by Chris Hechtl
“Yes, I know. It is good to hear from someone. To be brutally honest, I am a very busy man these days, Captain.”
“Okay, what can you tell us about what happened here?” the captain asked.
Instead of saying anything the doctor turned to his virtual assistant. She curtsied slightly then turned to the captain. “I am uploading our log and files now Captain.”
“Thank you,” the captain replied, turning briefly to Ahab. The communications officer gave a thumbs-up. The captain turned to the A.I. “We are receiving it now.”
“Good. We would appreciate the same. And if possible the doctor has some need of your scientific and engineering database. A possible discussion with your ship's doctor might also help,” the A.I. replied.
“A doctor? Is he sick?” the captain asked, turning to the human's image.
“No. Nothing like that,” the doctor said, flicking his fingers impatiently. “Research I'm working on has transgressed into fields I am not wholly familiar with,” he admitted.
“Okay,” the captain drawled.
“Most of the log is tech related, Captain. Sensor readings of the alien ships and shuttles that were within sight range of their facility,” Ahab reported quietly. “There is an event log, but it's a bit bare on details. There is little mention of any other survivors.”
“That's because I don't know of any. I haven't been keeping tabs. I've been busy with my research,” the doctor replied with a huff.
The Sorceress A.I. gave the doctor a polite smile. “He means well, Captain,” she said as she turned her smile on the captain. “I can give you the locations of known survivors. None have been using radio communications, most likely to avoid being detected from orbit. The survivors are underground.”
“Ah,” Captain Cooley murmured. “So, there are others,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Give us the coordinates. We have care packages we can drop to help with their survival. Do you need one, Doctor? We only have so many,” the captain said reluctantly.
“My needs are attended to just fine,” the doctor replied gruffly. “If you'll excuse me,” he said with a sniff as he reached out with one hand. “You can handle the details with this young lady,” he said as he shut off his signal.
“Well,” the captain said.
“I believe the term is hermit,” the Sorceress replied.
“I heard that,” a familiar male voice growled from off camera.
“Right,” the captain said, cracking a brief smile. “About the coordinates?”
“You have them already. I am accessing the files the doctor needs as we speak and copying them. As a side note, you will need to enter orbit if only for a few passes in order to drop your cargo efficiently,” the A.I. replied.
“So noted,” the captain replied with a nod.
“I have accessed your logs. Protodon was destroyed as well. That is unfortunate. It elevates the threat to civilization considerably,” the A.I. stated.
“Indeed it does,” Captain Cooley replied. “We had almost given up hope of response when you called. Thank you for timing that as you did.”
“It took time to convince the doctor that you were legitimate. My apologies,” the A.I. replied smoothly.
“Thank you again though. I will get on those coordinates,” the captain replied.
“And I will complete the download. Good day, sir,” the A.I. replied as she cut the channel.
Captain Cooley turned to Ahab. He looked up and shrugged. “Data flow is constant both ways, Captain. We're giving as much as we're getting it seems.”
“Very well,” the captain replied. “Find those coordinates for me. Try directional signals at each location. And sensors,” he turned to the sensor watch. “Get those coordinates and go over them. Let me know what is down there before we try a drop.”
“Aye aye, sir,” Kathy replied with a tone tinged with heartfelt relief.
(@)()(@)
Magellan made a spiral orbit around the planet and scanned the coordinates that Grayskull had provided. Once they were certain someone was near the area, they dropped a care package on their next pass. Each pod was nearly fifty tons packed with gear. Even the casing was useful as shelter, and the parachutes and cords could be used for various things. There were solar panels onboard, weapons, manuals, emergency rations, water purification equipment, and other things. One of the most controversial things were replicators with programming to make weapons to fight the enemy as well as survival material.
(@)()(@)
Patricia Randall saw the meteor come down while she was out gathering wood with her father. Initially the group was spooked by it, but it landed near enough for her to get over her initial fear and break with the group. She investigated the landing site carefully from a distance. When she saw the parachute fluttering in the evening breeze, she was confused. When she spotted the scorched drop pod she called excitedly to the others and then raced to get to the pod.
She was the first to arrive, but her father wasn't far behind. He used his male strength to yank a cover off once he'd figured out how to open it. He'd taken a brief second to stare at the insides before he'd started stuffing gear into his pockets, his pants, and into his shirt and sleeves. He ordered her to do the same.
That lasted until Paki and a group of hunters showed up and forced them to turn over everything they'd found. But the most important thing was a radio. The Neogorilla looked at it and then to the printed letter on the back of the panel and grunted.
“Looks like we're not alone,” he said as he turned to brandish the sign to the others. “Someone upstairs wants us to call home. I think we can do that,” he said.
“Could it be a trick? A trap?” Don asked.
“You've been stuffing your cheeks with ration packs and you ask that?” the Neogorilla asked. Don flushed and looked away.
“No, this is our second chance. We better make it a good one,” the Neogorilla vowed.
(@)()(@)
Magellan crew received the radio signal from Mrs. Thrakle with mixed feelings. They were relieved that there were additional survivors on the planet and that they had some sort of leadership available to them.
“Thank you for your package. We were nearly out of hope down here,” the woman said quietly.
“We're sorry we can't send more, ma'am,” Ynes said sincerely as she waited for the skipper to finish waking up before he got to the bridge.
“I know that. You did what you could with what you had. We are doing the same,” Mrs. Thrakle replied.
“If I may ask, your husband is listed as the governor. Is he …?”
“He died during the evacuation,” the woman replied in a serene yet sad tone of voice. “He waited until the last minute; he tried to reason with the aliens and helped with the evacuation of the hospital. Unfortunately, he ran out of time.”
Ynes closed her eyes in pain. “I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am,” she said after a long moment.
“It is what it is.”
“Here is the captain,” Ynes said as she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. She turned and nodded once as Captain Cooley took over the conversation.
“Mrs. Thrakle, it is good to hear from someone other than Doctor Grayskull. No offense to him, but I'm glad someone else down there survived,” the captain replied.
“I take it you are in contact with other survivors? The aliens? What of them?”
“They left for the moment. We don't know why or where. I strongly suggest you take this opportunity to gather what supplies you can but stick close to the caves.”
“Oh, we will do that most definitely,” the woman vowed.
“If you can find a way to build better homes, perhaps underground?” he suggested.
“Another good idea we will take into consideration.”
“I don't know how much more we can help, ma'am; we are out of care packages. If you have a computer, we can hook you into our database so you can copy files you may need and upload a log.”
“Unfortunately, all of our hand-held devices lost power long ago. We have a few that are powered by body heat but they are internal. I don't know how they could hook up with your radio … oh, Wi-Fi?”
“Yes, ma’am. And you can use that set to contact Doctor Grayskull and the other survivors while we're in orbit. Magellan will bounce the signal for you. Once we leave you'll be restricted to line of sight or AM,” he warned.
“Very well,” the woman replied. “I believe we can use that to our advantage while we can.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. If you could perhaps shuttle some of my people? I know you can't evacuate any …?”
The captain made a face. “Unfortunately, we're a survey ship, ma'am. We are maxed out on crew as it is.”
“Ah, I see. A pity. I was hoping you could take on some of the children.”
“No, ma'am. We are going into harm's way. We intend to check each of the colonies. Most likely Pyrax and Janus were hit first.”
“Ah. I see. Okay then, that is out.”
“But I can put you in contact with our doctor to help diagnose ailments remotely. And my engineer has been studying bush tech and survival methods. We have two survival experts onboard; they can walk you through some of what they know too, ma'am.”
“Very well. I'll put Paki on, and we'll see what we can learn while you are here.”
“That sounds good to me, ma'am,” the captain said as he pointed a finger at the communications tech on duty and then made a circular motion to have her round up the people he had indicated. She nodded and then quietly murmured into her hush mike to page the people.
(@)()(@)
The Sorceress took the call when Magellan requested further contact. The ship was about to move out; she understood that the crew wanted to check in once more. She had monitored the growing radio network with a sense like human relief. The doctor wasn't the only organic left on the planet. She had already written a program to alert the radio network when the aliens showed up once more.
“You reported another Terran ship had passed through recently? But you didn't make contact?” Ahab asked carefully. “Why?”
“It was a command decision,” the A.I. replied, referring him to the doctor. “Doctor?” she asked, addressing the question to the doctor.
“Yes, yes, a ship came but she left. No, I didn't get the name,” Doctor Grayskull replied testily.
“It was the Sacagawea I believe,” the Sorceress interjected smoothly.
“If you knew that, why'd you involve me?” the doctor demanded.
“Some social contact is necessary for your mental health,” the A.I. replied.
The doctor glared at her image. “I see I put a too much woman in you, young lady. Perverse just like your gender,” he said with a shake of his head.
The A.I. just shook her head. When he turned away, she stuck her tongue out at him briefly. When he turned back, she had her best innocent expression up.
Ahab chuckled.
“We are decompressing the copy of the files the doctor has been interested in,” the A.I. stated.
“Yes, but it is damn frustrating that they aren't in-depth! And they are out of date!” the doctor growled. “These are next to useless!”
“But they are the basics and tell you if you are on track,” his A.I. replied. “And they fill in the foundation you have been missing.”
“True,” the doctor grumbled.
“Well, we've got to be going. If you can think of anything else, please let us know before we jump.”
“I will note your departure time and speed just in case.”
“You have my notes on the ships and her sensor recordings. Don't lose them,” the doctor growled. “And I've uploaded some of my blueprints to you. I expect them to be patented and my rights respected,” he said tartly.
“I'm certain they will, sir. They will definitely come to great use, especially the energy shields. It is a pity the cities didn't have them or the whole planet. And that energy weapon you were working on, our engineers were salivating over that!”
“Energy weapons … shields … have I been on the wrong subject for so long? Am I that blind?” the doctor asked, slapping his forehead. “Of course! That's what we need! Not super soldiers, we need shields! It's been staring at me in the face this whole time! Oh my God, I'm such an idiot! But the surface area … the power demands to cover an entire city let alone a planet …?” he shook his head as the engineering problem took over his mind.
Ahab caught a significant look from the XO, one that told him to wind it up. “And with that, I think we'll be off. Good luck,” Ahab said with a rueful shake of his head as he closed the channel.
(@)()(@)
Shelton felt horrible as he followed his orders and directed Magellan to break orbit. The ship settled on the course he had plotted as they departed the star system. There wasn't much more they could do for the people down below. As tempting as it was to linger, they still had a mission to complete and two other colonies to visit.
They would have to jump the jump chain of star systems for Pyrax next. He dreaded what they'd find there.
Chapter 11
Pyrax
Magellan jumped the line of star systems carefully to arrive at the outskirts of the Pyrax star system. Shelton had outdone himself with the ride, shaving off several days of transit time.
The survey ship exited her hyper wake and went dark immediately. She used her drive in a series of short thruster bursts to put the ship on a ballistic course past the planet. Shelton Saint James, the ship's lead selkie hyperspace helmsman and navigator, had crafted a careful course to pass near the planet and allow the ship to head to the Janus star system next.
(@)()(@)
“We have a hyperspace emergence. A ship has entered the star system. Backtracking vector now … it looks like it came from the neighboring star system north of us,” Jeeves reported. He put up a short repeating video of the hyperspace flash onto the screen. Jack frowned.
“ID?”
“Too far out to see it at the moment.”
“Okay, keep me posted,” Jack stated.
“Yes, sir,” the A.I. replied.
“And pass the word to batten down the hatches.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
(@)()(@)
Slowly Magellan spent two weeks tiptoeing into the star system. They were spooked by the sight of the derelict alien battleship until the sensor crew confirmed it was dead. That sparked the question as to why and how.
“Well, the station is still there. So is the automated gas giant refinery, sir,” a sensor tech reported as they neared the planet.
“Interesting,” Captain Cooley murmured.
“Can we get a look at the planet?” Ynes asked.
“The range is still long, but the telescopes are focusing on them now,” the rating reported. “Coming up on the main screen,” she said.
A collective gasp of dismay was uttered over the sight of the image of the slowly turning planet. The craters where once growing cities had been were easily visible even at that distance.
“All those people,” Ahab Yung, the communications officer murmured. “They never stood a chance.”
“Is there anyone even alive down there?” Ynes murmured.
“Well, there is one way to find out. Ahab, raise the planet,” Captain Cooley ordered.
“Sir, break stealth? We don't know if the aliens are down there,” Ynes warned.
“I know it is a risk. But with the station there and that dead ship, I think we'll chance it. But helm,” the helmsman looked up over her shoulder to the captain, “be prepared to shift course and get us out of here if it goes south.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
“Sir, we've identified satellites in orbit. They are not in the same orbits as the ones we previously saw,” the sensor rating reported. “They appear Terran built however.”
“How can you tell?” Ynes asked.
“I zoomed in,” the tech said
, showing her an image of a satellite. The image zoomed in closer to show markings in English.
“Oh,” the XO replied.
“Try calling one of them or the station first. See if we can get a telemetry feed, maybe a log,” the captain ordered.
“Aye aye, sir,” Ahab Yung replied.
Ynes bit her lip but didn't venture any further protests.
(@)()(@)
“Sir, someone is … caller ID confirmed,” Jeeves said after less than a half second break in his sentence. “The ship is Magellan. She is attempting to access the station and satellite network.”
Jack sat back and rubbed his upper lip. He felt relief at that news. “Put them through to us,” Jack ordered.
“Bouncing the signal now,” Jeeves reported as they established contact with the ship.
(@)()(@)
“Sir, we're getting a signal from the station. It is audio-visual. The caller is human,” the communications tech reported with clear relief in his voice.
“Put it through,” the captain said, feeling a load lift off his mind as he saw the image of Governor Lagroose appear on his main screen. There was a murmur of pleasure from the bridge watch at the sight of the human.
“Governor, I'm glad to see you still here,” Captain Cooley said with some relief in his voice. He was still haunted by what he'd seen in Protodon and on Antigua.
“Most of us,” Jack said dryly.
“We saw the ship. Can I ask …?” The captain looked expectantly at Jack's image.
“Well, you could say we taught them a bit of our recent history. Or I should say Jeeves did,” Jack said with a feral smile.
“Ah,” Captain Cooley said slowly as he caught on. When it dawned on him fully, his eyes widened and he whistled. That made Ynes look up sharply and over to him but he didn't notice her. Slowly he nodded to Jack's image. “Damn. It looks like it worked too.”
“Yeah. Couldn't have happened to a nicer set of a-holes actually. They did a thorough job of obliterating decades of work,” Jack said sourly.
“I'm glad that big bastard is dead then. It's one less ship for the Navy to fight … when they get around to coming here,” Captain Cooley said.