Petrow signaled the pilot, who moments later, accelerated the Blue Moon. Since the Blue Moon also utilized an inertia damper, the crew didn’t feel the sudden acceleration forces.
»Unknown ship is reacting to our maneuver and is correcting its course!« Someone from space surveillance announced. »Ship is moving out of laser range, facing us head-on!«
»What the …?« Natasha started.
»He wants us to make a course correction, which would reduce our approach speed, limiting our combat effectiveness, while it offers us minimal profile for an attack,« Petrow growled. »That commander over there knows his job!«
»They locked on to us with their high-discharge- and torpedo aiming lasers!« the weapons officer shrieked, watching the indicators on his consoles jump to maximum values.
Petrow paled, he knew what this could mean at this short distance.
»Lost lock! Their torpedo bays remain closed!« the officer reported relieved.
Petrow took a deep breath.
»They just want to show us how good they are,« Nemov remarked embarrassed.
»That’s right! They could’ve blown us away.«
Petrow silently scratched his head.
Seconds later, the central holo activated and showed the face of a man, Petrow, had never seen before. His golden eyes seemed to pin Petrow down – a Hybrid!
»This is Mission Commander Nexus Tor on board the Dragon speaking. I’m the boss of the HOT!« he introduced himself with a chuckle. »Thank you for the friendly welcome! Let me suggest strongly to limit your radio communication or the Moxantans will know that we came to assist you.«
A second, smaller, display activated showing Nok Daralamai who had initiated a conference session.
»Commander Tor! Welcome to the Neptune system. Admiral Friedberg just announced you via tachyon-comm. He’s sending you as a reinforcement of our troops?«
Nexus Tor greeted her by slightly bowing toward her.
»Ma’am, we were deployed to assist with your invader problem in the outer sectors, which includes the Triton Base. I’d suggest meeting in the Star Hall for a snack and a brief chat. Requesting permission to park the Dragon on a tight orbit around Triton.«
»Permission granted, Commander. See you shortly,« she replied with a smile. »Friedberg forewarned me and promised some surprises. I’m eager to find out what he had meant.«
Chica
Nothing is as exhilarating to me as the endless, natural realm of the Andean mountain peaks. My home is Manizales in the Union state of Columbia. I was born and raised there, right at the foothills of the smoldering Nevado del Ruiz volcano. My forefathers belonged to the aboriginal inhabitants of this area – I have Aztec-blood in my veins!
My life was to be ordinary – school, university and with a little luck work for a scientific outpost at the edge of the solar system, but things changed. I always felt the connection with the stars and the cosmos. As I visited the European Space Observatory Museum on the La Silla Mountain, I was hooked! I wanted to become an astro-physicist! I was fourteen year old girl from the Andes, not rich, but determined, a girl who dreamt the impossible dream!
When I was twenty-one, my friends at the university mocked me about my height and called me “Chica” although I was exactly the opposite of a small person. Then my parents told me a dark secret. They said that I was different from most other people. My energy-aurae, which I felt from time to time, were not part of my imagination. My height, which I hated so much, not just a gene-defect. They revealed to me that I was a Hybrid! At first, I couldn’t believe it, although my parents never lied to me, I had my doubts. Then came the moment when my parents revealed their secret – when I looked into their golden eyes! I began to understand. Emotionally, I fell into a deep hole. I asked them why we were like that – like – aliens! My dad, however, just took me into his arms, like so many times before when I was still a child, he ran his hand through my hair and smiled.
We’re people like all the others, I remember him saying. We’re just special!
My mother was more direct. She told me, Child, you’ll never have children with an ordinary Human being, due to incompatibilities.
I’ll never forget her face when she said that to me, and I still wonder today, that she was only concerned about future grandchildren. An old shaman supplied my parents with ancient, Indian medicine, which changed our eyes to black. My parents didn’t want to risk seeing a doctor, because people were not ready for us. This medication, however, caused a growth spurt when I was sixteen. I think that the elixirs also contained hormones, which played havoc during puberty.
Years later, the secrets about us Hybrids got to the open. As of that moment, I no longer used the shaman’s medicine and – was amused about the reaction of the people when they looked me in the yes. I could see it in my friend’s faces: We always knew she’s different!
I had another secret – a secret, my mum and dad didn’t know about.
When I was growing up, becoming stronger and stronger, I could hear voices, faint, mumblings in the distance. I heard things others didn’t. Over time my world filled with noises and tones, which made me stop what I was doing, so I could listen to them more attentively. At first I thought that it was a side effect of the shaman’s tinctures and medicines. I thought that I was hallucinating. I asked for a medical checkup and the results were astonishing: My hearing was able to detect noises at a much higher frequency range. I not only had better ears, but was also much more sensitive to the sounds around me. The doctors were clueless and blamed it on the shaman’s drugs. Since I refused to let them experiment again and again, the doctors couldn’t find the real cause for my extra-ordinary hearing.
I graduated from university and began looking for something meaningful to do. It was Nexus Tor who opened my eyes, inviting me to be part of the HOT. I’m very proud to belong to this team of highly specialized people. My name is Cihuacoatl Uantum, but you can call me Chica. I’m an astro-physicist, mission-specialist and a HOT Guardian Angel!
People like you and I
The Dragon swooped by the Blue Moon, disregarding the minimal safety distance. The Dragon’s pilot was not at all impressed by the Blue Moon’s potential fire power. Shortly thereafter the ship took position eight hundred meters above the Star Hall. The Dragon remained there, not sending any radio messages or changing their tight orbit.
Petrow was about to send a harsh message to the Dragon as the hangar bays opened and two Neo-Hawks left the ship. Both Hawks plunged steeply toward Triton base with daring flight maneuvers. The pilots changed to a horizontal flight at the last moment and landed on the small spaceport.
Captain Hutch Morgan, the OIC of space surveillance, frowned and briefly looked at Nok Daralamai.
»These types of stunts are absolutely unnecessary! It’s a waste of energy. If they keep this up they’ll drill themselves into the landing field! The Dragon’s orbit is not ideal either. The pilot needs to make constant corrections to hold that position, which, again, cost energy!«
Nok grinned.
»The ship’s commander probably wants it this way. I bet you a hundred credits, that Nexus Tor is flying one of the Hawks himself.«
He wants his cruiser to be visible through the transparent dome of the Star Hall during our meeting. Does he think this will impress me?
»A commander who blatantly disables the early warning system and who shows up here unannounced is …«
»… is at least an interesting person,« Nok finished the captain’s sentence. »Did we find out in the meantime how they snuck up on us?«
Morgan shook his head.
»Our computer checked the software integrity of the satellites. The software is okay. They manipulated the sensors, but we don’t know how.«
»Then find it out, Morgan,« she commanded. »If the HOT can do it, then the Circle Generals can. I don’t like surprises!«
Suddenly, the Techno-Cleric appeared beside Nok and said, »All technical systems can be manipulated.«
Nok turned around, facing the sphere.
»Really? All of them?« Nok mocked.
40028 moved away from her very fast.
»There are exceptions!«
It seemed that the robot got the hint.
Nok smiled and signaled the OIC of Triton Base Ground Defense to come over to her.
»Take one of your platoons and welcome our guests accordingly. I personally don’t like these sorts of ceremonies, but something tells me that Nexus Tor appreciates stuff like that.«
The officer acknowledged and quickly left the command central gathering his people with loud commands.
A couple of seconds later, Nuri Jawa entered the room, waving a greeting at Nok.
The recent days and weeks had left their marks on the young woman. She had matured and had become more serious after her encounters with the Circle people. Hassan Khalil suddenly appeared out of nowhere and took position beside the attractive Nuri. He bowed in Nok’s direction.
Some command central crew members shouted in surprise when Khalil suddenly appeared.
Nok knit her eyebrows.
»You possess extra-ordinary abilities, Hassan. I don’t even want to know how you managed to get in here that way,« she scolded. »I can’t recall if one of your forefathers was the Wizard of Oz.«
Khalil grinned faintly.
»I’m sorry, Ma’am. I was late and let Nuri wait. To be here on time, I chose the fastest way possible. My grandfather told me a lot about my family history. I can assure you there was no wizard among my people.«
»He just found out recently about this ability,« Nuri defended him. »Hassan can bridge long distances by mental power, but he doesn’t know yet how that exactly works.«
»Does he not have a mouth? Can he perhaps explain it himself?« she disciplined Nuri, who blushed and lowered her eyes.
Nok observed on the main holo that the Hawks had just landed.
»Ahem …,« Hassan cleared his throat, »I’m not sure. My mind does it. I just have to think it. The actual transfer requires energy; I can feel how my body produces the energy, taking it from somewhere. Then the space around me changes. Maybe I can create some sort of micro-wormhole which connects two coordinates. I just call it: The fast step.«
It had become dead silent in the command central. Some of the older scientists looked at Hassan astonished. Nok became uneasy.
»Please, restrain yourself from creating these … uh … these wormholes on my base. Is that clear, Hassan?«
»Yes, Ma’am,« he replied friendly, but insecure. »I assure you, that I …«
»… your abilities are a cause of concern,« she interrupted. »I hope you can control yourself.«
Hassan nodded frantically.
»You can rely on me. Ma’am!«
Nok looked at Nuri and Hassan.
»Accompany me to the Star Hall, please. I want you to be present when the HOT delegation arrives. I think this Nexus Tor will find you interesting. This seems to be a very special group of people, if I interpret Admiral Friedberg correctly.«
Nuri’s golden eyes twinkled.
»I heard through the grapevine that Hybrids are among them … people like me.«
Nok straightened, smiled and said, »Exactly, Nuri, people like you and I. We’ll find out what Nexus Tor has to tell us.«
Nok had made clear that she didn’t distinguish between Humans and Hybrids!
Nino Coviello
I’m a Hybrid and was born in a small Italian village near Naples. Contrary to other Hybrids, I never hid or changed my eye color. The people in our area never believed in an after effect of hepatitis, they thought that I had received my golden eyes by divine intervention. They thought I was special and protected me. They called me: The Angel of Monteleone.
Certainly, I’m not an angel, but even the specialists from the Vatican couldn’t find an explanation. This enabled me to grow up undisturbed inside the walls of our church and to later begin my studies to become a geologist at the Monastery Academy of Naples.
There was, however, a time where being equated to an angel became too strong and that I had difficulties keeping my life in line.
The deacon of the monastery school, a man who I admired greatly, broke his arm after a fall. I attended him and healed his arm within minutes. This stirred up a storm of interest and people said that I was a healer, who could heal by placing a hand on any injury. Well, yes, in many ways this was correct, but not in the way the priests at the monastery interpreted it. Many, very ill, people came to me and I helped many of them. The fact that I could not heal all the help seekers should have been proof enough that I wasn’t a saint or a healer, just a person with certain abilities. I literally tasted the people’s life-energy and this mesmerized me. I learned over time how to stabilize these aurae, by injecting additional energy-quants. I had no idea where this energy came from. I experimented and tried to transfer life-energy to dead objects. I chose geological objects and found out surprised that the matter I was manipulating generated an echo, reflecting a variant of the life-energy back to me. Although, I could only transfer energy onto living organisms, I was now able to analyze matter and determine their elements. It still took many years until I became a Hybrid spectral-meter. I was more and more successful in determining the elements of materials I worked with.
As soon as the news spread that Hybrid people with certain powers roamed the planet, the church took away my special status. My research funding was cut to almost nothing; soon I had to leave the Monastery.
Then Nexus Tor stepped into my life. He invited me to join his Hybrid team. My time as Angel of Monteleone was over. I had arrived at my destination! My name is Nino Coviello, Astro-geologist, Mission-Specialist and a HOT Guardian Angel.
Guardian Angles
Astonished calls preceded Nexus Tor team’s arrival. Goose step sounds echoed from the corridor walls leading to the Star Hall. Commands were yelled, followed by loud, choral-like acknowledgements. The HOT made sure everybody knew they had arrived!
Nok, Nuri, Hassan and 40028 as well as the Ground Defense platoon were already present in the Star Hall. Moments later, they were joined by members of the scientific staff who were looking around nervously.
»What’s going on there?« Nok inquired, directing her question at the OIC of the guards. Instead of answering her, he just looked inside the corridor and made a hand signal.
His soldiers had just taken formation as Nexus Tor and his team entered the Star Hall.
Strong whispers sounded through the hall while the welcoming formation totally forgot their procedures.
Nexus Tor and his group passed the formation – completely ignoring it. Without success, the Master of Ceremonies tried his best to revamp his protocol. Nobody cared for his honor formation anymore.
Nok Daralamai took a deep breath as she saw Nexus Tor marching into the Star Hall.
He was a tall man, as most members of his team. He wore a tight fitting, gray-blue uniform, similar to the ones worn by the Triton Base soldiers. His shoulder-length white hair was flowing in the air with each step he made. His rank insignia reflected the light, indicating that he was a commander with a special status. All HOT members seemed to be in excellent physical shape. Two members, a young Asian-looking man and a young, afro-terrestrial woman, made an exception. Almost insignificant looking they were escorted by four heavily armed, strong men. Except for these two, the remaining group members were all taller than 1.80 meters. Their faces and statures showed their hard training. These men were definitely superior in condition and willpower to most of the soldiers stationed at the base. Their self-confidence demonstrated that they were well aware of their status. This, however, didn’t result in arrogance; they acted well-mannered as could be expected of visitors. Nok Daralamai was impressed.
Nok counted nine visitors, only one of them carried a pilot-helmet under his arm. As Nok was standing before Nexus Tor, she had to look up to the tall man. She looked misplaced beside this strong leade
r, but calmly smiled as she greeted him.
»Welcome to Triton Base, Commander.«
Nexus Tor bowed his head for a couple of seconds and looked her deep in the eyes. His golden eyes seemed to hypnotize her for a moment.
»We’re honored and thank you for the welcome,« he replied with a deep voice and an all-embracing gesture.
Nok realized that Nexus Tor didn’t need military ceremonies to pamper his status. It was obvious as he glanced at the welcoming formation with a mocking smile. The honor formation didn’t excite him, he just played along.
Nok grinned, nodded at the Master of Ceremony, who ended this screwed up display by marching his troops out of the hall.
»I judged you right. I don’t like this spectacle either. I was looking forward to this meeting. Admiral Friedberg is holding your team in high esteem. He asked me to give you anything you need. You have my full support, Commander.«
Nexus Tor didn’t twitch as he said, »We’re also looking forward to a good relationship and appreciate your help, Ma’am. Did Admiral Friedberg tell you why we’re here with the Dragon?«
Nok quickly glanced through the tampered glass windows at the ship outside the Star Hall.
»Not … exactly, we still need to talk about the details. First, I’d like you to meet my staff and I like to know your team,« she replied and pointed at Nuri Jawa.
»I’ve heard of your colleagues already,« he addressed Nuri, »I’m glad to see you, Ms. Jawa. The experience you’ve made with the Trox and the different Circle people must’ve been a valuable experience.«
Surprised, Nuri almost choked. She smiled weakly, almost shy, but then responded securely, »You bet, Sir!«
Nexus Tor chortled momentarily and turned toward Hassan Khalil who was standing to the left of Nok Daralamai.
»You must be Hassan Khalil, the first and only Human being who has come into contact with degenerated technology. We know about the synergies resulting from the amalgamation. We’ve been observing your abilities for quite some time already. You’re a remarkable man, Hassan.«
NEBULAR Collection 6 - The Great Tremor: Episodes 27 - 30 Page 2