by Doug Hoffman
“Moving frames of reference always mess me up,” Lem conceded. “I'll make sure the slugs' trajectories will have them spiral into the Sun. We got enough alien problems without picking a fight a hundred thousand years in the future.”
“Right, old Isaac Newton can be one unforgiving bastard. And try not to hit any of the inner planets while you're at it.”
“Picky, picky, picky,” Lem said, smiling as he entered commands to the fire-control computer. This was definitely more fun than the fly farm.
Alien Fleet #1, Beta Hydri
Floating in space roughly two AU out from Beta Hydri—a star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Hydrus as seen from Earth—a fleet of warships counted down the hours before they launched their attack. The star itself was a type G yellow dwarf, though 10% more massive than Earth's Sun. It is also the closest confirmed subgiant star to Sol and one of the older, most highly evolved stars of the Sun's spectral class in the Solar neighborhood. It possessed a planet habitable by warm life—the home of a primitive insectoid species—but they were not the target of the fleet. No, the fleet hunted bigger game.
The ships themselves would have looked familiar to any crew member from Peggy Sue's second voyage and their drive signatures would be recognized by any ship from Earth. Black and spiky, like giant sea urchins cast adrift in space. They were led by a creature that looked much like its ship, quasi-crystalline with long mobile spines. They were cold life creatures who inhabited the outer belts of several nearby star systems—zones like Sol's Kuiper Belt, where comets and frozen dwarf planets orbit faint distant suns.
They called their civilization the Republic, and they were governed by three members of their ruling class. Each elected for a limited term, they were similar to the Consuls of ancient Rome, empowered to lead the Republic, perform public works and to wage war. Called upon by their allies, the Dark Lords, to participate in a warm life cleansing, the Consuls of the Republic named a Proconsul to lead the expedition in their name, a worthy named Booshnarrallna.
Booshnarrallna was not just a member of the ruling, Senatorial class, he was an admiral of note and a rising power in the Republic. Barring a major misstep, he would one day serve his term as Consul. Accompanying him as second in command was his friend, Seemallooshna, also a member of the Senate.
“The hour grows near, Proconsul. Soon we will pass through the lesser dimensions and wreak havoc on these warm life vermin who have sown so much discord among our allies.”
“Yes, friend Seemallooshna. My spines already quiver in anticipation of skewering these execrable upstarts who have trespassed on our space and disturbed the Republic's peace.”
“Even worse, noble Booshnarrallna, these vile creatures are rumored to have destroyed King Lewnhallooshna and his entire fleet.”
“Do not remind me of Lewnhallooshna of 61 Virginis. A border barbarian, a renegade of our own class who fled the Republic to start his own petty kingdom. He was a limp spined blowhard who richly deserved being taken down a notch or two. Unfortunately we have been tainted by his failure, since the blunt quilled cretin was of our own species.”
“Under your leadership, we will erase the stain along with these upstart pond scum. Upon our return you shall surely receive a triumph, which will almost certainly lead to your own Consulship.”
“let us not count our honors before the battle is fought, my friend. In any case, the hour is upon us. Signal the fleet to proceed through the transit point.”
“By your command, Proconsul.”
The fleet, 39 warships in all, entered alter-space in three squadrons of thirteen, each anxious to kill the warm life renegades who had so humiliated their cousins. Transit time to the Earth system from Beta Hydri was only seven days, less than the transits for the other two fleets that would be joining in the attack.
The Dark Lords' plan was to have the three attacking fleets emerge from alter-space simultaneously, or as close to simultaneously as possible given the vagaries of traveling such distances from three widely flung star systems. But the dark ones, being such long lived creatures, did not posses an overly acute sense of timing. For beings who mark the passage of time in rotations of the entire Milky Way Galaxy, simultaneity was a somewhat imprecise concept. Proconsul Booshnarrallna's grand fleet, though faithfully following their instructions, was going to arrive several days before the other two elements of the attack.
Inside the Vault
Slowly, the expedition members picked themselves up off the vault floor. LED strips on their suits drove back the darkness, casting long shadows throughout the vault's interior.
“Anyone injured?” asked Doc White, not that she could do much with everyone encased in armor. No matter, she quickly scanned the medical telemetry from her companions' suits. Bear and Mizuki were the only Earthlings who could not regain their feet.
“Where are we?” one of the Marines asked.
“We are still on the station,” replied JT, “if we had been thrown free we'd be weightless.”
“Holy crap, Captain,” said Chief Morgan, “what did you hit them with?”
Jack looked up from where he knelt next to the fallen Bear. “Fifty grams of antimatter with a short delay fuse.”
“That would yield over two megatons!” Reagan quickly calculated. “Man, this vault must really be built.”
“We just rode out an antimatter explosion?” said Sanchez. “I think I really like this vault.”
“I wonder how much damage the blast did to the station?” JT pondered. “It went off in an atmosphere inside a solid structure. It should have made a huge crater.”
“Let's find out what the ship saw,” the Captain replied, rising. “M'tak Ka'fek, Scavenger, do you read?” Scavenger was the expedition’s call sign.
“Scavenger, M'tak Ka'fek, go ahead Captain,” replied Bobby's almost frantic voice. “What happened to you?”
“We developed a spider and crab infestation and had to use a bug bomb,” Jack replied. “Can you see any damage to the station from outside?”
“Yes Sir! Your bug bomb blew a large section of glazing off of the greenhouse area and a sizable hole in the bottom of the ring. A bunch of debris spurted out but has since cleared the area due to high radial velocity. The explosion sent a ripple all around the ring, the inhabitants must be scared spit-less.”
“Is the station leaking atmosphere?”
“It did at first, but M'tak says the outflow has slowed significantly. The interior must have internal bulkheads to prevent the whole place from depressurizing in case of an asteroid strike.”
Yes, that would make sense, Jack thought and then admonished himself. Enough wool gathering, we need to get out of here. “Lt. Danner, here are your orders. I want you to send Lt. McKennitt in a large shuttle to survey the hole—have her send a surveillance drone through it if she can. I want to see if the shuttle can find the vault we are currently locked inside of.”
“Yes, Sir,” came Bobby's somewhat disappointed reply. Inwardly Jack sighed.
“I need you to remain in command on the bridge, keeping a sharp eye out for any response from the station. We just did a significant amount of damage to this place and if I was a resident I'd be up in arms. You and Aput must stand ready to beat back any hostile response, do you understand?”
“Aye aye, Captain.” Being left in command of the M'tak was an acceptable alternative to piloting the rescue shuttle in Bobby's mind.
“Very good, Mr. Danner. So shake a leg, I wish to be off this wretched station as soon as possible.” M'tak, can you read me?
Yes, Captain, you are well within my range.
I need you to prepare the sick bay for two casualties—Lt. Bear and Dr. Ogawa. Bear has lost his right foreleg and Mizuki both of her legs from just above the knees.
Certainly, Captain. I will have the facilities prepped and awaiting their arrival.
And M'tak?
Yes?
Do not let Lt. Danner know that Mizuki has been severely wounded. He
is a young man in love and would respond badly to the news. I will tell him myself when I am back on board.
As you wish, Captain.
* * * * *
A holographic image appeared, projected on the inner surface of the Captain's helmet, showing the view from the shuttle as it flew through the gaping hole in the bottom of the station's ring. As it gained altitude the devastation caused by the antimatter explosion became evident. Ahead, the vault and its massive door were visible, perched in a jumble of half melted rubble.
“Captain, Shuttle One. I've passed through the blast hole and will land down slope of the vault.”
“Roger, Shuttle One. We will open the vault door as soon as you land.”
“This vault must be built of tough stuff,” observed Chief Morgan, watching the live video. “The explosion hardly touched it.”
“Makes sense to build it strong, Chief,” Jack replied, “considering what it contains. Otherwise, an unfortunate asteroid strike could set off a massive explosion that would destroy the ring.”
“Roger that, Captain. There's enough antimatter in here to shatter a planet.”
“Why don't you and your men see if you can liberate some of those large eggs and get them ready to be moved to the shuttle?”
“Aye aye, Sir.”
“Lt. Taylor, how are you coming with the power?”
“I think we just about have it sir.” JT and Reagan were huddled over an open panel on the wall next to the vault door. Occasional sparks flashed as they labored to attach a spare suit power-cell to the door's control circuitry. A few more sparks and the lights on the control console came on.
“I think that's got it, LT,” said Reagan, sounding quite pleased with himself. It wasn't every day he got the chance to hot-wire an alien bank vault.
“Do you want me to enter the open code, Captain?” asked Betty, who was kneeling next to the unconscious Mizuki. She still had possession of the Trader's instruction sheet.
“Not yet. We have to assume that there is effectively vacuum outside the vault. Are Mizuki and Bear going to be safe if we depressurize this place?”
“Yes, Captain. Their suit readouts say that they both have atmospheric integrity restored—if you look closely you can almost see the nanites working on the armor.”
“What about the weasel?” asked Hitch. Poonta-ta-ka was an unmoving fuzzy heap off to one side.
“Forget the weasel, what about the butterflies?” asked Jacobs. “They helped us during the battle with the killer chickens.”
“Indeed,” Jack replied. “That would make them the only thing on this station who is on our side.”
“What about some large sample bags?” Feldman asked. Standard issue on expeditions to alien worlds were several sizes of airtight sample collection bags. Made from multiple layers of tough transparent material, they were intended to isolate biological samples along with a bit of their atmosphere.
“Good idea, Jon. I can put Poonta-ta-ka in one but how do we get the butterflies to cooperate?” Betty had examined the fallen trader and found multiple broken bones. The alien remained mercifully unconscious since the explosion.
“Try talking to them,” suggested Matt Jacobs. “Mizuki used to talk to them and I swear they listened to her.”
“Its that or they stay here,” Jack said, “and I doubt that they would do well in vacuum.”
“OK,” Betty replied, “Matt, give me a hand.” Together the Corpsman and sailor gently placed the trader inside one of the large bags and sealed it.
“Will the trader have enough oxygen in there?” asked Feldman.
“His respiration rate is way down, he should last for an hour or so. I have no idea how much air a flock of butterflies needs.”
Betty and Matt held another sample bag open between them while the Captain tried to talk to the flying swarm. “I don't know if you can understand me but we are about to let the air out of here. You tried to help Mizuki and we would rather not kill you, but we have to escape this place.”
The flock of butterflies formed a globular cluster in front of the two sailors, showing mostly green and blue. The cluster flattened into a disk facing the Earthlings. The disk began pulsing forward and back, forming concentric ripples like a giant loudspeaker. Very faintly sounds could be heard, sounds which the listening ship's AI dutifully began to translate.
“Oh pain and sorrow... the beautiful one is dead... our angel of the flashing sword...”
“What?”
“They must think Mizuki is dead, Captain.”
Again addressing the pulsing swarm of winged creatures, Jack spoke through the AI. “Mizuki, the wielder of the sword, is gravely wounded, but she is not dead. We are going to take her to our ship to be healed. But to do that we will have to leave the air out of this room.”
The swarm pulsed rapidly, showing hints of yellows and reds.
“Without air we cannot fly... we cannot live...”
“That is why we would like you to enter the bag Betty and Matt are holding.” Jack gestured toward the sack opening. “We will seal you in with a volume of air and transport you to our ship.”
The fluttering disc reformed, colors rippling across the visible spectrum. “We can leave the bag on the ship... and the beautiful one will re-awaken?”
“Yes, but we must hurry, time is of the essence.”
The disk began to rotate, forming a tornado of color whose spout reached out and entered the sample bag. Soon the entire swarm was inside the clear container and Betty sealed the opening.
“That... was about the weirdest thing I have ever seen,” said LCpl Samuels, relatively new to the crew.
“Fritz, that doesn't even rate a six on my weird-shit-o-meter,” Joey Sanchez assured him.
The Captain smiled at the Marines' comments, at least they were taking things in stride. “Shuttle One, what is your status?”
“Just touched down, Captain,” came Sandy's chipper, Australian accented voice. “Had to bounce her around a bit to find a firm resting place, all this rubble is a bit shonky.”
“Very good, Lt. McKennitt. Stand by. OK Betty, you have the instruction sheet—see if the door will open.” It better, Jack thought, if it doesn't I haven't a clue what to do next. But his worries were unfounded.
There was a mechanical clunk as the bolts retracted. Then the massive circular door slowly swung aside. As it did the air inside the vault screamed out through the opening, the sound rapidly fading as the pressure inside dropped to nothing. The door hung up on outside debris three quarters of the way open, but that was sufficient—they could leave the vault.
Relief was visible on the faces of the Marines and crew. Inside, the sample bags containing the trader and the butterflies swelled until their clear material was taut—puffed up like two balloons.
“OK, let's get the wounded and sample bags on board the shuttle,” ordered Jack, also feeling relieved. “Chief, we will need a dozen of those eggs as well.”
Shuttle Departure
The Marines fanned out and formed a perimeter around the landed shuttle. Bear, Mizuki and the aliens in their sample bags were quickly secured aboard the shuttle. A dozen type 1 AM containers were also stowed on board by Hitch and Jacobs.
The expedition members found themselves standing near the bottom of a bowl shaped crater more than four kilometers wide. About half a kilometer in front of them was a hole, through which could be seen the inky blackness of space.
“I think your little bug bomb came close to blowing this station apart, Captain,” said JT, surveying the damage.
“Indeed, Lieutenant. I had M'tak's AI calculate how big a blast the station could weather, given the hypothetical strength it must posses to simply hold together. I believe we cut the margins rather fine.”
“Captain, Shuttle One. The cargo is loaded and secured. We are not going to have room for the entire party in one trip.”
“Understood, Lieutenant. White, Hitch and Jacobs, I want you on the shuttle.”
�
��Aye aye, Sir,” their voices rang over the comm. The two sailors headed for the loading ramp, Betty was already on board with her patients.
“When you arrive on board the ship I want you to get the wounded to sick bay. Lt. McKennitt, you will probably need to assist Corpsman White in getting Bear and Dr. Ogawa out of their armor—M'tak will give you instructions regarding what needs to be done.
“Hitch, Jacobs, once the wounded are moved take two of the eggs and install them in the forward fuel bunker. We need to be sure the ship has enough power to defend itself until loading is complete.”
“Then should I return for the rest of you, Captain?”
“Negative, Lieutenant. I have other plans for our egress. Head back to the ship as soon as you are ready.”
“Roger, Sir. Departing now.”
Soundlessly, the big shuttle leaped off the rubble, describing a clean backward arc through space. Like an Olympic diver performing a back-flip from a diving platform, the shuttle's attitude was nose down and vertical as it cleanly exited the hole in the station's rim.
“She makes that look so easy.”
“She does indeed, Mr. Taylor. Now let's get a move on with the rest of those storage containers.”
“Sir? What are we to do with them?”
“Tell me, Lieutenant. What would happen if you threw one of those eggs out of the hole in the floor?”
“It would fly off tangent to the rim at 12km/sec, Captain.” As realization dawned a smile crept across JT's face. “Right into space where someone could just pick it up.”
“Precisely,” Jack smiled back. “Have the Marines spread out and form a line from here down to the edge of the hole. The SEALs can toss the eggs down, one at a time, and the Marines pass them to the hole like a bucket brigade. While you get things organized I will call Lt. Danner and arrange for him to catch our plunder.”
“Aye aye, Captain!”
* * * * *
Once the relay line was up and working they were able to toss several eggs a minute out of the jagged hole created by the Captain's bug bomb. One by one, the cache of antimatter eggs disappeared through the hole and out into space.
