Exploration

by Beery, Andrew

  WHOOMP! WHOOMP! WHOOMP! WHOOMP! WHOOMP!

  The lights of the bridge flickered and this time stayed out. Sparks showered the bridge in brightly colored but rapidly fading stars. Smoke filled the bridge as the environmental systems struggled to keep up with fire suppression. The floor shook so violently Running Stream was afraid it might break apart under them.

  "Shields are down! Propulsion is down. Primary and secondary fusion reactors are offline. We are batteries only right now. Multiple hull breaches on decks 6, 7, 8, 11, and 13." Sassi reported gravely as soon as his board cleared up.

  Running Stream hit the comm button on his chair.

  "Engineering! I need power. Half our boards are blown up here and we are dead in the water!"

  "Bridge. This is Kirkland. We are going to attempt a cold restart on reactor two. Reactor one is toast. Once we get it started, I'll see what I can do to reroute some control feeds for you. Standby."

  Ben saw a welcome sight on his status board. "I have a restart on reactor two. We are at 28 percent power and holding."

  "Can I get shields?" Running Stream asked.

  "I can give you 12 percent but they won't do much at that strength against that," Ben responded while pointing with a middle paw at the holo-screen.

  On the main screen, the bridge crew of the ill-fated 4400 saw the Dreadnaught line up to take what everyone assumed would be the final shot of their rebellion.

  Chapter Twenty Two: New Hope...

  Farnin had seen enough. The weapons being used by these ships were outdated technology. Neither of the vessels posed a serious threat to the home world.

  "Send out the fighters. Tell them to engage personal cloaking fields. I want the power systems on those larger ships disabled and the fighters neutralized."

  Admiral Tuti gave the necessary orders but before he told his troops to execute them he turned to his long-time friend. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? Up to this point they have given no indication they know we are here."

  "Of course they do. Those are enslaved Suhtian out there in an ancient Suhtian Expatriation ship. Even the aggressors are using old-style Suhtian technology. Of all the races in the known universes, why would our relatives be here, of all places, except to find us?"

  "Very well, sir," Admiral Tuti gave the order.

  For the first time in close to a millennium the Suhtian military launched a mission in direct defense of their home world.

  ***

  Cat jinked her fighter just in time to avoid a salvo from one of the new fighters. She gritted her teeth. They had almost won this engagement when the new ship and its compliment of fighters had arrived. Yhsif and his squad of fighters quickly beat a retreat. A few of the Bluefin pilots apparently didn't like the idea of running and were attempting to reengage the enemy, but the bottom line was Cat and her remaining four drones were vastly outnumbered. Only her Heshe enhanced reflexes and Cal's constant monitoring had allowed her to last as long as she had.

  A stray bit of flotsam found one of the many holes in her tattered shields and impacted with her canopy. The transparent aluminum shattered with spindly cracks appearing up and down from the point of impact. Cat could hear the tell-tale sound of an atmospheric leak.

  She instructed the nanites in her skin to build a hard shell around her body. If she lost atmosphere the shell would protect her as well or better than the best space suit.

  "Cal, any suggestions?"

  "Regrettably Admiral I have none. The drones under my control are virtually out of fuel. Your fighter is operating with 20 percent of its shields. Although we have successfully dealt with one hundred and four enemy fighters there are over twice that many remaining. The 4400 is severely damaged and leaking atmosphere from multiple locations. This is a battle we cannot win."

  "I had pretty much come to the same conclusion. Open a wide-band commlink."

  "Channel open, Admiral."

  Cat cleared her throat. "Attention all ships. This is Admiral Cat Kimbridge. We are standing down. Repeat we are standing down."

  As Cat was about to ask for terms of surrender the surrounding space began to shimmer. She was baffled. Whatever was happening it did not seem to be something the Syndicate ships were doing. Before she could ask her AI for an analysis, over two hundred sleek aircraft of an unknown configuration faded into view in a ring that completely surrounded the battling ships—including the MS Maelstrom and the SXS 4400.

  ***

  "Why aren't we dead?" Ben asked as the Dreadnaught continued to point its weapons at the disabled 4400. It had not fired the final killing shot that everyone had expected it would.

  The turbolift door to the bridge opened and Ken Kirkland, along with a small team of Bluefin engineers, entered the room. Ken immediately went over to one of the auxiliary panels and removed it. The other engineers went to navigation, weapons, and sensor stations.

  Captain Running Stream watched Ken, who was completely consumed by what he was working on.

  "Captain," the engineer mumbled while pulling some wires from wall. "We'll have your systems back online just as soon as I..." Ken paused speaking as he reached further within the bulkhead and strained to reach something "...can bypass this hub and reconfigure the feeds," he finished. Immediately the various bridge systems that had been dead came back online. At each of the stations one of the Bluefin engineers adjusted something and the stations came back online.

  "We have sensors back!" Sassi announced. "Oh...that's not good."

  "What's not good, Lieutenant?"

  "Sir, we have more company. There are 204 unknowns holding position in a sphere surrounding both groups of fighters."

  "What do you mean by unknowns?"

  "They are a little smaller than the fighters we found on this ship, but sensors are showing energy signatures much more powerful, more on a par with GCP aircraft."

  "Are they GCP then?"

  Sassi adjusted some controls on the sensor panel in front of him. "If they are sir, it’s not a configuration I'm familiar with and they are not transmitting GCP ident codes."

  ***

  Captain High-Tide was furious. Who were these intruders? What gave them the right to interfere with a Syndicate police action? As soon as they had appeared, a probe from one of them had latched onto the Maelstrom and destabilized the magnetic containment field around the fusion reactor. It had automatically SCRAMed as a result. The ship was operating on emergency reserves. It seemed these intruders were intent on stopping his ship from attacking the rebels.

  High-Tide hit the intercom button on the control panel next to his command chair. "Engineering, how long will our batteries last?"

  A static-filled voice answered. "Sir, if we shut down everything but basic life support we can keep the lights on for about six hours. We only have about 52 percent of our normal reserves because of battle damage. Of course, I could bleed some energy out of the weapons systems and that would keep us going longer."

  High-Tides trunk, which had been swaying in agitation, suddenly froze. "What do you mean 'bleed some energy from the weapons?' Are the weapons still hot?"

  "Well sir..." came the tentative reply. "Both the railguns and the beam weapons use a super capacitor to hold their firing charges. Those capacitors are still fully charged."

  "Damn it man!" High-Tide yelled. "Can we fire or not?"

  "We can, Sir, but you would have no shields and no way to recharge the weapons for another shot."

  "It won't matter. Weapons target that rebel ship. Remove it from my sky!"

  ***

  Cat's AI was the first to notice the change in the Dreadnaught. "Admiral, the Maelstrom is actively targeting the 4400."

  Cat toggled her internal commlink to contact the 4400. "Captain Running Stream, this is Cat. My sensors are showing changes in the Dreadnaught's targeting systems. My AI's believes they are preparing to fire on you."

  "That's unfortunate, Admiral," Running Stream said. "Our newest friends just took down our single working fus
ion reactor with some type of magnet damping field. We have no shields and no way of moving. We are, as you say, 'fish in a barrel.'"

  "Understood, Captain. I'm going to pursue other options. Kimbridge out."

  Cat scanned her display. Her drones were just about out of both fuel and ammunition, but perhaps they could still mount one last defense.

  "Cal, I need you to redirect the remaining drones. Plot the most likely path of fire for that Dreadnaught assuming it is targeting the 4400. Place three of your drones with the least fuel in the direct path of their weapons. Take the last drone and accelerate at best possible speed towards that railgun. I want you to ram it if you can."

  "It is unlikely that the drone will be allowed to reach the weapons platform before point-defense systems take it out of play."

  "That's OK, Cal. I'm playing a hunch."

  ***

  Final-Freedom monitored the unfolding situation 63 AU away. His prime directive, to protect the Suhtian, was at odds with his curiosity. The combatants were both apparently enslavers, but the one group contained representatives from multiple races. More than that, there were clear signs of compassion in this group even in the face of a relentlessly aggressive opponent. Final-Freedoms' analytic mind realized that there were unknown factors controlling the flow of events. These unknowns could potentially impact the safety of the Suhtian people and so he was determined to gain a fuller appreciation of the current situation.

  His remote drones, which were deployed along with the piloted fighters, remained fully cloaked. They circulated freely among the various ships, scanning each and faithfully sending the details back to Final-Freedom.

  He noted four of the Expatriation ship's old-style Suhtian fighters moving toward the Modos Dreadnaught. Without warning, one of them accelerated forward toward the Modos ship. It seemed intent on ramming the larger ship. He scanned the fighter and was surprised to learn it was not manned. He detected no communications being directed at the ship, so either they were using an unfamiliar technology or it was not remotely piloted, which would imply an advanced AI computer technology. Either scenario warranted further investigation.

  The more pressing question was, why was it attacking the Modos ship? The little fighter would barely scratch that ship's paint. Curious, Final-Freedom ordered a probe to scan the Dreadnaught. The results were interesting, to say the least. If he were a Suhtian he would have been rocking back and forth on his feet.

  It seemed the Modos ship was attempting to fire its main weapons using a stored energy charge. The target was the ancient SXS which, at this point, was defenseless. It was unlikely Final-Freedom could stop the Modos from firing. It was equally unlikely that the fighters from the SXS would be able to stop the attack. That said, three of the unpiloted drones from the SXS had positioned themselves in front of the weapons systems of the Modos ship. They were using their drones as a passive shield of sorts. Clearly they knew it would be inadequate, but in point of fact the entire defensive ploy was inadequate...unless they were hoping to send a message to him.

  He quickly placed several shielded drones between the aggressor and its target. The probes would extend their shields to deflect any weapons fire.

  Final-Freedom turned on his audio interface. "Elder Farnin. I am monitoring unusual activity with my probes."

  Final-Freedom saw Elder Farnin turn towards the loudspeaker. "Explain."

  "There is a logical inconsistency."

  "Organic life is often illogical. It is our nature. It is our curse and our blessing. You and I have had this conversation before, my friend. Tell me then, in the midst of this illogic, what has you concerned?"

  Final-Freedom found himself pleased to be called a friend. It seemed the nature of self-awareness included a desire to interact with others who were self-aware.

  "The Modos Dreadnaught attempted to fire on the Expatriation ship even after my dampeners shut down the fusion reactors on both ships. Apparently they store significant amounts of energy in capacitor banks. It appears the SXS conspired to draw my attention to this threat with the obvious hope I would be able to do something about it. When the Modos fired, which they did a few seconds ago, my drones shielded the SXS."

  "It sounds like the enslavers on the SXS were successful. I still don't see the logical inconsistency which has you so concerned."

  "It's how they gained my attention. There seems to be technology in play that is, in some respects, far more advanced than our own. Some of their drones seem to be autonomous. They either have access to an AI technology that is far more compact that ours or they have access to communication technologies that we cannot detect."

  "Or both," Farnin added.

  "In any case, the technology represents a threat that must be examined in more detail."

  Farnin walked over to the observation window that allowed the CIC to view the vastness of space beyond their adopted planet. "Is it a threat...or a new hope? That is the real question we need to answer."

  Chapter Twenty Three: GCP Mador...

  Cat watched the Modos Dreadnaught fire on the 4400 and her heart sank. Her drone had valiantly attempted to attack the dorsal array that was lining up to fire, but the point defense systems had overwhelmed the fighter's shields before it could reach the platform. The three remaining drones attempted a blocking action in front of the Dreadnaught's guns, but the massive ship's beam weapons shredded them like so much tinfoil.

  Cat had hoped her intuition had been correct and the free Suhtii defense fighters would intervene to prevent the attack, but she had seen no such response.

  "Cal, report. How bad a hit did the ship just take?"

  There was an uncharacteristic pause.

  "Cal?"

  "Admiral...the 4400 was not hit."

  "The Dreadnaught missed? How is that possible?"

  "Negative. The beam's energy was intercepted by what I am assuming is a cloaked ship. I've reviewed my sensor logs and there was a .2 millisecond window during which their shields were engaged with the Maelstrom's weapons. In that moment, their cloak fluctuated. I was not able to get a clean reading but it appeared that a solid object massing 2.8 metric tons appeared briefly. This is roughly three times the mass of the new Suhtii fighters. I believe the 4400 was saved by the very Suhtii race that built it."

  "We need to end this fighting now," Cat said with determination. She opened a fleet-wide comm channel. "This is Angel One to all remaining fighters. Disengage and return to the ship. Angel One out."

  "Cal, lock on to the transponder codes for the pilots that ejected. Notify the closest ships to swing by and pick them up on their way back to the 4400."

  She toggled her ship-to-ship and called the 4400.

  "Sassi, I assume you have been attempting to communicate with our new friends. Is the 4400 able to raise the Suhtii fleet?"

  "No, Ma'am. As you said, I've been trying but I've been getting no response."

  "It's probably not your fault. I suspect they have encounter protocols in place that limit their willingness to open communications. They seem to be very adept at cloaking technology."

  "Agreed, Admiral, but those fighters came from someplace," the Ashkelon communications officer said.

  Cat smiled as a sudden inspiration hit her. "Sassi, review the orbital dynamics of the planets and asteroids in this system. Look for an anomaly that might indicate the presence of a cloaked moon or planet. If you find one send a tight-beam modulated laser signal using what we know of the ancient Suhtii language directly towards the calculated location."

  ***

  Jason Ruck sat in the command chair of the battle bridge. His eyes scanned his bridge crew. His new First Officer, Commander Kenneth "Buzz" James, who was sitting just off to his right, was doing the same thing; although in his case he was also monitoring the final repairs taking place in engineering and environmental control via his commlink.

  Commander Martinescu, the acting weapons officer, was in front of the largest console in the battle bridge. His hands flew co
nfidently across the board as he checked the status of the repairs to the systems he was in charge of. Finally he was satisfied and he swiveled his chair to face his captain.

  "Sir, all weapon systems are back online. Active shielding is functioning at 100 percent. The nano fabricators have replenished our supply of Kinetics, Sandys, and SJ missiles. Anti-proton beams, gamma ray lasers, and the EM pulse generators are all online and fully charged."

  "Very good, Commander."

  Jason turned to face his First Officer. In an interesting twist of fate, the two men knew each other well. They had briefly been dorm mates in the Naval academy. Buzz had been a freshman while Jason had been a senior. His friend nodded.