himself recollecting those memories he had buried
years before…
Chapter Four
Five Years Previously
Transcendence Station, Zeta Aquilae System
With the jump into FTL the silence in the cockpit of the Eternal
Light was deafening, both occupants lost among their own thoughts. The
insistent beeping from the flight computer roused Jon from his contemplation of
their fate. The ships self-diagnostic system was reporting a minor power
fluctuation in the ship’s port energy distribution grid. While the fluctuation
was still within the ship’s tolerances it was continuing to grow and would soon
overload the power-grid, dumping them out of FTL in the middle of nowhere… It
was obvious that they were not going to be travelling directly to Eden Prime.
Bringing up the star-charts of the adjoining star systems,
Jon reviewed their options. Frowning he reviewed the short list for a second
time. While there was a number of Imperial bases, outposts and repair and
resupply stations dotted across the near star systems, how many were safe? How
many had joined Harkov in his insurrection? They could have escaped one trap,
only to fly directly into another! No. Jon eliminated all the Imperial
military facilities and instead focused on the purely civilian operations.
This far out on the rim, their options were severely limited, most were of
dubious origin where an Imperial ship was more likely to encounter a hail of
weapons fire than open arms. Finally Jon was forced to settle for one of the
larger civilian stations. According to the flight computer, it was a large
port with hundreds of docking births, a major trade hub in this sector; it was
called Transcendence . Hoping that he was not taking them out of the
frying pan and into the fire Jon uploaded the new destination into the
navigation computer.
*****
The abrupt change from FTL, an empty endless grey void, back
into “real” space awoke Sofia from her stupor. “Have we arrived?” she asked
disorientated.
“No, we took some damage to our power-systems during the
escape; we need to stop here to make repairs.”
“Where is… here?” Sofia inquired curiously, looking at the
fast approaching station.
“According to the navigational computer, a civilian station
called Transcendence , a regional hub for the Zeta Aquilae System.”
“Have you been here before?”
“No,” Jon replied. “I was posted to an Imperial outpost in
this system when I was a young Lieutenant, but never visited this station.”
Sofia tried to imagine a younger Jon Radec, only having
recently joined the fleet, having just received his wings. Eventually she gave
up. She was only able to picture Jon with his stormy grey eyes, in his white
navy uniform with his sword at his side. “Why here and not one of my father’s
military facilities.” As soon as she uttered the words she fell still, having
for a brief moment forgotten about her father.
“It’s too risky,” Jon insisted. “I have no idea how far
ranging this plot of Harkov’s is. Better to disappear here among the crowd.”
Letting his eyes linger on Sofia he briefly wondered how they would disappear
in the crowd with her at his side, she stood out like a beacon of light in a
thunderstorm. Her complexion was still too pale, but that was understandable,
considering what she had just been through. He also recognised the signs of
shock slowly starting to wear off. He needed to find somewhere to let her rest
while he saw to the repairs of the ‘Light .
After what seemed an inordinate amount of time, but in
reality was probably only a few minutes they got authorisation from docking
control to go-ahead and dock at one of the outer-docking rings. Having ensured
that all the docking clamps were securely attached, Jon powered down the ‘Light before glancing once again with a concerned expression at Sofia who had once
again ‘spaced-out’
“Sofia,” Jon said softly giving her a
years before…
Chapter Four
Five Years Previously
Transcendence Station, Zeta Aquilae System
With the jump into FTL the silence in the cockpit of the Eternal
Light was deafening, both occupants lost among their own thoughts. The
insistent beeping from the flight computer roused Jon from his contemplation of
their fate. The ships self-diagnostic system was reporting a minor power
fluctuation in the ship’s port energy distribution grid. While the fluctuation
was still within the ship’s tolerances it was continuing to grow and would soon
overload the power-grid, dumping them out of FTL in the middle of nowhere… It
was obvious that they were not going to be travelling directly to Eden Prime.
Bringing up the star-charts of the adjoining star systems,
Jon reviewed their options. Frowning he reviewed the short list for a second
time. While there was a number of Imperial bases, outposts and repair and
resupply stations dotted across the near star systems, how many were safe? How
many had joined Harkov in his insurrection? They could have escaped one trap,
only to fly directly into another! No. Jon eliminated all the Imperial
military facilities and instead focused on the purely civilian operations.
This far out on the rim, their options were severely limited, most were of
dubious origin where an Imperial ship was more likely to encounter a hail of
weapons fire than open arms. Finally Jon was forced to settle for one of the
larger civilian stations. According to the flight computer, it was a large
port with hundreds of docking births, a major trade hub in this sector; it was
called Transcendence . Hoping that he was not taking them out of the
frying pan and into the fire Jon uploaded the new destination into the
navigation computer.
*****
The abrupt change from FTL, an empty endless grey void, back
into “real” space awoke Sofia from her stupor. “Have we arrived?” she asked
disorientated.
“No, we took some damage to our power-systems during the
escape; we need to stop here to make repairs.”
“Where is… here?” Sofia inquired curiously, looking at the
fast approaching station.
“According to the navigational computer, a civilian station
called Transcendence , a regional hub for the Zeta Aquilae System.”
“Have you been here before?”
“No,” Jon replied. “I was posted to an Imperial outpost in
this system when I was a young Lieutenant, but never visited this station.”
Sofia tried to imagine a younger Jon Radec, only having
recently joined the fleet, having just received his wings. Eventually she gave
up. She was only able to picture Jon with his stormy grey eyes, in his white
navy uniform with his sword at his side. “Why here and not one of my father’s
military facilities.” As soon as she uttered the words she fell still, having
for a brief moment forgotten about her father.
“It’s too risky,” Jon insisted. “I have no idea how far
ranging this plot of Harkov’s is. Better to disappear here among the crowd.”
Letting his eyes linger on Sofia he briefly wondered how they would disappear
in the crowd with her at his side, she stood out like a beacon of light in a
thunderstorm. Her complexion was still too pale, but that was understandable,
considering what she had just been through. He also recognised the signs of
shock slowly starting to wear off. He needed to find somewhere to let her rest
while he saw to the repairs of the ‘Light .
After what seemed an inordinate amount of time, but in
reality was probably only a few minutes they got authorisation from docking
control to go-ahead and dock at one of the outer-docking rings. Having ensured
that all the docking clamps were securely attached, Jon powered down the ‘Light before glancing once again with a concerned expression at Sofia who had once
again ‘spaced-out’
“Sofia,” Jon said softly giving her a
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