by John Walker
“I thought about it,” Desmond said.“I’ll work with our section chiefs and ensure we have this under control.”
“Good.” Reach stood.“I have to report to high command and let them know what’s going on. When you have information, interrupt whatever I’m doing. My aide will know to do so. The council isn’t going to be thrilled at how little info I have right now so anything I can throw their way will help me out.”
“Understood.” Desmond got up as well.“Good luck, sir.”
“Thank you, Captain. To you as well.”
After Reach left, Desmond contacted Vincent. The commander answered by shouting over quite a ruckus behind him.“Commander Bowman here!”
“What’s going on up there, Vincent?” Desmond asked.“What’s all the noise?”
“I’m down in engineering! Give me a moment.” The loud noise became quieter.“I’ve stepped out of the room. During repairs of the minor systems, they discovered a vulnerability and are taking steps to make it safer. Apparently, one of the generators wasn’t very well protected and if it would’ve exploded, people could’ve gotten hurt.”
“I’m glad they caught it.” Desmond hummed, wondering what other issues they needed to address.“We have research teams studying the various tech and bodies of the aliens. Admiral Reach put me in charge so I’m going to run operations from the office here. Are you okay to continue command in my absence?”
“Yes, sir. I’m just lending a hand where I can right now and checking in on everyone.”
“Good. I’ll keep you informed of what’s going on as it comes up. For now, ensure we’re ready for another long voyage. How’s the pilot who got shot down?”
“A few bumps and bruises only. The medics have already released him to quarters for some bed rest.” Vincent paused a moment, muttering to a person on the other end of the com.“Sorry about that. He’ll be ready for our next engagement in a day or two.”
“Perfect. Check in with the rest of the fleet as well and see where they’re at. I’m assuming they’ve got search and rescue still out there. I want a full report on all the people we’ve found and… and the ones we’ve lost too.” Desmond sat back down.“Then get me a defensive analysis. How ready are we for another attack?”
“I’m on it, sir.”
“Thank you. I’ll catch up with you later. Desmond out.” The captain turned to his computer and stared at the screen, thoughtful for several long minutes. He didn’t have a specific direction to take at the moment but needed to allow people to get their jobs done without him badgering them for results.
Casualty reports came in both from the Gnosis and the rest of the fleet. His stomach felt heavy as he went through the long list of names from those who were lost in the initial attack. They fought valiantly to hold the enemy off long enough to get the support they needed. They may have been able to defeat the attack but what would the cost have been?
Desmond knew the man who had to deliver the tragic news to the parents of the fallen for the other ships in the fleet. He didn’t envy him the task and quietly thanked God he didn’t have to do the same. The relief would be short lived if they truly went to war and a peaceful resolution seemed beyond unlikely.
If the enemy came with a mere expeditionary force, they may have only sent lighter vessels too. Larger capital ships held the potential to be truly devastating. With the Gnosis as the most advanced ship, they really needed additional versions to hold back a real tide of any appreciable magnitude.
How fast can we build more ships? I know they were taking their time with a more combat focused version of the Gnosis. That project has been fast tracked, I guarantee it. Will this be like America in World War Two? Will they dedicate every factory and available-to-hand to bolster our military?
Once they released some version of the truth to the public about the attack, they’d have the necessary support to do so. Fear and patriotism would drive people to support an effort to defend the entire race against whatever lurked out there beyond the borders of the solar system. Prior to the attack, they had planned to discover wonders.
Unfortunately, wonders came looking for them and they didn’t want to play nice.
Chapter 4
Four Days Later
Cassie never slept at Gamma Alpha before and was surprised the quarters were so comfortable. The first day they dove into studying the various alien pieces of equipment saw her working well into the night. Despite the fact she found so many similarities in the code, the information itself proved to be encrypted and worse, requiring translation.
All the next day and most of the night, she applied dozens of ciphers and even created several new ones. Sleeping proved difficult with the frustration despite exhaustion clinging to her. On the third day, others tried to offer some advice but she’d gone down such an advanced track, they didn’t have anything new to offer.
However, after more coffee than she cared to admit and a walk outside, she made a breakthrough. One of her ciphers, possibly the most basic of them, worked. Combined with the translation software from the Orb, the epiphany allowed her to break through their encryption. When her application finished running, she had full access to the data stored on the device.
No one was around to share the triumph but she clapped anyway. Punch drunk from all the caffeine and too little sleep, she backed the data up to a separate hard drive and started running her queries. The Orb translated the words on the fly, giving her a remarkably legible set of text files.
The videos would require more time to decode but they had plenty of them. Based on the directory structure and what the Orb converted the text to say, she guessed they might be video journals of whoever carried the device. They might be insightful into the purpose of the attack. When she found their orders, she knew she had hit the jackpot.
After four days of working on it, Cassie had to present her findings in the evening after dinner. Someone brought her stuff from her apartment so she didn’t have to wear the stupid uniform anymore, opting instead for a pair of comfortable slacks and a blouse. When she showed up to the conference room, the audience was somewhat smaller than she anticipated.
Captain Bradford, Admiral Reach, Doctor Harper and Lieutenant Gold were all present. A scribe sat at the back of the room, a young technician with a tablet ready to take notes. She closed the door behind her and took a seat quietly, waiting for the meeting to begin. Everyone was staring at their computers until the Admiral spoke up.
“Alright, we’ve come together for a discovery meeting. What’ve you learned and how much more time do you need?”
Doctor Harper started,“We’ve performed investigations into the equipment of the aliens and their bodies. At the physiological level, they are no different than we are and by that I mean they can’t take any more punishment. They’re sturdy creatures, capable of adapting to several environments. Our atmosphere would not have been harmful to them however…
“They were not prepared for some of the germs we’ve developed here. As I did my investigation it was pretty clear that they’d suffer from some of our more advanced illnesses. The healthiest of them might’ve lived through such a thing but one in poor shape would have had a problem.”
“So they could die from a cold?” Desmond asked.“Like in War of the Worlds?”
“It’s a distinct possibility,” Harper said,“however, I can tell you we did find an as of yet unidentified substance in their bodies. Our chemists don’t know what it’s for. I’m guessing they have developed a universal inoculation though. It would make sense for a space faring people who had been exploring for a while.”
“I trust you are borrowing this idea?” Admiral Reach asked.
“We’re attempting to figure out how they anticipated what the body needed,” Harper replied.“They may simply be boosting the immune system but with all of them dead, it’s harder to tell. Couple that with the fact the substance we discovered is made up of ingredients we’ve never seen. We’ll get it soon, however.”
&nb
sp; “Good work.” Admiral Reach turned to his tablet.“Anything else on that front?”
“The more technical data has been sent to all of your accounts,” Harper said.“You can find their autopsy reports and physical details there. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me.”
“Lieutenant Gold.” Admiral Reach gestured to the science officer.“What’re you presenting?”
“Weapons and armor, sir.” Lieutenant Gold stood up and moved over to the large TV. She brought up a number of videos and let them play in the four different corners.“Doctor Harper helped with the initial plunge into their defenses but I took over the next morning. We were able to actually use some of their equipment and tested it all.”
One of the videos showed a fully armored soldier taking a shot with one of the alien pistols in the firing range. The beam cut through the target, incinerating it. Another depicted their armor, fully repaired, taking several projectile shots and coming out unscathed. She also showed off their personal shields and how they reacted with their own weapons.
“As you can see, their own beam weapons cannot pierce their personal shields. Ours are on a different frequency and are therefore able to penetrate their defenses. I’m of the impression they had enough foresight to pump up their offensive and defensive capabilities but they didn’t seem to have enough data to fully negate our attacks.”
“What’ve you been able to do about measuring their effectiveness?” Admiral Reach asked.“Do you know how we can bolster our defenses to the same potency?”
“To some extent, yes,” Lieutenant Gold replied.“Our power armor already proved to be effective and the Gnosis can take some of the punishment of their larger weapons. The bubble weapon… that one concerns us though.” She brought up a video of the incident.“We were unable to recover what did that but Agent Alexander may be able to fill in some blanks.”
“Do we even know what that was?” Desmond gestured to the screen.“It wiped out shields fast but didn’t even touch theirs.”
“Another frequency issue.” Lieutenant Gold shrugged.“My own scans showed they rapidly cycled through various fields and somehow, that bubble still didn’t damage them. Schematics would be nice but for now, we simply have to be ready for them to do it. I’ve marked exactly what it looked like on the scanner moments before they let it loose.”
Admiral Reach nodded.“You’ve uploaded this to the fleet?”
“Yes, sir.” Lieutenant Gold tapped the side of the monitor.“At the orders I received from high command, I disseminated these videos to all military commanders. They have them to research and study.”
“Excellent.” Reach narrowed his eyes.“What’re the chances of us surviving another exchange with these creatures?”
“I’m merely speculating based on my research,” Lieutenant Gold replied.“And my first field of study is not military tactics. However, considering their technology and what we’ve learned alone, I’d say we’ve increased our survivability exponentially. We understand so much more now, we can defend against it. Providing we work on counters soon.”
Desmond checked his tablet and noted she’d sent a lengthy report.“Are those recommendations in this file?”
“Among many other things, sir. The technical details are all fully laid out and prepared for the engineers to assist with implementation.”
“Good.” Admiral Reach turned to Cassie.“Agent Alexander, are you ready to present your own information?”
“I am.” Cassie paced by Lieutenant Gold and accessed the screen with her tablet. She brought up an image of one of the people.“First off, we know they call their race the Pahxin from our interrogation. The ones who attacked us are a faction within that race, the Tol’An. They seem to be some kind of fanatical group.”
“What’re they fanatical about?” Admiral Reach asked.
“Technology. Collecting it, at least.” Cassie shrugged.“Their exact mission statement was not available for study and I’m inferring their obsession based on the notes they’ve taken on the Orb.” She put an image of the Orb up.“This came from one of the enemy devices. They had it in their mission briefing and it was amidst a set of messages all marked as high priority. Each member of the alien crew were required to study this.”
“The Orb?” Admiral Reach frowned.“We knew they were after the Orb, Agent. What’s the point?”
“This… is not our Orb.” Cassie’s message made them all fall silent. Even the scribe looked up.“Those of us who have studied the device extensively always suspected there were others. The AIA itself investigated alien life but we couldn’t draw any concrete conclusions, not even with full access to the device.
“However, the alien tech proves out that our Orb is one of many and this race of creatures, these aliens, are attempting to bring them all together.”
“For what purpose?” Desmond asked.“Why are they doing it?”
“These were soldiers,” Cassie replied.“The why wasn’t listed.They were told to collect the Orb at all cost. Furthermore, they’ve been lingering around our solar system for several weeks planning this assault. They knew precisely when the Gnosis was to leave and gave you plenty of time to get well away from the planet before attacking.”
“We suspected that…” Desmond sighed.“I guess confirmation is nice. So what else did you pull from it?”
“The more specific details and personal information from different alien creatures are in my report,” Cassie said.“Their commanders believed this would be an easy extraction. Their initial attack force was twice the size of what we faced. However, when the Gnosis left, they split so they might save some time.”
Admiral Reach’s brows lifted.“Doing what?”
“Going after another one.” Cassie brought up a star chart on the screen.“Here.Thirteen solar systems away from our current location. The rest of their force went to a planet all the way out there to gather another Orb. You see, I’ve now confirmed the race responsible for these devices was spread across the cosmos.”
Desmond squinted at the screen.“You think they left one of these on every planet they seeded, right?”
“Yes, I think they’re responsible for sentient life spreading throughout the galaxy,” Cassie replied.“And they eventually wanted us to find the Orb and take to the stars ourselves. Maybe join them… but I’m of the impression something happened. They’re gone and now their children are rushing to find the answers to where they came from.”
“And punch their brothers in the face while doing so,” Admiral Reach muttered.“Fascinating discoveries, Agent. You have the coordinates for this other planet?”
“They’re in the report,” Cassie replied.“Our hyperspace drives could make the trip in ten hours. The aliens have had a four day head start but I can tell you this. Their smaller ships weren’t as efficient with faster than light travel. If you intend to stop them… if you want to intervene, we will very likely catch them unawares while they attempt to extract that new Orb.”
“Or while they’re in the middle of a massive battle,” Desmond said.“After all, the planet they’re going after might be just like ours. Inhabited with people who aren’t ready to just hand over their stuff.”
Admiral Reach nodded.“Yes, I expect as much.” He stood.“I am taking all of your notes to the council and will discuss our next steps. It looks like we need to make some fast decisions. Desmond, I recommend you take Lieutenant Gold and Agent Alexander back to the Gnosis right away. I’ll contact you there with our decision.”
“Yes, sir.” Desmond stood and offered a salute as the flag officer left the room. He turned away from the door.“Grab your things. We’ll be wheels up in thirty minutes.”
Cassie watched him leave, her heart racing in her chest. After four days of study, things seemed to really move into high gear. Leaving the planet at short notice made her nervous but she understood the urgency. Once the military knew what they were up against and what their enemies were doing, they were going to try to stop them.
After presenting them a valid reason to go after the aliens, Cassie knew in the back of her head they’d be heading out soon. There was still a chance the high council would recommend they hold off and not risk their ships on the errand. However, the Admiral seemed persuasive in his way and she expected that after a short debate, they’d relent.
The amount of pushback they provided would all depend on how close they were to finishing their new military ship. Those vessels damaged in the initial fight had been restored to fighting condition. Reports suggested they had some time left to finish all repairs, they could perform them while patrolling the system.
Some of the engineers at Gamma Alpha worked up plans to retrofit them with better defenses and some heavier offensive capabilities. Now that data existed to compare against, they knew how to give the rest of the fleet more of an edge in combat. The challenge came down to whether they could do it in time.
Doctor Harper helped put a schedule together so they wouldn’t have to take more than a couple ships down at a time for updates. Shuttles were being packed with different types of equipment, supplies to upgrade shields and weapon systems. Calibration of the technology would be a solid start but in some cases, sturdier components were needed to withstand the extra energy output.
Performing such upgrades, or at least helping to ensure they were performing the proper upgrades would’ve been a job for Cassie had she not been drafted to help the Gnosis with their potential mission. The thought of leaving the solar system never crossed her mind. She’d been an analyst for so long, field work started to look like it wouldn’t happen.
Now I get the chance to put some of these skills to use.
Lieutenant Gold patted her shoulder on the way out.“I’ll see you on the shuttle, Agent.”
“Um… you too.” Cassie replied. Hurrying back to her quarters, she grabbed the three bags she packed the night before and took a brisk walk toward the landing field. A tiny part of her brain screamed at her about how she might never see Earth again if she boarded the ship. Going into war, being a crew member on a battleship, might be the last thing she ever did.