by S. H. Jucha
Tatia drew breath to respond, but Alex replied first. “Permission granted, Chandra. Luther’s been recalled from the Chistorlan cavern. He’s on his way here. Z’s aboard the Freedom preparing the equipment the Toralian fleet will need. Collect Luther and make for the city-ship.”
“One more thing, Chandra,” Tatia added. “Your flight from the Freedom to Sargut’s ship will be directed by Cordelia. She’ll relay her request to your sister, who’ll command your flight.”
Chandra’s brow furrowed, but she decided it was better to ask questions later. She wanted to prepare for her departure before Alex and the admiral changed their minds. She headed toward her traveler, which was the one inside the cave. Humans and SADEs were already clearing a path for her ship. She backpedaled and flashed Alex a brilliant smile.
Alex raised a hand and waved. The young are so eager to step into harm’s way, he thought.
* * *
Cordelia received notice from a cargo shuttle pilot that his traveler was in position, and she sent a message to Alex.
From the Chistorlan cave, Alex called the fleet to order. Every Omnian stopped what they were doing. Nearly all were connected by comm or implant. The rest gathered around holo-vids or monitors. Alex stood in front of the cave’s holo-vid, which projected his image across the fleet.
“It’s my duty to lead the star services,” Alex announced. “A cargo shuttle containing eleven crystal containers was launched from the Freedom. Our fleet has lost many, but we’ve only a few to offer this star so far away from our own. There was a day, when I knew the names and faces of every individual we lost, but those days are long gone. Now, I must access our databases to view their faces, but I know what each one of them did. They fought to keep the safe the sentients who inhabit our worlds, and for that, they’ve our undying gratitude. I’ll miss every one of them. But I can’t help thinking of one individual in particular, Admiral Svetlana Valenko. I’ll always think of her this way: She would be laughing uproariously after the remains of her Trident slammed into that battleship. It would give her the opportunity to taunt her fellow admirals, daring them to match her record of a single Trident demolishing two heavies.”
Alex finished by reading the litany for the dead and closed the services.
Aboard the cargo shuttle, the rear ramp dropped, and the crew, ensconced in environment suits, launched the crystal containers into the dark. The ship impelled the containers with velocity and direction that ensured they remained on course for the Chistorlan star.
Renée blinked back tears. Listening to Alex conduct the star services had been painful. She empathized with the anguish he suffered. He was haunted by the guilt he felt for those who had been lost. Unfortunately, there would be more. She wondered what type of life they would have together, if they managed to survive the future’s challenges. Would he have nightmares that he’d share with her via their implants? Would his guilt consume him, and she’d lose the man she loved? It was her hope that the loyal friends who Alex had amassed would never let him journey down that dark path.
At the end of the star services, Cordelia resumed her duties. The Toralians had returned to their battleships and awaited her directives. She linked with Z and Luther.
Cordelia connected with the three sisters aboard the Toralian ships. The four SADEs thoroughly reviewed the telemetry data stored in the battleships’ bridges. Their summary was that only the hull’s external antenna had produced the recordings, and that the data streams, except for a minor separation of position, were identical.
Cordelia’s emotional algorithms settled. It was akin to a human’s sense of relief. The data was editable, although it wasn’t going to be simple. She sent coordinates to the sisters that matched the original positions of the ships, when they sailed into the Chistorlan system. Then the sisters directed the commanders to the relevant positions.
While the battleships made for their predetermined locations, Chandra launched her traveler. Her sister, Miriamtess, had control of the shuttle and followed Cordelia’s course precisely. When the traveler reached the battleships, it didn’t land aboard. Rather, it flew alongside until the Toralian ships reached their assigned points.
The battleships came to a halt, reversed orientation, and faced the Chistorlan planet. Miriamtess tucked the traveler next to the bow of the Dark Whispers, aligning itself with the ship’s axis, and transferring telemetry data to the battleship’s sister. This was repeated for the other two ships, and then the traveler slipped aboard Sargut’s vessel.
It became the job of the sisters to follow Cordelia’s outlined visual steps that were to result in the final recording. The battleships’ initial data records after entering the system and sailing to their present positions would be kept. They would be seen to decelerate and come to a halt. Chandra’s traveler would provide the immediate conditions of the system’s imagery. What was required was an interpolation of images from the past to the present, and this was Cordelia’s artistry. Ships were erased, added, or moved, as required.
Within hours, the jobs were complete, and Cordelia reviewed the visual streams. Small tweaks were made here and there until she was satisfied. Finally, the data stream that had been recorded since the battleships had reversed orientation was hooked to the edited material and checked for continuity. When Cordelia was satisfied, she cued the sisters and they communicated to the commanders.
Aboard the Toralian battleships, the commanders and bridge crews had opportunities to view the editing process. Each sister projected the process on the bridge monitors. Unfortunately, the flicker of images, moving too fast to be recognized, gave the crews headaches and bouts of nausea. Immediately, the commanders had requested the imagery not be displayed.
“We’re finished, Commander Sargut, please turn your ships about and accelerate out of system, as if you were concerned for your safety,” Miriamelle said over the Dark Whispers’ bridge speakers.
Z and Luther were standing by. They’d briefly introduced Chandra, before she returned to her traveler. Forewarned of the long tour of duty, she’d brought a load of material to keep her entertained. The Freedom’s crew had donated some of their favorite things, and Miriamtess had accessed the Freedom’s database. She was going to help Chandra learn to dance in the manner of couples.
As the Toralian ships sailed out of the Chistorlan system, Sargut, with his multiple bridge crews, took the time to review the new data stream in real time. It took many cycles, but when they finished, they were in shock.
Sargut had ordered the squadron to transit in a direction away from Talus. The course change offered him two benefits. He could report, if asked, that they feared the Omnians would chase them, and it gave him an opportunity to privately view the data stream a second time in the company of Suntred.
Completing the second pass, Sargut studied Suntred’s face, searching her face for signs of doubt. There were none. She was as flummoxed as he had been by the perfect continuity. Sargut hailed the bridge and requested a conference call with Taralum and Sugatar.
�
��Have you reviewed your data recordings?” Sargut asked the other commanders.
“Twice,” Taralum replied.
“Me too, Commander,” Sugatar added.
“And?” Sargut pursued.
Taralum offered in a subdued voice, “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought the cycles of sitting with Omnians and Chistorlans never happened. That it was all a dream.”
“I admit to feeling angry,” Sugatar interjected. “We suffer under Artifice, while the Omnians have delightful and capable beings called SADEs. Why have the stars treated us so cruelly?”
“Curb your anger,” Sargut said. “Composure is the secret to a commander’s control of the crew.”
“I would offer you this thought, Commander Sugatar,” Suntred said. “Think on the day when Artifice is neutralized and our race is free of its control. Then it’s possible that we might have the likes of SADEs in our society.”
“That’s a thought I can relish,” Sugatar replied.
“I take it we’re all satisfied,” Sargut said. “We’re transiting for Talus, and I hope for our race’s sake that the Omnian SADEs have been clever enough.”
* * *
While the Toralians’ data streams were being edited, Tittra’s techs worked overtime to hasten the pairing cycles. Additional workers were added to handle shifting cases. The widest estimate of a hundred and eight days was being shortened to a new target of seventy-eight.
Mickey, Miranda, and Miriam watched with disdain, as hundreds of cases of lifeless entities piled up at the back of the cavern. They sat with Tittra to understand the requirements for moving Herrick. First and foremost, it would necessitate a cargo shuttle. Herrick’s case, life support equipment, console, and grav pallet had to be loaded together and kept intact. Fortunately, the pathway from the cavern to the cave could accommodate the entire package.
“We can supply the power,” Miriam told Tittra, “after we collect your requirements.”
“How?” a tech asked, knowing he had no means of equating Chistorlan measurements to Omnian.
Miranda walked to the front row of cases. An interaction had just resulted in a victor, and the techs were unhooking the loser’s case. She picked up the power cable and stuck a digit into its open end.
“I’ve the data you require,” Miranda announced to Mickey and Miriam. Then she sent them the power specifications in Omnian terms.
“Are the cases sealed or do the entities’ environments require refreshing?” Mickey asked.
Tittra elaborated on the process by which the environment was maintained, including the oxygen supply, the solution refreshment, and the filtering processes.
Mickey held up a hand to end the explanation. “Tittra, you diagram the equipment that will accompany Herrick. Display it on your monitor and show us one piece of it so that we can understand the relative size requirements. Then you’ll be responsible for supplying the material and hooking it up to Herrick.”
“Agreed,” Tittra replied.
“We’ll need your specifications for the comm connection,” Mickey said.
Tittra stared at Mickey and uttered a subdued croak.
“What?” Mickey asked.
“It doesn’t work that way, Mickey,” Tittra explained. “The final entity, whom you call Herrick, must be prepared. Our console will be connected to the case. Through it, we will warn Herrick of the impending conflict. After the physical connection to Artifice is made, Herrick will choose when to accost Artifice. This procedure gives our entity the advantage of surprise. This is critical.”
Miranda and Miriam were doubtful of Tittra’s idea that Herrick could surprise Artifice after the connection was made, but after a brief and private discussion, they chose to remain silent.
“Can we manage the console portion?” Mickey asked.
“If you care to learn our written language and understand the procedures,” Tittra allowed.
“Let’s try another approach then,” Mickey said. “Who needs to accompany us?”
“Three of us,” Tittra replied. “One is knowledgeable about the solution and the processes that provide Herrick an efficient operating environment. We suspect that the brief, yet intense, conflict will require immediate adjustments to the sustaining process.”
“And another will manage the console connection and the cuing of Herrick?” Miranda suggested.
“Yes,” Tittra agreed.
“What’s your responsibility?” Mickey asked, knowing Tittra was including himself in the count.
“This is my life’s work,” Tittra said defiantly. “I won’t see it fail, which brings me to the point that most concerns me. I believe the transport time from this cavern to depositing Herrick on Talus is too long.”
“That aspect of this operation is going to be a challenge,” Mickey admitted.
“You can be assured that as soon as Artifice is forewarned of our fleet’s approach, it will take preventive steps to protect its emplacement,” Miranda said.
“What kind of steps?” Mickey asked. He was taken aback. This was the first time that he’d heard of this potential problem.
“The SADEs have discussed this with Alex and Julien,” Miranda replied. “Artifice has access to an enormous quantity of bots. It’s surmised that Artifice will use them in some defensive manner.”
“They don’t have weapons, do they?” Tittra asked timidly.
“It’s unknown,” Miranda replied. “However, a construction bot, weighing several thousand kilos, makes an effective deterrent.”
Mickey glanced at Miriam, annoyed that she hadn’t discussed this issue with him.
Mickey couldn’t disagree with what Miriam had said, and he was reminded that it was the job of Miriam and Luther to help him focus on engineering challenges. Alex, Tatia, and Julien were responsible for the overall strategies and their execution.
“What do you see as the potential timeline?” Tittra asked.
Mickey looked at Miranda for an answer. The SADE calculated the transport time through the tunnel, the flight to join the fleet, the transit to a near Talus station, communication time with Tranimus, the preparations and the fight inward, the delivery of Herrick to the surface, and the defeat of a bot army.
“My estimate is a minimum of eighteen days,” Miranda stated.
“That won’t work,” Tittra cried out. He was distraught, seeing the many years of work of his department thrown away for failing to have an adequate delivery process.
“How did you plan to transport your final entity to Artifice within eight days?” Mickey challenged.
Tittra deflated. There had been no plan, because the Chistorlans had no means of delivering the final entity. In their minds, they had time. They never expected Artifice to send a fleet to annihilate them.
Miranda took pity on the crestfallen Chistorlan and offered the latest conversations on the subject. “The SADEs have considered challenging Herrick,” she said, “but they see it as a no-win interaction. If Herrick is as powerful as you suggest, Tittra, it will consume the SADE. If we use a sister, with her capabilities, then the result will be the same. It will just take a little longer.”
Tittra heard the subtle difference between Miranda’s use of the terms SADEs and sisters. He’d thought that they were the same kind of entities. However, the differences were of lesser interest to him. What Miranda was saying was of greater interest.
“However, on the off chance that a SADE or a sister succeeds, then Herrick will either be vanquished or will retreat into itself,” Miranda continued, “which would mean Herrick wasn’t powerful enough to defeat Artifice. And perhaps that’s something we should know now.”
Tittra stared forlornly from one Omnian to another. Everything was moving too fast. The final entity needed more time to be developed. The period
of transport to Toral was too long. Now, the Omnians were suggesting that Herrick might not succeed.
-19-
Reports
The three Toralian battleships transited outside the Talus system. As they maneuvered to join the fleet, Sargut, Taralum, and Sugatar waited breathlessly for notice from their bridge officers that Artifice had accessed their data records.
The SADEs stood at the rear of the Dark Whispers’ bridge. They wouldn’t immediately share the Toralians’ fate if Artifice detected data manipulation. But that didn’t eliminate their exposure.
Z considered the following scenario: Artifice detects data manipulation. It sends elimination codes to the Toralian fleet. The codes don’t work on three of the ships. Artifice directs the other fleets to eliminate the remnants of the black fleet, while ships sail to reduce the Toralian colonies. The Omnians’ new allies are erased, and their capability of manipulating Artifice’s codes is exposed. The entity immediately changes its techniques.
Sargut glanced frequently at the SADEs. It bothered him that he couldn’t read anything in their expressions or body language. Their neutral stances and appearances made them appear to him as not much more than statues.
“The download has begun,” Miriamelle announced through the monitors, as the other two sisters did simultaneously over their battleships’ bridges.
“It’s complete,” Miriamelle added.
Tensions throughout the returning ships heightened. The only Omnian who was worried was Chandra. Miriamtess kept her in touch with Miriamelle. She sat in her pilot’s seat, arms crossed tightly, and humming softly.
The SADEs calculated the time for the nearest probe to have collected the data transferred to a Toral comm platform and then send it to the planet. They allowed ticks of time for Artifice to review the data streams. Then they added a cushion of ten percent for their calculations.
When that window of time passed, Z unlocked his avatar and announced, “We’ll collect what we need from our traveler, Commander Sargut. If you’ll direct us to the shuttle bay we’ll use for transfer to the grand commander’s ship, we’ll meet you there.”