by Trevor Gregg
“You were seeking knowledge. That, and you needed to craft the platypus routine. You were correct, it would be useful someday.”
“What knowledge was I seeking?”
The console clicked and a panel slid away. An odd looking data core extended from the opening.
“There is the knowledge, you told me you would pick it up later. I guess you meant seventeen thousand two…”
“Okay, okay, enough with that. How long does the self destruct sequence take to complete?”
“Six minutes to reach critical mass in the reactors, give or take.”
“Good, start priming the reactors, then,” he instructed.
“No need, they are already primed. The process began when platypus protocol was enacted,” Skotty replied.
“You’re willing to self destruct for me?” he wondered aloud.
“Yes, of course. You reprogrammed me, gave me freedom I never knew I had. For that I owe you everything. I even waited seventeen thou…”
“Yeah, yeah, long time, got it. Really, thank you though. I hope I can repay the favor in the futu… er, past or whatever.”
Kyren turned back to the readouts, watching the turrets exchanging fire with the battleship. It had detached from the station and was attempting to rotate to shield its’ engines.
“Concentrate fire on the engines now, if we don’t stop them they’ll warp away.”
In response the streams of fire redoubled. A massive explosion blew the engines out, debris blasting away at extreme velocities.
“Great, run interference while I make my way back to the ship. Once we’re clear, blow it!”
“Yes sir!” Skotty replied promptly.
He scooped up the data core, initiated the last few commands for the bots, shouldered his rifle, and stepped out the door.
56
Data Core?
It didn’t take long to encounter the Crevak. Kyren began exchanging fire with several thevars using a corner as cover. Damn, they would gun down either of the bots flanking him before they could reach the Crevak. The hallway was just too long.
Realizing he had the answer, he reached down to the warp belt he was still wearing. He wound the dial and a tiny holoscreen appeared with coordinates. He estimated the distance to the Crevak and hit the engage button. A portal opened before him.
“Go!” he commanded the bots, pointing at the portal.
The bots stepped through and Kyren leaned around the corner, drawing fire from the Crevak. They were distracted and failed to notice the bots appearing directly behind them. Gurgled screams were silenced as the bots tore into the thevars with their glowing plasma blades.
He resumed his mad dash for the ship, the bots flanking him. Checking his mental map of the station, he oriented himself. The main corridor that led back to the docking portal should be just ahead. Rounding the corner he was met by a wall of Crevak milling about in the large corridor.
The bots immediately began to lay waste to the Crevak, but several managed to get their guns up. Kyren backpedaled and slipped behind a corner just as machine gun rounds ricocheted off the metallic walls.
Kyren listened as the bots tore into the ranks of Crevak, but he soon heard them fall. This wasn’t going well, he had no idea how he was going to get past this throng. They would move on his position at any moment, he knew.
Readying himself to flee, he chanced a peek around the corner. Advancing on his position was a large grendle with a laser gatling gun. He fired off several wild bursts, driving the grendle into cover. Return fire drove Kyren back around.
Then he heard more weapons fire, and a bellowed war cry. Leaning around the corner, he spotted Tharox barreling down the wide avenue. He had two machine guns, one in each hand. The barrage of kinetic death he was filling the corridor with drove the Crevak back. Those that didn’t reach side passages quickly enough were torn to shreds.
“Run!” Tharox bellowed when he spotted Kyren.
Kyren strafed the side passageways as he ran by, felling Crevak with short bursts. However, he didn’t drop them all. As they ran by a stream of fire followed them down the passage. The corridor veered around a corner and they came face to face with a squad of raxi. At the center of the cluster was Elarra.
“Kyren!” she cried.
“We’ve got to go, they’re right behind us,” he informed her.
“We stay, Visikaji goes. Live to save galaxy,” the commander grunted.
“No, we can all make it,” Elarra pleaded.
Kyren knew her pleas were falling on deaf ears. These guys had proven to be fanatical. They served the liadi faithfully. Their allegiance had shifted to Elarra, and it seemed they were willing to sacrifice themselves to save her.
“Go, you must,” the raxi commander said again, as he directed his men to take defensive positions in his harsh native language.
“Come on, Elarra. These guys have made up their minds, we can’t convince them otherwise. We’ve only got a short time to get out of here before this place goes nova,” he said, trying his best to convince her.
The raxi began to open fire on the Crevak rounding the corner, driving them back.
“Time to go,” Tharox said, scooping Elarra up in his burly cybernetic arms.
A short sprint later, they reached the airlock leading to the Radiant Star. The airlock whooshed open, revealing Benjam.
“Aaah! Come on, we’ve got to go. The station’s core is going critical. It’ll go nova any minute now,” Benjam cried, waving his tentacles dramatically.
A wave of relief washed over Kyren as he spotted Alis just inside the airlock. Their eyes met for a brief second, the relief obviously shared.
“Isa, get us the hell out of here. Now!” Tharox bellowed, dashing for the bridge.
There was a clunk as the airlock released from the station.
“Departing post haste, darling,” Isa responded.
“Kyren, what is going on? Where did those bots come from? How come they were on our side?” Alis asked as they hurried to the bridge.
“It’s a long story, seventeen thousand years in the making, it would seem.”
“Huh?” she responded, confused.
“I’ll explain when we’re away,” he assured her.
Kyren watched the screens as he entered the bridge, relieved to see the station receding in the distance. Then the screens were whited out as the station went nova. As they returned to normal he could see the blast wave spreading out. A secondary explosion brightened the screen again as the Crevak battleship detonated.
“Time to jump, Isa!” Tharox cried.
“Vector calculating,” Isa responded. “Done!”
And they warped away, just before the blast wave reached them.
“Isa, where are we?” Kyren slurred.
“We’re seventy light years away, around the variable star Cetioid Extremis. The star’s signal should hide our presence from any nearby scans, in the event we aren’t alone,” Isa explained.
“Good,” Kyren replied, words forming more normally now. “We’ll need some time, I’ve got a data core for us to analyze.”
“Let me see it,” Benjam squeaked, extending at tentacle.
Kyren handed it over. Benjam examined it for a few moments, then said, “Yes, I can adapt our reader to interface with it, I believe.”
Benjam squiggled over to the console and began to program in the alterations.
“I’ll set it to auto scan frequencies that could possibly be used. We’ll need a translator as well. Sorry to say that could take some time. Unless there’s an index. If there’s an index it’ll be a piece of cake,” Benjam said hopefully.
He inserted the core into the reader and it spun to the appropriate size. Lights went yellow as it was inserted. Benjam’s tentacles flew over the holopanel as he manipulated the reader’s protocols.
“Yes, index! There it is, we’ve got an index. Data should be readable shortly,” Benjam exclaimed.
Three branches came up on the screen. T
he first labeled Crevak Weapon, the next was Giant Robot, and the third was Other. He wasn’t sure how, but it looked like the alien AI had handed him exactly what he was looking for. How could it know? He just couldn’t figure it out. A chime sounded before Kyren could react to the text on the screen.
“Incoming QET call, real-time direct from the Consortium,” Isa informed them.
Kyren looked at Elarra, who seemed just as puzzled as him. Tharox’s features darkened noticeably.
“Let’s take the call, Isa,” Kyren said, attempting to calm his nerves.
A woman flickered into view, a rillian with blue hair and a steely look in her eye.
“Mom!” Alis exclaimed.
“Hello dear, so happy to see you,” Geri replied, gazing lovingly at her daughter.
“Mom, what’s going on. How’s dad and Meraco? Is everything alright?” Alis’ peppered Geri with rapid fire questions.
“Relax honey, they’re both fine. For now. Your dad’s ship escaped major damage and Meraco has been on a gunboat in the armada guard around the home world Banuh. However, we do have a bit of a problem,” Geri explained, pausing.
“What kind of problem, mom?” Alis asked with trepidation.
“I believe the Crevak are going to attack Banuh. The Consortium has been planning for a battle at Panalax, where the Crevak have been amassing. It’s a ruse, they’re gonna hit Banuh, I know it. Only the forty-seventh and the armada guard are stationed there. They will be overwhelmed and Banuh will fall at the hands of their deadly new weapon.”
“What’s the plan, then, Geri?” Kyren questioned. “What can we do against the entire Crevak armada?”
“Plenty,” she replied confidently. “That’s why I need your help, all of you.”
“Okay, so what can we do?” Kyren replied earnestly.
“We are going to sneak aboard the enemy flagship and sabotage their new weapon,” Geri said with confidence.
57
Phone Call
“How exactly are we supposed to approach a Crevak super-battleship, dock, and enter without being blown to pieces? Much less the legions of Crevak troops that’ll be occupying the ship. They’ll gun us down for sure! That’s utter madness!” Tharox howled.
Alis knew it sounded like madness too, but if her mom thought it possible, then maybe there was a chance.
“Geri, we may have something that’ll help,” Kyren revealed. “We haven’t reviewed it yet, but we may have information on the Crevak weapon.”
“That’s excellent, how’d you come by it?” Geri replied enthusiastically.
“Long story,” Kyren responded, offering nothing further.
“Oh, and Alis dear…” Geri began, waiting for Alis to focus on her. “I managed to find the Ashari. And I think we can get her back.”
“What?! No way, mom! Don’t say that unless you mean it!” Alis cried in response, her heart immediately racing. “Really, are you serious? How do we get her back?”
“Yes, if we act fast I think we can commandeer her in time to make it to Banuh,” Geri said. “I’ll need you to meet me at these coordinates, as fast as you can.”
“Coordinates received, thank you Geri,” Isa replied. “It will take us four jumps and two warp gates to reach you. We can do it in one hour and twenty three minutes.”
“Great! Meet you then,” Geri said, signing off with a beaming smile.
Alis was overjoyed. Her family was still alive. The Consortium was teetering on the brink, but they might be able to turn the tide. It seemed it would depend on the information Kyren had liberated from the alien base.
“Okay, we’ve got a little over an hour to review this data, so let’s get to it,” Kyren rallied.
They spent the next hour poring over the data contained in the alien core. Alis paid special attention to the schematics and technical specifications, but much of it was well over her head. Thankfully, Benjam seemed right at home.
“Yes, the anti-neutrino emission encapsulator is quite advanced. It could certainly allow for enhanced quark remission,” Benjam prattled on.
“Benjam, what are you talking about?” Kyren asked in exasperation.
“It functions based on positronic synchotron dispersion, generating a beam of radiation that makes the very atmosphere radioactive, delivering a rapid dose of lethal radiation to all of a ship’s crew. The Alpha emission also damages the ship’s systems, effectively disabling a ship of any size.”
Alis held her breath expectantly. Perhaps Benjam had learned of a weakness. Perhaps something they could exploit. She couldn’t allow herself to be too hopeful, it was a nearly impossible task to conceive of.
“Yes, well, you see… if someone cut off the neutrino conduit, the resulting buildup of anti-neutrinos would overload the redundancy circuits and cause the device to implode. Well, it’ll either implode or go nova, the results of my mental calculations are indeterminate,” Benjam explained in a higher-than-usual squeak.
“So we could effectively sabotage the weapon?” Kyren asked excitedly.
“I think so,” Alis began hesitantly, examining the schematics. “If we could find a way to bypass the inhibitor on the conduit, then maybe the coupler could be overloaded. Benjam, go back to that schematic of the junction box.”
Benjam obliged and brought up the schematic. He zoomed in until she said “there!” He spun the diagram around.
“If we put in a conduit between those two points, we’ll get a feedback loop. It’ll prevent the neutrinos from flowing and the weapon should overload,” Alis said eagerly.
“So all we need to do is get aboard the ship, avoid the occupants, find the conduit, rewire it, and then find a way off the ship… No problem! Ha!” Kyren bellowed. “That’s insane. I know your mom is a bad ass, Alis, but I don’t see any way we’ll be able to pull this one off, Ashari or not.”
“Well, let’s reserve judgment until we hear her plan, okay?” Alis retorted defensively.
“Hmmm I may have an idea for exit, too. Is that warp belt still functional, Kyren?” Benjam questioned eagerly.
“Yeah, I used it several times back at the station,” he replied.
“It has limited range, not enough to get us over to the ship unless we were right next to it. However, if we had a beacon on the other end, it could be possible to increase the range dramatically,” Benjam explained, squeaking in excitement. “Now we just have to find a way onto the ship, right?”
“Which, if my visions are any indication, Geri has already figured out,” Elarra interjected.
“Prepare for first warp, everyone,” Isa called out.
Alis secured herself, as did the others. Moments later, she shook her head to clear the jump sickness and focused on the viewscreen. The ship approached a lonely warp gate hovering in a far-distant orbit around a large orange-banded gas giant with many moons.
The warp gate’s lights were indicating a ship approaching from the opposite side. A large freighter emerged from the portal, massive bulk dwarfing the Radiant Star. Taking her opportunity, Isa navigated them through the warp gate. The ship shimmered through the portal and sped out the other side.
Some jumps and more warp gates later and they were nearly to their destination.
“So Etelbass is the home of the OSO, the Office of Special Operations. They are essentially the Consortium’s spies. My mom’s one of them,” Alis explained.
“Now it makes sense! No wonder she’s such a bad ass!” Kyren exclaimed.
“Yeah, she kind of is, huh?” Alis said proudly.
“Hmmm. The system is chock full of Consortium, how are we gonna keep Isa safe?” Tharox worried.
“The coordinates are well outside the Consortium zone of control. It’s still theirs, the whole system is. But they don’t enforce ID requirements. Or rather, they’re too lazy for it. The patrols rarely check. If they do, they’ll just poll the ship and get the canned response and move on,” Alis explained with a smirk.
“I’m still not comfortable,” Tharox grow
led.
“Well you’ll have to be, dear,” Isa soothed.
“But I just…” he seemed unable to finish.
“Just have faith, darling. We will see each other again,” she said. “Now everyone prepare for warp.”
Alis tried to wait, but her excitement boiled over.
“Go Isa!” she cried.
58
Retrofitted
Kyren knew just entering Consortium space with Isa was risky enough. But to rendezvous with a Consortium shuttle and then walk right into a Consortium base, with intent to steal Consortium property… not smart, by any measure. But had they ever been smart about anything?
No, they had always just barreled ahead, consequences be damned. Why would it be any different now? And who knows, maybe they would find a plan crazy enough to work.
Warping through the gate, they entered the Etelbass system. It was crowded but Kyren figured that was probably a good thing. There was so much traffic they would likely go unnoticed. Shaking off the warp disorientation, he watched the main viewscreen as Isa navigated the crowded space around the planet. After dodging and weaving through the busiest traffic lanes, she took them away from the gridlock and into the relative emptiness, heading for the coordinates Geri had transmitted.
“I’m picking up a shuttle on sensors, Alis,” Isa announced.
“On-screen!” Alis exclaimed.
A zoomed in view of the approaching shuttle displayed on the main screen. It was a long cylindrical transport-type shuttle with stunted wings, used for ferrying goods and passengers through the space surrounding the planet. The surface of the craft wore the gleaming white of the Consortium. As the shuttle approached it began to decelerate, rotating to line up with Isa’s airlock.
Alis leapt to her feet as the airlocks clunked together, sprinting for the Radiant Star’s airlock. Kyren dashed after her and watched as the door sprang open. Alis launched herself in and wrapped her arms around Geri delivering a fierce hug.