“Yes, and they’re trying to do the right thing by their superiors, by minimizing risk. There’s no daring or pioneering spirit left anymore. At NASA or anywhere else; just risk-averse bean counters. Are you going to be like them, Chris? It won’t be long before other space agencies get here—from countries run by mavericks who have no compunction about going right up to that thing and touching it, much less hitting it with laser beams from a distance.”
“Okay, fine,” Chris grumbled. “Don’t pit the surface, though. And Holly, let’s have the warp machinery spun up and ready to go.”
“Yes, sir.” Part of the display changed to a diagram of a very complex machine, whose heart was a pair of counter-rotating flywheels. On her mental command they began to spin.
“Computer, train the science suite on the Enigma,” Drew said.
“This will involve rotating the ship fifteen degrees. Okay to proceed?”
“Proceed,” Holly said.
The sterile, bleached flight deck, about the size of a small classroom, rotated around them. Another large window opened up on the main screen showing the settings and output of their many scientific instruments.
“Time to reach out and touch it,” Achilles said.
“Damn straight,” Drew said. “Computer, fire a 500 watt pulse for one second.”
“Initiating laser spectrometry, 500 watts for one second at target designated Enigma.”
The crew stared intently at the HUD. A line appeared, showing the intensity of the reflection over time. Another next to it showed the chemical signatures of the reflection; it was virtually flat after a single spike.
“Titanium!” Drew said.
“It seems the aliens copied our aerospace technology,” Achilles joked.
“So, who’s going to report this observation that we weren’t supposed to be making to NASA?” Holly said, with a wry smile on her face. “Will it be Chris, who contravened orders, or the rogue scientist?”
Drew smiled, while Chris closed his eyes and tried to keep his bile in check. “I’ll do it. May as well get used to riling them up, since the next thing I want to do is to actually go and touch it.”
****
“Any second now, any second now…” Storm said, his arms folded, as the light from the wall screen played on his face.
“We’re now getting the latest reports from NASA on the Enigma,” a woman news presenter said. “This footage was received from the spaceship Sigma a little over an hour ago.” Drew’s face beamed triumphantly from the screen. “We’ve made the first active investigation of the Enigma, and find it surface to be made of pure titanium, purer than anything we’ve managed to manufacture. It is undoubtedly a ship built by an intelligent race. The Enigma is inert, as far as we know, emitting no heat or electromagnetic signals.”
Storm turned to Dmitry. “So how’d you like them apples? It’s a vast untapped source of pure titanium just sitting there for the taking.”
Dmitry pursed his thin lips and nodded slowly. “Okay, so it’s a goldmine. Big whoop. We still have no ship that can make the trip, since our loan application was turned down.”
“We’ll lease a warp ship.”
Desira raised her eyebrows. “How much is that?”
“About $300,000 a day for one with a hold is big enough to fit the crab,” Storm said. “But leasing has one big advantage: it comes with a pilot.”
“That’s a relief,” Desira said. “I have to say, I wasn’t looking forward to flying something that big so far away, even with auto pilot.”
Storm nodded. “Think about it, though. It’ll be the score of a lifetime.”
“If the beings inside don’t object to us stripping the titanium from their hull,” Dmitry said.
Storm nodded. “It’s possible. Although, knowing that it’s inert turns this from an outright gamble into a… risky venture. And we have the stomach for risk; you can’t chase old satellites or cut up ships coasting out of control without nerves of steel. While all the other players are weighing their odds, we’ll beat them to the punch.”
“Speaking of others, I think I know why we didn’t get the loan,” Desira said. “Think about who owns Earth & District Bank.”
“Rapier Aerospace?”
She nodded. “We had to put on the application that we were using the capital for a warp ship. Now what does a small-time salvage operation need with one of those?”
Storm sighed and nodded.
“It begins,” Dmitry said darkly. “The race to commercialize the object.”
“This whole thing has another huge advantage for me,” Storm said. “It’ll piss my brother off no end!”
****
“I’m the only one who would accept this assignment,” the pilot of the Zephyr said. Her brown flight suit bore the name tag Jane Chaney.
“Well, we’re very glad you did,” Dmitry said, sitting behind her on the ship’s flight deck. “About how long now?”
“Four minutes until dewarp.”
“I really hope those brackets hold under acceleration,” Storm said. “The crab weighs about six tons. That’s a lot of strain on the back of the hold.”
“We’ve transported far bigger,” Jane said.
“Besides, they’re hooked in all around the hold,” Desira said. “The load’ll be distributed evenly.”
The crab was a small spacecraft, about the size of a minibus. Nicknamed for its two oversized front manipulator arms, the appendages could be used by the operator as an extension of their own arms. Each limb had massive hydraulic claws that could crush practically anything, along with fitted saws and laser cutters. In short, everything needed to dismantle a spacecraft. The rear of the crab sported an airlock, allowing the crew to do EVAs.
“I can’t believe I’m going to the Enigma,” Jane sighed. “At least the leasing company’s giving me danger pay. Though, I’m not sure even that forty grand makes me feel better about it.”
“The research indicates it’s completely inert,” Dmitry said. “I don’t think we’ll be in any danger.”
“This is the farthest out in the solar system I’ve ever been,” Desira said. “I imagine it’s going to feel pretty good to look back at the sun and see nothing but another star in the night sky.”
“Well, guys, it’s time to buckle up. We’ll be out of warp soon” Jane said.
The large wraparound display in the bland but functional flight deck showed nothing. Dmitry, Desira, and Storm propelled themselves to three of the eight crew seats and buckled in.
“Coming out of warp in three, two, one, now.”
The football field-sized, turtle-shaped Zephyr popped back into existence and Dmitry raised his bushy eyebrows as he scanned the virtual windows. “Space looks the same apart from one glaring omission.”
“The Sun,” Storm said.
“Astral bearings and gravitometry match, so we know where we are,” Jane said. “We’re 4,778,874,572 miles from Earth, and 842,380 miles ahead of the Enigma on its trajectory. Commencing the acceleration run, now.”
Storm felt the pressure build across his chest. He instinctively inhaled against it as it pushed him back in his seat. The headrest automatically tilted forward to take the pressure off his neck.
“Let’s catch up to that cosmic bullet,” Storm said.
“Are you sure there’s nobody there besides NASA?” Dmitry asked.
“As sure as I can be,” Storm said. “We would probably have heard by now if anyone else was gunning for it.”
“I can’t quite believe we’re doing this. Talking about it was one thing, then signing paperwork for the ship brought it home a little bit. But now? To lay claim to an object of alien origin… I really hope it doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass.”
Storm laughed as his stomach did flip-flops. “I really hope whoever built it doesn’t notice a little titanium missing from its surface.”
“Let’s hope,” Desira nodded “Of course, if it’s pressurized, all bets are off.”
�
�How long till we intercept it, Jane?” Storm asked.
“Four hours and ten minutes.”
Everyone let that sink in. They jumped in their seats when an external voice kicked in over the comm. system. “This is US craft Sigma calling new ship in the vicinity. Please identify.”
Jane touched an unassuming icon on the panel in front of her. “This is the merchant ship Zephyr of Barlow Leasing Corporation.”
“Acknowledged. Please state your intentions.”
Jane looked turned around and looked to the others for an answer.
A wry smile spread across Storm’s face. “Key the mic,” he said. He coughed and cleared his throat. “I’d like to speak to Drew Kovacs, please.”
There was a long, tense pause, while Storm winked at the others. Storm pictured the chaos 840,000 miles away. Then Drew finally answered. “Storm? What the fuck are you doing here? Oh, let me guess. You’ve come to plunder the Enigma.”
“Damn straight.”
“You can’t. It’s a scientific treasure, not to mention too dangerous; we barely know anything about it yet.”
“I’m going anyway.”
“You have no right.”
“It doesn’t belong to anybody. Space law’s clear: it’s open season for anything unclaimed.”
“You’d be desecrating the greatest scientific treasure ever found.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Storm shrugged. “But you’d do the same if it was the only shot at seeing your daughter again.”
“You’re kidding me, right? You seriously see this as a source of income?” There’s nothing here for you… Oh, of course: titanium plates. Well, good luck with that, brother, you’re gonna need it. We’ve no idea what’s underneath that skin, or if anybody’s going to object to removing it. But, you know, I can’t let you touch the Enigma, right?”
“You’re not stopping me, Drew.”
“Well, if I can’t compete with your greed and total recklessness, tell me you have at least one shred of respect left for the greatest scientific artifact we’ve ever encountered? It’s the first solid evidence of alien life.”
Everyone looked at Storm, waiting to see what he’d say next. He merely frowned and sighed, thinking through Drew’s point. Then he shook his head. “The end justifies the means, brother. You stay on your side of the object, I’ll stay on mine. It’s so big we never even have to cross paths.”
“Jesus, you’re a fool! Don’t you get it? We don’t know what’s in there,” Drew spelled out slowly, as though talking to a child. “You cut into it, you could wake something up. Probably end up killing both our crews.”
“I thought you said it was inert?”
“Only as far as we can tell! Temperature readings mean virtually nothing at this distance. This object’s so huge there could be something alive at the center that the readings can’t detect. Think about it: it was obviously built by an advanced civilization. They wouldn’t have built something so huge for nothing, nor aimed it at the center of our solar system without some cause. There’s a purpose to this thing. I’m not going to let you mess up my entire mission by making like this is just another crashed satellite.”
Storm mouthed: comms off to Jane, and she severed the connection. Storm turned to the others. “So he’s a little hostile to the idea.”
“You did say you wanted to piss him off,” Desira said, in an I-told-you-so tone.
“It certainly looks like you managed that one,” Dimitri said. “Maybe this ship contains more valuable materials than titanium, too, if they want it that bad.”
“Yeah. All we have to do is discover a bunch of diamonds or rubies or gold, and we’re set. We can just come home again and he can study whatever’s left to his heart’s content.”
“I doubt it’ll be that easy,” Desira said warily.
“What are you guys, space pirates?” Jane said, shaking her head. “I never saw myself working for an outfit like yours.”
Storm couldn’t tell whether she was onboard or horrified. But it didn’t really matter as long as she got the job done.
****
“You’ve gotta let me do this, Chris,” Drew said as the pair floated in his tiny cabin. “Even putting a hole in it shows it’s inert. No gases came out. It’s completely dead.”
“Which is what you might be if you go inside. The rest of us could be too.”
“Chris— ”
“And NASA property could well be destroyed.”
Drew closed his eyes for a moment and breathed, then looked at Chris again. “I will give you whatever you want. They’ll likely be clamoring to publish my memoirs and put me in movies as the first person to enter an alien spaceship. I will give you half of that money. You have my word. I’ll even have a lawyer draw up a contract when we get back. Nobody needs to know; it’ll be a private arrangement between us.”
Chris sighed. “Well. I was wondering how I was going to put Adriana through Harvard. Though you know they’re gonna fire me for this.”
“Then you can get a new career commanding private ships. They’d have you in a heartbeat with your background. Chances are you’ll be swamped, too, with requests for books, rights deals, films of your life.We’ll be heroes,” said Drew, thumping Chris’ shoulder. “All the more so if this ship or whatever it is turns out to be more than an inert lump of titanium-plated carbon.”
Chris sighed. “This is a hell of a game of Russian roulette. And that’s even before the Russians show up.”
“Then what are we waiting for? There’s only ever going to be one person who gets to be first in. We’ve beaten them to everything since the Apollo program. This is where we fall behind?”
“I should ask Houston first.”
“Nuts to that. Forgiveness over permission. Do you want to be a footnote in history, or the captain of the first mission to actually enter an alien vessel?”
****
Q-carbon, Drew thought, as he finished suiting up. A form of carbon even harder than diamonds. That’s what’s under the titanium skin.
He pulled himself through the hatch into the exploration pod’s tiny airlock, which was barely larger than an airplane bathroom. Once the hatch was closed, he was sealed off from the Sigma. He opened the inner hatch into the bubble-like interior of the pod, pulled himself through, and turned around to face the controls. The hatch closed automatically behind him with dispassionate finality, sealing Drew in. This place could easily become his tomb if anything went wrong.
“Running preflights, comms check,” Drew said, keying in his entries on the datapad. Various readouts appeared as the van-sized, ovoid ship checked its health.
“Roger, Pod 1,” Holly said. “You’re go to undock once preflights are complete.”
Drew’s tiny ship poked up through the Sigma’s exterior like a half-laid egg. As it continued running its diagnostics Drew lowered his eyes from the display to the view through the window below. The Enigma looked very much like a giant nuclear submarine with no conning tower: colorless, inhumanly large, cold, and unyielding. He had to remind himself of its scale: it was nearly ten times the length of the largest submarine, and twelve times the width.
Holly’s voice cut through his reverie. “Pod reports preflights are done.”
“Right. Undocking now.” He took hold of the large joystick and released the docking clamps. There was a clunk as the Sigma retracted her hold and the capsule floated free, drifting away.
“Go and tell us what secrets it holds,” Achilles said from the Sigma.
“Roger that,” smiled Drew.
A burst of thrust pushed the small capsule away from the protective clutches of its mother hen towards the vast, bleak Enigma.
Drew strained his eyes to find the two-meter-wide hole they had cut in the titanium skin and the four-inch-thick layer of solid carbon beneath, but it wasn’t visible from that distance.
They’d chosen a point about a quarter of the way back from the front of the Enigma to stay out of the shadow that turned the rear section int
o a star silhouette.
Drew looked out of the left porthole at the tiny, distant sun, and suddenly pictured himself drifting towards it along with the Enigma in formation, arriving in a year. The Sun’s warmth would be beautiful compared to the cold, lifeless distance he now occupied. He could revel in its rays through the window, and accompany the Enigma as its trajectory bent thirty-six degrees with the star’s massive gravity. Why was he thinking of a year-long voyage, when the capsule would support him no longer than three days? He didn’t want to leave. He felt a kinship, a bond with the vast object in front of him. It drew him in—what was its mass?—with the mysteries it held tightly sealed inside. And he would be the first one to pull the bow on the wrapping paper. A replacement for human bonds? Probably.
The cosmic bullet grew larger before him at his approach. He could now see the tiny black pit in its matte silver surface. He applied a little down thrust.
“Recommend you slow approach speed to ten meters a second,” Holly said.
“Will do.”
His tiny ship was reminiscent of Storm’s crab, minus the giant claws. But it was equipped with spindly, flexible legs that would let it attach to any known surface. That particular pod had already seen service exploring the surfaces of comets, asteroids, and the satellites of the gas giants. But nothing compared to this.
The Enigma’s curved surface was so large it looked almost flat close up. This is really, truly happening, Drew thought. The small, dark hole was right in front of him.
“Closing at 0.1 meters per second,” he said.
“Lucky bastard,” Achilles said.
Four white, spider-like legs extended from the side of the pod around to the front, complete with sticky pads. The pod’s elongated shadow reminded Drew of the footage from the first Moon landings. And then, with a metallic clunk, he was attached to the monster.
“Pod One is at Enigma.”
“Roger that, we see you clearly through the telescope,” Chris said.
“Now to get to work.”
With a couple of quick entries on the display, Drew slowly rotated the pod’s body upside down, pivoting on its leg joints, until its rear was facing the giant. Then he eased it back on its legs until the circular hatch of its airlock was flush with the laser-cut hole.
The Cosmic Bullet: The Enigma Series, Part One Page 5