Aeria walked over to the three chairs in the center of the control platform, and took a seat in the middle one. As she sat in the chair, the contour of the seat changed almost immediately to fit her figure and armor. The silver-haired man followed her lead and sat in the chair to her left.
Aeria reached out her hand and placed her palm on green orb before her. Immediately the orb lit up and a large holographic display appeared several feet above it, larger than those at the other work stations. As Aeria let go of the orb and sat back in the chair, another holographic display appeared around her waist. Like the cockpit of a plane, it wrapped around her and was filled with glowing controls and levers. She began to work the controls, and after a moment the image of the planet she had shown her father appeared on the display in front of her. Leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms, she considered it for a few minutes, not saying anything.
Seeming to grow impatient, the silver-haired man asked his question again, “My lady, what would you have me do? What were your father’s instructions?”
“Do you know of any reason that would make my father uneasy about finding Earth, Thanatos?” Aeria asked, ignoring his question a second time.
Taken aback by the query, Thanatos stuttered, “I don’t… wha… I’m not sure what you could mean, my lady. Did he seem uneasy when you met with him?”
“I wouldn’t say that… but there was something off about the way he responded to the news. Remind me again, how was Earth lost to begin with?” Aeria inquired, still staring at the projection in front of her.
Becoming more alarmed by the conversation, Thanatos shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Well, my lady… it was lost by your grandfather, Kronus, many thousands of years ago. If I remember correctly, he claimed that he had stumbled upon the planet while testing the second generation of propulsion engines in this section of the galaxy,” he finished, uncertain if his answer would satisfy her.
“Yes, go on,” Aeria insisted.
He shifted in his seat again. “Yes, Mistress.” He paused, trying to recall the story, “Where was I? Oh yes, after surveying the planet, he claimed to have found a large amount of usable ore; enough to last us hundreds of thousands of years, but before he could chart its exact location, something went wrong with the experimental propulsion core. He claimed that it malfunctioned and caused a tear in space that pulled his ship into it.” He stopped again, wondering if he should go on.
Aeria turned to look at him, nodding for him to continue.
“Supposedly, he remained there, trapped in subspace for several months until he was able to repair the core. Once he had, he used the jump drive to re-open the tear in space and found himself, quite strangely, in orbit above Tython; with no explanation of how he had jumped so far or how nearly a decade had gone by.” He finished with a wary tone, wondering what this had to do with his orders.
“Do you believe his story?” Aeria asked.
Now completely alarmed by the conversation, Thanatos reluctantly replied, “Why wouldn’t I, Mistress?”
“It is a rather fantastic tale, is it not? Almost too fantastic, wouldn’t you say?” Aeria watched him, her icy blue eyes piercing like daggers.
Thanatos squirmed in his chair. He didn’t know what she was playing at, but was reluctant to say the wrong thing. “Well, my lady. I’ve never heard anything quite like it, if that’s what you mean.”
Apparently satisfied, Aeria looked back at the display. “I need you to prepare a fighter squadron for when we arrive at the planet. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yes, Mistress. Although, an entire fighter squadron? Is that really necessary? Are we expecting resistance?” Thanatos seemed confused.
“Those are my father’s orders. I don’t question them and neither should you. While you are preparing the fighters, I’ll be assembling prospecting teams to accompany them. He wants to begin charting the mineable deposits immediately.” Aeria finished.
Thanatos got to his feet, and bowed again, saying, “As you command, my lady.” He turned towards the doors that Aeria had entered through, and began to leave the room. Before he reached the doors, however, Aeria remembered something and called after him.
“Oh, and one more thing… My father and I will be taking his ship down to the planet’s surface after the fighters have conducted their security sweep. I expect you to be on board with us, so try to be hasty in your preparations. We will be there within a day.”
“Yes, Mistress. Thank you, Mistress,” Thanatos replied as the lift doors opened. He stepped in without saying another word and left the room.
Aeria looked back at the display before her, considering the planet again for a moment. She didn’t know the answer to his question about there being resistance; by all accounts sending an entire fighter squadron to survey the planet seemed excessive. There weren’t any civilized planetary systems within a thousand light-years of where they were, so who could be there? Why the precaution? It seemed absurd to her, unless… unless her grandfather had lied about losing Earth.
The circumstances of his return had been shrouded in mystery, that was easy to see, but why wouldn’t he have told the truth? What could he have possibly gained by lying about Earth? If it was filled with as much ore as he claimed, then he would have found the single greatest asset that he or his family could have hoped for. He would have been a fool to hide it, but then there was that strange look on her father’s face. She didn’t know if it meant anything, but it made her feel uneasy.
Was he hiding something from her? He had always been honest with her before, but there was something amiss about the way he had been acting. Even before their last conversation, his attitude about the expedition had been peculiar. He was much more somber than normal, not that he often gave in to levity. What could it be, and why would he keep it from her? The thought of him hiding something made her angry. Hadn’t she always been the perfect daughter, ever bowing to his will and command? She frowned at the thought, deciding that she might be overreacting. If there was something to know, he would have told her, she assured herself.
Pushing the thoughts away, she began to work with the controls again. Calling out over the room she announced, “Prepare the engines for a sub-space jump. I have entered the jump coordinates into the nav system. Navigation, divert full power to the propulsion system. I want to get there as soon as we can.”
“Yes, Mistress!” one of the soldiers called out as he worked frantically at his station.
A moment later the Trident, which had been floating gracefully in the vast ocean of stars seemed to flicker in and out of view until, without a sound, it vanished completely.
* * *