by Travis Sande
"Yeah it is, all you have to do is go on down to the rift lab and burn your eyes and face off with radiation. Bob’s your uncle, free spa day." Derrick played off the mood, happy to hear Hank’s voice.
"I'll probably just read a book or something instead." Hank said. "You ready to move?" Snapping back into the moment.
"Yeah, thanks for coming to help." Derrick sat up on the table, the pain in his chest was still there but noticeably lessened.
"Well I figured if you can save everyone's life I can probably hold your hand for a nice walk down the corridor. We're even though." Hank approached the table.
"Deal." Derrick said as he slid his legs off the edge of the table and searched for the ground with his feet. Once his feet were solidly planted, he tried to stand.
Hank wrapped his large arms around Derrick's torso and helped him up. The pain in his chest was more evident while upright.
"Wait… wait, I haven't applied the pain treatment device. It's going to be on your left shoulder, Derrick." Sian said as she lifted the back of his shirt and applied the patch-like device.
"Got it. Do I have to do anything with that?" Derrick asked as Hank helped him to the door.
"No, it will function for three days. If after three days you are still in pain, please return to me for additional treatment." Sian pulled Derrick’s shirt back down to cover the treatment patch.
"Thanks, Sian." Derrick grabbed onto Hank, leaning most of his weight into him.
"That's why I am here, good luck on the bridge." Sian replied from behind Derrick as he and Hank were starting out the door.
Derrick was still trying to remain calm with his lack of sight. The loud clack of the door closing behind him was more evident than ever before. Hank was holding him upright and doing more than his share of the work in getting Derrick to the bridge. Derrick knew he was large but hadn't appreciated his strength as he was nearly carrying him down the corridor.
"You can probably let my feet touch the ground a few times, Hank" Derrick joked.
"We are almost there." Hank said as Derrick heard the doors to the bridge slip open.
"Derrick!" Kim yelled from the right side of the room as Derrick entered. "You're up!" She said.
"Yeah, well, Hank is carrying me." Derrick said. "I heard you guys needed an expert navigator up here."
"Have you seen him?" Yanna said, her voice surprised Derrick from behind him and to the left. Clearly, she wasn't going to pull any punches. Derrick turned to face the direction of her voice, but before he could comment, Yanna reacted. "Oh, I am sorry. Are you ok?"
"I must really look bad." Derrick said. "I am fine, just a cyborg now. I can detect everything with my new eyes."
"Actually, he is one hundred percent blind. He is wearing regenerative lenses due to substantial burns he sustained." Sian must have followed them into the room.
"Thanks, Sian." Derrick said. “Couldn’t let me be a superhuman cyborg for two seconds.”
"I am happy to see you in good spirits, Derrick." Kim said. The voices jumped out at Derrick from all directions as he struggled to face each speaker.
Hank led Derrick over to his seat and gently sat him down. Once in his chair, Derrick reached out at his console searching for the controls. He gained his bearings by locating the manual controls of his pilot's seat.
"Luke, brief Derrick." Lorn's voice was added to the darkness.
"We have altered course and increased speed." Luke said. "Eilik and I have been attempting to ascertain our new potential destination. The current course takes us through several systems. We can't be sure which one, if any are the destination."
"Wait, increased speed? Is that possible, Eilik? Is Eilik here?" Derrick reached out for information.
"I am here, Derrick. Higher speeds have been theorized but never attempted." Eilik informed Derrick. “Theories were always shot down before reaching full potential. Our earlier top speed was seen as the limit of RIP technology. This is unprecedented in Vryl society as well.”
"I don't understand, are we talking about a deliberate course alteration here?" Derrick was baffled by what he was hearing.
"Originally Eilik and I believed it could have been a disruption caused by the matrix. However, once the matrix was shut down the course continued to change. Once a new course was stable, the speed increased. The specificity of the adjustment and the speed increase have led us to the conclusion that yes, this was deliberate." Luke's words troubled Derrick deeply. What were the implications of this?
"With the rift matrix down we are cut off completely from Earth or Setu correct? Was anyone able to send a message outlining our situation before the shutdown?" Derrick asked.
"The only message that was sent before the shutdown sequence initiated was my report of the initial fluctuations. Once the shutdown was underway, all communications were blocked." Lorn said. "They will know we experienced abnormal circumstances before the blackout. I included the readings in the report. I also had Nik send a message over normal frequencies regarding our course change. With our speed and time travelled that message won't arrive for roughly five years in either direction."
"Another reason for our belief that this was intentional. Day one hundred and ninety-three of a year long journey puts us almost exactly in the middle between both locations." Luke pushed home his point. “That’s when I would do it.”
"What are we talking about here, someone onboard did this?" Derrick wanted to get up to speed on every aspect of their situation.
"Impossible, no one on this ship, including myself, has the ability to execute something like this. If it were only the speed increase, it would be unlikely, but possible. Altering a RIP course has never been attempted or even theorized to my knowledge." Eilik’s words only made Derrick’s confusion worse.
Derrick lowered his head into his hands to think. "Bring me fully up to speed, what conclusions have we drawn. Was the rift also a deliberate attack?"
"That is our assumption. Either as a distraction for the course adjustment or simply to cut us off." Lorn replied.
"So, we are totally isolated, don't know our destination, and we have no idea how or why this happened?" Derrick said, starting to panic. "How is everyone so calm, what am I missing?"
"You were unconscious for a little over an hour, panic is not helpful in this situation. Kim has been providing treatment to those who lose control of their emotions. I need every single person ready to contribute. If you feel a sense of anxiety or panic, that is understandable, Kim can treat you." Lorn said.
"So that's why everyone was cracking jokes while we careen into the unknown?" Derrick was struggling to deal with their circumstances. "Drug us up?"
"Essentially, yes. If you have a better idea, I am all ears. Until then I would like Kim to treat you." Lorn’s voice grew concerned.
Derrick felt nauseous as he tried to take deep breaths. He put his head down again with his hands on his thighs. Voices began to echo around him. He couldn't make out what they were saying as they became more and more distant. He was grateful for his lack of vision as he could feel the room spinning around him. He was hyperventilating as the pain from his chest broke through the barricade of Sian's pain medication. His arms began to tingle, and he couldn't sit any longer. He stood to try and get some more air into his lungs. His balance was severely inhibited. Reaching out blindly, he attempted to steady himself. There was nothing within his reach and he could feel a hand slip off his arm as he fell.
Chapter 9
Home
"The ISO has shut down their matrix." Communications officer, Paul Mete said.
"What do you mean?" General Melissa Lorn asked. "Kris, confirm that please."
"They sent a message a few moments earlier that is partially decoded. It appears they were experiencing rift fluctuations just prior to the shutdown." Kris confirmed. The news was so abrupt that she hadn't had time to process it. Kris knew that the general's husband was commanding the ISO. "Perhaps it was a precaution in response to the
fluctuations."
"Let us hope." Melissa agreed.
"We’re receiving a data package as well" Kris said as she worked to process the information.
"Get Niri in here, now." Melissa barked an order to the back of the room. "Bring this to the attention of Lest. I want everyone on this."
Kris began deciphering the information she had received from the ISO. It appeared to be a technical readout of the fluctuations they had incurred. The information was beyond her capabilities and she just did her best to prepare it for Niri's arrival.
"Whatever Vryl are on hand, inform them of the situation and get one of them in here. Top priority." Melissa continued to reach out for resources.
Kris saw Niri run into the room and head straight for her. Clearly the urgency of the situation was relayed to her.
"What do we have?" Niri shouted as she approached.
"The ISO has lost their rift and we are in total communications blackout. There is a data package here that Kris is preparing. I would like you to take a look at it." Melissa pointed to Kris at the front of the communications room. “Get down there.”
Kris turned her monitor to face Niri as she neared. The package had just finished uploading and reorganizing.
"These look relatively tame. I have reviewed multiple Vryl transportation analyses and these fluctuations don't exceed anything I saw before. They would be troubling, but I am sure Eilik or Luke wouldn't have shut down the rift due to this. They must have experienced something immediately following this that was more concerning." Niri Sotul was an engineering technician that spent all her time studying Vryl capabilities. She was the leading human authority on the subject. She worked closely with Luke Amrose in designing some of the ISO's systems.
"I need to know if and how we can re-establish communications with the ISO. We also need to begin prep of the FYRA to launch earlier than expected. We don't have time to waste and if something catastrophic occurred we need a recon team heading in their direction A.S.A.P." Melissa was doing her best to regain some semblance of control over the situation.
"If we launched today, we would not arrive at the last point of contact for six months." Niri said. "I don't know if it's worth rushing the second project too substantially. It is scheduled to leave next month."
"Some of the Vryl researchers have been theorizing higher RIP velocity. I think this situation justifies a test. The launch date will be moved to as soon as possible without sacrificing major safety concerns." Melissa was wasting no time getting operations in action regarding the disappearance of the ISO.
"Yes, ma’am." Niri replied.
"Kris, contact Setu actual as soon as you can, they need to begin working on solutions." Melissa spun back around to face Kris.
"Got it." Kris said. She immediately began ensuring that Setu received all the data. Kris noticed an incoming rift message. "Setu is sending a message as we speak, sir. I will decode it now." Kris began working as fast as she could to translate the message from Setu. "It appears that they have received the data and have reached similar conclusions to us. They will be launching several vehicles to the last know destination of the ISO."
"Good, I need to get the FYRA up as soon as we can. I also want a Vryl volunteer willing to assist you, Niri. Time to push the limits of RIP capabilities." Melissa continued. "For now, we will be operating under the assumption that the ISO is still safely on route to Setu."
"The Vryl aren't sending RIP vehicles. They estimate a five year arrival at the last point of contact." Kris said. "They have deemed it too dangerous to have a RIP conclusion without an array in place."
Kris watched Melissa struggle with the idea. In her haste she had clearly overlooked one of the fundamentals of RIP travel; the massive release of energy at the RIP conclusion.
"If they are in the region of the last message we received, a RIP conclusion could destroy any evidence or survivors of an accident." Niri had a sense of defeat about her tone.
"We need a solution to this. Waiting five years is not acceptable. Niri, confer with our Vryl companions here. We can hope it's unneeded and the ISO arrives at Setu in just under six months, but we must prepare for everything." Melissa jumped down to the front of the room, joining Niri and Kris.
"Off the top of my head, we could RIP to open space near the ISO last point of contact. From there we could fire standard engines to reach the ISO. It would significantly reduce travel time." Niri began speculating on possible options.
"We advise against taking such action. The unknown life that persists throughout the universe could be inadvertently affected or destroyed by an open space RIP conclusion. There is no way to determine what is occupying the space surrounding your destination. We can avoid larger celestial bodies but small vessels, or even organic life could be present at any time without our knowledge." Torrin, the senior Vryl representative located on Earth entered the room and the conversation.
"Five years is too long to investigate the potential destruction of our vessel and crew." Melissa wasn’t arguing, she was demanding.
"Throughout our history using RIP travel we have experienced rift shutdowns many times. Ninety-nine point eight seven five percent arrived safely." Torrin continued. "It is highly unlikely that the vessel was destroyed with Eilik monitoring the system. He is arguably the most capable rift specialist we have."
"Unlikely isn't of much comfort, I would like to know, and as soon as possible. I refuse to wait five months to see if they arrive. I also refuse to wait five years to begin an investigation." Melissa passionately pushed on. "We will hold a council on the matter and discuss the safest RIP opportunities. For now, I am going to begin prep of the FYRA. I would suggest that you and Niri take a closer look at all the data we received."
Kris could see the disappointment in the Vryl's demeanor. Melissa was being very direct and commanding. Kris thought that General Melissa Lorn may have been too close to the project. Her emotions seemed to be getting the better of her. Jonathan Lest had been handling the situation as the admiral of the human stellar fleet. Melissa would only step in occasionally to oversee or approve resource allocation. Today just happened to be a day she showed particular interest in the mission.
"Yes, ma’am" Niri said as she accompanied Torrin to the back office of the area. It was a small room that adjoined the main communication hub. It housed several interfaces and a central holo-table for conferences.
"Send out an open message to the engineering team and Vryl presence. We need to have every detail of that data examined." Melissa said. "Alert the admiral and members of the Triumvirate, we need to begin a council to discuss our options."
"I will do that immediately." Kris spun her panel back to begin drafting a message to the Triumvirate.
Kris issued notices to all the senior staff, human and Vryl. She was growing concerned of Melissa's personal feelings and was hopeful that Admiral Lest's presence would be a balancing factor in the decision making. She issued the admiral's notice first and marked it as urgent. He was stationed nearby and could be on site within minutes.
After sending a personal message to Lest, she sent out a broad open message to all members applicable to the situation. While writing the open council invite, Kris received an acknowledgement from Lest. He received it and would be there as soon as he could.
"The admiral is incoming." Kris told Melissa.
"Good, we have no time to waste. Paul, can you please finish the council invitation. Kris you're with me." Melissa turned and started toward the back of the room.
"Understood." Paul said as he looked up at Kris. He made a concerned face as he shook his head and turned back to his console.
Kris felt the same concern for the situation. What had happened and why was it so sudden. The last six months had been running smoothly. Her job was simple and mundane. Most days was just receiving personal messages from the crew and arranging their distribution to the appropriate destination. The last time anything felt this serious was back when the mission first started
, and the ISO was dealing with an infection. Even then, they were still in direct contact, so nothing ever felt this distant.
Melissa led the way straight into the room where Niri and Torrin were combing the data package they had received. Kris followed closely behind. Melissa liked to have Kris on hand for any immediate messages that needed to be sent. Very few people had the capability to utilize the rift technology and Kris was one of them. With a mobile device that was surgically installed, she was able to issue messages directly to the rift for distribution. It was an experimental technology that the Vryl used. Kris was the first and only human to undergo the procedure.
Utilizing a fusion of Vryl physiology, human physiology, robotics, and artificial intelligence, the device was the next step in technological advancement. The interface was in her arm but unlike the CCD, the device was connected directly to her nervous system. The physical interface was primarily for diagnostics as all communications could be done within Kris' head. Several tendrils of Vryl neural tissue extended from the device and attached to the base of her brain. Whenever Kris would utilize the device, it felt like she was maneuvering through a dream. She could close her eyes and watch the algorithm decipher incoming communications. Traversing the mental interface was simple; all input was handled through mere thought. Messages could be created and sent almost instantly. As a result, Kris became a vital tool for senior staff on location. At any time, all raw data intended for certain personnel could be routed instantly to her for real-time decoding.
The long-term effects of such a fusion were being monitored regularly by Pamela Rofe, a biologist stationed on Earth. Kris had volunteered for the procedure two months ago and the fusion was functioning optimally. The only side effect noted was fatigue after extended use. Several more communications officers were currently being groomed for the procedure following her success.
"The admiral is on route, I would like to have a more detailed report by the time he arrives. We need something to work with here. Officer Mete is sending out an alert to all human and Vryl engineering teams to meet with us here. I know we are running on limited resources, but we can't allow that to deter us." Melissa was wasting little time. She may have been close to the mission, but no one could argue against her capability.