The lights on the control panel attached to the core casket started to flash red; they stood around watching. The fluids the body was floating in drained away, an indicator showing ‘Stasis Shutdown’ went from red to green, there was a hiss and the top lifted away taking the connections to Vialantia’s head with it. They could see the naked body of a dark-haired woman of about thirty years of age. The final indicator went from red too green. She gasped and started breathing.
She opened her eyes. “What…”
Tristain leant forward and took her hand. “Hello Vialantia.”
Vialantia pulled her hand away covered her face and started to cry; great sobs shook her body.
“Cassiopeia, put her to sleep please,” Octavian spoke quickly. “She needs to be taken care of by experts who can manage her recovery and integration back into society after her ordeal.”
The sobbing ceased and Vialantia seemed to relax.
“Carry her gently to the ship and keep her unconscious until we arrive back at Sicceia,” Tristain added.
They walked back to the ship, and as they were walking up the slope, much to Octavian’s surprise Tristain took his hand. He turned to her.
“Octavian – seriously, thank you,” she said smiling.
“You are very welcome,” he squeezed her hand.
They reached the ship, and Cassiopeia laid Vialantia carefully on the upper bunk in Tristain’s cabin, covering her up and strapping her in.
“I will keep her unconscious until we arrive.”
Octavian sat down on his usual chair. Tristain sat in her command chair with a sigh.
“Well that was an adventure,” Tristain sighed again.
“Yes, let’s go – I think we have seen enough of this place!”
“What we found here should be kept between ourselves. Your father has kept his discovery secret, now you and Octavian must do so as well,” Cassiopeia added
Octavian nodded. “Yes, just between us.”
“Agreed, but what about Vialantia?”
“When we return, I will oversee her treatment. It might be as well if she forgets what happened to her,” Cassiopeia added.
Tristain lifted the ship and they were quickly in orbit around the planet. She set the course for Sicceia.
“Let’s go straight home.” No one argued with her.
Twenty: Delaying Tactics
James sat on the couch in his cabin. He stretched his legs out in front of him, and with his hands behind his head he watched the streaks of the stars flash past the observation window.
The three-month journey stretched out before him, and it would give him time to plan a way out of the mess he had found himself in. That is - if there was a way out. At least the crew treated him well – he had the full run of the ship, and they didn’t treat him as a man but a special case. He was an honorary woman. The thought failed to lift his dark mood.
The events of the last three months kept running through his mind. He and Ilithyia had been given a large house in the grounds of the Empress’s palace. They were however not allowed off the island.
“For your own safety,” they had been told when they had asked. They had settled into a routine. James had been taught everything the Sinestrians knew about the Guardian computers. He kept his abilities secret and practised on the computers within the palace complex. He went along with everything, hoping the Empress and her aides believed he was fully behind their plans and would do everything they asked of him. He also kept the full extent of his knowledge and improving capabilities from Ilithyia. It made him uncomfortable keeping something from his wife. He told himself it was for her safety, but part of him knew even though she was aware of the hold the Empress exerted on them, she still believed in the overall goal of eradicating the galaxy of synthetic life forms.
Things had come to a head a couple of weeks after their lavish wedding the Empress and her aides had organised. He had once broached the subject of the synthetic life forms with Ilithyia. He tried to explain that they were intelligent people with feelings, loves, hates, everything. There was nothing that made them different from her. He also mentioned the risk – what if they had exterminated a genuine alien life form such as the Gunards? Her beliefs were too deep-seated, and they ended up with raised voices. He dropped the subject for another time.
Ilithyia had found she was pregnant. It should not have happened, as all Sinestrian women had full control with contraceptives being in free supply. The only explanation was someone had replaced hers by placebos, probably around the time they first got together. The whole thing had probably been part of the plan. The Empress had doubled her hold on him. He shook his head.
Oh my God, what a mess!
He brought his thoughts back to the present. There is no way he could do what was asked of him. He would not be responsible for the death of billions, whatever the cost. There had to be some way he could get Ilithyia away from the clutches of the Empress.
The fleet he was with was a large one, over a thousand capital ships, plus all the small auxiliary and supply vessels. The plan was to meet up with the Cartigian fleet then cross into League space. James’s task was to counter the threat of the Guardian AIs. Each race’s fleet would be destroyed, their home world would be seeded with the enzyme that caused mass sterilization, and then they were to move on to the next world. The Sinestrians were relying on speed and surprise; take out half of the League worlds before they could amass a fleet large enough to threaten them. They would then commit the Cartigians. They would sacrifice them to the League fleet while the Sinestrians bypassed them and seeded the remainder of the home worlds.
The Sinestrians would then leave the sector, seeding the Cartigians’ world as they retreated. They would leave the sector for a generation while the people died off. They could then return and ensure the remaining infrastructure of cities, and technology, were levelled; a simple plan that relied heavily on James disabling the active AI computers.
James thought of Ilithyia; their last night had not been a happy one. Although he blocked her from his deep emotions she sensed there was something. She questioned him, but James reassured her that other than being away when their child was born he was fine. He kept to himself that he might never see her again. He had to be prepared to sacrifice her if it became necessary. He remembered a film he had watched when he was a child – one of the character’s lines were: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
His black mood deepened; there would be three months’ wait before he could do anything. He accessed the ship’s computer, which had been the first thing he had done once he embarked. He found it was easier now. He supposed that like a muscle, the more he used his telepathic powers the stronger he became. He remembered that Tristain had told him once a ship had activated its Star Drive it was not possible to detect or follow it. The whole fleet had engaged their drives simultaneously. He wondered if they were in the same section of warped space. If so, could his mind access the other ships? He tried; at first he felt nothing, then after a while he was sure he could reach the computer of another ship. Sweat glistened on his brow with the effort. After half an hour he was utterly exhausted and decided to turn in.
The next morning he walked to the officers’ mess for breakfast. There were several female officers seated round. They greeted his entrance with a cursory nod and returned to what they were doing. A male orderly came and took his breakfast order. When it arrived he sat in silence and ate. Female officers came and went, but other than the offhand greeting they ignored him.
After breakfast, he went back to his quarters. He looked around. At least I have a suite of rooms this time! He sat down on his couch and for a while exercised his mind. After a couple of hours he walked down to the gym and went through a workout he had devised for himself, later returning to his cabin and tried to read some Sinestrian books.
He would then return to the mess for his evening meal. The days slowly became weeks, the weeks months. The women mostly ignored him; the men would not
talk to him, they just lowered their eyes and avoided contact.
Once a week he was invited to dinner with the fleet Admiral, a tall hard-eyed woman with blue-grey hair, who James estimated was in her early sixties. The conversation always started with the Admiral asking him whether he was comfortable, then she would talk about campaigns she had been on in her younger days. She would also ask James to tell her about his career as a pilot and how he was trained. James found he quite liked the woman, despite what she represented. He even came to look forward to the weekly invitation.
As the weeks went on he learnt all he could from the ship’s computer. He found he could control it easily and he learnt how to cover his tracks. He also managed to make contact with three other ships, although the Star Drive was active.
Among the information he accessed he found out the fleet would wait in orbit around a planet called Mordavia. It had up until recently been a thriving planet, but the Sinestrians had sterilised the population because they were synthetic. Unfortunately for the Mordavians, they were well outside the League and had no allies or protection from an AI. They had been finished off by the Sinestrian lackeys, the Cartigians.
The plan was to wait for the Cartigian fleet. They were concerned that League spies were watching the main Cartigian planet. So plans had been changed to avoid the League finding anything out, and ensuring they had surprise on their side.
James was sitting in his cabin when they were scheduled to arrive at Mordavia. He had accessed the computer and been monitoring the sensors so he could watch the arrival of the fleet around the planet. The streaks of light formed by the stars slowly shortened. Suddenly, they were in normal space and James watched as more and more ships appeared around them. He was thinking of how vast an area they covered when he felt something new in his mind. He shook his head.
Guardian?
James felt the presence of an AI in his mind.
Are you addressing me?
Yes, Guardian.
He was going to say he was no Guardian but thought better of it.
What are you doing with an enemy fleet?
I am a prisoner.
Would you like me to get you out of there?
James hesitated. He knew from his time working with the ship’s computer he was not actively watched. There were still several hours before he was due in the officers’ mess for dinner.
Yes, for now.
He felt a strange sensation in his stomach; it was similar to travelling in a fast car over a humpback bridge. He blinked and found himself standing in a well-lit room. He looked round in surprise. He had learnt about the capabilities of the Guardian AIs, but it was another matter to experience it first-hand. The room he was in reminded him of a comfortable lounge. He saw a shimmer out of the corner of his eye and turned to it. A middle-aged woman stood before him.
“Guardian, my name is Thera, is there anything I can do for you?”
“I am pleased to meet you, Thera, my name is James Taylor.” James took a long shot. “Do you know of a Guardian called Tristain Taylor?”
“Yes, she reactivated me several months ago.”
“Are you able to contact her?”
“Yes of course. I can put you in direct contact with her if you wish – she is not too far away and close to one of my sisters.”
James could not believe his luck. “Yes please.”
“Please wait a moment, James.”
He stood, not knowing what to expect.
James?
He felt the surprised thought in his mind.
Yes, Tristain?
We thought you were lost, James, what happened?
I was abducted by Sinestrians.
Sinestrians?
Yes, they have an almost religious fervour in ridding the galaxy of synthetic life forms, as they call them. They were responsible for destroying the planet I assume I’m on. They have systematically destroyed over 70 planets and killed billions of people they consider synthetic.
Oh my God! How did you escape, James?
That’s the thing, Tristain, I haven’t.
What do you mean?
I am here with a vast Sinestrian fleet. They are waiting here for a Cartigian fleet. Their plan is to sneak into your League and commence polluting the water on each inhabited planet with an enzyme that causes sterility. They plan to contaminate half the worlds before they are discovered. The Cartigians will be deployed to fight any fleet that attacks.
What about the AIs? They would not let their plan get past first post.
That is supposed to be my job, Tristain. I have to disable the AIs on each planet we reach.
I assume you are in Thera’s bunker, so that is not an issue.
Um… Tristain, there is a problem.
What, James?
They have a hostage; in fact, two hostages to ensure I play ball.
From Earth?
No, Sinestrian.
Sinestrian?
Um… yes, I have a wife and she will be six months pregnant by now.
James noticed the pause in Tristain’s thoughts.
What can we do, James?
We have to ensure there are always positive reports coming from the fleet.
Can you control their ship’s computer systems, James?
Yes.
Good, that is useful. We should be able to work something out. How long before the attack starts?
They are giving the crews two weeks R & R on the planet’s surface because of the three months’ travel time.
When do the Cartigians arrive?
Sometime next week, Tristain.
OK, if there are hostages involved I assume you need to return to your ship. We will contact you later, James.
OK. Bye, Tristain.
Bye, James.
“Thera, please return me to the ship.”
He felt the strange sensation in his stomach and was standing back in the cabin. He sat down on the couch. He checked the time – there was at least another hour before he was due to be at the mess for dinner.
Time dragged. He went to the mess as usual then returned to his cabin. He sat down and watched the crescent of the planet slowly move across the black velvet of space.
There was a tingling in his mind…
James?
Yes, Tristain?
Can you find a way to delay departure for a week?
Why?
That is the earliest we can get a fleet to you. It would be better for us where you are. The next planet with an active AI is heavily populated, and we don’t want to take a chance that the Sinestrians might deploy the enzyme into the planet’s atmosphere. There is also a populated planet on their probable course that has no active AI. Attacking them without the backup of an AI would be far too costly in lives for both sides.
OK. I will do what I can.
We are fortunate that they do not know there is now an active AI on that planet. She will be able to help you. I will contact you again when we are ready.
James sat quietly for a while, then feeling his eyes get heavy he decided to retire to bed.
The next morning he went to breakfast as usual then returned to his cabin. He paced a while, walking up and down his cabin, ideas running through his mind. He rejected them one by one. Maybe the AI could suggest something – after all, it was supposed to be an Artificial Intelligence.
Thera?
There was a shimmer in front of him and the form of Thera was standing in his cabin.
“Thera, I need your help, I have to delay the departure of this fleet so the League will have time to get a force here sufficiently powerful to take them on. Do you have any ideas? The only thing I can think of is to sabotage the flagship’s computer, but that would only cause a delay for a day or so.”
“I have some control of the weather; I can set up a heavy electrical storm over the landing site so the planet side crews cannot get back until the storm passes. I can also fool the ship’s computers to report heavy solar flare activity – this will upset
the ion engines and prevent the fleet moving away from the planet a sufficient distance to activate their Star Drive.”
“OK, we should be able to hold them back long enough. Much more and they might start to smell a rat. You delay the return of the shuttles first, and then I will cause the flagship’s computer to fail. Finally cause the apparent solar flare activity. Can you monitor all the fleet’s systems simultaneously, Thera?”
“Yes, James.”
“Let me know if you detect anything out of the ordinary – I don’t want their being alerted to any outside interference.”
“Of course, James.” The image of Thera faded.
James spent the following two weeks in his normal routine. He did get a few hours on the planet’s surface at the beginning of the second week, but other than that everything went on as normal.
Towards the end of the second week a fleet almost the size of the Sinestrian one dropped into normal space. The Cartigian fleet had arrived. The crews on the planet were recalled; however, a violent electrical storm had appeared over the landing field and the shuttles were grounded for nearly two days.
Thera warned James she was about to cause the storm to abate. He sat down and accessed the ship’s computer. He carefully cleared segments of the memory causing the navigation system to fail. He maintained contact and monitored the status of the system. When the technicians were close to the fault James moved it so the weapons system went down. He tried to make it look as if a virus were causing the issues. He smiled to himself as the bridge crew and technicians got increasingly stressed. He managed to keep the computer down for eighteen hours.
He released his hold shortly before Thera started feeding all the fleet’s computers with data simulating solar activity and ion storms. She had difficulty with the Cartigian fleet as their systems did not have a telepathic interface. The arrogance of the Sinestrians played into James’s hands. They ignored the Cartigians since their systems were inferior.
James?
Yes? Tristain
Our fleet is five hours away; we need you and Thera ready to disable the Sinestrian fleet.
Tristain, what about the hostages the Empress is holding?
Guardian Generations Page 20