COLOSSUS: A New Menace
Page 15
“Before signing off, I should tell you we will have the Trident and Hercules built within a year from now. I will let you know how the vote turns out, and if we do adopt the new Martian designation, you will use the designation in all your responses in regard to those living on Mars.
“All of us in the USC commend you and your crew on the enlightening discoveries and pray you continue to safely travel the stars in search of our new home. Goodbye, for now, Admiral.”
Damn. Two new heavy cruisers will go a long way in the defense of this ship and our two Battlecruisers. I just wish they were streaming this way right now. Allen’s mind paused for a second or two then he thought Martians huh? Well, we Earthlings have wanted there to be Martians for several hundred years. I assume we are finally getting our wish.
****
The Aborian Commander Sulin and her group of three Predators returned safely to Planet Abor. Their ships were loaded on the elevators and taken down to the maintenance area for a routine check-up, which was their standard protocol anytime their ships returned from an extended duty.
High Mage Cina called for Commander Sulin to report to her quarters for a debriefing. When Sulin arrived she pushed the intercom button to announce her arrival. Cina’s door slid open and Sulin walked in and over to her High Mage, stopped, brought her right arm across her chest and with her fist, tapped her chest three times, which was the standard Aborian Warrior’s salute.
“Commander Sulin reporting as ordered, my beloved High Mage.”
“Take a seat, Commander. We shall dispense with the use of our formal titles, Brena. There is no one here but the two of us. The day has been long and trying, and since our day is coming to an end it would please me if you would share a drink with me. Would you mind?”
“I would be honored, Cina.”
“Excellent, Cina said as she walked over to a cabinet and pulled out two small tumblers and sat them on the countertop. She moved to the left side of the counter, bent only slightly and pushed on what seemed to be a solid piece of the cabinet. The middle of the cabinet came out of the main section and inside was a shelve containing two expertly crafted bottles of elixir.
One bottle was a dark shade of red with a fancy diamondlike stopper. The other was a gorgeous aquamarine color with a matching stopper. Cina pulled the dark red bottle out then gently tapped the edge of the panel and it slid back into its hidden position.
She turned back to the tumblers, opened the small round decorative cooler containing ice and dropped two cubes of ice into the tumblers, replaced the lid on the cooler and gave them both a healthy pour.
As she turned to walk over to Sulin, the Commander asked, as she reached for the libation, “Why has this day been so long?”
“I have spent much of my day by our beloved Empress’s bedside.”
Panic instantly showed on Brena’s face as she asked, “Is our beloved in ill health?”
“She is having some difficulties carrying her child. I told her that is a good sign, meaning her child is a strong one and is consuming a great deal of her strength. Telling her that seemed to calm her, which was my intent. I pray that is true, but just in case I’m having her physician check on her quite frequently.”
“That is good. I also pray that to be the case and not something more serious. No child is worth the loss of our Empress.”
“I know you mean well, but during our conversations about the matter, our beloved would disagree with you on that point. To her, nothing is more important than a child to continue her legacy.”
The two Aborian females discussed Commander Sulin’s mission. With that out of the way, they kicked back and enjoyed their drinks. Aborian females pride themselves on their ability to hold their liquor among any, but when Sulin stood up to leave she wobbled, which brought a rare laugh from Cina.
Chapter 36
Colossus and the two Battlecruisers began in earnest their scanning of the blue and sandy brown colored planet. From space, the planet was partially covered with white swirling clouds. A large storm, larger than any hurricane ever recorded on Earth, was chewing up the ocean in the southern hemisphere.
As Colossus began scanning, Admiral Allen ordered his crew to concentrate on the massive storm first. He was asking for wind velocities of the storm’s outer bands and after receiving the data he called the Battlecruisers back to the ship.
Colonel Hammer wasn’t happy about being called back and Hammer being Hammer, couldn’t wait to hear the reason they were stopping the scans before they even got started, so he called General Dubois.
“Colonel Hammer to General Dubois.”
“Go ahead, Colonel.”
“What the hell is going on, General? Why are we being called back?”
“Allen just got back the data on the monster storm we can all see barreling through the southern part of the planet. The data showed the winds in the outer banks were clocked at 810 miles an hour. The eye of the storm registered winds above 1100 miles an hour.
“The Admiral said with winds like those there is no way the planet will be considered a candidate for colonization and I tend to agree. And before you say it, Colonel, it doesn’t matter if the storm may be a once in a decade storm. That powerful of a storm would wipe out everything in its path.”
Hammer didn’t respond for a few seconds, long enough for Dubois to ask if he was still with him. “Sorry, General, I guess I’m frustrated. We are returning to our pre-jump position to wait for your orders, sir,” Hammer out.
The Coba System turned out to be a total dud. After nearly a month-long trek the Humans were still striking out more often than not. Admiral Allen had high hopes for the Coba System but his exploration teams found only harsh climates, many planets without water, or barely enough to support any sizable colonization.
The moons around their host planet were mostly dead rocks with the exception of two wildly active ones with large volcanoes. Two other moons were nothing but solid worlds of ice and snow. An hour later and with everyone ready to jump to the next planet on the exploration list, the Striker and Perseus jumped first, followed by Colossus, five seconds later.
Colossus and her two Battlecruisers dropped out of FTL at a point on the edge of a system known to be the Galic System. Galic was a star about the size of Sol, Earth’s star, only it burned brighter and hotter. The system had one gas giant but a large number of solid, rocky planets in the system.
Colossus’s sensors could only register those within sensor range of the generations ship, but the two Admirals knew there had to be several more targets closer to their system’s star, but out of reach of their sensors.
After a long day of short jumps from planet to planet, they were able to mark three of the solid planets of the list as they were too cold for Humans to build a life on. Colossus had moved far enough towards the inner orbiting planets to register eight more possible targets. Six of the eight were considered to be within the Goldilocks Zone. The last two were too close to their host star, noted by Commodore Jeeves to have temperatures from 900 to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first target planet’s data came back with positive readings for surface temperatures, breathable air, and lots of water and land. Though the temperature reading was tolerable it wasn‘t considered to be ideal. Estimating the time of day on the Earth-sized planet to be in the early afternoon the temperature was at ninety-seven degrees and would probably continue to climb until the early evening hours.
Vice Admiral Petrov ordered Captain Sokolov to take Perseus on a quick trip to the dark side of the avocado-colored planet to check on nighttime temperatures. Sokolov got the data and reported the temperature to a life-sustaining thirty-eight degrees.
Satisfied with the temperatures of the beautiful dark green world, Allen started to order a complete scan and sensor sweep of the planet. But before he could give the order, his helmsman Lieutenant Gordo McManus broadcast over the bridge’s intercom system a notification of many contacts beginning to rise up from the planet on a dir
ect path to the three Human ships.
“How many contacts, Gordo?” Allen asked.
“Still counting, Admiral. Right now I’m registering twenty fighter sized ships with more still coming from the planet.”
“Admiral, Captain Slain. Four large ships have appeared out of nowhere and are holding their position on our port side.”
“We have the same number of ships on our starboard side, Admiral. What are your orders, sir?” Captian Sokolov asked.
Three seconds after hearing the news from his two Battlecruiser captains a massive ship appeared directly in front of Colossus. The ship was close enough for Admiral Allen to see two figures standing on the ship’s bridge. So thought damn, look at the size of that ship. I know one thing for sure. If I can see them they can see me. Better hail them and quickly.
Before Allen could hail the aliens, Ensign Cherny announce they were being hailed by the massive ship. “On screen, Ensign.”
On the screen were two tall aliens dressed in what Allen thought to be their battle gear. The gear was a polished black color and covering their heads were helmets shaped like claws. Both the aliens had wide necks, broad shoulders, muscular arms and intimidating dark green eyes with narrow, vertical, black pupils.
If not for their spooky colored eyes the two aliens would have been considered strikingly handsome. The alien on Allen’s right was the first to speak. He had three gold triangles pinned to the right side of his chest and the other had one gold triangle on his.
“You have entered the realm of the Vagan Empire. I am Bagnor, Grand Admiral of the Vagan Navy.” He turned to look at his comrade standing next to him and said, “This is High Colonel Agar, my Second.
Petrov said in a whisper, “Should we initiate our shield, sir?”
“No, if they wanted to eliminate us they wouldn’t have hailed us first. Putting up our shields might not be taken as friendly. Let’s see where this goes, Admiral.”
“Who are you and what is your purpose for coming into the realm of the Vagan Empire,” Bagnor said.
Vagan Empire?Allen thought.
“I am Admiral Allen, Supreme Commander of the USC Navy. We come from the Star System Sol and our temporary home on a world known as Mars. We are a non-violent species and seek no hostilities with the Vagan Empire.”
“You stated you live in a temporary world. Why is your home designation only a temporary one?”
Allen gave a brief description for an answer to the Grand Admiral’s question, but enough of an answer to buy him some time to figure out what the Vagan commander would do or ask next.
“It would be troubling for any species to lose their home, but we have no homeworld for you in this realm. You are welcome to parlay if you so choose. We are also a non-violent race but only if we are not provoked. I wish to learn more about you and your kind, Supreme Commander.
“Send me your coordinates so I can teleport you and one of your comrades to our Strag Lair.”
“I must apologize, Grand Admiral, but I must ask what is a Strag Lair?”
“I see the word Lair may give you concern, but it is a simple term for our Strategic Planning room. You have no fear to concern yourself with our intentions, Admiral.”
“Thank you, Grand Admiral Bagnor. I’m sending the coordinates now,” Allen said, then broke the communications. Allen gave controls of Colossus to Petrov and told General Dubois to follow him to the coordinates he gave to Bagnor.
As they began to walk off the bridge, Admiral Petrov said, “Admiral, this is not our protocol, sir. I know you are aware of it stating the commander of this ship should not be the first representative to meet with an unknown alien race. Send me instead.”
“Yes, I am aware of protocol, Admiral, but Colossus is in excellent hands should something go wrong. See you when we return.”
Petrov continued to protest, even after the door leading out of the bridge had closed. Arvin can be one bull-headed commander. I just hope this time he doesn’t get in over his head. Or should I say our heads?
Chapter 37
Allen and Dubois arrived on the alien ship and were escorted to a lavishly designed waiting area only a few steps away from two gold encrusted doors. They were asked to take a seat in two of four half barrel chairs. Neither man’s feet could touch the floor when they sat down.
Allen spoke softly when speaking to Dubois and said, “I don’t know about you but I feel like a child sitting in these chairs.”
“By the looks of our escort, I would guess the Vagans are a very tall race. You do look like a small man sitting in that chair, Arvin.”
“No smaller than you, Alias.”
The two doors opened and the two Humans were escorted into a surprisingly large room with a U-shaped table lined with eight chairs and one more sitting in the open part of the U-shape. The chairs were more appropriate in height and everything was located in the center of the massive room. Allen thought the room could hold well over a hundred aliens.
Hanging from the ceiling and attached to round silver tubes were something similar to small virtual reality headsets that stopped about eight inches above the two men’s heads. A voice spoke to them and asked them to put on the headsets. Allen wasn’t sure but thought the voice was that of Bagnor.
General Dubois was hesitant to put on the headset but soon followed Admiral Allen when he saw him put the headset on. With the headset on and looking through virtual reality screen they came face to face with the Vagan Grand Admiral.
Bagnor spoke: “Do not be alarmed by the Virtual. They are simple body scanners and their purpose is to detect any harmful viruses that you unknowingly could be carrying that might harm me. Be patient, and once scanned and no harmful viruses are found I will meet you in person.”
The scan roughly took no more than fifteen seconds but both men were glad to hear they had been cleared. Dubois thought not a bad idea. Wouldn’t hurt for us to come up with something like these.
A hidden door opened in the floor a few steps behind the single chair at the table and as if on an elevator the Grand Admiral rose up out of the floor. He was close to seven foot tall and towered over the two Humans. He was not wearing his claw-like battle helmet and his head was covered with a mix of jet black and burnt orange spiked hair.
Bagnor had high cheekbones and a strong, slightly square chin. He was by all means, except for the weird vertical slits for pupils, a very handsome alien. He smiled at his guest while showing his clean white teeth that were similar in size to Human’s teeth.
“Welcome, my honored guests,” he said as he held out his arms to the side. Allen and Dubois stood and Allen said, “It is our honor to meet with the Vagan Grand Admiral Bagnor.”
“Please take your seats. We must gain knowledge of one another. I have never met a Human before. You must have traveled through many star systems to have finally arrived at Galic, the home star of the Vagan Empire.”
“That is as true of a statement as could be, Grand Admiral. We reference the time it takes our sun to be orbited by our home planet as a year. A single orbit of our world is designated as a day. In your reference to time allocation do you use day or periods or something else?” Allen asked.
“We use the term day, just as you do. Why do you ask about time designations?”
“I wanted to make reference to a time you would be familiar with while giving you the answer to your inquiry about the time it took to get here from our home. We started our mission of searching for a new home just over five years ago.”
“Interesting, Admiral,” Bagnor said, then turned to the only other Vagan in the room and said, “Aknor, let us see the star chart. I want to see how far our guests have traveled since they left their temporary home.”
General Dubois, being ever cautious, wasn’t thrilled about showing the alien admiral the location of Mars, but suddenly remembered it didn’t matter because Allen already told him they were from the Sol System. If the alien had star charts they could easily look up the system for themselves.
Allen got up from his chair and stood next to Sol and pointed, then said, “This is our home star, Grand Admiral,” then went back to his chair. Allen then said, “Where are my manners?” He turned to look at Dubois and said, “This is General Dubois. He is the commander of our ground forces.”
“Pleasure, General. So, is it your mission to locate a suitable world and once you’ve found one you will begin to colonize the world? Do you also vision the task of bringing your people to the new world at some point?”
“Correct, on both questions. We will need a few years for the colonization to take hold before we send for more of our kind. Since the beginning of the great floods that forced us to leave our original world called Earth, and the eventual colonization of our temporary home, our race has gone from four billion down to less than one million. I knew our mission was going to be most difficult, and it is possible we won’t find a new home during my lifetime, but we have to try.”
“I understand the challenge you are facing, but you should know you will not find a home in this system. Our Empire reigns over two worlds in this system and the first are, Phar, the birthplace of all Vagan. The world you were about to explore is Trev. It is our sister world and home of Vagan elders.”
“May I inquire as to why the Vagan Empire have a world of only their elders?”
“Yes, you may. Vagan reproduce at rates much higher than other species similar to our biological make. The rulers of our Empire recognized over 900 years ago that if they didn’t correct the population problem our world would run out of land for them to make their home.