X-Calibur: The Trial Read Free

pointed out. “Merlin, why aren't you leaving? We really are a little busy.” Arthur stifled a giggle.
    “This cannot wait,” Merlin said apologetically. “There's been a transmission from the hive. You both need to hear it.”
    Arthur groaned as Merlin disappeared. “Two days,” he said. “Two days without a crisis. I was foolish to expect we'd have some time to ourselves.”
     
    *****
     
    Arthur and Gwen entered the Tor a short while later, their hair unruly and cheeks still flushed. Lance and Gar-Wan were already there, as were the holograms of Merlin and Caran Doc. As Arthur and Gwen took their seats, Triltan stepped through the large doors to the hangar and joined them.
    “I thought she might be able to help,” Lance explained when Triltan took her seat. Arthur nodded, though Gwen suspected there was more to it. Lance and Triltan had spent most of their free time together since returning to Earth. Triltan was understandably very upset about the destruction of Teela, and was often to be found staring at images of her lost home. Lance remained by her side, always there with a comforting hand or reassuring word.
    “We've been able to decipher a little more of the message,” Caran Doc began. “The signal's incredibly weak, I think this is the best we can do.”
    They sat in silence as the message played, the static in between the broken words hiding the answers they desperately needed. “Arthur. Camelot. . . fallen. . . taken control. . . forces are unstoppable. . . please. . . our only hope.”
    “And you're sure it's from the hive?” Arthur asked.
    “As sure as we can be,” Caran Doc replied. “As I said, the signal's incredibly weak, but tracing it back takes us close to this system here.” As he spoke, an image appeared above the table in front of them. It showed a small cluster of stars before zooming in on a particular system.
    “That's where we left the hive,” Gar-Wan said. “Without working gravity engines, they couldn't have travelled far.”
    “And last we heard,” Merlin added, “the gravity engines were still off-line.”
    “So what does it mean?” Arthur asked. “It's clearly meant for me, for us. Is it a threat? A warning?”
    “A trap?” Lance suggested.
    “Oh, it's almost certainly a trap,” Arthur continued. “I just don't understand who for? Are they threatening Camelot? Whose forces have taken control? And of what?”
    “How would the hive know our settlement as Camelot?” Gar-Wan asked. “It's not a word native to the Mori.”
    “Someone here, in the city?” Lance suggested. “They could have been sending information back to the hive.”
    “A spy?” Gwen remarked. “Do you really think someone would?”
    They were quiet for a moment before Arthur said, “It's something we have to consider.”
    “They'd need equipment to be able to contact the hive,” Gar-Wan explained. “I'd start with the functioning ships, the ones we dismantled had their communication systems dismantled for parts.”
    “Unless someone put one back together,” Lance suggested. He continued to tell them about Gin and his home-made receiver. He'd examined it and found that it was definitely one way, with no way to communicate directly with the hive. But if one person had built such a device, so could others.
    “Wouldn't we have picked up the transmissions?” Gwen asked. “From what you've said, it'd need to be pretty strong to reach the hive? And this is intended for us, not some spy?”
    They were just as confused as when they'd started, no closer to an answer or explanation. Arthur was convinced it was a trap, but he had no idea how the trap would be sprung. “Okay, let's go over what we know,” he said, trying to organise his thoughts. “The message came from the hive, we're sure about that, and it seems to threaten someone or something with an unstoppable force. They also seem to be asking for help? The only hope part? And they mention me by name, and Camelot.
    “Do you think