“Sir, there’s only one thing we’ve found that might be helpful,” Smith informed him.
“What?”
“A data crystal, in the computer room. One of the…,” Smith paused and looked sickly. “One of the crew looked as if he was about to feed it into the computer.”
“This could be significant. Come on, let's all go to the computer room,” Frank ordered.
Frank looked sadly at the dead man on the floor. He was still holding the crystal in his dead hand.
“OK Smith, pick it up then.”
Smith reduced his force-suit's field density sufficiently for his hand to encompass the man's hand, then took the computer data crystal from it.
He then held it up to show to Frank, who looked at it through Smith's almost transparent force-suit field.
“I say, sir. This is useful, being able to reduce our force field to collect data and samples. We couldn't do very much here without it.”
“No,” Frank replied.
“Now, order your suit to put that crystal in your specimen box. Then come with us to help search the log room.”
At that moment, Peters came through the airlock looking as pale as Smith.
“The Force craft has arrived, sir.”
“Right, come on. We’ve no time to waste on the log room now.”
From Andromeda’s control room, Frank and Alan watched the Hawk on the televiewer.
“Andromeda. Take us a safe distance from the Hawk, towards Procyon,” he commanded.
The ship swung around, hunting for Procyon. Then her photon-drive flared white as she surged forward, stopping some six million kilometres from the Hawk.
“Andromeda, please send the destruct command now. Then we'll wait for the detonation flash. It'll be about 20 seconds each way, so 40 light-seconds before we see it on the screens.”
They waited in silence, then the flash came, and the Hawk was no more.
“May God rest Jackson's soul,” Frank said. Then continued, after a few seconds of silence.
“Andromeda prepare the ship and crew for the next jump.”
One day later they exited jump, now almost a light-year away from the ill-fated Hawk’s last known location.
‘Right, Andromeda,’ Frank communicated mentally. ‘We’ll stay here until you’ve found the meaning of the tape.'
“So, what now?” Alan asked.
“We sit tight,” Frank replied. “Procyon is just over two light-years away. Before we go any further, I want to know what the Hawk found out.”
Frank paced up and down for a while, deep in thought. Then suddenly asked. “Andromeda, are all departments in the loop?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Good. Does anyone have any thoughts on the subject?”
“Captain, quantum engineering here,” came Professor Ned Parker's voice.
“Do you want me to warp a communication’s buoy to Earth, telling them about the Hawk?” he asked. “The buoy should have enough of its own power to complete the trip.”
“Yes. Tell them exactly what happened, and that there's a good chance that some planet or entity around Procyon is inhabited and may not be friendly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do it now,” Frank ordered.
“Andromeda, assist Brian Waters from encryption,” Frank said, beginning to feel tired.
“Keep your screen up from now on,” he ordered Andromeda.
“It is. I’ve been on red alert since we first sighted the Hawk.”
There was a shudder as Andromeda created a small warp-field. The field moved as if aligning itself to where Earth should be, then a swirl marked the newly created wormhole.
Seconds later, the one-metre long buoy shot out from Andromeda and disappeared into the wormhole.
Thirty seconds later Andromeda deliberately closed the wormhole to prevent them from being tracked.
Frank, smiling with relief, asked. “What have you got on the tape so far, Andromeda?”
A slight pause. “I’ve managed to extract the data Captain, but it will take me another twenty-four minutes to break its code.”
“Very well, let’s…,” he stopped talking, as Andromeda interrupted.
“Sorry Captain but an unknown ship has materialized outside my screens. We are in grave danger.”
Chapter 7.
Hunted.
Frank was startled but tried to calm both himself and the computer.
“All right Andromeda, just show me what you are seeing.”
At once, the recorded image of the Hawk disappeared from the screen, and a live one of an alien ship took its place.
The ship was bright copper in color and cigar-shaped. There were no windows or markings. Short slits that were almost invisible to the eye could be seen over the whole ship.
Two large openings, one at each end, appeared inky black. Above the openings, a few small, square, and shiny surfaces could be seen, possibly indicating a control room with an arched ceiling.
The ship seemed to be larger than the Andromeda, and it looked more formidable.
Now and then a flare-up occurred approximately fifteen kilometres away from the alien ship, as cosmic particles hit her invisible force field.
“Well, what can you tell me about it, Andromeda?”
“The ship is similar to me. Displacement is about sixty-five million cubic metres. Its hull is penetrable by my weapons, but her screen is not, it has at least six more peripheral lines per centimetre than mine,” Andromeda paused.
“Now, it’s probing me.”
“God, we’re in trouble,” Alan croaked.
“Not necessarily,” said Frank. “Whoever they are, they know we’re here, so they're trying to gauge our weaknesses.”
“But their ship looks more deadly than ours.”
“We think that, but do they?” Andromeda asked.
“After all, their craft may be better in some respects,” she replied. “But whether it can outwit me, is something entirely different.”
Frank couldn’t help grinning at the computer’s response. “One of these days I’ll unplug your personality circuits,” he jokingly threatened.
“What are your orders, Captain?”
“Launch four of our stealth drones, pattern Omega 7,” he said, then paused.
“We’ll sit tight and let them make the first move. Hopefully, you'll be able to break the Hawk's codes in the meantime.”
The 'standard' stealth drone was quite large in comparison to the buoy sent to Earth. It was about ten metres long, and three wide, and it was sleek looking. With a non-reflective transmissive skin and two nuclear-tipped micro-torpedoes with their launch tubes built-in.
The drone incorporated a mass of sensors, with video links to the Andromeda, including the ability to scan an object, even a spaceship. Though the stealth drones couldn’t scan things as thoroughly as the Andromeda.
An ‘active’ version of the stealth drone was also available. This utilized minute outward-looking mosaic cameras that could record the scene on the other side of the drone. The scene would then be projected onto the reverse side, effectively cloaking the drone to anyone or thing in the area.
The ‘active’ stealth drone's design had been difficult to achieve. But had proved to be very useful, when you knew from which direction you didn't want the drone to be seen.
“At least at this range, we’ll have time to manoeuvre,” Alan ventured.
“And so, will they,” Frank pointed out. “Over a million kilometres is some distance, so either of us will unavoidably give the other six seconds warning.”
Then they suddenly saw a flash some five hundred metres from the alien’s ship. Then a slight eddy and an object went through a small wormhole created in space.
“What the!” exclaimed Frank.
“It's warped a communication buoy,” Andromeda said. Then, ten minutes later, Andromeda spoke again.
“Captain, the alien ship has been conferring with another one. It's using the object as a
direct comms link.”
“Can you understand what’s being said?”
“No, not yet.”
“Very well, we’ll assume the worst. Handle this as you think fit, but get the drones back now. We'll let the alien ship fire the first shot.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Andromeda replied. “I shall reduce the diameter of my force field to match their force field's density.”
“Okay. Give me a display of our relative positions,” he ordered.
The image of the alien ship moved to the left of vision while Andromeda’s image appeared to the right. Both had a force field glowing around them though the Andromeda’s was now appreciably smaller.
They saw a flash, as an energy bolt suddenly streaked from the Alien ship and headed for the Andromeda.
“I can handle it. Now we’re at war!” Andromeda exclaimed, anticipating the first real action of the journey.
A similar flash erupted from the Andromeda, after an unavoidable time lapse, this was followed immediately by two more.
The first made contact with the alien’s protective force field.
The second hit the alien’s screen, which visibly contracted as the energy bolt took up its energy.
But the third energy bolt just dissipated against the screen doing no damage.
“That hurt it. They had to contract their force field to absorb the energy from our weapon.”
“Don’t forget that you had to do the same thing in the first place, Andromeda,” Frank remarked as he watched the action.
“Thank you for reminding me,” she remarked, as she released another energy bolt at the alien. This time, though, it comprised of a force field piercing projectile, surrounded by pure energy.
Then, the alien released what appeared to be a short-burst particle-beam that made contact with Andromeda's energy bolt, just outside the alien's own force field.
The non-physical part of Andromeda's energy bolt flared out, but the now visible element sped on and into the alien’s field.
Then the outer sheath of the energy bolt flared-up and vaporized, causing a split-second hole in the alien's force field which allowed the centre portion of Andromeda’s force field piercing projectile, to pass through.
The weapon, coming within one kilometre of the alien’s ship, was finally neutralized by a particle-beam.
“Nearly, but not quite,” Andromeda grumbled. “Captain, three of the four drones are back now.”
“I would say the situation's stalemate,” Alan remarked.
“There can never be a stalemate in any engagement. It’s just a matter of time before their field generators weaken.”
“Or yours,” Frank pointed out.
“Why is he turning?”
The computer didn’t answer.
The reason now became apparent as a larger spark erupted from the alien ship's front and headed towards the Andromeda.
“Probably the same type of discharge that destroyed the Hawk.”
‘Can you stop it?’ Frank asked Andromeda, via his implant.
‘I think so.’
He became aware of Andromeda’s apprehension, and her disappointment over the failure of her three energy bolts to cancel out the incoming charge altogether.
He sensed the fear of the almost ‘human’ computer as it desperately increased the force field’s density.
Of, a sudden feeling of power as it made contact with her Force Field. Then a crushing feeling of nausea that made his stomach turn over, the sensation of heat as the generators came close to burnout. Then a calmness that left him in a whirl, but safe.
The screen had managed to absorb the force field’s energy.
“Jump towards Procyon,” Frank ordered.
Nausea, then it was over, their ‘jump’ of eight million kilometres had taken just half a second, and space was empty once more.
But only for a moment. As first the alien ship, then Andromeda's fourth drone re-appeared.
“Oh, no, they can follow us through warp space,” Alan groaned.
“I can only stand one more energy bolt of that intensity. After that, my shield will collapse,” Andromeda said.
“To jump again would also be unwise, because of the Jump configuration required to enter warp,” she added.
“If they tried to attack us while we were generating the wormhole to wrench ourselves partly out of this universe, we would stand no chance at all,” she finished.
“Then we must somehow fight. Get that fourth drone in now,” Frank replied then paused.
“There must be a way. Think about it,” he added.
The alien’s ship turned, and another discharge crackled towards them.
At the same time, Andromeda released her defensive discharges.
Again, the same failure to prevent the incoming salvo, the same feeling but with more heat, and then an almost unexpected calm that brought relief.
“I’ve got it!” Andromeda exclaimed. “We had two-point-six seconds before they emerged from warp space. Time enough for me to line-up on them.”
“What are you driving at?”
“We jump again. But this time, I’ll line up on their translation point. Then I can jump inside their force field screen before they can recharge their weapon.”
“Risky. But, we’ve nothing to lose,” Frank said, sort of congratulating her.
“Now Jump.”
A feeling of nausea again, then space was once more free of the alien ship as the stars re-appeared.
Then the stars seemed to move violently again as they moved to a new place.
Even before the star movement had ceased, as predicted, the alien’s ship had materialized again.
Andromeda then realigned once more and set her ship to jump ‘inside’ the alien's force field.
Nausea and the screen now filled with the vast bulk of the alien’s ship suspended in space just nine hundred metres away.
Andromeda moved abruptly to prevent a collision as all hell let loose.
Pure energy flickered and crackled from one ship to the other. A hull split and metal plates whirled, clattering against each other. A sheet of flame licked from one end of the alien’s ship to the other, as it fed on the escaping atmosphere.
Then peace came at last.
Slowly the debris and dust drifted away, leaving the torn twisted body of the alien ship, open to all eyes.
Chapter 8.
Interlude.
Jack Medcalf, head of the UK Section of the Space Federation, looked down on the river Thames that wound its way through the heart of London. A city that had changed its features enormously in the past fifty years to modernise.
There were very few conventional forms of personal transport around. Cars and taxis were not in favour now, with more people using the multi-speed moving conveyors that formed part of the sidewalk. The conveyors were comprised of five linear tracks, each operating at a different speed. The centre track was the fastest, with two tracks on each side running at slower speeds, to allow the walker to move on and off.
The conveyors also had low-power force-emitters installed over them, acting as umbrellas. Collisions could occur when people moved across tracks without looking first, but, on the whole, it was kind of safe and comfortable to use.
Of course, he could still see the early induction powered monorail system, which crisscrossed the city like a spider’s web. But he couldn’t see the magnetic levitation trains, as they hurtled between cities at over 400 kilometres an hour, from his 24th story office window
Jack wasn't sure he liked some of the changes and sometimes wished he had lived in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, he was in this century, and in a crisis.
One thing he was glad of though was the ability to be able to warp a comms buoy through a small wormhole in space, with the wormhole being formed by their StarShip.
This meant, waiting days, not years, to receive encrypted information from their ships.
“We’ve all read the report, Jack,” he hea
rd a voice from behind him say.
“What do you think?”
He wheeled his stocky body around and brushed his long grey hair from over his eyes. The other three members of the Federation, who were in his office all looked worried.
He looked at the speaker, Carter. He was the only one of the three that Jack disliked, but for no reason.
The other two, Anderson and Philips were quite good friends socially. All three were, however, average men of around forty who hadn't quite reached the top of the ladder.
“Well Gentlemen,” Jack said. “It's great that they’ve found the Hawk, but since then, it’s taken three earth days for Andromeda’s buoy to reach us.
Although that’s fast, in this instance it just isn't fast enough. For all we know, our fate and that of the StarShip Andromeda was sealed several days ago.”
“Nonsense Jack,” Anderson exclaimed. “You don’t know that you're only guessing.”
“Am I? Look at the facts. A massive hole in the Hawk. All the signs of some sort of Neutron discharge weapon being used. Damn it! You all know as well as I do that the Andromeda couldn't take more than two shots directly into her protective screen.”
“Jack,” Anderson interrupted, shifting uneasily in his chair.
“I think there's something you should know,” he said.
“Andromeda has a very different type of computer. Far superior to anything we have ever known.
It’s super intuitive, with ultra-high speed responses that help enormously in battle situations. Then added to this, is Andromeda’s mind-link to a human brain, which makes her virtually unbeatable.”
“What the hell are you talking about, man?”
“It’s just,” Anderson paused and looked at Philips, then went on.
“Well, to put it bluntly, Jack. Captain Richardson and the computer are mind-linked. Frank wanted it that way.”
“What!” the other roared. “You’ve let a junk of electronics control a man’s brain?”
The Definitive SpaceFed Trilogy (SpaceFed StarShips Trilogy).: A thrilling, action-packed Sci-fi space adventure. (SpaceFed StarShips Series Book 8) Page 5
