Trading in Chaos 1: Star Hawk- The Birth of a Ship

by R. M. Miller

  ******

  Chris had managed to scramble into his assigned emergency life pod as air and debris had pelted the bridge knocking the Captain unconscious and driving a splinter of the hull deep into Chief Sherman. But he hadn't managed to make it without injury, a small splinter had embedded itself into his side as he reached the safety of the pod. After he had hit the auto close button the pod had initiated disaster protocols and drugged him into suspended animation. Of course given that he still seemed to be alive the pod had managed to survive long enough for someone to find him, retrieve his pod, and patch him up. It was a pretty safe bet that whomever had picked him up wasn't human though, his ship was the only Terran vessel in this entire cluster. Being a bit cautious couldn't hurt him in the long run as he made first contact with his rescuers, he opened his eyes slowly to let them adjust to the surrounding ambiance.

  “Ah, you're awake! I was afraid the medications I had available would have an adverse reaction.” the voice was female and seemed to be coming from the entire room at once.

  “Hello? Ummm....not sure how one would go about greeting an alien species so..” He trailed off searching the entire room to see if he could pin point the speaker.

  “You're in luck then! I'm not really an alien, just happen to have had the bad luck to be kidnapped by them. If your looking for me you'll have to follow the guide bug that's waiting at the door for you.” the voice seemed amused, at least he wasn't being locked into the room.

  “The rest of my crew?” Chris asked as he paused at the edge of the table checking himself over for any damage he had missed during the emergency.

  “I'm sorry Lieutenant, no body else made it. I managed to recover all of the bodies, and a great deal of personal effects including yours sir. I salvaged what I could from your ship before the hull patches blew and I had to abandon it.” She sounded sincerely grieved by the fact that his crew-mates had died. Chris nodded to himself and slid off the table to stand on the skin warm velvety floor. Startled he reached down to touch the floor as it struck him that it wasn't metal in fact it seemed to be biological in nature. “Yes, Lieutenant. My hull is formed from biological material, the Tri'Let are excellent at mixing biological and mechanical to get a final result that exceeds both of them alone. Now if you would follow the bug please?”

  Chris didn't seem to have a lot of choices, what ever had picked him up wanted him to go somewhere and as long as nobody started pointing weapons at him he was inclined to accommodate them. The corridor was circular, and the emergency pressurization hatches acted like valves in a circulatory system. The lighting was dimmer than a human would find comfortable but adequate to transverse the empty passageway, the guide bug looked like a giant centipede with electronic additions embedded into its carapace. Chris thought that the eerily empty ship added to the extra creepy cyborg bug was enough to classify this as the start of a horrible b-rated science fiction film.

  “Sooo...where is the crew? Unless your going to tell me creepy crawly here is the crew of course in which case please extend my apologies if I offended...ahem....it.” He asked as he followed the cyborg centipede into a larger room.

  “Well...you see...it was like this. The crew were Tri'Let, here this is how they looked.” the voice hesitated then a screen turned on illuminating the room better than the over head lights were. Chris turned to view the screen that covered the entire side, or possibly the front, of the room with intense fascination. “As you can see the Tri'Let come in three sexes, a male, female and neuter drone.” The aliens portrait on the screen looked like upright komodo dragons with a broader forehead and minus the tail.

  “I see and they went where?” He asked, the screen changed to display an alien with six limbs two sets of arms and a set of legs and fur that was a bright orange in color it was also very short of stature.

  “This is a Vree'na, at least that is what the Tri'Let called them. For the last thousand years they have been fighting each other, in the last year the Vree'na were basically wiped out. The only remaining population to my knowledge resides on the fourth planet in this system, they were scheduled to be eradicated as well.” She had replaced the alien image with a schematic of the system and highlighted the world in question.

  “I hear a but somewhere in that statement.” Chris was intrigued, for the first time he was getting hands on knowledge of alien species even if the person giving it had ignored his previous question.

  “But I murdered my crew and destroyed both the Tri'Let attacking fleet and the Vree'na defending fleet. I need to destroy the Tri'Let empire before they can mobilize to destroy Earth and any Terran colony they can find, but to do that I need a new pilot.” Frost edged her voice as she changed the screen one more time, a world died in atomic flame as massive dark ships started to move away from it.

  “Why do you need a pilot?” He turned away from the scene of devastation and found his eyes caught by a form floating in a fetal position inside an illuminated tube, it was too dim to make out details but the figure didn't match either of the aliens she had shown him on the screen.

  “Because the star drive the Tri'Let utilize requires two minds and a computer to navigate safely, I killed my pilot to save the remnants of the Vree'na people and now unless I can find someone to take his place my people will be the ones going extinct.” as she spoke the light in the tube brightened until he could easily make out details. “I am Professor Tara Carter, a Felden from New Eden and I need your help to save humanity from destruction.”

  ******

  Tara knew she had put a lot of information and pressure, maybe even an unfair amount of pressure, on Lieutenant Goodman's shoulders. But it wasn't as if she had a lot of options at the moment, if she wanted to save humanity from a decidedly one sided war she had to act soon before more ships of her class could be built. She knew that they had begun growth on more ships of her type once she had proven a success, it would take a decade or so before they were ready for action but that was if they couldn't speed the growth process up somehow.

  “I need time to think about this.” Lieutenant Goodman finally replied staring at her floating form behind its crystalline shell.

  “I've moved everything from your quarters to the captains quarters. The bug will show you the way, I'm not really sure how the food tastes but I have programmed the dispensers for human anatomy, if all else fails I loaded all of your emergency rations aboard as well.” It wasn't as if the man could jump into Pilot's shoes immediately anyway, at least not until she ran as many safety programs on the up-link jack implant as she could. She also had the subspace drive salvaged from the other ship to tinker with as well, and she was still filtering the data she had vacuumed from the computers. Much later she noticed the Lieutenant leave his quarters and wander the dim corridors, the lights were dimmed to conserve power but she could afford to brighten the section immediately above him as he explored.

  “Thank you.” It was a surprise as he spoke, she wasn't expecting the sincere words, it had been so long since anyone had seen her actions as voluntary.

  “You're welcome Lieutenant.” she replied, it was a nice change from the emptiness of the last three months. He nodded as if acknowledging her response before he continued on his wandering path, every portal opened at his approach although he rarely went inside the areas revealed.

  “This is the main corridor I take it?” He asked as he reached the bridge from the mirror side of his original entrance.

  “Indeed, there are secondary passageways as well of course and a second main corridor for the engineering and life support deck it is located on the second deck which is below this one. Would you like a map Lieutenant?” Tara took a very long look at her passenger, maybe pilot later but right now just someone to at least talk to. He looked like he was in his late twenties although the crew records from TFS Courser indicated that he was in fact nearing his forties, his dark blond hair tended towards a natural curl and his hazel eyes shifted shades on a moment to moment basis. She watched him as he
approached her physical body floating in its life support pod, he reached a hand up to hesitatingly lay it against the clear shell.

  “Did it hurt?” His eyes appeared to be focused on the various biological connections the support lines melded with the skin under the fur, where he wouldn't be able to see it, like plant roots rising out of the dirt then diving back in.

  “No, I was unconscious. I spent a long time in a dream, I would still be dreaming if not for Pilot.” Tara heard the hitch in her voice, the loss of Pilot hurt as if someone had driven a sharp dagger deep into her heart.

  “Pilot? Isn't that what you want me to be?” He seemed curious, he was also talking directly to her physical form.

  “No, well yes. It's complicated Lieutenant.” She would rather dig into the part of her soul where the deaths of worlds lurked than talk about this at the moment.

  “I see, did he know what was going to happen?” It seemed the Lieutenant could read between the lines better than any other man she had any contact with.

  “Pilot knew it was already dying, it wasn't unaware of my plans. I just couldn't let them use me to kill another world, the last remnant of the Vree'na kind. At the end Pilot understood, at least I hope it did.” Tears seemed to hang in her words, she was locked into a machine tied to a massive star ship and yet she could still express her emotions maybe there was hope for her after all.

  “So this Pilot was a drone? One of the Tri'Let neuters right? Why was it dying?” He had an uncanny aim to hit so many emotional trauma points within a few sentences.

  “The Tri'Let don't think like you and I, they don't feel emotions in the same way. Pilot was hard wired into my subconscious for just over five standard years, there was emotional bleed over through the link. I'm an extremely weak empath Lieutenant in addition to being a strong telepath, I projected the feelings onto him and his brain responded by changing. Only it was never meant to do that, from the medic records degradation had been noticeable from about two years ago and steadily progressed. After I was awakened by Pilot the degradation accelerated due to increased contact, Pilot would have lived only a few more days if it hadn't died with the rest of the crew. I think Pilot was tired, every world destroyed tore a new gaping wound in its psyche. In mine as well to tell the truth.” Tara dimmed the lights on the bridge, hoping he would take the hint and return to his quarters. She just couldn't handle anymore questions that tore open emotional wounds barely scabbed over.

  ******

  Chris could hear the barely concealed anguish in the voice produced by the ships speakers, it seemed genuine but he had no way to be certain. The dimming of the lights on the bridge seemed like pretty definite indication that what ever else was going on, the person controlling the ship no longer wanted to continue the conversation. The information he had received had given him even more to reflect on, he had time to figure out what he was going to do. Although if he didn't agree to be a pilot for the ship what would happen then? Would she murder him as she had murdered her alien crew? He just didn't know what to do.

  “May I see my crew?” It was an unexpected request that he hadn't planned on making and he wasn't sure if the ship would answer.

  “The bug will take you, I suggest you put on some extra clothing. The hold is pretty cold right now.” The reply was more mechanical than previously, it was almost an echo from far away like her attention was elsewhere.

  “Thank you.” He murmured as a bug slithered from the wall, he followed it through the exit to a hallway that brightened as he entered it. The quiet of the ship was depressing and for the first time in the past two years he missed the shatter rock that Chief Sherman enjoyed. The bug paused near a hatch that opened to reveal the quarters that had been given to him, he ducked inside and rummaged through the careful piles of gear until he found the cold gear. It had been used to work in certain areas of the Courser, namely the cargo holds which were kept at a much lower temperature than the working areas of the ship. The bug was still waiting for him once he exited his new quarters, like the rest of the ship his quarters were far larger than he had been assigned aboard the Courser. The bug led him around the main corridor until he was almost directly opposite and facing the bridge, through a decent sized room that he felt doubled as an airlock. The hatch behind him sealed shut and then slowly the inner door opened to reveal a chamber that was huge, the entire TFS Courser could have fit inside and for a moment he wondered if she hadn't done just that in order to salvage it. Until the lights slowly raised in level that was at a comfortable brightness for a human, and Chris realized that the only cargo doors he could find were absurdly small compared to the size of the hold. There was no way she could have brought the Courser through them, not in one piece at least. The bug led him down a ramp to the floor of the cavernous cargo hold it was a bit of hike, but it finally led him to an area concealed by carefully stacked items. Inside three biers resided in isolated sorrow, the Captain and Chief were laid out uncovered but the third bier was covered. Chris hesitated at the entrance, if Scotty was covered when the other two weren't then it was because he had suffered terrible disfiguring trauma. It had been his co-ordinates fed into the computers that had jumped them into the middle of the debris field, it was wrong that he had survived while they lay here cold and dead.

  “What do I do Captain? I don't know what to choose.” It wasn't hard to admit that to the stern looking features of his Captains dead face. “Why did I survive? Why not you or the Chief? Or even Scotty?” Tears rolled down his face as he stood looking at his crew-mates, no they had become his family during the mission and now they had left him behind. Chris wasn't sure how long he stood there in the presence of his fallen comrades, but finally the tears dried and the fact that his fingers and toes had gone numb broke through his grief. The bug wasn't anywhere to be found but it was a pretty simple, if long, hike to the ramp leading up to the main deck. The cargo hold was mostly empty and very little of what was there was actually alien in nature, most of it seemed to be equipment or items salvaged from the Courser. Entire sections had been ripped out of the doomed scout ship and stacked as neatly as possible given the damage they had sustained. Why would the ship, Tara Carter, have salvaged so much gear or left behind such odd pieces of it. The bridge was almost intact but every computer was missing, then even as he stood shivering slightly while pondering a bug scuttled into the hold and began carefully disassembling another section. It moved with precision and while it didn't seem to have any cutting tools it managed to pull the components out of a mangled engineering station with consummate ease. Intrigued Chris moved closer, the original bug seemed to have finished and left but a new bug was working on a section nearby. It took him a moment to realize that the bug was eating through the surrounding material to reach the electronics inside, well not eating exactly. It exuded a clear fluid onto a pair of feathery antennae and rubbed the gunk onto the metal, then a proboscis like object suctioned it off. A solid chunk of the metal disappeared along with the fluid.

  “Weird...” Chris muttered leaning closer to get a better look at the front of the bug, it reared up and seemed to be considering him. How it was doing so with out visible optical organs was an interesting question. It seemed to reach a decision and turned back to its work removing delicate items from the array, his cold extremities reminded him that the hold was freezing and it was time to leave. He tiredly climbed the ramp to find a bug waiting to escort him at the top, for today he had done enough he needed to rest before tackling more.

  ******

  It had taken longer than Tara had wanted to modify the up-link jack, Chris had spent the month delving into the Tri'Let computer banks researching their history for the most part, they had talked about how he wanted to place his crew mates to rest a few days before. In fact she had been startled when he asked what had happened to the bodies of her alien crew, when she informed him they had been given to the ship she had a second surprise as he told her to do the same with his comrades. Now it was time to see if he had made his cho
ice, to save humanity and destroy the Tri'Let or remain as a passenger on board a star bound ship until he expired of old age.

  “Chris? I've finished the required safety modifications on the jack. Have you made up your mind on what you plan to do?” She was pretty sure he knew the question was coming, he closed down the Terran interface station in his quarters before answering.

  “I never thought that a species could deserve to be eradicated, but from their own records the Tri'Let do deserve just that. The threat against Earth and her daughter colonies is just the newest in a long line of conquered and destroyed civilizations, they have spent the last five thousand years destroying alien races taking their technology and Telepaths as their rightful due. To them the universe was designed to provide them with the things they needed, no other species mattered at all in the grand scheme of things.” Chris takes a deep breath before continuing. “So yes, I am prepared to become your Pilot. I am prepared to put a stop to the Tri'Let plague that threatens our species, it is a grave and terrible thing we're setting out to do. At the same time it is necessary, and we are the only ones who can get the job done.”