Realms of Time (Scrapyard Ship)

by Mark Wayne McGinnis

  “I know what you’re going to say, Captain, but I’m not convinced there aren’t some survivors over there. And I’d like to take a look at their Medical.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything. You are, of course, more than welcome to join the team.” Dira’s face brightened somewhat behind her visor and her posture visibly relaxed.

  “In fact, why don’t we start there,” Jason continued, looking down at Ricket and indicating he should alter their phase-shift coordinates.

  In one flash, the team phase-shifted into the Minian. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but this sure wasn’t it. Their Medical, two to three times larger than the one on The Lilly, was in pristine condition and though more technically advanced, its overall atmosphere created just as soothing an environment. As on The Lilly, indirect lighting and soft-cushioned surfaces made it seem a comforting, almost inviting, space. Jason counted thirty MediPods of various sizes and configurations. And there were other devices: six large glass booth-type containers, each one over ten feet tall, and filled with some kind of clear liquid. Two of them had something in them: some biological form—definitely not human.

  Both Dira and Ricket moved to virtual consoles to access the Minian’s medical database.

  In moments Dira threw her hands up in defeat. “I’m locked out. It was worth a try anyway,” she said as she stepped away.

  Ricket stayed at his console a moment longer. Virtual displays around the room came alive, along with some characteristic beeps of medical devices being initiated. Hearing the familiar sound, Dira grinned and turned back to her console, starting to scroll curiously through several screens of information. “Ricket, you’re brilliant, as usual.” Turning to Jason she said, “This technology is amazing, Captain; we need to get this … all of this over to The Lilly,” she urged.

  “As long as things are compatible,” Jason said.

  Jason stepped from Medical out into the corridor. So similar to The Lilly’s, but newer—bigger. Uneasy, he had a feeling of trespassing into someone else’s space, which, of course, was exactly what they were doing. But they needed to hurry. How long before the Caldurians came looking for their ship? What would their reaction be, seeing it in its current condition?

  “Orion, Billy, I need you to check out the Minian’s weapon systems. Go see what is still operational. Operational without a functioning bridge.”

  “Aye, Cap,” Billy replied.

  “Let’s keep in contact. Check in every ten minutes.”

  “Aye, Cap.”

  Billy and Orion headed off down the corridor, as Jason turned back into Medical. Dira, still at the console, was oohing and ahing over each new discovery.

  “You going to be all right?”

  Without looking up, Dira nodded at Jason and said, “Yes, sir, I’m fine. You don’t mind if I hang out here for a while, do you?”

  “No, but you too check in with me every ten minutes or so,” Jason replied.

  Ricket, who’d been watching Dira do research at the console, stepped away and joined Jason as he left Medical. As they headed toward the closest DeckPort, Ricket slowed.

  “The Minian’s AI is still operational. It’s staying quiet, in the background. But its many ship systems, ones that would require its functionality, are operational.”

  “So you’re wondering why it hasn’t taken hostile actions against us?” Jason queried him.

  “Yes and no, Captain. There’s little doubt that the AI is aware of our presence and where we’ve come from. After all, The Lilly, too, is a Caldurian vessel. As with the drone, Teardrop, artificial intelligence here has progressed far beyond that on The Lilly.”

  “How would that demonstrate itself?”

  “No way to tell, at this point. But factors such as self-preservation may be an aspect.” They both stopped before stepping through the DeckPort.

  “How safe is this?”

  “I do not know,” Ricket replied.

  “AI, are you there?” Jason asked, looking up and around the large corridor.

  “Yes, Captain Reynolds, I am here,” a female voice replied. It sounded extremely humanlike, even having personality inflections. There was a questioning nature to her simple response, as if saying I am here, but I’m not quite sure what to do with you yet.

  “Is it safe for us to use the DeckPorts?”

  “Yes, Captain. If you are inferring that I would use it to do you bodily harm, understand I would not need a DeckPort for that purpose.”

  That made perfect sense to Jason. “Lead on, Ricket. Let’s go find the phase-synthesizer.” They emerged into a slightly smaller corridor, exactly halfway between two circular cul-de-sacs at its opposite ends.

  Ricket led the way, moving off to the right. They came to three separate eight-foot-high doors. Ricket approached one and it dissolved away, allowing them access. Jason followed Ricket inside and quickly realized the compartment was not what they were looking for. This was more like a laboratory, with rows of benches and a myriad of highly advanced test equipment. There was another door to their left and, like the first one, it dissolved away as they came near.

  Jason could immediately tell they’d found it. The area was easily as large as the flight deck on The Lilly. The phase-synthesizer had multiple hatches and ports of varying sizes, some hundreds of feet wide and just as tall. While the phase-synthesizer on The Lilly looked like ad hoc equipment that was more of an add-on afterthought, here everything was integrated and of a much larger scale.

  Ricket stepped to one of the virtual displays, a touchscreen, and seemed to know how to access what he was looking for. Jason was hailed.

  “Go for Captain.”

  “Hey, Cap,” Billy said, “we’ve taken a look at the ship’s tactical capabilities, including any viable weapons.”

  “What have you discovered?”

  “That this is one brute of a ship. Both plasma and laser cannons, big and mean-looking rail-guns, and something else.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, I’m not so sure it falls in the category of a weapon; probably has more to do with propulsion or helm control. Ricket should take a look.”

  “We can do that later. Why don’t you and Orion head back to us. Your HUDs should show you the way.”

  “Aye, Cap.”

  Jason hailed Dira, surprised she hadn’t called in yet. There was no response. He could see her life icon was still active.

  “I’ll be back soon. I’m going to check in on Dira,” Jason told Ricket, and headed out of the compartment. Jogging down the corridor, he kept an eye on her icon, which was still active, but unmoving.

  “Go for Billy, Cap.”

  “Billy, I’m on my way back to Medical. You two meet me there.”

  Jason hit the DeckPort at full stride and exited without slowing. Billy and Orion arrived from the opposite direction and the three of them entered Medical together.

  Dira was not where he’d left her, though her icon showed her still in Medical.

  “Dira?”

  There was a scuffling noise behind the liquid containers, and he noticed Dira’s legs.

  Jason realized Medical was even larger than he’d first noted, seeing that it continued past the six clear containers another ten feet or so. Dira was on the ground—not moving.

  Jason hurried to her side and unlatched her helmet, gently pulling it free. Her eyes fluttered open and she nervously looked around.

  “She okay, Cap?” Orion asked.

  “Yeah, she’s okay. Right, Dira, you okay?”

  “I shouldn't have touched it, I guess.”

  She gestured toward one of the ten-foot-tall glass enclosures. A stepladder was at its side and at its top the enclosure’s lid was askew.

  “There was something in the container; it started moving. It seemed to be trying to communicate. I guess I let curiosity get the best of me. I reached in and touched it.”

  The organism was moving within its enclosure and began to make noises.

&nb
sp; “Is that what you heard? What you thought was a form of communication?”

  Billy stepped over to the towering enclosure and tapped on its surface. In a blink, the organism moved next to Billy, its fifteen or twenty thick tentacle legs constantly moving and probing.

  “Seems to be a cross between an octopus and something else, something definitely otherworldly,” Orion said, making a face. “You actually wanted to touch one of these things, Dira?”

  Dira, with Jason’s help, slowly got to her feet. She shrugged. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Or if I was even thinking. More like I was compelled to touch it.” Right then, the other five enclosures came alive with movement. Startled, Jason, Dira, Billy and Orion jumped back in unison.

  “Shit, they’re all occupied,” Billy said. “They must have been lying flat along the bottom.”

  “And they can change their size,” Orion said, stepping closer.

  All four of them watched. The organisms not only dramatically changed their size, but their shape as well.

  “This one here looks like a baby seal. Kinda cute,” Billy said, back to tapping on the enclosure.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jason warned.

  Dira bent over to retrieve her medical pack. Startled again, Billy was the first to notice, and pointed. “Stand perfectly still, Dira.”

  She froze. Her eyes widened with realization of what had happened.

  “Everyone just stand still while I take a look, “Jason said. “It’s OK, Dira, I’m just going to move around to your back.” Jason slowly moved to Dira’s left and peered around her shoulders. He nodded his head, reached down and picked up her helmet. Slowly, he stepped in close and brought it up in front of her, positioning it so it would slide over her head. The escaped organism shifted and one of its arms extended out above Dira’s right shoulder and probed at the helmet, exploring first around its exterior and then within the helmet’s opening. Two more tentacles reached out and took hold of the helmet. Jason froze, and immediately felt his grip loosening. Unable to hold on to the helmet, he glanced over at Billy. Relieved, Jason saw that Billy had the muzzle of his multi-gun pointing at the creature.

  “Say the word, Cap, and that thing’s fried calamari.”

  Both Jason and Dira’s eyes darted to Billy, unappreciative of his bad joke.

  Startled for the third time, the organism shifted its weight upward on her shoulders. Now, holding the helmet directly over Dira’s head, the multi-armed creature brought it gently down until the helmet seated into the cowling at her suit’s neck. More arms extended, their tapered ends probed until they had found the latching mechanism. With a click, her helmet was secured.

  Chapter 6

  Perhaps even more impressive than the organism replacing Dira’s helmet onto her head was its willingness to relocate itself from Dira’s shoulders, maneuver back across the deck, and work its way up the side of its enclosure.

  They watched as it used thousands of suction-cups, along the posterior of its arms, to pull itself up along the flat surface. At the top, one by one its arms, and then its thick shapeless body, fell into the clear liquid within the enclosure. Then, reaching up with one tentacled arm, it lifted the enclosure’s lid and dragged it back into position, letting it fall into place.

  Jason turned to Dira. “How do you feel? Did you get stung? Did it bite you?” She took her helmet off and checked her scalp, then her neck, with one hand. “Doesn't appear to be anything amiss. And it was more like a shock, anyway.”

  “Let us know the second you notice something. Anything at all. I don’t need to remind you what happened to Morgan back on HAB 12, do I?”

  “I wish you hadn’t mentioned that. Now I’ll be thinking about that all day …”

  “Sorry, I’m just saying—”

  “I know what you’re saying, Jason. I think I’m fine.”

  More noise came from the enclosures. Within four of them the organisms had changed shape. Dira brought a hand up to her mouth; the others simply let their jaws drop. Suspended in the liquid now were four human shapes; shapes that were an exact duplicate of their own bodies. The only exception—these forms were totally naked.

  Billy’s eyebrows shot up in an arc, letting his eyes linger a bit too long on Dira’s twin naked body. Orion was already spinning him around and pushing him out of Medical. Jason pulled himself away and followed the other two. Dira was the last to leave and caught up to Jason in the corridor. He glanced over at her and they locked eyes.

  “Well, I told you Jhardian girls are anatomically different,” she said, and nervously laughed out loud.

  * * *

  They entered the compartment housing the phase-synthesizer. Seeing the device for a second time, Jason was just as impressed by its sheer size as he was the first time. The device had been initiated and now maintained a consistent low-level humming sound. Ricket emerged from behind a console and was startled by their presence.

  “Captain!” he said, excitedly, “This device is quite amazing.”

  “What’s it doing?” Jason asked, seeing something emerge from one of its mid-sized openings.

  “Accessing the database took me some time, but I’ve located the same drone configuration that was dispatched to the five continents.”

  What began to exit from the opening was not what Jason expected. It was a sphere the size of a small automobile, matte black in color, with an irregular surface composed of varying-sized panels and small protrusions.

  As if laying an egg, the phase-synthesizer expelled the spherical drone. The drone hovered a moment before quickly moving in the direction of the bulkhead. There it slowed and lowered itself several feet above the deck’s plate flooring. Small panels moved aside and segmented support struts locked into place. The drone lowered itself the rest of the way down to the deck.

  Ricket returned to the console and called up a virtual 3D model of the drone. He ran through a complicated list of menu items and selected a sub-category.

  “As expected, Captain, once these drones have been fully activated, as those on Earth have been, they work autonomously. No way to deactivate them.”

  “What can we expect when we go up against them on Earth?”

  Ricket continued to scroll until stopping on another group of menu items. He selected the first item and both the virtual drone, as well as its physical counterpart, changed configuration. Weaponry protruded through eight access panels, several of them located on the far side of the drone. Ricket stepped away from the console and approached the sphere. Seeming to track his movements, four separate muzzles moved in unison. Without turning away, Ricket signaled for Jason and the others to join him. Immediately, another panel opened and a stubby, significantly larger gun barrel locked into place with a definitive click.

  Ricket took another step forward, now less than twenty feet from the drone. As if something was internally triggered, translucent light-blue shield segments, overlapping and constantly moving, hovered several feet around the black sphere.

  “Dynamic shielding,” Ricket said. “Very difficult to breech.” He took another step forward and the shield segments repositioned themselves and added new ones, separating itself even more with Ricket’s advance.

  Jason continued to watch Ricket incite the drone to react in different ways. It obviously was a highly intelligent piece of technology, but something wasn’t adding up. Why hadn’t the Caldurians sent other ships to rescue the Minian? Perhaps the better question was, why no retribution?

  “Ricket, is the Minian able to communicate with other vessels, ones that exist on other planes across the multiverses?”

  “I do not believe so, Captain,” Ricket answered, taking another step closer to the drone.

  “Aren’t you afraid of it firing on you, or the thing exploding?” Billy interjected.

  “No, I’ve disabled those functions.”

  “So, in all probability then, the Caldurians are not aware of what has happened to the Minian?” Jason asked.

>   “I do not believe what we accomplished, utilizing phase-shifting as a weapon, would have crossed their minds. We are unique in that we have a Caldurian vessel of our own, The Lilly, that has phase-shift capability. I’ve noticed the Caldurians are overly arrogant and take pride in their unique technologies. To them, the Minian was impregnable; it is their latest, most-advanced vessel. We may still have time before they send another ship to look for her.”

  Jason let that sink in for a moment. But how much time? He turned three hundred and sixty degrees, not looking at anything in particular. “This ship, what’s left of her, may be our best and only defense against them when they do come.”

  Ricket smiled and gestured toward the phase-synthesizer. Jason hadn’t noticed, but numerous items had emerged out of several ports. Some were small, no bigger than a cellphone; others were the size of a minivan. Hover drones, retrieving the items as they appeared, placed them off to the side.

  “I anticipated this, Captain. As I mentioned, this device is quite amazing. Amazing enough to manufacture, replicate, everything required in rebuilding the bridge and other damaged areas of the ship. With the help of the hover drones, she can be completely restored.”

  “Timeframe?”

  “Perhaps a week, maybe less.”

  “What’s your estimate for finding a weakness on the drone we can exploit?”

  “By tomorrow morning. That is if it’s even possible.”

  “Do your best. We’re in a lot of trouble if you can’t,” Jason exclaimed. “Also, you’ll be part of the assault team that’s going to Earth to disable those five drones. I’m not exactly sure what we’ll be running into down there, but I have a feeling we’re in for a wild ride. One that makes what happened to us on HAB 12 seem like a walk in the park in comparison.”

  Billy and Orion looked at each other and smiled. Dira crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe I should sit this one out?”

  “Sorry, we’ll definitely need a medic.”

  “What about Mollie? She’s going to need a lot of TLC over the coming days, perhaps even weeks.”