Origins: A Greater Good

by Mark Henrikson

  Once all of the rustling of plastic fabric, rolling of sleeves, and tripping over excess length came to an end, Tonwen evaluated the four alien creatures with a judgmental eye. “Lovely. That will do just fine for the ten seconds we will spend crossing the street to reach the tunnel entrance. Follow me.”

  Tonwen and his four yellow shrouded followers dashed cross the street and entered a small building that contained row upon row of floor to ceiling storage shelves packed full of paper files.

  “Paper data storage, how quaint,” Bellum commented as Tonwen led them to the southwest corner of the room where an unexpected sight greeted them. A three foot wide, four-foot tall section of shelving was slid forward into the aisle to reveal an opening leading straight down into a dark hole in the floor. A closer examination of the hole revealed a metal lined shaft with built in ladder rungs leading down the side.

  “How far down does this go?” Bellum asked with genuine concern in his voice.

  “A good long ways, but going down is not the difficult part. Climbing back up to surface level on the other end is where things get tough. Follow me,” Tonwen said as he kneeled before swinging his legs over the ledge to begin his descent.

  The three-hundred foot ladder descent, three-mile walk down the tunnel, followed by a three-hundred foot ladder assent took a full hour and a half to accomplish. Tonwen could have done it in a third the time, but he had to remind himself that these were Novi bodies following his lead, not human.

  Not only were they shorter and petite in stature, but their musculature and lung capacity were severely lacking. By the time they stood outside the vault door, his four Novi companions pure white faces were almost glowing bright red as they huffed and puffed to catch their breath.

  “Couldn’t we have gone back to the ship and retrieved our gravity belts?” Pacis asked. “We could have floated up and down those tubes without effort.”

  “We cannot risk that technology falling into the hands of these humans,” Tonwen replied. “Besides, after my last experience with those devices of yours, I am sure you can understand my reluctance to use them again. That is all beside the point now; you have arrived.”

  “Where are we?” Pacis asked in between deep, heaving breaths. “It feels like we walked and climbed half way around the globe.”

  Tonwen could not help but smile at the comment as he stepped forward to begin the three-step identification process that would open the vault door. “Hardly. We have come back to where you saw the three pyramids. You are standing inside the statue of a feline with a human head on top illuminated in orange light that you saw from above.”

  “Hiding in plain sight once more,” Pacis observed.

  “Indeed,” Tonwen confirmed as he pressed his eye to the retinal scanner and delivered a voice authentication sample to a microphone. “Lieutenant Tonwen. My voice is my passport. Please verify.”

  A rolling series of mechanical clicks made its way around the perimeter of the door delivering an audible reply. Tonwen stepped back and watched a glowing halo appear around the circular vault door as light from the other side shined through. While the opening grew wider, the light differential dissipated to the point that they could see into the chamber.

  Waiting on the other side of the vault door was the expected sight of Captain Hastelloy standing with Gallono and Valnor flanking him on either side. The surprise came when he spotted three additional humans seated at workstations behind them.

  “You could have spared me the trouble of authenticating and simply opened the door for us,” Tonwen said with an accusing look.

  “That’s it? We save you from certain destruction outside the Nexus range, and the first words out of your mouth when you see us is to complain that we didn’t help you enough?” Gallono said while feigning great offense. “That’s gratitude for you.”

  “And who do we have behind you?” Tonwen asked gesturing to the humans seated behind Gallono.

  “You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine,” Hastelloy replied while stepping around Tonwen to address the four Novi standing behind him looking like frightened rabbits searching for a hole to duck into for shelter.

  “We needed to make sure that you considered your companions here to be real friends,” Hastelloy added before addressing his Novi guests. “Welcome to Earth. With any luck, none of us will be here much longer.”

  “How do you intend to accomplish that?”

  “He’s right. That shuttle does not have a space fold drive to get us anywhere outside this solar system.”

  “Captain, may I introduce Pacis and Bellum,” Tonwen said gesturing to each respectively. “They risked everything by telling me of the suspicious weapons payload. They also helped me investigate the foreign containers and ultimately broke me out of the admiral’s custody. They are most definitely friends. What about your companions seated inside the Nexus chamber? Friends?”

  “More like trainees,” Valnor answered. “We will not be on this planet forever. The NSA has been tasked with learning how to use the sensory scanners and gravity weapon to defend the planet once we have gone.”

  “Sharing advanced technology with the local inhabitants is expressly prohibited,” Bellum objected with as much outrage as a three-foot being dared project toward another twice his size. “We object to the Novi indiscriminately wiping out this planet, but we will have no part in disrupting the Neo Scale development of these humans and possibly fostering another war like the one we fought against the Alpha.”

  “You may rest easy in that regard,” Hastelloy said in an attempt to ease the rapid onset of tension in the chamber. “The branch of the agency that these men represent operates above any government for the express purpose of keeping alien activities on this planet hidden. They are not scientists capable of reverse engineering the technology. They only know that it works and how to use it.”

  “Why do they need to know how to use it?” Pacis asked.

  “With the loss of a ship and its crew, the Novi are certain to view Earth as an even greater threat now than before. In short, they’re going to come back to finish what they started and these humans need to be ready for whatever reprisal awaits them,” Hastelloy concluded.

  “That’s where you come in,” Valnor added while eyeing their Novi guests.

  Bellum shook his head and shrugged his shoulders in an obvious show of confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s been over four thousand years since I last saw a Novi battle cruiser. I have to believe significant advancements have been made to their weapons and defensive capabilities,” Hastelloy prompted. “We need your help to educate us on these new capabilities.”

  Bellum looked ready to tell the captain where to shove his request but Pacis, the consummate diplomat, put a gentle hand on her husband’s shoulder to bring him back to room temperature.

  “He’s right,” she said in a soft, calming voice. “If the Novi return with capabilities they’re not prepared to handle, all of this will have been for nothing.”

  “I was a ranking officer of the fleet,” Bellum protested. “You are asking me to divulge secrets and commit treason. I can’t; I won’t do it.”

  “Captain Hastelloy and his crew represent the ideals of the Republic you served, not the ones who tried to eradicate this planet of all intelligent life. Helping them is in keeping with your duty,” Pacis concluded.

  Her well-chosen words hit the mark as Bellum’s frigid exterior visibly thawed. “Fine. After the loss of your fleet, it took less than a hundred years to vanquish the Alpha. Very little weapons advancement took place during those years, and there was little need for further weapons development since the one real threat was defeated.”

  “You can’t seriously expect me to believe nothing has changed in all that time,” Hastelloy objected.

  “Oh destructive yields of warheads and the energy dispersal rates of shielding have all been enhanced of course, but there haven’t been any revolutionary new weapons developed in thousands of years.
The necessity to do it is not there, so those resources are applied elsewhere.”

  “What about that weapon we just prevented the Novi from inflicting on this planet? An infinitely more devastating viral form of the Yersinia Pestis contagion did not just come from nature, “Tonwen challenged.

  “Biological weapons of mass destruction are a different matter,” Bellum explained. “The Novi adopted a preemptive doctrine. The research priority turned to eradicating threats before they could develop into potent enemies.”

  “Disgusting cowards,” Gallono said under his breath.

  “Yes, it is cowardly,” Pacis added to the discussion. “That is why pockets of dissenters like us exist throughout the Republic, but we are forced to hide in the shadows. We can only lodge our protests with quiet whispers rather than resounding screams. Challenge the establishment too loudly and you find yourself discredited, silenced, or simply eliminated; expunged from the Nexus.”

  “Our quiet minority wants to scream, but we need a unifying force to bring them all together in order to fight for change, a change back to the honorable ideals every Novi used to hold dear.”

  Tonwen could feel the emotions revving up again, and he moved accordingly to keep things constructive. “What else has changed over the years?”

  “Detection equipment,” Bellum went on. “The Alpha were not completely defeated. Small pockets of resistance settlements still survive around the outer rim. Substantial improvements have been made in the range and sensitivity of our equipment to locate Alpha power and radiation signatures.”

  “Are these new and improved sensors able to pick up the energy signatures of the Alpha in their relic form?” Hastelloy asked with noticeable excitement in his words.

  “What form? What was that again?” Bellum and Pacis looked at each other in total confusion.

  “Never mind, what you said makes perfect sense to me now. All development efforts have been focused on finding the Alpha,” Hastelloy summarized and was about to press for more facts on the subject, but a shout from inside the Nexus chamber put a stop to it.

  “Hastelloy, I’m pickin’ up some strange readings. Its lookin’ like some sort of energy barrier is formin’ just beyond the moon’s orbit,” the easily recognized voice of Frank Graves announced.

  Valnor dashed inside to stand over Frank’s shoulder to interpret the readings. “It’s a space fold event horizon. Get up and pay attention because class is now in session.”

  Everyone inside, hurry,” Hastelloy ordered as he pressed on a panel near the vault doorway to engage the closing mechanisms.

  “Five Novi ships just came through the event horizon,” Valnor reported. “Three are of similar size and design as the first ship we destroyed. Another has the energy signature of a Nexus device onboard, and Captain you’re going to love this. The command ship looks to be a Thorin class battle cruiser, the one you helped design back in the day.”

  “The fact that the Novi still use that basic ship design is a remarkable tribute to how exquisite and forward thinking that design truly was,” Valnor marveled.

  “Either that, or they pulled one of the original cruisers out of mothballs knowing my connection to the ship’s design. Almost makes me think someone is trying to mock me by attacking with my own creation,” Hastelloy pondered as he looked upon the mammoth vessel settling into high orbit.

  The ship was five miles long, two miles wide and only one hundred yards tall at its thickest point. The vessel looked as if an elongated diamond had been squished flat leaving four shallow sloping sides that met in the middle facing up and an identical configuration facing down. With the exception of the ion engines located at the center of each side panel, every square foot of the hull bristled with advanced weaponry. This was no relic from a ship graveyard; it was state of the art and ready to hurt something.

  “Can you open a communication channel with any of the ships?” Hastelloy asked with his skeptical tone alluding to Tonwen’s answer.

  “I have been trying, but am receiving no response.”

  “Since a collector class ship is with them, I have no qualms about showing them what they are up against,” Hastelloy said.

  “Not into the sun again,” Bellum demanded. “That will throw them out of Nexus range.”

  “No, we have something else in store for them,” Hastelloy responded while looking over Valnor’s shoulder at the tactical display on his workstation. Pointing to the lead ship he said, “Make it go away.”

  Valnor glanced over at his NSA understudy and shot him a bright smile. “Pay attention rookie.”

  He moved his hands across the workstation controls with blinding speed to activate a second view screen. It displayed a live visual of the Novi ship formation. Moments later a targeting grid was laid over the image. Another heartbeat passed before the grid outlining the lead ship turned bright red.

  “I wouldn’t want to be on that ship,” Valnor commented just before the target went from being a full-sized battle cruiser with a crew compliment of ten thousand to a comparative speck no larger than a beer can.

  “What in the six corners of the universe just happened to that ship?” Pacis asked.

  “Crushed under the immense pressure of redirected gravitational force between the Earth and its sun,” Valnor instructed, but found it necessary to change the topic when an alarm sounded from his station. “They are firing torpedoes, lots of them. Frank, would you care to do the honors?”

  “Can you castrate a hillbilly by kicking his sister in the teeth?” the NSA agent answered to confused looks. “That means yes,” he clarified while working the keys of his own workstation to auto target and propel the projectiles on a harmless journey ending at the sun. One at a time at first, but Frank soon proved himself proficient enough to handle several dozen at a time.

  The Novi ships intensified their fire, and it soon became overwhelming when the Thorin class cruiser let loose with its ridiculous compliment of torpedo launchers. A tidal wave of red projectiles appeared on the tactical display creeping closer and closer to the Earth’s atmosphere as the NSA agent fought a losing battle.

  “Any time you feel like helpin’,” Frank grunted with a bead of sweat dripping from his brow.

  “It’s time to bring those two ships closer together,” Hastelloy ordered.

  On screen, the two smaller warships smashed into one another, bringing a swift halt to their fire. Moments later hundreds of escape pods were seen scurrying away from the joint wreckage.

  “Lock onto both remaining ships and hold them in place along with one of the escape pods. Then open up a communication channel with the command ship.”

  “We are still receiving no response,” Gallono informed the captain.

  “They don’t need to talk, only listen. Ready?” Hastelloy asked Valnor who was handling the targeting.

  “They aren’t going anywhere.”

  “Novi command ship, this is Captain Hastelloy of the Fifth Fleet of the Novi Republic. Your continued attack on this innocent world has forced my hand in this matter. Please observe the escape pod I have isolated and the Nexus device onboard your collector class ship.”

  Hastelloy made a cutting gesture across his throat with his left hand to end the one-way chat. “Tonwen, activate your Nexus interference protocol we used on the Alpha in China.”

  “But sir,” Tonwen objected as Hastelloy’s intention became clear to him.

  “Do it, Lieutenant. That is a direct order from your commanding officer.”

  Tonwen could not bring himself to vocalize a reply; he simply gave his captain an affirmative nod when the deed was done.

  “Crush that pod,” Hastelloy ordered of Valnor. He preempted any possible objection from a second crewman by adding, “That is an order.”

  No one, not even Gallono or the captain, could bear to watch the screen as the escape pod crumpled into a mere speck of sand via the awesome gravitational forces commanded by the gravity weapon.

  Evidence that the distasteful
deed was done came when Gallono announced to the room, “We are receiving a message from the lead ship.”

  “Imagine that,” Hastelloy sighed. “Open a two-way channel and let’s see what they have to say now.”

  A soft ping that echoed between the Nexus chamber walls preceded a shrill male voice hollering at the top of his lungs in the Novi language. “You barbaric animal! Blocking our Nexus device and murdering a helpless escape pod full of survivors? You animal, those are your people.”

  “I find your attempt to eradicate an innocent world full of several billion sentient beings equally distasteful,” Hastelloy countered with a calm, level voice in stark contrast to his counterpart.

  Hastelloy continued with the same demeanor. “You are hereby ordered to abandon the Thorin class cruiser of all hands to seek refuge aboard your collector class ship. Do this and I will allow that ship to leave this system and carry a message back to the council that any further attacks on this planet will be repelled with extreme prejudice, including interference with any local Nexus device’s abilities.”

  “If I refuse?” came a response attempting to convey strength, but failing miserably in the effort.

  “You are beaten,” Hastelloy bellowed. “There is no need to add further death to your defeat on this day. Comply with my terms for surrender, or today will be your last.”

  A long, pregnant pause lingered before a final reply came. “Your terms are accepted. My men are abandoning ship as we speak”

  “Acknowledged,” Hastelloy replied as he looked about the room until his gaze settled on Bellum.

  “What now?”

  “That ship does have a space fold drive. Now we make ready to finally leave this system with the Nexus intact.”

  Chapter 21: What Next?

  Tonwen knew that he needed to keep out of sight until the appropriate moment, but curiosity got the better of him. This was his third time serving as an exhibit for the lecture hall on board the Thorin class battle cruiser, and he was curious if this class was as receptive to the message being told as the others. In search for answers, he leaned his head in toward the door, but found he needed to bend at the waist to get a view through the tiny, Novi-sized window into the next room. He saw a half moon shaped auditorium on the other side with stadium seating. Just over five-hundred Novi occupied the ascending seats, all recently regenerated out of the Nexus.