Endurance

by C. S. Harte

  40 seconds.

  “Captain, I have sensor data on the drones. They’re older model Swarm-type attack drones.”

  30 seconds.

  “Didn’t the Commonwealth use similar drones in the past before the Alliance Civil War?” asked Barick.

  25 seconds.

  “Looking up their specifications now…” Jadin rocked in her chair as she searched.

  20 seconds.

  Barick rested his hand on Jadin’s shoulder. “Any assistance you can give to Tien would be much appreciated,” he said in a steady voice, trying to keep the tension on the bridge to a minimum.

  15 seconds.

  “I’ve tried over a hundred different encryption algorithms. Nothing is working!” Tien yelled in frustration.

  10 seconds.

  “FOUND IT!” Jadin nearly jumped out of her seat. “Tien, transferring hash algorithm to you now.”

  7 seconds.

  Tien once again entered the challenge response. “No….”

  5 seconds.

  “What’s wrong?” Barick held his breath.

  3 seconds.

  “Captain, they’re arming weapons and forming a perimeter around the Endurance,” Jadin said while shaking her head.

  1.

  “MISSILES FIRED! MISSILES FIRED!” Jadin yelled. “I’m counting 24… no, updating… 48 torpedoes incoming!”

  “GOT IT!” Tien screamed.

  “Jadin, order the drones to suicide and intercept the missiles,” Barick barked.

  Jadin programmed the drones to sacrifice themselves as fast as she could.

  One by one, the drones moved in front of an incoming missile. Dozens of explosions surrounded the Endurance, rocking the ship violently.

  “Four made it through our drones!” yelled Jadin.

  “Evasive maneuvers. Hard to starboard,” Barick bellowed at Tien.

  “Maneuvering thrusters firing. Hard to starboard.”

  Three missiles narrowly missed the hull. The fourth smashed into the underside of the Endurance, sending shockwaves throughout the ship.

  The Alliance drones withdrew their engagement and returned to their outpost.

  "One hit to decks 1-4. No casualties. Minimal chain explosions," Jadin reported. "We sealed those decks from before."

  Everyone took a deep breath.

  “What did you do, Tien?” Barick asked.

  Tien laughed for a moment before answering. “When I was a kid, I used to go with my dad on long-haul freight ship runs. We would sign our challenge code with our ship’s engine signature. I added the ship’s signature from the third part of the Entrent’s code, and it worked!”

  “That’s brilliant! Excellent job, Commander. You might be in line for another promotion.”

  Tien wiped the sweat from his brow. “That’s OK, Captain. Being Commander is hard enough.”

  Barick smiled and laughed. “Continue course to the nebula.”

  12

  After 25 minutes, they reached the edge of the Quarke Nebula.

  “Stop. Stop. STOP!” Jadin shouted.

  “Why are we stopping?” Barick asked.

  “Sensors are detecting an anomaly at the edge of the Nebula.”

  Barick narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”

  “I could be wrong, it’s unlikely, but I’m detecting a large mass in front of us.”

  “I don’t see anything on the viewscreen,” Tien said while squinting.

  “I can’t… I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Suggest we send a modified drone to scout.”

  Barick tilted his head. “How many drones do we have left?”

  “Five. But I strongly recommend that we send a probe, Captain.”

  “Alright.” Barick nodded. “Modify a drone with sensor parts and send it into the nebula.”

  “Already done, Sir. Launching probe.”

  “200,000 km till the nebula’s edge,” Tien reported.

  “The anomaly is still there.”

  150,000 km.

  The probe continued its path toward the nebula.

  125,000 km.

  “I’m reading energy signatures.”

  Barick moved closer to the viewscreen, looking for potential ships and seeing none. “How many?”

  100,000 km.

  “This can’t be right.” Jadin scratched her temple.

  75,000 km.

  “What? What is it, Jadin?” Barick asked.

  50,000 km.

  “Thousands. I mean, tens of thousands of signatures…”

  25,000 km.

  Barick’ eyes grew wide. He recognized this pattern from Fleet Academy training. “Retrieve the probe. Do it. Do it now!”

  Jadin froze as if confused by the unexpected order. “Sir?”

  The probe exploded in a massive, cascading blaze.

  “Mines,” Barick said softly.

  “Worst,” Jadin added. “Stealth mines.”

  “But those were outlawed in the Ashadha Treaty. Too many civilization ships got caught in the carnage.” Tien looked at Barick. “No way the Alliance would use them. That’s asking for another war…”

  “Even more odd, why would the Alliance mine the edge of a nebula inside their own territory?” Barick rubbed his chin. “Jadin, how wide is the minefield?”

  “Estimating.” She performed a wide scan around the nebula. “It’s a big net, Captain. The anomaly reaches the edge of our sensor range.”

  “Is there no end to the depths of this mystery?” He sat back down in his chair. “Jadin, as far as you are aware, does the Alliance have cloak technology?”

  “No, Sir. They’ve never shown any cloaking technology before.”

  “You think the Commonwealth placed them?” Tien asked.

  Jadin shook her head. “Our cloaking technology is still in the prototype phase, and for the life of me, I can’t see why the Commonwealth would mine this particular nebula at the very edge of human space within the Alliance borders.”

  “There’s another party involved,” Barick said softly. “One that’s yet to show its face." He sat hunched over in thought. "Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.”

  “Captain?” Tien raised his eyebrows.

  “It’s an expression my mother would say to me from an old Earth civics leader, Martin Luther King Jr. It’s much harder to defend against a threat if you can’t see it fully.”

  “What are we going to do now, Captain?” Jadin asked.

  Barick kept his stare on the viewscreen. “Do you have ideas for getting past the minefield?”

  Jadin paused as if thinking of answers. “Well, if they weren’t cloaked, we could just destroy them with our lasers.”

  “Couldn’t we just send a drone to trigger them, creating a hole large enough for the Endurance to get through?” Tien asked.

  “Captain, because we can’t detect their location, I would be extremely hesitant to try and punch through with the Endurance. Also, sensor data from the probe suggests that the minefield extends far into the nebula.”

  “Understood, Jadin. Could our shields hold against the impact of these mines?” Barick asked.

  “Perhaps a couple. Three or four at most. Our hull integrity is only at 60%.”

  “Captain.” Tien turned around. “I’ve looked over the sensor logs from the probe, and it seems like if we can get close enough to the mines, we can detect their gravitational disturbance.”

  Barick crossed his arms. “How close are we talking? Those mines will be attracted to our metal hull.”

  “This may sound crazy, but hear me out.” Tien rose from his chair. “I can take one of our shuttles and act as a scout for the Endurance. The shuttle has much more maneuverability than this big ship. We can tether the navigation of the shuttle to the ship and have it mimic my every move.”

  “No! That’s incredibly risky, Tien.” Jadin jumped from her seat. “Captain, you can’t let him do it.”

  “Do you have another idea, Jadin?”

  �
��Give me a few hours.” She placed her hands together in a pleading gesture. “I’m sure I can figure out how to de-cloak the mines.”

  Tien took a step toward Barick. “Captain, we’re in enemy space. We lost our holographic projection system. We look like a Commonwealth ship. The longer we stay here, the more we’re at risk. We need to get inside the nebula which would give us cover from Alliance detection. I’ve analyzed the ion trail of the pirate ship that took the Entrent. It went directly through the minefield.”

  “Tien, are you sure you’re OK with doing this?” Jadin touched Tien's elbow.

  He nodded at Jadin and turned toward Barick. “Captain. I can do this.”

  “Tien, no…” Jadin whispered.

  Barick sighed. “Do it.”

  Jadin’s eye widened. “Captain!”

  Tien held Jadin’s hand. “It’s OK. I can do this.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t…”

  Tien smiled at Jadin and entered the decktram, making his way to the Shuttle Bay.

  Barick stood next to his Chief Engineer. “We still have to move forward, even if the roads are less than ideal.”

  “I know, Captain. It’s just… We lost so many people…”

  “Tien to bridge,” he spoke from his shuttlecraft. “If it’s OK with you, Captain, I’m naming this shuttle the Weyer after our former Captain.”

  “That’s an excellent idea, Tien.” Barick smiled.

  “Leaving Endurance now.”

  The shuttle exited the ship and headed for the minefield.

  “Synching navigation.”

  Barick sat at the ship’s helm. “Navigation synced. You have control of the Endurance from your shuttlecraft, Tien.”

  “Understood. Setting tether length at 25,000 km. If anything happens, Endurance will have plenty of time to come to a full stop.”

  Jadin began rocking in place.

  “Shuttle sensors reading mine 4,000 km to the port side. Adjusting heading.”

  The Endurance turned right, mirroring the shuttle.

  After a total of eight course corrections, they made it through the minefield unscathed. They arrived 300,000 km inside the Quarke Nebula, successfully avoiding all the mines in the field.

  “You did it, Tien!” Jadin clapped.

  “Great job, Commander! Now come back to the ship.”

  “Affirmative. Can’t wait to return. This purple space is giving me the creeps.”

  “You and me both, Commander.” Barick breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Captain. My sensors are reading debris 60,000 meters to my starboard side.”

  “I’m not reading anything, Tien,” Jadin said.

  “There’s another ship here. It’s…”

  “Commander? We didn’t get the last part.” Barick steered the Endurance toward Tien’s location.

  “Captain, I’ve lost the sensor lock on the Shuttlecraft Weyer!” Jadin yelled.

  “Tien? Tien! Respond!” Barick waited for a reply but received none.

  The Endurance arrived at Tien’s last known coordinates. He and the Shuttlecraft Weyer were not there to greet them.

  13

  Barick stared blankly at the viewscreen.

  “This is the Endurance calling the Shuttlecraft Weyer. Commander Tien, please respond,” Jadin repeated for the fifth time.

  Slowly, Barick turned his head toward his Chief Engineer.

  “Jadin…”

  “He was just there, Captain. There’s no sign of him leaving the nebula. No debris. No other engine signature. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know, Jadin. Lots of things have been nonsensical lately.”

  “Leave a beacon here. We’ll come back for Tien. Hopefully, we’ll find him when we uncover the mystery of the Entrent.”

  “We can’t just leave, Captain!”

  “What do you propose we do? Wait here until he comes back?”

  “Yes! I mean, isn’t it more dangerous to proceed forward? Every step we’ve taken has resulted in more loss of crew.”

  Barick pressed his palms into his face. He felt the bloated bags underneath his eyes, pushing back against his hand. Dammit! I’ve tried to make the best decision with the information at hand. What could I have done differently? Head toward the eggship? Wait until warp engines to come online and return to a Fleet outpost? Barick looked at Jadin ready to address her criticism. Instead of Jadin, he saw Saera.

  “Hello, Jonas,” she said while floating above the ground.

  “Saera… You’re on this ship? How?”

  “Help me, Jonas.”

  The floor began to fade away. Barick looked down to see a white mist swirling around his feet. “I don’t understand… What did you do with Chief Engineer Jadin?”

  “Nothing. Haven’t you figured out by now?”

  “I’m dreaming again.”

  Saera shook her head. “Dreaming isn’t the right word for it. Your mind is in a conjoined state, where our consciousnesses are linked together.”

  Barick kept his distance from her. “Is this a trap? Did you do something to Commander Tien?”

  “No. I’m afraid the people who took me also took him.”

  “Who took you?”

  “I don’t know who they are, but they are powerful.”

  “What do you mean? How are they powerful?”

  “They are mentally advanced, a telepathic species. And they are technologically superior. Very, very formidable.”

  Barick scratched his head. “So they aren’t human?”

  “No, definitely not.”

  “What species are they?”

  “I don’t know. They hide their thoughts from me. Fortunately, I can hide my thoughts from them. They are capable of controlling the actions of humans. I’ve seen it happen.”

  “That’s why the Alliance cruiser attacked our colony ship. They were being forced to, or coerced.”

  “Yes, I think so.” Saera turned her head, looking over her shoulder. “I can’t hide from them forever. Please, hurry. Find me.”

  The world faded to black. Barick found himself face down on his terminal with Jadin shaking him awake.

  “Captain? Captain? Wake up!”

  “Jadin…” He immediately grabbed his temples as a migraine surged from deep inside his brain.

  “Where were you?”

  “We’re close,” Barick said in a hoarse voice.

  “Close to?”

  “Tien said he found debris close by. Search for the ion trail again.”

  Jadin nodded and worked her console. “It’s faint, but I see it.”

  “Send me the coordinates.”

  “Done, Captain.”

  “The Entrent just contacted me again. Soon, hopefully, we’ll have our answers to everything.”

  The Endurance sped forward into the nebula's maroon and violet haze.

  “Sensors picking up a debris field. Based on the volume of parts and some of the large wreckage, I’m 85% certain it’s a Predator-class Alliance ship.”

  “That means…”

  “The ship the Entrent was on is destroyed.”

  “Check for life signs or escape pods.”

  “Scanning. There’s a lot of interference from the nebula.” Jadin’s console sounded. “I think I found an escape pod.”

  Barick nodded. “I see it too. I’m tractoring it into the Shuttle Bay.”

  They watched as the escape pod entered the Shuttle Bay.

  “You have the bridge, Jadin.”

  “Captain, at least take a security team.”

  “If the Entrent was going to hurt us, I think she would have done it long ago.” Barick raced to the Shuttle Bay. Once inside, he took slow, careful steps toward the frozen escape pod. There was a chance that, inside the escape pod, it could be Saera. Finally after all these years… Please be Saera...

  The door to the escape pod opened as he neared. A hand reached out, fingers spread wide as if searching for another to hold.

  Barick took the soft, delicate ha
nd in his. “Saera…” he whispered.

  Carefully, he pulled the Entrent out of her pod.

  Ocean blue eyes stared back at him. The Entrent had soft features, highlighted by sharp cheeks with small, mauve lips. Short white hair covered the top of her head.

  Barick stared at her. “Are you Saera? You look so young, like you never aged.”

  The Entrent smiled.

  “Jonas. Or I should say, Captain Barick. Thank you for rescuing me.”

  “Please…” He dropped to his knees. “I have to know. I’ve been looking for you for so long.”

  She placed her fingers underneath his chin and tilted his head up. “I’m sorry. I told you that I have no memory of my former life. My creators called me Nume.”

  “Nume…”

  An explosion rocked the Endurance. Alarms sounded throughout the ship.

  “Captain to the bridge!” Jadin yelled over the intercom.

  “Come with me.” Barick offered his hand to Nume.

  Together, they ran to the decktram and arrived on the bridge.

  “What’s wrong, Jadin?”

  She looked at Nume and blinked rapidly. “Is she the Entrent?”

  “Hello.” Nume waved.

  “Jadin, what was the explosion?”

  “See for yourself, Captain.” She pointed at the red spheres on the view screens. The crimson light of the nebula made them hard to distinguish.

  Barick looked at Nume. “Are those the aliens you were talking about?”

  Nume nodded her head.

  Fiery red projectiles shot out of the Sphereships. Multiple projectiles crashed against the shields, which began wavering in strength.

  “Shields at 30%,” Jadin screamed.

  Barick sat at the navigation terminal. “We need to get out of here. Full reverse. Setting a course to go out the way we came.”

  Nume touched Barick's hand. “Can your ship warp?”

  Barick looked at Jadin. “Can we?”

  Jadin nodded. “One time before the warp engine falls apart. But there’s no star close by to initiate the warp bubble.”

  “There is.” Nume pointed at a spot on the viewscreen.

  Jadin shook her head. “There’s no star there according to our charts, and I’m not detecting the gravity of a star.”