Star Clusters: New Arrivals

by Dalo Lorn

  ******

  As the Eagle dodged asteroids and Xargan projectiles alike, it released a bomb, which quickly detonated against one of the roaming asteroids, causing a movement in the asteroids which crushed several of the fragile, high-speed Xargans before they could react. The remaining two creatures kept bombarding him, though - and the shields had just failed. “I repeat, I am being attacked by Xargans and need immediate assistance!” The next bomb killed the Xargans - but it also sent several smaller rocks at the Eagle’s engines and communications array; the ship, having been on a course out of the asteroid field and close to the edge, drifted out. Lanis was stranded.

  About a day later, Lanis had managed to repair the sublight engines; the hyperdrive, however, had taken too much damage in the initial attack. It, like the comm system, would have to be replaced - or fixed at a properly-equipped spacedock at the very least. Fortunately, contrary to his expectations, no Xargans had arrived to finish the job - and now, the Eagle’s sensors were picking up a massive ship nearby. As far as he could tell, it wasn’t Xargan; perhaps if he could get to it before it left the system, its crew would take him to a friendly starport. If they didn’t kill him first, that is.

  ******

  Lanis continued telling his story, providing a detailed account of his landing on the Tarhedia and the events that led to its arrival here. “So what you’re saying,” Jackson asked when the story was over, “is that the Petran government has been infiltrated by these new Xargans?”

  “That’s the thing - we don’t know it’s just the Petrans. There was at least one of those things on the Tarhedia before we landed - must have been a stowaway on the Eagle - and I’m guessing I met up to half a dozen spies during my time on Petra. For all I know, you might be one of them too; the only way we can know for sure is if we test you, and it’s far from impossible that they’ll figure out how to get around whatever tests we came up with.”

  “I take it you’ve already tested everybody in your fleet?”

  “Indeed we have, Admiral,” Hatos answered, “But as Lanis said, we cannot be completely certain that the tests we have devised are accurate. Nonetheless, if the Terran chain of command has been equally compromised, it may be too late to prevent a war. As your own stance on the Petrans and Lanis’ explanation of the Carthan Wars suggest, if the conflict is reignited, it is possible that it will not end until it is too late.”

  Jackson’s expression suddenly changed from that of an intrigued tactician to that of someone who had just realized he was doing something terribly wrong. “Then we have to do something,” he finally decided. “I’ll consult the other admirals and the US Council, see what can be done; you should give us the data required to test for Xargan infiltration so we can deal with that before any actual decisions are made.”

  “We are transferring all the information we have gathered and instructions for running the tests to you now,” Hatos said.

  “Good. Hopefully we can defuse this situation…” The transmission ended; Lanis and Hatos could only hope they had made the right choice.

  Chapter 4

  Insurrection

  It had been several hours since Lanis and Hatos finished their lengthy discussion with Admiral Jackson when Lanis went into the park again. A lot of the Petran ships were now being manned by skeleton crews as the majority of the Petrans went aboard the Tarhedia to wait in a more relaxing environment. Most of them were passively avoiding the one Terran in the area - habitually or because they actually disliked Terrans, depending on the person.

  There were, however, exceptions - and Lanis soon found himself in the company of Dr. Fanra Kaa’nt and Lt. Commander Benaar Herrun, the two Petrans he had boarded the Petran hyperspace disruptor at Hemreus with. “Well, look who finally decided to come down and relax,” Herrun said.

  “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting,” Lanis answered jokingly.

  “Heh, somebody has to look after Fanra - poor kid’s afraid of her own shadow,” the Petran soldier commented. “It’s no wonder she messed up as much as she did on the station.”

  “Well,” Fanra noted, “I did manage to fix some of the problems I created.”

  Despite her comment, it was clear to Lanis that she was more than a little disturbed by the whole thing, and Herrun certainly wasn’t helping. “That you did,” he said encouragingly to the timid scientist before turning to Herrun. “Herrun, is Captain Poteran down here?” he asked.

  “Don’t know,” Herrun said. “I’ll check.” If he had figured out the intent behind Lanis’ question, he did not say a word; Fanra and Lanis were now alone.

  “You shouldn’t let it get to you like that,” Lanis told her. “People make mistakes all the time; what matters is that nobody got hurt, and at least you know where you went wrong.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just that…” She sighed. “How do you do it? Control your fear, that is.”

  “Knowing something or someone you care about depends on it helps a bit, I guess. Think about what’ll happen if you don’t stay in control, not about whatever might happen if you try to do something. I’m not actually sure whether your intelligence is a good thing or not in situations where your own life depends on, say, fighting back; on one hand, being smart means you’re more likely to understand that doing nothing will get you killed, but on the other hand, it also means you could just freeze up, trying to figure out what’s the best thing to do.”

  “That’s easy enough to solve,” Kaa’nt observed.

  “Theoretically, yes; but people like you will probably fail to stop it and act before it’s too late. In situations like that, you either have to think fast enough to find the right choice, or you have to force yourself not to think as much as you usually would, which isn’t easy. But unless you’ve got a supercomputer in that head of yours, I strongly recommend the latter.” He paused. “I guess it also helps to be borderline crazy, like Herrun,” he added jokingly.

  Fanra couldn’t help but smile at that. “I think he’s trying to help, though - in his own way, that is.”

  “Probably,” he said when his wrist comlink beeped. He tapped it. “Baltor here, what is it?”

  “Jackson just hailed us; I think you should come here,” Hatos said.

  “I’m on my way,” he answered, heading towards the control room. Once he arrived, he saw that Hatos, Poteran and Jackson were discussing whatever situation it was that had prompted the latter to contact the Tarhedians. “What’s going on?”

  “Several star systems are trying to break away from the US,” Jackson answered. “A few others are experiencing planet-wide revolts, undoubtedly caused by Xargan infiltrators. Fortunately, we’ve had no trouble with the Petrans yet. It’s probably just around the corner, though.”

  “I don’t get it - why aren’t the Xargans going all-in, causing every conflict they can all at once?” Lanis observed.

  “Perhaps they do not think it is necessary - or strategically sound,” Hatos noted.

  “Well,” Jackson said, “whatever their master plan is, we need to figure it out; not to mention that we have to fix the problems they’ve already caused. I’ll do what I can on my end, see if I can’t work something out with the US, but somebody has to deal with the Xargans in the Petran government and figure out their endgame.”

  “I think my people will respond best to other Petrans working independently to reveal and remove the infiltrators,” Poteran suggested. “That’d still leave the Tarhedians and Mister Baltor here to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”

  “Actually, I believe the Tarhedia would be far too conspicuous for the sort of investigation that we may have to conduct. It would be better if we attempted to enter a dialogue with the United Systems Council, independently of Admiral Jackson’s efforts,” Hatos proposed.

  “Hold on, isn’t the Eagle in the Tarhedia’s fighter bay? I thought I saw it when I was getting into a fighter back in the Petran system,” Lanis asked.

  “Yes, but it is still badly damaged
; we cannot repair it without making our actions obvious,” Hatos replied.

  “Yeah, but we’re not exactly far from a Terran shipyard anymore, and the Petrans can help out. Sending me out there alone is too risky, but a small team using a refitted Eagle as a base could get to the bottom of this.”

  “Good idea,” Jackson said. “I’ll forward some recommendations for the team while the ship’s being fixed.”

  “Actually, sir, I think diversity could be a valuable asset here. We’ve got three different species working together, each with their distinct technological and biological advantages; if we form a diverse team, like the one that boarded the Hemreus hyperspace disruptor, we might be able to get a lot farther than we would otherwise,” Lanis recommended.

  “Zeshaira’s skills would likely be better put to use with such an assignment than in my negotiations,” Hatos admitted.

  “If there’s anyone in my fleet that could be useful, it’s probably Herrun and Kaa’nt. Herrun might seem a bit crazy at times, but that could prove useful - and Fanra’s scientific and technical prowess speaks for itself, even if she is next to useless in a combat situation,” Poteran added.

  “Well, that’s quite a bit of variety; even if it wasn’t, I doubt it’d be a good idea to go with too many people. I’m thinking we should keep the spaceframe as it is, only modifying the internal components and adding new systems using Petran and Tarhedian technology in conjunction with our own; it’d be as inconspicuous as we can get without sacrificing any technological advantage we might have.”

  “I’ll reserve a hangar with all the crew you need to fix and refit your ship,” Jackson finally said. “Poteran, Hatos, I think you should both use every trick you can think of to boost that thing’s efficiency; they’ll need it.” After saying that, Jackson’s ship stopped transmitting, and the image of the Hippasrus’ bridge now expanded to the whole holoviewer.

  “The refit will probably take some time, but I’ll have Kaa’nt see what she can do about growing some crystals for your engines, shields, and weapons,” Poteran said. “Right now, your repair crews should focus on repairing the parts of the ship that we can’t replace with crystals without growing a new ship from scratch. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”

  Lanis shook his head. “No, I do not believe so,” Hatos said.

  “Very well. Hippasrus out.” The holoviewer switched off.

  Hatos turned to Lanis. “I believe my people’s best technological contributions here will be our drones and transporter technology; I will have a few drones and other useful devices stored in one of your cargo bays, and install a small transporter in another one.”

  “Remember,” Lanis said, “we have to stay relatively inconspicuous. Try to conceal the upgrades from sensors as much as you can.”

  “I will see to it that the modifications are as hard to detect as possible - but it will not be fully effective.”

  “I know.”

  In the meantime, most of Jackson’s fleet had jumped to hyperspace in various directions, including his flagship, the U.S.S. Orion. On the Orion’s bridge, the admiral was deep in thought as the ship sped silently through hyperspace; how severe was this infiltration, and how could it be stopped?

  “Helm, how long until we reach the Menlon system?” he asked after a while. The Menlon system was a small four-planet system about seven and a half hundred light years from Cartha, on the far side of Terran space; now that Menlon Four was in a state of open rebellion, Jackson had been ordered to take a small force there and calm things down.

  “Forty-five hours,” the helmsman replied. Even with a hyperspace factor of 4.17, the Orion and its fleet would take just under two days to traverse the distance between Menlon and Cartha.

  Jackson sighed. “So many things to do, and so little time…”

  ******

  On the Tarhedia, Lanis had very few things he could do while he waited for the Ivory Eagle to be refitted. Finally, something occurred to him. Ever since Hatos had explained the unusual nature of his boots to him, he had been somewhat fascinated by the sharp contrast - and similarities - between them and the Xargans. However, more important matters and forgetfulness had kept him from pursuing the matter further; neither of which were an issue anymore. He walked through the park, looking for the Tarhedian leader - and eventually finding him; near the pond he had already fallen into twice before.

  “Hatos,” he started, “I just thought of something. Can we use the Tarhedia’s facilities and the Terran database to determine where these boots came from?”

  “Perhaps. If any traces existed, they would certainly be subtle, but that does not necessarily mean they would not be detectable. What do you expect to find?”

  “I don’t know; probably some clue as to what the connection between them and the Xargans is.”

  “I have been considering this as well; in fact, I had already prepared a lab and was going to ask you in a few minutes when you arrived. It is most likely that the two share a common ancestor - perhaps the boots were genetically altered by some ancient race while the Xargans evolved from the boots’ unaltered ancestors.”

  “Well, whatever it is, it might be worth investigating.”

  “Precisely. Follow me,” the Tarhedian said, leading Hatos into one of the Tarhedia’s science facilities; the boots spent the next couple of hours being thoroughly analyzed, with any foreign substances being searched for in every database the Tarhedia had access to.

  “There,” Hatos said once the analysis was complete, pointing at a sudden change in a holographic diagram displaying various changes in environment as detected and interpreted by the ship’s computer. “As far as I can tell, the boots seem to have been on a planet listed in the database as ‘Daserus Three’ until a period roughly fifteen years ago, when it switches to what seems to be one or more Terran ships and possibly stations. After that, the boots spend most of the following ten years on Earth - until the day you left Earth with them.”

  “Wait, did you say Daserus Three?”

  “Yes; I think I know what you are thinking about. Daserus Two was one of the worlds you said had first been attacked by the Xargans.”

  “They wiped out everything in the system, but based on this data, the majority of their hive clusters was concentrated in an area near an archaeological site on Daserus Three; nobody found it unusual at the time, as the location was quite defensible.”

  “And you believe this was not an accident?”

  “Think about it; if you found out that some alien race had tampered with some of your ancestors, wouldn’t you try to figure out what happened to their descendants? There might even have been something vital to their plans there; we could find out just what they’re after, and more importantly, what they’re trying to do.”

  “If this is true, then it is possible that there may have been other sites in some of the other systems attacked by the initial wave of Xargans.” Upon saying that, Hatos quickly searched the database for planets matching his criteria. “Yes… Holsen Seven, Cartha Three, and Lieproi Five were also planets believed to have been inhabited by the race whose ruins were found on Daserus Three. Not military bases, but the Xargans chose to wipe out everything in their respective systems, which made you believe it was a direct assault. Even if it is one now, they may have been looking for the ruins when your peoples offered themselves as an alternative target.”

  “Cartha Three, you say? I think it’s time for a field trip…”

  Soon, Hatos, Zeshaira, Lanis, Herrun, and several Tarhedian drones of varying purposes and appearances assembled in the transporter room. “This planet is somewhat inhospitable,” Hatos said, finishing putting on his AEA suit, “due to its proximity to its star; this could be beneficial as less people will have disturbed the site since the Xargans left. However, there may be some Xargans down there that have avoided detection, so be on your guard.”

  The transporter activated; the team reappeared just outside a cave on the arid third world of the Carth
an system, in the middle of a sandstorm. “I don’t see any ruins!” Herrun said.

  “Are you sure you got the right coordinates?” Lanis asked Hatos.

  “Yes; we must be missing something!” he explained.

  “Perhaps it is hidden within?” Zeshaira suggested, pointing at the cave. Everyone went inside; but the cave was a small one, and there seemed to be no technology in it.

  “Look around,” Hatos said, “perhaps there is something buried beneath all this sand.”

  After a brief search, Herrun found a small, worn out control panel underneath a massive pile of sand. “I found something.”

  The drones analyzed the sand and the control panel, reporting to Hatos and Zeshaira - who, in turn, shared that information with Lanis and Herrun - that while there were traces of Xargan DNA in the sand, it appeared that no Xargans had touched the control panel. “Now what?” Lanis asked. “We can’t just randomly push buttons until something happens.”

  “Actually,” Hatos replied, “this looks somewhat familiar. The layout reminds me of early versions of transporter technology. I cannot read the text, but if I can just remember...” After a brief pause, Hatos pressed a few of the grey, rectangular keys.

  There was a blinding flash of light, and the team - along with some sand - found that they had been transported into an old facility of a design unlike anything they had seen up to that point - but sharing visual elements of Tarhedian and Petran technology at the same time. “What is this place?” Zeshaira asked.

  “The source of our answers, no doubt; but look! Someone has been here since it was abandoned,” Hatos said, pointing to a small heap of sand which had not arrived with them. As usual, the drones scanned the area. “Whoever it was, they do not appear to have left anything we can identify,” he added upon hearing the report.