I looked at Jack. "Sounds like the logical thing to do."
Jack lowered his hand. "I have no problem with that. I just thought it might be better to approach with some caution. This is our first opportunity to rescue Garrett, and for Joni's and Garrett's sake, we need it to come off smoothly."
Joni offered a sincere expression. "I appreciate your concern. Send me the data and I'll drift through that ship, repeatedly if I have to. Nobody wants Garrett back safely more than me."
Jack nodded. "Coordinates coming your way."
The Thorn powered up her portal generator and shortly afterward was riding alongside the suspect Baldi ship. A slight maneuver to the left started the small fighter craft drifting.
We watched the sensor feeds of the Thorn as it slowly moved into the space occupied by the captor's vessel.
Joni said, "I'm not getting much of anything. Everything is muted and mostly dark. Something is interfering with our sensors."
Jack replied, "Hang on. I'm looking over the data. Maybe we can find a way to tune the sensors. There has to be something we are missing. They've done a good job at blending the exterior of those ships with their surroundings as far as visual, infrared, and ultraviolet signals go. I could have easily missed them on the scan search had it not been for their broadcasts. If they went silent and changed direction, we might even lose them."
Joni came back. "I can't do anything with this. Point me at another ship. I'll drift inside myself."
I asked, "What do you plan on doing once you're inside?"
Joni said, "I'll blink in and we'll see what happens."
I shook my head. "That's not a good idea. If you can't see where you are, what happens if you blink in inside a generator or inside some mechanical turbine or other machine? Without the protection of that active skin, you could be vaporized or possibly shredded. These ships are on a long journey. We have time to figure something out."
Jack nodded. "I agree. There's no immediate need to rush in there. Let's be patient and work this through. Give me a chance to analyze that which we do know."
Joni huffed. "Fine. But I'm not waiting long. If we can't come up with something soon, I'll go in blind."
I opened a comm to Quan and Frig. "We have a priority task that we need help with. We believe we've located the ship holding Garrett, but our sensors can't penetrate the hull, and they don't function once we're inside either. We need help. I'm passing our current data your way. Please make this a priority."
Frig replied, "We will do our best. The restoration of the archives can continue as a background task with little to no impact on our schedule. Give us a few minutes to examine the data and we will return with any questions."
Joni said, "We'll, I'm just sitting out here. Let me know if there's anything I can do."
Frig was silent for a moment. "Miss Rourke. The data shows a single pass through the center of the ship. Could you repeat that effort, building a datamap of the entire interior for us? Perhaps a pattern or an anomaly will present itself. Something that we can exploit."
Joni replied, "Let me program that in. I should have that data for you in a few minutes."
A drift pattern was programmed into the nav computer of the Thorn and the button to begin pressed. Joni settled back in her chair with a frown. The next pass through yielded a similar result.
Chapter 13
* * *
As the drifts moved to the forward part of the ship, Joni was startled into action by the bright lights and activity of an occupied deck. The Thorn was brought to a stop.
Joni said. "We have people moving everywhere!"
Frig replied, "Please be patient. I would ask that you continue with your pattern until our image of the ship's interior is complete."
Joni shook her head. "Sensors are working fine in here. That's probably 10 percent of the ship we can see. I have a bridge, living quarters, dining hall, even restrooms. And... I have a Human signature in one of the cells! I'm going in! That must be Garrett!"
I yelled, "Don't make a move until we have an extraction plan!"
The video feed from Joni's camera came to rest displaying the image of the crew quarters. Several Baldi moved about as others could be seen sleeping in their bunks. The data on the camera feed showed the skin of the Thorn had gone inactive. Two decks of crew quarters had vanished from existence as the fighter ship had appeared. The conscious Baldi were standing, staring at the black ship that now partially occupied their deck.
Joni powered out and through the next wall toward the holding cell. Once through a second wall, her stern expression turned into a broad smile. Garrett lay on a bunk... sleeping. Joni blinked in, dropping the half meter to the floor with a thud as her boots impacted the deck.
Garrett opened his eyes. "Joni?"
Her helmet visor flipped up as she leaned in for a kiss.
I said, "We don't have much time. Cameras on the Thorn are showing aggression. If they damage that hull, your active skin is gone."
Joni stepped back and stretched out her hand. "Come on! We're getting you out of here!"
Garrett held up his hands excitedly. "Hold on! There's a few things I have to tell you first!"
The door behind Joni opened. She spun quickly firing a tungsten pellet into the Baldi standing in the doorway, his chest exploded. Joni pulled hard, jerking Garrett to his feet.
Garrett yelled, "What are you doing!"
Joni stepped into the hallway, firing two additional pellets into the approaching Baldi crewmen. Their fate was sealed. Joni blinked out as laser pulses began to impact the wall behind her. Another round ended a crewman's assault.
"Follow me!" Joni yelled as she made her way back toward the Thorn.
A protesting Garrett followed.
The crew quarters were entered and five low-power tungsten rounds put an end to the Baldi who occupied the room.
A hatchway on the Thorn opened; Joni stormed inside, yelling back at her spouse. "Come on! We have to go!"
Garrett stepped up and into the small cabin. The hatch closed and sealed behind him.
The active skin was flipped on but failed to enable.
Joni yelled. "Doing this the hard way!"
The cannons of the Thorn spat out powerful ion bolts. The Baldi ship disintegrated around them, quickly breaking in half. The once powerful warship exploded, stretching out in a long line of debris. The portal generator sprang to life and seconds later the Thorn was swept to a safe location. A second portal jump had the small black escape ship parked in the docking bay of the Ares.
Joni flipped up her visor and sang out in victory as she pumped her fists in the air. "Yes!"
Garrett sat behind her shaking his head. "What have you done?"
Joni turned. "What I've done is rescued you! What is going on? What's with the attitude?"
Garrett rubbed his fingers through his hair. "The Baldi rescued me. I was safe. They would have been our allies against the Tamarin!"
Joni pursed her lips. "Sorry. But that war is over. We aren't at war with the Tamarin. Or anyone else for that matter. And you are now safe, and back here with me. I thought you might be excited by that."
Garrett stepped forward, wrapping his arm around her shoulders from behind and moving his head up close to hers. "I am. There was nothing I wanted more than to be back here with you. I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. It's just, so much has happened since I was taken. Is Knog here? Jack? Go?"
Joni sighed and nodded as the hatch flipped open. "On the bridge. Come on."
Garrett walked onto the bridge. Hugs and greetings were passed around.
Garrett planted himself in a chair. "I have news about the AIs."
Go said, "We're hoping they are no longer a concern."
Garrett waved his hand. "The Baldi, once I was aboard their ship, were speaking to me freely. I was an enemy of the Tamarin and the AIs, so I quickly gained favor. They have been at war with the AIs for centuries, before they showed up at the Grotus world. The Baldi have been
fighting them off repeatedly."
I said, "Explain."
Garrett settled himself. "The AIs showed up in Baldi space, making themselves out to be lost explorers. After years of cooperation and trade on a remote world, the AIs began to press for closer ties. The Baldi were suspicious and held them at arm’s length, never allowing them into their inner territories. They soon discovered that the AIs were using the trade of goods to multiply their numbers and to build armed ships. A war ensued and the AIs were defeated before they could grow their numbers strong enough to attack.
"The Baldi claimed to have terminated all but one of the AI ships. The surviving ship sped away toward what we now know as the Grotus world of Mayanis. The Baldi sent out a force to find them, recognizing their potential for returning in numbers, but that force was never heard from again.
"The Baldi have had fleets, like the one you just attacked, out patrolling the space surrounding their systems for the last century. When they encountered the Tamarin ships with the AIs on them, they attacked. Of the twelve Tamarin who escaped the assault, four would not talk and they were left behind for the outpost to deal with. The other eight, along with me, were on that Baldi ship."
Garrett shook his head. "We just killed one of their most decorated admirals with my rescue. They would have peacefully turned me over had you made contact first."
Jack shrugged, "We had no way of knowing. Anyway, the war is over. The Tamarin have capitulated and we are in the process of restoring the AMP."
I opened a comm to Frig. "Priorities have changed; you can drop that task back to a background task. The archives are again number one."
Go placed his hand on Garrett's should. "It's good to have you back, brother."
Garrett looked up over his shoulder and nodded. "It's good to be back. I just hope we didn't just kill off a relationship that could have helped us defeat the AIs."
I said, "If the AIs were their enemy, they are still their enemy. The rescue may have been unfortunate and unnecessary, but we had no way of knowing the situation. Even if Joni hadn't jumped ahead, the outcome might have ended the same, or worse. We can approach the Baldi again if needed."
Garrett asked, "Who is Frig?"
Go jumped in. "Remember the two stasis pods on the sentinel ships? They had people in them from the beginnings of the AMP. We were able to recover them. One is a Gambit, Bartel Helgris; he likes to be called Frig. He's with Quan trying to restore his archives. The other is a Human, Colonel Tom Harper. He's back on Alpha Prime with Harden Salton trying to restore the government for the AMP."
Garrett sat up. "What? Harden's back in power?"
Joni sighed. "Yes and no. The colonel claims he's just going to use his face and voice to establish some stability. I think it's a risky move."
Garrett glanced over his shoulder at Go. "Still don't have an arm?"
Go shook his head. "Nope. I hope that can be remedied in a few days. Frig has the bots working on it."
Garrett looked over at me. "What about the Tamarin and the Grunta? Anything new with your family?"
Go stepped in. "Two members of the Council tried to assassinate Getta. She took a hit to the shoulder, but she's recovering. The Talisan are on Dallex and are doing fine."
"The Grotus? Kergans?" Garrett asked.
I replied, "The Kergans were subservient to the Tamarin, as were the Grotus. Both of them will now answer to the Grunta, as do the Tamarin. There is talk that they will join the AMP when it's back to being functional. I don't believe the Council will allow that. If the Council has its way, the Grotus won't be with us much longer. As soon as my people are able, they will see to it that they are wiped out."
Garrett shook his head. "That just goes against everything we stand for."
I replied, "I would agree, but I know of no other resolution. The Grotus will not be managed or subjugated by the Grunta, and the Grunta do not trust them not to attack one day."
Garrett folded his arms. "Maybe we make an offer to move them all to another galaxy. We have the means to do so. And neither side would ever have to interact with each other again."
I nodded. "I'll take that option under consideration and relay it to Getta the next time we speak."
I pulled up a murky image of a Baldi ship. "What can you tell us about their technology?"
Garrett shrugged. "Now? Nothing. I had only just started talking with them. Whatever it is, it gave the Tamarin and their AIs fits. What about the AIs in all of this? Where are they? What are they doing?"
Jack answered. "The AIs were in the process of pulling out of the six galaxies. That has changed. The Colonel asked for some of the ships to remain. He plans on staffing them with Talisans. The remaining AIs are supposed to report to Jorus under the authority of the Grunta. They are to be used to rebuild all of those surrounding worlds, after which they are to be terminated. It's supposedly a five year plan."
Garrett frowned. "Anyone here think the AIs will all be terminated in five years?"
The room was silent.
"What about the portal ships?" Garrett asked.
I replied, "The gates are to be returned to the colonies they were taken from. All but one, that is. It will be installed on Jorus and linked to Alpha Prime. It will be the main artery between the AMP and the Yallux galaxy."
"How about you? How are you?" I asked.
Garrett half smiled. "I'm OK. After an initial intense interrogation, I told them everything by the way, after that, they pretty much ignored me. The Tamarin had interests in using me for leverage. Other than that I just sat in a cell."
I gestured toward the medical bay. "Joni, just for the sake of being careful, take Garrett down and have a full diagnostic run on him."
Garrett held up his hand. "I'm fine. I would like to eat something though. They were having trouble finding food for me to eat."
I insisted. "Take him to the med bay, the scan only takes ten minutes. Then get him something to eat."
Joni grabbed his hand. "Come on. No arguments."
The two left the bridge poking and prodding each other.
Go said, "It's good to finally have him back."
I nodded. "Indeed it is. With his rescue behind us, I believe now to be a good time to focus on getting control of those portal ships. Jack, take us back to Jorus. We can help with the transfer of the Grunta from Dallex. After that, we'll move the portal ships back to the colonies the gates were taken from. The sooner those ships are dismantled, the sooner the threat from the AIs can be put to rest."
Jack poked in the coordinates. The image on our nav screen quickly turned to that of the area surrounding Jorus.
I opened a comm to Getta. "We're in position at Jorus. Have the Tamarin send all of the portal ships here. We'll move our people here, followed by all of the AI ships. We should do a complete purge of all AIs from all systems. We need to reduce their numbers to the point where they can be counted and controlled for the rebuilding here and nothing else."
Getta replied, "That will have to wait."
I asked, "Why? What's going on?"
Getta shook her head. "I cannot say. It's Council business."
I took a deep breath. "OK, well, when the Council business is done with, we will be here to assist with the move."
Getta smiled. "Noted."
The comm closed.
Jack asked, "What pressing business could the Council have?"
I said, "Open a portal scan of Mayanis."
Minutes later we browsed through the data returned.
Jack rubbed his head. "If you were looking for an attack there, I don't see much happening."
"Hold on," I said. "Check the surface data. Do those look like big massive transports?"
Jack replied, "Not like any I've seen, but I don't know what else they would be. You think they're getting ready to go somewhere?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. It does look that way though. I'm not seeing armaments, those are just transports."
Jack zoomed in on an image of one
of the enormous ships. "They are loading them up. Are they running, or are they just moving somewhere else? I wonder if they have designs on Jorus."
An arm appeared on the deck of the bridge.
A comm came in from Frig. "The bots were able to finish the arm for Go. It has been de-tuned to have a 15 percent response rate until you gain proper control. Hold it up to your shoulder socket. It will self attach."
Go walked over to the arm. After lifting it for a quick inspection, the open end was held up to the shoulder socket. A magnetic pull sucked the arm to the socket and several clicks later it was fully attached.
Go experimented by slowly moving his fingers. "Finally!"
Frig said, "The response rate should increase by 5 percent per day. If you feel comfortable, we can increase that number to 10 percent. The purpose is to keep you from injuring yourself or others while learning to control its movements."
Go replied, "Thank you for this. And I'm well aware of the need for training my brain slowly. I smacked myself hard more than once on the first go-round."
I glanced over at Jack. "We have some time. I'm going down to the holding cell to talk to the Baldi. I don't like leaving a potential future enemy out there."
Jack nodded and laughed. "OK, I'll try to keep Go and his new arm in line up here."
After making my way to the holding room, I settled in with the intent of learning all I could about the Baldi. An uneasy Juuta sat on a bed on the other side of the room.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "Juuta, how long have you been in the Baldi military?"
Juuta replied, "Six cycles."
I pulled up a display over my arm pad. "That's twelve of our years. A cycle would be two of our years. What did you do before the military?"
Juuta looked down. "School. How did you know about my test failure?"
I gave a half laugh. "We were listening to your lunch conversation. Nothing more. Tell me about your war with the AIs."
Juuta grimaced. "I'm not permitted to discuss that. You are with the AIs."
I looked on as one of Juuta's eyes stayed fixed on my position as the other was in constant motion, darting back and forth as it scanned the room.
OMEGA Rescue Page 13