by Marc Stevens
Justice turned the Legacy hard around and fired on the remaining stragglers as they attempted to make evasive maneuvers. It was like shooting fish in a barrel and had Klutch hooting and hollering like he had just won another bet from Coonts. The destruction created by the exploding anti-matter vessels was incredible to see. The damaged Prule ships never stood a chance, and it was over in less than five minutes. My prediction of the remaining battleship’s fate, became a reality when it struck the planet’s surface. Justice finished the last two ships as they attempted to flee. He didn’t bother trying to close with the targets. He used impressively accurate maximum range fire from our beam weapons. The distant flashes let us know he hit his marks perfectly.
The bridge settled into a solemn silence as we watched to see if any more Prule ships would contest our presence on their turf. After more than a two-minutes of scanning, Justice reported the area clear of hostile targets.
“I will begin charging the matrix Commander.”
“Roger that, please move us in close to the gateway ring so you can take some detailed scans.”
The order wasn’t necessary. Justice was already heading directly at the massive oval-shaped construct. It was miles across the shimmering portal. It was crazy big, but still not large enough to admit a Prule supercarrier. The ring structure itself was surprisingly thin. At only sixteen hundred feet at its thickest point. Its diameter was almost exactly fifty thousand feet. That made the circumference just under thirty miles. It was a huge undertaking on the part of the race that built them. It left me wondering if they were still around? The universe was a hell of a big place. It would be easy to disappear into it and never be seen again.
Justice moved the Legacy close to the ring and started scanning. He made another discovery. “Commander, my scans and our proximity to the ring have triggered a signal from our Guardian transponder.”
“What kind of signal Justice? Is it directional?”
“Negative Commander, I have never recorded a signal from the transponder similar to the one just emitted.”
Coonts stood up from his seat and stared at the image of the ring. “Is the ring responding in some way to the signal Justice?”
“Yes, Engineer Coonts. The energy emanating from the ring has attenuated to a level that identically matches the gate on the opposite side of the rogue planet. My scans indicate the higher reading was a product of an in-flow of energy. The lower reading is outflowing energy. My observations confirm the transponder reversed the flow of energy. I extrapolate we have the means to change the directional flow of the gates.”
Coonts's eyes grew wide at the revelation. “Justice, scan the gate again and see if the transponder sends another signal!” he called excitedly.
More than a minute passed before Justice again confirmed his findings. “Engineer Coonts, the transponder reacted in the same manner. The energy reading emanating from the gate is now at its previous level. Commander with your permission I would like to perform an experiment.”
“You want to see if something will go into the gate?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Please carry on Justice.”
The Legacy chased down a fragment of a resource gathering platform and corraled it with the tow beam. We moved back to the ring and Justice gave the wreckage a push toward the center of the gateway. The scrap was within a few thousand yards of the ring's event horizon when it suddenly changed course and went tumbling back out into the void.
“The data is confirmed, Commander. We have the means to change the direction of the gates.”
My crew turned to me smiling. It was contagious and I smiled back. This was an amazing discovery. I rubbed my forehead and sat back in my chair. The ramifications of controlling the gates were staggering. If the Prule did not possess a Guardian transponder or the knowledge of how to use it, we were now the gatekeepers and could effectively deny them the use of the gates we had access to. Doing their dirty deeds in the Milkyway galaxy just got a hell of a lot harder.
It gave the Troop Master some murderous inspiration. At certain times it could be useful, but as a rule, some of his plans for death and destruction were counterproductive. The look in his eyes said he was cooking up a scheme. When his maniacal gaze finally settled on me, I knew he was going to hatch out a dozy.
“Commander, we should collect as many anti-matter containment vessels as we can find, and load up some wreckage with them. Once we get it all gathered, we send the whole mess through the gate as a present to the Prule. I am sure Justice can figure out a way to make it all go boom when it reaches the other end.”
The beast in me applauded the idea, and admittedly it had merit. Coonts rarely agreed with anything the Troop Master had to say but was nodding in agreement. I thought about the death of Xul and looked over at Tria. I wanted to see if she was motivated by the same revenge that was driving us to strike the Bio-machines another death blow. To my surprise, she was shaking her head negatively.
“Tria, are we overlooking something?” I asked frowning.
“Yes Nathan, we need to take a step back and carefully think this through. If we send a weapon through the gateway, we are giving the Prule a clear message that we now control the gates.”
“What's wrong with that?”Klutch blurted.
“Do not let revenge blind you, Troop Master. Think about it for a moment. If we just reverse the gates so they cannot return to this location, they might assume the gates were damaged by their anti-matter munitions and leave the exit point operational. If we send your so-called present through, at the very least, we could destroy the gate generators and close the gate forever. We would also be telling the Prule we can control the gates. What would you do if the tables were turned, and the Prule were the ones sending us that message?”
Coonts answered for the Troop Master. “I would destroy every gateway I encountered, to keep us from making use of them or discovering their hidden bases.”
Klutch crossed his arms and snorted. The atmosphere on the bridge took a turn for the worse. The steely-eyed stares he got in return for his noxious disagreement, made him leave the bridge grumbling.
“Commander,” Justice said. “I agree with Tria’s assessment and recommend we reverse the directions of both incoming gates to deny the Prule further access to this location. They will eventually determine someone other than themselves control the gateways. Letting them gain that knowledge sooner than later, could deny us a chance to stealthily reconnoiter what lies on the other end of the gates.”
I went to Tria’s console and kissed her on the forehead. “ I hope one of these days your wisdom and patience rub off on me.”
“We can only hope.” She said with a smile.
I called to Justice. “Take us to the other incoming gate and reverse its energy flow.”
“Roger that Commander, moving now.”
Justice made a short jump to the far side of the rogue planet. When we exited hyperspace we plowed through light debris near the gate. The rock and dust flared brightly on our shields. Justice slowed the Legacy long enough to scan the gate and trigger a response from the Guardian transponder.
“The energy from the remaining gates are now outflowing Commander.”
“Roger that Justice. Let’s scan the third ring and take a quick survey of the surrounding space.”
“Affirmative Commander,” Justice replied.
The information on each gateway was carefully recorded and stored for future reference. My scientific team was going to receive a research project of monumental proportions. The amount of data collected will keep the scientist’s computers as well as Justice and the Overseer’s spare processing time, tied up for the foreseeable future. When we completed our survey, Justice informed me the DEHD core was available for the jump home.
I put my arm around Tria’s shoulder. “Take us home Justice.”
7
Our return to normal space-time left me with the sensation of my skin vibrating, and an itchy feeling I had
never experienced before. The chronometer on the bulkhead next to the bridge entrance showed the passage of the transition time we had incurred. Fifty-nine minutes and twenty-two seconds, crazy long for a DEHD core jump. I rubbed my arms and scratched the stubble on my face, wondering if I was still in possession of all my scrambled molecules. Tria had a frown on her face. She must have been feeling side effects that were out of the ordinary as well. Coonts and Klutch didn’t look like they had fared any better. Coonts was scratching his head, the Troop Master his genitals. Tria raised an eyebrow at his lack of etiquette. When Klutch noticed her looking he grinned and stopped.
He pointed at Coonts. “It is the Grawl’s fault we are infected with the Fusra Pus virus. I warned him to stop scratching.”
Coonts squinted his eyes at the Troop Master and stalked off the bridge grumbling disparaging comments under his breath. Klutch wasn’t done and followed after him. I cringed when I heard him declaring he knew of an ointment made out of Throgg scat the Grawl should try on his head.
Before I could tell the Troop master to knock it off, Tria took me by the hand and waved me off. I knew she was going to lecture me once again about letting the two blow off steam.
I put a finger to her lips. “We should check on Sael. Justice said she was wanting to speak to me. I want you to come along so you can give her a lecture if she starts jumping my ass for dragging her off the Fury.”
Tria looked at me out of the corner of her eyes but did not comment.
“Justice, is Sael lucid?”
“Yes Commander, I woke her and she again asked to speak to you.”
“Roger that, Tria and I are on the way to the med bay.”
When we arrived in the med bay, we were surprised to see Sael was sitting on an examination table. The stabilizing device on her fractured leg and the bandages on the stump of her lower right arm was the only thing she was wearing. Like the rest of us, she was covered in an assortment of painful-looking contusions. There was still a prominent bulge on the side of her head and her right eye was a bloodshot mess. She looked like warmed-over death. I winced at the thought because at one point she literally was.
Not knowing quite what to say to her, I concentrated on a point just over her head and tried some small talk. “I am glad to see you are doing better.”
She barked a laugh that made her wince. It was obvious her broken ribs were nowhere near healed. “Doing better than what, death? If I am understanding Justice correctly, that was my condition when you and Tria decided to intervene. What made you think I was not interested in keeping my appointment with our maker?”
It was unfortunate that whenever I found myself grasping for the right words, nothing intelligent usually comes out of my mouth. My eyes dropped from the point on the wall just above Sael’s head to her badly battered body. She followed my gaze downward.
I said the first thing that came to mind. “We couldn’t let you go looking like that, you were not properly dressed for the occasion.”
She didn’t laugh again but smiled at me instead. Tria and I were standing close enough to her that she was able to reach out with her two good arms and grab the front of our uniforms. She pulled us close and gave us an embrace that had to cause her considerable discomfort.
“Thank you for saving my life,” she said in a hushed voice.
In a move that surprised the crap out of me, she kissed me on the mouth. The kiss lingered just long enough for Tria’s eyes to widen. It looked like she was going to say something, but any comment that may have come from her mouth was cut short when Sael planted one on her lips as well. It did not linger as long as mine, but still a good effort. When she let go, we both took a step back. Sael looked genuinely disappointed by the expressions on our faces.
“What, did I not do it right?” She said with a puzzled look. “I have seen you display that behavior with Tria on many occasions. If that is not the correct way to convey human gratitude. I am willing to try again.”
I held my hands up. “Nope Sael, you did great… I ah… mean it was nice…” I looked over at Tria’s face and was having a hard time getting the right words out of my mouth. I finally settled for something else. “Your welcome, Sael.”
Tria was eyeing me and just nodded in agreement. I doubted if she was lost for words. It may have had more to do with not saying what was really on her mind. I turned back to Sael and decided I wasn’t going to fill her in on all the subtleties of what my kissing Tria meant or at certain times the intent behind me doing so.
I cleared my throat and got back on track. “Sael, Justice said you wanted to speak to me?”
My question reset Sael’s emotions. “Yes Commander Myers, I am formally requesting a copy of my combat armor’s recorded data. It will end the ongoing investigation of what happened to the Fury and its crew. It is important to me to clear up any doubt about the Fury’s Captain’s actions and the subsequent loss of the ship. The data recorded by my combat armor should finally put the matter to rest.”
It was a reasonable request and I had no problem with it. The burden the incident put squarely on Sael’s shoulders would, at last, be gone. I thought about how much data the battlesuit had recorded. It would be prudent to review all of the recordings. It would be a simple matter for Justice to end the recordings the moment Sael was removed from her armor. I wanted to think about it and ask the opinions of my crew, before revealing we had the capability to control the gates. There was still the question of our deaths. We did not know if the Chaalt received the distant IST transmission or not. The Chaalt assault force witnessed Sael and her strike team transport down into the tunnel to accompany us on our search and destroy mission. They also had to see the results of our anti-matter detonation while retreating into the gateway. The collapse and flooding of the massive tunnel system no doubt had them believing we were all killed in action. If that was the case, they were in for a hell of a surprise when Sael gives them a call letting them know she has risen from the dead.
Sael was watching me closely while I processed her request. “Commander Myers, I know there are a lot of events that I am not aware of prior to our rescue. Justice has ignored all of my questions related to that topic. I understand if you are not willing to reveal that information to my superiors, but I have hopes you will not keep it from me.”
I looked at Tria and she nodded. “Sael I can give you a more thorough briefing when Justice releases you from the med bay. For now, I will just say we managed to get you off the Fury before it was destroyed. We used your assault shuttle to inflict as much damage as possible to Prule forces before it was rendered inoperable by hostile fire. All of our lives were saved when Justice received the IST signal from the jump buoy you launched. The Legacy made more than a five hundred thousand light-year DEHD core jump to our location. Justice ultimately prevented the Prule from bringing us aboard one of their destroyers. You already know what would have happened to us, had he not intervened.”
Sael gave me a solemn nod, then laid back down on the examination table. Tria and I started to leave but Sael called to me again. “Commander, I do have one more request and will understand if it is denied.”
We turned around, puzzled by her statement. Since she was being so formal, I answered in the same manner. “What can I do for you Principal Investigator?”
She shook her head negative. “First of all, I am no longer the Principle Investigator for my people. My title now would just be Senior Operative or to you and your clan, Sael Nalen.”
She said it with a small smile which I returned. “Okay Senior Operative, what is your request?”
“As you know, I have had some limited enhancements done to my body by the Chaalt military. With your permission, I would like to have the same Oolaran enhancements that Tria has undergone.”
Her request caught me off guard, and my first instinct was to tell her no. I looked at Tria and she seemed just as surprised.
I was still trying to fathom the reasons why she would want to go through that whe
n Tria put it perfectly into words for me. “Be careful what you wish for Senior Operative. I can testify to how unpleasant the experience will be.”
“As unpleasant as being shot to pieces by the Prule, and dying, only to be brought back to life to find that I lost something that is not easily replaced.” Sael curtly replied.
Sael waved the stump of her missing arm at us for emphasis. She had a point and it's not like we didn’t give her fair warning.
“Justice, give the Senior Operative what she is asking for.”
“Affirmative Commander.”
Tria and I walked out of the med bay wondering if Sael was in her right mind. I had a feeling she did not inform her superiors she was still alive. Justice would have intercepted any attempts on the part of the Chaalt to contact her and would have informed me of the IST traffic. The distinct lack of any said they were convinced she died with us.
I took Tria’s hand in mine as we walked down the corridor. “Isn’t it kind of strange Sael’s superiors have not been trying to confirm her death?”
Tria pulled me to a halt. “Nathan, when Sael died, nanites in her IST transmitter dissolved it shortly after. It is programmed into all of the devices to prevent the tech from falling into the wrong hands. Those who monitor such things, declared the Principal Investigator dead right after we entered the gateway in the cave and lost her IST tracking signal.”