Arkroid’s eyes were burning.
»This is the most unbelievable and horrible thing, I’ve ever heard. What a nightmare.«
»This event must have occurred suddenly, surprising everybody on the planet,« Nautilus added. »Chances that somebody survived are very slim. The sun wasn’t affected that hard. It seems that the dimensional, overlapping forces are severe, but not always upsetting an entire system. If the sun’s gravitational lines of force also would have reversed, then this sun would now be a super nova. This entire sector would be filled with ultra-hot plasma – with us in the middle.«
Pi swallowed.
»Maybe you understand me better now, Arkroid. What you’ve witnessed so far, here in Scutum-Crux, is just the prelude to what we can anticipate. These phenomena will increase exponentially during the Great Tremor,« Kuster~Laap predicted.
›Entire star clusters will turn into super novae,‹ Arkroid thought. ›Even if the galactic civilizations were able to defend themselves, the temporal and dimensional side effects would paralyze them, making it easy for the Looters.‹
»We need to see if somebody is still alive on Dryllion,« Arkroid demanded. »Maybe some Traumonans survived this ordeal, against the odds. They must have had bunkers down there. The thought alone that there might be survivors floating in space, with limited oxygen supply, is almost unbearable, not to mention people in stranded spaceships. It cannot be that an entire civilization was wiped out and …«
»… the Traumonans were ocean dwellers,« Kuster~Laap interjected. »The cities on the surface were built by space-traders, space-farers and tourist agencies. As far as I know, they didn’t build any underwater cities. Their entire living environment is now orbiting the dead planet as ice crystals and fragments.«
Arkroid gnawed on his lower lip. Sadness swept over his face.
»Attention!« Nautilus announced. »My sensors have detected an unknown spaceship. It was hiding inside the debris ring and is accelerating away from us.«
»Why are they flying away?« Voit Masgur asked. »We didn’t give them a reason.«
»The unknown crew will not reply to my contact attempts, they’re accelerating,« Nautilus announced.
Arkroid and Pi looked at each other.
»Execute intercept maneuver Nautilus! If we can’t catch them then follow them through tachyon space. Maybe they can tell us more.«
»No problem, Toiber. I’ll follow them easily.«
Nautilus accelerated.
The distance to the other ship shrunk fast. The tactical holo displayed the ships conical shape. It was nearly cylindrical.
›Almost looks like an old rocket,‹ Arkroid thought.
»Is this a Traumonan ship,« Herimos inquired. »Maybe they think that we caused the catastrophe and are fleeing from us.«
»The Traumonans did not venture into space. They could be survivors of one of the many trade missions. They could also be pirates or pillagers,« Kuster~Laap replied.
»Pillagers? Are you saying that there are people who would take advantage of this catastrophe, plundering, profiteering?«
»Certainly, Maya Ivanova. Chaos and death brings out the worst in people. They keep accelerating and have established a tachyon field, strong enough to transfer into tachyon space.«
»Follow them!«
Arkroid looked at Dryllion from afar.
›This is … a nightmare,‹ he thought bitterly and closed his eyes.
Let that be a lesson
The pursuit of the spaceship had lasted over two hours. Neither Kuster~Laap nor Nautilus was able to identify the ship. The crew performed several evasive maneuvers, as Nautilus kept on their heels.
»The unknown ship is getting ready for re-entry. Either they are giving up or they have arrived at their destination.«
»Follow them with activated disguise shields,« Arkroid ordered. »We don’t know what awaits us. Do you have an idea about our galactic location?«
»The word idea is a global expression, Toiber. I know exactly, to the lightsecond, where we are. Our exit point is exactly one hundred thirty four point two lightyears away from Dryllion. We’re still in Scutum-Crux, but closer to the galactic core.«
»Alright, alright. Sorry Nautilus.«
»A small jump, considering the expanse of this space sector,« Pi summarized.
Kuster~Laap turned toward Pi and said, »Exactly, we’re still inside the danger zone and can expect the same phenomena as in the Traumonan system.«
A short, beeping alert sounded as the ship exited tachyon space. The strange ship wasn’t far away, but now, they weren’t alone.
»Attention! I’m counting a fleet of ships of all sizes before us. The fugitive ship is flying toward the fleet and is slowing down. They’re all leaving the Milky Way main plain in a long stretched formation. The target ship is trying to escape among the other ships.«
Arkroid strained his eyes.
›What kind of fleet is this?‹
Arkroid’s team began cross-analyzing the data received from the ship’s sensors and scanners.
Similar looking ships, as the one they had followed, formed clusters and took position within the fleet’s structure. Larger units flanked smaller ones, oriented toward the center of the convoy. The fleet’s movement coordinated with synchronized individual ship maneuvers.
»The pattern of movement is unfamiliar. The fleet follows the lead of a large unit. I detect strong energy power plants and charged weapon systems. This large ship is forming the fleet’s frontal cone, together with ten other, smaller units. The fleet is about two astronomical units long. The tail end consists of older ships with weak propulsion systems. Farther away are many ships trying to catch up to the fleet.«
›They’re trying to escape from this sector and don’t care much about the ships which can’t keep up,‹ Arkroid thought.
Inspecting the data on her holo, »The fleet’s flight vector points to the Great Magellanic Cloud. They want to leave the Milky Way?« Vasina proposed.
»This may be one of many refugee convoys. They are usually headed by leader ships. The commanders of these leader units have strong characters. These fleets continually grow in size as other smaller groups and contingents join them,« Kuster~Laap explained.
»Refugees?« Maya asked.
»I’m receiving a distress call,« Nautilus announced. »A ship at the tail end of the fleet needs help. It’s under a pirate attack.«
»Any reaction by the fleet? Are there other ships helping?«
»Negative, Herimos, the fleet continues its flight, no reaction from there,« Nautilus proclaimed.
›They only look after themselves,‹ Arkroid thought shaking his head.
»Nautilus, change your hull to a battle ship, maybe we can scare these pirates away. Deactivate disguise shields and fly toward them at high speed.«
»You’re getting involved?« Kuster~Laap frowned. »This sector is filled with tragedy and death. We’ll just waste our energy and time if we interfere with all the unfolding dramas. Let’s fly to the Dimensional Mirror.«
»I don’t know what everybody else is thinking, but I do not ignore distress calls,« Arkroid said.
Nautilus deactivated the disguise shields and flew at high speed to the location of the distress call. Some ships, caught off guard by Nautilus, flew evasive maneuvers to get out of the way.
›Safety in numbers. Like a big school of fish,‹ Arkroid drew a parallel.
»I’m simulating weapons charging,« Nautilus announced, while flying toward the fleet’s tail. »Perhaps we can deceive them.«
»Simulating? Why’s that? Do we not have weapons on board this ship?« Tranos queried sternly.
»Weapons are against the Cosmic Moral Code!« Nautilus replied loudly.
Moments later, the distressed ship appeared on the individual holos. The ship had fallen behind the fleet, its propulsion system were running intermittently. Several ships were encircling the distressed unit and flew attack courses from different directions. The
y didn’t seem impressed by the Nautilus.
Moments later, another call, via conventional frequencies. Nautilus translated the call.
»This is the commander of the Crysema, a trade ship of the Hilber Coalition. We’re under attack from pirate ships. We need assistance!«
Toiber Arkroid watched the tactical holo and said, »This is Union cruiser Nautilus, we’re on our way to assist you.«
»Which union do you belong to?« the other commander asked.
The attackers encircled the Crysema tighter and tighter. The distress calls became more and more urgent.
»They’re going to kill us, we will all die!« the ship’s commander screamed.
»They haven’t fired a single shot yet,« Maya analyzed. »Something isn’t kosher.«
»I just found a discrepancy with the ships propulsion system. I cannot detect any defects.«
The attacking ships all changed course and joined the distressed ship, firing at Nautilus.
Tranos jumped from his seat.
»A trap! They’re all pirates. They want to disable us and take over this ship.«
Plasma spheres shot toward Nautilus, but the ship jumped into tachyon space and re-entered behind the pirates with disguise shields re-activated.
Arkroid sighed.
»Fool me once … I guess we can’t trust anybody.«
Selection
Four battle ships appeared out of nowhere and assumed attack formation. The pirates had no chance at all. Their flight vectors were blocked. One ship after another exploded under concentrated plasma fire from the battle ships. Energy clouds drifted through space and extinguished after a couple of seconds. The four battle ships re-grouped and took the Nautilus in the middle. The Techno-Ferry was in danger, these ships commanders were no beginners.
Arkroid checked the disguise shields, they still held, but every move they made was followed by battle ships’ plasma cannons.
A strong voice came over the radio, »This is Logos, the Krolakan Supreme Commander. We know where you are and demand an identification, deactivate your disguise shields at once or we will destroy your ship within cloks.«
›How do they know where we are?‹ Arkroid communicated with Nautilus. ›I thought your disguise shields were perfect. Are they bluffing?‹
›Nothing is perfect in the universe, Toiber. My disguise technology is very advanced. All four ships have aimed their weapons at my body. They know exactly where we are. It will be very difficult for me to dodge their plasma charges at close range.‹
›That’s what I needed to know. Deactivate the disguise fields since they know where we are anyway. I don’t want to provoke this Logos any further. Do you know the Krolakans? Have you encountered these types of ships before?‹
Arkroid closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders.
It took a moment until Nautilus replied, ›My archives do not contain any information about these ships. The universe is massive; I do not possess all information.‹
›It’s okay, Nautilus,‹ Arkroid responded and opened his eyes. He turned toward Kuster~Laap.
»Who could they be, any ideas?«
Kuster~Laap strained his facial muscles searching his memories.
»I’m not very familiar with these convoys. This could well be the convoy leader’s body guards. Many times, battle ships accompany the convoys to keep order. I am actually surprised that they reacted to this little skirmish at the tail end of the fleet.«
»So, you don’t know who this is?«
Kuster~Laap didn’t answer.
»I don’t know what they mean with cloks, but we should answer their call,« Vasina strongly suggested.
Arkroid nodded.
»Okay, Nautilus let’s talk to them.« He received the ready signal on his terminal and said, »This is Toiber Arkroid of the Solar Union speaking. We are on a research journey. Thank you for your help against the pirates.«
Arkroid imagined that Logos didn’t know the Solar Union, but he didn’t give a damn.
»You didn’t need our help,« Logos replied. »We noticed your arrival and tracked your movements. We’ve detected ships like yours on occasion, but never had contact with them until today.«
The command central crew looked at one another.
›What does he mean? Are there more ships like you active?‹ Arkroid asked Nautilus.
›I’m certainly not the only Techno-Ferry. I’m not aware that other Techno-Clerics are currently operating outside Techno-Center.‹
»Our caravan leader wants to talk to you,« Logos said. »We have orders to escort you to our lead ship, the Gugol.«
Pi clenched his teeth. Arkroid signaled him to be calm.
»No problem, we agree to a meeting. We’ll follow your lead.«
With a contemptuous huffing sound, the stranger closed the comm-link.
Arkroid commanded Nautilus to follow the lead battle ship and don’t break out of formation.
»I do not understand what you want to achieve, Arkroid,« Kuster~Laap wondered. »I would have ignored them and left this sector at once. These caravan leaders are strange characters. You can never know what they are up to and should never interfere with their business.«
»At least they’re leading refugee ships out of the danger zone,« Herimos rebutted. »I wonder where all these ships are flying, considering that these fleets have been assembled for thousands of years.«
»They lead them to safe regions in the galaxy,« Kuster~Laap said.
›Every time he’s talked like that, he doesn’t really know,‹ Arkroid thought. ›Who knows what’s happening to these refugees? I think it’s high time someone were to find out.‹
Nautilus didn’t answer Arkroid’s train of thought and followed the battle ships. There was plenty of time during the escort maneuver to gain information about the convoy.
The largest ship concentration, with more than one hundred ships, was in the middle of the convoy. Each ship seemed to belong to a different nation. The entire convoy or caravan, as the strangers had called it, stretched like a snake, slithering through the galaxy.
›They’re running for their lives, but that doesn’t rule out that many were left behind on their worlds. It’s a major task to evacuate an entire population of a planet. Only a couple of galactic nations would probably have the capacity for such an undertaking,‹ Arkroid thought. ›Maybe they applied some sort of selection or they are the upper echelons of these doomed societies. Maybe they were selected arbitrarily.‹
Arkroid turned around with his commander’s seat scratching his chin. He addressed Kuster~Laap, »How are these caravans assembled and who coordinates them?«
»I told you already, we don’t know much about these caravans and rather concentrate on our missions. All we know is that the caravan leaders are from different nations. These caravans are preceded by the Caravan Scouts who install tachyon beacons that mark extremely endangered sectors and solar systems. The scouts are very accurate in their predictions and warn the people about phenomena as we have observed in the Traumonan system. The tachyon beacons serve as gathering points where these caravans assemble. The lead ships await the refugee ships there, also near cosmic beacons such as pulsars or other significant stars. Everybody who has the means will then join them.«
»Interesting. What happens to civilizations who cannot join them because of their technological standings? I can imagine that there’re many civilization, not capable of detecting these tachyon beacons. We Humans weren’t able to detect them either until recently.«
Kuster~Laap didn’t answer, he just looked at Arkroid.
›No answer eh, sneaky devil,‹ Arkroid thought.
»What are the criteria by which the scouts select an endangered sector or system?«
»The scouts are specialized. Some people say that they have the ability to sense the danger. Others have mentioned that the scouts possess a technology which enables them to detect imminent overlapping sectors,« Kuster~Laap replied readily.
›Maybe these sco
uts have developed a technology which enables them to accurately predict when the parasite galaxy will fully emerge. They might just have a better method than the Chiropters,‹ Arkroid considered.
»I can imagine that the Caravan Scouts are valuable allies. Did the Chiropters ever consider working with them?«
Emotionless, Kuster~Laap looked at Arkroid.
»They always avoided a contact with us.«
»I don’t know what to think of these beings,« Voit Masgur worried. »They seem to possess some sort of early warning system, but don’t share it with the inhabitants of this spiral arm. They’re installing these beacons, warn the people, but don’t do anything to evacuate them?«
»Only if you can help yourself, you’ll find salvation,« Tranos interjected, reminding Arkroid of a similar phrase from the Christian Bible. »This may be morally questionable, but it is perhaps the only way for them to provide some sort of assistance. If we consider the number of affected planets ...« Tranos paused focusing his attention on the holo, he pointed at several blips, »… there’re several hundred different species gathered here. There’re just not enough spaceships available to evacuate entire planets. They must have no other choice but to select the passengers.«
»That’s why the Traumonans had to die, they didn’t possess spaceships,« Maya concluded. »That sucks!«
That’s what I like
The lead ship was gigantic in comparison to the other convoy ships. The Gugol, as Logo’s called it, was shaped like a lens with a diameter of about one thousand meters. The hull was symmetrically formed with sloped sections and intersecting cuts, resembling a skillfully cut and polished diamond. It led a convoy of smaller ships.
NEBULAR Collection 5 - Panic in the Galaxy: Episodes 22 - 26 Page 4