by Jerry Aubin
As the countdown clock on the overhead display neared the sixty second mark, Rilee became excited as always before making a jump into light-speed. She had just begun pacing when an alert sounded. Kalyn called out from her position.
“Ma’am—there are two spacecraft arriving in system. I don’t recognize either of the signatures, but they’re different from each other. They should fully resolve thirty seconds before our planned jump. I recommend Battle Stations.”
“Concur, Number Two. Set Battle Stations.”
A klaxon wailed in response to Rilee’s command, and the illumination on the bridge flipped to dark red. Rilee sat in her command chair and leaned forward with her eyes locked on the primary sensor panels. Kalyn called out again a short time later.
“Ma’am—we’ve detected weapons fire, but none directed at us. The much larger spacecraft is firing on the smaller one. The target appears to be equipped with an energy shield, but sensors suggest it’s failing. We should get out of here before either one of them pays any attention to us. I recommend an emergency jump.”
Rilee opened her mouth to order the jump to light-speed, but after a pause some very different words came out.
“Halt the jump countdown. Keep the light-speed engine primed for emergency jump, but we aren’t leaving just yet. Launch the alert fighters and order them to engage the aggressor vessel.”
Someone on the bridge gasped. Kalyn turned to face Rilee, and her lieutenant wore an expression of grave concern.
“Ma’am—with all due respect, why are we going after these aliens? The Collective Pact clearly states we’re to never attack another species.”
“Correction, Number Two. The Pact states we may never launch an unprovoked attack. I’m launching a rescue mission in response to the provocation of the far larger assailant attacking that much smaller craft.”
Her lieutenant looked at her imploringly, but Rilee maintained a resolute expression. Two seconds later, Kalyn issued the order. Thirty seconds after that, the ten fighters on high alert blasted out of the Oceania and sped off to engage. Rilee focused on the tactical display as her fighters closed in on the clashing aliens. Once within range, all ten let loose their weapons against the aggressor. The simultaneous shots overloaded the alien’s shields, and it turned away from its attack and sped away from the battle. Three seconds later, as her fighters continued pursuit, Rilee exhaled as the larger alien vessel jumped away from the system. She turned to Kalyn.
“Order our fighters to orbit halfway between Oceania and the remaining vessel. Do not make any movements towards their spacecraft which might be interpreted by the occupants as hostile. Let’s see what they do next.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
With the orders relayed, Rilee sat back in her chair to await the alien’s next move. Would it rush to escape like the aggressor had or perhaps stick around and attempt to communicate? Fifteen seconds stretched into sixty which then stretched into two full minutes without any activity from the alien craft. Rilee was pondering what to do next when movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned and gasped when she locked eyes with an unfamiliar human who had somehow materialized on the bridge. The man wore casual clothes right down to the athletic shoes on his feet. Her exclamation caught the attention of others around the bridge, and the next sounds were the snicks of multiple weapons being prepared to shoot. Rilee called out.
“Hold your fire!”
The mysterious human remained calm in the face of the tumult and continued to stare at Rilee. His mouth quivered for a few moments until it finally formed into a smile. Rilee’s own mouth went wide in astonishment, but she quickly gathered her wits and spoke.
“Who are you, and how did you get on board my ship?”
The human opened his mouth and emitted a series of high-pitched squeaks. The noise was excruciating and she grimaced in response. The man stopped making any sound, closed his eyes for a moment, and then reopened them. When his mouth next moved, human speech came out.
“Greetings. I am sorry for any alarm I caused with my sudden appearance aboard your vessel. Why are you out here among the stars?”
Rilee wanted to ignore the man’s question and start demanding her own answers, but something in the pit of her stomach led her to try a different approach.
“We’re seeking new planets for our people.”
The man was quiet for a moment. “Planets like your Earth are rare across the galaxy and are often already home to intelligent species. How are you dealing with these other species as you encounter them?”
“We agree with your assessment. That’s why we’re not searching for planets that are already like our home but instead those which are currently hostile to life but with some effort could be made habitable. This allows us to avoid confrontation with other species.”
“And yet, you fired upon the other spacecraft that was attacking my own. Why did you do that if you are trying to avoid confrontation?”
“Well,” Rilee smiled as warmly as possible, “it struck me as the right thing to do.”
The man looked around the bridge for a moment before turning back to Rilee and returning her smile. “This is all very unlike the behavior we have catalogued for your species. I must inform my companions.”
Rilee stood and stepped two paces towards the man. “You are familiar with us. How is that?”
“I have visited your homeworld. I was unable to identify your ship when it first appeared on my scope until you deployed your fighter craft. I recognized how they had been patterned off a species I was aware had frequently visited your planet, so I guessed you would be human. Obviously, I was correct.”
“Why do you appear as if you’re human like us? How can you speak our language?”
The man laughed. “I am not anything like a human. This is the form I chose once I concluded this was a human ship. Since I have visited your homeworld, I knew how to take your form and communicate using your language.”
“You mentioned companions. Are there more of your kind back on your ship?”
“No. I am on a scouting mission and am traveling by myself. The companions I refer to are those like me who are on similar missions all around the universe. I have already informed them of the uncatalogued behavior you have exhibited here today so they may be aware for any future interactions.”
Rilee found herself at a loss for words. In the span of a few short minutes she had learned of the existence of aliens who had visited Earth, shape-shifted at will, teleported, and communicated at faster than light speeds. She had a million questions to ask, but was paralyzed trying to pick which was most important. She was about to open her mouth when the man spoke instead.
“You saved me from certain death. In my culture, settlement of such a life debt is considered the highest honor. How may I repay you?”
Rilee offered the first thing that crossed her mind. “Your teleportation technology.”
The man laughed even harder than he had previously. “As much as I desire the honor of repaying my debt, I must decline that request. That technology is unique to our species and we are forbidden to share it. What if instead I were to gift you with the ability for superluminal communication? That technology is already widely dispersed among spacefaring species.”
Rilee was dumbstruck and her mouth fell slack in reaction to the man’s offer. She managed to nod in reply, at which point the man disappeared from view. He reappeared in the same location holding one large crystal and two smaller ones in an outstretched hand.
Rilee reached out and the alien handed over the crystals. She almost dropped them due to how shockingly heavy they were for their size. The three together must have weighed ten kilos even though they were small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. She placed the two smaller crystals on the deck and then examined the largest.
The crystal was composed of material that was clear, though with a golden tinge. Upon closer investigation, Rilee found that its core was inky black. She brought the
crystal closer to her eye and discovered that the dark splotch within was full of tiny pin-pricks of sparkling light that varied in size and intensity. The lights were distributed throughout the core with the exception of a gap in the center. The gap, pitch black and perfectly circular, was surrounded by light which appeared blurred and distorted. Rilee focused back on the man as he spoke.
“What you hold in your hand is a Star Crystal seed. When fed with the appropriate high-energy radiation, it will sprout new crystals. The two crystals I have given you are the first children from this seed. All crystals from a given seed will have the ability to transmit data instantaneously across unlimited distance.” The man closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them. “I have just transmitted information that I am confident you will be able to decipher based on my understanding of the scientific knowledge found on your planet. It contains the details about the radiation needed to trigger new crystal growth as well as basic instructions for creating a device to interface with the crystal for sending and receiving data.”
Rilee turned to the comms station and the man sitting there nodded to confirm the alien’s statement. The visitor spoke again.
“It has been a pleasure meeting you, captain of the Oceania. My people will greet you as a friend whenever you may cross our path. My ship has repaired itself, so it is time for me to continue my mission. Farewell.”
Rilee opened her mouth to scream wait, but it was already too late. With a curt nod the man disappeared from the bridge. Five seconds later, his ship similarly disappeared from the system. Her head spun at the realization that she hadn’t posed her most critical question to the alien before he left.
Have any of your companions ever encountered humans traveling on a ship built upon an asteroid?
20
Get off my bridge.
“Ma’am—critical alert from Scout Four.”
“Patch it through, Kalyn.”
Rilee sat back and closed her eyes to focus on the transmission.
“I’ve just entered a white dwarf system and there are three unidentified vessels. One of them appears to be Adan’s asteroid.”
Rilee leapt out of her seat. “Give me an image!”
There it was on the screen—Adan’s asteroid—looking almost the same as it had when she first saw it fifteen thousand years earlier. Rilee’s heart stopped and her legs threatened to quit. She sat back down to steady herself while she issued orders.
“Nav—I want to be in that system as fast as possible. Kalyn—spin up all offensive weapons. I want all fighters prepared for launch as soon as we come out of the jump.”
“Ma’am,” squawked Scout Four over the comm line, “the closest of the vessels appears to be a fighter and it’s approaching at high velocity. Another ten craft just like it have launched from the asteroid. May I jump out of the system?”
Standard procedure for all scout craft was to depart any system in which they encountered potentially hostile spacecraft. The crew of Oceania had engaged in successful alien diplomacy throughout the many millennia of its journey, but they always avoided situations where a lone scout would have to fend for itself. Standing orders were to depart and either leave the aggressors behind for good or wait in the safety of a nearby system until Oceania arrived.
“Negative, Scout Four. I need you to remain on station and keep that asteroid engaged. Transmit your sensor data back to us. You may fire at will at any of the fighters.” Rilee paused to key something into her comm unit. “As for the asteroid, fire your railgun at the targeting coordinates I just sent you.”
“Yes, ma’am. Scout Four out.”
Kalyn had approached during the interchange and whispered to Rilee once the pilot cut the transmission.
“Ma’am, I understand why you want Scout Four to hold in system, but I’m at a loss as to what difference a puny kinetic weapon will make against something as huge as Adan’s ship. If we had a shell of that size inbound, our defensive algorithms would ignore it altogether.”
“That’s what I’m betting on, Kalyn. The coordinates I provided Scout Four are for the asteroid’s flight operations center. It’s a one in a million shot, and they may very well have reconfigured the ship after all these years, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a try. The worst case scenario is that Scout Four wastes a shell. If instead he manages to somehow knock out a critical nerve center, then when we jump into the system they’ll be at our mercy.”
Kalyn nodded and walked away. Rilee smiled as Scout Four’s sensors revealed that the pilot had a significant speed advantage over the fighters from the asteroid. He appeared to not be in any danger despite being pursued by eleven of the hostiles. Rilee tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair as the jump clock ticked off the time until they would arrive in system. With only ten seconds to go, Rilee let out a yell in response to the sensor data.
“Dammit! Why the hell did that asteroid jump out of the system in the middle of a battle against a single, small craft. What kind of cowardly commander would leave that many fighters behind when the odds are overwhelmingly in their favor?”
There was silence in response to the rhetorical question, but it was quickly broken by a series of alerts that sounded when Oceania finished her jump and arrived in system.
“Ma’am—there are eleven active hostiles and a twelfth craft which has remained in close orbit around the white dwarf. Scout Four is accelerating towards us and appears to be well out of range of the hostiles. What are your orders?”
Rilee answered without hesitation. “I want all weapons focused on the twelve hostiles. Destroy them. All scanners look for any trace of that asteroid. If there’s any clue that might help us track it down, I want to hear about it now!”
“Hold your fire!” Kalyn turned to Rilee. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but we shouldn’t be attacking them when they haven’t attacked us. In fact, his sensors show they never shot at Scout Four given his skill and speed advantage. The Collective Pact dictates we must not engage in a situation like this.”
“Kalyn—you’re dismissed. Get off my bridge.” Kalyn didn’t move immediately, and Rilee jumped up. “Now, dammit! The rest of you—follow my orders and kill all of those vessels. The ship they came from killed nine billion innocents and tried to destroy Earth. If you need any more reason than that to fire, then consider yourself relieved of duty as well.”
Kalyn walked out slowly, but without any additional company. As the hatch closed behind her, firing solutions were finalized and weapons engaged. Within a minute, nothing remained of the twelve craft that was bigger than half a meter. The conflicted tension in the compartment as her crew went about their work was obvious to Rilee, but they were all professionals and followed her orders.
Rilee paced as she waited for data from the sensors. If the asteroid hadn’t left behind any clue to its destination, she found herself at a loss as to what to do next. She had already called in all of their scouts and was prepared to fan them out in a desperate effort to find Adan’s ship again, but the odds of stumbling upon them a second time were infinitesimally small given the vastness of space. She was starting to lose hope as the minutes ticked by without any word from the sensor team until finally their leader spoke.
“Ma’am—we’ve found something. There’s a nearly imperceptible gravitational anomaly in the spot where the asteroid was last located. We’ve identified two more anomalies that are similar and indicate the asteroid’s heading away from the system. The third is at the very edge of our sensors and all three are fading fast, but best guess is we’ve found the asteroid’s wake.”
Rilee grinned and pounded her right fist against her left hand. Her silent exultation was short-lived, however, as Comms spoke next.
“Ma’am—inbound message from the Leadership Council. They demand your attendance immediately for an emergency session.”
All eyes focused on Rilee. She couldn’t ignore the Council, but wasn’t about to forego her chance at tracking Adan’s ship.
“Nav—foll
ow the anomalies. If we’re correct, then hopefully we’ll continue to find a whole trail of them that will lead us straight to the asteroid. In the meantime, I’m going to join the Council meeting from my private compartment.”
21
The asteroid has not disappeared.
Rilee jogged to the small compartment off the bridge she used for private meetings. She sat down and initiated a link to the Council. There were rumors that after a few centuries of research they were finally close to solving the issues with Uploading into a new Skin via the superluminal communicators, but the virtual presence capability was already an amazing improvement from the early days of audio-only connections. Her vision went fuzzy for a moment as the link resolved, but the Council chamber quickly came into focus. All eyes turned to Rilee. She was joining a discussion already in progress. Randel stood in the middle of the chamber, and he turned and strode towards Rilee as he addressed her.
“We understand you discovered the asteroid Adan used to leave Earth. That’s a fantastic accomplishment, but unfortunately it appears you went and undid your great work by launching your attack first. This is a violation of the Collective Pact, and we’ve called this emergency meeting to evaluate the future of your command.”
She wasn’t surprised that Kalyn would disagree with her actions, but Rilee was shocked that her trusted lieutenant had reported her to the council so quickly. Kalyn had advised Rilee to temper much of her impulsiveness throughout the thousands of years they had worked together, but it was impossible to eradicate all of it. This was especially true whenever Rilee found herself in opposition to Randel. It was considered rude to pass through another attendee when attending a meeting in a virtual fashion, but Rilee stood and walked her holographic presence through the body of her longtime nemesis and addressed the meeting from the center of the circle.