"Ensign, are you ready to proceed?" asked Noah.
"Yes sir. All systems check out and we are ready to pull away from Ankarii IV's gravitational well," replied the Ensign.
"Good," Noah said while turning again to another station. "Navigation!"
"Yes, captain?" came the answer.
"Plot a course to the Mengoth system. I want to see how a short jump to that system will affect the stasis fields surrounding the object."
"Aye, sir. Plotting a course for the Mengoth system."
"Communications!"
"Yes, captain?"
"Notify Alliance HQ that we will take a slight detour on our route back. We are bringing back the anomaly but will be slightly later than expected."
"Aye, sir. Consider it done."
Noah had planned for the possibility of having to take a detour home. The Mengoth system was perfect. There were three planets that had been mapped. One had a source of water and edible food. There were also three jump gates that led to different systems. One of which was the one the Archon passed through. He anticipated that they might want to take a look to see if they could find the Archon, or traces of it, in the system.
Noah turned to Dr. Sarduun who was in the seat next to him and talking with Samuels.
Liana regarded Noah as he turned. "How is the shoulder?"
"It's getting better. Doctor says I should be completely healed by tomorrow as long as I keep getting nanobot injections at regular intervals."
Liana chuckled. "You do realize who gave us that tissue repair technology, don't you?"
"Don't remind me," Noah said while searching for a way to change the subject. "Doctor Sarduun, I want to thank you for a successful excursion to the surface. Your team was a model of professionalism and outside of the incident with your Xen scientist, was unblemished in terms of safety."
"Thank you captain," she replied.
"However, there is still the matter of the treasure guardians, as you put it. What the hell was that? Where did they come from? I've got fourteen Marines in the medical bay nursing wounds due to those mechs ambushing us!"
"It's not that hard to understand, really. Many cultures erect booby traps to protect things they want to keep hidden."
"Well, this was way beyond a simple booby trap. We were prepared for those! These were hundreds of meter-high mechs running around shooting at everyone. At my crew!"
"Well, with some alien cultures, they take it one more step beyond simple booby traps. They use animals or other mechanized devices to protect the treasure that they want to keep hidden. In archaeological parlance, we call them treasure guardians."
"And why weren't we alerted to that possibility before descending to the planet?"
"Because this was obviously a Xen site from all the indications I could see from the data the Archon sent back. And from what I know of the Xen history, they have never used treasure guardians."
"Well, you have a lot to learn apparently about our friends, the Xen, about their history. Don't you?"
"Clearly," she replied.
"And where did they come from? Our scans were re-calibrated. We didn't pick them up until the artifact was on its way to the Titan."
"Most likely from underground storage areas, captain. Usually alien civilizations avoid hiding their guardians in plain sight. That is why it is difficult to determine if they are present at a dig site. In the ones we have discovered, it's a not a common occurrence to have them visible. It's how Samuels lost that leg of his."
"Hey!" Samuels said. "I don't think of it as losing a leg, but gaining a leg up on the competition!"
"Okay," Noah chuckled. "Then just one more thing. Lur'vot is under arrest for suspicion of sabotage."
"What?! Just because he touched the anomaly? Come on Noah, that's insane!"
"No. Although I have some suspicions he knew what he was doing when he touched it. No, doctor, the reason he is under arrest is because he rewired the shuttle bay doors and fried the circuits."
"Oh, that. You mentioned that on the surface when you refused to let him stand guard. Well, do you have proof?"
"We have video of him ducking behind the control station. He was the last person in that location prior to the circuits frying themselves."
"I'll speak with him. I'll see if I can find out what is going on regarding that incident."
"Good luck, doctor. All he can keep repeating is that we're going home."
"Really," she asked. "He used those exact words?"
"Yes, why?"
"Hmm," she touched her chin with her finger. "It may be nothing. Give me a few hours and I might have some answers for you."
Noah turned back to the pilots and gave the orders to break free of the gravity well surrounding the planet. The ship shuddered slightly as it struggled to get free. Once it reached a point of escape the stress on the hull lessened.
"We are free of the gravity well now, sir," explained the Ensign.
"Thank you. Noted," Noah said.
Liana watched the interaction with Noah and the crew. She got up to look at the view screen at the planet below as the ship turned and put distance between it and the planet. "Captain?"
"Yes, Dr. Sarduun?"
"Would you be available to have dinner with me tonight? I have some questions that I would like to get answers to. And I might have the answers to your questions as well."
"With pleasure," Noah said. "I can be available at 1800 hours. Is that enough time?"
"It certainly is, thank you. In the meantime, I need to check on the stasis fields surrounding the object while we perform this first jump. Once that is complete, I'll be reviewing the data we captured on Ankarii IV"
Noah guided the crew to the jump gate over the next three hours. The crew then spent ten minutes going over the calculations provided by the gate to ensure that they had synched them correctly. Once the verified calculations were entered into the computer, Noah gave the order to jump. It took a few seconds for everything fall away. A short time afterwards, the Titan was cruising in hyperspace along a short jump to the Mengoth system.
Once they arrived, the scanners picked up the three different jump gates in the system along with the three planets orbiting a sun. Noah noted that in the scans were a few previously uncharted asteroid fields. After determining that the jump did not adversely affect the stasis fields surrounding the object, Noah ordered the crew cruise to the other side of the system to the jump gate and plot a link to the Serrat system and then toward home.
DINNER
Year: 2564 (Alliance Year: 7), Location: Mengoth System
"You are a man of many surprises captain," said Liana, pouring herself a glass of wine.
"Oh? How so?" replied Noah. He sat with an unopened beer, waving it in the air, waiting for it to open itself.
Liana, seeing him struggle, handed him a hand-held bottle opener. "Oh, yeah. While I love technology, I don't want it taking over everything we do in our lives," she explained.
"So. How, am I a man of surprises?" asked Noah, opening his beer.
"Well, I can't seem to figure you out. You are this great war hero. The hero of many battles in which you took great risks. But you seem to focus on risk of the crew and ship the most when on this mission. Why?"
"Only fools rush headlong into battle without a care for their crew and their ship. The crew knows when their captain is a man or woman who doesn't care about them enough to get them killed for a something stupid. The reason I've been successful, is because of the crews that I have had. When they see that the captain won't stupidly cost them their lives by being foolhardy, they will run through walls for them. It's a lesson in leadership I learned early on in my career."
"Interesting," said Liana. "And you care about the entire crew on this ship?"
"I do. They are all vital to the success of this mission"
"What about the Xen crew members? I see you give Rig'nak a hard time and you come across as a knuckle dragging bigot. But when we toured the ship on the
way to the Ankarii IV and when you were on the planet fighting the guardians, THAT guy didn't show up. You treated every single crew member the same. What gives?"
"Because every crew member does deserve respect. Look, I may not like them. I may not trust the...Xen...as easily as others. But that doesn't mean that the Gunnery Control Officer, or the Navigation Officer, or the Marine, or literally any of the other positions on the ship, isn't going to be crucial to the survival of the ship."
He put his beer to his lips and took a sip, then continued. "If I start with a negative mistrust of the crew and they see it, it will be hard to get that trust back. I won't do that unless something shows me that I cannot trust them and they are a risk to the ship and the mission."
"Amazing! Just amazing that the same guy can coexist in that head of yours," she joked. Liana poked at her food slowly as if pondering whether she should ask her next question. "So how about Rig'nak? Are you done giving him a hard time? What more does he need to do to prove to you that he is a good First Officer?"
"Reggie, er, uh, Rig'nak is a Xen. He is an officer and so as an officer, I hold him to a higher standard. Therefore, I don't feel the need to treat him with the same considerations as I treat the enlisted."
"Okay, so what about trusting him?"
"I don't think I can completely trust any Xen with my life because from the moment I met them, they have been trying to kill me. Add to that, the fact that they killed my wife. So it would take something remarkable for me to be able to let that go and see them as peace-loving equals in our Alliance. I mean Reggie…sorry…Rig'nak, has proven on the ship to be a capable officer, but how effective will he be when he is in command? And yes, he proved himself on the planet. But how much of that was him just trying to save his own hide? So you see, right now, they are tolerable, but not completely trustworthy," Noah said. He cut off a big piece of steak, chewed and swallowed quickly.
"And...there he is again. Mr. Bigot," she sighed. "You have to understand, that you were also involved with killing quite a few of their people in the engagements that made you a hero. How many ships did you destroy? Multiply each of those ships by a few thousand. And that is how many Xen could choose to see you as the enemy. Do you think that is fair? Yes, the treaty is still relatively close behind us. And I understand why you are suspicious of the Xen. But, at some point, just like with every war that is ever fought, former enemies need to bury the hatchet and move on. In many cases in human history, bitter enemies became close allies. That's what I foresee with the Xen. So right now, what are you fighting for?"
"And what about Julie? What am I supposed to do about my dead wife?" Noah said. His face turning a shade of pink as his voice rose. "What about my daughter who lost her mother? Lily and I are supposed to forget all that and sit in circle with the Xen holding hands and singing songs?"
Liana had to admit that if she were in Noah's shoes, that she would harbor great anger towards the Xen as well. If the love of her life were taken by someone, she doubted very much that she could ever learn to forgive, or forget. Still, she was fundamentally opposed to punishing someone else, just because they looked like the person who wronged you. She was hoping she could get Noah to realize this too.
"No," said Liana in a calming voice. "What happened to your wife was horrific. You have my sympathies. But remember, they still do not have any leads on the perpetrators. It could be Xen. Could be human. It could've been an accident for all we know. The point is, holding onto that as a reason to hate an entire people is not productive."
"It has worked for me so far," replied Noah.
"Has it? It seems to me that instead of being in command of a brand new destroyer or cruiser, you were demoted and now are relegated to escorting a science time on a fetch mission. How is that working out for you?"
"Look," continued Liana. "When we're done with this mission, I will help you track down the perpetrators of Julie's death, if there are any to find. And if it is the Xen who are behind this then I will help you make the guilty pay for their crimes. In the meantime, can you do me a favor and try to deal with Rig'nak more honestly?"
"I…will try," said Noah in a resigned voice. Liana could tell that he was softening a bit around her. Perhaps she could be of some use in helping him through his pain.
"Thanks captain, so I also wanted to ask you..." At that moment the comm in the room blared.
"Captain to the bridge. Captain Jameson to the bridge!" shouted Ensign Torrance through the speakers.
"On my way!" Noah shouted back, sprinting for the door.
CONTACT
Sitrep!" bellowed Noah as he strode onto the bridge at a fast pace. Liana tucked tightly behind him trying to keep up.
"Captain, we have multiple contacts on the LARS!" replied the ensign.
"Show me Long Range Scanners. How many ships?" asked Noah as he settled into his chair and pulled up the scanner data.
"We are detecting at least thirty ships of destroyer or larger size, captain. There are a number of smaller craft accompanying them as well," responded the ensign.
"Identification?"
"None yet, sir. We are still working on that now!"
"Get on it, ensign. I need that information yesterday!" Noah punched a key on the datapad and was connected to Chief Gardozo in Engineering. "Rob, how much faster can we get this ship moving if we need to?"
"Ah, captain, good day sir!" Gardozo replied. "We could get about ten to fifteen percent more speed if I need to make some tweaks." He paused and then added "Are we expecting to have to get somewhere really fast, captain?"
"We might. Get on it, chief," deadpanned Noah, before he terminated the feed.
Rig'nak stood up and looked closer at the makeup of the fleet.
"Captain, that looks like an invasion fleet," offered Rig'nak as he slowly approached Noah.
"I know," said Noah. "Did you see that the largest capital ship is in the rear and not flanked by any ships?"
"I did captain. It reminds me of how we used to fight your people when we first engaged in war with you. We learned the hard way to stop being so arrogant about our capabilities. You were our best teacher in that regard."
Noah put his communication on blast for the bridge and engineering. "Engineering! Let's have that extra power now! Helm, take us to the jump gate! How's the LARS looking ensign?"
"We are still running the ships through our system, captain. We should know something soon," came the response.
"It appears the unknown fleet is on an intercept course with us," responded Noah as he watched the holoscreen. "Their smaller craft seem to be gaining on us rapidly. How long before they are in range?"
"Five minutes, captain!"
"ETA to the jump gate?" asked Noah.
"Ten minutes, captain."
"Okay, wait for my command for shields up. Do not fire on any ship unless I give the order!" Noah was suspicious of the new fleet. He had an odd feeling about it. Still, he needed to adhere to Alliance Fleet protocol for encountering unknown vessels and not provoke hostilities. Firing on a ship was definitely an overtly hostile act. And even raising shields could be considered provocative as well.
Noah and Rig'nak poured over the data for the mystery fleet. It appeared to both of them that there was one enormous ship with twenty or so cruiser-sized ships in the vanguard. The rest of the fleet was made up of destroyer sized ships and small fighter-type craft. It was a few of those fighters who were far ahead of the fleet and heading towards the Titan.
As the LARS system obtained more accurate information regarding the ships, it projected pictures of the ships on the screen.
Noah heard Rig'nak exclaim "No! It cannot be!"
"Captain!" came the cry from the ensign in front of the LARS. "We have an identification! The ships are of Xen origin!"
"Xen? What the hell is a Xen fleet of this size doing all the way out here?" asked Noah as he turned to look at Rig'nak.
"I do not know captain. It is a mystery to me as well. These ships are
of older design similar to the Zok'an. We do not have a fleet out here on the edge of Alliance space. All of our ships are far inside known Alliance space. Additionally, we have not sortied a complete battle fleet in years. So I cannot be certain as to their purpose all the way out here in a fringe system."
"Well someone in Xen leadership needs to explain why, what looks to be an invasion fleet, is headed towards the heart of Alliance space!"
"Captain! The nearest Xen ship is in hailing range. Should I hail?"
"Yes ensign. Hail the lead ship. Let's find out what their intentions are."
The ensign pressed a part of the panel in front of him and gave the standard Alliance greeting.
"UAF Starship Titan hailing unidentified Xen ship. Do you read?"
Silence.
"UAF Starship Titan hailing unidentified Xen ship. Do you read?" repeated the ensign.
"Unidentified ship, do you read," repeated the ensign a third time. He stopped and addressed Noah. "Captain, they are not responding to our hails."
"Captain, that lead ship is now in weapons range. Orders?" asked the Gunnery Officer.
"Shields up! Gunnery, prepare to fire on my command!" ordered Noah.
"Are you really going to fire on an ally?" asked Liana who had just taken her seat behind Noah.
"I will, if they don't respond to hails and keep aggressively approaching us," replied Noah.
"That lead fighter looks like it is simulating an attack run," said Rig'nak.
"That's because it is an attack run!" yelled Noah. "Laser batteries, prepare to send a shot across his bow to scare him off." Noah turned to Rig'nak and Liana and addressed them both. "I will accept full responsibility for this to the Xen leadership. But for now, the safety of this ship and my crew is paramount. Do you underst..."
The Titan's instrumentation panels turned a shade of red as Noah felt the slight, but un-mistakeable impact of particle cannon fire.
Ensign Torrance yelled out, "Captain! The lead fighter craft has fired on us!"
"Return fire. All laser batteries focus fire on that craft! Damage report?"
Invasion Page 13
