Maiden Flight

For those who enjoyed the Convergent Space series, here's a little bit extra - the prologue I wrote for the first book but never used.

‘Do you know who you are?' he asked, staring down at the brightly glowing orb where it sat on the temporary podium he had fashioned out of the ice.

The coloured filaments within the orb blinked and flashed.  ‘We know who we are – Do you know who you are?'

He blew out a breath in frustration and it hung in the cold, still air. ‘Tell me what you remember.'

‘What, everything? How long have you got? - Don't be a smart-ass – Shut up! - No, you shut up! - Who wants to talk about the past anyway?'

‘One at a time, please.'

'Listen to him - Who does he think he is? - If you'd shut up for a moment we'd find out.'

'What's wrong with you?' he asked.

‘What wrong with us? – What's wrong with you?' The orb flashed brightly. 'Something is broken inside - There's no cohesion – Nothing to hold us together.'

Up in the pale, grey sky the huge burn ship waited, dominating everything, dwarfing everything. It was almost fully loaded now. The last of the private ships owned by the rich fraternities and covens were being swallowed up through an opening in its obese, grey-brown hull. Its 120 engines, each powerful enough to drive any normal ship, were sparking into life.

It was an ugly ship. Different sections of the hull had been fashioned at different times from different materials and it looked old and worn-out. In fact this was its maiden flight. It was also its final flight. The burn ship would make only one journey, one very long journey with one very clear purpose. Then it would be scuttled.

‘I need to ask you some important questions,' he tried again, resting a hand upon the orb. 'Questions only you can answer.'

‘What questions? – What answers? – We'll try – No we won't – Who are you anyway?'

‘I told you, I'm Tihn Forlihn. A Phlegar, like you.'

‘Forlihn, that rings a bell – Of course it does – But why? – Who knows! - It's our name isn't it? – Is it? – Of course it is! – Oh for heaven's sake!'

Tihn shook his head. Had he really risked his life for this? He looked up at the burn ship.

‘I suppose we'd better go.'

‘Where?'

‘We're leaving.'

‘What? Now?'

‘Yes, now.'

Tihn had arrived the previous evening, ditching the treacherous skiteship in the cold waters of the partially frozen lake. It was essentially a flying coffin (in size, shape and reliability) so he'd been dreading the landing. He was convinced the skiteship would malfunction and burn him to a crisp on entry to the moon's atmosphere. It didn't and he swam ashore through the freezing waters to join the crowds of passengers waiting to board.

Now the ice-sheet was empty apart from a few stragglers like himself, some taking the opportunity to sift through the debris left behind on the ice – packing cases, bags, upturned food containers and other rubbish - looking for anything useful, valuable or edible. People who weren't travelling with their fraternities or covens would find resources very hard to come by on the flight. And was a long, long journey.

He had signed up for this trip as a last resort. He'd made a mess of his life thus far and booking a passage on a burn ship was a way of making a new start. It meant everything he'd done up until now would be wiped clean and forgotten. Forever.

He began packing things up, deflating the blow-up chair and putting it into his rucksack then folding up the bed and slinging it over one shoulder. Finally he lifted the annoying orb from its perch and slipped it into his rucksack.

Then he set off across the ice, making for the skyferry that would take him up into the bowels of the waiting burn ship where his new life would begin.

If you enjoyed this, you can read the entire 3-book series on Amazon - ConvergentSpace series