Obsidian Ressurection

by T J Bryan

  The two Holgatas saluted again and Abel who knew of the sacrifice of their uncle returned the salute. Abel thought for a moment that these encounters with the relatives of the OCN dead and injured, the heroes of simple conscience and faith in the Commonwealth, were beginning to take a toll on his very own soul. What was to become of Fairmont and Lilly Holgata as the responsibilities of the Commonwealth grew and the inevitable casualties became inscribed on the stone tablets of the OCN Chapel high above the Habitat wall.

  Abel left the Annex, walked across the plaza and stopped for a moment before the ruin of the visitor's quarters. From across the plaza he saw Toni Hamilton approach. While Toni had recovered psychologically from her severe injuries at the Battle of Fitz her physical injuries had been debilitating. That is debilitating for anyone not made of the determined stuff that Abel knew was Toni.

  Abel had not seen Toni since the Holgata Station plans had been finalized and the pre-fab parts for the first element of the station had begun loading into the Greenland a week before the guest house bombing. Toni, despite having effectively lost one arm and the vision in one eye was Abel's choice to manage the station build and later to be station commander. Tony had happily accepted the assignment and thrown herself into the planning and training of the crews needed to construct the station. Given the growing importance of the Wu system in re-establishing commerce and trade several modifications had been made in the design of the OCN station. The modifications included a greater weapons deployment, modifications of the pre-fab components to allow them to be manipulated by the tractor-trucks and automated plasma welders discovered within the Wu system, and docking provisions for the soon to be re-commissioned Crusher. What had once appeared to be an assembly operation that might take six months had been reduced to four. However the full completion of the station would take well over twenty years if not longer.

  Abel smiled as Toni saluted. Rather than return the salute Abel stepped forward and grasped Toni's one good hand and shook it vigorously. Toni seemed embarrassed.

  "Toni, are we ready?"

  "Yes Sir. We leave tomorrow All the components have been loaded and we will be accompanied by the SAR Randgríð with Captain Ignacio Waltis. Waltis was a good choice for captain and even if his crew is rather green. Ignacio has seen the worst of The Dark on his voyages with Commodore Mayer. Randgríð will be relieving Sigrún at Wu, and I am sure that Captain Marx and his crew will be glad to return home.

  "And that package, the toroid shaped one. You have that on board as well."

  Toni nodded. "Yes, and I agree that it is too dangerous to have here in Jamon and certainly not in the Habitat or even near by. We have chosen one of Wu's moons to begin the experiments on the container. It is far enough away from our station build and from Wu Station itself that if any thing goes wrong we will be safe. At least that's the idea, but without knowing how much is contained in the toroid we can't really be sure. Further there is no way that idiot Arne can get at it without a starship and even if he had one he wouldn't know were we put the container. Once the hub of the station is completed we can begin more aggressive testing of the container and try to find a way to siphon off its contents."

  Bennet Nolo appeared and was clearly irritated that Abel kept slipping away and not keeping his bodyguard informed as to his whereabouts.

  With Arne Thorgaut's attacks Abel had begun to be more circumspect about OCN assignments and dispatches. Stephen Klein was still provided with plentiful information about the OCN, but ship arrivals and departures were no longer announced in advance. If one paid attention it was easy to guess the month or perhaps even the week that a ship might depart or arrive, but Abel felt that advanced notices were just inviting attack from the Sovereignty Alliance.

  The following morning the armed freighter Greenland and the SAR Randgríð departed for Wu Station. Six hours later Silvi Karrlson together with the Destructor Ragnarök, the armed freighter Iceland carrying additional elements for Holgata Station, and the SAR's Skaga, and Göndul followed. This was the largest OCN force ever deployed outside the Jamon System and Abel could only shake his head as he realized it had all started only three years ago.

  Just off the Old Mining Dock Abel could see the old Greayson Crusher under refit. Abel had thought Destructors large, but the Crusher was enormous. She will be ready in only another month or so remembered Abel, and then her crew could be trained in her use. Abel had been careful to select experienced crewmembers for this newly recommissioned ship of the OCN. The Crushers, while of limited utility to Greayson during the mass attacks by Unity dreadnaughts, Abel felt would prove very valuable against any pirate fleet, petty empire builder, or invading force. The battle of Fitz weighed heavily upon Abel's mind as did the power of the Dumbbell ships and their anti-matter torpedo advantage. Although the old Greayson Navy had given up on larger ships in the Great War, the presence of new ships of unknown design, capacity, and weapons had dictated in Abel's mind the need for greater fire power and armament. And the Crusher met that need.

  Abel stared out the plasticene window at the ship which was moored to a buoy about half a kilometre from the dock. She had 64 fusion engines compared with a SAR's four. Her size took one's breath away at 800 meters in length and 180 meters wide. Like a Destructor she was built for the void and was tubular in form. She was 93% of the speed of a SAR which for such a heavily armoured ship with great mass Abel found astonishing. 64 launch tubes and a munitions inventory of 1028 'K's and an equal number of sand casters. In addition she had 12 heavy duty large bore 60 centimetre plasma cannons whose kill range was out to 65 kilometres.

  An amazing ship thought Abel. As he looked out the window and gazed intently at the ship he saw her name painted above her main hatch. It read Kára.

  Chapter Seventy Eight

  Wu System - Greenland - Year 3247. June 19 ET: 15:45

  Once again the passage through the devastated Girots system was uneventful. The Spikey continued to ignore passage by OCN ships on their way to the Nelots entry portal and as Iceland passed through the system scans revealed the diminishing power signatures on the alien ship.

  Three days later Iceland and Randgríð entered the Wu System. Toni Hamilton stood on the bridge of Iceland. Meg Asgeir was now Iceland's Captain and she was 'pacing' in her slider chair as they entered the system.

  "Ping the portal monitors," called out Meg as she returned her slider chair to where the captains chair usually stood.

  Defence officer Shawn Bernal replied "Aye aye, Sir." Moments later he continued. "One unknown ship has entered from Nelots. I have a signature and a visual. There is nothing in the OCN mailbox since the entry passage of Sigrún a month ago."

  "Put that new ship recording up on visual please Mr. Bernal."

  Moments later the vid screen which had previously displayed the crowded Wu System began a replay of the entry of the unknown ship.

  "Mr. Bernal. What does that ship look like to you?" asked Meg.

  "Well from the visual and the scan signature she is light on mass but rather heavy on fission engines of a design that is unfamiliar. Built for speed I'd say. Now our portal monitors are passive so our scan is really limited. She entered five days ago and should have been spotted easily by either Wu Station or Sigrún upon entry."

  Meg thought a moment. "Run a full system scan please and notify our friends of our arrival. Please ask for an update on our new visitor."

  Twenty minutes later they had a full report from Wu Station on both the station status and the visitor. As knowledge that Wu Station was returning to its' former role as major trading post within a complex of many intersecting knot lines, surviving systems began to contact the station for information, commerce, and trade.

  The new ship was one of those and hailed from a system called Xaman Ek. The ship had peacefully allowed inspection by the Wu Station Revenue Cutter 'Wu's Advance' and had docked several days ago. The ship called Maximon was still docked at Wu Station and was engaged in trade discussions with the W
u Council.

  Twenty five hours later Greenland docked with Wu Station as Randgríð assumed picket duty about 100,000 kilometres above the ecliptic. Sigrún with Captain Marx would remain on station for another three days before departing for home. With Silvi and her squadron hot on Greenland's heels the Wu system was going to be crowded for a few days. However under orders from Abel ships docked at any one time at any station was to be minimized. Silvi's squadron remained well out from Wu Station until Iceland set out for the moon of Lol. Abel was concerned that the fleet might be caught docked to the station should any enemy surprise the fleet.

  Two hours later Toni Hamilton entered the dock at Wu Station to be greeted by Captain Smilot and several Wu Council members. Rather than use the conference room close to the dock, Captain Smilot led Toni to the interior of the station and to the old Station Masters Quarters which was now the seat of Wu Station's government. To greet her was the entire Wu Council. Toni expected the council to be most interested in her arrival, and the beginning of the construction of the OCN station, but was surprised at the warmth of the welcome.

  Without the OCN Wu Station would surely return to The Dark. As a re-emerging center of commerce Wu had once again become the target of every pirate, commercial raider, and potential empire builder within twenty knot lines. Wu needed an OCN presence to guarantee its freedom, and the new naval base would ensure that freedom.

  A lavish assortment of foods had been prepared for Toni and after a few speeches of welcome by Council members, Toni was anxious to get down to business. Were the Wu Station construction engineers ready? Had preparation work been completed at the moon called Lol? Was the liner refitted for the purpose of construction crew residences? There were many questions and Toni was pleased with the answers. There would be two days of plan review for the construction of Holgata Station and then construction would begin.

  Toni finally sat down and nibbled on something sweet and had a cup of luxurious tea. One burden had been lifted. They had arrived and were about to begin construction. Now another weight, that of building the station as fast as possible, descended upon her.

  Toni sat across from Saran Molofo who was responsible for station trade.

  Toni asked, "Have you had any visitors recently? Other than those docked here at Wu?"

  Saran replied. "The Memphites have visited twice offering pharmaceuticals for trade. We have loaded several of their more promising products into our warehouse. Samples were sent to your Collegium for testing and we have yet to hear any response. I understand that the testing of pharma often takes time. Of the Theans we have heard nothing. However, we have had two entries to our system, which we have been unable to identify. Both entries occurred at the entry portal from Severan at a time when we had not yet posted entry probes or monitors. They remained at a far distance and soon left via Elegy exit which is only two hours away. Both portals are very close. Their total time in system was less than eight hours."

  "Has the Severan portal now been covered by probe monitors?"

  "Yes," replied Saran. Your picket SAR immediately posted monitors and mailboxes."

  "And you have seen nothing from that entry portal since?"

  "Nothing." replied Saran.

  Toni thought for a long time before changing the subject. "And your new visitor. From Xaman Ek. What do we know of them?"

  Captain Smilot who had been quiet until this time spoke up. " Xaman Ek is an ancient settlement. They were founded well before the diaspora and even before the old Earth Imperial Survey Service. The people of Xaman were from the southern lands of Old Earth, and religious and cultural persecution drove them to leave Sol very early in human history."

  "And their system?" asked Toni.

  "In one sense they found a promised land," replied Smilot. "Two goldilocks planets together with one habitable moon. No terraforming was required and they settled in. That was what?" asked Smilot turning to Saran for an answer.

  Saran thought a moment. "More than four thousand years ago is our best estimate. Even the EG is rather vague about Xaman's founding and still rather vague about its current status. But we do know this. Xaman is located in space not physically far from Unity and the Greayson systems, but very far by tunnel time. They have one portal in and one out. Travel from Greayson was well over six months and from the nearest Unity portal perhaps four months. Return times were just as long. It seems that the Great War simply passed them by. Theirs is a subsistence economy and no one appears to have thought them worth the trouble of bothering during the Great War."

  Toni responded, "Yet they have starships and fission power and something to trade?"

  Captain Smilot responded. "Yes. They never gave up on fission power as did the rest of the modern universe," Here Smilot lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "And in fact they took it a lot farther than either Greayson or Unity. Their designs are highly advanced and in some respect we don't really understand them. They seem to have some kind of priest-engineers who manage their engines and energy sources."

  "And their ships?" asked Toni.

  Smilot continued, "Light weight, small, and quite fast. The don't really have what we might call a freighter or a major warship for that matter. They rely on speed, small size, and excellent piloting for their travel. That's about all we know."

  "And they are here to trade?"

  Saran spoke first. "Yes. Their system lacks adequate quantities of fission supplies. This is what they seek and they seek it in quantity."

  "And in return? What do they offer? asked Toni.

  "Artefacts." replied Captain Smilot.

  "Artefacts?" asked Toni.

  "Ancient artefacts. It seems the people of Xaman Ek are collectors of things; ancient things they gather from distant systems. In this they are much like the Theans seeking purpose in preserving the old. Art, elements of architecture, ancient technologies, old texts; the products they have to trade are varied and in fact some of it we simply do not understand. Particularly some of the ancient bits of technology."

  At the mention of ancient Technology Toni Hamilton became very interested.

  "And how do we see or examine what they have on offer?"

  Saran responded. "They have come with many samples of things on offer. The items are often small and some quite beautiful and interesting. Other items are baffling. Together with the items they provide a provenance or a history as best they know it. Some of the art for example is so old that it was obtained from other now long gone systems which were also collectors, so its' entire history is uncertain. One must rely upon one's eye to assess its' value."

  "And the old technology?"

  "That is more difficult to assess, but in one sense easier. For example they have some bits of Unity tech and you can identify it by how it was manufactured. Bits of Greayson technology are obvious. So too with a few Hitti items and two from the Qualoos. Others, particularly those items that seem to be bits of something larger, are a complete mystery. However alien origins to some of the items are obvious given their proportions, fabrication method, and I guess its' intended purpose. That is if one can guess its purpose."

  "Can I see what they have on offer? Perhaps today?" asked Toni.

  Captain Smilot replied, "Yes. That can be arranged." Smilot nodded toward one of the council members who then left the conference to arrange a visit. "But first let me caution you. Much of the technology is often mysterious and some rather dangerous. As to which items are dangerous and which are not we can only guess. And that is the problem. Something that we might think safe is actually deadly."

  Smilot continued, "As for the Xaman themselves they appear most anxious for trade. With the outbreak of the Great War all trade simply stopped and given that their system is lacking fuels for fission they have been without a steady supply for more than 300 years. I might not call them desperate for fuel, but clearly if they cannot obtain fuel from us then they are in great jeopardy."

  Toni thought a moment. "Admiral Stoneman requires us to engage in fair
trading. We might take advantage of a desperate trading system today, but we are after a longer term relationship and if you take advantage now, they will resent the act later."

  Saran spoke, "We are in agreement. The future of Wu Station depends on a steady stream of commerce. If we were to cheat someone, not only would they resent the act, but other trading partners would learn of our practices. No. We are in agreement. We do not take advantage of anyone."

  Toni liked hearing Saran Molofo speak her affirmation of fair trade, however Toni was simply too well read and too good an observer of human nature to know that always just below the surface of any transaction lay greed. Short term advantage almost always won out over long term gain.

  The councilwoman who lad left minutes ago returned and announced that a variety of Xaman trade goods were available for review on a nearby dock. Smilot stood, closed the meeting, and together with Toni headed off to the display.

  The Xaman Ek starship Maximon had docked at one of the inner rings of Wu Station and the walk was a short one. Two unarmed Wu Station guards from the Revenue Service greeted them at the outer hatch of the loading dock. Moments later Toni and Smilot entered the chamber which was littered with objects; small and large.

  Before Toni could even begin to take in the variety of objects on offer she saw two trade representatives of the Xaman people. They were tall, thin, and dark skinned with piercing brown eyes. But most remarkable was their dress. Feathered adornments were everywhere on their clothing, but their legs were bare as was their chest. The feathers were colorful but different colors dominated the attire of the two. One man, and they were obviously men, was dressed in a costume mostly of bright yellow feathers, while the other's costume was dominated by an intense iridescent blue.