Considering all this cat’s known for is war, it’s only suiting that I give you a name fitting that reputation….
“Blitz.” Olo said aloud. He put his hands on the side of the cat’s head and turned him to look into his eyes. “I’m going to name you Blitz. How does that sound?”
The cat pawed at Olo’s arm and meowed happily.
Chapter 7
Date: July 9, 2132.
Location: Aboard the U.S.S. Atlanta, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Unit is online.
Running diagnostic cycle:
Memory: Functional and operating at 100% capacity.
Weapons systems: Operational.
Motor functions: Operational.
Optic, audio, and sensory receptors: Operational.
Scanning… Unit functionality is at 100%.
Warning… Power core is unstable.
Power is at 7% and dropping.
Shut down eminent.
Attempting to activate unit consciousness to initiate repairs on power core.
Engaging…
Rick couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Captain Vade was still on the operating table, but he had been completely transformed. All off his skin appeared to have been replaced with ink-black colored metal, so much that Captain Vade looked completely like a robot of some kind. The uniform he had worn to the operation, but most of it had been torn apart from where his body had increased in size, which was apparently most of his body. The bulk of his upper body had doubled in size, giving him a broad form, and his arms had nearly tripled in width, and while his lower half of his body had gained mass as well, it wasn’t as drastic an increase.
Rick was the first person out of the Control Room as everyone ran behind him. Only Lieutenant Commander Hayley stayed in the room, rapidly typing commands into the computer console. Rick was the first to arrive to the captain, though he didn’t have a clue what to do now that he was beside him, wanting desperately to bring Vade back to what he had been.
“Is there anything we can do for him?” Rick asked.
Ensign Matthews walked up behind him, concern firmly planted on her face as she concentrated. “I don’t know sir, but we will do what we can for him.” She gave directions to the other operators in the room, assigning them to begin various tests on Captain Vade, the Genetic Modulator, and the computer program, hoping to find what went wrong with the procedure. Ensign Matthews grabbed a scanner, a tri-angularly shaped sensor with a handle on the face of the tri-angle, and near the handle was a cord that connected the scanner to a tablet where the information was displayed, and where the settings for the scanner could be adjusted. After the ensign activated the scanner, she slowly moved it up and down the captain’s body, slowly collecting data about his infrastructure. The device was a modified version of an x-ray machine, scanning in small, low level pulses to minimize the radiation the subject would get from the device.
“Sir, if these scans are right, then the captain’s entire body has been turned into machinery. His heart, lungs, blood vessels, even his brain and nervous system: everything has been replaced with technology!”
“Increase your scan pulses to continual; that will give you better scan quality. We need to get as detailed information about him as we can.”
“Sir, if the captain is alive, he may suffer radiation-”
“I am aware of the risks,” Rick interrupted, “But we need to use whatever means we possess to get as much information about Captain Vade as we can. And if what you said is correct, if he has turned into a machine of some kind, he shouldn’t receive any side effects from the radiation.” Ensign Matthews nodded, adjusted the X-Ray scanner to emit more intense scans, and continued to collect more information about Vade.
“Commander Rickman,” Lieutenant Commander Hayley called from the control center, “I have something I need you to see, sir!” Rick hurried into room, which had again filled up as the crewman operated the equipment.
“Look at these readings,” Lieutenant Commander Hayley said as she pointed at a datafile that showed Captain Vade’s biological information. Normally, this file would show the subjects blood pressure, heart rate, and other readings to help doctors keep track of their patient’s status. But on Vade’s file, he was showing no blood pressure, no heart rate, and completely void of any brain wave activity.
“I thought you couldn’t access Vade’s information because of the firewall blocking the data,” Rick said as he viewed the information.
“This information isn’t from those files. This is coming from the scans that the crew is taking of Captain Vade, and what the equipment in the room is collecting about him.” Rick examined the readings and then looked at Hayley.
“Lieutenant Commander, if these readings are right, then, biologically speaking, nothing is left of the captain. Is that right?”
“That’s what it looks like to me. It doesn’t appear that there is any of Captain Vade’s genetic code left, meaning we can’t reverse what the Genetic Modulator did to him. I was hoping that you might find something that would prove my suspicions wrong.” Hayley sighed and looked on the verge of tears. “If only I could have checked the program earlier. I might have able to save the captain from this.”
Rick put his hand on Hayley’s shoulder and turned her toward him. “Lieutenant Commander, don’t go down that road. We need you to help us if there is any chance to save the captain, or help him adjust to his new form. Will you be able to pull yourself together?”
Hayley cleared her eyes and said, “I’ll do what I can, sir. Thank you.”
Ensign Matthews ran to the control room and said, “Sirs, I found something that you need to see!” Mathews led Rick and Hayley back to the operating table, and the Ensign pulled up the information the she found from her scans.
“I have completed my scan of the Captain, and I have detected some sort of power core inside him.”
“And?” Rick asked, not understanding the significance of this find.
“Sir, his power source is unstable, and he’s quickly running out of power. I hooked him up to a power generator, but it wasn’t even close to being able to recharge him. It’s only barely slowed down the rate of power depletion”
“What will happen if he runs out of power?”
“I don’t know, sir. It is possible that we could re-activate him once we find a power source that recharge his systems, but it is also possible that we won’t be able to reactivate him once he runs out of power.”
Lieutenant Commander Hayley thought hard to find a solution as she looked around the Research and Development room to see if anything could help them. When her eye’s focused on the Genetic Modulator, an idea finally blossomed in her mind. She turned back toward Rick and Laura and asked, “What if we used the GM’s connection to the nuclear core? Could it be possible that could contain enough of a charge to stabile the captain’s power source?”
Ensign Mathews was silent for a moment as she considered this option, and replied, “It is possible it could work, Lieutenant Commander Hayley. But, we will need to work quickly to recharge his before Captain Vade’s power core is depleted.”
“Then let’s get to work. Everyone, help us hook the captain to the Atlanta’s power core! I need some of you to monitor the power transfer from the control room.” Everyone snapped into action, dispersing throughout the Research and Development room and the Control Room to do their part to prepare for the power transfer.
“Re-activate the Genetic Modulator,” Hayley ordered. “Adjust its settings to only channel power into the captain. Do what you can to minimize the power output; we need to make sure we don’t feed him to much at once and overload his circuitry.”
“Understood, Lieutenant Commander Hayley.” One of the officers responded through the intercom in the Control Room. “We are readying the GM now and will soon be standing by to initiate the power transf
er on your orders.”
Rick stepped back as everyone did their job, just as he did when the procedure had started. “An unexpected turn of events.” Rick jumped as he turned to see Ambassador Zephier standing beside him.
“Sorry, ambassador. I didn’t see you there.”
“Do you think Captain Vade has the strength to endure this?” Zephier asked.
“I don’t know, ambassador. I just don’t know.”
“Lieutenant Commander, the Genetic Modulator is ready,” Ensign Matthews called over the intercom. “We can begin on your order.”
“Everyone, get back in the Control Room, quickly!” Hayley said. Everyone needed to be in the Control Room so there wouldn’t be a risk of someone being infected with nuclear radiation, or something else happening to them. When everyone was in the control room, she said, “Let’s hope this works. Activate the Genetic Modulator and attempt to recharge the captain’s power core.”
“Understood, Lieutenant Commander.” Ensign Matthews replied.
Come on, captain, Rick silently spoke to himself. Have the strength to make it through this.
Power at 0.1%.
Shutting down in 3… 2…
…
…
…
Power core status: stabilizing.
Power increase detected.
Power at 9%... 21%... 47%... 63%...
Power core has reached maximum capacity.
Attention: Boot-up sequence complete.
Unit consciousness is now online.
Unit will be responsive in 3 seconds.
2…
1…
0…
As the blinding light faded while the Genetic Modulator powered down, Rick focused intently on the Control Room displays, trying to examine the results from the power transfer to determine if it successfully stabilized Captain Vade. Though it looked like the transfer had successfully stabilized and filled the captain’s power source, he still couldn’t tell if the captain was conscious. He turned to Lieutenant Commander Hayley to ask her what she had determined from the information on the screens, when he heard, “Where… am I?”
He looked around to see where it came from, and then he realized: it was from the captain, his voice coming through the intercom, though it was deeper than it had been before, and it sounded computerized and artificial. Rick hurried out of the control room and went to where Vade was laying on the table. As he got closer, he saw his captain slowly open his eyes, which still looked normal, but also had a more mechanical appearance like a camera lens, moving his head to look at Rick as he approached.
“Sir?” Rick asked, not wanting to let his hopes rise just to be disappointed again, though he felt them rising despite himself.
The captain lifted his hand, the restraint long ago torn open from his size increase and looked at it for a moment. Setting it back down, he finally said, “Rick, what happened to me?”
Sadness for his captain weighing heavily on him, Rick responded, “I don’t know captain. I just don’t know.”
Chapter 8
Date: July 9, 2132.
Location: Unknown
In a dark meeting room, far from the chaos, two generals were quietly conferring with each other.
“Are these rumors true? Has other life been found?”
“It would appear so, but we may have found out about them too late. Our scouts report the planet they inhabit is under siege by the Ribiyar. They also report that High Order Ki’Ra is leading the invasion.”
“It is curious to see him venture so far from the safety of his world.”
“He must believe he is in no relative danger to himself to take this action.”
“Indeed. Do we have the ships required to liberate this world?”
“We do. I must ask though, you would risk the lives of our warriors to help these people? We don’t know if they would retaliate against us.”
“It is possible we might not arrive in time to save them. But whether or not we arrive in time to save them, we will be able to destroy many Ribiyar.”
“So, no matter how we play this, we win?”
“Basically, but we still would need to win the battle first. I need you to personally approach the War Council and make a case to fight the Ribiyar forces on this planet.”
“Understood. I will notify you when they are ready.” The officer then left the room.
“Have strength in your fight against the Ribiyar, brave alien warriors,” the officer still in the room said. “Have the strength to survive.”
Location: Aboard the U.S.S. Ocean-Walker, at the border of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Helm, all stop.” Commander Jones ordered.
“All stop, aye sir.” Lieutenant Jacob Johnson, the Ocean-Walker’s helm officer, replied as he pulled down on the throttle on the ship, and it eventually slowed to a stop. When they were stopped, the Ocean-Walker’s jet engines powered down to conserve fuel.
Jones turned on the ships communications system and called the captain on his communicator. “Captain Whitefield, we have reached the Atlantic Ocean. What are your orders?”
“Hold our position until I arrive. I am on my-”
A loud explosion rocked the ship. Jones and a few other officers got knocked to their feet. The combat alert automatically sounded, announcing to anyone who was too deaf to hear the explosion that the ship was under attack.
“Report!” Commander Jones yelled, though he was fairly certain of the answer.
“Ribiyar fighters detected!” Lieutenant Ryley Forrest, the radar operator, reported.
“Why didn’t we detect them earlier?”
“Unknown, sir! They must have radar jamming technology!” Lieutenant Forrest responded.
“Of course they do. Like they need any more technological advances over us.” He turned to Lieutenant Commander Haruto Zu, a Japanese officer with a shaved head and his name tattooed on his left cheek in Japanese symbols, who had recently been assigned as the Ocean-Walker’s Chief Tactical officer, and said, “Return fire immediately. Power-up the Ocean-Walker’s Laser Array, and prepare to fire at the fighters.”
“With pleasure, sir.” He said as he sent orders to the weapon operators below deck. The Ocean-Walker’s cannons immediately opened fire at the Ribiyar fighters flying around the ship, but because of the maneuverability of the fighters’, only a small number of the ships were shot down.
Jones continued to issue orders. “Comm, send out an alert to the Defenders that we are under attack by Ribiyar fighters.” Another explosion rocked the ship, but he was able to steady himself. The Ocean-Walker’s cannons continuing firing at the Ribiyar fighters, but many of the fighters still managed to avoid the cannon fire.
“Helm, take the ship’s engines at full throttle. We can’t afford to be a sitting target.” Jones ordered as he attempted to set a course to travel through the fighters circling around the Ocean-Walker.
Lieutenant Johnson attempted to use the engines, but the Ocean-Walker didn’t gain any speed. “The engines are not responding, sir. One of the engines have been destroyed, and its destruction has disabled the other two engines. I can’t get them to activate.
Jones sighed, and ordered, “Then get the Ocean-Walker in the water, and get us moving as fast as you can.”
“Aye, Commander,” Lieutenant Johnson responded as he began to input instructions to the computer. The ship immediately started to descend onto the ocean surface.
“Sir, boarding parties on deck!!!” Zu announced. Commander Jones looked out the bridge window to see two fighters landing on the ship.
“Lieutenant Commander, blow them away.”
A cannon on the front of the deck turned toward a fighter and fired its payload. The fighter blew off the deck in a burning wreck. The cannon rotated towards the other fighter to destroy it, but the other Rib
iyar craft reacted first and used its weapons system to completely obliterate it. More fighters began to land on the Ocean-Walker, destroying the ship’s other weapon platforms as they approached, and the ship was slowly being covered by the alien robots boarding the deck.
“Security teams, report to deck one at once. Boarding party protocols are in effect,” Zu ordered as he punched in more commands. When a ship is boarded, the officers are instructed to engage Boarding Party Protocol, which locks down the lifts, and engages the computer encryption sequence; tripling the firewall protecting the data in the computer core.
Commander Jones considered what his next action should be, when he suddenly realized that Captain Whitefield hadn’t gotten to the bridge, or called in for a status report. Something must have happened to him.
“Haruto, have a security team-”
The bridge suddenly tore itself apart as it was being fired upon by Ribiyar fighters. Jones was knocked on his back and parts of the bridge started to fall on top of him. The last thing he saw was Ribiyar fighters flying overhead as they came back around to fire upon the Ocean-Walker again.
Olo was playing with Blitz when he was thrown against his bed as an explosion rocked the ship. He heard Blitz meow loudly as he was thrown on top of Olo and landed on his lap. Red emergency lights lit up as a loud alarm start to blare out of the speakers. As Olo lifted Blitz off him, he decided he needed to report to someone, and request instructions, since Captain Whitefield had yet to give him a post on the ship to report to if the Ocean-Walker was attacked. Olo activated his wrist communicator to activate it and tried to call the bridge, but he was denied as the officers were in contact with other officer that maintained a higher priority. With no other ideas, Olo decided the best thing for him to do was to personally find someone who could direct him to where he should go to help.
He got off the bed and put his hand on the handle when he thought of something. If the ship was under attack, he should activate Blitz’s combat abilities. During the day’s trip to wherever they were headed, he had studied some of the manual Captain Whitefield had given him, and he knew Blitz would probably be a good body guard for him. He fished a small device out of his pocket, a small cylindrical trigger, flipped the cover off the top, and pressed down the red button it contained. He watched Blitz and waited for a minute. Nothing happened. Then, Blitz closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were brightly glowing a deep red, signaling that he was primed for combat.
Galactic Defenders- Endurance Page 5