the call button, his face impassive.

  “Does it move fast?”

  “It moves very fast when it’s at warp.” The elevator doors opened and they stepped in.

  “What’s warp?”

  “It’s a method of travelling faster than light.” She pressed the button for deck 15.

  “Light doesn’t move. That’s silly.”

  “It does move, Austen. It’s very fast.”

  “Where does it go?”

  “It travels all about. It travels to our eyes, so we can see things.”

  The doors opened on their deck, which was decorated the same as the one they’d left.

  “I’m gonna move faster than the light. Then you won’t see me.” Austen tore off down the hallway in his awkward gait.

  “Austen!” Haylee called out. “Come back here!”

  The boy ignored her.

  “No running in the hallways, and you’re going the wrong way!”

  Haylee stole a glance. There were others in the hallway. Her face warmed. She ran after Austen.

  She reached him and grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop. “You come back when I call.”

  Austen pointed out the porthole at the warp ring. “What’s that, Mommy?”

  “Are you listening? You disobeyed me. I told you to stop running.”

  “Is that the engine?”

  “Austen!” Her shout echoed up and down the hallway. Several people turned and stared.

  Austen’s face dropped. Finally. “I’m sorry Mommy.”

  “I forgive you. Now, come and help us find our room.” She dragged Austen by the arm back to the elevator where the rest of the family were waiting.

  A few voices muttered behind her. Brilliant. Now she’d be the subject of gossip throughout the ship.

  #

  Haylee tipped the porter, and he retreated from their room.

  The mountain of suitcases was suddenly intimidating. Why hadn’t they splurged on full service? Then the porter would have unpacked for them. But then, she knew why. Times were about to get difficult.

  The kids were already bickering over bed choice in the attached bedroom. She couldn’t take it any more.

  “I’ve had enough.” She slammed the case closed. “You deal with them, Ronald. I’m going for a walk.”

  “What, now? You’re going to leave us the minute we get to our room?”

  “Yes, Ronald.” She took a step closer and locked eyes with him. “I need to get away before I burst a blood vessel.”

  Ronald shook his head. “What’s gotten into you, Haylee?”

  She jammed her finger in the direction of the kids’ room. “They’ve gotten into me.”

  “They’re just kids. I know they can be hard to deal with but—”

  “No, you don’t know, Ronald. You have no idea what I’m feeling like right now.”

  Ronald stifled a chuckle. “Oh, you’re making it pretty clear.”

  Haylee clenched a fist. Ronald was gonna get a black eye if he didn’t shut up.

  Ronald’s face dropped. “Bad time for a joke, right?” He stepped aside. “Fine. Go do whatever it is you have to do. When you’re ready to spend time with your family, we’ll be around.”r />
  Haylee stormed outside. She headed right, the opposite direction from the people who’d seen her outburst earlier.

  She tried to slow her breathing, to calm herself.

  The surroundings were helpful. Paintings hung at intervals on the walls, portraits of famous people from the history of space exploration—Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong, Miguel Alcubierre, Harold White, and Tracey Yeung. As an astroengineer, these were the people Haylee felt a kinship with.

  Austen wasn’t the problem. Not really. Her other problems were just making it impossible to deal with him.

  Ronald wouldn’t understand. Well, of course he wouldn’t, because she hadn’t told him anything. She couldn’t ruin the trip by revealing her bad news.

  Then again, if she continued on the way she was, she’d ruin the holiday for the entire family anyway.

  Haylee stopped walking and sucked in a deep breath. She couldn’t do this alone. She needed Ronald’s understanding. She let the air out in a long sigh.

  She’d have to tell him. She’d look for the right opportunity and she’d come out with it all. Hopefully it wouldn’t kill his fun.

  Chapter Four

  Les closed the door behind him. The pale blue walls of his office—his sanctuary—were cool and inviting. The ready room was closer to the bridge, but this office was home.

  He flopped into his plush chair. A virtual screen floated above his desk. A happy ship didn’t run itself.

  He glanced over the report titles from the various department heads. Everything was running as it should. Les grinned. He swiped to open his contact list, his finger passing through the projection. He selected Maya. Moments later, her face appeared.

  “Any complaints about our course change?” he asked.

  “One or two, Captain.”

  “I was worried there’d be more than that. We can cope with one or two.”

  “Most people only want to be shown a good time Captain. They don’t care where they end up.”

  “We’ll stay by the nebula for a day, then head for Nessia.” Les leaned back into his chair and locked his fingers together. “The cliffs there are stunning, eh?”

  “I’ve always thought so. While I’ve got you Captain, there are two things.”

  Les nodded.

  “First, Dalia Spring is on board.”

  “The businesswoman?” His shoulders tensed. “Why wasn’t I informed earlier?”

  “Evidently, her booking was made at the last minute.”

  “I assume you’ve extended her my gracious welcome and an invitation to dine at the captain’s table?” Les smirked.

  “I have sir, but she declined.”

  His shoulders relaxed.

  “I guess she feels eating with a lowly ship captain is a bit beneath her.” Les grinned. “Well, fine. Nothing worse than entertaining a stuffy billionaire. What else?”

  “There is a large build-up of ships near Alpha Centauri. I’ve been monitoring it so we have some evidence to show disgruntled passengers why we can’t go there. Captain, they’re all military.”

  “Military?” He rubbed his chin. “Why do they care so much about a little solar activity?”

  “I don’t know, Captain. I just thought you’d be interested.”

  “Yes. Thank you. I’ll take a look.”

  Les waved his hand and Maya’s face vanished. He called up the long-range sensor application. A map of the Alpha Centauri System floated in the middle of the room.

  Maya was right. There were twelve ships, quite a build-up. They were positioning themselves into formation. A blockade? Were they expecting trouble? Pirates never came that close to Earth. This looked more like a last stand against an invasion, but who would be invading?

  Les rose and paced the room. Could it be aliens? No, that was crazy. There’d never been any contact with alien life. The closest anyone had come was the ruins discovered on Kepler-22. What if there really were aliens out there? Aliens with hostile intentions?

  Les smiled and shook his head. Absurd. The ships were probably carrying out an exercise. War games and all that.

  Time for coffee.

  There’s danger out there. Actually, the danger is coming here, but that’s irrelevant. The point is, if you stay here, you’ll be better off. You might be able to prevent it.

  That’s what the wacko on the doorstep of his apartment had said this morning. He’d almost forgotten. Did that nut case know something? A tramp wasn’t likely to have inside military intelligence. Something didn’t add up.

  He tapped his wristband. The sensor app would remain focused on the Alpha Centauri System so he could keep a close eye on it.

  #

  Braxton looked up and down the promenade, then gave a low whistle. Surely he’d find a distraction here. He needed more than something to keep his mind off Jane’s message. He needed to feel space around him.

  This place looked like a shopping centre. If he ignored the stars streaking by through the massive ceiling, he could believe he was back on earth. Impressive sure, but he wasn’t here to shop, and this didn’t feel like space.

  He walked past planter boxes full of trees. A couple stood outside a jewellery store poking the air, interacting with computer interfaces only they could see.

  Why did people use their eye lenses in public like that? It was creepy. Made them look like zombies. Still, a glance at the ship’s directory would be useful. He dropped onto a bench seat, and pressed a control on his wristband and it appeared.

  He scrolled through the list of locations. Swimming pool? Hardly. Botanical gardens? Yeah, that was a way to feel like you were in space. Library? He could sit and read at home. Gymnasium? Maybe later.

  Ah, this was interesting—the observation bar. He pressed the title to bring up further details. An intimate cocktail bar with full floor-to-ceiling windows to view the starscape. Yep, that would do.

  Braxton dismissed the virtual interface and crossed the promenade towards the nearest lift. It was wedged in between a massage therapist, which displayed a back-on picture of a naked woman lying on a soft bench, and a lingerie shop with mannequins which might as well be naked.

  The ride in the lift was smooth but lethargic. Back on the Hobart, they’d never have had time for lifts like these. Quick and jerky—that was the order of the day on a military craft.

  Finally, the doors slid apart and Braxton stepped out of the lift. The ship shifted under his feet. They’d dropped out of warp.

  He stood on a mezzanine high above the promenade. He glanced both ways. The observation bar was to his right, so he wandered in.

  Calmness permeated the room. Soft jazz played, barely audible. Conversations were hushed. The translucent front wall was filled with swirling vibrant colour. The Helix Nebula. Eye lenses must have been applying some image enhancement, because the nebula looked like those old Hubble images from the twenty-first century. Reality, as seen by the naked eye, was less impressive. Braxton took a seat at an empty table facing the window. An older Japanese couple sipped tall glasses of rainbow fluid next to him.

  A smartly-dressed waitress appeared next to his table as if by magic. She flashed Braxton a smile. He returned it.

  “Martini, please.”

  The waitress nodded. Braxton’s gaze lingered on her as she sauntered off. Had he been younger … well, his womanising days were in the past now. Pretty young things like that didn’t want bitter, washed-out soldiers.

  Campbell’s face invaded Braxton’s mind. Try to stay out of trouble, Mr White. That mongrel had no clue what had happened to Braxton’s career. If only he could tell people the truth.

  “I wonder if they’ll do tours inside the nebula,” the Japanese woman at the table next to him asked in heavily accented English.

  “That would be spectacular,” her husband said.

  Braxton winced. Should he say something? It was none of his business. No, he couldn’t help himself.

  “Actually, the gasses are so sparse there’d be nothing to see at all if y
ou were inside it. That’s why we have to park light years away in order to see anything.”

  “Oh.” The woman deflated. “That’s disappointing.”

  “Sorry.” Braxton shrugged. “Scientific reality often spoils the romanticism of ignorance.” Maybe he should have let them keep their fantasy.

  “Are you a scientist?” the woman asked.

  Braxton shook his head. “Soldier. Thirty years in the Royal Australian Space Navy.”

  “I didn’t know Australia even had a space Navy,” the woman said. “It seems silly, out here, to even think of national borders.”

  “A fair point,” Braxton said. “Earth may not have achieved a unified global government, but the space navies work closely together. We’re all on the same team, for the most part.”

  “You must see a lot of interesting things in that line of work.”

  “Absolutely. I’m retired now. That’s why I’m on this cruise. I miss the stars.”

  “Well,” the husband said. “Thank you for the time you spent keeping those stars safe for people like us to enjoy.”

  Braxton tipped his head. If only that particular honour hadn’t been stolen from him. “My pleasure, sir.”

  The waitress reappeared with his drink. Braxton took a sip, leaned back, and let out a sigh. Well, this was better than all right.

  Braxton caught sight of a group entering the bar together. He turned. Four tall people in immaculate suits, three men and one woman, surrounded somebody. A rich businessman with his entourage no doubt.

  The suits parted.

  Not a man. A woman. Dalia Spring.

  Braxton’s heart clenched, and his hands balled into fists. What was she doing here? This was a luxury cruise but she could afford to buy the entire ship if she wanted. The diminutive woman carried herself like a giant, as though stomping on ordinary people like they were ants.

  Braxton spun back to face the window. Last thing he needed was for her to recognise him. He gritted his teeth. If it weren’t for Dalia Spring, he’d be on the bridge of the HMAS Hobart right now, not sipping a stupid martini on the Jewel of the Stars. Talk about salt in the wound.

  If they made eye contact, he’d not be able to control himself. He’d make a scene, and probably get arrested.