Page 113 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

used a clever way of getting around. Like some water living life, they had rows of articulate spikes
that flexed, like the tiny hair-like structures on bell jellies. These would push the Tektites through the
sands, sometimes with a good turn of speed. Their shells were formed of Silicates and minerals, and,
quite often, were photovoltaic. So much so they could; along with friction produced static, deliver a
stunning shock when angered, though quite why they had developed this ability was unknown, as
they had no predators to speak of. Using the Tektites burrowing ability helped establish that Hades
was rich in essential minerals and could be used for mining. The creature’s often uncovered metals
and minerals they could not use so miners tracked their movements and found a wealth of
accessible materials. On one Methane rich planetoid, they found a bacterium that processed the
methane and carbon dioxide into Hydrocarbons that were suitable for plastics production. Nearby
were colonies of algae that ate plastic compounds and produced Carbonates, nitrides and water. Life
was strange here.

Over the centuries, several attempts were made to gain access to the rest of the Galaxy;
with all ending in some kind of failure. Weak spots in the barrier allowed signals to penetrate, but
they could not be certain their calls were heard. Similarly, incoming signals were garbled and
echoing. Recently they had begun to receive signals from near the edge of the barrier on the
opposite side of The Veil. These seemed to indicate some kind of intelligence, but were mechanical
in nature… Could these be from Machine intelligences perhaps? What they didn’t know then, but
would become apparent later, this was the case, and the beings were descendants of cousin race to
the Krall known as The Kryst. Contact with the Kryst would come shortly after the forthcoming
encounter with the humans of the outside Galaxy, and in an unexpected way…

On board the Hellion, Lorna and Jonas set about working out how to proof the Hellion’s hull
against the distortions. By applying synthetic coatings similar to the layers of a Behemoth skin and
carapace, it was hoped that the brunt of the distortion effects could be minimised to a tolerable
level. Meanwhile Lennie and the Hellion’s Chief Engineer, a Fenian by the name of Jock Hasslebraat,
worked on the drive systems to shield and bolster them for a journey into a rift.
Lorna; do you mind if I ask a somewhat personal question?” Jonas said unexpectedly while going
over the latest readings from the rift.
“No; so long as you are not going to ask about my love life” She replied hesitantly
“No! Nothing like that. You are one of three siblings, do you still have contact with your brother and
sister?” he asked. Lorna was silent for a moment then responded
“I haven’t had contact with Felicity since she joined the Sisters of The Order, and probably won’t till
she’s finished her acolyte training. My Brother on the other hand I have regular contact with. He’s on
one of the rim missions to find the Krall home world. The settlement in the Hub was just a
repository. Sometimes I wish he’d leave me be for a while so I can gather my wits. He’ll message me
out of the blue at all hours. The last time was when I was on Terra Prime doing a symposium lecture”
and she laughed “But yes I do miss them visiting me on Genova, since I married Dent.” She looked
him in the eyes. He was smiling
“When we get back from this mission I may have a surprise for you” he said cryptically. Jason and
Klute had managed to send some added data streams along with the hail detailing how to access the
Hive-Net, images of the expanded territories and a brief history of life since the colonists were lost.
So far, there had been no sign that a reply was imminent or that their hails had been heard.
“The waiting and repeating is getting monotonous” Jason moaned “Should I automate the sequence
say four bursts then listen for a while and cycle it?” he asked Klute
“Working shifts of manning the Coms station would be better. The Hive can only interperate so
much, human monitors can define signals better. Have a rota drawn up of free crew and let me see
it before we do anything as drastic as automating the system” Klute replied. Hart walked in with
Hasbid who had a broad smile on his face,
“Our young Fenian here has come up with an algorithm to filter the signals better” Hart said as she
looked over the latest coms reports