“And if they do?”
“Then we need to get to it first, before they have a chance to get their hands on it,” Nina said bluntly. “When you say a sword, that makes me think of a weapon. And there's lightyears worth of rubble and debris floating in the void. Where did that all come from?”
“Wait. So you think that this is referring to some weapon? Something that's capable of destroying a third of the galaxy?” she asked. “That sounds so far-fetched. The amount of power and mass that would be needed for that kind of device-”
“I'm not saying that I believe anything yet,” Nina said. “What I'm saying is that Eon Path may have a reason to believe that something like that is out there in the Central Expanse, and they're willing to do anything to get their hands on it. And if it is there, can we just let them have it?”
“And if it isn't?”
“Then this isn't the first dead end that an explorer found. Ever hear the story of Henry Hudson?”
“Sorry, that doesn't ring a bell.”
“Obscure history from back on Earth,” Nina said. “He wanted to find the Northwest Passage between Europe and Asia, but he never did. Died in the attempt too. And the passage was never a viable trade route. Well, not until the ice caps retracted, but that was hundred of years later.”
“You forgot the part where the crew mutinied upon him and left him to die,” IVIN said.
Nina glanced in his direction. “Yes, thank you for reminding me about that. Are you planning on doing that to me as well?”
“Of course not. I'm just reminding you of that fact for posterity's sake.”
She snorted. “Oh, I'm sure.” Nina turned back to Lauren. “So do we have a location?”
“We do.” She tapped her finger on a section of the star chart. “According to the writings that correspond with the map, this is where we'll find the gate.”
Nina leaned in for a better look. “Hm, out in barren space. There's only a few random asteroids out there. And nothing else was detected when they surveyed the area.”
“Still...”
“Quite. That doesn't mean a thing, especially because they were only look for a general map. Maybe the asteroids contain something. Whatever the case, we won't know until we look.”
“CHASING WILD SPECULATION,” Erik said.
“Yes, and I think you'd be used to it by now,” Nina said, looking at both of her brothers and her father. She still didn't have completely concrete information, but their path had been set. Something valuable lay out there in the dead space of the Central Expanse, and she would get there before Eon Path.
“So, this… thing. What is it supposed to be, exactly?”
“Unknown. But we need to figure that out, and the fastest way is to go there and see,” Nina said.
“Wild goose chase.”
“I'd have to agree,” Edwin said. “The probability of finding anything out there is miniscule. Let alone on the scale that you're talking about. A weapon that can destroy a third of this galaxy… why have we not heard anything about its existence before this? Surely it would have been significant enough to record in the annals of history.”
“I don't know the answer to that. And I'd say the likelihood that I'm overreacting is very high,” she said. “But answer me this. If there's a non-zero chance that it exists, then can we afford to ignore it and possibly let Eon Path get their hands on it?”
“That assumes that this rumored super-weapon exists, and that Eon Path knows about its existence.”
“I'm still going, because I won't take the chance that we're wrong,” Nina said.
Her father nodded. “It may be fanciful, but it still bears exploring. And who knows what might come of it, even by happy accident?”
“That's my report,” Nina said. “We'll be leaving Goethe Prime in two days and acting as escort for one of the supply convoys heading into the Central Expanse. Once we reach the divergence point we'll split off and head to our destination. There's no telling what we'll find there or how long we'll be, but I'd like to keep communication to a minimum to avoid attracting attention.”
“We can wait for your full report when you get back,” Erik said.
“You know, if we find something important out there you don't get to have any of the credit. In fact, I'm going to make sure that you get written down in the history books as the idiot that told me it was a dumb idea. I'll write both of you down for that.”
“No need to be mean like that,” Edwin said, a slight smile on his face.
She didn't feel any real animosity toward them. Erik and Edwin were ten years older than her, had been in the business facing the realities of interstellar commerce and industry for years. Like her father their focus remained grounded in the practical, the pragmatic.
Nina, in contrast, was the explorer of the family, the one who voyaged out to the edges of the galaxy, pushed the boundaries, constantly sought a new edge, new theories, new discoveries.
This voyage was just one more in a long line of expeditions into the unknown.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“We're dropping out of wormhole space in ten seconds,” Cheryl said, making a few adjustments on her display.
Mirko glanced down at the sensor readouts in the copilot's station and waited. There wasn't much he could do at this point, not with an experienced pilot and an AI at the helm. In the event of an emergency he could man the helm and get them to safety thanks to his training, but for a precise maneuver like this he'd leave it to the experts.
So many things could have gone wrong with the jump. Many ships relied on wormhole gates for faster than light travel, restricting them to the lanes in civilized space. Other ships carried a device known as a wormhole borer, which allowed them to create their own entrances to wormhole space at any point in the galaxy.
The Starlight had one aboard, but it came with its own issues. The device consumed huge amounts of power, which meant it needed to be mounted in a large ship or sacrifice much of its space for generators.
Then there was the problem of traveling to the right location without staying too close to solar bodies like planets, stars and black holes. Their gravitational pull distorted wormhole space and could often lead a ship to its destruction.
A ship using a wormhole borer usually followed a star chart, allowing them to plot a specific course and avoid any dangers. It might take them several jumps to complete the trip, but that was preferable to being completely pulverized while in transit.
But when a proper star chart wasn't available additional measures were needed. A sophisticated computer like IVIN could plot a route, but a pilot needed to pay attention to their instruments. If they showed that they were nearing a gravitational obstacle then they needed to exit wormhole space to avoid destruction.
Manual piloting through wormhole space was one of the most nerve-wracking jobs in existence, and even with IVIN's help Cheryl needed to be on her toes. She had done it, though, keeping the ship safe from harm. They had dropped out of wormhole space twice and recalculated their jump, but this would be the last time.
They had been out here in space for two weeks, traveling through the systems and regions leading out into the Central Expanse and their destination. Everyone was on alert, waiting for signs of enemy activity, but they had seen no other signs of life since they separated from the transport convoy. As far as he knew they were the only ship around for lightyears.
“Here we go,” Cheryl said, and a moment later the ship dropped out of wormhole space. As the shutters retracted Mirko got his first good look at their planned destination.
Object 495. An asteroid, oblong and maybe a little over a hundred miles in length. The explorers had only made a note of its location and let it be, but according to the data dug up from the Ulic chip there was something more to it.
“Attention, attention. We have exited wormhole space and are approaching an orbit of Object 495,” Cheryl said into the intercom.
Mirko settled back into his chair to watch and wait.
They couldn't do anything until they established orbit around the asteroid, and even then they weren't going to perform any manned missions. At first they'd deploy drones to explore the surface and find anything unusual. After they located it and deemed it safe they could send in a manned search party.
He contacted Bradley over the radio link. “You ready to do some searching?” he asked.
“Headed up to the bridge right now,” she replied.
“I'm currently preparing three interstellar drones to search and scan the outside of the asteroid,” IVIN said. “Once those are launched we can narrow down the parameters and find what we're looking for.”
“Um, what are we looking for?” Cheryl asked.
Mirko shrugged. “Beats me. They didn't give me a clear answer.”
“We're looking for an installation.”
Mirko looked over his shoulder to see Nina walk through the bridge doorway.
“Wanted a good view?” he asked. “The observation deck would probably be better than this.”
“Thanks, but I think I'll stick with making sure all the expensive equipment is being put to good use.”
“I'm wounded,” IVIN said, his voice completely monotone. “You think that I'm going to smash up all these drones through carelessness or for my own amusement? How else would I be able to project myself? I'd have to be content with pulling basic pranks on the rest of the crew.”
“Try it and I'm taking a hammer to your circuit boards,” Mirko said.
“You'd miss me when I'm gone. Especially if you're stuck in combat and need backup,” the AI taunted. “Need I remind you that you've been saved more than once by the drones?”
“Fine, fine, but lay off on the pranks, please.”
“Certainly. I'll keep away from you, at least.”
Mirko laughed. “I'd prefer that you don't bother the rest of the crew.”
“Preference and not an order?”
“I'll leave that up to you.”
“Some leader,” Bradley said as she entered the bridge and took a seat at her station. “IVIN, are we ready to go?”
“We're ready to deploy as soon as we're in orbit around the target asteroid,” the AI said. “By my calculations that should be in about a minute.”
“We're looking for anomalies,” Nina told her. “Something like a compound or a bunker.”
“A compound or a bunker, huh?” Mirko said. Details had been scarce up to this point, at least for the bodyguard cadre. None of them really knew what they were looking for out here in the void.
“What exactly are we searching for?” Cheryl asked.
“Tech. The usual,” Nina told her. “Oh and IVIN? Keep an eye out for enemy activity. I don't think that we've been followed, but we want to make sure.”
“Certainly. Any orders if we spot a hostile?”
“We hail them. And if we don't like what we hear from them, we kill them.”
Not a tough task. The Starlight had been filled to the brim with supplies and munitions when they left port, and anyone that bothered to follow them out here would be completely outgunned in space.
But on the ground was a different story, especially with only eight members in the bodyguard cadre. They could add drones to bolster their numbers, but Mirko didn't want to put too much strain on IVIN. If he was forced to fight a simultaneous space and ground battle his performance might suffer.
“We're in orbit,” Cheryl said.
“Deploy drones on my mark,” Bradley ordered.
Mirko sat back in his chair to watch and wait.
“A ROCK. A big rock and a bunch of stars in the middle of nowhere,” Rappa said, looking out of the upper observation deck. A trio of drones moved past, headed toward the surface of the asteroid.
Kei leaned back into the leather couch. “I wouldn't expect much. This is the Central Expanse.”
“I was expecting something… more.”
“What, did you think that there'd be some mythical paradise waiting out here for us?” Elsner said. “They've mapped this area before. How would they have missed it?”
Kei glanced over at Lauren. “What are we looking for?”
“An installation. I'm not sure if it's here or not, but the star chart we found pointed us to this location. And since Object 495 is the only thing out here, it has to be in there. Either that or it was pulverized millennia ago.”
“And where does that lead us to? Or what, would be the better question.”
She hesitated.
Kei looked away. “You've been told to keep your mouth shut, is that right?”
“Figures, but not all that unusual,” Gilroy commented from her chair. “Nina doesn't like to give away information unless she absolutely has too. I don't blame her either.”
“The more people know, the greater the chance that it leaks,” Salim said. “But we're all already aware of that.”
Rappa nodded. “Still, it's always good to know what's going on.”
“I'm not sure what we're even looking for,” Lauren said. “We think it's technology as usual, but what it might be I have no clue. But Eon Path wants it.”
“And if they get their hands on it then that could be trouble. That's understandable.”
“Except we're the only ones that know about this place, so I really don't see the concern,” Elsner said. “We can outgun anything they can bring.”
“Don't tempt fate or assume things.”
Kei looked at the outline of Object 495 as they continued their orbit. It looked so lonely, so desolate. What could be hidden out here that held such value, enough that Eon Path was willing to risk their destruction to obtain? Would they find it, or was it just a mystery lost to the ages?
“I hope we don't have to search that entire thing by foot,” Salim said. “That's going to be a pain.”
“I guess the only thing we can do is to hope for good fortune,” Kei said.
NINA POINTED TO THE SCREEN. “Look at that. Drone 2 picked it up on scans. There's an area inside the asteroid that's not displaying anything to sensors.”
“That could mean any number of things,” Mirko said. “Interference, a system malfunction.”
“Now you're just making up excuses so you don't have to go down there.”
“It doesn't matter because we're sending in the drones first. Right?”
“Yes, that's correct,” she confirmed. “But eventually if we find something we're going to need to go down there to explore it.”
“I can deploy terrestrial drones to search the area further and attempt to obtain access to whatever is down there,” IVIN said.
“Do it,” Nina ordered. “And Sasha, keep an eye on it as well.”
“Understood.”
They had something. Nina was sure of it, though at this point it meant very little. If it was a structure or a facility it was hundreds of thousands of years old, and while Ulic engineering was to the highest standards it remained vulnerable to the ravages of time. There was no guarantee it would be safe to explore, and being on an asteroid with extremely low gravity would only complicate the situation further.
First they needed to find out whether there was actually anything inside the asteroid. Flyby scans could tell them basic data, but Nina imaged that any entrance would be hidden, either by accident or by design.
“Assuming that we do find something,” Soko said. “How are we going to approaching going inside? Do we know what it would be like inside an Ulic space station? Atmosphere wise, I mean.”
“Most of the Ulic ruins have been found on earth-like planets, so I think we can assume that they have a similar physiology to us. But we'll take precautions.”
That was one of the great mysteries about the lost civilization, though. They had found plenty of information about what the Ulics knew, but little pertaining to how they looked. For some reason their appearance was never described, and their artwork never contained images of their appearance. Some speculated that it was because of a cultural taboo.
Whate
ver the case, they couldn't depend on guesses. Even if the station was built for humans, there was no guarantee the systems would still be functioning. They'd wear pressure suits and go in fully armed, ready for anything that might be waiting their for them. Nina didn't think they'd find anything alive, but there was always the chance of them stumbling across an automated defense system that still functioned.
“You always seem to find us the best adventures,” Soko said.
“That didn't sound very sincere.”
“Did it? My mistake.”
Nina didn't reply. They had nothing else to do but sit and wait for the results.
SEVERAL HOURS of searching finally yielded results. A rover drone found an entrance hidden under sediment and rubble, and after a bit more scanning they went to work. Several construction drones were ferried to the surface, and the excavation commenced.
“How long is this supposed to take?” Kei asked. He and Elsner had gone down to the surface of the asteroid.
“From what I can guess it should be several hours, maybe a day or so,” Elsner said. “But we have to be careful, so that's what's going to take longer. We can't blast our way inside.”
“Guess that takes all the fun out of it for you.”
Kei couldn't read his counterpart's body language from inside his pressure suit, but he thought that Elsner might have smiled. It was difficult to tell with the shadows concealing the visor his helmet.
“Explosives aren't the only thing I specialize in. I was an engineer before I went into the military. I know how to build things as well.”
“That helps you to know how to destroy them too.”
Elsner chuckled. “Ah, destroying them is the easy part. Anyone can destroy something. But building something is the thing that takes real skill. It's simple enough to smash something up enough to keep it from working. But to make it, or even to restore it into working order?”
Kei nodded. “Too true. Way too true.”
“That's right. You deal with a lot of the same thing, only on the biological side of things.”
Eon Gate (The Eon Pentalogy Book 1) Page 13