Invasion

by Jerry Shepard

  He wasn't a bad sight to look at. Far from it. Smooth skin yet very manly facial features on top of a rugged frame. Brown eyes that were both warm and fierce. And dark hair that showed a hint of a gray hair here and there. For most women, Noah Jameson would be a catch. Just not to her. He was the captain of the ship, which meant that they would be working together. He also had no respect for the job she had to do and to top it off, she was not pleased with the bigotry he had displayed toward Rig'nak.

  "Captain, I meant what I said about the Xen. Half of my team is Xen and they have been nothing but exemplary scientists. Without their contributions, our fuel and propulsion systems that we're testing out on this trip, would not be possible."

  "You trust them that much, huh?" Noah said.

  "With my life," she shot back as she sat down on the couch. "I have worked for the past ten years with many of them on many different projects. We go all the way back to the university research team together. The Xen are loyal to new friends. Which is what us humans are."

  "Friends, huh? Do friends kill each others' wives?" Noah asked. His words heavy with sarcasm. He walked over to her food service area and retrieved a beer.

  "Ah, yes. The explosion that killed your wife," Liana said, putting her elbow on the arm of the seat and propped her head up with her hand. "Wasn't that ruled an accident?"

  Noah leaned in. "Only if you believe political documents masquerading as scientific fact. I am convinced that the Xen are behind her murder. The entire Xen leadership has reason to want to get revenge."

  Liana laughed. "That's just it Noah. The Xen do not seek new hostilities once they are extinguished. It's really remarkable. One day you could be the most hated entity in the universe to them. But reach a peace agreement with them, and they will treat you like long-lost family. Don't you see? It's impossible for any Xen to do this!"

  "You give them far too much credit," Noah said as he downed the beer.

  "And you don't give them any at all," she shot back.

  "Why do you trust them so much?" he asked.

  "Because they are trying to fit in and someone needs to reach out to help make that transition work. If humans are constantly closing doors on them, then violence will eventually follow, and we will be right back to fighting them. The war is over Noah. We won. You should've probably heard by now." Liana retrieved a wine glass from the cupboard and a bottle from her cabinet.

  She poured herself a glass and continued. "What are you fighting for Noah?"

  "Good question. I know the pugs...excuse me, Xen, are part of our Alliance. It's just for me that it wasn't too long ago when I was out there fighting them. Losing good friends to them. And killing them."

  Liana stopped drinking her wine as she listened to Noah.

  "And it was only recently that Julie died and my world crashed down around me and Lily," Noah continued. "I don't care what that report says, there were Xen in the area right before the explosion. One of them killed her and I'll continue to believe that until someone proves to me otherwise."

  "Well, let's hope that someone comes along and proves you spectacularly wrong. For her sake. And yours," Liana said. She downed the rest of her wine glass and crossed her arms, shifting her balance to one side.

  "You really don't believe they are capable of killing her do you?" Noah said. "I've been to war, doctor. Let me tell you that every living thing is capable of dark deeds."

  "But where's the evidence? I'm a scientist. I rely on evidence. Things I can see," she said. "I can't just go and punch out the Xen ambassador, like you did, on a hunch. Bring me something that can show that a Xen was involved in her death and I will help you. But right now, you're asking me to ignore what I know about their nature, based only upon your gut feeling."

  Liana started to walk to the door and then turned to look at Noah.

  "Now, if you'll excuse me Captain Jameson. I have some preparations to make with my team and you have to shove off from port in the next few hours. Do you mind?"

  "My apologies for taking up too much of your time Dr. Sarduun," said Noah. He stood up to leave and paused before he moved. "Of course, you are correct. I've got work to do. Perhaps en route to the system you can show me a bit more of what you plan to do once we arrive?"

  "I'd like that captain," said Liana as the door slid open.

  "Good day, I'll see you after we leave port."

  BON VOYAGE

  Shit. This is not going well.

  Noah sat in his chair and fumed at the problems the crew were encountering. The decoupling from the tethers in port went off without a hitch. However, the human crew were still adjusting to the computer system's new user interface. The interface utilized many different Xen symbols along with English text. This caused a bit of consternation in the bridge as the Navigation officer plotted a course to the Ankarii system.

  The Titan moved smoothly toward the gate, passing commercial ships as well as a few warships. Noah could see the smaller personal craft dart in between the larger ships. He had missed this. Forty five minutes later, the Titan approached the jump gate.

  As the Titan maneuvered within the minimum safe distance from the jump gate, Noah quickly ordered them to use the human charts and calculations when interfacing with it, instead of the ones obtained from the Xen. He didn't trust that information and he was not about to make what was, to him, essentially a blind jump if they used the pug charts

  In fact, other than NAV ships, which needed to perform them to jump to uncharted space and set up jump gates, not too many other ships had performed a blind jump. And the reason for that, he noted, was because blind jumps had destroyed more ships and killed more people than were lost in the entire Xen war.

  "Captain, we have a lock on the Ankarii system," said the Ensign.

  "Status report!" Noah said in a voice that filled the room. The bridge crew replied quickly.

  "Engines online!"

  "Shields online!"

  "Long range scanners online!"

  "System scanners online!"

  "Weapons system online!"

  "All systems are green, captain," replied Rig'nak.

  "Do it," said Noah.

  He looked out the window at the vast expanse of space. The stars started to wobble slightly for a second and then slid past them. The entire view from the bridge then went blank.

  They were finally in hyperspace.

  And Noah couldn't be happier. He was home again.

  LON'KAH

  Year: 2564 (Alliance Year: 7), Location: Unknown

  Lon'Kah sat on her chair and looked out into the vast expanse of the galaxy. She was tired of this mission. But she never got tired of the beauty when she looked out her room at it all. The swirls of the stars circling around the center of the galaxy and the clouds of gas, that would sometimes be present in systems, would always brighten her mood.

  The room she was in was constructed to her specifications. The walls, bulkheads, armor plating would become translucent upon command and allow the occupant to see the expanse of the universe as if the viewer was floating outside the ship.

  She slipped a hand into a container next to her chair, and withdrew a small object. She placed it into her mouth and the feelings of anxiety washed away as the all too familiar feeling of euphoria rushed in to fill the vacuum in her mind.

  She didn't care much for this current system they were in and groaned as she mentally went through the checklist of what she knew about this system.

  The planets were uninteresting. Nothing of note, at all. They hadn't found anything new. No mineral resources they could use. No interesting species discovered. They certainly had not located the Gon'cha. And most distressingly, they had not recently discovered any of the plant life that allowed her to create the wondrous narcotic that made this long voyage tolerable. In fact, except for their recent destruction of that alien ship, that was setting up what her scientists believed to be a navigational tool, there just didn't seem to be much in the way of excitement.

 
One thing that caught her attention was a multi-colored nebula in the distance near the system's sun. She stared at it for a long time. Imagining what different gases made up the nebula in order to produce those particular color patterns. It reminded her of pictures she had seen of her home world. She shuddered to remember that the pod system on the Varak home world was the best system for educating the young. It was also the best system for producing future warriors and leaders. It was so successful that even hundreds of years after leaving their home world, the Varak still used it. Those that merely survived the pod system would enter society as low tier workers. Those that excelled in the pod system, became the future political military and science leaders. She had finished at the top of her class. Which allowed her to choose the career path she desired. Something jerked her attention into the present.

  She noticed two of the warships in her fleet had come close her ship and had settled into position on either side of it. No doubt to protect her. But given that there was nothing in the system and that they had never been in danger on this voyage, she was not pleased at the interruption of her reverie.

  "Guards!" she yelled.

  Two tall, heavily armed, guards entered the room. They flanked each other and the one on the left directed his comments to her.

  "Yes, Most Glorious Lon'Kah. How may we serve you?"

  "Get me the captain of this ship. Now!" she replied.

  NAL'SEK

  Captain Nal'Sek glared at the guard who had arrived on the bridge moments ago. The guard had been sent to tell him that the Princess wanted to see him...again. He was in no mood to placate her with whatever small and insignificant issue that she wanted to bring up. He recounted that it was the same series of events each time she summoned him to her chambers.

  First, she would have some tiny problem that had to be dealt with that very moment. Then the captain and crew would be responsible for resolving the issue to her satisfaction as quickly as possible. And they would need to do this, even if they needed to be taken off of other critical tasks to do so. The most famous incident had been when she made the fleet turn around and go back two systems just to retrieve a lost article of clothing. Varak princesses were very demanding and unpredictable. But Lon'Kah was the worst of them all.

  Nal'Sek tried to ignore the Royal guard by resuming his duties. But the guard simply matched his every step and remained right beside him whenever he stopped moving. After a few moments of this treatment, he turned to the guard and gave up. "Let's go see Her Highness," he sighed and walked toward the elevator to her chambers. The guard grunted his assent and continued his shadowing of the captain into the elevator. Before leaving the bridge he yelled back to his second in command "you are in command of the Drad'ek until I return."

  ***

  "What took so long?" Lon'Kah asked. "Why have I been kept waiting?"

  "Most Glorious Lon'Kah," Nal'Sek said with a low bow. "Forgive me. I was ensuring the fleet was getting adequate supplies delivered to each ship."

  Lon'Kah threw the decanter, that she was holding, past his head into the wall behind him. The shards of the broken decanter exploded. "You could not delegate such duties to a lesser officer? You were needed here!"

  "My humblest apologies Most Glorious Lon'Kah, I beg your forgiveness," the captain replied. He hated having to go through this dance when he loathed her very presence. But she was royalty and he needed to show as much deference to her authority as possible. To show disrespect to a member of the Royal House was to invite your own execution. "How may I assist you, Princess?"

  "That is better," she sighed, relaxing into her chair. She pressed a button and the walls seemed to fade away in favor of the surrounding star system. The Captain may have loathed her, but he loved the technology that she had at her fingertips.

  "Captain. Do you see the star system we are in?"

  Nal'Sek looked around at the planets, nebulae and the distant sun and replied that he could see it.

  "Do you really see it well?"

  "Yes, Princess, I can see the system very well," he said.

  Lon'kah rose from her chair and pointed a finger as she walked toward Nal'Sek. Her eyes narrowed and the irises turned red.

  "It is curious you can see it well," she began as the volume in her voice increased. "Because everywhere I look, I see a warship blocking my view!"

  He had not paid the warships much mind. As a military officer, the sight of a warship to one side of his ship didn't register with him as noteworthy. Now that she brought it to his attention he could see the two smaller capital ships on either side of the command ship.

  "Ah, Princess, those ships are for protection against attack," he replied.

  "And are we in danger captain?" she mocked him. "When have we been in danger for this entire voyage?"

  "We are not currently in danger, Highness. But it is standard protocol to protect the command ship, as you know. As for when we have been in danger recently, have you forgotten our encounter with the alien ship?"

  "I don't care for your worthless explanations," interrupted the princess. "Move the ships from my sight. Now!"

  "As you wish, Most Glorious Lon'Kah," the Captain replied with a bow.

  "And captain, I had better not see another ship blocking my view again. The whole reason I have this technology built into my chambers is so I don't have to look at the ugliness of ships," she said as she sat back into her chair and retrieved another narcotic from its container.

  "Yes, Highness. It will be done."

  EN ROUTE

  Year: 2564 (Alliance Year: 7), Location: Hyperspace

  O'Malley watched as Noah glared at Reggie and his face grew redder with each passing second. Noah started to pace the floor in front of his chair.

  "What did you say, Reggie?"

  "Sir, by my calculations we will arrive, in the Ankarii system, four hours later than we could have," Rig'nak repeated.

  "Impossible," Noah dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. "Our calculations were correct. This is the fastest route to the system."

  "Yes, captain. They were correct. But they were only correct when using human navigational charts and calculations. However, had we used the data from my people, the route could have been shortened from eight hours, to four," Rig'nak explained.

  "I don't trust those charts, Reggie. And I'm not about to put the safety of my crew and this ship in the hands of something I don't trust."

  "The Alliance trusts these charts and jump formulas, Captain Jameson," Torrance interrupted. "Thousands of ships, both civilian and military, use them every day."

  "Enough!" yelled back Noah. "Not another word about the goddamned charts!"

  "Sir, if I may, I would like to enter into the official record that I have proposed that we take advantage of the full range of information available to us and that you have refused to do so."

  "Noted!" shouted back Noah and he sat back down in his chair. "But for now, Reggie, you will confine yourself to quarters. Dismissed!"

  "Aye, sir!" Rig'nak performed a perfect salute, an about face, and exited the bridge.

  "If I may, sir," Torrance began, approaching Noah. "I don't know about someone like Rig'nak, but the Xen cadets who trained at the academy, they look up to you as much as I do. I think what Lieutenant Rig'nak was saying was that there's a reason why the Alliance merged its navigational data with that of the Xen. The synergies between our peoples and what we know of the galaxy is a positive thing. Especially when it comes to navigation."

  "That will be all, ensign!" Noah said loudly at Torrance who quickly retreated to his station.

  O'Malley noticed Reggie seemed a bit flustered as he left. And he could clearly see Noah was still worked up at Torrance. With Reggie off the bridge, that made him the 2nd highest ranking officer remaining. He got up from his station and approached the chair on Noah's left side.

  "Hey, don't you think you were a bit too harsh on them?"

  "What? You too?!" Noah swiveled his chair to face O'Malley. "You
heard them!"

  "Yeah. Yeah, I did," chuckled O'Malley. "And at no time were either of them being disrespectful to you. In my opinion." O'Malley added that last part so that he could try to cool down Noah. He knew that if he came in too hard, the mental walls would come up and Noah would not see reason.

  O'Malley came to stand in front of Noah.

  "They're right Noah," he continued. "The charts are used all the time by everyone from a large warship like us, to cheating fuckers stepping out on their wives on their business trips."

  "I don't need this shit O'Malley. It's bad enough I have to have him as my XO. Now you're turning on me too?"

  "Hold off there, Noah. There's no love lost between me and the Xen. I battled them for years just like you did. I was there side-by-side with you in almost every major engagement. Including some we both want to forget. I lost good friends. Just like you did," O'Malley said as he hopped up on the rail overlooking the front part of the bridge."But the war is over. They want to live in peace and be a part of our Alliance. I won't ever forget what they have done in the past. But I can't keep living in the past either. You need to ask yourself one question...what are you fighting for?"

  "Wait," Noah said. "I believe it was you who cracked that pug over the head with a pool cue. And I believe it was you who got arrested and spent a night in the drunk tank with me. Am I mistaken? Or was it, in fact… you?"

  "Yeah, that was me, alright," O'Malley said. "I was backing up my friend in a bar fight. Just like countless other friends have done for thousands of years." O'Malley dropped down from the railing and stood in front of Noah.

  "Look. If you don't want to do it for yourself and your career, do it for Lily."

  "Lily? What the hell does she have to do with this?"

  "Well, if you cause an incident that flares up tensions between our people and we go to war again, think of the billions of lives that will be in danger. She survived one war with the Xen. Are you so sure that she will survive another?"