THE BLACK BETWEEN STARS

a story of the far future of the world of Orphan Black



Chapter 1



We Began as Wanderers, and We are Wanderers Still







BOOM!

A clanking thud sounded behind her. She whipped around – the blast door. It had slammed shut right after she stepped through.



Then a pounding from the other side, muffled pleas for help. Through the porthole she could see the girls – girls with her face, screaming, crying.

Another boom, further away. A whoosh, and a wall of fire blazed through the hall toward the door. Then -

Then, she woke up.

Arinel gasped and bolted upright in her bunk. She blinked and looked about her cabin. Breathe – just breathe, it was just a dream. Same as the night before. They always seemed to be more frequent before another mission.

She sighed, rubbed at her eyes. She pushed herself out of her bunk and padded over to the sink. She splashed some cool water on her face and then grabbed a towel. As she blotted at her cheeks her eyes went to her reflection in the mirror over the sink.

Warm brown eyes looked back at her from a heart-shaped face, a gently-rounded nose over full lips. All framed by her dark shoulder-length hair. Her face, and the face she fought for, killed for, did her best to protect.

The face of Leda.

Arinel got dressed in a fresh set of shipboard fatigues. She grabbed a coffee pouch and keyed on the console on one wall of her cabin. Just a few hours until arrival. She turned and the door of her cabin slid open. She set off down the corridor to check on the rest of the crew.

She slid her hand affectionately along the bulkhead as she moved down the corridor. The Swan Song was a good ship – a light scouting and infiltration vessel, with enough armament to defend herself. Long-range, versatile, and perfect for their current mission.

She entered the armory to find Lomi seated at a workbench, polishing a plate from her enormous suit of combat armor. She looked up and saw Arin, then stood to her full height, her close-cropped hair almost brushing the ceiling. Lomi measured a good foot and a half taller than most Ledas. She had elected to undergo extensive, experimental gene conditioning to add height, muscle mass, and strength. The Leda baseline was rather petite, so a more physically powerful soldier could come in handy at times. She stood at attention and snapped a salute to Arin: “Captain.”

“At ease, Lomi.” Arinel looked over the immaculate suit of armor on the bench. She picked up the helmet and looked at her reflection in the faceplate. “You’ve got this thing polished to a mirror shine. At least the bogies will know if they’re having a bad hair day before they die.”

Lomi smiled. “Gotta do something to keep my hands busy, Cap. I’ll be glad to get back planetside. What kind of resistance you think we’ll run into down there, anyway?”

“I’m not sure. There can be some weird shit at these old sites….”

“Hey, maybe I’ll catch me a mermaid.” Lomi grinned and waggled her eyebrows. There were a lot of legends and rumors about the old lost colonies and bases, and the weird experiments that may have taken place on them – Ledas with gills, wings, or other modifications. And even stranger things…. the Swan Song was bound for one such ancient installation. A long-abandoned research facility on a world newly-rediscovered in the far reaches of Leda space. Somewhere in there was stored data deemed very valuable by Leda Command, and that Arinel and her team were tasked to find.

Arinel patted Lomi on the shoulder. “Sorry, soldier, but we’re not landing anywhere near any appreciable bodies of water.” Lomi made an exaggerated awwww and laughed. Arin smiled at her. “Maybe one of these days. And don’t worry, we’ll be down a gravity well again real soon. Maybe you’ll even have something to shoot at.”

“Can’t wait, Cap.” She sat back down and continued cleaning her gear. Arinel moved on to the cockpit.

She found Nymona at one of the pilot stations, bent over a display streaming data on their course and the incoming planet. Her short, wispy hair was a dark shade of green as she concentrated on the screen. When she looked over her shoulder and saw Arin, she smiled and it took on a bright blue color. On shore leave once she had found a color-changing nanite treatment for her hair in some shop. Arinel had almost nixed it as too distracting a deviation from standard, but Nym eventually convinced her to keep it – a bit of a morale booster, she argued, and you couldn’t even tell with a helmet on. Ledas have to do something to set themselves apart, right?

“Morning, Cap!” she said brightly.

“Morning, Nym.” Arin took a seat at the other station next to her. “So,-”

“Hey Cap – I think there might be a problem with the starboard power coupler? Normally they make a sound like bzzz-ZZt-ZZt-ZZt – but this one is totally like bzzzzz-ZZZtZZZt. See, listen!”

Arin tilted her head, listened…… nothing, just the normal background hum. She frowned at Nym and shrugged.

“Ah, well” Nym chuckled “It’s not like the ship is going to explode before we can get it fixed. Probably.”

“Alright…. So,” Arin continued. “Uh, aside from… that…everything going smooth on the approach?”

“Yep, just fine. The probe came back not too long ago, too – we’ve got a good map of the exterior of the place and the surrounding area for about 20 clicks.” She frowned, and her hair turned dark red. “It did pick out some defenses that may still be working – shield generators, and anti-air guns. Whatever is in this place, it was pretty heavily guarded.”

“Damn.” Arin keyed on her display and brought up the map of the base and surrounding area. She studied it for a moment, and then pointed at one spot, a clearing just a few kilometers away from the base. “Alright, I guess we’ll just have to set down here and go in on foot.” It wasn’t worth the risk to try and land at the base itself.

“Copy that, Captain.” Nym marked the landing zone on her display. “A little jaunt might be nice after being cooped up in here so long.”

“Mmm.” Arin replied, distracted in thought. She looked out the viewport toward their destination, the planet still so far off that it was just the brightest star among many. What lay ahead for them? A file with the schematics and power signature of an old, but powerful, computer system had been given to them – it was located somewhere within the old facility. It was their objective to secure any and all data contained on it. But what that data was, exactly, Arin didn’t know. What was locked away in that old ruin that her superiors sought so badly?

The console in front of her chimed – a tightbeam message, from Command. Speak of the devil….

She opened the video feed. On her screen appeared the face of Director Zara Locris. She was Leda, but unlike any Arin had met – heavily modified with cybernetics, and she made no attempt to hide the fact. Both eyes were silvery glowing prosthetics that gave her an unnerving gaze. One side of her head was covered with a sleek dark fall of hair, the other bare and crisscrossed with circuitry. Her voice had a faint electronic hum. Director of Scientific Defense, or something like that – an intelligence spook, anyway. The woman made Arin’s skin crawl, but she had been appointed personally by General Vasha to oversee their mission. So she just had to deal with it.

“Greetings, Captain.” The Director’s tone was always stiff and formal. “All is going well on the way to the mission site, thus far?”

“Yes, ma'am. We’re only a couple hours out from the planet and no problems so far. We already have a plan laid out to approach the facility, and I’m confident we’ll secure the objective.”

“Excellent. Remember, the computer is fortified and isolated from any of the facility’s networks – you will need to access it directly.” The twin glowing motes of her eyes bored into Arin’s, tiny lenses focusing intently. “The data on that device could be vital to the continued well-being of the Leda Commonwealth. I trust that you understand that and will do all you must to succeed.”

Arin steeled her own gaze back. “Of course, ma'am.” Maybe if you told us just what we were unearthing for you…. she thought to herself. She had a bad feeling she wouldn’t like the answer. But a good soldier didn’t question orders.

“Very well.” Locris gave a tight, chill smile. “Good hunting, Captain.” The video winked off.

Arin blew out a breath. “Always such pleasant conversations with Miss Robobitch.” She looked over at Nym, shook her head. “I don’t like this.”

“Me neither, Cap,” Nym sympathised. “I wish we knew what exactly we were retrieving, too. But we’ve just got to trust Command and do our job, right?” She grinned impishly, and her hair turned electric yellow. “Hey, maybe the Director just has a crush on that old computer and we’re getting it’s number so she can ask it out on a date.”

Arin snickered despite herself. “Get your gear prepped, we’ll be there before we know it.” She stood and walked off to get her own equipment in order. Her thoughts may have been a mess, but damned if her gear would be.





About a week earlier….

General Tanys Vasha strode confidently down the corridor, and somewhat less confidently, her assistant Marya did her best to keep up with her.



She couldn’t help but keep glancing at the neat, tight bun of hair on the back of the General’s head, and lamenting that she could never get her own so neat despite her best efforts. That was just one of many things to admire about General Vasha. She was a shining example of what a Leda could be and do – a war hero whose actions were instrumental in defeating the threat the Kitsune posed against the Commonwealth years before, and now a sure and strong leader. Marya was very proud to work for her.

Marya looked around – they were deep in the research complex that adjoined the capitol building, deeper than she had ever been. There was barely anyone there – probably only a few people, like the General, had the security clearance to be admitted. The eerie quiet and emptiness made her a little nervous…. but she quashed the feeling. That was ridiculous – how could she be nervous with the General at her side?

They came to a door and walked in – an analysis suite, walls covered in computer terminals and sensory equipment. In an analysis bay on one wall was an old-looking piece of machinery – it’s casing was dingy and scarred, and a solar panel sprouted from one side. Marya thought it must have been a satellite, a very old one.

At the computer display next to the bay holding the satellite sat a young woman – she wasn’t Leda, probably from off-world. She was intently looking at the screen in front of her, displaying data that must have been extracted from the satellite. Then she noticed Vasha and Marya standing over her, turned and smiled at them.

“General, welcome.”

“Hello.” Vasha smiled politely back at her. “How is the decryption coming?”

“Very well, ma'am. Nearly everything stored on it has been decrypted. There are some very interesting files here.” She slid to the side of the screen a bit to allow the General to lean forward and peer at it.

“Yes.” Vasha flipped through some of the files on the screen and nodded. “Very interesting indeed…”

She stood back from the screen, straightened, and laid a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Thank you for your excellent work.”

The woman smiled and turned back to the screen. “My pleas-” before she could finish, Vasha had taken a step back from her, and in one fluid motion had drawn a pistol from her hip and brought it to the side of the woman’s head. Marya jumped at the sudden bark of the gunshot. The woman’s body toppled off of the chair onto the floor.

Marya’s mouth gaped open. She stared at the woman on the floor in disbelief. Vasha said something to her, but it didn’t register, her ears ringing. She blinked, closed her eyes, opened them – the body still sprawled there…

“Marya!”

Marya’s head snapped up and her eyes fixed on the General. “Pull it together. We have work to do.” Marya’s gaze drifted to the General’s hand, still holding the pistol, and then back to her face – there was a challenge written in her features.

“Y-yes, ma'am.” Marya stammered. She took a deep breath and pushed down her shock and fear. She stood ready for orders.

“Good.” Only then did Vasha return the gun to it’s holster. She pointed to the computer. “Copy everything on there, and then wipe it. And scrub the satellite, too.” Marya sat at the computer and plugged in her datapad, while Vasha dragged the body over to one wall and into a maintenance closet.

While the files downloaded to her datapad, Marya glanced at them displayed on the screen. One file looked like planetary coordinates, wherever the satellite must have come from. Another looked like research notes from some kind of experiment. Something called “Project Janus”….

Before she saw much more the General was at her back. “We don’t have much time.”

Marya looked at her datapad. “Almost done, ma'am.”

Once the download was complete, Marya wiped all the data from the computer and the satellite’s memory. Vasha had cleaned up any traces left of the woman who had been working there. Their tasks done, they stepped back out into the corridor.

Vasha paused at the controls beside the door. She tapped some keys and the indicator turned red – the analysis lab was locked down. “She’s decided to stay late, locked herself in to catch up on her workload.” She smiled at Marya. “It’s nice to see such dedication to the job.” She stepped closer and fixed her eyes on Marya. “But I see such dedication every day, from you. Right?”

Marya couldn’t help but shoot a nervous glance at the door, and then looked back at the General. She did her best to keep any quaver out of her voice. “Uh. Yes. Of course, ma'am.”

“Good.” The General nodded. “The Commonwealth depends on the dedication of all Ledas. We must work together, always. Not all off-worlders are as helpful as our friend in there. Any dissent will be our downfall. Understood?”

Marya swallowed, nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”

“Good.” Vasha said again. She turned, her gaze lingering on Marya a bit longer, then began walking back down the corridor. Marya looked at the locked door one last time, then hurried to follow the General.





Arinel couldn’t shake the bad feeling she had about this mission. Tomb robbing was often dangerous – she had heard all kinds of stories of explorers intent on plundering ancient ruins and messily meeting their ends from hidden traps and defenses. It wasn’t just that, though. Her team was well-equipped and competent. They should be able to handle whatever the old facility had in wait for them.

But when she had been studying photos brought back by the recon probe, the pale walls and towers of the base sitting in the tangled growth of the planet’s jungles looked like a great pile of bones. A dull dread started creeping in Arin’s gut at the sight of it. She closed her eyes -

Screaming

Pounding

Fire

She opened her eyes, shook her head. No. Never again.

Now she sat in the loading bay of the Swan Song, fully kitted out in her combat armor. Lomi sat across from her, clad in armor as well, inspecting her rifle. Nymona’s voice came in over the comm: “Get ready, about to hit atmo.”

Arin and Lomi strapped themselves in for the landing. A great vibrating thrum built up in the bulkheads around them as the ship entered the planet’s atmosphere.

Arinel wasn’t religious at all. But she couldn’t help but send out a silent prayer, an entreaty to the First Ledas, who had been the beginning of the line long ago, on Earth. She asked Wise Cosima to guide them on the right path to their objective, the Angry Angel to give them strength to fight any opposition, and failing all of that, Sarah the Orphan to help them simply survive.

She didn’t really put any faith in the words. But the praying did help her feel a little better – cleared her mind to allow her to focus on their mission.

The ship dropped down and dwindled to a speck against the great green orb of the planet, and Arin’s prayers sped up and out into the black.





TO BE CONTINUED….