“You’re saying you saw something on the Light Saber, something that clued you into these factors?”
“Yeah, more than one something actually,” Owens responded. “I saw a number of unusual things during the short time that I was aboard the Saber. Now that I’ve had a little time to digest my experiences, I can tell you with some confidence our survival wasn’t based on simple luck.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What do you think gave us the edge?” Hec asked.
“What gave us the advantage was something that simply doesn’t sync up with anything that I was told on Denbus.” He emptied the mug and sat it back down.
“Are you saying they lied to you back on Denbus?” Hec asked.
“Actually no, I don’t think so. I have no reason to believe I was not given the truth, at least as it was originally recorded by our historians. Most of the historical information casts a dark shadow on Confederated Planets as well as it does on Golstar. So from my perspective at least, the story they gave me appears to ring true.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“The problem is what I’ve seen so far doesn’t support the story’s linchpin, the reason for Golstar’s isolation.
“Oh, you mean…”
“I mean their vastly overwhelming technology.” Owens began ticking items off on his fingers. “One, where were the strangely configured starships? You know, like the one that penetrated Confederated Planet’s defenses three centuries ago? The Light Saber’s design was a little odd. It was big, but it looked to be built along similar lines of Confederated Planets ships. It didn’t come close to the vids of the craft the government provided me.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Hec said. “I just pulled some of that ship’s images from the Holmes’ library and nothing that we’ve seen so far comes close.”
“That’s why I make the big bucks,” Owens said with a grin. “Still, the Light Saber did have a number of notable and unusual characteristics.”
“Like what?”
“Like when I first entered the main entryway.”
“What’s so unusual about an entryway?”
“It was the design, Hec. I was struck by the entryway’s design. I expected something techno-modern and ultra functional, instead it looked like something right out of Earth’s ancient history.”
“Hmm,” Hec commented. “I know there are many in Confederated Planets that are aficionados of historical periods. Even so, I wouldn’t have expected similar interests to flourish in Golstar, especially not in their warships. I’ve always imagined them as militant pragmatists, more like a warrior culture. I figured they would have leant towards the ultra-utilitarian school of design. So, what did it look like?”
“Well, to my eye at least it looked like the Saber’s builders had made a serious attempt to recreate a vision right out of the Victorian period of ancient Earth’s England.”
“No offense, Boss, but have you looked at this room lately?”
Owens smiled, looking over at the roll-top desk and chair, “What can I say? I like old furniture. Anyway, it was the fancy metalwork design in the entryway that allowed me to see some of the superstructure.” He paused and yawned. “Although I didn’t recognize it at the time, that was the first clue that the Light Saber was not all what it seemed.” He went on to describe in detail what he saw when he had entered the Saber, including the intricate metal work and odd mottled color scheme.
He raised another finger, “Two. It wasn’t until a later incident that happened during the attack, that I recognized an earlier clue had already presented itself in the Light Saber’s entryway. A picture was coming into focus, a picture of Golstar that would run counter to everything I was told back on Denbus.”
“Incident?”
“Yeah, it was the blowout of a power coupling housed along one of the ship’s inner corridors. It had apparently failed under the stress of the attack. When it blew, it took out a big portion of the wall, making quite a mess and effectively blocking our path to the escape craft.”
“So far I don’t see what you’re getting at, Boss.”
“Have a little patience, I’m getting there. Since we were stopped dead, I had a brief opportunity to look at the damage; it was a real jumble. I had just contacted you and while we were talking, I knelt down to get a better view. When I looked at the rubble, I was struck by the fractures in the primary metal supports and brackets. What intrigued me was that most of the metal was broken and shattered rather than twisted or bent.”
Hec interrupted, “I have some background in metallurgy from my past life, and that doesn’t sound right at all. Wait...” A moment later Hec said. “I retrieved some data from the Holmes’ library, and it confirmed that the alloys used in Confederated Planets ships’ hulls and superstructures are designed and fabricated to allow for the slight stretching and twisting that normally occurs when a ship transitions to and from subspace. The metal and ceramic composites are made flexible in order to endure the repeated stresses caused by subspace jumps.”
Hec went on, “As my human self, I remember seeing a few newscasts of wrecked ships. Some of the close-ups of the wreckage always displayed clumps of metal in twisted, stretched and torn masses. The narrator never failed to mention the peculiarities of the alloys used in spaceship construction.”
“Yeah, I know. It syncs up with the overviews on ship manufacturing that were included as part of my pilot certification training,” Owens agreed. “So I was surprised when I took a closer look at the metal debris and found, for the most part, it was fractured rather than warped and bowed. I admit the emergency lighting wasn’t very good for examining the fragments, and the smoke haze made it even harder to see, however, I still managed to get a decent look and fingered a few pieces of the metal understructure.”
“Okay, what did you see?”
Owens shrugged, “Now I don’t have a background in metallurgy, but to me, the surfaces where the metal gave way felt grainy and from what I could see at the point of the fracture, it seemed to sparkle, even in the dim emergency lighting. It looked crystallized. I also looked at a section of the corridor’s paneling that had blown out when the coupling gave way.”
“The ship was falling apart, and you still had the presence of mind to investigate your surroundings?”
“Yeah, I know it’s a little weird, but in spite of all that was happening around us, I couldn’t stop myself from snooping. This was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I just kept adding to my observations.”
Hec asked, “Just how did you find the time to do all this? I repeat, the ship was falling apart around you.”
“I don’t know. It just happens sometimes,” Owens replied. “Time will seem to slow down and regardless of the circumstances, my curiosity never sleeps; I took advantage of the few opportunities I was presented.”
“What? You’re always on-duty, on the alert for anything suspicious? The ship was literally disintegrating, but you were still the cool and calm private eye to the very end?”
Owens laughed, “Cool and calm? No way. As to being in detective mode, I’m guilty as charged. Remember, I was mostly just storing these observations in the back of my mind. I didn’t get a real chance to consider them again until we were well out of the harm’s way.”
“My hero,” Hec said in a falsetto voice.
“All part of the job, ma’am,” Owens imitated an ancient actor’s gravelly voice. “Anyway, back to what I was saying, do you remember my mentioning the antique design and odd color scheme I observed when I was in the Light Saber’s entryway?”
Hec replied, “How could I forget? After all I am a…”
Owens interrupted, “Yeah. I know you’re an AI, but you seldom act like one, and I forget sometimes. To continue, the crumpled side panel where the coupling blew had similar coloring. When I looked at it, I saw that it wasn’t painted or appliqué. I have since realized that the colors were similar to Saber’s entryway ceiling. I know now that the odd color scheme wasn’t real
ly what I had originally thought it was.”
“What’s the big deal about a color scheme?”
“Only this, the pattern and color weren’t there by design. It wasn’t a pigment-based color displayed in some abstruse artistic motif. It was simple corrosion, Hec. It was rust, a mottling of brown and orange oxidation on ceiling panels that matched what I saw on the fragment of the corridor’s panel. It wasn’t part of the décor, but a sign of decay, neglect.”
“Are you sure?” Hec asked. “There are plenty of materials they could have used that wouldn’t corrode, but could mimic its appearance. Couldn’t it have been something that just looked like rust? Take this ship, for instance; its inner panels are made of a fiber-plastic composite. It can be made to look like almost anything.”
Owens shook his head, “No. It was metal, and it was oxidized and pitted. I can’t explain why they used something that would be subject to such deterioration. Perhaps it was simply because it was cheap and readily available from local sources. I don’t know, but when I combined this with all of other things I saw, including the crystallized metal, a picture began to emerge.”
“Yeah, they don’t believe in maintenance.”
Owens went on, “But that’s not all.” Holding up another finger, he said, “And now for three; the components and wiring from the blown coupling were exposed, and even in the poor lighting, it was easy for me to see what was inside. I remember noting that their configurations were strange but still somehow familiar. Since then I’ve had a chance to think about it, and it finally came to me. I began to see why the coupling’s components were so familiar.” He paused.
“Come on Boss, don’t leave me hanging,” Hec said.
“A museum,” Owens answered, “Would you believe they were right out of a museum exhibit? I saw an exhibit years ago when I was pulling special guard duty while still on the force. What I could see of the Saber’s components and light-wave harnesses matched pretty closely with what I had seen at that museum exhibit.”
“Wait a minute. Did you say light-wave harnesses, like bundled fiber cables?” Hec asked. “We still use that technology in surface vehicles and small electronic devices, but no longer in spacecraft, the Holmes included. We’ve been using glasstic sheathing for almost seventy-five years.”
“I’m not that familiar with it, only that it is used in spacecraft.” Owens interjected.
“It serves two purposes really,” Hec explained. “The transparent glasstic sheath is sandwiched between the Holmes inner and outer primary skins and acts as a single, gigantic photonic communication pathway. It connects me to all the electronics and working parts of the Holmes. It was first used by the military. You can put holes in it like Swiss cheese, and it will still pass data uninterrupted. The only way to disrupt the communication flows is to cut the ship in half or completely vaporize the outer hulls. In either case, the ship would be destroyed anyway. Its secondary function is to double as a very effective thermal insulator. It’s a tremendous improvement over long trunks of vulnerable, bundled light-wave cabling and not susceptible to jamming as with air-wave technology. So,” Hec said returning to the subject, “just what exactly was in that museum exhibit?”
“It was part of a traveling exhibit. It was a series of displays showing technologies used by the military over past centuries. Actually, it was one particular display that came to my mind. It was a section of a mothballed corvette that was one of the last ships to use the Viridian shield technology. Portions of the ship had been opened up so that the museum patrons could walk through and see the working components.”
He stifled another yawn, “I remember walking through the display, marveling at the antiquated ship’s technology that was state-of-the-art in its own time. From what I saw of the Saber’s guts, its equipment configurations were a very close match to that old museum display, and here’s the kicker; the corvette was over two hundred years old!”
“So the Light Saber was…” Hec began.
“It was a damned antique, Hec! The Saber was better suited for a scrap recycler than space duty. This certainly doesn’t jibe with what I was told back on Denbus about Golstar and its overwhelming technological superiority. This opens up a host of new questions, the most obvious being, what in the hell happened to their technology?”
Hec said, “I don’t get it. It’s well documented that they kicked our butts three hundred years ago. It’s in your briefing files. What could possibly have happened since then that would bring them to this, passing off space junk as space ships?”
“It’s too soon to come to any solid conclusions,” Owens said. “We are just beginning to see a ‘what’ but not yet the ‘why’ behind it. Oh, one more thing, it was their docking rig that clinched it for me. When I went to cut the wreckage away, the clamps parted with very little effort; they appeared crystallized just like the supports I saw in the Saber’s passageway.”
The AI managed to elicit an astonished voice. “That also explains how I overestimated what it would take to pull away from the Saber. The Golstar ship was a virtual bucket of bolts, literally falling apart even before the attack.”
Owens agreed. His voice was becoming gravelly with fatigue. “Yes, and I think even some of the basic, environmental systems were malfunctioning. When I first entered the ship, it was warm and humid.” He yawned, “But now do you see why I think there was more than just luck involved in our escapes, especially the first attack?”
“Absolutely,” Hec responded. “The attacker had to be from Golstar. The unusual design we found unfamiliar, was simply ancient! Yes, I can see now why we penetrated the first attacker’s shields so easily. That had to be a Golstar ship. It was ancient. No doubt built with old Viridian class shields or their equivalent. And that missile they fired at us; I joked about them throwing stones.”
“Well, you weren’t too far off, just old technology; they never really had much of a chance. The second attack also had to originate from Golstar. It was more innovative and relied on surprise and brute force over technology. They could have had us that time, but we had the anti-personnel ammunition and our beefed-up engines also helped. There was some luck involved but in the end, it was superior technology that gave us the final edge.” Owens paused and sighed heavily.
“One more observation I believe is somehow related to their lack of technology, a lack of people. It bothered me when I saw only three people aboard the Saber. Including Sharné, I saw one steward and a guard. That’s it. I didn’t see another crew member at any time once the attack started. I saw no damage control crew, no evidence of human activity whatsoever.”
“I may not be a military man, but even I know it takes a large number of people to crew a ship of that size. I didn’t encounter any crew members running to their stations. It should have been a hive of activity, but I saw nothing that would indicate anyone else was aboard except whom I just mentioned. It was a very strange feeling, as if the steward, the guard, Sharné and I were the only ones onboard. I did hear what I believed to be the captain, but only as a voice over the ship’s intercom.
“So you think a short-handed crew is somehow related to the use of old ships?” Hec asked.
“There’s a link. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but there’s a connection, and I intend to find it… later. After all that’s happened, I’m just too tired to think about it anymore. What I need right now, is a long uninterrupted nap, but before I slept, I wanted you to know what I’ve seen and the direction I’m headed in my thinking. I value your input. Now you know what I know.”
Owens yawned. His eyes were half closed. Exhaustion was finally overtaking him. The medical treatment he had received could not make up for lack of sleep. Even with the looming threat of the Golstar ship, he knew he had to get some rest.
“Thanks Boss,” Hec’s voice had dropped, “I appreciate your trust.”
“You’re welcome. Now, unless our situation worsens, would you wake me up in six hours? I plan to talk with Sharné about at least som
e of what we’ve just discussed. Maybe then I’ll finally find what out what in the hell’s going on, and why Golstar wants me so badly, dead or alive.” Owens flopped back on the bed and closed his eyes. Within a minute, he was quietly snoring.
CHAPTER 27
A tall uniformed man strode through the main doors of a squat, imposing building out into bright sunlight. The man was impeccably groomed and marched down broad steps leading away from the building with an unmistakable military appearance. He looked neither right nor left and if one was to look closer, he appeared deep in thought. He walked down the stairs toward a surface vehicle idling on the street. Its oversized back door retracted, waiting for its passenger.
Although his face remained impassive, the colonel, known as the ‘General’ within Preservers of the Way was not a happy man. His stoic demeanor hid the frustration he was feeling. He slowly entered and sat stiffly in the back seat of his official carrier. His stomach was twisted in knots, and he could feel acid beginning to lap at the back of his throat. To add to his discomfort, the collar of his uniform tunic felt tight and chafed his neck. He released the topmost clasp, running his finger along the neckline trying to loosen the collar further. The constriction eased and rubbing his neck, he sighed with relief. For once, he would be glad to get home and change out of the stiff uniform.
The military driver had observed his obvious discomfort and asked, “Is there anything I can get for you Colonel?”
“No,” he responded crisply. “Just take me to my residence.”
The driver quickly obeyed and the carrier pulled away from the front of the Strategic Forces Procurement and Supply Center. Entering into the traffic flow, the driver skillfully navigated the maze of streets that was a part of a great, sprawling military complex. They slowed at a checkpoint for passive screening. A confirmation message appeared on the carrier’s console, and the driver resumed speed and entered the main thoroughfare, the gateway into the civilian metro-plex.
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