by Lori Beery
“How do we control our fighters while everything is floating?” asked Lucera in alarm.
“I bet we are going to make booties that stick to the lining ward,” said Dulain confidently.
“That is a great idea,” I stated. “Shall we get started?”
It took us almost a turn to get everything ready. Our protection dome became circular with ducting from the air circulators coming in from below and ducting going out so we could control pressure if need be. The vacuum dome enclosed the protection dome. We built it so the two wards rested against each other on the top and the bottom of the protection dome. That made it easier to pass the ducting through both layers into the air layer beyond. We did build air shelves around the second ward to help support it.
Finally, I called Owens to switch off the gravity. Our ‘sticky’ booties kept us on the bottom of the dome. The fighters began to float. As they did, we asserted control over them. We began learning to control them under space-like conditions. It didn’t take much to get them going, nor did it take much to slow them down or send them in reverse. Before the next turn was over, we were flying in formation and able to take out targets.
Half a turn later, I called a halt to our practice session. I asked Owen to switch the gravity back on. When he did, we moved the vacuum ward in towards the protection ward. Once the second ward lay against the protection ward, we broke down the supporting shelves and released it. We removed the ducting and the protection ward. I asked Lucera to release her image of the fighters. Only the lining ward remained. Jacarr volunteered to bring it down. Soon, all our preparations removed. We exited the cargo bay.
“I hope it is time for lunch,” said KwinJai.
“I’m famished,” commented Jacarr.
“Me too,” supplied Marleah.
I chuckled. “In that case, it must be time to head to Deck 2.” We trooped off in search of some lunch.
Chapter 16
After our hunger was sated, we went to the bridge. As the doors swished opened, we discovered two guards stationed within. The door drew not only both of the guards’ attention, but also that of the Captain.
Stepping onto the bridge I asked, “May we enter?”
“Please follow Lieutenant Foster to my ready room,” replied the Captain. “I shall be there shortly.”
The guard on the right stepped forward. He was tall with short-cropped blond hair. “If you will follow me, Sir, I will lead you to the ready room,” he said. I nodded. He led us along the near side of the bridge to a door. It slid open, revealing the Captain’s ready room from the opposite side from where I had previously entered. “Please, make yourselves comfortable while you wait for the Captain to arrive,” he told us indicating the sitting area to the left of the door.
“Thank you Lieutenant Foster,” I said to him before I led my Hexacle into the room. The door slid closed behind us. We seated ourselves in the sitting area. From our places we could see both doors and the Captain’s desk. “Comments?” I asked them.
“Was it just me or did the bridge crew seem nervous about something?” asked Beltrain.
“It was not just you,” I told Beltrain. “Something has occurred to worry them.”
“Perhaps they have had sensor contact with a pirate,” speculated Dulain.
“Maybe there is some sort of malfunction with the vessel,” interjected Marleah.
“Many things are possible,” I said.
“We could find out what has everyone on edge,” suggested KwinJai.
“That is true,” I confirmed. “But at the moment, we will not spy. We will await the Captain.”
“Shouldn’t we be aware of our surroundings?” pressed KwinJai.
“There are no other vessels within a light day of the Paradise,” I announced. “There is a small body field that we will be traversing if we stay on our current trajectory. I sense no power signatures emanating from there. It is possible the small body field has components capable of shielding my scan.”
“Can you tell if the scan shielding components are scattered or concentrated in one place?” asked Marleah.
“It appears the material is concentrated in four of the interior rocks,” I replied. “One of them is quite large. It would be classified as a planetoid. It is big enough to hide several battlecruiser size vessels. The other three are much smaller by comparison, but could still hide two or three fighter squadrons.”
“That sounds like a reason for people to be nervous,” said Lucera.
“I don’t suspect that is the cause of the crew’s anxiety,” commented Jacarr. At Lucera’s puzzled expression, he added, “I’m positive Nickoli’s findings have not yet been spotted by the crew.”
“That is true,” I admitted. “The question still stands: What is the cause of their apprehension?”
“Perhaps they have not received the expected communication from Thendara Station,” suggested Dulain.
“Isn’t today the beginning of the two day window for that communication?” asked Beltrain.
“It is,” I replied.
“Then, perhaps their communication with Thendara was cut short?” speculated Jacarr.
“That would do it,” I stated.
Our discussion was cut short by the bridge-side door swishing open. We rose to our feet as the Captain, the first officer, and two others entered the room.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting,” said Captain Lawrence. “We have much to discuss.” While he spoke, the other officers positioned chairs for them to use opposite us in the sitting area. The Captain gestured for us to take our seats. He quickly introduced those with him by saying, “I’m sure you remember Commander Fisher. He gestured to his first officer as he said his name. He gestured toward the woman between the Commander and himself. He continued with, “This is Lt. Faber. She is my helmsman.” He gestured to the man on his other side. “This is Lt. Dresdan. He is my communications officer.” We acknowledged each as they were introduced. I quickly introduced myself and my Hexacle.
“What is the current situation?” I asked.
“We had just received a communication from Thendara Station,” replied the captain. “They started to send us their latest data on pirate activity when the transmission ended abruptly. Our equipment is not at fault.”
“Does your ability to communicate with the station depend on a relay device?” I asked.
“It does,” answered Lt. Dresdan at a signal from the Captain.
“It is possible there is no equipment fault on the station either,” I stated. “It could be a malfunction or interference at the relay device.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Commander Fisher.
“As stated before we suspected the pirates were testing the station’s responses,” I explained. “By stopping the flow of communication between you and the station at the device, both sides believe the pirates have attacked the other.”
“I admit we were thinking the pirates had attacked the station,” responded the Captain.
“And, the station probably thinks the pirates have attacked the Paradise,” said Beltrain.
“Under such circumstances, wouldn’t the station send a frigate or two to the rescue?” asked Jacarr.
“Most likely,” replied the Captain. “You don’t think the Paradise is in any danger?”
“On the contrary, I think the Paradise is in extreme danger,” I told him. “Our current trajectory takes us through a small body field. I believe there are pirate vessels hiding in the field. If they are there, the Paradise will be attacked.”
“You think we are traveling into an ambush?” inquired the Captain.
“I think it is likely,” I replied. “While we were waiting, I scanned the area. The small body field contains four rocks with high concentrations of scan-inhibiting materials. One is large enough to be a planetoid and, therefore, able to hide several battlecruiser sized vessels. The other three are big enough to hide two or three fighter squads each. While it is possible there is nothing there, we nee
d some options for if there is.”
“The Paradise was not built as a fighting vessel,” said the captain. “Her shields are effective against radiation and some particles, but they have not been rated against any weapons. She is equipped with rail guns and beam weapons. Since we have never needed them before, I have very limited slugs and the beam is not very powerful. We are effectively unarmed against any pirate force.”
“Do you have any type of emitters?” I asked.
“No,” answered the Commander. “All we have are sensors.”
“Could we change course so that we stay at least a light day away from the small body field?” asked KwinJai.
The officers exchanged glances. “We could do that,” replied the Captain. “If we did, we are not certain what we will find out there. These sectors have not been well mapped. Also, if we change course, the frigates would have no way to find us, except of course by doing sensor sweeps.”
“True. Perhaps the pirates would be in the same situation as us,” responded Dulain.
“The frigates would be free to attack the pirates,” commented Jacarr.
“But if they have a force the size you implied, what could the frigates do?” asked Lt. Faber.
“She has a point,” responded Beltrain.
“Do you have any probes on board?” I inquired.
“Yes,” answered Lt. Dresdan. “We have a few old communication probes.”
“How many is a few?” I asked him.
“Four of five,” he told me.
“If I could have access to two of them, we might be able to learn if there is a pirate presence in the small body field,” I supplied.
“That would be helpful,” commented the Captain. “Dresdan, see that he gets access.”
“Yes, Sir,” he replied.
“Were you able to create an actual sized replica?” the captain asked me.
“We were,” I told him. “But as Lt Faber pointed out, what could so few do against so many?”
“More than none,” commented Jacarr.
“That is true,” I said quietly. I let my gaze rest on each officer before I turned my attention to the Captain. “Captain, I pledge our support. We will use our abilities to protect the Paradise. I am not sure what form our assistance will take at this moment. The only thing I know for sure is that we will use those communication probes to see if the pirates are indeed hiding in the small body field. Once we know that, we will work with you to come up with a strategy for our defense. And we will do it quickly.”
“I appreciate that Hexator Nickoli,” responded the captain, relieved. “Any idea when you might get the information we need?”
“I hope by tomorrow morning,” I replied. “It might go faster if we could borrow someone with probe expertise.”
“That would be Lt. Dresdan,” supplied the captain.
Turning to the Lt. I asked, “Would you be willing to take us to the probes after this meeting?”
“Yes, Sir,” he replied with a glance at his affirming captain.
“Good,” I acknowledged. “We will keep you posted on our progress,” I told the Captain.
“Thank you, Hexator,” responded the Captain. “I have nothing further to add.”
“Then, we will get started on the probe,” I commented. “Lt Dresdan, please lead us to the probes.”
“Of course, Sir,” he said, rising to his feet. My Hexacle and I followed after him.
About a half a turn later, we stood looking at the communication probes. They were not the latest technology. They appeared to have been in deep storage because there was no easy way to get near them. Despite that a quick scan showed their internal parts did appear functional.
“Lt Dresdan, tell me what you know about the probes,” I instructed.
“Well, Sir, as you can see they are outdated,” he said. “We got them some time ago as an emergency measure. But we have gotten a bit careless in their storage as demonstrated by the junk in here.” I was grateful this man was human. As he continued talking, I got vivid mental schematics detailing all aspects of the probe. Lt. Dresdan really knew his field.
“Is this ‘junk’ actually junk?” I asked him when he finished.
“I’m sure this stuff could be used to make repairs,” he replied. “But I doubt anyone remembers it is here.”
“I would like to use some of it in our modifications to the probes,” I told him.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“We are going to add stealth technology, increase sensor range, improve shielding, and boost its communication range,” I answered.
“How are you going to do that?” he asked skeptically.
“You’ll see,” I told him. Turning to my Hexacle, I said, “First, we need a lining ward.”
“I’ll handle it,” volunteered KwinJai. I felt the customary tingling sensation as the ward was erected.
“Second, we need space to work,” I continued. “Please use antigravity fields to help you stack things over there.” I indicated the opposite wall from the probes. It didn’t take long before the ‘junk’ was neatly stacked where I had directed and we had the necessary room to work. “Third, we need a probe. Let’s treat it as though it is a patient.” Beltrain and Dulain quickly built a shelf under the probe. Then, they floated it over to me and positioned it in the middle of the cleared space at waist level. “Nice,” I commented appreciatively as we gathered around it. “Running diagnostic scan,” I said. Once I had finished, I displayed the results above the probe. “It looks pretty much like you described,” I told Lt. Dresdan.
“It needs cleaned,” he responded, indicating specific places on the scan.
I acknowledged his comment and removed the dust from the probe’s interior. I allowed my cleaning to show up in the scan. “Do you notice anything else amiss?” I asked.
“No,” he replied subdued. “How did you do that?”
“Lt. Dresdan, I am not at liberty to explain at the moment,” I told him. I felt my Hexacle’s amusement. I was pleased they kept their mirth to themselves. “Here are the modifications we want to add,” I said, displaying the proposed changes above the probe scan. “If you were making these alterations, where and how would you do it?”
“I would tie them into the secondary power source and tuck them into the spaces here and here within the casing,” he replied, indicating the places on the scan. “That would give you plenty of space to put the emitter and booster hardware just under the cone.” Again, I got very specific design images from him. ‘Comments?’ I thought to my Hexacle as I displayed his designs for them.
‘They look fine to me,’ responded Marleah. ‘Although I would consider ‘imaging’ a crystal to power our modifications instead of tying them into the secondary power source. I would tuck it inside a ward here, just under the cone’s base.’
‘Hmm, a probe with beam weapons,’ commented Jacarr.
‘A probe with a lot of potential,’ I allowed. “Beltrain, Jacarr, and Dulain, start building the necessary hardware. Marleah, please oversee and direct the work to conform to the designs. KwinJai and Lucera, join me in creating the crystal.” Group one got to work.
“We’re going to build one instead of ‘imaging’ it?” asked Lucera curiously.
“We are,” I confirmed. “There seems to be sufficient raw materials here for the construction.”
“Let’s get started,” responded KwinJai excited.
Upon scanning the junk in the area more carefully, we found lots of source material. Most of it was incorporated into obsolete equipment. We had to do a lot of disassembling to free the molecules we needed. Once we had collected a good amount, I started building the crystal. KwinJai and Lucera fed my construction with the necessary raw materials. Before too long, we had a crystal seven by seven by four centimeters in size.
By the time I carried the crystal to the probe, group one had finished their tasks. The probe’s surface was covered with the new emitters and sensors. The next step was to in
stall the crystal so the new hardware could draw power from it. Once the position was correct, we erected a ward to maintain the orientation and to protect the sensitive electronics from the crystal. After that was accomplished, we covered the probe’s exterior with a ward. We carefully thinned it so that the emitters and sensors just poked through. This insured they operated at peak efficiency. I did create a way to give the probe beam capability. Such a feature could be useful on such a dangerous mission. In any case, the probe was ready for launch.
“What do you think Lt. Dresdan?” I asked.
“I think a trial run is in order,” he said, smiling. After a short pause, he added, “How are we going to launch it?”
“Would you contact the Captain and let him know the probe is ready?” I asked.
Lt. Dresdan contacted his Captain. He told me, “Hexator, the Captain gives you his permission to continue.”
“Thank you, Lt. Dresdan,” I told him. ‘Jacarr standby to ignite the engine,’ I sent to my Hexacle. ‘Everyone prepare to teleport. On my mark. Three, Two, One, Execute.’ The probe vanished from the storage room and reappeared in space one tenth of a light second from the Paradise. Jacarr’s timing was exquisite. The probe’s engine started just as it materialized.
Lt. Dresdan’s mouth gapped in astonishment. “Surprise!” exclaimed Jacarr, smiling.
“W-where is the probe?” he asked once he got over his initial shock.
“May I have the communicator?” I inquired. He handed it to me without a word. “Captain, the probe is away. You should be able to pick up its ion trail.”
“Yes, we have the trail,” he responded. “But nothing else.”
“That’s good news,” I said. “We were trying to make it as invisible as possible.”
“It looks like it will disappear after it burns through its fuel,” he commented.
“True,” I responded. “Until it starts transmitting data.” After a pause I asked, “May we come to the bridge?”
“Of course, Hexator,” he said. “Lieutenant, please lead the Hexator and his Hexacle to the bridge.”