Sycorax Snare. Part 1 - Tempest Class Travel

Ferdinand sat in the pilot’s seat of the Tempest class cruiser and absently glanced at the flashing red light on the console. As reality crashed into his brain, he swiftly assessed the situation and tapped the comms panel.

“Duke Alonso to the bridge please,” he said calmly, his fingers flying over the controls of his father’s spaceship.

Dropping the ship out of trans-light, he established the shields and began to study the ship’s sensors readings.

A few moments later a hand rested on his shoulder, and the calm voice of Alonso broke his concentration. “I take it we have a slight situation my son?”

“Yes Father. The trans-light field seems to have clipped some sort of gravimetric anomaly during transit and I had to drop out of subspace before the field collapsed. Even so, the main drive has gone off-line. We’re currently in a small uncharted system approximately halfway home. It’s a route we haven’t taken before as we had to detour to Acvis 4 to drop off your uncle. I’m currently reading some very strange gravimetric and radiation levels which the computer is still analysing.”

“Right, keep me appraised of the results please, you have done well.”

The Duke of the House of Naples rubbed his tired eyes. “So much for a simple trip home eh son? I think I’m still recovering from your sister’s wedding party. I’d heard stories of the hospitality of those who on lived on the moon of Tunis but nothing had prepared me. I can see why she enjoys it there.”

Ferdinand smiled. “It was certainly a lively party father.”

“Aye.” Alonso changed the subject, suddenly serious. “Have you informed the others on board?”

“No, not yet. I wanted to assess our situation fully before raising any alarms. We are drifting gently, but we’re not in any danger of collision at the moment, there’s an asteroid belt and a gas giant with a moon, but we’re not within the gravity well of either as yet. The engineering bots are checking the trans-light drive at the moment and I wanted to be fully appraised of the facts before alerting our esteemed guests.”

“Agreed. I don’t particularly want to speak to Duke Antonio of House Milan as yet. His advisor Gonzalo is a wily old fox and I’ve always rather liked the man, but Antonio is not to be trusted. However, we shall keep our own council on that issue I think son. Once we have some results in from the sensors I will inform your uncle Sebastian, if of course he can be roused from his drunken stupidity, and then we will talk to the others on board.”

“Agreed.” Ferdinand turned back to the holoscreen as the onboard sensors continued their scans of the system.

~~

“Father?”

The tall man in black tapped the comms badge pinned to his chest. “Yes my daughter?”

“I think you should come and see this.”

Prospero put down his watering can with a sigh and moved away from the plants in the sealed biome, carefully re-establishing the hermetic fields as he went. Although the atmosphere outside was breathable, it wouldn’t do for the local species and his carefully nurtured collection to mix.

He walked the short distance to the small dome they called home and sat down next to his daughter who was peering intently at one of the holoscreens.

“I was watching the sunrise behind the planet when a ship dropped out of trans-light and set off our sensors. They’re drifting towards the Snare zone but don’t seem to be aware of it. We have to warn them father.”

“Depending on how far they’ve drifted, it may already be too late for them to save their ship.” The man sat at the control panel next to his daughter and tapped rapidly, bringing up a view on a separate screen. “If they trigger the matrix surrounding the Snare, the auto response will come into effect and drag them in to the minefield anyway. Damn the Sycorax. Even now, eons after they died out, they still manage to cause havoc.”

“They’re broadcasting several ident codes father. I’m not sure what they are, do you recognise them?”

“They’re broadcasting the signatures of House Naples and House Milan,” Prospero whispered, his face draining of colour. He smiled wanly at his daughter as she rested a concerned hand on his and lifted it to his lips. “I think perhaps my hand has been forced,” he said. “So be it. Send them a signal; let them know they’re in danger. I’ll have to link with Caliban and try and save them.”

Miranda turned and paled noticeably. “Must you father? You know that Sharing put a tremendous strain on your mind the last time.”

“I know, but we cannot let the Snare destroy that ship and if we can use one of the few good things the Sycorax produced to save them, then I must do it.”

Miranda nodded her agreement. “I will monitor things from here.”

Prospero leant over and kissed his daughter on the forehead. “Contact Ariel and get her to help you too.” He sighed. “With that ship carrying who it does, and lives at stake, I must intercede. I hope you do not think less of me after you meet those on board.”

Miranda turned to face her father, a question ready on her lips, but he was already walking away from her, his back ramrod straight, his stride long as he moved toward the tunnels that housed Caliban.

~~

“What the hell is going on here?”

Alonso and Ferdinand turned as the door to the bridge ‘shooshed’ gently open and Duke Antonio of House Milan erupted onto the bridge, his clothes in disarray and hair wild. Alonso’s brother Sebastian and Antonio’s court advisor Gonzalo walked more serenely in behind the blustering duke, Sebastian with a slight smile playing across his lips.

“I thought it only polite to let our guests know of our predicament brother,” noted Sebastian as he moved alongside Ferdinand to look at the displays.

Ferdinand looked at his father; a slight tightness around his eyes was the only outward sign of his father’s annoyance with his brother, the Duke’s tone even as he spoke.

“Good morning Duke Antonio, my apologies for the rude awakening, but we find ourselves temporarily inconvenienced. The engineering bots are working on the trans-light drive as we speak and I’m sure we’ll be underway shortly.”

“And how long would you have let me sleep Alonso? Until your son had flown us into a nearby sun or played dodgems with a nearby comet?”

“My son is probably one of the best pilots I know Antonio. Now I suggest you cool your jets a little and let us concentrate on what’s going on around us.”

“Incoming signal.” Ferdinand interrupted, the two dukes falling silent as they waited for Ferdinand to continue. “Someone is warning us to steer clear of the asteroid field, they’re saying it’s some sort of trap.”

The ship jolted causing the occupants to stagger, forestalling any further argument.

“Son?”

Ferdinand’s hands flashed over the controls. “We’ve been snared in some sort of gravity beam and are being drawn toward the asteroids beyond the main gas giant in the system. It’s an intense gravitational field father. I can’t do anything about it with the engines offline.”

His voice calm, Ferdinand continued. “I think perhaps you should evacuate everyone father, I will make sure you all get away safely and keep the shields up as long as possible. The signal we just received came from the moon orbiting around the gas giant. It has a breathable atmosphere and seems to have some signs of previous habitation on it. Once you’re clear I will use the bridge escape pod. It’s only big enough for one. I suggest you leave now.”

“I will not leave you here son.”

“You are the ruler of House Naples and I am the only one capable of keeping this bucket stable for long enough for you all to escape. The quicker you go, the better chance I have.”

Alonso rested his hand on his son’s shoulder as the ship rocked again, its sensors flashing various warning lights. “I will see you on the moon.”

“Count on it.” Ferdinand reached up and placed his own hand on his father’s briefly and then resumed tapping frantically at the controls of the ship.”

“You heard the man. Everyone to the escape pods now.” The others rushed to the pods and Alonso cast one last look at his son before Sebastian grabbed him and shoved him towards the pods…

~~

It is good to see you Prospero.

“It is good to see you too Caliban,” replied Prospero as he relaxed into the seat buried deep below the surface of their home. He closed his eyes as the command helmet lowered into place, the metal surfaces covering both his eyes and ears, and flowing like mercury to envelop his head. As Caliban ‘connected’ with Prospero’s mind, mental communication was able to flow both ways and Prospero attuned his senses to the vast computer network that the Sycorax had installed in the moon, the whole vast matrix falling under the command of the sentient Caliban.

- You are aware of our visitors Caliban?

Yes, I have been monitoring their progress, or rather lack thereof. Their engines are crippled and the gravitational snare in the asteroid field has automatically activated. They are doomed.

- Yes, and no. Replied Prospero. If they abandon ship our augmented mental skills should be able to assist their pods to this moon. The main ship itself is too large for us to try though.

Agreed. You wish a full merge?

- It’s the only way we can do this.

Initiating.

Prospero felt his senses swim. He’d only merged fully with Caliban once before, and that in desperation when he’d first encountered the ancient machine. Then it had been a case of survival to counter the madness of the Sycorax constructed entity, now it was a case of someone else’s survival.

His senses fully merged with the computer, he focussed on the area of space where the ship lay. The gravitational field of the Snare, originally designed to counter an attack from a now long deceased enemy of the Sycorax, had caught another fly in its web. Engineless, the Tempest class ship had begun to accelerate rapidly toward the mined asteroid field.

Even as he watched, four small escape pods jettisoned and the ship broadcast an emergency signal. He focussed on them, bringing his mind and the power of Caliban to bear and protecting them from the fierce gravitational forces of the Snare. As he shaped the equipotential lines of gravitation to allow the pods free passage to the moon, another pod expelled from the front of the doomed ship.

Struggling to bend the forces to his will, the gestalt entity composed of Prospero and Caliban boosted power to support the human element of the combined lifeform and extended its efforts to try and save the additional pod. After several minutes, it became apparent that he could not save all the pods. A change of direction was needed. Instantly processing the available data, the entity withdrew all support from the pods and lashed out mentally at the Snare itself. Circuits blew, alarms clarion called through the underground complex and the human at the centre of the machine blacked out…

~~

“Sebastian. Come on little brother, now is not the time to have a snooze.”

Sebastian came around to find his brother leaning over him, lines of worry etched across his face.

“Where… where are we?”

“We hit hard, but the pod made it to the moon that Ferdinand mentioned.” At the mention of this son’s name, Alonso paused, a look of pain flitting momentarily across his face before he composed himself.

“Are there any others?”

“Five pods made it from the Tempest, but the sensors are so limited on these things, I’ve only been able to pick up a call sign from one other pod. It’s not far from here. Are you able to move?”

“Yes, I think so. Come on.”

Alonso and Sebastian opened the door to the pod and crawled out onto the surface of the moon, grabbing several survival packs, a blaster and a knife as they went. Plant life was minimal and low lying and the surface was jumbled and erratic, composed mainly of a shaley material that scrunched under their boots as they moved away from the pod. Moving to the top of a slight rise they got their bearings and noticed another pod a mile or so away.

“Well, that’s as good a place to start as any,” muttered Alonso strapping on the blaster and handing the knife to his brother. “Come on, let’s see what we can find…”

~~

“Sir, are you able to move?”

“Ariel?”

“Yes sir. I am glad to see you are awake.”

“Awake?”

“Yes sir. You and Caliban ‘merged’ and then there was a massive short circuit. Caliban went offline and you passed out. Caliban re-booted a few moments ago and you were coming round as I found you.”

“Coming round... yes… thank you Ariel. What’s happening?”

“Several pods from the ship have made it to the surface. Miranda asked me to tell you that she has gone to investigate one not far from here and that she says I should make speed to the other two which have landed on the shale flats after checking you were okay.”

“Yes, yes. Good idea Ariel. By the time you get back with any survivors I’m sure I shall be more myself. Off you go, I will see you shortly.”

He watched as the Composite wheeled away on its liquid metal tracks, the only surviving member of its race. He looked down at his hands and flexed them experimentally. It had been a long time since he’d any sort of appendages. A distant memory of the time before he’d become Caliban stirred in his memory and he quelled it instantly. Now, he was human. Prospero had made a mistake merging with him again and the human was now buried deep in his cortex, the other entity left with no control and Caliban left as both man and computer with vast power at his fingertips.

Fingertips. Caliban smiled on Prospero’s face and explored the expression with his hands. Touch. So long denied him. Millennia had passed since he had touched.

“I am alive once more,” he whispered. Closing his eyes, he reached out with his mechanical sensors and looked out across his moon.

Only three pods had survived the Snare, the others torn asunder by the vast gravitational forces unleashed by the Sycorax designed weapon. Ariel was moving swiftly to intercept the four human survivors on the shale flats and Miranda was moving carefully toward the other pod in the opposite direction.

Caliban reached out and started to take control of every element of his domain, reaching first toward Miranda and the pod to which she was walking.

~~

“Ho, Duke Antonio!” Alonso hailed the figures of Gonzalo and the Duke as he and Sebastian approached.

Gonzalo turned and sketched a brief bow to Alonso and then approached, a frown etching his features, his hand drifting away from the blaster on his hip as he recognised them.

“Well met, my lord. I’m afraid Duke Antonio appears to have suffered some trauma during our enforced landing and although able to walk and obey simple commands he is otherwise not really with us.”

“He’s otherwise okay?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Gonzalo, we’ve known each other too long for formalities, please call me Alonso.”

“With pleasure Alonso, thank you.”

“Can he still talk?”

Gonzalo turned to face Sebastian who was looking at Antonio with puzzlement. “He is able to walk and obeys commands such as ‘stand’ or ‘sit’ but he has given me no other outward sign of being with us. If I may use a twentieth century colloquialism ‘The lights are on but nobody appears to be home’.”

Sebastian waved a hand in front of Antonio’s eyes and then turned to Gonzalo. “Have you seen any signs of life here, or heard from any of the others?”

“No. As far as I can see we’re the only survivors.” He turned to face the duke. “I’m sorry for your loss Alonso, he was a fine boy and would have served House Naples well.”

“It appears he already has.” Alonso bowed his head in grief and walked away from the small group to be on his own.

“Sit,” commanded Sebastian and Antonio sat abruptly on the side of the escape pod. “Find some rations in the pod and place them in a bag.” He ordered. Antonio stood and moved back into the pod.

“I must protest Sebastian! He may not be fully with us, but he is still a Duke of the House Milan, please treat him as such.”

“I was just trying to give him something to do old man,” said Sebastian smoothly. “We may as well make everyone useful.” He peered toward the nearby horizon, the curvature of the moon’s surface bending more quickly than he was used to on his homeworld. “I’ll go and help Antonio, make sure he’s picking up the right stuff. Perhaps you’d like to see if my brother has pulled himself together.”

Without waiting for an answer, Sebastian moved into the escape pod and ignored Gonzalo’s frown as the old courtier moved to join Alonso.

Before he could join the duke, a movement caught his eye and he squinted into the pale sun trying to make out what he’d seen.

“Alonso, I think we’ve got company.”

His grief temporarily put aside, Alonso stood and joined the advisor, his blaster ready in his hand.

“What the hell is that?”

They watched in silence as the small tracked vehicle approached and then stopped a short distance away, its metallic surfaces glistening in the sunlight.

“Do I have the pleasure of addressing the Dukes of House Naples and House Milan?” a softly feminine voice called out.

Alonso glanced at Gonzalo who looked equally surprised and then called out to the machine.

“I am the Duke of House Naples, to whom am I talking?”

“My name is Ariel, I serve the master of this moon. If you would like to follow me, I will take you to him.”

“My lady Ariel, are you talking through this machine to us, or are you indeed the machine itself?” asked Gonzalo politely, bowing deeply.

To his surprise, the machine giggled and then replied. “I’ve never been called ‘my lady’ before, I rather like it. I am a Composite. When I was born, my body failed and so the race who controlled this quadrant at the time, the Sycorax, placed my brain in this machine. I am the last of my kind.”

“The Sycorax? Never heard of them.” The disgruntled tone of Sebastian came from behind them as he led Antonio out from the pod, the two men carrying several bags of emergency supplies and another knife from the pod.

“They ceased to exist over a thousand years ago,” said Ariel. “They are the ones responsible for your crash landing. The asteroids that form the zone between this moon and the sun are a trap called the Snare. It’s a gravometric device designed to crush their enemies. It is still active, despite the fact that both the Sycorax and their ancient enemies are long gone.

“And you also remain…” noted Sebastian accusingly.

“I and Caliban, the computer that resides in this moon. We are not your enemies. The master I serve fixed both myself and Caliban and we are indebted to him. He is human like you.”

“I think we must trust this lady Sebastian, she is here to help us.” Alonso faced his brother and frowned at him.

“Fair enough brother mine, you’re in charge. Take us to your leader oh diminutive lady with tracks.”

Sebastian hefted a sack and tossed one to his brother who caught it deftly, still frowning. Pushing his gun firmly back into its holster, he nodded at Gonzalo who also took a sack from Sebastian and then turned to Antonio upon whom Sebastian had strapped the spare knife and a knapsack. “Follow us, my Lord.”

Minutes later, four human figures trudged after Ariel across the shale flats.

~~

Continued in Part 2...