by John Walker
We’re going to find out your breaking point soon, Ulian thought. And when we do, we’re going to discover why you didn’t feel like talking. Part of him realized that if the Gnosis encountered this ship, it may well have been destroyed. They did not have the firepower to penetrate these defenses.
He didn’t have time for grim thoughts, putting all his concentration toward the battle instead. Engaging the pilots meant they were in a real skirmish now, one they needed to take quite seriously. The next few minutes might determine whether they were able to complete their mission or needed to withdraw for reinforcements.
Chapter 9
Webber received the warning message from the bridge regarding the second round of invaders. More security was dispatched to help protect engineering, but it didn’t help his confidence. Over twenty combatants entered the Gnosis and if they made a rush for any one department, they would have a good chance to overwhelm the defenses.
The other technicians didn’t know how much danger they were in. One in particular thought an explosion removed the panel from the side of the ship and wanted to go out and put it back in place. Luckily, cameras were down in that section so they couldn’t see how many enemies spilled on board.
My men don’t need to be panicking about this attack. Webber rubbed his eyes and grabbed his second, Lieutenant Tara Gallin. She was a short woman with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. Her disposition tended to be softer than his, making her far more diplomatic. She’d likely be his boss someday, especially since he lost his stomach for military politics.
“What’s up?” Tara asked. “I’m kinda busy, Chief.”
“I get it,” Webber replied, keeping his voice low. “We’ve got a problem. The bridge just told me we’ve got more invaders. Probably more than twenty. Looks like they might be coming our way.”
“Damn it.” Tara sighed. She looked around the room. “I might be able to rig up a surprise for them. We can sneak through the maintenance passages and flank them or something.”
“What’re you thinking?”
Tara shrugged. “Bombs … Some kind of horrifying projectile made from broken parts? We’ve got plenty of stuff lying around that we planned to bring home to recycle. I’m sure they’ll be just as useful when we pull them out of a bunch of idiots who thought it was a good idea to come on board.”
“Horrifying was the right word.” Webber shook his head. “Okay, go ahead but keep the overall situation on the down low. Only tell who you have to. I’m going to work with Thayne to see what he can come up with.”
“I’m on it, sir.” Tara trundled off, grabbing two other technicians before disappearing into the engineering section.
Thayne stood at the hyperdrive terminal, working quickly on some program or another. Webber stood beside him and tried to keep up with his typing but eventually gave up. “What’re you doing with this module?”
“Shielding it from the energy drain,” Thayne replied. “Though I suspect you want me to help with the invaders we have on board.”
“How did you know?”
“I have priority access to communications.” Thayne tapped the side of his head. “I heard about it as soon as it happened.”
“Ah.” Webber nodded. “Then yes, do you have any ideas on how we can keep this place locked down?”
“I do but it depends on how they try to get in.” Thayne looked at the door. “I can put up a magnetic field that will repel projectiles like grenades and such … and we can use it like a shield to avoid beam weapons, too. However, we still have power problems. I’ll need hand batteries to keep it up for long.”
“If you send a grenade back their way, then we might solve the problem,” Webber said. “Imagine their surprise if they toss an explosive and it comes right back at them.”
“If they’re smart and at all cautious, they’ll pick it up on a scanner.” Thayne hummed. “I’ll try my best to mask it. If our people put up a real fight out there though, it might distract the enemy from doing the right thing. In which case, our plan will be fine. Either way, it’ll buy some time for whatever else we’re going to try.”
“Tara’s doing something with the maintenance passages,” Webber said. “That should help. Until then, we need to ensure they can’t get in here.”
“Understood.” Thayne nodded. “I’m on it. Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be over there gathering up as many batteries as I can find. It won’t take long once I’ve got them in place … but it won’t be good for our soldiers either. You might want to get them to move to another position that will allow them to be effective still.”
“I’m on it.” Webber hurried back to his office and contacted the bridge, filling them in on the plan. He hoped they would be able to get their people moved around in time. Considering everything that was happening, coordinating efforts would be difficult. They were all about to learn just how well trained the Gnosis crew had been for a real catastrophe.
***
Heat led the way into the next section of the alien structure. He fought a sense of growing frustration, a feeling of helplessness amidst the strange architecture and lack of direct opposition. If only these beings would show themselves or throw up a threat which could be met directly. Automated defense turrets beat death traps any day.
The corridor from the tile room was just shy of thirty yards and they entered another chamber. This one was much smaller and their lights easily illuminated the walls and low ceiling. They all stopped just inside as the once again the door shut behind them. Luckily, there were no noticeable tiles.
Smooth walls surrounded an open floor plan with another door to the right. As Heat examined the area, a small section of the wall to his left began to move. He aimed his weapon but Cassie touched his arm. “It’s a computer console of some kind,” she said. “Don’t you think, Gil?”
“Yes,” Gil replied. “Perhaps this is our chance to get some answers about this place and the people who live here. Let’s take a look.”
“Be careful,” Vincent said. “Do some scans first … Make sure you’re not going to be electrocuted like in that damn tile room.”
Heat paced the area, taking in their surroundings. He examined the door, really studying it for structural weaknesses. Like the walls it was perfectly smooth and lacked any blemishes. He considered running his hand over the surface but thought better of it. If the stone walls had a strange substance preventing scans, he didn’t want to find out what the doors had going on.
He turned his attention to the ceiling, noting it was exactly the same as the walls. Something must’ve been keeping the place up. There was no way an aged structure could look so flawless after years of neglect. If he was right, then the creatures who lived there might’ve been observing them, watching their actions.
Cheery. Heat shook his head and joined the others at the terminal. They’d finished their initial scans and Gil was already trying to get the thing going. He tapped away at a smooth, black panel and light erupted from a screen. The doctor smiled, his eyes lighting up as he brought the system online.
“Good job,” Vincent said. “How did you do that?”
“This was another culture impacted by Orb technology,” Gil explained. “This means the universal coding from our own Orbs allows one to interface with these types of things on a fundamental level. It quickly seeks out the similarities and gives us a fair comparison. From there, we access their systems. The only challenge becomes security.”
“Which isn’t a problem this time,” Cassie continued. “There doesn’t even appear to be a password here.”
“That should strike you as odd,” Heat said. “Don’t you think?”
Gil shrugged. “We are in a situation where everything is odd, Sergeant. When we plunge into ancient sites, we rarely know what we are getting into. It is unfortunate we were forced to come in here but at least we are progressing. I suspect many have failed to survive the first of the tests.”
“What does that mean?” Gorman asked. “You think people died ba
ck there?”
“They were not let out.” Gil shrugged as he typed. “Their bodies were likely cleaned up by whatever is keeping this place so immaculate.”
Heat grunted. “The thought of finding some room full of skeletons is not doing anything for me at all.”
“At least we’d know where they went?” Cassie offered. Heat glared at her and she held up her hands. “Sorry! Trying to help.”
“Don’t.” Heat shook his head. “Cause you’re not.” He stepped away again, watching the door. “Gorman, keep an eye on the way we came from. Just in case our hosts want to collect our bodies before we’re dead.”
They stood for far too long in Heat’s opinion. Five minutes stretched to ten. He didn’t understand where his companions found their patients. He was practically crawling out of his skin standing in there. He wanted to start trying to find a way through the door, using explosives or something.
But they continued playing with the terminal, working through it as if they had all the time in the world. Heat recognized they understood the urgency but perhaps they truly didn’t have a choice. Things happened in the time required. He only hoped they wouldn’t be in there for an hour.
“Oh, look.” Cassie pointed. “This is in English as well!”
“Amazing,” Gil replied. “I see it in Pahxin.”
“See,” Heat said, “that’s just creepy! What’s it say?”
Cassie replied, “It’s information about the people who occupied this planet. It’s sort of a historical record of their experiments into higher cognitive abilities.”
Gorman lifted a hand. “Aren’t those just things like … answering a com or pulling a trigger? Everything we do is a cognitive ability, isn’t it?”
“They’re referring to things like ESP,” Cassie said, “but on a grand scale. We’ve seen things like telekinesis on Earth but they’re talking about it being a way of life here. Like … everyone could do it.”
“Our people,” Gil added, “have probed the possibilities of this but we have never been able to prove it. Nor have we particularly shown an aptitude for it. These people must have been naturally gifted to go this far. Once they broke through from the experimental phase into commonplace usage, their lives would have changed dramatically.”
“Why?” Heat asked. “Sounds like just another tool to me. Something new that people can do.”
Vincent said, “Think about it. Suddenly, your neighbor can read your mind. You don’t have to get off your lazy ass to get your tablet and that’s just two examples. Psychic abilities taken to this level change cultures. Most of our theories revolve around a small subset of the population evolving to that state but this sounds like the entire civilization did it.”
“If we dig,” Cassie said, “we’ll probably find there were those who couldn’t learn how to do it or didn’t take to the process. They might’ve died off … or been killed even.”
“Did you find anything about why we’re here?” Gorman asked. “Anything that might explain what happened to the other ships?”
Gil shook his head. “Not yet. I am still digging. These people are fascinating though. They have made strides I cannot even imagine in this field. I am referring to things such as memory transference too. That is to say, their education system allowed them to implant topics directly into the mind of a student through psychic connection.”
“Sounds like a movie,” Heat muttered.
“That’s a logical step,” Cassie said. “Tap that … They’re calling out birthing records. Note that they declined steadily until they practically had no more pregnancies. I’m guessing here, but it may be that they started living in their imaginations. The physical side of their bodies likely lost appeal. They were no longer interested in the pleasures of the flesh.”
“The drive for procreation died.” Gil rubbed his chin then snapped his fingers. “Probably because they found a way to extend their lives. Beyond the body.”
“What the hell?” Heat scoffed. “What are you even saying?”
“Transferring their memories,” Vincent said. “If they figured out how to do that between one another, what would it take to go the next step? Put memories into say … a computer? Or some kind of bioengineered device? It would be a form of immortality. Creepy, unethical I’m sure, but it sounds possible if you accept all this.”
“You are correct.” Gil tapped at the device. “I am downloading this data into my tablet now. These people may have found the secret to immortality but not as most sentient beings would like. Most of us want to be as we are forever without the threat of death or wasting away. The compromise, to remain a consciousness, is very possible.”
“How long can you possibly live in your own head?” Gorman shook his head. “It would drive someone crazy.”
“Maybe,” Cassie replied. “But if they evolved to that state, then it wouldn’t be strange for them. It would simply be how they were. Think about it. You don’t yearn for the days when you didn’t have a thumb.”
Heat smirked at the comparison. “She’s got you there.”
The door opened on the opposite side of the room, admitting them to the next chamber. Gil took a step forward, leaving his tablet to continue downloading. “It appears we must have discovered whatever we were meant to learn here. They are admitting us to the next layer of the puzzle.”
“I love being led,” Heat said. “You ready to see what’s next on the crazy menu?”
“Give the tablet another moment,” Gil replied. “And we can get to the heart of this culture … and hopefully discover what happened to them, leaving this place vacant.”
Vincent shook his head. “They may not be visible … but I’m not entirely convinced we’re alone.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Cassie said. “Looks like the download is complete. Come on. The Gnosis doesn’t have a lot of time left and if we’ve only scratched the surface, we’re going to have to pick up the pace in a major way.”
***
Desmond double checked the report he received, indicating that only twelve of the intruders moved on engineering. Two died during their assault but that left six unaccounted for. Were they dividing their forces in hopes they might take a different department? Which would they care about?
The bridge. Attacking the hub of the entire ship made sense. They’d gain access to several systems but more importantly, they had a chance to capture or kill the highest ranking officers aboard. The gamble seemed worth the effort to divide their forces. Each of the mercenaries came heavily armed and would be tough to repel if they got close.
But the elevator’s locked down. Desmond scowled in thought, puzzling through how the attackers might still find a way inside. They could likely hack their way in if they were particularly good with computers but it would take time. As soon as they start tampering, we could send for reinforcements.
“Salina, divert security personnel to the bridge elevator,” Desmond said. “Get them here now.”
“You don’t think …” Zach stopped abruptly. “You know, they don’t even need to get the elevator working. They could make their way up the shaft with the emergency ladders. Even so, they’d have to breach the door and we’d be able to blast away. Trying to take this room would be a suicidal move.”
“I’m not putting it past them,” Desmond replied. “Besides, if they get engineering, they’ll be in the perfect position to hold the rest of the ship if they take us out next. Maybe they just want to be ready for that. I’m sure they believe they’re going to take the ship in the next twenty minutes.”
“Do you agree?” Deacon asked.
Desmond shook his head. “Not at all. First, because Webber’s a maniac and he’ll be damned before anyone takes his department. Second, the marines are closing in behind them and they can’t possibly stand against the power armor. And finally, our people are pretty clever. None of them are going to give up their home without a real fight.”
“Our security personnel is almost here,” Salina sa
id. “They should be ready to hold off the attackers.”
“Okay. Now everyone simply has to hold their positions and start finishing these guys off.” Desmond leaned forward, peering at the screen. Outside appeared particularly tranquil. The fighters drove off what few ground forces were still lingering about. “They have finite resources so we should have the advantage … for now.”
***
Lieutenant Sandra Berg wanted to employ her medical degree for something special, something useful. When she joined the Gnosis project, she thought she’d be worrying about mild injuries and studying the environmental effects of space travel on the crew. She never imagined they would enter combat.
So when she and a small medical team were dispatched to retrieve the downed marine lieutenant on the hull of the ship, she began questioning her life decisions.
Sandra wore a backpack of medical supplies and a pistol strapped to her hip. The weapon felt alien to her and though her military training included a weapons course, she only visited the shooting range when she had to pass her fitness tests. That included exactly two trips to fire a weapon.
The two young men who accompanied her were medics from the military. They weren’t doctors, but soldiers first. Technically, she should’ve let them lead the way but she felt compelled to take point as they said. They were enlisted and though they’d seen combat before, it had been years.
Working in the medical bay likely dulled their skills.
Sergeant Jon Dorland was a muscular fellow with a bald head and craggy face. He was only thirty years old but hard twenties aged him. Sandra brought him along in case they needed to take the lieutenant out of the heavy power armor the marines favored. She couldn’t lift the chest piece nor could she use the tool to disconnect it.
Sergeant Willis Montgomery was much thinner but knew battlefield triage. He’d acted as a corpsman and attended further training before joining the Gnosis. Depending on what they found, he might be better suited to provide emergency services for the lieutenant. Sandra half wondered why she even went when he was available.
