Science Fiction

439

Most people have heard the name King Arthur or Lancelot, Avalon and Camelot. Arthurian Myth and legend has thrived over the centuries and has become one of the most cherished and well known stories of Britain. What if this famous tale of knights, chivalry and betrayal held a deeper secret than anyone had dreamed possible?

Excerpt
Chapter 1
Masters of Time

The sound of gunfire reverberated through the rocks. Darting behind a rough outcrop, Hunter paused to catch his breath. Immediately in front of him were his companions in various defensive positions. The only female among them was leading their descent into the caves. Hunter was between them and the pursuing Doomwatch task force. He leaned cautiously around the rock to catch a glimpse of the patrol behind. As Hunter looked back the wreck of their ship exploded in a blinding flash.
“Damn them all," yelled Elman as they took off running again. “That's the most expensive way of landing Hunter. I think I'll shoot Culver myself.”
“It wasn't his fault!" Hunter called out. “We were sold out, you know that. Chernak probably had something to do with it."
Hunter turned his head as the huge Krylos yelled at him, waving his gun. “Where the hell are we anyway?"
“How should I know?" Hunter coolly got off another round in the direction of the pursuit. “Ask Rigg! He's the navigator!"
“Sol 3 ...I think!" came from Rigg. “The place they call Earth.”
“You think!" Elman was scornful.
“You do better, with half your instruments blown out and a shattered communications mechanoid!"
“It hardly seems to matter at the moment." Hunter fired behind him yet again. "It may have escaped your notice but we are being pursued. The pressing thing right now is saving our backsides."
“Well I'm not going back in one of their prison hulks for you or anybody else!" declared Krylos. “They can finish me here.”
They all fell silent as they piled into a huge cavern of tremendous depth, the only way across being a narrow rock causeway with a steep drop either side.
“Get going," Hunter ordered.
“Over that?" yelled Elman.
"Can you see any other way to go?"
“I hope you know what you're doing boss!" Elman muttered.
“Just get on with it,” Hunter barked.
Shaking his head, Elman raced across the causeway, followed by most of Hunter’s crew.
With only Krylos and Relda left to cross the causeway, Hunter turned to Relda with his hand outstretched. Without a word she passed him a couple of flat metal discs.
“Now get after them!" Hunter said quietly, watching as Relda took to the causeway.
“You too Krylos," Hunter said, turning the center of the discs.
“When you go, I go!" came the definite reply.
Their pursuers were in sight again now, light reflecting from their helmets. Powerful beams swept the caverns, seeking their quarry with relentless thoroughness.
“Get to the middle of the causeway then and cover me."
Krylos moved swiftly for such a large man, obediently stopping to fire back at the pursuers. Hunter followed him, hurling a disc back as he went. The second one he left on the first half of the causeway. There was a blinding flash as they raced for the other end. Once there they looked back at the gaping hole at the start of the causeway making further pursuit impossible.
“I hope to God this leads somewhere,” he muttered.
The band with Hunter numbered twenty-two including the boy. They had picked him up somewhere in the Strabos System and he’d stuck to them having nowhere else to go.
Despite his youth he was a tough little thing having had a long and varied acquaintance with all manner of undesirable pursuits for a boy so young. Like the rest of Hunter’s crew he’d found a home with the bedraggled pack of rogues and their loyalty to Hunter was unwavering. They had been in tough situations before but this time the Doomwatch had them cornered. Someone had set them up, for the welcoming party had been large and effective.
Medraut had Doomwatch patrols everywhere. It mattered little which government was in power, who was king of what, Medraut’s Doomwatch controlled the galaxies whether openly or in secret.
Hunter himself had been one of the Doomwatch once, one of the exclusive bands of Night Riders. He had been dedicated for a time to the justice of truth as in the tradition of his family. His father had served and his father before him. Hunter went to great lengths to bring criminals to the justice of their peers. What a joke that turned out to be. They had been nothing more than elite killing machines for Medraut and his chosen leaders. He had never met Medraut himself, but one day perhaps. Maybe he would get near enough to do him some personal damage. Meanwhile it was enough to pit his skills against his pursuers. Hunter had been a lot of things since his days in the Doomwatch, including mercenary and pirate. If it was against Medraut and his regime then he would try it. He was still a young man and an obvious leader who men followed willingly. Yet look where he had led them now.
They kept on going through the maze of caves, going ever downwards it seemed. They came at last to a huge blockade, a stone pile from some sort of rock fall, though whatever it was had happened centuries ago from the look of it. There seemed no way out for them now.
“What next?” demanded Culver. “It looks as though you’ve got us well and truly trapped this time Hunter!”
“And who crashed the ship then Culver? I seem to remember you were at the helm at the time,” declared Elman.
Before he could say anymore their lights beamed at something that moved. A dark furry looking arm curled upward above Relda and she didn’t wait to find out what it was. She fired at it.
There was a bright flash as the beam shot off at another angle barely missing Elman.
“What the hell was that Relda?”
“It deflected,” Relda said, staring at the wall. “Like the beam hit metal.”
“Could be a streak of rakolite, or even amoryl. We are deep enough.”
Suddenly motivated by the thought of possible wealth Culver and Elman began checking.
“There is something Hunter. Whatever it is its hard and smooth and goes a long way up.”
They all began scraping, revealing a large expanse of almost white metal.
“What is it?” someone asked as they went on to uncover a large area of it.
It was dull and dirty but as they rubbed it gleamed when the light caught it. Culver tapped and Elman tried to scratch it as the others stared in amazement. The wall of metal was like nothing they had ever seen and they had seen a lot. Culver had seen most things and tried to steal or sell most of them too. Their eyes fixed on a definite line, higher than a man and three times as wide.
“A door?” queried Elman.
“To what?” Culver asked, his mind reeling with possibilities. “It could be a door.”
Yet if it was Culver couldn’t find any way to trigger its mechanism. He unclipped his personal data bank and attached it to the surface using a magnetic field. He tried a variety of combinations to find whatever code might operate such a door but he was unsuccessful and eventually gave up. He noticed a small diamond shaped design close to the right line but no amount of rubbing, touching, tapping or anything else would reveal anything more. For once in his life he was at a loss.
Hunter had not spoken since the mark had been discovered. He stared at with a vague sense of familiarity. It was a disquieting feeling. He hadn’t seen anything like it as far as he could recall yet this strange unease persisted. There was something about it that sent a tingle up his spine. He wasn’t squeamish or particularly emotional or even afraid. He had seen too much death, depression and starvation to feel much anymore. Though the cruelties he saw could drive him to anger on occasion. Justice and reward were for those who could pay for it. The systems usually served the ruling hierarchies who in turn served Medraut. Hunter had become of necessity, a cynical, bitter, tough warrior. He was a survivor and up to now had successfully defied and eluded Medraut’s kind. His followers had been with him since boyhood and would die for him to a man. Relda adored him but he usually ignored her. She came to him curious. She was a product of her time, as aggressive as a wildcat and well able to hold her own in the present way of life they had to endure. She was tall and lovely with dark skin and a cloud of dark hair. She was as tough as any fighter in the group. Hunter reached out and touched the metal as she watched him. He was very tall and broad shouldered, the handsome face hidden beneath the unshaven stubble. His hair was long and fair and very dusty. He wore a leather sleeveless jacket his chest bare under it, the picture of a hard tough scruffy looking mercenary.
His fingers trailed over to the diamond mark and jerked as though he had received an electric shock. Startled he looked at Culver and Elman. He reached out again, slowly tracing the design with his finger tips just as Culver had before him but this time with some result. They stared in amazement as a panel slid back to reveal and opening.
“What have you got we haven’t?” demanded Elman. “Culver’s the lock man. How come you couldn’t open it Culver?”
“Beats me!” Culver shrugged
They stared into the opening and the dim light revealed a short passage.
“Now where the devil does that go?” wondered Culver.
“Probably comes up in Doomwatch HQ, given our current run of luck,” declared Elman
Hunter was still staring into the space as Thoms sauntered forward, even as Culver told him sharply to wait.
“There’s only one way to find out where it goes and that’s to keep going.” He grinned back at them from the opening. There was a sudden flash of bright light across it and Toms was gone.
“What happened?” asked the young boy Lee, where is he?””
Elman tossed a coin through the opening and the flash of light was repeated.
“Nowhere now,” said Elman grimly, “It’s a force field to deter would be visitors.”
Like someone in a dream Hunter moved toward the entrance. He knew Thoms was dead but he couldn’t think beyond the need to know what lay within, to find what awaited him there. For something did, he knew that. He never considered it may harm him, he just knew he must go through that doorway.
“Hunter!” yelled Relda but he didn’t hear her as he confidently moved to the opening.
For a brief moment the light touched him, then nothing. Whatever had denied Thoms access didn’t seem to mind Hunter. He stayed where he was and beckoned the others to follow, pushing them past him into the confined space, something instinctive telling him it would not harm them if he stayed there. Once they had all passed through he moved to the front again. They encountered another barrier bearing the diamond mark. Culver held the light on it as Hunter once more ran his fingers round the design. Again an opening appeared and they were confronted by some sort of chamber. As they passed through it the opening closed and they were immersed in a bright light. The light passed over them before the door at the far end opened. They were caught off balance as the floor moved beneath them and they were carried forward on a conveyor system. They moved out into a huge complex world that seemed alien even to them. On either side of the conveyor was a vast steep drop where stood huge machines and robots of all types and sizes moving about their business below them.
The conveyor stopped and they were free to walk where they pleased. They wandered though a maze of systems and rooms passing a number of people, none of whom showed any interest in them. No one spoke to them at all, not even to challenge their being there. Each place they passed through reflected an extremely high level of advanced technology. They began to think they were dreaming the whole thing when they were accosted by a male. He stepped out in front of Hunter and waited for him to draw nearer. He was shorter than Hunter but quite imposing nevertheless. He wore a brown uniform with flashes on his shoulders and a name tag on his right chest. His face was a pale shade of grey and his hair silver and white though he did not appear to be old.
“Not Doomwatch at any rate,” commented Culver lowering his weapon.
“I have been sent to escort you to my commander. You will not need that!” he said, gesturing to Culver’s weapon. He beckoned them to follow and they went after him gazing about in awe fascination. Hunter still did not speak and looked neither left nor right as he walked beside the stranger.
They followed him into elevators which took them up to much higher levels and wondered how all of this could have remained unseen beneath the earth.
“How big is this place,” said an awed Culver his eyes wandering upward.
The stranger called back a reply from his place in front. “It will support a human crew of 2000 if fully manned plus 1020 mechanoids and I believe we have the sum total of 450 androids. The transport section numbers 107 vehicles and 142 fighter ships plus a collection of miscellaneous use vehicles.
“I guess that’s big,” said Culver.
“It is the largest in the fleet but that is proper considering it is the royal flagship.”
“Ship?” Elman mouthed to Culver.
The lift opened and they were led out into what seemed to be a control center. Hunter’s crew looked about at a place growing bigger and more complex by the minute. They were met again by yet another of the beings but this one wore a turquoise colored uniform embossed with various insignia and bearing the letter SAC on his right breast.
“Welcome Lord,” he said softly bowing his head before Hunter.
“We are pleased you have returned. We have waited a long time for further instruction.”
“Who the hell are you?” demanded Hunter. “How can you possibly know me?”
“The Commander jests of course,” was the reply to that. A frown creased Hunter’s brow as he shook his head again.
“I am SAC, the one who commands,” said the turquoise being helpfully.
“You run this place? You are in command of this- whatever it is we are in?”
“In a manner of speaking, I am responsible for the day to day running efficiency of this Battle Station and for the preservation of life within it. I must apologize for the loss of your companion but his entry was quite unexpected. The Battle station is programmed to reject alien life forms if they are not accompanied by an authorized one or if they have no key it is assumed they are the enemy.”
“Oh right,” Elman said with a still puzzled look on his face. Culver nudged him and the male continued.
“Myself, I do not command authorized life forms. I am Synthetic Android Commander and may not have that responsibility”
“A synthetic!” exclaimed Relda. I have never seen one looking as human as you do.”
“If you don’t control then who does?” Elman asked.
“There has been no directive for some time but now this commander has returned then he must control.” He bowed again to Hunter.
“I would respectfully ask Commander that you accompany me to consider the condition of the great ones of the Inner Circle. I have been very much concerned as to their condition.”
“We may as well go along with this for now. At least we might find what this place actually is,” Hunter muttered at the crew.
“Very well my friend, lead on and we will follow.”
Sac took them to a part of the ship where the temperature was much lower and the room they entered was quite cold. One entire wall was a mass of twisted cables and tubes connected to a row of what seemed like glass coffin shaped boxes. Another section held several transparent tubes. The crew were apprehensive particularly upon realizing one of the tubes at least, was occupied. Hunter stared at it. There was an ancient male suspended in it in some form of cryogenic sleep.
“What is he doing in there? Is he still alive?”
“He was placed in there by the Lady Morgan. She did it to protect his life from the Lord Medraut but his condition now causes me grave concern. It has been so very long and he was a great age when he was put in there. However I must obey all directives from the Lords. I have preserved life but I can do no more. I need someone to tell me what I should do.”
“Medraut has something to do with all this? I might have known!” Hunter said.
“If he is in there because of Medraut then you can bet your life he should be somewhere else,” Culver pointed out.
“You believe me to be one of your Lords?” Hunter spoke to SAC.
“But of course sir.”
“Then take him out of there. Restore him”
Immediately the android called out instructions and various mechanoids appeared to operate various controls. The lid of the tube was removed. As they watched, the old man gradually gained some semblance of color and normality, his eyes eventually fluttering open. He was very old and fragile and had to be supported. They placed him on a seat and he sank down upon it. A robe was brought and wrapped carefully about him. Trembling fingers reached out to touch Hunter’s face as he knelt beside him rubbing his hands one at a time.
“Lance, Lancelot,” came the quiet whisper, “is it really you at last?”
“Hunter,” was the brief reply,” should I know you?”
“You do not know who I am? Why is that?”
Hunter shook his head. “I’m sorry old man but I never saw you before.”
The old man nodded. “I see. That makes things a little difficult. I think I should show you something. Help me!” and he struggled to stand, Hunter continuing to support him.
The old man looked at the synthetic. “Sac, you haven’t provided me with the date recently.”
“Lord we continued to implant current affairs updates and technological advances. You should have adequate knowledge to call upon.”
“But not the current date Sac,” he said patiently. “The last date you gave me was 2800.”
“How long have you been asleep old man?” questioned Culver in amazed tones. “It’s now 3205.”
“A great deal longer than you can imagine,” the old man laughed. “Long enough at any rate for Medraut to cause havoc and bring a time of darkness to the galaxies.”
“You know Medraut? Then who are you and how can you know him if you have been on ice for over 300 years?” Hunter questioned.
“Who I am matters little now it’s who you are that counts. There are many things you seem to have forgotten. We did know each other well once believe me. Come and I will show you something that will help you remember.”
“Perhaps you met an ancestor I resemble old man but definitely not me. If we’re measuring earth years then I have no more than thirty of those.”
He smiled then, “I must admit to a certain curiosity though, so show me what it is you want me to see.”
The old one led them to yet another chamber in this vast place. Hunter supported him to begin with. Sac wanted him to ride in a mechanized chair. He wouldn’t hear of it at first but eventually gave in. As they walked he answered questions from the curious Elman.
“What exactly is this place?”
“It’s what you might call a battle station. It is the flag ship of the Time Weavers. It’s the greatest battle station. It is the foremost in the fight against the darkness of time. It is known as the Avalon, the Supreme Ruler’s domain. It was forced down here and many of the crew died on impact. Those who were not were taken outside by the synthetics. The life support system had failed you see, even the emergency systems. The synthetics began repair, and you see it as it is now.”
“But what about the crew and the personnel?”
“Never found their way back in. There was an explosion and the mountain fell and concealed the Avalon. We searched for a long time, particularly Medraut and Morgan who each wanted the ultimate power that belonged to the leader of the Time Weavers. They schemed and plotted to ensure the rest of the lords and warriors never found the Avalon. But I found it and decided to keep it from those who were left alive until I could affect total repair. I had to ensure Medraut was kept from possessing everything. I thought this was the only way to ensure his bid for power would fail. I had to be sure he couldn’t take over the Avalon. All the others eventually died in the world outside. He obviously didn’t let that stop him and he found another way to get what he desired.”
“And I look like one of these Lords, these Time Weavers, is that it?”
“If you want to put it like that but all will become clear shortly.”
The chamber he led them into next was large and within it was a huge round table surrounded by many seats. Each was carved with decorated symbols. One was surmounted with a crown. At its right hand was a seat bearing the name Lanceor written upon a sunburst design beneath which was a gold decorated cross and a second name Lancelot. All the seats bore names carved in the dark wood. The old man ran his fingers over the name.
“This has some significance old man?”
“It is the seat of the greatest warrior of the Time Weavers, Lanceor. Out there on this planet he was given another name, the name Lancelot, Knight of the Lake and again he became legend, his name unforgettable. Sac placed this second name here in memory of this great shining moment long ago.”
“He is the one I am supposed to look like?”
“It is your seat,” said the old man firmly.
“And what is a Time Weaver?” asked Hunter more amused than anything.
“One who mastered the secrets of time, one who lives on.”
With that he reached out to the carved crown on the throne like seat and firmly turned it. The watchers were spellbound as the whole of the facing wall moved. It parted to reveal glittering shining, dazzling light. It took a moment to adjust to it and to see what caused it. The light was reflected from the facets of what seemed to be a great wheel. It was in the shape of a star burst formed by a circle of what looked like swords. The hilts in the center form a hub and radiated outwards like wheel spokes. The whole thing was highly decorated, beautiful, bright and shining. Hunter and Krylos moved towards it, followed by Culver and Elman who wondered exactly how much a thing like this would be worth. Relda stayed way back rooted to the spot absolutely awed. As Hunter reached the wheel, he was drawn to it like a pin to a magnet. Krylos attempted to draw him back but he just brushed him aside and moved fearlessly toward it. He walked into the brilliance; they watched him step right up to the source. He stretched out his arms across its width and they gasped as for a moment he was lit up also becoming a part of the wheel. They heard him cry out, his body rigid with the shock of brief pain. Hunter was briefly still, and then the wheel appeared to move faster than the eye could see. Just as suddenly, it was still again, and Hunter broke away to face the old man. For a moment his face radiated a sort of glow, a light that somehow gave him a stature and maturity beyond his years and then it was gone. He moved away from the Wheel and Myrddin and Krylos came with him as the wall closed behind them.
“Myrddin?” Hunter half whispered. Falling to one knee, his hand went to his head. His mind whirled with images, fragmented thoughts and memories, memories of a past that was not his. Or was it? A life stretched out before him, clear and undeniable. He closed his eyes and he could imagine himself still living it, surrounded by friends, family, even enemies. A tall man with pale hair floated into his mind and his eyes flew open. Medraut. He had never met him and yet he knew him as well as any of his crew. He shook himself. He was Hunter. He was born, raised and had lived as Hunter, that was who he was. How could any of this be real?
“But I remember,” Hunter said aloud.
“What do you remember Lance?” Myrddin asked him.
“I came here in this battle station, the Avalon. I came from Anwn.” He nodded in the direction of the wheel. “That is Excalibur, the wheel of communication, the wheel of knowledge, the wheel of regeneration. I was Lanceor. I was a dragon of the Pendragon.”
“And what the hell is that?” Culver asked.
“A warrior,” Hunter replied. “My leader was Pendragon.”
“OK, now you’re freaking me out here,” Elman said.
“Myrddin, how can I still be Commander of the Dragons when I have been what I have been?”
“And what have you been?” asked Myrddin gently.
Hunter fell silent. Images, fleeting sounds and feelings teased at the edges of memory. Lives that had come and gone after Lanceor but before his time as Hunter were there and yet not there, floating out of reach. He could feel things, bad things that he would not want to remember.
“I served Medraut,” Hunter said brokenly, “I was one of the Doomwatch.”
Krylos spat in disgust. “The Doomwatch. You were never really one of them.”
“I have done things no time warrior would ever have even thought of Myrddin.”
“Lance, you have been lost for a time because of the greed of another time weaver. You are still the same commander of warriors, still the servant of the Supreme Lord, I am sure of that.”
“I can’t be the man I remember.”
“You must forgive yourself.” The old man was compassionate and understanding as he looked at Hunter. “Do you remember Artorias?”
“The Pendragon,” Hunter said, his mind filling with memories of Artorias. “The ultimate warrior and the greatest Pen Anwn the Center has ever known. Even now after all this time I can say I have never known a greater leader, or a better man.”
The memories spilled out, one following another and his crew fell into shocked silence, listening avidly of his tale. He spoke of Artorias, of how he became a hero to the people on this planet. The called him Arthur and hailed him as King. He had ruled wisely and well and upheld the beliefs of the Time Weavers. He was an elder and member of the Inner Circle, chosen to follow his father Uther as Pen Anwn, ruler of all Anwn. Lanceor had been Lancelot then, Artorias’ greatest champion. He remembered Morgan, plotting to rule Anwn and wanting to control Avalon with her Raven warriors. She believed it was her right and not that of her brother Artorias for she was the first born. She tried to steal a segment of the wheel intending to use it to control Artorias. Artorias had found the segment but not the way back to Avalon. Morgan and Medraut thrived on the violence they had found outside the Avalon. They served their master, the soul collector. They tried to wipe out Arthur’s warriors and Medraut would have killed Arthur himself but Arthur’s death would have been transmitted to Anwn and he would not have been able to rule. Myrddin had vanished and with him the hope of ever finding a way back to Avalon. Without Avalon and the Excalibur wheel they could no longer regenerate in their proper form or communicate with Anwn. For a brief time they helped create a shining moment in the history of this little world. But their flesh grew old and they died or were killed.
Hunter looked down at his own body as if overwhelmed for a moment that he still could be there. Was he really Lanceor or was it just the memory of this man that threatened to overwhelm him. “How is this possible?”
Myrddin shook his head. “It seems in some way you have been re-generated through your own bloodline. Your genes must have in someway, over written the human genes, or become part of them, I don’t know.”
Hunter’s still silent crew tried to make sense of all of this. After a moment, Culver found voice enough to ask, “How long ago did this ship come here?”
“We came here some three thousand years ago,” Myrddin replied, “we came in the Earth time of 500 AD.”
Hunter’s crew choked disbelievingly.
“This is too much!” Elmer muttered.
“Three thousand years?” Culver said, awestruck.
Hunter could see the disbelief and confusion in their eyes. He felt it too and yet there was a quiet conviction, firmly fixed at the center of it all that this was reality. All the memories, feelings and everything that was Lanceor were undeniably a part of him and yet he was Hunter.
“Can you remember anything else?” Myrddin asked.
Hunter’s face shadowed then and he gave a convulsive shudder.
“Are you okay Hunter?” asked Elman.
When Hunter raised his head, the bold eyes held such bitter agony.
“I remember…Oh God why did I have to remember that?” The cry was so heartbreakingly agonized Relda was compelled to go to him and wrap her arms around him, but he stared past her at Myrddin unheeding of her attempt to comfort.
“I remember Elaine,” he whispered.
“Who was Elaine?”
“The daughter of an earth woman, and the Time Weaver Bernos.”
“Something happened to her?”
“She died and I will have to live with it again.”
He was silent for a moment as he contemplated some far off time and place beyond their understanding. He found it unbearable then and the pain has not lessened despite time and all those other lives between.