A Bellicose Dance

by Patrick M J Lozon

  The secondary drives were repairable. In time, they would be operational again. Just as well. The alien ship had left Signus and by its trajectory, was going to pass close by. He still could not believe the arrogant luck of that alien pilot. It had managed to do a considerable amount of damage to the Xi-Empire's most powerful warship - something unprecedented.

  Worse yet it was he, Zorlog, that had made the mistake. He should have destroyed that alien ship instead of trying to capture it. He cursed again as another explosion ripped through the engineering section. How did it slip that dormant missile by? How did it know where to hit? It was one of the only weaknesses this ship had left. Obviously, it knew something about Xi-Empire design.

  With detached eyes, he studied the chaotic picture around, looking for key crew, the ones that held their cool under the pressure. Many of the arrogant ones, the confident and cocky, were staggering about numbly, thoroughly shaken to their disgustingly impudent cores. These he would replace. There was no room for incompetence and no patience imparted from their commander. He watched them falter about briefly, thinking how he would have even found it amusing if it was not for the fact that he was in command.

  "Zuvok, we are being hailed."

  Zorlog glared at his Avok, irritated by the interruption in thought. "What?"

  "The alien ship is hailing us."

  He paused a moment. On an Xi-Empire channel? Strange. Could it be a Txtian trick, a possibly twisted scheme of the Emperor himself? "Answer the hail. Put on the visual."

  "Link established. We have audio only."

  "Then we can assume the pilot has ears and a mouth. That's a start. Link it over the intercom." A second later, a voice rang over the bridge. It was a basic form of Trinarieit, accented strangely. Zorlog had heard this same tone before, but where?

  "Who's in command?" the voice asked.

  "It is I, the Empirical Karvok Zorlog, of the Xi-Empire fleet. You have just declared war on the Xi-Empire by your actions. That is a very foolish thing to do. Exactly what am I talking to?"

  A pause.

  "You are talking to your past, Zorlog and you will feel my wrath, you waste of skin."

  Zorlog lip's curled back in tight irritation, exposing his fangs. Trinarieit curses always translated too loosely. "I ask again, what are you?"

  "Lost him, my Zuvok. It dropped the link."

  Zorlog crashed his arm down on the nearest console, growling in hateful disdain. "Ready the cannon arrays. Activate all missiles."

  The Tracing Avok yelled out, "Enemy vessel modified course - on a direct intercept trajectory, Zuvok!"

  "Ready stations!" yelled Zorlog, although his urging was not at all required. The crew attended their posts in a panicky haste. A thousand troops watched the small image of the approaching vessel, a select few waiting anxiously within their gunner's spheres. The engineering crews, already exhausted from the effort of rebuilding damaged ship's systems, fought on wearily, attempting to keep the many conduits open to the ship's main capacitors. Turrets powered up and down in a traveling dance along the Bzak's outer hull, the gunners watched with desperation as their consoles flickered off, on and off again.

  "Status!" ordered Zorlog

  "The vessel is coming in on a collision course, my Zuvok. At the speed it’s going, it'll cut us in half!" The Avok was nearly euphoric.

  Zorlog remained calm. "No, it has another purpose in mind. Bring all weapons to bear and fire at will, immediately."

  "Third bank deployed. Missiles attaining target... Alien ship firing. First bank, second, third, all missiles destroyed. Deploying fourth bank..."

  The cruiser’s formidable cannon turrets, the first of all of its systems brought back online, aimed squarely on the small white dot, which was only slightly camouflaged in the background of stars. They remained silent, however, as the alien aggressor was not yet in range.

  Without warning, the bridge's power systems failed in unison, leaving Zorlog in darkness once again. The blackout was only momentary. Systems struggled back to life in a defiant resurgence. It was enough, however, to increase the tension tenfold.

  "Zuvok! The ship is jumping to acroluc!"

  "As I suspected. Fire everything!" yelled Zorlog, barely able to mouth the words before the very walls around him started vibrating. The whole ship began contorting as if a gigantic pair of hands had grabbed hold of each end and started twisting back and forth mercilessly. Micro-thin fissures snaked along outer and inner hulls. Internal bulkhead plating popped loose, some sections literally exploding across corridors. The groaning and creaking from the superstructure turned into high-pitched screeching, a thousand tuning forks ringing in unison, all with different frequencies. The vibration became so intense the decking seemed to turn to liquid, and the crew were tossed about like rag dolls. The power systems, not built to withstand such conditions, fused together and shorted out conduits. Blue arcs raced along the ship's hull. Immense surges of pure energy let loose, literally frying unlucky troopers to charcoal. Throughout the ship multiple power relays shut down as gravity plates fluctuated and failed, throwing the others against bulkheads and snapping limbs in the process.

  Just as suddenly as it had started, the havoc subsided, surrendering to a high-pitched shrieking of escaping atmosphere that echoed down the ship’s corridors. Thousands of new leaks had formed throughout, and the ship was hemorrhaging atmosphere.

  Zorlog removed his hands from his ears, stood up from the deck where he had been thrown. His arm throbbed where he had landed upon it.

  Probably a fracture, but could be broken.

  He watched as the bridge systems struggled to come up. Redundant backups were supposed to protect these systems, even in the case of multiple power failures but the engineers had never imagined such abuse.

  “Seal every hatch in every corridor. Now!” Zorlog growled.

  "What was that?" asked an excited young Avok, his face full of nervous fear, fangs indecently dripping saliva.

  "Didn't you learn anything in militia training? That was the wake of a gravitonic distortion field. It is what happens when a starship launches into acroluc and passes too close to another.”

  Zorlog blew out his breath in exasperation. This interference effect sets up a harmonic imbalance in the superstructure of the resting vessel. The bigger the vessel, the worse it is, and the effect is amplified through its gravitational plating. They were lucky the cruiser held together at all.

  "My Zuvok, all the power networks are now offline. All ship’s systems are compromised.”

  Zorlog laughed his icy laugh. "But we are still alive! I've seen ships rip apart like rotten razum from this. Not even a cruiser is safe from gravitonic distortion. The only protection is to blast the enemy before he gets too close." Zorlog's laughing suddenly stopped. "Of which you obviously did not do... Stop standing around! We're losing atmosphere!"

  He slammed the ship-wide intercom. "This is a conservation alert. If we don't get this leaking situation under control within the next few radii, this ship will be returning to Xilo with only corpses aboard!"

  That should get their attention, he thought with grim satisfaction. Who was this alien adversary? This creature had engaged two empirical destroyers, a cruiser, and a group of heavily weaponized slavers. It knew no fear.

  A sudden sour realization sunk in. Due to this his reputation is now irreparably damaged. He did not look forward to returning to Xilo. Everything was going so well before. Why do things always seem to twist the wrong way at the most inopportune moment? Perhaps there are a few Txtians left aboard he could kill. That would cheer him up.

  He suddenly laughed. The officer near him looked up, puzzled and wary.

  “Get me the crew roster.”

  As always, he will adapt. Things change. Plans change. The goal remains the same. He will just have to accelerate the schedule.

  An old, familiar hate burned deep down within his gut.

  * * *

  The Dancing Queen was almost 10 weeks away fr
om the Xi-Empire capital planet of Xilo. She was traveling at maximum cruising speed with her forward tracing scanners sweeping a tight beam. Few ships, if any, could match the velocity of her, and of those, none were of Xi-Empire origin.

  Ryan stayed busy reviewing the ship's systems. The engagement with the cruiser was taxing on her systems and everything needed to be inspected thoroughly. On the initial overall pass, everything seemed fine, but he felt, no he knew, something was amiss.

  "Captain," Gem interrupted.

  "Yes, Gem."

  "I have completed all drive system diagnostics. Nothing is operating outside established parameters."

  "Well, maybe the parameters are wrong."

  "I do not understand your concern."

  "It's called human instinct. Something is wrong. I just know it."

  "I will endeavor to review all parameters and review all test data again."

  "Good idea." Ryan began to climb into the port-wing maintenance tube. He felt himself become lighter as he left the effects of the gravity cone generated from the grav plates.

  "Captain."

  "Yes, Gem," he replied with an edge of frustration in his voice.

  "There are a number of tests that I cannot complete as I do not have the required detection and monitoring devices."

  "What type of tests?"

  "The navigational interface units on second and third channels."

  “OK, and?”

  “Power transfer feeds to main drive.”

  Ryan sat there for a minute, thinking. "Gem, would that include the capacitor feed systems to the main drive burner plate?"

  "Yes."

  "That's it! Listen, don't you hear it? It’s a high-pitched whistle, like a bad CRT tube."

  "A CRT tube? I do not know..."

  "A high-pitched whistle. Can you hear it or not?"

  "Dropping audio sensitivity filtration. Yes, I have now detected the sound in question."

  Ryan quickly wriggled out of the tube and ran over to the drive balance indicators. "We're at an imbalance of 0.02%, Gem!"

  "That is not within acceptable parameters. I would suggest an adjustment in the array immediately."

  "Already on it. Well, well, looky here. Got it. Looks like we have a bad resistance on this pathway. I am switching over to an alternate route."

  The high-pitched whistle disappeared. "That's it. What's the damage Gem?"

  "I estimate it has added approximately three days to our arrival time. I would like to point out that I would have spotted our navigational drift within the next hour. We would have certainly isolated the problem by then."

  "I know, but nobody's perfect, not even your computers – I mean conPars."

  "Captain, I have as much in common with a computer as you have with an amoeba."

  Ryan chuckled, enjoying Gem's irritability.

  "I suggest that we construct a monitoring interface into these circuits. I must be able to measure this activity more effectively."

  "I wholly concur. Have Ziggy fabricate the interfaces for you. Such a complicated task is beyond a mere biological being as myself."

  Ryan was now satisfied to wrap up the diagnostic scans. They had done well - and they were still alive. It reminded him of a previous discussion. He wondered if Gem felt any fear during the battles.

  "You know, Gem. We did OK, all in all. It looks like we've weathered our first battle with flying colors. You handled yourself well."

  "We did achieve our goal. Something not always accomplished in similar situations."

  “How did you feel during the battle?”

  “Feel? Why do you ask such a question?”

  “I must understand your state of mind, determine your stability.”

  “I am very stable, thank you.”

  “I must have confidence I can count on you when things get difficult. So again, how did you feel?”

  “I felt… afraid, excited, apprehensive, anger… However such emotions do not interfere with my function.”

  "No, in fact, they sharpen your abilities. It is good you embrace your emotions and use them to drive you.

  “I am… working through this process.”

  “Good. By-the-way, have you managed to get anywhere with the memory reconstruction?"

  "No, I am continuing to work on this."

  "Please continue – there may be something very important in there."

  Ryan situated himself in front of the wall-sized display in the navigations center, leaning back into a much too comfortable chair. He began the difficult task of establishing a tight-beam communications channel to Xeronia. It was a difficult task, virtually impossible, had it not been for the Xeronian surveillance relays positioned in certain key regions of space. Although their coordinates had been stored within Gem's vast memory, securing a connection at such high velocity was tricky at best. Regardless, within the hour a channel was secured. Ryan switched it over to full visual. He preferred to see who he was talking to, although he had no doubt that Tsaurau preferred a mind-to-mind link.

  Tsaurau's face appeared on the monitor, the image flickering, shifting in and out of phase. It was the best one could ask for, given the situation.

  "Tsaurau, how are your new guests?"

  "They are doing well. I am glad to hear the news on Signus. Did you have any major difficulties?"

  "Yes, I was almost blasted into oblivion. These shields are not equipped to handle a full-on barrage of a Xi-Cruiser. I don't expect I will be as lucky next time. I need a better solution."

  "We do have alternative designs for the shielding, such as employing some of the design aspects implemented on the shield we used to protect Xeronia, but its energy requirements are restrictive. Such technology requires the enormous reserves to operate. I am not sure we can scale this down.

  "Get your people working on it. I'll take a look at that angle from here."

  "What is your current mission?"

  "You know where I am going. I have to find her."

  "You are traveling through very dangerous space.”

  “Unavoidable.”

  “Only love would lead one into the very center of death. Patrols are numerous as you approach the capital. I must warn you, you will not remain undetected for long. You may not make it back to us."

  "Don’t give up on me yet. I’ve some distance to travel and time to prepare. This shield problem should keep me busy. I will communicate with you when I’m able."

  Tsaurau acknowledged Ryan's response with a nod. He knew the Earthman too well. Nothing he could say would convince him to turn away. "Be careful my friend, and good luck."

  "I may need some. Dancing Queen out."

  * * *

  Ryan spent the following weeks working furiously. The mental work was challenging, but satisfying, as it drew him away from his own troubling thoughts. In comparison to the past, things that he'd never been able to understand before were now just simple ideas, trivial facts. His confidence was always short-lived, however, as it was often dashed into unpretentious confusion once he delved into the Xeronian advanced concepts and mathematics, especially those employed in shield engineering. He pushed on, determined as ever, and by the end of the first two weeks the fruits of his labor paid off. He had developed a new model. Granted, there were still questions and unresolved details, but the model would and could work. He transmitted his proposed designs to the Xeronians. They replied back quickly, putting forth a mountain of questions and additional ideas. Their combined efforts resulted in success. By the end of the seventh week, the model was a working prototype that could be integrated into the ship.

  Ryan had little time to get it operational. He worked with Ziggy around the clock, printing and machining the parts, growing the circuitry. The power issue remained the one main stumbling block - and the biggest compromise. Two extra capacitors were constructed and installed, and the energy collection system was reinforced. The most significant task involved the installation of additional conduit throughout the length of the shi
p. The new shield's energy requirements were enormous. Charging the capacitor array took time, and once the energy reached the required operating level the shield's duration, once activated, was very short, lasting only minutes. But that was all he should need. The system was designed to be activated only when the ship was under heavy fire. Each blast by the enemy would be absorbed by the shielding and then channeled back into the capacitors, which in turn powered the enhanced shielding. The risk of an overload still existed, but that's where his piloting skills compensated. The bottom-line trick was the timing of the enhanced shield deployment. If activated too quickly, energy reserves could decrease to dangerously low levels, starving the primary shielding and literally leaving the ship exposed, which in the end, was self-defeating.

  The most tedious of all tasks was the replacement of the shield projection devices along the hull. Ryan had never been out in space before, least of all running at acroluc, which was considerably more dangerous.

  He took his time pulling the suit on. As he locked the helmet on, he let out a slow breath. Everything seemed louder: heart pumping in his ears, breathing resonated as if he was in a spacious cavern.

  Calm down. No mistakes now. No mistakes out there.

  He held out his hand. It took a moment for his shaking gloved fingers to steady.

  The airlock doors closed and evacuated to vacuum quickly. The outer door opened to reveal a spectacular view. The stars were a myriad of swirling colors, sharp, piercing lights and solid lines of blurred brightness, all in a canvas of utter silence.

  He locked the toolbox to his suit. An extra toolbox was also in the airlock, but it would remain there, unless of course, he needed something special. Hopefully, if everything goes right, he had everything he needed. He disabled the anti-grav plates and waited for the slight nausea to pass as he adjusted to the weightlessness.

  "OK, Gem, looks like I'm ready,” he relayed, a bit too shakily.

  “Have you deployed the outside handholds?"

  "Yes, they all are deployed. Captain, are you prepared?"

  "Why, do I sound nervous?"

  "Yes, you do. I believe this would be considered in human standards, ironic. You are a starship captain after all."