by Peter Wood
‘Lorikeets. There is quite a concentration of bird life along the river.’
Wirrin and Thom looked at each other. Calen was missing this. Well, at least he’d see the zapped version.
As they passed a strange-looking tree Thom stopped to touch the loose layers of whitish grey bark hanging from a dull orange scar on the trunk.
‘It’s a paperbark tree.’
Narn pulled a small piece free and handed it to Thom who rubbed it between his fingers before passing it to Wirrin.
‘Paper?’
Wirrin and Thom knew what paper was. They’d made it themselves with EdCom when they were younger.
‘It wasn’t used for paper. It just looks like it.’
The next stop was a giant old gum tree.
‘Recognise it?’
Akama pointed to where a large limb branched from the main trunk and the picture leapt into Wirrin’s mind of a boy holding on for dear life with winged devils plucking at him.
Yes. There was the big lumpy growth that had fascinated him. This was the exact tree, still here after all this time.
‘Can I climb on your shoulders?’
Wirrin stared at Akama in amazement. Of course he could, but it wasn’t something you expected from a Witness.
Akama laughed. ‘Some of the low branches are gone. I’ll need help to get up there.’
A couple of minutes later Wirrin and Thom were perched on the branch next to Akama, looking down at Gulara and Narn and then surveying the scenery. Once again Akama pointed, this time at a large white bird in the shallows of the river, its head bent low to the water and steadily trawling from side to side.
‘What is it doing?’
‘We called it the funny-face bird but its proper name is spoonbill. When it lifts its head you’ll see why. It’s foraging for food.’
Fascinated, Wirrin and Thom watched and, sure enough, when the bird raised its head to look around alertly, the rounded spoon shape of its upper and lower bills came clearly into view. Akama wanted to get moving and scrambled to the ground. Wirrin was more awkward in his descent.
‘Our time is very limited and I’d like to fit in a short walkabout.’
The next three-quarters of an hour piled wonder on wonder and Wirrin wished Calen was with them. At least he was zapping everything and they’d be able to share it all later.
The highlight for Wirrin was holding a bizarre creature that Narn discovered, a dangerous-looking little reptile called a thorny devil with spikes and rough protrusions all over. Amazingly, it was quite soft, belying its ferocious appearance, and Wirrin examined it closely, enjoying the sensation of its tiny claws hooking into his fingers while Narn explained how it could actually drink through its skin.
At the end of the walk there was another surprise when Akama raced into the waters of Gnardune Pool and, laughing, beckoned everyone else to join him. Wirrin realised he was purposefuly replaying the scene he’d shared with them.
After ten minutes the big air transporter, flanked by four others, appeared overhead and settled at the water’s edge. A message from Turaku appeared in retinal mode and Wirrin called for everyone to hurry.
‘There’s a security alert and we need to get back to the Comet.’
‘Do we have time enough to collect our things?’
‘Yes. It’s not directed at us, but Turaku doesn’t want us out in the open.’
Akama’s visit to his home country was cut short and the group, now serious, rushed to get aboard. As the convoy accelerated towards Monkey Mia, Turaku’s holo shimmered into view.
‘I felt it necessary to return you to the Comet, Honoured One. There is hostile activity rather sooner than expected and it is advisable to raise our security levels.’
‘Of course. What is the nature of this activity?’
‘Four large space vessels have stationed themselves in low orbit directly above Shark Bay and are closely scanning the area. We have suppressed all electronic signals, but excepting the Comet itself, there is nothing we can do about optical surveillance. Those watching have been alerted by the unusual configuration and movements of the dolphins, and the probability of a response is rising critically.’
‘What are the indications for that?’
‘The Comet traced signals from the low orbit surveillance to locations not far outside Australian territorial jurisdiction, but more significantly to three large ships, one 15 kilometres west of Dirk Hartog Island, one close to Ningaloo, and one not far from the Great Barrier Reef centre.’
Wirrin linked to the security of the air transport, located the ship so close to Shark Bay, and scanned the information about it. Ten minutes ago it was a legitimate cruise ship from the friendly Malaysian area, but the Australian security AIs had now discovered that the passenger lists were phoney. The people existed, but currently eighty-three per cent of them had been observed going about their normal business in their home habitats.
What about the other two ships? A quick look showed a similar disparity.
‘The ships are fake. The people meant to be on them aren’t there.’
Akama nodded and addressed Turaku. ‘What are we doing about them? This feels very much like a repeat of the last attack.’
‘Air cover has been dispatched to all three locations for a closer look and all defensive systems are now in operation.’
Wirrin checked the security overview in retinal mode then switched it to full holo so everyone could see the groups of air defence vessels dispersed to all areas of Shark Bay.
One particularly large air vessel was streaking towards the cruise ship and the data showed it would arrive in just over two minutes.
‘Where are Sonic and Calen? Are they safe?’
‘I asked them to board an air transporter and return to the Comet but Sonic has committed himself to the meeting for at least another twenty minutes.’
Wirrin displayed the area, where a convoy of six aircraft circled, then zoomed close. There was the distinctive globe of dolphins, gathered near the surface. They would be easily picked out by any high-resolution optical device in low orbit. Wirrin looked at the huge group of dolphins, picturing Calen and Sonic in the water with them, and started to check on how many there were.
The whole display flashed red for a second, sending a shock of apprehension through everyone watching. As one they turned to Turaku.
‘Another signal was transmitted to the three ships. We have been damping all emissions but a sudden power increase of a full order of magnitude penetrated before we adjusted our suppression levels. I’ve mobilised the Comet and we will all rendezvous at Sonic’s location.’
The transporter lurched to a new bearing and accelerated strongly.
‘Underwater activity has been detected near all the suspect ships. There is high-speed drone movement and I have deployed 130 enhanced guardians from the security resources protecting the dolphin gathering for their interception and containment.’
Stunned by the speed of everything, the group watched the big holo display, which Turaku was now controlling. Wirrin, horrified more and more by the number and speed of the attack drones being revealed, grabbed Thom’s arm.
‘There are hundreds. Can we stop them before they reach Sonic?’
Turaku explained that the 694 hostile drones would reach the dolphin meeting in eight minutes and twenty seconds at their current speed of 107 kilometres per hour but first engagement with the guardians would occur in three minutes and forty seconds. ‘We anticipate complete disablement of every hostile unit.’
Wirrin noticed the big increase in speed compared with the original drones. They’d definitely been improving them. Still it was encouraging to hear Turaku’s confidence. The seconds ticked by. The Comet would reach Sonic in five more minutes according to the screen and they’d be able to board themselves just two minutes after that. The display flashed red again, sending Wirrin’s pulse racing. That red was a warning of some significant event.
‘There is a further deployment
of drones. A larger type, of unknown capability.’
Six red markers were moving away from the cruise ship, two heading towards the northern end of Bernier Island and the other four following the path of the earlier drones towards the gap between Dorre and Dirk Hartog Islands, on a direct path to the gathered dolphins.
‘Larger? Does that mean more dangerous?’
‘That is very likely, but air cover is arriving and will disable both the cruise ship and the drones.’
The air cover was coming from the south and Wirrin wished it would head for the main group of attack drones first.
Yes! The air cover had done its job. It must have, as the red signature of the big drones and the cruise ship had changed to a dull grey.
The group exchanged relieved smiles as Turaku confirmed the neutralisation . The great bulk of the attacking drones left the Indian Ocean and entered the outer waters of Shark Bay. Almost everything was converging on Sonic’s position, except for the guardians rushing toward the attack drones.
Forty seconds to engagement.
The Comet was closing, still minutes away, and the number of aircraft above the dolphin gathering had increased.
What?
The dolphins were spreading out, moving directly away from the oncoming danger with several hundred guardians following. The display gave a horrible red flash, then again, and again. Why didn’t it stop? The sight of the frozen holographic image of Turaku terrified Wirrin.
Then the awful flashing stopped and Turaku came to life.
‘Emergency situation averted. Major engagement in ten seconds.’
Ten seconds! There was no time for relief or to wonder what the emergency had been, as the display zoomed to the last few seconds of the rapidly closing drones and their adversaries.
On the screen the huge attacking group appeared to outnumber the guardians almost six to one, but Turaku looked confident. Wirrin prayed it was not simply to boost morale. And there was the positive legacy of guardian capabilities from the first Monkey Mia attack as well.
Wirrin’s grip on Thom’s arm tightened and everyone watched, transfixed, as the mass of red markers on the screen engulfed the blue markers of the guardians. Momentarily the groups separated again as the red continued at unabated speed. The blue rapidly changed direction then closed on the red lights which started winking out. In less than thirty seconds every red marker had changed to grey and come to a halt.
The new guardians were even more effective than the originals. Thom let out a cheer and Wirrin laughed aloud. Akama, Narn and Gulara were smiling.
‘Is Sonic safe? Have all the drones been stopped?’ Wirrin needed Turaku’s confirmation.
‘Honoured One, Sonic and the Earth dolphins have completely recovered from a sonar attack.’
Recovered? They’d been hurt somehow? Fear jolted through Wirrin again and he saw his own shock reflected in Akama, Gulara and Narn in the silence as they waited for an explanation.
‘Sonar pulses designed to confuse dolphin auditory senses were transmitted underwater by the hostile drones and for seven seconds every dolphin at the gathering suffered a form of sensory deprivation. This was dangerous. After twenty seconds they would have lapsed into unconsciousness and drowned. I was able to use the translators on Sonic’s transport module to dampen the signal until the drones were destroyed.’
‘Sonic could have drowned?’
‘No, Wirrin. I would not have allowed that.’
Wirrin fleetingly wondered what Turaku would have done to stop it, but Sonic and Calen were his immediate concern.
‘Is he all right?’
‘Completely. The instant the signal was suppressed every dolphin returned to full consciousness.’
‘Did it do anything to Calen? He hears all those sounds.’
‘Not a thing. He reflexively switched off his implants when the interference started. Sonic helped reduce the turmoil when the dolphins’ flight response was triggered and they’ve now resumed their meeting. The mothers with young were particularly distressed by the loss of contact with their little ones.’
The holo screen showed the Comet arriving near Sonic, a gathering of the big air cover vessels in the area where the drones had been disabled, and activity near the cruise ship, which Turaku explained was the retrieval, for analysis, of the large new drones. Turaku, still controlling the holo, was using it to help explain the current situation to Akama, and information flashed rapidly and briefly into view.
Attacks at other locations had been contained and everyone felt relieved as their air transport made its final approach to the Comet.
‘They haven’t got a hope against our AIs.’
As if deliberately flinging Thom’s words in his face the holo screen flashed fiercely red.
Chapter 16
‘LEVEL ONE EMERGENCY! LEVEL ONE EMERGENCY! ENGAGE ACCELERATION SAFETY RESTRAINTS.’
Thom was the first to recover from the shock and bewilderment and yelled to everyone to find a safety harness.
With the automatic message still sounding, everyone rushed to comply. As he reached one of the seats, Wirrin staggered and nearly fell as the transporter lurched and changed direction. Grasping for support, he pulled himself into place, and engaging his harness, looked to see how everyone else was managing. Gulara was getting to her feet, Akama hanging on to the back of a seat, and Thom and Burilda were buckled in. The transporter decelerated and when the lurching stopped Akama and Gulara made themselves secure. The sound and fury of the warning message and flashing red screen abruptly stopped and everyone turned to Turaku.
‘I regret the lack of warning, Honoured One, but the Comet is moving to a defensive position. Your boarding path is now recalibrated. Please remain with your acceleration restraints engaged. One of the low orbit space vessels is emitting a mayday distress signal indicating complete loss of control and descending at great velocity. Its trajectory leads to a direct impact with the gathered dolphins and we have interposed the Comet as a precautionary measure.’
‘It’s not out of control? It’s being guided?’ asked Akama.
‘Yes, we’re certain.’
‘How long before impact?’
‘Sixty-seven seconds, but there will be no impact.’
While Turaku was speaking the air transporter shifted so suddenly that anyone not restrained would have been thrown across the cabin. Wirrin was hardly aware of it. He was so focused on the holo image Turaku was relaying from the Comet.
These people must be crazy. Crashing a great spaceship to kill dolphins? Were there people on it? It really was big –150 metres in length and plummeting towards the sea at over 900 kilometres per hour. More and more thoughts flashed into Wirrin’s mind as he linked to the security system, or tried to link … it was locked and under Turaku’s control somehow and he couldn’t connect. Turaku was once again a frozen image, a sign that back on the Comet he was focusing every possible resource on the crisis.
What did Turaku mean by no impact? At that size and rate of fall it was a deadly missile that would destroy the Comet and everyone aboard no matter what its construction strength.
And if the Comet moved to safety Sonic and Calen and all the dolphins would be annihilated.
All sense of motion stopped. What? The transporter was docked. The holo showed thirty-five seconds to impact. Information was coming through, probably automatically.
Twenty-five seconds. Wirrin thought of Calen and Sonic in the open water and looked at Thom. Yes, he was thinking of them too. Wirrin’s gaze snapped back to the countdown.
Twenty-three seconds. His helplessness was unbearable as he watched the numbers dwindle.
Twenty-one seconds … twenty seconds … nineteen seconds.
All Wirrin could do was watch the countdown and the image of the plummeting vessel.
Eighteen seconds.
A great blaze of light surrounded the plunging arrow of destruction then darkened as protective filtering cut in. The dim outline shuddered and separated into
six or seven segments. Each segment was surrounded momentarily by a glowing aura before it disintegrated into smaller pieces, which were in turn broken apart.
The process repeated so rapidly that after the glimpse of the first division everything appeared to explode to a huge glowing cloud and it wasn’t till Wirrin saw a slow-motion replay that he understood what had happened. To all intents and purposes the space vessel had been turned to dust, or something like it, in four or five seconds.
‘Crisis averted!’
Turaku was back, but after a quick glance around the transporter, Wirrin’s focus returned to the screen where smaller bursts of light were flaring below the spreading globe of particulate matter, reducing anything still falling to dust.
‘What about the other vessels? Do we have to worry about them?’
‘The probability of action being directed against the Great Barrier Reef centre is low. Northern Australian security is demanding dispersal of the remaining vessels along a prescribed path under threat of reprisal for non-compliance.’
The cloud on the screen disappeared and was replaced with a navigational representation showing three large red markers and a much larger group of smaller markers.
‘What are all those smaller things? They’re not missiles are they?’ Thom said.
At that moment the whole group of markers started moving.
‘They are survival modules, small transporters and other craft that left the space vessel when the distress call began. All personnel were evacuated before the suicidal plunge.’
‘Do we stay in our safety restraints?’
‘No, Honoured One. A return to the Comet control centre is now the most advisable course of action.’
‘And Sonic and Calen haven’t been harmed in any way?’
‘Calen is somewhat stressed but too busy to dwell on it. Sonic has shown extraordinary presence of mind and rallied the Earth dolphins after their second general alarm call. They are leading the dolphins away from the fallout area for the vessel remnants. It’s a precautionary measure only and in a short time they will resume their interrupted meeting.’
‘What happened to that ship? I didn’t know the Comet could do something like that?’