by Ben Winston
On the main screen in the flight control section, Ian and company watched the sleek shiny craft rocket out of the large assembly hanger, and gain altitude relative to the moon.
“What a rush!” Tinker reported. “This little girl is very agile, however, during launch, the turbines make her want increase pitch. That could be an issue when launching from a ship.” There was a moment or two pause. “The thought guided system is awesome, I could almost let go of the controls and fly without them. However, I have noticed that the system seems a little too sensitive. If I think about turning, but don’t actually decide to, the ship starts to make the turn anyway.”
“Is the thought system making it too difficult to fly? We can disable it remotely for the duration of the test if required,” Stephanie’s voice was heard over the comm.
“That might be a good idea, base. This ship is all sorts of fancy without adding that to the mix. Let’s get the normal flights systems checked off, then work on the new one,” Tinker replied.
“Okay, Tinker, stand-by, I’m disabling the flight assist system, you might get dizzy for just a moment,” Stephanie replied.
“I’m straight and level, go ahead, base,” Tinker replied.
“Disabling... now!”
“Whoa! That was weird. Okay, Ballista flight, are you with me?” Tinker asked.
“We got ya Tinkerbelle! One klick back and one klick separation,” Bruno replied.
“Control, Request we go to the weapons test portion of our schedule? I think someone needs a lesson in protocol,” Tinker replied.
“I’m tempted to let you, Tinker,” Ian said. “But we need the fighter. I’ll let you slap the shit out of him after you land.”
“Roger control, I think that would be more satisfying anyway. Proceeding with phase one, acceleration and flight profile assessments. Engaging full burn in three, two, one!” Tinker said. On the screen, the now ‘invisible’ fighter lurched as the camera tracking her tried to stay on target.
“Holy shit! Control, we are at full afterburner and we’re falling behind,” Bruno reported. “That thing really gets moving.”
“Throttling back at point eight-nine C. She’s starting to shake pretty good, I’d say I was pushing phase lock. Armor still green, reserve power nominal. Reducing speed to point seven.” Tinker said.
“Affirmative, SX-One, the computer agrees with phase lock loss. Setting maximum limit to point eight-five of C,” Kyle said from the moon base.
“Agreed base. As soon as my chasers catch up, we’ll proceed with the maneuvering tests,” Tinker said, jokingly.
All in all the tests went very well. They didn’t test the jump engine or the thought guided flight systems, but the rest of the craft performed far above expectations. The Shadow fighter was going to be an awesome addition to their arsenal. Once they got the thought assisted system working correctly, the fighter would be nearly unstoppable.
When Ian arrived back at his office he found he’d received many new updates from the departments that were directly involved in getting ready for the arrival of the enemy super ship. He was half way through reading an update from Talos when Jenny brought the ship to yellow alert.
Running out onto the bridge, Ian came up beside Jenny. “What’s up?”
“Sir, hyperspace sensors are tracking an inbound target. From the look of it, it’s the Super Nova,” Jenny replied as she got out of the chair, and stepped over to her normal station.
Ian sat down. “Show me the plot please, XO.” He asked.
On the big main screen a three-dimensional looking image appeared showing their spiral arm of the galaxy and a light trace appearing at the very edge of the screen. The Sol system was at the far edge denoted as a small pulsing blue spark. A light, dotted line connected the light speck with the blue spark.
“Is this confirmed?” Ian asked.
“We are awaiting confirmation from the tracking station on the moon, but there is a high probability it will arrive here. We can confirm that the trace is real, just not its destination yet,” Star reported. “There is the possibility of error because the hyperspace sensor system is untested, but that probability is low.”
“All stations report ready for action, Sir. Elapsed time, two point six minutes,” Jenny added.
“That’s a little slow for my liking, Colonel, please see what you can do about it,” Ian said sounding distracted. “In the meantime, stand us down to orange alert.” He touched a control on his console. “Operations, what can we do for you, Sir?” Major Brighton’s voice replied.
“It looks like you now have a deadline, Chloe,” Ian said. Major Brighton and her department had been acting as liaison and coordinating between all departments in order to help them all get ready in time. “Have you gotten the report on the Shadow fighter flight tests yet?”
“Not in the last five minutes, Sir. How did it go?” she asked.
“Really well. The thought assisted flight system is currently off-line, but the fighter itself was amazing. I’m about to call the Moon Base and order as many of them as they can crank out. Is there a time line for refitting the ship to carry them?”
“Yes Sir, but considering this new development, I doubt you’re going to want to proceed. It would take longer than it seems we will have. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel comfortable having the landing bays torn apart during combat,” Chloe replied.
“No, that wouldn’t be my choice either. Then it looks like we’re going to have the shadows based off the moon for now. Will Talos be able to handle any?” Ian asked.
“I’d rather doubt it, Sir, the stealth systems haven’t been tested down there, and there would be no way to discharge the armor safely, unless they figured out a way to handle that as well?” Chloe asked.
“Not that I’m aware of. Look, why don’t you go tackle your reports, and I’ll go tackle mine, and we’ll have a staff meeting in the big conference room at fifteen hundred hours. That way we can talk it over and hammer out any last minute details that need to be dealt with,” Ian said.
“We can be ready by then, Sir,” Chloe replied.
“Okay, pass the word, will you? I’ll see you then.”
“Very good, Sir, I’ll handle the arrangements,” Chloe replied. “Until then, Sir.”
Ian broke the connection and sighed. He had wanted to have more time before that big bastard arrived, but then again, no amount of time would be enough to prepare for this.
Falls Church, Virginia
North American Continent
Earth (Sol III) Sol Sector.
Alan Carlson was very happy he had listened to his friend and started working for Ian and the people at Talos. However, he was beginning to wonder just who the people were he was investigating.
His contacts in the intelligence community knew very little or nothing about what he had been tracing, and those that did warned him away. The group he was investigating was a closed society inside of the tightknit intelligence community. Alan was certain that not even the Secretary of the NSA knew anything about this group. He was starting to wonder if anyone did.
The little bit of information that Ty had given him from the fake agents turned out to be an address in Arlington, Virginia. The building was obviously a high security installation of the type used by many different departments inside the intelligence community, except no one seemed to know which department it actually belonged to. Anti-Terrorism thought it belonged to Surveillance, Surveillance thought it belonged to Over-Seas Operations, who thought it belong to someone else and on down the line.
Ironically, or maybe he should have seen it coming, but from his investigations, all clues led back to this building. The attacks at Talos, the missing oil, as well as a few other things Alan had stumbled across while following leads. He had no proof, but he was now convinced that the Caldarians were not only here, but had been here for some time. That meant that they had to have a base somewhere, but he knew it couldn’t be the building he was looking at, since Caldaria
ns looked radically different than humans.
Alan knew many of the answers he sought were in that building, but getting in there was going to take some doing. If he knew what department it belonged to, he could easily forge credentials for himself, as it was, he was going to have to resort to the age-old cleaning service routine.
It wasn’t as easy as it used to be. Since the terrorist attacks of the earlier twenty-first century, the agency had tightened up their security quite a bit. One of those ways was to contract with a single cleaning service for all their buildings, and those people were screened thoroughly before they were hired. A DNA scan is performed on everyone that entered a high-security building now, and while he could get his own profile into the mix, it would take time to do so. With Star’s help, however, it shouldn’t take that long at all.
He pressed the button on his communicator, but, instead of asking for Ty like he normally did, he said. “Major Star Dancer please.”
“What can I do for you today, Agent Carlson?” Star answered.
“If I could, I would like to ask for your assistance in something. I need to gain entrance to a certain high security building, I need you to do some hacking for me, if you have the time,” Alan replied.
“That building you found from the clue that Major Anders gave you?” Star asked.
“Yes Ma’am. There are too many things pointing to this place. I need to get in there and look around,” Alan explained.
“Hmm, from the looks of it, you are going to need more than a simple hack to get your clearance. It has active security systems on almost every door and window. As the Commander would say, you cannot take a dump in that building without security knowing what you had for lunch. I will have to ride along. When do you want to do this?” Star asked.
“Well, as soon as possible, but I know you’re very busy, so whenever you think you can spare the time for it,” Alan replied.
“It will have to be tonight. We are getting too close to the arrival of the enemy for it to be any later. If you can be in the vicinity of the building about nineteen hundred hours your time this evening, I’ll call you, and we can do this. You will need a standard GSA ID card and to be armed with either a Beretta or a Glock. You should not need any further credentials,” Star replied.
“Thanks, Major, I’ll be there,” Alan said and closed the connection. He had a few hours to kill before he had to be in position, so he decided to go get something to eat and try to get some sleep. If they were successful, he would need all the time he could get in there.
Council Security Listening Post
Vicinity of the Galactic Core
Milky Way Galaxy
“It would seem that the humans have attracted the attention of the renegade Caldarians. A Super Nova class ship is making transit to their planet,” one of the beings said.
“Yes, I believe now is the time to report this to the Council. If they agree, then we should also notify the Talosian Ambassador. It is too bad really, the humans that discovered the ship were beginning to make progress on their planet,” the second being replied.
“You are correct, although I would postulate that is also the very reason the Caldarians took notice. Since the presence of the ship is a direct threat to their mining operations, this would be an understandable reaction on their part,” the first being said. “However, if they arrive and destroy the ship, they will also have to take over the planet, which will once again give them a military presence in this galaxy. That is unacceptable.”
“Indeed, the Elders are in agreement. This information will be forwarded to the Council and the Talosian Ambassador. We are also recommending a military response to the situation, provided the forces can be spared for the operation,” the second being replied. “We are to proceed to the system ourselves to observe and report. If the Humans are unaware of the Caldarian approach, we are to find a way to alert them. Otherwise, we are not to make contact.”
“The Children of Light are in agreement,” the first being said as it heard the instructions as well. “Let us refresh ourselves and be off.”
Talos, New Mexico
Earth, Sol Sector
“The wall around the compound should be finished in a couple of days, Ty,” Elias said, smiling as he sat down.
“That’s good, because Star Dancer went to yellow alert few minutes ago. I haven’t heard back as to why, but I would have to assume that it has something to do with the arrival of that ship Ian was worried about,” Ty replied. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“Yes, please,” Elias answered. “Yellow alert, huh? Well, the big bastard couldn’t have arrived yet, because they would have gone to red alert for that wouldn’t they?”
Ty nodded agreement. “Red alert means that combat is either happening or about to happen. Yellow alert is used for alerting the crew to possible action as soon as the situation becomes clearer. Orange alert is used to keep the crew ready for action, but nothing is happening or expected to happen for the immediate future. Quarters is used for emergency upgrades to the status of the ship. Usually from Orange or Yellow to Red.”
“I’ve never really understood all of that,” Elias said. “But then again, I’ve never been in the military.”
“Really? The way you handle your people I’d thought you had. You are a very good commander, but then again, I suppose you would have to be to manage a construction company the size of yours,”
Elias snorted. “I’d think I’d freeze when people started shooting at me. No, you can keep your part of this job, Ty, I don’t envy you at all.”
Ty grinned. “Hey, you’re the one pulling off miracles, all I gotta do is protect everyone! Any word on the new shield generators, or the gun emplacements?”
“Sorry, I thought you got the memo on that. The shield generators are in and already integrated into the main shield system. The downside drones are currently working on the new gun emplacements since they’re underground.” Elias opened his tablet and touched a few icons. “Here it is, it looks like three of the new systems are finished and should be reporting to the main command console in the security center. The remaining five are still in the works, three of which are currently awaiting nightfall to install and test the bay doors. The last two are in the later stages but won’t be finished until tomorrow night. All systems have been tested as far as they can be without actually firing them. Do you need me to speed them up?”
“No, not yet. I reserve the right to change my mind on that depending on what I hear from the ship, but until I have a reason to, I really don’t want to give the people watching us something to see.” Has anyone said anything about the increased patrols?” Ty asked.
“Not directly, no, but I hear a little grumbling that the place is starting to look like an armed camp. At least most folks know that there is something serious going on, and that’s the reason for the increased security. But there are some like that pious asshole Zebulon Gabriel that just have to try to stir up shit. There are only about three or four families that share his religious beliefs, but even they shake their heads at some of the stuff he tries to get the people to believe. Luckily no one actually believes him. But he might eventually hit on something that could be believed, and that’s what I’m worried about. Once he gets a bone like that in his mouth, he’ll run with it.”
“We’ll just have to stay ahead of him with the truth. It’s not like we’re hiding anything from anyone here. As long as we can keep doing that, people like Mr. Gabriel will never get a foothold. The truth will set you free and all of that,” Ty said.
“So, how’s your investigation going? Have you found out what it was that fake agent said yet? Elias asked.
Ty shook his head. “No, I passed the information on for Alan to look into, and he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I still think it’s weird as hell that no one else has noticed all the weapons firing and stuff that’s been going on out here. I mean, granted, White Sands is pissing distance from our back fence, but still. You would think someone
else would have gotten curious at least. Hardware got destroyed, people got hurt, someone should know about it.”
About that time, Ty’s terminal beeped at him. He touched a button, and a message appeared from Star Dancer Operations.
To: CMDR Talos Security Forces; Ty Anders
From: Star Dancer Operations, Maj. Chloe Brighton, Commanding.
MSG Begins:
‘Star Dancer has stood down from Yellow to Orange alert status. At approximately ten-forty-three hours, Mountain Standard Time, hyperspace sensors detected a trace believed to be an inbound contact. This was later confirmed through the second hyperspace tracking unit installed at the moon base. The object in hyperspace will arrive here in fifty-six hours or roughly two and a half days.
Commander Williams has ordered a mandatory general staff meeting of all departments for fifteen hundred hours ship time to discuss what remains to be done in preparation for the arrival of the Caldarian Super Nova Class ship. Departments of Talos research facility are requested to attend, to lend advice, and to ask for assistance if needed.
Questions about this meeting should be addressed to Major Chloe Brighton, Star Dancer Operations. –ENDMSG
“Well, I guess that helps explain some things. Are you gonna be there?” Ty asked after reading the message to Elias.
“You can bet on it. Wanna meet at Luke’s office or down here in your den?” Elias asked.
“Probably at Luke’s office since he’s supposed to be the boss around here,” Ty replied.
“If you want the boss, then we should be meeting at Laura’s desk! I’ll bring my wife as a second Council Rep. Which means, I better get going so I can find her in time for the meeting!” Elias said as he stood.
“Okay, and Elias?” Ty said, causing the older man to stop and turn around. “Go ahead and get the rest of those weapons installed. Somehow, I don’t think staying hidden will matter much longer.”
Elias stood there a moment, looking at his friend. “I really hope you’re wrong about that Ty.”
Ty nodded. “Me too, but I’m not.”