Free Slave Empire - Prophecy by T C Southwell Page B

he
pressed a button beside it. They entered a comfortable, sleek room
with two sleeping alcoves, tasteful, but sparsely furnished and
functional. Tallyn showed them how to switch off the lights and
summon an attendant when they woke, then left them to sleep.

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
    Tallyn settled
into his chair on the bridge and studied the main screen, which
showed the star field around Earth, and in one corner, the dull
grey-brown orb. The sun was just starting to form an arc of gold
along its edge, prelude to the dawn of another drab day on the
surface. Only the twinkle of the tiny crystals that covered the
many consoles broke the bridge's silent gloom. A crew of five sat
before them, their hands occasionally touching a crystal as they
attended to the running of the ship.
    Dim holograms
hung in the air before certain crew members, while lists of data
scrolled up before others. The overall atmosphere was one of hushed
industry, somewhat relaxed now that they were in orbit. Tallyn
looked over at Marcon, who sat at the compiler's console, his eyes
flicking over three holograms. He monitored all the ship's
functions, ready to correct any errors that other crew members
made. As usual, Tallyn hated to disturb him; he always looked so
busy.
    "Marcon, set
course for Atlan. We've got what we came for, let's go home."
    "Yes, sir." He
turned and touched the crystals on his console, causing those on
other consoles to light and alerting the officers who manned them
to the new directive. They ran their hands over their boards, or
pressed their palms to sensor slots to communicate with the ship's
neural net. Two pilots entered the bridge and lay down on their
couches, strapped themselves in and pushed their hands into sensor
slots to link with the ship. The whole exercise took a little over
a minute, during which time the activity in the dim room rose to a
high state of tension. Marcon reeled off the list of procedures for
his commander's benefit, in case he decided to change anything.
    "Course laid
in. Neural net expanded and online. Pilots linked. Back up net
online. Proximity repellers charged, course changing. Preparing to
link with the transfer Net." He paused, his eyes scanning the
scrolling holograms. "Link successful. Heading reached in five,
four, three, two, one... Transfer Net charged, acceleration factor
five, normal status, all systems functional."
    Tallyn sat
back and laced his fingers as Vengeance turned out of her orbit
with ponderous grace, curving away towards a distant star. He could
imagine how the sun's light would glint on her sleek silver flanks
and flash on the many protuberances that robbed her of any great
claim to beauty. As a star ship designed purely for space, her
array of antennae, weapons and emitters was only possible in a
vacuum. He had seen many ships use the Net, and knew that a web of
golden lines crawled over her, embracing her in a crazy cage of
lambent power, like snakes of lightning. The transfer Net activated
in a flash of pure energy, and with a twinkle, the ship shot
away.
    During the
five-hour trip, Tallyn ate a meal and relaxed in his cabin,
enjoying a new holofilm from Atlan. On the bridge, the crew's
subdued industry continued. The pilots each spent two hours in
control of the ship while the other observed. Marcon was relieved
after three hours, his head undoubtedly aching from the strain of
the high level of vigilance necessary from a compiler. His
replacement, Vandiar, informed Tallyn of their approach to Atlan
half an hour before the transfer Net dispersed. Tallyn entered the
humming bridge and sank into his chair, glancing up at the blank
screen.
    "Where are
we?"
    "Decelerating.
Fifteen minutes to Net dispersal," Vandiar informed him. "You came
quickly, sir."
    "I usually
do," he grumped, settling back to wait.
    From inside
the ship, Net dispersal was no more interesting than its
initiation. Only the resumption of the external feeds brought any
new sensations to the crew. After the