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Unknown Earth Volume 2

Page 6

by Frank Wallace


  “We did it!” Alaba says, wrapping a celebratory arm around Kerry.

  “Already?” Ravaan utters. Tasweer laughs as she watches the celebrating team.

  “Beat your little puzzle so quickly, what a surprise!” she quips, with a playful slap for effect.

  “The Shipmates that use this solution normally take a lot longer to reach that conclusion. It is the brute force option. There are storage units filled with extra tubes all around the room, my dear” he replies. He is trying to be professional but Tasweer sees the mixture of shock and pride written on his face.

  “Go congratulate your trainees, Ravaan. They deserve it” she says, kissing him on the cheek. He watches her leave, already feeling the sting of her absence, before composing himself. Shipmate Maxwell was indeed an extremely promising officer. But she clearly had some issues that would need to be resolved in the future. Ravaan makes a mental note to talk to the Captain about the matter as he heads down to the hall. The various Shipmates all snap to attention as he stops in front of Emily’s group. He waits for Alonso to climb out and dust himself down before speaking.

  “This is a simple exercise designed to give you two important lessons in being an Imperial Officer. The first lesson is that you need to apply logical and creative thinking to even the most basic of orders. The Space Force requires officers of vision and perspicacity, not automatons” He informs the enthralled Shipmates. He can see the visible annoyance across some of them. They were not amused that one group had found a solution first. Good. A little competitive drive is a healthy thing.

  “The second lesson is that team-work and self-sacrifice are key elements to a successful career. You must work together in all things, to make yourselves more than you are. Collectively, we are greater than we ever could be alone. This is not an organisation for heroes or lone wolves. We must support each other constantly to complete our objectives” He says. He looks around the room to see if the trainees are taking his words on board. A lot of them appear to be deep in thought, which pleases Ravaan. Even Shipmate Maxwell has lost her initial anger. She, more than most, might appreciate the chance to test this newfound understanding. He walks over to a panel on the nearest wall, activating a pod that causes several large blocks to drop from the ceiling.

  “This is another simple exercise for you” he declares to a cacophony of groans. He looks back up at the viewing booth and smiles at the thought of his wife chuckling away.

  A flurry of officers cleaned away the remnants of lunch as Nemmy watches. One of the officers is a Lieutenant, she notes with some surprise. A bit of a waste. Someone of that rank could be doing proper work. The benefits of absolute power, she thinks bitterly. Rayne gets up from the table and gives Nemmy a hug.

  “My darling, I must depart. Some urgent meeting about some disturbance or some such nonsense. Make sure they clean your mother’s table properly this time, yes?” he says, jabbing a finger at the nearby officers. He and Alondra share a polite kiss before he leaves. Alondra barely waits for the door to close before motioning Nemmy towards another part of the office.

  “Follow me to the viewing platform” she demands. They march through a short tunnel into an open bubble room. Nemmy remembers this place from a previous visit. The transparent framing of the sphere-shaped room makes her feel like she was stepping right out into space. Apart from the moveable chairs behind a hologram projection unit built into the floor, the entire room was nothing but windows above and below. The view is truly breath-taking. A patrol ship akin to the Boomslang could be seen leaving the station. Nemmy walks right up to the window. Her father had told her once that her mother had the entire station moved at great expense so that Emperor’s Throne, the centre of the Imperium, was located to the right side of the station, and Earth herself was located somewhere on the left side. Although Alondra herself had never confirmed or denied that this was the case. Nemmy found the idea of such a display of sentimentality hard to believe.

  “I presume this is what you wish to talk about,” Alondra says, drawing Nemmy’s attention to the hologram projector. A visual of a man appears, in an Imperial outfit.

  Nemmy froze. The man was the one who spotted her on the secret base. The one she had stunned. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. She just stared blankly at the image.

  “You recognise this officer, yes? Have you any idea how stupid you have been!” Alondra barks at her, with real venom in her voice. Nemmy cowers away from her.

  “I’m sorry, mother. I’m sorry. I panicked!” she moans.

  “You panicked!” Alondra spits. She switches off the image with a thud before turning away from Nemmy.

  “I don’t run that base if that’s what you are thinking. What Admirals do with their devolved budgets is their own concern. But be assured that I know everything that happens in my sector. Everything. You are incredibly fortunate that I was able to prevent Winters discovering this. Can you comprehend the situation we would both be in?” she says, suddenly calm and composed.

  “My friend was in trouble, I had to help him” Nemmy retorts quietly. Alondra snorts her disgust.

  “You are a commanding officer now, Nemantha. You don’t get to risk your career and potentially your life on nonsense. Every single decision you make, big or small, has consequences. You must evaluate the situation first. Every single time! How many times have I explained this to you?” she bellows.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll try-I mean, I’ll do that” Nemmy offers, trying to get through this experience quickly. At least her mother wasn’t directly responsible for the base. Although…

  “Excuse me, mother, but what happens if this officer does tell Admiral Winters?” she asks, just about managing to look her mother in the eye. The faintest smirk flutters across Alondra’s face.

  “That officer won’t be telling anyone anything,” she says coolly.

  “What do you….oh God, no, please don’t tell-“

  “The Summit is in a matter of weeks, I cannot afford to look bad in front of the Emperor. And neither can you. Actions always have consequences. Always.” Alondra whispers. Nemmy is too horrified to speak. Alondra watches her for several moments, but she simply stares at the floor.

  “You’ll toughen up one day, Nemantha. In the meantime, when your ship is repaired, I have an errand for you to handle. An influential family require assistance, and we’ll give it to them. I’ll have the details forwarded to you” she states, before leaving the room. Nemmy stumbles back into a seat. She squeezes her eyes shut, but it doesn’t matter. She can’t see anything other than that man’s face.

  He was only doing his job.

  Beware the Demons

  “I believe there has been a series of upgrades as well, Lieutenant?” Ravaan asks. Zhang nods and flicks through information on his datapad. Nemmy still felt a bit odd around Zhang, but in truth, she was thankful for this update. They’d been in warp-space for days. Sitting on the bridge with nothing to do but let her mind race. She couldn’t stop thinking about that officer on the secret base. He was almost certainly dead, because of her. Anything that occupies her mind is a blessed relief. Ravaan had wisely staggered updates, training programs and reviews to fill the time.

  “Yeah, they’ve put in a whole new Paris Drive, re-jigged the power modulation setup completely. They’ve also re-worked our weapon systems. Thanks to the increased power output, we’ve been able to attach two gimballed cannons underneath the ship” Zhang says.

  “Gimballed?” Nemmy asks Amira.

  “It means we don’t need to face the ships we are shooting at; the guns will track independently. I’ve been requesting them for months” Amira whispers back.

  “Those little robots got their robot hands all over the ship. Oxygen production, storage retrieval mechanisms, Uni-Panel chipsets, extra redundancy networks, database installations, cyber security updates, the works” Zhang goes on. He casts an accusator
y glance at Nemmy.

  “Even the turbo-tubes have independent temperature regulation controls now” He growls. Nemmy quickly avoids his glare.

  “Isn’t it amazing the work that can be done when people actually care about their jobs?” Amira snaps, drawing his attention away from Nemmy. Zhang’s face drops.

  “Point taken, Major”

  “Forward the details to us for individual review, Lieutenant. Dismissed” Ravaan interjects, perhaps choosing the diplomatic approach. Zhang is happy to oblige, departing with a curt nod. The bridge door has barely closed before Amira sighs noisily.

  “He infuriates me to no end. If he were assigned to a male-only ship, he’d be the finest engineer alive” she laments.

  “I’m sure he’d find a way to get women on the ship” Nemmy jokes.

  “If only he could find his way into an escape pod and leave” Amira grumbles. She turns to her console, and Nemmy decides to do the same. When her mother said, ‘an errand’, she had no idea it would become this complicated adventure. The Boomslang was one of ten ships being dispatched to a small cluster of systems several dozen light-years outside Imperial space. Also, quite a distance outside human explored space, interestingly. The hastily assembled flotilla included four other patrol class ships, three missile boats, and one Interception class cruiser; all commanded by a Fleet Suppression class battleship. Visibly smaller than the colossal Battle Platforms such as the Hammer of Justice, this ship was still an impressive sight, an elongated green and white ovoid bristling with cannons. Fleet Captain Ruster, placed in charge of this expedition on short notice, had been a breath of fresh air to Nemmy. He is entirely by the book, with next to no communication at all. He simply issues general orders and leaves the Captains to their own affairs. A pleasing change, she feels.

  Some civilian with infinitely more money than sense decided to go exploring systems far outside Imperial space for some unknown reason. Contact has been broken, although his transponder is still intermittently sending out info. Nemmy’s mother had reasoned that it would be better for the ISF to step in. For PR purposes no doubt, and also for her mother to have yet another rich benefactor supporting her inevitable rise to being Queen of the Universe. To all intents and purposes, this is basically a search and rescue mission. But despite everything, Nemmy is still quite excited about seeing new worlds and stars. Some of the info sent back from the private expedition had detailed fascinating ecological systems on a couple of worlds. Nothing concrete, but there were signs of advanced life having visited at least one planet in this cluster. Strange clearings and evidence of artificial tunnel creation were enticing stuff. If Nemmy wasn’t stuck in her job, she could easily see herself out here doing the same work. Even allowing for the various bad experiences so far, she chides herself.

  “We’ll be at the designated waypoint in moments, Captain” Emily announces. Nemmy straightens up in her chair. They were due a good turn, surely. She activates the viewspace as the flotilla arrives safely. The other ships hang spaced far apart from each other, illuminated by the nearby star. Fleet Captain Ruster establishes a flotilla wide comm-link.

  “Captains, my ship shall remain in this system to search here and to coordinate matters. Initial information suggests the transponder signal is still active, but some unknown effect is stunting the signal. It appears to be duplicated or distorted in some fashion. Each of you will be assigned a system to search momentarily. Good luck” he says briskly. The comm link ends as bluntly as it started.

  “Not even an image link?” Alonso queries in an amused tone.

  “Too busy for moon-slugs like you” Emily jokes, slapping him on the arm. The giggling laughter between the two Shipmates was a massive relief to Nemmy. Stay in a good mood, she silently begs the pair.

  “Emily, take us to our selected system as soon as you have the location. Ravaan, I’m going down to the shuttle bay” she says, leaping out of her seat. She is almost certain that they’d need to physically search for this person. The quick trip to the shuttle bay confirmed that she wasn’t the only one with this thought. Amira and Lynsey are already there, fully armed and waiting by one of the smaller shuttles. Nemmy hadn’t even noticed Amira leaving her chair.

  “Expecting trouble?” She asks them, eying the stocked pouch belts they’ve both equipped.

  “I always expect trouble. If this fool is out here, we’ll need to bring him back whether he wants to come or not. If he’s dead, then something killed him” Amira says. Lynsey opens a nearby crate and hands Nemmy a large rifle exactly like the one attached to her back.

  “You know how to use the big gun?” She says with a wink. Nemmy clumsily handles the large green and white weapon, mildly surprised that it’s lighter than it appears to be.

  “If you insist on coming, remember that in a fire fight I make the calls,” Amira says with a finger jab for effect. “I’m keeping the team small. Don’t want to get bogged down, and the small shuttles are easier to hide” she informs them. They bustle onto the shuttle, where Angela is already running through pre-flight checks. Ravaan’s voice booms inside the shuttle.

  “We have arrived at our designated search area. The transponder signal is emanating from the nearest planet, but some unknown interference is preventing a location fix” He says. Amira responds via an internal comm panel.

  “Got it. We’ll have better luck searching the planet’s surface with the shuttle. I’m taking a display Strap, sync the ship sweeps to my unit” she demands, as she takes a larger Strap from a storage locker and clips it onto the one on her arm.

  “Done. There appears to be only one habitable planet in this system, so we shall remain in close orbit. If you find nothing, we shall search for wreckage on the other planets when you return” Ravaan says. As soon as everyone is seated, the shuttle whooshes out of the bay towards the planet. Everything starts rattling as they blast through the atmosphere towards the surface.

  “Could you for once just pilot like a normal person!” Lynsey shouts, drawing laughter from Angela.

  “You’ll be fine, shut up” she jokes back. Nemmy isn’t quite as amused by all the bumping. She focuses on the situation, checking the nearest Uni-Panel for a quick scan of the planet. The basic readings indicate bearable gravity and more than enough oxygen to go without breathing equipment. There is also a puzzling indication of random radiation spikes, but they weren’t going to be down there too long she reasoned. If this Mr McKellar is still alive, hopefully, he has the wherewithal to stay somewhere safe. She activates the window, looking out over the landscape. It is quite beautiful. Lots of red and orange plant life spread out before the shuttle in all directions. What seems like a distant bright greenish lake worms around the base of a jagged mountain with a gaping hole in the middle. A tingle of excitement shoots up her spine. Despite everything else, this job did have perks.

  Angela manages to land the shuttle next to a clump of drooping brown trees covered with thick orange and red leaves. Lynsey opens the door and chucks a few scanning balls out. She frowns at the display popping up from the control unit, slapping it a few times.

  “There’s something messing up the scans. I can’t get a precise lock on anything…wait…there’s almost definitely a person or person-like thing nearby. There’s a little cave about fifty metres forward from here. Something is registering as a lifeform. The reading isn’t clear” Lynsey says, pointing off in the direction of the cave. Amira doesn’t hesitate, leading the way out of the shuttle, rifle already in hand.

  “Alright, I’ll go first. Lynsey cover the rear. Or you can stay here if you want, Captain” she says. Nemmy shakes her head, arming her own rifle.

  “No way” she grins. They all troop away from the shuttle, guns pointing in all directions. The foliage around is bright and lively, and the orange-hued grass around them flutters slightly in a warm breeze. Yet it is oddly quiet. Nemmy is no expert, but it seems hard to believe such a lush environ
ment wouldn’t have at least some native animal life. The lighter gravity gives their every step the faintest bounce as they walk towards a rocky opening rising amongst the grass.

  “This air is something else,” Lynsey says, taking a huge breath through her nose.

  “It’s the excess oxygen, most likely” Amira replies without looking back. As they approach the mouth of the cave, she rushes to one side to peer in. She motions at the others to stop. They both crouch down as Amira steps inside the cave, pressed against the inner wall. Nemmy flits her eyes around the area. It was still extremely quiet.

  “Why is there no noise?” Lynsey asks.

  “I was just thinking that,” Nemmy replies.

  “We’re probably going to be eaten by some silent dinosaur”

  “You know, you always say stuff like that, and then terrible things actually happen!” Nemmy jests. Lynsey stops to think about it.

  “You might actually be right. For the sake of this mission, I should shoot myself now” she says, flattening out on the grass and pointing her rifle at her face.

  “Lynsey, behave yourself!” Nemmy says, failing to control her laughter. They are harshly shushed by Amira.

  “Unusual elements in the air are affecting you. It’s not toxic, so don’t worry. Focus on the task at hand, it will pass” she says, gesturing for them to follow her into the cave mouth. They both stumble up behind her but their minds clear instantly when they see what she has stopped at.

  A ring of stones arranged around a small battery pack, wedged upright against the wall of the cave. Mr McKellar must be in here, Nemmy realises. Amira leads them into the cave proper, switching on her rifle light. They creep past a couple of large rocks, barely visible in the darkening tunnel, before finding a sliver of light further ahead. Amira blinks her light twice back towards Lynsey and ghosts away towards the source of the light. Lynsey grabs Nemmy and they crouch down together.

 

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