Revelations (eBook)

Far From Earth

Robert Hamilton (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2016 | 1. Auflage
256 Seiten
Robert J Hamilton (Verlag)
978-0-9942822-2-4 (ISBN)

Infos

In the 22nd century, a fanatical religious cult known as the Dawn of Revelations seek to bring about the apocalypse of the Earth. Now, the future of the human race may lie with one Starship - the Destiny - which has been flung out from the galaxy, with no foreseeable way to return...

Textauszug

Chapter One

Commander John Russell breathed a sigh of relief as the shuttle touched down and the engines whirred to a near-silent hum. This was the first time in almost twelve months that he would set foot on Earth; his vacation from the Sol System Alliance was long overdue. John had never been to Australia, and he was looking forward to spending time in Tasmania’s pristine forests and various beaches. He couldn’t wait to see the exotic wildlife, which could be found nowhere else on Earth, and to enjoy being under the command of no one but himself.

After paying his fare to the pilot, John stepped off the shuttle at the continental transport station in Hobart, to breathe the air for which he’d so longed. He looked up; thick blankets of clouds shielded the night sky and the smell of a recent rain shower lingered.

Off on the horizon, John could see there was a storm approaching, with lighting streaking across the sky, flashing and dancing. Eyes closed, feeling the cool breeze on his face, John’s shoulders jerked when the rear compartment of the shuttle’s doors begun to open. It revealed John’s pride and joy—a burgundy, Z32 model Nissan 300ZX. John’s father had reconstructed this car over thirty years ago, with a few modifications, but it was still in pristine condition. The shuttle pilot handed the keys over to John. ‘Thank you for arranging the pick-up’, John said, and slipped him a little extra cash.

John left the transport station and headed for the Spring Plaza hotel, which was a short but leisurely drive away. He noticed that the storm was slowly intensifying, and hoped that he wouldn’t get caught in the thick of it. Fortunately, he found the brightly-lit sign of the Spring Plaza hotel just a few minutes later. The parking lot for patrons and guests had a bright electronic sign shining out over it, advertising that no parking spots were left. He approached the front bay, hoping to find a spot close to the hotel’s entrance. A few splatters of rain splashed against his windshield. When he found an empty space, he quickly nosed his car in. Then he saw the signpost: ‘Staff parking only’.

‘Not tonight’, John thought. ‘I will just move it in the morning.’

After unlocking his seatbelt, John took out from his pocket the hotel brochure. He saw the shining, newly-painted hotel and its beaches, sun-dappled paths through lush, tropical forests, and brightly coloured birds and lizards. Then he looked up at the dour, grey-sided building before him. A light patter of rain had begun to fall.

‘My first vacation in years is ruined’, John said to himself. The rain began to pour down in a torrent, so John hopped out from the car and dashed with his luggage to the entrance of the hotel.

The lobby was crowded with people who, tired of being cooped up in their rooms, had headed down for a change of scenery. John felt immediately warmed by the royal red room, which had over a dozen recessed lights shining brightly above and an exquisite chandelier in the centre. Along the floor and through the hallways, the dark red carpets gave off a faint whiff of lemon verbena deodoriser. Green neon lighting raced above the skirting boards, but a small section of the neon tubing flickering near the exit doors had caught John’s eye. He stood for a moment, listening to the soft piano music that played through the inset speakers, and his gaze found a couple dressed in a tuxedo and fancy dress, sipping on champagne and speaking with strong British accents. John felt a little underdressed in his plain blue jumper and light brown pants. After sighting the desk clerk, he strolled up to the front desk.

The young blonde woman smiled as she flicked her hair back. ‘Hello and welcome, sir, to the Royal Spring Plaza hotel. My name is Amanda. Have you come to confirm a booking?’

‘Ah, yes’, John said, distracted by her deep blue eyes. As she placed John’s details on her computer, he awkwardly thumbed the hotel business cards, which he’d noticed were printed with her name. Finally, he managed to pull the card from its holder.

Amanda handed John his key.

‘Enjoy your stay here’, she said warmly. ‘And enjoy the penthouse.’

John went to wait for an elevator, but two were currently sitting between the thirtieth and fortieth floors, and the third was out of order. After a few minutes, a chime rang out as one of the elevators arrived to the ground floor. John saw that it could only fit five to six people with luggage, and there were about twenty people waiting to cram in. He decided it might be faster taking the stairs.

Halfway up to his suite, and already feeling out of breath, John saw two police officers dragging a man—bald, perhaps forty-years-old—down the stairs in handcuffs. He kept shouting, ‘Sinners!’ to the officers, and John realised that he must be from the Dawn of Revelations, a terrorist group that believed they would bring about the apocalypse and cleanse the world of evil. Their leader was believed to be the former head of the religion of Scientology, but the Scientologists fiercely denied any links to the group.

After finally reaching the forty-seventh floor, John paused for a moment to catch his breath. Then he walked over to his room and held his card next to the control panel. Following a delicate click, the automatic door opened.

John smiled. The room contained everything he could want: digital, three-dimensional wall screen TVs, his own virtual reality room, luxury spa baths, views of the ocean, and a 2158 vintage bottle of red on a king size bed. John switched on the weather station. As he’d suspected, the rain would continue through the week. It was certainly not ideal. The sound of the rainfall pounding against the windows started to draw John’s attention, so he walked across the white marbled floor for a closer look. People the size of ants skittered and raced from shelter to shelter, with most taking refuge inside the movie theatre across the street.

John dialled down a knob that was mounted next to the window’s edge, and the windows gradually tinted to a smoky black. Another knob muffled the sounds of the battering rain, until all was silent. Looking over at his bed, John noticed a digital wall clock above the headboard reading a little after eleven. ‘It’s been a long day’, John thought. He didn’t feel much like socialising in the packed lobby downstairs, so he decided to call it a night.

John couldn’t have been asleep for an hour when the communication panel started beeping right beside him. After a moment, John decided that the noise was insufferable.

‘Activate comm system’, John said, turning over to his side, his eyes still closed. There was a high-pitched beep to confirm the connection.

‘Commander, this is Admiral Koemans.’

‘Admiral’, John croaked. ‘What’s up?’

‘Sorry to disturb you, but can you make it to the SSA headquarters in Florida?’

‘I’m on vacation. Is it really important?’

‘Well, in fact, it is.’

John let out a heavy sigh. ‘What’s this about?’

‘You are to be promoted to captain, and placed in command of the starship Destiny.’

That grabbed John’s attention. Destiny was a brand new ship. There was a moment of silence. He grunted as he rolled over to hit the lights by the bedside table, but he knocked over the bottle of red instead. It smashed to the floor. John found that he didn’t care much about the wine—thoughts of commanding a new starship far outweighed the cost of the bottle.

‘Promote me?’

‘If you want me to give the job to Captain Quinn, so you can remain on your holiday. . . .’

‘No’, John interrupted. He’d never liked Quinn. ‘I’ll be right there. Hell—it’s raining in Tasmania, anyway.’

After grabbing his luggage and taking the lift down, John stepped outside the hotel, pausing under the shelter of the porch as he watched the patters of rain dance and splash against the roofs of parked cars. The whirring sound of the downpour began to intensify, so John dashed to his car and threw his bags in the back seat. Once he started up the engine, he blew into his hands and rubbed them to warm them up. A flashing green light indicated that he had a message; he pressed the green button next to the comm screen on the dashboard to read it.

One point has been deducted from your licence. Cause: illegal parking.

‘By the flares of the sun!’ John said as he smacked the steering wheel. Who knew there were parking inspectors at all times of the night?

You have nine points remaining.

John left the hotel, passing by Long Beach before getting back onto the old Tasman highway. He soon approached a large billboard, which showed the sun shining down on a beach, edged with koalas and kangaroos. The board read, Tasmania—Another Perfect Day. John scoffed.

John tuned through several radio stations before settling on Classic FM’s Music of Last Millennia; the song ‘Have You Ever Seen the Rain’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival had just started to play. The song blared through the speakers as John dialled the volume up, and he soon began to bop his head to the beat of the music.

As John listened to the chorus, he smiled as a sense of appreciation washed over him. It had been almost a year since he’d last seen any rainfall. It was good to be back on Earth. His eye then caught a dazzling light in his rear-view mirror, and noticed that another car was speeding up right behind him. John suspected trouble, and sped up a little, but the car was still gaining on him.

John wondered, ‘Are these...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 29.2.2016
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Science Fiction
• ISBN-10: 0-9942822-2-2 / 0994282222
• ISBN-13: 978-0-9942822-2-4 / 9780994282224