The Jumpgate

by Robert Stadnik

  The crew accepted the new mission parameters without question. They were working hard on the survey. Jacob was surprised not a lot of officers were reaching out to him with questions. This was their first interspecies and interstellar mission, and he figured they’d be inundating him with lots of questions. Maybe they didn’t want to swallow their pride and approach an officer they didn’t respect. Jacob pushed those thoughts out of his mind. There was a mission to prepare. Yes, it was a mission he didn’t agree with, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. All he could do was apply his expertise to make it a success.

  After a few hours working, Jacob’s couldn’t concentrate anymore. He retired to his quarters for some privacy and to take care of some other business. He needed answers as to what was motivating the captain. Even though TERRA officers were all about advancing their careers, none of them were about needlessly throwing their lives away on a mission with a questionable margin of success. No, there was something motivating Dewis to take this course of action. Jacob was certain it had to do with the captain not being promoted during SOLARA’s refit.

  Jacob was huddled at his small desk, waiting for his communications terminal to beep. Earlier, he had Lieutenant Block set it up to send a covert message to Admiral Vargas in the solar system without it being detected. It wasn’t hard to do. SOLARA’s communication dish was replaced recently with more modern equipment and Block’s time during the PHOENIX Movement taught him a few tricks with working around comm systems. He sent the message without anyone on the ship knowing about it.

  Jacob began to nod off from boredom. David had warned it could take some time for the transmission to go through, but the commander didn’t expect it to take this long. He snapped back to attention when the terminal beeped. He wasted no time activating it. The image of Admiral Vargas came up on the screen.

  “Admiral, thank you for contacting me,” Jacob greeted.

  Vargas was in no mood for any pleasantries. “Save it. I’m assuming we’re having this conversation without the knowledge of the captain, or anyone else on the ship?”

  “Yes, sir. Based on circumstances, I couldn’t let Captain Dewis know about my reaching out to you. He intends to activate the jumpgate and take the SOLARA through it.”

  “For what purpose?” Vargas asked.

  Jacob expected the admiral to react more strongly to the news. “He claims it’s to learn more about how the gate operates, but I’m not so sure. I think there’s something else motivating him to take this action.”

  “Normally, I’d cut this communication off. An executive officer having covert discussions questioning his captain’s motivations is a court-martial offense.”

  Jacob felt entirely justified questioning Dewis. “I just want to know if you have any knowledge of why Captain Dewis is doing this.”

  “I’m concluding it’s because he feels it’s in the best interest of the mission.”

  Jacob was about to point out the fact that SOLARA wasn’t equipped for such an exploration mission but figured if he was going to get any answers from the admiral, he was going to have to be blunt.

  “Admiral, why is Captain Dewis still in command of SOLARA?”

  The admiral was caught off-guard by the question. “What sort of question is that, commander?”

  “He’s served as a ship commander long enough to be promoted. The months SOLARA spent in drydock would have been the ideal time to promote him. I checked the records on what he was doing. All it says is administrative duties.”

  The admiral slowly shook his head. “You’re way too smart for your own good.”

  That was confirmation to Jacob that he was on to something. “If there’s something going on, admiral, you need to tell me. I need to know that the captain isn’t needlessly putting the crew at risk.”

  “Alright, commander. Standby.” The admiral entered a code into his communications terminal. Jacob rightly assumed that he was initiating a high-level encryption of the transmission. “What I tell you is off the record.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  “Captain Dewis’s career is over. There will never be a promotion for him.”

  The news stunned Jacob. He never expected to hear something so drastic. He thought that maybe they were keeping him on the SOLARA longer until one of the new TERRA starships had been completed. “Admiral, he’s a decorated officer with decades of loyal service.”

  “Come on, commander. Do I need to explain it to you?”

  “Yes, sir. I don’t understand.”

  “Dewis is old school. His type no longer fit the goals and motivations of TERRA. We’re in a new era now, free to explore space and collaborate with aliens. Dewis, and those like him, are still entrenched in the old ways. He’s only concerned with furthering his career. He’s not interested in serving the military’s best interest. It’s easier for him to maintain the status quo than change.”

  “If he’s such a liability, why not drum him out like the others?” Jacob asked, referring to the other ship commanders who were relieved of commanding capital ships.

  “Because he’s harmless on the SOLARA,” Vargas replied. “It’s a small ship that will only be used for patrol duties.”

  “The other capital ships will just be doing patrol duties, too,” Jacob pointed out.

  “Have you looked at what’s been happening with TERRA, commander? All the high-level officers and admirals who joined the wrong team have been expelled. Those of us now in command want to move forward, but we’re inhibited by a fleet staffed full of officers schooled in the old ways of thinking. We’re not going to be able to do much until we get newer officers into the fleet. We’re having a hard-enough time preventing Earth Security from poaching our graduates.”

  “You got rid of the other ship commanders,” Jacob reiterated. “Seems to me it’d be easier to dump Dewis.”

  “Captain Dewis realized when the other ship commanders were removed that he was also expendable. We were ready to expel him, but he pleaded with us to remain in command of the SOLARA. That’s what he spent those three months doing—trying to save his commission.”

  Jacob had a hard time imagining Dewis groveling to anyone, but if it meant saving his career, Jacob thought it conceivable. “And you agreed?”

  “The command council reviewed the situation,” Vargas revealed. “As long as he remains on the SOLARA, we have no problem.”

  “Doing patrol missions. What about his idea of taking SOLARA through the gate? That puts us all at risk.”

  “We were already apprised of his intentions hours ago,” Vargas revealed. “You may not have been notified yet, but the Senfo will be pulling out of the mission. They want no part of activating the jumpgate. Our risk analysts ran scenarios and have concluded minimal risk to us.”

  Jacob was astounded that they’d reach such an optimistic analysis. “How can they say that? They don’t have the information to make such a conclusion.”

  “If the Screen’s oppressors wanted to pursue them, they would have already done so. It’s highly unlikely they’ve been waiting on the other side for someone in this galaxy to activate the gate. If they did detect the gate’s activation, we know that Captain Dewis would ensure the safety of our galaxy and destroy the gate.”

  Jacob never accepted the word of desk people with no field experience. “I’ve never been a fan of risk analysts. They can sit comfortably in their offices and interpret data with no threat to them.”

  Vargas smiled. “Would it surprise you to learn that those same analysts predicted Captain Roberts would succeed in the Screen mission?” Jacob’s shocked expression was all the satisfaction the admiral needed. “It’s a dirty little secret command likes to keep under wraps.”

  Jacob needed a moment to collect his thoughts. “So…so you’re willing to let him do this?”

  “Yes. If you go across the gate and somehow find the Screen’s oppressors, worst case scenario is you destroy the gate. Best case is…SOLARA is destroyed.”

  Jacob
wasn’t sure he heard the admiral right. “Best case?”

  “If SOLARA is lost in the mission, it means TERRA has over 500 old-school officers they no longer have to worry about. You would be a valuable loss, given your experience, but it’s a price were willing to pay.”

  Jacob couldn’t believe the callousness in the admiral’s words. That was the TERRA he remembered. “So, you’re going to do nothing?”

  “Correct, commander. Myself, and the command council will let him carry out his plan. We know he’s only doing this in some vain attempt to hoist himself to Captain Roberts’s level. It’s sad he’s doing this. I do feel bad for the man. A lifetime of service and he’s willing to throw it all away on some ambitious mission to get history to remember him.”

  Jacob didn’t know how to respond. He never expected the conversation to turn out this way. He was looking for a lifeline but instead found that he—and the SOLARA’s crew—were deemed expendable. TERRA would do nothing to help them.

  Admiral Vargas could see the commander was grappling with TERRA’s lack of concern. “I believe I’ve answered all your questions, commander. Is there anything else?”

  Jacob wanted to come up with some other argument but knew it was futile. TERRA saw the situation as a win-win for them. The only recourse for Jacob was to remove Dewis from command and take the SOLARA back to the solar system, but the crew would never allow it. Vargas had encrypted the transmission, so Diego couldn’t make a copy and show it to the crew to convince them to abandon this mission. Short of leaving on a shuttle or escape pod, he was stuck. He already failed a crew once. He wouldn’t do it again.

  “No, admiral. You’ve made the situation crystal clear.”

  “Good. You repeat any of this and of course I, and the council, will deny it. Good evening, commander.”

  Vargas terminated the transmission, leaving Jacob in the dark of his quarters. The commander tried considering other options but couldn’t come up with anything. For him, this was a no-win scenario.

  CHAPTER TEN

  David was in the science lab with Fotell. They were going over the data they had compiled on the jumpgate with SOLARA’s two science officers. The captain wanted Block and Fotell specifically involved in helping the science officers due to their extensive space travel experiences.

  “I believe we have located the computer activation system,” Fotell stated. “I have run the simulations goga and the conclusions are the same. There will be no issue turning it on and off.”

  “The information gathered from the Screen homeworld about how their computers function is helping us a lot,” David added. “We should have no problem controlling the gate.”

  The two science officers, outclassed by the knowledge possessed by Fotell and David, were relegated to downloading and organizing data for them to review. Neither were anxious to try and prove their knowledge as it was obvious the alien and traitor knew far more than them.

  “We should develop a program that will self-destruct the gate,” David suggested. Commander Diego wanted a failsafe system in place in case they needed to shut down the gate permanently. Destroying it would accomplish that goal.

  “I recommend we also develop a program to shut down all power to the gate,” Fotell added. “We cannot be certain the energy packs we detected in the nodes are for destruction. Shutting down their power systems would be a viable backup plan.”

  David nodded in agreement. “The Quix are sending a probe out within the next hour. I’ll have Lieutenant Walters request they do a detailed analysis of those energy packs.” He entered some notes in a DAT and handed them to science officer Burlap. “Take this to engineering. Tell Lieutenant Walters this is a priority request.”

  “I’d like to be on the command deck during the probe mission, in case I need to coordinate handling our own sensors studies,” Burlap offered.

  “Good idea,” David replied as he looked at Jenkins. “Why don’t you go up as well. Fotell and I will stay here in the lab as the data comes in.”

  “Yes, sir,” the other officer replied as they both left.

  Fotell continued reviewing the data they had so far. “Is there anything else we can do to minimize the risk of the mission?”

  The lieutenant thought about it a moment. “We’ve come up with shut down and self-destruct sequences. Not sure what else we can do. We’ll maintain open communications with the VFLEP, BEUSMIC, and IQUIS while we’re on the other side.”

  Before Fotell could say anything, they were interrupted by an announcement over the ship’s internal speakers. “This is Commander Diego. Twenty minutes ago, we were informed by the Senfo commandrant that they would be pulling out of the mission and the IQUIS has left the area. The mission will continue despite this development. Please continue to carry out your duties. That is all.”

  The news was a surprise to David. From his experience, the alliance always seemed to operate in a uniform manner. He knew the Senfo didn’t agree with activating the gate. They only wanted to study it while it was inert.

  “Are you surprised?” David asked Fotell.

  “No. They feel no benefit will come from this mission.”

  “Do you agree with them?”

  Fotell fiddled with her hat. “I share the same level of reservation they do. Except for the Cresorians, my world suffered the most at the hands of the Screen. Although humans, Onixins, Aldarians, and Quix were all oppressed, your worlds were left intact. It has been difficult accepting that most of our population perished and our ecosystem ruined. It took me a long time to accept what I saw when I was brought out of stasis.”

  David could sympathize with that point of view. If Earth had been leveled the same way Flutori had been, he could see TERRA and the government retrenching in the solar system rather than wanting to explore space. The Senfo didn’t want to do anything to risk another hostile race attacking them. The Aldarians, another member of the alliance not actively participating in space travel as they had no ships, also had their world decimated by the Screen. Their oral history told of fire raining down from the sky and laying waste to their planet. All that was left was the underground crystal city and 300 Aldarians.

  David tried to offer some hope to Fotell. “Captain Dewis has served in TERRA a long time. He wouldn’t undertake this mission if he felt it needlessly put everyone at risk. Even if he didn’t execute this mission, we’d still be at risk for any new hostile race showing up. We’ve got our flagship out there exploring unknown space. They could come across a race worse than the Screen who might come here to attack us.”

  “I did not consider that,” Fotell admitted.

  “I don’t know what your people will do. I assume the Quix and Onixins will begin sending ships out to explore space as well. There’s always going to be a risk we’ll draw other hostile races while exploring space. You can’t avoid it.”

  Fotell stopped fiddling with her hat. “I do not know if my people will accept such a cost. We lost so much. It will take huidef to return our homeworld back to its former state. We may let the task of exploring space fall to the others in the alliance. I could not imagine losing those I cared about again.”

  Her comments piqued David’s interest. “Did you lose any family?”

  “Vi’lin mates and gyowe offspring. There were not enough pods for my entire family unit. My consolation was I would awake and see Dealec and Unives again. However, when I was removed from stasis I learned they chose not to go into their pods. They left me a message…” Fotell removed her hat and turned it. It was unheard of for a Senfo to ever take off their hats in public. “They chose not to go into their pods, hoping to give it to a couple of our offspring. But the Commonality would not allow it and gave their pods to others they deemed had critical skills needed for reconstruction.”

  David couldn’t imagine how someone could cope with losing an entire family. “I’m sorry Fotell.”

  “I have not accepted their loss,” Fotell admitted. “I have been able to distract myself with my work. B
ut every night during downtime, I see all of them when I close my eyes. The few humans I have told about my family have said time will heal wounds. I do not think that applies to me. I still mourn for them in the same manner as when I learned they were gone.”

  “Is that why you’re in the exchange program? To keep busy?”

  Fotell put her hat back on. “That is part of the reason. The other is I could not stay on Flutori. Seeing other family units was too difficult for me. When the exchange program started, it was my opportunity to get away from such pain. I do not expect ever to return home.”

  David felt the same way. He couldn’t imagine ever returning to Earth. “My family wants nothing to do with me, but I couldn’t imagine if anything bad happened to them.”

  Fotell smiled at David. “You are a pleasant individual. I have enjoyed working with you. I cannot imagine why your family would not want to associate with you.”

  “It’s a long story. They fell on hard times and blame me for it.”

  It was Fotell’s turn to reassure her friend. “It is unfortunate they feel this way. At least they are still living. Perhaps they will change their mind about you in the future.”

  David wanted to cling to that hope, but deep inside he knew that his family’s resolve was absolute. They would want nothing to do with him ever again. He had to accept never seeing them. Serving on a ship made it easier for him to accept that reality.

  The science door opened, and Commander Diego came in. “Lieutenant, naporum, how are things going?”

  “Very good, sir,” David replied. “We’re making good progress on the gate’s operating system. We should have all deliverables ready in no time.”

  “Good.” Jacob looked at Fotell. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” he asked as he motioned her to the other side of the lab. Fotell carefully climbed down her chair and joined the commander. “I’m a little surprised the IQUIS left without requesting you be transferred to their ship.”