Engineman - Eric Brown [121]
He took the limp hand. Bobby.
Fifteen minutes passed. Then, suddenly, Bobby resumed. "The truly amazing thing is that, although I know I'm no longer in the tank, I am still experiencing the flux, the continuum. My touch has gone the way of my other senses. I am truly lapsed in time now, Ralph. I think I have achieved that which for years I have been seeking - the ultimate freeing of my ego from my self. I no longer suffer the illusion of worldly reality, the pain of being. I have progressed to a higher state. I have transcended...
"At the same time as I inhabit the continuum," he continued, "I am aware of you, of Dan and the pilots aboard the 'ship. I cannot see you, but you are there - like points of light in the darkness of your reality. I can sense your humanity, Ralph. I am experiencing your essence before you transcend and integrate with the ultimate..."
He said no more then, and the minutes stretched. Mirren felt at once awed and humbled. He became aware that he was not alone. Dan was standing silently at the door.
"Did you hear that?"
Dan nodded wordlessly. They stared at the figure on the bunk.
"I've no idea what happened, Ralph - why he's like that, or how he pushed us all that way. We learned nothing from the tank." Dan's tone was hushed. "I came to tell you that we're about to phase-in."
Mirren released his brother's hand and followed Dan from the berth. They took the down-plate and dropped into the darkened chamber of the engine-room.
Beyond the viewscreen, the blue depths of the nada-continuum glowed and pulsed, the white streamers of light stilled now as the Sublime came to rest at journey's end. As Mirren watched, the blue field faded. Then, for a fraction of a second, the cobalt backdrop was replaced by their destination. The view strobed - the intervals of its appearance becoming longer, interspersed with brief glimpses of the nada-continuum. Finally, the scene outside became solid and constant.
A second later, and without warning, the pain in Mirren's head crescendoed. His vision fractured.
He flashbacked-
He was standing in a jungle, beside the wreckage of the Perseus Bound. The air was humid, loaded with the sickly-sweet stench of burnt flesh. Jan Elliott sat cross-legged on the ground, weeping. Olafson knelt before her, doing her best to comfort the stricken Enginewoman. Dan jumped from the sheared-off section of the engine-room and made his way across to Mirren, scanning the navigation unit.
"Where are we, Dan?"
"Planet called Hennessy's Reach - a Rim world. Like most of them in this sector it's run by the Danzig Organisation."
The screen on the unit showed a map of the planet's northern continent. A flashing point indicated their position.
"How far to the closest settlement?" Mirren asked.
Dan shook his head. "Nearest human settlement - the city of Zambique, a couple of thousand kays south-west. But there's a native village just fifteen kays north of here."
Mirren peered into the gloom of the jungle. "What about the aliens? Friendly?"
Dan typed in a new set of commands, read the screen. "B3s. Humanoid, sentient. They're an ancient race, apparently friendly. Known as the Lho-Dharvo."
"Is the village likely to have communications with Zambique?"
Dan shrugged. "Doesn't say. I guess there'd be some contact."
"What do we do, Boss?" Fekete asked.
"We either stay here and wait for the salvage team to find us - that might take a few days. Or we make for the village and rest up there..."
He looked out across the wreckage