Collision Course

by Doug Farren

  Frank folded up the game and rolled his chair over to the helm.

  Captain Mingyu slaved the screen she was using to display her book to the science station’s main display. “What do you have?”

  “Not sure Captain,” Melissa replied. “Radar one has an intermittent contact. Frank, if you adjust our attitude a bit I can paint the target with radars one and four.”

  Frank turned to his console, “Working on it.”

  Melissa’s head bounced around as she tried to take in all her screens at once. Her fingernails were making a constant clicking sound on the keyboard as she brought more instruments to bear on the object.

  “Delta-V: 2,914 meters-per-second. Thermal shows nothing. Still getting partial returns on the radar,” Melissa read off the results in a monotone voice. “Whatever it is, it’s not radiating in the electromagnetic spectrum.”

  “That’s got to be what the Kilimanjaro found,” Captain Mingyu said. “Frank, can you- - -”

  “Whoa!” Melissa yelled. The clicking of her fingers increased their tempo. Her head was dancing around so fast her reddish hair looked like tiny flames dancing on her scalp. “We’ve been scanned!”

  Captain Mingyu got up out of her chair and headed for the science station. “Scanned—by what?”

  “Looks like the same signal the Kilimanjaro recorded. I’m running a detailed analysis now.”

  “I need to know if there’s a crew aboard that ship,” Captain Mingyu said, leaning over Melissa’s shoulder.

  Melissa’s fingers slowed but did not stop their tapping. “I don’t know. It’s quiet again.”

  Mingyu walked over to the captain’s station, sat down, and tapped a button. An attention tone sounded throughout the ship. “Attention all hands, this is the captain. It appears as if we’ve found what we’ve been looking for. All hands, man your stations.” Turning her chair slightly so she faced the helm, she said, “Frank, bring us closer. Do your best not to interfere with Melissa’s scans.”

  “Roger that.”

  “Nice and slow,” the Captain added. “Keep our acceleration under one G. If that’s a ship and it’s manned, we don’t want to alarm them.”

  Frank began to work the controls on his console. “Yes Ma’am.”

  George Woodstone, the Rutherford’s chief engineer stepped through the door and sat down at the engineering console. He was followed a second later by Gabriel Matthews and Andrew Masterson—the other two science advisers.

  “Engineering is fully manned,” George announced in his quiet, southern accent.

  Gabriel and Andrew sat down at the other science stations and began to review the data Melissa had collected so far. She briefed them quietly as she continued to enter commands into her console.

  The last person to arrive was Cynthia Stokes, the Rutherford’s second navigator.

  Captain Mingyu gave everyone a couple of minutes to get their stations configured, then said, “Listen up! I’m going on the assumption that the vessel is occupied and they’ve decided to play dead to see what we’ll do. Under no circumstances are we to make any provocative moves. If anyone finds anything of interest, I want to know about it. George, prep the drive and have it ready to jump us out of here at a moment’s notice. Frank, plot us a short jump and keep the calculations current. Cyndi, extend the pylons.”

  There was a chorus of acknowledgments as the crew turned to their consoles.

  An hour crept by. The Captain was becoming unsettled at the lack of data despite all the advanced instruments at their disposal. “Distance?” she asked for the hundredth time.

  “Forty-six-thousand six-hundred,” Frank replied.

  Captain Mingyu walked over and stood behind Melissa who was leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes constantly moving from one display to another. “Show me what you’ve got so far,” she said.

  Melissa leaned forward and touched a control. The large screen in the center of her console showed an orange, cigar-shaped object. “The vessel is shaped like a dirigible measuring 953 meters long and 477 meters in diameter.” She adjusted a control causing the image to enlarge until most of it spilled off the edge of the screen. Tracing her finger along the edge of the ship, she said, “The hull isn’t smooth like the crew of the Rutherford thought. See these bumps? There’s at least 30 of them on the side facing us.”

  The Captain stared at the image for a moment. “Is this live?”

  “Sort of. It’s still difficult to get a clean return from the ship and I’ve been using the computer to combine multiple scans to come up with this image. It’s live, but bits and pieces are constantly being updated.”

  “It’s not rotating.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Is it doing anything?”

  “Other than the one scan, it’s been quiet. If it’s radiating any heat, it’s doing so on the side away from us.”

  “How? I don’t see any heat radiators. Other than those bumps, it’s as smooth as glass.”

  “If it’s a Ba’Rutu ship, It won’t have any radiators,” Melissa replied. “Their hulls actually absorb heat.”

  “It’s possible we might have triggered an automatic scan,” Andrew suggested. “If the ship is abandoned, there might be some equipment still operating.”

  “Explain to me why we can’t get a good reading on our radars,” Captain Mingyu asked.

  Melissa ran her fingers over the console and the image of the ship returned to a smaller size. “The hulls of Ba’Rutu ships are made of dimensionally altered dark matter. It has some incredible properties one of which is the ability to absorb energy of almost any wavelength without any change in its thermal signature.”

  The Captain scratched the top of her head as she tried to understand what Melissa was saying. “If it absorbs energy, then how are any of our radar pulses being returned?”

  “If you hit it with enough energy we’ll get a return from the material that’s firmly embedded in our dimension.”

  Captain Mingyu shook her head as if doing so would force her brain to understand what Melissa had just told her. “I don’t understand,” she finally said. “Are you trying to say that the hull of that ship isn’t really there?”

  “It’s one of the oddities of dimensionally altered dark matter,” Melissa explained. “In its natural state, dark matter doesn’t exist in our dimension. We detected it over a hundred years ago because of its gravitational influence on the universe. Gravity is a force that extends across all dimensions. The Ba’Rutu have found a way to alter dark matter so it can be seen and felt in our three dimensions. But, over time, it will return to its original form. On a quantum level, a small portion of the hull exists outside of what we call the normal universe. In essence, the hull is in a constant state of flux as it tries to return to its normal state of existence.”

  “So you’re convinced it’s a Ba’Rutu ship,” the Captain asked.

  Melissa swung her chair so she could face the Captain. “There are several possibilities. It could be a Ba’Rutu ship testing us to see what we’ll do. It could also be a derelict Ba’Rutu ship. But I seriously doubt that. They would have recovered it by now.”

  “And the other possibilities?”

  “There’s a slight chance it could be an Akuta vessel. But they were wiped out by the Ba’Rutu over a thousand years ago. The hull would be showing signs of decay. And then there’s the final possibility.”

  “Which is?”

  “Another race with the same technology as the Ba’Rutu.”

  Captain Mingyu pinched her upper lip in thought. Turning to Andrew, she said, “Let’s see if we can’t get a response. Send an inquiry for identification in as many languages as we have on file. If you don’t hear anything back in ten minutes, start transmitting a first contact sequence.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” Andrew replied.

  “Distance?” the Captain asked.

  “Thirty-four-thousand-three-hundred kilometers,” Frank replied without hesitation. />
  Chapter 4

  “Jump complete,” the helm announced. “Starshift appears normal. Computer is verifying.”

  “Retracting pylons,” Chief McKintyre reported from the engineering station. “Commencing recharge on reactor two.”

  Turning to his right, Captain Kajika ‘Black Squirrel’ Pry looked at AJ and said, “Our next jump will take us into the Ashnib system. Care to join me for lunch?”

  “I had breakfast a little over two hours ago,” AJ replied. “But I’ll take another cup of coffee.”

  “Standard routine,” Captain Pry instructed the crew. “I’ll be in the mess.”

  AJ and the Captain made their way in silence to the ship’s mess. AJ grabbed a cup of coffee and found a table while Captain Pry pulled items from the freezer to make himself breakfast. The only other person in the room was Tony Morales, one of the deckhands. He waved as AJ pulled out a chair then went back to staring at the tablet he had propped up on the table in front of him.

  The Star Pulse carried a crew of 16. Tony was one of the nine remaining who had served under Captain Zak and had tried several times to get Heather to go out with him when she had been the ship’s crew chief. AJ was sure Tony was still upset that Heather had turned him down and had set her sights on AJ instead.

  Black Squirrel set his tray down and dove into his lunch like a man who hadn’t seen a good meal in weeks. Broad-shouldered and muscular, the captain of the Star Pulse was a man whose physical appearance demanded respect. AJ hadn’t been quite sure what to make of him when he’d reported aboard to take command of AJ’s old star freighter three years ago. His long, black hair had been pulled into a tight pony tail with a ceremonial eagle feather sticking out of the side. AJ had never met a Native American before and he had assumed that members of that cultural sub-group had long-ago abandoned their ancient traditions. He was wrong.

  After wolfing down several large bites of his four egg, ham and cheese omelet, Black Squirrel set his fork down and said, “How do you think I’ve been treating your old ship?” Before AJ could reply, he added, “I know I’m not supposed to ask, but I know you’re going to be too busy to file a report right away and I don’t want to find out three months from now that you’re giving me a bad review.”

  AJ took a sip of his coffee. “I will be filing a very favorable report—when I get time. The Star Pulse is in good hands.”

  “Thank you. I inherited a tight ship and I want to keep it that way.”

  “She’s still one of the most efficient ships in the fleet,” AJ remarked, looking around. “Probably will be until the longer-range jump drive ships they’re building come into service. Trans-Stellar has ordered three of them.”

  Captain Pry cut off a huge chunk of his omelet, stabbed it with his fork, and held it at the ready. “They need them. We’ve dedicated four ships to helping the Keldans move their entire population to Keldanon. That’s a lot of lost revenue.”

  “Not at all,” AJ replied. “In return for the use of our ships, we’ve been able to negotiate some very lucrative contracts with the Keldans. We’ve been clear-cutting entire forests of Blue Tongue without regard to the environmental impact. By the time the planet is destroyed, it will be a barren ball of rock.”

  The Captain stuffed the omelet into his mouth, chewed six times, then swallowed. “My wife bought a small Blue Tongue carving last month. Expensive as hell but well worth it. I’ve never seen a tree that produces such a beautiful wood grain. They say it takes over a hundred years for a tree to grow big enough to harvest.”

  “Indeed. Some of the trees we’ve harvested have been growing for over a thousand years. I used to get very upset when I thought about what we were doing. But reality finally settled in. Why bother trying to preserve the future when the entire planet will be obliterated in a few decades.”

  “I- - -” Black Squirrel set his fork down and waved. “Ambassador Matusik! Please, join us.”

  Looking over his shoulder, AJ saw the Ambassador carrying a tray of food and heading in their direction. He was, as usual, impeccably dressed.

  “Good morning Ambassador,” AJ said.

  Aleksandr set his tray down, took his seat, then unfolded his napkin and placed it on his lap. “Good morning gentlemen.”

  “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you since we left Earth,” AJ remarked. “Are your accommodations adequate?”

  “Better than I would have expected on a freighter. I’ve been quite comfortable.”

  Captain Pry picked up his coffee. “You do realize you don’t have to dress formally just to enjoy a meal in the mess hall. Relax a bit and enjoy the ride.”

  “I am quite comfortable with my current attire,” Aleksandr replied, enunciating each word as if he was speaking to someone unfamiliar with the English language.

  “You look like you’re trying to hold in a fart,” the Captain said, causing AJ to nearly blow his mouthful of coffee out his nose.

  “Excuse me?” the Ambassador asked. “I am the ambassador of all humanity to a race that had star travel long before we figured out how to build a steam engine. Appearances are important.”

  “I hope the Ba’Rutu don’t judge all humanity exclusively by your appearance,” the Captain said.

  AJ couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Captain Pry obviously wasn’t fond of government officials. Desperate to change the subject, AJ said, “You’ve been negotiating with the Ba’Rutu for a long time. Are you anxious to see what they look like?”

  The Ambassador cut into his steak, dipped it into a small puddle of sauce, then put it into his mouth. He nodded his head as he chewed. After he swallowed, he replied, “I am. You were the first person to speak to a Ba’Rutu. You must be curious as well.”

  “Of course I am!” AJ replied. “Let’s just hope they aren’t uglier than the Oodoo. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with them.”

  “The Oodoo aren’t all that bad,” Captain Pry said. “It’s their smell I have a hard time getting used to.”

  “The Ba’Rutu are now quite familiar with humans,” AJ said. “I think they would have warned us if there were any incompatibilities between our two species.”

  “The question was raised during our negotiations,” Aleksandr said. “The Ba’Rutu indicated that I will encounter no problems during my stay. Their physiological requirements are fully compatible with ours.”

  “I’d like to know why they insisted on meeting everyone on Ashnib,” Captain Pry asked. “The Nitnicki are being forced to travel over 500 light years to get there. That’s a hell of a haul. Why not just send their ambassadors to their respective planets?”

  Aleksandr chose not to reply until he had eaten another bite of steak. “The Nitnicki did indeed ask that very question. The Ba’Rutu offered no explanation. They announced the location of the initial meeting and then refused to engage in further conversation on the subject.” His eyes scanned the room for a moment before landing on AJ, “Where’s your wife?”

  “She’s on a slightly different schedule,” AJ replied. “She got up two hours ago and now she’s in the gym.”

  Captain Pry wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You’re a lucky man. When you left, the Star Pulse not only lost her captain but you took her beautiful hard-working crew chief with you. Three days later, Mr. Burger quit so he could lead a team of scientists back to Ashnib to study that crashed Akuta ship you guys found. Now he’s head of the entire research group stationed there. I’m surprised the rest of the crew didn’t jump ship as well given the amount of attention they received when you returned.”

  AJ slid his chair back and stood up. “You’ve done a wonderful job with your current crew. I need to get back to reviewing the ship’s maintenance logs. I want to be done by the time we reach orbit.”

  “I’ll let you know a few minutes before we make the final jump,” Captain Pry said.

  Chapter 5

  Frank rolled his chair back and spun it around to face the Captain. “Four thousand meters and holding
at zero relative motion.”

  Mingyu nodded her head. “Anything new?”

  “No change,” Melissa reported.

  “Andrew?”

  “Still silent,” Andrew replied. Glancing at one of his multiple displays, he added, “We’ve transmitted enough language data for them to understand simple sentences. If there’s anyone aboard and they wanted to talk, they should have done so by now.”

  “Captain,” Melissa said, getting out of her chair and stretching. “I’ve been thinking. If there is anyone aboard, and they’re not a race we’re familiar with, we might want to avoid mentioning anything about the Akuta or the Ba’Rutu to them.”

  “Why?”

  Melissa yawned as she walked over to the coffee machine and started brewing a triple espresso. “Let’s assume they’re not Akuta or Ba’Rutu. We have no way of knowing if they consider the Ba’Rutu or the Akuta as enemies. By declaring the fact that we are on good terms with the Ba’Rutu or that we know about the Akuta, we could inadvertently associate ourselves with them and end up being categorized as hostile.”

  “Good point,” Captain Mingyu replied. “I’d hate to find out that it’s an Akuta ship and we just told them we’re negotiating with the Ba’Rutu. Andrew, tell the computer to pretend as if we know nothing about the Akuta or the Ba’Rutu. While you’re at it, tell it to lie about Earth’s location as well.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” Andrew replied. He spent a few moments tapping on his keyboard, then said, “Done. Even if we forget, the computer will remind us and refuse to translate. That is, of course, assuming we have anyone to talk to.”

  The Captain turned her chair so she could address the engineering station. “George, launch the probes. Let’s see if we can’t coax some more information out of this ship.”

  Six thumps announced the departure of the probes. Captain Mingyu reconfigured the displays on her console so she could watch the progress of the probes as they approached the unknown vessel as well as the data being collected. Following their preprogrammed courses, the probes spread out and slowly approached the ship from multiple angles.