by Jeff Sims
Jack was accustomed to spending months at a time in the freighter monitoring human communications; so the long days with little to do really hadn’t bothered him. In many ways he preferred the quiet solitude with the human television feeds as his only input.
Having to play nicely with Ella, however, had been irritating. He had considered on more than one occasion putting her (or possibly himself) in one of the emergency stasis chambers and setting the timer for today. He had so far resisted that urge. What he had done, however, was to entertain Ella to the best of his ability.
Ella, on the other hand, had rarely been by herself. As a result, she had difficulty being alone with her thoughts for any great length of time. She enjoyed the camaraderie of the Navy personnel and the daily routine aboard a large fleet vessel.
Her home life on Solaria was also quite different than Jack’s. While Jack was usually alone or with his immediately family, Ella was ensconced in activity. She would regularly accompany her father on his various trips to paint or sculpt. When actually at home, her father was usually hosting other artists or clients. There was always something for her to do.
Jack quickly found that they had little in common other than an interest in humans and his white skin. The first time he caught her staring at him he thought she might be romantically interested in him. However, he was not attracted to her. Days later into the journey he realized that she was simply fascinated by the different skin color and wasn’t attracted to him either. Good, he thought, one less thing to worry about.
However, probably the worst part of trip had been Ella’s insistence that each meal contain a small portion of fresh food. Had Jack known of this requirement, he could have stocked the galley with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Or, as Ella had told him on multiple occasions, had Jack bothered to ask a few basic questions before hastily loading her aboard, he would have learned the information with plenty of time to take action.
Either way, the only fresh food was the Advranki sea moss in the main hold. Each meal Ella carved out a chunk, carried it to the galley, and made a dish out of it. She watched Jack closely to ensure that each meal he ate a proper portion. Jack hadn’t been particularly fond of sea moss before, but after eating it for 30 consecutive meals he had grown to absolutely despise the stuff. If it weren’t so valuable, he probably would have chucked the load into space.
Fortunately, Jack had several hundred hours of bootleg human television shows and movies. They spent the majority of their time watching shows from a variety of genres. Her favorite show seemed to be about a man who wielded a colored stick and was encased in black armor. Jack silently thanked humanity for keeping him sane on this arduous journey.
Ella announced, “We have exited hyperspace and are in the Influenla system. I am running both a passive and an active scan now.”
Jack accepted the news without comment because he was rubbing blue paint on his face. When he completed the job a few moments later he said, “What does the passive scan show?” Even though he had asked her the question, he sat down beside her in the control room and looked at the preliminary images that were just now returning.
Ella said in a panicky voice, “There is a Hiriculan Naval vessel just off our port bow. The readings are really strange. The vessel is about the size of a destroyer, but looks more like a battleship.”
Jack sighed and replied, “Maybe they designed a new class of ship.”
…We are being hailed. Displaying it on main monitor and translating to Alliance basic…
“Unknown freighter, this is the frigate Bloodlust. Please state your name, ship’s name, and the reason for your visit. Also, bring your ship to a full stop and prepare for possible boarding.”
Jack replied, “Hello, I am Jack Dogbarks, captain of the mini-freighter Jackal, and this is Ella Songbird, my first officer. We have a contract to deliver cargo from Coufla to Solaria. We are going to land on the space station in this system and exchange cargo with another ship coming from Coufla.”
Jack forwarded his cargo manifest and his shipping contract from the Hiriculan embassy. Jack was a little surprised that the voice from the frigate sounded uninterested and almost bored. Jack doubted that there were very many ships that came to Influenla after the last incident with an Alliance warship. This encounter should be the highlight of the Hiriculan’s day.
The Hiriculan responded, “Mini-freighter, you are cleared for entry into the Influenla system and approved for docking at the space station. Please maintain a speed of .03 light throughout the system. You will be given final docking instructions when you get closer to the station. Frigate Bloodlust ending transmission.”
Jack said, “Maybe we should turn off the scan now. We wouldn’t want to upset them.” Jack really meant that Ambassador Bline had cleared him to search the space station, but he hadn’t given him clearance to search the system.
Ella replied, “No. They didn’t specifically tell us to stop. Plus, a detailed scan of the system could provide valuable information – maybe as much as the station itself.”
Jack said, “You are probably right. Leave it on until we reach the station.” Jack wasn’t as confident as he sounded about this particular decision.
The Influenla system consisted of a normal sized star surrounded by 7 planets. Five of the planets were very close to the sun and there were two gas giants that were much farther away.
None of the planets were remotely capable of sustaining life, but they were rich in minerals and raw materials. There was an asteroid in the system that was almost big enough to be considered a 9th planet, but it didn’t rotate the system’s sun. It was stationary; located just inside the hyperspace gravity limit.
The system had only one other known hyperspace lane. It was located on the exact opposite side of the system and eventually led to Coufla. If one imagined a circle the Opron hyperspace lane was at 270 degrees (southwest corner) of the system and the Coufla hyperspace lane was at 90 degrees (northeast corner).
Unlike most other systems, the Opron – Influenla hyperspace lane deposited travelers very close to the edge of the system and the start of the gravity field. Both the station and the wayward asteroid were located very near the Opron exit. At their current speed of .03 light, they would pass into the system’s gravity in 16 minutes, pass the asteroid in 19, and arrive at the station in 22 minutes.
In astronomical distances, this meant that the station was almost on top of the exit of the hyperspace lane. Jack surmised that this is what worried the Alliance. The Hiriculans claimed the station was intentionally located here to support freighter traffic through the system. However, the Alliance contended that it was in a perfect location for the Hiriculans to launch a surprise attack.
Ella looked at Jack and said, “Maybe we should fake engine failure. Our scan will not be close to completed by the time we reach the station.”
Jack replied, “No. We don’t want to look suspicious. We will just gather what little information we can get. Maybe they won’t block our feed once we reach the station.”
Jack said it as hopefully as possible, but he really didn’t believe it. It is standard procedure to block all scans from docked ships because the signal noise it creates could interfere with the station’s traffic control system.
Ella said, “We will be able to get a passive scan before we dock. I doubt much will have changed in the last 6 hours.”
Moving at a steady rate of 0.1 light, it would take 58 hours to traverse the system. Therefore, the light from the freighter’s scanner would take 5.8 hours to cross the system and another 5.8 to return. Because they will arrive at the station in under 30 minutes, they will only be able to actively scan a tiny portion of the system before they dock.
Jack suddenly thought of last conversation with Ambassador Bline. The ambassador said that they will show him exactly what they want him to see. Jack said, “Ella, focus the active scanner first on the frigate and then on the space station. The Alliance will be more interested to see th
e new class of Hiriculan ship than the system. Besides, we won’t see enough of the system to make a difference.
Ella replied, “Great idea,” and adjusted the scan accordingly.
The frigate was the same size as a destroyer, but much heavier armored. The armor wasn’t as thick as a battleship, but was significantly heavier than every other ship class. The scan revealed that it had the capability to house 40 fighters, but couldn’t determine exactly how many were aboard. They had made room for the extra wing of fighters by eliminating the ion cannon.
There were 7 missile launchers on each side, one more than a typical destroyer. The only drawback appeared to be its top speed. The additional armor made the frigate slower than either a cruiser or a destroyer.
Ella said, “Frigate scan is complete, now repositioning the scanner to the space station.”
Jack said, “Put the results of the frigate scan on the monitor. Let’s have a look.”
Ella reviewed the scan and said, “Wow! That’s a formidable ship.”
Jack said, “Yes. It is certainly impressive. Look at that shield strength. If the readings are correct, then it is actually stronger than it should be.”
Ella closely reviewed the readings and replied, “Yes. I wonder if they added extra shield generators or something.”
They also were able to get a complete external scan of the space station. The station was huge. It was easily the largest known artificial Hiriculan structure. It would rank as the 4th largest station in the Alliance (the largest was in Advranki Prime and the second and third stations were on Altian 1 and 3 respectively).
The station is roughly shaped like a two sided top. The middle section is spherical and there are long, thin sections or spindles sticking out of the top and bottom. The entire station is tilted at a 22 degree, so it appears as if the top is tilted slightly on its side. The spindles are the docking ports. There were currently 10 freighters or corvettes docked at the station.
The center, spherical section is the living, manufacturing, and commerce area. There is a hydroponic ring around the center of the station, but to Jack’s delight it looked undersized. The scan indicated there was an internal docking / repair area, but the doors were not visible from the outside.
The station boasted the typical weapon ports for defensive missiles, but there appeared to be no offensive weapon capability. There were no military ships docked at the station and no signs of the Hiriculan military other than the aforementioned frigate.
The passive scan revealed that there were currently 4 freighters inbound to the station from Coufla or some system beyond Influenla. Jack assumed that one of them would rendezvous with him. There were two military ships, one frigate and one corvette, stationed at the other end of the system right beside the hyperspace lane to Coufla.
There was only one other freighter leaving the station and headed for Opron and no other ships inbound to the station. With only a 30 minute transit time from the station to the hyperspace lane, Jack was impressed that they even saw one other ship.
After a tense, but ultimately uneventful ½ hour trip, they were contacted by the station and given docking slip u-11B. The slip was in the upper spindle and the 11th and final spot on the starboard side. There were 8 other ships docked in various ports on the top spindle, but none of the other ships were close to his. There were an additional 7 ships docked on the bottom spindle.
Ella said, “There are a lot of ships here, many more than I expected.”
Jack replied, “Well, this station is located on the primary route between Hiricula and its other systems and colonies.”
Ella remembered Sunflower’s first battle, a fighter only duel between the two Navies. This battle was when the Alliance learned that the Hiriculans were secretly using a less advanced race called the Netos to pilot their fighters. She said, “They tried to claim Opron, but the Alliance stopped them. I guess Influenla was the next best location for their station.”
Jack was surprised that they let him pilot his ship all the way to the docking port. Normally, the final maneuvers around a station were performed by auto pilot. Jack surmised the reason for the lack of automated guidance was that there was relatively little traffic at the station at the moment.
Jack mentioned this to Ella. She reminded him that the station was located in an uninhabited system. He realized that she was probably correct and let the conversation pause. He then said, “We are ready to dock. Do you want the honors?”
Ella nodded affirmative and carefully guided the mini-freighter into the correct port. A mini-freighter and a cruiser were roughly the same overall size, but the freighter was far more sluggish due to its increased weight from cargo and a smaller power generator.
Jack heard the ‘clunk’ sound moments before Ella announced they had successfully docked. Jack checked the control board and verified they had a firm lock. Then he shut down main power and plugged into the station.
They had docked so that they main hold was attached to the station. Jack then extended the portable tunnel a short distance from the Jackal to the station. When it was attached, he opened the freighter’s main entrance. They would have to crawl from the control room exit to the station. They could have simply walked into the station if Jack had left a corridor through the main hold. However, he had been able to ram a few extra pallets of sea moss in the hold by blocking the walkway.
When everything was secure, Jack said, “Now what do we do?”
Jack immediately regretted the question. If he was to truly be a super double secret agent, surely he should be able to think of some kind of plan. Jack clarified just a little, “The first thing we have to do is sell spare cargo in the second hold from Solaria and the Advranki sea moss in the main. Perhaps we could take an initial look around while we try to find a buyer for the cargo?”
Ella said, “Excellent suggestion, let me gather a few items and we can go.”
The exited the mini-freighter and floated across the tunnel into the spindle. Jack was surprised that no one came to meet them, not even an automated unit like on Advranki Prime. Oh well, perhaps they were simply too busy to bother with one small, insignificant freighter. Jack turned and contacted the ship via his communicator.
Jack said, “Computer, close the door and secure the ship.”
…Ship secure…
They walked ‘down’ the spindle toward the main spherical portion of the station. There was a wide, slowly moving cargo conveyor going up and another beside it going down. Both moving hallways could be set to go the same direction for really large freight. There were two sets of small, being sized sidewalks on both sides of the main freight conveyor. The small being-walks moved at the same speed as their larger brethren. One could follow their cargo the entire time it was on the conveyor.
Jack looked to each side. There were no windows or any decorations of any kind. The only feature that focused the eyes was the docking ports spaced every 40 meters. There was a large sign over each docking bay clearly showing the bay number.
Ella must have thought something similar, for she said, “Well, at least we won’t get lost. They have it pretty clearly labeled here.”
Jack smiled and said, “Perhaps you should give them your father’s number. I think this place could use a little decorating.”
They reached the end of the spindle and entered the spherical section of the station. The only way they knew they had left the spindle and entered the sphere was that the docking port numbers reached zero. The main transportation corridor and the parallel sidewalks continued into the sphere.
Inside the spherical section of the station, the docking ports had been replaced by a series of massive warehouses. There were several side corridors that apparently led to other warehouses behind those facing the main corridor. They ignored all of the side passageways for the moment and continued following the moving cargo corridor until it came to an abrupt end.
Jack looked at the wall closely and noted the faintest of seams in the middle. He said,
“I think the moving corridor continues beyond this wall. I bet this wall is actually a door.”
Ella said, “You’re probably correct. I am guessing that this corridor goes from one end of the station to the other.”
Jack replied, “Smart. If they have a large load they need to transfer from end to the other, they can simply open the door. It reminds me of the drawbridge we saw in that human movie.”
Ella nodded in confirmation. She produced a small device from her pocket and transferred the information to her communication pad. Jack quickly asked, “What’s that?”
Ella said, “It is basically an intelligent pedometer. I measured how far we have traveled and I am now comparing it to the dimensions of the station. According to this, we have traversed approximately 1/3 of the spherical section.”
The moving sidewalk also came to an end at wall. However, there was an archway leading into the next section of the station. There were no other entrances or exits. If they wanted to get to the interior of the station, they would have to walk through it.
Jack observed it closely and said, “It looks like a bio-scanner. If we pass through it we will get a complete body scan. They may be able to detect that I have white skin.”
Ella also investigated the scanner. She said, “I think it is only a weapons scanner. We should be safe to pass through it provided you are unarmed.”
The scanner appeared to be active and running. There were lights on the top of the scanner; the one on the left was currently lit a rather pleasant shade of purple. There were words written above each light, but they were written in the Hiriculan language.
Jack held his communicator pad up at the sign and said, “Computer translate the message if possible.”
…87.7% Left light says Ready to Enter, middle light says Pass, and the right light says failure or possibly death…
Eventually they decided to pass through the scanner one at a time and enter the main part of the station. The scanner’s middle light winked an appeasing orange for each.
