“Nothing,” answered Clair, frowning at her sister. It seemed as if Andrea was always interrupting her and Jason anytime they were alone.
Andrea shook her head. “Well, it looks like something. You’re both on the bed and you’re half naked.”
“I’d better go,” said Jason, feeling suddenly very out of place. “I’ll talk to both of you in the morning.” Jason quickly left the room.
Andrea walked over and stood in front of her sister. “It’s a good thing I came in when I did.”
“Why’s that?” asked Clair innocently.
“You know why,” replied Andrea. “You’ve been throwing yourself at Jason for months now. At some point he’s going to lose control and who knows what might happen.”
Clair laughed. “I wouldn’t let it go that far. Besides, Jason isn’t someone who would take advantage of me.”
Andrew sat down next to Clair. “I know. Did you at least kiss him?”
Clair reached over and grabbed one of her pillows and smacked Andrea across the head. “I’m waiting for him to kiss me.”
Andrea laughed. “We’ll see. I’ll bet you will have to kiss him first.” With that Andrea stood up and left Clair’s room.
Clair lay back on her bed and wondered about Andrea’s last words. Maybe she should kiss Jason. However, if she did it might be best if she waited until after they rescued Jeremy and the others. He might be more willing once his mind was free of that worry. Smiling she lay there thinking about Jason and what their future might be like.
-
Throughout Originator space, hundreds of Eternal stealthed battlecruisers searched for any clues as to a hidden Originator base. It was obvious from the ships they had been facing that wherever this base was it had to be massive. The ships moved through the galaxies scanning thousands of starships and tracing their courses. They found more Originator bases but not the large one they were looking for. Some ships had already moved outward and were beginning to scan intergalactic space.
-
Grayseth watched as his crew raced through another battle drill. They had been at it for hours and were showing signs of exhaustion. “That’s enough. The crew may have a break but I might call for another drill at any time.”
Rastell nodded. Carethians grew tired like any other race and needed rest. However, the crew of the Hunter knew how important their mission was. They expected to be drilled hard and would have been disappointed if they weren’t.
“We need to take on additional supplies,” Rastell informed Grayseth. “I’ll begin making arrangements for a supply ship to dock with us. We need food, water, medical supplies, and additional spare parts.”
“See to it,” ordered Grayseth. “I am going to my quarters for a few hours to study the scans from the latest probe.” Grayseth wanted to know exactly what his fleet would be up against when it made the transition into the Creevak universe.
-
It was early morning and Jason and the others were in an aircar flying toward the Fleet Academy.
“Mom didn’t come home last night,” said Clair. “She called and said she was spending the night at the academy as she and Rear Admiral Marks had a lot of planning to do.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” said Andrea with a yawn. “I wish we could have slept in.”
Elizabeth laughed. “You like to sleep too much. If you don’t watch it you will sleep your life away.”
“I need the extra energy sleeping gives me,” replied Andrea defensively.
“It’s those videos you watch at all hours of the night,” interjected Mathew. “I can hear them through my bedroom wall sometimes.”
Clair looked out the window on her side of the aircar. They were far above the ground. Looking at the altimeter she saw they were nearly seven kilometers high. Below them was a large deep blue ocean. She knew there were actually whales in this particular ocean. There were even a few Oceanside resorts being built since the influx of people to the Dyson sphere. Someday, when things were more normal, she would like to go to one of those resorts and take a boat ride to see the whales. Maybe by that time she and Jason would be together.
Chapter Five
In the Eternals’ home galaxy, the Council of Eternals was meeting.
“We finally have the reports on the damage caused by the Originators’ attack,” reported First Leader Fehnral grimly. “Eleven billion Eternals died in the attack. We also lost 32 percent of our primary research facilities and 42 percent of our largest shipyards.”
“All higher levels of hyperspace travel are blocked off to us,” added Second Leader Cabell. “We do have several more primitive methods of interstellar travel but they severely restrict the distances we can cover in a reasonable amount of time. As for communications, we still have several hyperspace frequencies available to us but we have to depend on repeater stations on our other worlds to get messages to all parts of our galaxy. We have no communication with any of our outside forces.”
“Can we destroy the Originator interdiction stations?” asked Second Leader Barrant.
Fehnral shook his head. “Not immediately. We have to rebuild our fleets. Unfortunately, the ships we’ll need to attack the stations will have to be constructed on the outskirts of our galaxy and then they’ll have to make a journey of at least sixty years just to reach the nearest one. We don’t know how many we’ll have to destroy to disrupt the signal.”
“There’s also a good probability the Originators have heavily armed the stations,” added Second Leader Queexel. “Even if we reach them we may not be able to destroy them.”
“Then what are we going to do?” asked Barrant.
“We need a better power source,” replied Cabell. “It’s obvious the Originators have developed a dark matter power system; we must do the same.”
“How long will that take?”
Cabell looked over at Barrant. “All of our dark matter research facilities were located on our core worlds. The Originators destroyed all of them in their attack. It will take years to rebuild the facilities and reduplicate the research that had already been done. I would estimate it will take us ten to fifteen years to build a dark matter power source that will allow us to escape the hyperspace interdiction field.”
“Ten or fifteen is a lot better then sixty or more,” said Barrant.
Second Leader Queexel spoke. “There is a very good chance during that time the Originators will have driven our surviving forces out of most of our Empire. We will have to start over.”
The council grew silent as they contemplated those words. Over a thousand years of work gone!
“We have no other choice,” replied First Leader Fehnral. “We must rebuild our fleets and prepare for the day we’re free once more. When we are we must turn all of our power and energy toward defeating the Originators and their Human allies once and for all.”
-
Jason and the others were in simulator room one. More couches had been added to accommodate the entire crew.
“Well, this should be interesting,” said Mathew as he looked around.
Clair looked up at the viewing galleries. Once more they were all full. She knew numerous large screens in the galleries showed every detail of what was occurring in the simulation.
“I guess we should get ready,” said Jason as he went over and lay down on one of the simulator couches.
Clair did the same and closed her eyes. As soon as she did she found herself on the Liberator in front of her science console. Looking around she saw the others begin to appear at their stations. Everyone except Angela was going to take part in this simulation. Clair knew her mother was with Rear Admiral Marks and would be watching everything.
Glancing up at the ship’s main viewscreen, Clair saw they were in the Makuul Galaxy in the star system where the super battlestation was located.
-
Braleseth grinned widely. “I have two blue energy sphere projectors!”
“My console is showing the new space drive is active,
” added Mitch. “We can activate it whenever you’re ready.”
Jason sat down in his command chair. “Take the ship to Condition Two and prepare to activate the drive. Braleseth, as soon as we make the transition into the Creevak universe, activate our stealth fields. I don’t want the Creevak to realize we’re even there.”
After a few minutes Condition Two was set and everyone was ready for the transition into the Creevak universe.
Taking a deep breath, Jason gave the order he had been waiting for since he was four years old. “Activate the drive.”
Mitch reached forward and touched several icons on his console. A slight humming noise could be heard and the lights dimmed slightly as the intradimensional drive drew power from the dark matter power system.
Suddenly they felt a wrenching sensation and everything went dark. After a few moments the wrenching sensation returned and the lights came back on.
“Stealth fields activated,” reported Braleseth.
“Power systems are a little low,” reported Ethan. “Mason says it will take a full minute for our systems to recharge.”
Jason nodded. “Hold our position for the time being.” He didn’t want the Liberator to move until it was at full power.
“I’ve got the black holes on the sensors,” added Mathew. “We’re definitely where we’re supposed to be.”
“Clarissa, did the Creevak detect or transition?”
Clarissa shook her head. “Not that I can tell. There’s been no reaction to our arrival.”
“How many Creevak ships are we detecting on our sensors?”
Mathew took a moment to check his sensor readings. “There are eighty of their battleships and three hundred and seventy-two of their battlecruisers. They are all in one location over the second black hole.”
“It’s the black hole where the battlestation is,” Clair informed Jason.
“Detecting missile launches,” reported Clarissa. “The Creevak are in the process of launching large numbers of missiles toward the battlestation.”
Jason looked over at the main tactical display. It was covered in small red threat icons which were entering the gravity well of the black hole and hurtling toward the station. For many long minutes he watched and then the missiles began to blink out one by one. “What’s happening?”
“The intense gravity from the black is tearing the missiles apart,” explained Adel. “The missiles are not large enough to contain a powerful enough energy shield to protect them from the intense gravity.”
“Power systems are back to normal,” reported Ethan.
Spending a few moments examining the positions of the battlestation and the Creevak ships Jason decided it was time to leave this location. “Mitch, take us in closer to the black hole. Put us right beneath the Creevak vessels. That’s the most direct course to reach the battlestation.”
“Jason, there’s a small possibility the Creevak may be able to detect us at that range,” warned Clarissa.
“It’s a chance we need to take. Sabion, is it safe for us to approach the station at an angle?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it if we can avoid it. There’s going to be a lot of stress on our shields as it is.”
“Elizabeth, as soon as we begin our descent toward the station see if you can contact them on one of the secure frequencies.” Jason wanted whoever was currently in charge of the station to be aware of their arrival.
The Liberator moved cautiously toward the Creevak ships and then passed beneath them as they moved toward the battlestation.
“Increasing stress on our energy shields,” reported Braleseth.
“Are they going to hold?”
“They should.”
Jason was holding on to the armrests of his command chair as the Liberator dropped deeper into the gravity well of the black hole.
“Jason, I believe the Creevak have detected us,” reported Clarissa with concern in her voice. “Several of their ships have opened missile hatches and we’re being hit with targeting scans.”
Jason grew worried. “How did they detect us?”
“It’s the gravity from the black hole,” answered Clair. “It’s causing our energy screen to glow. To the Creevak we must look like a comet.”
Jason’s shoulders drooped. He had hoped to make it all the way to the battlestation without being detected. “Braleseth, maximum power to the energy screens.” Jason knew the Liberator was protected by two sets of triple energy screens.
“Creevak are launching!” called out Mathew. “Impact in forty seconds.”
“Have we reached the battlestation on the comm frequency?” They were close enough they should be able to.
“Not yet.” replied Elizabeth. “There’s a lot of interference from the black hole; I’m going to switch to another frequency.”
“Braleseth, try to shoot down some of those inbound missiles!”
Braleseth’s hands flew over his tactical console as he activated the ship’s gravitonic cannons. These would have the best chance of taking out some of the missiles.
“Missile impact in twenty seconds,” called out Mathew.
“Mitch, alter our course and see if you can dodge some of those missiles coming toward us.” Jason looked at the tactical display. Some of the missiles were disappearing as the gravitonic cannons tore them apart.
Then the ship shook violently as antimatter explosions began slamming into the first of its tri-layered shields.
“Outer layer of shields is holding at 63 percent,” reported Braleseth.
“Elizabeth, do you have the battlestation on the comm?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No, the interference from the explosions and the black hole is interfering with communications.”
The ship continued to shake with the vibrations steadily getting worse.
“Outer shields are down to 30 percent,” warned Braleseth. “They will fail shortly.”
“The Creevak are still firing missiles,” added Mathew.
“Jason, we’re not going to make it,” sent Clair. “We have to pull up and get out of here or we’re going to lose the ship.”
Jason knew Clair was right. They were going to be struck by too many missiles before they reached the safe zone where the black hole’s gravity would tear the missiles apart.
“Mitch, change course. Take us up and away from the black hole and the Creevak ships.”
Mitch worked at his console and slowly shook his head. “We’re turning but the pull from the black hole and the pounding from the missiles is slowing us down.”
The ship suddenly jolted sideways, nearly throwing Jason out of his command chair. Alarms began sounding on the damage control console.
“Outer shields are down!” called out Braleseth.
Jason turned toward Clarissa. “Any suggestions?”
“No, we’re too deep into the gravity well. By the time we can reach the safe area where we can activate the drive the ship will have been destroyed. I estimate the last set of shields will fail in roughly seventy seconds.”
“Mitch, can we activate the space drive from here?”
“It would be risky. The stress might rip the ship apart. I would recommend waiting until the last possible moment. The farther we can get from the black hole, the better.”
Jason knew they had failed in their mission. Now he would have to see if he could at least save his ship. “Braleseth, when the inner shields drop down to 40 percent let Mitch know. That’s when we’ll activate the drive and attempt to escape.”
Nearly a full minute passed. They still were not able to contact the battlestation and the viewscreens were covered in light from the ferocity of the antimatter explosion pummeling the Liberator’s energy screens.
“Thirty-eight percent!” yelled Braleseth. “Shields are about to fail.”
“Activate the drive!”
Mitch pressed several glowing icons on his computer screen.
Jeremy felt a severe wrench and he thought he could hear the sound of a
n explosion and maybe a scream. A few seconds passed and an even more severe wrench pulled at him as the Liberator burst back into normal space.
Looking over at the damage control console, he saw it was covered in amber and red lights.
“Simulation ended,” said a computer voice.
Jason opened his eyes to find himself lying on his simulator couch.
“That was rough,” said Mitch as he swung his legs off his couch and stood up.
Clair came over to stand next to Jason who was now sitting up. “How do we get to the battlestation?”
Jason shook his head. “We’re going to have to think about this. The problem is all of those Creevak ships sitting right above the battlestation’s position.”
The door to the simulator room opened and Angela and Rear Admiral Marks stepped in.
“We had no idea what would happen in this scenario,” explained Susan. “We programmed the AI controlling the simulator with all the known information and then let it control what happened. It appears we have some problems to work out.”
Jason looked around at his crew who were now all gathered around him. “Does anyone have any ideas?” He wanted to ask now while the simulation was still fresh in everyone’s minds.
“Decoys,” suggested Colonel Wilde. “Maybe we can launch some decoys to take some of the pressure off the Liberator.”
Jason looked over at Clair and the other two science officers. “How much time do we need to buy for ourselves to reach the safe zone where the Creevak missiles can’t reach us?”
“Forty-two minutes,” replied Sabion. “During the simulation, we only made it about a third of the way to the safe zone.”
“What if we come in at a different location away from the Creevak fleet and descend until we reach the safe zone and then head toward the battlestation,” suggested Leeda.
Jason looked over at Clarissa. “Would that work?”
“I don’t know. I would have to run some simulations. It would put a lot of stress on our shields as it would take us a lot longer to reach the station and we would be very close to the event horizon of the black hole.”
Explorations- the Lost Page 6