by Luigi Robles
“Yes, there’s no time to waste. We’ve scanned the area as far as our instruments can reach, and there’s nothing in sight. I don’t expect there will be anything; there’s no nearby civilization as far as we can tell. But even so, stay alert.”
“Thank you, Captain, and good luck on your mission. We will hope for a safe return.”
“Thanks. Keep the jump gate running. We’ll try to communicate with you once we’ve reached our destination.”
“I understand.”
“Kya, are the rest of the fleet and the gate still lined up?”
“That’s correct.”
Without saying another word, Fain moved the FTL drive back to its theoretical maximum, causing the space around them to disappear back into the darkness. Fain guessed that many would be surprised by the lack of warning, but he had no time to waste.
They kept traveling through space at speeds that were unquantifiable to the human mind. Even if Fain tried to understand the numbers that were being projected on the main view screen, attaching them to something was where the real problems started. The only real sense of travel came from the map that appeared on the screen and how their position moved across the map.
They traveled for another four hours after setting up the first jump gate.
“T-minus five minutes,” Kya said as they rapidly approached their destination.
“Announce it to the fleet,” Fain said as he slid his hand over to the FTL drive lever.
Fain knew that there was no way the rest of the fleet didn’t know how far away they were from their destination, but announcing it would help to show that everyone was on the same page.
“Eora,” Fain said, knowing that Kya would patch him through to her.
“Yes, Captain?” Eora responded through Fain’s coms in the command center.
“Shields at full power, ready the drones, all weapons hot. Be ready to cut all incoming communication. The same goes for the rest of the fleet.”
“Right away.”
Fain had two plans in mind for when they emerged from FTL travel. The first one was that if the enemy was within sight, or anywhere near the reach of the ship’s radar, Sodenia would engage, and the rest of the fleet would be sent back using the remaining jump gate. Then Sodenia would find a way to escape the enemy and regroup back on Earth. However, if this first plan took place, he was positive that Saavan and all the subspecies that had gone to his aid would not survive a second attempt. The second plan was that if there were no machines in sight, he would set things up as carefully as possible to empty Sodenia before really going into Immortal territory. The latter plan was the one that had to happen.
“T-minus one minute,” Kya said.
“Announce it and enlarge the counter.”
The countdown timer enlarged to where it almost took up half of the spherical screen. He watched the numbers closely, and at the three-second mark, he returned the FTL lever back to its original position. The space around them solidified at once, but it looked entirely different than what he was used to seeing: it was darker, a lot darker. The space that Sodenia had arrived in was almost completely bare of stars. The scanners also showed nothing around them, to Fain’s relief. He saw nothing on the scanners, nothing on the main screen highlighting the enemy; it looked like they were alone.
“Is that right?” Fain asked.
“It appears so,” Kya said. “As far as our radar can detect, we seem to be completely alone out here.”
“This is odd, though I’m not complaining. I was half-expecting to find a little more going on in this area. Patch me through to Pycca.”
“Hey, Cap,” Pycca said.
“We made it. Are you ready to find out if your device works?”
“I know it works,” Pycca said with a smug tone.
“Alright, turn it on. Let’s find out where those things are coming from.”
“OK, I’m on it.”
“While Pycca turns on her device, I’ll let you know what the damage is this time with motion sickness amongst the crew. There have been only three incidents.”
“Compared to last time, I’m amazed. Well, there were also a lot more people with us last time. Let’s get the gates in place and the scrap drone ready.”
Ever since the idea of sending a low-powered drone into the Immortals’ territory as a means to observe and report was proposed, Sodenia’s and Earth’s finest minds began working on it, and they had completed the scrap drone with three days to spare. The scrap drone was designed to look like space debris that emitted seemingly sporadic bursts of energy, but those same bursts would have a clear meaning once they were put through a decoding machine or Kya turned them into video.
“Right away,” Kya said.
“Eora, I need you and your crew to keep a watchful eye on everything. If something moves that is not supposed to move, be ready to take the first shot.”
“You got it, Captain,” Eora said.
Fain’s second plan was well underway, and everyone on board Sodenia and the ESAF fleet was performing admirably. Though Fain was far from relaxed. He was well aware that at any second, everything could go wrong. As the fleet maneuvered the remaining gate into place and the drone got ready to be sent out, Fain kept his hands firmly placed on the side stick controls and his feet on the foot controls.
“Fain?” Pycca’s voice came in through the coms.
“Yeah?”
“A few devices detected a faint signal some two lightyears away.”
Although it was a lot further than Fain had hoped for and he knew that the signal had been traveling for two straight years in order to reach them, it was still well worth sending in the scrap drone.
“If we send the scrap drone that far,” Fain said, “it will be able to communicate with us via the jump gate, correct? Even with the low-powered signals?”
“I’ll take a look,” Pycca said. “But I don’t see why not. With Kya’s help I can make sure of it.”
“OK. See that it happens, and if it does, we’ll get the drone ready to set out.”
After a few minutes, Fain had the answer he had been waited for. According to Kya, it was, in fact, possible to get the gate operational at minimal power in order to send and receive data. Fain then gave the go-ahead to have the scrap drone prepped and ready for launch.
“Launching drone in four, three, two, one,” Kya said.
The small dot that was the drone was highlighted in a blue square on the spherical view screen. If it wasn’t for the ship’s radar, Fain wasn’t sure he’d be able to track the small object next to Sodenia.
Someone in Eora’s group would fly the drone to the gate, but once the drone passed the jump gate, it would operate autonomously.
“Power up the jump gate,” Fain said. “Be ready to change the gate’s end point at a moment’s notice. Eora, keep the weapons hot.”
Kya and Eora both acknowledged Fain’s orders.
The gate powered on, illuminating the space right in front of it. The white light coming from the gate was so strong and so one-sided that the small drone created a rather large shadow as it went towards it. Before the drone fully reached the gate, it disappeared as it was engulfed in the bright light.
“How long until it jumps to the other side?” Fain asked as he saw the light from the gate power down. Now it was only emitting a faint glow.
“Based on the drone’s mass, it should reach the other side of the gate within three minutes,” Kya said. “In the same amount of time, we should start hearing back from it.”
Fain tensed up, because he knew that in just a few minutes he would be making the single greatest decision he had made in his life. A decision that would have massive repercussions any way that he decided to go.
His stress level was so high that he began doing breathing exercises to try and calm himself down. The inaction was killing him, almost literally.
Fourteen minutes had passed.
“Is there anything?” Fain couldn’t help but ask.
“No, there’s nothing yet,” Kya said as she paused. “Wait, the first signals are coming in. Stand by for decoding.”
“On screen as soon as you have it.”
A few more minutes passed in silence, but it wasn’t too long before Fain saw the first images of the scrap drone inside Immortal territory.
The images the scrap drone was sending over to Sodenia were dark, and it was hard to distinguish true detail. But one thing was certain: they had found the Immortal machines’ homeworld. At the center of the imagery was a massive planet-like machine structure, with what had to be thousands of satellites orbiting it. Scattered across space between the drone and the machine planet were Immortals exactly like the one Fain had faced back on Doka.
“Are you getting this?” Pycca asked through the command center’s coms.
“That’s it, that’s the origin of the Immortals,” Fain said in a low voice.
The footage was cut short as nearby machines approached the scrap drone, but Fain had seen everything he needed to see to make up his mind. He saw a chance, and he was going to take it.
“It looks like they aren’t buying it,” Fain said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. I know what I have to do. Kya, are you ready?”
“I was born for this. But are you sure?”
“There’s no other way around it. We must do this.”
“Very well. Initiating operation deception. The following alarms will be all me. If anything does happen, I will make sure to let you know.”
When coming up with the plan for how to get everyone out of Sodenia and into the other ESAF ships, Fain decided to name it for what it was. He didn’t want to fool himself; he knew exactly what the actions he and Kya were about to take entailed. Operation deception was simple enough; it consisted of disrupting the other ESAF ships all at once and getting everyone off Sodenia. Though Fain had a feeling that its implementation wouldn’t be simple at all.
Different alarms began to sound on Fain’s command center. As he turned off the aggravating alarm, he noticed on the spherical screen that warning and exclamation signs marked the nine ESAF ships.
“Fain, are you getting this?” August asked through the coms.
“Sitrep.”
“It looks like one of the ships is experiencing loss of gravity,” August said, sounding alarmed. “Two or more of the ships are experiencing a massive loss of oxygen, and at least four of them have no power. We are desperately trying to communicate with them, but it appears that we’ve lost all forms of communication.”
“Is there any sign of the Immortals?” Fain asked. “Kya, Pycca, can you see anything?”
“There’s nothing on-site, but I’m having a hard time working the radar. It’s as if something is blocking it.”
“There’s no sign of the machines, but that doesn’t rule out tampering.”
“OK, we have no time to lose,” Fain said. “We need to address the problem. August, set up away teams; you stay here on the bridge. Pycca, Larissa, do everything you can to help, and take a crew with you. We need to make sure everyone is ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”
Pycca was maneuvering away at the controls at her station, trying to understand what had just happened. She knew it was a deliberate attack on the small Earth fleet’s virtual infrastructure. The question she had yet to answer was, where had it come from? Pycca was so engrossed in the controls that she thought she heard her name being called, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t until Larissa went over and tapped her lightly on the back of her shoulder that she realized the entire bridge was staring at her.
“Sorry,” Larissa said. “August has been calling you.”
“I was…” Pycca said, still trying to make sense of what exactly was happening. “I was…”
“Don’t worry,” August said. “But get ready to leave for the Jones; they are in serious distress over there. They’ve lost their gravity.”
“But we still don’t know what’s happening,” Pycca protested.
“And we will continue not to know unless one of us goes over there,” August said. “Pycca, I’m only saying this because there’s no one more qualified than you.”
None of what was happening was making sense to Pycca. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Her mind began to fall into a haze, and she began to experience palpitations. Out of all the things that could have happened, this was the thing that was happening… She hated the feeling, and she felt her cheeks flush as the anger began to kick in.
“Larissa, get ready to go to The Constitution,” August said. “Report back as soon as you’re there, and take extra coms with you.”
Without saying another word, Larissa turned around and ran from the bridge.
“This is Captain Bevetola from the ESAF John Paul Jones.” A distress message came in through the bridge’s coms. “Help.” Other voices joined in the transmission. “We are losing oxygen. Can anyone hear us? Sodenia, are you there?”
“Pycca, what are you going to do?” August asked as he took a few steps towards Pycca.
Pycca knew that she had to act, despite the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. There was always a possibility that she could be wrong. That, in fact, she was doing everything right, and these problems could really be caused by the Immortals. Pycca’s inner instincts were screaming.
“How many should I take with me?” Pycca asked.
“As many as you need,” August said.
“Alright, OK,” Pycca said, struggling to say the words.
“As long as you make it back here fast,” August said. “We can’t afford not to have you on board for very long.”
Somehow, August’s words calmed Pycca. Was that what all of this was about? Her feeling about leaving Sodenia and not being there when they really needed her? Or was there really something else? She felt her neck ache and tense as she tried to answer the questions. Stress was making its way through her body. She knew she had to focus; there was too much at stake.
“August,” Pycca said, staring steadily at him. “You’ll be here, right?”
August nodded.
“Take care of him,” Pycca said as she pointed towards the ceiling.
“I will.”
“No, promise me.”
“Pycca, we don’t have time for this.”
“Either you promise me, or I won’t be going anywhere.”
“Listen, I’m not sure if Fain needs any taking care of, but if he needs me, I’ll be right there for him, doing the best I can. I won’t let him down, I promise.”
Pycca nodded twice then turned around and left the bridge, but leaving the bridge wasn’t all that easy. As she exited towards the corridor, she felt as if she was leaving Fain behind. The thought of never seeing Fain again crept into her mind, but she quickly brushed it aside. That specific thought was too painful.
“Patch me through to AS Zerb,” Pycca said as she held her wristband halfway up and waited for a pod.
Just like any military or organized structure, the ESAF Corps of Engineers also had tiers. It started at EIT, Engineer-in-Training, and continued to IE, Intermediate Engineer; Engineer; Senior Engineer; SM, Specialist/Management; and AS, Advanced Specialist. Of course, at the head of all of them was Chief Master Engineer Pycca Evans. She wondered for a second if she even deserved that title.
“Chief Evans, come in.”
“Zerb,” Pycca said as she jumped in the pod and told it where to go. She was headed straight for the docks. “I need you to get a team of engineers to come with us to the Jones. Their gravity machines have failed.”
“Their gravity machines failed? All of their gravity machines?”
“Yes, all of them.”
“How can that be?”
“I don’t know, but that’s what we’re going to find out. Bring long-range coms equipment with you as well. Meet me at the docks as soon as you can.”
“OK, see you there. Zerb out.”
When Pycca reached
the docks, she was stunned to see so many ESAF personnel lining up behind the shuttles, ready to leave. There had to be close to one hundred of them. Anvelins were everywhere, delivering gear and supplies to the departing crew. She quickly got off the pod and walked towards a group that was running towards one of the shuttles.
“Lieutenant,” Pycca yelled at the group.
The lieutenant in the group veered away and turned towards Pycca. He slowed down once he neared. Lieutenant Marius, from what Pycca read on his badge, was already dripping sweat. That must mean he had been running for a while, but why run? Why not just take a pod? Was it because the corridors were already full?
“Ms. Evans,” Marius said as he stood up straight in front of Pycca and saluted.
“At ease,” Pycca said, quickly dismissing the gesture. “What are your orders? And where are you coming from?”
“My group and I are to render assistance to the ESAF Intrepid. According to my CO, they are in extreme distress.”
“What’s your duty on board Sodenia?”
“This time around it’s to organize and help deliver the cargo if needed.”
So, Marius and his group had come from across the docks? That would explain them running instead of trying to use the pods to get here. Maybe there weren’t close to one hundred people at the docks after all, Pycca thought as doubt crept in.
“That’s all. As you were.”
“Ms. Evans,” Marius said as he saluted.
Pycca returned the gesture, and Marius turned around and resumed running. Pycca then began walking at a brisk pace towards the shuttles that were ready to depart. It wasn’t long before she saw Zerb and the group of engineers. They were already putting on their spacesuits. Some struggled, and others made it look easy by coming out of the closets already suited up. Pycca wasted no time with pleasantries and went straight into one of the closets provided by the Anvelins.
By her estimate, it only took her two minutes tops to change into her spacesuit. She grabbed the provided helmet and went outside. She saw that most of her peers had their spacesuits on, apart from two: Chey and Tom.
“I’m thoroughly disappointed in both of you,” Pycca said as she went to help Chey put on the last parts of her suit. The rest of the group followed and began to help Tom. She looked around for the first time, trying to recognize who Zerb had picked to go with them. It took her more time than expected to recognize the somewhat familiar faces. Had she been spending so much time away from the engineering corps? When it came to rank, right underneath Pycca there was Zerb, then Rad, Bico and Zu; underneath them were Chey and Tom. “How can you not figure out how to put a spacesuit on?”