by Max Dane
Suddenly the creature began spinning, and as it did, it touched the other forms that were floating in the solution around it. Each creature that it touched morphed into the fifth form, until all of them were the fifth form. Seconds later the effect was over and they all reverted back to their distinct forms, returning to work and pillaging atoms from the matter around them.
“This is exciting because it reveals that they respond to specific stimuli. In this case, Dr. Nath actually shut them down briefly by transmitting the electromagnetic signature for hydrogen. I believe he tricked them into believing they were surrounded by hydrogen, and since they aren’t interested in hydrogen, they morphed to an inert state.”
Finn said, “But only until something better comes along?”
“That’s right. They’re constantly seeking new matter, but we see that they seem to have programmed behaviors. I propose that we study them with the intention of exploiting this vulnerability.”
“Who made them, where are they from, Dr. Yates?” It was the communications officer, Lieutenant Banton. Julian terminated the video and returned to his seat.
“That’s the question that has the Science Council in such turmoil. It’s also the question that has spurred the cooperation between the Fleet Admiral and the Science Council Prime Director. The answer is we don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“What you just witnessed is a technology far beyond our own. I can say that it is not any technology of the League of Worlds, nor of the dissident colonies. It is alien.”
Finn sat up, “Alien? Julian, in all these years, we’ve never come across an intelligent alien life form. Are you sure?”
“These creatures are obviously synthesized, artificial. We have no means advanced enough to fabricate them; therefore, they were made by someone else.”
Finn could see the impact the idea was having on the group assembled around him. It was time to move on. “Very well, Dr. Yates. How do you propose we begin our investigation?”
“We must return to the Cetus system, to the Madras colony. There we will study the creatures and try to discern a means of shutting them down permanently.”
The idea of returning to Madras, the place where the crew of the Ajax lost their ship, set the whole room in motion. Seeing the unrest around the table, Finn held his hands up, “Quiet please, listen to me. We’re not going back unprepared. We have modified sensors to scan for the creatures in space, and an electromagnetic barrier shield to keep them at bay. We will not be taken by surprise, because we know what to look for now.”
Julian added, “That’s right. This ship is designed to keep us safe.”
“I believe we’ve heard enough, Julian. Everyone, take your posts, keep a level head, and stay cool. This meeting is adjourned,” said Finn.
Micha quickly stood and said loudly, “We depart in one hour, people. Watch what you’re doing and report to me if you have problems.”
Julian and Finn remained after the room cleared. “Now, do you see why I was ready to allow Dr. Nath to join us?”
“I suppose, but you must understand how violent the dissidents can be. I don’t like the idea of having two threats during this mission, one outside, and one inside.”
“I need him, Finn. It was a brilliant move to transmit the EM frequency of hydrogen to the organisms, and one that no scientist in the League thought of.”
“Yes, I see that. But a scorpion is still a scorpion even when it’s your pet. Nath is not to be trusted. He can stay as an observer only. He has no access to any computer systems, and he brings nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing on this ship. Any belongings are to be scanned and stored off-ship before we leave. Is that clear, Dr. Yates?”
“Yes, I understand. I can do that.”
Finn walked him to the door, “Well then, Julian, let’s get under way. I’d like to see what this thing can do.”
Chapter 8
“Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.”
- Samuel Johnson
“Mr. Keating, take us out.”
The pilot, Daniel Keating, anxiously took a last survey of his console before engaging the new engines. With no chance to properly test them, he couldn’t help but wince as the ship slowly began to move. Noticing the nervous pilot, Finn stifled a laugh when Keating actually breathed a sigh of relief, as the ship pulled out of the Adare shipyard. “Well done, Mr. Keating. Now set course for the jump to New Brazil, and punch it, Mr. Keating; let’s see what the Athena can do.”
Keating carefully levered up the thrust, watching as his gauges measured the performance of the newly designed Magneto-Plasma Drives. They were green in every gauge and humming, no purring, quite nicely. He was starting to have fun. Taking the engines to fifty percent, the Athena streaked across the Adare star system. At sixty-five percent, they matched the full running speed of the Ajax. He increased thrust to eighty-five percent of full and sat back as the Athena rocketed across space faster than any ship he’d ever served on. He looked over to the navigator, Mathis Eton, and then back over his shoulder to the Commander and Captain Holt. His grin said it all.
Finn smiled, “Well, Julian, I think our pilot approves of the new engines.”
Sitting at the science station on the port side, Julian nodded, “At this speed, I estimate we will reach the jump in ninety-seven minutes.”
“That has to be some kind of record,” said Alex from the station to his left.
“Captain, the next jump will be a good opportunity to test the field generators. I’ve written a routine to automate the barrier shield after emerging from the jump. The barrier must be raised and operating immediately on our return to normal space, to ensure the safety of the ship.”
“Very good, Dr. Yates,” said Finn, “Mr. Eton, please integrate Julian’s barrier routine into your list of jump procedures. Be ready to try it when we jump to New Brazil.”
Alex stood up and said, “Permission to go to the research bay, Captain. I’m interested in reviewing Julian’s data.”
Finn nodded, “Yes, of course, permission granted.”
Alex left the bridge and headed to the laboratories making up the bulk of the ship’s interior space. He entered the first lab, amazed at the scale of the investigation. The equipment they brought on board was uniquely chosen for the study of the scourge, and imminently state-of-the-art. The whole operation made his makeshift lab on the Juliet seem more like a hobby than a lab. He continued on through to the next research space, which was obviously arranged for containment. If they captured a sample for study, this was surely where they would hold it. Looking at the hardware, and how it was positioned, he guessed that the holding facility itself could be enclosed within its own magnetic bottle. Moving on he said ‘hello’ to a number of researchers, remaining unchallenged even into their data library. He walked up as the dissident scientist, Dr. Nath, was arguing with an attendant. As he spoke, he tugged at the ill-fitting flight suit he was forced to wear.
“For the third time, will you please bring me the logs from this man, Carter Barringer. He was part of the Fleet investigation at Madras.”
The attendant was shaking his head when Alex stepped up. “Actually, Dr. Nath, I was going to review the same materials. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind looking at them together?”
“What is your name?” he demanded.
“Dr. Alex Stiles, science advisor to the captain and acting liaison to the Science Council representative.” Alex was cool, unperturbed by Nath’s rough stance.
“You work for the man who did this?” Nath pointed to the large bruise covering the front of his neck.
“Yes I do, but you must understand that he lost a lot of friends in the battle at Jorund’s Hope. His natural reaction, while terribly unfortunate, was out of a feeling of great loss. Surely, you understand loss, Doctor Nath?”
Nath was bald and shorter by a foot, and he looked a bit silly in the Fleet insignia jumpsuit. Alex thought that it
was probably all that was available in the short time before they left. It was clearly too big, leaving large bunches around his waist and sock-like extensions at his feet. He scratched his torso and pulled up the left leg. “Very well, I thank you, Dr. Stiles. I will be happy to share the research materials with you.”
“Please, call me Alex. Now let’s get those investigation logs, shall we?”
The two made their way to a worktable while the attendant gathered the media together. Alex said, “I’m very interested in your experiments as well; perhaps we can compare notes.” Nath sat down, “Yes, I would like that very much, Alex.”
The attendant arrived with a cart filled with data tapes and journals.
Alex smiled, “Dr. Nath, I believe this is the start of a very productive relationship.”
As the Athena Rising approached the jump point to New Brazil, Commander Alwin turned away from the navigator’s station, “Captain, our jump protocol has been updated to include Dr. Yates’ Barrier Field routine.”
“Very good, Commander. Are we ready to make the jump?”
With a glance to Lieutenant Keating, she nodded.
Finn rubbed his hand along the edge of the control panel on his armrest; now it was his turn to be nervous. Taking an untested ship through a gravitational differential was not something he ever imagined he would do. Any single flaw in the ship’s hull or imbalance in the mechanical configuration could kill them. The whole ship was about to be put to the test, with the safety of the crew, the prize. Julian saw his hesitation and could sense his reluctance, “It’s a fine ship, Captain.”
Finn looked up and smiled, “Indeed it is, Dr. Yates.” And turning to the pilot, he said, “Mr. Keating, take us in.”
“Attention, crew of the Athena, prepare to jump in three, two, one- ”
Finn gripped the arms of the command chair as the world fell away around them. His senses lost as they were swept away by forces far beyond any control.
And then an abrupt mind-bending return to normalcy.
Finn was still shaking it off; he heard the navigator saying something, loudly. He couldn’t make it out. Seconds later and still recovering, he could hear him say, “We made it, and the Barrier Field appears to be operating well within operational parameters.”
Finn nodded and wiped his face; the jump disorientation passed.
“Mr. Eton, please run a ship-wide diagnostic while we cross this system to the next jump point. I want to confirm that the Athena made it through as well as she seems.”
Then he turned to the communications station, “Lieutenant, please hail the port authority in New Brazil, and patch me through to Miko Radke.”
She nodded and began transmitting to the colony.
Micha stood up and leaned over to Finn, “I’m going to go find Alex. Care to join us for lunch?”
“Yes, I’ll wrap this up and meet you in the wardroom in just a few minutes.”
She left the bridge as Miko’s face appeared on the big screen.
“Greetings, Finn, I see you have another ship.”
“Miko, it’s good to see you. Yes, this is the Athena Rising. She’s a new ship; you would like her. It’s part of the reason why I’m calling. I wanted to thank you for looking after me during our stay in New Brazil. I appreciate how you made my crew and me, feel at home. You have a beautiful world, Miko.”
“You’re welcome, Finn, but you can tell me in person when you come to get your things.”
He smiled, “I’d love to, but I don’t know when that will be. We’re in a bit of a hurry. Miko, I have one more favor to ask. Will you please tell your father I said, ‘Thank you’. We all owe him greatly for his help, but none more than me. Jacob is a good man and a good friend.”
“I’ll tell him, Finn.” She smiled, and waved goodbye.
“Goodbye Miko,” said Finn. With a quick nod to Lieutenant Banton, the screen returned to the forward view. “Thank you, Lieutenant,” he said standing up. “Mr. Keating, take us to the next jump. You have the bridge.”
In the wardroom, Finn sat down to lunch with Alex and Micha.
“I just spent the last hour reviewing research data with our new friend, Dr. Yeltor Nath.”
“He shouldn’t be on this ship, Finn,” said Micha.
“Yes, well I happen to agree with you, but Julian either feels indebted for the information this man brought, or he feels that Nath might still have something to offer. Either way, Julian swears we need him.”
They were alone, but Alex still lowered his voice, “Does Julian know the man is Vera’Kai?”
Micha looked from Alex to Finn, “I don’t know what that means.”
Alex leaned forward, “It is the status given to the people working directly for the Scion of the Red Star, their religious leader. This man, Yeltor Nath, was no small scientist working in any run-of-the-mill colony.”
“That means he worked closely with the madman who ordered the attack on the rescue ships at Jorund’s Hope.” Finn added through gritted teeth, “Alex, are you certain? How do you know?”
“He wears the red diamond of the Scion, a tattoo on the back of his head; they call it ‘The eye that looks away’. Believe me, I know what it is. During my time on the Juliet, we used to run into dissidents at the stops we made. Sometimes, I would read their literature, just to pass the time.”
Finn thought about it, “Alex, Micha, I don’t think we should say anything or let on that we know. It might help, if he tries anything.”
“He certainly seems interested in defeating the scourge,” said Alex. “I believe he lost someone special, perhaps his family, when his own colony was destroyed.”
“All the same, Alex, keep an eye on him.”
Micha tried the ‘synth-chicken’ not sure what to expect, and found that it was actually quite tasty. Taking another piece, she changed the subject, “Finn, do you really believe the scourge was created by aliens? I mean of all the star systems we’ve been to, and not a single piece of evidence to suggest they’re out there. It’s hard to believe.”
“I believe that we didn’t make the scourge, and I have a hard time believing the dissident colonies could be more advanced than our own.”
“Then wouldn’t there be something, some detail, on the things to prove it?”
“Something like, ‘Made by little green men,’ or a logo with a three-fingered hand?” he said laughing.
“Or a tentacle,” she said with a giggle.
Alex leaned back and put his fork down, “That’s actually very nearly what I’m working on.”
“What? Be serious, Doctor,” said Micha.
“Well, think about it,” said Alex, “If we were to fabricate something from the colony, New Brazil, a good detective would know it. The method of fabrication, the tools we used, the oxygen content in the materials used, or maybe something as simple as a single symbol left hidden inside. My point is, you’re right. It would be very hard to make something without leaving any clues as to where it came from.”
“So, you’re looking for clues.”
“Yes, I am. And I think that when we figure out where they came from, we’ll figure out how to turn them off.”
Finn finished and stood up, “Well, I hope you figure it out quickly, Alex, because the thought of going back into the Cetus system scares us all. Speaking of which, I ordered a ship-wide diagnostic to make sure the ship passed the last jump in good condition. In the usual circumstances, it would be a group of engineers testing the ship like this, not us. I don’t mind saying that the last jump had me on edge.”
Micha stood up too, “I’ll follow up on the results.”
“Thanks, Micha. I’m going to take a shower and get cleaned up. Both of you should try to get some rest. Things will get hard after the jump to New Dublin.”
Alex nodded to them as they left, rubbing the back of his head lightly.
Finn returned to his quarters, showered, and changed clothes. Hopefully, he could get some sleep before the jump, but with this mu
ch activity around the ship, there was no guarantee. Before finding his bed he sat down at the desk. “Computer, display all files associated with Alex Stiles, cross-reference with the Juliet.” Data began to fill up the screen.
Micha found Julian knocking on her cabin door, as she came walking down the hall.
“Hello, Julian, I’m here.”
“Micha,” he said smiling at her, maybe a little embarrassed, “I wanted to stop and say, ‘Hello’. We never had a chance to catch up after you picked me up from Dr. Layton’s ship.”
Stepping up to her door, she opened it and motioned for him to follow her. “I seem to recall a very brave, slightly shorter scientist friend of mine, ditching his shuttle and floating away.”
“I remember that too, but the way I remember it, a slightly over-assertive, officer friend of mine talked me into it. And then sent someone else to come get me.”
“We were a little busy at the time; you’re lucky we had a free ship.”
He laughed, “I suppose so,” and followed her to the kitchen nook where she pulled out a bottle, pouring them both drinks.
“I’m supposed to follow up on the ship’s status, post the last jump.”
Julian took the drink she offered and sat down. “Well, I just left the bridge, and there weren’t any problems then. The barrier field worked. It activated when we came out of the jump and held up well, until I turned it off.”
“The captain’s still worried about the ship. When we left port, we skipped all the system testing that usually follows.”
“I noticed; he doesn’t trust the ship, not yet.”
“Losing the Ajax still stings. He’s worried about the safety of the crew, and I’m sure it has him on edge.”