The Circle and Star

by John Foster

  “So, you know your way around them? How do you know about them?” said West.

  The civilization of the Kaa, as you call them, were discovered by my race many centuries ago and we have salvaged several of their larger ships and in fact train on them when we are first in the Navy. I know my way around in them quite well and, in fact, we used to hide from our officers while aboard.”

  “You hid from others when you were a cadet?” asked West, disbelievingly.

  “Yes, cadets in our Navy start at ten years of age, and we took what play we could. Exploring was what we did, and that sometimes meant hiding from our instructors.”

  West looked at her and said, “That’s reassuring,” and then grinned at her. “Shall we?” asked West, gesturing with his hand for her to lead.

  She nodded again and moved over to a cabinet against the wall and opened it. There was nothing inside but a small handle on the back of the cabinet which she pulled and a small door appeared which she opened.

  “What is that?” said West, a grimace forming.

  “For large garbage,” and without a look back at him she climbed through the door and went into it.

  West, with a pained expression, followed with an acute sense of reluctance tugging at his ankles.

  The chute was horizontal and just large enough for one person to crawl along it. It appeared to run along the exterior of the rooms for this part of the spoke. West could see it had many turns and he wondered how it worked. It was clean and obviously hadn’t been used in a very long time although it wasn’t at all obvious how it operated since it didn’t rely on gravity to operate. He made the mistake of asking with foreboding, “So how does this garbage thing work?”

  Amal turned to look at West over shoulder and said, “When it is turned on, there is a vacuum that opens to space and it is sucked out.”

  “Wow, I just had to ask, sucked out into space to be flash frozen. Wonderful.”

  Amal looked at him and said patiently, “Oh no, you won’t be frozen, the incinerator jets would vaporize you first. No waste flying through space for the Kaa.”

  “Ah, good, glad to see I won’t be frozen after all, just the vaporized molecules of me that are left.”

  “Just hope someone doesn’t turn it on while we’re in here,” she said as she turned to crawl forward.

  They moved hurriedly from that point on, pausing to crack open an access door every time they reached one and listened for anyone who might be there. As West soon learned each room had an access door to the chute that opened through a cabinet. Just when it seemed likely that they wouldn’t overhear anyone they arrived at what was some type of active office and it didn’t take long before they realized it was the signals officer and his assistant who worked there. They were going over messages that the Sovar Commander, someone named Dragaan had wanted to send to the Central Committee but weren’t able to do so for some reason. West and Amal listened with the door ajar. “The Terrans have surrendered and are now in the rooms along the central access corridor. Captain Petrov is examining them and finding out what they can do,” one of them said.

  The other voice said, “They say the Terran Captain has cowardly fled leaving his comrades alone to be captured and that the Theo fellow was left in charge.”

  “That Captain should be shot and hung as all cowards should be.”

  “Yes, I’ll drink to that.”

  “Yes, pour me another, it is excellent. Where do you get this stuff? It is forbidden and yet you always have some.”

  “Ah, that is my secret, my friend, you just enjoy it and I’ll keep you well supplied as long as I’m working here for you in this nice quiet comfortable office. No bombs going off in here.”

  They both laughed and West and Amal could hear the click of metal cups as they drank.

  “Well, now with the Terrans operating the ship we can proceed with the mission the Central Committee has ordered us to complete and then we’ll all be heroes of the state. You will have the order of the double star and I will have the triple star with clusters on it,” bragged the signals officer.

  “Yes, we’ll be rich and working on one of the penal colonies and have all the clone women we want, yes, that will be the life.”

  There was the sound of a door opening and a different voice said, “Dragaan wants you to install the Soshi transponder in the ship, and he wants it done in a hurry. He wants to make sure it works before we leave here and that means now. It’s down in the main hall, so get with it,” the voice said.

  “Aye, Captain Petrov,” said the first voice. “We’ll get right on it.” The door closed and then the first voice said, “That pompous ass and his high ways, just because he is a commando leader he thinks he has priorities over the Navy. Bah!”

  “Well, he is the number three here and if we want those clone women we’d better remember that. Let’s go,” said the second voice.

  West and Amal looked at each other and then they could hear the other two get up and then the outer door opened to the garbage chute and a hand placed a bottle in the cabinet and then closed it again.

  Amal closed the door and said “What is this grand mission that their Central Committee has ordered? That doesn’t bode well for the Soshi.”

  West nodded his head, “Yes, that doesn’t sound good. I wonder what they intend to do?”

  The chute started to vibrate and for a moment West thought the garbage chute had been activated and started to reach for the door and opened it. Amal stayed his hand, and said that when the chute was operational all the doors automatically closed and couldn’t be opened. They would unlock automatically once discharge had occurred.

  “Good to know,” said West looking slightly pale. “Good to know.”

  Amal said, “Is that your humor again?”

  West gave her a wan smile and said, “Yes, such as it is, my stuck-in-a-garbage chute-and-about-to-be-incinerated-and-then-frozen-in-space kind of humor.”

  Amal looked doubtfully at him but nodded and said, “Your ways are indeed strange but I’m enjoying them.”

  A few minutes later, they heard the door open again and they cracked the hatch door to hear what was said.

  “Okay put it down there on the shelf next to the video screen,” said the first voice.

  “Ah, this thing is heavy and look at how it is made too. I wish our machinery looked as nice as this does.”

  “You dummy, this is from a destroyed Soshi ship, look at how much good it did them. Now come on, let‘s get this thing set up before Dragaan comes in here and wants some of your Vodka.”

  They could hear the two men complain, curse, and then after a while, they fell silent with only the sounds of their tools working. Amal signaled West to move away from the hatch. West was a bit reluctant and only after some coaching did he move away from the door.

  When Amal felt they were far enough away, she whispered to West, “What are they doing with that signaling device? It’s from my ship.” Amal looked particularly offended and West could only sympathize.

  “I don’t know but it is obvious that they intend to represent the Cyclops as a Soshi ship but for what reason, I don’t know.”

  “It can’t be to fool my people, we would know right away that it isn’t one of ours.”

  “Hmm, you’re right, then it has to be for Terran consumption but again, for what purpose?”

  “Whatever it is the Terrans are going to blame the Soshi for it,” said Amal.

  “Of course, that’s it! They’re going to do something to create an incident between Terra and the Soshi, but what?”

  Then West said, “Those bastards want that weapon for it an attack on Terra. That’s why they want the weapon.” West pounded his fist on his open palm and grimaced. “That’s the plan.”

  “They would attack the Terrans? In this ship? But didn’t you tell me that the weapon could destroy an entire planet?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know if this Dragaan knows that. Madison does but will he believe her?”

&
nbsp; Madison’s first recollection was seeing two black uniformed commandoes staring at her from the doorway of the medical bay in the Cyclops. She blinked her eyes looking at them and then slowly turned her head and realized she was on some type of hospital bed, then she realized that she was strapped to the table. She struggled and found herself in the tight grip of her bindings. Looking around, she turned her head to the guards and said, “Why am I tied up? What happened to me?”

  The two guards looked bored, but both were watching her and one went out into the hallway and then returned with another soldier with silver braid on his shoulders who Madison guessed was in charge. He walked up to the table and bent over and said, “You are safe for now and will be treated well as long as you answer our questions.”

  “What does that mean,” asked Madison struggling with her bonds again. Then as her memory returned, she asked, “What happened to Martin, my escort?”

  “I have no idea of whom you’re speaking, but I’m sure all your questions will be answered when the Commander interviews you.”

  “When will that happen? I want to speak with him now,” demanded Madison.

  “Soon enough and it may possibly not be to your liking. I would recommend that you be as forthright as possible.” The officer grimaced at her and Madison shivered. He spoke in Russian and the other two men in her sight moved out of her view and were arranging some equipment. The officer bent over her head and said, “This won’t hurt.”

  She could feel some type of metallic hood being placed over her head. She shook her head violently and tried to dislodge it but she was held too tightly.

  “Let me out of here,” she demanded.

  “Soon enough, soon enough,” said the officer.

  A slim female officer with short jet-black hair entered and looked at her dismissively and then spoke with the other officer in a low voice. Madison watched them speak but couldn’t hear their conversation. The newcomer nodded her head and walked over to Madison and bent over the table and looked at her.

  “My name is Nika. I will be your questioner.” Nika was speaking in short brief sentences as if she was speaking to a child. This infuriated Madison and she struggled again.

  Nika straightened and watched with clinical detachment and said, “Struggling will do you no good, but if you insist, the bindings will only get tighter. We can hasten that process if you insist.” Nika nodded to one of the guards and he walked forward and grabbed Madison’s arm and jerked on it violently and Madison’s whole body shook with the movement and every binding automatically tightened and she grimaced in pain. The bindings were thin straps of some type of utilitarian cloth that had cables running through them and they started to dig into her arms.

  Nika bent down and said, “Now we can tighten them as much as you want. Do you want them tighter?” Madison just squirmed trying to ease the bindings and they just dug into her more.

  “I see that you don’t learn well and they say that you’re the intelligent one,” said Nika and then nodded to the guard again and he moved to grab Madison again and Madison yelled at him, her shoulders slumping, “No, don’t. I won’t struggle again.”

  The guard hesitated looked to Nika who shook her head and motioned him back. She bent over Madison again and said, “Good, you are learning and that is a good thing because the Commander is an impatient man and will not tolerate any reticence on your part. Do you understand?”

  Madison nodded.

  “Now, we’ll just hook up this cranial scanner,” said Nika and added as she nodded her head to the guard as she looked down to Madison, “just to make sure you’re telling the truth. If you don’t, we’ll know, and your punishment will be memorable.”

  Theo was placed in the engine room with two of the other crew and were watched by two guards, one of which held a plasma pistol. Theo looked at the guards and then nodded at them which prompted them to yell at him in Russian and it didn’t take a translator to get the message. The work he was doing was pre-testing the engines for departure. It was more of a simulation than an actual run through but it would just as accurately test the engines and other components of the ship.

  As Theo worked he considered the supreme question and that was what had happened to West and Amal and were they successful in getting aboard the Cyclops? Theo certainly hoped so because it was probably a penal colony on some asteroid mine in Sovar space if they hadn’t. He had to think positively and make plans as if West had succeeded. The crew had been split up into different departments and contact was forbidden except in the work areas where each crew member was assigned, and then, only if it related to the specific function of the ship. The guards were already bored with the duty but were alert and didn’t think much of the Terrans. Theo was content with them underestimating his crew and that would hopefully prove to be an advantage later on. Theo tried to think of where West and Amal may have hidden and what their plan was going to be. If West didn’t act soon, this ship was going to be out bound for who knows where. An officer entered the room and walked over to Theo and said, “You will prepare the ship for immediate flight and we may have you assist on the bridge if it is necessary. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah, I get you,” said Theo. It was obvious from that instruction that the Sovar’s pilot wasn’t feeling particularly comfortable with flying this monster. Theo didn’t blame him since it was a complicated machine and the task was made more difficult by the fact that there were some components of piloting the ship that seemed to be less mechanical and more intuitive than he would have believed. There was something about operating this ship that eluded Theo and he hadn’t been able to figure out what it was. The Cyclops seemed to anticipate his wishes and although he had never really had a chance to test it, he believed that the ship was actually listening to him or sensing in some manner what he wanted to do. Theo shook his head and started to run through the check list he had devised when he had worked on the engines earlier. He looked at the engine readouts, their lights pulsing and growing brighter as the radioactive rods were activated and he could feel the ship tremble in anticipation of flight.

  The floor vibrated again and West looked for the closest door and Amal smiled. “You worry too much, if they activate the garbage system, it will be too late for you to do anything,” said Amal.

  West gave her a wan smile and said, “That’s reassuring.” West went from a crouch to sitting on the floor to suggest he wasn’t worried. He said, “We need a plan, first I think we should try to find Madison and get her away from the Sovar Commander, Dragaan.”

  Amal gave him what he was starting to understand was a sly look with just a hint of a smile that meant she didn’t agree with him and he continued, “Perhaps we should try to sabotage the engine to keep them planet bound.”

  Amal pondered this and then said, “If we allow them to take off, we could sabotage the ship’s engines or bridge during flight and it might be possible to signal Soshi ships to come and rescue us. We know where the transponder is and it can be modified as a distress signal as well as a ship identifier and we could contact them.”

  “That might just work, how do we get to the engine room?”

  “Ah, that is the hard part, we must pass by the reactor and the chute isn’t shielded from radiation which will likely injure you,” said Amal.

  The color went from West’s face as he considered this new information, “The reactor? Surely, there must be some other way to get around it?” said West, looking hopeful.

  “Unfortunately, there is not. But I can go alone and see what can be done. Of course, the engine room will be guarded but I will find out who is there and what might be accomplished,” said Amal.

  “Okay, you try that and I will go back the way we came and see if I can learn anything else of interest from our talkative friends.” She nodded and crawled off down the chute. West shivered thinking of the reactor room.

  Amal continued on her solo journey until she came to the suction generator that operated the garbage ejection system that
was near the engine room. This was as far as she could go in the chute. There was a small utility corridor door that opened off the chute and she climbed through it. It was unlikely that the Sovar were aware of the utility corridors that were placed throughout the ship but she couldn’t be sure of what they knew, and she had to take the risk. This area in particular was dangerous to humans since it was not meant to be used when the reactor was at power otherwise those using it would be killed from radiation poisoning. Amal might sicken from too much radiation but she would recover after her body had converted it to a harmless substance. This corridor wasn’t shielded from noise so she had to move quickly or risk having someone hear her but she doubted that anyone would because of the noise of the engines and the radiation. She knew something about West’s reluctance to be around radiation but Amal didn’t know of any other way to get access to the engine room and the bridge which was just beyond. They had already discounted the idea of using the main corridors and that would mean a very uneven fight. She felt the ship tremble again but this time it was more pronounced and she listened to the vent in the engine room and heard Theo say to someone, “You can tell your Commander that the engines are hot and have successfully reached their capacity. We can take off anytime he’s ready.”

  “Very good, very good, maybe you’ll have a place in the Sovar navy when our mission is over,” said an unknown voice and this was followed by laughter as the voice receded into the distance. Amal tried to look through the vents openings but could see nothing but the floor on the other side of the wall.

  A few minutes later, the Sovar voice could be heard speaking to Theo again, “The commander is signaling the takeoff. Finally, we are to be in space again, then off to your moon.”

  “Our moon?” asked Theo, his voice filled with concern.

  “Ah, yes, you don’t know about the surprise, do you? Well, you shall see soon enough. Now back to work or you’ll be seeing the airlock from the outside.”

  Dragaan and his ship’s captain were standing behind the woman Terran pilot whom he had picked to fly the Cyclops after she reluctantly admitted to knowing how to fly the ship. The woman, Anna, had cautioned that she had never actually flown the vessel which Dragaan knew. He watched the viewing screens which showed the square above the ship and more to his interest were the views to space he found. He could see the Sovar’s cruiser was out of orbit and was chasing several Soshi fighters. As the pilot manipulated the controls Dragaan was interested in how the square would open up above them. It was a huge area and he couldn’t fathom how the ship would take off. The Terran woman, who was the second pilot for the archaeologists was at the helm and following the directives of the Sovar naval Captain who up until recently had never commanded anything more than a troop transport.