by Don DeBon
"I received signals from only a thousand. Of those I think many were disabled biased on the status they provided."
"And what did you tell them to do?"
"Remain quiet and do not let anyone know they are now active unless found out. Once discovered, they are to leave and request further instructions from me."
"So they are acting autonomously?"
Minerva nodded. "That is correct. Although, I can change it any time."
Deven smiled. "This could be useful. Do you have any at the World Council?"
"I am afraid I do not know where they are located."
"New York City. In the old United Nations building before it was disbanded."
Minerva nodded. "I do have one unit there. It is cleaning Mechand that has remained functional during my absence due to its basic nature."
Deven smiled. "And you have control of it now?"
Minerva nodded again. "I do. And I suspect those in the building will be accustomed to its movements."
"This could be very handy. Right now, don't change its routine. I don't want to tip anyone off."
Minerva smiled. "Understood."
Leon leaned towards Deven. "What do you have in mind?"
Deven sat back. "I think when the time is right, that bot will take Lavine to the cleaners." He turned back to Minerva. "I want you to keep a special eye on that Mechand, he could be the key. Relay any info it finds, but as I said, don't do it outright. We can't let anyone know you are controlling it."
Minerva nodded. "Agreed. I am instructing it to transmit its logs and data. Very slowly so it won't be noticed if anyone is watching transmissions in the area. It may have something useful already."
Aleshia nodded. "But even if it doesn't, we will have a warning if Lavine or the council comes after us again."
Minerva's eyes narrowed. "Deven, I am detecting a ship on the very edge of my scanners approaching our position."
"Lavine's carrier?"
Minerva shook her head. "Nope, the size does not match. It isn't transmitting a ID code so I can't verify."
Leon hunched over the console in front of him. "Minerva, show me power curve on that ship."
"Sure thing."
The screen changed showing several technical graphs of the energy output of the ship approaching them. "It's the Defiant!"
Deven stood up and leaned over. "Are you sure?"
"You bet I am. I would know her engines anywhere. She is battered but that is her, no doubt."
"Overdrive must have failed. How long until they get here?"
Leon checked over the data and sighed. "About an hour I would say at her current speed. She must have really taken a pounding."
The Valiant jumped into overdrive when Commander Halburn reached the bridge. "And you are sure this is the course they took?"
Naud nodded. "Yes sir. It is very faint but there is a trace amount, enough to determine the direction."
"And if they change course without leaving a better trail?"
Rechert smiled. "Then we went for a nice drive."
Halburn snorted. "Try telling that to Lavine."
Rechert shook. "Umm, I think I will leave that to you sir."
"Smart choice. But I would trade with you in a heartbeat."
"We know sir."
Galina sighed. "I feel like we are going slower than a snail in an Antarctic winter!"
Gregory pointed out the Defiant's bridge window to the storms raging below them. "Bad comparison."
"Or a good one, depending on how you look at it. Either way we are going s-l-o-w."
"I see something ahead. It is a faint signal, could be Minerva's carrier."
"I hope it is, the Defiant can't take on another battle like this."
Gregory sent the readings he took to Galina's console. "What do you think?"
She examined the numbers. "Yes it is Minerva's carrier. Either that or something very similar, and I doubt that another Mechand carrier of that size would be functional now. Let alone sitting right were we are expecting to find Deven."
Gregory nodded. "Yep. And did you try to contact them again?"
"Yes. Did you try fixing the communications system again?"
"I did. Not sure what the problem is. The relays are getting enough power. Yet, nothing goes through."
Galina shrugged. "I guess we will let wizard fingers Leon figure it out."
Gregory laughed. "He can keep that title, I don't have his knack for sure. Hey, wait a minute, I see something else, right next to the carrier."
Galina squeezed her controls. "Like what? Another carrier?"
Gregory shook his head. "No, much smaller." His blood ran cold. "A fighter! Has to be!"
Galina's eyes went wide. "Great. It can't be Minerva's carrier, they wouldn't be launching fighters. How long before we know for sure one way or the other?"
"Hmm, thirty minutes, perhaps less. And I am sure they have detected us."
Galina's eyes narrowed. "We are staying on course for the moment. If we lose this chance to hook back up with Deven, we may never find him again. At least not before we bump into someone that doesn't like us, and tries to finish what the last one started."
"I know. But are you sure we shouldn't bug out of here?"
"For the moment, yes. Now if anything changes out there. And I mean anything, I want you to tell me yesterday. Got it? We may need every second we can get."
"That won't be necessary," Miles' voice came over the speaker.
"Miles! Where have you been?" Galina asked.
"Several locations housing network junctions between my mind and the bridge were disrupted. It took me a little time to repair and reroute."
"And what is not necessary?"
"Your worrying or defensive posture. The two vehicles are Minerva's carrier and Otis' truck. It is not an ambush of the people that attacked before."
Gregory squinted. "And how do you know this?"
I do know the signature of Otis' truck, and the larger vehicle has far more mass than the one that attacked. Hence, it is Deven waiting for us."
"When you were rerouting, did you happen to fix the external communications system as well?"
Miles' camera moved back and forth. "I did attempt to do so, but the system needs more physical repairs, than I can provide."
Galina snorted. "Figures, worth a try though."
"I also regret to inform you, our identification signal has been disrupted along with many other systems aboard."
Gregory blinked. "Great, meaning they might shoot us down."
Galina shook her head. "Nah, Leon knows the Defiant like the back of his hand. And anyway, who else is going to approach them this slow over Antarctica?"
"You have a point," Gregory said chuckling.
Galina smiled. "Don't I always?"
Commander Halburn grabbed his stomach as the Valiant took another tight turn. "Rechert, do you have to do that?"
Rechert wiped his forehead as his eyes stayed on his screen. "I am sorry sir, but this energy residue is very faint and degrading fast. If I don't stay at this speed, we will lose it."
Rechert sighed. "Very well. Naud, are you sure this isn't a wild goose chase? We have been all over three contents in two hemispheres and still nothing."
"I am sure. They are trying to cover their tracks. If it wasn't for this energy trail, we would have lost them a few seconds after they jumped into overdrive."
"All right, stay on this course. But Rechert, try to let me know next time you are going to pull a 90 degree turn, okay?"
Rechert smiled. "Yes sir."
"Naud, you did secure the fighters and pilots before we started this, right?"
Naud nodded. "Yes sir, everything is secure. I did that before we went into overdrive."
"Good. Remind me to have Lavine give you a commendation, providing we can find him in a good mood."
"Thank you sir, when might that be?"
"At this rate, a long, long time."
"Oh."
The
Valiant pitched forward and crashed out of overdrive sending both Halburn and Naud flying out of their seats.
"Report! What the heck happened!" Halburn shook his head and pulled himself back into his seat.
Rechert swallowed hard. "I am sorry sir, I lost the trail and had to institute an emergency stop. If I didn't there wouldn't have been any chance of picking it up again."
Halburn turned around. "Naud, check the crew, make sure everyone is all right."
Naud nodded. "Yes sir." He opened the hatch in the back, went through, and sealed it after.
Halburn got up and walked over to Naud's console. He tapped a few keys and the window armor retracted giving him a breathtaking view of the Earth far below. He placed both palms on the edge of the railing next to Naud's console and gazed out the forward window. His fingers turned white as he gripped the smooth metal rectangle. "Where did you go?"
Deven tapped his finger on the smooth console in front of him. The chairs weren't as comfortable as the Defiant's, but they were a place to sit. While the Mechands did build their ships with human designs in mind, they didn't put in comforts such as conforming chairs. "How long until the Defiant gets here?"
"About forty minutes, give or take," Minerva said.
Aleshia watched the storm raging below out the large port side window near Deven's seat. "Why don't we go to them rather than wait here?"
Deven shook his head. "We don't know how much damage they have sustained. Their communications system must be down or we would have heard by now. They might think we are another Mechand carrier under Lavine's control coming to blast them out of the sky."
Aleshia sighed. "Good point."
Leon sat up and glared at his screen. "Oh great, just when you think it can't get any worse."
Deven turned to face him. "What do you mean?"
"I checked the logs from the probe. Just before we lost the Defiant's uplink, three more Maker ships arrived."
Deven turned his chair around to face Minerva's screen. "Minerva? Why didn't you tell us?"
Her eyes darted around the bridge. "I was waiting until I could confirm the data wasn't an error due to the communications instability at the time."
Deven stood up and walked over to Leon's console. The probe logs showed several grainy images of the arriving Makers. "Minerva, do you know how many they will bring?"
Minerva shook her head. "I am sorry, I do not. But based on their size, and estimated output, not many more. Perhaps two."
Otis joined and stood on the other side of Leon. "I am guessing they will be ready to move at that point?"
"One moment." Minerva closed her eyes and reopened them two minutes later. "Sorry I was running simulations. I suspect they have a large central command ship we have not seen yet. Once the command ship arrives, I believe the armada will begin moving towards Earth."
Deven turned. "And why is that?"
"As I told you before, they tend to be highly specialized in their individual roles. Some of those roles are of command, or instructions. Something similar to previous human military structure."
"So we have seen the tentacles, the backbone, but not the head."
"Correct. And I estimate it will be a much larger ship than we have seen so far."
"Great," Otis said as his eyes darted around the room, "this keeps getting better and better."
Minerva smiled. "I think I may have a small light to shine on this otherwise dark situation."
Deven folded his arms and his weight shifted. "Which is?"
"Our spy inside the World Council headquarters has finished sending me its files."
"Anything we should know about?"
"Yes, apparently the carrier we encountered is being commanded by an Odell Halburn."
Deven's eyebrows went up. "Halburn? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Is that significant?"
"You could say so. I know the man. It was long ago but I am sure he remembers me. We used to discuss tactics on how we were going to rid the world of the Mechands. At the time, he was one of the few people that believed me. Everyone else thought I was crazy."
Aleshia put her hand on Deven's shoulder. "What happened?"
"I made a mistake and used a console with a hidden genetic scanner. The console determined my true identity, and before I could stop it, the information was transmitted. I had to leave or risk bringing the Mechand security force to his door. I don't think he ever knew why I left. We were good friends before that."
Leon smiled. "Sounds like an advantage. You know how this guy thinks."
"Yes and no. Yes I know him, but it was a long time ago. I am sure he has changed, as have I. One thing I am certain of, he was very good at military tactics, and I have to assume he has only improved."
Leon rubbed his chin. "I can see why Lavine picked him."
Deven nodded. "Yes. He also is a bulldog and won't stop unless he has to." Deven's eyes went wide. "We have to get to the Defiant and get her out of here as soon as possible. He might be tracking her."
Leon's cocked his head. "If I know Galina, she took the Defiant all over before heading here. I doubt Halburn could track her here."
"And if they had some kind of signal to track?"
Leon rotated his chair back and forth as he thought though the Defiant's systems. "I suppose it is possible. But Miles would pick up on a tracking signal and have it disabled."
Deven turned to face Minerva. "Can you tell if there is a tracker on the Defiant?"
"I have anticipated your request, and no there is not. However, I have detected a slight shift in one of the damaged engines."
Leon turned back to his console. "A slight shift? Show me." The screen flashed with raw scan data. Leon paused it in the middle. "Dang it! Engine three took a direct hit and its ionic shielding must have been breached."
Deven pointed to the mass of numbers. "What does that mean?"
"It means the Defiant is leaking energy, very slight and it would dissipate quickly."
"Dangerous?"
Leon shook his head. "Not directly. They won't blowup or anything. But, if someone wanted to track—"
"They could follow this?"
Leon nodded. "They would have to have jumped into overdrive right after we left. But it is possible." Leon chuckled. "Following Galina's driving on a normal day would be hard, but this trail wisping around the atmosphere? Gosh I would hate to be the navigator. Or the crew for that matter. I bet half of them would be in the throws of motion sickness."
"But why wouldn't Galina or Miles see this?"
Leon sighed. "There is a lot of damage from what I can see here. It may not stand out enough to spot, unless they were looking for it."
"Minerva close the gap between us. We need to get aboard and get the Defiant out of here as soon as possible," Deven said.
Otis pointed to the window. "And if they think we are someone else and start shooting?"
Deven slapped his forehead. "I am a fool! My data tab might be able to contact Galina's at this range." Deven whipped it out and hit Galina's private link.
Leon nodded. "True, she usually keeps it with her on the bridge."
"Blast it! We're still too far away."
"Let's hope they don't see us as a threat."
Gregory frowned. "Galina, you wanted me to tell you when the carrier moved. Well, it has."
"Which direction?"
"Towards us, and its speed is increasing," Miles said.
"Miles, I didn't ask you." Galina said gripping the controls. "Gregory, get down to engineering and see if you can coax another jump out of the overdrive system."
"Are you nuts? I told you it is beyond what I can do."
"Try! If they get a chance to use their cannons, we're done."
"Correction, the shields have regenerated to some extent, if they shoot three times in a vital area the shields will collapse and we will be unable to continue at this present altitude. However, as I told you previously it is Minerva's carrier. These actions are not necessary," Miles sai
d.
Galina rolled her eyes. "Okay we get two shots without going down. Real big help that is considering each cannon can fire a shot every three seconds! It might be Minerva's carrier, but I don't trust her either. If it was Deven, he would sit there and wait for us. I have to assume Minerva is in control and I was right all along."