“Yes, it’s me,” Kathryn replied as she walked over to her father and gave him a long hug. “I’m not a hallucination.”
“How? I didn’t think there was any way for you to come back.”
Kathryn released herself from her father and walked over to the door, locking it so they wouldn’t be interrupted. She didn’t want anyone else other than her father to know she was here. At least not yet.
“Is the Distant Horizon here as well?”
Turning back to her father Kathryn and took a deep breath. “Yes, its ten thousand kilometers from Ceres.”
Governor Barnes looked confused. “I don’t understand; I would have been notified immediately if a ship as large as that exploration dreadnought of yours approached Ceres.”
“It’s stealthed. I also used stealth technology to sneak into your office past your secretary,” replied Kathryn. Then her face took on a more serious look. “Dad, I need to explain some things to you. I have some people I want you to meet and I have a letter from Fleet Admiral Strong to give you. We’ll have time to get reacquainted later.”
Governor Barnes walked over and sat down behind his desk. “So Jeremy survived?”
“Yes, and a quite a few others.”
Governor Barnes gazed at his daughter for several long moments. “I know you well enough that there must be a very good reason for you to appear this way. What’s going on? Why don’t you want anyone to know you’re here?”
Kathryn took a deep breath and then began explaining to her father the events that had occurred in the Triangulum Galaxy since the Distant Horizon arrived there. For nearly three hours she talked, pausing occasionally to answer questions her father had. For the most part he listened and took occasional notes as was his habit.
She finally reached a stopping point to allow her father to assimilate all she had told him.
“So these Originators and this AI Kazak can stop the Simulins from ever being a threat again?”
“Yes,” Kathryn replied. “We’ll have to furnish some Marines to clear the Simulins and their Conqueror Drones out of some of the vortex Control Centers, but Fleet Admiral Strong doesn’t see that as being a problem.”
“I’ve seen photos and some video of the Dyson Sphere in Shari space,” her father said, leaning back and looking at his daughter. “These Originators have actually invited all the survivors from Gaia to live in one of those?”
“Yes,” replied Kathryn. “But there’s another problem I haven’t told you about. It’s a race that’s called the Anti-Life and they’re out to conquer the entire universe. They’re a much greater menace than the Simulins.”
Kathryn then in very careful words told her father about the Anti-Life and what the surviving Originators had offered. She told him about her plan and then waited anxiously for him to respond.
Governor Barnes sat there staring at his daughter in disbelief. He blinked his eyes and tried to wrap his thoughts around what she had said. After several moments he looked up at Kathryn. “You want to move the entire population of Ceres to one of these Dyson Spheres to fight a war against an enemy that is out to conquer the universe?”
“We wish to invite some Altons and Carethians as well,” Kathryn said. “I would like to meet with Ambassador Tureen and then later I will take the Distant Horizon to Careth to meet with Malrez.”
“You said you had a letter from Fleet Admiral Strong?”
Kathryn handed the letter over and watched as her father opened it and began to read. It was several pages long.
When he was finished, he leaned back and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead with his right hand. With a deep sigh, he opened them. “You’re asking a lot of the people of Ceres.”
“They’ll have everything they want on the Dyson Sphere as well as access to Originator technology that is far in advance of anything we currently have. The Dyson Spheres are impervious to attack and the crews going out on the warships will have the most powerful weapons imaginable.”
Governor Barnes reached forward on his desk, activating his comm unit. “Barbara, contact Admiral Kalen and ask him to come to my office. Also, send in food for three people. Yes, I said three people.”
Kathryn raised her eyebrows.
“I trust Kalen and Barbara won’t say anything about you being here unless I give her permission.”
Several minutes passed and Admiral Kalen opened the door and entered Governor Barnes’ office. For a moment he didn’t notice who was standing over to one side of the room. When he did, his face turned as pale as a ghost. “Kathryn?” he said, forgetting to use her fleet title.
Kathryn turned to face the stunned admiral. “Hello, Admiral Kalen; it’s been awhile.”
Admiral Kalen took a deep breath and shut the door behind him. “Where’s the Distant Horizon? None of my ships have detected it on their sensors or I would have been notified.”
Kathryn smiled. “It’s close enough.”
“Sit down,” Governor Barnes said, gesturing toward one of two chairs in front of his desk. “We have a lot to talk about.”
The door opened again and Governor Barnes’ secretary Barbara came in carrying a large tray of food. She took one look at Kathryn and promptly dropped the tray, spilling the food all over the floor.
“Yes, it’s her,” Governor Barnes said in a reassuring voice. “I should have warned you. Have someone come in and clean up that mess. We’ll switch to the small conference room, and you can bring the food in there. And Barbara, no one is to know Kathryn is back.”
Barbara nodded. “Yes, Governor.” She then looked at Kathryn with a twinkle in her eyes. “It’s good to see you again, Kathryn.” With that, Barbara left shutting the door behind her.
“Didn’t Barbara take care of me when I was younger?” Barbara seemed very familiar to Kathryn.
Her father nodded. “Yes, right after your mother died. She spent several years helping to raise you. I hired her as my secretary only last year. I think seeing you was a shock, but a happy one.”
-
Later after eating, the three continued to talk. Admiral Kalen read Jeremy’s letter and after placing it on the conference table looked at Kathryn. “What I just read and what you’ve told me is fantastic. If I didn’t know you and Jeremy, I would say this was all made up.”
“I realize this is hard to accept,” Kathryn said as she reached into one of her uniform pockets and took out a small silver disk. She placed it on the conference table and pressed a small button on its side. It began emitting a low buzzing noise and suddenly Clarissa appeared standing next to the conference table.
“Hello, Admiral Kalen,” Clarissa said in her clear, youthful voice. “It’s good to see you again, Governor Barnes.”
“More surprises,” Admiral Kalen said, pleased to see the beautiful AI.
“Clarissa, I believe you have prepared a video for my father and the admiral.
“Yes,” answered Clarissa. “We realized this would be difficult to comprehend so this video will show some of what transpired in the Triangulum Galaxy.”
Instantly above the conference table a holographic image appeared. Over the next hour it showed Gaia, the AIs, the destruction of the dark matter Dyson Sphere, the annihilation of the Simulin worlds, and finally the great battle around Gaia.
“Okay,” said Admiral Kalen. “After watching the video, it’s amazing Fleet Admiral Strong and his people survived. Why are you here? There must be a reason for your sudden appearance.”
“Tell him,” Governor Barnes said.
Kathryn did as her father wanted and explained to Admiral Kalen about the Originators and the war with the Anti-Life. She then told him the reason she had come back home to Ceres.
Admiral Kalen leaned back in his chair and then let out a deep breath. “Governor, what do you want to do?”
“Ceres was built by the survivors of the old Human Federation of Worlds. We helped create the current Federation. I believe it can continue without us. I don’t see how we can turn do
wn Fleet Admiral Strong and the Originators. They’re telling us the entire universe might be at stake and they’re requesting our help providing crews for their warships.”
Admiral Kalen stood up and walked over to the holographic image floating above the table. It was of the Originator’s Communication and Transport Hub. He turned back toward Kathryn. “You said they have agreed to allow us access to their technology?”
“Part of it,” Kathryn answered. “They also want some Altons to come as well since they’re the most scientifically advanced race they know of besides themselves. I believe it’s because of the Altons they’re willing to share their technology with us.”
“Our people are going to take some convincing to do this,” Admiral Kalen said. “We’re asking them to leave their homes and embark on a war the size of which we’ve never even contemplated.”
“I think I know just the man to convince them,” Governor Barnes said with an all-knowing smile.
Admiral Kalen nodded since he knew who the governor was talking about. “I’ll get in touch with former Fleet Admiral Streth. I think I can have him here in a little over two weeks.”
“Don’t forget Ambassador Tureen,” said Kathryn.
“He’s currently at New Tellus meeting with Admiral Nagumo over the Shari fiasco,” her father replied. “I’ll contact him today. It will only take him a day or two to get here.”
“You mentioned the Distant Horizon had been upgraded by these Originator AIs,” said Kalen.
“Look at the hologram,” Clarissa directed. She instantly projected an image of the new and updated exploration dreadnought.
Admiral Kalen only stared as he saw all the changes that had been made to the ship.
“The Distant Horizon by herself could defeat all of the combined fleets of the Federation,” Clarissa announced. “Those are the kind of weapons we’re going to need to defeat the Anti-Life.”
“Is there any chance I can go aboard the Distant Horizon?” asked Admiral Kalen with a glint in his eyes. He was dying to see the inside of the ship.
Kathryn grinned. “I think I can arrange a tour. Besides, there are some people on board the ship I want all of you to meet. However, before we do that I brought a guest along with me.”
“What!” exclaimed her father, looking around the conference room. There was no one else present. “I don’t understand.”
“Camlin,” Kathryn said with a mischievous grin. “You can reveal yourself now.”
Instantly the eight feet tall Originator AI appeared standing just behind Kathryn.
Both Admiral Kalen and Kathryn’s father stared open mouthed at the apparition that had just appeared in front of them.
“This is Camlin,” Kathryn said, introducing her. “She is an Originator AI and will answer any other questions you might have.”
“How did she just appear like that?” asked Admiral Kalen. “We don’t have any type of technology that can come even close to doing that.”
“It’s a minor piece of Originator tech,” Camlin answered. “I have listened to the discussions between the three of you. I am here to answer any worries or concerns you might have in moving to one of our Shrieels, or Dyson Spheres as you call them.”
Kathryn leaned back in her chair as both her father and Admiral Kalen began bombarding Camlin with questions. There was no doubt in her mind that both her father and the admiral were going to support her request to move the people of Ceres to a Dyson Sphere. Now she needed to speak to the Altons and the Carethians as they were a necessary part of what would be needed to fight a war against the Anti-Life.
-
Eight weeks later Kathryn was in the Command Center of the Distant Horizon watching as the massive Originator transport ships entered the swirling vortex inside the ten-kilometer accelerator ring. Ship after ship entered the vortex to begin their long journey to the Originator Communications and Transport Hub. It had taken longer than expected to make all the arrangements and keep all of their preparations a secret.
With a deep sigh, Kathryn thought back to the last six weeks. Her meeting with Ambassador Tureen had gone much better than expected, partially because Kelnor Mard had attended the meeting along with Camlin. Ambassador Tureen had listened patiently and then asked a few pointed questions. He was highly interested about how the Anti-Life had come into being and what caused the life extension pathogen that had wiped out the Originators.
“Our own experiments with nanites indicated grave consequences could result if their programming was tampered with,” he said after hearing how mechanical nanites had created the Anti-Life. “Soon after our experimentation began we implemented broad controls on how they could be used. What you have just told me about the Anti-Life only confirms we did the right thing.”
“As far as sending Altons to fight against the Anti-Life, I have to ask about access to Originator technology. I can well understand the hesitation about letting such technology loose in the Federation or other less developed civilizations. If Alton research scientists were to go on this mission would they be granted full access to Originator technology?”
“Only under supervision,” replied Camlin. “There would need to be an Originator or at the very least some of our AIs present during the research. They would not be blocking any research; they would be there to guide you.”
Ambassador Tureen nodded his head in understanding. “Trust must be developed first. The Altons best suited for this are at Astral in the City of Light. They are keenly involved in research and would be easy to entice if allowed access to such technology and research. We would also need Altons with a more aggressive tendency to operate the warships of the Originators. Fortunately we have a large population and while most of my people are nonaggressive, there are still a large number that will be suitable. I will need to discuss this with our ruling council.”
Seeing the concern on Kathryn’s face Ambassador Tureen smiled. “Don’t worry, Admiral Barnes; we will keep your secret.”
The meeting had ended shortly after that.
-
“How many Altons are on those ships?” asked Governor Barnes, standing next to Kathryn.
“Nearly two million,” replied Kathryn. “Many are family units and a surprisingly large number of research scientists. Nearly 90 percent of the Altons working at Astral elected to come.”
“What of the Human Marines based in the system; surely they know what’s occurring?”
Kathryn smiled. She was very pleased with what had happened there. “General Wesley is in charge of all the marines in the system. He was called in by the two chief research scientists, Garak Rath and Leental Malth. They explained to him what was going to happen and that he would not be able to communicate with his superiors until after the research scientists left. The Alton warships in the system would also not allow any Federation ships to enter the system until well after the scientists were gone. Rather surprisingly, General Wesley and twenty-two thousand of his Marines volunteered to come to the Communication and Transport Hub as well.”
“We were fortunate,” Clarissa said, folding her arms across her chest. “General Wesley is a fine officer and his Marines will help us in removing the Simulins from the Dyson Sphere vortex Control Centers.
Alarms suddenly began sounding on the sensor console as several more of the big Originator transport ships exited hyperspace just outside the stealth field. These were the ships from Careth carrying four hundred thousand Carethian volunteers. Malrez had not hesitated in sending more of his people to support Grayseth and Fleet Admiral Strong. Malrez had said it would be a great honor for his people to serve. The only request Malrez had made was to be allowed to broadcast videos of the battles Grayseth and Fleet Admiral Strong had been involved in. For the Bear clans of Careth, it would bring much honor to those with clan members who had gone to the Triangulum Galaxy.
Other transport ships began dropping out of hyperspace. These contained the people of Ceres and even some from New Tellus. Governor Barnes had contacte
d the governor of New Tellus and informed her of what was about to transpire. She had demanded people from New Tellus be involved as well since the people of Ceres had colonized the planet shortly after arriving in the Sol System.
“Four million Humans,” Admiral Kalen said as he watched the massive transport ships line up to wait their turn to enter the accelerator ring. “Nearly 82 percent of the people of Ceres volunteered to come.”
‘Many who remained are older or are married to men and women from other worlds in the Federation,” added Governor Barnes. “We have nearly one million volunteers from New Tellus.”
Kathryn nodded. Those had been more difficult to remove due to New Tellus being one of the two main centers of Federation military strength. Numerous passenger liners had been moving between New Tellus and Ceres for over three weeks to bring those who had volunteered to the planetoid.
For nearly an hour they watched the transport ships enter the accelerator ring until it was finally the Distant Horizon’s turn.
Kathryn stood gazing at the viewscreen showing all the stars surrounding the exploration dreadnought. She felt a tear flow down her cheek. She knew they would never be returning to the Federation. That was one of the terms the Originators had set for allowing access to their weapons and technology.
“Commander Grissim, take us through the ring.”
As soon as the Distant Horizon passed through, they would be followed by the six Originator construction ships. Shortly after that, the accelerator ring would detonate destroying itself. The blast would be equivalent to a small nova but would not endanger any of the nearby stars as it would die out in a relatively short time.
As the Distant Horizon entered the vortex, Commander Grissim turned toward Rear Admiral Barnes. “I wonder what Fleet Admiral Nagumo will think when he learns what we have done?”
Governor Barnes smiled. “We left him a message as well as someone to deliver it. I think in the end he will understand.”
-
Six days later, Fleet Admiral Nagumo was in the Command Center of the battleship Luna as it slowly approached Ceres. A full fleet of battleships and strikecruisers accompanied the Federation flagship as it slowly crept toward the planetoid.
The Lost Fleet: Search for the Originators: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 34