by Don Viecelli
The Command Center was designed with two levels. The top level Control Room or Bridge arched halfway over the bottom level with a glass railing guard system to prevent falling below. On the Bridge were viewing screens showing the entire outside space around the ship. Mars could be seen in one of the screens with its reddish colored haze covering large portions of the planet. There were rectangular windows evenly spaced around the dome. The Control Room was at the top of the dome on the starship and took up half the open space. The Bridge area was 25 meters in diameter and 3 meters high. There were several control stations around the sides of the room with enough chairs for at least 10 aliens. Colonel Jackson and his team appeared to be on the main deck used by the commanding officers or whoever was in charge of this starship. Nearby was a small round pedestal or work table one meter in diameter with a dark glass top.
The second level of the Command Center was 50 meters in diameter and 6 meters high in the center. There were taller windows in front of the room and many more work stations spaced around the room, enough for at least 50 aliens. All the stations were empty and no display screens were turned on. There were signs of wind damage with chairs and tables blown over and dragged across the room towards one side of the starship not visible from above.
Janice kneeled down beside the closest alien body. It was humanoid in appearance around six feet tall with two arms and legs. There were four fingers on each hand. The round head was large and hairless with a pointed chin, round large eyes, small mouth and nose, pointed ears and pale green skin. There were slight differences in body build, which led Janice to think the smaller bodies were female aliens. She felt for a pulse and found none. “I can’t find any signs of life in this body,” she said over her mic.
“We checked, Doc. They’re all the same,” Colonel Jackson said in response. “The control consoles are still operating and seem to be working okay. I see data and lights on all the screens, but we can’t make out any of the symbols. Maybe Doctor Colbert can help us out here.”
James walked to the nearest control console and looked at the data running over the screen. “I have no idea what this is doing, Colonel. It would take us months to figure it out. Besides, who knows what will happen if we try pushing any of these buttons.”
“James is right, Colonel. We have to assume the spaceship is still operating on automatic control. We need to leave things alone until we have more time to study the ship,” Doug offered.
“I agree. We’ll get a bigger team up here after we check out more of the ship. There’s got to be more aliens somewhere on this ship. They can’t be all hiding from us.”
Just then, Captain Tills’ voice broke through on the comnet. “Colonel, you better get down here. We’re on the same level where our teams separated. I’ve found some sort of sleep chamber room. There are aliens inside, sir. All appear to be sleeping. Over.”
“I copy, Tills. I’ll be down in a minute. Over.” Colonel Jackson turned to Lieutenant Sanchez. “Stay here with Doctors Martin and Colbert. I’ll take two soldiers with me plus Director Martin to see what Captain Tills found.”
“Yes, sir.” Sanchez looked nervous, understandably so.
Janice glanced over at Doug, concern visible on her face though the faceplate. He smiled and told her, “I’ll be right back. Don’t worry.”
Colonel Jackson, two Marines he tapped on their shoulders and Doug walked over to the elevator and stepped inside as soon as the door opened. Jackson hit the fifteenth button on the left side and back down they went. The door opened again and Colonel Jackson stepped into the hallway that led back to where the shuttle was parked. He looked at the tablet he was carrying and accessed the Mars GPS locator system. He saw the green icon blinking indicating where each of his Marines were located and followed the direction down the hallway. They walked for five minutes passing various other hallways that must radiate throughout the entire starship on this level alone. They reached the location where Captain Shirley Tills and her team of four Marines were waiting and entered a doorway that was open.
Captain Tills met them inside the room. It wasn’t necessary to salute the Colonel since they were on a small mission team, but Captain Tills wasn’t quite sure where to begin when Colonel Jackson arrived, so she simply gestured, “They’re over here, sir.”
Colonel Jackson followed Captain Tills inside the large room. He could see what looked like a medical space with all types of instruments and lab equipment situated around the room. Off to one side was a small corridor filled with long cylinders approximately eight feet long and four feet in diameter evenly spaced on both sides of the hallway. The cylinders were made of metal with clear plastic or glass covers on top.
“There are twenty cryostasis chambers in here, Colonel. Inside each is a live alien. I scanned the bodies. They appear to be sleeping, sir.” Captain Tills stood back while Colonel Jackson and Doug took closer looks at the alien in the nearest chamber. The body inside looked the same as the dead aliens they found up in the control center, only this one had on a simple white robe.
The control lights on the front side panel of each chamber appeared to be operating normally. There were no signs of distress or alarm signals to indicate the aliens were in danger. Colonel Jackson stepped back and said, “Make sure the video feeds we’re sending are reaching Mars. I want them to see everything we’re seeing, Captain.”
“Certainly, sir.”
The comlink opened up and a voice message was received from Lieutenant Sanchez in the Command Center. “Colonel Jackson. You better come back right away! We have company up here.” Sanchez sounded confused.
“What is it, Sanchez?” Jackson demanded.
“A hologram of an alien just appeared on the Bridge. It wants to talk to the commanding officer, sir. It says it’s important.” Sanchez reported.
Colonel Jackson looked at his team. “It just gets better and better. Captain Tills, stay here with your team. We’ll go back up to the control room to see what’s going on. Let me know if any of these aliens wake up!”
Colonel Jackson spun around and his two Marines and Doug followed him back out the doorway headed for the Bridge.
Chapter 8
AI
Colonel Jackson and his small group returned to the Control Room Bridge as soon as they could. When the elevator door opened, Jackson saw Lieutenant Sanchez, two Marines and both doctors staring at a full sized hologram five and a half feet tall of an alien that materialized near the round table located on the deck. It was dressed in the same type of uniform and looked similar to the dead aliens lying on the floor. The image was surprisingly lifelike and appeared to be standing with its feet on the floor. Feminine in appearance with pale green skin color, it waited in silence watching everyone.
Jackson walked forward. “Has it said anything more, Lieutenant?”
“No sir. It just waited for you to show up.”
“It understands English?” Jackson seemed surprised.
“Yes, sir; perfect Mars English. It said it’s been monitoring our radio channel.”
“Great. So much for secure communications,” Colonel Jackson walked closer to the hologram. “My name is Colonel Hayward Jackson, United States Marines on a peace keeping force for the United Nations on Mars. I am in charge of this mission team. What is your name and purpose for being here?
The AI said in a clear voice, “My name is Shonya. I serve as Starship Solruku’s Artificial Intelligence Control System entity. I am currently keeping all systems operational until my command officers awaken.”
“What happened here, Shonya?” Jackson noticed the AI’s accent was clearly based on local Mars vernacular.
“The present command crew died from the effects of a sudden explosion in our hull one floor below this one. I survived and used our maintenance drones to repair the damage to the hull temporarily. More extensive repairs to this spaceship will be required before we can resume our journey.”
“What caused the explosion?” Jackson wanted more info
rmation.
“I do not know yet, Colonel Hayward Jackson. My memory banks have been altered, possibly from the explosion. Certain memory files proceeding the time of the explosion are missing.”
“When did this damage happen?”
“It occurred while we traveled in hyperspace a short time ago. I had to exit hyperspace to prevent more damage to the Solruku.
“Who else is on board this spaceship, Shonya?”
“There were thirty ship officers in control of this starship. Twenty remain alive in sleep chambers that you discovered. The rest of the passengers are in storage.”
Colonel Jackson looked over at Doug and the others briefly while he thought of his next question. “How many passengers are on board this spaceship, Shonya?”
“This is a passenger starship, Colonel Jackson. There is a billion of what you consider “souls” on board this vessel. We are from a planet called Qum. It has been attacked and conquered by another race of alien beings called Yoyka who are hostile to all species. The people on board this passenger starship had to flee our planet for another solar system where they can live peacefully.”
Colonel Jackson looked just as confused as the others were in the room. He didn’t believe the AI. “That doesn’t seem possible, Shonya. This starship is not large enough to hold that many of your people.”
“I am sorry for not making myself clear. There are a billion “minds” stored in this vessel’s computer data system waiting for the time they can be uploaded into new bodies once we reach our second home planet. This is the only way we can transport so many of our people at one time. They agreed to leave their physical bodies behind.”
Everyone looked at each other in disbelieve. They remained silent for a long moment before Colonel Jackson resumed the questioning. “Where is this second home planet you are trying to reach?”
“It is twenty thousand light years in Earth time further out from your solar system. Our home planet Qum is located ten thousand light years closer to the center of the galaxy. We are able to travel between solar systems in what you would call hyperspace using faster than light travel. Even so, it will take us three months in your time to complete the trip. As it were, our starship was damaged just before reaching your solar system and we could not complete our journey before being force out of hyperspace in order to make repairs.”
Colonel Jackson considered what the AI said. It only generated more questions in his mind. “You said earlier you don’t know what caused the explosion that killed your commanding officers. Tell me more about the aliens who attacked your planet.”
“This race of hostile beings is called Yoyka from their home world Yoykan. They attacked Qum using robotic nanomachines to infect our people. The infected people quickly become contagious and the infection spread worldwide in days. It could not be stopped in time to save our planet.
“The nanomachines control the mind enslaving the people to do the Yoyka’s bidding. The nanomachines are smaller than what you call bacteria or viruses at one micrometer or micron in size. Once inside the mind they attach to neurons and multiply rapidly. They respond to quantum field communication signals that cannot be blocked. The Yoyka control these signals and the enslaved minds do their bidding. They strip all natural resources and minerals from the planet for Yoyka use. Once the planet resources are used up, the Yoyka leave and the minds stop working and the bodies die. It was too late to save our planet. However, we were able to use our androids to help many of our people escape our planet. Then something happened on our journey in hyperspace and I had to abort the journey to come here for repairs.”
The word “androids” conjured up all types of questions in the colonel’s mind, but he decided to wait before asking the AI to explain further. Instead, the colonel wanted to know, “How long will you stay here?”
“I estimate repairs will take at least a thirty of your days if you can provide the necessary raw minerals.”
Colonel Jackson paused before responding, “I’m sure our government will be happy to help your people in whatever way you need, Shonya, but we need more answers to what happened on this vessel. May we be allowed to investigate the damage to your ship first?”
“I cannot allow you to explore our ship further, Colonel Jackson, but I am now in the process of waking up the second command crew. You will be able to speak further with them when they awake.”
“Good. We only have a few hours left with our breathing tanks. We may have to return to our shuttle for fresh air packs.”
Shonya said, “No need for that, Colonel Jackson. I adjusted our atmosphere inside this vessel compatible with both our species. You may remove your headgear if you desire.”
Colonel Jackson looked over at Doctor Colbert who was checking the air readings as everyone waited. “The air is breathable, Colonel. It may produce some high altitude side effects for a few hours though until we adjust.”
The colonel used both hands to release the plastic facemask and pushed it up over his helmet. He took a deep breath and said, “It seems okay to me. Give me a few minutes to verify the air before the rest of you do the same.”
A voice spoke over the comlink, “Colonel, something is happening down here. Some of the sleep pods are opening up. I think the aliens are waking up. Over,” It was Captain Tills.
“It’s okay, Tills. Let them wake up and bring your team up to the Command Center. Over.”
Suddenly, a loud alarm was heard in the Command Center. “What’s happening, Shonya?” Colonel Jackson kept his eyes on the AI hologram.
“I am checking now, Colonel Jackson.” A moment later, the AI continued, “There is an Intruder on the engineering deck on level twenty-eight where our FTL hyperdrive system is located. The view cameras have been disabled. I cannot identify the Intruder who is not one of our command officers. There is no identification tag. I am no longer receiving status signals from the FTL drive.”
“What do you want us to do?”
“I have no choice but to allow you to send some of your people down to investigate the matter until my command officers are available, Colonel Jackson. I can guide you to the location. If our FTL drive is disabled or destroyed, we will not be able to complete our journey in a timely manner.”
“Lieutenant Sanchez, stay here while I go to check this out.” Colonel Jackson picked three soldiers and hurriedly walked to the elevator. He closed his face mask on his way down.
Doug looked at Janice and wondered what would happen next. She looked worried and he had no answers that would help.
Chapter 9
Washington
President Mary Woodley Anderson was in the Oval Office with Chief of Staff Allison Conley and National Security Advisor Rodney Williams. They were on a video conference call with UN Deputy Secretary of Mars Haruto Nakamura. It was not an easy conversation since the time delay between Earth and Mars was a long 4.4 seconds, so the President would ask several questions at a time and wait for Haruto’s response and vice versa.
Haruto was speaking. “As to your list of questions, Madam President, my team is still on the alien starship. The team I sent to investigate is led by one of your Marines by the name of Colonel Hayward Jackson. Colonel Jackson is sending real-time voice and video communications over our comnet as his team investigates what’s on that starship. I am forwarding the complete communication recordings as I receive them to you and the UN Secretary-General.
“The team made contact with some sort of Artificial Intelligence entity who appears as a hologram and calls itself, Shonya. The AI seems to be intelligent, if not completely sentient as we understand the term. Colonel Jackson found ten dead aliens in the Command Center of the starship the AI calls Solruku. The AI explained to the team that the dead aliens were killed when they lost oxygen and air pressure from some type of internal explosion below their level. The AI doesn’t know what or who caused the explosion due to some sort of data loss to its memory.
“The AI says her race is from a planet called Qum, which is
located ten light years closer to the center of the galaxy than our solar system. Their planet has been attacked by another race of aliens called Yoyka that use intelligent robotic nanomachines to infect living hosts so they can control the mind, thus enslaving the Qumru people. The starship was on its way to another solar system twenty light years further out from our solar system when the explosion occurred. The Qumru starship is able to travel faster than light through what we call hyperspace. The starship was forced out of hyperspace due to the damage to their ship.
“Our team found another twenty aliens alive in some sort of cryostasis sleep chambers and is waiting for some of them to awaken to help take over control and repair of the starship. The AI, Shonya, says the damage to the ship is extensive and they will need help from use to repair it so they can complete their journey.
“The cause of the explosion is still unknown. The last communication I received from the Colonel is an Intruder unknown to the AI is still on board that starship and may be trying to cause more damage. The Marines are trying to find out what is happening as we speak. I will let you know what the Marines find as soon as I am told.
“The AI calls this a Passenger Starship and says there are a billion passengers—minds only—stored in their ship’s computer system waiting to be uploaded into new bodies once they reach their new home planet. I know this sounds impossible to us, but this is what the AI said. These people left their original physical bodies behind in order to escape the Yoyka.
“The AI says the race of alien beings called Yoyka are hostile to all species. It sounds like something we should be prepared to face in the future. There is more information on what the Yoyka are like in the recordings I am sending you.
“I’m not worried about the safety of our colonists on Mars at this moment. It does not appear these aliens are hostile. They want our help to repair their starship so they can continue their journey. They estimate repairs will take at least thirty days if we can provide them the necessary raw materials and minerals they need.