The Originator Wars: Universe in Danger: A Lost Fleet Novel

by Raymond L. Weil

  Jeremy grinned. “Do I get to unwrap it?”

  Kelsey nodded. “Come over here. I’ve missed you.”

  Jeremy joined her on the bed, reaching for her and kissing her long and deep. Kelsey felt her pulse start to race. Even after all of this time, Jeremy could still set her heart to pounding. As Jeremy’s hands moved under her gown, she gasped as his hands touched all the right places. She had planned originally on talking to Jeremy about children; now she decided it could wait. She had other things to concentrate on. Moments later they were involved in passionate lovemaking. There was no doubt in Kelsey’s mind that when it was time for her to become pregnant it would not be a problem.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A full month went by and the process of awakening the Originators on board the Seeker was well underway. As each one was brought out of stasis, Bartoll and several others would question them about the Defenders of Zorn and the actual mission of the Seeker. A survey of the Originators in stasis on board the ship had found 415 adults and 212 children under the age of eighteen.

  “Our problem may be far less than I feared,” Bartoll confided in Jeremy as they sat in Jeremy’s office in the Tower. “So far we’ve only found seventeen of the crew on board the ship who were actual members of the Defenders of Zorn. We still have thirty-two others to awaken including Commander Alvord.”

  “What was the response of the rest of the crew when they found out their commander was a member of this group?”

  “Shocked,” said Bartoll. “Several of them have suggested we leave him in stasis. They agree with me that if the resources of the Dominator hadn’t been divided between seeking a cure for the pathogen and weapons research, we might have indeed found the cure in time to save our people.”

  Jeremy nodded. “Did you tell them about the dark matter Dyson Sphere being destroyed?”

  “Yes, there was some regret about so many Originators in stasis dying, but they understood the threat the Simulins represented. I played several videos of Major Wilde’s efforts to take back the Control Centers on the Shrieels the Simulins control. They were quite appalled by the violence of the Conqueror Drones and the Simulins. Our people are not prone to violence, and many find it repulsive. It was another reason why when the war with the Anti-Life ended there was no desire to pursue it further.”

  “Any additional information on the missing Originators?”

  “Some,” Bartoll replied. “The communications officer was responsible for sending messages back to the dark matter Shrieel. He is also a member of the Defenders of Zorn though he has since renounced his affiliation with that group since being reawakened and given the cure. He told me he sent monthly messages back and said a concentrated effort was being made to protect as many Originators as possible from the pathogen. He also said toward the end the messages from the Shrieel began to become more chaotic. Across all the Shrieels billions were dying daily. Originator civilization was breaking down and they were completely reliant on the AIs and the repair robots to keep the Shrieels functioning. In many Shrieels operation of the equipment and Control Centers had already been turned over to the AIs. One of the last messages indicated a ruling council of AIs was being set up to ensure the Shrieels continued to function in case some Originators managed to survive. It was shortly after that the last crewmember on the Seeker went into stasis. The ship was turned over to its AI to finish the mission. It was Albate who buried the ship near the Dominator to allow continued surveillance. He was also the AI that met Rear Admiral Barnes and Commander Zafron in the Seeker’s Command Center.”

  “Has Albate been questioned about the Seeker’s activities?”

  Bartoll nodded. “Yes, we even probed his stored memories in search of hidden files. There were none. The AI never noticed any unusual activity from Commander Alvord or anyone else on board the Seeker.”

  Jeremy stood up and walked over to the large window. It was early morning, and the city was just awakening. A few people were out on the city streets and businesses were just beginning to open. Looking up he could see a few puffy white clouds in the sky. He would have to check later to see if it was supposed to rain today. The weather was controlled, and the daily weather reports mentioned when rain was scheduled and if it would be a light rain or a heavy downpour with thunder and lightning.

  “What did the other members of the Defenders of Zorn have to say about Commander Alvord?”

  “He was a good commander but firmly believed the Anti-Life needed to be dealt with. He was certain that someday they would find a way around the intergalactic hyperspace interference we had set up around their galaxy.”

  Jeremy turned back toward Bartoll. The air coming in through the window was slightly chilly this morning. “He was right.”

  Bartoll lowered his head and nodded. “Yes, it seems that way. But it took the Anti-Life over two million years to escape.”

  “What about the search of the Dominator, have they found any hidden stasis chambers?” Jeremy was certain one had to exist.

  “No, not yet. I spoke to Commander Zafron yesterday, and they are now using special scanning equipment to scan every corridor and compartment. It’s going to take a while due to the size of the ship.”

  “I wish I knew who might be in that compartment,” Jeremy said.

  “I think I know,” Bartoll said with a slight frown spreading across his face. “I checked the crew manifest against the deaths listed from the pathogen as well as those who went into stasis. There is one name missing.”

  Jeremy nodded. “Let me guess. There’s no record of Jankel dying or going into stasis?” Suddenly it all made sense. Jankel had sabotaged the ship so the Defenders of Zorn, who were in stasis, would never receive the cure. He had to have been responsible for the unexplained loss of power.

  “Jankel,” replied Bartoll with a nod. “He was one of the last ones to come down with the pathogen and was supposed to have gone into stasis at the same time as the others. However, the stasis chamber that was supposed to be his is empty. No one ever used it.”

  “Why didn’t Kazak notice that?” As protective as the military AI had been about that central compartment, Jeremy couldn’t imagine the AI not being aware of a missing Originator.”

  “I believe his programming was adjusted by someone in Jankel’s group,” Bartoll answered. “There were several master programmers on board the Dominator who could have done so.”

  Jeremy’s eyes widened as he considered the ramifications. “So it’s possible other computer records could have been modified as well.” He had a sudden thought and then looked seriously at Bartoll. “Other death records could have been changed. If there is a hidden compartment on the Dominator, it could have more than one Originator in stasis. All of Jankel’s group could be there.”

  Bartoll stood up, his eyes showing his shock. “Why didn’t I think of that? I must warn Commander Zafron. It’s possible if what you say is true, there may be some defensive measures set up to protect the compartment. There’s now no doubt in my mind that it does exist somewhere on the Dominator.” With that Bartoll rushed out of Jeremy’s office.

  “That was interesting,” said Ariel as she suddenly appeared next to Jeremy. “I haven’t seen Bartoll ever get that excited.”

  “I just told him more of his people might be alive,” Jeremy answered. He often forgot Ariel monitored everything that went on in his office. He allowed it as she served as an excellent secretary when needed. He could ask her about any meeting that occurred in his office, and she could repeat it back word for word or even play back a video.

  -

  Ariel looked out across the city. It was so alive with people, and it pleased her that Jeremy and the crews of the Lost Fleets were not so alone anymore. “I have been speaking to Camlin and Leeda about where the missing Originators might be. We have some ideas and I wanted to mention them to you.”

  One thing Ariel liked about the Communications and Transport Hub was that there were a lot of AIs around. From what Camlin had
told her, there were several million just here at the hub. She also enjoyed her AI body the Originator AIs had built for her. She could still recall the thrill of the first time she experienced the sense of touch, what the enticing scent of flowers was like, and even the taste of food. While she didn’t need to eat, her body could turn food into chemical energy. Her AI body allowed her to interact with her friends and for that she would be eternally grateful.

  -

  Jeremy turned away from the window and walked back toward his desk. As he sat down he looked up at Ariel. “What have you come up with? We’re still going to have to search the Triangulum Galaxy from its heart all the way out to its farthest edge. There’s still a lot about these missing Originators that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Mysteries remain surrounding the Dominator and the Seeker as to what their exact roles were. We may in the end have to deploy thousands of Originator vessels to conduct a thorough search.”

  “Perhaps when all of the Seeker’s crew have been awakened we’ll have some answers,” Ariel replied, her dark eyes focused on Jeremy. “However, we think everyone is overlooking something.”

  “What would that be?” Jeremy knew there had to be another reason for Ariel’s visit to his office.

  “If you were an Originator two million years ago and the pathogen was killing everyone around you but you knew a cure might be available in the future, what would you do?”

  Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “I would want to survive until the cure was found.”

  “And if you knew it might be hundreds or even thousands of years in the future, what would your options be?”

  “Well we know one large group went into stasis in the dark matter Shrieel and died when the Distant Horizon caused the system’s sun to go nova. Another group supposedly went into hiding somewhere in the Triangulum Galaxy.” Jeremy looked at Ariel trying to guess where she was going with this line of questioning. “Have you come up with something else?”

  Ariel grinned. “You’re getting closer. Remember there are 211 Dyson Spheres plus the ones here at the Communications and Transport Hub. There were trillions of Originators, and it took over a thousand years for all of the Originators to finally die from the pathogen. Do you think others on different Dyson Spheres might have looked at stasis as a way to survive until the cure was found? They would have known about the research being conducted at the Communications and Transport Hub. They would also have known the research would be meticulously continued by the AIs even after the last research scientist had succumbed to the pathogen. The odds that sometime in the future a cure would finally be found was almost a certainty.”

  Jeremy slowly shook his head. “If such a thing had happened surely the Originator AIs would know. According to them all the Originators died from the pathogen.”

  “But what if it were done in secret? What if work robots were used to construct the facilities? The Originators may have gone to great lengths to ensure their AIs didn’t discover what was being done. They would not want other groups to learn of the hidden stasis chambers for fear they would try to take them over to save themselves.”

  “But the Originators are not a violent species,” protested Jeremy. “They would have no fear of being attacked as they wouldn’t attack one another.”

  “That’s where Camlin, Leeda, and I disagree with you. You must realize their world was ending around them. Friends and family were dying. Life in the Dyson Spheres was becoming more chaotic every day. We believe there is a very good chance of there being other hidden stasis chambers on nearly every Dyson Sphere. We just need to find them.”

  Jeremy leaned back in disbelief. Was what Ariel suggesting even possible? “How, the Dyson Spheres are huge? It would be harder to search them than searching the Triangulum Galaxy. Also why have none of them awakened? The cure has been available for quite some time here at the Communications and Transport Hub. If there are hidden Originators on the Dyson Spheres, they should have awakened by now. There are no known records of that occurring.”

  Ariel slowly shook her head. “That’s our biggest question. If we’re right, some of them should have awakened by now. We don’t know why they haven’t or even how to go about finding them.”

  Jeremy was silent for a long moment. “If you’re right, the most logical place to build such a facility would be under the cities. Anywhere else and it would be too obvious. It would have been noticed during its construction.”

  Ariel nodded. “There are thousands of Originator cities on each Dyson Sphere.”

  “Don’t do anything for now other than search the computer files to see if there was any strange construction or even orders for materials during the pathogen, particularly toward the end. If you find something then we’ll consider launching a search. If we do, then I suggest we ask Leeda and Reesa Jast to be part of this. Reesa is an excellent Alton research scientist, and she has a knack for finding things.”

  “I agree; I’ll add Reesa to the team as well as a few others.”

  Ariel was about to say something else when the comm on Jeremy’s desk went off. “That’s Angela; we just got a priority message from Galaxy X-938. My research is going to have to wait.” Ariel immediately disappeared.

  “What is it?” he asked, answering his comm.

  “An Eternal fleet has been spotted in Galaxy X-938. It consists of 898 of their battlecruisers. The fleet is cruising through the galaxy on a direct course for the Dyson Sphere. It’s stopping occasionally to investigate inhabited worlds. No word of any attacks. Admiral Mann believes they are gathering information.”

  “Very well, Angela. Send out a recall order for all of the Avenger’s crew. We’ll be leaving shortly.” Jeremy intended to make the transit to Galaxy X-938 and take over Admiral Mann’s fleet.

  The Eternals could not be allowed to travel through the galaxy unhindered. They must learn that to enter any Originator Galaxy was going to be met with massive resistance. Taking a deep breath, he placed a call to his home where Kelsey was. He needed to tell her he was off to fight the Eternals. She had a right to know he was putting himself in danger once again. After he finished talking to Kelsey, he would inform Bartoll and Admiral Kalen of his intentions.

  -

  A few hours later Jeremy was on board the Avenger waiting for the Accelerator Ring to activate. The ring would be activated to full power and the Avenger would be pushing its intergalactic hyperdrive to the limit. It would allow them to make the transit to Galaxy X-938 in a little over two days. At the reported speed of the Eternal fleet, the Avenger should arrive a full day before the Eternals reached the Dyson Sphere.

  “Ring activated,” reported Lieutenant Striker as he activated the ship’s gravity drive and guided the ship toward the center of the dark blue swirling vortex. “Intergalactic hyperdrive ready to activate as we cross the threshold.”

  Jeremy watched as the ship hurtled toward the spatial vortex and then crossed it. At the exact moment of crossing the ship’s intergalactic hyperdrive activated, allowing them to keep the speed given to the ship by the Accelerator Ring. The ship quickly accelerated to a speed millions of times faster than light. Only by traveling in the upper bands of hyperspace where the universal laws governing the speed of light were absent was this possible.

  “On course and our hyperspace speed is as projected,” reported Aaliss. “We shall arrive in Galaxy X-938 in fifty-two hours.” Aaliss had a neural implant, which allowed her to access any of the ship’s systems.

  Kevin walked over to stand next to Jeremy. His red hair and numerous freckles hadn’t changed much over the years. “How bad is this battle going to be?”

  Jeremy turned to his long time friend. “I don’t know. We have the new shield frequencies the Originators have suggested as well as a jamming frequency program if they try to lock us out of hyperspace. The information on both of those has already been sent to Admiral Mann.”

  “Where’s her fleet?”

  “Inside the Dyson Sphere at the moment,” Jeremy answered. He didn’t
want the Eternals to know what size forces the Dyson Sphere might possess in case they sent out scouts to investigate. “There are also over two thousand Originator battlecruisers inside as well. We’ve already sent twenty military AIs to take command of the Originator fleet.”

  “Military AIs aren’t like crewed vessels,” commented Commander Malen.

  “Don’t forget Kazak,” Jeremy replied. “Look at what he did in the Triangulum Galaxy.” Kazak had demonstrated he could hold his own against any Federation admiral. The military AI had also been responsible for their victory at Gaia though it had been extremely costly.

  “I can assure you our military AIs are quite capable,” commented Aaliss. “They’re programmed with thousands of years of Originator battle strategies. Keep in mind that in the early years of the Originator civilization they were a much more aggressive race.”

  Commander Malen nodded. “When we get back I may read up on those early years. Since we’re now living on a Dyson Sphere, I need to learn as much as I can about the people who built them.”

  Ariel was busy studying the latest reports from Admiral Mann. A new update on the Eternal fleet had come in just as they were about to enter the Accelerator Ring. “Admiral Mann reports the Eternal fleet consist of 898 vessels. All of them battlecruiser class like the ones we fought in the Median Galaxy.”

  “I wonder if we should reclassify that as a battleship or even a dreadnought,” suggested Kevin. “Those things are four kilometers in length; that’s larger than the Avenger.”

  “They’re more heavily armed than we are,” added Major Preston. “From our last battle with them, our scans indicated they have a nearly two to one advantage in weaponry.”

  “But no dark matter missiles,” pointed out Commander Malen. “That gives us an advantage.”

  “No, they didn’t launch any.” Major Preston answered, shaking his head. “I was surprised by that. They do have very powerful antimatter missiles though.”