Harbinger

by Ken Lozito

  “Colonel,” Russo said, “the Albany reports a ship detected on sensors.”

  Sean stopped what he was doing. “How many ships are there?”

  “Just the one ship, sir, but it’s on an intercept course. Their speed is quite slow. I think they want to be seen,” Russo said.

  Boseman glanced at him questioningly.

  “I think we’ve worn out our welcome. We need to get everyone off the ship,” Sean said.

  Boseman nodded and opened a broadcast comlink.

  “Colonel,” Russo said, “at the current velocity, it’ll take them several hours to reach us.”

  “Understood, Captain. How did they sneak up on us?”

  “We’re not sure, sir. We still haven’t detected a space gate or a gamma burst from a gate being used. The ship is on the smaller side. There might be an arch on the planet, so they could have come from there,” Russo said.

  “Have they tried to communicate with us?”

  “Negative, Colonel.”

  “I’m heading back to the Vigilant. Keep me apprised of any new developments,” Sean said.

  Using an arch on the planet made sense to Sean, unless the Krake had some sort of stealth technology that hid them from CDF scanners. Sean didn’t like to think about that, but it was a possibility. However, since it was a smaller ship, it could’ve used an arch on the planet. They hadn’t had time to thoroughly investigate. He had to get back to the Vigilant and hopefully find out what they wanted.

  9

  They were able to evacuate the derelict ship relatively quickly, even with Halsey lamenting the loss of such a technological sample of superior capabilities. Sean was pleased that the teams had gotten as much information as they had in the short amount of time they were on the ship.

  He wasn’t taking any chances where the Krake were concerned. They'd only detected one ship, and it had a different profile than the warships they'd encountered. But the safety of the people under his command was paramount to him. He wouldn’t risk their lives needlessly.

  Sean staggered Trident Battle Group’s formation for maximum coverage on the Krake ship as it slowly approached. The Vigilant was positioned to be on a direct intercept course.

  “No other ships detected, Colonel,” Lieutenant Scott said, giving the result of the recent active scans of the area.

  “Very well,” Sean replied.

  “Sir,” Captain Russo said, “shouldn’t we try to open a communications channel with them?”

  “Negative. They knew we were here, and they’re coming right for us. I expect them to initiate comms.”

  Oriana glanced at him. She probably agreed with Russo, but he’d made his decision. The Krake rebels had initiated this first contact when they transmitted these coordinates. Sean knew they hadn’t tripped any type of alarm on either the orbital bombardment platform or the derelict ship. There was absolutely no power on any of those systems, and Sean hadn’t allowed any of the systems to be brought back online. They had carefully monitored for any outgoing signals and hadn’t detected anything.

  The Krake ship steadily approached until it fired its braking thrusters and then held its position fifty thousand kilometers from Trident Battle Group.

  “Colonel, I have an incoming transmission from the Krake ship,” Specialist Sansky said. “They're sending our first-contact protocols back to us.”

  “Acknowledged. Initiate a comlink to that ship,” Sean said.

  First-contact protocols included a way for an advanced civilization to be able to communicate with them. He didn’t want to use subspace communications because he didn’t believe the Krake had that capability. They hadn’t detected anything like a subspace comlink in their previous encounter, and he didn’t want to wave an advantage like that under their collective noses.

  “Comlink is active, sir,” Sansky replied.

  “Krake ship, I am Colonel Sean Quinn of the Colonial Defense Force.”

  A video comlink became active on the main holoscreen and showed a Krake sitting in a command chair. The video comlink vantage was relatively close to the speaker, and Sean could see that the Krake had an elongated, wedge-shaped head with twin cranial lobes. Its azure eyes were framed under a thick brow and cheek bones. The Krake’s skin had a bluish hue, and the thick flesh sprouting from its chin appeared like a beard that vibrated when he spoke.

  After the Krake finished speaking, a verbal translation could be heard.

  “Acknowledgment of transmission. Krake ship designate DH-Crillian. Commander designation Aurang speaking.”

  Sean leaned forward, and his eyes widened for a moment. “We received these coordinates from a Krake warship that had come to our aid. Are you who we’re supposed to meet?”

  Trident Battle Group didn’t have a translator for the Krake language. They’d been using an Ovarrow translator, since that was believed to be based on the Krake language. Since the Krake had obviously analyzed colonial first-contact protocols, they should be able to understand Sean.

  Almost a full minute went by without a response. “Are you receiving me?” Sean asked.

  “Delayed response due to translation learning. We are not the Krake who helped you, but we are of the same group,” Aurang said.

  “What happened to the Krake who helped us?” Sean asked.

  “Sacrificed in our war with the overseers.”

  “Why did they help us?”

  “You fought overseer military, though you’re not Ovarrow, but you’ve translated part of the Ovarrow language.”

  The Krake stopped speaking and seemed to be waiting for Sean to reply.

  “We have encountered the Ovarrow. We’ve also encountered Krake warships. They would not communicate with us and, instead, attacked us. We defended ourselves,” Sean replied.

  “Are the Ovarrow with you?” Aurang asked.

  Sean regarded the Krake for a few moments. “No. Are the Ovarrow with you?”

  “There are no Ovarrow on the ship, but they fight the overseers as well. The overseers attacked you because they believed you were a new group of Ovarrow from an unknown beta universe,” Aurang said.

  The Krake was volunteering information, but Sean’s gut instinct was not to trust him. It was interesting that the Krake military practiced a shoot-first methodology. “Why did you help us? What group do you represent?”

  “You fought the overseers. You are aware of the Krake and what they do to other Ovarrow worlds.”

  “We’re not the Ovarrow,” Sean said.

  “No, you’re not.”

  “We are humans, and we prefer not to fight a war with anybody.”

  “War has already begun. We all fight it. The overseers will find your world. That is what they do.”

  “Is war the only option? Can’t we have peace?” Sean asked.

  “There has never been peace. All that matters to the overseers is dominance. They are aware of you and are searching for your world. They will search for your universe, but I can help you stop them,” Aurang said.

  “Why would you help us?”

  “Because of your warships. You are capable. You’ve used clever tactics to take what you want. I represent a group that resists the overseers because we believe that the individual is as important as the whole. For that, the overseers want us annihilated.”

  Sean suspected there would be strings attached to whatever the Krake offered them. “What do you want from us?”

  “Our operations have been compromised, and it’s only a matter of time before the overseers seek retribution. We need your help to stop this from happening.”

  “And in exchange for our help, you promise to stop the overseers from invading our world?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t believe you. If the overseers are as powerful as you say, then how is helping you going to prevent them from invading our home?” Sean asked.

  Aurang was quiet for a few moments. “We have an operation in place that is set to take out the overseers. Th
ey will be removed from power. New overseers will be appointed, and the Krake will stop. Many things will change.”

  Sean had seen the Ovarrow ruins on New Earth. All colonists were aware of them. The Krake manipulated the Ovarrow, and Sean felt that what he was hearing was too good to be true.

  “We’ll need time to consider your request. In order to do that, I need to understand exactly what you need from us.”

  “You have resources. Our communication network has been compromised and it’s not safe for me to contact our fighters. I will transfer the data I have for you to review.”

  Sean glanced at Specialist Sansky.

  “Data uplink has been initiated. Dumping data to secure virtual sandbox for analysis,” Sansky said.

  “The Krake are not all the same. There can be peace between us,” Aurang said.

  “We’ll need time to consider your request for help,” Sean said.

  The comlink went dark. Sean sat back in his chair and sighed. He felt as if he’d just gone on a long-distance run and then learned that he still had miles to go.

  10

  An hour had passed since they'd received Aurang’s request for help. Sean wanted some time to analyze the data and make sure there wasn’t anything hidden that could infiltrate their computer systems.

  Sean and Russo left the bridge and headed for the nearby conference room. When they walked inside, Oriana was already there, along with Chad Boseman and Bill Halsey. Major Shelton, who was commanding the Yorktown, was online, along with the rest of the commanding officers of the battle group, half of whom were familiar. The other half were too new to know well.

  “Thank you all for coming. By now, you’ve had time to review the data Aurang sent us. I'm going to open up the floor so you can voice your concerns, but before I do that, I want you to know that I don’t have any reason to trust Aurang,” Sean said.

  “He’s hiding something, sir,” Boseman said.

  “I’m sure he’s hiding a lot, but he also provided some detailed information. Gabriel didn’t detect any type of data tampering or latent protocols that would infiltrate our systems, so at least the data he provided is clean, but I wouldn’t say it’s free of risk.”

  “How was the data verified?” Oriana asked.

  “I isolated the data on a secure system and ran it through a number of different analyses, including time acceleration that allowed the Krake data to sit there for the equivalent of ten standard years. No hidden subroutines were detected,” Gabriel said.

  There was silence for a few moments. Sean hadn’t expected any of the junior officers to speak up.

  “Sir,” Major Shelton said, “they’ve only given us a list of targets, along with a briefing about what they need to accomplish there. This isn’t enough for us to make a 'go' or 'no-go' decision.”

  Aurang had given them images of multiple Krake facilities, as well as star system information, including defenses and space gate and arch locations.

  “Agreed, and the mission requires coordination with Aurang and whatever soldiers he has aboard his ship. Anyone else?” Sean asked.

  “Sir,” Lieutenant Richard Pitts of the Babylon said, “he's making a promise that he can stop the Krake from finding our world if we help them overthrow the current leadership. I understand he wants to protect his intelligence network, or whatever the Krake wants to call it. I think what he’s promising you is something he can’t deliver. It’s intangible. I would call it 'pie in the sky' where they promise us the world and then ultimately can’t deliver it.”

  “Good point, Lieutenant Pitts. How do we know this isn’t a trap? How do we know we aren't being manipulated right now?” Sean said.

  “Then we treat the entire operation as if it’s a trap, sir,” Boseman said.

  Sean nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  “Sir,” Pitts said, “if we aren't going to trust the Krake or this Aurang, why would we even consider a military operation with them? Why wouldn’t we decline his request and return to New Earth?”

  Sean took a moment to look at the other holoscreens. Whether or not they should return home had been one of the crucial points of the entire mutiny. Pitts wasn’t his staunchest supporter, but Sean could work with that. “Because of our mission out here. We've been tasked to learn all we can about the Krake and whether or not we can find a way to defeat them. We can’t recon our enemy if we don’t take any risks, but we can all agree that there's a high degree of risk in this undertaking; however, there’s also the potential for a greater reward, meaning that we could learn something crucial about the Krake. We’re all out here to protect our home, and I intend to build into our planning a way to send word back to COMCENT in the event that we fail.”

  There was dead silence for a few moments.

  “Colonel, what about the Krake prisoners?” Major Shelton asked.

  “We've questioned them before, and they've refused to communicate with us. At this time, I'm not entertaining any option to force cooperation,” Sean said.

  “Would they be more cooperative if they thought they were being returned to their people?” Shelton asked.

  “Possibly, but I want to keep them as a bargaining piece in case we need them,” Sean said.

  “Sir, are you sure this is the best course of action regarding the prisoners?” Lieutenant Pitts asked.

  Sean had called this all-hands meeting to keep the senior officers invested in the mission. “Do you have a suggestion, Lieutenant?”

  “Just that it might be dangerous to bring them back home with us.”

  “I’m positive we can secure two prisoners,” Sean replied. “Thank you all for your participation. I will, of course, inform you of your orders, but if you have any concerns in the meantime, raise them with your immediate superiors.”

  The meeting ended, and Sean returned to the bridge. He brought Chad Boseman with him so he could watch the encounter with Aurang. At the top of the hour, a comlink from the Krake ship was initiated.

  Right on time, Sean thought.

  “Colonel Quinn, you’ve had time to consider my request for aid. Have you reached a decision?” Aurang asked.

  “Not yet. We need to perform our own analysis. If you want our help, you’ll need to give us the coordinates of the targets and we’ll have a look for ourselves.”

  “This is unacceptable. My people are in danger from the overseers. We must go at once.”

  “Then my answer is no. We will not assist you,” Sean said.

  “The data I provided is current. Why do you need to see these targets in order to make a decision?”

  Sean leaned forward. “Because I don’t trust you. You haven’t given me any reason to trust you.”

  Sean thought he might’ve offended the Krake, but that wasn’t the case.

  “Understood, and this is to be expected. What do you want to know most about the Krake?”

  Sean frowned. He hadn’t been anticipating that kind of question. “I want to know how much you know about us. Is it possible to negotiate a peaceful end to hostilities?”

  “No, I already told you this is impossible. The overseers will never stop searching for you because they need to substantiate how much of a threat you are. In order to achieve that, testing is required.”

  “That’s why we must do our own reconnaissance, and then we can tell you whether or not we can help you. I want to know what communication protocols the Krake use. I want to be able to communicate with other Krake and not be reliant on you to translate for us,” Sean said.

  “If I provide this, will you help us?”

  “No. If you provide this, then I'll consider helping you by doing our own reconnaissance of these targets.”

  Aurang was quiet while he considered Sean’s reply.

  “Giving this to us is a show of good faith. If you want to help your people, this is a small token toward building trust between us,” Sean said.

  “Very well, I will give you a copy of our communications protocols, as well as the tran
slator. I would like to now discuss the use of your space gate,” Aurang said.

  “Continue,” Sean said.

  “I cannot bring this ship through the arch and go to the target universe. I will need to use your space gate.”

  “That is out of the question,” Sean said.

  There was no way he was going to allow a potential enemy ship among the battle group to watch how they used their space gate.

  “Then how will we communicate?” Aurang asked.

  “You can find your own way to the target universe and we'll meet you there. Give us a way to contact you. If we contact you, then you'll know our answer,” Sean replied.

  “What assurances do I have that you'll even honor your end of the bargain? The lives of my people are at risk if I have to wait for you and you decide not to help,” Aurang said.

  “You came to us for help. I want to know the coordinates of Krake outposts and the home world, or wherever it is that your overseers reside.”

  Aurang snarled. “I will not reveal our home world to you.”

  Finally, an emotional response. That was something, at least. Sean had been wondering how far he could push him before he pushed back. If Aurang had promised to give them that information, then he'd have known this entire thing was a lie.

  “But I can provide you with operational data of our current outposts. That data is in the main facility that holds the operational intelligence of our group. I can give you access to it,” Aurang said.

  Now they were getting somewhere. “I'll be in touch after we do our own reconnaissance,” Sean said.

  “Sir,” Boseman said, and Sean looked at him. “A quick moment, sir. This concerns the Krake.”

  Sean gestured for Boseman to come over. He looked at Aurang. “Give us a few moments,” Sean said and muted the channel.

  “Sir, that ship would fit into our main hangar, so we could bring them with us without allowing them to monitor our space gate. We could also confine them to their ship if we needed to. And if they betrayed us, we'd get one more piece of Krake tech to bring home with us,” Boseman said.

  Sean frowned in thought for a moment. Only the Vigilant or the Yorktown had enough room in their hangar bays to accommodate the Krake ship. He gave his friend a nod, and Boseman returned to his post.