As a thank you to George, and a nod to Tony and Uwe, one of my proper Sci-Fi shorts, previously unpublished... approx 3,400 words on the 20,000 limit
The short story medium is something I excel at...
I hope you enjoy this one...
"Crusade"
By Ken Stewart
(All rights reserved)
Well, what have you got to say for yourself?
I jumped.
You never expect that voice…
Not at anytime; not under any circumstances, especially when it comes from within your own head…
‘My my, I am honoured,’ I blustered, ‘you’re a long way off the beaten path.’
I asked you a question…
The soundless voice within my head, so deep and menacing as to be capable of stilling the very workings of a star…
… Please do me the courtesy of answering...
‘Well, you know me, I have these uncontrollable rages you see; part of my being, my outlook on this thing you call life…’
I paused at the thought of the word, the shock of saying it out loud causing a chill to run the very length of my spine…
‘Life, oh how I loathe it...’
Can you possibly spare me the diatribe…?’
I jumped again.
‘I am sorry, forgot you were there for a moment… for that matter, how…’
Do not forget that you are, at this point, “alive”...
I flinched at the power of the words, but forced myself to continue…
‘Alive! The merest mention of the word sends me into apoplexy,’ spoken harshly, and then in an almost soundless undertone, ‘unless I can use it for my own means…’
HARRUMPH…
The very base of my skull shook…
You can push too far on occasion…
‘Sorry, force of habit old chap, hmm?’
Yes, indeed…
‘But what of myself; reduced to this from what I was, reduced to a lev...’
I know very well what you now are and what you once were…
‘Pity? Pity! Oh please spare me your pity…’
You fell so very far…
‘And from what I hear not far enough; and you, you, with your caring ways…’
There was the distinct feeling of exhalation of breath, as from someone very weary of the same circumstances being repeated, ad nauseum.
‘… oh very well… self pity has also not been one of my virtues, but one does ones best…’
‘Void… nothingness... perfect…’
I stood motionless at a Vu, looking out…
‘The joy beyond words of being out of reach; the freedom of freedom, with no one to answer to, and the thought, oh the thought, of the havoc that I could wreak on an oh so unprotected world…’
I paused and began to frown.
‘But then the same old doubts creep in, the insecurity, the little demons feeding on the edge of my psyche, the… I must stop talking to myself, do you hear me!’
I stood with my fists clenched, bellowing at the void beyond the Vu. I was getting close to term, and my hunger pangs were insatiable; the nearness of the system where I knew life existed…
Oh sweet precious life for the taking…
I spun round with a start at a distant sound, and paused...
‘What was that…?’
My reverie smashed…
‘That’s it again!’
I then felt an almost imperceptible vibration where there should have been none. I rushed from the Vu back to the controls, eyes scanning everything for the slightest discrepancy.
‘Mass… the mass can not have increased?’
This does not make sense, not any sense at all…
And then I spotted it…
‘NO!’
If I had not been so entranced by the proximity of that new and vibrant world…
I closed my eyes briefly as a shiver ran the length of my body; I looked wistfully towards the system…
So near and as yet so far…
I scanned for a local com-lock and immediately broadcast to it.
‘This is Captain Ledasez of the Interstellar Merchant Fleet…’
Well… I am using his body, so it is not that far from a statement of fact…
‘What you are doing is an act of unprecedented piracy…’
… so, I will choose to ignore my ever so slight pot blacking…
‘I demand that you detach yourself at once, whomsoever you may be, or I will have no alternative but to contact the authorities…’
I cut the connection.
‘That told them…’
And then almost as an afterthought…
‘… although that vessel could not be carrying anything more than a pilot…’
The Vu showed a small scout craft, clamped to the hull near one of the cargo hold emergency escape pod.
Obviously military in design…
Sleek, fast and long range; everything I had been seeking but had been unable to obtain in the limited time available…
The only thing it appears to lack is armament, but then again, that is not always a necessary requirement for engagement with the enemy, or a sign of a true lack of weaponry…
I continued to study the Vu…
‘Hi Lu…’
A voice came over the sounder that I did not know, but instinctively recognised for what it was, subtle tonal qualities evident; a voice I had not heard for a long time, a very long time indeed.
‘Perditions flames…’
The shock was complete.
This I do not need…
I took a deep breath.
Be calm, be calm, all is not lost…
‘Well, this does come as a surprise…’
A pretty lame response but it was all I could think of in the circumstances.
‘… long time no see. How did you fi… no, don’t bother, stupid of me to have mentioned it in the first place.’
‘May I come on board?’
That voice, so sickeningly silky…
‘… after all, I have travelled such a long way.’
I declined.
‘I am so sorry, but I am in no fit state to entertain at this time…’
Must stall, must stall for time.
‘… oh but do call again, in a Millennium or two...’
‘I thought not, but no harm in maintaining the niceties, yes?’
‘Indeed… So, what form have you taken? Just curiosity, you understand.’
‘Yes, I do understand. I have taken a Human female form, opposite to you.’
‘Interesting... so you are behaving no different than I…’
‘It was necessary… for the greater good.’
I winced at the word but continued with the banter.
‘Well, for such a cause, I don’t suppose you would entertain a little foreplay…?’
‘Why, how kind of you, but I do not suppose I would entertain your crude imagination for long.’
‘Crude? Crude? I have been an entertainer of the willing for Millennia, as you know only too well. I may be mischievous, cunning, conniving, vicious, nefarious, purely coldly evil, but never, never crude. I consider myself to have style beyond your imaginings...’
‘Vanity was always a weak point with you.’
‘As it is with most…’
I watched carefully for any movement around her vessel.
You can not enter mine without leaving the confines of the vessel you are in…
‘What exactly do you have in mind, my little Nemesis?’
‘Your demise, my old friend. You have run your course; served your purpose; it is time for your return to us, where you can be controlled.’
I spotted the tell-tale venting of gasses from the blind side of her vessel; tiny crystals from an imperfect vacuum to a near perfect one.
The untrained eye might have missed that, but oh not me.
‘And how do you intend to achieve that?’
‘By negating you.’
A suited figure emerged and headed for the hatch.
It will not be possible to stop you getting into the cargo area…
But it could be possible to stop you within the vessel…
‘You could no more negate me there than I could your Master; there are rules and you must live by them…’
‘I would only work within them, you know that too. I will only do what I must do: openly, honestly and efficiently.’
‘Well, what have you got to say for yourself, hmm?’
‘We are opposed dimensionally… I presumed you would have understood what I said. It is a mark of how far I would be willing to go to negate you?’
Ah… that could change things a bit, but you still can not enter, can not get to me, and I will not let you...
‘But you would have to be within this vessel and I have not inv...’
‘WARNING! WARNING!’
I jumped at the sound of Control and span round towards the source.
‘Shut up!’ I shouted at the speaker, but it continued.
‘EMERGENCY HATCH SEVENTEEN!’
‘Shut up!’
‘… OUTER DOOR ACTIVATED AND LIFEBOAT BAY DEPRESURISING!
‘SHUT… UP…!’
Silence descended once again…
I returned to the Vu’s to find her momentarily obscured by the now open hatch
‘Inside your vessel, old friend? Within the same room as you? In contact with you? Touching your flesh?’
The hatch started to close and I could no longer see her suited figure
‘YOU… CAN… NOT… ENTER…!’
I knew the rules of engagement perfectly; it could not be done without my implicit permission.
‘Yes… I… can… and… I… will… you have invited this upon yourself.’
I sputtered in almost righteous indignation…
‘I did no such...’
And then it struck home…
‘No…’
What I had done, what have I done…
‘… foreplay...’
The word barely a whisper on my lips.
I wailed at floor…
‘DAMNATION, DAMNATION, DAMNATION, DAMNATION, DAMNATION…’
How could I have been so STUPID…?
‘You have been known to be over-eager on occasion my dearest friend.’
Too eager at the thought of gutting you my dear…
Oh what to do now…
‘But does it have to be this way?’
Move on, move on… damage limitation from here, unless…
‘You yourself have been known to be rebellious.’
‘I am but a servant of my Masters, and though I may strain at the leash, I obey their commands…’
‘Why accept the orders? You could be so much more...’
Okay; well, you’re in, but I can see you goody-two-shoes…
She was in, in clear view on the security system, walking out of the now closing inner hatch of door seventeen. I had locked down all the inner doors; an emergency function on all ships to preserve life in the event of cataclysmic depressurisation, but the emergency hatches are all independent, all potential lifeboats, with Trans beacons, but these could be overridden with command codes in certain circumstances, and it appeared that she knew those…
‘Without order there is chaos.’
‘Without a little chaos, life would be such a boring event…’
… and this moment certainly is not…
‘You should not have taken this form.’
I shrugged my shoulders, meaninglessly, as it was not possible for her to see me. I looked around the cabin for some form of weapon I could use to dispose of my old adversary. This was a civilian vessel in times of peace, in a secure system: unarmed.
‘I was bored; life had become… well, nothing but a cage. You have seen the way they are; you know exactly what I am trying to say… well… you know, don’t you?’
‘I…’ there was a momentary hesitation in the voice, ‘understand; but that does not change our circumstances.’
‘You always were an obsessive. No sense of humour.’
Time…
‘You left; you were fully aware of the consequences; you knew you could not be allowed to survive elsewhere.’
‘Well… how about us going back? I’m game if you are, well?’
Time to think…
‘No…’
‘That sounded pretty final... Not a lot of room for discussion is there..?’
Time to think; there must be something…
‘I only need to touch you my friend.’
‘Which will result in the demise of us both…’
… when I only need yours right now my little beauty…
‘That is as it was ordered.’
‘Orders, orders!’
You weakling… you SICKEN me…
‘It is our way. It has always been our way. You know this...’
‘You cease, I cease; this is what you want…?’
I fumed, but I had to remain calm; I fought to keep a clear head, to clear the mist before my eyes…
‘The balance is maintained; there must be balance for order to be maintained.’
‘Balance? How can the destruction of us both maintain a balance other than us both being dead?
‘Dead? Of all people…’
‘Okay,’ I conceded, ‘an oversight, “returned”.’
‘Indeed. The balance is maintained. Do you not see the ultimate truth in this?
‘I never did enjoy conundrums or puzzles, especially if set by the likes of you...’
That’s it! That is it!
Of course!
‘Oh… to think you could say such a thing…'
… and not an ounce of sarcasm in a single one of those words…
‘So sorry if I offended you…’
… as if…
I only mean to remove you from your mortal coil… nothing more, nothing less…
I frantically searched the command board as she moved on through to the main cargo hold…
‘My, my, I must presume that this is the remains of the original crew?’
‘Humans are so fragile…’
‘… especially in the occurrence of sudden vacuum and sub zero temperatures…?’
Some of them nearly took a minute to die…
… such bliss…
… such pain…
‘… what of it?’
‘Very messy; I guess I should be grateful for gravity.
‘Now there’s a thought!’
‘What to do with you my old friend…? One atrocity after another...’
‘Au contraire mon amie, in many cultures such things would be considered high art.’
‘Ma amie, feminine, not masculine; please remember my gender.’
‘Oh thank you so much for correcting me, my dearest Nemesis.’
You are so damned precise BITCH…
‘You are welcome.’
‘Charmed, I’m sure…’
‘You may consider it to be art, but not here, not in these enlightened times…’
Found it…
I released all the doors and opened the emergency bulkheads.
She paused…
‘What are you up to my old friend, leaving me with free access?’
… and then walked on.
‘Oh really?’
I ignored her…
‘I would so enjoy enlightenment, old friend; your actions appear to be those of stealth and deceit; I am impressed, I truly am.’
Got you…
My oldest adversary was now heading for a bulkhead hatch where I had overridden the safety protocols.
Powers or no powers, in that body, in these circumstances, you have limitations…
‘But I am your friend...’
‘Friends do not destroy each other needlessly.’
A little closer my dear…
‘It is necessary.’
‘Not in my opinion.’
A few more steps, only a few more…
‘Your reasoning is not valid.’
‘I value my existence, do you not? I feel very attached to it. I have enjoyed the use of this body. I do not wish to give it up.’
Slowly slowly catchee monkey; or anything else stupid enough to put their hand in the bottle…
‘But you must; it is not yours to enjoy the use of.’
‘What right do you have to be Judge, jury and executioner?’
‘I am not a Human but I use this body; it was the most appropriate I could acquire at short notice. Your demise required urgency. Your demise will release many you have tormented, many you have deceived.’
‘How can you be so sure it was I that committed any deed you may think I am guilty of?’
‘If a path is followed, it leads to a destination.’
Can’t argue that one…
She paused again…
NO… A little further…
… and awaited my reply.
Move BITCH…
‘Well, nothing to say…? I had expected better from you…’
‘We all have our off days…’
MOVE…
‘Indeed, my old friend, you are obviously out of practise…’
… just one more step forward…
YES…
I hit the switch and the door crashed shut.
It was a bulkhead separator of immense strength; it could cut steel, but not flesh, in normal circumstances…
‘A noble gesture my dear, a sacrifice for the greater evil…’
Yes, yes, YES…
I slapped the control panel in sheer unadulterated joy.
The ship shook soundlessly…
‘Wha..’
The alarm klaxon calling loudly in my ears caused me to flinch involuntarily. I felt a drastic lurch, as if the carpet had been pulled out from under my feet, and was thrown to the floor.
‘ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS DAMAGED! GRAVITY HAS PITCHED DOWN 3 DEGREES, ROLLED PORT 4 DEGREES! RECOVERY IS BEING ATTEMPTED!’
‘Well well; your passing did not go unnoticed… now SHUT UP!’
I pulled myself off the floor, punching up the Vu for hatch seventeen to where the wreckage of what remained of her vessel was drifting away, and secured myself into the Pilot Prime’s seat.
‘Smart; but not enough?’
It worried me that the damage was so minimal. There was too much major debris in visible range of the Vu.
She had obviously set up a mutual death switch, just in case…
‘Maybe the destruct system was faulty, hmm?’
Maybe I just got lucky…
‘WARNING! STRUCTURAL FAILURE IMINENT IN CARGO BAY SEVENTEEN!
Here we go…
‘WARNING! ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM PRESENTLY UNABLE TO RESET GRAVITY CAPSULE!
‘Modern technology…’ I muttered.
‘WARNING! HULL BREACHED!
‘Well, shut down?’
‘WARNING! EMERGENCY SAFETY PROTOCOLS OVERRIDDEN!’
‘What the…’
I scanned the board to see what had happened, and suddenly realised that my clever trap could not be undone by one person
‘WARNING! CRITICAL DEPRESSURISATION IN OCCURRENCE!’
‘NO!’
I released myself, slid over to the bridge exit and headed for the bridge bulkhead.
‘WARNING! ASPHYXIATION WILL OCCUR WITHOUT PROTECTIVE SUITS!’
‘SHUT UP!!’
Central Core took no notice of me, as it should from where I was. Again I was thrown aside, but this time it felt like my intestines were being twisted and put through an ancient wringer.
‘WARNING! PRECESSION IS OCCURING TO GRAVITY CAPSULE! RECOVERY IS BEING ATTEMPTED!’
I headed for a door as I suddenly realised that if the track of the present environmental failure continued this corridor would become a deep shaft before I could reach the bulkhead overrides.
‘WARNING! DRIVE COMPARTNENT INTEGRITY CONTROLS DEFECTIVE! RECOVERY IS BEING ATTEMPTED!
‘What…?’
This was not what I wanted to hear. I lunged at the door frame and clung on whilst the gravity of the vessel arced through the vertical. As soon as it was safe I let go and slid the remainder of the way, slamming into the wall just above the bulkhead door controls, and hit the switch. The bulkhead door slammed shut sealing me off from the rest of the ship, the area starting to repressurise, and then waited for a way to return to the bridge.
‘WARNING! DRIVE COMPARTMENT INTEGRITY PROTOCOLS MUST BE RESET MANUALLY!’
I put my head in my hands as I perched on the frame and screamed at the floor which had become a wall…
‘WARNING! DRIVE COMPARTMENT INTEGRITY WILL BECOME CRITICAL IF NOT RESET WITHIN FIVE MINUTES!
‘What else is going to go wrong?
This is not what I need to hear…
I had to wait for twenty two precious seconds for the precession to bring the structure round to become a floor again. Scrambling back up and into the bridge I slammed myself back into the Pilot Prime seat; strapped in.
Now I feel more secure...
I started the procedures to reset the integrity of the vessel.
‘Drive system integrity will be within safety margins in three minutes…’
Central’s normal com voice was a pleasant sound.
‘Recommend shutting down gravity capsule.’
‘Do it.’
Central responded to my demands.
The feeling of relief on my body as weightlessness occurred, removing the disconcerting wrench of the precessing gravity capsule.
‘Reboot your system as soon as…’
‘WARNING! GENETIC MATERIAL IN DRIVE BAY ENVIRONMENT!’
‘What? Not possible… nothing lives on this vessel…
There must be a sensor error…?’
‘ENVIRONMENT PURGE IN PROGRESS!’
‘It must be an error; nothing can exist in that environment…?’
‘Sorry to disappoint you Lu…’
Time ceased to have any meaning with the sound of that voice coming over the com.
‘You are gone; that body is paste, dead, I saw it pulverised before my eyes.’
I was numb…
‘This was a one way trip for us Lu.’
You did not come alone…?
You BITCH, you did not come alone…
You expended everything to carry another…
‘I only required a distraction to allow me time to carry out my work...’
‘No…’
‘… which is nearly finished'
‘No, no, no…’
‘You chose to assume that my voice was coming from where you could see my aide.’
‘No!’
‘My time is up old friend...’
‘NO!’
‘My last Crusade…’
I manually red-lined the drive and headed for the atmosphere; It was my only chance; this planet was teeming with life. I would survive the impact but I could not survive a drive implosion…
‘Goodbye, old friend.’
I dropped to my knees…
‘Forgive me Father…’
‘It is a little too late to repent this time my old friend…’
‘… for I have sinned…’
‘…and now it is time to join with me in Perditions flames...’
‘Oh well, had to try…’
‘Any last words Lu?’
‘Last words? Last words? Hmm, how about…
‘WARNING! DRIVE BREACHED’
‘… F*CK YOU GABRIEL! FU...’
