by Marc Stevens
I glanced about, noticing my display of unknown mannerisms had brought a screeching halt to the loading and unloading operations. Now everyone seemed to double their efforts. Tria looped her arms in mine. We were going to take a look at the munition crates. They were stacked twelve high and twenty deep and twenty across.
The Operative intercepted us. “Must you act like a primate in front of my subordinates? It is disruptive behavior and will cause further delays in our—”
I stepped up to her and kissed her on the cheek. Her eyes shot open and she was speechless. Tria put her hand over her mouth and turned away to keep from laughing out loud.
The Operative stalked off screaming, “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GET BACK TO WORK!”
Tria turned back to me. “Nathan, you must stop inciting her — she has been generous beyond belief. I wonder how much of this exchange was actually sanctioned by her superiors.”
I laughed and said, “I don’t think the description of what it does to her can be defined as inciting.”
Tria gave me a puzzling look. She leaned in close and whispered to me. “You will have no need for another.” My legs became rubber and my breath caught in my throat. I had goose bumps head to toe. She was holding me upright. The feeling left as quickly as it came. Tria smiled at me and walked in the direction of the Legacy. Looking around, I turned and followed her. My crewmates and the Grawl scientists were just leaving the artifacts building and Xul was closing the doors. Looking to the freight hauler, I saw the gravity sled with its load of missiles and containers of nanites disappear inside. Looking back at Tria, she gave me another smile that sent my temperature soaring. I could not help but think all was right. Then it was not.
It started with the shuttle crew’s running back to the ships. I looked at the Operative and she was rapidly moving to where I stood. She stopped and yelled at the crews heading for the far shuttle. “Get aboard the freight hauler. We are leaving number two, it is defective!” The crews stopped and looked back at her in confusion. With a wave of her arm they turned and ran to the hauler. She ran up to me.
“We have a problem Nathan Myers. A Quill scavenger fleet has exited hyperspace in an adjoining star system. We still do not have complete numbers, but it appears to be a large number of vessels. There could be great danger if they find their way to this system.”
I was shocked by the Operative’s urgency. ‘Who or what are Quill?”
“The Quill are an advanced predatory race that ravages the fringe. They infest all worlds they find and strip them of all resources. They are very formidable and have excellent weapons and good defensive systems. They are a race of Crits, or in your language, insects. They have a carapace that serves as their armor and also protects them from the void. Unless you know their weaknesses, you would not want to face them in battle. It is their custom to swarm when engaged in combat and overwhelm any foe not capable of repelling them. If they do not incur heavy enough losses to deter them, they will fight until they win. All who fall are stored for consumption. All recovered tech is developed for their own use.”
The Operative was issuing orders to no one. I realized she was verbally using her data link. I was trying to digest everything she had just told me. What the crap! This was my bastion, my safety harbor, my fortress of solitude. Now an unknown was knocking at my door. I felt the beast stir.
I yelled at Sael Nalen as she headed for the remaining shuttle. “Can we help repair your shuttle?”
She yelled back as she hit the boarding ramp. “You mindless beast, there is nothing wrong with the shuttle. It is your final payment for services rendered. The two you see are prototypes and the production model is much larger and a different profile. Take care of it and it will take care of you.”
With that she boarded the shuttle. I watched the door rapidly close and I called to Justice. “Justice, open the tunnel doors.”
“Already open Commander. I overheard your discussion. My subsystem is in the process of terminating all unnecessary power feeds and shutting down non-essential equipment.”
“Is the Legacy combat capable?”
“Yes Commander, ninety one percent of capability. Replacing our diminished supply of rail cannon munitions would bring us back to one hundred percent. We are currently at sixty-six percent of maximum loadout.”
“Roger that, Justice. Square everything away and prepare for defensive actions. Recall the crew and let the scientists know that if hostilities break out in this system, they are to take refuge in the A.I. spaces. If the worst comes to pass, you know what must be done, correct?”
“Yes, Commander. If escape for personnel is not possible, I am to terminate this facility.”
“Yes, let’s hope that will not come to pass. Are you working on the IST and Backscatter transceivers?”
“Yes Commander, I hope to test the equipment in approximately forty minutes.”
“Is my battle armor back to proper working order?”
“Affirmative, Commander. The departed Chaalt spacecraft have rejoined the mothership and three of the Operative’s warships have encircled it. They are rapidly moving across this star system. I speculate they will make a transition once they are on the far side of our most distant gas giant. Sael Nalen’s flagship and the remaining warship have jumped out of this system. It will take time for me to analyze the minute distortion waves left in the dark energy wake of their transitions. I do not think it will be necessary to track the Operative. When she disclosed the location of hostile forces as being in an adjoining star system, I used this base’s sensor arrays to locate the distortion waves of the Quill spacecraft as they transitioned into the star system. The craft exhibit a very unique star drive signature. They are using an unknown pulse drive. I sense them as vibrations. The count is currently eighty-six separate signatures.”
Sael Nalen had fourteen ships at her disposal and the opposition eighty-six. She was going to be in deep shit if she did not get back up. I remembered her saying they were going to stand down all forces that had been at a high state of readiness for an extended period of time. She also stated the Quill had good weaponry. Regardless of how superior the Chaalt warships might be, they could still get their shields overloaded by the sheer number of hostile ships firing on them.
“Justice, prepare to get underway. I want you to plot a jump that will put us just outside the star system. We will go full stealth and find a spot to observe the Quill ships.”
“Affirmative Commander, the crew is aboard and the Legacy is ready for departure.”
I saw Xul come around the side of the artifact building and he looked worried. I ran up to him and told him he was in charge till I got back. He nodded and said they would shut down all unnecessary emissions in case the hostiles jump to our star system.
He touched my hand and said: “Come back to us, Nathan Myers. We still have much to accomplish, and we cannot do it without you.”
I leaned down and gave the Grawl my best smile and a quick embrace. “I will, Xul, because I cannot accomplish my goals without your help.”
A Grawl smile was not a pretty thing. I had grown to accept the look and to me it was just fine. I turned and ran to the Legacy. Tria was standing on the ramp waiting for me. Just inside the hatch, I could see Coonts and Klutch. As soon as I hit the ramp Tria grabbed my hand and we ran through the hatch.
I greeted my crewmates then yelled to Justice. “Let’s roll.”
We went to the ready room, walking past our new recon armor. I was not about to take unknown equipment into battle. Going to my Zaen battle armor crate, I entered the access code and it opened. The diagnostics screen on the door of the crate was all green go codes. I went to the weapons rack and did a quick inspection of my highly modified shotgun. Our weapons were spotless and ready to go. The magazine pouches in the bins under the weapons were all full. I don’t know why I bothered to look. I should know by now not to expect anything less. I went out the door with my crew following. We went up tube and then to the bridge. We t
ook our seats and everyone’s attitude changed to all business. Justice took us out of the tunnel at an insane velocity. One second, we were in the parking area; the next we were in space. I looked up at the full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree dome-shaped view screen.
“Tria, is there any additional data on the Quill you can share with us?”
“No, Commander. I have never encountered the species on any of my tours of duty.”
“Coonts, Klutch, anything you can add?”
They both gave me blank stares. Coonts finally said: “Commander, due to the nature of the facilities we were sequestered on, we would have little knowledge of current events. At no time was I briefed on predatory race incursions.”
Klutch just nodded his agreement and turned back to his hangar bay checklist. My Earth-boy curiosity was insatiable. I wondered what could make a hard ass like Sael Nalan get her panties in such a wad.
“Justice, do you have the target system’s coordinates plotted?”
“Yes, Commander. I am ready to jump on your order. Standard transition time will be seven minutes twenty-two seconds. I will begin matrix charging when we arrive at our destination. DEHD core options will be available in approximately sixty minutes. All weapons are ready in all aspects.”
“Roger that, Justice. Jump us to the target area.”
The domed view screen turned to a single white spot then coalesced to the dark shimmering waves of interdimensional space. I was feeling the small shots of adrenaline that came with the thoughts of possible combat. The beast inside me stirred. He drank in the stimulant and I could feel his need for more. Tria must have sensed the change to my aura. She got up and stood by my side, placing her hand on my shoulder. The beast slithered back into the shadows of its cage. I noticed she no longer wore her support braces. I gave her a small smile when my mind wandered to more pleasant thoughts. She returned the gesture then returned to her chair at the comms station. The beast and its prison were nowhere to be found.
Justice gave me a sitrep on the equipment Sael gave us. “Commander, after careful study and analysis I have connected the IST unit and the Backscatter transceiver to their power sources. When power was established to the IST device, I became aware of two additional active transmitters. One could only be aboard the shuttle Sael Nalen left behind at Alpha base since the balance of the units given to us is aboard this ship. The other is in the distant star system we are now approaching. I speculate it is aboard the Operative’s flagship. I also surmise she is now aware we are on our way. I have designed and installed failsafe power disrupter switches to the new devices. I have taken the liberty of temporarily disabling them. However, I will re-establish their power supplies on your order.”
“Go ahead and turn them back on. There is no point in hiding if the Operative knows we are coming. If her IST is active she obviously does not think it can be detected by the Quill. Why she would think that, I have no idea. We were able to detect the signal, she should not assume others cannot. What is the nature of the Backscatter devices she had buried in our heads?”
“The device transmits a signal that closely matches the background noise emanated by the universe. It is almost impossible to sort out the data-laden signal from the countless emissions that make up the cacophony surrounding it.”
Coonts must have seen me roll my eyes at the explanation Justice just gave me. “Commander, I think what Justice is stating is we now have a form of relatively secure comms between our implanted devices. I suspect they have a much shorter range than the IST device. It remains to be seen what the actual range of both devices will be and what shielding may disrupt them.”
“Coonts’ clarification is an accurate depiction, Commander. Now that you are aboard the Legacy, I have been able to scan the device. It appears to have grown microscopic leaders that have made their way into your tympanic membrane and several locations along your cerebral cortex. They have also established a connection with your existing implant array. I assume you will have individual data channels for each crew member and a group link for joint communication as well. It would be careless to dismiss the possibility you now have the capability of linking with the Senior Operative. If that is indeed the case, it leads to further speculation the Operative can monitor your comms while using the device.”
I had mixed feelings about the possibility of big mother listening to our transmissions. It seemed harmless enough at the moment, but one never knows. A big smile crossed my face. The Operative just got a new code name.
“Justice, are you sure you can shut it down if we need to?”
“Yes, Commander. Unless the device is capable of remote activation, we can close down the signals by disrupting its power source. Exit transition in thirty seconds.”
10
Our return to normal space time revealed a star system with two small, Mercury-sized rocky planets. They were orbiting well out in the system, away from the massive red giant that was the central star. In between the planets and the red giant was a huge asteroid field encircling the waning star. There were several dust-filled bands closer to the star that would one day be absorbed or obliterated when the red giant finally collapsed. The outer reaches of the asteroid field stretched until it was fairly close to the small rocky planets.
Forty-three red boxes appeared around one of the planets then the other. Justice magnified the observation screen as much as possible. The ships were big but not huge like the half-mile long Chaalt warships. The Quill ships reminded me of oblong pine cones. Each segment had a forward swept barb pointing to the narrow end. We could not count from this distance, but it looked like there were at least a hundred segments. The ships were equidistant around the planet and at a low altitude above the surface. Whatever they were doing on the surface was creating a plume of debris that obscured the narrow end of the alien ships. If I was to guess, I would say they were mining something they thought was valuable.
Justice had chosen his entry coordinates so we would be a safe distance from the asteroids and as close to the local star as possible. There was a very low probability the Quill had their sensors pointed directly at the star. We dove headlong into the rocky debris field and were weaving our way closer to the hostile ships. The fourteen Chaalt warships were nowhere to be found.
“Justice, have you located the wake disruptions from the Chaalt ships?”
“Negative, Commander. It would be sound military doctrine to covertly observe from within the asteroid field as we are doing. There is a great deal of movement within the bands of the field. It effectively erases all detectable traces of their travel.”
Justice continued working his way through the asteroid field using all available clearings. We were getting closer but still a considerable distance from the Quill ships. My curiosity was getting the better of me. I was wondering about the star chart upgrades the Operative said she might give us.
“Justice, did you receive updated astrogation data?”
“Commander, the updated information came in the form of a data cube. The cube is of an unknown design and is capable of uploading vast quantities of data in micro seconds. For security reasons, I did not allow it access to my central data cores. When the Overseer became aware of my concerns, it volunteered to be downloaded into the data cube. I first downloaded its awareness to a data transfer device of my design. I created several robust firewalls within the transfer module. The Overseer helped me establish the validity of the data chokes. Several tests were made to verify my apparatus was capable of containing any rogue programs or codes. Only then did I allow the Overseer to be transferred into the Chaalt data device. It is elated knowing that it is able to help us. The task could take an extended period of time to complete. The Overseer is going through each individual line of code and all encrypted data. If the Overseer finds questionable processes, it will alert me immediately. The Overseer also informed me it has found several files included in the cube that pertain to the Daggers. I will be monitoring my transfer module for any determinations
and will alert you when I can transfer the updated information.”
Justice was a thousand steps ahead of me. I never would have thought about the possibility of intrusive programs collecting sensitive information. I did not think the Chaalt would do harm to the Legacy or directly endanger my crew. However, I was pretty sure they would take any and all information they could get their tech hungry hands on. Justice broke my train of thought.
“Commander, the Backscatter link has increased energy consumption. I believe inbound message traffic is a certainty.” Justice had hardly completed his statement When Sael Nalen started talking inside my head.
“Nathan Myers, why are you in my zone of operations? You are needlessly exposing your crew to what might prove to be a very dangerous situation.”
“Last time I checked, it was determined you are not my boss or my commander. Besides Mother, I did not wish to see anything happen to you after all of the nice gifts you gave me.”
A less than pleasant noise came over the link. It was followed by more than a few awkward moments of silence. I had the feeling the Operative might have relocated to a place she could freely say what was on her mind.
“You Throgg, I have never taken a mate. If I did choose to make such an unfortunate mistake and produce offspring, I would self-terminate before I would let the likes of you escape my loins.”
I had to give it to her; she was now the queen of comebacks. “Now Mother, is that any way to talk to your only alien child?”
“Nathan, cease your mindless chatter! We are preparing to strike the Quill now that all have engaged their umbilical tubes. Do not move from your current position. I do not want you in our battlespace. We make numerous preprogramed transitions and a collision is possible.”
There was nothing else to say. “Acknowledged Mother. We will be standing by.”
When she said nothing more, I assumed the transmission was over. I looked over at Tria and she was smiling. Coonts and Klutch seemed oblivious to the conversation. They were hiding it well or considered it private. Either way, I had no further comments pertaining to the exchange. I ceded to her authority and that was that.