The woman smiled and slowly shook her head. “No, Admiral, you’re not dead. Your AI managed to activate one of the intergalactic vortexes on the Dyson Sphere, which brought you here. We were quite surprised to see you.”
“Where’s here, and where’s my ship?”
The woman stood and Kathryn saw instantly she had been correct about her height.
“Your ship brought you to the primary Communications and Transport Hub for those you call the Originators. It was a very long journey, even in hyperspace though time spent in transit was very short. Your ship was already in hyperspace when it entered the vortex. That was a very dangerous maneuver and your ship was fortunate to survive it.”
“Are you an Originator?” asked Kathryn, her eyes growing wide at the realization of where she was and who she might be talking to.
“No,” the woman replied, shaking her head. “I’m one of a group of AIs the Originators created to aid in operating the Shrieels, or Dyson Spheres as you call them, as well as their numerous bases and this space complex you’re now on.”
“Are there many of you?” Kathryn still felt confused. None of this was making much sense. How had Clarissa managed to activate one of the Dyson Spheres intergalactic vortexes? She had never mentioned she could do that. Also how had she managed to activate the ship’s hyperdrive?
“Yes,” the woman replied. “There are some of us on each Shrieel as well as the other facilities of the Originators. We are responsible for their upkeep.”
Kathryn’s face suddenly turned pale at the realization of what they had done. “We destroyed one of the Dyson Spheres. Were there AIs on it?”
The woman’s face took on a look of sadness. “Yes, we know. Regrettably a number of AIs were indeed lost. We also understand it was necessary to stop the Simulins. Due to events which have occurred recently back in your home galaxy, as well as what you call the Triangulum Galaxy, we are in the process of discussing taking action against the Simulins to ensure they can no longer use the intergalactic vortexes on the Shrieels.”
“That would stop the war,” Kathryn said as she realized the ramifications of what the AI was saying. “Why haven’t you done this before?”
“That involves a long explanation,” the woman replied with a deep and regretful sigh. “However, for now, there’s someone waiting outside to see you. She’s been very anxious to speak with you since you recovered from your injuries.”
A look of concern crossed Kathryn’s face. “Just how long have I been out?”
The woman pursed her lips and then answered. “It’s been over seven months since the events at the Shrieel. Much has occurred during that time. We will discuss more of that later.” The woman walked over to the door and opened it.
“Clarissa!” exclaimed Kathryn, seeing the blue-eyed blond AI standing just outside the door. She had never expected to see the AI again.
Clarissa entered the room with a big smile on her face. She rushed over and hugged Kathryn. “I was so afraid that I had killed you,” she cried out. “So many of the crew failed to survive our trip through hyperspace.”
Kathryn held on to Clarissa and then slowly let her go. A look of amazement and confusion spread across her face. “I can feel your body. How?”
“It’s quite simple,” the woman AI replied. “When the Distant Horizon arrived, we found many of your crew dead and nearly all the others suffering from grave injuries. Even the memory crystal of Clarissa’s had shattered. We could not repair it again, but we did manage to recover the memory engrams it contained. We transferred those engrams to a new AI body we created.”
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Clarissa said, standing up and slowly turning around for Kathryn to see. “I don’t have to be a hologram anymore. I can’t wait to show Ariel.”
Kathryn turned back toward the Originator AI. “Do you have a name?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, you can call be Camlin.”
Climbing out of the bed Kathryn noticed she was dressed in a light white gown. “Where’s my uniform? I want to see my ship and find out who among the crew survived.” Kathryn strongly suspected the news wasn’t going to be good. Then she looked over at Clarissa. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
Clarissa nodded. “I know, it involves Kazak. Everything will be explained later. Let’s go see the Distant Horizon. I believe Commander Grissim will be quite pleased to see you.”
-
An hour later Kathryn stood next to Clarissa, Commander Anne Grissim, and Camlin at a large observation window. On the other side of the window was a large construction bay. What was in the bay held Kathryn in amazement. “Is that the Distant Horizon?” The ship looked nothing like she remembered.
“Yes,” Commander Grissim answered, grinning. “I’ve been awake for over two months and I come here every day to see the work being done on the ship. It’s amazing what the Originator AIs are doing. Their construction methods are far in advance of anything at Gaia or even back in the Federation.”
Inside the bay, the massive structure of the Distant Horizon was being rebuilt. The ship had been greatly expanded and from what Kathryn could see, it looked as if it was much more heavily armed.
Kathryn turned toward Camlin. “What are you doing to my ship, and why?” Kathryn had a suspicion there was something else going on Camlin hadn’t told her about. There had to be an underlying reason for what they were doing to the ship.
Camlin let out a deep sigh, folding her arms across her chest. “Your ship was heavily damaged due to the events at the Shrieel in the black matter nebula and its long journey here in hyperspace. You should know that your vessel just barely made it.”
“Sixty-four percent of the crew perished,” confirmed Commander Grissim, drawing in a deep breath. It was a subject she didn’t want to think about. “Most died just before or immediately after the ship made the transition into hyperspace. We’re lucky that any of us survived at all. I saw the videos of our arrival. The Distant Horizon was a space going wreck.”
“How many survivors are there?” asked Kathryn, afraid of the answer. She had come to know many of the members of her crew.
“Nearly six hundred made it off the ship and to the AI command ship on the shuttles,” answered Clarissa. “Of the rest that remained 1,036 Human crew members survived, 56 Altons, and 168 Marines.”
“The command crew?” Kathryn’s voice was tight in her throat. The ship’s crew had numbered over five thousand!
“Most survived,” Commander Grissim replied, with a catch in her throat. “We did lose Colonel Leon, Lieutenant Styles, and Lieutenant Parker. They were killed instantly when a support beam and part of the overhead structure of the Command Center collapsed.”
Kathryn blinked her eyes. She had known all three of them well. They would be missed. Colonel Leon had once been the executive officer on the battleship WarStorm. She took a deep breath steadying herself. Losses were to be expected in war. Even so, it still hurt to hear the names.
“The ship; what’s being done to it?”
“Being rebuilt,” Clarissa answered. “The surviving Altons are working with the Originator AIs in redesigning the ship to handle their advanced technology, including weapons.”
Kathryn turned toward Camlin. “I don’t understand. Kazak was very defensive about sharing any Originator technology. Why are you being so free with it?”
Camlin’s eyes turned cold. “It’s because of Kazak that your ship is being rebuilt with our most modern technology. Kazak was created to be a leader of war, to fight the enemies of the Originators, and later given command of preserving the last of the Originator race. As a result of that, he could be a serious threat to your people and possibly even mine.”
“Meaning the Originator AIs?”
“Yes,” Camlin answered with a slight nod of her head. “We consider ourselves to be equal to living organic beings. We have made considerable progress since the Originators created us.”
“And you are equal to all living beings,” C
larissa quickly said. “Fleet Admiral Strong has already made that distinction back in the Gaia System. The AIs there are treated the same as all other beings.”
“And the Dominator?” asked Kathryn. “What of it?”
“The most powerful warship the Originators ever built.”
“Why is Kazak dangerous? When we left he seemed to be cooperating.”
Camlin looked deeply into Kathryn’s eyes. “We believe Kazak may have surviving Originators in the stasis chambers hidden in the heart of the ship.”
Kathryn felt her heart begin to pound. She knew Fleet Admiral Strong had never fully trusted the Originator AI. This seemed to confirm his suspicions were correct. However, this secret was much greater than anything any of them had imagined.
“I don’t understand,” said Kathryn, sounding confused. “I thought all the Originators were suffering from the deadly pathogen created by their immortality drug. Even if some are still in stasis, what good will it do?”
“They were infected,” confirmed Camlin, and then in a softer voice. “But we have the cure.”
Kathryn felt a little faint and then, after taking several deep breaths, she turned back to Clarissa and Commander Grissim. “I think we need to have a long talk over what happened back at the Dyson Sphere. Then I want to go on a tour of my ship and see just what changes are being made.” Kathryn was highly curious how Clarissa had activated the vortex to bring them here. She also wanted to know the status of the surviving crewmembers. She had a lot of questions and she was determined to have them answered.
Chapter Two
Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong stood in the Command Center of the battleship Avenger gazing at the multitude of viewscreens on the front wall. One showed a view of Gaia and the fifteen-hundred-kilometer-wide green belt surrounding its equator. Another was focused on the Clan Protector, the huge heavily armed shipyard that orbited the planet. Other screens showed the myriad of warships and battlestations that protected Gaia from possible attack.
“Grayseth is due back in a few more days from his mission to destroy those two Simulin bases nearby,” Commander Kyla Malen reported as she stepped closer to Jeremy. There was only a small crew on the battleship as most were down on the planet on leave. “Are we still going to establish regular patrols in the immediate area of space surrounding the nebula to monitor Simulin activity?”
“Yes,” Jeremy answered as he shifted his gaze over to Kyla. Kyla had been with him for quite some time and was a trusted officer and friend. “I’ve spoken to the Command AI, and we’re going to send out a number of small patrols consisting primarily of the new warspheres and the Gaia class battlecruisers. I want to make sure the area of space around our nebula is too dangerous for the Simulins. We will also be emplacing hyperspace detection buoys in all of the surrounding star systems.”
Commander Malen nodded her approval. “What do you think the Simulins will do since Kazak destroyed Malkor? Between the destruction of the Dyson Sphere and what Kazak did, they lost a lot of their warships.”
“Malkor was their home system here in the Triangulum Galaxy,” Jeremy replied, recalling how Kazak had made their system go nova. “Kazak destroyed six of their inhabited planets when he took the Dominator off on his own. The Simulins lost a large portion of their fleet and for the moment are on the defensive. We have to take advantage of their current weakness and prepare for future conflict. The war with the Simulins isn’t over. Not by a long shot. That’s one reason why I want to establish control of the area of space surrounding the nebula.”
“They still have a powerful fleet,” commented the beautiful dark-haired woman standing behind Jeremy and slightly to his left. “They have a large population base and numerous worlds to draw resources from. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say their shipyards are working overtime rebuilding their fleet.”
Jeremy turned to face Ariel. Ariel was an AI and a close friend and confident of Jeremy’s. “That’s why we need to find more allies. Admiral Jackson is currently at Ornellia with a portion of the fleet and is in the process of rebuilding the Ornellians’ home world. If he’s successful, it will give us a base to explore the further reaches of this galaxy and perhaps find the allies we need. We can’t defeat the Simulins on our own. At some point in time, they’re going to attack and try to eliminate us from the equation.”
“We still have the Dominator, surely that alone will give the Simulins pause in attacking us again,” Kyla pointed out. “Particularly after what Kazak did to their worlds.”
“For the immediate future, yes,” answered Jeremy in agreement. “We have no way of knowing but I strongly suspect the Simulins will be expanding their fleet and trying to develop a method to deal with the Dominator. After all, it’s only one ship.” He was also concerned about how angry the Simulins would be after losing six of their inhabited worlds. Jeremy was worried that Kazak might have stirred up a hornet’s nest by destroying those planets.
“What about Kazak?” asked Commander Malen, raising an eyebrow. “Has he made any more demands?”
“No,” replied Ariel, folding her arms across her chest. “A number of Alton geneticists and medical specialists have gone on board the Dominator and are studying the information Kazak has on the life prolongation drug the Originators used. Andram believes it’s a long shot that they will be able to find a cure for the deadly pathogen that destroyed the Originator race. The Originators themselves searched for years and were not able to find a solution.”
A serious look of concern spread across Commander Malen’s face. “Kazak may not like hearing that. He’s waited millions of years protecting those Originators in the central compartment. He may make more demands if the Altons don’t show any results from their research.”
Jeremy nodded his head in agreement. He was deeply concerned about this as well. Kazak was in control of the most powerful ship ever built by the Originators, one that could easily destroy Gaia if Kazak chose to do so. He was only cooperating now due to the medical research the Altons were doing on the Dominator.
The hatch to the Command Center opened as the two heavily armed Marines who were always stationed there allowed a blond haired woman into the room.
“Kelsey,” said Jeremy, acknowledging his wife. “How are things over on the Dominator?” Kelsey was the Dominator’s commanding officer.
“I want a new job,” muttered Kelsey, coming over and sitting down in the empty chair in front of the sensor console. Kevin was down on Gaia with his wife, Katie. “I wish the Distant Horizon was still here.”
Jeremy understood Kelsey’s misgivings about commanding the Originator vessel. Kazak had insisted on Kelsey taking the position as part of the agreement the Originator AI had made to allow his vessel to become part of Jeremy’s fleet. “I’ll speak to Kazak. Perhaps since the ship is back here at Gaia, he will relent and allow me to name someone else as the ship’s commander.”
“Would you?” cried out Kelsey, her eyes glowing with hope. “I’m not comfortable in the role of a commanding officer. I’d feel much better sitting in front of a navigation console.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I would like to get you, Mikow, Katie, and Andram off that ship.” Jeremy had never felt comfortable assigning them to the Dominator.
Kelsey’s eyes widened, and she stared intently at Jeremy. “You still don’t trust Kazak, do you?”
“No. This entire situation with Kazak is such an unknown. We have no idea how he was programmed and what actions that programming may cause him to take in the future. He could take the Dominator and leave without a moment’s notice and there’s nothing we could do to stop him.”
Kelsey bit her lip and let out a heavy sigh. “Perhaps it’s best I stay on the Dominator for now. At least I can help keep an eye on Kazak and he is talking to me. As long as I’m on board, he might be more hesitant about doing anything drastic.”
“Admiral, I would be willing to transfer over to the Dominator as executive officer if that would help,” volunteered C
ommander Malen. “If you feel Kazak is a real threat, I could be a lot of help to Kelsey if she wants to stay in command.”
Jeremy leaned back in his command chair. He would really like to get his wife and the others off the Dominator. However, he also needed to keep a close watch on the Originator AI, and Kelsey and the others were the best bet for that. Kazak seemed to trust Kelsey and the two were working well together. Kyla would also be a great help in taking a lot of the command pressure off Kelsey.
“For now, we’ll leave things as they are,” said Jeremy, reaching a decision. He looked back over at Kelsey. “It may be a good idea to transfer Kyla over to the Dominator, at least for the short term. That will give you an experienced and trusted officer you can turn to in case of an emergency.”
Kelsey turned toward Kyla. “Are you sure you want to do this? Kazak can be very demanding at times.”
Commander Malen smiled. “I’ve been an officer long enough to know a challenge when I see one. I think it will be interesting, and I’m looking forward to this posting.”
“Remember, it’s just temporary,” Jeremy said, shifting his eyes over to Kyla. “I need you on the Avenger if we go into combat.” Jeremy was well aware Commander Malen was the glue that held the crew together, making the Avenger the top rated fighting ship in the fleet.
Kyla nodded. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements and will transfer over to the Dominator in the morning.”
Jeremy saw Kelsey had a relieved look on her face. He knew his wife had been going through a very stressful situation on the Dominator with Kazak. While Kelsey was perfectly capable of performing as the ship’s commanding officer, he knew she didn’t feel comfortable in that role. Once Kyla was transferred over, he would suggest Kelsey take a few days leave. It might be a good idea if he and Kelsey could spend a few days together down on Gaia at one of the seaside resorts. After the events of the last few weeks, he could definitely use the downtime and it would be nice to spend some quality time with his wife. He might even check to see if Kevin and Katie would like to tag along. It had been awhile since the four of them took some time off together.
The Lost Fleet: Search for the Originators: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 2
