Onatof who is more focused on the engine readings says aloud, “Well, my big friend, we have to do whatever we must to make sure we don’t fail. This future is such a terrible nightmare.”
Benton smiles, as he asks, “What are you working on Doc?”
Onatof still focused on his task replies, “Caleb has given me a great gift of knowledge, so I’m using it to amplify most of the ship's systems. Currently, I’m working on tying in the ship's excess engine power to amplify the ships long-range sensors.”
With that comment, Onatof flips a switch and the sensors expand to more than twice their previous range, exposing an unexpected and most certainly an unwanted reading.”
Paladin immediately reports, “With the enhanced sensors I’ve been able to scan the area of the gateway. We have a single ship waiting for us, and it appears to be the Ronin.”
Benton puts his hands over his head. Frowning, he groans, “This ain’t good.”
A few hours later, Uari, Caleb, Onatof, and Benton meet in Caleb’s ready room.
Caleb sits quietly, contemplating the situation as Paladin goes over the data, “We have two weeks till we are within combat range. It is extremely doubtful that Ronin sensors are aware of our location. However, the Meli’s power mixed with Carla’s, could allow her to know of our location.”
Caleb sighs as he thinks to himself. This is a delicate operation, I can’t go gun for gun against that ship, and it’s blocking the gateway. If I’m not careful, she could just destroy the gateway, and we’re all doomed.
Paladin aware of Caleb’s thoughts says to him telepathically, “Cale, it is most likely that the Meli, which feeds on negative emotion, wishes us to be present before destroying the gateway.”
Caleb groans aloud, saying verbally, “Arggghhh! That’s not helping Pal.”
Onatof smiles, as he asks, “Having a private meeting son?”
Paladin says, “I was pointing out that the Meli feeds on despair and agony. It would be reasonable to expect that it would destroy the gateway once we are in range, so that it could feast on our despair.”
Benton says aloud, “Damn it! Can’t we use one of those boarding pods and do a number on that ship, before it knows we’re there?”
Caleb sighs, saying aloud, “Wouldn’t work Gabe, the Meli would sense your pod before you could enter, and even if we could get onboard you’d never be able to withstand a direct assault against the Meli. No, any attempt to sneak on board would just be a death sentence.”
Onatof thinks to himself, realizing that their options are limited, and that extreme sacrifices may be needed, he says. “Perhaps we should fully explore all our options... Even sneaking on board this Meli’s vessel should not be dismissed.”
Benton, contemplating, asks, “Well, Cale can’t we just shift in and take her out before it can destroy the gateway?”
Caleb sighs and says, “Not likely. We could do an extreme shift in from our maximum distance, and open fire. Unfortunately, Ronin’s shields and weapons dwarf our own. I feel most of our options are just too limited.”
Caleb pauses, as he studies the location of the Ronin, measuring its distance from the gateway. He continues, saying, “Should we open the gateway to the black hole Ronin would not be affected by the gravitational pull, and she is also far enough away to escape any shockwave from the gateway exploding.”
Onatof, considering all the options as well states, “Cale, the Celesta has our last psionic bomb. If we can get him to detonate it, perhaps I could get on that ship, and with Paladin’s help, I should be able to prevent this Meli from stopping us.”
Caleb stops and thinks to himself about Onatof’s idea. He says, “Every time we risk using the com, we give Noskcaj a chance to locate us, and I’m sure he’s more than a little upset with us.”
Benton smiles, as he stares at Caleb, saying with a grin, “Ya think.”
Caleb groans aloud. He puts his hands across his face, saying, “Gabe, you are such an annoying bastard.”
Caleb huffs as he continues, “Fine, we’ll contact Celesta and set it up. Doc, you’re going to have to go with Gabe on a support fighter. Uari, you have less than two weeks to teach Colonel Benton how to phase shift.”
Benton’s eyes go wide in complete surprise as he protests, “Shift! Are you crazy Cale?”
Uari very concerned about Caleb’s request, replies, “Sir, it takes most people years to withstand the effects of null space. The shortest time I’ve ever seen anyone adapt to shifting was a few months.”
Caleb shakes his head, saying, “They only needs to survive a single shift back to the ship.”
Benton confused asks, “Cale, if I’m flying a ship over to Ronin why can’t I just fly it back out again?”
Caleb smiles, as he looks up to Benton. Finally, after a brief minute he replies, “Because I’m going to have it loaded to the hilt with every high explosive, and everything else I can fit into it.”
Benton sinks down in his seat. He groans, saying, “This is going to suck on so many levels.”
Paladin announces, “Cale, I have Celesta on the holocom.” An image quickly appears of White.”
Caleb smirks, as he knows Paladin always anticipates his needs. He says to White, “Reg, I’m going to need you to detonate your psionic super bomb now.”
White’s eyes light up, shocked he replies, “Cale, I’m really not in a strategically acceptable area to detonate it, if you catch my drift.”
Paladin tells Caleb telepathically, “Cale, he is located inside Dorsa controlled space, and has several hundred Dorsa vessels between him and the gateway. Dorsa’s are psionic creatures, and the detonation of such a device inside their space would be a very dangerous act.”
Caleb, aware that the com may be compromised, says, “Reggie, Pal’s given me the info on your current situation as best he can. Regardless of your current situation, we have the Meli ahead of us. You need to shut down the psychic plane, as soon as you can.”
White takes a deep breath saying as cryptic as he can, “Cale, I’m walking on eggshells here, but I think I may have a better idea.”
Caleb confused asks, “Reggie?”
White takes a deep breath and says, “Cale, you need to lower the shield around your quarters again.”
Caleb confused, says, “Reggie, that’s not such a good idea.”
White, aware of Caleb’s reasons, replies, “I know Cale, but it has to be done.”
Caleb sighs and says to everyone, “Clear the room. Gabe lower the shield around my room, as soon as it’s cleared and be prepared to re-establish it if Reggie’s idea doesn’t work.”
White says, “Talk to you soon Cale.”
On Celesta, White rushes up to his quarters, waiting for Rooke to lower the shield around his quarters. A few moments pass as White is once again besieged with hundreds of Dorsa minds. He hears a voice, “What is it you want of us human?”
White says, “I have my Commander entering the plane. He is the one you know as Caleb, I need you to bring him into the conversation please.”
A few moments pass, and Caleb appears very surprised, asking, “Reggie what is going on?”
White says, “Cale, these are the Dorsa, and they have allowed me to travel through their space to get to the gateway. They are aware of what our ultimate goal is.”
The Dorsa speak as one mind, saying, “The Meli is now aware of us, and is attempting to listen to us. We are able to block her, but she is very powerful.”
Caleb mindful of Carla’s power asks, “The Meli is indeed very powerful. How are you able to block her?”
The Dorsa reply, “We are able to combine our conscience within the plane. As a whole we can defend against her power, but if we are too far apart we risk much.”
Caleb asks, “You are aware of our intention, and what we need to do?”
The Dorsa respond, “We are aware of everything you are thinking Caleb. Your psychic power is very low level. It is not hard to bypass your feeble defenses. We are now
aware of the split in your daughter’s power. This is now of grave concern to us, should you succeed in returning to the past, and prevent this future, your daughter’s true potential could be reached. She could become a threat to us in this new timeline.”
Caleb aware of the strategic position he now has replies, “Carla is my daughter and raised in my values. You have stated you have access to my mind, and aware of who and what I am. We both have an opportunity to help each other. Do not force me to use our other option.”
The Dorsa respond, “The ship your compatriots travel on is well within our sphere, and can easily be destroyed. We will decide in our time to help or not. We have much to weigh. The Meli is powerful, and although we have numbers. We are not its equal.”
Caleb pauses as he thinks. He quickly says, “I may have an ally that could help us fight the Meli, but it will take a lot of convincing to do so.”
The Dorsa attempt to read Caleb’s mind, but this time he blocks their attempt, saying, “I am very capable of hiding my thoughts when I choose too. You must decide that you are my ally, or my enemy. Too many have sacrificed all, to ensure that we succeed, and I will not allow those sacrifices to be for naught. Captain White will be able to detonate the psionic bomb before you can destroy him, and he will do so if you choose not to help.”
White, hoping to gain their support states, “You are aware of what we are doing, and we will need your help to succeed. Please, work with us and in a new future, we can correct the past mistakes. We can bring peace instead of war.”
The Dorsa reply, “We will decide on our time. Not yours.”
Caleb shakes his head, saying, “Very well, Captain White you will detonate the psionic bomb on the last day of your last jump.” Caleb turns his attention to the Dorsa, saying, “You now have that much time to decide.”
The Dorsa unamused respond, “If you attempt to detonate that bomb within our space. You will be committing an act of war against us, and their ship will be destroyed.”
White speaks up again, asking, “Can you really say this is the future you wanted for your people? How many billions have died over the centuries of war with the Meli? How much better can this current timeline represent? The decision is yours to help. I will not detonate the bomb, even under Caleb’s orders to do so. Because I believe that you will help.” White turns to Caleb lowering his head, saying, “Cale, sometimes you have to believe in others.”
Cale shakes his head in disgust, saying, “Reggie, Onatof, and Benton will be attempting to infiltrate Ronin in thirteen days. If you don’t detonate that bomb before they get there. They’re as good as dead.”
White shakes his head, saying, “I have come to know the Dorsa. I don’t believe they will let us down.”
Caleb now enraged yells, “Let us down! Reg, they can’t even make up their mind to help us.”
The Dorsa speak, “We will make our decision when we are ready.” The psionic connection is severed, as Caleb’s mind is released, and White’s conscious returns to the physical realm.
White realizing that he is now accessible to the Meli yells, “Celesta, shields now!”
Celesta quickly covers the ready room with the psychic shield. White sits back in his chair, thankful that this encounter was far less intrusive than the first time he met with the Dorsa.
White hears a voice behind him, asking, “You ok luv?”
White looks behind him and sees Cooley opening the door to their quarters. He responds, “I think I’m ok, but Cale will be more than a little upset with me if what I'm hoping for doesn’t work.”
Cooley grins, saying, “Don’t worry luv, it’ll be ok.”
White smiles, asking, “Premonition?”
Cooley, more than annoyed by her premonitions says, “No, and that’s not the reason why I believe it’ll be ok. I believe in the man sitting in that chair.”
White smiles again, saying, “Well, let’s hope I don’t let you down Rachel.”
Both descend to the bridge, where Rooke is going over their course. He turns to both, saying, “We have a huge concentration of Dorsa lining up ahead of us. I’m expecting over a thousand ships or more.”
White takes a deep breath, and lowers his head. He clenches his fist, as he wonders if he is right in trusting in his gut feeling. He looks up, and asks Rooke, “Michael, what is your take on the current situation?”
Rooke looks over the data, and states his thoughts, “Captain, we have less than two weeks ahead of us, and we have thousands of Dorsa ships all around us. We also now have the Ronin ahead of us, and we have more than once broken radio silence, which is what's the most concerning to me. Noskcaj, whom we have most definitely upset with the destruction of his main power source, is still an unknown factor. The Skull space station is capable of transporting itself anywhere in a single shift. With that unknown element ahead of us, the unknown is just as scary as what we do know.”
White sighs, as he looks out ahead to the stars, and says, “Michael, the unknown is always more frightening than the actual.”
Back on Paladin, Caleb purposely waits in the psychic plane. The Meli immediately sees him, as she instantly appears before him, saying, “Foolish of you father to wait for me. You have killed thousands of my followers. I could kill you with just a thought, but I have a better plan for you.”
Caleb sits quietly, as he just stares at the Meli saying nothing.
The Meli annoyed at Caleb’s obvious lack of concern for his own well-being, decides to pry into Caleb’s mind, hoping to see just what he is thinking. She is impressed at Caleb’s level of resistance, saying, “Interesting, you have developed a strong defense, but I will break it.”
Caleb telepathically tells Paladin, “Raise the shield.”
Caleb immediately returns to the physical plane, as Paladin restores the shield. He sits back in his chair, extremely annoyed.
Paladin alerts Caleb, “Cale, with Onatof’s improved sensor system, I’ve detected the gateway is indeed booby-trapped just as you believed. I have detected an anti-matter nuclear device connected to the gateway.”
Caleb groans, as he shakes his head in disgust, asking, “Pal, were you able to make contact with the other part of Carla’s symbiot’s?”
Paladin responds, “Yes Cale, but as you thought, it is far too frightened to help us.”
Caleb curious, asks, “Pal, you stated this part of her symbiot broke apart when she was very young, how much of my daughter's consciousness would be imbued within that piece?”
Paladin replies, “The split took place at an adolescent age, the time when your daughter would be very emotional and defiant. This would certainly have transferred over to the symbiot, and from our limited time with this symbiot piece I would make a strong guess that much of your daughter’s emotions and personality were transferred.”
Caleb grins as he says, “You know what I’m thinking Pal.”
Paladin reluctantly responds, “Yes Cale, and I do not feel it will work, but I know you will try it anyways.”
Caleb descends from his ready room where Onatof and Benton wait. He asks, “Doc, I’m afraid we may not be able to use the psionic bomb. However, I think I’ve figured a way to prevent the Meli from sensing you anyways, but time is going to be very relevant. You will need to find and shut down Ronin’s ability to detonate that bomb as quickly as possible. Paladin has detected that they have strapped it directly to the gateway, so your main objective will be to locate and shut down her control of that bomb, and then you both will need to get out as fast as you can. Unfortunately, I’m trying to figure how to get you there before we get there, and I’m stumped.”
Onatof, smiles as he responds, “Cale my boy, I have already adapted one of the ships in the hangar to move through null space. I created a very sizeable power supply, which should allow us to travel to this Ronin, perhaps the entire distance in a single shift, and thanks to the X’ena knowledge, you have bestowed upon me I’ve had a great deal of time to learn and study this null space. There a
re time distortions that speed up and slow down time. I have been able to create a formula that should allow us to navigate around them, allowing us to make the journey much faster than Paladin.”
Paladin responds, “Detecting them is helpful Professor, but unless you can navigate around the time rifts in null space, you are still faced with the same impasse.”
Onatof grins, saying, “That will be something I’m sure Gabriel will be able to accomplish easily.”
Benton, who really hasn’t been paying attention, boastful laughs, “Hell Ya!” Benton questions, “Hey wait. What do I have to do?”
Onatof smiles, saying, “Not to worry my son, come with me now, we have work to do and very little time to do it in. Oh, and Paladin, I will need your help with finding a way to bypass Ronin’s detection protocols.”
Paladin uncomfortable responds, “Professor, that would require giving you access to my core programming.”
Onatof, now entering the lift beams, stating, “Yes, I know.” The lift door closes as Onatof and Benton descend to engineering.
Uari, who was listening in while they spoke says to Caleb, “Admiral Caleb, null space time rifts are extremely unpredictable. I know of only Commander Rooke to have successfully completed an extended shift, and I’m pretty sure he did it with a lot of luck.”
Caleb smirks as he looks out across the star filled observation view port in front of Uari. He says, Uari, luck is our number one commodity here on Paladin. Unfortunately, most of our recent luck is often bad.”
Paladin telepathically says to Caleb, “Cale, I have grave reservations allowing the Professor access to my core programming. With his advanced knowledge of X’ena technology, he would be able to overwrite code. Cale, he could hide data from me, and could shut down systems on the ship without my knowledge. This is most uncomfortable.”
Caleb unconcerned replies, “If the Doc was a threat, I’d agree, but he is one of us, and he needs all the advantages he can get on Ronin.”
Down in engineering, Onatof and Benton exit the lift. Onatof says, “Gabe, help me carry my equipment to the hangar deck. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and very little time to finish it.”
The Ocoda Chronicles Book 4 Present Future Past Page 17