by William Wood
“Yes sir.”
It was a daunting challenge, but he was ready to get back out into space and resume the mission. Calvin felt relaxed with the King now.
“Will we be able to contact you?” Calvin asked. “Are we going to know where you are going?”
The King hesitated. “You’ll be able to contact us, on an encrypted channel. However; I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell you where we’re going. At least, not yet.”
Calvin looked at him questioningly.
“I believe you’ll be safe, and that you’ll be able to accomplish your task. However, I have to plan for the worst case. If the Goremog capture you again, they could find out where we’re going. I’m not willing to risk that.”
“I understand sir.”
After they were done talking, Calvin went back to his room. His mind swam with new information. He knew he could not hide in the massive Alerian battleship forever. Soon, he was going to be out in space again, with a lot less protection. He sat down on the couch and stared out into space. He loved being in space, and he realized there was nowhere else he’d rather be. Even though it was difficult, he knew he was lucky to be here. He’d made better friends than he had ever had before. On top of that, he never thought he would meet a girl as nice and beautiful as Astra.
That night, Calvin used the computer in his room to connect to the ships communication system. He contacted the Laurite Base. There was only a delay of a second, and a man’s face filled the screen. He was dressed in a dark gray uniform.
“Lieutenant Range!” The man said, very happy to see him.
“Captain Vinder,” Calvin said. “It’s good to see you again.” Calvin wasn’t interested in talking to Vinder. For some reason, he didn’t trust the man. For one thing, Vinder seemed too sincere, as if he were trying too hard. That made him project a fakeness that Calvin couldn’t get past. Anyway, there was only one person he was interested in talking to.
“I’ll get your father.” Vinder said, and turned to say something to someone behind him that Calvin couldn’t see.
“Thank you,” Calvin said. He turned, got up and walked to the back of his room and pretended to do something. He didn’t want to be rude, but he knew that Vinder was going to ask a lot of questions. The last thing he wanted to do was have to explain everything twice. He was happy when he heard his father’s voice.
“Son, are you there?”
“Dad!” Calvin half shouted, and sat down in front of the computer.
“You look better,” Foster said. “Rested. Do you have any information to send me?”
“Yes sir,” Calvin said. “Hold on. I’m going to transmit my journal to you.”
He tried to transmit the file to his father for ten minutes, but was not able to send it.
“Is it because we’re in hyperspace?” Calvin asked.
“I don’t know,” Foster admitted. “It could be security protocols on either end, or our systems just don’t want to talk to each other. Would you mind reading it to us?”
“No, I can do that,” Calvin said.
“I have my senior staff here,” Foster said. “Please start at the beginning.”
“Yes sir.” Calvin began telling his story at the beginning, from the moment he boarded the Sorenia and then was captured by Aleria’s Hope. He described meeting the King of Aleria, meeting Astra, and setting foot on the planet Arlandia, their original home world. He used his notes, and left out no details. At times he had to slow down after going too fast and getting out of breath. He took care not to rush through the crash on planet Axia and defending the castle against an army of Dark Terrors. He graphically described escaping Doonterria before it exploded. Calvin talked for a very long time. He knew he’d been through a great deal, but telling the whole story at one time made him think, ‘wow, I’ve been through a lot.’ His audience of twenty sat and listened with varying levels of shock and excitement on their faces. His recap ended with being rescued by the Defender and briefly mentioned plans to continue the mission to find the rest of the super-weapon. Calvin took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest. No one spoke for several moments.
“Do you know what the super-weapon does?" Captain Vinder asked, breaking the silence.
“It’s a pulse generator that destroys all technology,” Calvin said. “Astra told me that each race, the Goremog, the No’Rath, Arlandian and Alerian have a unique signature imbedded in their technology and when the weapon is completed, she can program it to specifically destroy an entire race’s ability to wage war in space.”
“Along with their ability to harvest food, and heat buildings,” A voice said.
“We’re at war,” another said. “They wouldn’t hesitate to do it to us.”
“Is that right Calvin?” Foster asked.
“Yes sir,” Calvin answered. “Basically we’ll be sending them back to their own stone age.”
“That’s a big risk,” someone stated. “What if they can’t program it correctly? What guarantee do we have it won’t affect us too?”
“Guarantee?” Calvin asked, surprised by the questions. “I don’t think you appreciate the situation we’re in. Or really, how dangerous your position is. It’s bad out here. The universe is full of dead planets covered in ruins of lifeless cities. The Goremog are trying to kill us all; the Alerians are out here doing it all by themselves; surviving and trying to find a way to defeat the Goremog. But they’re slowly being killed off. You think you’re safe behind your invisibility shield, but you’re hiding, hoping the enemy doesn’t find you. We don’t know if this is going to work. Even if we find all the pieces, we have to figure out how to put it all together. We don’t have any assurances that it’s going to work; some of the pieces might be damaged. Are you starting to understand yet? There are no guarantees!”
Foster looked surprised at Calvin’s outburst. But Calvin had been thinking about this for some time. It bothered him that his people were safe behind their shield, eating and living in comfort when the rest of the universe was suffering in darkness. Calvin didn’t care what they thought. He wanted to say more, but he knew them; he knew their mentality. It would be a waste of breath.
Several people in the back of the room whispered among themselves. Others appeared to be taking notes on their electronic computer pads.
“Dad, can I talk to you privately now, without all of those people there?”
“Of course,” he said. Then he turned around. “Please give us some privacy.”
Without a word, all of the people got up and left the camera view. Calvin heard a door open and close.
“Alright Calvin, they’re gone.”
Calvin hesitated for a second; not sure where to start.
“Dad, something unexpected has happened.”
“The princess,” Foster said. “You like her, don’t you?”
Calvin smiled. “How did you know?”
“It’s the way you talk about her,” Foster said. “You light up.”
“Yeah, she’s an amazing woman,” Calvin said. “But her father surprised me. He told me he wants me to take care of her. I was shocked. I didn’t know what to say. Of course I said I would, but, wow. He made it sound like we would never see them again. What do you think Dad? What should I do?”
“Wow,” Foster said. “Look at you. A routine space mission around our solar system, and back home for a dinner party on Friday; that’s what it was supposed to be. And here you are, the Goremog are launching their final war of extermination, and the fate of every living creature is depending on you.”
“Thanks Dad, no pressure,” Calvin said grimly.
“Do you love her?”
“Yes,” Calvin answered without hesitation. “I do, a lot.”
“I’m very happy for you, son. I hope we can meet her someday, she sounds like a very nice girl. I’ve always imagined what this moment would be like; you asking me for advice about women. You were always busy in school, focused on your dream of going into space that
you never really worried about girls. Of course, I always thought I would have this conversation with you in person, not separated by hundreds of light years. You’re old enough to make your own decisions, and I won’t tell you what to do. I trust you, but I will say this; try not to rush into anything too quickly. You’ll know when the time is right. If it doesn’t feel right, wait.”
“Thanks Dad,” Calvin said. “I want you to meet her too. When this is all over I’ll bring her home.”
“You better. I’ll tell your mother. I know she’ll be happy for you. But I’m sure she’ll say you’re not allowed to do anything crazy, like marry her without us being there.”
Calvin smiled, “OK, Dad.”
“Just one more thing,” Foster added. “Regarding the four segments you’ve collected; what kind of scans have you performed? Routine tests or maybe something more substantial?”
“Astra’s performed complete scans on them,” Calvin said. “All of them, I think. I’ll have to check with her. Why?”
“The scientists here on the asteroid base are very interested in getting a look at the technology. Please include whatever you have in your next transmission. You can help get them off my back.”
“Yes sir,” Calvin said simply.
“You’re doing great son,” Foster said. “I’m very proud of you. You’re in the right place at the right time. I’m sure you’re already doing this, but keep your eyes open for technology we can use here at home. If things are as bad as you say they are, we’re going to need all the help we can get. I’m not under any illusions; we can’t stay hidden forever.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open,” Calvin said. “Goodbye dad.”
“Goodbye son.” The screen went dark. Calvin sat back and took a deep breath.
“The Laurites are making plans for me when the mission is over,” Calvin said to the empty room. “They want me to take the super- weapon home. Why does that make me nervous? Oh yeah, nobody should have that much power.”
The next day Calvin woke up in a good mood, but his muscle pain and soreness were at their apex. He stood and stretched. Pain shot like lightning from his feet to his head. He took his time, and let the hot water in the shower penetrate his body. He wondered if it had healing properties, beyond just the water. He felt much better afterwards.
Calvin had no plans; there were no meetings scheduled, but he wanted to go see Azure Frost.
After eating breakfast he consulted the computer. He knew Defender was a massive warship; one hundred and twelve decks, and six thousand feet long. He had no desire to wander aimlessly and hunt on foot. A quick search revealed Azure Frost was in a repair bay twenty-five decks above the main engines.
Calvin had seen a lot of strange and amazing things since he left home, but one of the most incredible was the high speed train that ran thought the center of the ship. An elevator took him down to the station. It reminded him of the monorail he’d seen on Aleria’s Hope, but this one was much faster; taking him to his destination in only a few moments. On the way there, he didn’t see any people, only robots bustling about; thousands of them.
Calvin found an observation deck, overlooking the Azure Frost. When he first saw the ship he gasped. The outer hull was covered with robots. Giant arms protruded from the walls and ceiling moving heavy equipment and large metal plates into the hull. Sparks flew from welders throughout the room. It was a cacophony of lights and flashes, and robots moving in beautiful syncopation.
The engines looked different; all of the hull plates were off and he could see the inner mechanism still being constructed. An extra hangar bay was being added to the bottom of the ship, just below the engines. It wasn’t bulky or awkward. It maintained the ship’s overall sleek design; graceful, and deadly, like it could sail through the atmosphere of any planet with little air resistance.
“Don’t worry sir.”
Calvin spun around to see Ion standing behind him.
“The ship will be ready in time.”
“I hope so,” Calvin said. But he didn’t see how. The ship looked like a big mess; far from being finished.
“I think you’ll be happy with the improvements sir,” Ion said. “The ship was originally designed for the King and Queen. Defensive systems and top speed were the main focus, under the assumption the ship would avoid combat and run away from danger. But the ship was so heavily damaged in the accident we were able to gut everything and rebuild it from the ground up, with our mission in mind. The regular shuttles were replaced with combat shuttles. We added a new hangar bay that will house four advanced fighters.
The shields and cloaking generators were replaced, along with a new layer of auxiliary systems. That’s not much of a change, since the ship already had the strongest shields available but we’ve added a more adaptive control method, giving us flexibility over how to use them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Under the old system, the shields were either up or down. Now, we can have all power to the front if we’re attacking a large target or all in the stern if we’re being chased by something. Then, with the press of a button we can even them out all around.”
“That could be useful.”
“We added a layer of Borenite armor to the hull. It’s an extremely rare material and we don’t have enough on hand to equip our ships, but we did have just enough to outfit Azure Frost, and we have a little extra for the front and stern. We also added six weapons turrets, armed with both lasers and missiles. One in front, back, both sides, top and bottom. The Goremog have favored a strategy of swarming its intended target with bombers and fighters. The turrets will help defend the ship from that kind of attack.
We will be getting more robots. Last time we went out, we only had two besides myself. This time we’re going to take six special combat robots. They will be able to deploy with us when we have to leave the ship to retrieve segments of the weapon, and they will also be able to man the turrets, if needed.”
“Great!” Calvin said, getting excited.
“Of course we had to replace the engines and the power core, but we used a miniature version of a battleship’s core which has separate flow and buffers specific to weapons, shields and cloak; much more efficient for combat. Don’t tell the King that. He wants us to avoid combat at all costs. While I agree with him, and I fully intend to do that, I would very much like to have options, in case we are presented with unique opportunities.”
“I agree,” Calvin said.
They stood together for several moments in silence.
“If you’ll excuse me, sir,” Ion said eventually. “I need to get back to work.”
“Of course,” Calvin said. “I’ll see you later.”
When he got tired of watching the robots work, Calvin took the train back to the front of the ship and wandered to the dining room.
There he found Petori and Freks, sitting at a table near the windows, staring out into space. Calvin went to the table and sat down across from them.
He noticed right away that Petori and Freks look very unhappy.
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before,” Calvin said, concerned. “I’m sorry about what happened to Barouke.” Calvin stumbled with his words, choosing them carefully.
“She was like a mother to us,” Freks said. “She took care of us.”
“I know we only knew her for a short time, but she was special,” Petori said.
“I’m sorry,” Calvin said. “I liked her, she was very nice.”
“What’s going to happen next?” Petori asked.
“Our mission isn’t over,” Calvin said. “We are going to take a smaller ship, the Azure Frost, and find the other pieces of the superweapon.”
“And once you find it, you’re going to destroy the Goremog?”
“Yes,” Calvin answered. “That’s the plan.”
“Good,” Petori said with an angry smile.
“The question is, do you want to stay here with the Alerians, or do you want to go with us? I’m s
ure they’ll let you stay. I have to warn you though, if you go with us, it’s not going to be easy.”
“The Alerians are going to run away from the Goremog,” Freks said. “I don’t want to do that.”
“Yeah, we want to help you.”
“Good,” Calvin said, smiling. “We can always use more help.”
“But promise me this, Lieutenant,” Freks said. “Please tell me we’re not just going to run away from the Goremog, to hide from them. I want to fight. They have to pay for all the people they’ve killed.”
“I can only promise you that it’s going to be very dangerous. We’re not going to be able to avoid the Goremog completely, but there’s something you should know. I’m not going to let you risk the mission by charging into battle. The only way our plan is going to work is if we keep a low profile; sneak in, get the segments and get out. If you can’t do that, I need to know now, because if you can’t, I don’t want you to come along.”
Calvin studied their faces. They both looked angry. Before they could answer, he added, “If we do this right, we can get all the segments, put the weapon together and destroy the Goremog completely.”
“OK,” Petori said. “We can do that.”
“Sure,” Freks said.
“Good,” Calvin said. “I believe you.” He stood up. “Do you know where Dev and Wexton are?”
“They’re in the star map room,” Petori said. “Thank you Calvin, for letting us go with you.”
“Thanks for helping us,” Calvin said and left the room. Calvin went to stellar cartography next, or as Petori called it, the star map room.
The room was dark, with thousands of holographic lights floating in the air. The floor had a slight glow, just enough to be able to see where you were walking.
The lights were stars, planets and other special objects like asteroids and nebulas. Three people were in the room, but Calvin could only see their outlines.
“This is Tryvella, right over here,” Dev said excitedly. “Somewhere around here is the Ohniah system. That’s where the rest of my people are going to meet, on our last surviving colony.”