by Robert Boren
“Fair enough. What are you going to do in the meantime?”
“I want to send a floating sensor onto the surface to scan for Overlord ships,” Nolan said. “I programmed one earlier.”
“You’re positive it won’t be picked up?” I asked.
Nolan nodded as he got into the chief scientist’s seat. “Yes, it’s completely passive.”
“Good,” I said, getting up from my seat. “I’m going to my stateroom for a little while.”
“Need some downtime already?” Tim asked.
I laughed. “No, the chairman insisted that I record a log every day, so he can review it in detail when we get back. I won’t be gone long. Tim, you have the Captain’s chair until I return.”
“Yes sir,” Tim said.
“If any beasties make themselves known, notify me immediately. Understand?”
“Will do, Captain,” Tim said.
“Oh, and Izzy, tell these guys what you told me about the Mosasaurs attacks.”
“Yes, Captain.”
I left the bridge, heading down the long empty hallway to my door, which slid aside. I set the security lock after it closed behind me, and sat at the chair in front of my desk, tapping the hidden pad under the right arm five times. A hologram frame appeared about three feet from my face. I triple-tapped the pad. A chime sounded and the frame disappeared, a man’s holographic face appearing after a moment.
“Captain Clarke. Good, you got away clean.”
“Chairman Vermillion, good to see you. Your image is perfect. Looks like you’re in the room with me, except for the floating head thing.”
Vermillion chuckled. “Does Nolan suspect anything?”
“No, but I’d sure like to tell him. Love to make that blow-hard understand that he’d barely make second-grade scientist at the corporation.”
“Be nice. He did a good job on that frequency module. It’s better than the one we developed. Uses less power, and it’s got a better collision avoidance algorithm.”
“True. As a ship’s Chief Scientist, he’s overkill. I’ll enjoy his services while they last. I suspect he can fix anything that goes wrong with the Zephyrus.”
“Nobody else on the crew has any idea what this prototype can do, I hope.”
“It’s hard not telling Tim and Izzy, but no, they don’t have any idea. Anything new on Simone?”
“She went nuts when you guys escaped her trap. They’d been planning the operation for more than a month.”
I laughed. “Yeah, Nolan said that Centurion Class battle cruiser had been in their space dock for about that long.”
“What’s your location?”
“We’re in an ocean on Valla Cappos,” I said.
“Really? Level eight, huh? Nolan’s idea?”
“Yep. It’ll be interesting to see how he gets us onto dry land. It’ll probably involve some local beasties.”
“What’s there?” Vermillion asked.
“Mosasaurs.”
“Oh. Nasty, but they aren’t capable of damaging the Zephyrus.”
I snickered. “All he has to do is make us believe that we’ve got a problem. Who’s going to argue that with the Chief Scientist?”
“Deacon may figure it out. You’d better watch that.”
“Yes, Chairman, I know. He figured out we had the frequency module running.”
“I knew he was gonna figure that out,” Vermillion said. “Just so you know, I agree with Nolan’s long-term plan. That’s our best hope for preserving our system into the future.”
“I agree, but this is a dangerous place. We’ll have to be careful.”
Vermillion eyed me. “There’s a rogue, isn’t there?”
“Nolan says no, but they’ve already got firearms. This world is at the Roman stage.”
“Think he knows?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but he wanted to make sure we’d come here. He’s got a plan. Don’t know the details. I’ll bet we get chased from one illegal planet to another.”
“Probably. Simone’s Party just took over the government on another world. That makes thirty-three, and she’s expanding her propaganda activities on the worlds which still enjoy individual liberty. They’re making Nolan famous. He’s a terrorist now.”
“Why is the Central Authority allowing the Overlords to do this?”
Vermillion sighed. “The ruling majority in the Central Authority believe they need the Overlords to keep their zone under control, and so they aren’t pressing for transparency. The minority has been investigating, though. Stories are leaking out.”
“How secure is the Corporation?” I asked.
“The diversity regulations are making things slightly more difficult,” Vermillion said. “We have to accept applicants from every world in the zone, including the ones we know to be totalitarian.”
“Spies.”
“There are calls for us to give all of our intellectual property to the Central Authority, which of course means the Overlords. There’s no way we’ll do that, but they’ve got operatives inside now. If this little project of ours doesn’t work, we’ll have to take more direct action to squash it. You’d think people would be more suspicious of the Central Authority after they forced the PA corporation under Overlord control. Very few people are unaware of the consequences of that. It put every individual in the zone under surveillance.”
“After we get finished with this operation, we need to attack that situation,” I said.
“If this operation succeeds, it’ll be easy to right that.”
“Do you think the Overlords suspect that this encrypted holographic communications system is the focus of our prototype?”
Vermillion laughed. “No, they think it’s the frequency module, and they know Nolan is behind the prototype that they captured. I think it’s a riot. Perfect smoke screen. They’re all worried about un-trackable spacecraft. Untraceable communications are much more dangerous for them. That’s why they worked so hard to compromise the PA system.”
“Yeah, about 5% of the population of the zone engages in space travel. Everybody engages in communication.”
“It’s essential that Nolan not figure this out yet,” Vermillion said. “Do you see any danger there?”
“No sir.” The ship jerked suddenly. “Here it starts.”
“Your image just jolted. Mosasaurs?”
“Yeah, looks like we’re already going onto dry land. I’d better go.”
“Talk to you soon,” Vermillion said. “You know what to do. Make sure Nolan doesn’t screw up and tip off any infants on that planet.”
“Will do, sir.” I tapped the pad under the right armrest once and the holographic display disappeared. My PA paged me at that moment.
“Captain, better get up here,” Izzy said.
“I felt it. Be right there.” I was on the bridge in minutes, stumbling at the door as the ship heaved again.
“Status?” I asked, getting into the Captain’s chair. The video display showed several Mosasaurs swimming at the ship, toothed v-shaped mouths open wide.
“There appears to be eight out there,” Izzy said, “and they’re coordinating attacks.”
“What about those torpedoes?” I asked. “Should we deploy them?”
“Negative,” Nolan said. “They might have beacons, remember?”
“Dammit, that’s right.”
“We need to jump elsewhere,” Tim said. “Another planet, one that isn’t inhabited.”
My PA buzzed me. It was Deacon.
“We have anything to worry about, Cappy?”
“Nope, but if there’s any fusion power issues, let me know right away. Understand?”
“Yes sir.” His picture left my PA screen.
Nolan made eye contact with me. “We’re taking on water, Captain.”
“One of those things busted the ship?” I asked, my eyebrows raised.
“It’s an airlock. Maybe it malfunctioned. I think we’d better move to dry land and check it out.”
“Let’s jump to another planet,” Tim said. “There’s five more of these things coming. Just picked them up on the sensors.”
“We can’t go into open space if we’ve got a breech,” Nolan said. “We need to get to dry land and check it out.”
“You got a spot in mind that isn’t inhabited?” I asked, trying hard not to smirk.
“I do, Captain. Shall we?”
“Send the data to Izzy’s PA,” I said.
“You sure, Captain?” Nolan asked. “Maybe I should punch it in.”
“We’ll be fine. Send it.”
Nolan nodded, punching some codes into his console.
“Got it, Captain,” Izzy said. She spoke into her PA and the ship rose up towards the surface of the water, breaking out as the Mosasaurs gave chase. As soon as we cleared the water we blasted away on impulse power.
I watched the screen. “Izzy, shut down all but the front camera.” She nodded and did that. The display showed land on the horizon, coming up quickly. We climbed, going over a coastal ridge, then coming down into a heavily forested valley, setting down in a large clearing. Izzy swiveled her chair towards me.
“We’re down, Captain.”
I got out of my chair. “Be back in a few minutes; I want to take a look at this faulty airlock.”
“Captain, I’m looking at sensor data on the airlock now,” Nolan said. “Looks like a malfunction, not damage.”
“What could’ve caused that?” Tim asked. “We didn’t receive any jolts hard enough to cause a problem.”
“We did have impacts,” Nolan said. “They didn’t feel bad because of the dampening effects of the water.”
“I still want to go down there and check it out. Izzy, expand the screen and put all the cameras up in a grid, then watch for anything approaching, especially humans.”
“Why not use the sensors?” Nolan asked.
“Maybe the sensors were giving a false reading of damage at that airlock,” I said. “Tim’s right, we didn’t get hit hard enough.”
“I’m going to keep the sensors running and monitor them on my PA, if you don’t mind,” Nolan said.
I nodded. “Was about to suggest that. You coming to the airlock?”
“Izzy and Tim are staying on the bridge, right? Don’t forget why we were under water.”
“Yes, Tim and Izzy will stay on the bridge. C’mon, Nolan.”
We headed out to the airlock.
{ 4 }
The Hut
N olan and I arrived at the airlock, met by Deacon and two of his men, Caraway and Deneuve.
“I’m not believing those overgrown sea iguanas broke this ship,” Deacon said as we walked up.
“I’m a little skeptical myself,” I said, “but it needs to be checked out.”
“Shall I open the door?” Nolan asked.
I turned to him. “Take a look with the nearest camera first.”
“Just did, Captain,” he replied. I nodded, and he muttered a command into his PA. The inside door opened, and water rushed into the hall at us.
“Open the outside door!” Deacon shouted.
Nolan did that, causing most of the water to roll outside the ship. We took in the green vista of the hills above the valley, the air smelling sweet after breathing recycled air for hours.
Deacon spoke into his PA. “Cleaning robots on the way, Captain. They’ll suck up this excess water.”
“Good,” I said, stepping into the airlock to get closer to the door. “Pretty. You’d never know it wasn’t Earth if nobody told you.”
“We need to go outside and check the entire hull,” Nolan said.
“That’s why I brought Caraway and Deneuve,” Deacon said, nodding to the two young men. Caraway was an Irish man with sandy blond hair and a muscular build. Deneuve was smaller, with delicate features and black hair over pale white skin.
“We should send more men with them,” I said. “And everybody carries spikers? Got me?”
“We’ve got spikers with us,” Deneuve said.
Okay, so I know you’re wondering what a spiker is. It’s a handy little weapon that was designed for use on spacecraft. They’ve gained popularity elsewhere, as various advantages were realized. The spiker is a handgun that shoots three-inch metal spikes with a diameter roughly equal to 1/10 of a .22 caliber bullet. They are bored out of metal ingots by a super-heated cylinder which is also the inner lining of the barrel. The metal is very brittle, so the spikes fragment as they enter their target, giving them strong knock-down power. They won’t penetrate hard surfaces like walls or body armor, which is why they’re used on spacecraft. The gun is pneumatic, the pistons powered by a battery that’s good for about a thousand shots. One ingot will give you roughly three hundred rounds. It’s got dual air chambers… as one is used the other is filled, so there’s always a full air chamber available. This handy little weapon will fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, at a muzzle velocity of almost four thousand feet per second. The guns make very little noise, are accurate up to fifty meters, and give off no detectable radiation. If there is a battle to be fought against well-equipped troops, these wouldn’t be a good choice. We’ve got plasma and particle beam weapons for serious fights. For basic security or self-protection, spikers are very effective. Now back to the story.
“Think another six men is enough?” Deacon asked me.
I nodded yes. “Maybe I’ll join them. I could use a little more fresh air.”
“I’d like to go along too, if you don’t mind,” Nolan said.
“Do you have a spiker?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“Deacon, have your men bring an extra, okay?”
“You got one for yourself, Captain?” Deacon asked.
“Always.”
It took several minutes for the six men to arrive, one of them handing Nolan a weapon. “Do you know how to use it?”
“Yes, I’ve used them before, thank you.”
“Keep that,” I told Nolan.
“Thank you, Captain. We ready?”
“Let’s go,” I said, walking out to the edge of the airlock. I pushed a button, which deployed a ramp, extending to the ground. We walked down to the moist soil below.
“Rains a lot here,” Deneuve said.
“That’s why it’s so green,” Nolan said. “Look at our gold plating. Scratches from the teeth of those beasts.”
“Whoa, you aren’t kidding,” Caraway said in an Irish accent. “Do we need to replace it?”
Nolan took a closer look. “Not necessary.”
We walked around the edge of the ship, looking for damage, not finding anything but a few more teeth marks.
“We should check out the top also, Captain,” Deneuve said.
“I’ll leave that to you, Caraway, and the others,” I said. “Nolan, anything else you want to look at?”
“No, I think we’re good. I’ll run diagnostics on the airlock mechanism to make sure it’s not compromised.”
I nodded, and we went back up the ramp.
“Do you have to run the diagnostics from here?” I asked
“No, I’ll do it from the bridge.”
“Good, then walk with me.”
“Yes, Captain. Something on your mind?”
“Where are the nearest humans?”
Nolan chuckled. “Across the ocean we were just in.”
“Are you a hundred percent positive about that?”
“Yes sir. I suggest we release Nanos to patrol the area, though.”
“Yes, that’s not optional,” I said as we walked down the hallway. “What kind of wild life do we have around here?”
“Similar to North America of a similar period. I chose the valley, so we don’t find ourselves amid a big herd of bison. My scans showed them populating the plateau due east of here.”
“What’s in the immediate vicinity?”
“Nothing we can’t handle with spikers,” Nolan said.
“Humor me.”
He sighed. “Ground slo
ths. Deer. Black bear. Boar. All manner of birds and rodents. A few cougars.”
“Neanderthals?”
“Yes, there are a few around, but they don’t have good enough language skills to tell anyone about us. They might come over and worship the golden ship.”
“Do they do that sort of thing?”
“That was a joke, Captain. Their reaction to this ship would be one of curiosity, I’d think, but who knows?”
“There are Neanderthals on worlds above level five, correct?”
“There are.”
I slowed as we approached the bridge. “Do they only live on this side of the ocean?”
Nolan glanced at me, stopping at the door to the bridge. “The human population hasn’t been to this continent, and they keep Neanderthals as slaves, so obviously they’re indigenous to the continent the humans inhabit. I sense you aren’t trusting me, Captain.”
“I’m responsible for this ship and everybody on it,” I said. “No offense, but I will cover all the bases. How sure are you that no humans have been to this area?”
“Very sure, but I’m relying on survey information. Surveys get outdated eventually, but the report was authored less than ten years ago.”
I eyed Nolan for a moment, then moved in front of the bridge door, which slid aside. “Have you released the Nanos yet?”
“We will in less than half an hour, Captain,” Nolan said, taking his seat.
“Why so long?”
“I’ve had our sensors checking for an insect that would be a good match. We have to re-program the Nano’s camouflage systems to mimic them.” He looked at his PA. “The process is 40% complete.”
I sat in the captain’s chair. “Fair enough, Nolan, but keep on it. Understand?”
“Of course. I’ll let you know as soon as they’re released.”
“Anything out there of note, Izzy?” I asked.
“Nothing large,” she said. “Plenty of rodents and a couple deer. That’s it so far. Deacon’s team is still climbing around on top of us.”
“We should tell them to hurry,” Tim said. “If the humans on this planet have firearms, the crew members might be vulnerable up there.”