by Luigi Robles
There was something different about the ship. It looked new. No, that wasn’t it. He took a second look. It was more or less in perfect shape. All the wounds it had received during the Acram battle were gone. That must mean that Kya had been busy lately.
“Captain, right this way,” one of the soldiers that were accompanying Fain said. “General Nicolas M. Truman and the others are waiting.”
“Right,” Fain said as he kept moving towards Sodenia.
I wonder if he means captain as in captain of the Cornelia or captain as in captain of the Sodenia, Fain thought. Whatever it is, it feels good to be back. Here is where I belong. This is my home.
Fain entered Sodenia and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the scent of the ship. For the first time, Fain was able to identify its scent. It smelled fresh, with a hint of leather and clean steel. It was a pleasant smell. Although, he knew that it was in part due to the ship’s filtration system.
“Captain Fain Jegga,” a familiar voice said from behind Fain.
Fain turned to see that Kya was the one who had just spoken. Although Fain had seen Kya in her synthetic body before, he still couldn’t get over just how human she looked. The way she moved, the expressions on her face, and her body language were all human-like. To top it all off, she was every bit as beautiful as Pycca or Larissa, if not more.
Fain caught himself blushing at the thought, so he cleared his throat. At that moment, he realized that he didn’t think of Kya as an AI; instead, he thought of her as human.
“I’ll take it from here,” Kya said, dismissing the two soldiers that were escorting him. “Thank you. Your new orders will be made available on your task manager within the day. In the meantime, help yourself to the lounge near the hangar, if you wish.”
“Thank you, Miss Kya,” one of the soldiers said. “We’ll take advantage of that. It’s been a while since we’ve had proper food or shut-eye.”
“You’re welcome,” Kya said with a smile and watched the soldiers leave.
Fain cleared his throat once more, and Kya turned to him with a smile. A bright and perfect smile.
“Thanks for saving me earlier,” Fain said. “If it wasn’t for the drones you sent, I don’t think I’d be standing right here talking to you.”
“I’m not entirely sure of that,” Kya said as they walked towards the nearest corridor. “When the drones got there, it looked as if you had the situation under control.”
“If by under control you mean a near-death experience, then sure. I had it totally under control.”
As they entered the corridor, a pod was already waiting for them.
“Kya, how does it work now?” Fain asked. “Before, when we needed to get something, call someone, or find out any sort of information, we came to you, since you were the ship’s AI and all. We used to call your name and then ask for what we needed. But now? Is it still the same? Do you still control everything on the ship? Do you still want to control everything on the ship?”
“Good question,” Kya said with a smile as they boarded the pod. “I am still the ship’s AI, but only a small part of my unconscious brain controls the ship’s amenities, doors, pods, machinery, food, and coms. And the majority of me is here in this body, in this head, in this cerebral computer. There are other parts of me dispersed throughout the ship, but those are just tools. And as far as calling my name to get something done, that’s no longer necessary. You can just say what needs to happen, and it will. I’m pretty sure I know how to put two and two together. And no, controlling everything doesn’t take a lot out of me. So why not help where I can?”
Fain hadn’t even noticed that the pod had begun to move until they were speeding down the corridor.
“You worked on the pods and corridors also?” Fain said loudly, quickly adjusting his voice to match the quiet progress of the pod. “If it weren’t for the corridor lights flashing by, it would almost feel like we aren’t moving.”
“I might have had something to do with it,” Kya said with a slight smile. “It got pretty lonely around here. I needed some way to keep myself busy.”
“I’m impressed that you got so much done,” Fain said as the pod came to a full stop. “You fully restored the ship on the outside also.”
“There are still a few more things that you haven’t seen,” Kya said as she stepped out of the pod. “But that’s for another time. For now, we are already here, and everyone is waiting.”
Fain nodded and stepped out of the pod. The door in front of Fain and Kya opened automatically to a room filled with people, many of whom Fain knew. Larissa, Pycca, August, Eora, Colonel Green, and even Nicolas M. Truman himself were in the room. Everyone stood up as Fain entered the room. Fain was surprised, no, more like relieved that everyone greeted him with their own version of a warm smile. Unlike the first time, when he had stepped inside a room full of hostile glares.
The room was large and circular, with four doors dispersed throughout the room. In the spaces between the doors and facing inwards towards the center of the room was a large seating area. The flight crew and command sat in the front row. At the center of the room, there was a large round display table.
“Welcome back,” Truman said. “Captain Fain Jegga, the flight crew, and the ship have been waiting for you.”
Fain was humbled by the warm welcome. He knew the stakes were high, and all of these people were counting on him. Had he set an impossible bar? A bar so high, so far from anyone’s reach that not even he would be able to achieve it again? For a moment, he thought he didn’t deserve to be captain of such a ship, of such a crew. He didn’t want to be the one to let all of these people down and all the people of Earth. But if it wasn’t him, who would it be? Who else but him? He snapped out of it and came back to his senses. He decided right there and then that he would give it his all once again, that all these people that entrusted their lives to him deserved him at his absolute best.
“It’s good to be back,” Fain said, trying to sink back into the moment.
“Captain, why don’t you take a seat and let us sit back down as well,” Green said as he gestured to the empty seat in the room. “We have a lot to talk about. Kya, why don’t you start by playing the message that our so-called friends are broadcasting from high Earth orbit?”
Kya nodded, and the message began to play in the room. The message definitely didn’t sound like an Acram or Herrion one; Fain was at least familiar with both those languages. Their language sounded vocal but completely foreign. It had high and low pitches and intonations. If they didn’t know it was coming from an alien spacecraft in Earth’s orbit, it could easily be mistaken for one of Earth’s indigenous languages.
The smiles and warm feelings faded as the message played. There was tension in the room as everyone listened in.
“When translated,” Kya said with an even voice, “it says, ‘we come in peace, we come to help, before the arrival of the Golden Armada. There isn’t much time.’ There’s more to the message, but for the most part, it’s impossible to make sense of any of it. It’s too fragmented, too destroyed.” Kya paused and looked around the room. “I’ve done extensive research in the Herrion archives, and I believe this is an alien civilization from the opposite side of the galaxy. An alien civilization that has yet to be conquered by the Acram but soon will be. The way I believe their name is pronounced is Ochilenes, and the meaning of the name is ‘great builder.’ There is extensive damage to the vessel they are in; by the looks of it, they were under attack. They were lucky to make it here in the first place. And as far as the Acram Golden Armada goes, I haven’t been able to find much information about it. I believe it’s the Acram’s ultimate weapon, the weapon that wiped out the Herrion civilization.”
Everyone around the room, including Fain, hung on every one of Kya’s words.
The Acram have an army even more powerful than the one they already sent to Earth? Fain thought. How can that be?
“I believe that time is running out for our n
ew visitors,” Kya continued. “There are signs of life on the ship, but I fail to see any source of active power. This means that their core engine, whatever it was, is severely damaged, and they are running on energy cells or batteries.”
“Thank you, Kya. Colonel Green,” Truman said as he sank back into his seat, “why don’t you go ahead and get us started.”
“Very well then,” Green said as he stood up and walked towards the display table. He fiddled with the digital keypad until a three-dimensional image of the rectangular ship appeared. “We need to find out for certain if what Kya is saying is accurate, and the only way we can do that is to go see for ourselves. If what Kya says is true, and there is such a thing as a Golden Armada, then we are facing complete annihilation. But as long as we can do something about it, we will, and we won’t be taking annihilation lying down. It looks like the Acram threat isn’t over, but if there’s a possibility that we aren’t alone in the fight, we have to explore that possibility to its end result. Because we need all the help we can get.”
People around the room looked eager, as if they were ready to jump out of their seats and into action at a moment’s notice.
“Your new mission will be as follows,” Green continued. “You are to go and rescue our new so-called friends before their life support runs out. You are to get Sodenia within fifteen miles of the Ochilenes ship, or whatever Captain Fain Jegga determines as being a safe distance. From there, a team of ten will take a smaller shuttle and board the Ochilenes ship, if that’s even possible. Kya assures me that once Sodenia gets within range of the ship, we’ll be able to detect any entry point.” Green looked at Kya.
Kya nodded once.
“We don’t know what will be waiting for you once you enter the ship,” Green continued. “But if you see anything suspicious or life-threatening, get out as fast as you can, return to Sodenia, and blow that ship into pieces. We don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Use your better judgment. You’ll be leaving at 0400. With a full flight crew, we need all stations ready. Are there any questions?”
Everyone in the room looked apprehensive, perhaps because everyone knew that once Green was done with the briefing, they would be receiving a detailed plan on their task managers. Fain could think of a few questions that were surely on everyone’s mind. Now was the time to ask, if anything was going to be discussed at all.
“Sodenia doesn’t have a space shuttle, does it?” Fain asked. “How are we getting to the Ochilenes ship?”
“We’ve got that one covered. As of one hour ago, it does,” Green said. “We’ve loaded Sodenia with the best space shuttle that ESAF has to offer. We have been working on it for several years now, and thanks to Kya’s involvement, we managed to finish it right on time.”
“Who will go?” Fain asked, getting straight to the point. It made no sense to withhold the information. “Has that been determined yet?”
“No,” Green said. “We thought it would be best to leave that to the discretion of you and the crew. But as I said earlier, only ten will go. The shuttle can only hold ten passengers.”
Green couldn’t have made a better choice, Fain thought. After all, who knows more about us than ourselves. We know our strengths and weaknesses. We will all volunteer, that’s for sure. In fact, we will all fight to go. But that’s not the problem. The problem is what will happen if we don’t come back.
“Is this all we know?” Fain asked bluntly, looking directly at Green. If there was something else, anything at all, now was the time.
“I can assure you, Captain,” Green said, “that’s all we know. Whatever nuances we missed, they will be diligently covered in your task managers. I am happy to report that the council has been abolished and there’s now no more hidden information. Everything we know has been laid out on the table.”
“That was something we all needed to hear,” Fain said.
“Yes,” Green said. “I think even I needed to hear that aloud. I was beginning to think the day would never come when ESAF would operate properly once again, the way it was meant to operate since we first discovered a giant spaceship in the Pacific.” Truman stepped toward the center table and tapped Green on the shoulder. Green turned around to take a seat.
“From now on,” Truman said, holding his hands behind his back, “ESAF will operate with full transparency with everyone who has top-secret security clearance. The stakes are too high to withhold any information known to command. If we are to win, heck, if we are to even have a chance, we need to work together. The future of the human race cannot depend on a few minds any longer. Therefore, we’ve decided to make all information we know available to you. Better said, all information ESAF has ever known. Digest the material at will. The council left a nasty taste in all our mouths, but I am confident that we will be able to get over it. We trust that you will trust command when we are right, and we will make sure to trust you when we are wrong.”
I hope you are right, old man, Fain thought. Because if ESAF is anything less than what you say it’s going to be, then we are all screwed.
“Before I forget,” Truman said. “To mark your official return to Sodenia, here are your bracelets.” Truman reached into the right-hand pocket of his jacket and pulled out five wristbands. He held the wristbands in front of him.
Fain and the others got up to grab the bands. Although the bands were not marked with ranks like their uniforms, Fain was certain that he had chosen the exact band he had worn before. The small scuffs and creases that normal wear and tear had caused lined up exactly as he put it on. And judging by the facial expressions on everyone else, he was able to deduce that they too had gotten their old bands back.
“These bands have only belonged to you,” Truman continued. “And with any luck, they will only belong to you. We’ll move forward with optimism, but never arrogance. We need to believe that we can win, and we need to know that it won’t be easy.”
Fain immediately made plans to read the information that Truman was promising.
“For now”—Truman looked around the room with a steady gaze— “let’s get to work. We have a lot to do.”
Everyone in the room stood up and saluted.
“Dismissed,” Truman said as he and Green walked out of the room.
Fain, the flight crew, and Kya, along with a few drone operators from Eora’s division, were huddled in a room adjacent to the previous room.
Fain found himself in the middle of the dilemma he’d feared in the first place. As he had imagined hours earlier, everyone in the flight crew wanted to board the visiting ship.
“I don’t understand you guys,” Eora said. “What if you come across weapons you have never seen before? I am your best bet. Any person in my team can fire Sodenia’s cannons if need be, but not everyone here will be able to understand what’s in there. It makes no sense for me to stay.”
“She does have a point,” August said. “Fain and Kya will be here also, so there’s no need for everyone to go. Eora’s skills could really come in handy for us.”
“And who said you were going with us?” Larissa asked. “I haven’t heard your name as the final crew.”
“Who said that I am staying?” Fain asked, jumping in after Larissa.
“Oh, come on, you guys,” August said. “I am the only obvious choice here; I am like a spare tire. If anything happens to me, you guys will be fine.”
“You know that isn’t true,” Fain said.
“OK, I might be exaggerating, but Fain, you can’t go,” August said. “You are the captain of the ship; you have to stay here and captain it. If something were to happen to you out there, there is literally no one that can replace you. I’ve tried, and that almost got us killed.”
“You did just fine,” Fain said as he massaged his chin.
“If that’s what you call almost getting everyone killed,” August said. “Then yeah, but we all know that just fine won’t cut it if there’s another battle. You can’t go, and you know it. It would be too reckless of y
ou.”
Fain knew what August was saying was true, but he didn’t like it. Every inch of his body was telling him to go. He didn’t want them risking their lives while he waited safely in the ship. That just wasn’t right, and yet that was what trust was all about. He needed to trust his crewmates to get the job done and not get killed. So, he decided he would take a back seat in this conversation.
“Eora and I are a good start to the team,” August said.
“Excuse me,” Pycca said. “I beg to differ. I know structures, I know machines, and I know how things work. I would be much more valuable to the mission than a gunsmith. You all heard the message: they come in peace. Peace means no weapons.”
That was when Fain realized that letting Larissa or Pycca go on the mission would hurt him a lot more than it should. He didn’t want either of them to go. Had he developed feelings for them? No, it couldn’t be, could it? He didn’t know what he was feeling or why he felt it. It was like a fire burning in his chest, and yet one of them would have to go on the mission. Instinctively, Fain made up his mind who would be going. Larissa was the clear choice. But it wasn’t because he felt less for Larissa. No. It was because she was more likely to succeed in this sort of mission.
“Oh, please, Pycca,” Eora said. “This is a new alien race we are talking about, which we know nothing about. Meaning you don’t know how their machines work at all. On the other hand, I can keep the crew safe and take the weapons and shields I do know with us. Or tell me, what kind of shield would you keep on standby when you entered the alien ship? You know, in case a forty-gage plasma defense laser fires at you and the crew.”
“The green one,” Pycca answered right away.
