Peacekeeper

by Doug Farren

  “Good evening Peacekeeper Wilks,” she said, a smile forming on her face. “Table for one?”

  “Yes please. Somewhere quiet if possible.”

  “Of course." After consulting her seating chart, she said, “Right this way please.”

  She directed Tom to a table in the corner away from the other guests. A moment later, a Shandarian waitress arrived and took his drink order. By the time she returned he had chosen a meal from the extensive selection. After the waitress took his order, he turned on his pad and accessed his identicard. He almost let out an audible gasp when he noticed the available credit on his account was listed as unrestricted.

  After recovering from the shock, he located the document Thish had mentioned and opened it. ‘Congratulations!’ the text seemed to shout from the screen. ‘As a newly accepted Peacekeeper, you must bear in mind that no matter where you are or who you talk to, you must maintain the highest standards of integrity. Being accepted into the Peacekeeper academy is a cause for celebration. Therefore, your first official order as a Peacekeeper is to celebrate your success. In keeping with the high standards you have already demonstrated, I do not believe I need to add that you should do so responsibly.’

  Tom was chuckling to himself when the waitress showed up with his bread. Pointing to the pad, she smiled and asked, “Reading a comedy?”

  The waitress was a young, pretty Shandarian. Tom looked up at her and smiled. Not bothering to hide his growing enthusiasm, he replied, “No—just laughing at the first order I’ve been given since becoming a Peacekeeper." Flipping the pad over, he allowed her to read it.

  “Congratulations!” she said, after a moment. “You should follow those orders as best you can.”

  “Well then…” Tom set the pad down and looked at her nametag. “Brenith, can you direct me to a good bar?”

  Chapter 4

  Tom woke up to the enticing smell of bacon and eggs. Getting out of bed, he grabbed the soft, white hotel robe off the wall-hook and threw it over his shoulders. After using the bathroom, he headed into the main living space.

  “I hope you didn’t mind if I ordered breakfast for us,” a voice called out from the kitchenette.

  “Not at all,” Tom replied, taking a seat at the tiny table. “That smells like genuine pork bacon.”

  Brineth set two plates of steaming food on the table. She was also wearing a hotel robe but hers had been left untied. “It was a bit pricey,” she said, taking a seat, “but after last night I think you deserve it.”

  Tom had arrived at the restaurant near the end of her shift and when he asked her for directions to a bar, she offered to take him there herself. He gladly accepted her offer. Inside the bar, they encountered a couple of his shipmates. One of them made a call and within an hour an impromptu going away party was in full swing. Tom offered, and Brineth accepted, an invitation to stay. The couple decided to leave after several of the partiers started showing signs of having had too much to drink.

  Back in the hotel room, Brineth proved that Shandarians and Terrans were exceptionally compatible with each other. As an unofficial ambassador of the human race, Tom did his absolute best to ensure that she continued to hold his race in high regard. It was a night he would remember for a very long time.

  Picking up a strip of bacon, he looked at it and said, “This is a luxury I haven’t had in years. Thank you.”

  Brineth stabbed a forkful of eggs and held them up so she could inspect them. “I’ve never tried any of this,” she admitted. “I did some research and learned this is a typical Terran breakfast. It does smell good.”

  She deposited the food into her mouth and chewed. “Mmmm. It is good!”

  The rest of the breakfast was taken up by idle chitchat. Afterwards, Tom helped clean up the dishes then accepted an invitation from Brineth to save some water by showering together.

  A few hours later, as the two were parting company, Tom said, “I had a wonderful time,” as he opened the door for her. If she had been human, he would have asked if she wanted to see him again. However, Shandarian customs were very different from those of humans. Romantic attachment was completely unknown in Shandarian society. Both men and women freely engaged in intimate encounters with anyone they pleased.

  Brineth paused in the doorway and turned around. Starting at the top of his head, her eyes performed a slow scan all the way to his bare feet. Smiling, she replied, “I also enjoyed myself. If you are not otherwise occupied I would like to spend another night with you tonight.”

  The smile that appeared on Tom’s face would have been enough of an answer. “I would like that very much,” he replied, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. “I have some reading to do but I’ve nothing planned for tonight.”

  “Excellent, I will return at nine,” she replied.

  Tom allowed the door to close. As the latch clicked into place, it suddenly occurred to him that he had no inkling of how time was kept on Moth. He made a beeline to his pad and turned it on. It took less than a minute for the pad to reprogram his timepiece and slightly longer for it to explain the planet’s timekeeping system. Now that he knew what time it was and when Brineth would return, he could get to work.

  His identicard had been loaded with several hundred pages of material. At first, Tom found it difficult to concentrate. His thoughts kept returning to Brineth. But perseverance paid off and it wasn’t very long before he was immersed in his reading.

  The academy preferred not to waste any time on indoctrination. By the time he arrived at the academy, he was expected to have memorized the layout of the building as well as become familiar with his schedule for the first few days. During a break, he scanned the rest of his reading assignments. In order to prevent any inter-species incidents, there was a document containing a description of the important culture and mannerisms of every species of the Alliance. Another was a very in-depth description of the medical procedure he would be undergoing along with a long list of things that could go wrong during the process. In addition, he was expected to read and understand a long introduction into the complex system of laws he would eventually be required to enforce. Finishing the material before he arrived would be a challenging task.

  Later in the day, while eating a light meal, he used his pad to look up the details of his upcoming flight. Centralis, the planet from which the entire Alliance was governed, was located deep in Alliance space. Moth, being in the Almaranus sector, was located 127 light years from Centralis. The cargoliner would make the trip in a little over 23 days, making three stops along the way.

  After his meal, Tom decided to take a walk. Moth is a very strange world. Orbiting one of the system’s binary stars, it had been discovered by a Shandarian mapping expedition and initially classified as unsuitable for colonization. Eight years later, a follow-up expedition arrived and found a much different world. Instead of a frozen landscape with temperatures hovering around -50° C, the planet was rich with vegetation and had a pleasant climate.

  By combining the new data with the old, the planetographers were able to determine that Moth’s orbit periodically took it to the extreme ends of the system's variable habitability zone. Over a 25.5 year period, the planet cycled between a completely frozen ball of ice to a hot, steamy world of tropical wonders. In between these two extremes, the climate was quite comfortable. Despite the wild change of seasons, it had been colonized and now hosted a large and varied population.

  Knowing what they would be dealing with, the early colonists built their cities to withstand everything Moth could throw at them. The efficient, completely automated transportation system consisted of a network of raised, enclosed roadways. Large portions of the major cities were located underground. The above ground portions of the buildings were solidly built, short structures with heavy, insulated shutters on every window. At the moment, the planet was slowly warming up and Tom had to contend with a constant, cold wind. While he saw a variety of vegetation, no animals other than the free-running pets
being walked by a Shiltan triad were visible.

  With only a light jacket to protect himself from the near freezing temperature, Tom ended his tour of the surface after only ten minutes. The underground portion of the city was designed to give the illusion that the inhabitants were living on the surface. Looking up, he could see a blue sky complete with clouds and even an occasional bird. He ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant then returned to his room to resume his studies.

  Later that evening, Brineth arrived. They enjoyed each other’s company late into the night taking a break for a few hours to eat and rebuild their strength. During their meal, Brenith brought up an interesting question, “Have you ever wondered why so many members of the Alliance are similar?”

  “You mean like you and I?” Tom replied, thinking she was hinting at something else.

  “More than just you and I,” she replied. “Shandarians, Terrans, Tholtarans, Omel, and the Saulquin are all very similar species. It’s as if we all descended from a common source millions of years ago. I’ve always wondered why.”

  Tom broke a piece of bread off the loaf sitting between them and dipped it into the rich sauce. “I’ve heard a few different theories about that. There are some, including many Omel, who believe we are the product of a genetic seeding experiment conducted by a race that existed long before us. It does sort of explain our similarities as well as how close each of the races are technologically. Unfortunately, nobody has ever found any evidence to support the theory.”

  “It is a fascinating possibility though,” she replied. “If it’s true, I wonder where they are now?”

  Popping the last piece of bread in his mouth, Tom reached out and grabbed Brenith’s hand. “I don’t know, but if we ever find them I’ll have to thank them for making us so compatible.”

  Tom was a little disappointed when Brineth elected not to stay the night. After bidding her a final farewell, he fell into a deep, uninterrupted sleep until the alarm woke him up. Two hours later, after showering, having breakfast, and packing, he took a taxi to the starport where he boarded his flight to Centralis. He was sure he would miss Moth and Brineth for a long time but memories tend to fade quickly when life becomes exciting.

  Chapter 5

  The civilian shuttle that transported Tom to the cargoliner was very different from the military version he rode when he left the Dragon. Instead of small fold-up seats, he relaxed in soft comfort along with the other 45 paying customers. The shuttle also had something that no military shuttle would ever consider—windows, allowing the passengers to look outside. Tom took full advantage of them to get an excellent view of the cargoliner as they made their approach.

  The ship was built in the shape of an elongated spheroid. Along the top third of the vessel were row upon row of windows indicating the location of individual cabins. A much larger clear dome was visible at the very bow of the ship. Tom inwardly cringed. Windows represented an intolerable weakness in the hull and no military vessel had them. Civilian ships, however, were built to support the needs of its passengers and a ship without windows would attract few customers.

  The cargo section of the dual-purpose vessel was located below the passenger deck. Carrying both passengers and cargo helped improve the ship’s profitability. Three cargo shuttles were currently docked to the lower section of the ship. Tom’s shuttle headed for a docking port located near the center of the passenger section.

  A Shandarian steward greeted him as he left the shuttle and showed him to his cabin. Compared to what he was used to in the space force, the first-class cabin aboard the cargoliner was like a king's mansion. It was actually a small apartment with a living area, a large bedroom that doubled as a study, and a bathroom with a tub the size of a small pool. Tom quickly unpacked then settled into a comfortable chair to continue his studies. A short while later, he felt the distant vibration as the sub-light drive was engaged—they were on their way out of the system.

  Tom was relaxing in a recliner, a cold beer within easy reach, enjoying the ability to just sit and do nothing, when the ship's public address system came to life. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We are about to engage our stardrive. For those of you who have never witnessed this event, I suggest you make your way to one of the observation decks for a view you will never forget.

  "While I have the opportunity," he continued. "I would like to welcome you aboard the Nightglider. If there is anything we can do to make your trip more enjoyable, please feel free to ask any of our crew members. Flight time to Centralis will be 23 standard days including three short stops along the way. Due to the time difference between our various ports of call, the Nightglider maintains a calendar-neutral internal clock. If you wish to have your timepieces adjusted for the time keeping system of any of our destinations ask any member of the crew. Stardrive activation will begin in about 15 minutes. I hope you enjoy your stay aboard the Nightglider."

  Although he had been in the space force for eight years, Tom had never seen the star-shift as a ship engaged its faster-than-light drive. Tom found his way to the observation deck by following the directions posted at convenient locations throughout the ship. It was not crowded even though about 200 people had gathered. The observation deck consisted of an enormous room with a re-enforced armored dome of transparent crystal taking up the entire front wall and a good portion of the ceiling. Tables were scattered throughout the room and a refreshment bar was located at each end.

  After purchasing a drink consisting of a tasty mix of some sort of unidentifiable fruit juice and rum, Tom wandered around the room for a few minutes taking in the crowd. Most of the member races of the Alliance were represented although a majority of the passengers were either Terran or Shandarian. After circling the room, he spotted a good seat and settled in for the show. He looked up and saw the blackness of space interrupted by thousands of bright points of light.

  A soft chime sounded from the ship's PA system. "This is your ship's navigator speaking," announced a heavily accented female voice. "Stardrive activation in one minute."

  People moved around to obtain what they thought to be the optimum viewing location. The noisy bustle of the crowd began to slowly subside until shortly only the occasional clink of a drink glass could be heard. The passengers waited in silence for the transition to stardrive.

  The soft chime of the announcing system startled a few of the passengers. Someone dropped a glass; the thump of it hitting the carpet could clearly be heard. "This is your ship's navigator again. We are commencing stardrive activation."

  Everyone's eyes were directed upwards toward the blackness of space. At first, nothing seemed to be happening. Slowly, the stars began to shimmer. It was like looking at an object through the air rising off a heated surface; like distant lights through desert heat. Each shimmering point of light became a blur as if the light from each star was becoming unfocused. Suddenly, the blurs rapidly expanded; space became a hazy gray and, with a quickness that hurt the eyes, blinked into absolute blackness.

  Several people gasped and a few uttered oaths in various languages. After a few moments, the lights in the observation dome slowly brightened. People started to talk and before long, everyone was giving their own opinion of what had happened. Tom caught snatches of the various conversations around him. He was amazed to discover that a large portion of the population did not understand the basics of the Kauffman stardrive.

  A man at a nearby table reached over and tapped Tom on the shoulder. The two leaned toward each other so they could talk over the noise of the crowd. "Do you know anything about how this faster-than-light drive stuff works?" the man asked. "My son is asking and I don't know anything about it."

  Leaning over so he could see past the man, Tom saw a boy of perhaps 14 or 15 years of age. Picking up his drink, Tom moved over to their table. "I believe I can explain the basics of faster-than-light travel to you," he said. The boy's eyes were wide with eager anticipation.

  "I cannot explain how it works or why
but I can explain the basic principle in layman terms,” Tom began. “Space can be thought of as a complex arrangement of energy fields. The Kauffman stardrive generates a set of artificial fields around the ship to create its own space. For all intents and purposes, a ship that has activated its stardrive no longer exists in normal space."

  Tom paused and looked around. Several people had overheard the conversation and were listening. Picking up his drink, he finished it off and then continued.

  "The interaction between the two fields can be manipulated to propel a ship in any direction although the drive system is aligned for optimum performance in only one direction. Since the ship is within its own space and that space is being accelerated as a whole, no acceleration forces are felt. Neither space actually moves, only the inter-relationship between the two spaces change, which translates into a movement."

  One of the robotic servers set a new drink down and removed the empty glass. Tom muttered a quick thank you and took a sip. A man sitting at an adjacent table leaned over and asked, "Why did we see what we did when the stardrive was turned on?"

  "A stardrive field builds up slowly. First, a special control field is established called a matrix field. This field acts more or less as a sort of conductor for the main drive field. As the drive field builds, it produces the shimmering effect you saw. As space begins to bend, the stars become blurred. An instant before the drive fields are fully established, all space appears gray because virtually all light is being bent around the ship, but since the drive fields are not fully established some of the light randomly leaks in. Total blackout occurs when the drive fields are fully established and space is bent completely around the ship."

  The person who had asked the question had a puzzled look on his face. "So why do we have to move away from a planet at sub-light speeds before we can activate the stardrive?" he asked.