Dawn (Shadows of the Void Space Opera Serial Book 3) Read online

  Dawn

  Shadows of the Void Book 3

  J.J. Green

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  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank the Taipei Writers Group for their friendship and support during all my writing endeavours. I’d also like to thank my subscribers, who contributed ideas for the animal characters in Generation and subsequent books in the Shadows of the Void series, and who constantly surprise and delight me with the warmth, kindness and wit of their correspondence.

  Special thanks go to my editor, Lacey Lengel, for her painstaking attention to detail and inspired feedback.

  About the Book

  Shadows of the Void is a ten-book science fiction serial, and Dawn is the third book. You can read the books out of sequence, but you’ll probably enjoy the story best if you read them in order. The first book in the serial is Generation, and the second book is Stranded.

  If you find a typo or mistake, I’d love to hear about it, or anything else you’d like to tell me about the books. My email address is on my website (scroll to the very bottom of the page).

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter One

  Arriving from a starjump was like swimming up from deep water, emerging into the air, and rising to the upper stratosphere. Carl had starjumped more times than he could remember, but he didn’t think he’d ever get used to it. Intense pressure on his body and, it seemed, his mind, gave way to a sense of infinite space and incredible lightness. Like the rest of the crew on the flight deck of the Galathea, he grabbed the nearest fixed object as if to steady himself, even though he was well-secured in his pilot’s harness.

  The first thing he did was check on Harrington, who was sitting bound to a seat at the comm console. She was looking a little green, but she seemed okay. That misborn Haggardy was taking his revenge too far. Harrington had done the right thing when she’d put him in the brig. What else was the chief security officer supposed to do if she suspected he’d been infected by a hostile alien? As far as Carl was concerned, Haggardy was still under suspicion.

  Turning his gaze to the former First Mate Haggardy, now acting master of the Galathea, he had an urge to punch the older man in his smug, self-satisfied face. What had he done to protect the crew from the aliens on K. 67092d? Nothing. It had been up to Harrington, Navigator Sayen Lee, and himself to save the ship and their shipmates. Now, the Galathea had lost nearly twenty officers, and their prospecting mission for their employer, Polestar, was over. No one would receive any bonuses. The crew was on the verge of mutiny, and it was possible one of them could be possessed by an alien.

  “Not bad, Lingiari,” said Haggardy, releasing his safety harness, standing, and stretching. “Grantwise couldn’t have done better himself.”

  Carl grimaced. As far as he was concerned, if it weren’t for Haggardy’s spinelessness, Pilot Grantwise might still be alive. Carl had always longed to pilot a starship, but not like this.

  The comm console bleeped. It hadn’t taken the governorship of Dawn—the planet they were now orbiting—long to get in touch. Haggardy went over to the panel and swiped and pressed the screen. After briefly scanning the message, he commanded the two defense units who stood guarding the door, and who accompanied him everywhere round the clock, to follow him as he left the flight deck.

  Carl unclipped his harness and went to Harrington. He unknotted the binding around her ankles and wrists.

  “Thanks,” she said, “but are you sure you should do this? He could be back any minute.”

  “Krat him. What’s he going to do? Tie you up again?”

  “He could put me in the brig, or worse.”

  “If he puts you in the brig, at least you’ll get to lie down. And as for doing anything worse, that’d take guts. Does that sound like Haggardy to you?”

  “You’ve got a point.” Harrington rose to her feet and twisted her ankles and wrists in circles. She was half a head taller than Carl, but that had never bothered him. He’d always liked her statuesque frame.

  Harrington returned to the comm seat and scanned the screen. “He’s taking the call from Dawn in his cabin. I wonder what they’re talking about.”

  “I’m wondering how he’s going to spin what happened on K. 67092d to make himself come out smelling sweet,” said Carl. “That’ll be a job and a half.”

  “What’s he going to tell them about you and me, and Lee?” Harrington shook her head. “It’s going to be hard to explain ourselves to Polestar and maybe the Global Government when we don’t know the story he’s told them.”

  “No point in worrying about it now.” Carl perched on the comm console. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “I’m waiting to hear what the governor of Dawn has to say. Why did Polestar tell us to come here and not return to Earth for quarantine? We have to be sure none of the remaining crew are infected before we go planetside anywhere in the galaxy. We can’t risk those aliens spreading.” She thumbed an icon on the comm screen, but it had no effect. “I can’t access external comms. I bet we’re both locked out of all but the most basic systems. If we get the chance, we have to warn the governor about Haggardy. If only I could contact Dawn directly myself, or even Earth.”

  The door to the flight deck opened, and Haggardy returned. “I don’t recall telling you to untie our security officer, Lingiari.”

  “I don’t remember you having any reason to tie her up.”

  Haggardy’s eyebrows rose. “You must have a short memory, then. But never mind. Luckily for you, you’ve pre-empted my order. I was about to set you free myself, Harrington.”

  “Came to your senses, finally?” the security officer asked. “Or maybe that alien you’re carrying around messed with your brain?”

  The acting master’s expression hardened. “That’s a serious accusation to be throwing around. I’d be careful about repeating it to the governor when you arrive on Dawn. Or you might find yourself under suspicion.”

  “You’re sending her to Dawn?” asked Carl.

  “I’m sending both of you. Or rather, the governor has requested that you pay her a visit.”

  Carl and Harrington’s gazes met.

  “She would have liked to speak to Navigator Lee, too, but that would be difficult to arrange with the navigator in stasis. The governor’s an understanding woman, and she agreed to leave her out of investigations for the time being, until the ship is declared free of infection and safe for her to board.”

  “But Lingiari and I could be infected,” Harrington said. “How does she know we won’t spread the infection to Dawn?”

  “Dawn is a quarantine and vetting station for ships that might be harboring this infection,” replied Haggardy. “The governor explained that it isn’t the first time this hostile species has been encountered. Pole
star recognized the pattern of events we experienced, and that’s why it sent us here. You’ll both be tested. If you pass, you’ll wait planetside until the whole ship’s crew has been examined and cleared. Then, we can return to Earth.”

  Carl couldn’t see how it would be possible to test for something so difficult to detect. He wondered how many false positives they’d found. “And if we don’t pass?”

  “I’ve sent a team of defense units to clear the shuttle wreckage from the shuttle bay,” said Haggardy. “A transport from Dawn will be arriving soon. You can go there to wait for it. Don’t even think about trying anything, Harrington. I can countermand the defense units in a moment, and even if you were to get back control of the ship, where do you think you would go?”

  Haggardy obviously wasn’t going to tell them what would happen if they weren’t cleared of carrying the alien infection. And what did he mean when he said the species had already been encountered? Was it already spreading across the galaxy?

  The ship’s corridors were quiet as they went to the shuttle bay. The crew were always subdued after arriving from a starjump, and Carl imagined that many were confused and worried by the events leading up to their arrival on Dawn. Like him, they’d probably anticipated a return to Earth, not this detour.

  At the bay, the sight of the remains of the small ship he’d flown on countless trips to and from the Galathea tore at Carl’s heart. The moment that he’d participated in its destruction had been a sad one.

  Defense units were busy pulling apart the wreckage and taking it away. Where parts of the shuttle had melted to the floor, they were using their weapons to sever them.

  Harrington leaned against the shuttle bay wall, her arms folded.

  “We’re just going to do what he says?” Carl asked.

  “I don’t see what choice we have. He’s right. We can’t do anything while he has the defense units under his control. If we run and hide, they’ll find us in the end, and we’d only be putting off the inevitable. Besides, we aren’t infected, so we’ll pass the tests, and then maybe we’ll get a chance to tell our side of the story. And if Haggardy’s possessed, they’ll find out.”

  “I’m wondering what else the governor said that he didn’t tell us,” said Carl.

  “Yeah, I’m wondering that too. Hey, Is Flux going to be okay while we’re gone?”

  Carl had been concerned about his small alien friend, too. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. The little fella’s got plenty of friends to look after him.” Carl smiled at the memory of finding out that Flux hadn’t been as much of a secret aboard ship as he’d thought he had.

  An alarm sounded, and the shuttle bay lights flashed. A synthetic voice came over the intercom, warning them to evacuate as a transport was approaching. Carl and Harrington waited outside the bay while the transport docked. When they returned, a small, neat, kite-shaped shuttle awaited them. An MT11. It was an old model, but Carl had always appreciated the economy and simplicity of its design.

  As they boarded, he noticed a modification: a plexiglass screen separated the passengers from the pilot. A precautionary measure, Carl guessed, to protect the pilot from infection.

  They strapped themselves in, and Carl tried to recall what he knew of the place they were going. All he could remember about Dawn was that it was a frontier colony: a resource-rich but undeveloped world that the Global Government had purchased for a fortune from Polestar’s rival prospecting company. The Government had strongly encouraged a disaffected group who were generating political tensions to settle there. What had they been called? He couldn’t remember.

  Dawn was also the only planet where humans had settled alongside a secondary colonizing alien species, the Haidiren.

  “What do you think’s going to happen if we don’t pass the test?” he asked Harrington.

  “Why wouldn’t we pass?” But from the way she didn’t look him in the eye, Carl guessed she was thinking the same thing as him—what if the whole thing was a set up to get them off the ship quickly and quietly? What if there was no test? What might really be awaiting them on Dawn?

  Chapter Two

  The shuttle doors opened, and Jas Harrington unexpectedly got her first close-up glimpse of Dawn. She’d thought there would be some kind of sealed tunnel leading them from the shuttle to the testing center, something to keep them separate to prevent the spread of any infection they might be carrying. What she saw instead, beyond the shuttle runway and perimeter fence, were undulating hills of some kind of mossy material the color of copper. It was a warm, fresh hue, and the air that swept into the shuttle was fresher still, fresh and humid, and had a light scent unlike anything Jas had encountered.

  Armed guards appeared at the bottom of the shuttle ramp, and Jas and Lingiari followed them down the runway to a low, white building that looked like it’d been built from a kit, as it probably had. No other shuttlecraft could be seen, though there was a small hangar.

  If the governor of Dawn was planning on bringing the crew down for testing two by two, Jas and Lingiari would be there for quite some time.

  Inside the white building, they were separated into different rooms. A man in medic’s clothes greeted Jas and asked her to lie down on a bed that slid inside a whole body scanner. The man then took urine, blood, saliva, and hair samples from her. Finally, he clipped a device to her finger and asked her a long battery of questions about her childhood, home life, relationships, career, and other life experiences, all the while watching a screen she couldn’t see. At some of Jas’ answers, such as how she’d grown up in a government institution, how she didn’t have any close friends, and how her idea of a relaxing day off was target practice, the man raised his eyebrows.

  After several hours, her tests were over. He handed her a few pieces of some kind of printed paper. The Dawn settlement certainly was basic. “You’re fine. You gave some surprising answers, but you’re human.”

  Muscles that Jas didn’t know she’d been tensing relaxed. She got up, and the man directed her to another room, where she found an older woman sitting at a desk. Jas wondered what had happened to Lingiari.

  “Welcome to Dawn,” the woman said and gestured to Jas to sit. “You must be C.S.O. Harrington. Your acting master informed me about you.”

  “Where’s the man I came with? Pilot Lingiari?” Jas remained standing.

  “I understand your caution, but please don’t be concerned. Your colleague also isn’t a Shadow. He passed all the tests quickly. He’s already gone into town. I wanted to speak to you both about the infection process and to reassure you.”

  “A Shadow? Is that what you call people possessed by the aliens? You know what the infection is?”

  “Yes, we have some ideas. I’m Governor Siam, but you can call me Sashquita.”

  “You’re the governor?” exclaimed Jas. She’d thought this woman was some kind of doctor.

  “That’s right. You were probably expecting someone a little more formal, right?” She smiled. “Please sit down, and I’ll explain.” When Jas complied, she continued, “Dawn’s just an end-of-the-galaxy colony planet. We’re pretty laid back around here. Most of us are working hard just to survive. We don’t have much time or patience for formalities.

  “It seems like this is the first you’ve heard of Shadows? That’s not surprising. The Global Government isn’t exactly broadcasting the news. Aliens who look identical to the people they’ve killed?” She shook her head. “You can’t really blame them for wanting to keep it quiet. Who’s to know if a friend or relative is really who you think they are, or if they’re an alien? By the way, you’ll be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement before you return to—”

  “Wait,” said Jas. “What do you mean? I thought the aliens infected people...got inside them somehow and took over their minds. You’re telling me they clone their victims and then kill them?”

  “That’s right. It’s easy to misunderstand. For a long time, the Global Government also thought the aliens were only possessing their v
ictims. But no, the alien only looks like the person they killed. That’s why they’re called Shadows. They’re like dark copies of the original. The aliens seem to read the DNA of anyone who gets caught in one of their traps, then they destroy the subject and appear as his or her copy, housing all the original memories and knowledge. But the personality is that of the alien.”

  Jas sat back in her chair. It was a lot to take in. “These Shadows, they look and sound the same as their victims. Is the DNA the same? If so, how can you tell them apart from the original?”

  “I’d rather not tell you that right now,” said the governor. “I hope you understand.”

  “Can you tell me why Lingiari finished earlier than me?”

  Governor Siam paused a moment before answering, “The main difficulty we have with testing is, from what we’ve seen, that the mind copying they do means a lot of the original personality is there. It can take a while to sort out the human from the Shadow’s traits. Some scientists think the Shadow itself can get confused as to who it really is after spending a long time living as a clone.

  “But don’t be alarmed. You’ve already passed.” She paused and looked down at her hands for a moment before continuing. “Your acting master informed me of what happened aboard your ship. What I told your shipmate, and what I wanted to tell you, is that you can rest assured that our testing is effective. I know you harbor suspicions toward Acting Master Haggardy. But for the sake of harmony and—if I might say—your own career, you would be wise to drop them.” She stood.

  “I wish you an enjoyable stay on Dawn, C.S.O. Harrington. Now, if you follow the guard, he’ll take you to the testing station.”

  “Wait. What about the Shadows you identify? What happens to them?”

  But the governor only pursed her lips and shook her head slightly.

  As Jas was shown to the exit, she recalled the number of alien structures she’d visited on K. 67092d. Shadow traps. She’d been inside twelve while securing the resource assessment sites, and another when the Galathea had crash-landed on the planet. Thirteen. Thirteen opportunities to leave her DNA. Was she in fact a Shadow and she’d forgotten it? Was Lingiari?