Legacy of the Argus

by E. R. Torre

  Much as he hated leaving so many alive, the Prototype needed to focus on exiting the system as quickly as possible.

  Even if it made him felt like an animal on a leash.

  “The alien vessels are seconds away from the Displacer,” Lieutenant Sanders said.

  The Cygnusa’s directional thrusters had stabilized the ship and it was in the process of making a very wide turn back toward Helios. If their situation remained as it was, the trip would take three days.

  Inquisitor Raven leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

  “Tell me when they’re gone,” he said.

  For a moment he looked all too human.

  The Helios Displacer’s hollow center was active and the interdimensional corridor online.

  The alien ship carrying the Prototype was the first to depart.

  The next three ships moved just as quickly and disappeared into the corridor. The last of the vessels slowed as it neared the Displacer.

  When it reached the edge of the interdimensional corridor, it unleased a series of energy blasts before accelerating into the interdimensional corridor.

  The ship was gone by the time the first of the blasts hit their target and reduced the Helios Displacer to rubble.

  50

  “Damn them,” Inquisitor Raven growled. “Do we have coordinates for where they went?”

  “Sorry sir,” Lieutenant Sanders said. “The alien vessels kept the Displacer’s computers locked down.”

  “At least everyone in the Displacer got out,” Inquisitor Raven said. “Can you get in touch with the Capitol?”

  “I’ve sent them messages about our status but all I’ve received back are curt replies,” Lieutenant Sanders said. “Their communication lines are overwhelmed.”

  “Any news on the Capitol itself?”

  “Overlord Emeritus’ garden and Castle are destroyed. A few adjacent buildings took damage as well. There are injuries but so far no confirmed fatalities.”

  “What about the crews of the Minoan, Bastille, Hagios, and Reverie?”

  “Almost all the escape shuttles in these ships made it out. If they managed to fill themselves with personnel…”

  “Better the airstrips on Helios be overwhelmed than the funeral homes,” Inquisitor Raven said.

  There was a moment of silence as Inquisitor Raven considered sending a transmission to the Sacred Hearts School to make sure his sons were safe. Much as he wanted to do so, given the heavy communication traffic it was doubtful he’d get a quick answer. If he got one at all before things settled down.

  “The Council of… Twelve is in an emergency meeting,” Lieutenant Sanders continued. “They’re determining where to send resources and how to deal with the alien threat. They’re going over Overlord Emeritus’ itinerary and decrees and want to make sure he didn’t leave behind any unpleasant surprises. They’re also checking the records they have on Saint Vulcan.”

  “We should do the same,” Inquisitor Raven said. He addressed his communicator and said: “Chief Muses, any news?”

  “We’re far better off than we should be,” Chief Muses said. “I’m seeing minor improvements in thruster efficiency. We might be able to gain full control over our flight in the next few hours, even if it’s on very low power.”

  “Have you figured out why we’re getting all this function back?”

  “Bill, you’re going to think I’m crazy…”

  “Too late for that.”

  Chief Muses laughed.

  “It’s like the ship is fixing itself, like the alien vessels did when they were hit,” Chief Muses said. He shook his head. “I’m going to take a look around. I’ll call you when and if I find something.”

  Chief Muses switched off the communicator and took a quick walk through the aft section of the main engine room.

  He moved along at a quick pace and approached the rear of the room. He felt the roar of the engines behind the tinsel glass safety panel and listened for a few seconds.

  He then removed one of the tinsel covers and exposed a glowing engine cylinder. He laid his bare hand on a metal panel near it. The cylinder was hot to the touch but he didn’t react. He felt the engines vibrations. The engines were struggling mightily but improving.

  Chief Muses frowned and looked away. On the wall above and over another metal panel he spotted a hole.

  He replaced the engine cover and neared that wall. It was part of the Cygnusa’s outer hull and it had indeed been punctured.

  Chief Muses took a closer look. The hole was small, not quite the size of a small coin. Similar, and even smaller, holes were found in the lower parts of that wall.

  Muses noticed a black metallic mass inside one of the holes.

  “What might you be?” he muttered.

  Chief Muses moved through a too empty corridor. In normal times, it was filled with personnel but, like most of the lower sections of the ship and after the evacuations, it was deserted.

  He approached and entered Cargo Bay 12. The bay lay directly below the section of the engine room he was in moments before. He walked through corridors lined with cargo boxes and neared the spot directly below where he found the small holes.

  A group of officers were there, examining the Cargo Bay walls. They spoke in excited tones and were in the process of erecting a tinsel glass partition.

  “What is it?” Chief Muses asked.

  The group finished screwing the last clamps in place. Behind the partition was what looked like a large, black metal spike. It protruded from the cargo bay wall.

  “We found this when we were searching for medical supplies,” one of the officers said. “Good thing we did. If we hadn’t sealed this up, we might have decompression.”

  Chief Muses approached the partition and stared at the strange metal spike.

  “It looks like shrapnel,” the officer said. “We think it might be from the alien vessel we were towing.”

  “Nonsense,” Chief Muses responded. “The thickness of the hull wouldn’t allow shrapnel to penetrate like this. Why didn’t you call me?”

  “Sorry, sir,” a third officer said. “We called Inquisitor Raven and figured he’d inform you.”

  “He’s got a lot on his mind and you shouldn’t have bothered him,” Chief Muses said. “Did he say he was coming down?”

  “Yes sir. He’s on his way right now.”

  Inquisitor Raven arrived seconds later.

  “What have you found?” he asked Chief Muses.

  “I just got here myself,” Chief Muses said. “Look for yourself.”

  Inquisitor Raven was stunned to see the metal spike.

  “What is it?”

  “Unknown,” an officer said. “We thought it might be shrapnel from the alien craft but Chief Muses doesn’t think so.”

  “Our hull is thick and shouldn’t allow something that thin to pass through in that shape,” Inquisitor Raven said. “Then again, this is the first time we’ve encountered these alien vessels. Maybe we throw logic out the proverbial window.”

  An officer carrying a computer tablet said:

  “Sir, I’m detecting an energy reading coming from that… spike.”

  “Could this be a weapon?” Inquisitor Raven asked.

  “If it is, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Chief Muses said. “Bill, our wisest course of action is to eject it from the ship. We can examine it from a distance.”

  “Agreed,” Inquisitor Raven said. “Get welding torches and slice the hull wall. We’ll push her out.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Chief Muses motioned to two officers. They headed to another part of the cargo bay in search of the automated welding torches.

  Chief Muses then approached Inquisitor Raven. The two walked to a quiet spot away from the tinsel glass shield.

  “Bill, I was wondering. What do we do now? The Helios Displacer was destroyed and other than small ship Displacers in the Capitol itself, all large vessels are trapped in system. Even worse, we cannot bri
ng other battleships here.”

  “There are the two backup orbital Displacers,” Inquisitor Raven said.

  “They’re offline and, last time I checked, mostly dismantled,” Chief Muses said. “We’re talking at least a month before getting either of those Displacers operational.”

  “A month?” Inquisitor Raven said.

  “It might prove a blessing,” Chief Muses said. “We can use that time to repair the Cygnusa and see if we can salvage the Reverie and Hagios.”

  “What about the rest of the Empire, Carlos? Overlord Emeritus –or whatever in Hades he is– could destroy everything in that time.”

  “Or be destroyed by Saint Vulcan,” Chief Muses said. “It’s also possible the Overlord left to regroup and, for all we know, he might not show up again for years.”

  “We can’t count on that.”

  “No, we can’t,” Chief Muses admitted. “But that creature and his ships knew how to hack our Displacer systems. If we should get one of the large Displacers online, what’s to say he doesn’t hack it again and floods Helios with a fleet of his damn ships?”

  Inquisitor Raven was silent for several seconds. A weary smile appeared on his face.

  “You’ve given me much to think about,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here, Carlos, and I value your advice, even if I may not always agree with it. To think you were just a day away from… from being on the Reverie.”

  “Do you know how many…?”

  “Not ye—”

  Inquisitor Raven didn’t finish his thought. His eyes opened wide.

  A greenish glow appeared from the area behind them. Inquisitor Raven and Chief Muses ran back to the tinsel glass partition and found the glow came from the fragment.

  “What in Hades?” Inquisitor Raven said.

  The officers around the fragment stood back. One of them carried the controls of the automated welding torch. The device neared the tinsel glass enclosure.

  “Everyone move!” Inquisitor Raven said. “Get out of—”

  Bright as the light was, it glowed just a few seconds before dimming. Once it did, everyone within the cargo bay felt a low, familiar vibration.

  “That’s the engines,” Chief Muses said. “They’re coming back online!”

  “And the ship’s turning,” Inquisitor Raven said.

  He reached for his communicator.

  “Lieutenant Sanders, what’s going on up there?” he said.

  “Sir, every one of the ship’s thrusters are now active!”

  “Did you…?”

  “We didn’t do anything, sir,” Lieutenant Sanders said.

  “Where are we going?”

  “The number two replacement Displacer.”

  “The Type 5? Move us away.”

  “I’ve tried sir, but we’re locked out of all controls.”

  “You said the Type 5’s energy cores were removed,” Inquisitor Raven told Chief Muses.

  “They are, Bill. She’s no longer functional”

  “I beg to differ, Chief Muses,” Lieutenant Sanders said. “The Displacer is powering up as we speak.”

  51

  The crew of the Cygnusa felt the ship accelerate even more as she continued changing direction.

  Inquisitor Raven, Chief Muses, and the officers within the cargo bay felt themselves pulled toward the port walls.

  The fragment once again lit up.

  “Helios command is calling,” Lieutenant Sander said. “They’ve detected the activated Type 5 Displacer and our new flight path. They want to know what we’re doing.”

  “I suspect they phrased their question just a little differently,” Inquisitor Raven said.

  “I told them we were not in control over the vessel,” Lieutenant Sanders said. “They’re skeptical but—”

  There came another sudden, sharp thrust and Inquisitor Raven and those around him did everything they could to remain standing.

  “By… by the Gods!” Lieutenant Sanders said. “Sir, we’ve just reached .6 sub-light speed!”

  “That’s not possible,” Inquisitor Raven said. “Not without destroying the ship!”

  “Bill, it has to be the fragment,” Chief Muses said.

  “Get that thing out of here!” Inquisitor Raven ordered.

  Chief Muses addressed the officers.

  “Get the heavy lifters,” he said.

  It took the officers only a couple of minutes to roll in the heavy lifters and station them on either side of the fragment. The welder was attached to the front of a third lifter. One of the tinsel glass panels was temporarily removed and that lifter was driven inside the partitioned space.

  “Put the tinsel glass back in place,” Chief Muses ordered.

  The officers replaced the panel and sealed the glass.

  “Ready, sir,” one of the officers said.

  Chief Muses took one of the officer’s computer tablets and accessed the heavy lifter’s controls.

  “Ready?” Inquisitor Raven asked.

  “Yes,” Chief Muses said.

  Chief Muses activated the welding tool and bright sparks flowed from it as it heated up. He extended the heavy lifter’s arm and brought the tool closer to the Cygnusa’s hull wall.

  “This won’t take long,” Chief Muses said. “I’ll start the cut around—”

  Before he finished his thought, a violent electrical charge erupted from the fragment and slammed into the heavy lifter. Its engine and the welding tool were instantly shut off.

  “By the Gods!” Inquisitor Raven said. “Is everyone OK?”

  The officers nodded.

  “Carlos?”

  “I’m fine,” Chief Muses said. He looked at the monitor of his tablet and shook his head. “The lifter’s engine is fried. Looks like our uninvited guest doesn’t want to leave just yet.”

  “Hades!” Inquisitor Raven muttered. His communicator beeped just as a loud clang was heard coming from the engine room. “What is it, Lieutenant?”

  “The engines are red lining, sir!” Lieutenant Sanders said.

  “I’ll be there in a moment,” Inquisitor Raven said. He shut the communicator off and addressed Chief Muses. “Disconnect the engines. We’ll figure out what to do with the fragment afterwards.”

  “Yes sir,” Chief Muses said.

  Inquisitor Raven hurried to the elevator and, once inside, said:

  “Bridge.”

  The elevator doors closed and the elevator moved.

  Abruptly, it stopped.

  A female voice spoke.

  “Please, leave the engines alone, Inquisitor,” it said.

  52

  “Who said that?”

  Inquisitor Raven received no immediate answer.

  He reached for the elevator’s manual controls and pressed several buttons. Nothing happened.

  “Elevator, what is the problem?” he said.

  Again there was no answer. The lights flickered a moment and the paneling beside the door flashed. Inquisitor Raven pressed his hands against the door and tried to force it open. He couldn’t.

  “Computer?” Inquisitor Raven said.

  The paneling flickered some more, this time in a rhythmic motion. It was as if they were dancing before him. Inquisitor Raven tried to activate his communicator.

  “Lieutenant Sanders?” he said. “Anyone hear me?”

  Static was his only answer.

  “There is no need for alarm, Inquisitor Raven,” the female voice said.

  Inquisitor Raven stepped back to the middle of the elevator. He recognized the voice for he heard it not so very long ago.

  “It’s you, isn’t it?” Inquisitor Raven said. “Saint Vulcan?”

  The panel stopped flickering and all was dead silent.

  “All right,” he said. “I’m listening. What do you want with my ship?”

  “I want you and your crew to go on a journey.”

  “We didn’t agree to join your war, Vulcan.”

  “I do not ask you to fight for me.”


  “Then what exactly do you want?”

  “I want you to help those who desperately need it.”

  “What about the people here in Helios? They need our help, too.”

  “The escape crafts around Helios will reach their destinations with or without the Cygnusa’s aid. But there are others who are in very grave danger. They could use your help, Inquisitor Raven.”

  “If I say no?”

  “You will have that opportunity. It is your choice to aid your brothers and sisters or walk away.”

  Inquisitor Raven considered Vulcan’s words. He said:

  “Where are you sending us?”

  “You will find out. Very soon.”

  The lights stopped flashing and the elevator moved. Her doors opened and before the Inquisitor was the Cygnusa’s bridge.

  “Inquisitor,” Lieutenant Sanders said and saluted.

  Inquisitor Raven stepped out of the elevator and looked back. The elevator doors closed normally.

  “Sir?”

  Inquisitor Raven faced Lieutenant Sanders.

  “We’re still moving toward the Displacer?”

  “Yes sir,” Lieutenant Sanders said.

  Inquisitor Raven drew a deep breath and sat on his chair. On the main view-screen was the Displacer. He switched his communicator on.

  “Chief Muses? How are we doing?”

  There was a moment of silence before Chief Muses replied.

  “No progress,” he said. “I’ve tried cutting off energy sources but… sir, it feels like I’m fighting against a living thing. I cut off one energy source and another is repaired down the line.”

  “What if we blow the main coils?” Inquisitor Raven said.

  “I wouldn’t recommend it. That would destroy the engine and damage life support systems. Maybe even cripple them.”

  Inquisitor Raven closed his eyes. He frowned.

  “How long before we reach the Displacer?”

  “We’re ten minutes way,” Lieutenant Sanders said. “Interdimensional corridor is coming online.”

  Inquisitor Raven shook his head. He addressed his communicator.