NEBULAR Collection 2 - The Expedition: NEBULAR Episodes 6 - 11

by Thomas Rabenstein

  McCord swallowed hard. He hadn’t thought about it from that angle. He remained skeptical though.

  »To me it would make more sense that the Progonauts chickened out and left the system.«

  »They didn’t!« Fosset triumphed. »Vasina said that their tachyon drive was damaged beyond repair. Even if it weren’t, I doubt very much that an elite crew like the one onboard the Atlantika would have abandoned their queen.«

  McCord pondered.

  »Then why park their ship in Neptune’s atmosphere?«

  »Why not, Sammy?« Fosset asked. »It’s a perfect place. Where else would you hide a big spaceship but in a gigantic gas planet’s atmosphere?«

  McCord twitched mightily. Fosset visibly enjoyed his reaction.

  »You’re serious!«

  Fosset smiled knowingly.

  »I certainly am. And I have a plan, do you want to hear it?«

  »Do I have a choice?«

  Before Fosset could explain his plan to McCord, they were interrupted.

  »We’ll arrive in the Neptune Sector in a few moments, Sir!« the command central announced via the intercom.

  »Very good!« Fosset replied enthusiastically. »Come on, Sammy, let’s go witness our arrival.«

  »We should dress warm, Hughey. Raw vacuum is cold. That Union cruiser probably already has us in his sights. I’m afraid our adventure will end as fast as it began.»

  Fosset patted McCord encouragingly on his shoulder.

  »Think positive, Sammy! You worry too much. They won’t shoot at a civilian spaceship no matter what happens. That would be a crime and a disgrace.«

  Fosset grinned like a little boy.

  »I hope you’re right,« McCord replied doubtfully, then they left the small conference room for the command central.

  The Adventure

  The tone among the people on board the Princess was easygoing. Fosset detested stiff-necked regulations, preferring a more congenial approach with his crew. He was a demanding boss, though, as reflected in his selection of crew members. He had picked exclusively from seasoned, credible former members of the Union Fleet who, although retired, were valuable assets – exactly what Fosset wanted. Fosset might be considered eccentric but he was a generous ship owner and CEO. The job-applicants list proved it – it was pages long.

  As Fosset and McCord entered the command central, the crew members just briefly looked up and nodded at them with easy smiles.

  »Bell, have we been scanned already or hailed or did you detect anything out of the ordinary?«

  »No, Hugh, everything’s quiet,« Belinda Morgan, an experienced astrophysicist, shook her head. »We’re behind Neptune, in Triton’s radar dead zone, so they can’t see us, but that goes for us too. We can assume that most of the traffic is around Triton Base at the moment. They say that the outpost was heavily damaged and they’re still expecting Globuster attacks in this sector. A battle cruiser has taken position over Triton.«

  »Good!« Fosset proclaimed with a smirk. »Then they’re busy and won’t disturb us. Did you enter the data into the computer and determine the object’s exact position in Neptune’s atmosphere?«

  »Not quite done yet,« Belinda replied, »we need to consider that the object is moving at a certain speed, and there’s always the chance of its drifting in the strong atmospheric jet streams. I suggest we plant a dozen or so sonar bombs along the object’s calculated path and measure the shockwave reflections. That’ll make it easy for our neuronal computers to determine the exact position.«

  »Alright!« Fosset praised her, »we may even be able to finish our job without them knowing about it.«

  »I wouldn’t count on that,« McCord warned strongly. »There’re plenty of comm-satellites and radar systems deployed around Neptune. They know on Triton that we’re coming. There’s no radar dead zone around Neptune! Who the heck told you people that crap? Probably looks to them as if we’re trying to sneak into their sector …«

  »… sonar bombs ready for launch!« Belinda interrupted Sam’s rant.

  »Launch!« Fosset commanded.

  Moments later, twelve bombs left the launching tubes while their radar echoes appeared on the command central’s scanner displays.

  »Sonar bombs entering Neptune’s atmosphere!« Belinda commented while the crew recorded the events and data. »Launching two probes to record the sonar reflections and transfer the data to the Princess for analysis.«

  »Why so complicated? Just drop the probe, get the data and analyze it when they get back,« McCord interjected.

  »That’s not how it works, Sam!« Fosset looked up from the scanner display. »The Triton scientists tried that already. We can’t analyze the object via direct scans, that’s the strange thing about it. We’re simulating the same conditions as another planetoid segment hitting the planet, except at a lesser scale. This way we can detect the object by indirect methods.«

  »Attention, everybody!« Belinda announced loudly. »Ignition of sonar bombs in … five … four … three … two … one …«

  The scanner displays showed nothing unusual. Nothing seemed to have changed in Neptune’s atmosphere. Only a sudden data stream on different comm-channels indicated that the probes had received and recorded the data.

  »The neuronal computers will evaluate the reflection patterns and build a 3D model,« Belinda commented, turning toward her terminal.

  After moments of tense waiting, a rotating holographic display appeared. All crew members present in the room had been holding their breath.

  Fosset was the first who found his voice again. He cleared his throat.

  »Ladies and gentlemen: this is a historic moment! I’m presenting the lost spaceship of the Progonauts! The Atlantika!«

  The men and women just looked at each other then began talking up a storm inside the command central.

  Belinda calmed herself and turned to Fosset. Her skepticism was apparent on her face and in her voice.

  »This is supposed to be the Atlantika? Well, I admit we’ve detected an object with symmetric contours, not at all looking like a gigantic block of methane-ice, but I imagine a spaceship to look differently.«

  Fosset ignored her doubts.

  »It’s the Atlantika, it has to be! We don’t know how the ship looked. Vasina never described it. The Progonauts could well have built their ships like this. According to the neuronal computer, we know that the object has a circular base covered with a dome. The base diameter is about six hundred meters and the distance to the dome’s zenith measures around three hundred meters. Unfortunately, we can’t make out any details, but such a regular structure can’t be a natural phenomenon – must be artificial. I’m telling you it’s the Progonaut flagship … and we’ll salvage it for Humanity!«

  Everybody in the room was speechless in the face of Fosset’s announcement, then suddenly, the Princess took a jolt strong enough to throw Fosset from his feet. He barely managed to hold on to the back of the seat before him.

  »What the …?« Fosset cursed in surprise, while the sirens sounded throughout the ship.

  »Oh, just a salutation,« McCord threw in, looking at the scanners. »Three … no … four targets on screen, approaching from different directions. They’re on an intercept vector. Now there’re five! The objects are just entering visual range over Neptune’s horizon,« McCord held his breath for a moment, »we’re surrounded!«

  »Uhh, not to worry,« Fosset tried to reassure his crew. »Those are Hawks, probably from Triton Base, or a Union cruiser. They’ll realize that we’re not the enemy but a civilian ship.«

  Again the Princess was shaken.

  »THEY’RE SHOOTING AT US!« Bell screamed.

  »They’re only warning shots, calm down, people!« Fosset shouted before anybody could panic. »They just want to scare us. The explosions are far out. They’re not going to harm us!«

  »Incoming call from one of the Hawks!« the comm-officer announced.

  At the same moment, a holo display established, showing
an attractive but steaming-mad woman.

  »I can’t wait to hear your excuse, Hughey,« McCord whispered to Fosset.

  The caller’s impatient voice left no doubt that she was used to giving orders – and having them obeyed.

  »Who do you think you are, Fosset?« she addressed him coldly.

  »You know me already, I see … and hear. May I ask with whom I have the pleasure …«

  »… we have been observing your ridiculous attempt to sneak by us for ten hours!« the woman interrupted Fosset. »Your ship is well known to us and the rest of the fleet. You are also known for causing a lot of trouble everywhere you appear. That won’t happen here, Fosset – understand me!«

  Fosset’s manner became stiff as he answered, »The Solar System is ‘Free Space’, Ma’am. I have personal interests in my company’s mining endeavors in this sector. I’m on an inspection tour and I ‘m here to determine losses after the Globuster war.« Fosset tried to sound stern. »Would you mind telling me your name then, please?«

  She looked at him scornfully and replied, »I am Maya Ivanova, commander of the Union Cruiser Blue Moon. Do you always conduct your inspections like this?«

  »I don’t know what you’re talking about.« Fosset displayed an innocent smile, which she totally ignored.

  »You’ve detonated sonar bombs inside Neptune’s atmosphere!« Ivanova stated, and Fosset winced inwardly at the fact that she knew about it already.

  »Just an experiment, nothing else,« he replied coolly.

  »I know exactly what you’re up to, Fosset,« she barked in a warning tone. »It astonishes me how you got to the secret information about the object in Neptune’s atmosphere, but layman researchers and wannabes are not welcome here. Consider yourself lucky that I didn’t incinerate your bucket. It would have been an easy target, you know … mistaken for a Globuster vessel, afterward declared as an unfortunate accident.«

  Fosset quickly glanced around in the command central, looking into pale faces.

  »You can’t restrict me from being here and doing my work,« Fosset repeated. »I’m a free Union citizen – and have always wanted to visit Neptune,« he added with an innocent look.

  »Yada, yada, yada … give me something else, Fosset!« Ivanova hissed at him. She continued, »Don’t underestimate my intelligence – or my patience! Tell me what …«

  Fosset signaled the comm-officer to interrupt the link. The holo collapsed instantly.

  »I don’t know if that was such a good idea, Hughey,« McCord whispered, »she’s not a happy moon-camper, you know?«

  »Before she makes any decisions, she’ll need approval from her superiors; that’s how the military works, Sammy. By then we’ll be onboard the Atlantika, celebrating our discovery. Is the Eagle ready for launch?«

  McCord thought he hadn’t heard right.

  »What … you really want to dive with the Eagle into that atmosphere? That’s insanity. You’ll die … and what’s worst … you don’t even have an heir to your empire!«

  McCord seemed very uneasy about that last.

  »No, my friend, you’re wrong. I don’t call it insanity, it’s a calculated risk. The Eagle’s been revamped and especially adapted for this task. The ship possesses a new, highly efficient nuclear drive, capable of returning us to the Princess. The hull is reinforced to withstand the extraordinary pressure of the atmosphere near the object’s location. Before Ivanova can make good on her threats, we’ll have already docked at the Atlantika. Nobody can hold us back now!«

  »Wait a second … did you just say: us and we?« McCord asked surprised.

  Courage – or pure insanity

  »Who does that arrogant bastard think he is!« Maya Ivanova raged. She hadn’t expected such a behavior from Hugh Fosset. Her Hawks had been standing by for over twenty minutes now, with a no action from Fosset’s ship. She ordered them to draw their enclosing circle around Fosset’s ship even tighter.

  The Princess was a forerunner model of the Pulsar cruisers and in principle similar in design. Like the newer class she was divided into several segments, but her diameter only measured 40 meters. There was only a scaled-down connection module between the command and propulsion units, lending the Princess a slimmer and considerably shorter appearance than the Blue Moon.

  Ivanova flew her Hawk personally. She didn’t want to change the Blue Moon’s position over Triton so she’d arrived with a Hawk squadron to intercept the Princess. The squadron consisted of two Hawks from the Blue Moon and three units from the Triton Hawks under Ivanova’s command – the same Triton Hawks Major Bill Davis had commanded before his heroic and untimely death.

  Ivanova still fumed over Fosset’s conduct, especially since he hadn’t answered her calls in the meantime. She was close to blowing her cool.

  Ivanova forced herself to remain calm. Fosset was right; she could not prohibit him from flying in the Neptune Sector. Fleet Command had repealed its no-fly order since the Globuster attack so the sector was no longer a restricted area, but the mining companies were asked to minimize their activities until further notice. Ivanova was certain that Fosset’s real interests lay in a totally different area. He was interested in the mysterious object floating in Neptune’s atmosphere.

  What’s he going to do? What’s he really up to? she wondered.

  »He’s up to no good, Sati. We have to keep an eye on his ship. Report anything out of the ordinary, understood?«

  Sati Magal was a tactical control specialist born in Mongolia, who manned her co-pilot’s seat.

  »Roger! We’ll nail him, Commander.«

  Ivanova flew her Hawk around the Princess in tight maneuvers. Fosset had doubtlessly invested a lot of money in his ship. The radio and comm-system’s antenna array alone must have cost him a fortune.

  »There! Something’s happening, Commander! A hangar is opening amidships.«

  Maya froze.

  Is he trying to launch an auxiliary? Ivanova thought, perplexed.

  She saw it a moment later. A small but amazingly fast spacecraft left the Princess’ hangar and immediately dove into Neptune’s atmosphere.

  Ivanova grimaced.

  »What the …! The idiot’s sending an Eagle into the atmosphere. Is he, nuts? Sati, enter an intercept course into the computer, fast!«

  Sati’s fingers flew across the keypads and moments later, the Hawk banked to port and followed the Eagle. A shiver went down Maya’s back as the Hawk flew toward Neptune’s diffuse and bluish sphere. Anybody pulled down by the gigantic planet was doomed. However, somewhere, deep down in the atmospheric layers, an unknown object drifted, and Ivanova was certain that was Fosset’s destination.

  »Sati, calculate the point-of-no-return for us. How far can we follow Fosset and still escape the gravitational pull?«

  Sati quickly queried the computer.

  »Commander, it’s not just a question of gravity but also about the atmospheric density and stream velocities. If we dare too much then we could get caught by a jet stream. I don’t need to explain what that would do to us. We’re already moving too fast for a safe entry. If we try it we’ll end up a shooting star!«

  The Hawk’s computer detected their rapid and dangerous entry velocity and compensated, reducing their speed considerably.

  Ivanova tried to make radio contact with Fosset’s Eagle, still clearly visible on her radar screen. Time was running out. A strong ion-cushion formed around the ship due to its fast descent, and radio contact was going to be impossible.

  »Fosset! Give it up! You’re killing yourself! Neither your old Eagle nor my Hawk can survive in Neptune’s atmosphere! You’ll get squashed! Listen to me, Fosset!«

  Suddenly the receiver crackled loudly.

  »Maya Ivanova, eh? I’ve heard about you, read some of your reports. I should’ve known you’d follow me. You have to go back; your Hawk won’t make it. My Eagle is specially adapted for this mission!«

  »Fosset – this is not a mission – it’s suicide! Turn around and take a parabolic
course. That’s your only chance to escape Neptune’s pull!«

  Ivanova bit her lower lip. The situation didn’t leave her too many choices. She couldn’t shoot at the Eagle to disable the drive. If Fosset lost control over the Eagle then he would be done for.

  »You will return now! Pull up your Eagle! That’s your only chance! Do you hear me, that’s an order!«

  »Comm-loss! A plasma-bubble has formed around the Eagle as it enters deeper atmosphere!« Sati announced.

  Ivanova cursed aloud in Russian. Moments later, the Hawk was engulfed by light blue flames.

  »Is the Eagle still on screen?«

  She had to fight to concentrate as her ship was rocked and shaken about.

  »Indications are fluctuating; the plasma-bubble’s interfering with our signals!«

  The Hawk plunged into a thick layer of hydrogen, ammonia and helium, making the craft appear like a meteor in the night sky, while the hull temperature increased rapidly. Every second the ship descended further, the gravitational pull increased.

  »That’s not going to work, Commander!« Sati yelled at her over the loud rumbling noises inside the cockpit – he was sweating bullets, gripping his armrests with white-knuckled hands.

  »Where’s the Eagle?«

  »About a kilometer ahead. She’s still in a steep descent. Looks as if he really wants to commit suicide!«

  »How long can we keep up?«

  »About 20 seconds at 100 percent thrust!«

  »Go to a hundred!« Ivanova commanded, pressing her lips together tightly.

  Even if they had been able to see through the plasma, the view would have almost been zero at this altitude. The gas density increased with each kilometer. The Hawk was hit by a sudden jolt, and even Sati, who was usually very calm in similar situations, let out a scream.

  »Okay then! Enter an escape route and let’s get out of here now! We can’t help him anymore anyway. Fosset’s a dead man!«

  Sati sighed, relieved, and entered parameters into the keypads. The Hawk vibrated more powerfully as it strove to escape Neptune’s pull. Ivanova became restless as no immediate reaction occurred.