Violation (The Mystic Saga), page 1
Violation
The Mystic Saga
Scott McElhaney
The Mystic Saga so far…
Indentured
Legacy
Violation
One
The moment Shay’s fingers wrapped around the three days growth on his chin, he realized he was doing it again. Back when he used to be the Chief Engineer on the USSC Foothold, his chin-rubbing had become the telltale sign of a stressful day. Even the captain himself would make comments along the lines of “Chief Engineer’s rubbing his chin again, so look out.”
Many years have passed since his engineering days on the Foothold and his hair has found its way from black to gray, but the commander was still rubbing that same chin for the same reasons. Now, as the supreme commander of the Disruption Mission, Commander William Shay found himself faced with infinitely more stress than he ever faced in his Foothold days. He could have never imagined that one day his shoulders would be bearing the weight of all the hopes of a beautiful planet in the Hydrus constellation.
He felt a lump growing in his throat as he stared at the three scan results on the Apollo’s pilot panel. One scan told him that they indeed had arrived in their solar system – no surprise there. The other scan told him that their shuttle had arrived just inside the Mars’ orbit of the sun at about 119 million miles from the sun. The red planet itself however was nowhere within the vicinity of their local scan. The third scan was the one that was the most disheartening, hence those fingers rubbing against the stubble of his chin.
If their new Jump Drive had caused the shuttle to rip through 24 light years of space in an instant, barring all the laws of relativity, they would have theoretically arrived back at Earth around the year 2377. Although Legacy had its own unique dating system, he never lost track of what the date should be back on Earth. Shay was fully aware of the fact that the laws of physics insisted that arriving in 2377 was never a possibility.
If the shuttle’s Jump Drive followed the same scientific laws as drive that doomed the USSC Pioneer, they would now be stuck somewhere in the 16th century. Shay was promised however that the alterations made to this new Jump Drive should prevent such significant time-dilations as the original experimental Jump Drive.
Yet here were the results of the radio traffic scan. The solar system was absolutely silent. While he’d been hoping for nothing more than a hundred-year dilation factor, he was now faced with a minimum of four hundred years.
“Did we make it as planned?” Weapons Chief O’Rourke asked, interrupting the commander’s thoughts.
“Not as planned, but we didn’t come unprepared for such a possibility,” Shay muttered, tapping the small screen in front of him, “No radio traffic whatsoever.”
The chief approached the commander, then leaned in to examine pilot panel. He swallowed, staring at the scan results, believing for a moment that perhaps they would change if he willed them to.
“So, what are your thoughts, Commander?” the chief asked, hiding the worry in his voice.
The commander sighed, shaking his head.
“Well, this scan doesn’t necessarily mean we arrived at a pre-technological point in history. We won’t really know anything until we get to Earth. For now, I’m just hoping we don’t find ourselves orbiting a 16th century world in a few hours.”
The commander rose from his seat and headed over to the navigation terminal. The navigator, Shay’s own niece Jennifer Byers, was one of the eight people they left behind on Legacy when the Apollo was forced to make a hasty escape. This would have been her workstation during the entire mission, but now it remained yet another vacancy to be filled by a very limited crew. Commander Shay sat down at the terminal and tapped a few keys, then performed a planetary scan. It responded only a few seconds later with the report.
“Well, we’re in luck. Earth is at its aphelion about 62 million miles to our left. We can get our answers in under an hour,” he stated.
The commander entered in a course for Earth. Since the Apollo wasn’t equipped with the Ytterbium-Flank engines of interstellar craft, they were limited to speeds slightly less than a tenth light speed.
Shay finally had a moment to relax a bit after nearly two hours of chin-rubbing stress. He pressed his fingers into the sore muscles at the sides of his jaw, realizing that he must have been clenching his teeth the whole time. That was when he noticed the chief pacing near the communications terminal.
“What’s on your mind, Chief?” Shay asked.
The chief knocked his fist on the back of the communications chair, then grasped it in both hands. He stared off at the main viewing panel which was now showing some evidence of their movement. After a moment, he turned his attention to the commander.
“As Weapons Chief, there’s something I think I need to tell you,” he replied, pausing a moment to gather the words, “We left in quite a rush, as you well know. The last of the intended crew to board the shuttle earlier today was Legacy-Sergeant Ryan Eight. A good man, by the way. Anyway, he… well, he…”
Commander Shay rose from the navigation chair, confused by the chief’s sudden lack of words. He’d been working closely with this crew for more than a full Legacy season and he’d never seen the Weapon’s Chief at a loss for words.
“Just spill it, Chief,” Shay said, “We’ve got some free time on our hands to deal with whatever problem there is.”
“Sergeant Ryan brought those two Foothold survivors aboard. He invited them to join us,” Chief O’Rourke stated, “I’m talking about the two that helped Tristan the Mystic to destroy the Constellation camp.”
The commander almost shrugged him off, wondering why that would concern him much. Two more people could be beneficial since they found themselves losing half their intended crew. Then he remembered the gloved hands and the black irises of the Foothold’s surviving male.
“Wait a minute,” the commander replied, feeling his pulse suddenly rise, “Ryan brought a Mystic aboard?”
“Yes sir. A living, breathing weapon,” the chief replied, “That’s why I figured I needed-”
“What was unclear about ‘no Mystics’?” the commander growled, “We were leaving Legacy to come to Earth – a world unaccustomed to the… the whatever-it-is that the Mystics do. Besides, it’s a danger to all of us.”
Chief O’Rourke nodded, looking to the floor. The commander was now pacing in front of the main view panel.
“For what it’s worth, these are two of people who obliterated the camp of nearly a hundred of our enemies. And these are the two who destroyed the ASA Constellation in orbit above the Earth,” the chief offered.
“I know,” he replied with a sigh, “I saw the two of them right before I boarded and actually I even planned on getting their deposition once this was all over with. But I didn’t plan on taking them along with us. And what do you think this Mystic would say about our… our ‘special cargo’?”
The chief shook his head, not quite sure of how to reply. The commander stopped his pacing and turned to the chief.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” the commander stated, “I think that we should take it all one step at a time, beginning with briefing the crew.”
Underworld
It didn’t take me long to find Elix this time. It was a lot easier since I’d been following him quietly during the last portion of his little escape. As I watched my son from the Upper Mount Doorway, I felt certain of one thing: curiosity would kill my Elix one day, and when that happens, I would lose the last living portion of my heart.
“Elix,” I called, stepping out into the crisp night air, “It’s not safe out here.”
“They’re coming closer, Mom,” Elix replied, never even turning at the sound of her voice, “They used to always avoid the Mountains. Now they’re digging.”
“I know.”
What more could I say? I couldn’t lie to him and tell him everything would be all right. I truly had no idea what would happen when they found us. I know what happened the last time they discovered us many generations past. Savages.
My innocent Elix was glowing a beautiful violet tonight, which was the main thing that scared me about his brave ventures into the Upperlands. He was almost as bright as the Night Orb above. If the uplanders looked toward the peaks, they’d surely see some form of moving light.
“Come, my son,” I said, reaching a hand to him, “We must get below before Giant Star rises.”
He turned to me, causing my heart to melt again. I hungered to have that same kind of beautiful innocence radiating again behind my own black eyes. He still had a hold of something precious that I wish our whole world could capture and embrace.
“Why are we stuck in the Tunnel-world all the time? I love the feel of this breeze on my face. Can’t we have it all the time?” he asked, approaching and taking my hand.
I turned back toward our doorway hidden in the shadows of the rock, inhaling that refreshing breeze.
“The Giant Star hurts our flesh, so we can’t be out here when the star comes. But we’re the lucky ones, you know,” I said, patting him on the shoulder, “Do you remember when you saw those two uplanders from the cliff top? Did you see their skin?”
“Yeah, but don’t you remember the Scripts? Script 107 says ‘Overlord gave them light within their flesh so darkness would never overtake them in their homes’,” he said, slipping into the doorway with me and down the angled tunnel, “The Scripts say that Overlord gave us
“You think too much, Elix, but I’m glad to hear that you’re studying your Scripts,” I replied, following his lead down Mindian Tunnel, “The Scripts tells us that our skin was created to glow and our eyes were created for low light. The uplanders have dull brownish skin and eyes of many colors, but if we took them below, they would be blind.”
Elix started running up ahead, enjoying the speed of the tunnel’s sharp downward slope. He was a blur of violet light that melted my heart. It melted everyday that I opened the Scripts and read the one fact that I would never be able to change. That would be Script 1086: “And his name would be Elix – the one who would be taken from his mother, snatched from the world. He would be returned but only at a time that the Overlooker could fully comprehend. And Elix would save the world.”
Two
“I’m sure you’re all aware of the blinding fact that we have a much smaller crew than we intended. I also take it that you’ve also had time to meet our two stowaways Diana and Braxton,” Commander Shay said with a kind grin that looked a little forced, “But I haven’t had the pleasure. I’m Commander Shay, the appointed commander of this shuttle and this mission.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you and please don’t be upset by our presence. We had about two heartbeats to make a decision and we were also a little frightened at the time,” Diana said, reaching out and shaking the commander’s hand, “But be assured, we will do whatever is necessary to save our planet from the likes of Earth.”
“Please…” the commander said, raising a hand to stop her, “On this side of the galaxy, starting today, we need to stop referring to the opposition as ‘Earth’. I’m talking to everyone here on this point.”
Commander Shay glanced around the cabin at all the people spread out in the available seating. Since the shuttle was meant to transport twice as many people, the crew had apparently decided to take advantage of the space, littering the seats between them with their open bags. It was evident that some of them had already started making themselves comfortable, digging out notepads or books to consume the time it would take to reach Earth.
“While we could use these terms on Legacy and everyone understood the meaning, it won’t work here at all. Our current mission is to preemptively disrupt the establishment of the Australian Space Administration. We have everything we need to accomplish this as long as we’ve arrived sometime within the information age.” the commander stated.
“Do you have any idea how far back we’ve gone?” Combatant First Class Rollins asked.
Combatant-1 Rollins was the only female aboard besides Diana. Diana almost mistook her for a male when they were first introduced based on her exceptionally short red hair and the fact that she wore a uniform that hid any feminine features she may have had.
“No, but it seems like we’re further back than we intended.”
Braxton shifted in his seat so he could see the people who were asking these questions of the commander. He didn’t like the fact that he was so easily confused by all that was going on. As much as he wanted to hide his ignorance, he was going to have to speak up sooner or later.
“What are you guys talking about when you mention ‘going back’?” Braxton asked.
“Time dilation,” the commander replied, “We can’t travel at excessive speeds without creating something of a well in the space around us. Any warp of space will create a comparable warp in the flow of time for those inside the well. This shuttle was essentially traveling faster than the speed of light, creating a reverse time flow.”
Braxton stared at the man, completely confused and not really sure if the commander was joking with him or not.
“We travelled back in time, Mystic. Today is a day long before you were even born,” a uniformed man called from the back corner of the shuttle.
“How’s that for super powers, Mystic?” someone else added with a laugh.
Diana rose from her seat and turned around to the huddle of snickering people near the back corner. This was a group of three combatants who had refused to introduce themselves earlier and spent a lot of their time whispering.
“Do you have a problem with Braxton, Triggers?” she spat angrily, using a slanderous name given to uneducated warriors.
“Triggers? And just who the heck are you?”
Braxton rose from his seat, putting an arm around Diana. He hoped to usher her back into her seat, but she didn’t seem to want to budge. Braxton then turned his attention to the people who had probably spent half their lives just looking for a fight.
“She’s the woman who destroyed the whole ASA Constellation in orbit over Legacy. You’d better know who you’re dealing with before you pick your fights, Trigger,” Braxton said, “And rumor has it, I destroyed the first whole shuttle that ever set down on Legacy.”
“I hate to break up this ‘I’m tougher than you’ playground game, but we have a very important job to plan for right now,” the commander said, “And if any of this crew gets injured or killed by another member, I will see to it that the offender gets to do a 20-year indenture on Legacy when we return. And if you think I can’t do this, remember the planet we’ll be returning to when our Jump Drive takes us yet another couple centuries into the past.”
Silence filled the room while the commander paused. Combatant Third Class McDonald raised his hand in the front row, drawing a nod from the commander.
“Are you saying we can use the Jump Drive more than once?”
The commander nodded, “I believe so. We did have a spike of radiation levels after the jump, but it wasn’t high enough to cause any damage. The Drive did require for us to dump forty pounds of spent uranium, but that had been expected in the best-case scenario.”
“So you’re saying that we truly lost everything? We’re stuck on an ancient Earth or a primitive uninhabited Legacy?” a voice blurted out.
“I hope you’re kidding, Combatant-3 Edwards. Please tell me you paid attention from the very beginning,” the commander said.
“I just… It’s sort of like when we agreed to give our lives for Legacy. We didn’t really plan on actually dying, even though we’d be willing should the situation be unavoidable. I… I just sort of thought we had a chance of returning home again, even though… well…”
“I’m sorry, Edwards, but none of us ever had a chance of returning home to the Legacy or Earth we had left behind. I’m sorry if you had misunderstood.”
Edwards nodded, then looked down at the hands he had in his lap.
“We are on a mission that will save a lot of heartache in our own era on Earth as well as save many lives on Legacy. This is bigger than us all,” the commander stated, addressing the whole room, “It’s important to know that during this mission, we will have to respect the UN Laws of Causality. Although these laws may not have ever truly applied to anything, once we started experimenting with Jump Drive technology and Tachyon Communications, we were forced to take a refresher course on the UN laws that were in place. Here are the layman’s versions: Number one, we will share no technologies with these people. This means that they cannot so much as look at any equipment inside the shuttle and they definitely cannot see our Jump Drive even if it means we have to scuttle the ship and strand ourselves or kill ourselves in the process. Number two, no names. We give out no names of our organization, ourselves, our ship, our shuttle, or the planet Legacy. We can lie and as a matter of fact, it’s even recommended. We can however share the names of our targets if you find an opportunity for assistance from the citizens,
“And number three, we kill no one ever except for the intended targets. Whatever the reason and whatever the excuse – even if your own life is on the line – we kill no one except the intended targets. We are already violating causality laws by what we are doing, but we must keep our violations to a minimum. What we are attempting will never be known to the UN and we stand no chance of ever answering for our crimes, but this is a matter of honor and justice. We will serve with honor just the way we’ve been trained.”
Braxton raised his hand, but the commander seemed intent on ignoring him. Finally after a moment of silence, he nodded to Braxton.
