The Dawn of Day - 6. Chapter 6 - The Dawn of Day

The monks froze and stood in shock. Another shot was fired. The monks fled from the place, many hitting their hand against their forehead and chest. Kheti and Ainesh stared into the night, shocked to the core.

Dave shouted from the gate. “Brandon, Eric, I’m right here. Run.” He fired once more into the air.

Brother Kheti retreated. “Too soon returned to Sin! Too soon returned to Sin!” he repeated endlessly while running to the dormitory.

Ainesh clenched his teeth. “Go! Leave Sin alone,” he shouted. “You have brought disaster. Destroyer of worlds, may you be cut down to the ground!” He spat out, then turned around and entered the temple.

Dave shouted again and waved a flashlight. Eric and Brandon scrambled to their feet, ran across the yard and hastened through the gate.

“Run,” Dave shouted. “I parked the second car behind yours.”

The men ran into the night, stumbling along the path, but they finally reached the place with the cars.

Dave unlocked the car and the men climbed in. Dave switched on the lights and started the car. It disappeared into the night.

“They jumped at us like madmen. They wanted to kill us,” Brandon stuttered. He turned to Dave. “Where did you come from?” he shouted.

“Get a grip on yourself,” Dave said brusquely. “You ought to be grateful that I’ve rescued you.”

“Sorry,” Brandon said, wiping his forehead. “It was all too much. We’ve discovered a horrible truth. And we’ve lost a car.”

“The car is of no use to them,” Eric said. “They’ll probably get it and stow it away in their secret chamber.”

He told Dave of their meeting with the monks, the secret room with the items on the tables, the paintings on the walls and the suit with the NASA logo.

“The gravitational wave must have swept the ship into the future,” he said.

“Oh my god,” Dave said in shock.

The men fell silent. Dave steered the car and focused ahead.

Vaajat stood by the gate and watched the disappearing lights of the car. He could barely breathe and a terrible fear seized his mind and his heart. He held the flashlight Brandon had lost. Vaajat had picked it up from the ground after the fight. The High Priest had ordered to kill the men. What plans did the High Priest have for him? Vaajat let out a sob and then he ran again from monastery. He ran from horror and madness, from men and events he didn’t understand, and from an awful truth that was rooted in the past, that cast a shadow over Sin and had made the monks act like madmen. Vaajat ran to find safety and shelter at home, at his parent’s farm in the north of Sin.

The men reached the rocky plain. It was dark and dawn was still far. Dave unlocked the ship. The ramp descended. Dave drove the car up. The men went into the cockpit and sat down in their seats. The hatch of the ship was closing.

“Time to go,” Eric said. “Ascent to orbit. At once.”

The Aryaka arrived at the ancient airport shortly after the men.

“Vasuki, up the hull,” Nahusha commanded when they saw the men entering their primitive ship.

The Aryaka ran along the runway at an incredible speed. Vasuki shouted a command to his combat suit unit and then made a gigantic leap. His boots switched to mag-lock mode and kept him on the hull. Vasuki proceeded to the hatch. Nahusha and Shesha followed suit. They positioned on either side of the hatch.

Shesha pointed the portable device at the hull. The tool jammed the electronic locking mechanism. The hatch stopped opening. Vasuki and Nahusha squeezed through the gap. Shesha followed at once. Every movement of their bodies was fluent. The hibernation sleep had done no harm to them. They were already on their way to the cockpit when the humans realized the cause of the ear-deafening alarm ringing in the cockpit.

“The hatch stopped closing,” Dave exclaimed.

“What, why?” Eric asked, turning to a monitoring screen.

They turned abruptly at the noise of feet in the corridor. The Aryaka stormed into the cockpit and jumped at them. Vasuki sent Dave to the floor with a single blow of his hand. Brandon jumped at Vasuki, fighting the fight of the desperate. Eric stood frozen for a split-second, but then turned to the console and reached his hand out to a button. Nahusha was at him at once. He pulled Eric away from the console and threw him out of the cockpit and into the corridor. The physical strength of the Aryaka was way superior to that of the men. Shesha flung himself into a chair and bowed over the console. It had been easy to hack into the drone and pull the data from the simple ship, but quickly grasping the alien console was a nearly impossible task. The alarm ringing in the cockpit was deafening to his ears. A message was blinking aggressively on a screen. Shesha stared at the alien words, looked over the controls and then hit a button under a blinking light on the console. The alarm stopped and the blinking message on the screen was replaced by other messages that followed each other in quick succession. Shesha turned back to the others.

The men were lying on the floor, semi-conscious. Vasuki stood over them, a weapon in his hand.

“I’m going to the engine room,” Nahusha said.

The Aryaka almost lost balance. Only their mag-lock boots kept them on their feet when the ship’s engine came on and the ship started rolling down the runway. The hatch had closed after Shesha had hit the button and the ship had started the pre-programmed course for take-off and climb to orbit. The Aryaka flung themselves into the cockpit chairs.

“Cancel take-off,” Nahusha shouted.

Vasuki and Shesha desperately tried to grasp the console. The ship left the ground and rose into the air. The speed was steadily increasing.

The humans clung to handholds in the corridor. Dave struggled to get into the cockpit, but Eric and Brandon were too numb to act.

The ship reached the upper layers of the atmosphere and continued its ascent to orbit.

Nahusha saw Dave creeping over the floor. He jumped up and threw Dave back into the corridor. Nahusha turned to Shesha and Vasuki.

“I feel sorry for leaving the Dragon behind, but we can as well leave with their ship. Kunjara’s not far from here, in the adjoining sector, 150 light years from here, not even a day-trip with the Dragon. It will take longer with their ship, but it should work out, I’m sure,” he said.

“The ship follows a pre-programmed course, probably to the edge of the system. We must find out how to engage the gravitational drive. The ship’s currently flying through real space with a chemical engine. The speed is low,” Vasuki said, pointing at a monitoring screen. The screen showed the planet falling back behind the ship.

Nahusha moved his fingers choppily. They had finally left the rotten planet. They were on board of a ship and soon would traverse interstellar space. He was back in command mode, although the new dragon days began on a ship fit for scrap.

“We’re still connected with the Dragon,” Shesha said. “We have a direct command line through the helmets, and the Dragon computer is connected through the drone with their ship. The drone is still active. It wasn’t shut down after it entered the ship. The Dragon computer pulled data from their ship. We could reverse the process and have the Dragon computer feed the computer of this ship.”

“Excellent idea,” Nahusha said.

“It would be easier with the implants, but it should work out anyway,” Shesha said.

The squad had not only removed the gravitational drive from the Dragon but had also deactivated their brain implants. The implants would have allowed a more immediate connection with the Dragon computer. The Aryaka, like most species operating in space, had brain implants that augmented their brain’s activities. The implants were also connected to many space archives and databases through the space crease communication system that was based on the gravitational technology and allowed transmissions in space without major delay. Grasping the controls of the foreign ship would have been easy with the implants and the practically endless data resources. Without the implants, the three Aryaka depended on their natural traits, cold focused thinking, intuitive understanding of complex patterns, quick reflexes and fail-safe instincts.

“The Dragon computer is way superior to theirs. It should manage to take over their system and re-configure the essential parts without difficulties. We have to hurry, though. We can’t use a space crease communication line. This ship has no such communication system. The Dragon computer pulled the data conventionally and it will feed the ship through a conventional line. This means the signals are getting more and more delayed as the ship proceeds to the edge of the system.”

“Go for it. Start the process at once,” Nahusha said, jumping to his feet. He pointed at the men in the corridor. “Vasuki, let’s lock them up somewhere.”

Vasuki rose to his feet and pulled a small device from a pocket. He placed it on each man’s forehead and the men passed out at once. Nahusha and Vasuki dragged the bodies down the corridor.

Shesha connected to the Dragon computer and focused on the commands.

The Aryaka found a small cargo room that could be manually locked from the outside. Boxes were stored inside. The Aryaka threw the crests into the corridor and dragged the men into the room. They searched their suits and took all items and devices, then left the room and locked the door. Vasuki positioned by the door and Nahusha went to search the engine room.

“Antique equipment,” he said when he returned to the cockpit.

“The Dragon computer is gradually taking over the systems,” Shesha informed him. “It already controls the life support system. The oxygen level is lowering and the temperature in the cockpit is rising,”

“Very good,” Nahusha said. “I don’t want to fall into semi-hibernation state.”

The Aryaka, like all reptilian species, performed best at high temperatures. They were not necessarily dependent on the cabin temperature as their suits balanced the temperature by pulling energy from the surrounding air. The suits functioned well and would do so for many more months, but proper oxygen and temperature in the cockpit would save them their own resources.

The light in the cabin became dimmer. A few screens went out.

“The Dragon controls the electric circuit,” Shesha said. “It’s shutting down systems that are not essential. It has also identified the ship’s destination, a planet in a star system in the adjoining sector, 4.2 standards away.”

“In the direction of Kunjara?” Nahusha asked.

“No,” Shesha said. “A different star system.”

The Dragon computer sent messages to Shesha’s helmet displays. They came in quick succession. The Dragon computer made progress at an incredible speed.

“Done,” Shesha said. “The Dragon canceled the ship’s pre-programmed course and programmed a course to our destination Kunjara. The Dragon computer is currently establishing a line to the gravitational drive. We’ll lose connection with the Dragon as soon as we engage the drive and drop out of real space. After drop-back into real space, we must handle this ship without the support of the Dragon computer.”

“We’ll engage the gravitational drive at the edge of the system,” Nahusha said. “Thus, we gain time to grasp their console and the Dragon can help in the process. I’m confident we can land the ship on Kunjara. Should any problems occur, we’ll force the crew to land their ship.”

The Aryaka focused on the console. They were in combat. Reptilian species were superior in combat and war. Implants and other artificial body improvements augmented their natural skills. They were practically invincible with the proper equipment, sophisticated ships with quantum computers, gravitational drives and highly advanced weapon systems. The Aryaka could stay in hibernation for long periods of time. They were the perfect crew for long-range trips into deep space. They were vulnerable, however, when the temperature system of their ship or suits failed. It happened rarely since their ships and suits had several backup systems. The Aryaka had refined their systems and taken them to perfection over thousands of years operating in space.

Nahusha and Vasuki sat frozen in their chairs. They sensed nothing, not a hint of emotion. The pattern became readable while they focused and stared and the bigger picture of the command and flight controls emerged. The Dragon computer helped to identify the proper buttons.

The men finally regained consciousness. They woke up in a dimly lit room. Only a blue emergency light was on. The men looked around, feeling disoriented. But then the memories came flooding back.

Dave jumped to his feet and ran to the door. “Locked,” he shouted. “Bastards! They’ve locked us up in a cargo room.”

“They took our devices,” Brandon said, searching the pockets of his suits.

The others searched their pockets, too.

“The bastards have captured our ship!” Dave shouted and hit his fist against the door. “Open that door, you god-damned bastards.”

“At least we know now who they are. Space pirates who lost their ship,” Brandon said.

“They can’t go anywhere. The ship’s on a pre-programmed course to Earth,” Dave said. He let out a breath.

“I have no doubt they’ll change the course,” Eric said.

“They didn’t kill us, just knocked us out,” Brandon said. “They think they might need us for whatever task.”

“Only until they know how to fly the ship,” Dave said resignedly. “We’re practically dead. That’s what I know.”

“They will open the door sooner or later,” Eric said. “We must prepare for it. Let’s think it over. What do we know?”

“Three,” Dave said. “Three individuals entered the ship. I’m sure that one of them is the one we saw on the roof of the spaceport hall.”

“Human-like body plan,” Brandon said. “Adapted to the gravity of the planet. Maybe not adapted to the contents of the air. They wore helmets.”

“Immense physical skills,” Eric said. “Remember how the one we saw jumped from the roof. And they knocked us out with a blow of the hand. They’re physically superior.”

“Or are adequately equipped,” Brandon said. “How did they get up the hull of the ship and through the hatch? How can they jump so high and so far?”

“Suits,” Eric said. “They wear suits and helmets, just like we do. They’re space crew, I guess. They wanted the ship. They have a destination in mind, an alien planet, whatever. A place in space, a place they know.”

“Most likely a place where other aliens are, a more advanced place than the decaying planet they left,” Brandon said. He leaned his head against the wall. “We know now at least that space is a populated place and has already been in the past. The ancient spaceport on the planet. Someone was there ages ago.”

“We know very well who built the spaceport,” Eric said. “This planet was a human colony. The gravitational wave swept us into the future.”

“Yes,” Brandon said. “The NASA logo on the old suit was practically identical with the one on our suits. They must have sent a ship to 55 Cancri not long after our ship was lost in space.”

“But what happened?” Dave asked. “Why did they give up on the colony and leave the colonists to themselves?”

“I have no idea,” Eric said. “A conflict between the colonists and Earth?”

“When did they establish the colony?” Brandon asked. “This would give us a hint as to how many years we have jumped into the future.”

“Hard to say,” Eric said. “The artifacts looked old but well-preserved. Decades to centuries? I don’t think thousands of years.”

Brandon nodded. “How fast will an advanced civilization drop back to a primitive stage? I was under the impression they had no clear picture of their past. I didn’t understand them. Their language sounded to me like, I don’t know, a crude variant of French? Or an odd mixture of English and French maybe?”

“What good is this talk?” Dave asked, unnerved. “Do you realize what happened? Our ship was captured by aliens. It’s on way to some unknown place in space.”