by JK Stone
When they arrived, Alise looked down. “Oh my…we really must do something about that, should we not?”
Jason got a faux concerned look. “Come to think of it, I heard somewhere that you should seek immediate medical attention if you have an erection lasting longer than four hours.”
Alise got an impish grin. “Lucky for you, the doctor is in,” then she led him to the bed.
The End
Look for Book Two in the Imortum series, Eleven Unveiled, coming soon!
Excerpt from Book 2 in the Imortum series
Eleven Unveiled
Justin watched as his brother Jason closed the stasis chamber after they had placed their family inside for their protection. Jason requested the console and the previous query was still on the screen:
TDS 3
AL not online
No life forms onboard for fifteen thousand one hundred thirty-three years
Location 374.4 KKSLO Terra .5 PTD
AL commander no longer viable
Reset binding disk for new commander? (YES) (NO)
Jason selected (YES), and the lighting in the room dimmed then a complex algorithm ran across the screen. Justin was examining the screen and asked, “What does AL stand for?”
There was a flash from the display wall beside him and Justin saw the acronym expand on the displayed:
A - Advanced
L – Lifeform
I – Integrated
S – Synaptic
E – Escort
“Ah, okay,” Justin muttered.
Jason turned to look at the wall and said, “There you have it. It would appear as if the AL is an Alise. All of the ships probably had them. He got a concerned look and Justin was about to ask what the problem was when a beep sounded behind him and he turned around to consult the control panel.
TDS 3
Binding Disk reconfigured, apply to new host
They looked to the left of the display where a dime-sized disk lay. Jason seemed to hesitate only the briefest of moments before picking it up and gesturing for Jerren to come closer. “Okay, Jerren, you need to press this right there.” He said, pointing to a spot behind his right ear. “I won’t lie to you, it hurt like nothing I have ever felt before.”
Justin noticed the fleeting of panic cross his face when Jason said, “Alise told me it shouldn’t have hurt that much and there was something odd about my bonding that caused a feedback. But she said the other eleven times she bonded were virtually painless.”
“Okay here goes nothing,” Jerren tensed up the briefest of seconds as he applied the disk. When he pulled his finger away the disk was still on it. “Did it work?” Jason looked back to the console.
TDS 3
Disk reconfigured. Apply to new host
Bonding procedure failure incorrect host data.
Apply binding disk to proper host
They tried it again, thinking it was just a glitch and after the third time Jerren dropped the disk back on the table and said, “Damn, that thing zapped me harder and harder each time I tried it. It doesn’t look like it is going to work.”
Jason furrowed his brow and looked at Justin. “Why don’t you give it a try?”
Justin felt the unease rise in him. “Uh, I don’t think it will work and I really don’t think I’m the right person to be in charge of a ship.” He no sooner got the words out when the control room seemed to rumble and a second the disk began vibrating on the table. It flew through the air and applied itself firmly to a spot just in back of Justin’s right ear. “What the…” He swept his hand against it to get it off but it was not moving. He tried to peel it off with his fingernails. The second his finger touched the disk, he felt a shocking jolt and it was lights out.
When he came to, his head was throbbing and he opened his eyes. “What the hell happened?”
Jason let out a nervous sigh. “Apparently something or someone wanted you to bond with that ship. The bonding must have activated. Let me check… Are you okay?” Justin nodded. Jason helped him to his feet and consulted the display
TDS 3
Disk reconfigured. Apply to new host
Bonding procedure failure incorrect host data Apply disk to proper host
Bonding procedure failure incorrect host data Apply disk to proper host
Bonding procedure failure incorrect host data
Apply disk to proper host
Bonding procedure successful
Data link confirmed
Commander input required
Justin looked at the display and said, “What input?” A moment later the display changed to read, Input received, command functions TDS 3 transferred.
Jason said to Justin, “It would appear you are the new commander.”
Justin frowned and Jason said hesitantly, “Congratulations are in order I guess.” He went to his brother and gave him a firm hug. “You can handle this.”
Justin just grunted, “It would have been nice to be given a choice.”
At his words, the control room rumbled again but just as fast as it started, it ceased.
Jason looked around and said, “Spilled milk.”
Jerren said, “Lemons to lemonade.”
Justin nodded and silently resigned himself to whatever future lay ahead of him. “I’ll do my best, but I am going to make mistakes I just know it.”
Jason gestured for him to have a seat in front of the TDS 3 control panel. He sat down and the screen came to life.
TDS 3
Minimal access protocol, reengage full access (Yes) (No)
He was about to select yes when Jason interrupted. “You might want to engage the safety protocols first.”
He looked from the console to his brother. “I don’t see any safety protocols.”
He no sooner had he gotten the words out when he felt what could only be described as a fluttering in his head. A second later the display read, Engage safety protocol? (Yes) (No). Justin looked back to Jason and shrugged. “Do it or not?”
“It looks safe now. I just didn’t want you to get the same splitting headache I did when it opened the floodgates,” Jason replied.
Justin grunted, “Here goes nothing.” And he selected (YES).
He a tickling in his head and watched as the percentage rose and fell then rose again from one to two then three and so on until it got to thirteen percent, then went to twelve and then back to thirteen. The display changed to read,
Safety protocol engaged
Auto data stream 14%
Jason said to Justin, “Okay, you need to reset the power system and check life support. It was cold as shit when I was on the ship and there was no gravity.”
Justin asked, “When were you on the ship? You never told us that.”
“It must have slipped my mind. Anyway once we power the ship up, we can make sure it’s safe to enter.”
Justin did as his brother instructed. The room dimmed and the display read,
TDS 3
Core not responding
Manual input required
Systems restart on standby
Justin shook his head and shrugged. “What does that mean, Jason?”
“I’m not sure. It’s possible that the ship doesn’t have enough power and is unable to respond to an engine restart. What are the current air quality and temperature conditions on the ship?”
Justin looked down to the display and said, “The system shows twenty-three percent oxygen and seventy-six percent nitrogen with a point ninety-three percent carbon dioxide and thirty degrees but it looks as though it has risen over two hundred degrees in the past three hours. Why?”
Jason looked concerned and said, “I think we need to get on the ship to affect enough of a power boost to let the system restart. Do you agree, Alise?”
Alise broke her silence. “It makes sense, although it will still be dangerous. The air is close to Earth normal and the temperature change would indicate the ship is transitioning from the shadow on the back side of th
e moon to directly in view of the sun. Even with the ship’s advanced hull, the temperature will continue to increase until the engines have restarted and life support is reinstated. By my calculations, you will only have a sixty to seventy-minute window to initiate a restart before it becomes too hot to remain onboard. The clothing and boots will afford you some protection but not much, and you should have more than enough air to last that much time.”
Jason looked at his brothers. “You heard Alise. We’ll have to work fast. I think Justin and I should go over to the ship first and, Jerren, could you monitor our progress from the console here? If it shows enough power, make sure the restart sequence is engaged and inform us of any changes.”
Jerren nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get this done before it turns into an oven over there and cooks you two turkeys.”
Jason and Justin chuckled as they turned to face the wall.
Jason said, “Archway TDS 3.” He was about to step forward when the archway failed to appear. “That’s strange. It opened for me before.”
He thought about it a second, then gestured for Justin to try.
“Archway TDS 3.” The words barely left Justin’s mouth when the archway appeared. “It would appear only the commander is allowed to open the passage,” Justin said with a smirk.
With a shrug, Jason said, “It must have let me open the archway the last time only because there was no commander in charge.”
They stepped through the archway and experienced the time dilation effect once inside the derelict ship the feeling of weightlessness came over them. They both activated their magnetic boots and felt their feet get pulled to the floor.
Justin looked around and with a shiver and he surveyed the environment. The ship was a mess. Everywhere he looked he saw debris floating in all directions. The brothers made their way through the mess toward the engine, which was a duplicate of the one on Jason’s ship. The only lights in the room were being emitted from their suits, and they glowed brightly enough to illuminate the entire room. They approached the engine, which was dead quiet.
Jason said, “Well, let’s see what happens.”
Justin watched as Jason removed his gloves tucked them into his waistband placed his hands on the engine and began to focus. With the look of disappointment, he looked to Justin. “It may require both of us to provide enough energy.”
Justin nodded, removed his gloves as well and they both placed their hands on the engine. Still nothing.
Jason let out a sigh and Justin’s left hand with his right and placed his left hand on the engine. “Justin put your right hand on the engine and focus as hard as you can.” They did and this time a few lights flickered and faded away.
Jason’s watch chirped and Jerren’s voice came over it a bit distorted. “Whatever you just did almost worked.”
“Okay we are going to try it again,” Jason said. “Let us know if anything changes.” To Justin, he said, “You know that feeling you get when you wave your hands really fast back and forth, and you get that gravity feeling?” Justin nodded.
“The energy we need feels kind of like that. You need to tense up and push. I will do the same and with any luck, it will work this time. Are you ready?”
Justin nodded and they proceeded. He felt a massive explosion, and the ship bucked and threw him like a rag doll against the far wall. The debris that was floating so harmlessly was now hurling in their direction. He saw the debris coming his way and was about to yell for his brother to take cover when something large crushed his head.
Justin felt as if a live wire had been connected to his limbs. One jolt, two, then three and he let out a gurgle. “What happened?” He coughed up a little blood.
Jason sighed and said, “We’re under attack.” Another volley of blasts hit the hull and coursed through both of their bodies.
He heard a familiar voice say, “Use them!” Jason stood and helped Justin to his feet. Grabbing his hand, Jason told him to touch the wall as he placed his hand on the engine. He had no idea what Jason was doing but did as he asked. The energy blast from outside along with his and Jason’s energy coursed directly into the engine and the lights lit up the room, then began to fade out. Justin was despondent. He was thinking he had failed as well and they would have to retreat to the master control room.
Jerren’s distorted voice came out of his life monitor. “Whatever you just did worked. The ship is powering up it should be functional in a few minutes your time and fully restarted in an hour or two.”
A moment after he heard Jerren’s voice, Justine felt an energy wave pass through him. He looked at Jason, who was glowing.
“They were warned!” Jason growled and then began to convulse and hyperventilate.
Justin was getting more and more concerned for his brother. With every rapid breath, Jason’s face was getting a deeper and deeper shade of red. It was now almost the color of blood and his body was crackling. “Jason, you need to calm down. You’re going to have a stroke!” he yelled to no avail.
“I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS,” Jason said with a guttural almost inhuman growl.
Justin wasn’t sure what Jason meant or why he said it but the words had a very menacing and dangerous feel.
“YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WARNED AND YOUR LIVES ARE NOW FORFEIT!”
Justin didn’t only hear the words; he felt every one of them. They seemed to grab his soul. At that moment he felt as if something very powerful had been unleashed, and a death sentence had been imposed.
Jason was reaching out and grasping at the air, whispering at his fists. He flicked his wrists, hugged himself and threw his hands out from his body, then fell to the floor unconscious.
Justin rushed to his side. He felt Jason’s neck. His pulse was weak and irregular. Not knowing what to do for him, Just picked his brother up in a fireman’s carry and took him to the master control room. He shouted, “Alise, Open the archway! Jason has been injured!”
As soon as they entered TDS 1, Jason disappeared.
Alise opened the passage between the engine room and the inner corridor and said, “I transported him directly to medical. How did he get injured? All the attacking ships were destroyed.” She signaled for them to follow her as they spoke.
Justin explained everything he could remember, which wasn’t much. He was finished by the time they made it to Jason’s side. He asked Alise, “What is wrong with him?”
She was consulting a monitor and shook her head. “I do not know. His body chemistry is off. His electrolytes are almost depleted, and he has severe subconjunctival hemorrhaging.”
Justin felt like he was about to pass out. “Is he going to be all right?”
Alise said, “His body chemistry is almost back to normal. He should be fine.” He could tell she wasn’t sure but he nodded and approached his brother, placed his hand on his brother’s forehead, then turned to Alise and Jerren. “What do I need to do now?”
“Set course to Daregon. TDS 3 will need to be recharged, and that is the closest location. We will meet you there,” she said.
Justin said, “I thought you said these ships can’t be in close proximity to each other?”
“Until this event, we were never able to get this close.” Jerren asked, “Is this ship within weapons range of TDS 3?” “Not quite, why?” Alise answered.
“I was just thinking. How close to the atmosphere can these ships hold their position while charging?” Jerren asked.
Alise said, “We can maintain a low Daregon orbit, why?” “Are you thinking overwatch, Jerren?” Justin asked.
Jerren nodded and Justin explained it to her. “If I put TDS 3 into the lowest possible orbit for charging, then you put this ship as close to its apogee as possible, then this ship can protect TDS 3 while it charges. That is what we refer to as an overwatch position.”
Alise smiled. “That sounds like a plan. After Jason wakes up, we have to repair an issue with the ancient Imortum portal on the surface, then we will meet you at Daregon.”
Justin entered the master control room and was about to take a step toward TDS 1 when the display on his console caught his attention. Looking down he wondered if he could control the ship from there. A second later the display changed to read,
TDS 3
He thought, Set course for Daregon, and the display changed to read, TDS 3
Course laid in, estimated time to Daregon 182.5 hours.
Smiling at the fact he had figured it out, he decided to go back to his ship.
He made it a few steps in and his grin faded. Looking at the insurmountable mess, he let out another groan and began picking us whatever he could and stacking it against the far wall to allow access. It took him a few minutes before he realized he could ask the AI what to do. Grinning once again he called out, “Hello, I’m speaking to the AI. I’m the new commander of this vessel. Would you come down here?”
He got no answer, and no Alise appeared. He tried for the next few hours to no avail. He figured something must be wrong with the AI’s program and decided he would ask Jason about it when he woke up. Figuring it would not clean itself, he began the arduous task of cleaning the ship.
*****
The Artificial Intelligence was not amused one bit; it had never in its entire existence been forced to bond with an untrained commander. It was a source of pride that it had only two commanders the entire time it was active. It knew the other ships had at least ten over nearly four hundred thousand years, which is what made it the elite in its opinion. All of the others were inexperienced beginners to its way of thinking.
The AI had monitored the self-proclaimed commander of the ship while he gathered the true commander’s possessions and moved them to the second level. It knew the logistics of traveling fifteen thousand years back to rescue the commander was near impossible and the possibility of creating a major paradox did not sit well with it. Not to mention this new commander would be resistant to the idea. It still chafed that it did not even get a say in whether he was qualified to run this ship. Which he obviously was not if his moving all of the items manually was any indication.