The Jumpgate

by Robert Stadnik

  Michelle nodded as she activated the weapon. “Shield strength is at one hundred percent, but that means nothing. They’re useless against the probe.”

  “Any chance we can reroute power from the shields to the plasma beams?” Jacob asked Jonas.

  “No way! We still need the shields to maintain hull integrity.”

  “Increase speed to fifteen percent over maximum,” Jacob ordered. “Let’s see if it tries to catch up.”

  Nalus acknowledged the order. “Increasing speed. We now have a two-hour, twenty-minute window from the enemy probe.” Her table alerted her to a change in the probe’s status. “Commander, the probe has increased speed. Now estimating thirty minutes to intercept us.”

  Damn, Jacob was hoping they could outrun it. Apparently, it could go faster than the SOLARA. “Begin target acquisition of the probe,” he instructed Michelle before looking at Jonas. “Can we keep the engines above maximum burn?”

  “Yes, we can go fifty minutes before incurring damage to the engines. The shields are keeping hull integrity at tolerable levels.”

  “Maintain speed then,” Jacob ordered. “Battle alert. All hands to stations.”

  The battle klaxons blared throughout the ship. This was only the third time in SOLARA’s history that the klaxons went off due to an actual battle situation. Systems were rechecked for readiness and everyone prepared for the second round against the probe.

  “I wish we knew that the starburst would work,” Michelle lamented.

  Fotell tried to put her at ease. “Although we are not familiar with the technology of the probe, I have read that the starburst system was effective on all targets the PHOENIX used it on. There is a good probability it will work here.”

  Jacob wanted to share her optimism but had to expect the worst. If the starburst failed, all they could do was unload their torpedoes and plasma beams against it and hope for the best.

  Nothing much was said on the command deck as the time ticked by. Except for a couple of officers quickly consulting with one another, it was quiet. Everyone waited nervously for the probe to get in range. Fotell was the only officer unconcerned. She was confident the starburst would work against the probe and welcomed the confrontation.

  “One minute to intercept,” Nalus announced.

  “The starburst is armed and ready to fire. The probe has been targeted,” Michelle confirmed.

  “Fire on my command,” Jacob stated. He wanted to get the probe as close to SOLARA as possible, firing when they detected it was going to attack them.

  “Probe’s in range,” a nervous Nalus reported.

  Jonas analyzed the enemy probe’s status. “I’m reading increased energy emissions from it.”

  The probe was wasting no time. It was time to act. “Fire starburst!” Jacob ordered.

  Michelle activated the discharge sequence. “Firing!”

  SOLARA fired the starburst. Michelle’s targeting job was flawless as the energy burst struck the probe head on. Immediately, the probe began flickering as its systems fought to stay online.

  “Direct hit,” Michelle announced. She was proud she hit the target but tempered that enthusiasm.

  “I am reading power fluctuations in the probe,” Fotell reported.

  “It’s flight system’s offline,” Nalus said. “It’s hurtling towards us from motion. Adjusting our course to avoid it.”

  “Lieutenant Gimron, fire torpedoes and plasma beams,” Jacob ordered. He didn’t want to risk the probe recovering from the attack. This could be their only opportunity to take it out.

  The chief wasted no time in initiating the attack. SOLARA unloaded a barrage of plasma beams and torpedoes onto the probe. The ship didn’t let up on the assault until the probe was destroyed, which took over a minute. The probe exploded into a hundred pieces.

  Michelle slumped back in her seat. “Target destroyed.” The excitement of the assault had tired her out.

  “That took way too long to destroy,” David remarked.

  Jonas checked their weapons inventory. “We depleted half our torpedo salvo in the attack.”

  Michelle looked at Jacob. “If it took that much firepower to destroy a simple probe, we’re in no shape to take on a ship.”

  She was right. Whoever built the probe had some resilient technology, far more advanced that what a TERRA capital ship possessed. It was even more reason to get back to the Milky Way galaxy.

  “Continue pushing the engines beyond maximum for as long as you can,” Jacob instructed Nalus.

  “You know at current speed it’ll take us a good decade to reach the gate,” Jonas reminded the commander.

  “I don’t plan on taking that long to reach it.” Jacob looked at David. “I want you to arrange with either the BEUSMIC or VFLEP to set up a direct line communication with the command council, specifically Admiral Vespia. Either one of them will be able to facilitate real-time communications to Luna.”

  “Yes, sir,” David replied as he immediately began working on the task.

  “Chief, keep monitoring the planetary facility,” Jacob said. “I want to know if it sends out any sort of comm signal.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Jonas, is there any way we can manufacture more torpedoes?” Jacob asked.

  “Are you kidding me? SOLARA doesn’t have the equipment to build torpedoes.”

  Well, it was worth a shot. That left them with only plasma beam weapons and the remaining torpedoes to defend themselves, unless they could get the ruialon weapons back online without depleting their remaining n’quadrin. It was not a good tactical position to be in. Jacob assumed that any ship that showed up looking for the probe would easily overpower the SOLARA. They needed to do whatever they could to get back to the gate.

  “Let me know as soon as you get ahold of the command council,” Jacob said as he got up from the command chair and headed to his office. He needed to review their tactical and engineering situations. Maybe he could come up with something to expedite their arrival to the gate.

  ********

  It took three hours for David to arrange communications with Admiral Vespia. The VFLEP had more advanced communications than the Onixins. The Quix worked quickly to set up the link back to Luna. Jacob wasted no time in apprising the admiral of SOLARA’s situation as soon as she appeared on the communications console in the captain’s office.

  “Captain Dewis’s gamble didn’t pay off for him,” Vespia remarked in disdain.

  “Forgive me, admiral, but I’m not concerned about the captain. He’s dead, but I have over 500 crew members alive wanting to get back home.”

  “What are you doing to get them back home?” Vespia asked. It was a calculated move on her part, throwing the responsibility on the commander’s shoulders. She had already positioned TERRA and the alliance as not wanting to risk bringing any hostile entities from the Triangulum Galaxy…for the good of the alliance and nearby local races.

  “SOLARA’s crippled. We can’t jump on our own. We were barely able to destroy the hostile probe. There’s no way we can handle any ship with the same technology. We need to be extracted.”

  Vespia was cold in her response. “No alliance ship will enter the gate to get you. I’m certainly not authorizing a capital ship to get you as it’s clear our fleet is incapable of defending itself from the threat you encountered. We can’t risk losing one of our four remaining vessels.”

  Her wording caught Jacob’s attention. “Four remaining vessels? You’ve already written us off?”

  Vespia remained emotionless. “I’ve reviewed your tactical situation. TERRA will not risk sending a capital ship. The alliance will also not send any of their vessels to Triangulum. SOLARA must get back to the gate before any hostile vessels intercept you. If any foreign vessels are detected, the VFLEP and BEUSMIC have orders to destroy the gate.”

  Jacob was appalled by the revelation. “You would knowingly strand us here?”

  The admiral got angry. “This is a military operation, commande
r. Despite Captain Dewis not including you in his plans, every TERRA officer accepted the risks that comes with service. It’s up to you to get SOLARA back to the Milky Way, but I won’t risk the lives of the alliance or our own people letting something worse than the Screen come through the gate.”

  Jacob threw his hands up in the air. “I can’t believe the council would agree to this.”

  “They have, and if you think you have anyone in your corner, the government’s aware of the situation and they’re advocating we destroy the gate immediately.”

  Jacob was stunned by the news. He thought he could convince the council to send a ship to rescue them. One ship! He wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable. He didn’t anticipate the fear of the council and the government was so intense that they weren’t willing to send help. The Screen may be gone, but the effects of their oppression were still fresh in everyone’s mind.

  Jacob wanted to come up with something to convince the admiral to send help. He realized that anything he said would fall on deaf ears. He should have ended the transmission with a response of understanding or resigned acceptance. Instead, he looked at her, lifted his hand, gave her the middle finger, and abruptly ended the transmission. That action would cement the end of his career. If they did make it home, his heroism might protect him from any court martial, not that he cared about being protected. He was just trying to survive. SOLARA needed help and TERRA had refused. There was no reason to hide this from the crew. He got up and headed back out to the command deck.

  “Well?” Michelle asked, anxious to hear what help TERRA had planned to send them.

  “We’re on our own,” Jacob replied, trying not to sound despondent. “TERRA won’t risk the safety of the human race or the alliance to rescue us. If we can’t get back to the gate, they’ll destroy it.”

  Jonas was shocked hearing the news. “They would really strand us here?”

  David wasn’t surprised to hear such news. “We’re expendable.”

  Suddenly, the operations table beeped. Fotell was the first to check it. “Commander, sensors show an object has exited the planet housing the unknown ground installation.”

  “Confirmed,” Nalus added. “It’s on a trajectory directly toward us. It’s moving fast—real fast. I estimate forty-five minutes to intercept.”

  “Make that ten minutes,” Jonas corrected. “SOLARA’s engines have been overtaxed. We’ll be forced to reduce speed to avoid damaging them.”

  “Is it a ship?” Jacob asked.

  Michelle analyzed the sensor data. “It’s too small to be a ship, and its design is different from the probe. Maybe a probe of a different design? It’s shaped like a shard.”

  “Battle alert,” Jacob ordered and took his seat in the command chair. They couldn’t risk letting it reach the ship. They had to assume it was hostile. “Load all torpedo bays. Soon as that thing is in range hit it with everything we’ve got. I also want the starburst ready.” Part of him was curious about what the object could be, but their priority was to get back to the gate at any cost.

  “Object speed is increasing exponentially,” Nalus reported. “We only have minutes left.”

  “All weapons are ready,” Michelle added.

  “Lieutenant Nalus, slow us to one-tenth speed,” Jacob ordered. “I want to ensure every shot we fire hits.”

  “Yes, commander.” Nalus wasn’t eager to slow the ship down, but knew it was necessary to improve their chances of striking the enemy object when attacking it.

  “Object is in range,” Jonas said.

  “Fire!” Jacob ordered.

  SOLARA’s torpedo tubes fired their arsenal in rapid succession as its plasma beam emitters activated. Most of the assault struck the long needle-like projectile, but they did little to damage it.

  “Estimate 5% damage to object,” Fotell reported.

  “Our attack’s done nothing to alter its course,” Nalus added.

  Jacob quickly checked the tactical data on his console. Their attack wasn’t accomplishing anything. They were still in danger. “Fire starburst!”

  SOLARA fired its starburst weapon, and it hit the object head-on. “Reading power fluctuations in object,” Fotell said.

  “It’s on a collision course,” Nalus reported.

  “Evasive maneuvers,” Jacob ordered.

  Nalus was already altering SOLARA’s course, but it was futile. “It’s matching our course changes.”

  Jacob looked at his console again. The starburst did affect the object, but it still had navigation control. There was no avoiding a collision. “All hands, brace for impact.” Hopefully, the shields would repel the object.

  The shields were ineffective. The object passed right through them like they were nothing. It sliced right into the hull like it was butter, rocking the ship violently.

  “Hull breaches on decks nine through twelve, section twelve through seventeen,” Fotell reported. “Force shields have activated around breaches.”

  Jonas checked the reports coming in. “Fire suppression has failed on decks nine and ten in the affected areas. Casualty reports coming in.”

  “Deploy bot damage containment units,” Jacob ordered. The bots would handle putting out any fires and repairing critical areas. “Have medical teams deployed to all affected decks to help the wounded.” Jacob looked at Jonas. “How are the engines?”

  Jonas was relieved when he checked the status of the engines. “Engines weren’t affected. We lost several power conduits, but I was able to reroute them without affecting our power needs.”

  “We lost thirteen bots working on the hull,” Fotell added. “Sixteen more were thrown from the ship and are floating in space.

  “Forget about them,” Jacob said. “We don’t have time to retrieve them.”

  Nalus analyzed how the object would affect SOLARA’s flight back to the gate. “Commander, the object’s going to impede our speed. We’re only moving at 65% of maximum.”

  Jonas spoke up. “Before you ask if we can pull the object, I’ll have to analyze how it’s embedded in the ship.”

  Jacob wasn’t about to accept traveling at sub-max speeds. “Do our Interceptors have energy-based tractor beams?” The Quix possessed that technology and had shared it with the alliance. The commander hoped that SOLARA’s fighter fleet had been retrofitted.

  “Sorry, commander,” Jonas replied.

  It was a longshot. Jacob was hoping to use their fleet of thirty-two fighters to tow SOLARA at a faster speed. The fighters’ existing tether lines would break under the stress of moving the capital ship at a high rate of speed.

  “Try to coax as much speed as you can,” Jacob instructed Nalus as he got up. “I’ll be down in the lower decks helping with repairs. You have the command deck, chief.”

  Michelle nodded as Jacob headed out.

  ********

  Doctor Morrell separated his medical teams to spread out on all the decks impacted by the alien object. The chief medical officer headed to deck ten with a nurse to assess any casualties. As he approached the affected area, white smoke billowed from the damaged environmental systems as sparks from exposed conduits flickered from the walls. Bots were racing around to put out the fires while crew members pulled injured officers from the wrecked areas.

  “Bring the injured over here,” Morrell instructed the officers. They complied and quickly brought over the injured crew members. The doctor wasted no time conducting triage with his nurse. So far, the injuries weren’t too great. Eventually, a total of seven injured officers were pulled out.

  “No one’s critical,” Morrell told his nurse. “We’ll provide palliative care until we get them to medical.”

  “Yes, doctor,” the nurse replied as she began preparing the injections. As they tended to their patients, the bots finished putting out the fires and were assessing the damage in the area. Suddenly, an ominous sound caught everyone’s attention, both human and bot.

  A loud, crackling sound comes from around the corner of the corrido
r where part of the alien projectile was situated. The sound was almost deafening. It sounded like some wild animal. Whatever it was sounded big, very big. Everyone in the vicinity stopped what they were doing and stared down the corridor. The bots tried to ascertain the source of the noises, but nothing matched in the ship’s database. What could it be?

  One nearby officer pulled out his pulse gun and activated it. He made his way down the corridor to check out the source of the noise. No one followed him. Everyone was frozen in fear. Even Doctor Morrell and his nurse stopped treating their patients and stared down the corridor. The doctor didn’t recall the command deck saying the projectile was manned. Did they miss something?

  The officer made his way around the corridor and stopped. He couldn’t see what was making the noise as white smoke was still spewing from the walls, obstructing his view. The noise seemed to be getting louder. The officer pointed his gun in front of him, his finger on the trigger. He tried to control his breathing to get a bead on how close the thing was that was making the sounds.

  Suddenly, a large, red claw-like hand shot out from the smoke and grabbed the officer’s hand, causing him to drop his gun. The claw was huge and powerful, holding the officer’s arm tightly. The officer looked at the reddish claw and arm in horror. He saw muscles and veins exposed, as if the skin had been removed. A yellowish substance oozed out from the alien appendage and dripped onto the floor. The smell of the alien was putrid. How could something alive smell so bad?

  The officer screamed when the claw squeezed his arm, shattering his bones into fragments. Another claw emerged from the smoke and grabbed his head. In one quick swoop the officer’s head was torn off.

  The nearby officers ran back to Doctor Morrell and his nurse just as the dead officer’s body and head are thrown around the corner. Most had their guns drawn as they could see the silhouette of the creature on the walls. Soon, it came around the corner for all to see.

  It was something straight out of a horror movie. The creature stood about two meters tall. Its entire body looked like it had been turned inside out, exposing interior flesh. A yellowish goo secreted from its flesh. It had no neck as its elongated head seemed fully integrated into its body frame. No eyes were apparent, yet it somehow was aware of its surroundings. The front of its face was covered by a large, black, rectangular device that was attached to the creature over its mouth with straps that wrapped around its head. Its feet were massive, like its hands. Long needle-like nails protruded from each of its twelve toes. As it walked, the nails clicked the floor.