X-Calibur: The Trial Read Free Page A

they're threatening us and the city? If so, why warn us about it? Why not just jump in and attack?”
    “Could they have been trying to contact another hive ship?” Merlin asked. “Is it a call for allies to attack us?”
    “Unlikely,” Caran Doc said. “Our probes haven't detected any other Mori ships in centuries. Besides, the signal was narrow-beam, directed at Earth and only one other system.” The image floating above the table changed, zooming out before zooming in on another system further away.
    “Ma'Han?” Lance said with surprise.
    “They only sent the message to Earth and Ma'Han?” Gwen asked. “That doesn't make sense.”
    “Not if there was a spy in Camelot,” Arthur agreed. “The hive would know we're on Earth.”
    “Earth and Ma'Han,” Merlin repeated, thinking aloud. “That's where the hive sent the ships from the Mori-Gran-Ra. The human and Dorgan home worlds.”
    “It's as though the hive doesn't know which planet we're on,” Lance said.
    “This is getting us nowhere,” Arthur said. “We need to get closer to the hive ship, hear the full message.”
    “I can have the Ardent Dawn ready as soon as you are,” Caran Doc suggested.
    “No,” Arthur replied. “That could be their plan, to draw the Teleri ships away and leave Camelot open to attack. The city and its people have to be our priority.”
    “Then what would you suggest?” Caran Doc asked.
    “We'll take the Vanguard,” Arthur replied. “Jump closer to the hive and receive the rest of the message. Once we know what it means, we'll be better prepared.”
    “No,” Merlin interrupted. “The message was directed at you personally, Arthur. Whatever else we know, you're the target.”
    “What about a probe?” Triltan suggested, the people at the table turning around to look at her. “We can send it towards the hive to amplify the signal?”
    “Caran Doc?” Arthur asked.
    “That could work,” Caran Doc replied, looking appreciatively towards his daughter. “Two, maybe three jumps nearer should be enough. I'll get started immediately.”
    “See?” Lance said with a smile. “I told you she'd be able to help.”
     
    *****
     
    Caran Doc stood on the bridge of the Ardent Dawn, looking at the enormous display screen in front of him. It depicted a map of the local star systems, reaching as far as the hive ship and the numerous stars in between. The probe, no bigger than one of the small fighter ships, blinked a short distance from the Ardent Dawn.  It had completed its first jump and was counting down the eight hours until its engines recharged to perform the second.
    “I'll be in my chambers,” Caran Doc said to the officer to his right. “Inform me as soon as a clear signal comes through.”
    Caran Doc left the bridge and returned to his quarters where Silan Daltas was waiting for him. She and her research team, recently released from the brig, were currently without a project and she was finding it difficult to take her mind off of her failure. She still saw the destruction of Teela as her fault, no matter what Caran Doc said to try to comfort her. She had found the solution, the super-heavy element, deep beneath the surface of a frozen ice world, but had been too late in returning to Teela to use it.
    As Caran Doc entered, the aroma of food struck him, igniting his senses. “That smells wonderful,” he said aloud, unbuttoning his uniform as he approached the kitchen.
    The Principal's quarters were much larger than any others to be found aboard the Ardent Dawn, with a separate kitchen area, sitting room and walled off sleeping area. Just like the rest of the ship, the walls were white and the rooms brightly lit with furniture merged in a perfect union of form and function. Unlike the corridors on the Ardent Dawn, however, there were none of the multicoloured symbols moving across the walls, only discreetly placed view screens and hologram projectors.
    “Doc,” Silan Daltas said as she stepped from the kitchen