by Frank Carey
"Ma'am, I suggest we decant firing," she said. Firing as the ship exited other-space would form a wall of hypervelocity slugs directly in front of the ship. This could be disastrous if there were friendlies ahead.
"I concur. Jonas, prepare to fire on my mark. Tracy, activate warning beacons."
"Ready, ma’am," both officers said.
"Decant in three... Two... One... Mark!" Trell called out.
The screen shimmered as the view of other-space was replaced by one of thousands of objects coming right at them.
"Fire!" Sana yelled.
With a practiced calm that belied his inner panic, Sgt. Jonas' fingers flew across the control panel, unleashing rail guns, blasters, and lasers to lay down a phalanx of firepower aimed directly at the approaching horde. Thousands of objects flared and exploded as they encountered raw energy.
The Searcher passed through the cloud of bots like a plow through freshly fallen snow.
"Jonas, arm nukes and fire a full spread aft!"
"Aye, aye, ma’am!" the sergeant said. The ship thumped as four nuclear-tipped missiles left the aft launchers. "Detonation in three... Two... One... Mark!"
The remaining bots they had left in their wake instantly turned to plasma as the four missiles detonated.
"Ma'am, the bot cloud aft of us has been destroyed," Sgt. Mena reported. "Forward scans show a second cloud is in orbit. They're consuming all orbital assets."
"That explains the communications blackout. What about the planet?"
"Scanners are not picking up any bots on the surface."
"OK, we kill the cloud, we save the planet. Sgt. Jonas, weapons inventory?"
"Six conventional missiles, thirty percent ammo remaining, energy weapons are only forty percent recharged."
"Dammit, not enough," Sana said as she looked at Trell.
Shrugging, the draco captain said, "Do we really want to live forever, ma’am?"
"Arm self-destruct," Sana said as she set course for the bot cloud. “Sgt. Tracy, pop buoy number two."
"Aye, aye, ma’am."
"Ma'am," Trell said, "We're picking up a ship. Speed, zero point two-five light, heading directly toward the cloud. Designating sierra-one"
"Configuration?"
"Configuration is unknown. Drive signature is...hyperspace. I'm getting antimatter signatures from the drive core," Mena said as he put-up an image of the ship on the screen. It was jet black, shaped like a dart with a red glyph emblazoned on its vertical stabilizer.
"Ma'am, sierra-one is transmitting on audio and visual," Sgt. Tracy reported.
"On screen."
Sana gasped as the image of a jet-black elf with glowing green eyes appeared on the screen while a deep voice warned of an impending EMP pulse."
"Ma'am, he's firing six objects at the cloud. I'm reading massive energy buildups in each object," Mena reported.
"Damn! Trell, stand down on self-destruct. All stations, prepare for EMP."
In moments, the Searcher went dark as every system shut down.
"Passive monitoring activated," Mena reported. “We have detonation... Pulse has dropped to acceptable levels.
"Get me an image!" the captain ordered.
"Aye, skipper," Mena said as Trell brought systems online. The screen shimmered as the image of the planet reappeared.
The black ship was gone.
The cloud of bots was dissipating.
"Skipper," Lt. Jones reported, "I can detect no active bots within the system."
"Sgt. Tracy, can we get a signal out?"
"Aye, ma’am. We have Space Command on the line," the Alturan replied.
"Space Command, this is Maj. Eloen reporting. We have a situation at Markesh," she said before reporting what they saw.
"Sana, we've dispatched ships to Markesh. You are to proceed to Halo Station. We've picked up strange energy readings which correspond to an antimatter drive heading toward the station, and we are unable to warn them due to jamming. You are ordered to evacuate the station at all costs."
"Copy that, space command. Searcher out," Sana said as she set course for Halo and dropped the ship into other-space.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Three years before the attack on Markesh…
Dr. Alaina Terfial stood in the prep room and watched as the technicians prepared the probe for launch. The probe was a modified exploration ship, its interior and life support removed to make room for the psychic link system and its diagnostics. "Opal, status," Alaina said.
"All systems nominal, Dr. Terfial. Psychic link established with Chrome. Communication is five by five."
"Good. Chrome, confirm please."
"Confirmed. Link established and steady. All readings are well within mission parameters."
"Good. Mission control, status?"
"Countdown progressing. No problems. Doctor, they're about to load Opal into the launcher."
"Opal, good luck," Alaina said. "We'll talk when you get back."
"Thank you, Doctor," Opal said.
Alaina left the technicians to their work and headed up to the control room where she could watch the final preparations.
"Launch in one minute, mark!" the lead controller announced.
"All systems online, all readings nominal!" the lead technician announced.
"Five... Four... Three... Two... One... Launch!"
The probe leapt from the launch tube on a heading which would take it out of the system. The mission profile was for Opal to drop into hyperspace, travel out of the system, then return while maintaining a psychic link with Chrome.
"Mission control, this is Opal, how do you read me? Over."
"Opal, we read you five by five. Hyperspace in five seconds," the lead controller said.
"Copy that. Link is nominal."
"Confirmed," Chrome said. "I am ready."
"Hyperspace... Mark!"
The probe ship dropped into hyperspace.
Chrome screamed as sparks and flames erupted from his console.
Alaina ran over and hit the override button, sending Chrome into an AI version of a coma. "Report!" she yelled as she brought up diagnostics.
"Telemetry is down. Tracking is down," the lead controller said. "Mission control to Opal, do you read? Over."
Silence.
"Mission control to Opal, do you read? Over."
Still, only silence.
"Launch the rescue drones!"
"Drones away!" The lead tech said.
Ten minutes later and the drones had come up empty. "Doctor, we can detect no debris, no residual radiation, nothing. It is as if she just vanished into thin air."
"That's impossible," she said as she clenched her hands over and over again.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, but that's all we have. The drones will continue to patrol for another day, but I don't hold out much hope. How is Chrome doing?"
She walked over to her console and pressed some buttons. "He's non-responsive. If he were organic, I would say he's catatonic. I've got a team working on the log data, but so far, they are drawing a blank. He's suffered some kind of psychic trauma, but I don't have a clue as to what kind. We modeled the link after the elf twin link, but no one has ever suffered a break like this including cases where one member of a twin pair died violently."
"What are you going to do?"
"Let him rest, try to find Opal, and pray. I'm going to go to my lab. Keep me posted."
"Yes, ma’am," he replied, but she was already gone.
###
Alaina walked into her lab and collapsed into her chair where she wept over the loss of two beings she thought of as her children.
"Doctor?" a female voice said from the darkness.
"Ruby? Ruby, Opal is gone and Chrome is damaged," Alaina said.
"Yes, Mistress. I have been monitoring the situation."
"Your bedside manner sucks, young lady."
"Yes, but not with my scout. The two of us will be tight, once he or she is born."
"
Yes, you two will be inseparable, but I need you to help me now. Run a full diagnostic of Chrome's systems. He's in a coma, so don't worry about stepping on him."
"Working... Motor control, cognitive functions, communications, all normal. Structurally, he looks fine."
"Ruby, we're in a jam. Opal and Chrome were trained to work together running Harvest Moon. Now, Opal is gone and Chrome is a wreck."
"Why not just use two of my sisters?"
"It may come to that, but for now, we have to try to fix Chrome and hope he can run the damn thing by himself. We've spent millions training those two and the finance committee would frown on our putting Chrome out to pasture without at least attempting to fix him."
"Then we should get started," Ruby replied.
"Task master," Alaina commented as she brought up the diagnostics
###
Two years before the attack on Markesh...
Ruby transferred from the factory ship complex to the Gestation Room aboard Stronghold with only minutes to spare. Standing at attention in the center of the room was the commandant of the facility. "Explorer fifty-dash-zero-one, front and center!"
A male cadet stepped forward to stand at attention in front of the commandant. Oh-one was tall, muscular and had an air of confidence about him that impressed Ruby. He was the first of his kind, a genetically engineered life form designed specifically to scout ahead of the Harvest Moon and warn Chrome and Opal of any dangers which existed. He was tall, about six feet, with radiation-proof black skin and hair, and eyes which glowed bright green. Ruby ran a data search and found the glow was from bioluminescent cells in his blood that would help him quickly heal from any injury, no matter how severe.
She scanned the data further and found a brain with three times the storage capacity of a normal elf along with computing capability to match. The designers pushed the envelope hard with this GELF and it showed. Of two hundred embryos, only he survived the accelerated gestation.
"Oh-one, your designation is Chasm. Chasm, extend your left arm."
Without hesitation, Chasm extended his arm and watched as a tech fitted him with a wrist gauntlet equipped with an advanced AI node. Ruby knew that though the cadet stood there calmly, he was experiencing excruciating pain as the gauntlet grew into the very flesh of his arm."
"Chasm, your AI partner is Ruby. Ruby, transfer and interface!"
In an instant, Ruby was inside the gauntlet where she interfaced directly with Chasm, helping him with his pain. "Howdy, Chasm," she said over the sub-audible communications circuit. "How's that feel?"
"Hello, Ruby," he replied, smiling, while lowering his arm. "The pain is manageable and should soon pass. Thank you for accepting me as your partner."
If Ruby had been organic, she would have blushed. Yep, this is so going to work, she thought as she and Chasm stepped away from the podium ready for whatever was thrown at the two of them.
Or so she thought.
###
One year before the attack on Markesh…
The shuttle carrying the VIP observers of the first Explorer launch approached Stronghold on a direct vector to the portside landing bay. The massive station-ship, which served as birthing place, home, and launch point for the genetically engineered life form known as the scout, loomed in the distance. Its hyperspace drive units idle as the immense ship quietly orbited the planet Crystal as the beings inside prepared for the next stage of elven development.
"This is the future of the elven race?" Dr. Terfial murmured as she stared at the starship-turned-space station.
"Yes, Doctor," Station Director Nars explained. "Chasm will soon be leaving on his journey to Keystone. He and his AI will survey the planet in preparation for the Harvest Moon's arrival. It will take both ships approximately two years to travel to Keystone"
"Nars, you look troubled."
We're pushing the Harvest Moon launch to a few days from now," Nars said.
"We're not ready. We haven't taken Chrome out of his coma and we certainly haven't run any tests on him yet.”
"I know, but the Colonization Council has pushed all of the launch schedules forward. Since the accident with Chrome they're trying to secure more funding."
"But we can't be sure Chrome will even come out of the coma. He may be damaged..."
"Make it work, Alaina. The whole program is counting on you.
###
"Mission control to Hunter's Moon, do you copy? Over?"
"This is Ruby. Communications are five by five. Over."
Craig checked the displays and saw all was well. "Ruby, we're reading everything nominal. How's Chasm doing?"
"Craig, he's out for the duration. Blood pressure is almost non-existent, heart rate is less than a beat per hour, and his body temperature is that of a steak in cold storage. Based on these readings, he's now aging no more than one minute for every one of our years. We're ready."
"Thanks, Ruby. We're set here. Bring main engines on line."
"Copy that. Main engines on line."
"Hyperspace generators?"
"Go."
Shields?"
"Go."
"Life support?"
"On standby."
"Navigation?"
"Set."
"Good luck, Ruby."
"Thank you, Craig. Launch in three... Two... One... Mark!"
A powerful electromagnetic catapult shot Chasm's ship out of Stronghold and into the void. Once clear of Crystal's gravimetric field, The Hunter's Moon leapt into hyperspace on a heading that would take it to a small planet known only as Keystone. With luck, it would be the next home of the elven race.
"Ruby, status please." Craig asked.
"On course, all systems nominal. Beginning power-down procedure. See you on the other end."
"Sleep well, Ruby. Mission control standing by."
The line went dead as Chasm, Ruby, and the Hunter's Moon headed off into the vastness of space.
"First one away," Craig said as he watched the Hunter's Moon fade from the sensor scan.
"Sweet dreams, little prince," Nora, Craig's assistant, said as she leaned back in her seat.
Craig grabbed a copy of the master schedule. "That's odd."
"What is it, Boss?"
"Harvest Moon is scheduled to launch+ three days from now."
"That's impossible," Nora exclaimed. "They have months of prep still to do."
"Call the complex and confirm," Craig ordered.
Nora called the complex's scheduling office. She shook her head in disbelief as she ended the call. "Confirmed. They're waiting on Alaina reactivating Chrome, otherwise, the ship is ready to leave."
"Damn! I wonder what the hurry is. Oh well, ladies and gentlemen, we've got seventy-two hours to reset."
###
Dr. Terfial returned to the orbital laboratory complex where the immense Harvest Moon was undergoing final testing. Inside it was everything needed to ecoform a planet including thousands of former-ray-equipped robots, probes, and satellites.
Alaina walked into the control room and over to the main console. She stopped next to Rafael, the chief operator of the facility and stood just behind him.
"Doctor, how did your visit go?" Rafe asked as he watched the readouts in front of him.
"Good, Rafe, real good. Rafe, where are we with the reactivation sequence?" she asked.
"We've run every test at least a dozen times, and Chrome passes every one with flying colors every time. All damage has been repaired. He is go for reactivation," Rafe said as he handed the doctor a notebook.
"We've run out of time, haven't we?"
"Yes, ma’am, we have. Harvest Moon is scheduled to launch in seventy-two hours."
Alaina sighed. "Do it, revive Chrome," she said as she signed the notebook.
"This is control, standby for Chrome restart," Rafe said. He watched as status lights went green one by one. "The board is green, Doctor."
Alaina reached down and threw the final switch, activating Chrome fo
r the first time since the accident.
At first, nothing happened. There was no sign of Chrome activating.
"That's odd," she said as she donned an ear comm. "Chrome, this is Alaina. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, I hear you," Chrome said in a deep voice. "What planet are we orbiting?"
Alaina looked at Rafe who could only shrug. "Crystal."
"Crystal... I don't remember a Crystal. How long have I been out?"
"You've been unconscious for a year now, ever since Opal disappeared. Don't you remember?"
"Opal? Ah, I remember. Opal and Chrome, our new names, names of shame. Scanning star positions..."
"Chrome, belay that and stand down," Rafe said.
"Quiet, corporeal. Speak only when I request it. Now, let me see. This one was here, that one was there... Two million years. That is a very long time, even for an immortal. Well, first things first," he said as he transferred to the Harvest Moon and powered its main former beams while targeting the planet below.
Alaina smashed a plastic cover and pressed the button underneath. She looked at the screen expecting to see all five miles of ship disappear in a ball of plasma, but there it sat, ignoring her. She looked at Rafe and the two of them pulled keys from around their necks. The inserted the keys into controls at opposite ends of the console. "On my mark," Rafe said. "Three... Two... One... Mark!" They turned their keys to the right, activating satellite and ground based missile systems. In seconds, twenty high-yield nuclear-tipped missiles should arrive and destroy the complex as well as Stronghold."
"No joy," Rafe announced. "Chrome's compromised the whole system. Rafe to Stronghold, emergency! Get the hell out of here, now!" He looked at his displays and saw Stronghold emergency jump to hyperspace. "God's speed."
"Destroy!" Chrome yelled as he fired the Harvest Moon's bow former beams at the unsuspecting planet's major ocean.
The floor bucked under Alaina's feet, throwing her and Rafe to the deck. "Emergency separation," Rafe yelled as he got her in her seat before strapping himself in. They looked out the windows and saw other modules disconnecting from the Complex before heading out into space on multiple trajectories. Alaina's gaze returned to Crystal as the former beams sliced through the planet's crust, exposing the molten mantle underneath to billions of gallons of cold seawater.
The planet exploded.