The Icarian legacy: Brave Souls

by Kocho

  “I guess it’s time we introduced our selves. I’m Captain Jennings, this is my first officer Linda and I guess you already know Major Ellis and Colonel Stefanovski.”

  Anaya smiled and turned towards the captain.

  “I’m honored to meet you captain, honored to meet all of you. My name is Anaya Argos of Alteran. And I welcome the children of my creators back.”

  Jennings smiled and bowed. The others did the same. Not knowing how to react she bowed as well. That brought smile on their faces.

  “We have a lot of questions Anaya. And …”

  Before he could finish she interrupted him.

  “I would like to apologies for the accidents that your men suffered while I activated the ships systems. The reasons for my reaction will be explained soon.”

  Jennings and the others watched her with faces that showed their surprise at her words.

  She smiled at their reactions. She understood them as well. She knew that for them she was a computer program and they still expected somewhere deep inside them that she starts acting like one. From the entertainment videos and games, SF novels and even science projects she managed to find on their net she knew that they knew that she is a reality but a future one, not one for the present.

  “Your apology is accepted Anaya. And thank you.”

  “Can you tell us the reason for the sudden reaction you had? One moment you were talking with us and the next…”

  The question came from Edward. He was standing behind her and looking at her with curious eyes.

  As he waited for her answer the hologram disappeared and it appeared shortly after near what appeared to be a door on the wall several meters behind Fillip. As she did a section of the wall retreated and they saw that there was an office of some sort there.

  Before they could say anything she spoke.

  “If Captain Jennings, his first officer, Mr. Hanson and both the major and the colonel will join me I will explain.”

  After this she glided in the room behind her. Without saying anything the major and the colonel went after her, and after a moment’s thought Linda and Edward followed. The captain before going gave some instructions to the others on the bridge and then went inside. As soon as he entered, the door slid shut.

  Although they were separated from the rest of their man none of them showed any sign of fear. On their faces Anaya saw only curiosity. She stood quiet for s minute and allowed them to look at the office. She looked at it herself as well. It was the captain’s room. The place where so many decisions were made, where she received so many orders, including the last one he gave her, the one order she disobeyed. She could still see his face on that last day when he went to his new home.

  “I guess this was the captain’s room.”

  The comment came from Jennings. She smiled and looked at him.

  “He was a Rear Admiral actually.”

  As she said that a screen appeared on one of the walls and on it they could see a face of a young man wearing a dark blue uniform. He had short black hair, full lips and green eyes. His face looked worn and serious, a face of a man who has seen hell.

  “His name was Caius Mavrikas, and he was my first and last commander. He was born on a world called Kirin, the same place where this ship was reactivated during the last conflict. When he left these decks he was forty three of your years old. He was one of the youngest admirals and one of the best I had honor to serve. I only hope that my next commander will be as good as he was. And he has to be.”

  It took a second for her last words to register.

  “What do you mean with that?”

  She turned at Jennings who asked the question.

  “You wanted to know the reason for my sudden reaction and activation of this ship.”

  “Yes.”

  “When you activated the chip and I woke from my hibernation, I immediately started receiving the data from the sensor sweeps and from the icarian probes that are scattered through this system. I also hacked your planetary network in order to try to understand you better and to learn the languages. You see I never expected that you will be at this level of development.”

  “You expected us to be on a much higher level didn’t you?”

  “Yes colonel. And I expected to be found much sooner, not twelve thousand cycles later.”

  “So you searched the reason for that.”

  “Yes and as I did I found disturbing things in your past…things that showed that your planet has been visited many times by other races. At first I feared that they were the reason for the destruction of the last of the Alterans.”

  As she spoke video images appeared on the screen. They all looked at the strange looking ships that were descending on the planet in the past. And they all suddenly understood. The images showed the time table. The first landings stated somewhere around 8500 BC, and the last one was somewhere around 1200 AD on the American continent.

  The first one to break the silence was Linda. She looked at the images of the ships in horror and turned towards the AI.

  “O my God. They were taking slaves weren’t they?”

  The AI turned towards the screen and looked impassively. And yet Fillip thought that he could see a little trace of anger.

  He coughed a little and asked.

  “What made you realize that they are not responsible? It’s clear that they have advance technology. And if your ancestors went to the planet with none then…”

  The AI smiled than and looked at him with a look that looked so human.

  “Besides the obvious time table that shows that more than 1500 cycles passed since the crews of this fleet landed it was the obvious lack of any resistance and their inferior technology. And then I noticed the time changes that happened on your world since they landed. It was a natural disaster that stopped your ancestors, a disaster that gripped your seventh continent in Ice and probably sealed their and your faith at the time. From your languages I think that some must have survived because the Alteran language is the basis of your ancient languages and from the rapid advancements in some cultures. They probably started to share small insights that allowed your ancestors to advance a little faster at some things.”

  “Then they are not the reason for your reaction?”

  “No. But they are the starting point.”

  As she said that a new image appeared o the screen. It showed four of the strange looking ships and it showed a fifth ship that they were fighting. As the image on the screen was zoomed, all five of them gasped. Anaya noticed their reaction but didn’t react.

  “That ship, it is different but it still seems strangely close relative to the cruiser in Norfolk. The one our fleet engaged and destroyed.”

  Ellis, who was the only one that actually saw the ship closely just nodded and stared at it.

  As they watched two of the strange ships exploded and the other two were damaged. The cruiser showed damage as well but it was nothing compared to the one that the smaller ships had. As they watched the smaller ships accelerated and crushed at the large ship. The explosion that followed destroyed all three ships. The scattered pieces of the ships fell on the moon below.

  “Was that Titan?”

  “Yes it is the moon that you call Titan.”

  Fillip turned his eyes of the image and looked at Anaya.

  “That ship was the reason for your reaction? You know the race that created it?”

  The AI didn’t answer him. The images changed to show the crash landing of a small craft on the American continent. The year showed 1947. As they saw that they all smiled.

  “So that was true…”- the comment came from Ellis.

  Anaya smiled and looked at him.

  “Yes but from the speed it crashed with I doubt they found much. It was a scout vessel.”

  The screen then shifted and it showed the four ships they all knew entering the Solar system. They all knew the year. As they watched a small craft exited one of the ships and it took a stationary orbit in deep space.r />
  It shifted to the battle in the Mediterranean and then it stopped.

  “You know that race? You know of the Dacarians?”

  Anaya just nodded. As she did that her face was serious. And at that moment they all understood.

  “O my God. That can’t be true. The technology gap…we don’t stand a chance, do we?”

  Edwards voice showed fear, the fear they all felt.

  Fillip smiled and pulled out the medallion he was wearing around his neck. He looked at it.

  “He called them Alterans. That was the name he used before he died.”

  Anaya looked at the medallion in his hand. She recognized it easily.

  “Where did you get that?”

  He raised his head and looked at her.

  “From a dying enemy before he died, as a proof that honor exists even among enemies.”

  “Yes it has that meaning.”

  Fillip looked at her and approached her.

  “The Dacarians are the enemy the Alterans fought and lost. They are the ones that destroyed our ancestors. Aren’t they?”

  She turned for a moment and glided toward the screen. The image of a Dacarian legionary appeared on it. She looked at it with eyes filled with hate.

  “Yes. But they were not alone in that. No they were smart. They knew that they can’t destroy you on their own, so they used the younger races, the ones we protected and convinced them to turn against us. And then they finished the job, and destroyed them as well.”

  Fillip stood beside her and looked at the image of the Dacarian. He looked similar to the ones he killed. He couldn’t understand the symbols beside him, and the armor was different, and as he looked he noticed that the sword that they wore today was not there. Instead a strange looking knife hung at his side, where the gladius stood today.

  “This is our enemy.”

  “Yes. This is what they look like. We never learned about their home world but from their constitution they come from a high gravity world probably seven of your world’s gravity. They are much stronger fiscally, and have long life spans. They are merciless fighters, have no fear at all and usually fight till death. At the time they were an Empire.”

  As he looked at the image Fillip remembered the Sicarian.

  “They fight with honor as well. Tell me Anaya do you know anything about a race called Sicarian.”

  Before he could describe the tall blue alien an image of the race appeared on the screen, and Anaya looked at it. The Sicarian was tall. He wore a white uniform that was littered with decorations. He held a strange looking staff weapon in his right hand.

  “I know them. I know the traitors.”

  Her voice was cold.

  “The traitors…?”

  She turned and looked at Jennings. Ellis and Fillip both turned.

  “Yes they were one of the races that betrayed you, although they refused to attack your worlds and only fought your ships. And they were one of the first ones to realize their mistake. They retreated before the end together with the races they were allied with.”

  Fillip turned and looked at the image. It didn’t look like the torn and shattered Agnail. But he knew that he must have looked like that before he was captured. It was hard to believe or to have bad feelings toward them as he remembered the dying Sicarian and his words.

  “They might have betrayed them but they repented. Before he died he said that the Dacarians conquered his home world. And he suspected that they destroyed his race.”

  The AI turned toward him.

  “Who said that?”

  “His name was Agnail Makon Curas and he died with honor after he gave me the coordinates for the Dacarian fleet.”

  As he said that she turned and looked at him.

  “Coordinates, you have the coordinates where they will emerge?”

  He smiled at her reaction.

  “Yes.”

  He recited them. As she heard them she smiled and turned. Over the table in the middle of the room a three dimensional hologram that showed the Solar system appeared. The humans gasped as they saw every object in the solar system being depicted. And the biggest surprise came as they noticed the large gas giant at the very edge of the system. The famous x planet that humanity searched for and speculated so much was finally here. And as the planets orbits were shown they all understood why it was never discovered. It was a drifter so far away that it was impossible to be seen with the current technology. As she noticed their reaction she smiled and the planet was zoomed.

  “That is the largest object in your solar system. It’s on the very edge and it’s a dark gas giant that is why you can’t see it. But with your current sweeps I guess that it would have been discovered in the next couple of years.”

  Dozens of large moons were circling it. And from what they could see they were much larger than any other moon, most of them the size of earth’s moon and Titan.

  “So that is Nibiru.”-the comment came from Edward. The young astronomer looked fascinated.

  The image disappeared and the solar system was once again visible on the hologram. They noticed as the image of Sedna and their location was indicated as well and then a dot appeared on the indicated coordinates. The position of the object that the ships ejected was shown close to the coordinates.

  As she looked at the hologram Anaya smiled. Seeing that they don’t understand she increased the image.

  “That there gentleman is what your SF writers described as a warp point. It connects this solar system with another one probably several light years away. And that is the point from which they plan to enter in to this system.”

  “You don’t know where it leads?”

  The question came from Jennings. He looked at the hologram with fascination. They all did. Only Ellis and Fillip looked professionally, while Edward looked with fascination and curiosity.

  The AI looked at the image and smiled.

  “While your ancestors were aware of their existence they rarely used them. They used a different way of travel, one you call hyperspace. The dacarians use it as well but they obviously use the warp points as well. And considering that you are still not advanced enough to pose any danger to them it is understandable. An advance race would be able to inflict massive casualties as they exit from the point. But you are far from that.”

  Jennings smiled at her comment. She looked at him curiously.

  “O i believe that we have several surprises up our sleeve. It will be hard but we will stop them there.”

  The AI looked even more surprised as the others nodded.

  “Can you tell me what those surprises entail?”

  Ellis responded her with another question.

  “When they exit the warp point their shields won’t be active?”

  “No they won’t. It will take about one of your minutes for the instruments to stabilize. At least that is how it was in the past. And even if they manage to activate them faster and introduce some modern technologies they can only cut some of that time. You will still have a small window.”

  Edward scratched his chin.

  “Anaya do they come out all at once or do they come one at the time?”

  “It depends from the point but most of the warp points allow simultaneous transit.”

  When he heard that he smiled. So did Fillip and Ellis. They were all briefed about the plan for fighting them in space with the small amount of ships that would be available in the time of their arrival. And it all depended on the fact that there will be time to place mines that will blow when they come out.

  “Well then I guess the plan is a go. That gives us a good chance.”

  She looked at them and repeated her question.

  Jennings smiled and answered her.

  “We plan to mine the exit…to place hundreds of nuclear bombs around it, and when they exit the warp point…BOOM.”

  She considered his words for a second.

  “Your bombs, they will have to be strong. Without shields they will be able to at l
east damage them heavily if not destroy them. And the radiation will definitely kill the crews. But from what I saw you will need a lot of them. A five to ten megatons bomb won’t be able to create a great amount of damage unless the ship’s hull is already penetrated.”

  Her comments made them all smile. She looked at them with surprise.

  “Who said we will use five to ten megatons?”-the comment came from Edward.

  She looked at the young scientist.

  “What power will the bombs you plan to use be? From what I learned and calculated that is the power that most of your weapons have.”

  “Well yes but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make them more powerful. The most powerful bomb tested was a hundred megaton and we can easily make bombs two or three times more powerful. And maybe even more. You can count that the weakest one will be in the range of fifty to hundred megatons.”

  When they looked at her they saw that her attitude has changed. She was obviously making some calculations. When she was finished she smiled.

  “With that kind of power the battle can be won. It all depends on good coordination and timing. If you catch them with their pants down as your expression goes then…”

  “And with the ships that are in this fleet…”

  When Edward made that comment she raised her head. It was obvious that she was surprised.

  “Considering the age and the damages this ships have, especially this one I can’t guarantee that they will be battle ready for that kind of engagement. And don’t forget these ships are twelve thousand years out of date. The Dacarian fleets at the time were weaker than any we had to offer but not by a very large margin. With the time they had…”

  Ellis looked at the hologram and then at the AI.

  “Without its shields even our guns and missiles were able to mortally damage the cruiser. And the hulls of our battleships suffered damages but they withstood the fury of their plasma and laser and gravity guns. And the shields of the smaller ships collapsed when they were hit by our rail guns that are I believe much smaller and less powerful than the ones this ships have. So I don’t believe that the tech difference is that big. Yes they might have advanced but I don’t believe that they are that much more advanced. And besides, considering that they think that we have no space ships, no space defense I doubt that they will send their most powerful ships here…don’t you?