Collision Course

by Doug Farren

  Melissa entered a few commands into the machine’s controls, grabbed her minicomputer, then headed back to the chair. Sitting down, she set her coffee on the deck then adjusted the chair so she could easily reach the touch screen in front of her. Turning on the minicomputer, she established a link with the analyzer.

  After taking another bite of her sandwich, she said, “Unless you let me stay longer, I’m not going to have time to finish the scan. It’s going to take a few hours before the analyzer has enough data to build a meaningful schematic of this compartment. In the meantime, let’s see what else I can bring up on these monitors.”

  Chapter 15

  AJ grabbed a few items from the bathroom and stuffed them into a small bag. He was still trying to come to grips with the fact that he was about to board a shuttle built by an advanced race of dragons along with a man who claimed to be the one and only Merlin. Heather was in the room transferring an assortment of clothes from the drawers to a slightly larger bag.

  “I’ve always had the opinion that all myths, no matter how bizarre they might sound, are based on at least a kernel of truth,” Heather said. “Meeting the Ba’Rutu has pretty much proven that it’s true.”

  AJ stepped out of the bathroom and looked around. “A kernel—yes. But I never thought I would be standing face-to-face with a living dragon especially with someone claiming to be Merlin standing next to him. Do you think this could be some kind of elaborate joke the Ba’Rutu are playing on us?”

  “They’re an advanced space-faring race,” Heather said, zipping the bag shut. “This was a diplomatic meeting and not something anyone would joke about. No, they’re dragons all right! I’m all packed. Ready?”

  “I hope so,” AJ said, holding up his bag. “Let’s go.”

  Merlin was waiting for them when they returned to the meeting room. “The shuttle arrived a moment ago,” he said. “Aryth is waiting for us.”

  AJ and Heather followed Merlin out of the room and into the blistering heat. A white shuttle measuring 12 meters long and 5 meters high sat on the tarmac just outside of the door. They entered through a wide ramp at the rear of the shuttle. AJ breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered that the inside was much cooler. Even though he’d been out in the heat for only a few seconds, he was sweating profusely. Aryth was in the front of the shuttle talking to the pilot.

  As soon as they were aboard, the ramp pulled itself up and closed off the back of the shuttle. AJ used his sleeve to wipe his forehead.

  “Would you like some water?” Merlin asked.

  “Yes please,” AJ managed to say.

  Heather glanced around the spacious interior and spotted a bench seat against a bulkhead. “We’re lifting off,” she told AJ. “We’d better sit down.”

  AJ allowed Heather to guide him to the seat. Merlin arrived a moment later and handed him a bottle of water. “Are you alright?” he asked.

  AJ accepted the water and took a sip. It was cool and refreshing. “I’m fine,” he replied. “I’m just still trying to process all this.”

  “I’m not sure I understand,” Merlin admitted, taking a seat next to AJ.

  AJ looked at Merlin then leaned forward and looked toward the front of the shuttle where Aryth was still standing with her back to them, her folded wings almost touching the ceiling.

  After taking another sip of water, AJ said, “I came here to meet the ambassador of an advanced space-faring race. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would end up in a shuttle with a dragon and a wizard.”

  Merlin smiled and laughed out loud. “I can sympathize with how you feel,” he said. Looking up at Heather, who was standing in front of them, Merlin said, “You are the first humans I’ve talked to since I left Earth centuries ago. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the planet of my birth again for a very long time.”

  “How is it that you know modern English so well?” AJ asked. “I know our language has changed and you probably grew up speaking Gaelic or one of the other old languages.”

  “I’ve had a lot of time,” Merlin replied. “I not only speak modern English, I’m also fluent in about a dozen other languages including Chinese, Spanish, and ancient Latin.”

  AJ was at a complete loss for words. His jaw hung open as his overloaded brain tried to cope with the new information. Heather gently reached over and pushed his jaw closed, then sat down next to Merlin. “You must have lived a very lonely life.”

  “Not at all! The Ba’Rutu have been very kind to me and even though I’m different than they are, I feel like I’m one of them. As much as I want to return to Earth, I fear I’m going to feel very much out of place once I get there.”

  Heather took Merlin’s hand. “Nobody will see you as anything more than who you are—a fellow human being.”

  “I appreciate that,” Merlin replied, giving her hand a squeeze.

  “But,” Heather went on. “After seeing how my husband has reacted, perhaps it might be best to keep your true age a secret.”

  “Right now, nobody on Earth even knows I exist,” Merlin replied. “But that will soon change. People are going to start asking who I am and how I came to be so close to Aryth.”

  “We’ll need to come up with some kind of an explanation,” AJ said. “And I would strongly recommend that you don’t use your real name.”

  “Why not?”

  AJ leaned forward and pointed at Aryth. “That’s a dragon! If you appear in public with Aryth and tell everyone your name is Merlin, they’re either going to think you’re lying, or that you’re the legendary Merlin from before our Medieval days. Either way, you’re going to be bombarded with so many questions you won’t be able to stick your head out in public without a reporter trying to bother you.”

  “But that’s who I am!” Merlin argued.

  “Maybe we should tell the world the truth,” Heather suggested.

  “Are you nuts?” AJ asked, looking at his wife as if she’d just suggested they go rob a bank.

  “The truth will eventually come out,” Merlin said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Aryth swung her head around and looked back at them. After a moment, she turned away. “Aryth would like me to point out,” Merlin said, “that the Ba’Rutu would prefer not to begin our relationship with Earth with lies and hidden truth. We had intended to reveal my presence during the initial meeting but, after seeing your reaction, decided at the last minute to postpone my introduction. We will compose a statement and send it to Earth to be released to the public before we arrive.”

  “How much of what we believe about you is true?’ AJ asked. “I mean—you’re known as a powerful wizard and our myths about dragons say they breathe fire. I believe our ancestors saw the use of technology as magic.”

  “I want to know how you ended up living with the Ba’Rutu,” Heather asked.

  “I’ve read some of the stories written about me,” Merlin admitted. “History has a strange way of altering the truth.”

  “So what happened? How did you end up here?” Heather asked again.

  “The crew of Aryth’s ship was stranded on Earth after their ship was damaged in a battle with an Akuta vessel,” Merlin explained. “The hypercom transceiver on their ship was destroyed and they had no way to call for help. The Ba’Rutu are natural telepaths and they discovered that, with a little help, some humans could learn to mind-speak as well. My great great grandfather was one of the first.”

  “He was a good man,” Aryth said, joining them. “But our failure to understand your people lead us to disaster.”

  “What happened?” AJ asked.

  Merlin got up and stood next to Aryth. “We, meaning the Ba’Rutu, thought we could bring peace to the small part of your world we found ourselves in. For a time, we succeeded, and the 12 kingdoms prospered for many years. But, humans are greedy for power and resented being prevented from waging war on their neighbors. Ten of the kings rebelled against us, forming a pact that lasted only long enough for them to kill as many of us as possible. Four B
a’Rutu and two of their bound humans survived. The rest were slaughtered in a single night.”

  Heather’s hand went to her mouth. “Dear god! You must have hated us—probably still do.”

  “We went into hiding and vowed never to interact with humans again,” Aryth said. “I held to that promise until Merlin came to me.”

  “We met once before,” Merlin said, looking at Aryth. “You grabbed one of our goats close enough for me to look into your eyes. I’ll never forget that day.”

  “There was unrest in the village,” Aryth went on. “Merlin’s mother was taken and his father and grandfather were both killed.”

  “My grandfather had told me about Aryth,” Merlin smoothly continued the narrative. “The last thing he said before he died was for me to find her.”

  “I was living in an abandoned fort in the mountains,” Aryth said. “When Merlin found me, he was near death from a severe case of pneumonia. I had no choice but to see if our nanites could save him.”

  “And that’s why he’s managed to live so long?” Heather asked. “Because of the nanites?”

  Merlin reached up and rubbed his forehead. “I was born with a disfigured face,” he explained. “The nanites not only cured me of my pneumonia, they also repaired my face and have kept me in good health for centuries.”

  AJ looked at Heather, his eyes wide open. “Imagine what we could do with such technology!”

  “I have already stated that we have no plans on making it available,” Aryth said.

  Before AJ had a chance to reply, the pilot turned around and rumbled. AJ’s translator whispered, “We are approaching the ship.”

  Curious, AJ stood up and made his way to the front of the shuttle. The pilot moved to the side and motioned for AJ to stand next to him. Heather squeezed in beside him. Directly in front of them was a large, disk-shaped starship. Heat radiator fins stuck out like fronds from the upper and lower sections of the craft. The entire hull was painted a bright hue of green making it very visible. They were headed for an enormous rectangular opening surrounded by flashing lights at the centerline of the ship. Two minutes later, they were settling into a berth.

  There was a clunk and the pilot said, “We are docked. Opening the rear hatch.”

  AJ thanked the pilot, then headed to the back of the shuttle as the door was opening. Another Ba’Rutu was waiting for them. As soon as he made eye contact with Aryth, he said, “The Captain would like to see you on the bridge.”

  Turning her head around on her long neck, Aryth said, “Merlin will show you to your room. I will meet up again with you later.”

  * * * *

  Captain Hanept was standing near the communications console when Aryth entered the bridge. Upon seeing her, he said, “It’s been confirmed—the ship the Terrans found is an Akuta warship. It’s a design we’ve never encountered before.”

  “Have we engaged it yet?” Aryth asked.

  “No,” Hanept replied, walking over to the ambassador. “Fleet command did not feel comfortable sending a single ship. There are three heavy cruisers within two jumps of the coordinates provided by the Terrans. They will be coordinating their final jumps to simultaneously arrive at the warship’s location. They have orders to engage as quickly as possible.”

  “There is a Terran vessel in close proximity,” Aryth reminded the Captain.

  “That information has been passed on. However, their priority is to destroy the warship at all cost.”

  “Do you think it could be the lost super ship?” Aryth asked.

  “I would prefer not to speculate,” Hanept said, pouring himself a cup of verap, a stimulating drink similar to coffee. “However, the evidence would seem to point in that direction. The hull is completely intact without any sign of degradation.”

  “What of the data package the Terrans provided?” Aryth asked.

  “Transmitted to fleet command as ordered. It’s being analyzed now.”

  “Good. I see no sense in remaining here. Set a course for Earth. Jump when ready.”

  “As you wish Ambassador.”

  “You do not seem happy to be returning to Earth,” Aryth remarked.

  Hanept shook his head. “I never thought I would return to that retched planet.”

  “You and I share many bad memories of what happened on Earth,” Aryth said. “But the Terrans have changed.”

  Hanept walked over to the captain’s chair and settled into it. Unlike a chair built for humans, Ba’Rutu chairs were more like long cushioned benches.

  “I’ve read their history,” Hanept replied. “So have you. Their hatred for each other and their lust for power caused them to come perilously close to turning their entire planet into a radioactive wasteland. The cultural wars that erupted later killed millions. If one were to compare them to the Akuta, one would- - -”

  “Do not make that comparison!” Aryth said, becoming annoyed. “The actions of a few humans should not be used to judge their entire race. They are nothing like the Akuta!”

  “My apologies,” Hanept said, lowering his head slightly.

  “I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do,” Aryth replied, curling her tail around Hanept’s. “But they have learned how to get along with each other. They are a united planet now. We can’t blame them for what their ancestors did to us. It’s time to forgive.”

  “Forgiveness is easy,” Hanept replied. “Forgetting is not.”

  “Send a message to the Terrans,” Aryth said. “I want that ship of theirs heading back to Earth as soon as possible.”

  “Understood.” Hanept turned and looked at Aryth. “Of all the races in the galaxy, why were the Terrans the ones to find that ship?”

  “Perhaps fate has a strange sense of humor,” Aryth replied. “Let’s hope that warship isn’t fully operational because if it is, every populated planet in this area of the galaxy is at risk.”

  Chapter 16

  Reaching for the screen, she paused and asked, “Are you sure you don’t mind my poking around? Isn’t any of this data classified?”

  “I have already considered that possibility,” the warship replied. “I have no security protocols in place preventing you from accessing the information. Even if I did, I would be unable to prevent you from doing so as I have no control over the internal functioning of the monitoring room.”

  Melissa looked around the room. What was the purpose behind this isolated section of the ship? Why was the ship’s AI given only an audio interface to this room?

  “I would have thought that your builders would be concerned if another race learned about the design and operational details of this vessel.”

  “I doubt you will be able to extract sufficient details from the displays available to you to enable you to duplicate any of the components of this vessel,” the warship said. Additionally, this vessel was designed and built over a thousand years ago. It is most certainly obsolete. Anything you might learn would be of no consequence.”

  “Obsolete! Not according to my species.”

  Melissa looked around again, her eyes pausing on the large button underneath the protective cover. Reaching up, she began flipping through the available displays. The camera mounted on her spacesuit helmet sitting on the deck transmitted the images back to the Rutherford where they were recorded for further analysis. Since it was forwarding those same signals, the warship’s AI was also watching.

  In her mind, she could picture the entire crew of her ship gathered on the bridge staring at the data she was sending them. One of them would occasionally ask her to lean to one side or return to a previous display but for the most part they kept quiet.

  “This is an incredible ship,” Melissa said after about an hour. Flipping back to the central section, she pointed to an area near the center of the ship. “Unless I’m mistaken, I’ve counted five large reactors and this looks like the jump drive.”

  “You are correct. This vessel has five fusion reactors and the area you are currently indicating is the jump drive.�
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  “I haven’t seen any drive emitter pylons. Are your drive field emitters internal?”

  “The jump drive field emitters are located in three rings installed just under the hull located forward, midship, and aft.”

  “Those rings were going to be my next question,” she said. Moving her finger to the left, she pointed at a large room located three frames aft of the jump drive. A quick double-tap caused a smaller window to appear containing a series of indicators. “I can’t quite figure out what this is. The details display has an indicator that I think shows the power output. It’s the same indicator used on the five reactors. The diagram though is very different. What is it?”

  “It is listed in the ship’s inventory as the aetheric energy converter and storage crystal.”

  Melissa shook her head. “Never heard of such a thing. Is it like a fusion reactor?”

  “No.”

  “Any idea how it works?”

  “I have no data concerning the underlying physics involved in the operation of this ship. I know the basic function and name of every device, but I cannot tell you how each functions. You have 100 minutes remaining before you must leave.”

  “Is that all? I could spend several years researching this ship.”

  “I am afraid I cannot give you that much time. Has your schematic generator finished inventorying the room?”

  Melissa glanced at the display. “It has identified all of the equipment and has assigned a preliminary classification of some of the devices. I would like to send what I’ve gathered so far back to my ship. Can you retransmit if I send from here? That way, you can also see what’s been identified.”

  “Proceed.”

  Leaning over, Melissa keyed in a command on her minicomputer. A moment later, a small window appeared indicating that the data was being transferred. Looking back up at the screen, she said, “I sure wish I could read this.”

  “Would you like me to transmit a translation file to your ship’s AI?”

  “Now why didn’t I think about that? Please do so.”