Provider Prime: Alien Legacy

by John Vassar

  ‘Be still,’ said Rayna. ‘It was an accident. A twist of fate.’

  He didn’t know, or care, whether she had spoken the words out loud.

  ‘You heard Agent Soames. It was the blast that killed them, not you. If the rescue ship had steered a few degrees left or right they might have made it.’

  Mitchell grabbed her shoulders and looked into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life. ‘I left them there. Paralysed on the surface. They couldn’t even run.’

  Rayna pulled him close again. ‘It was just… bad luck,’ she said. ‘Agent Charlis will feel the same as you once he knows. He made the decision where to detonate that bomb. Neither of you could have known.’

  Mitchell said nothing. Rayna felt the rage within him and said, ‘I know, my love, but it will pass. Don’t let your hate hide your humanity.’

  ‘How can you be so forgiving? After what Thorne did to you?’

  Rayna shrugged. ‘At the end of the day all he did was kidnap me. It was that other creep that scared me more. But he still didn’t deserve what happened to him...’

  ‘I think that’s being kind,’ Mitchell said. ‘We have no idea what was going on at that base and no idea what has happened to all those people. For all we know-’

  ‘We are here, Lee Mitchell. There have been significant developments.’

  Rayna’s face lit up with delight. ‘I can hear them! Lee, I can hear them talking to you!’

  Mitchell placed a finger on his lips and frowned at her.

  “Activity from Thorne?” he asked the SenANNs.

  ‘We are referring to the arrival of the Vis’haani vessel.’

  “Just the one ship?”

  ‘Affirmative.’

  “When did they arrive?”

  ‘Lunar orbit was achieved twelve minutes and nine seconds ago. The commander has made contact with Roderick Deucalion Thorne and confirmed that this being is indeed from the planet Vis’haan. However, they have encountered a significant problem. The emissary does not believe that he was sent here by mistake. He is convinced that his mission has always been to prepare for a Vis’haani invasion.’

  “How do we know he isn’t right?”

  ‘We do not know that for certain, Lee Mitchell. It is beyond Our ability to make an accurate prediction. However, We… trust the Vis’haani commander. Their technology has allowed Us to achieve a permanent link to the vessel, and he has allowed Us access to their memory core. We believe that data is not being withheld or falsified. We also believe that time is critical. Commander Ga’naal has indicated that their ability to contain their emissary without resorting to violent extremes may be limited.’

  “I don’t have a problem with violent extremes,” Mitchell responded, truthfully.

  ‘We are aware of the news that you have received. We understand your sadness at the loss of the two personnel from Hirayama-Y Survey Base.’

  ‘I suspect that you acknowledge it rather than understand it.”

  ‘Still you do not accept Us for who We are, Lee Mitchell. We are the same, but We are different.’

  Mitchell didn’t feel he had to explain himself any further.

  ‘We are in the process of interfacing with Sub-Commander Charlis. We are recommending that he allow you to be the liaison with the Vis’haani, as We are able to provide instantaneous translation through Our mutual link. Please wait while We confirm acceptance. Sub-Commander Charlis is inexperienced in the use of a SenANN interface.’

  Mitchell’s stomach made him aware of the consequences of the SenANNs words. He was on the brink of physically meeting beings from another world. He thought of the images of the Vis’haani the SenANNs had showed him earlier.

  “They looked… like I expected them to look.” Mitchell’s unguarded thought brought a tug on his sleeve.

  “Let me see them,” whispered Rayna.

  Not sure whether her voice was in his ear or his head, Mitchell squeezed her arm as a gentle rebuff.

  ‘Sub-Commander Charlis has agreed to Our suggestion. He has given Us permission to contact the Vis’haani commander.’

  “So, my first ambassadorial duty will not be between the SenANNs and the human race. It will be between Earth and Vis’haan.”

  ‘That is correct, Lee Mitchell. We predict that this will be the dawn of a new age for all.’

  “Let’s hope it lasts longer than the time taken for a full invasion fleet to arrive from Fornax 2.”

  ‘As We have stated, their emissary aside, We do not believe that the Vis’haani have hostile intent.’

  Mitchell stood and walked to what passed for a vista panel at Lomonosov, reinforced so much that it looked stronger than the surrounding wall. The Control Centre observation room they had been given overlooked the penal centre, sunk deep into Lomonosov’s southernmost sub-crater. On their approach, Charlis had given Mitchell some background intel on the design, which was, of course, heavily SenANN-influenced. The Control Centre looked like a vacation complex, a shallow arc atop the main crater rim. Facing the penal centre were three formidable laser turrets and the most sophisticated monitoring and scanning systems in existence. Underneath it sat the FedStat garrison and the main hangars, home of the cruisers and rescue vessels now at T-1. The penal centre itself was something else. A giant geodesic dome, opaque and with a faint green sheen that Charlis had explained was due to the interaction of the re-circulating shield frequencies with the ambient sunlight. There were no obvious portals or vista screens. The building took up the entire sub-crater and, impossibly, looked more intimidating than the 3Ds Mitchell had been threatened with as a kid. But for now, it was the safest place lunar-side and Mitchell was glad that Rayna was a twenty-minute skimmer flight away from events at Tsiolkovsky.

  Charlis appeared at the portal, looking like he’d been on a drinking session with Harry Doyle. The SenANN interface was obviously not something to be taken lightly. His tone was as serious as his expression. ‘We have a go to meet the Vis’haani. For the moment I’m going to play it the SenANNs’ way. Which may mean I’ll be spending a whole lot more time in this crater than I’d planned once the High Council realise what I’ve done.’

  Mitchell said, ‘The SenANNs already told me. For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. Has Agent Soames spoken to you?’

  ‘Yes. I’m sorry. My instructions to the squadron commander were to detonate the CYF at a specific radius from Hirayama. I didn’t specify the direction...’

  Mitchell nodded slowly. ‘Gem was worried about her husband. At least they’re together now. Wherever the hell that is.’

  ‘We have a job to do, Mitchell. The Vis’haani are sending a cloaked scout craft to collect us in five minutes. We need to be suited up at Hangar Bay 7.’

  ‘Okay. Give a minute.’

  Rayna Ash had her arms around his waist before Charlis had left the room. He wished he wasn’t wearing a cam-suit.

  ‘Be careful,’ she said. ‘And be nice. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but something tells me these creatures are being truthful.’

  ‘Let’s hope so,’ said Mitchell.

  Because they could squash us like insects if they wanted to.

  Mitchell and Charlis stood side by side in the empty Lomonosov Hangar Bay 7. At the sub-commander’s instruction, the area had been cleared of personnel and all security monitoring encrypted to Level 10. Both cam-suited men remained visible on the advice of the SenANNs, who intimated that this would demonstrate trust. Mitchell was finding their new grasp of the English language somewhat disturbing. They were becoming less machine-like by the second.

  ‘The ETA of the Vis’haani vessel is thirty seconds precisely, Lee Mitchell. As discussed, the vessel will remain cloaked at all times.’

  “Good. Will Sub-Commander Charlis be able to understand my dialogue with the Vis’haani?”

  ‘We have established a Level 10 SE coms link with the Operations Centre at Sat-1. This will allow Sub-Commander Charlis to receive the same translation as yourse
lf via his neural link. However, he will be unable to respond to the Vis’haani unless he does so through yourself.’

  “Can you connect me directly to Charlis? With their tec, it’ll be odds-on the Vis’haani can pick up a comlink. It would be useful to talk privately…”

  ‘Yes, Lee Mitchell. Using the SE coms link, We can simulate the connection method used by an active Delere Secos agent. We will inform Sub-Commander Charlis of the arrangement.’

  “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”

  ‘That is an unexpected response. Are there circumstances that We are unaware of?’

  “Just a private joke.”

  Right on time, Mitchell saw an incoming connection request from Agent 8172-5. The familiarity of the red digits snapped him back to a simpler time. A time of human frailty, of a solid structure he could hang his life from. A time of comradery. He found himself on the edge of tears, but quelled them quickly. “Sub-Commander Charlis, I assume?”

  “The same. Good thinking with this link. Could prove very useful.”

  “Agreed. Nice to have someone other than the SenANNs in my head, too.”

  “In your head? You mean you don’t speak to them out loud?”

  Mitchell turned to face Charlis. “Welcome to my world.”

  “That’s… just wrong,” said Charlis. “I think I’ll stick to the regulation method.”

  “It’s not like I have any choice.”

  Charlis’s dark eyes wrinkled as he acknowledged Mitchell’s situation, but soon became serious again. “You do understand we have a serious security issue with Rayna Ash? She is the only Populus citizen aware of First Contact with Vis’haan.”

  “Very aware, and so is she. Rayna understands the importance of total secrecy. We’ve discussed it in detail.”

  “And you? You know she may have to be processed once this is all over?”

  “Yes,” replied Mitchell.

  ‘The Vis’haani shuttle has arrived, Lee Mitchell.’

  They watched as a portal-shaped shaft of light beamed out in front of them. A translucent walkway arced outwards and dropped the two metres or so to the hangar floor. No-one emerged to greet them. Instead, they heard a voice through their neural links. It spoke English, but with an timbre that sounded like nothing else on Earth.

  “Welcome. Please enter the vehicle. I will be honoured to escort you to Commander Ga’naal.”

  “Thank you,” said Mitchell, to no-one except Charlis and the SenANNs.

  Aware of this, they prompted him. ‘The Vis’haani will be unable to communicate with you unless you set your cam-suit to external comlink mode.’

  “Shit…” Mitchell hastily changed the setting. “Thank you. We will be honoured to meet him.”

  “Nice start,” said Charlis.

  They stepped onto the walkway, Mitchell desperate to know what the ship actually looked like. Once through what appeared to be an atmospheric barrier, the single Vis’haani pilot turned to face them. Mitchell stopped in his tracks and simply stared.

  Standing right in front of him was an alien.

  48

  “Mitchell.”

  Lee Mitchell looked in wonder at creature. They had seemed strangely familiar over the SenANNs’ virtual 3D, but now he was within touching distance of a Vis’haani. Bathed in the white glow of the shuttle’s interior was an intelligent being from a world over four hundred thousand light years from Earth. An alien species. The experience of standing so close to something so incredible was almost religious. As if something that he had lost many years ago had been returned to him. As if this moment was precisely where his life was supposed to have led him.

  “Mitchell. You’re staring.”

  “What?”

  “You’re staring,” Charlis said through gritted teeth. “Say something diplomatic or we’ll fuck this whole thing up before it’s started.”

  Mitchell blinked away his euphoria and looked into the bright yellow eyes of the Vis’haani pilot. “Erm… We are here. And… ready to meet your commander. Thank you. Where would you like us to sit?”

  Charlis looked at him in disbelief. “That’s the best you’ve got?”

  The Vis’haani pilot responded, “Welcome, Lee Mitchell of Earth. Welcome, Axel Charlis of Earth. There is no requirement for you to rest unless you wish it. We are already aboard the main vessel.”

  Mitchell hadn’t even noticed the portal closing. There had been no sensation of motion. Their anti-inertia tec must be light years ahead of their own. The pilot, if indeed he was a pilot, had not moved towards a control since they had first laid eyes on him.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Charlis over his external comlink. ‘We have no need for rest at this time.’

  The pilot tilted his head sideways a fraction, hearing the sound of an alien voice for the first time. The mouthparts twisted and Mitchell wondered if this was a Vis’haani smile.

  ‘Sorry…’ said Charlis, remembering that he had no SenANN translation facility.

  “Not so easy, is it?” said Mitchell over their private link.

  The Vis’haani pilot said, “I cannot understand your words, sir, but I believe them to be good. If you will follow me, Commander Ga’naal is waiting.”

  The pilot moved past them as if floating on air. Mitchell’s own gait in the low grav felt ape-like in comparison. They disembarked and followed their host down a wide, white corridor that shimmered like everything else of Vis’haani origin that he had seen so far. Mitchell looked back at the shuttle one last time but it remained cloaked.

  Charlis tapped his elbow as they walked. “Shouldn’t we have shaken its hand or something?”

  “No,” Mitchell said in a low voice. “It’s not their custom. And stop calling them ‘it’. They are just as sensitive to gender as we are. Not to mention that we just travelled at least three thousand kilometres in thirty seconds, including docking with the mother ship. Let’s try not to upset them.”

  The pilot led them into a large, high-ceilinged chamber and gestured for them to enter. The same blue haze covered the portal as on the shuttle. “We have adjusted the environmental controls within to make you more comfortable. Of necessity, I will remain here.”

  Waiting for them inside were the three Vis’haani that had visited the Excalibur, masked as they had been on that historic visit. Mitchell realised the implications and beamed a thought to Charlis while he still could. “We may lose our private line if my guess is correct…”

  Commander Ga’naal took a step forward. “Welcome, people of Sol System. Please forgive us for not adjusting our ship’s gravity to your own baseline level. We find such extremes distressing. However, we have provided a breathable atmosphere. If you wish, you may remove your life support mechanisms.”

  Mitchell exchanged glances with Charlis and came to the same conclusion. This wasn’t a request. Gingerly, he removed his cam-suit helmet and sniffed the air. It tasted sweet and delicious as it entered his lungs. Charlis reluctantly followed his lead.

  Ga’naal continued, ‘Our vessel is capable of mutual translation. You should be able to understand my words in your own tongue.’

  Charlis nodded. ‘He’s right. I can understand every word. Sounds like it’s coming from the walls around us. I can hear a lot of clicking too, which I’m assuming is their real voices.’

  ‘It is,’ said Mitchell. ‘The SenANNs gave me a preview of the Excalibur contact.’

  The sub-commander’s mood then changed. ‘I thought the SenANNs implied any translation had to come through you? That’s the only reason I agreed to let you-’

  ‘We thank you for your courtesy, Commander Ga’naal,’ said Mitchell, frowning sideways at his CO. ‘And we apologise if the atmosphere is causing you discomfort.’

  ‘We are experienced space travellers, Lee Mitchell of Earth. It is a minor inconvenience. You are correct, Axel Charlis, regarding translation. We required assistance from your SenANNs when first boarding the Excalibur, but not in our own environment. We now have the required langua
ge data and translation will be instantaneous.’ Ga’naal summoned one of his officers and took a glistening metal tray from him. On the tray were four small objects that looked like germinating seeds. ‘These devices will further assist. Place one in each of your ears and they will filter out the un-translated Vis’haani dialogue. They will also replicate the immediacy of your own hearing.’

  Mitchell hesitated. On the tray in front of him, the objects were quite clearly twitching. The SenANNs broke silence. ‘We believe these devices to be safe, Lee Mitchell.’

  He took a deep breath and picked up two of them. The ‘shoot’ on each one wriggled in response. He glanced across at Charlis, who nodded and smiled, ‘After you, Ambassador Mitchell.’

  ‘Thank you, Sub-Commander.’ Mitchell popped one of the things into his right ear and felt it morph slimily into place. The second one took twice as long to find the correct fit. It was not pleasant.

  Ga’naal said, ‘You should find an immediate improvement in clarity.’

  Mitchell nodded. ‘Thank you for your consideration, Ga’naal of Vis’haan.’

  ‘It is nothing. We have developed these devices over many encounters with many different races. They have proved invaluable.’

  ‘I’m sure,’ said Mitchell. ‘Sub-Commander Charlis, would you care to try?’

  Charlis had one of the wiggling seeds in his hand and was looking at it with trepidation. ‘An immediate improvement in clarity, you say?’

  ‘An unbelievable improvement,’ said Mitchell.

  ‘Right.’

  Mitchell looked on as the DS man dropped the first one on the deck, apologised, then inserted it backwards. The look on Charlis’s face as it squirmed around to find his ear canal was the most uplifting thing Mitchell had seen in days. The second one was fitted with less of a struggle. Charlis straightened himself up. ‘Yes. A huge improvement.’

  ‘Excellent,’ Ga’naal said. ‘Then we may continue. I understand, Lee Mitchell, that the SenANNs have informed you of the origin of Roderick Deucalion Thorne?’