Test of Mettle (A Captain's Crucible Book 2)

by Isaac Hooke

  Still, for Jonathan even one was too many. Captain Smith and the crew of the Maelstrom would join the long list of accusers who haunted his nightmares alongside Admiral Knox.

  The six survivors of the human task group, plus the Raakarr defector, had finally broken away from the gravitational pull of the binary stars many hours ago and were headed in the opposite direction of the alien ships. A few of the inner planets lay ahead, along with the system’s second Slipstream. Beyond that lay a gas giant, which they would use to refuel.

  He gazed at the dot representing that Slipstream. Even if the rogue faction shared the Gateless technology necessary to pass through wormholes early, it wouldn’t have helped them: apparently the upcoming Slipstream looped back in upon itself just like the farther one. That was what the Raakarr defectors claimed, anyway.

  His attention turned to the inner planets. That was where the strange humanoid had headed when it fled the icy greenhouse world. After it vanished from the sensors, no further sign of that humanoid had been detected.

  The door chime sounded, rousing him from his thoughts. Via his aReal, Jonathan activated a macro and the Callaway’s top-down map appeared, automatically zooming in on the bridge. The aReal identified the flashing dot standing outside the office as Commander Cray.

  “Come in, Robert,” Jonathan said.

  The hatch spiraled open and the commander entered. His face was haggard, no doubt from staying up all night at his wife’s side in intensive care.

  “How’s Bridgette?” Jonathan asked, beckoning toward the visitor’s chair.

  “Recovering well enough,” Robert answered, taking a seat opposite the captain. “Barrick forced her to install an anti-rad before she went out there, but it wasn’t enough. She has a terrible case of radiation poisoning. The doctor thinks she’ll pull through, but we’re not sure if the baby is going to make it.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Jonathan meant it. Bridgette was a good friend, and he hated the thought that she might lose her baby, especially since it was basically because of him that she had decided to keep the child.

  “And the pilots who rescued her?” Jonathan asked.

  “They’re recovering well,” Robert said. “They’re all in the same ICU, of course. Bridgette has taken a liking to Lieutenant Akido.”

  “I have to decide upon her disciplinary action, soon,” Jonathan said. “Captain Rail wants me to have Lieutenant Akido and her copilot dishonorably discharged.”

  Robert nodded slowly. “That would perhaps be a suitable punishment.”

  Jonathan thought of something. “Lin was Lieutenant Commander Wolf’s copilot at one point, wasn’t she?”

  “She was,” the commander agreed.

  “Why was she reassigned to the Salvador?”

  “Albright reported them for fraternization.”

  “Ah.” Jonathan tapped his lips. “First fraternization, then insubordination. Even though she saved your wife, you know I can’t allow her to walk away scot-free, as much as I want to. It would set a bad precedent.”

  “I understand, sir,” Robert said. From his disappointed tone, Jonathan thought the commander had been hoping for leniency.

  The captain nearly wavered in that moment, but decided what he was about to do would be the best for both parties. “Effective immediately, Lieutenant Lin Akido and her copilot are reduced in rank to ensign. If we were back in United Systems space, I would have probably discharged them from the navy entirely, as Captain Rail asked. But given our current shortage of pilots, that’s not something I can afford to do. I will inform Captain Rail of my decision.”

  “Yes sir,” Robert said. “Thank you, Captain.”

  “Ensign Akido will remain aboard the Salvador. If she and Wolf must fraternize, tell them to do it via teledildonics and VR. Or on shore leave. Otherwise, if they are ever caught again, one of them will have to quit the navy. As you know, we’re very accommodating to families of crew members.”

  “Yes Captain,” the commander said. “I’ll relay your orders. Though it will be fairly difficult for them to fraternize, being stationed on different ships and all.”

  Jonathan smiled patiently. “I’m talking about while they’re recovering in the Callaway’s ICU.”

  “Ah, yes. I’ll let them know.” Robert paused. “You know, the space wing commander of the Salvador probably won’t let Akido fly again.”

  “I’ll have a talk with Captain Rail, and remind her that we need every experienced pilot out there. If I learn that Akido is being underutilized, I’ll have her transferred to a different ship.”

  “But not the Callaway,” Robert stated.

  “Not the Callaway,” Jonathan agreed. “Not while Wolf is aboard. We’re doing them a favor.”

  Robert nodded, then said: “Permission to return to the bridge, sir?”

  Jonathan indicated for him to remain seated. “I read the debriefing report you put together from the video logs in Bridgette’s aReal, regarding her time spent aboard T300. You mentioned how the audio and video cut out in a few places, and that you planned to follow up with her in person, when she was well enough. Did you ever get a chance?”

  Robert nodded. “I asked her this morning. She says she met another man aboard that ship. An Artificial who was a member of the Selene’s crew. She thinks the machine was collaborating with the aliens somehow.”

  “An Artificial collaborating with the aliens?” Jonathan tapped his lips. “That reminds me of something Lieutenant Commander Basette told me.”

  Robert cocked an eyebrow. “The officer in charge of the MOTHs?”

  “The very same,” Jonathan said. “After the previous battle, Chief Galaal reported seeing a man aboard T300 after all the remaining crew members of the Selene had been evacuated, a man surviving in the voided passageways of the alien ship without a spacesuit. Odd thing is, when they checked the video logs later, moments before Chief Galaal said he witnessed the man, the recording blanked out.”

  The commander rubbed his earlobe. “Just like what happened with Bridgette.”

  “Coincidence?” Jonathan asked. “I somehow doubt it.”

  “It would seem we have a mystery on our hands,” Robert said.

  “Indeed. None of the robots with Galaal saw the man either, so Basette dismissed the sighting to a stress hallucination and almost didn’t report it.” Jonathan folded his palms and steepled the fingers. “Have Chief Galaal peruse the Selene’s crew manifest. See if he can positively identify who it was he saw aboard T300. We’ll have Bridgette corroborate the identity later when she’s feeling better.”

  “On it,” Robert said.

  forty

  Jonathan stood in cargo bay seven, in front of the translucent container that held the specimens retrieved from the greenhouse planet. It was midnight, and he hadn’t been able to sleep. He had gone for a walk and found himself strangely drawn to the cargo bay. There were no other personnel present at that hour.

  Jonathan hadn’t had time to pay the specimens much thought over the last couple of days, not while the Raakarr had been in hot pursuit. Connie and her team hadn’t made any progress with the things anyway. No one else had experienced any sort of telepathic contact with the objects, as Robert had. The scientists speculated that perhaps it had been the humanoids who had initiated that contact, and not the anomalies.

  And just as he was thinking of his commander, a call from Robert appeared on his display.

  The captain accepted, enabling full hologram mode so that the commander appeared to be standing immediately beside him. Though he was probably seated, in reality.

  “I noticed you were still up, Captain,” Robert said.

  “Couldn’t sleep,” Jonathan replied. “What’s up?”

  “Apparently you’re not the only one who can’t sleep,” Robert said. “Chief Galaal sent me a message a few minutes ago, confirming the identity of our mysterious Artificial. He was going by the alias of one Ensign James Borden, a specialist on the Selene’s engineering t
eam. The records identify him as human.”

  It was illegal for a robot, Artificial or otherwise, to pretend to be human. Somehow “James Borden” had managed to fool the Selene’s sensor and AI systems, enabling the Artificial to pull off its hidden life.

  “I was in touch with Barrick earlier,” Jonathan replied. “He tells me the Artificial wasn’t aboard the lifepod when T300 burned up. So whoever or whatever it was, the Artificial is no longer a threat to us.”

  Robert pursed his lips. “That’s probably good, because Bridgette told me something else. She said she saw purple drops of condensation on its neck.”

  Jonathan felt his brow furrow. “Purple drops?”

  “Yes,” Robert replied. “According to Maxwell, that’s something straight out of the history books.”

  Jonathan regarded his commander curiously. “Maxwell, tell me what the hell Commander Cray is talking about.”

  “Seventy years ago,” the AI responded. “Humanity encountered alien species X25910. In the war that followed, several subsets of the species were identified. One of them was X25910-A. Because of their wraith-like, ghostly appearance, they were known colloquially as ‘Phants.’ These inter-dimensional aliens could seize control of human electronics, including AIs, and because of their partially shared consciousnesses, they were able to rapidly learn our tech. Colored drops of condensation were one sign that a machine was controlled by a member of X25910-A.”

  Jonathan considered Maxwell’s words for a long moment. “I see.” He tapped his lips with three fingers. “I’m trying to recall what I learned about that war in the academy... I thought we found a way to protect AIs from them?”

  “The SK scientists shared an electromagnetic containment technique, yes,” Maxwell replied. “And with it, the United Systems was able to protect the more critical AIs from X25910 control, such as those found aboard starships. However, the shielding proved bulky, and the smaller form factor required of AIs in robots and Artificials ruled out similar protection for those units.”

  “To this day,” Robert added. “All new AI cores destined for starships come with that electromagnetic shielding.”

  “Yes,” Maxwell added. “Because even after seventy years, humanity is still finding individual members of that species, and sometimes small colonies. We never quite eliminated them after the war, though they are mostly confined to the Tau Ceti system, where the fighting took place. Which makes it quite unusual that we found one embedded in our task group.”

  Jonathan glanced at Robert. “Well, like you said, it’s a good thing T300 went down. Who knows what grief that possessed Artificial would have caused humanity? Then again, it’s not like we’ll be getting back anytime soon, so it doesn’t really matter either way does it?”

  “It does matter, though,” the commander said. “Because I have to admit, I’m going to rest easier knowing we’re not harboring a dangerous alien fugitive somewhere in our fleet.”

  “I suppose so,” Jonathan said. “Thanks for the update, Commander. I’ll let you get back to sleep.”

  “Don’t burn the midnight oil for too long, sir,” Robert replied.

  “I won’t,” Jonathan said. “Captain out.”

  The hologram vanished.

  A Phant. Jonathan shook his head, and then turned his attention back to the translucent container. So many alien factions out there with competing, unknown goals. Alien politics was never his greatest subject back at the academy. It was a good thing he had a whole fleet of men, women and AIs to help him navigate these treacherous waters. Then again, his background as a tactician wasn’t so far removed from politics. Instead of guessing the motives and intentions of ships and fleets, one had to concentrate instead on individuals and nations. It was simply another type of poker game. And so far, he was playing not to lose.

  It’s time to start playing to win.

  He stared at the humanoid spacesuits in the container.

  We have to reverse engineer the technology in those suits. Or at the very least, figure out how to repair them. The suits were operated by beings with DNA that is a ninety-nine percent match to humans, after all. It shouldn’t be that hard for us to figure out how to use them.

  Then again, there were probably security protocols to bypass. United Systems personnel couldn’t use Sino-Korean weapons and jumpsuits without circumventing the protocols embedded in that technology, for example.

  Nothing was ever easy.

  His gaze drifted to the two beings that had been removed from their suits. The porcelain white skin of their naked bodies never failed to remind him of Famina.

  He had managed to finally forgive himself for leaving her on that mountain. Yet he couldn’t do away with the scars. He never would. He made a fist, and felt the corrugated-cardboard texture of the bio-printed skin.

  He focused his attention on the three cylindrical anomalies. The objects seemed a deeper yellow than when he had last come down to the cargo bay. In fact, the things seemed to have become almost golden. Ripening like fruit that contained a seed?

  Looking at them, he suddenly felt incredibly uneasy. If they were eggs of some kind, what kind of monstrosity would hatch from them? Was he putting the entire crew in danger? The chief scientist assured him the container was rated to withstand tensile and laser impacts well beyond anything those anomalies might hatch. It had held the Raakarr prisoner, after all. And since the cargo bay had a space-facing door, if there was any containment problem at all, Maxwell was authorized to vent the entire compartment out into the void.

  Despite all that, Jonathan couldn’t shake the apprehension he felt.

  Damn aliens.

  He was about to look away when the leftmost object vibrated very slightly. Then the other two joined in.

  Unbidden, images flashed through his mind. He recognized the box-shaped capital ships and dart vessels of the Raakarr. They were being destroyed in waves. He saw their colonies, collapsing under attack.

  And then he saw the human ships. Vast fleets containing both Sino-Korean and United System vessels. Again, starships exploded like clockwork as deadly fire came in. And then he saw Earth. Her cities razed, her people on their knees.

  Finally he saw the aggressors responsible for the attacks against both the humans and the Raakarr. The common enemy utilized giant, golden ships shaped like Möbius strips.

  The visions vanished and Jonathan staggered backward, gasping. Before him, the three anomalies had ceased vibrating.

  Stunned to the core, the captain continued backing away from the container. He just wanted to get the hell out of there.

  He left the cargo bay and when the hatch sealed behind him, he rested one arm against the bulkhead and took several deep breaths.

  He understood in that moment why Robert was so disturbed by the visions he had. But the commander had reported seeing images of the Raakarr and humans at war, not an apocalypse brought on by a third alien race.

  Perhaps it was unwise to harbor those anomalies after all. He considered ordering Maxwell to jettison them.

  On cue, the AI spoke up.

  “Are you all right, sir?” Maxwell said.

  “I don’t know,” Jonathan said.

  “Do you require medical attention?” the AI persisted.

  “No,” Jonathan said. “I just... need some air.”

  A call appeared on his aReal.

  It was from the fifth-watch ops specialist on the bridge.

  Jonathan accepted wearily.

  “Sorry to wake you, Captain,” the ensign said. “But a massive object has appeared roughly two million kilometers off the Callaway’s nose. One o’clock position.”

  “A massive object?” Jonathan said. “Send me the external video tracking. Best zoom.”

  The requested feed appeared on his aReal a moment later.

  Jonathan stared at the display dumbly for several moments. “Where the hell did that come from?”

  “It emerged from the Slipstream near the inner planets only a few moments ago.”<
br />
  Jonathan clasped his hands together, planted them on the bulkhead, and pressed his forehead against his extended thumbs in distress.

  On the display resided a giant, golden ship shaped like a Möbius strip.

  epilogue

  Zhidao released the magnetic mounts and dropped down from where he had stowed away underneath the Dragonfly. It was a good thing he had elected to bring the exoskeleton. The tidal and inertial forces out there had been far stronger than he had anticipated, and his Artificial body would have been hard-pressed to survive on its own.

  “Hello again, Maxwell,” Zhidao said.

  “Good evening, sir,” the AI returned. “Shall I arrange your usual quarters?”

  The Artificial smiled. “Please.”

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