“I’m going to miss this,” Kelsey said as Jason started climbing up the slide again. “This was almost like being home on the Dyson sphere.”
Jeremy had to agree. It had been very relaxing and something he needed. “We have tonight and most of tomorrow before we need to return to our ships. I’ve already told Kevin and the others.”
Kelsey watched Jason go down the slide to land on his bottom. She started to stand up and go check on him when he got up, brushed himself off, and headed up the slide again.
“I wonder what we’ll find in the main galaxy?”
“I don’t know,” replied Jeremy. “I’m hoping the Creevak never made it there. That’s one of the reasons I want us to go ahead and start exploring.”
Kelsey stood up and looked over at Jeremy. “Let’s go out to eat tonight since this might be our last opportunity. If you’ll watch Jason for awhile I’ll go get ready.”
“Sure,” replied Jeremy.
Jeremy stood up and went over to the swings. He knew Jason really liked it when he pushed him so he could go really high.
-
Several days later Jeremy stood in the Command Center of the Avenger ready to begin the exploration of the larger galaxy. The New Horizon and two other exploration dreadnoughts were also going. Each exploration dreadnought would have ten dreadnoughts and twenty battlecruisers to defend it.
“What’s the status of the ships we’re sending to the anomaly?”
They should arrive early tomorrow,” answered Ariel. “That will give us thirty dreadnoughts and sixty battlecruisers in case something comes through.”
Jeremy nodded. He had ordered the ships to open fire on any Creevak vessel that appeared from the anomaly. If they only came through one at a time then the forces he had there should be sufficient. At least Jeremy hoped they were.
“All ships are ready to enter hyperspace,” reported Aaliss. The tall AI was standing near Navigation watching the ship’s viewscreens.
“Let’s go,” ordered Jeremy.
All three exploration task groups would travel together to the larger galaxy and then split up to explore suitable stars which might hold habitable planets. Jeremy hoped they found the situation there much better than here in the satellite galaxy.
“Twenty seconds to hyperspace entry,” reported Lieutenant Striker.
Jeremy leaned back in his command chair. It was a five-day journey to the larger galaxy using the intergalactic hyperspace drives. It would give him and Rear Admiral Barnes plenty of time to map out their exploration plan.
“Hyperspace entry,” reported Striker.
Jeremy felt the ship transfer to hyperspace and rapidly accelerate. The viewscreen was adjusted to show the larger galaxy until it filled the screen. Its spiral shape was intriguing as it contained hundreds of billions of stars.
“We should have brought more exploration ships with us,” commented Kevin from his sensor console. “That’s a large galaxy.”
“Eventually we will,” replied Jeremy. “All we want to know for now is if the Creevak made it into the main galaxy.”
Jeremy planned on searching the larger galaxy for any signs of a Creevak presence. If they came across any destroyed worlds, it would be an indicator the Creevak had struck the larger galaxy as well. As of this moment they had no idea of how many ships the Creevak possessed or how large their Empire was in their own universe. It was frightening to Jeremy knowing they might be facing a menace from another universe with unknown technologies and resources. The Eternals were bad enough and now to discover the existence of the Creevak! He wondered what else awaited them in other sections of the universe.
“Is there any way to close the anomaly permanently?” asked Kevin. “Surely the Originators can figure something out.”
“It’s not that simple,” replied Aaliss. “Were talking multiverse science. Until we found the anomaly we didn’t even know if it was possible to travel from one universe to another due to the slight variance in natural laws that might be present. I spoke to several Originator scientists on board the New Horizon and they say the anomaly is an extremely rare occurrence. Neither had any idea as to how it was created. To create such a tear in the fabric of space would require a tremendous amount of energy. One of the scientists suggested the collision of two black holes in the other universe might have been the cause. It’s something we may never know.”
Jeremy gazed at the viewscreen and the target galaxy. “We need to find out more about the Creevak. That’s one of the reasons we’re still searching the satellite galaxy. We know a lot of fighting occurred there and I’m hoping we find a Creevak vessel at one of the battle sites.” Jeremy felt as if they were overlooking something, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
Kevin looked at Jeremy. “That’s a long shot.”
“True, but it’s the only one we have for now.”
Ariel looked over at her two friends. “I calculate a 72 percent chance the Creevak traveled to the main galaxy. They could have made the journey even with regular hyperspace drives. It would have been a longer journey but it could have been done.”
“I agree,” added Aaliss. “The Creevak took great pains to wipe out all of the star traveling races in the satellite galaxy. They would have wanted to know what was in the larger galaxy as well.”
Jeremy leaned back in his command chair and folded his arms over his chest. He had spoken to Councilor Trallis before setting out on this mission. Construction of the new and larger battlestation as well as the Accelerator Ring were under way. He would feel better when he had the new battlestation parked near the anomaly. It would pretty well guarantee they could stop any attempted incursion by the Creevak. That would allow him to focus on the war with the Eternals.
-
Four days later Rear Admiral Barnes watched on the main viewscreen as the New Horizon and the rest of the exploration groups neared the spiral galaxy. It completely filled the viewscreen and the Astrometrics department was working overtime to determine some likely exploration targets. Her eyes wandered over to the tactical display showing the ninety-two green icons which surrounded the massive exploration dreadnought.
“Do we have our targets?” asked Kathryn, looking at Arian.
“Yes, Admiral,” Arian replied. “The Astrometrics department has recommended twenty-eight star systems to explore. If the Creevak came to this galaxy it’s highly likely they would have targeted the same systems.”
“What if we encounter a Creevak ship?” asked Kelsey.
This greatly concerned her as they had no idea of what the actual firepower of a Creevak vessel was. Fortunately, they were on the New Horizon, the most powerful ship ever built by the Originators. She had asked Clarissa to stay with the children in the center section. There were also a number of Belal’s Carethians in that section providing security.
“We’ll deal with that when and if it occurs,” replied Kathryn. “Keep in mind Fleet Admiral Strong and the Avenger will be with us on our explorations. I’m sure he will handle that situation if it arises.”
Kelsey knew Kathryn was right. Jeremy would go out of his way to make sure nothing happened to the New Horizon. He was very protective of her and the children.
“Admiral,” said Angela. “Fleet Admiral Strong is recommending we bring all ships to a stop and divide the fleet into its exploration task groups. We’re to give each task group a list of targets to explore. He also wants all three exploration ships to have a complete list of where the other ships will be going in case we lose contact.”
Kathryn looked over at Sible at the helm. “Bring the fleet to a stop and we’ll begin transmitting exploration coordinates to the other two exploration dreadnoughts.”
A few minutes later Sible reported all ships had dropped out of hyperspace and were waiting on instructions from the New Horizon.
Arian quickly transmitted the coordinates of the star systems each exploration dreadnought was to explore as well as a complete list of which stars each had been assi
gned.
“All ships report ready,” said Angela as confirmation messages came in over her communications station.
Kathryn nodded. “Then let’s begin. Sible, transmit the initial coordinates to all ships in our task group and take us back into hyperspace.”
Kelsey felt the New Horizon make the transit back into hyperspace and they were soon closing on the outskirts of the large galaxy. They were close enough now to make out individual stars. “What do you think we’ll find?”
“Hopefully some planets with inhabitants,” answered Kathryn. “There’s no point speculating until we begin our explorations.”
Kelsey nodded. She was glad Jeremy and the Avenger were close by; it made her feel more secure. As soon as she was off duty she would pick up Jason from his classroom. She strongly suspected both Jason and Clair would be full of questions about where they were going. They always were.
-
A few hours later Kelsey was off duty and watching as Clarissa taught the children their latest lesson. Today there were a few other children in the room as several other parents had asked if Clarissa could teach their children as well. Clarissa had been pleased with the request and quickly agreed.
Today’s lesson was in mathematics. Kelsey was amazed at how advanced the children were. They were already learning concepts she didn’t learn until high school and that was inside Ceres where the survivors from the first Human Federation of Worlds had set up a colony. She was surprised to hear Jason making correct responses to Clarissa’s questions.
Finally the lesson was over and the children were dismissed. Kelsey walked up to Clarissa and spoke. “I’m surprised at how well Jason is doing in math.”
Clarissa smiled. “Jason is very good at math. He seems to pick it up quicker than the others. Clair is really good with some of the science concepts. The others have their own subjects in which they seem to excel.”
Kelsey nodded. She wondered how much Clarissa had to do with which subjects the children were doing well in. Was it possible she was already training them for specific jobs in the future? Kelsey decided not to ask but it was something she was going to keep an eye on.
“We’ll be at our first exploration destination in the morning.”
“I heard,” replied Clarissa. “I plan on being in the Command Center when we drop out of hyperspace.” Clarissa recently was spending most of her time in the central section with the children. “Are you expecting any danger?”
“Who knows?” replied Kelsey. “This is an unexplored galaxy and after what we found in the satellite galaxy we don’t what to expect.”
“Perhaps the Creevak never made it here,” suggested Clarissa. “They may not have the ability to travel in intergalactic space.”
“Let’s hope not.” Kelsey was watching Jason and Clair who were sitting on a sofa and playing some type of game on their hand held computers. Both seemed very intent on what they were doing. She had a strong suspicion they were both playing the same game and against each other.
“They’re very competitive,” explained Clarissa, seeing where Kelsey’s eyes were focused.
Kelsey nodded. She wondered where this would lead in the future.
-
Early the next morning Kelsey was in the Command Center as the New Horizon and her escort fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Long-range scans had already detected a planet in the habitable zone but no signs of any spacecraft.
“The star is a K-Class with five planets,” reported Andram. “Planet two is in the liquid water zone but we’re not detecting any signs of water or life.”
Kelsey let out a deep sigh. She guessed it was too much to expect to find a star faring race on their first exploration. K-Class stars had extremely long life spans and were well suited for life to develop on its planets. This time it looked as if life had failed to take root.
“Detailed scans of the surface of planet two indicate it once held water, but that might have been several hundred million years ago,” added Arian.
“We’ll take scans of all five planets and then move on to target two,” said Kathryn. “Angela, inform Fleet Commander Strong we’ll only be spending a few hours in this system before we move on to the next one.”
Looking up at the viewscreen, Kelsey saw it now had a highly magnified view of planet two. It was slightly larger than Earth with a reddish hue similar to Mars. While it had an atmosphere, it was a very thin one. This planet was well past its prime.
“All planets die eventually,” explained Arian, seeing Kelsey’s gaze. “Some over their lifespans may develop several sentient races. We know from observation some have developed even more sentient life than that. Life is much more common in the universe than most people believe.”
Kelsey nodded. She knew many inhabited planets had a life span of nearly a billion years where it was possible for life to develop. It was perfectly feasible to see multiple races rise and fall during that type of timeframe.
“Captain Reynolds, make sure we take detailed scans of all the moons and large asteroids in this star system,” ordered Kelsey. “If there have been any civilizations in this system in the past, evidence of that could still exist on any of those.”
“I’m setting up the sensors now for detailed scans of the moons and larger asteroids,” replied Reynolds as his hands moved over his console.
Time passed as the New Horizon’s sensors reached out and scanned the system in detail. When the final scan was finished Andram turned toward Kelsey and Rear Admiral Barnes. “There are no signs of any recent mining or colony activity. However, there are a few indications that sometime in the distant past there may have been a sentient presence on several of the moons in this system. In multiple locations there are indications of mining and perhaps even a few colony domes. Those have long since collapsed and the mines have caved in.”
“Any idea of how long ago that might have been?” asked Kathryn.
“It could have been one hundred years ago or one hundred thousand. There’s no way of telling unless we go to the sites and take readings.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” said Kelsey. “Let’s go on to target two.”
“I agree,” said Kathryn. “Angela, inform Fleet Admiral Strong we’ll be going back into hyperspace and heading to target two. We’ll be ready to leave in ten minutes.”
-
On board the Avenger Jeremy listened as Lieutenant Lantz passed on Rear Admiral Barnes’ plans.
“Sounds fine,” replied Jeremy. “Lieutenant Striker, load the coordinates for target two into the navigation computer and then tie in with the other ships in the fleet.” That way they could all enter hyperspace together and stay in formation.
“What type of star is the next one?” asked Kevin.
“M-Class,” answered Jeremy. “M-Class stars are the most common and extremely long lived. It’s also been proven that many M-Class stars have Earth sized planets in the liquid water zone with plenty of water. Some have extremely deep oceans.”
“I wonder what life would be like living beneath a red dwarf?”
“The colors spectrum would be different,” Ariel answered. “Other than that vegetation and animal life would adapt. In our own galaxy there are numerous sentient races living on worlds orbiting M-Class stars.”
“Ready to enter hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Striker.
“New Horizon is entering hyperspace,” added Kevin.
Jeremy nodded and looked over at Lieutenant Striker. “Take us into hyperspace and let’s see what this next system holds.” Jeremy was anxious to find out if the Creevak had made it to this galaxy. If they did then it did not bode well for his future plans to limit the Eternals’ expansion.
-
The trip to the M-Class star only took a few hours. Once they reached the system, the New Horizon dropped out of hyperspace followed by her escort fleet.
“Fourteen planets!” exclaimed Captain Reynolds, his eyes lighting up. “We have two in the liquid water zone; planet
s two and three.”
Kathryn leaned forward in her command chair. Perhaps they had hit the jackpot with this star. “Any signs of artificial constructs?”
Captain Reynolds eyes widened and then he nodded. “I’m picking up substantial wreckage around planet two. There are no active power sources.”
Kathryn felt a chill run down her back. “Can you identify the type of wreckage you’re detecting?”
“Ships and at least one orbital station. Can’t tell if it was a shipyard or research station.”
“Fleet Admiral Strong is ordering us to stay here while he takes part of the escort fleet in to investigate,” reported Angela.
“Acknowledged,” replied Kathryn. She watched the tactical display as the Avenger, four dreadnoughts, and ten battlecruisers entered hyperspace and headed toward the vicinity of the second planet. She hoped this wreckage was due to something other than the Creevak.
-
The Avenger and her escorts dropped out of hyperspace fifty-five thousand kilometers from the second planet. Its atmosphere was dark and gray with streaks of lightning.
“The planet’s in a nuclear winter,” reported Aaliss. “Sensors are detecting high radiation levels and what appears to be numerous blast marks on the surface, both nuclear and antimatter.”
“Was it the Creevak?”
Aaliss hesitated and then replied. “I believe so. The antimatter blasts are similar to what the Creevak used on the Varnons.”
“Damn!” said Jeremy, shaking his head. “I was hoping not to find that here. Are there signs of anything which might be dangerous to the fleet?”
“No, from the readings we’re getting from the planet this occurred about forty to forty-five years ago.”
“Lieutenant Lantz, inform Rear Admiral Barnes to bring her ship here. We need to begin searching the wreckage to see if we can find out what happened.”
“Message sent and confirmed,” replied Lantz.
The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 21