SODIUM:6 Defiance

by Arseneault, Stephen

  A one meter tall treaded robot entered the hall in front of us with lights flashing in a threatening manner. A gravity pulse from Hershen brought its intimidating move to an abrupt end. Next, two more entered the hall and this time green bolts of power swept down the sides of the hall towards our position.

  We blinked out and stepped through the wall beside us as the bolts approached. We then used our BHD gloves to thrust through several more rooms before coming out in the hallway behind our foe. Two quick gravity pulses once again cleared the hall of any menace.

  As we continued our sprint a much larger bot materialized in front of us. This time our gravity pulses were met with an orange glow as they were absorbed by whatever defensive shielding this larger bot had at its disposal. A return pulse was fired nearly overwhelming our active skins. We again blinked out and moved through the wall to our left.

  Once through, we were immediately confronted by another large bot and an unknown field rose up around us before we could flee. Our BHD glove would not cut through it. An attempted shot from our pulse guns was absorbed leaving us with the inevitable conclusion... we had once again been captured.

  I tried in vain to contact the others, but the field surrounding us blocked our QE signal. Before boarding the vessel I had given instruction to our team commander to return to the ship and place the shields on full if we were in any way taken out of contact. I could only hope he and the others had followed my orders.

  The only signal coming through the field was a comm channel from the alien bot. I set my helmet computer to translate my words into the words of our captor. The bot revealed that we were being held for safety and security reasons and that our patience would be appreciated. I then asked it where their people were. It took a moment to respond. They had passed into an unknown field 1,234,455 Geks ago. The ship was awaiting their return. My helmet computer quickly displayed the number of Geks being the equivalent of almost 3,200 Earth years.

  After answering a series of questions the alien bot determined that we were not a threat to its masters. The captive field holding us in place was soon released. We were then escorted to a lower deck where non-Mundari visitors belonged. There was no record of our request to board in the ships logs so we would therefore be held until such time as our request cleared. In the meantime we would be allowed all the comforts of a standard guest.

  We were given free run of all the rooms on the deck we were now on. The captive field now surrounded the deck until such time as our request was cleared. I asked if we could return to our ship and depart to which the bot responded that it did not have the authority to make that decision.

  I then asked the bot if there was any further information available on filing a request to board, or of the Mundari themselves. A holo-screen popped up in front of me with a request for questions. The ships computer would be happy to answer any questions that it was allowed to give information on.

  We were soon re-united with the others from our team. They had not made it back aboard the Saxon. Only Tom Harris remained on our ship. We assembled in the lounge we had previously visited and 18 holo-screens were brought online for our individual questions. I asked for the location of the Mundari home world and was quickly told that information was not eligible for release. I next asked what the ship we were aboard was for and received a response that it was an Adventure Craft of the Jessian people, the planet below us was named DaCuban, the ship was on an adventure.

  I asked who the Jessian people were as related to the Mundari. I was next shown a diagram of the 34 star systems in the Mundari Effort. The Effort was an equivalent to our word "empire". The Jessians were the third largest population with 46 billion citizens inhabiting their three star systems.

  I asked if the Mundari had enemies to which the computer took a moment to respond. When the response screen appeared I reacted by stepping back. There was no known image of the alien beings known as the Ogle, but their ship was the same red color and shape as the one that had destroyed Hale and the Borten worlds.

  I called the rest of the team over to show them my discovery. When they assembled around me I asked the alien computer for any information it had on the Ogle. It responded that the Ogle had destroyed several lesser planets that had good trade relation with the Mundari and that one allied planet had been attacked by the Ogle before their ship was driven back.

  The alien computer then posted a message before my next question was asked. The annihilation of the Frekkin and the Borten worlds was being added to the data on the Ogle, the data had been stripped from a scan of our science vessel's computer. Those worlds had no relation or contact with the Mundari but the locations would be logged.

  I then asked if the Mundari knew of the planet from which we had come. The response came back that all the information from our ships computer was in transit to the Mundari capital planet of Langrel. I asked to fill out the visitor request form and it quickly appeared on the screen in front of me. The computer assisted in answering the questions and my request was soon logged.

  I pushed for an estimated response time to my request to which I was told approximately 37 Geks which was the equivalent of 39 Earth days. My repeated questions as to the means of the Mundari communications transfers went unanswered as did many of the questions during our captivity.

  I wondered if the Mundari would have interest in an alliance with the AMP. If they were able to drive off an Ogle ship their defenses were much stronger than ours. But we knew little of the Mundari and their culture. Were they overlords like the Frekkin? Were they evil like the Ogle? Would they demand subjugation for offering protection? These were all questions we did not have the answers to. I was no longer the Supreme Commander of the AMP, but I reasoned that perhaps I could be of service as its ambassador.

  Chapter 2

  The mammoth red ship of the Ogle appeared off Toleda on a Friday. They sat quietly observing the planet for hours before deploying the CME cylinders. Our forces were ready with our new Starburst modules. Two modules were launched from a protected position behind Rho Puppis, the former Kurtz sun.

  The Starbursts activated just before coming in range of the Ogle particle weapons. The black holes on the outer surface were effective at stopping the Ogle weapon. The first Starburst reached its target and released the dozen Drillers waiting inside it. The cylinders were soon being hollowed out bringing the CME threat to an end.

  The Ogle ship then released two more cylinders for which the response was the same. Minutes after being deployed the new cylinders were again useless. The captain of the cruiser Knoxville turned and jumped to light speed after firing the second set of Starburst modules. The mammoth red ship searched, but found nothing beyond Rho Puppis when it moved to counter whatever was destroying its solar weapon.

  Again, using the cover of Rho Puppis an assault was launched with 500 Starbursts carrying 1,000 Marines each. The strategy was to enable the Starburst system just as the red ship returned to the other side of the sun, facing Toleda. With the proper timing it was hoped that the 500,000 Marines would make it aboard the red ship. It was a risk of 500,000 lives that I would not have taken. But the new commanders were bold and had pushed the strategy forward.

  We soon got a look inside the mammoth ship and a first look at an Ogle. The Ogle had a dark Gray skin with molting black fur and piercing yellow eyes. Their four sturdy legs supported an upright upper torso with two strong arms and a cat-like face. The Marines wasted no time turning the first few they encountered into dead piles of flesh.

  The Ogle were agile and quite fast. Their hand-held particle weapon was at first ineffective against our BGS suits but fine tuning soon turned them deadly. The Marines were quickly pinned into the areas where they had landed. The Ogle were relentless in the defense of their ship.

  As the assault raged the Ogle soon deployed two more cylinders. This time the Knoxville was not in position to counter their move. The cylinders soon entered the corona of Rho Puppis, disappearing into its yellow glow. The Marine
s continued their fight, but made no progress despite their repeated attempts at breaking out. Before reinforcements could be sent and before our troops could be withdrawn the mammoth red ship vanished. The QE comm links with our troops were quickly broken.

  Two days later the huge coronal mass ejection reached the unstable world of Toleda. The plasma waves quickly peeled off the atmosphere and scorched everything deep down into the crust of the planet. Toleda joined the other fallen planets as just another carbon covered sphere.

  Plans were soon put in place to evacuate and abandon Alvin. Some citizens rioted and refused to leave that which they had worked so hard for. In keeping with the freedoms of Human tradition... they were allowed to stay. Others fought over the first available ships. On Earth, long term housing was being constructed for the expected extended stay. All newly explored habitable worlds were not as yet ready to be colonized.

  We had waited patiently for 37 Geks for the Visitor Request to return from Langrel. When that time arrived we were delivered a message that said visitors would be arriving to evaluate our case within a few days. We took the extra time to continue our study of the information that was available on the Mundari Effort. All signs pointed to an empire that could be reasoned with.

  The Mundari also had a hierarchical system of governance in place. It seemed the Human race was the only one that had any success with democracy, although, when at a state of war, that democracy was often set aside. We had been at war for decades.

  The Nickarians were the ruling Mundari party on Langrel with 67 billion citizens in 12 planetary systems. They were followed by the Giddens and Jessians, each who controlled five star systems, and the eight other species occupied the remaining systems. The total citizen count was 137 billion strong.

  The Mundari had been at war with the Ogle for thousands of years. The Ogle were suspected in the disappearance of the 12,042 vacationing Jessians, but there was no real evidence that it was by their hand. We had garnered the information from news feeds that had continued to stream to the ship. The adventure company that ran the excursion had run out of money before the ship could be retrieved.

  By the time the case had worked through the Mundari courts the remaining ship was deemed not worth the salvage effort as the salvage had too many claims against it for a profit to be turned. So, here the Blake Adventure had sat for the 3,200 years since the incident. Normally, everything aboard the ship was recorded but there was a five day gap in the data centered around the time of the vanishing. Other than the detection of a strange field outside the Blake Adventure a month before the incident, there was no trail of data to follow.

  When the Mundari ship arrived we were greeted by a Gidden Ambassador, his aid and 20 Jessian Bull Troopers. The Giddens had long thin legs and arms, a short torso and then a long thin neck that led to a wide flat head. As I extended my hand in a welcoming gesture the aid's neck drew quickly into his torso making his head sit down firmly on his shoulders. I withdrew my hand and slightly bowed my head in apology.

  At the same time two of the Jessian Bull Troopers stepped up. At three meters tall and with proportions similar to Humans they were intimidating. Their craggy faces displayed stern looks through their partial helmets that covered their temples and the bridge of their nose. I raised the open palms of my hands slowly as I took a step back.

  The Ambassador then spoke, our helmet translators did the work. He asked why we had boarded the vessel without permission. I explained that we were on an exploratory mission when we came across the Blake Adventure. With no response from anyone on-board we had taken the effort to check the ship for anyone in need.

  The Ambassador then reminded me that they had the complete ships logs from our arrival and that I should not respond if I only had half-truths to reply with. The Giddens were not easily fooled. I offered another response to his still inquisitive gaze. We were exploring the galaxy in an attempt to find other habitable planets and to perhaps find a method of defense for our own planet. Defense from the beings they called the Ogle.

  The hairs on the Ambassador's neck and shoulders bristled with the mention of the name. I then got an alert that a small ship was approaching the Saxon. I texted a command that the ships shields go to full and in an instant it vanished from their view. All sensors had been shut down effectively making the vessel undetectable. One of the guards leaned in to the Ambassador and whispered the information into what I could only guess was his ear.

  The Ambassador again looked at me, this time shaking his head in approval. He said that he was not alarmed by our defensive gesture as it was a move that he would expect from any species; even one as primitive as ours. He then began to quiz us on the abilities of our Black Hole Drives. He was curious as to how we had stumbled onto the implementation we had.

  I told him that I did not have the authority to offer that information freely. I then added that the AMP might be willing to share technologies if a friendly alliance were set up. We had the mutual enemy of the Ogle and perhaps with the assistance of the Mundari the AMP could push them back too.

  The Ambassador tilted his head slightly and replied as he turned back towards his aid. He stated that the Mundari were fully capable of dealing with the Ogle as they had done for so many millennia. What could a primitive empire such as the AMP possibly have to offer that would have the Mundari even beginning to consider our request.

  I reminded the Ambassador that we had faster than light travel, perhaps faster than his. We had defenses, such as what he had just witnessed with the Saxon disappearing. And, we had a myriad of other technologies that had been developed by our scientists; scientists with a different evolutionary path than his own.

  The Ambassador again turned to the other Gidden and spoke softly in a language that seemed like gibberish. When he returned his gaze he had a slight smile on his broad mouth. He spoke in the Mundari language and said that my request would be forwarded for consideration. The Ambassador then turned for the door and with his entourage headed to the elevator and a higher floor. Two of the Jessian Bull Troopers were left behind in our company.

  I offered for the troopers to sit as I discussed things with my science team. After looking around the room one sat in a chair that was obviously made for someone of his size. With his gaze focused on us he sat down too close to the chairs edge and he was soon sprawled out on the floor. The other trooper let out a sound that I could only guess was a snicker as the first scrambled back to his feet. If the Jessians were a race that had a sense of humor I knew that they could be reasoned with. With his embarrassment complete, the trooper moved over to lean against a wall.

  I sat at a table with Hershen and the scientists and began a discussion. One of the team then asked if we should be discussing things in front of the Jessian guards. I sent a secure message over our QE comms that we needed to keep up an appearance of not being hostile. We could openly discuss anything related to the ship we were on or our mission to explore. In the background we would discuss our situation with texts. All agreed and a stealth discussion was soon underway.

  I wanted thoughts on a plan for our escape. We were in need of a way to get back to our ship and then to get our ship out of range of whatever field was being used to hold it in place. We had carried on our stealth discussion for hours when the Jessian guards quickly rushed for the door. I followed and watched as they boarded an elevator to the higher decks.

  I turned back to my team for answers and received nothing but blank stares. Hershen then suggested that I turn the Saxon's sensors back on as we could be having other visitors. He was right.

  When the video sensors came online an immediate warning blared in my comm. A ship of unknown origin was parked just off the bow of the Blake Adventure. We watched as a small transport made its way back towards the Mundari Ambassador's ship. The transport was pulled into a tractor beam while the Ambassador's vessel had a bright blue particle beam slice through its shields.

  I checked the status of the static field surrounding our dec
k and was dismayed that it was still intact. The same field still remained around the Saxon. We were trapped with no way out. I had the team turn its effort back towards the attacker to gather any knowledge that we could.

  We tapped into the Blake Adventure's video system and had our first viewing of the invaders. I was taken aback when a squad of Por Hollis soldiers came into view. Their short stocky maroon bodies were easily recognized. After the second and third squad passed the video sensor a heavily guarded Frekkin stepped down the hallway. A small hovering robot projected a shield in front as the Frekkin commander walked.

  A fire-fight ensued with the ships robotic defenses coming online. The Frekkin commander was soon barking angry orders as the section of the ship he was in was surrounded by a static field. Minutes later a control room explosion brought the static field to an end. The invaders continued their advance down the long hallways that connected each of the round modules of the Blake Adventure.

  One of the holo-screens in the room we occupied came to life with the Gidden Ambassador and his aid. They had worried looks on their faces. The Ambasador questioned what we knew of the invaders. I told him we only knew "of" them and that we had been at war with their empire for many Geks.

  He then requested our assistance and held out the possibility of our cooperation going a long way towards starting a friendly relationship with the Mundari. He stated that he would release the static field holding us and our ship if we were to offer assistance. I replied that we would.

  When the static field vanished I gave immediate orders to return to the Saxon. Our suits were set on high and a micro-burst from our BHDs had us quickly moving. As soon as we blinked in on the Saxon the static field surrounding it returned. A message from the Ambassadors soon flashed up on the comm screen.