The Spindle Station: Book 2 of the Alliance Conflict

by Jeff Sims

  Lorano looked at it and simply said, “Impressive.”

  They exited the caribou corridor into the main hangar just after the last pilot climbed into his fighter. Finally, they walked off of the ship and into the station.

  Lorano’s communication pad blinked. Lorano said, “Computer, report.”

  …The crew was able to get to battle stations in 7 minutes 20 seconds…

  The time was approximately a minute slower than a well-trained, experienced Advranki crew. Also, the Advranki crew normally had some advanced warning that drill was going to be conducted. The pilots, on the other hand, did set the record for fastest to their fighters.

  Carank reviewed the data and said, “Impressive, maybe there is hope for this crew.”

  Lorano said, “I have a great idea. I know a way to keep the humans entertained so that they won’t notice our absence.”

  Carank said, “Well. Are you going to share with us?”

  Lorano didn’t answer immediately. Instead he said, “Computer, establish a link with Jim Donovan.”

  …Connection established…

  Lorano said, “Jim, I am sending you the results of the drill. The pilots did an impressive job, but the rest of the crew needs work to become a cohesive team. Please work with engineering to create and execute a series of drills to get the crew to be more efficient.”

  Jim replied, “Okay, do we need your permission to run a drill?”

  Lorano replied, “Not specifically. However, if you intend to shut down a major system, please inform acting Captain Clowy in advance.”

  Jim asked, “I do have one question, what is going to happen to the second set of pilots?”

  Lorano answered, “I don’t really know for sure. My guess is that one of the squadrons will be permanently transferred to another cruiser.”

  …………………

  Jim was standing in engineering talking with chief engineer Colin O’Neal when Lorano called him. Jim let Colin overhear the conversation. After the conversation ended Jim said, “We need to dramatically improve the crew’s competence as quickly as possible.”

  Despite the awkward way he had been recruited for the mission, Colin was a natural leader and quickly established himself as Jim’s second in command and the head of engineering and maintenance. Plus, his background as a chief engineer at a nuclear plant had prepared him for this role. Jim understood why the aliens had decided to kidnap Colin.

  Colin was furious with the results. He stomped around the engineering area shouting expletives at the air for a few moments, then calmed down and got to work. They created a list of every system and sub-system. They listed the top 3 failure modes for each sub-system.

  They put a crewmember in charge of each one. They also established a back-up person for each system. Then they created a simulation that would test the crew’s ability to repair each one. Fortunately, most of the identified failures were the same as the ones they had solved in the Victory Games simulations. Unfortunately, they would have to run battle simulations at a frenetic pace to cover every scenario.

  Finally, they had the computer review the system failure list and show any other key failures or maintenance activities not covered by it.

  Colin reviewed the computer’s list and said, “Jim, look at the first one. In the event that primary power is lost, the secondary power generator can be cross wired to provide emergency power to the ship. This requires bypassing sub-junctions 963.22.14 and .15 and rewiring the main junction box to accommodate the reversed flow.”

  Jim answered, “You would think we could just pre-wire it to flow in either direction.”

  Colin replied, “Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. This has to be done real-time when main power is gone. Otherwise, you would have power coming from both generators and it would short out the circuits.”

  Jim: “Okay.”

  Colin continued, “We also have to reroute the trunk line.”

  “Trunk line?” Jim asked.

  Colin said, “The main power line from the primary reactor. Currently, the secondary power generator is only wired to the bridge. We would literally have to disconnect and drag a giant bundle of wires halfway across the ship from one generator to the other.

  Jim replied, “That seems inefficient. Why don’t we just wire them in series now?”

  Colin responded, “Good question. I bet we can prewire a connector trunk line into an A-B junction box. We would still have to manually switch them, but it could work and cut the time required from hours to, well, something less than hours.”

  Jim said, “We need to be able to switch in 5 minutes, or it isn’t worthwhile.”

  Colin asked, “Why 5 minutes?”

  Jim replied, “That is approximately how long it takes to charge and fire an ion cannon.”

  …………………….

  Lorano was sitting in the control room of hyperspace charting platform. It had been approximately two weeks since the Sunflower had successfully jumped from Earth back to Waylon and docked with the space station.

  His communicator pad chimed and he noted that the humans had sent yet another advanced notification of a drill. He believed this was the 11th drill of the day. He smiled at his own wit. His suggestion to the humans that they needed more training had worked perfectly. The humans had been training night and day and hadn’t bothered them again.

  He and Carank had analyzed the data from the previous set of gravity charting missiles – those fired toward Solaria. The missiles had detected a large gravity signature almost exactly where he expected it to be.

  However, the unknown system showed recent signs of a massive gravity fluctuation, as if the star suddenly expanded or contracted. The system would definitely need to be thoroughly investigated.

  …Passive scans have detected the presence of a ship now entering the Waylon system…

  Lorano said, “Computer, can you determine the name of ship or at least the size?”

  …The apparent mass displacement places the unknown ship in the corvette class. It will take another 1 hour 14 minutes until I can obtain the ship’s designation and destination. However, the entry path into the system is consistent with the exit path taken by the Buzzkill…

  Solear and Lexxi had taken the corvette Buzzkill to investigate the most likely location for the planet Old Solaria. Lorano had started to worry about them. They were a week overdue and it wasn’t like Solear to miss a date by that wide of a margin.

  A few hours later the corvette Buzzkill docked with hyperspace charting platform. Solear and Lexxi exited the corvette and headed directly to the platform’s control room.

  When they arrived Carank said, “Welcome back, we were starting to worry.”

  Solear responded, “The missiles were able to get far closer than we were. The high radiation forced us to drop out of hyperspace earlier than expected. As a result, we spent 3 days flying in real-time to get close to the system and another 3 days returning.”

  Everyone waited for Solear to continue. When he didn’t, Lorano finally said, “Well, did you find Old Solaria?”

  Solear placed a flashcube on the reader and said, “Computer, display images and readings of the system.” Solear walked closer to the monitor and pointed at the system. He continued, “The results are mixed. There is a planet in the system that could have at one point in time sustained life.”

  Carank said, “That’s positive.”

  Solear said, “Yes. Although we scanned it and found no traces of life.”

  Lorano responded, “That was to be expected. Solarian lore says that the planet was abandoned due to an unlivable level of background radiation. The system does fit that description.”

  Solear answered, “Correct. However, there are no traces of an advanced society living on the planet.”

  Solear rotated the view of the main planet until what appeared to be the tip of a pyramid came into view. He said, “This is the only structure on the planet that even remotely looks artificial. We scanned it in det
ail and are relatively sure that it is metallic.”

  Solear paused for a moment for dramatic effect and continued, “However, we don’t know if it was created by intelligent design or caused by sand whipping against a deposit of iron ore. The good news though is that the structure seems to be at least 4,000 years old, fitting Solarian legends.”

  Clowy asked, “Did the Solarians build the pyramid?”

  Solear magnified the image as much as possible, but the increased magnification made the view cloudy. He concluded, “It certainly looks like the tip of an old an Altian inspired energy pyramid. However, we were not able to confirm whether this was the tip of a large pyramid buried in sand or simply just a small structure sitting on the surface.”

  Carank asked, “Can we mount an expedition to the surface to investigate?”

  Solear said, “No. The radiation would kill both beings and machines long before a spacecraft could reach the surface. We don’t have the technology to confirm or deny.”

  Lorano said, “Well. I think it is simple then. We found a planet exactly where Solarian lore said it should be. The planet has an orbit that could have sustained life. Further, we saw tantalizing evidence of the remains of a civilization. I suggest that we announce that we found Old Solaria and be done with it.”

  Carank responded, “I agree. It will probably take 1,000 years for someone to invent the technology necessary to actually investigate. By that time our claim will be indisputable.”

  Lexxi spoke for the first time. She said, “And we will all be dead by then and really not care what they find.”

  Solear laughed and said, “Switching subjects, Clowy what is the status of the ship?”

  Clowy responded, “What ship?”

  The six weeks Solear had just spent apart from Clowy had certainly helped. He didn’t need to pause or count to 10 this time. He simply responded, “The Sunflower.”

  Clowy smiled brightly. She said, “All systems are in excellent condition. The emergency life support cryogenic units have now been tested and work properly. The Solarians delivered our new crew of humans. They have been training almost non-stop since we received them.”

  Solear responded, “We have a new crew?”

  Lorano responded, “Yes, Captain. Victor and Crista Bullpeep delivered an entire new crew from Earth, including 20 new pilots, 5 engineers, 20 crewmembers, and 5 marines.”

  Lexxi asked before Solear, “What’s a marine?”

  Lorano answered, “I believe that a marine is an advanced fighting unit on Earth; possibly better trained than the rest.”

  Carank corrected, “I think you mean the best of the best.” He remembered seeing an Earth television commercial about them.

  Lorano continued without acknowledging the comment, “Apparently, they are few in number, but very proud warriors. They can complete missions that others simply cannot.”

  Solear asked, “Okay, why do we need them?”

  Lorano said, “It appears that the human crewmembers are somewhat less efficient than either their Advranki or Altian counterparts. The humans need the extra 5 crewmembers to bridge the gap and make their performance marginally passable.”

  Lorano was basing the observation on his initial assessment of the humans’ performance. He hadn’t actually reviewed any data from the recent simulations. However, he did agree with Clowy’s assessment. When the humans failed, it wouldn’t be from a lack of practice.

  Solear asked, “So, what types of simulations are they running?”

  Clowy appeared to start saying “What simul…” when Lorano cut her off and said, “I have the full list on my communication pad.” He forwarded the tests to Solear and said, “Basically, they are running every simulation they can think of – from getting to the correct location for battle to swapping the main and secondary power unit.”

  Solear asked rhetorically, “Why would anyone want to do that?”

  Clowy said, “Do what?”

  …Captain Solear, you have an incoming message from Alliance Naval Headquarters…

  Solear said, “Play it.”

  …Captain Solear, please set course immediately for Conron. The Sunflower is going to take part in a taskforce that will confront the Hiriculans and force them to remove their naval presence from what is supposed to be a neutral space station. You will receive further orders later. Best speed, Dolen…

  Captain Solear opened his communicator pad, waited until a connection with Jim Donovan had been made, and said, “Jim, have the crewmembers clear all of their items from the station’s main bay. We are leaving on an extended mission within the hour.” Solear closed the connection. He didn’t wait for a response or even an acknowledgement.

  Solear turned to Carank and Lorano and said, “I suppose that this is goodbye for now. What are your plans?”

  Lorano started to blurt out they had found a new star system and were going to investigate, but stopped himself. Instead, he answered, “We are going to remain here for the next 4 weeks to track the final set of hyperspace charting missiles. After that, I am not sure.”

  Carank said, “We will probably get new assignments after we announce that we found Old Solaria.”

  Lorano smiled broadly and said, “But first we will take a trip to Solaria. I imagine the Solarians will throw us a celebration. They may even create a monument for us.”

  Lorano suddenly realized that in order to be credited with finding a new system, one had to have been the first being physically in the system. Therefore, Solear and Lexxi were technically the beings that had (re)discovered Old Solaria.

  Lorano waved his hands to include everyone in the room and amended his last statement to be, “They will create statues for the five of us because we all participated in the discovery.”

  Solear smiled at the concept of a statue in his honor and said, “I can’t wait to see it. Lexxi, Clowy, let’s go.”

  They walked to the station’s main hangar bay. Solear looked around and was shocked. The bay was completely empty. The missile manufacturing equipment, the crates, the two AAU’s, and the 10 human version MPS’s were gone. Further, the steel sheet rolls and other raw materials were missing. Even the small asteroid had been removed.

  Lexxi said, “Wow. The humans took everything. This bay was half full a few minutes ago when we walked through.”

  Solear was still looking at the empty bay and didn’t realize that Lexxi had come to an abrupt stop at the entryway from the space station to the Sunflower’s main bay. He bumped into her and pushed her slightly forward. The push moved Lexxi forward, but she quickly recovered and got behind Clowy.

  Solear looked into the bay and realized why they had stopped. Standing in Sunflower’s hangar bay was a perfect single row of humans. Every human on the ship must be there because the line stretched from the opening in the hangar all the way to the caribou corridor.

  He had somewhat become accustomed to the two rows of 10 by the pilots, but this was overwhelming. They were all standing perfectly still with their hands behind their backs and their eyes looking forward.

  Solear’s first reaction was to gas them, but he knew it wouldn’t work. With the main hangar bay door open and attached to the station, the sleeping gas would dissipate without effect. He realized that in order to reach the bridge, they would have to walk past every single one of them.

  Solear stepped forward onto the ship and noted that Jim Donovan was the closest human to him. When he approached, Jim shouted something and all of the humans moved in unison and put their right hands above their eyes. Solear looked at Jim and said, “At Ease”. Jim echoed the command and the group again moved in unison back to their original standing positions.

  Solear took a step forward, and then stopped. He noticed that Lexxi and Clowy were still standing in the station. He walked back, shooed them forward and carefully led them past the row of humans. Solear made a concentrated effort not to run.

  They walked into the caribou corridor and relative safety. Solear saw that there was onl
y one human remaining. He was standing on the far side of the doorway leading to the bridge. Their luggage was piled neatly beside him.

  Solear looked closely at the human, verified it was indeed Ace, and said, “Please follow us onto the bridge.”

  Captain Solear deactivated the force field and they dragged the luggage onto the bridge. Ace helped push the last of it on the bridge.

  Solear said, “Ace, set course for the Waylon – Uselon hyperspace corridor at .17 light. Engage when ready.”

  Ace replied, “Aye Captain, course is set. .17 light. Engaging now.”

  An hour later they reached the outskirts of Waylon’s gravity. They were approximately where they had launched the three sets of planet charting missiles. Solear personally entered the coordinates for a micro jump across Waylon.

  When they reached the entryway to the Waylon – Uselon corridor, Solear dismissed Ace. He then queried the automated traffic control beacon and received clearance and updated coordinates to Uselon. Solear again entered the coordinates, double checked for accuracy, and ran the appropriate simulation. They jumped to Uselon.

  Chapter 12

  Approximately an hour into the jump from Waylon to Uselon, Solear became restless. He had been stuck on the small corvette for over a month and really just wanted to go for a walk. However, walking around may prove problematic with humans aboard.

  Solear said, “Computer, scan the ship and find the location of every human aboard. Display a schematic of the ship and overlay each human’s location.”

  Solear walked closer to the monitor and studied it intently. Just as he had hoped, the humans were spread out around the ship. There were 20 pilots in the fighters and another 16 pilots in their quarters. There were a few humans in engineering and a large concentration in one of the lower maintenance bays. The rest were spread out throughout the ship.

  Lexxi walked up to him and said, “What are you doing?”

  Solear said, “I am going to walk through the ship and meet some of the new crew members. This looks like a good time because they are spread out. I shouldn’t encounter more than one or two at a time.”