Chameleon by Otto Gramm (free ereaders .txt) 📖

a small lever at the bottom of the panel and timidly wrapped his fingers around it. The handle was comfortable and he relaxed his hand. The next moment, the light in the entire room went out.

– Great! – Koldoum spoke out.

However, two seconds later the power was back on, the screens lit up and above the panel one after another appeared translucent volumetric holograms with maps, diagrams, reports on the system etc.; gadget sounds resumed.

– What was that? – Alex asked. Nobody answered. Newcomer wanted to repeat his question, but then with peripheral vision noticed a strange movement. A few plates separated from the column and stopped in a centimeter from his hand. Alex stirred his finders trying to touch one of them but they flew off and, keeping a strict distance, returned to their place.

– How interesting! – He muttered.

Small lights of white and blue colors playfully ran long the plates.

– This ship is unique. – Kyle’s voice was low and quiet. – For many civilizations far more developed than Earth that you will know, it is beyond their scientific achievements. To learn how to control it, you need to get in touch.

– Pardon me, do WHAT?

– Get in tough. When the lights went out, I erased the entire history of our flight and all the routes, took it off from the autopilot. I left in its memory only our final destination with coordinates that you don’t know how to read yet. You need to find that place and take us there.

– In the middle of open space? – The new protested. – You’re crazy!

– Learn to trust, Al. – Kyle spoke out and casted at him a tired and serious look.

Koldoum wanted to retort but suddenly the alien’s eyes flashed with azure glare that stopped his impulse. Deep and magnetic, they proclaimed themselves that nothing was as unambiguous and superficial as it seemed to be. Kyle’s gaze cut in the bud every Alex’s protest even before he uttered it aloud. Seized by his eyes, he started to wonder if the leader affected that way the whole team or only him. How deep his look could go through? And how deep could the man in black reveal himself? For a minute, Alex stared into the captain’s eyes, trying to find there slightest trace of a weakness, which would allow him to instantly erect protective walls. However, Kyle’s force was too immense for his level, so he decided to capitulate voluntarily.

– And how do I get in touch with this thing? – He leaned back in his chair.

– Relax and concentrate on your feelings.

– Sounds like some spiritual session!

– Relax.

Resigned, Alex closed his eyes.

 

3. Exam.

 

At first, he felt nothing. A gray haze floated before his eyes. He took a deep breath to free his mind from buzzing thoughts and then focused on his right hand, surrounded by flying plates. The background started to change. He saw a murky light that enveloped his hand and, transforming into a stream, went through his fingers down deep under the helm to the interior of the ship.

“What is this?” newcomer asked in his mind.

“It’s reading you”, a familiar voice replied in his head. “For you’re contacting it for the first time”.

After one more breath Alex laid his another hand on the helm, as if someone made him do so. The light from his hand streamed up along his shoulder, winding him, enveloping like a giant cocoon of the finest threads; a bright membrane formed into a white funnel. Alex felt that he could not resist any longer and, steadily breathing, he entered the whirlpool.

The sounds of the devices were gone, all worries and fears disappeared, the endless and chaotic flow of thoughts grew thinner until it dissolved. Alex soared in realms of a white and deafening silence. Everything in this prostration was so relative and conditional that he could not even understand whether he was floating in a vacuum, or he was squeezed by an enormous field. The only thing he realized was his desire to get out of there and go through it to the end... Shapeless figures flashed in front of him. At some point, Alex felt a strong impulse, which broke through his body and threw him into a completely different place, as if he had passed through several walls at once.

Then he heard a voice. A woman’s laughter, low and stretched, slightly rough, like the chatter of a rattlesnake. Here it was again. Linda. As Alex recognized her, he was a little surprised, because she was not in the room and if she were, he must have heard. However, it was certainly her voice. Here she talks to someone and she is answered. A man’s voice, sonorous and slightly cutting, wiggling like fish tail. Spaniard. “Am I overhearing them?” This time Kyle did not answer. Though he clearly heard Linda’s phrase: “What kind of an Englishman is he? He babbles like some Hasid trader”, then Diego’s replica followed: “Have you read his file at all? What am I asking! He’s mother was a Turkish”. “They are talking about Mitch!” Alex was amazed. “These are memories!” Then the voices disappeared, followed by image of two sturdy males’ figures. Alex saw their backs, but he recognized Kyle and Will. They were walking along the corridor. With a tablet in his hands, captain spoke to Scotsman.

– Now, we have first data. And above all – the code. Elvira made it.

– I’ve seen it, Cap. Still can’t believe it. Such a drug cocktail would kill any ordinary man.

– Since when do I hire ordinary people to my crew, Will?

– Honestly, guys don’t like the prospect of sharing the roof with an explosive laboratory material, but... – He stopped short when Kyle slashed him with his gaze.

– You may contradict me, but not Danae! She found him.

”It was five years ago” a voice whispered. It wasn’t Kyle’s but his own, like if he knew that. “Danae found him... Who is she?”

A bright flash of light hit Alex. Strong burst seemed to break through his sternum and tear out his heart. Alex with a loud sigh opened his eyes and fell onto the helm. An endless buzz sounded in his head like if he was inside if a giant bell.

– Al? – Through the droning, he heard captain’s voice, so quiet and distant.

Abstract circles and gears spun before their eyes and behind them fuzzy figures moved. A hand gently reached out to him, like in a slow motion shot, but then froze and smoothly retreated.

“What’s wrong with him?” “Is he awright?” “Kyle, stop it!” “Alex, can you hear me?” All this seemed so far away, no this was happening to him. He straightened up in his chair and looked forward. The light that connected him with the ship began to take shape...

 

– Kyle, please stop it! – Vivy repeated, glaring at Alex uneasily. – Of you don’t do this then I’ll...!

– Don’t! – Captain strictly ordered. Vienne looked at him in astonishment. – He is still in the trance.

– But...

– Viltaro! The locks above his hand are still active. They cannot be disconnected.

Captain rarely called her by full name. She glanced over Alex again. He was sitting upright, looking at the wide viewing window with glassy eyes and typing something on a transparent map.

– It is not right! It shouldn’t be like this. – Shaking her head, Vivy stepped back.

– And what’s wrong? – Skorvi asked.

– He was kicked out. – Kyle explained with his eyes glued to newcomer. – But not entirely. He now sees and hears us, but as in a dream.

– Is it dangerous?

– Hard to say. – The starry sky outside the window smoothly shifted. Captain watched closely the slightest movements of Alex, catching every change in course and speed. Soon the data was entered. – Everything goes right so far.

 

“I can hear you, but it doesn’t matter. I can see you, I even know what’s going on behind my back. I feel when you are trying to read my thoughts and feelings, but I don’t let you. What I hold now in my hands is far more important. It knows who is leading me. It trusts me.”

Firmly grasping the helm, Alex led Chameleon after a female image. She was a prism to him that transformed obscure into clear.

 

“All the crew, prepare for leap!” sounded on the loudspeaker.

The course was paved correctly. The right engines were launched. Kyle watched, quite surprised the precise movements of the new pilot. However, the fact that he had lost every mental contact with Alex amazed him even more. He faced his empty shell. Where was the rest of him? Where, and most importantly, WHAT took him?

 

“I can see the end. I’m coming.”

The column gently yielded and the ship was immediately enveloped in a solid white shroud. Chameleon rushed through the space. The nose, the sight glass, the panel, all stretched forward, distorted by invisible streams. The time stopped and so did the heart of Alex. He knew that he was approaching...

 

– Holy moly! – Mitch drawled when the ship came out of the leap. – He’s reached the finish and right to the point! – He turned to Vivy. – And you were so worried!

– Nobody had ever went so far! – She spoke out in surprise.

– You bet. I could only set a heading and still with some inaccuracy. And this guy’s led us straight to the portal...! The-e-ere it is!

The starry sky started to shift again and soon a wide arc appeared in the head window. Gradually it occupied the whole panorama, forming a gigantic ring of four parts, interconnected by bright strips of light. Flickering rays fell into the cabin at different angles and illuminated the entire ship from the inside, like lightning during a severe thunderstorm. Almost all the crew gathered in the pilot’s compartment, beholding the spectacle with excitement.

Alex saw it too. And he also marveled at this amazing beauty. As the vessel approached, the arcs were filled with new details, unusual lines and flashing lights.

Eyes fixed at the portal, Alex moved his hand on the helm.

– Well, Al. Congratulations, you’ve passed the exam! – Diego announced with contented mien, approaching. Captain sharply stopped him near the pilot chair. – What?

– Alex! – Kyle held out his hand for the second time and again he retreated. The tiny panels of the column were still holding firmly the new. – It’s not yet all. Shad, can you feel him?

– No, Kyle. He’s consumed by something big and strong.

– Could it be zingai? – Diego asked.

– You’d feel them too. – Kyle replied. – It’s not them.

– How then can we take him out?

– We can’t.

– While you are babbling on, our new pilot wants to go through the portal. – Nicole noticed in calm voice, as she stood at the stairs.

– What?! – All heads immediately turned to the panel, above which a holographic copy of the ring had already popped up. Alex’s hands entered the coordinates for the transfer.

– Cap, that’s no fun! – Diego began to get nervous. – Knock him out!

Kyle’s eyes filled with “dangerous” azure sparkles. He got up and touched Alex... His hand jerked away as if it was hit by an