by Nick Braker
Alexandria had several, more important objectives to control. One, the Kron wanted Earth destroyed and she had to prevent that with every last ounce of her strength and ability. Two, the governments of nearly every nation wanted continued updates and proof of progress on all aspects of any new science discovered from the ship’s systems. Three, more of her best agents had died, vaporized by the Kron with some type of new weapon. The death of Magnus, Ruth, Giselle and Joannah were probably a test of a weapon they planned to use next in eliminating mankind. Four, Mira and Jules had had a fight. It was no surprise. Weeks with little sleep, short deadlines and the knowledge of the danger this trip represented fueled it to an ignition point. Their professionalism kept them working together but neither would speak of the nature of the fight. Seph had alerted her of the situation but could offer no details.
Alexandria had a dozen other priorities to handle or to at least oversee, and the strain was taking its toll on all of them. Their survival was at stake but the prolonged campaign of war against the Kron was reaching an endpoint. No human could keep up a pace like this and Alexandria’s only hope was that the four augmented young women could persevere through it. Their job didn’t end today. It really was the beginning for them.
Today was launch day. Grep’s plan was to create a pulse portal, as he called it, that would open a wormhole in space outside Earth’s atmosphere. Earth would send its first humans approximately 20 light years away. From there, they had to travel 32 days at greater than light speed to reach Kron’s home world. It was the best solution their science could create and it was also dangerous. Once they entered Kron’s space, the four young women had to find a way to break through Kron’s armada and deliver the bomb into the core of enemy planet. Mira had relayed the dangers from the things they could anticipate. It was the unknown that worried Alexandria the most. They didn’t know what they didn’t know.
Alexandria waited outside the ship as the four young women prepared for liftoff. Alexandria had already said her goodbyes to them. She feared they would die as would the last hope for humanity with them.
Earth - Devil’s Shore Facility
Friday, November 6, 1987 - Noon
Mira
Mira tapped the comm-system button on her console aboard Miracle One.
“Mission control,” Mira said, “this is Miracle One. Please clear the launch bay.” Mira watched Alexandria on her monitor as she nodded and left the bay. Alexandria had waited until the last minute to leave, watching over them as they prepared to take off. Mira understood. It would be the last time she would see them for at least 66 days, assuming everything went according to plan. Mira was also suspicious that Alexandria wanted to ensure Grep would not try to board at the last minute and she had attended to that personally.
“Miracle One,” Grep said, “the bay is empty. You’re clear to launch.”
Jules adjusted the virtual controls on her console and the ship lifted from the pad. It accelerated to just under Mach 1 as it left the open portal in the hanger bay of the Devil’s Shore facility. As the ship cleared the bay, her fingers flicked upwards and it accelerated to Mach 6.
“Mission control,” Mira said, “we are clear. Destination point in fifteen minutes.”
Destination point is 298 miles above Earth. We will hold a geosynchronous position there. File.
Rendezvous point is 14.24 minutes, mark. Noted.
Why did Jules research our backgrounds? Irrelevant, dismiss.
Portal components en route. Slowest component ETA is 14.1 minutes, mark. Noted.
Seph is holding up well considering her emotional state of leaving Grep behind. File.
Zara seems completely unconcerned. Aberrant behavior. Is she trying to put up a good front? File.
Jules is avoiding eye contact with me. She is ashamed of her behavior. File.
What did she discover of my past? Irrelevant, dismiss.
“Seph, report,” Mira said.
“Systems are green,” Seph said.
“Green?” Zara asked.
“I did not like the Kron color coding scheme,” Seph said.
Zara nodded.
“Jules?” Mira asked. “How are we doing?”
“We are on time. All systems are... green,” Jules said, looking back at Seph and smiling. “I like Earth’s scheme better, too.”
Mira mentally relaxed, letting the crew do their jobs. Jules piloted the ship, Seph ensured the ship was operational and Zara took the role of monitoring the components needed to create the wormhole. The mission depended on a coordinated effort for each component to reach the wormhole’s starting point. The electrical and portal generators each had two backup units ready to replace either one. They were mitigating their chances of single point failures. It was that simple. It was also possible the Kron could be monitoring their activity and attempt to stop them. With backup components, arriving from different points across the globe, Earth had a better change at success.
They had two fail points, the ship’s shields and the ship itself. If something happened to either one, there was nothing they could do. Traveling through a wormhole required power, shields, the portal generator and the object they wanted to send, in this case, the ship. The 14.24 minutes expired.
“Primary wormhole portal components are in place,” Zara said. “Systems connecting now. ETA to connection, startup test and full power up... in 5 seconds, mark.”
Mira monitored the three pieces of the portal as they approached each other. Zara controlled their trajectories and velocities, bringing each piece together as a whole. The units slowed, stopped and then mechanically attached themselves together.
“Zara?” Mira asked.
“Complete.” Zara said.
“Status of the standby components?” Mira asked.
“All units in position, if needed,” Zara said and then added. “The portal system passed my power up tests and is operational.”
Mira cut the communication link to mission control.
“Ladies,” Mira said, “doesn’t this appear to be going too smoothly?”
They all nodded.
“If the Kron are watching,” Zara said, “this would be one of the better times to stop us.”
The girls all glanced at each other and then returned to their work. Mira reconnected the link to mission control.
“Mission control,” Mira added, “Clear to begin.”
“Mira, the ship is in position,” Jules said. “Standing by.”
“Mission control,” Mira said, “we are in position and standing by. All systems are ready status.”
The wormhole generating components were designed to come together in space and automatically connect to each other. Speed was a necessity, with the hope that Kron could not react fast enough. No matter how they approached the task, the five of them could not accomplish the goal of putting the portal together in less than fourteen minutes. It was the best they could do.
“Portal system starting and endpoint entered and accepted,” Grep said. “That is 20.27 light years. Beginning final initiation sequence.”
Mira’s fingers trembled. She closed them both into fists trying to burn off the adrenaline in the muscles. This was the moment they had all worked toward. Jules would pilot the ship along a course that would take it through a specific point in space exactly at the moment the wormhole opened. The margin of error was 0.77 seconds.
The margin created three scenarios. The first was if the ship arrived too soon, they would shoot past the portal before it opened. The components would fry as Grep predicted and they would have to try again with the remaining units. They had three chances under this scenario. The second was if the ship arrived on time but the portal collapsed before the spaceship was completely though the opening, sending part of the ship through the wormhole and leaving the rest behind on Earth. They had only one chance with this scenario since it would mean their deaths. The third was if the ship arrived too late. They would watch the portal open, the components fry and the
portal close before they could enter it.
“Miracle One,” Grep said, “computer link established, synchronous link connected with vector changes accounted for. You are clear to go.”
“This is it,” Mira said, nodding to her friends on the ship. “Jules, start your approach.”
The ship launched forward toward the portal’s starting point. The forward screen showed the system at a fixed point in space in front of them. Their trajectory would take them through the hole it would generate exactly 100 feet perpendicular to the portal projector.
“Good luck,” Grep whispered, “come back to us, Miracle One.”
The portal’s system activated and the ship closed on the designated point. An angry red ring of energy formed a perfect circle in front of the ship. It spiked open in a flash and the ship slipped inside the wormhole and exited out the other end. The portal collapsed behind them. They had done it. She started to breathe a sigh of relief when her scanners flashed red and her consoles’ alarm sounded.
“I do not believe it,” Seph said. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the main screen.
“Blue star dead ahead,” Mira said. “All engines stop, now.”
Jules flicked her fingers and shifted her hands backwards.
“I see it,” Jules said. “Damn, there is not supposed to be a star here. There’s not supposed to be anything nearby.”
“Mira?” Zara asked, “did you get that exit point coordinate locked in?”
Mira nodded. “Yes, we know where our entry point is for the return trip. Seph, shield report, while I find out where we are.”
Seph broke her gaze from the star and returned her attention to her console. The star glowed bright blue, hovering in space ahead of them. Mira noted its position. It was 3.2 light minutes away and presented no danger. Jules rotated the ship slightly starboard, flying closer to it as she coaxed more power from the engines.
“Oh my, god,” Jules said, watching the main screen. “It is so beautiful.”
“It is also an object that is theoretically impossible,” Seph added.
“What?” Zara asked. “It is a star. There are billions and billions of stars in the Cosmos.” Zara laughed, looking around the command deck expecting a reaction from her friends.
“We all watched the show, Zara,” Jules said. “Mildly funny. You need to come up with better material.”
“I am simply nervous,” Zara said, “and a bit on edge. If what we know of Earth history is true, we are the first women in space and certainly the farthest from Earth any human has ever been.”
The sun’s blue corona ejected massive clouds of fissionable material into space. It sparkled light blue making Mira think of the color, Cerulean.
“I hope you are wrong about that,” Jules said, not looking up from her station.
Jules was holding on to the hope Magnus still lived. If he did, he would be on Kron.
“It is a blue dwarf star,” Seph said, changing the subject. “In theory, it should not exist because the universe is not old enough to have one. Mira, shields are at 99%. We are here, safe and sound, but where is here?”
Mira submitted two requests to her system. First, the parameters for a calculation of when Earth would reopen the wormhole. They preplanned that point to be exactly 66 days from now, based on the distance to Kron and back with an additional two days to account for anything unexpected.
At maximum speed, which was twice the speed of light, their only hope of returning would be the wormhole. If not, they would spend most of their lives getting home. The second request was based on current telemetry and scanner data. Would any object be at or near the wormhole’s entry point when they planned to return to Earth?
Mira gasped. Seph’s head snapped around, staring at Mira. Seph squinted her eyes, cocking her head to the side.
“Mira,” Zara said, “what is it?”
Mira knew that double checking the data was a waste of time. Her meticulous nature was part of her augmentation. She had made no mistake. They wouldn’t be going back using the wormhole. Mira rubbed her face with both hands. If felt surreal, like a nightmare come to life.
“Mira?” Jules asked, prompting her again.
“We will not be able to use the wormhole to return,” Mira said.
The other three simultaneously asked why?
“This system’s sun,” Mira said, “will cross directly over our entry point in 56 days. The wormhole will open inside it. We are stuck—”
“Dear god,” Seph said, cutting her off. “It is worse than that.” Seph buried her face in her hands. “Grep and I tossed around worse case scenarios about the wormhole endpoints. This was one of them. When the wormhole opens, this solar system’s sun, which is under extreme pressure, would likely keep the portal open permanently, venting its core back to Earth. The wormhole would be self-sustainable from the energy it provides. It will destroy earth in seconds.”
The girls looked at each other.
“That means we have 66 days to come up with a solution,” Mira said.
Zara stood up. “It will not happen,” Zara said, “because we are going to tell Earth not to open the portal.” She grinned.
What is Zara’s idea? Background processes initiated.
“There is no signal fast enough that can reach Earth to warn them,” Seph said.
“Zara,” Mira said, “What are you thinking? You have the look that you know something and are waiting to see how long it takes us to figure it out.”
Jules leaned back in her chair. “I know what she is planning. Dangerous but possible. In fact, it may be the only way to warn them.”
“Dangerous?” Mira asked.
Radio frequency signal. Too slow. Dismiss.
Photon coded pulse. Earth would not be watching for it. Too slow. Dismiss.
Abort mission and return to Earth using ship’s engines. Too slow. Dismiss.
Examine list of technologies. Background processes initiated.
“It would work,” Seph said, catching on, “if we can somehow commandeer the Omarii projection technology before we blow up their planet. Do you think they would be willing to share?” she batted her eyelids innocently, mocking Zara’s idea.
End all background processes regarding Zara’s idea. She wants to steal or high jack Kron technology to project back to Earth as the Omarii do. Once there, we warn WSO and change the return location. Noted. File.
“If anyone can do it, we can,” Jules said.
“It is our only choice, regardless of probability,” Mira said, “right?”
The three nodded at her.
“We have to save earth,” Jules said, “and then destroy Kron... sounds like a normal day at the office for us.”
Chapter 24
KATERRA’S PREGNANCY
Kron - Capital City of Citron
Sunday, November 29, 1987 - 11:00pm
Katerra
All previous queen’s quarters greatly exceeded the size necessary for comfort; done more for show and largess than functionality. Katerra had rectified that during her first three days as Kron’s new queen. Their war with the Aliri necessitated sacrifices and justifying luxuries, in her mind, wasted resources and hurt her in the eyes of her people. Katerra ordered her engineers to redesign the queen’s palace, adjusting space and appropriating it out for other, more important, uses. Over time, the redesign of Kron cities for war had hardened them and increased their chances to survive. The previous queens’ blindness had nearly allowed the enemy to destroy them.
Katerra’s modest quarters contained the barest of necessities and she used the space only when needed. She kept her bedroom intact, but since she never slept, it had almost been used as storage.
Today was different, Katerra used her bed for the first time. She lay on her left side, cringing. Several beads of sweat adorned her upper lip and her usually immaculate and lustrous black hair lay tangled and matted upon her pillow. Katerra’s clear, milky-white skin appeared paler than normal and subtle red streaks m
arked the white purity of her eyes. She panted, holding her distended abdomen. Nothing felt right and everything seemed to be going wrong. Her logical side told her the plan remained intact but it didn’t feel that way. She tapped the bed rhythmically with her index finger thinking about her staff. She had dismissed her usual attendants, as lately they annoyed and frustrated her. Buffoons, all of them, they could do nothing right. They fawned over her, constantly trying to comfort her. Katerra’s pregnancy proceeded normally but it put a greater strain on her staff and they continually failed to appease her. She breathed in deeply. She had to focus on the goal.
Recently, Katerra warred with herself on the merits of it. It seemed like the best solution days ago but now, she no longer believed so. Her plan did not include the current hardships she experienced. No one should have to go through this. Her tapping increased as her mental clock reminded her another session of pain drew near.
One month had passed since conception and the pain of her contractions troubled Katerra. She summoned Carena, her physician, as another one started and intensified. Was the pain supposed to be this severe? It felt like it gored through her abdomen, shredding the flesh inside her womb. The contraction abated, lasting nearly a minute. They came in waves, appearing to grow worse with each one. Katerra needed to get to the nurturing pools but she had never done this before. She had never wanted to do this before but her people needed it even if they didn’t realize it or understand why.
Her life’s efforts had focused entirely on preparing for the day she planned to kill her mother. Nothing else had merited her attention, certainly not children. Her mother had grown weak and had made mistakes. Mistakes that had cost the lives of her people, mistakes that threatened their continued existence. Kron needed a new queen, a queen that truly cared for her people and did not shy away from the hard decisions. Kron’s war with the Aliri had started approximately 1,100 years ago and the vermin’s machinations continued relentlessly through the centuries. Katerra’s efforts led to the destruction of the Aliri probes in her solar system and the theft of their TLA technology, two important milestones that put them on an equal footing with the Aliri. What had her mother accomplished? She ruled—
