by Jason Kent
It was a wild ride.
With all the bucking and rattling going on inside the spacecraft, Ian was sure the Reaper was about to break up.
Above the noise, Robin called out, “Acclerators back on-line for exit.”
Ian closed his eyes and wondered if a ship entering a wormhole had ever failed to bring up its accelerators again. It was necessary not only to supply the energy from the AM plant at the beginning of the journey but also to terminate the wormhole travel. Crossing the far threshold, the jump drive would release yet another burst of energy to close the wormhole. Clutching the arms of his chair, Ian wondered what happened to a ship if the jump drive only worked on the inbound threshold.
Deciding it was probably not wise to dwell on the possibilities of failed jump drives, Ian pushed the thought from his mind. He figured if something broke, he would not live long enough to know about it.
In twenty-seven seconds Ian’s first wormhole transit was over.
Ian and the rest of the Reaper crew were thrown forward against their restraints as the spacecraft exited the wormhole.
“Successful jump,” Robin called out.
To Ian, the statement seemed a little redundant after their obvious survival of the journey. He loosened his grip on the seat and took in the view.
Double stars of a new system hung before them.
“We’ve entered the system in orbit around the second planet,” Robin continued. “There are two other gas giants, both further out. There is one rocky planet closer to the primary star.”
Ian took in the banded gas giant hanging overhead. He checked his data pad. Jennifer’s notes coincided exactly with Robin’s observations. Their next wormhole entry point was located further out in the system near the third planet. Ian did some quick figuring and realized with the new AM engines and inertial dampeners, the trip would take just over twelve hours.
Bridges said, “Ghost, give us a one hour quiet time then head out for our next jump.”
Ian looked up. As far as he knew, the current regulations for ships traveling through wormholes called out a twenty-four hour observation time with no eminations in order to ensure there were no enemy vessels in the area. “Is one hour long enough?” Ian asked.
“Twenty-four hours is the guidance not the law,” Bridges replied. “Don’t worry, Captain. Our sensors are a tad more advanced than the average search party gets out here.”
Ian nodded. He wondered if the ship carrying Jennifer had obeyed the guidance or not. Quietly, he breathed, “Where are you now Jennifer Langdon?”
Star System 4576B
Far Space
Jennifer sat strapped in to her acceleration couch off to the side of the navigation plot table. She watched as Captain Merck’s crew guided their transport down to the surface. The feat of landing a spacecraft and taking off again without massive amounts of fuel had been solved by the AM propulsion system. She wondered, not for the first time, who actually owned the ship. One did not just come across a spare stealth ship with an anti-matter power system and wormhole capabilities.
From what she knew of spacecraft design, the ship she found herself on-board was most likely one of the first production models incorporating the critical technologies of the AM power plant, engine, wormhole drive, and inertial dampeners. Without each, the whole concept of wormhole travel unraveled. There was no easy or fast way to get the near-infinite mass needed for the wormhole drive without using AM. There was no quick way to get the ship between wormhole thresholds without the AM propulsion system. And the AM propulsion system was useless without the inertial dampeners. Fortunately, humanity had understood at least the basics of each of these designs, in theory if not in practice, when the alien ship Six had been recovered. The examination of Six and of each of the key systems led to the breakthroughs needed for humans to build their own wormhole ships. With the ships, all you needed were the crews willing to take them to the far space beyond the wormholes.
Jennifer let her eyes rove from one member of the bridge crew to another. The way they had interacted since day one, she was sure this had been a hastily pulled together mission. Someone with a lot of pull had managed to get hold of this ship and gathered this mismatched crew. All to come through sixteen jumps? What was the real purpose of this trip? Surely it was more than the reconnaissance mission she had been sold when she had been brought on board.
Should have asked a few more questions, Jennifer thought to herself.
Atmospheric entry was a little bumpy, but not bad. She thought of Ian and their little fall back to Earth more than a year ago. After that, any reentry seemed smooth. As they leveled out over the globe-spanning ocean, she tapped into the long range sensors. The only break in the waves was a long string of rocky islands rising from the sea nearly forty kilometers away. The pilot saw the same thing and adjusted course for one of the larger outcroppings.
Jennifer studied the images coming in from the ships exterior cameras. The complete lack of structures came as no surprise to her. After her time studying the captured alien vessel, she knew the Soosuri were underwater creatures. They would have little need to build on land. But what about under the waves? What was their civilization like?
Growing excited, Jennifer found herself looking out over the wave-topped ocean even as her spacecraft landed. She was happy to see they were near the water, having landed on a relatively flat shelf of rock. The shelf jutted out into a cove surrounded by an unspoiled black beach. She wondered if she would actually have the chance to meet any of the alien creatures. Would they be able to communicate? She had so many questions: How had they achieved such a high technological state without fire? How did they discover the secrets of space travel? How many other intelligent species had they come across in their travels? When…
Jennifer’s thoughts were interrupted as Captain Merck cleared his throat. She looked up to find the Navy Captain standing beside his command chair. Mr. Monroe unfolded from his acceleration couch nearby to stand beside the mission commander.
Everyone on board had crowded on the flight deck after landing to receive their orders. Merck cleared his throat again and the crew fell silent.
Merck tried to smile and failed before pressing on. “I wanted you all to be here for this historic occasion,” he began. “As far as any records indicate, we are the first human ship to land on this world.”
There was a spattering of applause from the crew. Mason was the only one who clapped enthusiastically.
Jennifer looked around. Only her experience with the rest of the crew kept her from being completely surprised by the severe lack of enthusiasm for what should have otherwise been the high-light of the trip. Morale could not have been lower. Whoever had thrown this crew together had done a poor job of selecting such compatible personalities which were forced together within the tight confines of a spacecraft. As it was, most of the people in the room had gotten on each other’s nerves so bad, they essentially hated each other. There had even been a fist-fight the day before in the mess area.
The Captain held up his hands as if quieting a roaring round of applause. He continued, “And now, I believe it is time to reveal our true mission.” He looked over to the civilian next to him. “I believe you all know Mr. Monroe. Please share our little secret with the rest of the crew.”
Monroe took center stage and gazed around the room, trying to give each and every crew member his best ‘I’m about to share something big’ look. He managed instead to appear condescending. “Hehem, yes, the Captain and I felt it necessary to withhold certain information from you, for security purposes, of course.” Monroe looked around again, obviously expecting consent with his wise decision.
Of all the people she was trapped on this ship with, Monroe was her least favorite. If the man would have morphed into a snake and slithered around on his belly, she would not have been the least bit shocked.
“Ahem, yes, then...” Monroe continued. “I have been tasked by the highest levels, the highest levels mind you, of t
he U.S. government. My mission, with your help, of course, is to engage in a dialogue with the creatures on this planet. My primary goal is to attempt to strike up an alliance with these beings.”
This caused more of a ripple in the gathered crowd than actually landing on an alien world.
Monroe held up his hand and smiled a toothy smile. “Hmmm, yes, I know it sounds fantastic. But we have solid evidence, hard intelligence, that these poor creatures forced to inhabit this world are outcasts. Rebels, if you will. As such, we believe they will jump at the chance to take up the fight against their oppressive masters. Having such allies, would, needless to say, be of great assistance in our great and continuing struggle against a common enemy.”
Jennifer wondered if Monroe really did not know the aliens name or simply chose not to use it. The Soosuri name had been one of the first things she had deciphered on her own. She also wondered who, exactly the ‘highest levels of U.S. government’ were and what their ‘continuing struggle’ actually entailed. Nothing the man said made her want to trust him anymore than she already did. Jennifer kept her face impassive. This whole thing was getting fishier and fishier.
“Okay, we have a lot of preparations to make, so let’s get cracking,” Merck said, clapping his hands.
As the crowd moved off to various duties, Jennifer stood and ensured her datapad was safe inside her jumpsuit pocket. If the only information Monroe had to work with was the data from Six, he was blowing smoke. She looked around the room. Monroe had needed her to find this planet. He likewise needed the other specialists to somehow figure out how to talk to the Soosuri. But about what? Allies in the backwater of a star spanning civilization would not be much good in a stand up fight. She suspected Monroe cared nothing about an alliance with the Soosuri.
Something else going on here, Jennifer mused. Why had Monroe and Merck brought them all the way out here? She looked up to find Monroe eyeing her.
Jennifer and Monroe’s eyes locked. She held his gaze, suddenly afraid to let any shade of frailty show in front of the man. As the seconds passed, Jennifer imagined his countenance grew darker and more intense. She was starting to wonder how to end the silent combat when the navigator stepped in between Monroe and Jennifer. Jennifer took the chance to duck away to the hatch leading down to the crew quarters.
Jennifer had no duties to perform as the rest of the crew made ready to disembark. So, clutching the data pad in her pocket, Jennifer made her way to her cubical of a stateroom and latched the door. It was not much in the way of a private retreat, but it was all she had. Sitting on her bunk, she ran through the list of everything she knew of the Soosuri. Jennifer wracked her brain, trying to find what she had missed which would be a cause for this amount of intrigue.
Activating the data pad, Jennifer glanced over the material she had deciphered.
“What have you missed, Jennifer,” she muttered to herself. A thought struck her suddenly. “Maybe they’re after some sort of weapon.”
Twenty minutes of fruitless searching later, Jennifer leaned back and sighed. Nothing.
She shook her head. “These guys wouldn’t have weapons. They’ve been quarantined on this planet for…how long?” She read through the ‘quarantine’ instructions for the world she was now sitting on. The instructions they had just blatantly disregarded. Maybe Monroe’s people had misinterpreted the quarantine as evidence of a biological infection. Perhaps it was not a weapon they were after but something which could be made into weapons.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Jennifer said shaking her head. “How would you even use bio weapons in a space battle?” She dove back into the database.
Jennifer gave up after nearly two hours. She had only one important revelation during that time; once Monroe got what he came for, her life and the lives of the other scientists on board might not be worth the lump of rock they were sitting on.
C-31R SOF Reconnaissance Spacecraft - “Reaper 16”
Far Space – Third Jump from Jupiter Space
Ian touched the overhead in the control room and pushed. The isometric exercise helped relieve some of the tension built up in his legs and shoulders.
“That’s three jumps,” Robin said. She looked back at Ian. “How many more we got?”
Ian leaned forward in the tiny compartment and held up the data pad for her to see.
Robin let out a long whistle.
“Sixteen!?” Ghost said. “Cripes, this could take all week.”
“That’s sixteen total,” Robin corrected. “We only have thirteen more to go.” She turned to Ian. “Sir, if I may, I can lay in all the data and let the computer do some of the work for us. It should be able to give us a pretty good idea just how long this is going to take. Or do you already have an arrival time in mind?”
Ian handed over the data pad. “I estimated at least six days.”
Robin quickly downloaded the jump file and handed the pad back to Ian. He watched as the navigator entered and correlated the data within the navigation program.
“Six days and three hours,” Robin said after the nav system had finished its own number crunching. “Give or take ten minutes, depending on traffic, and allowing for an hour quiet time after each jump plus travel time between inbound and outbound jump point thresholds.”
“Uh,” Ghost moaned. “I thought we were out here for a quickie.”
Ian looked up to find Bridges staring at him. “And what exactly are we going to the edge of the galaxy for, Captain Langdon? I take orders from my superiors but I think you’ll find my crew and I are more helpful if we know the whole story.”
Ian considered for a moment and decided there was no reason to keep the purpose of their mission a secret now that they were far from Europa and possibly prying eyes.
“The route Robin just laid in the nav computer is the same path taken by a U.S. ship on a mission into Far Space,” Ian said. “General Yates wants me, wants us, to find the ship, ascertain its mission and, in his words, ‘take appropriate action’, if needed.”
“Appropriate action,” Bridge said quietly. “That sounds like Yates.” The commander was silent for a moment before leaning sideways with his head supported by outstretched fingers. He fixed Ian with a piercing gaze and said, “Captain Langdon, even I, a dumb snake-eater had figured out what you just told me. Care to share the rest of the story now?”
Ian nodded and smiled. “Yes sir, but it’s a long story.”
Bridges checked the master time on his display. “We’ve got plenty of time before we reach the next threshold.”
“It all started,” Ian began, “with a little trip I took on an elevator…”
Star System 4576B
Far Space
Jennifer donned her encounter outfit, a sturdy, self-contained environmental suit and helped the rest of the crew unload supplies for their base camp. The planet’s air had been declared breathable and preliminary tests revealed no pathogens or harmful chemical compounds. Merck had decided to play it safe while waiting for the final assay, being run by MacGregor, the team biologist, and ordered everyone to wear the suits. If the tests came back negative, they would ditch the suits. From what she could tell, the place could pass as home.
Home, the word had a whole new meaning for Jennifer now that she was sixteen wormholes removed from Earth. Funny, she used to think just going to the Moon was a particularly long trip. Then it was Saturn. Cripes, what I’d give to be back on that trip with Ian right about now, she thought.
Jennifer stood up from her task of staking out a shelter and gazed out over the waters of this unnamed planet. Calling it 4576B-2 after the stellar designation of the star and the fact this planet was the second from the local star just did not do it justice.
The local sun was just touching the horizon. It burned a little cooler than Earth’s Sun. This just made it a deeper orange color which contributed to the fantastic sunset. The clouds streaking the sky burst into color; first burning orange then fading to red, the clouds an even riche
r tapestry of color as the sun sank lower toward the horizon. Finally, as the last sliver of the rusted orb disappeared, the clouds softened to purple and then faded gently. The first star of the night appeared off to the right.
Seeing the first star, Jennifer could not help herself. The moment was so perfect, she wished for the first thing she thought, summed up in one word. She closed her eyes and whispered, “Ian.”
The sky was noticeably darker when Jennifer opened her eyes a few long moments later. She looked back at the ship, crouching on the rocky shelf. Before AM power, there would have been no way to land a spacecraft on such a field. As it was, the crew had been able to work their magic with the landing thrusters and done a reasonably good job picking a spot. Of course, who could not make landing look easy when you basically had unlimited power and thrust at your command?
Jennifer looked around at the unfinished camp then at the pole in her hand. She tossed the pole onto the pile of fabric which would be a tent tomorrow and headed back to the ship. A short queue of suited crew members waited outside the decontamination annex which had been erected at the airlock. The sonic shower and ultraviolet bath would ensure nothing unwanted got back inside the ship except sterilized suits and tired humans. She was the last one to head back to the ship which meant she was last in line.
“So much for ladies first,” Jennifer breathed.
The next morning, Jennifer was up early and joined Thuros Rider at the airlock. There was a strict buddy system when going out. Rider wanted to gather some samples and Jennifer was more than willing to volunteer to serve as the older geologist’s partner. Away from the ship with Thuros, the day would be at be much more cordial.
The ‘ship’. Why did the thing not even have a name? Just another mystery Jennifer had encountered during the mission.
While Rider gathered up some sample bags and tools from a packing crate outside the airlock annex, Jennifer wandered along the side of the ship, looking for any markings. Anything would do if it had no name. It should at least have a model and production number. She was suddenly determined to name the ship by the end of the day, even if she had to make it up. Rider came up and stood beside her.