by Chris Hechtl
“I know. Unfortunately, it's not like we can go in with pulsars drawn and make them work with us,” Shelby said. “We're not the pirates. That would be a PR nightmare,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Yes, ma'am, I suppose it would seem that way,” Captain Kaluha agreed. “It still sucks.”
“I know. In some ways, these planets matter little to us in the short term. It would be nice to get some additional intel and supplies. Definitely nice to get some shore leave,” Shelby said with a wry twist of her lips. “But we can't defend them. Not anytime soon. Getting their hopes up might make them a target.”
“So we stay the course, ma'am?” Captain Runyon asked.
Shelby nodded. “For the moment, yes. We'll keep amassing data on this plague and the sector. If we can help anywhere, we will do so. If we can trade, we will do so. But I'm focused on getting to the middle of the sector and then finding a place to set up shop.”
“What about the plague, ma'am?” Captain Zeb asked.
“For the moment we don't have a lot to go on,” Shelby said with a grimace. “The medics can't do much with just the basic information they know; the species and symptoms are too varied to make a good diagnosis. I believe them. So, we will try to help where we see it. Once we've got a base set up, we'll go from there. We'll send Mahoney out with an escort to the nearest planet with the plague and do what we can to get samples and then find a cure.”
“Tall order, ma'am,” Captain V'z'xx buzzed.
“It's all we can do at the moment,” Shelby said with a nod to the T'clock captain. “I wish now, oh, how I wish!” she shook her head. “ … I wished to the gods I'd held out for another Liberty class for you, Captain. Sorry,” she said.
“We'll make do, ma'am,” the T'clock said.
“Thank you. Okay ladies and gentlemen, we'll get going to the next stop,” Shelby said simply.
]][#]]]{OO}===}==>
Eighteen point four light years and twelve weeks later they arrived in Tau-8250 without high hopes of trading much since the star system only sported a small agro world. The name of the world translated into Rolling Meadows from Tauren. The planet had a 0.8 gravity quotient. It was also covered with meadows above and below the equator of the planet that stretched from one coastline of the Pangaea continent to the other.
Lieutenant Jardin called the planet before they shaped a course inward. To their surprise they received a welcoming reply an hour later. Cautiously they made their way to the inner system.
Lieutenant Jardin presented his report to Ensign Slatterly and the senior staff. He had called in Lieutenant Talon and Mister Muggs to handle the negotiations, but he had picked up a few things in the conversations he'd had with the chatty female Tauren on the planet.
“They are very interested in joining the Federation,” the lieutenant reported, glancing at his tablet to check his notes.
“That's a good thing,” Lieutenant Z'k'th'ss'Th said.
“Yes, but it is mainly because they are desperate to be protected from the marauding raiders,” the lieutenant said, looking up to the Naga tactical officer and then around the room before stopping at the commodore.
“That's normal and expected,” Cynthia said with a nod.
“The planet's population is small, under a hundred thousand dispersed across the planet. They have no cities,” Ensign Slatterly said, taking up the narrative. “The population has been reduced to an Iron Age existence. It's worse than Gaston in some ways. They have the one working radio system, they only have that because the pirates let them keep it so they can report when they are ready to pay their tribute,” she said.
“That's … wrong,” Lieutenant Z'k'th'ss'Th growled.
“I know. The good news is they get some warning of the pirates coming in so they can hide and disperse their people,” the ensign reported. “And no, they haven't been visited since Puglia came by. They did enjoy the visit,” she said, nodding to Lieutenant Jardin.
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “I honestly don't see the planet as anything but a net loss for us for several decades,” he warned. “And as you know, there is an asteroid belt, but it is thin and low on heavy metals,” he warned.
“Work on negotiating for them anyway. We can send the tugs out.”
“They gave us permission to be in orbit for a week, Captain,” the lieutenant said.
“A week?” Shelby asked, glancing at Cynthia. “Did they say why so short?”
“Concern that if the pirates see us they'll attack them … or penalize them for doing business with them,” the lieutenant said.
“Great. So, get in, get out,” Portia growled.
“Pretty much,” Ensign Slatterly said. “After mentioning the plague,” she turned a dark look on the lieutenant, “we've been asked to limit our landing parties, and we'll of course have to certify them medically. They'll have to be examined by the local medics, and we'll have to pay their service fees too. Since their medical tech is pretty primitive and they only have two doctors and a nurse within a hundred kilometers of the spaceport …” she shrugged.
“Lovely,” Shelby sighed. “I think we'll need to let the convoy know that. We might need to limit it to just people who need to go down to do the negotiating,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am. Right now, most of their staple crops are out of season so they are high in price since they need them themselves. Information seems to be free, but they are busy,” the spook reported.
“Well, that's something anyway,” Cynthia stated with a sigh.
]][#]]]{OO}===}==>
The landings on Rolling Meadows were indeed limited as Shelby had feared. The two promised doctors near the spaceport had turned into one, and the other had been too elderly to travel. The one doctor who had agreed to visit the port had only stayed a single day; apparently, he had his own hobby farm to manage too.
They had also been severely limited on trade. They had managed to trade some equipment and get some water for fuel, setting it up had taken four days. That had allowed them to get some fuel in the remaining three days but not much, less than a thousand tons, which added up to a drop in the bucket for the convoy.
Fresh food had also been highly limited; the Iron Age tech level extended itself to agricultural practices as well. She, like many of the crew, had mixed feelings as they left the planet behind. The good news was their next jump was a hair under seven light years. She hoped they'd have better luck there, but something told her not to get too hopeful with their current track record. It was incredibly vexing, not just to her but also to the crew and passengers she knew. She wasn't certain how to alleviate their aggravation.
]][#]]]{OO}===}==>
Phoebe was intensely frustrated with being cooped up on the ship. She'd expected, no, needed to go to the ground, but it seemed the galaxy was conspiring against her. It was so unfair, she thought. She checked the list for the next series of stops and was not at all impressed. Another star system with space colonies like Pyrax, then a dead system. More months staring at the same walls … she shook her head in resignation.
Chapter 24
The convoy jumped into Tau-9SC441 space without incident. Immediately they found a rather quiet neighborhood. There were no transmissions in the star system which immediately struck Lieutenant Jardin as odd.
CIC noted and reported signs of energy signatures, but they were hidden in a moon in the inner star system as well as on the surface of a dwarf planet. “Burned hand?” Captain Yu asked when Shelby discussed the problem. “You think they noted our emergence and went to ground like Senka likes to do?”
“If that's true, they won't come out no matter what we say or do,” Captain Zeb said.
“We've picked up the buoy from Puglia. It looks like the division did indeed split up; there is nothing from Belfast,” Captain Kaluha reported. Her Arboth class destroyer Slash and Tear was out on point and had been first to pick up the buoy's signal. “My ship's comm department is downloading it now,” she said.
�
�So they did split up in the Platte cluster as they said they would. Which makes me wonder where they are. Did they cross the entire sector?” Captain Runyon asked.
They had learned that the two ships had split up to cover more ground in the Platte cluster with Puglia intent on heading west and Belfast north through Platte Gamma and then on to that jump chain. There were nine stops along Belfast's route, but she would eventually have to turn back since it dead ended; there were no known paths back to the center of the sector even though the route curled into it.
“I wish they'd stayed together. I mean, I know they wanted to cover more ground … and clearly they didn't see any sign of pirates, but …,” Captain Runyon shook his head.
“Risk is part of being on a scout ship. Believe me, I know,” Captain Kaluha said wryly. “The question is, what do we do now, ma'am? They are hiding, and we won't get them to respond to anything we say. I wouldn't believe someone was from the long-lost Federation in their shoes,” she said.
“I know,” Shelby said. She grimaced. “We're going to have to update the buoy and then move on,” she said finally. She didn't note any protests from the captains.
Shelby left orders for the ship to refuel and travel west. She doubted that the ship would be able to find another path back to the core, though it was possible.
The convoy crossed the star system and jumped on to their next destination.
]][#]]]{OO}===}==>
They arrived at their first destroyed star system, Tau-T1832, seven light years and 4.3 weeks later.
They had no choice but to pass through the star system; it was part of the route to the center of the sector. They had to pass through it and orient on it to get to the next stop in the jump chain safely.
Destroyed stars formed a nebula over time. Since the destruction of the star was only seven centuries ago, the nebula was still forming. One thing Shelby did appreciate by the destruction was that the nebula was rich in gases and raw material. She'd looked up such things when she had found out they would be traveling through several destroyed systems. With the right impetuous, it could fall back on itself and reform a star.
An hour later Cynthia, Chief Sulistyo, and Oz debated the concept with her over dinner while Portia's navigational team and CIC worked on scanning the nebula. “Just considering how to do it …,” Chief Sulistyo said, with a shake of his shaggy head.
“It's possible. I looked it up when I knew we were coming here. Apparently, they actually did it in the Federation,” Oz said.
“Where? Where did you see that?” Cynthia asked, fork hovering in front of her mouth in surprise.
“You going to eat that XO or …,” Shelby teased. Cynthia set the fork of mash potatoes down and stared at the Neogorilla. “Okay …,” she drawled, turning as well to Oz.
“It's in the Encyclopedia Galactica actually. Scientists took a century to pull it off,” Oz said, pulling up the file through his implants. He reached over with his long arm to snag a tablet on the counter. He sent the file to the tablet and then used the device to show them since there was a casserole dish covering the holographic emitter at the moment.
“See?” he asked, turning it to them.
Cynthia tapped the tablet with her implants and pulled a copy of the file to her implants. She opened it on her HUD and scanned it, reading quickly. She whistled softly. She wasn't the only one.
“To do that …,” she said in awe.
“Yeah, our ancestors were crack engineers. Too bad they had to open Pandora's Box with the damn Stargate to the Xeno galaxy,” Chief Sulistyo said in disgust.
“They definitely took on too much, that we all agree with,” Shelby said carefully. “And I know Admiral Irons is rather regretful of his role in it and his daughter's role,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Wait, what?” Chief Sulistyo asked, turning to her in surprise.
“This says they used systems to push and pull the nebula together. It's pretty basic, but I think they used a series of grav emitters. I wonder; did they create an artificial black hole? How could they control it?” Cynthia demanded.
“I know. That had me puzzled too. How could they balance it? And how could they keep the gravity from accelerating material and pushing it away in a sling shot from where they want it? Tugs on the inside working in to bulldoze the material? They'd need massive engines to keep away from the gravity pullers …. and how do you keep it from forming a black hole?” Oz demanded.
“The thing that gets me is that they got it all to work. Not only that, but they actually achieved ignition, though this says they tried initially with a super gas giant … they tried to compress it. That model gave them the material they needed to achieve ignition in the star.”
“So, they could make planets, make stars, destroy both …,” Oz said with a shake of his head. “And the Xenos plus hubris destroyed them.”
“Not fully,” Shelby said as the Neoorangutan's brows continued to knit in concentration as he tried to puzzle out what she'd said about stargates. She realized he wasn't willing to let it go. “Hopefully, we can learn from their mistakes,” she said.
Oz snorted. “Yeah, don't go to the Xeno galaxy. We've got enough to contend with here,” he said.
“You think we'll ever get back to that level?” Cynthia asked, indicating the tablet.
Shelby shrugged. “Anything is possible,” she said. She turned to the chief engineer. “Yes, a young Captain JG Irons was involved in the Stargate program. It is in the history books, though it is a minor mention. My dad told me that Admiral Irons was the one that kicked the program from theoretical to application.”
“Talk about sack cloth and ashes,” Cynthia murmured.
“How were they to know they'd open Pandora's Box as the chief put it?” Shelby demanded. “The initial program was to find a better way to get across the galaxy. They achieved it. Trade exploded across the galaxy, cutting transit time down incredibly, even beyond what the hyperbridge network did. Extending the network to the Xeno galaxy should have been an extension on that, cutting down on the supply lines to the exploration expedition. Unfortunately, they ran into hell.”
“And the explorers brought it back with them,” the chief said.
“Yes,” Shelby said, turning her head to him. “Again, how could they know? You don't know what is in the dark unless you turn a light on and look.”
“Some things are best left alone,” the chief said. Oz grimaced but then nodded in support.
Cynthia cocked her head and turned to the commodore. “I see that, and I acknowledge that argument,” she said carefully. “But on the other hand, it's the stuff that you don't know about that can turn around and bite you in the ass when you least expect it,” she said.
“True. There are arguments for both sides of course. The main one I subscribe to is that it is done, and the burnt hand teaches best,” Shelby said. “Now, let's finish this dinner before Bernard gets grumpy about the scrumptious desert going to waste,” she said, lifting another fork full of shepherd’s pie to her lips.
The others snorted and then dug in.
After dinner, they returned to the bridge. Shelby stared out into the main viewer. The nebula was still there, dark and brooding since the light of the star had been snuffed out. It was a spooky place, cold without the heat of the sun to warm things, filled with horror of billions of deaths. Such thoughts were unsettling for the crew and passengers alike she knew. “We need to get going,” Cynthia said, staring out into the dark cloud.
“Soon,” Shelby said as she turned to Portia. “Nav, upload the course and then execute it and make for the jump point when you are ready. Have our bussard scoops active. But I want the nanite filters in place and sensors on the watch for anything suspicious.”
“Nanites, ma'am?” Portia asked as all eyes turned to the commodore in surprise and fear.
“This is a destroyed star system, presumably by the Xenos. There is no telling what is in the void,” Shelby said grimly, jutting her chin out to
the plot.
“Shouldn't we run with shields up and forgo scooping then, ma'am?” Lieutenant L'n'v'll asked.
“I considered that, but we can get some fuel and useful material out of this soup. Eventually it will fall back to form a new star in a few million years or so,” Shelby replied. “Given we've been turned down on several stops, I think we should get what fuel and material we can when we can. We don't know who else will turn us down or who will be infected as we move forward from here.”
“But the nanites?” the Veraxin asked carefully.
“Lieutenant, if ships have been passing through this star system back and forth for the past seven centuries without a problem, I'm certain the threat is negligible. But,” she held up a restraining finger, “that doesn't mean nonexistent, which is why I still want our guard up.”
Lieutenant L'n'v'll signaled second-degree agreement mixed with reluctance. “Aye aye, ma’am,” he said as he turned back to his station. One by one the other officers and ratings did the same.
Shelby sat back in the hot seat and nodded once to herself. Fear was good, a little bit went a long way to keep you alert and healthy. She just didn't want to overdo it.
Besides, it wasn't just nanites that concerned her. The nebula was thick and a perfect place for an ambush. She put a call in to the escorts to have them keep their eyes peeled for anything remotely suspicious. “Can we launch a recon screen, ma'am? I'd like a rear guard as well,” Captain V'll'no asked.
“Do it. But don't get carried away on fuel and time, Captain,” Shelby said.
“Aye aye, ma’am.”
After the signal was cut, it took less than a minute before her CIC reported the Admiral Sprague was launching fighters.
]][#]]]{OO}===}==>
Warily the convoy crossed the destroyed star system over the course of several days. Near the jump point to Tau-X3301, a recon fighter on patrol found the debris from a destroyed starship. The ship's debris cloud was drifting away from the jump point. That discovery made Shelby order an investigation. Janice's Captain Zlanka picked up speed and moved in to take up station near the drifting debris so her sensor watch could get a good look. Sensor drones and small automated tugs went out to probe the wreckage. Choice samples were brought in to the ship for further examination.