by Doug Farren
Stricklen was dumbfounded. "Are you sure we want to do that? I know it's not supposed to be possible, but what if the message is faked? This kind of a request from the Hess simply does not make any sense."
"It is impossible to fake this type of message. The encryption algorithm is unbelievably secure and theoretically unbreakable by any known means. It is also structured such that the originator is absolutely identified. Knowing the request is genuine, do you understand its significance?"
"Are you referring to the fact that, until now, the Hess homeworld has been strictly off-limits or that even though we have had contact with them for over forty years we still have never seen one? Yes, I understand the significance of their request which is why I must question it. Why are the Hess so interested in the Kyrra that they would be willing to break their long standing isolation in order to meet them?"
"I cannot answer your questions," Sorbith said. "The only way we are going to know the answer is to honor their request. I have the authority to order the course change. Please carry out my instructions."
Stricklen ordered the course change and, after the navigator plotted the course, was surprised to find they were more than three weeks away from the Hess homeworld. He had forgotten just how far away their planet was from their current location. Ken turned his attention back to Sorbith after the order had been given and asked, "I had a message that you wanted to see me?"
"Yes. Why did you take it upon yourself to offer the services of a starship to the Kyrra so they could return home?"
Stricklen knew at the time that the decision he had made would be a controversial one. He needed to be very careful how he answered this question since the peacekeeper had the authority to remove him from command if he felt he had overstepped his authority. Ken had, however, thought through his response well in advance.
Ken motioned for Sorbith to take a seat. "During the initial contact meeting with the Kyrra I learned they have a deep seated fear of other cultures. In my opinion, they are so afraid of us that the only thing on their mind is how to avoid any contact with us. Because they need our help to find their way home they had no choice but to ask us for assistance. As the senior first contact representative present I decided it would be best to offer them a ship in order to give them some hope of returning home. When such a ship is provided, they may feel obligated to offer us some of their technology in return."
Sorbith considered the explanation for a moment then said, "Your reasoning seems sound, however, in the future you will check with higher authority before making any similar offers. Starships are not something we simply give away."
Sorbith stood up intending to leave. Stricklen felt he needed to offer more of an explanation for his actions and said, "If I had not offered to help them, or if the council reverses my decision, the Kyrra would most likely consider themselves as unwilling guests — nothing short of prisoners. They would have no incentive whatsoever to offer us any help in our pending war with the Chroniech. In offering them a ship without any strings attached it gives them the opportunity to help us if they are so inclined."
"So you think they will offer us access to their advanced technology simply because we are being nice to them?" Sorbith asked.
"The Chroniech tried to force the knowledge from them and failed," Stricklen pointed out. "I believe the Kyrra to be a reasonable race. If they feel it is safe for them to help us out, then they will do so. But we must earn their trust first."
"We'll play it your way for now," Sorbith replied. "You have spent more time with them than I."
"We can't treat them like objects," Stricklen hammered home one more point. "They are a highly advanced, intelligent race. They deserve to be treated as such."
"And they shall," Sorbith concluded the discussion, turned, and walked out of the cabin. After breathing a sigh of relief, Ken called Scarboro and asked him to meet him in the mess hall.
"I see you still have your rank," Doug said as Ken sat down with his cup of coffee and breakfast.
"Very funny," Ken replied adding a generous portion of hot sauce to his potatoes. "So what's your opinion on this message from the Hess?"
"Since I am not familiar with the mysterious Hess, I'm afraid I won't be of much help," Doug replied watching with fascination as Stricklen mixed his potatoes and eggs together.
Try as they might, neither Ken nor Doug could figure out why the Hess would want to see the Kyrra. If they were so interested in speaking with them, why didn't the Hess simply grant permission to orbit their planet? Ken and Doug mutually decided to have a talk with the Kyrra.
On the way to the hanger bay, Stricklen contacted his most capable helmsman and informed her they would be entering the Hess system. Stricklen advised her that the approach would be tricky and dangerous because of the presence of the pulsar and ordered her to begin running simulations in order to come up with the best possible approach vector. Ken then told Doug that he wanted their best crew to be on watch during the approach.
10 - Arrival at Shaular
Ken and Doug found the Kyrra inside their now non-operational stasis chamber. They had refused several offers for other living quarters but instead preferred to remain inside the chamber. Falnath was, as usual, working at the scientific scanner in the control section of the stasis device. She was so involved in her work she seemed oblivious of the visitors.
McCallister, head still sporting a small bandage, acknowledged their presence but never left his own analysis station. The Kyrra seemed to tolerate their presence probably believing that the technology of the stasis chamber would be beyond the scientists' ability to analyze. So far, the Kyrra had been very accommodating to the scientists even going so far as to allow T'Lorn Depna, the Omel biomaster from the S. W. Hawking to give them a full medical exam.
Doug and Ken announced their presence to the Kyrra and were invited into the structure. This was the first time Doug had actually been inside the stasis chamber.
The inside of the chamber was a sphere approximately seven meters in diameter. The stasis chamber was divided into three sections. The upper two meters consisted mostly of storage compartments which the Kyrra said were filled with food and other items. The central area was just under three meters in height and contained sixteen small, cramped, hammock-like bunks and a tiny private area which served as a bathroom. The lower two meters contained a power source and the air and water recycling equipment. In effect, the stasis chamber was a small, very cramped, self contained environment.
Doug wondered why such an elaborate life support system was needed inside a time stasis machine. The Kyrra explained that the device did not stop time, but only slowed it down by a huge factor. Trel'mara and the others had been in stasis for 44,881 years, yet according to them only fourteen days had passed. This meant the stasis chamber could slow time by a factor of about 1.7 million. Doug also learned that the occupants of the stasis chamber were completely isolated from the outside with no way to turn the field off once it had been turned on.
After the brief tour, Ken told the Kyrra about the message from the Hess. The Kyrra replied that they had no idea who the Hess were. In the hopes of gaining some insight from the Kyrra, Ken told them all he knew about the mysterious Hess.
"Although their behavior seems strange," El'Narra said. "It does suggest the Hess may also be a very advanced race similar to my own people who do not desire contact with other races. Our probes had not made it to this area of space when we entered stasis. There is a chance the Hess are aware of my race and they are simply offering their help in returning us to our people."
"Do you believe your people are still around?" Scarboro asked.
"Yes — The slaver empire was disintegrating and we had re-established control over our planet. The other races of the slaver empire were more interested in fighting the slavers and were paying us no attention. Most of our people had been placed into stasis and no decision as to the location of our new home had been made. I have no doubt, however, that my people are thriv
ing on their new world."
"How will you find them?" Stricklen asked. "It sounds to me as if they will go to extraordinary measures in order to prevent themselves from being found. Do you have any idea at all as to where they might be located?"
"No we do not. We have discussed this problem among ourselves at great length and we believe we can eventually regain contact with our people. To increase the chances of a successful mission, we have completed the specifications for the ship which we will need. Your ship's computer has the information. Has your government made a decision concerning our request?"
"No word has been received. You must realize that decisions like the one you are asking will not be made quickly. I do not expect an answer for at least several more days. I will instruct our computer to forward the specifications to the council. As soon as an answer is received I will let you know. Can you at least give us an idea as to the general area of space you will be searching? It will help us in ensuring that a ship capable of making the journey is provided."
"We will have our computer forward the information to your system."
The two officers continued their discussion with the Kyrra for another twenty minutes. They emerged from the cramped living quarters without having had any of their questions answered. Outside the stasis chamber Scarboro made a suggestion. "I recommend we drop to normal as soon as we are within decent two-way communications range and contact the Hess to get them to answer our questions. I don't know about you, but this just doesn't feel right."
Stricklen thought about it for a minute then said, "Sounds like a good idea. I'll bounce it off Sorbith and see what he says. Lord knows I don't want the wrath of a peacekeeper to come raining down on me for making another wrong decision."
The two friends parted company. Ken made his way to the bridge so he could perform his duties as captain of the Dragon, while Doug remained behind. Scarboro approached Falnath who still had not noticed his presence. After watching her for a few minutes he said, "May I have a word with you?"
Falnath made a few more adjustments on the controls then turned toward the Human. "I am very busy. If you think it is important then I will take the time to speak with you."
"I was only wondering if you had made any progress at all at figuring out any of the Kyrra technology," Doug said.
"Very little," she replied. "The basic operation of the power reactor is solvable but the question as to how they managed to produce the fuel is something the Kyrra will have to give us. The ability to create so much anti-matter in such a stable form is far beyond our capability.
"Even the existence of super-heavy elements has been only a theoretical possibility. The Kyrra have not only managed to create anti-matter but have created it in a form that we cannot duplicate even in normal matter. I have, instead, concentrated upon the time-stasis device since this is where my expertise lies. The technology involved is extraordinarily complex. It will require a great deal of time before we understand how the device works."
"Will we ever be able to build one?"
"If we can discern the underlying technology we may be able to duplicate it but not for many years. Their technology is too far advanced."
Scarboro was confused. "What do you mean? Once you know how it works all we have to do is apply the same methods and we can construct a similar device."
The scientist turned her large penetrating eyes toward him. "I do not think you understand," she said as if beginning a lecture to a small child. "Let us assume that you were somehow transported back to your species past, say two hundred years ago. A scientist from that era asks you about the workings of your stardrive. Using your computer you produce the complete technical plans for the stardrive which you willingly give to this scientist. He takes the plans to his government and proudly announces that they can now go to the stars. Is he correct?"
Doug thought about the question for a moment, then said, "I don't think so. The manufacturing abilities of the time would be incapable of building the components. The technological and engineering abilities would not yet exist. An entire industry would have to be created before a single part could begin to be built. I think I see your point."
"You now see that receiving advanced technology from another race is not as easy as you might think. Unless you already have the abilities to use the knowledge, the information is practically useless. That is the case with the technology of the Kyrra. We know the outer sphere of the stasis chamber consists of a single, integrated, precisely machined equivalent of a giant microchip. We can duplicate most of the circuitry on a small scale, but we do not have the technological abilities to duplicate the actual device. We may understand it, but we can't build it."
Scarboro understood now. On a smaller scale, he knew, down to the last detail, how a fusion reactor worked, yet he could never construct one with his own hands because he did not possess the mechanical knowledge and abilities. He thanked Falnath and left her to her work.
Sorbith listened to Ken's suggestion about dropping out of stardrive a good distance from Shaular and couldn't find any reason to reject it. The Komodo Dragon eventually made contact with the Human dreadnought General Patton and the two ships continued on to the Hess homeworld.
Ken took the time to ask the computer to display the target area provided by the Kyrra where they believed their people to be located. He was shocked to discover that it was over 3,000 light years away and involved traveling through suspected Chroniech space. This changed everything!
Instead of a simple spacecraft outfitted for a short journey, they would need a large, very powerful warship supplied and equipped for a year long journey. Stricklen put in a call to Sorbith and told him about what he had just discovered. Sorbith said he would look into it and disconnected.
Shortly after making their last course change, a torrent of messages had begun arriving. Despite the security that had been put in place surrounding the Kyrra the news of their discovery had become known throughout the political community. When word of their impending arrival on Masfuta had been received hundreds of officials from half as many planets had demanded to take part in welcoming the Kyrra.
As soon as the officials who had been waiting for the arrival of the Kyrra discovered the Dragon had made yet another change in destination they started filing complaints. Stricklen told the communications watch to forward all such messages to Sorbith; after all, he was the one who had ordered the course change. Eventually a message arrived from Masfuta. It was personal and directed to the captain from the base commander and it read:
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WE ARE CATCHING HELL FOR YOUR DECISION TO MAKE THE COURSE CHANGE TO SHAULAR. EVERY DIGNITARY WITHIN A FIFTEEN LIGHT YEAR RADIUS WHO COULD COMMANDEER A SHIP IS HERE. I UNDERSTAND THE DECISION WAS NOT YOURS BUT IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THE KYRRA, I WILL HOLD YOU PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE. AS SOON AS YOU CAN, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!
CAPTAIN WILLIAM ROSEWOOD (BASE COMMANDER)
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Stricklen chuckled when he read the message. He and Captain Rosewood had served on the same ship years ago as junior officers and they had remained good friends ever since. He had no idea that his old friend had become Masfuta's base commander. Ken had assumed William was still in command of a ship somewhere.
Three other important messages arrived while the Dragon was en route to Shaular. The first was from the Mobius saying they had recovered most of the escape pods. The Chroniech had caught up with and destroyed the Alliance ships. They hadn't bothered to search very long for the escape pods and all but two had been recovered.
The second message was from sector command. This message indicated that an increase in Chroniech activity near the outer border of the Alliance had been detected. Two military bases and an agricultural research center had been attacked along with several ships. Sector command had issued a general alert and was requesting that fleet command send reinforcements.
The last message was from the Alliance g
rand council. They had agreed to provide the Kyrra with a ship and all supplies necessary for the trip. Ken doubted they knew where the Kyrra intended on going. He made a mental note to discuss this with them as soon as he could.
* * * * *
The ships dropped out of stardrive about a light-year from their destination. The course they had taken had brought them between the two planes of the radiation field emitted from the pulsar. Since the beam was highly directional, the Dragon and her escort were quite safe.
"Logistics, give me a scan of the system. Concentrate on the second planet and put the results on the main screen," Stricklen ordered.
The main navigational display changed to a computer simulation of the Hess star system. A single, tiny star was shown surrounded by three planets. There was a noticeably large distance between the pulsar and the first planet. When the star had gone supernova it had not only transformed the original star into a pulsar but had also apparently destroyed any planets which had existed in close orbits.
Stricklen knew the pulsar did not shine like a normal star. The pulsar which now ruled the star system was a tiny sphere no larger than a small planet. Instead of shining, this star now radiated its energy in the form of two incredibly intense beams of radiation as it spun on its axis at a rate of over three times a second.
Various planetary data was displayed on the screen, remained for a moment, and then faded away as the focus was shifted to Shaular. Stricklen emitted a low whistle as the planet's data appeared. "What do you make of that electromagnetic signature?" Stricklen asked Sorbith who was on the bridge.