“Very perceptive of you,” Tyrone agreed. “And though information has its own value, you are correct. I am searching for something more. But first, a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Have you ever considered a partnership?”
“I’ve been approached many times,” Ian answered. “But I work alone. I like my solitude and independence.”
“I wasn’t proposing coming aboard. I’m too old to be chasing around space. I’ll leave that for younger blood. What I am proposing is more of an underwriting of your efforts.”
“And what precisely would those efforts entail?”
Instead of answering, Tyrone opened a panel on the table beside his chair and pushed several buttons. Silently, the curtains of the den closed and the lights dimmed. Ian was impressed with Tyrone’s devices. Soon the room was completely dark and the only light was the amber glow from Tyrone’s control panel. Ian sensed rather than saw the retired captain push another button and a three dimensional projection of the galaxy appeared in the air above them.
“No doubt you recognize our galaxy,” Tyrone said as he continued pushing buttons.
“I also notice its one of the most recent versions,” Ian said. “I like your setup. I assume you have full rotation and magnification features?”
“I like to stay current.” With the push of another button, a small area of the galaxy was bathed in a green glow.
“The initial Axia,” Ian said. While they observed, the green area shimmered a little and then suddenly exploded into a near continuous expansion until it almost swept across the entire galaxy.
“The Great Leap,” Tyrone stated. “It only took two hundred years to cover all of the known galaxy. Mankind traveled farther and faster than anyone thought possible, spreading humanity like a plague among the stars. They settled planets ripe for the pickings, many time influencing other life already there, sometime interfering with their natural grown and development
“I’ve heard about that,” Ian said.
“But the Axia wasn’t ready for it,” Carlton continued. “The Axia collapsed in on itself, stranding citizens on far-flung plants and solar systems without any means of support or protection.”
Just as suddenly as the star field had formed, the green area started collapsing and fragmenting until it only covered a third of the stars shown. Then it halted its retreat and began marching back across the galaxy. Finally, it stopped in what Ian recognized as the current extent of the Axia and independent planets. One star started blinking and Ian surmised that it was their current location.
“Now to answer your earlier question about the efforts I would like to underwrite if you are interested,” Tyrone stated. He pushed another button. Several pockets of yellow appeared throughout the galaxy, surrounded in most cases by the green of the Axia.
“These are the lost areas that the Axia occupied several thousand years ago and then lost during the Dark Times. Even today little is known of them, although the Axia is slowly starting to search them. There have been many surprises.”
“So I’ve heard,” Ian agreed as his mind started cataloging all the tales he had heard from other ships. And these were the stories of the ships that had made it back. A small but not insignificant number had never been heard from again.
“My proposal is simple,” Tyrone said. He adjusted the controls to bring one particular yellow zone down in front of them. Then it slowly enlarged.
“I am looking for an independently minded man to go in and just look around. What I am most interested in is evidence of ancient Axia planets and populations. Naturally, I prize artifacts for my collection. We split any profits after I recover the costs.”
“So basically you provide the capital and I provide the ship.”
“And we both provide the curiosity.”
∞∞∞
Unexpectedly, another part of Ert’s system notified him of an earlier search he’d instituted. Curious, Ert followed the lead and found himself tied into the shipping manifests for the entire quadrant.
Scanning the shipping logs of numerous planets, the alien computer noted that a certain ship had touched down on Urun. If it had been possible, he would have smiled. Still he felt a sense of satisfaction about the event. Things were slowly moving in a favorable direction.
Further sleuthing showed the ship had touched down at the private landing pad of a retired captain—Tyrone Carlton by name. Faster than thought, Ert delved into information on the man and liked what he saw. This was an excellent development indeed! Trust the curious to find each other in this vast universe.
He noted that this retired Captain Carlton had a private collection of artifacts. To his surprise, he found what appeared to be a listing of the entire collection in the insurance records of the man. Most collectors kept their acquisitions private for personal reasons. This man was different.
Ert rapidly scanned the long and varied list. Each item was identified and described in detail. Pictures were also included and he made a point of scanning these as well. It did not take long for him to come to the end of the list and another dead end. Nowhere in Carlton’s collection could he find anything he was now looking for. If he had been human, Ert would have frowned. But he wasn’t human.
Chapter Five
Ian Cahill looked at his Nav board and smiled. Engaging both the autopilot and repeater board, he unstrapped from the control chair and stood up. Out through the front window of the Cahill Express he could see the distortion of the star field ahead of the racing ship.
Strangely, in spite of the ship going many times the speed of light, he could still see light from those stars ahead as well as the ones he was passing. As far as Ian could figure, the reason he could see light even of distant stars streaming by was due to some strange effect of the repulsion field caused by the drive of the ship. Not understanding the process, however, did not prevent Ian from enjoying the spectacle.
After stretching the kinks out of his back, he picked up the repeater board and went back to his worktable. He spread out the maps Tyrone had given him. Grabbing his stool, he sat down within easy reach of his teapot.
He smiled to himself as he flicked on the unit. One additional item he had brought from the retired captain was some of that unique tea. Tyrone claimed to have gotten it from a closed planet called Sol-3, an obscure little planet in an outer spiral of the galaxy. Ian didn’t ask how that unusual arrangement had come about. One didn’t ordinarily attain products from closed planets. But he was happy in any case to have some of the rich, dark tea for himself.
It took less than a minute and Ian had a fresh steaming mug of tea in his hand. He took a tentatively sip and studied the map laid out before him. The currently established parameters of the Axia were clearly marked. Also shown were the different independent planets and alliances.
He and Tyrone had double-checked the delineation before he left Urun. But with this two-dimensional map, he could not quite grasp the ‘lost areas’. The maps lacked depth in general and didn’t show the relationships Ian was looking for. He wanted a better overall feel for his destination, most particularly the first zone he planned to search.
“Guess it’s time to try out my new toy,” Ian said as he reached over and flipped another switch on the repeater panel. The cabin lights immediately dimmed and a multi-dimensional holographic map of the region similar to the one in Carlton’s house appeared suspended in the air over the worktable. The current Axia expanse was shaded with a mauve coloration. Independent alliances were colored yellow. This made the darkness of the lost areas stand out clearly.
“Magnify region twenty-three dash fourteen.”
Nothing happened. Sighing to himself, he reached over and flipped on another switch. “Let’s try that again,” he said into space. “Magnify region twenty-three dash fourteen.”
“I do not understand,” a mechanical voice replied. Cahill frowned.
“Magnify region two three dash one four,” he enunciated slowly and distinctl
y through gritted teeth. The holographic projector responded accordingly. Ian studied the image.
“Highlight our course to date.”
“I do not understand,” the mechanical voice said again. Grumbling to himself, Ian reached over and flipped off the voice control. Instead, he adjusted the image manually.
The course of the Cahill Express appeared in red, already a short distance into the first unknown area. With a few more adjustments, the currently projected course of the Cahill Express showed in bright blue. It projected deep into the first of the empty areas.
“That’s more like it.” Ian said to himself as he studied the map. Using the small panel, he adjusted his intended course a bit and then entered the information into the navigational console. He was just leaning back to refill his mug when the emergency klaxon sounded the alarm.
∞∞∞
Far out in the vast reaches of space a solitary ship traversed the empty void. Inside, its single occupant double-checked his navigational heading and adjusted it’s settings a few degrees. He glanced out the viewport and sighed to himself.
It has been many generations since my species have sent anyone out into the void, he thought. But a request from friends of long ago prompted this unusual mission.
Because of his prior experience in space and because of his relatively young age, Piaffè was selected to go. Obedient to the Code of the Jibbah, he accepted the assignment. One of the preserved ships of the Old Ones was brought out and fitted for the voyage. It had been safely stored for over a thousand generations, and yet was as ready as the day it had been built.
The Jibbah had forsaken space travel when their society entered the twilight of its time in the cosmos. But in their youth, they had traveled far and wide. Driven by curiosity, they explored their own galaxy, then the next, and then the next in an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. That was how they had met the Horicon.
Although radically different from each other, both shared a desire for knowledge and an explorer’s desire to know what lay just beyond what could be seen or sensed. Much effort was expended before they were effectively able to communicate—the large lumbering Horicon and the small, nimble Jibbah. Sharing knowledge expanded their reach, and the influence of both birthed a strong alliance. The Code of the Jibbah was the result, and succeeding generations followed its guiding precepts.
Piaffè again checked his navigational settings. Satisfied, he went back to his fiber-filled cocoon and curled up. On the hull of his small ship, tiny servos adjusted the lines of the transparent sail of his ship. Reacting to radiation in wavelengths still undetected by man, the sail tightened and the ship surged ahead at a speed that would have astonished any observer.
But here on the rim of the galaxy the Jibbah called home, there were no observers. Even if there were observers, they would have had trouble detecting the small, dull colored ship with its transparent sail. That was as it was intended, for there were also dangers out here that the Jibbah wanted to avoid. They and their friends the Horicon had witnessed the rise of the race they called Red-tails.
∞∞∞
It is said that old habits can save us. This is no less true on the surface than it is in space. The moment the warning klaxon sounded, several things happened at once and all out of habit.
First, Ian literally leaped from the stool where he was seated to the locker holding his pressure suit. At the same time he shouted “slow!” triggering another automated system to slow the Cahill Express to a relative crawl compared to its former speed. This old trick had proven itself to the trader more than once. It allowed more time in case the trouble was in front of the ship, which was most likely. In the less likely case that the problem was coming from another direction, it would throw off the aim of the attacker. Of course, one assumed that any unannounced appearance would be hostile. That was how you lived to a ripe old age in space.
The second thing to happen in that instant was that additional systems snapped online. Besides the most obvious one of weaponry, there was the equally important one of power.
Like almost all ships, the Cahill Express was powered by the same drive system that had launched the Axia thousands of generations ago. Powering that was the fusion system more commonly referred to as the green box.
One of the modifications that Ian had made to the Express was the addition of two auxiliary green boxes. If push came to shove in a fight, neither weapons nor propulsion would suffer from a lack of power. He could both run and fight. For good measure, one of the extra power sources was routed directly to the repulsion field protecting the ship. Overkill maybe but Ian was still alive and that was all the proof he needed.
The last thing to happen automatically when the klaxon sounded was a double sweep by the sensors, particularly in the direction of whatever had tripped the alarm. Ian just hated to be caught by surprise. Combine the extra sensor sweep with the sudden slowing of the ship and it would give him a detailed vector on whatever it was that had tripped the sensor alarm. If it was an incoming ship or object, such as a torpedo, the relativistic change put the returns farther apart on the detector screen. This told Ian more accurately where the object was coming from and if it had adjusted itself to his sudden deceleration.
Safely ensconced in the clear form-fitting suit, Ian strapped back into the control chair and assessed the situation. There was nothing there. Frowning, Ian hit the switch and performed yet another sweep. Still nothing. Out through the front windows of the Cahill Express only shone the light of unfamiliar stars. He was only part way into the first zone.
On a hunch, Ian brought the ship to a standstill. Spinning the axis ball, he flipped the ship end over end and started accelerating back along his previous track. Still nothing. He was beginning to think he had an equipment malfunction when the klaxon sounded its warning note again. Ian stopped the ship instantly and performed another immediate sweep. This time he found something.
Just at the edge of his sensors, he received a faint return. Ian carefully swung the Cahill Express around and headed toward it. Consequently, the return grew larger and stronger on the detector screen. Still, he couldn’t see anything through the front windows of the ship. He grew even more suspicious.
The klaxon blared again as a second object detached itself from the first on the detector screen and headed straight for his ship. Ian immediately reversed the Express.
Glancing out the front windows now that the klaxon had sounded, he thought he saw the flash of something in the distance. It was gone now but his sensors were still picking up a second return. It was acting rather strange in its flight behavior. Although heading straight at his ship, it was moving too slowly to be a regular torpedo.
On another hunch, Ian reversed course, again matching the speed of the incoming object. The return on the detector screen didn’t speed up or change its direction. Slowing the ship a bit, he let whatever it was creep ever closer. Except for that one brief flash of light, the only thing Ian saw through the windows was the star-studded darkness of space.
The klaxon sounded again and a third return appeared on the detector screen. This one was directly behind the Express on a collision course. Ian snapped the axis ball around and vectored the ship away on a tangent from the course lines of the two unknown objects. Neither reacted to the change and it was then that Ian saw that the third object was actually moving in the same course and direction as the other return, only slower. It had been the movement of the Express itself that had made it appear to be moving toward him.
A bright flash appeared again and Ian noticed the more rapid of the two objects change its heading. However, it only made it through part of the turn when it seemed to slow again. Now it appeared to be just drifting in space. Ian thoughtfully watched the action of the two moving returns.
Ian brought the Express to a full stop. Neither of the two moving returns changed direction or speed. Using his throttle and axis controls, he moved the Cahill Express toward the more recent of the moving objects and set up a cou
rse that would intercept it.
Ian watched the return grow closer and closer. It had changed neither speed nor course since that last turn. He slowed the Express and then reached over and turned on his outside floodlights. Nothing changed on the detector screen, except the object would now pass in front of the Cahill Express instead of intersecting it. Ian waited and watched.
Out front a long cylindrical object came into view in the arc of the floodlights. Adjusting the controls, Ian moved the Express alongside the object, moving sideways parallel but drawing no closer. Reaching to his side, Ian grabbed an optical magnifier. He zoomed in on the object and studied it.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” Ian looked the object over. It was clearly a missile of some sort, though he didn’t recognize the particular type. Instead of fins on the rear, he could see small steering jets. Some of these were still angled to turn the missile toward him. Some vague warning tickled his mind and he laid aside the optical magnifier and grabbed the controls.
Ian backed the ship away from the strange missile. While he was backing away, the missile exploded but the Express was far enough away that Ian did not feel the shockwave. The missile clearly had some sort of proximity trigger that sensed his ship when it got close enough. A simple but effective design.
“Whew! That was close!”
He glanced again at the detector screen and noted that it still registered both the stationary object and the second one still moving. Adjusting his controls, Ian vectored the Express toward the second moving object. From its trajectory, he figured this had been what triggered his alarm when it was fired at his passing ship. Ian didn’t like the idea of weapons systems that arbitrarily fired at passing ships without warning.
The Cahill Express crept toward the moving object, this time from behind. If it were another missile, the proximity trigger would be least effective toward the missile’s tail. At least that was his theory.
Soon the tail of the missile appeared ahead. Ian could see it clearly through the optical magnifier. Satisfied, he backed off a safe distance starboard of the drifting missile.
Space Trader (Galactic Axia Adventure) Page 5