by Kord Stone
“I had suspected that the coded message might have been about one of you two over there in Iraq, and wanted to ask you, but with the surveillance I knew our government was performing on our own citizens, not to mention the times I knew I was being surveilled, I didn’t dare ask. When you asked if there was a reason our government would want us dead, that was just one of the memories that came to mind. But this is the first I’ve spoken of it.”
Jason looked shocked and said, “I think Inola has been guiding and helping us along our paths, even though we haven’t seen her since we were nine years old. I heard her voice during the first attack on this ship. She said it was my awakening. I don’t know what I was awakening from or for, but I think we’re all needed for something and Inola has been playing us like a two-bit piccolo to get us here ever since we were little. I’m beginning to see possibilities, but nothing is certain. And as for our government being the ones after us, we now know it wasn’t them. It’s the guy in the other ship like this one, but we don’t know why yet.”
Jerren let out a groan, drawing Justin’s attention, and Jerren asked Jason, “Do you remember the events of the four weeks after we rescued you?”
Jason cringed and paled at the apparent memory then said, “Yes, isolation and needles pretty much sum it up, why?”
“When my team arrived in the compound to rescue you, everywhere we looked there were corpses with no signs of physical damage. We put on our MOPP gear and set out. My partner and I were tasked with finding and recovering you, and the SEAL team was tasked with securing the warhead. After we located you, we put you into the MOPP, for isolation protocol. The SEAL team took blood samples from some of the dead, then we got the hell out of there. The tests all came back negative for any known bio, chemical or radiation damage, and because the cause of their deaths was undetermined, that is why we were all placed in quarantine until the doctors determined we were not a biological threat.”
“And?” Jason had prodded.
“And if as you say Inola was there at least in your head, she might have been the reason for all the dead. As far as I know they never found any reason for all those people’s deaths, and believe me, they were definitely interested in finding the cause,” Jerren said.
“So what do we do now?” Justin asked a little nervously.
Jason seemed to appraise both him and Jerren a moment, then he said, “First off we need to get the family to safety—”
Remembering what Jason had told them after reentering the ship, Justin interrupted him, “You told us they were tracking us by our DNA and nowhere would be safe to drop us off, or has that changed?”
Jason shook his head and explained that the ship was connected to a master control room, which was connected to four other ships, two of which had been destroyed thousands of years ago, and that the master control room was also connected to a stasis chamber. The stasis chamber was out of phase with real time and could be accessed only through the master control room.
“As long as they’re in the stasis room I don’t think the other commander can get to them,” Jason said.
Justin was troubled by the logistics of getting everyone in the family to agree to staying in the stasis chamber, and Jerren voiced the same concern.
“I don’t think any of the family are going to willingly get into a stasis chamber. How do you propose we convince them?”
Jason hesitated a moment and then he said, “I…didn’t actually give them a choice in the matter.”
Justin was shocked and said, “What did you do?” at the same time as Jerren. They both smirked at one another before returning their focus back on Jason.
“The dinner was a bit of a farewell feast, to get them to go to bed early. Once their heads hit their pillows, they were put into an induced stasis sleep. We need to move them into the stasis chamber for their safety and after the threat is over we can take them out and they’ll be none the wiser.”
“I don’t know; they’ll be seriously ticked off if they find out what we have done,” Justin said.
Jason nodded then said, “You, Jerren, Alise and I would be the only ones to know what we did, and we could bring the family out of stasis in their beds and none of the family would ever have to know what had transpired. Besides if we let it go much longer somebody is going to kill someone.”
Jerren said, “You’re probably right. I’ve had to patch both Tim and Uncle Tom up a couple of times already. They really seem to hate each other. After the last brawl I asked both of them what it is all about. I was told to mind my own business, so I told them they could patch themselves up from now on.”
Justin looked from Jason to Jerren, taking in Jason’s younger looking appearance, even though, being identical triplets, Jason had lived another year longer than Jerren and him while they had been dead, they still appeared older than Jason, because of whatever the bonding procedure with the ship was doing to Jason’s body. “All right, but what if it takes years to locate and stop the other commander? The family might believe it if they only see you, but if Jerren and I get much older they’ll know something is up.”
Jason nodded. “First off, I don’t plan for this to take forever. But even if it does take an extended period of time, I’d sleep better at night knowing our family is safe. Second, and this might be of interest to one of you, there’s a second time ship in need of a commander. It’s been derelict for the past fifteen thousand years. I performed a diagnostic and everything seems to be functional but it has been powered down and it needs a commander to reboot the system.” Jason looked at Jerren and him, then continued, “I was hoping that if we could get that ship in working order, one of you would be in command of it.”
Jerren asked, “What do we do just go onboard and say, ‘I’m the new commander’?”
“When I was in the master control room, I performed a diagnostic. It came back with no commander viable, and asked me if I wished to assign a new commander. I think if I were to select yes, I should be able to assign one of you, and you would be able to bond with that ship and the AI once it comes back online.”
Now Justin knew why Jason and Alise had been telling Jerren and him so much about the requirements of being a commander during the feast, and what the job would entail. He thought over everything Jason had told them about the rules for a commander. He wanted to get married one day and have children, but becoming a commander would pretty much put an end to that because commanders were not allowed to be married. He thought about what Jason had been going through recently and he seriously doubted he had the skills needed to command a ship. Then looking from Jason to Jerren, he said, “I was only a general’s assistant and crypto specialist. I wouldn’t have the first notion of how to run a ship.”
Jason snorted. “Do you think I have any idea what I’m doing? I’m winging it as we go and hoping I don’t get any of us killed. I think either one of you would make a great commander. You two need to work it out. There’s no real hurry; the ship isn’t going anywhere. I just cannot fight the feeling that one of you is supposed to take command of that ship though.”
Justin looked at Jerren. “I think with your training and history you’d make a better choice than I would. It sounds like a great opportunity but I’m not trained for it.”
Jerren looked hard at him then nodded. “I agree with Jason and think you would do great at whatever you want to, but if you insist, then I’ll do it.”
Justin nodded and turning to Jason he said, “Then it’s settled. Jerren will do it.”
“Okay, first off we need to get the family to the stasis chamber, then we can work on how to make the other ship operational again,” Jason then called out to Alise, “How are the preparations coming along?”
Alise replied over Jason’s watch, “Almost ready, the environmental suits are ready. Make sure to scan the stasis chamber before entering it and if you need to contact me use your life monitor. I will take us to a PTD of negative eight to match the master control room when you are ready to make the tra
nsfer. A PTD that far off will draw a lot of energy to maintain, so you will have to make your time count.”
Justin was going to ask about the life monitor, but Jerren spoke up, and he lost the thread of the question. “What’s a PTD?”
“A phased time dilation. It’s complicated, I’ll explain it later. Let’s get you two dressed for this mission, then we’ll collect the family,” Jason said.
While they were collecting the family members, Alise explained that the master control room was in a negative eight PTD, which meant time would move eight times slower for them in there, and faster on the ship, and that was why Jason had been missing for so long, he was only supposed to be gone for twelve hours, but it ended up being eight times longer. And for some reason she had been unable to call for the archway. That was why she had not informed them about where Jason had disappeared to and the reason she would match the negative eight PTD for the transfer.
* * * * *
Justin watched as his eldest brother Jason closed the stasis chamber archway after settling the last of their relatives in the stasis pods. Then he approached the TDS 3 console. While in the stasis chamber, Jason had explained that the Lantins did not know about the master control room, so his fear that the other commander could find the family in stasis was put to rest.
Justin stood back, allowing Jason and Jerren some space, and observed as Jason requested the console for Time Dilation Ship 3. Peering over his brother’s shoulder, he watched the monitor as they attempted to assign his middle brother as the commander of the derelict vessel.
TDS 3
AL not online.
No life forms onboard for fifteen thousand one hundred thirty-three years.
Location 374.4 KKSLO Terra .5 PTD.
AL commander no longer viable
Reset binding disk for new commander? (Yes) or (No)
Jason had looked at Jerren then back toward the console and selected yes.
The lighting dimmed briefly and a complex algorithm ran across the screen.
Justin was watching the screen and asked, “What does AL stand for?” A moment later he noticed a flicker to his right and looked at the wall behind his brothers’ seats and read,
A - Advanced
L – Lifeform
I – Integrated
S – Synaptic
E – Escort
“Ah, Okay,” Justin muttered.
Jason turned in his seat and looked back, then said, “There you have it. It would appear as if the AL is an Alise. All of the ships probably had them.”
Jason looked concerned, and Justin was about to ask what the problem was when a beep sounded and Jason turned around to consult the control panel. Justin returned his gaze to the console as well and read along.
TDS 3
Binding disk reconfigured, apply to new host.
Justin watched as Jason reached to his left and picked up a silver dime-sized disk that had just materialized beside the console. Jason seemed to hesitate only the briefest of moments before gesturing for Jerren to come closer.
“Okay, Jerren, you need to press this right there.” Jason pointed to a spot behind Jerren’s right ear and a moment later said, “I won’t lie to you. It hurt like nothing I have ever felt before.”
Justin noticed the fleeting hint of panic that flashed across Jerren’s face. And now knowing the extent of the torture Jason had endured while in captivity in Iraq, he didn’t blame Jerren for being afraid. At this point, Justin was glad it was not he who was putting that disk on his head, but he didn’t want to see his brother go through it either.
Jason added, “Alise told me it shouldn’t have hurt that much. There was something odd about my bonding that caused a feedback. But the other eleven times she bonded were virtually painless.”
This seemed to mollify Jerren a little bit and he said, “Okay, here goes nothing.”
Justin watched as Jerren tensed up the briefest of seconds and applied the disk to the spot behind his right ear. There was the sound of a slight static discharge but when Jerren pulled his finger away, the disk was still on it.
“Did it work?” Jerren asked.
Justin looked over Jason’s shoulder and read,
TDS 3
Disk reconfigured. Apply to new host.
Bonding procedure failure. Incorrect host data.
Apply binding disk to proper host.
Justin had a bad feeling about what he’d just read.
“What the hell is with that? It should have worked,” Jason stated.
Jerren tried it again and by the third attempt, he dropped the disk back on the console, “Damn…that thing zapped me harder and harder each time I tried it. It doesn’t look like it is going to work,” he said with irritation in his voice.
Jason’s brows were furrowed. “Justin, why don’t you give it a try?”
Justin’s heart began thrashing at the suggestion, then he felt the sense of unease rising in him and he said, “Uh, I don’t think it will work on me either. I really don’t think I’m the right person to be in charge of a ship anyway.”
Justin no sooner got the words out when the control room rumbled and the disk began vibrating on the console. It flew through the air and applied itself firmly to a spot just in back of his right ear. “WHAT THE…” He swept his hand against it to get it off, but it was not moving. He tried to peel it off with his fingernails, and the second his finger made contact with the disk it was lights out and with a shocking jolt, he hit the floor.
Justin felt as if he were lying there for a good ten minutes before he was finally able to open his eyes again. Looking up at Jason and Jerren kneeling beside him he asked, “What the hell happened?”
Jason let out what sounded like a nervous sigh and said, “Apparently something or someone wanted you to bond with that ship. The disk flew to you and when you touched it, the bonding must have activated. Let me check… Are you okay?”
Justin nodded. Then Jason helped him to his feet and consulted the display.
TDS 3.
Disk reconfigured. Apply to new host.
Bonding procedure Failure, incorrect host data.
Apply disk to proper host.
Bonding procedure Failure, incorrect host data.
Apply disk to proper host.
Bonding procedure Failure, incorrect host data.
Apply disk to proper host.
Bonding procedure successful.
Data link confirmed.
Commander input required.
Jason looked at Justin. “It says commander input required.”
Justin peered at the display and said, “What input?” A moment later, the display changed to read,
Input received, command functions TDS 3 transferred.
Jason said, “It would appear as if you are the new commander of TDS 3.”
Justin frowned and Jason said, “Congratulations are in order I guess.”
Jason gave him a firm hug, saying, “You can handle this.”
Justin just grunted, “It would have been nice to be given a choice.”
The master control room rumbled again, but just as fast as it started, it ceased.
Jason looked around and sighed. “Spilled milk.”
Jerren said, “Lemons to lemonade.”
Justin nodded and silently resigned himself to whatever future was ahead of him, then he said, “It is what it is, but I am going to make mistakes. I just know it.”
Jason gestured for him to have a seat in front of the TDS 3 control panel. He sat down and the screen came to life, and it had changed to read,
TDS 3
Minimal access protocol, reengage full access (Yes) or (No).
Justin was about to select yes when Jason halted him. “You might want to engage the safety protocols first.”
Justin looked from Jason to the console. Not seeing what he was talking about he said, “I don’t see any safety protocols.”
He no sooner got the words out when he felt what could only be described
as a fluttering in his head and a second later the display read,
Safety protocol engaged.
Justin looked back to Jason and asked, “Do it or not?”
“It looks safe now. I just didn’t want you to get the same splitting headache I did when it opened the floodgates,” Jason replied with a smirk.
Justin grunted and said, “Here goes nothing,” As he selected yes.
Justin felt a tickling in his head and he watched as the percentage rose and fell then rose again, finally settling a few minutes later, and the display changed to read,
Safety protocol engaged.
Auto data stream 14%.
Jason said, “Okay, you need to reset the power system and check life support. It was cold as shit when I was on the ship and there was no gravity.”
Jason’s statement took Justin by surprise and he asked, “When were you on the ship? You never told us that.”
Jason replied, “It must have slipped my mind. Once we power the ship up we can make sure it is safe to enter.”
Justin selected system restart. The room dimmed a moment then the display read,
TDS 3
Core is not responding, manual input required.
System restart on standby.
Justin shook his head and looking to Jason he asked, “What does that mean?”
Jason replied, “I’m not sure. It’s possible the ship doesn’t have enough power and is unable to respond to an engine restart request. What are the current air quality and temperature conditions on the ship?”
Justin looked down to the display and bringing up the environmental status he said, “The system shows 23 percent oxygen and 76 percent nitrogen with a .93 percent carbon dioxide, and 30 degrees. But it looks as though the temperature has risen over two hundred degrees in the past three hours, why?”
Jason looked concerned and said a little louder than Justin thought was necessary, “I think we need to get on the ship to effect enough of a power boost to let the system restart. Do you agree, Alise?”