by Kord Stone
His brothers looked unsure. “I don’t know. They’ll be seriously ticked off if they find out what we have done,” Justin said.
Jason explained that Justin, Jerren, Alise and he would be the only ones who knew about the stasis and that the family could be brought out of stasis in their beds and never know what had transpired. “Besides if we let it go much longer, someone was going to kill somebody.”
Jerren said, “You’re probably right. I’ve had to patch up both Tim and Uncle Tom a couple of times already. They really seem to hate one another. After the last brawl I asked both of them what it was all about. I was told to mind my own business, so I told them they could patch themselves up from now on.”
“All right, but what if it takes years to stop this guy from pursuing our family? The family might believe it if they only see you, but if Jerren and I get much older they’ll know something is up,” Justin stated.
Jason considered how to proceed. “First off, I don’t plan for this to take forever. But even if it does take an extended period of time, I’d sleep better at night knowing our family is safe. Second, and this might be of interest to one of you. There’s a second time ship in need of a commander. It’s been derelict for the past fifteen thousand years. I performed a diagnostic and everything seems to be functional but it has been powered down and it needs a commander to reboot the system.” He looked between his brothers. “I was hoping that if we could get that ship in working order, one of you would be in command of it.”
Jerren seemed to think about what he had just said. “What do we do just go onboard and say, ‘I’m the new commander’?”
“When I was in the master control room, I performed a diagnostic. It came back with no commander viable and asked me if I wished to reset the binding disk for a new commander. I think if I were to select yes, I should be able to assign one of you, and you would be able to bond with that ship and the AI once it comes back online.”
Justin was the first to speak up. “I was only a general’s assistant and crypto specialist. I wouldn’t have the first notion of how to run a ship.”
Jason snorted. “Do you think I have any idea what I’m doing? I’m winging it as we go and hoping I don’t get any of us killed. I think either one of you would make a great commander. You two need to work it out. There’s no real hurry; the ship isn’t going anywhere. I just cannot fight the feeling that one of you is supposed to take command of that ship though.”
Justin said to Jerren, “I think with your training and history you’d make a better choice than I would. It sounds like a great opportunity but I’m not trained for it.”
Jerren looked hard at his brother then nodded. “I agree with Jason and think you would do great at whatever you want to, but if you insist then I’ll do it.”
Justin nodded then looked at Jason. “Then it’s settled. Jerren will do it.”
Jason was relieved. “Okay, first off we need to get the family to the stasis chambers, then we can work on how to make the other ship operational again.”
Jerren asked, “Are we going to put Pastor Bob in stasis too?”
Jason chuckled. “That’s his name? No, Alise said our ship is near Earth, and after we restart TDS 3 we’ll send him back, then use a time probe to make sure he’s not in any danger. If it checks out, then we’ll leave him there. We don’t think TDS 5 is tracking him, so he should be all right.”
Jason called out to Alise, How are the preparations coming along?
Alise replied, The environmental suits are ready. Make sure to scan the stasis chamber before entering it and if you need to contact me use your life monitor. I will take us to a PTD of negative eight to match the master control room when you are ready to make the transfer. A PTD that far off will draw a lot of energy to maintain, so you will have to make your time count.”
Jerren asked Jason, “What’s a PTD?”
“A phased time dilation. It’s complicated. I’ll explain later. Let’s get you two dressed for this mission, then we’ll collect the family.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The three brothers entered the master control room, each with a family member draped over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Jason approached the wall with stasis on it and thought scan stasis chamber environment. It was a good thing he did because the readout showed minimal life support and very low oxygen levels. He reset the environment to Earth normal and called for the archway, then signaled for his brothers to follow him as he entered.
Jason walked to the first pod and placed his father down. Looking back, he wondered what was taking his brothers so long. He activated the stasis pod his father was in, verified that it was working properly then exited to see what the matter was.
“What’s wrong? Wouldn’t it let you in?” he asked.
Jerren had a troubled look on his face and asked, “Did you just drop Father in there and come out?”
“No I put him in a pod and came to see what was taking you guys so long.”
“You were only in there a couple of seconds and came right back out.” Jerren said.
Jason realized the room must be further out of time space than he thought. “Okay, follow right behind me and just keep walking until you see me.”
They did as he said, and a few minutes after Jason entered the stasis chamber, Jerren appeared with a shimmer. Jason told him to place his stepmother in the pod next to his father’s and after he did, Jason activated it. About a minute later Justin shimmered in front of them.
Jason showed Justin where to place their younger half brother and explained, “I waited several minutes before Jerren appeared, we put mother in a pod, and then another minute later you showed up. Several minutes passed in here but only seconds out there, so I thought the time dilation was off.”
Jason completed the stasis process on the next pod and continued. “I was concerned they’d age in the pods because of the time differential, but when I verified the dilation, it actually looks as if time is not moving for the pods at all when they’re activated, and moving very slowly in this chamber. So they’ll be frozen in time until we remove and awaken them.”
Jason saw Justin looking around the room and Justin’s eyes settled on seven pods along the back wall. “What’s with those pods? They look different from these.”
Jason peered over, then approached and examined the pods. Justin was right; six of the pods were only two feet long compared to the eight-foot-long ones they were using for the family. The seventh was only a one-foot-square pod, and where his family’s had a porthole showing the inhabitants, the other pods were just solid metal with a computer display. Jason tried to access the information on them but kept getting the same response. “Unauthorized access query denied.” He looked at his brothers. “I don’t know. It won’t let me access any information on them.”
Jason thought about it a second. “I think the family will still be safe in here. The Lantins didn’t even know about the master control room, which means nobody has been in here for nearly four hundred thousand years.” He looked to his brothers and they both nodded.
Jerren sighed. “I was wondering about that myself. This is still better than everyone at each other’s throats, which was about to happen. Just look at how Uncle Tom and Tim were going at it.” He shook his head in disgust. “Okay if everything is settled here we should get the rest of the family.”
Jason nodded, “Let’s get this done.”
It took another thirty minutes to gather the rest of the family from their beds and get them into their pods. After they were all settled, the brothers assembled in the master control room.
Jason closed the stasis chamber and moved to the TDS 3 station and requested the console, and noted that the previous query was still on the screen,
TDS 3
AL not online
No life forms onboard for fifteen thousand one hundred thirty-three years
Location 374.4 KKSLO Terra .5 PTD.
AL-Commander no longer Viable.
Reset binding disk for new Commander? (YES) or (NO).
Jason looked at his brothers then back to the console and selected (YES).
The lighting dimmed in the room, and a complex algorithm ran across the screen.
Justin asked, “What does AL stand for?”
Jason thought about it a second and was about to tell him when Justin said. “Ah, Okay,” and Jason turned to look at the wall behind him and read,
A - Advanced
L – Life form
I – Integrated
S – Synaptic
E – Escort
Jason said, “There you have it. It would appear that the AL is an Alise. All of the ships probably had them.” He really didn’t like the idea of a lookalike of her on the other ships, and a hint of possessiveness rose for a second before he pushed the feeling down and he remembered the AI, or AL, would manifest to be whatever the commander most needed. So the tension eased slightly. Although they were triplets and thought alike, they did have their own personalities and they had different tastes in women. A beep sounded behind him and he turned around to consult the control panel.
TDS 3
Binding disk reconfigured, apply to new host.
Jason looked to the left of the display where a familiar dime-sized disk lay. He hesitated only the briefest of moments before picking it up and gesturing for Jerren to come closer. “Okay, Jerren, you need to press this right there.” He pointed to the spot behind Jerren’s right ear and said, “I won’t lie to you. It hurt like nothing I have ever felt before.”
Jason saw the concern etched across Jerren’s face and decided to ease his mind a little. “Alise told me it shouldn’t have hurt that much and there was something odd about my bonding that caused a feedback. But the other eleven times she bonded were virtually painless.”
This seemed to mollify Jerren a little bit and he said, “Okay here goes nothing.” Jason saw him tense up briefly as he applied the disk. There was an audible static discharge but when he pulled his finger away, the disk was still on it. “Did it work?” Jerren asked.
Jason examined the console.
TDS 3
Disk reconfigured. Apply to new host.
Bonding procedure failure, incorrect host data.
Apply binding disk to proper host.
They tried it again, thinking it was just a glitch and after the third attempt, Jerren dropped the disk on the table. “Damn, that thing zapped me harder and harder each time I tried it. It doesn’t look like it’s going to work.”
Jason turned and said, “Justin, why don’t you give it a try?”
Justin paled. “Uh I don’t think it’ll work, and I really don’t think I’m the right person to be in charge of a ship.”
The control room rumbled and the disk vibrated on the table. A second later it flew through the air and applied itself firmly to the spot just in back of Justin’s right ear. “WHAT THE…” He swept his hand against it to get it off but it was not moving. He reached up apparently in an attempt to peel it off with his fingernails. The second his finger touched the disk it was lights out and he hit the floor.
Jason and Jerren rushed to aid Justin. He had hit his head on the way down and a goose egg was forming. Jason pressed his hand over the injury hoping he would be able to help Justin in the same way he had healed his own hand. A few seconds later Jason lifted his hand and saw the knot was diminishing. He put his hand back on his brother’s head and about thirty seconds later there was no hint of an injury.
Jerren asked, “Is he all right?”
Jason thought about Jerren’s question and said, “I don’t know. He seems all right.” He called out to Alise. Is it normal to pass out after applying the binding disk?
Alise’s voice sounded over his life monitor. “Yes, aside from your bonding, all of the commanders were unconscious for ten minutes.”
Jason exhaled in relief and saw the tension in Jerren’s shoulders ease.
Alise had been correct. Justin had remained unconscious for ten minutes before he opened his eyes. “What the hell happened?”
Jason let out a nervous sigh. “Apparently something or someone wanted you to bond with that ship. The disk flew to you and when you touched it, the bonding must have activated. Are you okay?”
Justin looked from Jerren to Jason and nodded. Jason helped his brother to his feet and consulted the display.
TDS 3
Disk reconfigured. Apply to new host.
Bonding procedure failure, incorrect host data.
Apply disk to proper host.
Bonding procedure failure, incorrect host data.
Apply disk to proper host.
Bonding procedure failure, incorrect host data.
Apply disk to proper host.
Bonding procedure successful.
Data link confirmed.
Commander input required.
Justin moved to the console, looked at the display and said, “What input?” A moment later the display changed to read,
Input received. Command functions TDS 3 transferred.
Jason said to Justin, “It would appear you are the new commander.” Justin frowned and Jason saw he was none too happy about it. “Congratulations are in order I guess.” He went to his brother and gave him a firm hug. “You can handle this.”
Justin just grunted, “It would have been nice to be given a choice.”
At his words the master control room rumbled, but just as fast as it started it ceased.
Jason sighed. “Spilt milk.”
Jerren said, “Lemons to lemonade.”
Justin nodded. “It is what it is, but I’m going to make mistakes. I just know it.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jason gestured for Justin to have a seat in front of the TDS 3 control panel. Justin sat down and the screen came to life.
TDS 3
Minimal access protocol, reengage full access (Yes) or (No).
Justin was about to select yes when Jason stopped him. “You might want to engage the safety protocols first.”
Justin said, “I don’t see any safety protocols.”
Justin shook his head and a second later the display read, Safety protocol engaged. Justin looked back to Jason and shrugged. “Do it or not?”
“It looks safe now. I just didn’t want you to get the splitting headache I did when it opened the floodgates.” Jason replied.
Justin grunted, “Here goes nothing,” and selected (Yes) to reengage the full access.
He activated it and his eyes seemed to glaze over a moment, then they watched the display as the percentage rose and fell then rose again finally settling a few minutes later. The display changed to read,
Safety Protocol Engaged.
Auto data stream 14%.
Jason said, “Okay, you need to reset the power system and check life support. It was cold as shit when I was on the ship and there was no gravity.”
Justin asked, “When were you on the ship? You never told us that.”
“It must have slipped my mind. Anyway, once we power the ship up we can make sure it is safe to enter.”
Justin did as Jason instructed. The lighting in the room dimmed, then the display read,
TDS 3
Core is not responding manual input required.
System restart on standby.
Justin asked, “What does that mean, Jason?”
Jason shook his head. “I’m not sure. It’s possible the ship doesn’t have enough power and is unable to respond to an engine restart. What are the current air quality and temperature conditions on the ship?”
Justin looked down at the display and a few seconds later he said. “The system shows twenty-three percent oxygen and seventy-six percent nitrogen with a point ninety-three percent carbon dioxide and thirty degrees Fahrenheit, but it looks as though it has risen over two hundred degrees in the past three hours, why?”
Jason steeled himself for an argument. “I think we need to get on the ship to effect enough of a
power boost to let the system restart. Do you agree Alise? He added that last part, knowing she was listening in.
Alise broke her silence. “It makes sense, although it will still be dangerous. The air is close to Earth normal and the temperature change would indicate the ship is transitioning from the shadow on the back side of the moon to directly in view of the sun. Even with the ship’s advanced hull, the temperature will continue to increase until the engines have restarted and life support is reinstated. By my calculations you will only have a sixty to seventy-minute window to initiate a restart before it becomes too hot to remain onboard. The clothing and boots will afford you some protection but not much, and you should have more than enough air to last that much time.”
Jason looked at his brothers. “You heard Alise. We’ll have to work fast. I think Justin and I should go over to the ship first and, Jerren, could you monitor our progress from the console here? If it shows enough power, make sure the restart sequence is engaged and inform us of any changes.”
Jerren nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get this done before it turns into an oven over there and cooks you two turkeys.”
Jason and Justin chuckled as they turned to face the wall.
Jason said, “Archway TDS 3.” He was about to step forward when the archway failed to appear. “That’s strange. It opened for me before.”
He thought about it a second, then gestured for Justin to try.
“Archway TDS 3.” The words barely left Justin’s mouth when the archway appeared. “It would appear only the commander is allowed to open the passage,” Justin said with a smirk.
With a shrug Jason said, “It must have let me open the archway the last time only because there was no commander in charge.”
They stepped through the archway and experienced the time dilation effect. Once they were inside the derelict ship, the feeling of weightlessness came over them. They both activated their gravity boots and Jason felt his feet get pulled to the floor.
The only lights in the room were being emitted from their suits; they glowed brightly enough to illuminate the entire room and Jason looked around. He hadn’t gotten a good look the last time he was aboard. The ship was a mess, and everywhere he looked he could see debris floating. They made their way through the debris toward the engine, which was a duplicate of the one on his ship. They approached the engine, which was dead quiet.