Клаудия Грэй: Into the Dark

“Abandoned?” Reath asked. “Why? Simply gone derelict? Or has it become dangerous for some reason?”

Cohmac shrugged. “Maybe. Or could be this area was once a prosperous shipping route, and now is less so. Or it could simply have gotten old. Regardless, we should search it.”

“I’ll add to that,” Leox said. “We need to search it soon. As in, right around now. And so should every other ship in the area. Because the local star isn’t happy.”

A quick scan showed the danger; the star of that blank, empty system was a volatile one, not yet ready to go supernova but beginning the final millennia leading up to that cataclysm. As such it would be prone to solar flares of dangerous scale and intensity. Their readings indicated it was about to flare up, sending out plumes of superhot matter that would be a million kilometers in length. When that happened—as it would within the day, if not the hour—the individual ships would be at risk of immolation.

“We have to put the space station between our ships and the star,” Cohmac said. “Obviously the station has shielding that allows it to endure in this system. If we anchor ourselves on the far side, we have a chance.”

Leox nodded. “Sending out the alert right now.”

Thank the Force , Cohmac thought, for problems with simpler solutions. They allowed the illusion that the universe could be controlled—an illusion everyone needed from time to time.

For the first time since Master Jora had told him of their assignment to Starlight Beacon, Reath felt excited. An abandoned space station seemed likely to offer adventure without bugs, and some stories to tell his friends—whenever he got to see them again.

But Reath wasn’t going to think about that just yet. Finally, he could get back to living in the present moment, as a Jedi should. It had been too long.

Every second they traveled closer to the station, his fascination grew. The design was one he’d never seen before: Its center was a large sphere made of hexagonal plates of some transparent material. Heavy metal rings clustered on square-shaped tethers at its poles, with another metal ring stretching around its equator, which he estimated at roughly five hundred meters in diameter. One airlock was part of the sphere itself, but was unusable, mostly because it was both enormous and highly irregularly shaped, built to welcome some kind of ship none of them had ever seen before, perhaps because it had ceased to exist. Master Cohmac’s theory about the station’s abandonment seemed to be accurate, because signs of damage and wear were apparent—missing panels, a small chunk of one ring broken away. However, its power core must have remained strong, because light still shone from the transparent central globe. Their readings confirmed this as the Vessel got closer.

“Gravity, check,” Affie said. “Life systems, check. Atmosphere’s an oxygen/hydrogen mix, so we can go on board if we want to.”

Reath wanted to. “How long do you think that place has been abandoned? Decades? Centuries?”

“More like millennia, to judge by the tech,” Leox said, squinting as he studied the station. “That looks…familiar, but I can’t place why.”

“The Amaxines.” A thrill of recognition swept through Reath, bringing a smile to his face as he placed the familiar curved shapes and patterns of the metal. “That’s Amaxine technology!”

“Amaxine?” Affie wrinkled her nose. “Who are they?”

Reath loved nothing more than a chance to explain. “They were ancient warriors—from really long ago, even before the Republic. Their fierceness in battle was supposedly unmatched. There are all these legends of how their scouts would appear almost out of thin air, signaling the troops to sweep in for attack.”

“What happened to them?” Affie asked.

“Apparently, when the Republic unified so much of the galaxy, the Amaxines weren’t willing to accept the peace. So they left the galaxy and flew into empty space, in search of another great war to fight.” Which didn’t make much sense, in Reath’s opinion, but he didn’t waste time judging a people who’d died out thousands of years before. Besides, the sheer thrill of this moment—seeing something that had once been only myth and legend suddenly come vividly alive—eclipsed everything else.

Leox drawled, “Now that you mention it, I believe I’ve heard some stories about the Amaxines, how they took off so long ago. But people have been here way more recently than that.”

Frowning, Affie asked, “How do you know?” Reath was glad she had, because that meant he didn’t have to.

“Preprogrammed coordinates.” Leox thumped the dash. “This system was in our navicomputer. I don’t know why, and neither does Geode, and neither do you—which is why I want you to ask your momma about this as soon as we get back to her. You’re the only one who might get a straight answer as to why Byne Guild ships all come programmed with a map that leads us out of hyperspace, straight to here.”

Reath turned his head, as though studying the readouts more thoroughly, so he couldn’t see Affie’s face. The explanation was obvious: some kind of illegal trade, maybe something the Guild did on the side. It wouldn’t be easy for Affie to hear that, surely.

But there were other possibilities. The Guild might monitor illegal trade rather than engage in it—or even work against it, in an effort to eliminate corrupt competition. They didn’t have enough information to know.

For Reath, information had always been as vital as air, something he felt he could never accumulate enough of. However, he was realizing that not knowing everything created a certain…exhilaration.

Which was probably going to be brief. And wasn’t as good as actually being informed and prepared. Still, he’d take what enjoyment he could get.

A red light appeared on the Vessel ’s console. Then another. Then all of them almost at once, glaring scarlet. Every single alert on the ship was sounding.

“Uh-oh,” Leox said. His usual calm was finally shaken. “We’ve got a solar flare incoming.”

Reath stared in the rough direction of the star, but it wasn’t visible at that angle. “When?”

Affie’s face had gone pale. “Four minutes.”

Normally an apprentice was to wait for a Master’s approval before taking any dramatic action.

Nothing about this situation was normal.

Reath went for the comms. “All vessels! Approach the station for immediate docking. You have four minutes to get on the safe side of the station, away from the star. We’ll send boarding orders shortly, after we’ve checked the station out. Just get there now!”

Coordinates came up on Leox’s panel, and he nodded. “Thanks, Geode. Heading in.”

The ship shifted so swiftly the gravity didn’t have time to compensate, sending Reath sliding to the far side of the bridge; apparently the senior Jedi had been caught off guard also, to judge by the thumps and a muttered oof he heard from within the main cabin.

Within seconds, the other ships came into view, all of them headed for the one small sliver of safety to be found behind the station—until one, the smallest one, slowed.

“That’s Nan’s ship, right?” When Affie nodded, Reath took the comm again. “Nan, you guys need to hurry.”

“ Our engine’s given out! We need repairs—and there’s no time. ”

Reath turned toward Leox. “Does the Vessel have a tractor beam?”

“Negatory.” Leox wore a thoughtful look. “What we do have is a towline.”

“Head for Nan’s ship,” Reath said.

Affie shot him a look, and it occurred to him that while the Jedi were ready to risk their lives for others, civilians weren’t necessarily as committed. Nor was it fair to expect that of them. People had the right to guard their own survival. Before he could speak, though, she’d already flipped the toggle to ready the towline, and Leox turned them sharply toward Nan’s ship.