Even more line were removed leaving only about a dozen left. What other critera could she use? “Can you put a timestamp on these and remove all the ones that came after you got the order to fly into the wormhole?”
Three more lines were gone. “Great, now the ones before the timestamp on the recording.”
All but two lines were gone now. Juliet smiled, “Excellent. Let’s follow the lines to their source; do you have enough information for that?”
The Arwen image nodded and the hologram moved along the line until it reached its source. The source came from the Hal, which surprised her a great deal. “I thought you removed all the Corps sources.”
She shrugged and in a tiny voice replied, “I did. This came from inside the Hal.”
She raised her eyebrow in surprise. “How is that possible? Where is the second line going?”
The hologram shot back to the Arwen then followed the second line to a ship unlike a Corps or a Handler ship. It was all but invisible inside a cocoon of Handler slabs, not unlike the one that had surrounded Captain Cook’s shuttle. “Who are they?” Juliet asked.
Arwen shrugged. “Not enough information.”
“Right, it’s buried too deep inside the slab sphere. I bet they were communicating with the Hal, whoever it was on the Hal was monitoring the Arwen to see if she was infected. Or, maybe it was the other way around. I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ll take this to the Captain; let her decide what to do next. In the meantime, let me get you up and running again.”
******
“None of this makes any sense,” Captain Cook said looking over the reports. “Two signals, one from the Hal, one from the same kind of sphere that protected me? This leaves more questions than it answered.”
“And it didn’t really answer any questions,” Juliet said. “Perhaps we should leave Alpha space and see what your clone wanted. It could be a trap, but I don’t think either of us believe that.”
“No, I don’t. I do think we’re being manipulated somehow I’m just not sure to what end.”
“Only one way to find out,” Juliet replied. “Let’s give the order and get out of here.”
Captain Cook nodded and, just as she stood from her desk someone knocked on her door. “Yes?”
“Captain, Chief McFerren, can I come in, it’s important.”
Captain Cook sat back down and said, “Come in.”
The Chief hurried into the room. He held in his hand a small container which seemed to hold some sort of gray powder. He sat down and placed it onto the table. “We did all we could, but in the end we had to destroy the nanobots. We hit them with several transmissions but I guess we stumbled on some sort of command to attack cause that’s what it did. Luckily it never made it through the force field but we did have to take them down, couldn’t find another command to stop them.”
“That’s fine,” Captain Cook said. “I had little hope we’d be able to get them to cooperate. Did you find anything interesting about them?”
“Oh yeah, I sure did.” He pulled out a small data pad and placed it on the table. The image on it had three Nanobots, two looked exactly alike, the other was different. “The one that’s different is an image from the one’s we recovered from your blood Captain. The ones that look alike we got from Juliet and the Professor’s blood.”
“But the Alien Cabal gave us ours,” Juliet said.
“And I was infected by the Handlers,” Captain Cook grabbed the data pad and looked at it carefully. The evidence was too much to simply ignore. A betrayal like that would change things completely when she got back to Earth. “The Alien Cabal is behind this? They’re the ones that infected the Arwen?”
“I can’t say what they’re behind,” Chief McFerren said. “All I know is they’re the ones who made those nanobots.”
“Thank you, Chief. Get back to engineering; we’re getting ready to leave Wormhole alpha space. I have an appointment with a clone I can’t miss. Maybe we can get some answers.”
Chapter fifty
The snow piled on the west side of the force field and within moments Professor Ricter was unable to see. He was thankful for the protection as the wind was howling at over 400 miles per hour. He was also thankful for the enhanced suit he wore, something the engineers had come up with when he told them he was heading down to the Ice planet. The last time a Corps ship had encountered a water planet the extra gravity nearly killed the crew. Gravity was still strong and it was still effecting him but the suit, which was enhancing his strength just enough to allow him to move without much extra effort, was helping him work.
The air inside the dome was cold, just a bit above freezing, and devoid of any oxygen. The professor and his team wore their own personal force fields with small oxygen generators on their belts. They had a good fourteen hours of oxygen and if they ran out the shuttle would provide shelter if needed.
Professor Ricter knelt down and peered through the smoky ice hoping to see the glow of the Beta Wormhole. He saw nothing. They would have to drill, maybe get a good core sample to see if any of the ribbon life was still there.
He called his team over. All fifteen members stood over him as he knelt making him feel like a quarterback in the middle of a huddle. “Okay, we need to find a way to get to that Wormhole. I think we can drill down far enough to get some sort of readings. I want to start getting core samples as well.”
“This ice is dense,” one if his team members said. “Could take us a few days to get the samples we need.”
“We have the time,” Professor Ricter replied. “But not much so, let’s get started.”
*****
“Leaving wormhole Alpha space in three minutes,” Commander Monrow said.
“Go to red alert,” Captain Cook replied. “We don’t know what we’re going to see when we get out there.”
The tension on the bridge seemed to permeate the walls. This was a stressful time for the crew. Captain Cook wanted nothing more than to leave this dangerous section of space and head back to Earth to recover. This was too important, duty and honor were at stake. The entire war hinged on what she could discover and what information she could return to Earth.
The wormhole grew bright and large on her screens. Moments later the Arwen passed through into real space. It took a moment for the electronics to catch up and for a brief thirty seconds or so the Arwen was completely blind.
When the screens blinked back into existence the site that greeted Captain Cook forced her to recoil. In front of her was a wall of black slabs forming a barrier the Arwen would have no hope of penetrating. Captain Cook felt herself on the edge of panic. She waited a moment before giving any order wondering what the slabs were going to do. They simply floated in front of ship menacingly.
“Arwen, can you give me anything yet?”
The Arwen was still crippled and unable to talk through the speakers. The easiest way for her to communicate now was through text messages on the Captain’s main screen. She said: I still can’t use my sensors however judging from what I can see I don’t think they’re more than a deterrent. They don’t want us to leave like we did before.
“I agree. Communication, broadcast the message I recorded.”
The communication officer nodded and pressed an icon on his screen and they waited.
It didn’t take long before he turned and said, “Captain, I’m getting a reply.”
From the speakers came a young voice, the same one that had greeted her a day before. “Captain Cook, it’s good to see you’ve returned.”
“You shouldn’t have kidnapped me,” Captain Cook replied bitterly. “We could have talked it out and now, because of that, we’ve wasted time we don’t have.”
“We’re sorry,” The voice said. “We didn’t think you’d come if we asked.”
“That point is moot now, isn’t it? I’m here with my crew and my ship. If you want to talk to me you’ll have to come over here where I’ll feel safe. Is that understood?”
“Yes, of co
urse.”
“Good, and I expect for you to have some answers for us, is that understood?”
“That’s why I was born,” she replied.
“And you have to come alone.”
There was a not so unexpected pause on the other end. Captain Cook waited, wondering if she should just cut the communication now and run. She felt the order rising up in her mind when the clone finally replied, “Captain, I insist that I bring someone along. I don’t think you’ll say no when I tell you it’s a Handler, one who wants to barter a peace between our races.”
That was unexpected. She had assumed the Handler story Ann had told her was false, that the Alien Cobol had told her that to get her into the Captain’s good graces. To find out that it was true, that they were in contact with the Handler’s, was something she hadn’t prepared for.
A message appeared on her screen, it was from Juliet. “This could be a chance we can’t pass up. We can put him and the clone under heavy guard. We won’t make the same mistake we made the last time.”
Captain Cook looked down at her and nodded, they were on the same page. “The Handler can come, unarmed, and only with you. Is that understood? If I think there’s anything going one I will have my crew kill you both.”
“Of course. We will be on our way in a few minutes.”
“Here is how that will work. You’re shuttle, or whatever you’re going to use, will meet one of my shuttles and you will board that. My shuttle will be heavily armed and all its weapons will be locked on yours. Also, I’ll have all the Arwen’s weapons trained on you as well. Again, if you give me any reason to shoot I will.”
“You have nothing to fear, Captain. We’re on the same side.”
“I doubt it. I’ll see you on board. Captain Cook out.” She motioned for the communication to end and the signal was terminated.
********
“God,” Captain Cook said looking down from the same booth she used to look at Ann. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to looking at a copy of myself. It disturbs me. Where is the Handler?”
“In another cell.” Juliet said. “I thought it would be helpful if you talked to her first, see what she’s all about then talk to the Handler. But, I gotta tell ya, the Handler is very agitated.”
“Don’t blame, um, him or her.” Captain Cook replied. They had enough information on the Handlers to tell the difference between male and female but the difference was so subtle Captain Cook could never really tell.
“It’s male,” Juliet said. “I think.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. I’m heading down to see this clone, watch her carefully.”
“We have our teams on high alert.”
Captain Cook walked out of the room and a few moments later walked through the door into the room. The clone stood to greet her.
They had decided to make her change her cloths while she was on the shuttle but they didn’t have the replacement clothes for the 10 year old child so they simply gave her a uniform for a small person. It still hung from her body comically. The sleeves had been rolled up to her elbows and her pants hemmed to above her ankles. There was nothing they could do to help her fill the rest of the uniform out.
She did not look happy. It was strange to see such anger in her own face. Captain Cook was always a happy child, she had some drama and some hardships but for the most part her memories from that age were happy. She always had a smile on her face, always had something to laugh at. This child looked as if she had never laughed, never had a nice moment. “Captain Cook, I demand that my Handler be in here with me.”
“You’re in no place to demand anything,” Captain Cook replied calmly. She walked past the table and sat down, she pointed to the chair, an invitation for the clone to sit as well. “We won’t harm him, unless he gives us a reason too. Sit, please, I want to talk.”
“Do I need to remind you that you’re in no position to demand anything? You’re thousands of light-years from home, in enemy territory and the only thing keeping the other’s from finding you is the fact that we’re here?”
“I didn’t realize that you were protecting us.”
“We wouldn’t have needed to if you and your ship had cooperated. We didn’t want to stop here, this is a very dangerous place.”
“What is it? Where are we?”
“The end of the road,” she replied. “This is where we found the wormhole, this is where it opens, we don’t know if there’s another opening but we believe there is, somewhere in the middle of the galaxy. Without this area we never would have been able to leave the home world. We’d have been stuck.”
Captain Cook found it odd she kept revering to the Handlers as we, as if she were part of the race. Did they brainwash her somehow? “Okay, we’ll leave when I feel we’re ready, first you need to answer a few of my questions.”
“No, I will not answer any questions without him here. I will refuse, I don’t care what you tell me or what you do to me. I didn’t come here as a representative, I came here as an interrupter for the Handler.”
“Okay, I get that.” Captain Cook said. “But you need to answer at least one question.”
She looked at the Captain who was smiling warmly, trying to create a friendship. “Fine, just one.”
“What’s your name? The last clone of me we had named herself Ann.”
“Well,” the clone said seeming to relax just a bit. “You have fond memories of a girl named Karla, from when you were in school.”
“Ah, Karla Wells. Yes, she was my best friend, still talk to her whenever I head home.”
“Can I be Karla?”
Captain Cook nodded, “Yes, that’s fine. Well, Karla, you answered my one question I guess I need to fulfill my end of the bargain. I’ll order your Handler freed and brought here. In the meantime, why don’t we just continue our conversation?”
“Fine, but I will not answer any question which I don’t want to answer.”
This clone was different than Ann. Ann was breed to be a servant, someone who wanted nothing more than to please. This one seemed very agitated and angry. She wondered why that was, how did the Handlers change the personality of the person to fit their needs? “Ann, I guess I can say she was your sister, had the memories of whatever age she was, is that the same for you? Do you have the memories of me until age 10?”
“No,” she snapped. “They crammed all your memories into my head and it’s driving me insane. I’m the first that didn’t simply die when they tried. I know everything about your up to age 31 or so. It’s hard to access some of the memories, hard for me to think about anything before the age of 10. There are memories I don’t understand, feelings I can’t comprehend.”
The cruelty of the Handlers continued to amaze her. How could they subject a child to that kind of torment? We really are just little mayflies to them, Marjorie thought. “I can see how that would be difficult to handle.”
“Difficult? I’m dealing with emotions and feelings I have no idea about. I see things, men who you’ve fallen in love with and I don’t understand it. I don’t understand the feelings, the thoughts, the touching. I don’t-“ She stopped talking and grabbed her head, then took a long deep breath calming herself down. Captain Cook found it fascination, she used to do the same thing at that age when she was angry. Anger was the most potent emotion she had and it took her a very long time until she had it under control.
She sat there in silence while her clone calmed down.
The door opened and Juliet poked her head in. “Captain, we have the Handler here, would like us to bring it in?”
“It’s a he,” Karla yelled. “Bring him in- I need him here.”
Captain Cook nodded and the door opened a bit more to allow the Handler room to walk in. The site of him still made Captain Cook’s stomach flip. He was ugly, revolting to look at. His long centipede like body snaked along the floor, his dozen limbs skittering across the metal floor producing a sound that Captain Cook found irritating. The most primitive parts
of her mind rejected the Handler, it wanted to kill the threat and if Marjorie had given into her instinct she would have. But she was no savage and let the rational parts of her mind take over again.
The Handler lifted itself off the ground, only four of its twelve feet supported the body, and leaned in close to Karla. It let out a small puff of scent, something Captain Cook wasn’t able to identify. It tapped its feet on the ground. Karla looked up and placed her hand on its antenna and stroked it gently.
It was a very tender moment and one that passed quickly. Karla looked at the Captain. “Okay, shall we begin? You’ll need a name for the Handler, they don’t have names like we do, they identify themselves through scent mostly. So, this name will be just for me and you.”
“Why not call him Hans?”
“Why Hans?” Karla asked.
Captain Cook shrugged. “It’s the first name I could think of and I like to trust what my brain tells me.”
Chapter fifty-one
Professor Ricter stood under the force field dome looking at the broken laser drill at his feet. It had been going none stop for a good week before finally breaking down and, in that time, it had only burrowed 40 feet, nowhere near far enough to get the readings he wanted. This was the most powerful drill they had but it wasn’t enough to get him what he wanted. He would either have to go back to the nearest outpost and get a stronger drill or come up with another plan.
He didn’t want to spend the next year traveling through space, getting permission to return, and then hoping that he had the equipment to do the job. No, he needed something done now.
The sun was a pale light shining through the atmosphere. The heat it produced on the surface was minimal, enough to keep the temperature at the equator a few degrees below freezing. The orbit of the planet was also unstable, taking it further away from the sun each year. It would take a few thousand orbits before the planet was simply thrown out of the system. It reminded the Professor of the situation he encountered with Ulliam, before the planet was destroyed. All that research, all the time wasted. Or was it?
The Arwen Book two: Manifest Destiny Page 39