Calan - The Immortality Paradox

Chapter One: Visitors of the Incubus, Part One

Date: 372, OA19,652

Location: Outskirts of the Canol System

'What's the song, skipper?'

Captain Syd Lawrence hadn't realised he was humming. The voice startled him out of his reverie. A single teardrop threatened to cross his cheek.

Straightening his slovenly uniform, he rotated in the cockpit seat to face his subordinate. A row of dim, green overhead lights were barely enough to illuminate the figure of Private Nathan Hamilton, leaning against the exterior hull of the spaceship. A circular window behind him showed only darkness. He wore his shit-eating grin; the same the Captain had noticed during their introduction at the spaceport. It seemed so long ago when they agreed to volunteer on this suicide mission.

'Nothing. One of those earworms.' Lawrence attempted to refract the topic.

Hamilton winced dramatically. 'Ooh, hate those.'

The Captain had gauged the Private's attitude from their first encounter. Lazy, undisciplined and ingenuous. Easy prey for a mission this dangerous. Sarcasm was usually enough to annoy him, but Lawrence couldn't care less under the circumstances. Every soldier was vital for this mission. Hamilton seemed a capable one; short in stature, but combat-trained and with an eye for technology.

'Anything to report, Hamilton?' He hoped it was short.

'Private Granger and I were just discussing tactics,' he explained, hands in thermalwear pockets, one foot crossed over the other at an angle. His navy blue uniform showed signs of modification. A menagerie of floral lettering wrapped around his bicep a few centimetres below the E'blanche Military emblem; a pickaxe branching into the wings of a spaceship. 'Seeing as we've got a whole year before we reach our destination, we thought it might be prudent to start preparations now.' The tone implied that he was disagreeable to his Captain's inactivity.

'That's admirable,' Lawrence nodded. 'But this isn't a typical mission. Our purpose is to investigate and communicate our findings back to the Force. There's nothing for us to investigate until we get to our destination.'

'True, Captain, but there's no harm in planning ahead.'

'Where are Simmons and Slade?'

'In the Cryosleepers.' Lawrence fronwed at that. 'Granger and I were just worried you were too precoccupied with flight control.'

'These new spaceship models take a little getting used to. Just making sure the navigation system maintains galactic vector and that we're not losing fuel efficiency.'

'Your reputation precedes you, sir. No need to show off your piloting prowess to us rookies.'

'This is an important mission. Nothing can be taken for granted.'

'I never meant to question your decision.'

Lawrence sighed. 'What is this plan?'

The soldier approached respectfully. 'There's not much information on this thing, but Granger and I tried our best. Other Chapters have attempted what we're currently doing before, but with very little success. In fact, the day we left, the Cloudcutter magazine released an exposé on the 'Questing Quintuplet', describing us as a bunch of children sailing on a hopeless adventure...'

'Many people think we're mad.' The Captain had already habituated with the idea.

'But there are some scraps of data from previous undertakings. The Draconians, for instance, spoke of a strange white light in the vicinity. Some residents in the nearby planetary system have said they've felt noticeably queasy since it appeared. These are all things we should be preparing ourselves for when we make our approach...'