»Your ship cannot harm this base,« interrupted a Chiropter calmly. »Your weapons are not advanced enough. We will set up a low level comm-channel for you … you can talk … now!«
»Just like that?« Petrow asked doubtfully.
The Fourth Level Chiropter moved his ears wildly, and Petrow took that as a go- ahead!
»Petrow to Blue Moon. Can you read me? Nemov, answer me!« Petrow called, but there was no response after three tries.
»Damnit! The stupid radio silence order!« Nadja spat. »Even with the Chiropters comm-channel activated the Blue Moon’s receivers are still off! They can’t hear us!«
»Curva!« Petrow cursed in Russian.
Suddenly, two small dots appeared inside the holo, heading for the Dimensional Base.
»The Blue Moon has launched nuclear missiles!« Petrow yelled, horrified. »They must have seen the Globusters and launched a pre-emptive strike. If we don’t do something fast, this entire base will be history!«
Drustev swallowed dryly and paled while Nadja’s teared with frustration.
A warning
I don’t know the base. I had problems orienting myself. After I broke through another wall, I came to a main corridor junction and – security forces who attacked me without warning. My heightened senses detected hundreds of small objects hitting my shield, but they could not penetrate it and were transformed into energy. The energy was re-routed to increase the shield strength.
That’s not going to work, guys! I thought, amused. You should know that by now!
It was obvious that the people on this base were panicked – a naked man breaking through walls and invincible. I knew this for pure illusion because I knew my weaknesses. It was just a matter of time till the base commander used the Globuster Fist! They were still assessing the situation because I was Human and so far hadn’t injured or killed anybody. Maybe I bruised their ego a little bit.
The attacks became heavier the closer I advanced toward the command central. They were determined to secure their nerve center.
To avoid their fire, which also had an impact on the base’s infrastructure, I disintegrated a section of the floor and let myself fall to the level below together with the debris. I compensated for the impact by bending my knees, and looked around. I saw frightened people crouching along the walls – even children!
Kill them, so they don’t alert the others! echoed in my mind.
The ship’s soul spoke to me again with more senseless orders.
That’s not only inhuman, it’s absurd! I told it.
I tried to calm the people in the room by making peaceful gestures. Men and women had set themselves in front of their children to protect them. They needn’t worry; I wasn’t going to harm anybody.
Door labels and symbols on the walls showed me where I was. I must have broken through a bunker ceiling where the people hiding from imminent danger.
They’re hiding from you! Don’t you see it – they are your enemies! They are afraid of you!
I ignored the voice and touched a thick steel door that disintegrated into dust as soon as I made contact with it.
People around me screamed as I stepped through the opening into a corridor. I turned around again and waved, trying to calm the children, but they misinterpreted my gestures again.
My senses detected strong energy flows. High power cable trays and conduits and fiber optic trunks ran along the walls and on the ceiling. Some of those cables fed electrical substations to distribute power. I followed the cables and conduits as they became more and more numerous. Then I stopped and saw most of the bundles disappearing into the ceiling. A large room was above me, a room where power lines an communication cables terminated – the control central!
Break through the ceiling and kill their commanders! If you eliminate their leaders, then the command structure will collapse – and with it any resistance!
I listened inwardly.
What are you, a demon? Who gives you these demented ideas? I demanded, but the ship’s soul didn’t reply.
Pissed off now? I wanted to know. No answer.
I concentrated on the ceiling above me and mentally opened a 2-meter by 2-meter hole. With a 3 meter high jump, I catapulted my naked body into the room above. Not hard with a gravitation modulator module like mine. Now I was standing inside the brightly lit Triton Base command central in a cloud of pulverized concrete, and a quick-acting crew was taking cover behind their consoles and desks.
Only Nok Daralamai, whom I had seen when she observed me in the lab, was still sitting in her commander’s seat as if unfazed. She was the only one who hadn’t fled from me.
»Hassan Khalil,« she said dryly, »can’t you knock like normal people, or has that gone out of style back on Earth?«
She lifted her right hand and signaled two soldiers who were standing at the main airlock with a Globuster fist.
You can still kill them … do it! the ship’s soul demanded. They won’t fire as long as their commander is in the way! Disarm the warrior; the others are no threat, you can kill them later. Once you’ve sealed the main airlock, we can disable their neuronal computer. They will run around helpless, and then we open all the airlocks and evacuate their atmosphere into space!
My eyes and senses were fully alert. I assessed the situation and calculated my chances. It would have been easy to decide the situation in my favor – if I so desired.
Yes, yes … you want it this way. Do it! the inner voices prodded. You belong to me now … think about the future and realize how stupid these Humans are. After the Great Tremor you people will take the place of the Globusters. You will be a vital link in the chain of symbiosis – more powerful and important than all other people in this galaxy. You will be most feared among the Looters.
I clenched my fists. My muscles tensed and I saw Daralamai studying me narrowly.
Her words were muffled … did the ship’s soul not want me to hear her?
»Speak up, Hassan! You understand me, don’t you?« she said, as if from far away.
A bloodbath like that is senseless, I told the ship’s soul. Why not get them to join us voluntarily? They can help us right now, even before the Great Tremor.
What do you mean, voluntarily? she ship’s soul pushed. That is not part of the plan. We have to follow the plan.
Then its thoughts became more threatening.
You have known for some time – you felt it – that a Prophet has arrived, a Chiropter First Class! You can read the portal’s tachyon signature. I gave you that ability. Once the Chiropter tells them their destiny, and they begin to understand, our counter plan is at risk!
»The counter plan,« I said aloud, struggling against the soul’s urgings while everybody in the command central listened.
Nok Daralamai straightened in her seat.
»Oh … you haven’t lost your tongue after all! What did you just say? What do you mean, Counter Plan?« she demanded.
You’ve said too much! the ship’s soul responded sternly. Be careful!
What we do is right, I thought, and pushed away Human sentiments. Destroy the Human order … that’s our goal. I can see the fate – the true destiny of Humanity!
I was breathing harshly. The voices in my head were yelling at each other, fighting for control. I struggled with myself and a mission I didn’t understand … did not want to understand.
»I …,« I tried to talk.
Everybody was listening; the only sounds in the command central were the faint whispering and whining of cooling fans and the ventilation system
I straightened and looked Daralamai in the eyes.
»I’ve come to warn you! Something terrible will happen! The Tachyon Portal … your people at the portal are in great danger!«
Three strangers
The commando followed Ivanova’s orders, pulling back to the platform’s edges. Maya and Lai Pi stood at the steps leading up to the portal and eyed the strangers expectantly. The two stocky beings maneuvered to keep the Blue b
etween them. Maya thought that on closer examination they looked only more threatening.
»I don’t think they want to come down,« Pi whispered, »you need to hide your anxiety and come with me onto the portal. I’ll be right beside you!«
Maya squinted briefly. She glanced up at the portal and then took the first step.
»I guess facing your fear is the only way to get past it!« she remarked dryly.
»I can’t follow you,« Sworge whimpered. »I thought I could, but I just can’t. I’m terrified of them … they’ve probably come to punish the Trox.«
Maya doubted that. She took Sworge’s words as a lame excuse.
»It would be best if you and Pi greet the strangers,« Sworge suggested.
»Is there anything we need to know, Sworge?« Maya asked impatiently. »Like where you know these beings from, and why you’re afraid of them?«
Ivanova looked at Sworge sternly, like a teacher expecting an answer from a recalcitrant student.
»His voice! – protect yourselves,« Sworge warned and slowly moved back.
Ivanova and Pi just looked at Sworge, then turned and slowly mounted the steps to the portal. The Blue watched them ascend attentively.
Pi got a closer look at the armor the stocky beings were wearing, and noted that it consisted of a myriad of small particles that formed a shell over their arms, legs and torsos. The particles were moving constantly, active as a bee hive hanging on a branch. There was a constant flow and exchange of particles over the surface.
Independently functioning micro machines, like our nanobots! Pi thought. They’re floating and flocking around the two beings like a protective coat.
Maya also watched the particles, mesmerized. The effect was eerie and kind of surrealistic. She’d been thinking on her way up the steps how she wanted to address the strangers, but the Blue spoke before she could say anything to them. His words were melodic.
Pi started – he had heard that language before! A second later, the universal translation device he’d been given by Scorge activated.
»If you are the envoys of the Protectors, we demand the activation of the Security Fleet! It’s time for you to act, and if the Brotherhood’s efforts were in vain, then it will be your task to save the galaxy!«
Maya Ivanova was surprised.
»That’s the main Progonaut dialect!« Pi whispered through his teeth.
Maya had experienced the translation device with first encounters on Morgotradon’s world; she trusted it to convey her words correctly. She kept a calm appearance, but her voice trembled slightly. She wished Toiber Arkroid were here – or for some other high ranking Union official to take her place. She was suddenly conscious that the Blue considered Pi and herself were being considered the Solar Union’s representatives on behalf of Humanity.
She swallowed hard.
»Who are you?«
As simple as the question sounded, Maya burned to know the answer. She was relieved when the translation carried her words. She’d learn why the Blue used the Progonaut dialect as they went along.
»My name is Kuster~Laap – I am a Chiropter First Class and the Prophet of the Genorantans. The message I bring will distress you. There is a galactic crisis coming, but I am certain that we will be able to resolve it.«
»Crisis?« Maya inquired. »What are you talking about?«
»Why are you asking that, when you already know the answer?« scolded the Chiropter.
Maya was confused. She scrambled for words.
»Who are your companions, Kuster~Laap?« Lai Pi interrupted, trying to redirect the conversation. »Aren’t you going to introduce them?«
»Nood and Naad are two ZyClonians of the Order of Microtechs. They are my bodyguards! When the Dualytes transmitted the troublesome news to us, I requested these particular individuals to accompany me.«
»The Dualytes? You know them?« Ivanova asked.
»Certainly, the Seekers are also members of the Brotherhood – as are my people and the ZyClonians. We have served the long plan for hundreds of thousands of years, but my visit is extraordinary to the Genorantans,«
»You mean the designers of the portals and the great tachyon network?« Pi inquired excitedly. Here was his chance to learn more about the Genorantans!
»Few Chiropters of my class status ever meet the Genorantans in person. They are very wise and mature beings. The Genorantans, as well as other brother civilizations, are responsible for the long plan in which you, the Protectors, play such large a role.«
Maya looked at the egg-shaped object where it lie slightly pulsating on the ground. She knew that somewhere the strange space in which the portal platform now existed was connected to this object – there was a direct link between the object and the environment.
»You’ve come here via the portal to deliver a message from the Genorantans?« she inquired. »Are you sure we’re the right people?«
Pi was holding his breath. He realized how daring her approach was.
The Chiropter flapped his ears … a sign of nervousness? It was hard to read his body language.
»The DNA comparison was positive. Nood and Naad verified it with their nanopods. You didn’t feel it, but they were testing your cells. We have, though, noticed a strange discrepancy between your expected evolution and the actual situation,« the Blue admitted.
»Extrapolating your gene pool and the elapsed time, you should be exploring nearby solar systems. You should have discovered your destiny! We did not expect to find you still stuck in the pre-tachyon era!«
The Prophet seemed disappointed. His voice drifted to a lower range, and he seemed very uncomfortable to Maya and Pi.
Infrasound! Pi realized.
»The Great Tremor will occur not long from now, when your Retreat is in a favorable position with respect to the galaxy. You’ve had a million years to complete your task and to prepare yourselves. What has gone wrong?« Kuster~Laap wanted to know.
Ivanova and Pi looked at each other uncomprehendingly. They had no idea what the Chiropter expected from them. Pi tried a different approach.
»We don’t understand what you’re telling us, but we know that Humanity’s evolution has been interfered with. We’ve heard a term like Retreat from the Dualytes, but they called it the Reserve. Our solar system is covered by a Matrix shield that blocks signals from outside – it’s kept us isolated from the galaxy for a long time. It was only recently that we learned about it,« he admitted.
The Chiropter looked flatly at Pi.
»The hope of an entire galaxy is on your shoulders … and you’re saying you don’t know that?« Kuster~Laap echoed.
»How were we to know? We were abandoned! Where were you when the Globusters were meddling with our development?« Ivanova burst. »Apparently a hostile power is up to something in the neighboring sectors as well, and obviously has been for a long time. Why haven’t you done anything about it?«
The Chiropter suddenly began blinking his eyes and swiveling his head nervously, looking from one ZyClonian to the other. He seemed to be reacting emotionally.
»Beings called Globusters are unknown to us,« he admitted, »and yet … the Dualytes reported that a group of Mind Catchers have retreated to the edges of this system … «
»That’s the understatement of the century!« barked Ivanova. »The Globusters have been killing us wantonly! And that’s not all! I, myself, was held prisoner by Morgotradon, a Dark Brotherhood agent. An agitator sent by Morgotradon has wreaked havoc in our solar system. We seriously need to exchange some information!«
The Chiropter began swaying.
»The Dark Brotherhood? It seems it was unwise to leave this sector unattended for so long. Why didn’t the Progonaut Houses protect you?«
Pi couldn’t suppress a smile as he heard the answer.
»That was over a million of our years ago – a long time for star empires to come and go! The Dark Brotherhood took out the Progonauts millennia ago. You didn’t know that?«
Both sides remain
ed silent for long minutes.
While the ZyClonians stared at the distance, Kuster~Laap tried to find words.
»Why did you move the Tachyon Portal platform into this strange space, or continuum, or whatever? Where are we?« Maya Ivanova broke the silence.
»We transferred the platform to a higher potential level where it is more secure,« the Blue explained, his voice now very deep voice. »We decided to isolate the platform from the standard universe for a while. As we arrived in your system, we detected some very strange and inexplicable signatures from the portal. At first we thought the thieves of the Original Spark were at work, but then Nood and Naad found evidence for the presence of degenerated technology!«
»And that means?« Pi prodded Kuster~Laap to continue.
»… a technology we have been scouring this galaxy for since the message from the Kokradian galaxy warned us. They told us that the degenerated technology is directly connected to the Great Tremor that will soon occur. It is an instrument of power of what you call the Dark Brotherhood.«
»Hmm … let’s clear things up: the Kokradian galaxy … that’s not the Milky Way, right?« Pi asked.
»No,« replied Kuster~Laap. »I mean a spiral galaxy about thirty-million lightyears from yours. The Kokradians sent us a tachyon message alerting us to the pending Great Tremor.«
Li Pi paled.
»Hold it … and these Kokradians predicted the catastrophe for us, from thirty-million lightyears away? That’s …« He didn’t doubt them, it was just a lot for his mind to absorb.
»… that is correct,« the Chiropter replied calmly. »The Kokradians were researching the Great Tremor in hopes of preventing the death of their own galaxy. They had discovered that the phenomenon is bound by certain laws of physics, laws which can be calculated and predicted. They also found the real cause.«
Pi swept his hand across his bald head.
»What else did they tell you?«
»We lost contact – we’ve never heard from them again. But the Genorantans and other leading people of our galactic brotherhood have confirmed their findings. Already, the first signs of the catastrophe have been detected in the Scutum-Crux spiral arm, on the other side of the Milky Way … and have been occurring for a long time.«
NEBULAR Collection 3 - Morgotradon: Episodes 12 - 16 Page 33