... and they are us

by Patrick McClafferty

Lola injected helpfully.

  A smile crept over Kat’s face.

  Zed was in his board shorts, lying in the sunlamps at the edge of the pool when the sound of footsteps made him open his eyes. He smelled cocoa-butter tanning lotion.

  “Holy shit!!” He gasped aloud, jumping to his feet and trying, without much success, to tear his eyes away from the teenage girl standing in front of him. “Where is the rest of your swimming suit?”

  Kat looked down, frowning. “This is the latest fashion in California, Zed.” She touched the swimsuit critically. “It has a top and it has a bottom, see?” She gave him a wide eyed look and Zed made a strangling sound.

  “Nineteen square centimeters of fabric does not constitute a bathing suit, young lady.”

  Kat frowned some more. “It has to be at least twenty five.”

  Zed pointed at the adjoining door. “Change.”

  “You sound like my parents.” Her frown had turned into a scowl.

  “Smart people. Change.”

  “Don’t you like to look at me?” She grumbled as she left.

  “That’s the problem.” Zed whispered. He never saw her smile.

  CHAPTER 4

  Thal’ark Station:

  The tension in the air was palpable, and Zed could almost feel the fear radiating from his crew, including Francois and Janine Lefèvre who had abandoned their precious Hydroponic Gardens to watch the show. The simulations had all been completed, if not to his total satisfaction, then to a point where he knew that ship and crew could defend themselves.

  “Sub-light in ten seconds.” Lola sounded calm. They had arrived at Thal’ark Station.

  “Defensive shields up. Charge weapons systems.”

  “Shields up, weapons charged, Captain.” Lola replied aloud for the benefit of the non-implant equipped crew. “Sub-light in four, three, two, one…”

  “Engaging sub-light drives... Incoming fire, sector three, eight, ten and twelve.” The vast bulk of the Rose of the Dawn shuddered. “Heavy energy weapon strike on our port side. Shields holding but down six percent.”

  “Destroy the source of those energy weapons, Lola.” Mike barked aloud. “Do it fast!”

  “Supra-light missiles away — targets destroyed.”

  Zed breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected the heavy energy weapons so soon. Below him he could see Mike and Alina, busy at their weapons stations. There were two pencils of brilliance from the ship, and the incoming anti-ship missiles flared as they died. “Do you detect any other threats, Lola?”

  “Negative, captain. I am, however, picking up wreckage, probably from other ships destroyed by this defensive system.”

  “Do you wish me to destroy the attacking installations?” It was Mike’s calm voice.

  “No, not yet. We can swat those missiles all day if we choose.” Zed frowned. “Lola, did you tell me or did I read it in a textbook, that when a ship approaches a station it automatically broadcasts an Identification Friend from Foe signal?”

  “I told you, Captain, and to answer your next question, yes we did broadcast such a signal, as soon as we arrived. This must have been a Chamdar trap set to destroy any approaching Imperial vessel.”

  “Please run a full analysis on those energy weapons and anti-ship missiles that were launched at us. Tell me if they were Chamdar.”

  There was a brief pause. “Blast spectra indicate that both energy weapons and missiles were of Dramul design.” The voice of Lola actually sounded shocked.

  “Did the station possibly misunderstand the IFF signal because of our new name?” It was Katherine’s voice, and it was a good question.

  “No. IFF recognition is based on hull number. We broadcast our eighty two digit hull number and our IFF signal milliseconds after we went sub-light. Incoming fire, sector eight again. Three missiles.” Three beams of energy lashed out and three billowing balls of nuclear fire lit the black of space.

  “Good shot, Mike. Lola, can you talk with those defensive installations and tell them we’re friends?”

  “Possibly, Captain. One moment… Captain…” If it was possible for a computer to sound shaken, Lola sounded shaken. “The defensive satellites around Thal’ark Station have been set to destroy ANY approaching spacecraft, whatever the nationality or system of origin. It doesn’t make sense, Zed. Why would they do such a thing?”

  “I have no idea, Lola. I suppose that we’ll just have to ask them, won’t we? How long to the station?”

  “At our current thirty percent sub-light drive, and getting optimum fuel consumption, we will reach there in twenty hours.”

  “Let’s push that up to fifty percent. They already know we’re coming, I suppose.”

  “Yes Captain. Speed set for fifty percent sub-light drive. Estimated Time of Arrival now fifteen hours. We should have four percent fuel reserve on arrival.”

  Zed swallowed hard, and raised his voice so all could hear him in the big room. “We’ll be arriving at the station in about fifteen hours. Mike and I will stand down for about seven hours. When we come back Katherine and Alina can take a break. The rest of you split up as you see fit. We’ll all be here an hour before arrival. Questions?” There were none. Zed touched Francois’ shoulder as they left the bridge. “How are things going in Hydroponics, Francois?”

  The red faced man gave him a shy smile. “Très bien, very well Captain.” There was a mischievous sparkle in the deep brown eyes. “The first crop of tomatoes are about ready, Zed. I have three Chinese hot pepper plants just for my own consumption and the strawberries should be ready in about two weeks. The rest of the vegetables will take a while longer.” He turned to look at a curious Atsuo. “The Bok Choy is coming along slower than I expected, but we should have it soon.”

  “You’re growing Bok Choy?” The Asian woman’s eyes were wide. “I didn’t make enough on Earth to afford fresh Bok Choy. Ohhh my.” She walked off with a small smile on her narrow oriental face.

  “Thal’ark Station is now five hundred kilometers directly in front of us.” Zed didn’t think that anyone else on the bridge was breathing as they stared at the shining monster floating in front of them.

  “Please reduce magnification to minus two, Lola.”

  “We are already two steps below that, Captain.”

  “Thank you. Any hails?”

  “No Captain. The station has remained silent. I have detected no significant sources of power aboard the station, and my scanners have picked up no lifeforms.”

  “And THAT is supposed to make me feel good?”

  “Holy gods!” one of the crew murmured. He agreed completely. Roughly potato shaped, the station made the eight hundred meter warship look a simple lifeboat. Thal’ark Station had probably begun its life as a small moon or large asteroid, no more than eighty kilometers long. Now it was something else entirely.

  “Do a complete pass around the station, Lola, keeping an eye out for anything—unusual; then take us out to ten thousand kilometers.” One of the crew let out a nervous giggle.

  “Yes Captain. Circling the station at five hundred kilometers.” The reconstructed moon swept under them. “Captain!”

  “Yes, I see it Lola.” Zed frowned in concentration at the forty meter crater blasted in the rocky hull of the station. “From the angle of the debris field, I’d say that blast came from inside.”

  “I agree Captain. It looks as though another blast crater is coming into view now.” This crater was, surprisingly, even larger than the first.

  As the warship drifted over Thal’ark Station they counted another four massive craters before they withdrew to ten thousand kilometers. The crew adjourned to a small meeting room just off the bridge.

  “That station was purposely destroyed. If it was sabotage I would expect one or maybe two blast points, but not six blasts scattered around the globe. We need to know what hap
pened here. Lola, do you have any ideas?”

  “Not many, Zed. We need power to access the central computer, and on the whole station, the only sign of power is…”

  “Let me guess.” Zed finished glumly. “In main engineering.”

  “Yes Captain.” The crew, Zed was pleased to see, caught on quite quickly.

  “You are not going down there and place yourself in danger, Captain.” Surprisingly, this came from Mike Flaherty. Kat used a simpler and more effective method that almost broke his resolve. She started crying.

  “I won’t be going alone this time.” Zed commented hastily. “Dimitri will be coming with me, so we can just jump in a small cutter and…”

  “No!!” Lola’s comment was loud enough to make him wince. “You will take a tender, because I can pilot the tender and return it safely much better than either of you. Especially in that wreck down there.” She said with some contempt. “The tender is also heavily armored. You’ll be safer.”

  Outnumbered, he gave up. “All right. Dimitri and I will take the tender, go over and retrieve the data, if we can.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kat turn and leave the meeting room. When he went to follow it was Helen that touched his arm.

  “I’ll take care of this, Zed. Finish the meeting and I’ll meet you in the hanger.”

  “But…”

  She gave him a smile. “Trust me.”

  Zed had been waiting impatiently for thirty minutes, pacing to and fro in front of the tender’s lowered ramp when Doctor Sutherland finally sauntered up, a small smile playing on her face.

  “Well?” Zed was almost jumping up and down. “What did she say?”

  The doctor’s smile was diabolical. “Girl talk, but she did mention something strange about a bathing suit.”

  “Rose of the Dawn, this is the tender. We’re away.” The saucer dropped smoothly out of the hangar, and angled steeply toward the looming Thal’ark Station. Zed felt distinctly uncomfortable letting Lola do all the steering, but he had absolutely no experience piloting this sort of space vessel. Learning about it in a technical manual was one thing, flying it was something else entirely.

  “Copy tender.” It was Kat’s voice coming from their speaker now. “Safe journey.”

  “Thank you.” His voice seemed inexplicably hoarse, for some reason. He and Dimitri watched the station grow in silence.

  “I’ve detected an open landing bay. We’ll put in there.” Lola’s voice was calm and reassuring.

  It felt to Zed the same way it had felt that very first day in the hanger of the Rose of the Dawn. This space was also huge and black and empty. It felt familiar. A faint vibration touched their feet as the cutter gently settled on the deck. Thal’ark Station was such a massive structure that it naturally generated its own microgravity.

  “Now what, Lola?” Zed muttered, unstrapping himself from the pilot’s seat. “I didn’t happen to cart along my stinky old EVA suit.”

  “You won’t have to wear THAT again.” Her voice dripped with contempt. “We have something a little better. In the back of the cutter you will find a small drawer labeled EVA. Open it and take out two of the small belt packs and each of you clip one to your belt. Dimitri, please remove your pistol and belt for a moment.” They both complied to the strange orders, frowning with incomprehension. “Very good. Hold your arms out from your sides slightly… now shut your eyes.” There was a brief hiss, and when Zed opened his eyes he blinked in surprise. A crystal clear shield appeared to be attached to his face. Dimitri’s eyes were wide as he touched the face shield, and his voice held a note of fear.

  “Zed, what bloody hell is this??”

  “That is your EVA suit, Security Officer Galygin.” Lola replied briskly. “The suit itself was sprayed on your body, and the small pack on your belt takes care of oxygen generation, communication, lighting and data relay. Cameras are built in to your face shield so that others can see what you see.” She continued, sounding like a schoolteacher now. “Of course, this suit is good for only a day. Suits for extended wear have additional… plumbing. You may wear your pistol and belt over the suit, if it makes you feel better.”

  Dimitri picked up his pistol and belt, snapping it about his thick waist. “Captain. I tink your computer laughing at me she is.”

  “Would I do that, Security Officer?” Lola asked in a winsome little voice.

  Zed sighed as he made his way toward the small airlock. “Lola, could we PLEASE dispense with the rank when you talk with us? Our names should be sufficient to get the point across.”

  “As you wish, Zed.”

  Engineering, when they finally found it, was set up almost exactly the same as the engineering section on their own ship, except much much bigger. Zed couldn’t help but compare it to the size of an old football field. A small bank of amber lights glowed along a far wall, and in the very center of the room sat a squat black box, the size of a large suitcase, heavy metal handles on each end. It looked totally out of place. “OK Lola.” Zed asked, pointing at the box. “What’s that?”

  “That is the scuttling charge, Zed.” The calm voice replied. “This one is slightly larger than normal, about five of your kilotons I’d estimate. The blast craters we saw on the surface were done with smaller charges, two kiloton devices, I’d say. I don’t understand why this one wasn’t detonated.”

  The ex-flight engineer looked around the room. “I know. You have a dedicated man work in a place like this for years, taking pride in his job and then suddenly you ask him to blow it all up. He couldn’t do it. It would be like killing his family.” Lola was silent as Zed crossed the big room, Dimitri at his side his hand firmly on the butt of his gun. “Well, well, well.” Zed was smiling as he studied the amber lights. “It looks as though our mysterious engineer just turned the reactor to standby, and the power off to the repair robots before he left. A very neat and thorough person, I’d say.” With that he pushed four buttons below the four amber lights. Across the room four more lights lit amber, and then almost immediately, flickered to green. A small hatch appeared in a wall and four small globular repair robots popped out. “Can you talk with those things, Lola?”

  “Of course I can, but why did you reactivate them? The station was scuttled for a reason, you know.”

  “I know. See if you can find the primary computer, and ask it what happened.”

  There was silence for several minutes, as the small repair bots went about their business of checking engineering and the main reactor. The lights in engineering suddenly flickered on.

  “That’s better.” Dimitri breathed.

  “The primary computer system was destroyed when the scuttling charge vaporized the control room of the station, but the backup computer was located here in engineering. With the reactivation of the reactor, this station is currently six percent operational. It is requesting orders. What should I tell it, captain?”

  Zed winked at Dimitri. “Have it download current history to you, along with the station log and all pertinent information regarding the scuttling of the station. Then, instruct the station to begin repairs. From now on this station will be locked under my personal key, along with any auxiliary craft that it might construct.” He frowned as a sudden thought hit him. “What sort of auxiliary craft does this station possess?”

  “Remember the frigate I mentioned that we were assigned?”

  “I remember, Lola.”

  “This station is assigned three such frigates, one fast combat support ship and three tugs along with the usual plethora of smaller craft, fighters, patrol craft, et cetera, however, the only craft that appears within scanner range is a General Blentau class tanker.”

  Zed sat down on a dust covered chair, glancing at a stunned Dimitri. “We came to the station for fuel, Lola. Did any survive the scuttling?”

  “It is difficult to tell but… yes! Three out of seven tanks survived. More than enough to refuel us.”

  “And armaments?”

  “Two of the four magazines are
located adjacent to engineering. We should have sufficient armament to resupply the Rose of the Dawn.”

  “And that tanker. Did the tanker have any fuel aboard?”

  “Yes Admiral. The tanker is full.”

  “Very good, Lola. Refuel from the tanker first and then… what did you call me?”

  “I called you Admiral, Zed. You are the commander of a major capitol ship, THE major refueling and refitting center for the quadrant and commander of the largest class tanker ever built. When the construction of all auxiliary craft has been completed and this station is fully operational, you will control more firepower and gross tonnage than half the Imperial Fleet at its prime.”

  Dimitri was laughing and Zed gave him a sour look. He laughed all the harder. “Don’t blame me, Admiral. Bringing this on yourself you did this time.”

  Zed struggled to his feet with legs that suddenly seemed made out of rubber. “It’s a good thing, then, that I don’t have delusions of grandeur. I might start looking for a battleship next.”

  “Excuse me, Zed, but I believe that you are operating under an incorrect assumption. The Rose of the Dawn was the largest ship of the biggest class in the Imperial Space Navy. It was formerly called a Dreadnought, and then that was changed to Planet Destroyer. In the end it was simply shortened to Destroyer, for political reasons. Frigates, at two hundred and forty three meters are the second biggest, with the second heaviest firepower. I think that…” The computer voice cut off in mid-sentence.

  “Lola, is something wrong?” The silence stretched on. “Rose of the Dawn this is EVA. Do you copy? Is everything all right?”

  “We read you, EVA.” He sighed when he heard Alina’s calm voice. “Everything is fine here, and all screens are clear. Lola just cut out on us too. We thought that it might be something on your…”

  “I’m all right.” The voice of Lola sounded shaken, and more than a little afraid. “I received some disturbing news in the data downloaded from the station computer. I think it would be better if we went back to the ship and discussed it there.”

  “As you wish.” Zed turned to the door. “Could we please dump that thing into space?” He jerked a thumb at the frightening scuttling charge.