AMP Rebellion

by Stephen Arseneault

  I replied, “More power means more portal. We can either keep it open longer or make it a little bigger.”

  Frig approached to check on the progress of the installation. He looked down upon the massive generator from our position high up on a catwalk.

  Frig spoke, “Sir. I ran a new set of calculations. If these generators support our power needs, we may be able to open and sustain several of the microscopic portals while switching the larger portal on and off. If this works as designed, we could open a sustained comm channel to our team on the Grid.”

  I replied, “That would be fantastic. What other points would we want to establish permanent comms with? How about your Milgari friends on Barithia?”

  Frig thought for a moment. “Other than checking on their progress, I’m not sure what use that would be, but we could keep a channel open to them if needed.”

  I responded, “You said they would do just about anything you asked. Would that include an attack on the Dakar and Prassi fleets that are parked outside the Grid? If we figure out a way to take it back from the inside we will still need help from the outside.”

  Frig again thought before responding, “I believe they would if I asked. If that were to happen it would clean the slate as far as them feeling they owed me something. Not that I would want to send them into battle, but having them no longer feel beholden to me is something I desire. I am owed nothing for doing what was right.”

  I replied, “Let’s just hope they are truly willing if that time comes. If those troops on the Grid have support and resupply from outside it will make our task of kicking them out all the more difficult. After a thousand years of being chased by them a little help would be appreciated.”

  Frig quickly spoke back, “Sir, they were under the influence of…”

  I raised my hand and responded, “I know, I know, the Torrian drug. I’m just saying it would be a welcome gesture.”

  Three days passed before the final antenna was connected to the system. It was time for a test. Frig was hurriedly moving about checking and rechecking connections. When the last of the circuits had been looked over Frig returned to the control room.

  Frig spoke, “We are ready to begin testing Sir. We will be bringing each generator online one at a time. When the three are fully operational we will begin the synchronization pairings. Those parings will then be grouped to balance the radiation pattern being emitted. When the full pattern becomes synchronized we will be ready for a test. I have selected a location in Bay-14 for this test. I am confident of the coordinates and we can watch the results. If you would care to proceed to Bay-14 the wormhole generator should be ready by the time you arrive.”

  I made my way to an otherwise empty Bay-14 where two of Frig’s assistants were standing ready with measurement gear. I opened a comm channel. “Frig, we are ready when you are.”

  Frig replied, “Coming online now Sir. You should see a momentary glow followed by a wormhole opening approximately one meter above the floor. Powering up in three, two, one….”

  A bright flash was followed by a whispering sound as the strange phenomenon took hold. It was like nothing I had ever seen. The wormhole generated by the derelict ship was in the blackness of space. Other than a fog like distortion there was no further visual evidence of its existence. The wormhole that had opened before us was smooth and clear. It was as if a small, circular window into Frig’s lab had been opened.

  I spoke, “We have it. What now?”

  Frig replied, “Now we see what can be safely passed through it and how long it will stay open. The generators are running at a nominal 82% capacity Sir. If those numbers hold we may be able to keep this open indefinitely.”

  I responded, “Let me ask you a question. How many generators would it take to open a portal big enough for a man to pass through?”

  Frig replied, “I have run the calculations with the current antenna set Sir. Without a more highly tuned and efficient array we would have a difficult time achieving that goal. We have available room on this ship Sir, but I am afraid we cannot purchase enough generators to make use of that space. I believe our efforts would be better spent attempting to tune the array for better performance.”

  I spoke, “Well let’s send something through. Does it work both ways? If so, whatever you send I will send back.”

  Frig replied, “We will begin with a basic writing utensil Sir, a pen. It is coming through now.”

  The pen came through the wormhole as if tossed from the other side. It dropped quickly to the floor. One of the technicians retrieved the pen and inspected it. It appeared intact and remained fully functional. The pen was then tossed back through the portal.

  The next item was a long metal pole of approximately two meters in length. Instead of being tossed through it was held on one end and slowly passed through. The image of the pole jutting out of the portal from another location was surreal. I stepped up and took hold of the end that was available to us.

  I spoke, “Frig. This is unreal. I can feel you pulling on it and I can see you through the portal. Say something. I mean, turn off your comm and say something.”

  Frig replied but I heard nothing. I then lowered my face to the same level as the pole. Frig stooped also and attempted to speak again. “Can you hear me now Sir?”

  I replied, “I can. It appears that sound waves are somehow affected by the portal. That doesn’t seem physically possible, but neither does a wormhole.”

  Frig spoke, “I am sorry Sir. I saw the opportunity and took it. I did not speak the first time as I was looking for your reaction.”

  I replied, “What?”

  Frig responded, “It was a joke Sir, a jest. Call it a first attempt at wormhole comedy Sir. Other than having to explain it to you it was quite humorous.”

  The two technicians on either side of me were snickering. I looked back through the portal with a scowl and shoved the pole in Frig’s direction. With my angry, but slightly amused response I managed to shove the middle of the pole into the edge of the portal. In an instant it went frigid cold and shattered. My hands were frozen to the half remaining on my side of the portal.

  I let out a yell, “Oooww! Gaw!”

  I winced in pain as the cold spread to my hands. I looked at one of the techs. “You… grab my blaster and hit the end if this pole with a bolt!”

  The tech replied, “Excuse me Sir. What?”

  I gave a dirty look and then repeated my statement. “Take my blaster. Aim at the end of this pole and hit it with a bolt!”

  The tech complied. The end of the pole became red hot when the bolt from the ion blaster impacted the cold steel. Seconds later the end I was holding warmed to the point of releasing my now frostbitten hands.

  As I stood, looking at my hands, a short stubby arm reached through the portal. I felt as if Frig was taunting me.

  Frig spoke, “Your reactions are quite slow Sir. I released my end when contact was made with the edge. I thought you would do the same Sir.”

  I replied as I gently rubbed my hands together. “Did you know that would happen?”

  Frig replied, “I am sorry Sir, but no. We do not understand the dynamics of the portal yet. It would make sense that it was cold Sir. You are folding space and time, but there is no energy transference through the edge of the portal. It would be similar to the temperature of the void of space. It is unfortunate that you held on Sir, but I am sure you will heal.”

  Frig continued, “We have learned several important facts today.”

  I replied, “Oh yeah? Aside from nearly freezing my arm off, what would those be?”

  Frig responded, “We must take every precaution to not contact the edge of the portal. And, living material can be directly passed through, as evidenced by my arm coming through. Other than a slight temperature difference between the bay you are in and this lab, it was no different that holding out my hand. If we are able to establish a portal large enough for a man to pass through, he should be
able to step through without issue.”

  Frig was of course right. The experiment had been a resounding success. We had weeks of testing before the portal would be ready for use. It would be a busy time for us all.

  Chapter 9

  I directed the techs to set up a barrier around the portal so that no one would come in contact with it. It would be a deadly mistake if they did. I also asked Frig to keep the portal open as long as possible so that he could continue to gather data on the antenna arrays and on the power usage of the wormhole generators. So far, the generators had performed as promised.

  The engineers from the Omrin company that constructed the generators were busy taking metrics and tuning circuits. As the deal had been made for their construction, we allowed their engineers access to the working generators. They had no idea of the load being applied, but they knew how to increase the generator’s efficiency. More power would mean a better portal as a useable resource.

  The engineers had no idea of where they were as their journey to the Fasture nebula and the Suppressor had been kept from them. The data they would return to their company would be invaluable to constructing a better product. It was a fair trade for their much needed services.

  In the weeks following, the portal showed no sign of weakening. The Omrin engineers had tuned the generators, adding five percent to their available power outputs. Frig’s tuning of the antenna arrays had yielded little affect. Our 25 centimeter portal to elsewhere would be the best we could do.

  As Frig had testified to earlier, we had the ability to also open multiple comm portals while the main portal was operating. We had a direct connection open to our team on the Grid and the news was not good.

  One of the team members on the Grid was Major Jan Valez. She spoke, “Yes Sir. The Dakar soldiers are now patrolling almost every corridor and hallway. Our estimates place their numbers at more than 1,200,000 with over 500,000 Prassi joining their ranks. They are everywhere.”

  “Necessary personnel now have armed escorts and are forced to work to keep the station operating. Food is being rationed and is in short supply. We fear there will be some who will begin to starve if the situation does not change in the next week. There have been a number of public executions also. Any disobedience is met with a swift end to your life. They aren’t imprisoning anyone.”

  I replied, “Has there been any word of where they are keeping the Colonel, Admiral and others?”

  Valez responded, “Only rumors Sir. We have two that offer promise that we are attempting to validate. With all movement restricted Sir, it is becoming increasingly difficult to check. And people are clamming up when it comes to giving information. It is survival mode here Sir. People are getting desperate.”

  I thought for a moment and spoke, “Do you have sections that need investigating? We could open one of these micro portals to anywhere on the ship and do a partial scan. If any of the closed off sectors are housing our people we should be able to find them. It’s not like you can just hide more than a hundred thousand people.”

  Valez replied, “I’m sending the coordinates now Sir. I am including those of the section where our Grid military personnel are being held. Their numbers are more than half a million and from what I was told, their food supply was cut off starting yesterday. They have water, but with each passing day their ability to fight will be reduced.”

  I replied, “Is there any way to get help to them? I realize feeding a half million people is no small task, but we have to try.”

  Valez responded, “We are attempting to map a safe pathway from the Food stores to their location using ducting and maintenance access corridors Sir, but we have two major spans of the Kappa and Mu sections that we currently don’t have a route for. We are working potential alternate paths and are somewhat confident that our goal can be achieved. It will just take time Sir, something that we are short on.”

  I replied, “Thank you for your efforts Major. They are needed and appreciated.”

  During the week following, the team on the Grid had attained a positive location for the Colonel, Admiral and the remainder of our forces. They had been taken to section Zeta-9 where they were locked away. They had been without food for a week.

  The Colonel had taken the initiative when they first arrived to keep and store some of the non-perishable rations they had been given. The ration-store had been run through in the first four days after food was cut off. The lack of sustenance was beginning to take its toll.

  I got on the comm and spoke, “Frig. How long would it take to open a full portal into Zeta-9? Our people have been located and they are without food.”

  Frig replied, “I can have that open in 20 minutes Sir. Might I suggest also that we call down to the kitchen and see what foods we can package and send through? The size of that portal is restrictive.”

  I responded, “Zeta-9 is a big space. See if you can open the portal and find out exactly where they are. And be careful. If the Dakar or Prassi guards see a portal open and food drop out they would likely just start killing prisoners.”

  Frig replied, “I will do my best Sir. As soon as the portal is open I will inform you.”

  I took the elevator down to the kitchen deck and made my way to Bay-2 and the food-stores that it held. Our nutritional specialist was Max Gerrard. He hurried to the stores to meet with me.

  Max spoke first, “Don, you say we are looking for foods that can be passed through a 25 centimeter hole? That’s an unusual request. What do we have going on?”

  I replied, “We located the Colonel and the others in Zeta-9. Food supplies have been cut off for a week. We need to get highly nutritious meals to those men and women and we need to feed about 180,000 of them. What do we have and what can we do to get them supplied?”

  Max stopped at a large warehouse door. “Hmm. I think we have just the thing. We stockpile our ships with MREs before sending them out and we have to keep all aboard fed for months on end. Some of that is done through the ships kitchen and some through MREs. We have a large stockpile of meals-ready-to-eat Sir. Just follow me.”

  I walked behind Max as he weaved his way to the main storehouse.

  As he walked into an expansive chamber he waved his hand in a sweeping motion. “This is all MREs Sir. We have a considerable manufacturing line used to produce them. If you like I can call in all hands to get that up and running. Otherwise, there should be enough MREs in here to keep them all fed for about six weeks.”

  I replied, “That’s a start Max. We also have the Grid military, another half million mouths that we will need to feed as well. They were originally in Zeta-4, but they have been moved and we are still trying to find their location.”

  Max responded, “Half a million? I think we might start up that line ASAP Sir as we are now only talking a couple weeks. I would imagine that the bigger problem will be getting the meals onto the Grid. That’s a week-long trip and you still have to get it onto the station Sir.”

  I turned to Max. “We have a solution Max. Get your people in here and making those meals. Let me worry about getting them there.”

  I turned to leave the warehouse and immediately got on the comm to Gy.

  I spoke, “Gy. I need you to construct a small conveyor line. We need to pass a few million MREs through a 25 centimeter portal and onto the Grid. We located the Colonel’s men and we want to start supplies going to them.”

  Gy responded, “I could probably throw something together in about an hour. How soon do you need it?”

  I replied, We need it now Gy. We hope to have a portal open to the Colonel in a few minutes.”

  Gy replied, “Is that thing ready to test?”

  I rounded the corner to his office and shut off the comm. “Yes, Frig is setting it up right now. Max Gerrard is handling the warehouse and I’m about to enlist George’s assistance on coordinating transport of the MREs to Frig’s lab so we can send them through. You are going to have about five meters of room to work in betwee
n the antennas and this side of the portal itself.”

  Gy replied, “I’ve seen the setup. I can snake a conveyer from there out into the hallway if needed. I’m sure Frig doesn’t want us crowding up his lab.”

  I pointed my finger at Gy. “You get to work on that. Use whatever resources you need. I want us up and pushing meals through that portal within the hour!”

  Gy nodded and turned as I got on the comm to George. “George. We are opening a portal onto the Grid in an attempt to get food to the Colonel. I need you to coordinate moving MREs from the kitchen storehouse to the hallway outside Frig’s lab.”

  George replied, “How many meals are we talking?”

  I responded, “All of them! Realistically… a couple million. I want to get as many as we can over to the Colonel and our people. I’m waiting on the new location of the Grid military; they are in the same situation and will be next on our list.”

  George disconnected and got to work on transporting the MREs. Just as Frig had promised a portal was open into the Zeta-9 section of the Grid. The room the portal had opened into was empty. A small wheeled robot with a video sensor was shoved through the portal and sent on a mission to find the Colonel.

  The wheeled robot entered a room where a number of our men were lying about.

  Frig spoke through the robot. “Gentlemen, we need to talk to the Colonel. And please remain quiet and only notify the Colonel of our existence.”

  One of the Marines stood and made his way out of the room. The others looked on in silence, waiting for more information.

  Frig spoke, “We are attempting to provide nutrition to you, but we must be extremely careful as to not alert the captors.”

  The room was soon filled with whispers. The news provided an uplift in spirit that the Colonel’s men were in need of. Food was coming their way and with that the possibility of being able to do something about their situation.

  The Colonel stepped into the room. “Who are we talking to?”

  Frig replied, “This is Frig Sir. Please follow the robot down the hallway. We need to discuss matters.”