by T. J. Jones
This was going to take time to yield results, so while this process started, he wanted a sitrep on the enemy ship and a damage control estimate. Tacent Cor had been preparing it for him for the last tenth of a cycle. The command center doors parted and the imperial guard positioned just by the entrance bowed to greet him as was customary. They rose as he stepped past them.
“Tacent Cor, are those reports I requested ready?”
“They are, Your Holiness.”
“Good, let me have them.”
Cor carried a few data tablets with him to Vay’s command position. “The ship’s engines are down currently. We were unprepared for the strike force of small craft from the enemy ship. They are too small for our weapons to track accurately and can match their shields with our own. We’ve been unsuccessful in finding a normal variance they can’t match. The only alternative appears to be the Siege mode system. They also seem to have been designed with heavy munitions for the purpose of striking large vessels.”
Vay reviewed the data. He had to admire their spirit. They had a propensity for conflict that matched even the Loerians. If they ever became uplifted from their subjugate status, they would greatly aid the imperial war machine.
“The Siege shields will hold them off. And their own ship? What of it?”
Cor selected a sensor scan and zoomed in on it. “As you can see here, there is a debris trail that leads into the mark three nebula. We believe they are holding a position within it to make repairs.”
“How long would you estimate it would take them to get their systems together based on the damage we inflicted?”
Cor puzzled over the question. “I can’t say for certain, Docent. We hit their ship pretty heavily, but it isn’t a pushover. It’s considerably well-armed and defended. I suspect they could begin bringing systems back online very soon, but I wouldn’t make a guess at their effectiveness.”
“How soon?”
Cor shrugged. “Two, maybe three-tenths of a cycle if we left them alone.”
“What can you tell me about the nebula?”
“It’s composition is a mix of light and thick gasses as well as minerals. In a few megacycles it’s possible it could develop into a stellar nursery.”
“So it would contain the raw materials they would need to fabricate replacement parts”
“In theory, Docent. It’s unknown if they possess replication and fabrication technology.”
Vay shook his head certain. “They are too developed not to.”
Cor nodded hesitantly. “I would concur but my assumption wouldn’t be as absolute as yours.”
“What do you anticipate the enemy captain to do next?” Vay asked.
“Well. It would depend on Your Holiness. We have bloodied them. They are also clearly not from these parts. Logic would dictate they would affect repairs and return to their home before losing what they have left.”
Vay looked at the nebula scan. “Yes, it would. Can we reach them before such an outcome?”
“You’re asking if we can get our engines back online and intercept them before they can retreat?” Cor seemed unsure. “It’s hard to say. But I think so.”
“Good. Make it our top priority.”
“You wish to capture the rest of their crew?”
“No, even better. I want their navigational records. I want their home worlds. Their allies. Their enemies. All of it.”
“Such a find would be unparalleled. Your name would live in history.”
Vay nodded. “We stand at a nexus point in history, Cor. We must succeed here. See to it.”
Tacent Cor nodded and snapped to the position of attention before being released to return to his duty. From his command post, Vay looked over the engineering reports. The damage done to the engines was quite extensive. The one upside was that their shield grid was reasonably intact. The small craft phasing through it meant they weren’t having to bring down the shields before striking the hull. It was a curious position.
He held the tablet in his hand as he looked deeply at the nebula, trying to will the craft visible. “Your move, Captain.”
Aboard the Odyssey, the remaining crew was scurrying about frantically. Everyone had gone into high gear after the assault in order to get things brought back up to speed. The first priority was the warp engines and the shield grid. Mary Jo and Jarod were working hard to find a way to “bottle” the nebula and use it in some way. The two of them began about an hour ago.
As for Adrian himself? He was overseeing something that made his stomach roll. Writing out a KIA notice for Lara. It was a painful letter to write because she had no family. No spouse. She was it. The letter was more for the fleet than her. His heart felt heavy like it was sitting in his stomach. He wasn’t sure he was ready for the chair yet, but they all needed him to be.
He’d scheduled the funeral ceremony to be held in a few hours. He wanted to give the crew time to work on their tasks. Time to accomplish something before he tore them away from it to pay their respects to Captain Garrett. It was on everyone’s mind, though.
Still, they had a mission to do and people to bring back. He sent out a network-wide communique that he was canceling the service and that the doctor should keep the captain’s body along with the other fallen crew in stasis until they returned to Earth.
He owed her that much at least. He’d put in a request to have her buried at his family’s ranch. At least there she’d be close to someone. Anyone. His father would appreciate that. And it would mean a lot to Adrian knowing she wasn’t just another name in a sea of white markers in the fleet cemetery.
He was starting to feel a little too alone himself. He printed out a cup of chai tea and made his way to the lounge. He kept quiet even though many of the crew still greeted him as they worked on exposed conduits and damaged bulkheads. When he got to the lounge, it looked a little wrecked. Some of the furniture had been overturned in the battle. A couple of phased weapon hits here and there. A few bloodstains that needed to be cleaned.
“Greetings, Commander,” Dekav said. He was seated meditating close to the window. “Did you know your aura is different than most of the crews’. Many of them are frightened or sad. Some are angry.”
“How am I any different?”
“Well, aside from those, you also feel uncertain. Of the situation and of yourself.”
“Yeah. Suppose you’re right.”
“Why? You seem to have the sharpest grasp of the situation of your crew. You’ve developed as sound a tactical strategy as you can, and your people believe in it. What more do you require?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I just never expected things to work out like this. I always saw the twilight of my career being boring and full of ceremonies and meetings.”
“I see. But I sense you’re no stranger to these kinds of desperate situations.”
“I’ve been in a close scrape or two. Yeah, I guess.”
“Then it would seem you are eminently more prepared for this than the rest of the crew.”
“So you’re saying I should buck up and stop being so hard on myself?”
Dekav shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt, would it?”
Adrian laughed a little and sat down next to the pale-skinned, white-haired man. “No, I guess it wouldn’t. It’s just, even for all the instinct and training you might have, nothing ever prepares you for this kind of thing happening.”
Dekav smiled. “No, I suppose not. It isn’t every day you are thrust well outside your known borders into hostile territory, attacked, lose your commanding officer, and a large majority of your ship’s population to a slave-taking religious empire.”
“Yeah, it’s more like every odd day. There’s usually a rest day in the middle or something,” Adrian joked.
Dekav chuckled. “Well, I should hope so.”
USS Odyssey
Deck 2, Science Lab
“What about if we increased the ramscoops’ magnetic field? Wouldn’t that increase the spread?” Jarod a
sked. Mary Jo didn’t look too certain.
“It’s hard to say. I mean the shuttles aren’t made to store a lot of gaseous material.”
“So the deployment field would be small.”
“Yeah. I mean, maybe if you had some kind of amplifier.”
“Amplifier. Like what?”
Mary Jo shrugged. “I don’t know. Like a spare containment case on the ship, or maybe a field booster to extend the reach. The problem is they don’t have enough of anything. Not enough storage, not enough power. It’s like taking a shuttle engine and trying to power the Odyssey’s quantum tunneling drive.”
“I see your point,” Jarod noted. “No, it’s a valid point,” he said looking off at something or someone else.
Mary Jo blinked. “Um, anyway. We might be reaching the end of our rope here. I’ve got some ideas but we need to chat with Tia about it.”
“What are you thinking?” Jarod asked.
“Well, I was thinking we could rig some kind of powered container to the shuttles. That way they could store more of the gas, and the power pack would help the ramscoops project it farther too.”
Jarod stood up. “Best plan we have on the table.”
In the hallways, she couldn’t help notice that sometimes Jarod seemed like he was listening to someone speaking when no one else was. She knew he was a Tenean, so he was only part of a symbiotic relationship. Still, it was different to be around one so close for more than a few minutes. She heard some of the crew saying they thought he was a little odd. She’d just never seen anything odd herself until now.
In the lift, she found herself examining his markings. “Are they natural? Or tattooed?”
“Natural. It’s the body’s way of marking itself after it’s been occupied by a Tenean symbiont.”
“Like an allergic reaction?”
He nodded. “Something like that.”
“Interesting.”
Deck 10, Tenaport
Adrian walked behind the bar counter. “Normally I wouldn’t do this. But since it looks like the opportunity to have a drink on the ship is becoming a rarity, I think it’s important to cut loose.” He bent over and started sorting through the bottles. He lifted up a clear bottle full of green fluid and set two glasses on the counter. “One for you, and one for me.”
Dekav leaned over and sniffed the contents. “Whew, what is it?”
Adrian honestly wasn’t sure. He sniffed it a few times himself and shook the glass around. “Uh…it’s green,” he said unable to come up with anything. “It’s green.” He finally decided.
Dekav laughed. “To green.”
“To green.”
It might not have looked it, but it sure rode hard down the throat. It kind of reminded him of brandy. Or maybe a nicely aged bourbon. Definitely something along those. He glanced up to Dekav. “So tell me, what’s your story. You don’t seem like an awful guy. Why would you fight in such a twisted Empire?”
Dekav sighed and set the glass down looking like this conversation was going to require a refill. “Because it’s my people’s duty.”
“Duty?”
Dekav bowed his head. “Yes. Many megacycles ago before the Holy White Empire formed, a war was fought between my people and the prophets. Eventually, a truce was reached and an alliance was brokered. Since both civilizations were heavily damaged, it was agreed that the loser of the next conflict between them and their new allies would become the slave labor force to rebuild their worlds.”
“But they never kept their word?” Adrian asked.
“No. Once the prophets’ home world had been rebuilt, the slave labor forces were turned to build a massive war fleet in which my people were made the prophets’ empathic liaisons. We are the only ones who can both speak and hear the word of the gods.”
“So they gave you a raw deal.”
“In short, yes. They gave us a raw deal. My people’s home world was rebuilt after a time, but there was always a lasting bitter resentment to the prophets for that.”
“Sounds like it.”
“The prophets know that we’ve been deeply resentful of their treatment of us and have, over time, moved to replace us with the more aggressive Loerians.”
“Let me guess, that’s what’s commanding that ship out there?”
“Your intuition serves you well, Commander. I can see what made you such a good command officer.”
“Oh stop.” Adrian said jokingly .“So are you the only one willing to step up to them? Or do you think more could be convinced?”
He watched Dekav chew that thought mentally. If they could get some friendlies out here, this fight would feel a lot less painful when it was all said and done. Dekav shook his head uncertain. “Many have been resentful of the empire for years. Open rebellion, however, is vastly discouraged. They would quickly be relegated to subjugate status if they were unable to escape.”
“Bring them here, and we can make our stand together.”
Dekav seemed to think that over then nodded. “I think I can do that, but not from here.”
“Ok, then where?”
Dekav pointed at the ship outside the nebula and Adrian sighed. He managed to not roll his eyes. “How did I know you were going to say that.”
“It’s the only ship in the immediate area that has access to all elites within the empire. I’d have access to all of them.”
“How long would it take them to get here?”
Dekav didn’t seem to know. “That depends on a number of factors. But anything would help.”
That was the truth. “Alright, let’s talk about how you’d do this.”
Chapter Eleven
Truth and Jubilation, Docent’s Chamber
Docent Vay consulted the terminal readout that held the data from Lt. Kaine’s cell. He’d held the pink skin in there since shortly after his arrival, subjecting him to a mental fortitude breaking regimen. His intent was to try and rip vital intelligence from his mind, or at the least glean more about where and what he was from. The docent was very eager to turn this situation around in the most profitable of ways. His battle fleet was four sectors away. They’d been sent a tight-beamed transmission of the situation, but they would still take time arrive.
That left him with merely a small game of time. The enemy ship would no doubt be trying to repair as much of the damage to their vessel as possible and devise a solution to escape. That meant that ideally his battle fleet would arrive in time to aid him in capturing the enemy ship and bringing in the rest of its crew, learning the locations of their home worlds and then traveling to their space and subjugating them all.
The glory would be unending. But first, he would need to discover their secrets. He knew that Lt. Kaine wasn’t a very high ranking officer aboard his own station. That aside he was confident he could, at least, get something useful from the captive officer. He decided to break the regimen and see if there’d been any progress. The officer had been left with no food and unable to rest for some time now. At least two or three more tenths of a solar cycle.
He descended deep into the vessel with his arms clasped behind his back. His chest armor reflected the light at odd angles. The guards bowed their heads to him as he approached. “Your Holiness,” they lamented as he waved them apart and stepped inside. The light shone out from the cell as he stepped in. He gestured for one of the guards to dim the illumination some.
“Ah, that’s better, don’t you think?”
Lt. Kaine looked a little weary. “You tell me.” He was covered in a mild sheen of sweat and trembling ever so slightly. He was in the first stages of mental overload. If the treatment kept up, his will would crack soon and Vay could have everything the male knew at his fingertips.
“It’s not too late to stop this, you know. All you have to do is tell me more about where your worlds are. Where you come from. The defensive status of your fleet. Anything that might be of tactical value.”
Kaine scowled. “I’ll never tell you anything.”
V
ay shook his head. “Tsk tsk, my friend. It’s not a matter of if you tell me anything, it’s a matter of when you tell me anything. And rest assured you will eventually. No one can withstand the multi-pronged sensory assault that you have been undergoing for very long. No. In due time your willpower will dissolve. You will find yourself unable to resist even the simplest suggestions, like answering my questions and possibly even as much as doing as I ask.”
“Well, I’ll hate to disappoint you then,” Kaine said with a hint of strain in his voice. It seemed to take effort even to put that together.
Vay gave what passed for Loerians as a smile. “We shall see.” He continued to pace around Kaine like a predator sizing up wounded prey.
“Tell me something,” Kaine asked. “Are all your people this arrogant and self-absorbed? Or is that something special for only you?”
Vay smiled. “Oh, it’s a racial trait we all share. I only tend to amplify it. After all, why be like everyone else when you can be so much more?”
“So you’re just a special snowflake then, is it?”
“A snowflake?”
Kaine sighed exhaustedly. “You don’t even get snow? How do you people manage?”
Vay snarled and smashed his fist down against Kaine’s cheek. “Enough! I tire of your senseless prattle. In time, you will tell me what I need to know. What I want to know. Until then you can enjoy the agony of having your senses used against you.”
Vay turned and stormed out. The sonic disruption and lights went back to their previous settings. He would need to return to his command post and decide on an attack plan. The enemy had remained in the nebula since their initial escape. He could only imagine they would remain inside until they were ready to make an escape attempt or attack. Good. When they did move, he would be there. Ready to greet them.
USS Odyssey
Deck 2, Science Lab
Adrian stared at the tactical display overlaid on the astrogation charts in the science lab with Mary Jo and Jarod flanking him at the terminal. They’d called him up to brief him on their progress.