Reath

Reath

Gary Weston

Reath © 2016 Gary Weston

All rights reserved

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. The ebook contained herein constitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, or stored in or introduced into an information storage and retrieval system in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This ebook is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental

Table of Contents

Reath..........................................................................................................................................1

Gary Weston........................................................................................................................1

Prologue.........................................................................................................................................4

Chapter 1..................................................................................................................................7

Chapter 2................................................................................................................................10

Chapter 3 ...............................................................................................................................12

Chapter 4................................................................................................................................15

Chapter 5................................................................................................................................17

Chapter 6 ...............................................................................................................................19

Chapter 7................................................................................................................................21

Chapter 8................................................................................................................................23

Chapter 9................................................................................................................................25

Chapter 10..............................................................................................................................26

Chapter 11..............................................................................................................................27

Chapter 12..............................................................................................................................29

Chapter 13 ............................................................................................................................32

Chapter 14  ...........................................................................................................................33

Chapter 15  ........................................................................................................................35

Chapter 16 ............................................................................................................................37

Chapter 17..............................................................................................................................40

Chapter 18..............................................................................................................................41

Chapter 19 ............................................................................................................................45

Chapter 20 ............................................................................................................................46

Chapter 21  ...................................................................................................................48

Chapter 22 ............................................................................................................................49

Chapter 23..............................................................................................................................51

Chapter 24..............................................................................................................................52

Chapter 25..............................................................................................................................54

Chapter 26..............................................................................................................................56

Chapter 27..............................................................................................................................58

Chapter 28..............................................................................................................................59

Chapter 29  ...........................................................................................................................60

Chapter 30..............................................................................................................................61

Chapter 31..............................................................................................................................62

Chapter 32 ............................................................................................................................65

Chapter 33  .........................................................................................................................68

Chapter 34  .........................................................................................................................69

Chapter 35..............................................................................................................................71

Chapter 36..............................................................................................................................73

Chapter 37  ....................................................................................................................75

Chapter 38..............................................................................................................................78

Chapter 39..............................................................................................................................79

Chapter 40  .........................................................................................................................81

Chapter 41..............................................................................................................................82

Chapter 42..............................................................................................................................84

Chapter 43  ........................................................................................................................87

Chapter 44..............................................................................................................................88

Chapter 45  .....................................................................................................................89

Chapter 46  .........................................................................................................................90

Chapter 47..............................................................................................................................91

Chapter 48 ............................................................................................................................93

Chapter 49  ...........................................................................................................................94

Chapter 50 ............................................................................................................................96

Chapter 51..............................................................................................................................97

Chapter 52  ...........................................................................................................................98

Chapter 53...........................................................................................................................100

Chapter 54...........................................................................................................................102

Chapter 55 ..........................................................................................................................104

Chapter 56  .........................................................................................................................106

Chapter 57 ..........................................................................................................................108

Chapter 58...........................................................................................................................110

Chapter 59...........................................................................................................................112

Chapter 60 ..........................................................................................................................114

Chapter 61...........................................................................................................................115

Chapter 62...........................................................................................................................116

Chapter 63...........................................................................................................................118

Chapter 64...........................................................................................................................120

Chapter 65...........................................................................................................................121

Chapter 66...........................................................................................................................123

Chapter 67...........................................................................................................................125

Chapter 68...........................................................................................................................126

Epilogue................................................................................................................................128

Bonus.....................................................................................................................................130

Prologue

Southern France 31,000 B C E 

Orlag was a thinker. Busy with the every day fight for survival for himself and his family, he had little time to pursue this activity, but even for him came those self-indulgent moments for deep introspection. For this he had a favourite place and it was here he sat on a bison hide, in sight of, but a little away from the cave. His family knew better than to disturb him and they went about their routines around the mouth of their cave. His brother Tagog and Tagog's mate Sorlas, had gathered dry wood and broken up small pieces to feed the fire. They had filled the water skins for the night from the nearby stream that ran down to the river below.

Middle aged at twenty-nine, Orlag watched his daughter, Martok, heavy with child. Her mate had been killed in a hunt, so she would live with the family and they would raise the child together, should it survive the birth. Martok helped her mother, his mate, with the meal, carving up the raw meat with the flint as the flat cooking stones heated up in the fire.

Gotdag, Orlag's father, the ancient one at forty-seven summers, sat where he always did, his badly deformed leg stretched out in front of him. Unable to hunt, he contributed with the making of the tools. Orlag's son, Lorga, nearly a man at fourteen, copied his grandfather at chipping the flint. Orlag smiled as Gotdag corrected the way Lorga held the flints, demonstrating yet again the angled striking action which created the serrated sharp edges. Lorga was a good boy, but a toolmaker he would never be.

Down below in the valley, rivers crossed the plains and herds of bison and gazelle and zebra grazed the lush grasses. There was great competition for the game with other tribes and the predators. Across the plains towards the east, hills and caves had more families and smoke from their fires curled up into the azure sky. Neanderthals lived there, fewer in number than there used to be. He didn't dislike them. One was a second cousin. Orlag thought the trouble with the Neanderthals was that they all looked alike. Not very bright and so ugly!

He stared at the strange huge star in the sky. Blue during the day, a fiery blue and white star in the night sky, larger than the moon and sun. Due to familiarity most people ignored it but Orlag found it interesting. For many years it had grown, and he could see a huge green and brown scar in the blue. This scar would move strangely and go out of sight, only to appear gradually at the same time the following day. Another smaller star accompanied the blue one, it too moving and disappearing with the green scar.

He understood little of what he saw, accepting it for what it was. He was alone in his fascination of this star, the others becoming as indifferent to it as they were of the moon. Things that were, just were. Orlag remembered a time when the big blue star had not been in the sky, but son Lorga was too young to remember a time when the blue star hadn't been there. But even in those few years, the star had become much bigger.

There came a roar from below and herds of animals, bison and gazelle, raced north along the river bank. Orlag's keen eyes picked out the pride of lions as they chased then brought down a small gazelle. The females did the work, the two black-mane males plodding along to take the fallen animal for their share. They would eat first then once the females and cubs had eaten, hyena and carrion would clean up. It was the way of things.

The smell of the meat cooking on the stones below him had him salivating, and he gathered up the bison skin, draped it across his shoulders and climbed down the rock face to sit and eat with his family. Lorga proudly carved up his meat with his latest knife, or at least tried to. Gotdag laughed through his almost toothless mouth and forgot the pain in his leg for a moment. Then he embarrassed the boy further by offering him his own knife. Lorga scowled, threw his poor blade away, grabbed a chunk of meat and sat on a log away from the others.

Orlag smiled, knowing that later this spat would be soon forgotten. It should already be getting darker as the sun went down, but the blue star almost overhead lit up their world like daylight. Orlag, Tagog and Largo would be up early the next day to hunt and spear fish from the river and if possible, kill a gazelle from the plains. Togog and Orlog had agreed that they would step back once the gazelle had been brought down to let Largo make his first kill and become a man. It was time for that.

With a full belly, Orlag sat and stared at the blue star, bright enough to hurt his eyes. He was sure it was even bigger than ever. He got up and using the light from the star, he looked at the painting just inside the cave. Other paintings of his were here and there, just the important events. His family, even his daughter's mate, were represented as a group of figures. Lower was Largo's hand used as a stencil when the boy was five, Orlag holding the boy off the ground so he could make the painting himself, dabbing the red paint around his little fingers. Largo had laughed delightedly at his efforts. He had shown little interest in painting since then but Orlag felt compelled to adorn the cave walls with what he thought significant.

Orlag stared at the round blue painting, then outside at the huge star. They were one and the same. His painting just didn't look right now. Using a rough small piece of fur rolled up in a ball between his fingers, he spat on the blue powder he had ground up and made a paste. Then the fur he loaded with the paste he dabbed carefully around the blue painted star. Eventually satisfied with this, he dabbed the blue fur into sulphur and this yellow with the blue made a green which he applied to the middle of the blue star.

Dropping the fur on the floor by his powders, he stepped back and considered his work. It was at this time that the ground began to shake beneath his feet and he raced outside the cave. Lit up by the star, a wall of water from the south was crashing across the plains below, sweeping away some of the animals that had returned when the lions had moved on.

The land had gone and his family joined him at the mouth of the cave, watching in horror as the tidal wave, something they had never seen before, turned the plain into a huge lake. The roaring of the waves crashing into the sides of the hills, dislodging boulders and rocks, sweeping away trees and bushes, lasted several minutes then stopped.

Totally confused, the family watched the vast expanse of water which was already receding. When they saw that happening, they no longer felt threatened. They wrapped up in their furs and hides, and with his mate in his arms, Orlag slept. It was with some trepidation they went outside the following morning, and they were relieved to see at least some patches of the plain as the water level dropped.

The need for food meant that they had to try to hunt, so Orlag, Tagog and Largo, armed with flint tipped spears and knives, ventured down to the waters edge. Not clear like the rivers, but stained with the churned up mud of the plain. Tagog knelt down and dipped his fingers into the water, and let drops fall onto his tongue. He instantly spat out the salty water.

Dead fish floated here and there. A noise to the north had them looking that way and Largo had seen something floating towards them. It was a young bison, still alive, but it had been injured when the wave had struck. Its head kept poking up out of the water as it floated towards them, unable to swim with its back broken.

The three hunters seized the opportunity and waded out, the water up to their chests. Grabbing the beasts head, Orlag and Tagog called to Largo to kill the animal. The terrified bison bellowed weakly and its eyes rolled up into its head, the whites of the eyes staring blindly at the boy.

Orlag and Tagog were struggling to hold the beast as the receding water tried to take them along with it. Orlag yelled at Largo, who with his grandfather's best hunting knife, slit the throat of the bison, blood gushing from the severed artery all over the three hunters, to be washed away by the salty water. The beast let go of its life with a gargled bellow and died. They dragged it out of the water which exhausted them. Resting briefly, they carved up the beast to carry the best parts back to the cave. Laughing, Orlag smeared his son's chest with blood. Largo was now a man.

They ate well that day, watching the land return. For months after, these tidal waves returned but winter was approaching and hunting became difficult as the game had moved away to safer lands. Fresh water was dependant on rains so they knew they had to move north. They made a litter for Gotdag as carrying him would be easier and quicker than him slowing them down hobbling along.

Ready to go, Orlag took a final look around the cave that had been home for years. The blue star seemed to fill the sky outside the cave. The last of the salty water was already receding but this land wasn't as bountiful as before. He wasn't sure why, but he picked up a ball of fur and stained it blue, then under his stencilled hand he painted three wavy lines. Outside, Orlag took the front ends of the carry poles, Tagog the rear end. It was time to go. 

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Chapter 1

Year 2039: The war was over. Long live the war. The East. The Far East. The West. North against The South. It was always the same, war often starting without warning, rhyme nor reason. Some even thought it was simply a way to keep people gainfully occupied, producing weapons and using them. Conspiracy theorists hypothesised it was all a plot to keep the people too busy to worry about the real issues and that it also served to keep the populations down.

And yet, for all the perpetual fighting and the levelling of many major cities, the world's population was at an all time high of eleven billion. It was a guestimate because nobody could be bothered to keep track anymore. The irradiated lands meant little food could be grown and the people were forced to cram themselves into what little space remained. 

Even so, The United States of Europe still found time to indulge in its space program. There was no shortage of talented people to work on it, skills honed on the missiles and technology to destroy each other, easily transferred over to the latest project. Those employed for the task were uncommonly selected and their numbers kept down to the absolute minimum. All to do with security, they said. New technology, they said.

The location for this operation was also unusual. The Republican State of Britain. Such undertakings were usually in The State of Germany. But the last two wars had ravaged much of central Germany and Britain had escaped lightly for once. It mean good jobs for the lucky few hundred so they were wise enough not to question things too much.

There was other unusual aspects to the project. But not so unusual that they couldn't be more or less explained away by those in control. Such as the way the ship had been put together. Parts from here, some from there. Nobody had the whole design, just the sections they were involved in. Another relatively small, elite team was responsible for the complete assembly on the vast site of the EuroBrit Space Agency.

With all the secrecy, it was something of a let-down when the ship was finally revealed. At the Space Agency, the media were only allowed to view from a distance and not allowed onto the ship. Many of the usual questions were answered with official press releases, and nobody was available for answering additional questions. From seasoned science correspondents there were comments like, Is that it? What's the big deal? Which is exactly what the Brass had intended.

Externally, SX 17 V E R looked much like the old S X ships. Squat and ugly, with an uninspiring dull heat-resistant grey finish. It sat on the launch ramp, again a typical sloping design used to help propel the vessel out of the atmosphere using minimum fuel expenditure. The ship would be raised up to the top of the slope and like a monstrous fun-park ride, it would blast down and then up again to be hurled into space. It was so conventional, it was almost boring. It did have one significant feature. Size. Almost twice that of any previous S X ships.

Again, the size had been explained away because of the payloads. Five communication satellites to replace those destroyed in the previous three wars. Some said the satellites had been made by the Chinese, others said Russia. The irony if either were true, was that both were recent enemies. But there was a a common saying, Today's Enemy, Tomorrows Friend. An expression used a lot by the worlds jaded, faceless politicians when they wanted to justify their decisions.

Days after the muted media had been and gone, technician Foggy Pritchard stared at the image on his screen in the command centre.

'Why all the hush-hush crap? A ship, satellites. Nothing weird about that.'

Tom Gandhi had his