by Randal Sloan
“Before today, we’d discovered absolutely no space-bound assets, space stations, ships, or anything like that, although we’ve been pretty certain they had them. I would say the existence of that station out there pretty much confirms that.” He gave them a moment to digest that before continuing.
“Based on their art and the size of their buildings, we believe that they were humanoid and of a similar size and build as humans and Borjon, although their art tends to be rather abstract, so we still don’t know exactly what they looked like.
“We can only guess at their technological level, but we have enough evidence to believe they had very advanced technology. If they had possessed similar technologies to ours, they would have left more evidence behind. Just think what we would leave behind if we left the galaxy forever.
“The how and why they disappeared has been an enigma much debated among scientific circles. As I said, we won’t go into that as I don’t consider it of relevance to our mission.
“Does anyone have any questions that would relate to our current situation?”
When no one had any questions, Jarra told him, “Thank you, Gabo. I’ve glanced at your data, and I believe we can take a shuttlecraft over to investigate. Do you agree that we can do so safely?”
Gabo knew he didn’t have to say that their level of danger was already beyond what he would classify as safe. If the station had been hostile, their ships would probably already have been destroyed. Who knew what the Forerunners had in the line of defenses. Instead, he just addressed the obvious issue.
“I don’t see any problems with a shuttle flight to the station,” Gabo replied. “Radiation levels are extremely high, however, so even with our Marine armor, I recommend only a short visit unless we can find a way inside. No more than fifteen minutes.”
Jarra considered her options. “I don’t have to tell you that protocol would normally have required me to send our Marine escorts to secure the area. Unfortunately, we left them behind for this mission, something I still don’t regret. They deserve the chance to rest while they wait for their two injured to complete their rehab.
“But although normally protocol wouldn’t allow me to go into such an insecure environment, this is well outside the norm and thus requires an extreme action. I’m glad now that I insisted everyone get set up with their own set of armor after everything that went down on our last two missions, but let’s face it, I’m by far the most capable of everyone on board to undertake the task. So this is what I have decided.
“A small team will accompany me to investigate the station. Gabo, as our Forerunner expert, I definitely need you; Sara, in case you need to hack something for us; Amy, because I may need you to attempt translation; and finally Jason, I know I’ll never convince you to stay. Sasha, you have the bridge; Galen, take over our sensors and yell if you see anything.”
She shook her head at the look of chagrin in the eyes of the ones left behind. “Sorry, but I need you to remain on board in case something goes wrong and you have to try to get word out about what happened here.”
She turned to Kaeden. “Kaeden, I regret that we don’t have any armor for you, or I would bring you along too.”
Kaeden smiled at her. “My people’s bodies able to do radiation in space suit. I go Amfiltrite in haste, get quick?”
Jarra didn’t even blink. “Of course. I believe what we are looking at is of galactic significance, so it would be quite appropriate for you to do so. That will allow you to represent the Borjon in our exploration and discovery.”
“That then is our plan. We’ll modify it as necessary during the mission. I don’t have to say be careful, because we have no idea what we may see once we get over there. I’m absolutely certain it will be of historical importance.”
Fifteen minutes later the small team settled into Katarina’s tiny shuttle with Jarra assuming the flight controls. It was a tight fit for everyone with the lot of them in armor except for Kaeden, but they all squeezed in. Quickly completing her pre-flight check, Jarra deftly lifted the shuttle from the shuttle bay floor, easing it forward to line it up with the line painted on the floor.
“Katarina, this is Shuttle One. Open the shuttle bay door.”
Slowly, the doors opened, the dark of space appearing through the barely visible sheen of the atmospheric barrier that kept the air trapped inside the shuttle bay. As soon as the doors were fully open, Jarra tapped the controls to lead them out. They slowly moved toward the Forerunner station, Jarra’s eyes alert for any danger and Gabo on board Katarina watching his scanners for any change.
Jarra’s nerves were tightly wound. What were they going to find waiting for them? Was it really an intact Forerunner station?
They didn’t have long to speculate as she flew their tiny shuttle toward the rather large station somehow suspended in the middle of the most energetic nebula she’d ever seen. She had quickly understood why even Galen had been challenged at navigating that space. Despite the scale of their surroundings making it hard for her to sense the station’s size, she knew it was quite large yet it was visually aesthetic, something the Empire struggled to achieve with their larger stations.
But that wasn’t what caught her attention as she gazed at the station in front of her. Jarra couldn’t find the words to describe what she saw as they drew near to the station. Made of a material she’d never seen before, the station almost glistened in the starlight. It looks like a diamond, she thought. She hadn’t realized she’d spoken that out loud.
With the shuttle providing a near instantaneous link back to the Katarina, Galen heard and was quick with his response, not that it helped much. As ordered, he’d taken over Gabo’s sensors. “Best I can tell, the station itself consists of similar construction materials to that of the Empire, but somehow they’ve bonded some sort of carbon matrix on top. Very much like a diamond but even stronger than that it appears.”
“Well, it’s pretty remarkable to see up close,” Jarra replied. “There appears to be a landing bay to our starboard, so I’m making our way there now.”
Slowly moving that direction, Jarra watched for any sign of a defensive reaction, ready to move their shuttle away if any appeared. Not that she expected that to do any good. Anything a Forerunner station had would probably be too much for their tiny shuttle to handle. Heck, it would probably be more than the Katarina could handle, her own speculation mirroring that of Gabo earlier.
But nothing happened, so they made their way to the landing bay. As Jarra hovered the tiny craft just above the surface, she checked her instruments on board the shuttle. She wasn’t surprised to read normal force artificial gravity and an oxygen-based atmosphere.
“I’m reading a breathable atmosphere, despite the fact I see no evidence of an atmospheric shield. Nevertheless, I expect everyone to remain in armor and Kaeden in his space suit at all times unless I tell you otherwise,” Jarra warned them.
Moments later, they stood on the surface of a Forerunner station, something no human or Borjon had ever done in all of history. Jarra was practically dancing in her excitement.
It was all quite unbelievable.
Their small team proceeded slowly with their investigation, still rather unsure of their welcome and not wanting to push their luck. But it didn’t take long to check out the singularly boring landing bay that despite its amazing appearance simply had nothing to offer other than confirmation of Galen’s speculation about the materials covering the station. With Gabo’s time limit in mind, it was only a few moments later that everyone stood in front of what was obviously the entrance to the interior of the station.
“I’m not finding any kind of interface to the airlock controls,” Sara told a frowning Jarra. On an Empire station, a manual control panel would have been in place, but here nothing of the sort was to be found. Just a slightly protruding wall face on either side of the huge doorway at the end of the bay facing into the station.
Despite the lack of any action against their investigation to th
is point, Jarra’s nerves were still wound rather tightly. Suddenly she had an idea.
“Jynks,” she asked her internal AI. “Are you detecting any other AIs in the area?”
“I will attempt to ascertain such a possibility, Your Highness,” Jynks replied. “Please wait momentarily.”
Jarra was accustomed to Jynks’ rather stilted speech. She was completely surprised when he continued with a little squeak, “Advanced AI detected!”
Jynks paused. He must have been communicating with the AI. Finally, he continued with an almost normal sounding response, although she could tell he was still stressed. “Communication accepted to station AI. Please address him as Adrihel. Audible and implant communications are available.”
Almost dumbfounded by the change in her AI, nevertheless, Jarra didn’t have time to wonder. She activated her armor’s external sound system, wanting her entire team to hear her as she addressed the AI.
“Station AI, Adrihel, this is Crown Princess Jarraosa Chistinee Von Hasson, representing the Galactic Empire. We are requesting access to your station.”
“Access granted,” came the verbal response. “Please step into the station transportation module.”
In front of them, a set of doors opened smoothly despite their huge size, revealing a chamber large enough to accommodate their entire party with plenty of room left over. Then the AI spoke directly to Jarra’s implants.
“I’ve been expecting you, Princess. Welcome!”
When their entire party was inside the chamber, the airlock doors closed. Despite the fact that she felt no movement, Jarra sensed that the chamber they were inside of was actually in motion, although it didn’t take them very long to get wherever they were going. Then the doors opened and she forgot all about the transportation experience.
In front of them was the most amazing room Jarra had ever seen, and she’d seen some pretty astonishing things as a Princess of the Realm. Highly advanced consoles were spread out across the room, with every surface gleaming with what appeared to be a similar carbon-based matrix to the coating on the outside surface of the station.
Although the whole area was full of things that wanted to catch her attention, the one that captured and held her attention as she stepped out into the large room was a huge viewing window that stretched across the far wall. It was so astonishing she stopped to stare, the rest of the group beside her apparently as awestruck as she was.
The view revealed a picture of the area of space around them that looked unbelievably real. But it was more than just a view of space. The currents and swirls of hyperspace were evident, the levels represented by colors that spanned the gambit of dark reds for the lowest levels to a brilliant violet that was obviously fast hyperspace. Something told Jarra that if she could see into the ultraviolet spectrum, she would see flows that were at a much higher energy level than even the level they’d just discovered and called “fast.”
That wasn’t all of it. Dust and radiation were visible as diffuse clouds, their colors again representing the energy level. The Katarina and Amfiltrite were visible in great detail as if they were lit by perfect lighting, whereas Jarra knew that in actuality they would have appeared much darker being lit only by the diffuse starlight in the nebula.
But that still wasn’t the most amazing part of it. The display was somehow linked directly to her brain as icons and text appeared beside objects as she moved her eyes across the display, never obstructing anything she wished to see but instantly providing readable information if she looked with the intent to read.
Finally, Jarra was able to tear her eyes away from the display to address the console in front of her, the console that she knew represented Adrihel. An image that put their best 3D VR to shame was displayed in the form that Jarra recognized instantly to be that of a Forerunner based on the humans best estimation of their appearance, although Jarra realized that they’d gotten some of it wrong. The features were stronger, but yet the appearance was more beautiful than she’d ever seen before.
“Welcome to my humble home,” Adrihel told them, speaking in flawless Galactic Standard. His voice had a singsong resonance to it that was almost hypnotic, yet he lacked the stilted speech that Jynks seemed unable to avoid.
“As you have probably surmised, I am the AI my people left behind for the specific purpose of interacting with the peoples of the galactic arms. As you know, you all will eventually be involved in the conflict with the Aerstone with their stated goal of the destruction of all life. My people are opposed to that goal.
“I’ve been awaiting your arrival for many centuries. Please make yourself at home and enjoy the facilities. It is safe to open your faceplates to your suits, although I would recommend you leave the suits in place since you will need them for protection against the radiation when you’re ready to leave. The air is quite safe and the radiation level in here would be less than your typical environment.”
Jarra didn’t hesitate, quickly following his instructions by collapsing the faceplate to her armor. She knew Adrihel could have easily crushed their small party at any instant if he had so desired, so it wasn’t like she needed it for protection. If he said the environment was safe, then without a doubt it was very safe.
“I’ve arranged refreshments that you will each find quite satisfactory I believe, and everything in this room is safe for you to investigate. Ms. Sara, all systems are open and safe for your interaction and I suggest you peruse all that is available for you. I have limited the technology details that you and the others can see to that which I deem is safe for you, for I’m sure you understand that technology too advanced would represent a danger to you all of its own.
“The rest of you, I have prepared consoles that I believe will also be to your liking, so please make yourselves at home. Jason, you will have an engineering console. Amy, I’ve prepared for you a discussion on our language as well as that of the Octarians, whom you are yet to meet. Gabo, for you, I have detailed information about our peoples, our society, and our art.
“Princess, if you will, prepare yourself a cup of your favorite tea and join me at the center console. We have much to discuss.”
Still in shock, Jarra did as she was bade, although she had many questions flying through her head. She smiled at Jason as he joined her at the lush food and drink bar, noticing that he chose a calming tea as well.
“Pretty amazing, isn’t it, love,” she told him. She pointed across the room to the console that read “Jason - Engineering Station,” the words she knew Adrihel had put there just for their benefit. “I know where you’ll be,” she said. “Enjoy!”
Jason just shook his head. “You know me too well. Don’t worry, I’ll be questioning you in intimate detail later.”
Jarra blushed at his choice of words. She knew exactly how he planned to interrogate her. Just a few kisses and she’d be putty in his hands, ready to blab the Empire’s secrets. Luckily, he had the clearance for those secrets.
Sara was excited as she sat down at the console labeled with her name and tapped the icon that allowed her into the system on board the Forerunner station. She had never seen anything as powerful as the system she now perused, not even in the Empire’s capital system. And to think the Forerunner AI said it was only a small segment of his vast overall system.
What power such an AI must have, she mused. Why hasn’t it forced the Aerstone to stop what they are doing? Surely it has the power to do so.
She already knew the answer to that question. To do that would be nearly as bad as what the Aerstone were doing, and would surely just replace one evil with another. Still, it seemed so much better than the battle they now fought for survival that she could wish it were so.
Then she saw the data Adrihel had prepared for her. As she began compiling the information, hoping there was something there they could use to help their cause, she missed a tiny trigger hidden within the system, a trigger Adrihel had prepared just for her.
Sara would never know it, but she lost cons
ciousness for several milliseconds. During that tiny period of time, so fleeting that no one noticed, a small kernel was transferred to a new host. That kernel was like a seed, buried within her, waiting for the time that it would be needed to grow.
Adrihel was watching closely. This was close to that which would not be allowed by his people, but still, he’d done it. In his observation of the young humans, something he’d done clandestinely for several months, he had come to care for them. This young human in particular was very much at risk in the mission they were attempting to complete and he just couldn’t bear to not offer the small amount of help that he could provide.
He knew he should have asked her before he did what he’d done. If he had been able to do so, perhaps she would have been content in the knowledge that it was not intended for evil, but very much for her welfare. But he could not allow her even that small courtesy without possibly affecting the outcome in the very future where it was going to be needed. In his enhanced version of the Prophecies, Adrihel knew it would indeed be desperately needed.
He just hoped it would be enough. Even he couldn’t see that far.
After her conversation with Jason, Jarra took her cup of tea and sat down at the center console. Her mind was going wide open. She had so many questions, she didn’t know where to start. A part of her brain recognized that the console was just the perfect height for her, but she couldn’t dwell on that. She suspected she was going to be in for quite an interesting conversation.
Adrihel made it easy for her. He answered several of her questions in his opening statements.