Far Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  The Eamedoran contingent was also on the “green” team and performed quite well, though their sensors were lacking. The Pardalis was on the “red” team during this time and it and the Mantis had several run-ins. In one case, Mantis was able to surprise the Pardalis by doing a sling-shot maneuver very close to one of Irapce’s moons and then jamming its sensors and communications. In another exchange, the Pardalis was part of a small group that managed to separate the green forces and inflict some serious simulated damage. Pombo was quite upset when Mantis and the green team outmaneuvered them and claimed that Ximon had not followed the rules of the scenario. In the discussions, it appeared that everyone knew that Pombo was just “blowing smoke,” but Ximon found that his involvement made the whole exercise less enjoyable.

  The next four days, Mantis was part of the attacking “red” team. Here, Mantis was able to demonstrate great value in scouting enemy forces at long range and then working to avoid detection as they approached. Other than the few small, fast Eamedoran fighters, they were the fleet’s main eyes and ears. Mantis again performed well, sometimes as the expense of the Ezox. In every discussion thereafter, Pombo complained vaguely about ‘inappropriate maneuvers.’

  In a few specific, pre-coordinated engagements, Shao deployed one or more of their decoys. Ximon found these pretty impressive and the Irapce were amazed. It was clear that they’d like to acquire some, so Ximon made sure they always recovered them promptly lest the Irapce get tempted to ‘accidently’ recover one as their own.

  Shao demonstrated them in two distinct ways, both of which were quite effective. In one technique, the decoy would be largely ‘dark’, not emitting anything. Then, if a tracking radar from a ship, satellite, or missile locked on to Mantis, Shao would activate it so it started emitting radio, radar, and IFF signals to mimic Mantis and it would veer off on a different course. Mantis spoofed several tracking sensors and a couple missiles with the technique.

  In another performance, both decoys would be deployed so they were already emitting signals to mimic Mantis but were running parallel to Mantis some distance away. With this technique, anytime someone wanted to target Mantis, they’d get three radar images and they’d have to pick one. In several attempts, they found that the sensor operators could usually pick out Mantis most of the time, but it took them long minutes to do so. Even if they did, Shao could then reset the decoys so they essentially ‘disappeared’ as radar images and then would reappear as in the first technique, sometimes pulling the tracking radar off course.

  The entire exercise was quite fun, and they established good working relationships with many of the participants. Ximon got along well with most of the Irapce forces, as well as the representatives from the Independent States and Eamedora and learned quite a bit about all of them. He also felt that Mantis demonstrated the technical and tactical level of the Republic, as well as its goodwill.

  Even Elsbeth said, “Well, it’s a lot more fun than actually getting shot at.”

  When the (simulated) shooting stopped, Kanebti hosted a one-day review conference and then offered two things to the participants. First, there would be a large party on the beach the next day. Second, they were hosting a few specific interchange meetings for interested participants. Ximon had planned to participate in both. However, in case he hadn’t, Douhat reminded him that they really needed to.

  The party was great, waxing and waning throughout the day. Everyone wore beach attire of various sorts and spent time in the clear, warm water. Ximon wore swim trunks and a covering shirt and hat. Elsbeth worked a swimsuit with a wrap. Shao wore a practical suit and hat and looked nice but tended to seek the shade. But both Peter and Raiza stole the show. Peter had the chiseled physique of a body-builder—heavily muscled chest, big arms, and a washboard stomach. Raiza had what Ximon considered to be a perfect female body and she wore a small bikini that she was almost busting out of. Since Raiza’s skin contained crystals that reacted to exposure to sun, Ximon almost felt he could see her skin tanning throughout the day. As always, he felt lucky to have such a beauty on his arm.

  Again, the food and drink were plentiful, and everyone was friendly and relaxed. They all had a great time. Shao wound up spending quite a bit of time off somewhere with one of Kanebti’s officers. Elsbeth was always involved in drinking or telling loud stories, with Peter in tow. Ximon and Raiza turned in first, exhausted but happy. Ximon didn’t hear the others return to the villa, but it must have been late when they did.

  The interchange meetings started the next day, but wisely and luckily not till noon. These meetings were small and focused on a particular technology or topic. In addition to the exercise participants, some other Irapce personnel joined them. Ximon attended ones on starship operations, navigation, and tactics. Elsbeth attended a couple different ones on Engineering and Peter accompanied her to these. Shao attended an in-depth one on sensor technology and operations. Raiza attended one on shipboard medicine. Ximon ensured they all stayed in touch and had Mantis’ telepresence bot accompanied Raiza as an extra set of eyes.

  Ximon, of course, knew that the Irapce encouraged such exchanges to gather information from their visitors, but he couldn’t object. Irapce forces had a job to do protecting their system and they clearly had limited resources to do so. Further, as Douhat informed Ximon, he had some hopes that Irapce might one day become a Republic ally or protectorate. A forward base in this region would be very helpful and he couldn’t imagine too many scout crews objecting to visiting it.

  Between these meetings, they all had an opportunity to shop in local markets and picked up a variety of trinkets and souvenirs. Raiza reminded Ximon to pick up a few things for his sisters, nephews, and nieces. She then proceeded to simply pick the items out herself, which saved Ximon the trouble and ensured the gifts would be well received.

  Finally, it was time for them to depart. They thanked Kanebti for the hospitality of Irapce and the opportunity to participate. Ximon presented him with a small, 3-D printed model of the Mantis with an accompanying plaque that each of the crew, including Mantis, had signed. Mantis had gotten quite good at producing these models and Ximon felt they made a good parting gift.

  In return, Kanebti presented Ximon with a large group photo of most of the exercise participants, a plaque thanking them for their participation, and the hat of an Irapce Lieutenant Colonel (his equivalent rank).

  Ximon thanked him profusely and left with some regret at parting with such a nice planet and its people, but he was sure the assignment had been a success.

  Leaving, they of course, had some new passengers. Ambassador Douhat and his two aides arrived with quite a bit of luggage the next morning. They all looked neatly put together but were wisely dressed casually for their space travels. Raiza had cleared the robots and medical equipment out of cabin six so each of them could have their own cabin.

  Ximon introduced the crew and told the guests where to stay on the ship. As usual, he emphasized that Raiza was his wife and that the guests shouldn’t roam the ship. Elsbeth had locked down some of the areas so that would limit them, but he didn’t want them trying.

  Finally, Ximon reminded Douhat that they would be stopping at Zased for a couple days before heading toward their destination. Douhat seemed to work at being agreeable and thought everything was wonderful, marvelous, perfect, or ‘most amenable.’ Ximon honestly wasn’t quite sure what to make of the guy.

  They said farewell to Irapce, headed for a jump point, and were off toward Alfozar.

  Chapter Four: Deeper Into the Vast

  During the jump, the crew mostly relaxed. Douhat and his team were pretty good company, often chatting at length at meals and sometimes joining when the crew played games. Douhat was envisioning his team being on Onzarhat for one to two years which his team seemed fine with. Sarah and Lain both had aspirations to office in the Republic Diplomatic Corps and this seemed like a good foundation assignment. Plus, they were young and up for the adventure.

  Sarah spe
nt a lot of time reading in the galley and Lain watched some videos there. Douhat generally hung out in his room when not at meals or playing games. However, Ximon noted that none of them seemed bored. He saw Lain go to Sarah’s rooms multiple times, often spending the night.

  After a quick refuel in Alfozar, they jumped to Irmarsa-1 and then to Zased. When they came out at Zased, Mantis and Shao did quick checks of the system. Ximon radioed the robot Alzroid and set course for Zased-Trey. Their destination, Zased Station, rested on the pole of the planet’s moon.

  “Zased Station, this is Mantis. Do you copy?”

  Alzroid came on almost immediately, “Captain Sabo. It is good to hear your voice and that Mantis has returned to the system. How have you, the ship, and the crew been since we last saw you?”

  Ximon replied, “It has been an eventful year. There were certainly times where I wished that you and your sensors were on board. However, ASOR-L has been a substantial help.”

  “That is good to hear. During development, I provided a great deal of input in an effort to make the ASORs as flexible as possible.”

  “Well, it paid off. We have your reinforcements, equipment, and supplies. Do you object if we dock?”

  “Certainly not, Captain. I hope that you can stay a while. Any assistance you can provide in the setup will be most helpful and I have some topics to discuss with you. I also look forward to some conversations with members of the crew.”

  “We will help all we can and I’m happy to discuss anything you wish. We’ll dock in about twenty minutes.”

  Ximon radioed the crew, “We’re docking at Zased Station in about twenty minutes. We’ll all help with the install as much as we can.”

  He then messaged Douhat and his team, “Ambassador, as we discussed, we are landing to assist at Zased station. The crew and I may be occupied for as much as a day or so. Please, be at your leisure. If you wish to stretch your legs, you may visit the station, but it is quite small and lacks what you might call ‘creature comforts’ as its staff is all robotic. Meals will still be served at the standard times.”

  Ximon landed and docked Mantis with her cargo bay to the stations cargo/loading bay and the station initiated a seal. The crew, including Mantis’ telebot, soon stood by to enter the station.

  As the doors opened, Alzroid, ASOR-G and ASOR-K were there to greet them. Alzroid was a tall, thin, humanoid robot with a very human shape and movements. However, zis skin was a greyish white covering the texture of unpolished ceramic and zis eyes were more like photoreceptors than imitation human eyes. In previous encounters, Alzroid had informed Ximon that ze and zis were probably the most appropriate pronouns to apply. Ximon tried, but it still felt strange. ASORs G and K, looked exactly like ASOR-L except for different colored patterns on one shoulder.

  All of them greeted the crew politely and expressed pleasure at meeting Shao. Alzroid and ASOR-L didn’t speak, but Ximon was quite certain they were exchanging detailed information via wireless data exchange.

  Ximon asked Alzroid, “How have you been?”

  “We have done well, Captain. We have collected voluminous data on every visible body in the system, have several probes in operation, and have ASOR-D operating on the surface of the planet Zased-Trey. The new equipment you bring will enhance our capabilities and improve our resiliency. We currently have a great deal of data being sent to Mantis for you to relay.”

  “I’m glad to hear you’ve been well. What do you want us to do?”

  Alzroid said, “Captain, if you don’t object, we’ll first unload all of the cargo into our bay and then organize it before beginning installation and expanded operations.”

  “As you wish. We’re happy to help but let us know if we’re in the way.”

  They all dug in to help and soon had all the cargo off the Mantis and into the bay. The longest delays were when Peter had to move a few of the retrieved sensors to allow access to ASOR-L’s last few boxes.

  As stuff was moved into the loading bay, one of the ASORs would inspect every piece and lay it out in a meticulous, precise manner. Apparently, diagnostics were also run on each component.

  The first things that were set up were additional power and diagnostics stations. Then multiple small, non-humanoid bots were removed from cases and activated. Once checked out, most of these headed down one hallway or another of their own accord.

  The ASORs raced about installing additional or replacement items in numerous equipment racks. Peter and Elsbeth helped where they could, but it was limited.

  After a couple hours, Alzroid asked Ximon, “Could we all gather around a table? I would like to explain the expanded operation to you and bring up a few issues.”

  “Of course, let’s gather in Mantis’ galley.”

  They sat around the table, robots included except for AMOR and ARMR who stood and the ASORs who kept working.

  Alzroid briefly explained some of the new or upgraded equipment they had received, primarily some new processors for their sensors. Ze then explained the general concept of the robotic mining and manufacturing effort.

  Alzroid brought AMOR up and explained how he would function and how a lot of smaller, specialized bots would enable the mining effort and the movement of the materials gathered. Ze then showed them ARMR and explained how ARMR and supporting bots would take the mined materials, break them apart or melt them, and then use these raw materials to forge or 3-D components they needed.

  Ximon said, “It’s all very impressive. It appears you’ll be quite self-reliant.”

  “Yes, in all but a few ways. Most especially, of course, we rely on you or other passing vessels to transmit the data we collect to those who need it. Changing this would greatly improve my assessment of our resiliency. Additionally, we lack transportation capability. That limits our abilities considerably.”

  “That suggests the topics that I must discuss with you. Captain, as we discussed when you were last here, ASOR-D was sent to the surface of the planet in a landing pod. That process went fairly well, but zis mobility is limited and there is no way to retrieve or repair zim. This limits our ability to survey the planet. Similarly, our only method for surveying the more distant planets is with robotic probes. These are extremely useful, but we have few of them and their ability to loiter in a given environment is limited. I have come to the conclusion that some areas would benefit from such a loiter capability. We have developed something that should provide that capability, but we cannot emplace it. I request your assistance on these issues.”

  Ximon said, “We will help if we can. What would you have us do?”

  “I would request the following: A) Land on the planet below accompanied by ASOR-L, complete some repairs and upgrades on ASOR-D, and then relocate ASOR-D to another portion of the planet that we will designate. B) Position several floating probes that we have developed into the atmosphere of the gas giant Zased-7.”

  Ximon broke in, “It’s interesting that you mention Zased-7. I was wanting to ask whether you had learned any more about the whale-like creatures we encountered in its atmosphere.”

  Alzroid said apologetically, “Alas, Ximon, that points out our limitations. We have seen vague shadows or magnetic anomalies showing them moving about on occasion but haven’t had the tools to discover more. That is one thing that I hope these probes will assist with if put into place.”

  “We can certainly help you with that. If you don’t need us here, we’ll take care of ASOR-D tomorrow morning, return here to bring ASOR-L back, and then place the probes on Zased-7 as we refuel to depart the system.”

  “That would be most excellent and most appreciated, Captain.”

  “I know you still have a lot of configuration to do,” Ximon said. “However, I would ask that you give Sensor Engineer Shao a detailed explanation of your sensor arrays and algorithms and that you give us, and give our current passengers a tour when we return from the planet tomorrow.”

  “Of course, Captain. We would be happy to.”

  A
lzroid then sent off AMOR and ARMR to complete setup in their areas and begin work. Both thanked Ximon for bringing them to their place of employment. AMOR took the partial mining robot that ASOR-L had recovered from the station at Darcy.

  Ximon said, “I see you got that partial bot that ASOR-L recovered. We hoped it would be of some use.”

  Alzroid said, “That remains to be seen, but I believe we shall. Over time we will be able to effect more repairs. Thank you for bringing this to us as well.”

  They worked on and off for several more hours before returning to Mantis for dinner. At dinner they briefly explained the station to Douhat, summarized the tasks they needed to perform, and told him that the station would give them a tour tomorrow afternoon. Douhat found that, like everything else, to be wonderful. His team seemed to find it actually interesting.

  After dinner, the crew all returned to the station for several hours. Most of them helped where they could and otherwise observed. Shao spent more focused time examining all of Alzroid’s sensor arrays and Alzroid began her briefing. Mantis’ telebot had multiple in-depth conversations with Alzroid throughout the evening and Alzroid joined the bot on the bridge when the rest of the crew retired.

  In the morning, Alzroid joined them for breakfast, making desultory eating motions. Ze explained that AMOR had begun initial mining operations, but it would likely be several days before there was significant production. ARMR had completed setup of zis manufacturing equipment but was conducting a variety of tests. Ze also explained that ze had worked with Peter to get the probes ready and loaded on Mantis.

  Ximon said, “Not surprisingly, you’ve been busy while we slept. If you can spare ASOR-L, we will head down to the planet in thirty minutes. If you don’t object, I’ll have Shao stay here to further discuss your sensors.”

  “Outstanding, Captain. ASOR-L will be in place in 10 minutes with the components he requires. Thank you.”