NEBULAR Collection 4 - Second Reserve: Episodes 17 - 21

by Thomas Rabenstein

  »Your people had been selected a long time ago to become Protectors and take over a critical important task. It’s obvious that you aren’t ready. Our plan has failed!« Kuster~Laap told him dismally.

  »Your plan? What plan?« Ray-Tor replied loudly, almost angrily.

  Arkroid looked at Ray-Tor, embarrassed.

  »The same thing happened to my people. Let me relate our history before you judge us. You need to understand all the circumstances and the background. If you will allow me to contact my ship we can transfer the data to you. I want to show you our world – your homeworld! We have to warn you about a great danger, one that affects every planet in this galaxy.«

  Ray-Tor grumbled, but agreed.

  »Follow me … as my guests. Welcome to Ray-Mainai, our city!« Ray-Tor invited them with a move of his right arm.

  A surprise

  Ray-Mainai was a modern, subterranean city, far larger than the ruins on the surface suggested. According to Ray-Tor, about 4 million people lived there, distributed over several levels below ground.

  »We maintain vast disguise fields on the surface to protect us from attacks from space; and we’re constantly improving our defenses. Our scientists still suspect Looter ships in the solar system, waiting for an opportunity to eliminate us. And then there are the Looters who live beyond the ice barrier to the North,« Ray-Tor explained. »They penetrate into our region to seek and kill us. So far we have been successful in warding off their attacks.«

  He led his guests to a hermetically sealed sector. Several overlapping energy fields and large steel airlocks secured this area under the city.

  »I don’t follow you, Ray-Tor,« Pi admitted. »You use the same term for the Looters on this planet and the beings threatening you from out of space. Are you dealing with two different threats?«

  Ray-Tor hit his chest with his right fist.

  »You’ll understand it soon, Lai Pi. I brought you here to explain our situation.«

  The deeper the team advanced into the secured section, the more armed Neo-Sapiens appeared. The checkpoints became more frequent and more thorough. Finally, they arrived at a room which could only be accessed via an airlock. The room contained three round pedestals which in turn were protected by tube-like, staggered energy fields. Behind the energy fields, Arkroid had an obscured view of what looked like bodies.

  »What is this?« he asked.

  »Looters – prisoners we captured during battles on the surface. They’re preserved in temporal fields for analysis,« Ray-Tor explained.

  Ray-Tor stepped before one of the energy fields and deactivated the first layer, giving them a clear view behind it. Arkroid twitched hard when the field collapsed with a crackling noise and he saw – a Globuster! The being looked at the team with wide open snout and raised claws.

  »We know these beings!« Pi announced dryly, swallowing hard. »We call them Globusters. We’ve encountered them in our own solar system.«

  »This is the threat from out of space,« Ray-Tor pointed out. »These are the Looters! They had another purpose, though. When we learned that these beings had occupied the outer regions of our solar system, influencing our development, we sent a large fleet after them. A great battle was fought near the fourth planet, on whose largest moon we had established our most important colony. Many lives were lost. The fleet we had thought invincible was almost destroyed. Still, we managed to destroy their carriers and hit them hard, pushing them further and further back ...«

  »… but that wasn’t all,« Pi interjected, interested.

  »No,« Ray-Tor snarled. »They retaliated. After we destroyed a tachyon portal close to the fourth planet as well as the enemy base in the outer sector, a gigantic spaceship appeared, and devastated the fleet. The remnants were eliminated within hours, and then the planetary resistance and the cities were annihilated … except for Ray-Mainai. We can’t explain why this city was spared after it was destroyed on the surface.«

  »This is horrible!« Vasina responded tensely.

  »Yes,« Ray-Tor replied grimly. He looked more closely at Vasina with a strange expression in his face. »The spaceship appeared above our world and released millions of Looter drones, which hunted down intelligent lifeforms. They infiltrated the cities and infected the people.«

  Kuster~Laap’s ears were twisting and flirring wildly.

  »That proves that the unknown enemy had infiltrated our universe even before the parasite galaxy was detected. They undermined and counteracted our defense plans from the beginning!« Kuster~Laap concluded.

  »What else could have destroyed the Progonaut base worlds?« Vasina asked bitterly. »No wonder the enemy was always one step ahead of us! That’s a taste of what we can expect during and after the Great Tremor.«

  »The great ship Ray-Tor mentioned is another element in the enemy’s power play,« Voit Masgur picked up the thread. »Where did it come from and who flew it?«

  »It was an unknown, entirely different from the Looters, or Globusters, as you call them,« Ray-Tor replied. »More powerful, more diverse and more unscrupulous than the mind benders.«

  »Okay … but what about the Looters still living on Equinox?« Maya Ivanova inquired.

  Ray-Tor didn’t directly respond to Ivanova’s question, but he deactivated a second energy field beside the first one. An utterly different being came into view and even the ZyClonians took a couple of steps back.

  »This is one of our former brothers … a Languin. We shared this planet with them … philosophers and building masters who were here when we arrived and settled here. We lived together in peace and shared the planet’s resources for as long as we can remember. It was they who built the surface cities, and they became the primary target for the Looter drones.«

  Arkroid understood.

  »So there were intelligent inhabitants on this planet before you came.«

  »Yes,« Ray-Tor acknowledged. »During the Looter drone attacks we realized that we were immune, not the Languins. They became infected easily, changed and turned against us. Philosophers turned into fighting machines, brothers turned into mortal enemies! Before long we were fighting on two fronts. All under the eyes of the ones who had caused the war and manipulated the Languins.«

  Maya Ivanova observed the Languin with mixed feelings. The semi-erect being had six legs and was about 2 meters tall. It had a bright red armored upper body and four arms, two with scissor-like claws, and two with fine-fingered grasping organs. Long feelers protruded just above six facetted eyes, indicating an insectoid origin.

  »As you can see, I spoke the truth,« Kuster~Laap remarked. »The Neo-Sapiens as well as the early Humans are immune to the degenerated technology. They alone of all the beings in the galaxy cannot be infected.«

  »What happened then?« Voit Masgur asked, intrigued.

  »We were able to hold the Southern hemisphere and beat back the enemy before they could eradicate us!« Ray-Tor responded with a scratchy voice.

  »You drove them back as far as the ice barrier,« Vasina added.

  »That’s right!«

  »What happened to the giant spaceship – did it ever return?« Pi inquired tensely. »Is there any documentation about this ship or the people who flew it …?«

  »… more than enough!« Ray-Tor nodded hastily. »It has often appeared near our world. We collected all the data we could about the attacker, but our means are limited. We don’t know if they are still present in our solar system.«

  »The war happened a long time ago, about 2,000 years. It’s unlikely that the ship and its crew still exist,« Arkroid suggested.

  Ray-Tor’s eyes narrowed as he warned, »The Looters have an unnaturally long life span. The enemy infiltrated us with spies who were differently conditioned.«

  »Maybe they were infected with crystal matter?« Maya Ivanova interjected breathlessly.

  Ray-Tor growled in agreement, while Arkroid and Pi exchanged quick glances.

  »They employed a small landing vehicle in the infiltration schem
e. We attacked it and captured one the crew. We know what the beings who destroyed us look like.«

  He deactivated the outer energy field of the third pedestal and revealed its contents.

  Vasina screamed in shock and clutched Arkroid’s right upper arm. He stared at the being, paling.

  »That’s impossible!« Vasina yelled.

  Pi was shocked. He looked at the being and then at Vasina. Even Voit Masgur seemed moved.

  »I expected your reaction,« Ray-Tor announced. »Do you understand now?« Moments later, he activated a large holographic display, showing the giant spaceship.

  Vasina moaned and sank on her knees. Arkroid supported her. The shock had hit her hard.

  The energy field cylinder on the third pedestal contained – a Progonaut!

  The holo showed the Atlantika – her former flagship!

  19 - Looter Attac

  You just don’t have a choice

  »How is that possible?« Vasina asked. She looked depressed.

  Pacing restlessly up and down, she ran her hands several times through her long, black hair, nervously re-arranging the Jamal combs. The tattoo below her left temple made a stark contrast to her pale face.

  »If my flagship had been destroyed fighting the Globusters, I could live with it. But ... this …!«

  ›She doesn’t look good,‹ Arkroid thought. ›Her voice is cracking and she’s mumbling to herself. That’s just not Vasina!‹

  Pi, who was standing a bit to the side, kept his eyes on the floor, embarrassed for her. Voit Masgur seemed to be grasping vainly for words. Arkroid walked over to Vasina and embraced her – she was shaking. The embrace didn’t last long, and Vasina freed herself determinedly and kept her distance from Arkroid. Her glances were like daggers. Either his Human gesture was unknown to her or she didn’t want to look weak in front of the others.

  Arkroid shook off his irritation, glad when Ray-Tor interrupted the tense moment.

  »Do you mean that battleship belongs to your people?« he growled and slammed his fist on his chest to show his anger.

  After Ray-Tor had subjected his visitors to the uncomfortable examination, he had led them to an impressively furnished hall. Large displays imitated windows, letting them view a blooming landscape that no longer existed. The hall was 300 meters below the ruins of a once-thriving metropolis. A large, almost baroque table stood in the hall’s center surrounded by large, leather-like upholstered chairs with high backs. Exotic, spicy smelling fruit arrangements were offered, but nobody felt hungry, except Pi who took one of the offered beverages to quench his thirst. The Neo-Sapiens were clearly trying to establish a better understanding with this gesture.

  Arkroid noticed 28 oversized statues of some material like bronze along the walls, displaying Neo-Sapiens with their armor and weapons. Each statue was leaning against the next, reaching with one arm over to the shoulder of the following statue, suggesting unity. Large, abstract pictures on the walls depicting cave drawings in vivid colors. Arkroid was impressed by the hall’s ambient atmosphere. Glass covered displays exhibited animal trophies and old weapons. Though the hall gave them an impression of being ages old, high-tech equipment was also present, tastefully integrated into the large room and practical.

  Pi estimated that the Neo-Sapiens were at least even with Humanity technologically, and even more sophisticated and advanced in some areas.

  Ray-Tor’s tone of voice had mellowed when they arrived in the hall, but he was still suspicious, as attested by armed guards at the entrance.

  »I know it looks bad, but I urge you not to arrive at the wrong conclusions,« Arkroid mediated. »Vasina and her people don’t deserve that.«

  Ray-Tor took a deep breath.

  »I’m a very good observer ... my instinct tells me that your companion has nothing to do with the Looters or this battleship. If I weren’t convinced of that, you wouldn’t be here in this hall!«

  Voit Masgur frowned. He didn’t like Ray-Tor’s radical, uncompromising attitude.

  »There’s no room for mistakes. These are life and death decisions,« he remarked reserved.

  »You don’t know what our people went through,« Ray-Tor justified his position. »We cannot afford to let our guard down and become complacent!«

  »The man you’ve captured is clearly a Progonaut – one of my people. I recognize the insignias and flashes on his uniform. He’s from my ship!« Vasina announced, still shaken.

  »If it is true that the Atlantika participated in the final battle over Equinox, fighting for the Dark Brotherhood, then they were probably forced against their will,« Arkroid speculated, searching for an explanation.

  »Neither Commander Hellas nor any other of my officers would have permitted this!« Vasina rebutted strongly. »Hellas would have never stood for these atrocities – he’d rather steer the ship into the sun! My crew would never have collaborated with the enemy!«

  Her words were hard, convincing – she knew her crew! Arkroid looked deeply into her shining eyes and knew she was telling the truth.

  »If I remember correctly, Vasina, at that time your ship was flying toward the Dark Brotherhood forces to buy you some time and to protect you and the other Progonauts of your team …,« Maya Ivanova recapitulated, »… and that was shortly before your team members put you inside the temporal coffin, a million years ago. We don’t know what happened after that in our own solar system.«

  »Damn it, if only Hellas had let me back into my ship!« she replied and cleared her throat. »Things would have been different, I promise you!«

  »Maybe, maybe not,« Arkroid refused to believe her. »Perhaps fate would have turned against you and …«

  »… or you could have ended up like your crew,« Pi interjected quickly.

  Vasina pushed her chin forward, throwing her hair toward her back.

  »Whatever! I don’t understand how my crew could have done such horrible things. What made them do it?«

  Ray-Tor had observed the discussion attentively, not missing a word or gesture.

  »It makes no sense to speculate on how something in the past happened; the fact is that the enemy won out. The Atlantika attacked until all our ships were destroyed, employing a much superior, unknown weapon, according to our information. A weapon that guided and transferred highly potent plasma charges directly into our propulsion systems, destroying the ships from the inside out!«

  Vasina clenched her teeth.

  »My ship had no such ultimate weapon on board when I was in command!« she hissed. »But we Progonauts encountered that weapon before – it destroyed our united Home Fleet. The enemy must have upgraded my ship after that ...«

  »… and repaired Atlantika’s tachyon field projectors, while he was at it!« Pi added sarcastically.

  Vasina nodded hastily.

  »They must have done that, that’s the only explanation. We could no longer fly faster than the speed of light after Globusters destroyed our tachyon drive. How else could they’ve flown from Earth to Equinox?«

  Ray-Tor looked at Vasina and picked up the thread about the ultimate weapon again.

  »There was no defense against this weapon,« he declared. »The ship left as fast as it had arrived, once our fleet had been destroyed. We learned much later that the ship reacted to spaceships capable of flying faster than light. We don’t know where the ship is hiding or where it went, but our scientists fear that it will return reappear instantly if we try to leave our planet.«

  »Then you haven’t attempted to launch a spaceship for 2,000 years?« Ivanova inquired.

  »The risk would have been too great, even if we had ships,« Ray-Tor acknowledged. »Instead, we worked on improving our technologies and disguise shields as well as our defense systems. You saw the results. Even your ship couldn’t find us and our underground cities. We feel much safer and we have no regrets.«

  Pi frowned and threw a critical glance at Arkroid before he said, »I get your reasoning, but you can’t hide from a ruthless enemy forever – even wi
th the best technology – Toiber,« he addressed Arkroid directly, »we should inform Nautilus and make sure that the ship maintains the security and disguise fields we used when we flew into this system, at least until we’re sure there are no enemy forces hanging around. Even after this much time, we still need to be careful!«

  Arkroid agreed and with Ray’s permission contacted Nautilus to explain the situation.

  »If we could free the Progonaut from his temporal prison. I want to interrogate him. He swore allegiance to my house and he’ll accept my authority,« Vasina suggested.

  Ray-Tor her with a wave of his right hand and showed his yellow teeth.

  »That is too dangerous! He could send a message to Globuster ships still drifting throughout the solar system. We know that some of them are still intact and that the Globusters are in a state of stasis. We should not awake them!« He firmly denied Vasina’s wish.

  »We had similar experiences,« Maya Ivanova hissed.

  »I think we should leave this man where he is for now,« Arkroid agreed with Ray-Tor. »We detected numerous intact Globuster lenses. We should leave him under temporal lock and key until we can be absolutely sure that he can’t send a tachyon impulse!«

  »An impulse?« Ray-Tor repeated curiously.

  »Yes, and it’s high time we share some information! Everything we’ve talked about so far is closely related to our mutual fate and the future of the galaxy,« Arkroid asserted.

  Ray-Tor leaned back in his seat with a chuckling, guttural sound.

  »The threat you are talking about seems overwhelming, but I have enough to do with securing our survival, as you can see,« he replied sarcastically.

  »I understand,« Arkroid nodded. »I know how unbelievable these reports must sound, but Kuster~Laap, as a Galactic Brotherhood envoy, can shed more light and provide more information. Hopefully he can convince you.«

  Ray-Tor glanced doubtfully, over to Kuster~Laap and the ZyClonians. The pair was standing beside the Chiropter, looking unwell. He also made eye contact with Voit Masgur, Vasina and Paafnas. He appeared to trust Paafnas the most.