“Is there any reason you can think of why they would want this?” Nina asked her. “Anything that they might think is valuable? I'm sorry that I keep asking this, but it could be important.”
Lauren inhaled. “I don't know. But I might have a few ideas.”
“It's somewhere to start, at least. IVIN, when you switch on the artificial gravity could you also activate the galley AI? Have it make coffee.”
“Would you like a doily with that?”
“I'll pass on that, thank you. On the snark as well.”
“As you wish.”
Nina felt the artificial gravity activate and undid her restraints. “We can discuss this further in my quarters. And we might be there for a while.”
Somehow they needed to get to the bottom of this.
KEI WATCHED THEM GO, then exhaled after they had exited the bridge. They had never been in any real danger, but he still felt a bit of tension in his body. The prospect of battle always brought that on.
“So that was your first taste of a space battle aboard the Starlight,” Soko said. “What did you think?”
He frowned. “When we went after them with just plasma cannons and not the mass drivers or the missile system. How much of the ship's firepower did we actually use?”
Soko leaned back in his chair. “Hm, interesting question. I would have to guess that it was about a quarter, maybe less. That's because missiles tend to be more powerful, of course. Same with the mass drivers.”
“Still...”
“Don't be so surprised about it. Appearances can be deceiving. That's the point. We may look like some vulnerable yacht to a bunch of pirates, but inside we're very different. We have a ton of firepower. Probably equal to that of a light cruiser.”
“Seriously?”
“I'd say a little bit more,” Cheryl added. “It's hard to classify us because we're so unique, but the Starlight has a huge number of fusion reactors for a ship this size. Part of that is because of IVIN and all the automation he can cover.”
“I'm glad that I can be of service,” IVIN said. His monotone voice made it difficult to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
“So the extra power helps with the shields as well as the weapons systems that draw energy straight from the reactors, like the plasma cannons?”
“Yes. And the engines as well. We probably have enough power to keep the artificial gravity on during most battles, though there's no reason to chance it.”
Kei nodded. “A light cruiser...”
“I'd say that we're stronger. Anything short of a cruiser is going to be completely outclassed by us, and even heavy cruisers are going to have trouble getting past the shields.”
“How does one get away with making such a powerful ship? I can't imagine customs or the military likes it.”
Cheryl shrugged. “The registry says that it's a modified Voyage-class yacht. That's not unusual in any way. Most people tend to remodel their ships. Ours is no different.”
“Except for the massive amount of military-grade equipment we're carrying.”
“If no one asks then no one cares,” IVIN said.
“When they do find out, though, are they just going to let it slide?”
“So long as we don't cause too many problems I don't see any reason why they'd care,” Soko said. “Skare Interstellar has a lot of friends in high places. Many of them would be willing to look the other way for something like this.”
“So as long as we stick to blasting pirates and terrorist groups we'll be fine,” Cheryl said. “That's what happened here, and that's not going to raise any eyebrows. The survivors are going to have bigger things to worry about.”
Kei glanced out of the bridge windows at the three shattered hulks. “I don't think that's going to be much of a problem. Since we're not stopping to perform search and rescue I don't think they're going to be alive once another ship responds. Assuming that anyone is even alive right now, and I think that's very doubtful.”
“Are you thinking that we should try to rescue them?” Soko asked.
Kei shook his head no.
“Do you feel conflicted about it?”
He shrugged. “Maybe a little? But not that much. The orders we were given aren't illegal. We have the right to flee the battlefield since there might be more enemies inbound. And they brought this on themselves.”
“Still,” Cheryl said, “you can spare a little bit of sympathy for them. Dying out in the void is never pleasant.”
Kei agreed. They may have survived this battle, but the battered ship could very well be them next time.
CHAPTER FOUR
“So,” Nina said as she poured herself a mug of coffee, “where should we start?”
Lauren hesitated for a moment. “I'm not sure. It depends on what you want to know.”
“What you were studying, for starters. Eon Path seems to think that it's important. So what are they after?”
She picked up her own mug and blew on it, thinking.
“Well, to start with we were excavating the site on Caleth. Right now everything is in the preliminary stages and we don't have a lot of concrete evidence, so this is going to be a lot of guesswork.”
“It's better than nothing. Go on.”
“We believed that the site was some sort of archive, or library. Ulic in origin, of course, but as with everything else it's hard to tell the exact age. But we were able to gather a substantial amount of data storage devices, or what we think are those.”
“And were you able to learn anything from them?”
Lauren paused and took a drink. The taste surprised her.
Nina smiled. “One of the few luxuries we bring along with us. Since we have such a small crew we can afford to waste a little space. This is our vice. Coffee. The real stuff, not the freeze-dried kind.”
“It's been a while since I've drank any.” She frowned. “Professor Hallas was with us then.”
Nina nodded. “Losing him is hard. I hadn't seen him in a while, but I knew him growing up. He was a classmate of my father's, and they would always meet up when their lives allowed. I don't want his work to be in vain.”
“I don't either.” Lauren sighed. “Back to the conversation I guess.”
“Right. What were you able to learn from the data storage?”
“Not much, truth be told. Almost all of them were too badly damaged to glean any information from. Those that could be activated at all had severe data corruption. It's almost as if...”
“As if what?”
Lauren gathered her thoughts for a moment before continuing. “You know the effects of an electromagnetic pulse on unhardened electronics?”
“Of course. I deal with that all the time in my line of work. What about it?”
“That's what it seemed like. Not an electromagnetic pulse, I mean. It couldn't have been that, not with the way the devices had been manufactured. But it seems like something similar happened to them. Almost none of them work properly, and the ones that do have corrupted data.”
“But they have data, which is somewhere you can start,” Nina said. “What did the data tell you?”
“Not much, unfortunately. There were a few snippets about a project in a place called Kohri. From some of the other records that have been gathered over the years we narrowed it down to somewhere in the Central Expanse.”
“Is it a planet?”
“It doesn't match any that we've discovered so far, though as you're well-aware there are plenty of spots that have never been properly mapped.”
“So either we haven't discovered it, or we have discovered it and it's a pile of rubble floating around in the void.”
“Yes, that was one of the Professor's theories. That Kohri had been destroyed in the distant past.”
“Was there anything else in the data?”
“Most of it was jumbled, or it might be some form of poetry. I don't know, but there are frequent references to a 'shining path' in the stars, leading to a heavenly gate. I don't
know if it means anything or if it's just a metaphor-”
“A 'shining path', huh? Does Eon Path know something that we don't?” Nina mused aloud. “I always thought that their name was just referring to some abstract philosophy. Are they actually looking for something that's real?”
“I'm not sure. There were arguments about whether this was anything in the real world, or if it was just a piece of poetry. You could make a similar mistake taking human stories and poems and treating them as fact.”
“Let's assume that this is true. Why would Eon Path want your artifacts, if they want to get to the 'shining path' and the gate? Why not just look for it themselves?”
“It might have something to do with the data chip we found and handed over to you,” Lauren said. “This was different from any of the others. We believe that the data inside hasn't been corrupted, but it's encrypted. We didn't have the equipment needed to decipher something that complex. So Professor Hallas wanted to send it to Goethe Prime for further evaluation.”
“Who knew about this?”
Lauren took another sip of coffee and thought about it. “Almost all of the team.”
“Well that doesn't narrow it down much, but I'm afraid that it still points to the same thing. You had a sympathizer in your team, and they passed on the information to Eon Path. I'm surprised they didn't try to steal it themselves.”
“It was put under heavy security, in a sealed safe room. Only myself and the professor had access to it.”
“That's an explanation,” Nina said, “but I'm still not certain if it's enough to account for the enemy's actions. Whatever's inside of it...”
“I don't know either,” Lauren said, “but there were more data chips around it. All corrupted, but they contained records that point toward the Central Expanse, or what used to be there.”
“Used to be there, huh? Tell me something, does the Central Expanse seem natural to you?”
Lauren thought about it for a moment. “Well I'm not an astronomer or an astrophysicist...”
“But you have some knowledge because you're studying Ulic history,” Nina said. “And you have plenty of schooling to go along with it. What do you think about the Central Expanse?”
“It… it doesn't feel natural, no. Nothing about it makes sense, especially when you're able to compare the Ulic star chart we've recovered to what's there now. But the entire galaxy is completely wrong on the map, so we always assumed that it was a mistake.”
“What else could it be?”
“If we're reading the records correctly then the Central Expanse was home to the most significant portion of the Ulic population, as well as their seat of power. But now it's barren planetoids, asteroid belts and stars. Something happened. And it seems like it was unnatural.”
“Unnatural, like some sort of weapon?” Nina asked. “Would that make more sense?”
“I guess, but then there's even more questions that come with that.”
“Such as?”
“What kind of weapon? And what were its capabilities? There's still three relatively intact planets in the Central Expanse, all of them in random locations. If there was a weapon and it destroyed everything at once, why did it leave the stars and those three planets? And if it picked them off one at a time, why did it spare them?”
“That's the mystery,” Nina said. “But I think the general idea is correct. There's no way the Central Expanse is natural. Nothing about it makes sense. Its current state must have been artificially induced.”
“Right now we have no way of knowing that. At least not until we're able to decode and translate the data from the chip,” Lauren said. “And even then we might not know.”
“But Eon Path seems to think it's valuable. Valuable enough to kill for, and I'm starting to see why. Is there anything else you can tell me about this?”
“No. That's all.”
“You're certain?”
Lauren frowned. “I'm fairly certain. I might be forgetting something, since I don't have my notes with me, but I'm not purposely trying to withhold information. I don't want Eon Path to win. Not after what they did to Professor Hallas. What they'll try to do.”
Nina made a thoughtful face. “We might be in a race against them, but rushing off into the unknown is asking for trouble. Getting there first means nothing if we aren't going in with the proper information on-hand. We'll continue our course toward Goethe Prime. We have the resources to work on decrypting the chip. Once we have the information in hand we'll make our next move.”
“What are you planning on doing?” she demanded.
“That all depends on what we find, of course. If there's a location then we'll try to explore it. If there's not then we'll see what else we can do.”
“If you go-” Lauren said, then stopped short.
“Yes?”
She took a deep breath. “If you go into the Central Expanse to search, take me with you. Please. I don't want to leave the professor's work unfinished.”
She saw a smile cross Nina's face, almost like a smirk.
“Oh? Not that I don't find your conviction admirable, but let me ask you something. Were you ever drafted into the military during the Interstellar War?”
“No. I was given a waiver because of my university work.”
“Lucky you. Plenty of others weren't so fortunate. Everyone in my bodyguard cadre served during the war. And Cheryl and I both spent time in the military as well.”
That surprised her. “You weren't exempted?”
“Goethe Prime has mandatory military service. No exceptions. You can put it off until a later date if you attend university, but you still have to serve once you finish.”
“I see.”
“Or you can be like me and do your service while you're attending university. That only works if you have someone to pull strings and make sure you stay in one place, but fortunately I had that.”
“Where did you serve?”
“Logistics. I already had some expertise in the area thanks to growing up with Skare Interstellar, so it was an easy transition.”
“I still don't understand why you asked me about it.”
“I'm not a great soldier or fighter. I'm nowhere close to what everyone else onboard can do. But I still served, and that meant I had to go through basic training. I know how to fire a weapon and how to keep my head from getting shot off, for starters.”
The realization finally hit her. “Oh.”
“And what about you? If we go into the Central Expanse we're going somewhere very dangerous. And if we take you along then what kind of companion will you be? Are you going to be a burden?”
“I won't.”
“Are you sure of that? If I handed you a gun right now, could you even hit a target?”
“I've shot before.”
“If your weapon malfunctions do you know how to fix it? Or will you be completely helpless?”
Lauren had no response.
“Will someone have to protect you at all times?”
“I...”
“Think about this for a moment. Take Kei, for example. The young man that treated your wounds. He's a good one. Strong, handsome, a good personality, wouldn't you agree?”
“Yes.”
“He came to me after serving in the Tyran Navy. Interstellar Rescue, to be exact. He's brave. More than that, I'd say that he's almost completely fearless. He won a commendation on Siva Nor. Saved every survivor of a downed shuttle while being attacked by an enemy platoon. That included going back for a soldier they missed the first time as the enemy was closing in around them. Wounded three times, yet still completed his mission.”
“I see.”
“Do you? Do you really? If you get into trouble then he'll be there to save you. If you're wounded he'll treat your wounds. If you can't walk he'll carry you. If you're trapped between our lines and the enemy's he'll run out to drag you back to safety. Yes, he'll do everything, even in the face of certain death. He'll do them, and he'll probably get h
imself killed in the process.”
Lauren didn't speak.
“All of them will. I travel with a group of brave men and women. Many times I don't think I'm worthy to stand with them. But at least I can bring basic skills to the table in a fight. I'm not helpless.”
That comment rankled her. “I won't be,” she insisted.
“Can you be sure of that? What if you're wrong?”
“Then the consequences are mine to face.”
Nina leaned back in her chair. “Haven't you been listening? It's all well and good to say that you'll face the consequences for your actions, but you're not the only one that suffers. If you put yourself in danger then that handsome young man is going to throw himself into the fight to protect you. Even if it kills him. And what if it does?”
“It...”
“Can you handle that, I wonder? What happens if someone has to give their life for you? Will you be able to carry the weight of that for the rest of your own life?”
“You sound like you're speaking from experience.”
Nina's look turned ice-cold for a moment. “You could say that, yes.”
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offense. I-”
“It's alright,” she said. “Important questions need to be answered. I don't doubt your conviction, or your motives. But do you really know what you're getting into?”
Lauren looked down at the table, feeling shame welling up inside of her. After all the warnings she should turn back, stay where she would be safe and out of the way, and yet…
“Even so,” she said. “Even so, I still want to go with you. The Professor's work isn't finished, and neither is mine.”
“Not willing to back down, hm?”
“Not if I can help it, no.”
A smile crossed Nina's face. “I can't fault your determination, at least. But I'm going to make the final call on whether you go or not. And right now I see you as a liability to the team. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is at the moment.”
“I see,” Lauren said, trying not to appear crestfallen. She felt her heart sinking in her chest.
Eon Gate (The Eon Pentalogy Book 1) Page 4
