by John Walker
“What in the fires was that?” Niva asked. “What did you do, Griel?”
“Pressurized the tunnel to give you a boost and get you aboard faster,” Griel replied. “Then popped the seal to get rid of our unwanted guests. Seemed to work pretty well, too. Get up to the bridge. I need you to interpret the data you took while I plot our course out of here. We’ve gotta make our rendezvous.”
Niva exchanged a look with the crewmen. They headed off without a word, one shaking his head. “I’m fine, by the way,” she spoke into the comm, “in case you were concerned about my well being after all that mess.”
“I assumed based on the question you asked me of how I did what I did. I know, I know, amazing. You can praise me later.”
Oh, I’ll do something to you later. Niva clenched her fists as she headed toward the bridge. “Are they scrambling any ships? Do we have to worry about pursuit? What’s going on, Griel? How bad is our situation?”
“How many times have I told you to relax? We’re already hopping into warp. I told you they couldn’t detect us with those buzzers.”
Research and development came up with a way to fool Kahl sensors. Griel volunteered to test them out on their mission to gather data. If it worked out, guerrilla operations would benefit in a major way. She saw it work on approach but she hadn’t been convinced it would continue functioning after a set period of time.
A starship gave off too much radiation, too much of a signature to be completely hidden. At least, that had been her opinion. Apparently, the scientists proved her wrong in a major way. Lucky I didn’t give them a hard time about it. I’d be making my apologies. Between her and Griel, they had equal measures of faith and skepticism.
As she stepped onto the bridge, Griel turned to her with a smile. “Welcome back! You look a little tired but otherwise good.”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Niva rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to Molush. “Did you really let him do all that foolishness? The hacking of the doors and everything?”
“I… I didn’t have a choice.” Molush belonged to the Vorka race, one of the few sentients that looked off from humanoid. His eyes dilated into thin slits or massive pupils when scared or in extreme darkness. He spoke in a deep baritone though often stammered when confronted. He might’ve been the tallest being on the ship, towering a foot over her. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks.” Niva sat beside him. “Have you started looking through the data? What do we have?”
“This was a standard gather operation,” Molush said. “We were to gain access to the mission rosters for the Kahls over the next twelve cycles. You succeeded. Most of them are standard patrols. Attack patterns. Even some invasion plans. I’m forwarding those back to command to take appropriate action. However… one in particular…”
“Yes?” Niva prompted.
“It’s under their highest security clearance. Beyond top secret.”
Griel turned to them. “I hope that doesn’t mean you’re making an excuse as to why you can’t get into it.”
Molush sighed. “I do not make excuses, sir.”
“Just checking.” Griel went back to whatever he was doing.
“Ignore him,” Niva said. “What do we have to do to see it?”
“I’m decrypting it now, but it seems that General Renz has been given a top priority assignment. Something big.”
General Renz Divol, son of Lord Marshal Severan Divol. The Prytins considered him a priority target since the beginning of the conflict. He’d made a name for himself as a butcher… a serious murderer. Whenever he went out, he tended to bring about death and destruction, he invaded worlds, killed innocents.
What could he possibly want?
“Any idea what it is yet?” Niva asked.
“No. However, there is one thing.” Molush smiled, his slitted eyes looking sinister. “He has gone out on his own. Just the flagship. No fleet. No entourage. No guards. Just him.”
“That’s… got my attention,” Griel said. “I need to know exactly where he’s going ASAP. We take that bastard down, that’s a huge win for us. Kahl morale will take a massive hit and Severan can mourn his criminal offspring while we push the fight to them. I love this plan. Hurry it up, Molush.”
“Oh yes,” Molush sighed, “breaking into the highest level of security the Kahl have is something one can simply hurry. Thank you for that encouragement, sir. I appreciate it.”
“You know, everyone on this ship has taken quite the attitude lately.” Griel pointed at each of them, including the pilot Authen Dal Undel. He ignored the situation as the commander continued. “I’d like to point out that it’s probably inappropriate given that we’re technically… sort of… a military vessel.”
“Are you putting yourself in that group?” Niva asked. “If so, I might take this commentary with some level of seriousness.”
“Um… yes?” Griel shrugged. “Anyway, we’ll rendezvous with the Triton, catch up with them then get after Renz. I can’t wait to take a stab at him.”
“Yes, well… I have a concern.” Niva turned to Molush. “Why would they document this?”
“You’ve seen Kahl briefings,” Molush replied. “They are detailed. They have a slavish attention to administrative detail. Their coordination is why many of our cultures cannot mount a proper defense against their assaults. But there’s a weakness to that.” He gestured to the screen. “Of course, in this case, they probably thought the encryption would hold.”
“I still don’t like it,” Niva continued. “This feels like some kind of trap.”
“No way.” Griel waved his hand at her. “They couldn’t possibly know someone would steal it. They aren’t that clever.”
“They know we take data all the time,” Niva pressed. “They know it’s practically ritual. My point is that even if we discover a destination, we must be cautious. It may not be as simple as you imagine. Or even possible to take him down alone. You know, this might be an excellent opportunity to call for backup.”
“You know our mission.” Griel lost all levity. His expression hardened. “We’re out disrupting enemy activity. That’s what we’ve got going on. Maybe the humans can join us in our little hunt. They can make a major contribution to the war effort their first time out. There. We have support. Does that make you feel a little better?”
Niva didn’t know the history between the Lord Marshal’s son and Griel. Some of the others on the ship said they had some kind of personal conflict back in the earliest days of Prytin-Kahl interactions. She never had drawn the full story about it. He never seemed comfortable talking about it.
But it’s putting us at risk, Niva thought. He is right though. If Renz is on his own, we may never get this opportunity again. And what is our purpose if we’re not to take out the highest ranking enemy officers at every chance we get? This man would do the same to us, if not worse.
Intelligence frowned on missions taking a personal spin. Griel scoffed at their rules. Pretty much everything they did seemed personal to him. He was invested, heart and soul, into the cause. That made him both a valuable asset and a scary one in equal measures. He could easily get them into real trouble if he solely relied on emotions.
As well as Niva felt like she knew him, she barely understood how his mind worked. So often it seemed like he was flying by the seat of his pants only to turn out a stunning victory, the kind that must’ve been planned. No one could possibly be lucky so often. He may well have simply been as good as he said.
If only his records weren’t sealed.
Niva’s intelligence clearance didn’t grant her access to his files. She was convinced there’d be a wealth of information, a whole evaluation that explained him in great detail. She wondered if finding all that out would make it easier to work with him… or if it might shatter the illusion of competence.
The humans had expressed interest in making a big splash. Their high command wanted quick results for currency when they informed their people about the exist
ence of aliens. Prytin involvement had been kept secret for fear it would disrupt their culture… their entire civilization.
Niva knew Griel’s intention was to convince the humans to send the Triton on missions with them from the start. His jump to drafting them for Renz fell in line with that thinking. She wondered what her people back in intelligence would have to say. They tended to be far more conservative with resources than the military guys.
Griel hardly qualifies as military now. He’d been on his own with the Brekka for a long time. Putting him under some staunch officer would be disastrous. No, he had to make the missions… do what he felt was right with only a helpful nudge here and there to get him going. I need to know what got him to this point.
He’ll tell me eventually, Niva thought. If we survive long enough for him to come out of his shell, he’ll tell me. That was the trick. So far, so good.
Chapter 8
Kyle stood in their camp as Lysa launched the ship. The resulting wind whipped up the area but it was far enough away to be little more than a menace. He pulled on a pair of goggles to protect his eyes from the brightness of the lasers. When she opened fire on those rocks, it would be quite the sight. He didn’t want to miss it.
I hope she’s right about the power of that shield. Kyle didn’t have her technical expertise. That was just one of the ways they complemented one another. His understanding of survival techniques in various climates helped them more than once. She relied on the basic education from the military. His father had taught him before he’d joined the military.
The ship circled around, dipping low into the quarry. Kyle gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. It looked too tight for his taste. She navigated their vessel with incredible skill with no more than twenty feet of clearance on either side. Once in position, she nudged forward a dozen feet.
“Can you hear me?” Lysa asked.
“Loud and clear. We’ve got a great connection. By the way, that was incredible. Stressful… but incredible.”
“It’s not as bad as you think,” Lysa replied. “Well… never mind. It was pretty bad. I’m glad you didn’t have to sit up here. You’d be claustrophobic. I’m initiating the first blast in thirty seconds. Power output is only ten percent. This will give us a baseline for what the debris will tolerate. I can measure the shields this way too and…”
“Hey,” Kyle interrupted, “I trust you. Just go for it. I want you out of there as soon as possible.”
“Roger that. I hope you have your goggles on. Here we go.”
The beam weapons on the nose of the ship discharged, twin lasers that cut into the rocks. They were on a swivel, giving them some degree of motion. As she made a quick sweep from bottom to top, the stone superheated… turned red… but didn’t break. Ten percent wasn’t quite enough.
“I’m increasing power to twenty-five percent. The shield that’s protecting the chamber was not impacted at all. Here goes.”
The next attack shattered many of the smaller rocks. Only the largest didn’t break apart completely. They still split, sending smaller boulders and pebbles scattering to the ground below. She maintained the attack for a solid minute, sweeping the weapons up and down, side to side, clearing away the entire area.
Kyle swayed as the ground shook. “Whoa!” he called out. “Um… I think you’re going a little far.” The lasers stopped. “I just felt a quake up here.”
“That’s odd,” Lysa replied. “Nothing came up on the scanner. From up here, your area still looks safe. No pebbles falling. I wonder… hold on. I’m conducting a serious sensor sweep. Something could’ve happened in the chamber.” She paused. “Oh Kyle… can you see this from your perspective?”
Kyle only saw the rock wall beneath all the debris she cleared. Anything worth seeing must’ve been obscured by his vantage point. “I can’t see anything interesting. What’s going on?”
“We can probably access the site.” Lysa pulled the ship back, landing in the quarry. “You need to get down here. Fast as you can.”
“Damn it.” Kyle grabbed his rifle, slinging it over his shoulder. He paused at the path, turning to snatch his survival pack as well. It was heavy as hell but he felt like they might not want to come back up when they were done. We can stay in the ship after our initial exploration anyway. “We should’ve packed up the camp.”
“What’s it matter?” Lysa asked. “We’re the only people out here. It’s not like we’re running the risk of anyone stumbling on this place and giving us a hard time about littering. Besides, we’re not going anywhere for at least a week. Probably more. Whatever we find in there will need to be categorized… isolated… tested for contaminants. You know the drill.”
Yeah, I do. Kyle started down the path, his heart racing. He had to take several deep breaths to calm down. This may well have been a dream come true but it also represented a descent into the unknown. No other human ever laid eyes on what they were about to see. This is a privilege… and a responsibility.
“You worried?” Kyle asked. “Scared even?”
“Excited,” Lysa said. “Maybe a little afraid.”
“I can’t figure out why I am specifically. I… guess it could be…”
“That it’ll be anticlimactic?” Lysa offered. “Cause I’m afraid we’re going to find a bunch of broken pottery and some old cave drawings. Not that such a find wouldn’t be amazing but…”
“You want more.”
“Yeah, after all we’ve done, I guess I’ve got this perspective that we’d find some underground city. With wild technology well beyond us.” Lysa chuckled. “Like the shield. You know, the presence of that thing is what has me most curious. And it also feels like we’re about to stumble on a Holy Grail of archaeology.”
“That would be nice.” Kyle picked up the pace, running his hand along the wall to his left to maintain his balance. “This is taking forever.”
“You could’ve come with me,” Lysa pointed out. “But you were nervous.”
“Yeah, well. Whatever.”
The sun had started its descent some time ago. By the time they got to the entrance, they’d be near dusk. He wanted to at least try to breach the chamber before they had to pull out the big lights. With the ship in position, that meant they had the means to work well into the night.
I’m not sure why I’m worried about that. Some primitive superstition gnawed at him, a sense that whatever hid within those shielded walls was not something to disturb in the dark. Absolutely ridiculous. He chided himself, putting his annoyance into the march. My boyhood obsession is coloring reality.
When he finally reached the bottom, sweat covered his face, making his shirt and pants cling uncomfortably. Lysa leaned against the landing gear in the shade, sipping water from a canteen. She offered it to him without a word. He took a couple mouthfuls before handing it back.
“Glad you didn’t go on without me.” Kyle turned his attention to the chamber, eyes wide. Beyond the warbling shield, a fully formed and obviously sentient created chamber stretched into darkness. Pillars just inside held the roof up and the wall behind them seemed to have etchings, some kind of hieroglyphics or decorative designs. “Oh my God…”
“Yep.” Lysa nodded. “I told you it was something.”
“We didn’t make that. Humans.”
“Pretty sure you’re right.” Lysa shoved away from the landing gear. She tapped her computer. “Let’s see about that shield, huh? I want to take a look in natural lighting. Get some images and video.” She turned to him as they walked. “You realize that even if we can’t find a way in, we’ve got the find of this generation, right? Bigger than… anything.”
“Only because many of the colonized planets aren’t accepting archaeology applications,” Kyle pointed out. “We might’ve found something a lot closer to home by now if they were.”
“Plenty of people get in there without asking.” Lysa shrugged. “And I know what you’re doing there.”
“What?”
“Trying
to minimize your excitement. You’ve done it before.”
“I’m scared.” Kyle chewed his lip before continuing. “Sometimes answering your own question ends the journey.”
“You mean that this might put an end to hopping around the galaxy looking.”
“I love traveling to new places,” Kyle said, “seeing these crazy planets and their odd biomes. Rooting around for tombs. Doing odd jobs.” He nudged her. “Hanging out with you. This life is all I’ve wanted since I was twelve. The dream lit the flame but I’m coming to realize something about this… it wasn’t necessarily about the answer to the question.”
“One find,” Lysa said, “isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. There will be breadcrumbs. Maybe directions to a settlement on this planet. Something else to dig for. A culture to categorize and understand. We can learn so much more from what we find here… this is years of work before us.”
“Oh, I know.” Kyle smiled. “I do.” And I need to know. I just want another question right away. To keep moving, remaining in motion. That’s how I’ll be happy. Stellar archaeology was considered by many to be junk science. Few thought anyone would find anything. Actual scientists held a different belief.
Many knew there had to be life beyond humanity amongst the stars. And those cultures, those beings had to leave clues behind. Something that proved they existed. Funding for expeditions required a lot of faith on the part of the contributor. Which is why Lysa and Kyle did odd jobs.
This find, this single discovery would change the entire field. Scientists around the colonies would spring up, hunting for relics. It would become saturated beyond belief. With men and women competing for every little thing. Even the world Kyle and Lysa found themselves on would be an overpopulated madhouse a week after they announced their find.
I wouldn’t be surprised if someone erected a warp gate. Some corporate sponsor may want faster arrival times, pushing their people to get there as quickly as possible to exploit the resources, the information available. And if that happens, we’ll likely be nudged out. Forced to move on.