War Games
Chapter One
It feels like every atom in my body has been disassembled into an ice cold plasma and swallowed by the universe. My whole being is just a whirlpool of sensations, of stretching, twisting, and being turned inside out. Until I am nothing but a feeling of vertigo trapped in an invisible matrix.
Then the universe spits me back out and I am flung forward, smashing my face into the control panel in front of me, with a stab of pain that makes me know that I am still alive!
Just as I am shocked awake by the blow to my face every alarm on the ship goes off at once.
"What the fuck," Julie moans from the seat beside me.
"On my," Angela sighs from the seat on my other side.
"I'm going to be sick," says either Mary or Jane. I can't tell because my eyes are closed against the pain from my nose smashing into the display. I can feel a warm trickle start to flow down my face.
"Oh, my god, Cari," Julie says. "Are you OK?"
"You are injured," Angela says.
"No shit, Sherlock," I reply as I push myself upright and sit back in my chair. "What the fuck happened?"
"You apparently made a jump into hyperspace without first plotting an exit point," Angela replies. "I'm surprised that we are still alive."
"Well, as I recall we were about to be blown up by several missiles," I say. "So you're welcome."
Angela leans forward and starts tapping at her control panel. "All the ship's systems appear to be back online," she says.
"Good," I say, over the retching sound from either Mary or Jane.
Then the other friend joins in. I feel like joining them too. But I also have a splitting headache and what feels like a broken nose, so I swallow hard and keep everything down.
"Does this happen every time you travel through hyperspace?" I ask.
"You have previously traveled through hyperspace without even being aware of the process," Angela replies. "So the answer is obviously no."
I lean back in my chair, noting too late the seat belts I'd failed to use. "Can't someone please turn off those alarms," I say.
"Can't you?" Julie asks.
"I..." I start to say, but then realize that I can not feel the ship anymore. I don't know if I feel relief or concern. "I don't think I'm connected," I say.
"Really?" Julie says.
Angela taps at her control panel and silence descends around us. She taps some more and "This can't be correct," she says, sounding worried.
"What is it?" Julie asks.
"This is impossible," Angela says. "According to the navigation system we have jumped completely out of known space and are literally on the other side of the galaxy from where we started."
"Why is that impossible?" Julie asks.
"No one has ever traveled this distance before," Angela says. "And definitely not in one hyperspace jump."
"Oh," Julie says.
"But of a more pressing nature, there are approximately five hundred warships engaged in what appears to be a battle around us," Angel says.
"What!" both Julie and I say together.
"We appear to have come out of hyperspace in the middle of a battle," Angela says. She taps at her screen, and the main holo-display lights up with a tangled mass of labeled dots and intersecting lines. "There are also in excess of five thousand smaller interplanetary craft. And countless smaller drones, missiles, and debris all around us." Additional layers of data flash onto the display as she speaks.
Just looking at overwhelming data shown on the display is enough to make my stomach feel queasy once more. So I looked away.
"A battle!" Julie says.
"Yes," Angela says. "It is most unusual."
"What are the chances that we would flee an attack just to land in the middle of a battle?" I ask.
"That's not really the improbable aspect of our situation," Angela says.
"It's not?" I ask.
"If you just jump into hyperspace without first setting a trans-dimensional anchor to pull you back into normal space at your desired location you would not normally leave hyperspace," Angela explains.
"Oh," I say.
"Really." Julie looks at me.
"I didn't know," I shrug. "Heck, I didn't even know if I could send the ship into hyperspace, never mind know the correct way to do it safely."
"I guess," Julie says.
"The concentration of so many gravity engines in such close proximity must have acted as a hyperspace anchor and brought us back into normal space," Angela. "So it would have taken something like this, or a supermassive black hole to pull us out of hyperspace."
"I guess this is better than a massive black hole?" Julie says.
"That could be debatable," Angela says. "But how and ever, we are where we are now." She paused. "In the middle of a space battle, of all things," she adds.
I look at the confusing mess of spaghetti lines shown on the main holo-display. But I can not make any sense of it. "But why is it so unusual for a space battle to take place?" I ask. "Are all the different species in the universe with access to starships all so highly evolved that they do not engage in wars?"
"No," Angela says. "Because gravity engines take a lot of time and money to assemble. And are one of the easiest targets on a starship to destroy. One focused burst of Gama Rays and any ship would simply implode. No civilization, no matter how advanced, could afford to risk losing hundreds of gravity engines in warfare. It takes years and more Zetta-Jules of energy that you could comprehend to create each one."
"Zita-Jules?" Julie asks.
"I'm guessing a number with a lot of zeros in it," I say.
"Yes," Angela says. "More energy that your species has used in its entire existence."
"Are you sure they are engaged in a battle?" Julie asks.
"Apart from the general configuration of the ships, there are at least twenty five warships with their weapons systems locked onto us," Angela says.
"Well, out of the pan and into the fire," says Julie.
"How the fuck did this happen," I say as I lean back in my chair once more, and gingerly put my hand to my nose.
"I think you broke your nose when you smashed your face into the control panel," Angela replies.
"I think she means the fucking space battle, dumb-ass," Julie snaps.
"That is just random happenstance," Angela replies, gesturing to the display. "The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum."
I look at Julie. Who just rolls her eyes at me.
There is an alert from Angela's control panel. "We have an incoming hail," she says.
"I guess we'd better answer them," I say.
Angle taps her screen and the image in the holo-display is replaced by a burst of static. Then a tangled mess of kaleidoscopic colors and finally the image of a flat screen with an ugly looking alien's head displayed on it. He looks like a bird man, but everything is just slightly off about him. His almond shaped eyes are just a little bit too almond shaped. The green of his eyeballs is just a little bit too vivid. His vertical irises blink without his eyelids moving. His head is shaped like a football, but squashed down in the middle. He has ears on each side of his head, but they are too pointed, looking more like radio antenna than ears. And his skin is just that little bit too smooth and blemish free, and perfectly cue ball white. His face is surrounded by a halo of feathers, and this, in combination with the nose, beak, mouth arrangement in the middle of his face, makes him look more like a cartoon bird-man than anything else.
The alien is speaking in a series of squeaks and squawks as the image steadies and solidifies on the holo display.
"I don't recognize the language," Angela says as she taps at her control panel. "Let's see if the translation computer can work out what it is."
The alien on the screen pauses, as if waiting for an answer.
"Am I live?" I ask Angela.
"Please speak standard Galaxian, so we can communicate effectively," the alien on the screen says.
There is an alert sound and the alien taps at some control off screen for a moment, before looking back at the camera.
I know that he is still speaking in the squeaks and squawks, and I can still hear them. But somehow, thanks to the slime no doubt, I can also understand what he is saying.
"Ah, hello. Greetings," I say. I am thinking English, but somehow my voice comes out in the same squeaks and squawks as the alien's. I feel more than see Julie's suspicious look.
"Yes, yes. Greetings are all well and good. But what are you doing jumping into the middle of my battlefield?" the alien asks.
"We can only apologize," I say. "We had no intention of jumping here. We are having technical difficulties with our ship and have arrived here by accident."
Out of the corner of my eye I can see Julie mouthing a question to Angela, who shrugs in response.
"Accident? There are no such things as accidents," the alien replies. "State your home system so we can bill them for this interruption."
"My home system?" I ask.
"Yes," the alien looks off screen again and taps at something out of shot. "From whence do you originate?" He looks at me once more.
"I'm from a planet we call Earth," I say.
"I don't care what you call it, what are its Universal Coordinates?" the alien snaps at me, then looks off screen once more as another alert sounds.
"Oh," I say. "It is located at..." and then I rattle off an incomprehensible string of numbers and letters. They pop into my mind like something that I have memorized without understanding what they mean.
The alien pauses for a moment, looking directly at me. I assume that the coordinates I have just rattled off are gibberish. Finally the alien says, "Don't be preposterous."
"I assure you, I am not being preposterous," I reply, and repeat the numbers and letters. "That is where the planet Earth is." I add in English under my breath, "I guess."
"Those coordinates are on the other side of the galaxy, completely outside the bounds of know space," the alien says.
"Yes," I reply. "That is correct. We have traveled from the other side of the galaxy. Again I must state that we are having technical difficulties with our ship and have come here by error."
"It is a strange type of technical difficulty that allows one to travel halfway across the galaxy by accident," the alien states.
"Ah, yes," I say. "It is hard to explain."
"I do not want your explanation," the alien says as he looks off screen once again. "But you ship is definitely of an unknown configuration."
"Yes," I say. "Like I said, we are from a very far way away."
The alien ignores me. "I need to fix this," he says and starts to type rapidly.
"Again, we can only apologize for the interruption," I say. "But as soon as we have completed our repairs we shall be on our way."
"It is too late for apologies," the alien says. He looks above the camera and reaches up to tap a control. "Your presence here has compromised the entire battle."
"Again we are most sorry," I say. "If you can give us some time we can repair our ship and move out of your way."
"I have no time to give you," the alien says, looking to the right and tapping at an unseen display.
"No time?" I ask. "We really don't want to be in the middle of your battle."
"You are already in the middle of the battle," the alien says as he turns to the left and types at another off-screen terminal.
"OK. Well..." I start to say
But the alien interrupts me. "This is a very important battle," the alien says. "The entire trade agreement between Fosolia and Gardindua depends on the outcome. And we have a very tightly scheduled list of forthcoming battles that must also be played on time."
"OK," I say, but I have no idea what he is talking about.
The alien turns to yet another off-screen control and types rapidly again.
"You have interrupted the schedule," he says as he types. "The client species will be quite upset."
"Once again, I can but apologize," I say.
"I will classify you as a nonparticipating combatant," the alien says as he looks back at the camera.
"What does that mean?" I ask, relieved to finally have his attention once more.
"That means your ship will be boarded by forces from both armies in a newly scheduled skirmish and assimilated into the skirmish victor's arsenal and the battle shall continue until its scheduled conclusion," the alien says, as he keeps typing.
"Assimilated?" I ask, now not too sure that I want his attention. "What if we do not want to be assimilated?"
"Resistance is futile," the alien says. He looks down and taps at a display below the camera, "But can be accommodated." He turns to the right and types at another control panel. "The schedule will conclude on time. Goodbye." He turns away and is already typing at yet another control panel as the connection is terminated.
I look at the blank display for a moment. Then lean back in my chair and let out a sigh. "Well, that was an interesting conversation," I say. Then I look at Julie. "Am I speaking English now?"
"Yes," she replies. "But how were you speaking that alien language just now?"
"I don't know," I shrug.
An alarm sounds. Angela looks at her screen. "Several ships are heading towards us on a direct intercept course," she says. She taps at her screen, and the main holo-display fills with a diagram of our ship being surrounded by warships with the projected trajectories of the intercepting ships plotted.
"Ships? What kind of ships?" I ask.
"Troop carrying ships," Angela says.
"Troop carrying ships?"
"I think so," Angela replies as she taps art her screen. "The configuration is unusual. But it looks like they are going to board us."
"Well, he did say we would be assimilated," I say.
"The alien?" Julie asks
"Yes," I nod.
"What else did he say?" Angela asks.
"Not much really," I say. "He was more upset that we'd interrupted the schedule for the battle, and other battles that are scheduled."
"Schedule for the battle?" Julie asks. "What type of battle has a schedule?"
"I don't know," I say. "But apparently the fate of a trade agreement between two species depends on the outcome."
"The approaching ships are matching trajectories with us," Angela says.
"Are we going to die now?" a quiet voice asks.
I look across at Jane. "No, we're not going to die," I say.
"How do you know?" she asks.
Well, I don't know, I think. But I wasn't going to say that out loud. "I think they just want to take control of the ship," I say.
"So we should just surrender to them," Jane says.
"Well..." I look back at the holo-display.
An alert sounds on Angela's control panel. "The two groups of approaching ships are exchanging missile fire," she says.
On the holo-display several red dots labeled with trajectory data are making their way between the two groups of ships that are converging on us.
"Are you sure they're not firing at us?" I ask.
"Yes, the project trajectories will not intercept with us," Angela replies.
"Why are they firing at each other?" Mary asks.
"Both sides in the battle want to take control of the ship," I say. "And presumably stop the other side for taking us over."
"Oh," Mary says. "So we're stuck in the middle."
"Yes," I say.
"Are our engines working?" Julie asks. "Can we just fly away?"
"Our thrusters are still offline," Angela says.
"Can't we just jump back into hyperspace again?" Mary asks.
I just look at her, my headache is still splitting my brain in two. There was no way I could do that again, I think. Heck, I didn't know how I did it the first time! And there is still a nagging worry at the back of my mind about no longer feeling the connection with the ship.
"We can't jump into hyperspace with this man
y gravity engines in such close proximity," Angel says. "There is no way we could survive the trans-dimensional transmission." She looks at me as if to check if I am going to do it anyway.
"I am not jumping anywhere anytime soon," I manage to say. "I couldn't even if I wanted to."
"So what are we going to do?" Mary asks. "Just sit here and wait for them to board us?"
"We won't have long to wait," Julie says as she nods at the holo-display.
A bunch of stylized explosions are displayed as several of the approaching ships disappear from the diagram. But the remain ships have converged at the center, where we are.
Angela taps at her screens. "Several ships have attached themselves onto the hull and are probing our ship with electromagnetic and sound waves," she says.
"Looking for the best place to cut through and board?" Julie says.
"I would assume so," Angela says.
I was kind of expecting some kind of thud, or a shaking of the ship. But nothing appears to be happening.
A few moments later Angela says, "Both sets of ships have started to cut into our hull."
"Both sets?" I ask.
"They are boarding at either end of the ship," Angela says.
"I guess they are planning on meeting in the middle," Julie says.
"Can you show us a plan of the ship?" I ask.
"Yes," Angela says. She taps at her screen, and a projection of a long, thin cylinder divided up into sections fills the holo-display. "We are here at the center." A section in the middle is highlighted.
"Can you show where the boarding parties are?" I ask
"I am scanning for them now," Angel says as she taps at her controls.
"We need to find some kind of armory to defend the ship," I say.
"We can hardly hold off a boarding party of hundreds with just us five," Angela says.
"I have no problem standing my ground," Julie says and pulls out her blaster.
"Oh, yeah," I say. "I'd forgotten about those."
"I left the rest in the shuttle," Julie says. "I wanted to have them safe if we ever needed them."
"Well, I guess we might be needing them now," I say.
Kidnapped: A Science Fiction Adventure (Reborn Starship Book 1) Page 10