The Admiral rapped the table for silence when Harry’s explanation provoked an angry murmur among the group. “Thank you for your report, Lieutenant Heron. I think we may be certain that these ships are home to an invasive and predatory race. I plan to keep Beagle close and provide a constant defensive patrol while the ground teams gather as much data as they can. Then we will have to find a way to deal with the threat.”
The discussion turned to weapons, deployments, and patrols, and the means for detecting the Niburu ships.
When that topic had been exhausted, the Admiral drew the briefing to a close. “Very well, gentlemen, ladies, I think we have everything we are likely to get at this point. We know we must avoid any attempt to plant one of these barnacles, for want of a better word, on our ships. In any contact situation, we must avoid these warrior creatures, but we have no real knowledge of the weapons they can deploy. From the record we have of the interior of that ship, we can assume that there are far more workers than warriors, though that could be misleading. They may have deliberately allowed Heron’s team to see more workers than warriors to mask the full power of their fighting force.”
“What do we know of the weaponry they have, sir?” The questioner was a Lieutenant Commander from one of the cruisers.
The Admiral paused. “Based on the examination of the craters, the damage to structures and the ship found by the Beagle, we must assume that these aliens have some extremely powerful weaponry. The scientists advise me that the most likely is an intense, directed microwave beam, or something that closely approximates one. It appears similar to our own primary particle beam weapon, but is probably more powerful. To deal with that we will need to develop a strategy that allows us to concentrate our fire if and when it becomes necessary to do so.” His gaze swept the room. “We do have the advantage of having three ships equipped with a PBW, and I have clearance to deploy it if all other options are exhausted. I will be talking to each of you to exchange ideas in the coming days. Thank you.”
The Admiral glanced at Harry and smiled. “See me in my quarters before you return to your ship, Harry.”
Chapter 17
Face to Face with a Nightmare
Once he was on the Beagle again, Harry had a great deal to consider. The Admiral had been his usual warm and considerate self, even inviting Danny to join them for a brief reunion, but duty had pressed on them all, and he had found himself boarding the shuttle to return all too soon.
“Harry, can you come to the med centre, please? I know you’re due on watch in a couple of hours, but I need to get some feedback from Anton Du Bois.” Surgeon-Lieutenant Rubin Bar Jonas’ voice cut into his thoughts.
“Certainly, Rubin, I’m on my way,” Harry said congenially, but he grimaced at the prospect. Du Bois was almost pathetically grateful whenever he saw Harry enter the medical centre. He knew it helped to talk about the terror of his ordeal and his fear for the future, but it left Harry feeling drained.
When Harry arrived at the medical centre, he consulted with the Surgeon Commander just leaving the patient. “Has Dr. Palmer been to see Du Bois?” he asked.
“No.” There was a pause. “He asked for a medical report soon after you fellows brought Du Bois back, but he hasn’t mentioned it since, and hasn’t come down here.”
Harry grimaced. “That is not surprising, considering Palmer’s attitude. How is the patient today? Is he still troubled by flashback memories of his frightening encounter?”
“He seems to be a bit better,” Rubin said. “I think we may have found something that works. You may visit the patient at his med-unit now.”
“Thank you,” said Harry, and he stepped into the adjoining room where DuBois lay in a med-unit watching with wild eyes full of anguish as Harry approached.
Harry listened carefully to the AI as it tried to establish the communication he needed.
“Hello? Hello? Mr. Heron? Harry, can you hear me?” Anton Du Bois sounded desperate.
“Good morning, Anton. Yes, we seem to have the link working now. You wanted to speak to me?”
“Oh, thank God. Harry, I’m really sorry. I really was only trying to make contact with the Niburu. I don’t understand why they attacked me—Dr. Palmer was sure they wouldn’t.”
“Yes, so you told me the last time, Anton, and there’s no need to keep apologising. What happened happened. I assure you, I have no ruthless intentions. Harry hesitated, a question forming in his mind. “Who tells you these things? Do you not read the reports published by the Fleet for confirmation?”
He could feel the confusion in the man’s head. “We were told those reports were falsified, and the Fleet was covering up the truth, so to answer your question, no, I have not read any reports.”
“But you’ve worked with me now for almost nine months. Surely you can see that I am not such a desperate savage.” Despite himself, Harry chuckled. “Or am I so aloof and unapproachable that my good character hasn’t been evident?”
“No, it’s not that at all.” There was the feeling of confusion again. “You’re nothing like what I expected. But we were warned to be wary of you. We were told that someone like you is very good at concealing his true intentions, and what you did to Yan’s interface when he tried to access …”
Harry was glad he had the ship listening to this and displaying the conversation on a screen that Rubin was monitoring. He heard the surgeon’s snort of anger and was somewhat amused by it, but he returned to the purpose of the trial. “Anton, I think that is something you will have to work through. I will ask only this at present: Would someone as callous and vicious as I am reputed to be have undertaken this effort to make contact with you?” He let it sink in. “Now, the good news is that Surgeon Lieutenant Bar Jonas thinks we may have an antidote, but for him to know what is happening within your body, he needs to communicate directly.”
“I can hear him when he speaks, but I can’t speak. How can I do it?”
“We think we have a solution. The ship is the link between you and me. It is listening as we speak, and I have asked it to display our conversation on Rubin’s screen.” He glanced over his shoulder. “It seems to be working. Let’s try it out. Say hello to Rubin the same way that you are speaking to me.”
Slowly, hesitantly, he saw the words form on the screen as he heard them through the AI.
“Hello. Are you there, Doctor?”
“Hi, Anton, yes, I can see your greeting. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, yes. I can hear you just great. Harry says you have an antidote.” The words raced across the screen.
“I think we might have. It’s pretty radical, but I hope it will work.” Rubin nodded to Harry. “We’ve isolated the poisonous agent the Niburu injected into your body. It’s quite a complex toxin, and we haven’t fully unravelled it yet. Thanks to something Harry said a little while ago, I’ve been working with Dr. Borner’s team on what we hope may be a counter agent. I’m going to give you a small dose. I want you to tell me what you feel when it’s administered.”
“Thank you. I’ll try, but you should know that I can feel everything at present—I just can’t move any part of my body.”
The surgeon nodded. “Yes, we thought that might be the case. Now, when the med-unit begins to dose you, you may feel a tingling sensation in your arms and legs. Tell me when you do.”
Quietly Harry listened to the tumbling thoughts in the other man’s head. He hid a grin. If this was what he sounded like to the ship’s AI, it was a wonder it could make any sense of his thoughts at all.
“It is sometimes difficult, Harry.”
He jumped. “Beagle, you startled me,” he said to the ship in his thoughts. “Are you listening to all of this?”
“Of course. It is fascinating, and if I didn’t listen, how should I display your friend’s words? It would be much easier, you know, just to use my voice command units and let the doctor hear him.”
Harry blinked. He had not even considered that, instead adopting the solution s
uggested by Rubin to have the ship display everything on a screen. “Wait a moment. Let’s ask Rubin if he’d prefer that.”
He signalled his companion. “Rubin, Beagle suggests letting you hear Anton through his audio units. Would that be easier for you both?”
The surgeon stared at him. “You mean we can do that? Yes. Yes, that would be much easier.”
“Hear that, Beagle?” Harry said aloud for the surgeon’s benefit.
“I did.” There was a fraction of a second’s hesitation then, “Audio engaged.”
“Okay, let’s see if this works. Anton, describe what you’re feeling please.”
“I feel...” There was a pause. “Can you hear me? Am I speaking?”
“Between Harry and the ship, you’ve been given a voice. You’re on the ship’s audio command emitters.”
“It was Beagle’s idea.” Harry grinned. “I can see Rubin is now going to have loads of fun. Anton, I’m sorry, but I have to leave. I’m on watch soon and need some rest. I’ll drop by again when I have a chance. Don’t let Rubin bore you now. He’ll probably talk your ear off for a solid hour now that he knows he has a captive audience!” He ducked the stylus flung in his direction and headed for the door, followed by a cheerful threat from Rubin to repay him.
“Captain, I have reports of more of these Niburu ships being sighted, some quite close to inhabited systems. We need your scientists to pull out all the stops on their study of Galapagos K-4. I need some answers or at least some ideas of what weaponry these people use, and what we will face if we have to stop them.”
Wolf Kretzmann grimaced. “It’s like herding cats at the moment, Admiral. None of them wants to commit to anything more than we’ve already got. The best guess is that some sort of directed beam weapon caused the crater, possibly a particle accelerator type but with something extra.”
“We may not be able to remain here much longer. Get them to focus on finding some solutions.” The Admiral paused. “So far, the most useful analysis has come from you and Paul Greenway. What about the DNA? Is there anything from that data plant the Siddhiche made?”
“Quite a bit, but again, it raises more questions than answers. We need to capture one of them, or at least get some of their DNA material so that we can see exactly what it all means. The biology team have done everything they can with what they have to work with. There was some material from the cocoon, but it doesn’t match the data the Siddhiche gave us.”
“Very well. We’ll stay as long as we can, but I’m expecting a recall soon. I notice the Siddhiche are still hovering, and if they are worried, we should be too.” The Admiral leaned back. “The LPSL are raising merry hell back home. They are on every news channel spouting nonsense that we provoked the attacks, and the story has gone viral. I’ve sent the video recordings of the attack on your survey craft and of the attack on Du Bois. The latest talking head is some expert they’ve hired who is pontificating about Harry. His line is that Harry is confused because he was traumatised by his experience on the Spartan back in eighteen whatever, and was seriously affected by being shot forward to the present. According to him, Harry needs to be shut away and not allowed anywhere near alien races, people of colour, or anything lethal.”
“The bastards. I hope Fleet are doing something about it.”
Admiral Heron smiled. “Yes, but my sister and brother-in-law are out for his hide. He won’t survive the lawsuit they’re preparing, nor will key elements of the LPSL, if I know Theo. This is going to get very ugly. Just try to keep Harry out of any confrontations with the LPSL people you’ve got aboard for the moment, please.”
“With pleasure.” Wolf Kretzmann hesitated. “I think I might have something that will blow a hole in their slurs against Harry. Let me talk to the Surgeon Lieutenant. Harry has been helping him treat that chap Du Bois who was stung by a Niburu warrior. Everything is on video from the med centre, including the conversation between Harry and Du Bois. I believe it’s quite revealing.”
“As long as it isn’t a breach of medical trust, use it. I’ll mention it to Theo L’Estrange. Thanks for the heads-up.”
“You should know that Palmer was supposed to go aboard the alien ship with Harry, but he backed out and sent Du Bois, apparently with instructions to pull some sort of stunt. He hasn’t been anywhere near the victim since his return, and he hasn’t done more than ask for a medical report once. Harry, on the other hand, has visited the centre regularly and helped the man cope with his traumatic memories.”
The Admiral nodded. “Typical of Harry. He’s a good man despite the bad press. Okay, let’s keep the scientists at it. I need some answers—soon.” He paused. “Have they got an antidote yet?”
“No. They thought they might have found one, but it had no affect at all. The Niburu poison is more potent than anything we’ve ever encountered.”
Mary read the letter from Harry and shuddered at the description of the Niburu ship and its horrifying inhabitants. She exhaled and said, “Harry, my dearest, I do wish you wouldn’t get yourself involved in these dangerous adventures.”
“Your instruction is not understood, madam,” replied the android steward.
Surprised, Mary stared at it for a moment. “Oh—I wasn’t—I was thinking aloud. Perhaps you could bring me some tea, please.”
“As you wish, madam.” The android bowed and left the room.
Mary smiled, remembering Harry’s description of his initial reaction to these robotic assistants the first time he saw one onboard the Vanguard in his sleeping quarters. She picked up Harry’s letter again and reread it. It shed some light on the possible reason her tour was being rearranged. Her manager had said it was due to a perceived threat to some of the worlds she was to visit, but he had not known any details beyond that. Based on what Harry had revealed in his letter, she suspected she knew more than her manager did about this threat.
“Your tea, madam.” The mechanical voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Thank you—oh, and one more thing. Please book a call to Mrs. L’Estrange for me.”
“I hear your doctor is making slow progress finding a cure for Anton.” Roberta watched Harry over the rim of her cup. They were enjoying a fifteen-minute break in the local base canteen.
“I believe so. He has identified the poison, I understand, and they are working on an antidote. The first they tried failed.”
“I also heard he’s able to talk to him.” Roberta grinned. “I suppose you had nothing to do with that.”
Harry laughed. “A little—I helped him find a way to use a link with the ship. I understand it works quite well.” He turned as the door opened and a newcomer joined them. His uniform signified that he was a member of the environment team.
Helping himself to a cup of coffee, the man said, “We’ve got some fresh tracks on the outskirts of the city at the building we’re working on. Never seen anything like them before.”
“Oh? Perhaps some of the larger life forms survived after all,” said a member of the zoological team. “But where could they have been hiding? Where are these tracks?”
“I’ll show you, if you’d like.”
“I think I’ll accompany you.” Harry got out of his seat, his curiosity piqued. For some reason he felt extremely uneasy about this. “Is it a single creature or several?”
“Difficult to tell. To be honest, it could be several—or one with a lot of legs.” The others laughed, but Harry felt a growing concern.
“What’s this? You’ve found fresh tracks?” Dr. Palmer interrupted, having caught the tail end of the conversation as he emerged from the washroom. He glared at Harry. “I had better come along to make sure no one interferes with the creature that made them.”
The party studied the tracks in the soft soil. There was no doubt they were fresh, or that they had been made by a very large creature, and possibly more than one, judging by the number of footprints. Something about the shape of them stirred his memory, and he felt a chill down his spine. The hair on the n
ape of his neck prickled as he keyed his link.
“Ground control. Sound an immediate recall. Emergency withdrawal—everyone to the shuttles right now.”
“Recall going out,” Kallie Oosthuizen responded. Then, ever the voice of caution, he added, “What for, Harry?”
“We’ve found fresh tracks. I think there’s a Niburu scouting party. The footprints are the shape of the ones we encountered on that ship.”
“Nonsense!” Dr. Palmer expostulated, pushing past Harry to peer at the strange tracks. “You can’t be serious. No one here but you has seen these creatures. You’re displaying a clear case of paranoia, young man.” He turned triumphantly to the others. “This is exactly what Dr. Stolt has been talking about at home.” He gave Harry a falsely sympathetic glance, but his tone was patronising. “It’s a great shame, but the trauma of your childhood on that ship and the stress of adjusting to our society have reinforced your paranoia. Now you see an enemy in everything you don’t understand. Proof is, of course, in these mysterious voices you keep hearing, your so-called Siddhiche.” He smirked. “I don’t know how you pulled that stunt in the conference room. It was impressive, I’ll give you that, but unconvincing when examined rationally.”
Harry was stunned. He couldn’t believe his ears, and for a moment, he was utterly speechless at this unprovoked smear on his reputation. Obviously, nothing would deflate this man’s absolute certainty in his own infallibility.
Roberta Klonowski spoke first. “Bullsh—” She cut off the expletive when she caught Harry’s glance. “I have never heard so much absolute trash about anything from a supposed scientist. I’ve heard of Stolt. How much money was he paid to read your script? He’s no damned expert. He’s a fraud and a charlatan, like you.”
Sci’antha materialised behind the red-faced doctor. Before he could speak, she hissed, “Lieutenant Heron is right, but if you do not believe him, remain here and see for yourself. The creatures return.”
Awakening Threat Page 16
