She couldn't help but think of the Martlet, which was supposed to have rendezvoused with the Loridell around the time the lieutenant commander had arrived. It was still overdue. She wondered if it was out there somewhere, its crew being slowly tortured to death. Or if they had gone mad and killed each other.
Maria Rodriguez shivered and went to check on her patient. She suddenly didn't want to be alone in the large, empty office. Tebrey had proven that he could fight against whatever the unnamed threat was. She wondered if that was going to make him a target in the future.
Chapter Twenty-Three
"Looks like the Earth Federation has decided to move in," Lt. Commander Donatello Boyle muttered.
The Sentient Concord battle cruiser CSS Arcturus had transited from hyperspace only a few seconds before, and already scans were picking up the mass of ships clustered around the third planet. It didn't take long to match the configurations with known ships from the database. It was an unprecedented build-up of military force by the Federation; by all reports, the Federation was running out of ships as the war with the Nurgg took its toll.
"They're powering up their engines, Captain. They've seen us."
"Thank you, Chief Flynn." Captain Saeunn Viknorov smiled humorlessly at her XO. "I suppose we should say hello. Communications?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Send the standard hail. Let's see if they'll talk to us."
"Shall I bring weapons online, Captain?" Chief Petty Officer Albert Flynn asked quietly, cutting unto the tense silence on the bridge.
"Not yet, Chief. We've got a while before they can get into weapons range. I'd like to avoid an incident if at all possible."
"Yes, Captain."
It took a little over twelve minutes for the Federation taskforce to reply, which wasn't bad considering the Arcturus was just over four light-minutes away.
"This is Commodore Ffoulkes of the FSS Agamemnon. Explain your presence in this system at once."
"Nice guy," Boyle said sarcastically. "They're bringing their weapons online, Captain."
"He's just blowing smoke," Captain Viknorov replied. "Now that we've identified ourselves, he can't fire on us without starting a war. He's outside his effective missile envelope anyway. Bring us into orbit. Open a channel, Lieutenant Russell."
"Channel open, Captain."
"This Captain Saeunn Viknorov of the CSS Arcturus. We are on routine patrol. There has been Nurgg activity in adjacent systems. We're simply making sure this system is clear. May I ask what a Federation taskforce is doing in this system, since the Federation has declared that its former Protectorate is no longer its concern?"
It took a little while for the reply to arrive. "You're not in any position to be asking questions, Captain. I suggest that you withdraw immediately."
Captain Viknorov glanced at Boyle, who shrugged. "Is there a reason you're being so hostile, Commodore? Last I checked, the Earth Federation and the Sentient Concord were still allies. If you need assistance of some kind, let us know. Rest assured I'll be lodging a formal complaint about your belligerence."
"This system is currently claimed by the Federation, and as you can see, we are quite willing to defend our claim," Ffoulkes said.
"So I see, Commodore. However, I feel compelled to point out that these systems are protected by treaty from exploitation by either of our governments. If your presence here signifies an end to that treaty, it will not bode well for our alliance."
"Our alliance does not extend to interference in matters that are none of your business."
"Nevertheless, we will continue our patrol. Also, you lack of diplomacy will no doubt be a great surprise to your government. I suggest that you not interfere with our business." She signaled Russell to close the channel.
"What's going on?" Tebrey asked as he stepped onto the bridge. Dr. Rodriguez hadn't been happy to see him getting dressed, but given the situation, she hadn't tried to stop him. She'd grudgingly given her approval for him to leave, much to Hunter's delight. "Is it the Nurgg?"
Captain Thomas glanced from his air screens to look at the tall marine commander. "Thank you for joining us, Commander. No, it's not the Nurgg. A Concord battle cruiser just jumped into the system. I've been monitoring communications. The commodore is royally putting his foot in it this time."
Tebrey frowned. He didn't know a lot about the Concord, but they were the Federation's allies against the Nurgg. "He hasn't fired on them, has he? A Concord battle cruiser could do some serious damage to this taskforce. They are significantly more advanced technologically than we are. I wouldn't want to bet either way."
"No, but he's certainly threatening to fire on them."
"What is the matter with that man?" Tebrey had been irritated with Ffoulkes since he had heard about the commodore's official reprimand to Captain Thomas and Lieutenant Christopher after the incident with Johnson. There'd been no reason to make something like that official. The case had been clear-cut. No one could have foreseen what happened with the private.
"Power mad," Pahlavi muttered.
"Now, XO, lets not make disparaging comments about our commanding officer," Captain Thomas said with a chuckle. "Even if he is a raving egomaniac."
Everyone on the bridge laughed at that.
"I doubt he'll go so far as to fire on them. He'd be starting a war, and I know he doesn't have orders for that. He's just posturing," Tebrey said. "I just hope the Concord captain doesn't take the bait.
"I doubt she will, but I hate that Commodore Ffoulkes is making all of us all look like asses," Pahlavi replied.
"Weapons, Captain?" Chief Flynn asked again plaintively. "Can I at least bring our defenses online?" It wasn't that he wanted to get into a battle with a Federation taskforce, but he didn't want to be a sitting duck, either. He secretly suspected that they would have been able to take the Federation ships in a straight-up battle, though.
"No, Chief. He is just posturing. Let him stand on his box and shout. He's not going to fire on us."
"If you say so, Captain."
"I do. Chief Murdock?"
"Yes, Captain?" Master Chief Kyle Murdock had his hands ready above the piloting controls.
"Plot a course to that gas giant at orbit eight. I think we should lurk there and keep an eye on things."
"Speed, Captain?"
"Leisurely, Chief. I don't want it to look like we're running away from a battle. Make it look like that was where we wanted to go all along."
"Captain?"
"Yes, Boyle?"
"It occurs to me that they're being a tad more territorial than usual. Do you think they found something interesting on the third planet?"
"As far as I know, no one has ever done a comprehensive survey of this system. We do have a notice filed from the Federation that they were conducting archeological research here; that would be the Loridell. Either they found something that scared them, or the Nurgg have already put in an appearance and they're paranoid." Captain Viknorov shrugged. "Either way, we don't want to get involved."
Commodore Ffoulkes cursed the Concord captain. He'd been hoping she would take the bait and fire on his taskforce. The Concord was far too smug with its technological superiority and damned alien alliances. He'd heard that the Concord even allowed aliens to be citizens. It was an affront.
"The Arcturus is altering course, Captain. It appears to be headed out to the gas giant," Commander Vipavakit said.
"Acknowledged, XO."
"Shall I order a general pursuit, Commodore?"
"No, the bitch knows we're not going to fire on her. Let them go. We need to file a report to Fleet Command immediately, though. We need to put a positive slant on this incident before the Concord starts screaming for my command and some damn politician back home caves in."
"Yes, Commodore." Commander Vipavakit didn't agree with her commander, but what else could she say?
Dr. Patricia Haraguchi carefully examined the bones that Dr. Seshadri had finally sent to her. With so much traf
fic back and forth to the planet because of the finds at the beta dig site, it had been hard to smuggle the alien bones up to her lab.
Now that she had the remains available for study, she was very intrigued by them. Superficially, the bones were mammalian. There were a few striking oddities to the internal structure, but overall the bones were of a type that wouldn't have seemed out of place on Earth. What made them so remarkable was the degree of distortion. It was if the bones had been twisted and warped while the being was still alive.
If it wasn't for the presence of the other skeletons from the same dig, she would have said the bones were the result of some severe birth defect. Many of the individual features, taken by themselves, appeared human.
Under the massive skull-like structure was a jaw that wouldn't have seemed that strange on a human. The teeth were well-developed. There was some evidence of dental work.
Cause of death was clear enough. There was a neat seven-millimeter hole through the front of the skull. There was currently no evidence of what had made the injury, but she suspected it was ballistic due to grooved scoring in the hole itself.
Several of the smaller metallic objects found with the body had been buttons and buckles from clothing.
There had also been tools and what could only be a pistol of some sort. The grip on the weapon was strange, impossible to grasp properly with normal human fingers.
The excavation as a whole had the look of a hurried mass grave. Haraguchi had examined similar graves on planets that had seen war. Bodies had to be buried to prevent the outbreak of disease, but there was often little time to do it neatly. Of course, ceremonies for the dead varied greatly from culture to culture, but most cultures venerated the dead in some way. There was no evidence of any ritual to this burial. The bodies appeared to have been heaped into the grave with no regard for placement.
If it was a mass grave, it could be that Dr. Anderson was quite right and the remains were of a much more recent origin. Since graves were often dug deep, they intruded into the layers of sediment underneath. Many archeological sites had been ruined by the presence of anomalous intrusions from more recent eras. They would still have archeological importance, but not the proof of ancient civilizations that Dr. Seshadri wanted.
Haraguchi would have to wait for the carbon-14 dating to be sure of the age. There was also a problem with the possibility of contamination of the bones from humic and fulmic acids in the volcanic soil. That could throw off the effective dating of the bones.
If the burial was from a more recent time, it could support the theory that the remains belonged to whatever species had brought humans to the planet thousands of years ago. It was well known that the Achenar had experimented on the Nurgg and the Homndruu. It had even been suggested that the Homndruu's centauroid body shape was due to experimentation by the Achenar. Unfortunately, the Homndruu weren't willing to discuss the subject with anyone from the Federation. Too many territorial disputes had left a bad taste in both sides' mouths.
Dr. Haraguchi wasn't one to jump to unfounded conclusions, but she had to admit that the data pointed to Earth having been visited by the Achenar in the past. How else could the other race of humans on Cedeforthy, obviously genetically altered, have gotten there?
"Lt. Commander, it's good to see you back on your feet," Dr. Bauval said.
Tebrey had been discussing the guard schedule with Lieutenant Christopher when the biologist entered the shuttle bay. The weather at the dig sites was getting colder, and packs of the smaller sauroids, the kasirs, had been spotted in the area. So far the vicious little creatures seemed content to hunt the local animals, but after Tebrey's experience with the reptiles, no one wanted to take any chances.
"Thank you, Doctor. It's good to be back to work. I read in the reports Mason brought me that you were right about the pale people being a different race than the others, not just genetic sports."
"That's correct. In fact, I'd go so far as to call them a different species. They're different enough from us that we couldn't interbreed."
"All of the locals, or just the pale ones?"
"Just the pale ones. The regular locals are as human as you and me."
"Interesting. Do you have any theories about how that came to be?"
"A few. You know we found bones at the beta site?"
"I read something about that, yes. There weren't a lot of details."
"We found human bones."
"Human bones? A more recent contamination?"
"No," Bauval replied. "They are found in conjunction with the artifacts. The bones are almost twelve thousand years old."
Chapter Twenty-Four
"Captain? I've got an anomalous gravity wave reading," Chief Flynn reported.
"What kind of anomaly? Hypertrace?"
"No, Captain. It appears to be a small repeating pulse. It's coming from the north polar region of this planet. It just started."
"Helm, take us up for a closer look."
The massive battle cruiser extricated itself from the icy rings where it had been monitoring the situation with the Federation ships, and moved up over the planet. The gas giant was huge, with a complex system of rings, moons, and planetoids in orbit around it. It had made a good hiding place.
"Captain, are you seeing this?" Boyle asked softly.
"I see it, Commander. Helm, put us in a parking orbit over the pole."
There was a massive structure in polar orbit over the gas giant. It was jet black, with a spidery grace that almost looked organic. Several long tubes or cables descended into the atmosphere and out of sight.
"I presume that is the source of our gravity waves?" said the captain.
"Yes, Captain." The awe in Flynn's voice was unmistakable. The structure was hundreds of kilometers across. It was bigger than any artificial structure he had ever seen – or even ever heard of.
"How did the surveys miss this?" Captain Viknorov asked no one in particular. "How did we miss it?"
"We weren't looking. Is it Nurgg?" asked Boyle.
"I don't think so," the captain replied. "Looks to me like it has been abandoned. There is meteorite damage here and here," she said, pointing to areas on her air screen. "Any weapons systems online?"
"I'm not detecting any power source except whatever is causing the gravity wave."
"Captain?"
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
"Captain, the Nurgg use hyperspace communications. Maybe that gravity wave is from a transmitter beacon," offered Lieutenant Russell, the communications officer.
"They don't use hypercom this close to a gas giant, Lieutenant."
"No, Captain. I mean, what if this isn't a Nurgg station?"
"If not the Nurgg, then who?" the captain asked, although she was already forming a guess.
"The species that made the Nurgg, Captain. The Achenar."
Tebrey shivered in the cold, damp air that gnawed at him when he exited the shuttle. They'd told him that it was moving toward winter in the southern hemisphere, but the last time he'd been down, he'd been in armor.
Commodore Ffoulkes had denied Tebrey's request for a new suit of armor to replace the one damaged in the incident with Johnson. The commodore stated that he saw little reason for a military advisor to have access to such equipment, and if it had been up to him, Tebrey would never have been assigned to the mission in the first place. Tebrey had pointed out that he wasn't under the command of the commodore.
That had gotten the man screaming mad, but it was true. He'd dismissed Tebrey with an order to get off his ship and not come back. Overall, Commodore Ffoulkes was not endearing himself to anyone.
Tebrey reflected that with the Concord ship still in the system, lurking out in the rings of the gas giant, the commodore was probably on edge. He didn't really care what the man's problem was; his attitude was causing problems for everyone. Tebrey had put in a request through DEP that Ffoulkes be reassigned, but he doubted it would do any good.
"Commander," Jane said as she came up.
/>
Tebrey turned and greeted the young woman. "Feeling better?"
She blushed. "Yeah. Um, Dr. Seshadri wanted me to ask you to come talk to him."
"Tell him I'll be right over."
"Sure thing," Jane said.
Tebrey couldn't help but admire the view as she walked away. She was a very attractive young woman.
"Did I come by at a bad time?" Mason asked.
He hastily cleared his throat and looked away from Jane. "Not at all, Doctor. What can I do for you?"
"I'm planning a trip into the village later. Would you like to come along?"
"I'd like to, but I really don't want to be that far from Hunter right now. He's been a bit overprotective since the last time we were separated. I think he blames himself somewhat. Not that he could have done anything."
"Right, well, I don't think they'd react well to his presence. It might be a bit hard to explain."
"No neo-panthers on Cedeforthy, eh?"
"Not that we've ever seen."
"Well, eventually they'll find out."
"The longer the wait, the better. Where are you off to now?"
"Dr. Seshadri wants to talk to me about something."
"Ah."
Tebrey quirked an eyebrow at her reaction. "You know something about that, don't you?"
"Not my place to say, Commander."
"Come on, Mason, don't give me that 'commander' crap."
"Tebrey, Dr. Anderson forbade Seshadri from talking to you about something he discovered recently," Mason said quietly. "It looks like he's going to finally come clean."
"Something important?"
"You'll have to decide that for yourself."
The Remnant Page 16