by Kumar L
Her query went unanswered as the pursuit continued.
“I have the preliminary details you had asked for, Captain,” reported Narada.
“Shoot.”
“The vessel design resembles the French vessel Charles De Gaulle. Its development was started a few years after construction began on Antariksh. Although very little information was made available, its design is believed to be FTL-capable. It was listed as a long-range exploration vessel with a crew complement of twenty-five. There is no known launch date for the CDG. Except for a few trial runs, it was not believed to be space-worthy yet. However, the vessel now in front of us seems to have been extensively modified from the original design. I have also calculated the most probable launch window which would put its position right here.”
“And?” Ryan prompted.
“It was most likely launched within a window of plus-minus three days of our own.”
“Why am I not surprised,” said Anara, rolling her eyes. No one tells me anything. “Anything else?”
“It is possibly lightly armed with two laser cannons, and is likely to be led by Captain Antoine.”
“Antoine? If this is the same Antoine who trained with me in 2105, then I know him well. A decent pilot, though a bit stubborn.”
“Yeah. I remember him too,” said Ryan. “Let’s try this. Narada transmit the next message directly addressing Captain Antoine. Maybe that will get his attention.”
The message went through – “Captain Anara from spaceship Antariksh to Captain Antoine of unknown space vessel. Acknowledge. Caution. We will assume your intentions are hostile if you do not reply.”
◆◆◆
“There is a message for you, Capitaine.”
“Que voulez-vous dire? What do you mean, for me?”
“It is addressed to you, Capitaine Antoine. Dès Capitaine Anara.” reported Elise. They seemed to know everything!
“Zutalors! I will end this. Put me on.”
◆◆◆
This time there was a response. An image appeared on the holographic display.
“Hello, Captain Anara. It seems you have caught up with me.” Antoine tried to keep a straight face. He had to throw them off his track, not share information.
“Hello, Commander, or is it Captain Antoine now? Looks like you finally got your own ship,” said Anara looking at a familiar face though somewhat haggard. His face betrayed the fact that he was hiding something.
“Yes. A fine ship, no? But I am sure you did not call to chit chat.”
“It did seem strange finding you this deep in space. Would you be willing to share what exactly you and your ship are doing here?”
“No, I would not share our purpose with you. Niceties over, Captain. Stay out of our way if you value your safety!”
◆◆◆
“End contact. Do not accept any more transmissions, Elise! Sous-entendu? Understood?”
◆◆◆
The holo image on Antariksh blinked off leaving behind a stunned silence in Ops.
6
Intricacies
"Well, that was quite rude, don’t you think?” drawled a voice from the door, and the tall figure of Colonel Fraser entered the room.
Anara ignored his remark.
“Why are they here? A secret mission?” asked Manisha.
“There is only one mission that I can think of, Manisha. They are after the TrueKif ship.” Anara chewed her lip thoughtfully. “The PM said we’re out of the group of 8. I don’t know if we’ve managed to make our way back into the group yet, even if they did support the mission with JITF. It is likely the French are out too. With the collaboration gone, they might be looking to steal any advantage they can. Point is, even if FTL-capable, that small ship cannot hope to reach the Alpha Centauri system. Then, the TrueKif ship seems to be the most likely target, no?”
Ryan was thinking along the same lines. “I agree. It is unlikely they would be looking to capture the aliens, because their vessel will not be a match for the alien ship in a fight. This has to be a rogue mission by the French, or someone else, to... I don't know; seize the technology aboard the TrueKif ship?”
Anara nodded. “Captain Antoine is ready to use deadly force to protect his interests. He openly threatened to attack us. It can only mean one thing— they are after the bomb, the device which Jim was carrying. This is not good. We need to stop them.”
Fraser pitched in. “Sounds like a lot of speculation to me. But like you said, we can't learn anything till we force them to reveal their secrets. Military strategy would suggest that we fire a warning shot and show them that we are serious. And if that fails to stop them then we fire again – only this time we try and disable their ship.”
“I am well aware of that strategy, Colonel Fraser,” Anara retorted testily, “but I am unwilling to escalate things on the basis of speculation. We will shoot if required, but only after I have confirmation of their true purpose. We will track them for now and wait for another opportunity. Keep following them, Manisha. Ryan, compose a message to Earth and transmit. Share everything we have observed so far.” Signals could only travel at the speed of light since humans had not yet mastered the acceleration of radio signals beyond that speed over large distances. She did not expect a reply, but she had to check in with Indian Space Command back on Earth and pass on the information.
“Yes ma’am, I will keep us on their trail, but it will be difficult if the Charles De Gaulle jumps to FTL. We will never be able to locate them again if that happens,” replied Manisha.
Ryan thought for a moment. “That may be so, but I’m sure they can only jump in straight lines just like us, we need to be prepared to jump right after them on a pursuit course. Besides they need to recharge too. I think we can keep up.” He reached a conclusion and shared it. “Look, the TrueKifs were headed back to KifrWyss. That is also our destination and, no doubt, that of the CDG as well. We just need to follow our original course and it will keep us on their tail. Stay sharp and keep up as far as possible,” said Ryan. “Narada, keep plotting their course changes. Inform the crew to be prepared for a jump at a moment’s notice.”
“Of course, Commander,” acknowledged Narada.
“You okay with this, Captain?” Ryan turned and asked Anara for confirmation.
“Yes. Yes. Of course. Go ahead.” Anara was getting distracted again. Who can I trust if even our allies are not above such scheming?
“Are you seriously planning to play safe here?” demanded Fraser.
“Yes I am, Colonel. This party is still under my command.” Her reply was curt.
“And what if the CDG moves on a trajectory which takes us away from our destination? What then?” Fraser was persistent.
That was a real possibility. “Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We wait and watch,” Anara said, with finality.
The crew watched the exchange in uncomfortable silence, most of them pretending to carry on their real or imaginary tasks.
“You have control, Commander. I will be available if required.” Without another glance at the Colonel, Anara walked out.
“That lady is carrying a rather large chip on her shoulder, isn't she?” Fraser muttered to Ryan.
“I’m sure she has a lot on her mind and, as it so happens, I agree with her approach,” Ryan responded, and was pleased to see that his reply had left the Colonel confused.
“Ok, people. You have your orders. Don't let the ship out of our sight.” Ryan opened the ship-wide communications. “This is Commander Ryan. We are currently pursuing a vessel of Earth origin. It may turn out to be hostile. All personnel to continuously staff their stations in rotating shifts unless otherwise instructed. Be prepared for an emergency jump. You will have forty-five seconds to get to the jump capsules when indicated. Ryan out.”
◆◆◆
Manisha finished her shift and made her way to the senior crew lounge. It had become more and more difficult to get a few minutes of peace and quiet in the midst of all the rece
nt events. She hoped the Major would also be able to make the rendezvous.
She smiled when she entered the lounge and saw him sitting in an easy chair. He was facing the porthole, away from her, with a half-empty glass in his hand. She liked spending her free time in the lounge, which, though rather small, had soft lighting, a small library of books and reading devices and, of course, an outstanding music system.
“I didn’t know you were fond of classical music, Major?”
Kevin rose and turned with a smile on his face. “I’ve never spent so much time in deep space. The view is so mesmerizing. I can spend hours just sitting here gazing out of the window. The music? Now that was already playing when I reached here. It seemed appropriate. How’re you doing, Lieutenant or can I call you Manisha?”
“Pretty good, sir, and Manisha is fine. This new development is something else, isn’t it? I assume you have been briefed?”
“Of course. You guys seem to have a penchant for finding random enemy ships in space.” His soft laugh was attractive. “And no need to call me ‘sir’. We are from completely different services. Last I checked, ISC was a civilian organisation. Kevin will do just fine.”
Manisha nodded, turned to pick up a soft drink from the sideboard and settled herself down next to Kevin for a few minutes of small talk that she was sure she was going to enjoy.
◆◆◆
Anara sat at the edge of her bed, her palms pushing down on the mattress. She had turned off the lights. The room was dark. Her eyes closed, she forced herself to breathe slowly and calm down. She was furious at herself for having lost control and snapped at the Colonel. His query has been quite reasonable, if not his tone. By turning it into a confrontation she had displayed behaviour unbecoming of her position.
What is happening to me? How did I get like this this way? Is it only the loss of Major Rawat or the fact that we narrowly avoided a huge tragedy back in Mumbai or have I become disillusioned with the powers that be? Tej did everything in her power to arrest me. Then the PM manipulated me. Is this how people react when faced with extreme danger? Am I becoming like them? Why am I lashing out at the Colonel? No. This is not me. I can’t allow my stress to change who I am. Yes, I went against my beliefs and accepted nuclear weapons on my ship. Yes, I allowed the PM to browbeat me. But I can’t let my crew down. I can do this. This is my ship and my mission.
7
An Enemy Unseen
For the next several hours, Antariksh engaged in an elaborate game of cat and mouse with the CDG, even as the crew kept an eye open for the TrueKif ship. The nimbler Charles De Gaulle tried any number of strategies to escape but the larger and more powerful Antariksh managed to keep up every time. Multiple short jumps saw the crew rushing repeatedly to the dome. However, Ryan and Manisha expertly countered every move of the CDG. They were still hot on the tail of the French ship.
Anara was conspicuously absent from Ops during that time, locked away in her room. Deducing correctly that she needed time to pull herself together, Ryan had decided to leave her alone. He was confident of handling this hunt on his own and knew Anara would return to her usual, efficient self eventually. She had placed her trust in him to keep the operations running, and so far, Ryan had managed to keep both the crew and the ship working at peak efficiency.
Anara finally appeared in Ops two days after their first encounter with the other vessel. She smiled when she entered the doorway and Ryan was visibly relieved to see her. Fresh and brimming with newfound confidence, she seemed to have suppressed her demons for now.
She went and stood right in the centre of the room, legs akimbo, hands crossed behind the back and an intense look on her face as she concentrated on the holographic display.
“Ryan, it has been two days since we started this chase. They must know by now that they don’t have a chance in hell of getting away from us.”
Ryan agreed. “If I were in their position, my only hope of escape would be to locate the TrueKif ship and somehow take control of it in the few hours before Antariksh caught up.”
“Right. So, he must be searching really hard for the ship, correct?”
“Yes, and so are we. Narada has been running simulations and all manners of scans to locate Jim’s ship. Unfortunately, he has not been successful yet.”
“Then why don’t we stop being the followers and take the lead?”
“Lead? You mean by leapfrogging ahead of them?”
She nodded, a sly gleam in her eyes. “We get the Easter egg first. Deny them the prize they seek so desperately. Then maybe they’ll talk.”
“Got it, Captain. Manisha, let's prepare for an extended jump.” He felt relieved. After the long passive chase, it was good to take proactive action. Plot a fifteen-minute jump cycle at maximum velocity on our original course. That should get us at least six hours ahead of the CDG. Madhavan, time to show us what your ship can do,” he barked over the intercom.
“Affirm, but you’re gonna run this ship into the ground with your hide-and- seek, Commander. When is it going to end?”
“Patience, Mr Madhavan, patience. Ready, Manisha?”
“Three minutes to jump cycle. Countdown starting now,” confirmed Manisha from her station. “All posts secured.”
“Good. Get the crew moving.”
Ops started emptying out as the non-essential personnel left for the dome. Manisha and Anara would remain in the Ops cocoon for the jump.
“All green for the jump. Ready to execute on your command,” reported Narada. Manisha and Anara had settled into the miniature dome in Ops.
“Execute,” commanded Anara.
The M-AM engines engaged and Antariksh accelerated. As it crossed the speed of light the space outside darkened and then went black. The portholes transformed into virtual screens to show normal space. It was going to be a short jump and Manisha kept a sharp eye to ensure that they stopped at the terminus she’d plotted, well ahead of the French ship.
The lack of external data inputs during the jump had always rankled Anara. They were effectively blind while the ship flew at FTL. The straight-line course was plotted before the jump and could be terminated in an emergency, like if they encountered a solid object in their path, but they depended on the pre-flight scans of the flight path to avoid any collisions. Interstellar dust and minor objects would not be detected, but the front shielding could handle those. However, a large object impacting the ship at FTL speeds would drill a large hole in its body, possibly destroying it. To counter this threat, the outermost layer of the four-layer shield consisted of a laser array, which sent out continuous rays of high intensity beams that blasted away any large particles that came in the ship's path well in advance. The second layer was a magnetic screen to repel smaller space dust and other particles. Larger non-magnetic objects would bounce off the secondary shield in the third layer which physically projected out a few meters in front of the bow. It was meant to operate like a shield to absorb the impact of and deflect small foreign objects. Finally, the outermost part of the hull consisted of multi-layered composites, which could automatically regenerate if damaged. Even so, the flight path was carefully plotted in advance to circumvent large obstacles.
“Five… four… three… two… one. And we have reached the terminus, Captain,” Manisha said, as the M-AM powered down.
Anara unbuckled herself and waited for the dome in Ops to power down, then she walked over to the centre of the room.
“Narada, activate the main display.” The AI complied.
“What the hell? Narada, why is the display convoluted? All I can see is a distorted image. It looks like a fish-eye.”
“Yes. Adjusting display.”
“Well?” demanded Anara when the image did not clear up.
“No effect. The holographic and imaging cameras are working flawlessly. The space outside seems to be distorted.”
“What do you mean ‘distorted’? How can space be distorted? Analyse and clarify?” Anara was annoyed. They were losing precious ti
me. Had something gone wrong during the jump?
“A minute to analyse please?” There was a short pause. “Okay, Captain, the display if working optimally. The image we can see is a real time presentation of the space outside. The space is distorted. Something is affecting light and objects within visible distance.”
“Possible causes?”
“My findings indicate there are three possible causes—one, an object is blocking our sensors. To do that it would have to be extremely large in size. Two, a transient interstellar object of unknown origin, like a large comet is warping our signals and causing a distortion. Or three, there is a black hole which is absorbing all light energy and matter in the region including our energy beams and possibly causing gravitational lensing, making us see the stars behind it.”
“Black hole, huh? Nah, that’s too farfetched,” said Anara dismissively. “Tell me, was this phenomenon present during our last flight?”
“No. Such an intriguing phenomenon could not have been missed. It would have been charted and would show up on our updated maps.”
“Yeah. But how did you miss it in the pre-jump scans?
“I did miss it,” he admitted. “My programming works on standard navigational criteria which include a large number of parameters. Unfortunately, a phenomenon such as this is not part of standard criteria.”
“Hmm. We will need to start including non-standard phenomenon specifications from now onwards. I’ll get someone to work on it. Anyway, each of the possibilities you have named are highly unlikely. A scanning beam would have detected a large object. Also, I have never heard of a comet this large in size. And black holes don't just appear out of thin air, do they now?”
Manisha was listening quietly to this exchange. “Should I gather the senior officers, and sound an alert?”
“No alerts. But yes, get Ryan and others up here immediately.”
Manisha sent out the call for the officers to assemble in Ops.