by R J Murray
“Descend slowly and keep the image coming. Be careful. The weapons carrier is new and I don’t want you to scratch the paint.” Eric joked.
“W. . . do our best. I kn . . impor. . paint is to . .” The signal was missing part of the words and Eric looked over to Martha.
“Expected. Keep one near the entrance at the surface to relay voice and picture.”
“Relay that.”
“We expected some features to be active and com interference is one of the side effects.” Martha explained. “Were you perhaps thinking I should have told you sooner?”
“That would have been nice.” Eric said.
“We were not one hundred percent certain this would even be here. Since it is I will try to be a bit more forthcoming with data.” Martha did not look contrite. She looked like a hungry Catroph lizard predator going for fresh blood. Eric made a mental note about what turned her on, for future reference.
“Damage encountered.” The relayed voice said. The picture was dark with circles of light playing across the walls. The lights on the weapons carrier could have been bigger but who knew.
“Ask how deep they are.”
“Report depth please.”
“Three kilometers and descending. How deep is this thing?” Ash asked.
“The one on Acadia was twenty kilometers.”
“Twenty? Affirmative. More damage on the walls and debris under us about half a kilometer below.”
The view showed what could have been the remains of the large missile like object Eric had seen in the structure on Acadia. It was barely recognizable with the amount of dirt and destruction that filled the screen.
“I guess the Catroph did find this world. This place took a missile of at least twenty megatons.” Eric said.
“Not the Catroph. They did it themselves after they left to keep the Catroph from following and it was feedback, not a missile.” Martha said with her matter of fact voice.
“Please explain.” Eric asked.
“Later, I am a bit busy.”
In truth, she was mostly biting her bottom lip and twisting Eric’s shirt at the shoulder with both hands.
“Have them land and head for the opening just above the debris. One of the minis should fit fine, I hope. Maybe two so one can relay as the other descends. Keep the weapons carrier near the doorway to catch the signals. Are we recording this?”
Eric nodded and the message went out.
“Yes Sir. I am transferring to a mini.” Ash said.
The scene changed to an elevator shaft and the minis descended rapidly calling out the depth every few minutes. After a half hour, Ash called to say they were at the bottom.
“Can they get out?” Martha asked.
“Affirmative, but only on foot. The opening is too small for even the mini. We are unpacking the scanners you put in the mini Martha.
“You anticipated this too?” Eric asked.
“Oh. My bad. I was supposed to tell you first.”
Eric reached up and squeezed her hand. “We will talk later.”
The view continued to change and the scanner floated next to the men on foot. It looked like a hallway in a building, not terribly mysterious or alien. A set of double doors could be seen in the lights and Martha squeezed even harder. The doors swung open and the lights showed a control room of sorts, more like a nuclear power plant than anything else.
“YES!” Martha screamed and Eric jumped along with everyone else in hearing.
“Quick, go to the center console and tell me if there is an energy reading!”
The camera moved and faced the panel. Several gauges were reading levels of something going on within the place.
“Matter-antimatter reactors. They had to have them to open the wormhole to the next galaxy; nothing else has the energy levels capable of such a thing. The Astangii left our galaxy. That is why the war finally stopped. They just quit and used three of these facilities to open a passage away from their enemies taking their home world and as much of the fleet as they could with them.” Martha was almost dancing with excitement.
“Another galaxy? Holy crap.” Eric wasn’t sure who on the bridge spoke, but he agreed with them.
He cleared his throat. “Why three?”
“Because that is what our calculations indicate it would take to create and focus the wormhole. We think that they were setting one up on Acadia but the Catroph took the planet before they could finish it so they moved this planet here and finished the project.”
“Your lips are moving but have no idea what you’re saying anymore. This is just beyond my understanding. They moved a planet? They took their home world with them?”
Martha nodded and started to talk again and Eric held out his hands in self-defense. “Give me a few to filter all this through my tiny mind please.”
Martha giggled and moved to the com station. “Ash, please get as much data as you can from the panels and record everything for me please. I am sending you the layout of the one on Acadia with the important areas marked in red. Please be careful. Our tower on Acadia is not loaded with antimatter, not operational. This one has hazards I cannot even begin to explain nor understand.”
“If you don’t understand, what chance do we have? We will take footage of everything we can reach. There is damage even here that has blocked areas.” Ash answered. The view changed as the team moved on deeper into the complex.
~~~~~~
“How do we begin to grasp what these people could do?” Eric asked. He and the officers were meeting with Martha in the mess. Water bottles and sandwiches were scattered around the table along with tablets and photos of the complex.
“Baby steps.” Martha answered. “That is what the professor and I had to do. First see what we could understand then build on those experiments to the next step. I know how you feel right now. The first few days I felt like an idiot after you showed me that complex on Acadia. It was as though everything I had learned was useless. Even the professor was feeling like a six year old child learning to do calculus again.
“Eventually, with Asi guiding us step by step we got the station mainframe up and running. Even Asi was not sure what to do until he analyzed the data the main frame contained. This complex was begun six thousand years after Asi was damaged. Six thousand years of science and advancement under the pressure of total war and racial extinction.”
“So we know this stuff yet or. . . “ Eric began.
“We know what they did here. We understand maybe one half of a percent of how they did it and we know less than that about the technology needed for this. The other things, well, we may never understand, not for generations.”
“Even with Asi translating the data?” Ash asked.
“I speak Otstrand as well as Asi.” Martha said. “He doesn’t need to translate for me.”
“Is that the language?” Eric asked.
“Language and race. The Astangii is the name of the ship and computer, not the race. The tech is beyond what we have now. It would require us to build the machines to build the machines to build the machines for ten or more generations. On a side note, we did learn a lot that has some use to us now. For example, the cattle are not from Otstrand. They were dropped here to feed the Catroph. The Catroph are reptile carnivores who like their food alive when they eat. They have several species they grow to hunt and eat, including a guinea pig creature that is very cute and a large catlike creature that is also a carnivore.
“The Otstrand are vegetarians. Fruits, vegetables, moss, seaweed, and various forms of fungus composed ninety percent of their diet. On several selected times of the year, they would eat a mollusk found in the oceans. The same one we like so much by the way. Unlike the Catroph who are natural hunters and crave violence, the Otstrand have an aversion to violence that is part of their racial heritage but when threatened they recognize the need for defense. They operate in a cooperative manner with a clearly defined hierarchy and caste system with a tiered government system very similar to
that which we have on Earth.
“The Catroph hunt the Otstrand after the nanobots cripple them or when they capture any on a planet. Then they eat them. Nasty creatures. At first, I could not understand why you wanted to exterminate them. I was shocked and I thought extremely bad things about all of you. Primitive militants, cave dwellers with a new club, that sort of thing. Once I heard about the way they programmed the nanobots and found more information in the computers on Acadia, the more I realized that we had no choice but to exterminate them like any virulent bacteria that threatened our existence.
“That is why I worked on the Hell Bomb for Eric and why I think we can build and should build planet killers. The more weapons the better as far as I am concerned. We learned things from the data base that make our weapons look like toys and I promise to build them for you all.”
Eric grinned. Martha had no idea of diplomacy. Cavemen with a new club. She was so cute.
“Well, I would like to thank you from myself and my fellow cavemen. Ook ook.” Eric said. “I am also glad you are here to help us. None of us are qualified to study this. You and the professor are just as important as the fleet to keep us alive. Now, do we stay or take all this back for you two to go over in your lab?”
“We go back. I was able to get a massive download via the scanner I sent. I need to get back to my Asi so he can begin interpreting the new data with us. The computer in our complex is much more advanced than the ones we use on the ships. Stop at the moon first. The base should contain several advanced ships in good condition. Oh, one more thing. Never come here in a Catroph ship. The planetary defenses are still active and will destroy it well before it reaches the moons orbit.”
“Anything else important, like resulting in our deaths?” Eric asked.
“No, that should be all for now. As I learn more I will inform you if it’s important.” Martha answered with a straight face.
“Head for the moon, standard orbit and scan the base in a friendly, nonthreatening manner Ash.”
“Yes Sir.”
~~~~~~
The base extended around the moon underground and from pole to pole. Weapons platforms were found every few kilometers across the surface and underground.
“Why did we not see this before, Martha?” Eric asked.
“It was shielded and camouflaged. I added a program to the computer that marked us as friendly so we could see it. Scanners can be blocked you know. Wouldn’t help a ship, marking it as a hole in space which would arouse some curiosity I should think. Send this pattern and the shield doors will open so we can land.”
She did something on the com panel and two large doors opened on the surface of the moon.
“Take us in please.”
“Yes Sir.”
The base opened up into a cathedral. There was enough space for a dozen starships on the pads, but only three huge monsters were seen.
“How big?” Eric asked.
“Five kilometers in diameter, each. There are smaller ones further down.” Ash bent over the scanners console as he spoke.
“Land on that pad to the east.”
“Yes Sir.”
The ship landed without incident but as soon as the engines went to standby several mechanical arms rose from the floor around the ship.
“Any ideas?” Eric asked Martha. She shook her head and they waited.
The arms seemed to be looking for something on the hull. After almost five minutes they gave up and were retracted into the floor. Suddenly the ship was lifted and moved to the west.
“Hang on. They don’t like where we landed.” Martha said.
The ship was settled into a new pad almost two kilometers away from the first and new arms appeared. These did not attach, just settled in on the surface of the hull.
“What are they doing?” Eric asked.
“Scanning us and the computers are chatting. Checking us for damage it seems. Wait.” Ash read the screen twice. “They want us to move to another ship. They say this one no longer meets minimum safe requirements for operation. Asi has already been copied and moved and they know we are not Astangii but it’s okay because Asi told them we were friends and allies in the war. Sorry, we are not Otstrand. It looks like the move is mandatory. Our converters are locked on station keeping and the FTL and normal drives are locked out period.”
“And our stuff? I hate to lose my cigars.” Eric asked.
“Flitters are on the way. Anything not part of this ship is being transferred by machine. We can ride to the base lounge while they finish everything and prep the new ship for us.”
“Any idea what they will do with the Astangii?” Chuck asked. “I am going to miss the old girl.”
“They don’t say. They are requesting we move to the lower landing bay and enter transport as soon as possible.”
“I guess we have no choice. Move out. Evacuate the ship.” Eric ordered.
Chapter 18 New and Improved!
They headed down the passageway as tiny robots flew around them carrying things. Some was recognized as personnel items including a few boxes of Eric’s cigars and a stack of his underwear.
“Nice Captain. I like the red ones. Are those hearts?”
“They’re going to be your heart in a minute.” Eric laughed.
The transport was a large enclosed flitter with comfortable seating. Once the crew, the entire crew was onboard, the doors shut and the transport moved rapidly away from the ship. It passed a dozen smaller ships, still larger than the Astangii or any Earth vessel before reaching a landing stage. It settled gently and the crew disembarked. They were met by a small globe who asked them, in common, to follow. While it was understandable, the pronunciation was a little weird.
“Nice. I hope we can read the signs so we know if it’s the lounge or the dungeon.” Ash joked.
“Would that be classified as Hu-Mor?” the globe asked.
“Uh, yes, it would.” Ash answered.
“Data stored for later analysis.”
The lounge was nice, quiet if different music played, the lighting was indirect and of medium intensity and the seating was just normal seating. They all took a place around the small tables, Martha sitting close to Eric and waited. After a very short time, another robot approached each group.
“We apologize for the delay. We were analyzing your food and drinks for compatibility with ours. We can offer you a variety of samples of each, since while it will nurture you bodies it may not be to your tastes.”
“Thank you. That is acceptable.” Eric responded.
“Data stored for later analysis. Would the correct response be ‘you ur wel coom’?”
“Close, but the pronunciation is off a bit. If you wouldn’t mind me correcting it?” Martha said.
“Corrections acceptable.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I see. Thank you.”
The machine floated away and returned with trays of foods and drinks which were placed on the tables. “The delay in prepping the ship will be one hour and twenty three minutes. Please enjoy the refreshments while you wait.”
“We will. Looks delicious.” Eric answered.
They waited until the machines left before sampling the drinks.
“Ugh. Fermented yak milk maybe.” Ash said putting the glass down.
Eric took a sip of a clear liquid with a green tint. He handed it to Martha after tasting it.
“So do I trust you or dump this as a precaution?”
“I am deeply hurt by our suspicious nature. Give it back and I will finish it.” Eric said.
“No.” She said and took a taste. “That is nice. Not all grape but maybe a kiwi orange blend do you think?”
“I’ve never eaten a kiwi although I have heard of them. Now for some nibbles.”
They nibbled and talked, occasionally choking or spitting out whatever they found disgusting, and passed the time.
“Do you know the most disturbing thing about this entire venture? Not just here, but from th
e very first time I entered Astangii.” Eric asked.
“Well, I know what I think is weird.” Martha answered, giving Eric the once over. “But not what you might think, so tell us.”
“How normal it is. Look at this lounge. It could be any human lounge anywhere. Except for the robots. The hallway in the structure and the control rooms all look like something we would build. You say alien, you expect strange, unknown and even bizarre. You do not expect flush toilets and scented soap like you have at home.”
“Form follows function. Speaking of toilets, I have a need.” Martha excused herself and asked about the lavatory, following a robot out a side door. She returned a few minutes later smelling of lilacs.
Eventually the globe returned and asked them to follow. They got back on the transport and hurtled toward the entrance once again. In the distance they could see the Astangii being dismantled.
“Fast aren’t they.” Eric commented.
The rest of the crew turned and saw what he was looking at, some gasping at the sight.
“She looks naked without the rock.” Ash said.
“Hope they use her to build another. Be a shame to waste her.” Someone said.
“All materials are recycled for use at a later date.” The transporter answered. “This vessel will be modified and upgraded for use in the current era. If you wish, you may return at a later date and reclaim the vessel.”
“Do we have to give the other ship back?”
“Only if it requires repairs or upgrades. As allies you have full privileges with all systems as of your arrival here. Do not approach within captured enemy vessels. They will be destroyed on sight without any opportunity for you to identify yourselves. Should it be necessary for you to arrive in such a ship, for example if you wished to trade that ship for a more modern one, please announce your intentions before allowing the ship to approach the system.
“If you should wish to bring your Earth vessels here, it would require the same precautions. We would recommend exchanging your Earth ships and Catroph ships at the earliest convenience. Our scans of your computers indicate that even the older Catroph ships have a clear advantage over your Earth vessels.”