Vinium (The Silver Ships Book 10)
Page 18
“You believe the aliens will understand that?” the executor said, the bloom hovering over the monitor’s position.
“Any navigator would understand this, Executor,” the monitor replied. “And the progenitors, who travel between the Lights of the dark, will certainly understand it.”
“Then send it,” the executor replied.
The monitor’s bloom swung toward the tasker, seeking help, and the tasker captured the image on the monitor’s board and sent it to the seedling ship.
“A progenitor, who goes by the name Bethley, offered thanks to those aboard this ship,” the comm tasker said.
“The seedling vessel has left,” the monitor noted, the pad of a stalk pointing to the line on the panel. A bright dot traced its path, and the monitor’s stalks proudly straightened.
Two days later, the Vivian’s Mirror sidled next to Scarlet Mandator’s ship.
“Scarlet Mandator welcomes your return,” Melon Tasker sent over the comm. “We query if you’re the seedling vessel that was originally entwined with this ship.”
“The alien, Bethley, assures you, Scarlet Mandator, that this is so,” Melon Tasker announced, relaying the response.
Julien’s first thought was this was Cordelia’s forte, creating images that portrayed complicated statements. He decided to rely on simplistic images that built on one another.
“By some means, Scarlet Mandator, we’re receiving images on the navigation board,” Golden Executor said, indicating Teal Monitor’s panel. “Aliens,” the executor added.
Scarlet Mandator’s stalks moved to place the bloom over the panel. A representation of the Worlds of Light had appeared first. A dot indicated what the mandator considered the mandator’s ship’s position. The dot grew to encompass the panel and morphed into an image of a scarlet bloom, then shrank again to the dot. Then the dot moved toward the home world. Finally, as the dot cleared the second outermost planet’s orbit, a massive bright light blanked much of the edge of the display.
“Turn the ship inward, now,” Scarlet Mandator ordered. “The progenitors are warning us.”
Golden Executor ordered the course change, without understanding the reason, but it was known that the mandator knew the aliens best.
“More images, Mandator,” Teal Monitor announced.
The blooms of both the mandator and executor bent over the panel to watch. The image of the Worlds of Light appeared again. A tiny dot came from outside the system and took up an orbit around the outermost planet. The dot grew to display a small round object, and the blooms of the mandator and executor swung toward each other. Concentric waves emanated from the object, pulsing in all directions.
“The device from beyond is communicating,” Teal Monitor said, which answered the senior Ollassa’s questions.
Julien had the probe’s image slide off to the left, and he focused on the representation of the communication waves. Extending them on past stars for enough time to represent a long distance. Then, from the right, entered the sphere’s image where the transmission ended.
Bethley continued to repeat Julien’s visual messages. When the first ship had sent the image from the navigation board via the comm, Bethley was able to trace the path and reverse it to display Julien’s imagery for Scarlet Mandator.
On the Ollassa’s bridge, the four entities, who were watching the image display, froze. Stalks and fronds trembled.
“The great orb came to the Worlds of Light, following the transmission of that object,” Scarlet Mandator said, understanding dawning.
“Golden Executor, warn all ships. They are to proceed immediately away from the progenitor ships. Tell them that the Omnians have found a dangerous device belonging to the great orb.”
The executor complied with the orders and asked, “What will the aliens do with the device?”
“Recall the images,” the mandator said.
“The bright light at the far-world’s orbit,” the executor surmised.
“Yes,” Scarlet Mandator answered simply.
“Was the representation inaccurate? The light covered a great amount of distance,” Golden Executor asked.
“Or is the great orb’s device that dangerous?” the mandator posited.
Several days later and by the Omnian fleet’s ship time, it was the middle of the night. Leaders and senior officers were asleep, and junior officers manned the bridges of the Tridents.
Z checked the status of the bay, ensuring there were no humans present. With the bay clear, he signaled its depressurization, after which he opened the doors. As soon as there was clearance, Z selected one of the banishers and activated its program. Guiding the device out of the bay, Z pointed it toward the probe, and transferred the device’s location coordinates and its trajectory path to the banisher’s controller.
Programmed and armed, the banisher accelerated toward its target. As the Omnian tool had operated at the Oistos and Hellébore systems, the banisher slowed when it approached the probe and gingerly gripped the alien device with its clamshell claws. Instantly, the probe detonated, blanking the Omnian vid telemetry.
The SADEs shared their creative versions of laughter with Miranda.
Scarlet Mandator and Golden Executor had received the data on the explosion. The detonation’s magnitude had the petals on both blooms curling under in trepidation.
“The device was so small as not to be found during the annuals that it sat out there,” the executor said. “Yet, its destruction engulfed more space than one could believe.”
“Thanks should be given to you, Scarlet Mandator, when you withheld your pad from the seedling vessel,” Teal Monitor said.
“The praise belongs to the Omnians,” Scarlet Mandator. “They retrieved their seedling ship and worked to communicate with us, learning of the existence of the great orb’s passing. I wonder at the reason for their return. Was it to benefit them in their pursuit of the predator, or did they wish to rid us of the orb’s device? We might never know their motivation.”
“The progenitors’ methods indicate that they’re experienced with these dangerous devices,” Teal Monitor reasoned. When blooms of the mandator and executor swiveled toward the monitor, the Ollassa added, “The aliens cleared a wide swath of dark around the tiny device, much more space than one would consider reasonable. They must know of these devices’ destructive capabilities when they’re approached.”
“Teal Monitor, where are the Omnians headed?” Scarlet Mandator asked.
“Not on any vector that will intersect one of our Worlds of Light, Mandator,” the monitor replied.
“I will be retiring to the recovery room,” the mandator said. “There will be time later, much later, to attempt to identify the progenitors’ purpose.”
* * *
Alex woke in the morning, following the probe’s destruction. After a meal, Alex, the senior officers, and the SADEs stood on the bridge to review events.
“Congratulations, Julien, on a successful execution of the probe,” Alex said, ensuring that the bridge officers heard that he had no problem with Julien’s decision to proceed, while the leaders and senior officers slept.
“Yes, well, I know how much humans need their beauty sleep, so I was loath to interrupt yours,” Julien replied, with a sly smile. He was immediately bombarded by imagery, portraying him in a variety of negative ways, by every human on the bridge, especially from the women, Renée, Tatia, Reiko, and Svetlana.
“Was it something I said?” Julien asked innocently, and Alex, laughing, slapped him on the back.
“So where are we headed, Julien?” Alex asked.
“To the starting point, Alex, where we believe the sphere was before it took up the vector that sent it chasing the next probe’s signal.”
Tatia stared at Julien, Z, and then Miranda. She asked, “How in the stars are you going to determine the start point and the vector with all the factors that complicate those determinations after the decades that have passed?
“With great difficulty, Admiral,” Z replied.
“The SADEs have been at work on the subject since we destroyed the probe, Admiral,” Julien added. “Regrettably, we’ve yet to finish our calculations.”
“The SADEs have been working through the night and haven’t come to a conclusion. How is that possible?” Reiko asked.
“The data we received from the Ollassa didn’t have the specificity of our telemetry parameters, Commodore,” Z replied.
“In addition, we’ve been challenged by multiple suggestions, which halted the calculations, and required us to rerun them once each new idea was researched,” Julien explained.
“In the past hour, no more suggestions have been made, so we believe we’re close to a final estimation,” Z added.
“What is the expected accuracy?” Alex asked.
“With regret, Alex,” Z replied. “We calculate 36.7 percent for the starting point, and 22.4 percent for the correct vector.”
“Wow,” Svetlana said, eyeing the SADEs.
“Unfortunately, too true, dear,” Miranda said.
“On another subject, how many probe signals have you detected?” Alex asked, looking from SADE to SADE.
“More than you would believe, dear man … now that we know what we’re seeking,” Miranda said.
“Which leaves us considering what … signal strength?” Reiko asked.
“That was our primary assumption, Commodore,” Julien replied, nodding to Reiko. “We’ve ranked the probes by that parameter,” he added, sharing a link to the file with every human.
“You’re kidding, Julien,” Reiko said, when she reviewed her copy, amazed at the number of entries.
“The Nua’ll appear to have been at work, investigating this part of the galaxy long before humans arrived here,” Julien said.
“It makes one reconsider the viewpoint of our enemy, who undoubtedly see us as interlopers,” Z commented.
“They could have asked us nicely to leave,” Miranda replied tartly. “Not that we would have obliged them, but it would have been polite of them to have made the effort.”
“If I understand the plan, it’s to set up on the spot where we estimate the sphere was last stationary. Estimate the vector it took, factoring in drift we don’t have accurate data on. Then we check the strength of probe signals and hope one of the stronger ones is close to our intended trajectory. Is that about right?” Tatia asked, incredulous at the proposal’s feebleness.
“Precisely, Admiral,” Julien replied, with a charming smile. “At least in regard to your accurate description of our somewhat feeble plan.”
That comment ended the morning’s discussion. Alex and his officers had left the fleet’s sailing in the hands of the SADEs until Alex received a short comm from Julien in the evening, which said,
Alex left his desk, kissed Renée quickly, and strode to the bridge. He was joined by the senior officers and the SADEs.
“What do our options look like?” Alex asked.
Julien triggered the holo-vid and displayed a representation of their ship’s position, a line detailing the proposed vector, and a set of tiny lights in the distance, which varied in brilliance.
“Those are the probes out there and their relative strength?” Reiko asked.
“Precisely, Commodore,” Julien replied.
“None appear to line up with the calculated trajectory,” Svetlana observed, staring closely at the holo-vid’s display.
“Also true, Captain,” Julien replied.
“Perhaps the sphere is choosing a new destination, not on the strength of the signal, but by what information a probe is broadcasting,” Alex surmised.
“That would be helpful if we could decode the broadcast and understand the language,” Tatia grumped.
Alex was undeterred and stood staring at the holo-vid.
“What’s the plan then?” Reiko asked. “Which probe signal do we chase?”
The SADEs glanced at one another.
“Forgive them, Commodore,” Miranda groused. “They don’t wish to admit that they have no suggestion and are hoping our dear leader has some sort of intuition as to which way we should go.”
“Do you, Alex?” Tatia asked.
“Not a clue,” Alex replied. “Julien, display the map cones that correspond to every scenario that you ran. Include any proposal that received a probability above 10 percent,” Alex requested.
The SADEs pulled up their various analyses and mapped them into the display. Julien color-coded them as Alex preferred. The cones were semitransparent, which allowed colors to combine in an additive process.
“That’s bewildering,” Reiko commented, but she said no more, when Tatia signaled her for quiet.
Alex drew cl
ose to the display and enlarged it, focusing on the point of the cones, which lay at the ship’s present position. “I like this trajectory,” he said, pointing to an extremely thin segment that was nearly as black as the dark of space.
“The overlap of our scenarios’ probabilities,” Z said. “A mathematician’s delight.”
Julien eliminated the cones and added a dotted line that represented the overlap of their many calculations. It became their tentative new vector. In the far distance lay a probe with moderate signal strength.
“Who would have thought of that?” Reiko whispered in a hush.
“Only a human,” Julien replied, grinning at his friend.
* * *
“The Omnian ships are moving,” Teal Monitor reported to Golden Executor, who, in turn, hailed the mandator to come to bridge control.
Scarlet Mandator arrived on the bridge and immediately entered a code into the navigation panel. A line popped up in the display. It didn’t quite match the trajectory of the Omnian ship.
“What is the plot you added, Mandator?” the executor asked.
“It’s the vector that the great orb used when it left the Worlds of Light.”
“The aliens are off target. Should they be warned?” the executor asked.
“Are the Worlds of Light fixed? Do the Lights beyond not subtly shift their positions over the course of time? If any species understands this, the Omnians surely do,” the mandator explained.
“What does the action of the progenitors mean, Mandator?” Melon Tasker asked.
“The Omnians came to the Worlds of Light to eliminate the device left behind by the great orb. That task is complete. Now they go to find the great orb itself and destroy it. Courageous animals,” the mandator said, “and others,” adding absently and thinking of Julien.
-17-
The Hunt
Tatia ordered the fleet to transit to a destination millions of kilometers outside their target system, and she sent the scout ships forward to look for evidence of the Nua’ll vessel.