by C. R. Daems
"Captain," Jorge shouted. "There is a pull to our left. It's only around two percent right now, but you wanted to be notified."
"Thank you, Jorge," I said, both excited and scared over what we would find. "XO, monitor that anomaly. If there is an exit, let's take it."
Ten minutes later. "Captain, there is a strong pull to the Spinward," Hyun said.
"Take it, XO," I said, hoping it wasn't the Tullizor as I wasn't ready for them. The pilot cut all power except for life-essential equipment, and a minute later, the hologram cleared. The space looked to contain four planets.
"Captain, our passive sensors are sensing no electromagnetic emissions from the four planets," Hanna said.
"XO, go to active sensors," I said.
"Nothing," Hanna said a minute later. "If there is life out there, it isn't showing any signs of intelligence. The planets are either gaseous or too far or too close to the sun to support normal life."
"All right, document what we found and compute a vector back to the entrance," I said, thinking this would be normal. There were going to be far more uninhabitable systems than inhabitable ones. For the next two days, we found eleven similar systems. The thirteenth was an exception.
"Captain, the sensors are showing signs of intelligent life," Hanna said. "It is coming from the second planet from the sun."
"Let's stay at minimum power and passive sensors and set up a 360-degree loop that will pass within a half million kilometers of that planet," I said, hoping to be a ghost object at least until we knew more about the life on the planet.
"The loop will take forty-one hours," Hanna said.
"XO, execute," I said, thinking it would be boring, but that was better than announcing we, a war cruiser, were in the area until we knew more. I hoped whoever was there didn't have equipment sensitive enough to detect our presence or that they had warships patrolling the area.
"Captain, optics is showing a major metropolis, several actually, on the planet, and a space platform I'm assuming since it has several spacecraft attached," Hyun said. Her voice a mixture of excitement and nervousness. "They don't look like Tullizor cruisers."
"The question is whether they are friendly or unfriendly," I said, not sure what to do next.
"Captain, they have located us," Hyun said, looking to me. "We are being targeted."
"Go active, XO, but keep the weapons systems offline." I clicked on Simon's line. "Simon, prepare to launch, but don't take any action that could panic the cruiser watching us." I clicked off before he could respond. "XO, send a message saying we come in peace."
"I doubt they will understand since I can't decipher their message," Hyun said.
"Does not matter; send it anyway." They were sending messages and not missiles, which I thought was a good thing, so I would respond in kind.
"XO, put us in orbit," I said when nothing happened over the next several minutes. If I were them, I would fire at any cruiser who tried to run. "We need a translation box like the Anixians have," I said to no one in general.
"That is going to require contact with the people," Abie said. "I'll volunteer."
"Thank you, Abie, I think you are right," I said, then a flash hit me, and I put my hand on the Oracle's interface, the glass ball. Oracle, can you help? I thought.
Yes, if you wear a recording device and talk to someone from the other planet pointing out things, saying the word, and have him repeat in his language. Once we can get a small working vocabulary, it would build exponentially.
"We have software available that we can use to build a translation device if we can set up a meeting," I said, looking for ideas.
"I'll go, if we can," Hyun said. Actually, I thought that was a good idea as she knew about Oracle and would understand what needed to be done.
Let's see if we can set something up," I said. "Can we open our Bridge camera so they can see us, as a good-faith gesture?
"Yes, I've done it and sent the link," Hyun said while staring at the monitor. A few minutes later, an ape-like man stood looking at us with long-straight orange hair and short-fine orange hair on his skin.
I grabbed my training tablet and quickly drew two child-like cruisers, then a stick man standing next to each cruiser, then circled him and drew an arrow to the other stick man. The man on the monitor laughed, then pointed to me and waved toward himself. I nodded, hoping that meant the same to him, and cut the connection.
"You can't go, Captain. Blacky needs you," Hyun said. "Send me or Abie."
"Abie, you still willing?" I asked.
"Yes, Captain. They look…reasonable. At least, they don't look like spiders or bugs," Abie said and smiled.
"Okay, I'm going to attach a camcorder to you." I clicked on the police channel, and Hilda answered. "Hilda, I need a police camcorder immediately. I'm sending one of the crew to the alien cruiser and need a recording of what goes on. It would be ideal if you could have the signal, which normally goes to records, go to Blacky." I cut the connection. "Abie, draw some stick people on your training tablet indicating you pointing to something, talking, then the alien talking, and later a box where you or he talks and the other person understands."
Abie sat nodding while busily drawing. When she showed me, it was like one of the old cartoons where the artist drew a series of pictures that, when flicked, they looked like the character was moving.
"XO, let's get Abie into a spacesuit and notify our host we are ready."
Two hours later, they sent a shuttle, which approached the open bay where Abie stood and used a tractor to pull her into the shuttle.
Chapter 54
Learning a New Language
Abie spent a week on the Green Wood cruiser, checking in each night to tell us she was having fun and the aliens were being very sweet. When she returned, Oracle retrieved the data and went silent for a full day while I and the first three shift personnel reviewed the recording.
"They are all alike, a little shorter but wider than us," Abie said as we reviewed the recording. "Like us, it's easy to tell females from males. They caught on quickly and followed me around as I pointed to objects and said a word, they said their word. On the third day, I would do something like opening a door, then said door followed by saying I'm opening the door. They were quick to mimic what I did and then spoke a series of words. I haven't had so much fun in years. They appeared very gentle."
"Abie, you were terrific. If we can make a translator box, I would like you to go back over and use it to expand the vocabulary."
Within a week, we had our first translation box. I arranged to have Abie returned to the Green Tree with the translator and begin testing. This went on for two months, by which time we had a very reliable translation box.
"What do you think," I asked Oracle in my cabin late that night after I had been invited to the Green Tree cruiser to meet with Captain Oadagaz, which the translator said meant Mighty Oak.
Based on the words Abie collected, the language appears to be a very non-violent language, and they asked questions rather than destroy the Black Eagle.
"I agree," I said. "I think he can help us understand the local area and warn me of any potential dangers." The next day, I agreed and suited for the trip to the Green Tree.
"Welcome, Captain Kayla, to the Green Tree cruiser," Oadagaz said, showing two open hands.
"Thank you, Captain Oadagaz. I am from the planet Anixia, which is the home of the bird-like people and a group of humans who also inhabit the planet."
"Permanently? Why? Humans inhabit the Earth and are unable to travel space," Oadagaz said, indicating he and his people knew a lot about this area of space.
"A mutually beneficial arrangement," I said. "The Anixians are pacifists who have been warred against for years by the Tullizor. Human are not pacifists, and we are not as advanced in curing diseases," I said, leaving out the deal, which Oadagaz appeared to understand.
"You trade a cure for your services in helping to defend the Anixians," he said. "We are not pacifists, b
ut war is not an enjoyable profession. In that way, we in the military are like you. We do it so our people can live a peaceful and quiet life. We, too, have been harassed by the Tullizor. They are evil and love war. They are only two days travel from here, but they are not the only nations in the Milky Way that are intent on conquest. So why are you here and not back on Anixia?"
"We destroyed the last two invasion attempts by the Tullizor and believe we can do it again," I said, trying to be cautious not to give too much information to a potential enemy but wanting to establish a friendly relationship if possible. "Therefore, the Anixians wanted me to map the area around Anixia to identify our neighbors and determine whether they are potential enemies or friends."
"You will have no trouble from us," Oadagaz said. "We do not like war and are not interested in revenge. We just want to be left alone to live in peace; however, there are nations coreward that are building empires. I fear it won't be long before they move rimward."
"Do you know the size of the Tullizor fleet?" I asked as that was my immediate concern.
"No," Oadagax said, shaking his head in resignation. "They must have a lot or the capacity to build what they lose, given how they fight. From our experience, they are advocates of overwhelming force. Like a rabid animal, lost in the rage and not caring about life or death. Why, what are you planning?"
"I wanted to send them a message that Anixia was no longer their playground and demonstrate that further aggression would have consequences."
"I'm not sure I would do that. It might just encourage them to start a war with you," Oadagaz said, shaking his head in the negative.
"Can you tell me how to find them? I would like to assess the danger," I said. Oadagaz might be right, and I could make the situation worse. I needed more information. "Could you withstand a six-cruiser invasion from the Tullizor?" I asked, knowing that could be a sensitive question as it would speak to the strength of the Dagaz military to defend itself.
"Yes," Oadagaz said, "But there would be great loss of life and strain the military, which is a voluntary force. Could you?"
"We did, with a great deal of luck. The entire human population on Anixia is in the military but recruiting is exceptionally slow."
Oadagaz laughed. "Our situations are different, but our problem is the same, finding replacements. A problem the Tullizor don't have. They are a military nation with plenty of replacements." He paused for several minutes before speaking. "My nation is not interested in war, but perhaps we can become trading partners."
"The Anixians are also not interested in war, but wars do not require two consenting nations; one is enough," I said. "A strictly defensive strategy is, in the long run, a losing position." Not that I was a military strategist, but I couldn't think of any warring nation in history that was stopped without being defeated or a nation that survived without an offense. Maybe that was just human logic, I chided myself. We left a week later.
Chapter 55
Trust Is In short supply
"Where to, Captain?" Hyun asked as we headed away from Dagaz.
"Captain Oadagaz said there was nothing between Dagaz and the Tullizor," I said, wanting to believe him, so why didn't I? "Our assignment is to map the area around Anixia. To ensure that we do, we need to stop at every exit. We will get to the Tullizor eventually. They aren't going anywhere. So take each exit you discover."
A half-day later, we found an exit and found ourselves in a system with six planets.
"Captain, the third planet from the sun has intelligent life judging by the emissions our passive sensors are picking up," Hanna said.
"Do you want to try the same loop again?" Hyun asked, frowning in thought.
"Seeing as the Dagaz military detected us at a half-million kilometers, we should assume other space-traveling nations have sensors much better than ours. Let's try a loop that keeps us one light second from the planet we think has intelligent life.
"That's nine million kilometers," Hanna said absentmindedly. "Thirty-three hours, thirty-three minutes."
"XO, execute the loop," I said, interested in why Oadagaz lied. That time worked out good as first shift would be on duty as we neared the closest distance to the active planet and time for a decision.
"Captain, those cruisers have the same signature as the Dagaz cruisers," Hyun said with a snort. "Might be the reason the Tullizor aren't a major threat. Two nations with like forces would be very careful with each other. Stick to informational raids rather than an invasion."
"Given no one identifies us, let's document what we see and go on to the next system," I said. I didn't blame Oadagaz for playing his cards close to his vest. He had only my word as to what the Anixians were planning with the Black Eagle's mapping of the area. The fact that the Black Eagle was confident enough to be out scouting said the Anixians weren't the Tullizor's playground anymore and the Anixians' warships their equal if not significantly more lethal.
The next three systems were empty of intelligent life and two empty of planets. If Oadagaz were right, the next system would be the Tullizor's home planet. On a whim, I decided to skip the Tullizor's home planet.
"Hanna, if I chose to skip the next exit, can I assume it will be easy to return whenever I choose?" I asked.
"Yes, Captain. That is correct." Hanna said.
"XO, skip the next exit," I said. "Let's map the next three before returning to the Tullizor exit."
After shift change, Hyun asked, "Why, Kayla?"
"The Dagaz nation occupies at least two systems and maybe more. I am interested in knowing if the Tullizor have more than one planet," I said. "I don't know if it will make a difference in my thinking, but the more information, the better. For example, if it looks like they have twenty cruisers versus a hundred."
"We might challenge twenty but tippy-toe around a hundred." Hyun gave a wry smile. She was doing exactly what an XO should be doing, studying her captain to make sure she understood the logic behind her decisions. The problem was she was studying command decisions made by a teenager who had no military training or experience. This would not even count as on-the-job training since I had no mentor or history book detailing someone else's exploits. Maybe, I wondered as I put my hand on the Oracle ball. Oracle, have you been in any cruiser battles?
Oracle's captains have fought with the Tullizors' cruisers, but they lost. The two which were recovered indicated their actions were too slow and had been anticipated by the Tullizor captains. The Oracle recording of the human captains' actions indicated they were faster to respond but not quite equal to the Tullizor captains. You have to realize that the human captains never had any cruiser war experience since Earth doesn't have cruisers. You are the first to win against the Tullizor.
Unfortunately, I don't know what I'm doing until I do it, I lamented.
As Sees All said, if it works, no one can criticize you.
And if it doesn't, no one will be able to criticize me as we will all be dead, I thought.
That is also true.
I and first shift were on the bridge for the next exit, but it proved to be an empty system; however, the next had intelligent life.
"The passive sensors indicated the fourth planet has intelligent life, Captain," Hyun said and awaited my orders.
"The last loop worked well, so let's do that again. One light second, nine million kilometers," I said. Thinking that was close enough to get a rough idea as to whether they had spacecraft, and if so, were they like the Tullizor or Dagaz?
"Thirty-three hours, thirty-three minutes," Hanna said, smiling.
Hanna and Hyun were definitely enjoying our sojourn into the Milky Way. I might also, if I weren't responsible for making the decisions.
"That cruiser has the same signature as the Tullizor's cruisers, but there is no space station, and the planet does not appear that modern given the low level of electromagnetic activity, and the sensors are not detecting any airplanes or satellites."
I gave a short laugh. "Just what Anixia needs, a fa
rming planet to help feed a growing population."
"Would that be ethical?" Hyun asked.
"Ethics," I said. "I'm still a teenager, but I am beginning to think ethics are not a cosmic morality, but rather something that is defined by whoever is in power. For example, killing is supposedly wrong, yet every government justifies their wars, although it is mass killing. Would we starve a planet into extinction if we had a nearby planet that had an excess of food?" I paused for a sip of water. "I think the question here and now is whether or not to destroy the Tullizor cruiser." I decided to destroy the Tullizor cruiser as it approached the entrance to space and clicked on Simon's channel. "Simon, The Tullizor have a cruiser in system. When it departs the planet it's orbiting, I want you to destroy it. I will give you a couple of hours advance notice. You can pick the Martial Eagle option. It should be good practice for the new K-box pilots."
Four hours later, the Tullizor cruiser left the planet and headed for the entrance to the worm hole. I clicked on Simon's channel. "Simon, I have Blacky at one percent of max, and I've cut our power to everything except life support. They are at two percent of max. I will notify you when we are one hour apart to drop your fighters."
"I plan two groups of four fighters," Simon said. "The first group will pass the Tullizor cruiser and await the results of the second group, using option ME42. The second group will drop five minutes later and will conduct a frontal attack using ME41."
"When the second group drops, Blacky will drift left and pick you up after you have signaled the Tullizor is no longer functional," I said and cut the connection when Simon nodded.