“It has been suggested we shut down the corridor ourselves as a preemptive measure, and avoid battle entirely. The Hound Dog team assures me it can be done, yet they are against the proposal at this time. General McClure, I would appreciate your thoughts.”
As C.O. of the Sol system, McClure had a vested interest in the corridor and the pros and cons of leaving it open.
“As you know, the investigation of the various corridors was just beginning when the scouts came through yesterday. Given the heightened state of security, and the precautions taken by the team, we believe it is the perfect time to complete the study of the rest of the corridors as originally planned. It has been generally agreed we have a short window of time before the enemy attacks, and we need to know where the other corridors lead before any decision is made to close the anomaly permanently. Hound Dog is confident they can have all the preliminary scans done by the end of the day, and will provide a detailed report by this time tomorrow, if not sooner.”
“The scans may reveal important information about previously unknown regions of space which could be of great benefit to the Alliance. At the very least, it will tell us where else the enemy can travel, and make sure it does not compromise our security elsewhere. The Alliance worlds are spread out all over the galaxy, and we would be remiss in our duty not to make sure this aggressor does not have an entry point in the regions of space we already claim.”
“If we discover nothing of value or any security risks through the other corridors, we have the capability of shutting down the number seven corridor. Such a thing has never been attempted before, and there is a risk of destabilizing the entire corridor network, which would render it useless; not only here, but at both ends of every terminus. If ordered, we will do so, but we are asking for just a little more time first.”
Perry came to a quick decision and announced it before they continued.
“Unless anyone has strong objections, I believe the Hound Dog team should be allowed to complete their initial scans of each corridor. Once we have the information, we will be able to make a more intelligent decision on how to proceed. Meanwhile, I want your initial thoughts on how we should respond to an enemy incursion. I have my own ideas, of course, but I want to hear from you first. All ideas are on the table.”
####
While the senior tacticians hashed out a battle plan, Hound Dog returned to the task of investigating each of the corridors. Time was not on their side, but everything was in place and the team was experienced enough to feel confident. Corridors one and two were investigated yesterday, and they already knew where number seven would take them. Duran still hoped the buoy he sent through survived and would return, but without permission, the team was not allowed to disturb number seven. It was to their advantage to give the enemy the impression they knew nothing about how to use the corridor system, so sending through a buoy, even in stealth mode, was too risky at the moment.
Once all stations acknowledged their readiness, a buoy slipped over the threshold of corridor number three and vanished. The other two buoys took between ten and fifteen minutes to gather information and return, but both of those systems contained little of interest. If the corridor led to someplace more complex, or the buoy experienced difficulty fixing its position, it could take much longer. The team waited quietly, focused on their instruments, but after almost twenty minutes they were beginning to fidget. With relief, Jessa finally made an announcement.
“Incoming transit on corridor number three.”
The download revealed an unusual trinary star system, populated with four molten planetoids in the inner system. Its stellar location was only tentative, which explained why the buoy was delayed. If there was time later on, a group of buoys would be sent back through to make a definite determination.
The buoy for corridor four was dispatched, and after a shorter wait it returned with something a little more interesting. A very old star in its death throes played host to six planets and planetoids; each of them gleaming ice cubes in space and utterly devoid of life. In their day, it was likely one or more of them boasted robust ecosystems, and it would be worth sending a science team to investigate further if time permitted. The information was logged, and the team moved on to corridor five. Within five minutes, Jessa startled everyone with an announcement.
“Incoming transit on corridor number five.”
When it was in the clear, it began broadcasting a unique signal the team never expected to hear. Jessa confirmed it.
“We have a priority one alert on corridor five, Lieutenant. Human life forms detected. I repeat, human life forms have been detected!”
Duran was just as surprised as everyone else, but they had a job to do.
“All right everyone, we’re going to break down this information just like all the others. Stay focused, and report the minute you have something definite.”
Human and Vingah alike began poring over the data in an attempt to figure out exactly what the buoy found. If this information was correct, the system was located in the general vicinity of the Vingah homeworld of Khrusallis.
“Councilor Threen, you are much more familiar with this region of space. Can you confirm this location?”
The Vingah focused attention on their instruments, checking and rechecking the data brought back by the buoy. After several minutes, Threen responded.
The location is confirmed, Lieutenant. The terminus of corridor five may be found on the outer boundaries of a sector relatively close to Khrusallis. The planet is unknown to us, as we have never performed detailed studies of this particular area.
With the location nailed down, they turned their focus to the indications of life. With nothing else of interest to investigate, the buoy focused its sensors on a single planet in the inner system. Based on the information, it was eerily earth-like in almost every way. Mountainous, wet, bursting with life, and orbiting a sun similar to Sol.
In the north central region of a huge equatorial continent, the buoy picked up signs of human life. Duran was confused. How could this be? All the human occupied planets in the galaxy were accounted for, so if the scan data was accurate, it would be anyone’s guess how they got there – but now was not the time for guesses. It was pointless to report the finding without confirmation, which meant the buoy was going to be sent back.
Duran consulted quickly with his colleagues, and then instructed the nearest Sentinel to perform a diagnostic scan on the number five buoy in order to rule out any kind of malfunction. The results showed it was performing normally, with no anomalous readings. Next, he adjusted its programming to locate and gather data on the human life forms found earlier. What he really wanted to do was scan the entire planet, but he would need to send several Sentinels, requiring permission from a higher authority.
If the earlier findings were confirmed, he was confident a full search would be authorized, but first things first. His last set of instructions to the buoy were to remain in stealth mode and to do a cursory scan for any ships or artificial satellites in orbit. If there was an enemy presence, they would certainly want to know about it. With this buoy’s mission restricted to a narrow focus, it would enable his team to get the information they needed much faster.
The buoy was sent through corridor number five without further delay, and the team gave a collective sigh of relief. Nervous chatter belied their anxiety, and Duran got up to consult privately with Threen. He only made it a few steps when the alarms began to wail. Jessa’s voice cut through the noise.
“Incoming transit on corridor seven! Repeat, transit on corridor seven.”
Duran reached for the all-system alert but was cut off just in time by Jessa’s next statement.
“Wait Lieutenant! It’s one of ours. Has to be the number seven buoy.”
Two seconds later the buoy slipped through the corridor into Sol space with alarms blaring. Duran began shouting orders.
“Jessa! Is anything else coming through number seven?”
She res
ponded immediately without taking looking up from her datascreen.
“No, sir. We have an urgent mission download request from the buoy, and another human life form detection alert.”
Another one? Where did these people come from, and why were they living on two different planets associated with the enemy? Nothing was making sense right now, but the other information the buoy contained was actually more important. More orders followed.
“Jessa, quiet those alarms so I can think. I want you to stay focused on transits from numbers five and seven. Thompson - transfer the download to Councilor Threen’s datascreen and make sure it’s in priority order. Send a message to General McClure - the number seven buoy has returned, and we will be contacting him shortly with preliminary data.”
The information arrived just as Duran reached Threen’s console, and he reminded himself to breathe as he glanced over it. If ever there was a mixed bag of good news and bad, this was it. With Threen’s assistance, they created a summary of the most salient points, perfect for the report he would be asked to present. Before he could open a comm channel to General McClure, Jessa’s voice cut through the air once more.
“Incoming transit on corridor five!”
When the data was downloaded, Duran was just as surprised as everyone else. Now there was an additional point to add to his summary, and it was a doozey. Normally, a lowly Lieutenant would never dream of interrupting an Admiral’s meeting, but the information gathered in the last few minutes was a game changer. He grabbed the data chip and prepared himself for transit back to Guardian.
“Thompson, alert General McClure I will be arriving momentarily and urgently request a meeting.”
Hound Dog fulfilled and surpassed its original purpose, and Lieutenant Harley Duran was inordinately pleased to be part of it.
####
Hunter Prescott was waiting for Duran outside McClure’s office.
“Hello Lieutenant. Admiral Perry and the others are waiting for you in the conference room. If you will follow me, please.”
The walk was short and neither of them said anything as they made their way down the featureless corridor. Prescott entered his passcode into the security keypad next to the door, and stepped back to allow Duran to walk through without following. Conversation ceased by the time the door closed. McClure stood and approached him.
“I take it the information you have is urgent, Lieutenant. Please join us.”
With all eyes on him, Duran approached one of the open spaces at the table, but remained standing. With a nod from Admiral Perry, he began.
“During yesterday’s enemy incursion, I sent a buoy through the corridor in an attempt to gather more information. Minutes ago, the buoy returned, and I brought along the complete download for your examination.”
He handed the data chip to McClure and continued.
“This chip contains the raw data from the hours spent in the enemy system. As instructed, it first ascertained the location of their home world, which means we know exactly where they are and how to find them. It then made a wide sweep of the system and planet, gathering data on their fleet, population, and general technology. By all appearances, the enemy fleet is antiquated and in disarray.”
“There is concentrated activity near the main orbital shipyard, where scores of ships are moored, and seem to have been inactive for some time. None were moving under their own power, except a few small fighters and scout ships. Their technological base appears to be far behind our own, though they may not be aware of it. What we did not expect, was to find a small number of human females living on their homeworld.”
Startled exclamations erupted all around the table, with incredulous looks pointed in his direction. Duran noticed Perry simply arched an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. He cleared his throat, regaining their attention.
“There is more, however. Our investigation of the corridors revealed an earth like planet at the termination of number five. We have confirmed the presence of over one hundred human males, and one enemy life form, living in primitive conditions on an otherwise empty planet. I can only speculate they represent defense forces which were captured when Earth was destroyed. Rescuing the men should be relatively easy, but the women will be more difficult to extract, given their location at the heart of their largest city.”
While the rest of the group began talking excitedly among themselves, Perry remained very still, eyes closed for several moments. With a gentle rap on the tabletop, the others quieted to allow him to speak.
“This is extraordinary news, Lieutenant, and quite unexpected. We will, of course, need to review the data for ourselves before making further plans. While we examine the records, I want you to resume Hound Dog’s mission and complete the initial assessment of every corridor. I look forward to receiving your complete report as soon as possible. If we need your input in the meantime, you will be contacted. I wish to commend your foresight in sending the buoy, and congratulate your team for their excellent work. You may have just handed us the very tools we needed to bring this situation to a favorable conclusion. Until further notice, this information is classified. Thank you again Lieutenant. You are dismissed.”
Duran nodded at Perry, and caught McClure giving him a surreptitious thumbs up as he turned to leave the room.
####
While Hound Dog continued to investigate the remaining corridors, Perry, Moreland, Arlington, and McClure divided the data into more manageable pieces. It was late afternoon before they met together as a group once more, but only after Prescott arranged a working supper for them. A report from Duran reached them earlier in the day, explaining the remainder of the corridors led to nothing of strategic interest. His team was instructed to temporarily stand down from collecting new data, and await new orders. The atmosphere in the conference room was tense, with even more unanswered questions than before. Perry wasted no time getting down to business.
“General Moreland, I would like to hear your assessment of the enemy fleet.”
Moreland brought the large wall datascreen to life with several images.
“As Lieutenant Duran surmised, the majority of their fleet was mothballed at some point in the past and is only now being reactivated. Apparently, they felt secure enough after destroying Earth to stand down most of their vessels. This works to our advantage in several ways. It will take them some time to reactivate a fleet of that size, giving us some breathing room to plan and prepare before they launch an attack. It also means those ships will almost certainly be operated by inexperienced or extremely rusty crews. This will limit what type of offensive action may be brought to bear against us, which effectively gives us the upper hand.”
“We not only have superior technology and ships, but we have fully trained and experienced crews. The downside of this is they must be pursuing this course of action out of desperation. Without more information, we cannot know exactly what they hope to accomplish, though it seems clear they believe their efforts will somehow grant them victory. The last advantage I would like to point out has to do with their frantic preparations. While they are focused on preparing to attack us, we have the opportunity to investigate both planets and possibly rescue the prisoners without a single shot being fired.”
Heads nodded in agreement around the table, and Perry leaned forward with a neutral expression.
“I find it intriguing our enemy seems to believe we cannot or will not slip through the corridor and attack them. It was obvious they have no fixed fortifications or battleships to guard the corridor, and of course they have no idea we could simply use our fold space drives and surround their entire system if we so desired. Since we have no need of using the corridor, I suggest we leave them in the dark completely, and let them continue thinking they are safe on their end of the terminus.”
“One of our first moves must be to send in a large number of stealthed buoys to keep tabs on their activity. Hound Dog is already set up for this type of mission, and I believe they can form the c
ore of our information network behind enemy lines. General McClure, make the arrangements and let me know what additional resources or personnel you may need.”
McClure acknowledged him with a curt nod, and Perry continued.
“As were all of you, I was most disturbed to learn of the presence of human captives on both of the worlds under enemy control. Until we learn otherwise, I must assume, as has already been suggested, they were taken prisoner during the battle decades ago. I am somewhat mystified these people were allowed to live, given the complete destruction of Earth’s population. Something about the situation makes me uneasy, and I am at a loss to resolve it without further information. General Arlington, your group took a closer look at the data, and I would appreciate hearing your conclusions.”
Arlington also made use of the datascreen, and the images were striking.
“These were taken on the planet at the corridor five terminus. This appears to be a well hidden cave system the men are using as a home base. The buoy was only allowed passive scans, so the data is not as complete as we might wish. In the images here, the men can be seen in what looks to be a hunting party. Though I’m not sure how this is possible, the animal they are carrying is a white tailed deer. More surprising, however, is the presence of one of our enemy in their midst. It is obvious they work and live together peaceably, and we have no plausible explanation for it at this time.”
Exploration (Galactic Neighborhood Book 3) Page 12