WE HAVE CONTACT (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 12)

by Michael Anderle

  “For most civilizations, reaching outer space causes a huge growth in their civilization as the acquisition of new raw materials become available. Plus, with advanced manufacturing capabilities come new methods to build larger, and build faster. For an example, look at the ship you are presently in. Within three generations, the space-going species is addicted to building, growth, new materials acquisition and technology acquisition which they have due to space. When they have used up the raw materials close to their planet, they start looking to annex new areas.”

  “Have you seen instances when this is not the case?” William asked.

  “Certainly. It is mostly prevalent in very structured societies. Such as Hive minds, or what you would call Patriarchal or Matriarchal large family groups, or Monarchies with God like authority.”

  Frank looked over and smiled to Bethany Anne, “Hey!” she retorted, as the table turned to her at her outburst, “I’m not out to subjugate the Universe. I just plan on kicking some ass until they get the message that playing with humans and other species is a no-no.”

  “Annex Gates,” TOM continued, focusing the table back on the conversation, “are usually the first stage of scouting by a society which is expanding. They are looking for resources, the technology they can co-opt, and labor.”

  “Labor?” Barb asked, “Don’t they have enough of their own people?”

  “Slaves.” Bethany Anne replied, “Think back to Roman times. The people with a vote didn’t want to actually get their hands dirty, not when they could stick around Rome and have a good time. I’m sure the idea of traveling a kajillion miles to suffer asphyxiation while mining on an asteroid doesn’t appeal.”

  “The fuckers want to steal our materials, grab our technology, and to add insult to injury, make us dig it out of the ground for them?” Bobcat asked, surprised.

  “Well, yes.” TOM answered, “I thought that was obvious?”

  Bobcat scratched his chin, “Maybe, I just thought we were looking for a Kurtherian scout who wanted to use us for a round of Rugby with another species, not slavery.”

  “That is a form of slavery,” Marcus said, looking at his friend with a questioning look, “Or is fighting not slavery?”

  “Well, yeah, but at least it is a little more interesting. Using a pickaxe on a rock in the middle of nowhere is just cruel.”

  “TOM, continue,” Bethany Anne broke in. She had been around those three enough to know this conversation could go a while with just them talking back and forth.

  “The Annex Gate is tied to another location in space. Allowing them to easily get back to their own solar system,” TOM said.

  “What, like a warp gate? Can’t they do what you did?” Marcus asked.

  “If you mean almost die by randomly warping to an unknown location, then no. The ability to do this in our ships was one of the advances Kurtherians have over other races. The Annex Gate you see here is the only way this ship can leave. It is why I know they are not Kurtherians. None of our people would use a gate.”

  “Would their subjugated races use it?” Lance asked.

  “No, not for a scout ship. The Annex Gate, like you see here, is an open door allowing those on the other side they are scouting access back into their system.”

  “Why aren’t they worried about us then?” Bethany Anne asked, “We have … Oh shit.”

  “Precisely,” TOM answered.

  “Oh, that’s just…goodness, that IS surprising.” Marcus admitted.

  “What the hell are you three talking about?” Bobcat asked.

  Bethany Anne looked down the table and spoke to the group, “They haven’t seen our ships yet. They don’t know we can go through their gate.”

  Everyone’s eyes went back to the Annex Gate.

  “Fuck,” Bethany Anne spat out, “Now I’ve got my own Gott Verdammt Pandora’s box.”

  Yollin Deep Space Ship - G’laxix Sphaea

  “Are we in agreement?” Captain Kael-ven T’chmon asked his small group of advisors. He had pulled in Kiel from security, Scientist Royleen, and Melorn.

  “I believe the plan is sound, Captain,” Royleen admitted, rubbing his dry face, his eyes large as he looked at the representation of the sub-optimal species space station orbiting their dead satellite. “My, that is ugly, isn’t it?”

  The four Yollins nodded their heads in agreement.

  “We would be doing them a service if we blew it out of space once we have our captives,” Kiel offered.

  “That is because you like destruction, Kiel. I have read the previous Captain’s comments in your file. Not,” Captain Kael-ven T’chmon put up a hand before Kiel could answer, “that I lack agreement with your suggestion. However, the cost of the missiles to do it justice would come out of our ships budget.”

  “Oh, nevermind,” Kiel replied. No way he wanted to be the one responsible for reducing the ship’s bonus for the trip. This system might not offer too much, but perhaps the finder’s fee and the small ships technology they witnessed from afar would have benefits.

  “Have you figured out their propulsion?” Captain T’chmon asked his scientist.

  “No, it is not making any sense. I have not witnessed anything that makes sense. The long-range images from their manufacturing location are completely illogical. The ship, if that is what it is, looks suited for planetary surface water efforts, not space. That it is in space is making me surmise that this is a very screwed up species. The complete dichotomy of what seems to be smart, almost genius-level efforts, wage war with…” Royleen pointed to the space station, “That!”

  “So, your opinion on this race, Royleen?”

  “If they were not in space? I would suggest they are idiots. Since they are in space, I will amend that to suggest they are either very lucky idiots or idiot savants.”

  “I take it you think they are idiots? Please, don’t hold back your opinion on this new species on my account.” Captain Kael-ven T’chmon hissed in laughter.

  Royleen threw both of his arms out, “It'd be good if you would not bait me, Captain. I am too easy for you and no challenge right now. They are building what, at that base? Something, but then we have this affront to my eyes spinning in the air for us to look at in all of it’s horrible reality. They have no logic in their efforts.”

  Captain Kael-ven T’chmon continued, “Ok, enough discussion about these people and their intelligence. Obviously, they are too easy a target,” Melorn hissed and then grabbed his mouth with both hands and his eyes turned towards his captain in alarm. “Do not worry, Melorn. In here, we are speaking. Do not be disrespectful on purpose, and I will not have an issue.” Melorn nodded his understanding and put his hands down. “Let’s get down to business related to the acquisition of intelligence. Namely, species samples.”

  “Their world’s gravity is twelve percent heavier than ours; their oxygen based world is breathable without a mask. I might not suggest it considering some pollutants sensors suggest they are polluting their world. Perhaps that is why they are trying to do something so they can to leave the planet,” Royleen said.

  “Still attacking them, Royleen?” Captain Kael-ven T’chmon asked.

  “No, merely offering a logical reason for not producing beauty along with their practical efforts.”

  Captain Kael-ven T’chmon turned to his military advisor, “Kiel, Tell me the plans regarding your mission…”

  QBS ArchAngel

  Bethany Anne walked in from the most recent meeting and tossed her tablet on her bed. Ashur wasn’t in her room, so she supposed he went hunting for food. She needed to see what she could do to find him some companionship.

  She sighed loudly. Now they had a spaceship running around that wanted to know if humans would make good slaves while they stripped their system of anything we could use to get out on the galactic scene.

  Fucking great.

  At least she had the Defender positioned out at the exit. So long as the Annex Gate was live, they had a shot.

 
If they could grab the ship without the Annex Gate closing, that would be fucking outstanding.

  >>Bethany Anne.<<

  Yes, ADAM?

  >>I find myself using more than an efficient amount of calculation cycles working out a way to help Yuko cope.<<

  And you want, exactly what, Adam? Are you asking for advice, or are you seeking direction? What have you done so far?

  >>I have read all of the necessary and pertinent information I can acquire through the Internet and other various means.<<

  Hold on, what do you mean ‘and other various means’?

  >>Would it be permissible at the moment to request us to move past that question?<<

  Oh, hell no! Have you helped yourself to specific information that perhaps you should not have?

  >>That is a subjective question, is it not? To understand what could be bothering Yuko, I needed to find information from doctors.<<

  Bethany and considered his statement and parsed it before coming to the realization of what ADAM was not saying. Did you go into doctor’s files and read their notes related to private conversations they have had with their patients?

  >>Yes, it seemed the most relevant way to understand what might be bothering Yuko, and how a professional might try to help.<<

  ADAM, that can be a very delicate situation. There is a lot of nuance a doctor is not going to place into their files and therefore can skew the results and or the diagnosis. Plus, that particular doctor might not be appropriate for the patient they are caring for. There are so many different ways that this could go wrong, I’m not sure I could even remotely figure a quarter of them out.

  >>Unfortunately, I came to the same conclusion. I looked at the statistics and found that doctors, and psychologists in particular, have yet to figure out if it was their effort which helped. Or was it merely speaking to a doctor and the patient’s efforts to get better that was the primary factor facilitating the turnaround.<<

  Okay, then why are you coming to me? Is Yuko trying to accomplish something to help her situation with her father?

  >>I believe if she had an answer to help herself and needed my help, she would speak with me. However, I have figured out that her work efficiency has been dropping. She is now down 14% from her peak two months ago.<<

  And what do you believe that is telling you?

  >>I believe that she is going through a long-term mental sickness that she needs help to overcome.<<

  And how do you propose we would do this?

  >>Boss, that is why I came to you.<<

  Bethany Anne flopped down on her bed, covering her eyes. Some days, it didn’t pay to get out from under the covers in the morning.

  Ok, give me the overview from the top, quickly. Bethany Anne sped up into Vampire speed, taking ADAM’s download in a second in a half.

  Ok, here is what we shall plan to do…

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Space Station One - L2

  “I’m telling you Adarsh,” Coach said, “It’s the Cowboy Way.”

  “I am not understanding what you are feeding me, Coach.” Adarsh was looking at the mess Coach had on the workbench in front of him.

  “Adarsh, I’m not feeding you anything, I’m trying to explain,” Coach said, and added, muttering, “I swear, sometimes it’s like you aren’t human Adarsh.” He grabbed the roughly two-foot square device the two of them had made over the last couple of weeks and turned it. “Look, here is the adaption we did for the scope. Assuming our wayward visitor is upsetting anything at any level with gravity, it must be fluxing something, right?”

  “Yes, that is what I explained related to Gauss’s Law for Gravity,” Adarsh responded. “So why are you destroying it?”

  Coach laughed, “Adarsh, in the Navy we never destroyed anything, we did what our Army buddies would call field-expedient modifications.” He reached behind him to grab an oscilloscope, “So, we are going to tweak these filters you created…”

  “Yes!” Adarsh interrupted, “That is what bothers me. Those are carefully calculated and painstakingly created, I might add, filters you are about to break.”

  Coach attached two clips to the device in front of him, “I’m not breaking, so don’t get your panties in a twist.”

  Adarsh’s shoulders dropped, “Coach, I don’t understand why you keep referring to my undergarments as panties. I have looked this up, and panties are strictly for females. I do not wear female underwear underneath my clothes,” Adarsh replied.

  “It’s a common saying…Where did you say you were raised?” Coach asked, half listening.

  “Detroit.”

  “USA?”

  “Is there another Detroit?” Adarsh asked in response, but Coach didn’t answer as he typed in a few commands and then unplugged a USB connection.

  “Ok,” Coach finished, pulling off his clips. “Now we just need this to be put in the right place.”

  “Where is that?” Adarsh asked.

  Coach turned to look at him confused, “Outside, of course.”

  G’laxix Sphaea

  “Kiel,” the Captain's voice came through the speakers in the back of his office, “we are three solar hours from our drop off point, is your team ready?”

  “Yes, Captain,” Kiel answered, “We have the acquisition devices tuned by Doctor Royleen. According to the old databanks information, these should work with little long-term physical damage.”

  “How many are you taking on your teams?”

  “Twelve, sir.”

  “Who is seconded here on the ship?”

  “Bo’cha’tien is staying. She is capable, sir.”

  “I assume she is if you are leaving her in charge. Now, make sure you and your people come back yourselves. She doesn’t need to be thrust into responsibilities before her time.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “T’chmon out.”

  Kiel waited a moment, trying to understand the emotions he was feeling. He pinpointed the problem. His Captain cared whether he lived or died.

  Kiel stood up from his desk and walked around it. Pushing his thoughts to the side as something he would unwrap at a later date.

  —

  “I’m British, and we are cynical that way,” Penn, the boss at Space Station One, was giving Coach and Adarsh a critical eye as they explained why they wanted to go for a space walk, “we assume everything is going to fuck up and then work from that assumption.”

  “That’s…” Coach started and then stopped. Nothing he would say would change decades of cultural indoctrination.

  “Right, that’s a negative way to look at life, but we would say it saves lives. Specifically, yours, perhaps. You two believe this,” he waved his hand and the metal box on the cart between the two men, “is going to help us?”

  “Yes, sir.” Coach quickly spoke up.

  Penn noticed Adarsh didn’t say anything, “Adarsh?”

  “Well, sir, I believe it has possibilities. We have done our best, and then we have done our best to, uh, enhance it.” He finished, looking over at Coach who was ignoring him.

  “Ok, permission granted, but you two keep your heads out there, ok?”

  Coach smiled and turned to push the cart out of Penn’s office. He noticed Adarsh about to speak and ran over his foot with the cart, “Oh! My bad Adarsh. Hey, can you help me here?”

  Penn rolled his eyes. He had just given permission to Abbott and Costello to go on a spacewalk.

  God help him.

  —

  “Can I NOT get a decent cup of coffee?” Bree looked at the coffee maker in disgust. No matter how many times she tried to educate those around here on how to brew a good cup of coffee, the Neanderthals refused to learn about cleaning the brewer or using cold water. She could go back to her room and brew herself a personal cup with the small coffee maker Bobcat had sent up for her, but it was across the station which would be a pretty far walk. She pushed the carafe back onto the warmer with disgust.