“Got that right. You don’t want to hang about waiting for trouble. That’s just as bad as going out looking for it.” Aileena began to input commands into the console before her. “I think trouble actually comes looking for us. Definitely feels that way sometimes.”
“Where will we even go? Prunax is out of the way, right at the edge of Council space. Far side of the wedge.” Ivona had removed her trooper armour not long after boarding the Seeker, connecting the complex mechanical suit to the ship’s power supply with a long black cable that unspooled from the wall. Beneath she was wearing a black jumpsuit. She had unzipped the top half and tied it around her waist, revealing a white tank top. Across her left arm, tattooed in white to stand out against her purple skin, was a line of alien glyphs.
Michael knew what Ivona had meant when she mentioned the wedge. Mellok had shown him a map of the known galaxy. The Council had begun its existence closer to the outer edge of the galaxy than Earth was. They had headed towards the suspected location of Earth during their crusades, stopping to expand their territory in other directions when they had needed more worlds to continue the assault. The result was that Council space looked like a triangle when viewed from above, a wedge in space. Mellok had zoomed the map out to show the entire galaxy when explaining this to Michael. On a galactic scale the marker showing Council space had looked like a tiny line. In reality, the massive empire controlled only a minuscule fraction of space.
“Oh, we got a place,” Michael said. “One you’ll love. It’s a step up from the nightmare you’ve been living in.”
“You sure you want to go there?” Aileena said. There was no malice or suspicion in her voice. Just caution.
“These people deserve a little respite, surely? Unless of course, they want to go to the nearest Council world. They’re welcome to do that. We can drop them… somewhere? I have no idea how long it would take to get them to the next planet.”
“About three weeks,” Mellok said. He had opened the galactic map on the console before him. “It’s within range of our drive, but I fear we don’t have the supplies for such a journey.”
“We have all those supplies my people recovered from the warehouse.” Ivona stood behind Mellok, leaning over his chair to examine the map.
“No, those supplies we needed, remember?” Aileena was still focusing on her panel. “They’re spoken for. Regardless of what the Purnaxians want we need to drop off those supplies first. That’s the whole point we went on this Rhythm damned mission.”
“Where is this other place, the one you’re talking about?”
Mellok shifted the hologram, zooming in on the location they had left Eden. It was simply black, a gap between stars.
“Here?” Ivona was confused. “There’s nothing here?”
“Ah, that’s what they want you to think!” Michael said.
“Who is they?”
“Oh, well I guess in this case they is us. We’ve got something parked there.” Michael smiled. He had a friend on Earth who was always talking about some nebulous they that was behind all kinds of crazy conspiracies. It was funny to be the keeper of an actual real secret. “You’ll love it.”
“We will?” Ivona was still none the wiser.
“Oh right. We have our own planet there. An entire world. A veritable Eden, you could say.”
Eden hung there in space before them. The Seeker had come in close, the shutters rolling back to reveal the brilliant blue-green image floating in the stars. It was still bizarre to see a flat world stamped upon a strange alien structure. For Michael and his friends, it was a welcome sight. The few weeks they had spent living in Brekt’s landing had made the place feel like a home. Something about helping build a place had forged an undeniable link.
For the rest of the passengers aboard the Seeker, the strangeness of the place was overwhelming their thoughts. It was the same befuddlement Michael had experienced when he had first seen Eden. It was understandable, the place seemed to defy logic.
“That’s… that’s a planet? But a flat one? A fake one?” Ivona was fascinated with Eden, leaning against the glass of the control room. Behind her was a crowd of Purnaxians, all jostling each other as they tried to get a good look. It was an understandable reaction. “What is this place? Who built it? I have so many questions.”
“I’m sure you do. We still do.” Michael’s face was wide with a smile. These people had seen their world burning beneath the feet of machines, their friends and family snatched to provide the organic slurry that served as circuitry or turned to ash by energy blasts. Eden was a literal paradise for them, a safe place to start again, if they wanted it.
“Where’s the Sword?” Aileena said. “It’s not in orbit.” She was right. It was impossible to make out more than a few tiny dots at this distance, the few remaining working ships from the original flotilla, but the Sword was massive compared to them, it should have been obvious at this distance.
“Let’s ask, shall we? Oh, I can’t wait to tell the congregation about all of this. The Knower arrives at a world under siege and rescues the survivors from the surface! Another heroic tale.” Mellok’s feathers were rippling through a dozen colours.
“Ah, no, let’s not. Let’s not add more things to my list of fake triumphs. We had no idea that Purnax was under attack, and meeting these guys was totally on chance. I hate these things being assigned to some divine influence. It’s just random, just a total accident.” Michael turned to face Ivona and the group of Purnaxians. “I don’t mean anything by that. I’m glad we found you. I’d rather save people than not.”
“Ah, it’s no problem. Honestly, we’re just as glad. Shame we couldn’t get anyone else. There must be other survivors elsewhere on Purnax, Knower,” Akob said. There was a hint of reverence in the Purnaxian’s voice.
“Ah, shit,” Michael muttered.
“Seeker to Brekt’s Landing, we are returning to orbit,” Mellok said as he worked the communications station before him. He had drifted into the post naturally, even when the Seeker had been escaping from Earth. Corticans, in general, were adept communicators, even without their psychic translation abilities they had a knack for matching the tone of those they were speaking to.
“Oh, uh, ow. Hey? Hello? This is Gurrit, good to hear from you Seeker.”
“Is Kestok there? Or Meggok?”
“Oh, no they’re on the Sword, working on it. Parked it just outside town. Something about power relays? Don’t know, not a mechanic. You’re back quicker than we expected, thought you might be a few more days.”
“Yes, well, it didn’t exactly go as planned. Are we clear to land in the town?”
“Oh, well I suppose so? Plenty of free space nearby, take your pick.”
“We’ll have to get something more… professional in place, for take-offs and landings,” Aileena said. “A proper traffic control system. I’ll bring in the Seeker near the Sword. Seems like that’s our makeshift landing area.”
“Is everything so… slapdash around here?” Ivona said.
“Well, everything is a bit off the cuff,” Michael said. “Made up as we go, you know? We’ve got an ex-trooper as a guard, some civilians making fields. Working with what we have. You’re welcome to settle here, join the town. We’ve not got much, but well, it’s better than the alternative.”
The Purnaxians began chattering amongst themselves, intrigued by the offer.
“Just opening up the metaphorical gates, Michael?” Aileena said. She fired the Seekers engines, heading towards Eden.
“These people need help. What are we going to do, turn them away? Refuse to help them? What kind of people would we be if we did that?”