by G J Ogden
Razor tapped a button on the console and the computer began to trace a line through the star map. It passed through Thrace Colony and extended out toward the edge of the star system, where it abruptly stopped.
“So, where did it go from there?” asked Sterling, trying to contain his disappointment. The amount of information the data chip had provided was barely more than they already knew.
“Computer, add the locations of all known apertures that lead toward Sa’Nerran space to the display,” Razor said. Moments later, three markers appeared on the map. “Project the course of the shuttle based on its last known course and speed.”
Sterling watched as the computer extrapolated the shuttle’s course, accounting for the gravity well of the planets and other stellar phenomenon it passed by on the way. The line on the map continued to grow until it neatly bisected two of the three aperture markers.
Sterling raised an eyebrow at his engineer. “This is the part where you impress me, isn’t it, Lieutenant?” he said. “Because I see two possible routes where that shuttle could have gone, and only one Invictus.”
Sterling was impatient for Razor’s answer. He sincerely hoped that the engineer wasn’t about to conclude that they had a fifty-fifty chance of guessing which aperture Colicos had gone through.
“Then prepare to be impressed, Captain,” Razor replied, with just the right amount of swagger. “Because these two aren’t the only apertures that lead into Sa’Nerran space from Thrace Colony.”
Sterling frowned as Razor again worked on the console. A few seconds later, a fourth marker appeared on the map, way beyond the edge of the system’s outermost planet.
“How have we not detected that aperture before?” Sterling asked, accessing one of the other consoles and zooming in on the location.
“It’s something Fleet has never seen before,” Razor replied. “In fact, were it not for me focusing scans along the line of the shuttle’s projected course, I would never have discovered it either,” she went on. “It would have been like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, except without even knowing that it was a needle you were looking for.”
Sterling felt a tingle of excitement run down his spine. Like any good spacefarer, he loved a good mystery, and he loved discovering something new.
“Okay, I’m impressed,” said Sterling. “Now impress me some more…”
“The signature of this aperture is uniquely different to every other aperture on record,” Razor continued. The engineer’s voice was also laced with energy and excitement. “However, it appears to be built on the same core principles as the known Fleet and Sa’Nerran apertures,” Razor went on.
Sterling rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the new aperture on the wall screen. The data chip had provided as many questions as it had delivered answers.
“Can we extrapolate where it leads to?” Sterling then asked, turning back to Razor.
“It’s guesswork at this point,” the engineer replied, shaking her head. “In principle, an aperture with this energy signature could have a surge radius many times larger than existing apertures. Perhaps, it could even lead directly into Sa’Nerran space.”
“Can we surge through it?” asked Sterling. There were a dozen more prudent queries he could have – and perhaps should have - asked first, but the one he’d chosen was the only question that really mattered. Razor, however, appeared uncertain.
“For Colicos’ shuttle to have successfully entered that aperture it would need to have radically modified its surge field,” Razor answered. “It would take a genius to do it.”
“I think it’s fair to say that Colicos has the relevant qualifications,” Sterling replied, though he was conscious that his engineer had not answered the question he’d actually asked. “But let’s assume Colicos has the chops to make the surge. What I’m asking is can the Invictus follow?” Then he paused and rephrased his question. “In other words, Lieutenant Razor, do you have the chops?”
Razor raised one of her snow-white eyebrows at Sterling. “I believe I do, sir,” she said, confidently.
Sterling nodded and smiled. “Well, you once told me you were looking to gain as many Fleet commendations as possible, so you can muster out early. Here’s your chance to chalk up another one.”
Razor nodded and smiled, something he’d rarely seen the Omega officer do. “Challenge accepted, Captain,” she said. “Prepare to be impressed again.”
“Keep me apprised, Lieutenant,” said Sterling, preparing to leave the engineer to her work. However, Razor was quick to stop him.
“There is one other thing, though, sir,” Razor added, resuming a more stoical expression. “I managed to matched the energy signature of this portal to something already in the Fleet database.”
Sterling stopped and returned to the engineer’s side. “That sounds ominous,” he said, impatient to hear what Razor had to say next.
“The aperture array that the Titan, the Sa’Nerran super-weapon, used to disintegrate the moon has a near-identical signature.”
Sterling frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, yet, but I’ll continue to analyze the data and see what I can find out,” the engineer replied. “However, it may suggest that these apertures are dangerous. Perhaps even unstable.”
Sterling sighed. As usual it was two steps forward and one step back. “Understood, Lieutenant, stay on it,” he said, again turning to leave.
The door to the science lab swooshed open and Commander Banks walked in. She took several paces inside the lab then stopped and peered around the space. She wore the expression of a person who had entered a room then immediately forgotten the reason why they’d done so.
“Are you lost, Commander?” asked Sterling, as Banks continued to gaze around the lab with a look of deep consternation on her face.
“Has this facility always been on the ship?” Banks asked, pressing her hands to her hips and frowning at Sterling.
“Yes, Commander, it’s always been here,” Sterling replied, shaking his head at his first officer. However, he didn’t want to admit that he’d had similar doubts after first walking into the science lab.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Banks said. “I’m sure I’ve never been in here before.”
Sterling rested back against the workbench and folded his arms. “Is there a particular reason why you’re here now, Commander?” he said, trying to jog his first officer’s memory.
Commander Graves then walked in. He was holding a complicated-looking contraption in his hand that was a mass of spidery wires and smaller components. The medical officer frowned, realizing that three of the Invictus’ other senior officers were also in the room.
“I hope I am not interrupting, Captain?” Graves began in his usual, polite and anemic manner. “I have some new information regarding the neural interface I reclaimed from the colonist on Far Deep Nine.”
“No, the more the merrier, Commander,” Sterling said, waving Graves over.
As the medical officer approached, Sterling realized that the main component in the device Graves was holding was a neural interface. Sterling could see that there were still lumps of brain attached to the device in various places. He grimaced at the contraption as Graves dangled it, along with the lumps of brain matter, in front of his nose.
“Let’s hear it,” replied Sterling, gently pushing the device away from his face with the back of his hand.
“As James Colicos hinted at in the logs we recovered from Far Deep Nine, this device is a neural translation matrix,” Graves began. “I believe that Doctor Colicos used a similar device to map the brains of the Sa’Nerran hosts he captured, examining the neural activity of the alien species in infinitesimal detail.”
Sterling frowned. “So, you’re saying that Colicos figured out how the Sa’Nerran brain responds when the things hiss ‘hello’, then mapped that across to humans?”
“Essentially, yes,” Graves replied. “However, the fundamental problem is
that we have never been able to know when a Sa’Nerran is saying ‘hello’ or even if they say ‘hello’ at all.”
Sterling massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers and thumb. He wasn’t particularly interested in the technicalities of how things worked or didn’t work. His head was already hurting trying to understand what Graves was telling him.
“My theory is that Colicos found a sort of neural ‘Rosetta stone’,” Graves went on, unperturbed by the apparent mental suffering of his captain.
“The only stones I’m getting are kidney stones, Commander,” Sterling replied, a little grouchily. “What does that mean in layman’s terms?”
“Essentially, Colicos discovered a key that enabled him to map the corresponding brain activity of humans and Sa’Nerra,” Graves continued, showing no sign of offence at his captain’s crabbiness. “It would be fascinating to learn what this key was, but it is a mystery for a more peaceful time.”
Sterling nodded. He was grateful that, despite his macabre personality, Graves did not possess the insufferable inquisitiveness of his former chief engineer, Emissary Clinton Crow.
“It goes beyond language, however,” Graves went on. “Thoughts, actions, desires, wants, needs… it can all be captured and translated.”
“And manipulated?” Sterling wondered, still pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I believe so,” Graves replied. “We are looking at the basis of the Sa’Nerran neural control weapon.”
Banks stepped forward; her brow also scrunched up into a painfully-confused frown. “But the old man on Thrace Colony said that the Sa’Nerran warrior he saw spoke,” she cut in. “Didn’t Colicos say that neural education was a bust? If that’s the case, how was the alien managing to speak in English?”
Commander Graves shrugged. “I’m afraid I have no concrete answers to give you, Commander,” the medical officer replied. “We will need to find Colicos to learn more. Alternatively, you will need to find me some live human and Sa’Nerran test subjects to conduct my own experiments on.”
Razor laughed, believing Graves’ statement to be a joke. Then she noticed that Sterling and Banks had remained straight faced and fell silent again.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Commander,” Sterling replied. “But keep that idea on the back burner, just in case.” Razor’s white eyebrows rose up her forehead, but she continued to remain silent. “I’ll leave the science to you scientists,” Sterling continued, pushing away from the workbench. He turned and pointed to the newly-discovered aperture on the wall screen then glanced over at Razor. “Relay the co-ordinates to Ensign Keller then figure out how we can surge through that new aperture.”
“Aye, Captain, but realistically that could take days,” Razor replied, sounding a little put out. “This is an entirely new aperture configuration. I’d need to study it more closely then adapt our surge field generator. Ideally, we should send some test probes through first, to make sure we don’t end up in another galaxy, or another universe entirely.”
Sterling knew that his engineer’s reply was entirely reasonable. However, they didn’t have time for reasonable. He needed, and demanded, only the exceptional.
“Computer, how long will it take us to reach that aperture at maximum speed?” Sterling said, casting his eyes toward the ceiling.
“By ‘that aperture’ I presume you mean the one that Lieutenant Shade recently discovered, Captain?” the quirky gen-fourteen AI replied. Its cheerful tenor was at odds with the facetious tone of the question.
“Yes, computer, obviously that one,” Sterling replied, shaking his head.
“Four hours, twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds from the point at which I finish this sentence, Captain,” the computer replied, breezily.
“You have four hours, Lieutenant,” Sterling said, fixing his chief engineer with a determined stare. Razor was new, but she had already learned that when her captain was open to input and when he just wanted the job done, even if it he was asking the impossible.
“Aye, Captain, I’ll get right on it,” Razor answered, straightening to attention.
“Pull this off and there’s a commendation in it for you,” Sterling added, as he headed toward the door. “Though I’m going to have to start rationing them, otherwise I’ll soon be without a ship’s engineer.”
Sterling then set off along the narrow corridor outside the science lab with Banks at his side. “We’ve got some time to kill, so how about grabbing a coffee?” he said, returning a salute from a crew member that passed them by.
“Sure, and I might try out one of those new vintage meal trays from Middle Star too,” Banks replied, with the same breezy nonchalance as the computer.
Sterling scowled at her. “You must have eaten at least three pots of stew on that flea-ridden world. How the hell can you still be hungry?” He then realized the stupidity of his own question and raised a hand to cut off Banks’ unnecessary response. “Never mind, I already know the answer. You’re always hungry, right?”
Banks smiled then shrugged and hit the call button for the elevator. The doors opened and Sterling found himself staring down at Jinx the beagle hound.
“Jinx, how did you get out?” Banks said, kneeling down and vigorously petting the dog, who appeared to enjoy the attention immensely. “She must have snuck out after me before the doors closed.”
Sterling frowned as he stepped inside the elevator. “I hope that animal hasn’t left any deposits in the ship,” he said, grouchily. “I waded through enough crap on that planet.”
Banks stood up and slapped Sterling on the arm with the back of her hand. As usual, it hurt like hell. “Don’t be so miserable, Captain,” Banks replied. “A ship’s dog is good for morale
The beagle sat down and placed a paw on Sterling’s boot, peering up at him with large brown eyes. He scowled down at the dog then pressed the button for deck two.
“Just don’t feed it any number twenty-sevens,” Sterling said, as the elevator doors began to close. “Or Acting-Ensign Jinx will end up as the first dog ever to make a home in Sa’Nerran space…”
Chapter 18
A gateway to the unknown
Captain Sterling rested forward on his console, tapping his finger against the metal plating on the side in the usual place. In front of him on the viewscreen was an empty starscape at the fringe of the Thrace Colony system. Yet if Lieutenant Razor’s analysis was correct, the emptiness hid a unique, undiscovered aperture.
“Are you sure this is the spot, Lieutenant?” Sterling glanced over to where Razor was working on the consoles at the rear of the bridge. “I’m so used to seeing aperture beacons flashing in my face, I’m struggling to believe there’s anything there.”
Razor continued working for a couple of seconds then turned to face her captain. “Aye, sir, it’s definitely there,” the engineer replied. “Whether we can surge through it is another matter, though.”
Sterling glanced down at the readings on his console, continuing to drum his fingers as he absorbed the information. Rising to the challenge, Lieutenant Razor had spent the last four hours re-writing the book on interstellar surge mechanics. Rallying anyone on the ship with the ability to hold a spanner to her aid, she’d then reconfigured the Invictus’ surge field generator to speak the same language as the aperture. Razor had explained that, in principle, the Invictus should be able to traverse the portal. However, his engineer had also been at pains to point out the many risks and variables involved.
“I wonder how many of these secret alien apertures there are throughout the Void,” said Banks, frowning at the viewscreen, “and why we have never seen them being used before.”
Sterling had spent some of the four-hour journey time considering this question and had come to an unfortunate conclusion. It was a conclusion that had already been postulated by his brilliant engineer.
“Given the tactical advantage they offer, my guess is that they’re unstable,” Sterling replied.
The right eyeb
row of his first officer lifted by half an inch as he said this. “Sounds like fun,” Banks replied, sarcastically.
“Captain, I’d still strongly recommend sending an aperture relay probe through first,” Razor said, snatching back Sterling’s attention. “I have taken the liberty of modifying one for this purpose. The data it records and hopefully transmits back to us should help to iron out the kinks in my surge calculations.”
“What sort of kinks are we talking about, Lieutenant?” Banks asked, beating Sterling to the punch.
“The sort of kinks that could mean we exit the aperture in a billion pieces. Or not at all,” Razor said, flatly.
Banks glanced over to Sterling, eyebrow raised even higher. It seemed clear that his first officer was in favor of a trial run. However, time was also of the essence. Every second they wasted, the Sa’Nerran armada made their way deeper into Fleet space. Yet, he also couldn’t argue that their impact on the war effort would be radically diminished should their atoms end up dispersed across a thousand light years.
“Okay, Lieutenant, send a relay probe, but make it quick,” Sterling said, turning back to his engineer. “Program the thing to power down once it has transmitted the data. We don’t want to tip-off anyone on the other side that we’re coming.”
“Aye, sir,” Razor replied before setting to work configuring the relay probe.
“And perhaps load that stowaway hound inside the probe while you’re at it,” Sterling added, with a little more volume for effect. “We can study this new aperture’s effects on biology at the same time.”
Banks shot him another look, but Sterling judged it to be considerably less friendly than the last one he’d received. “You know what happened to the Ancient Mariner when he shot his lucky charm,” Banks said, still giving Sterling the evil eye.