Admiral Jackson shifted his eyes over to Rear Admiral Barnes. “I was hoping you could stay for a few days. At least until we repaired our battle damage. But now, it seems that you must return to Gaia as soon as possible.”
Kathryn was in full agreement with Admiral Jackson. “Clarissa, how long will it take for the Distant Horizon to reach Gaia?” Kathryn knew their new hyperdrive was capable of very high speeds in hyperspace. Unfortunately, due to the star density, they couldn’t use the intergalactic hyperdrive.
“A little over a week,” answered Clarissa.
Kathryn nodded and then turned back to Admiral Jackson. “We’ll stay two days and then set out for Gaia.”
Jackson nodded. “If there’s anything you need let me know and I’ll see what can be arranged.”
Kathryn smiled. “I think it’s us that will be helping you out. How would you like twenty of our defense globes? They’re capable of bringing down the energy shield of any Simulin ship. That should ensure the safety of Ornellia, particularly once the defense grid is brought back up to full strength.”
“We’ll take them,” replied a grateful Admiral Jackson without hesitation. “Besides, after what you did to the Simulin fleet, I doubt if we’ll be seeing any Simulin vessels for quite some time.”
-
Supreme High Commander Altrab gazed at the tactical display at the paltry remnants of his fleet. Seventy-three battlecruisers and one hundred and eleven escort cruisers were all that remained.
“We have been defeated,” said High Commander Jarald. “When we return to Gladen Three our lives will be forfeit.”
“It is the Simulin way,” responded Altrab, accepting his likely fate. “Failure is not an option for a Simulin commander, no matter what his rank.”
“The battle computer is requesting that we send word to the Grand Council, warning them of this second ship equipped with ancient weapons.”
“Make it so,” Altrab ordered. “Send them all the data on the battle including the scans we made of the vessel. Inform them we will be coming to Gladen Three shortly to submit ourselves to the council.”
Altrab was deeply worried this marked the end of the Simulins in this galaxy. If the organics from the Fitula Nebula now had access to ancient weapons and technology, then the Simulin fleets were doomed. He would return to Gladen Three and suffer the consequences for his defeat. He was not afraid of death, no Simulin was. They were born to serve the empire and die in its service. However, in the coming months and years he strongly suspected there would be many Simulin High Commanders joining him in death.
-
In orbit above Gaia, Jeremy was on board one of the Alton science ships. It was equipped with a very advanced medical center, and it was here they were going to attempt to revive one of the Originators.
“Will this work?” asked Jeremy, looking over at Andram who was standing next to him.
“Unknown,” replied Andram. “Nothing quite like this has ever been tried before. ZED, Daena, and Lansha all believe it will.”
Jeremy knew Daena and Lansha were Alton medical specialists who had been working with ZED on modifying the nanites.
They were standing in an observation room with a large window overlooking the room where the procedure would be carried out. Jeremy knew a lot was riding on this. If it failed and the Originator died, he didn’t want to think of the consequences. In order to preserve Gaia and his fleet, it might be necessary to give in to Kazak’s demands to use the AI shipyards to begin constructing capacitor stations. At least that would buy him some time to think of another solution. He didn’t know if Kazak still possessed any more dark matter missiles, but he dared not take the chance. Just one of those missiles striking Gaia and the planet would be doomed.
“Who is the Originator Kazak chose for the procedure?” asked Kelsey. She had requested to be there as the Dominator was her ship and would be affected by the success or failure of this operation.
Jeremy looked down into the medical room where Kazak stood. The eight-foot-tall Originator AI was standing with his arms crossed, watching with critical eyes as an Originator was carefully removed from his stasis chamber and placed on the operating table. Special life support devices were quickly attached by the Alton medical specialists.
“His name is Zafron, and he is the Dominator’s second in command.”
“A ship’s officer,” said Katie, who was standing next to Kelsey. “I wonder why he chose an officer to be experimented on rather than one of the scientists?”
‘I asked him that,” Jeremy said. “He claims Zafron was more open minded about trying obscure treatments in order to cure the life extension pathogen than most of the other Originators. He felt this first awakening needed to be someone who wouldn’t react badly to having mechanical nanites injected into their body.”
Andram turned toward Jeremy. “That might still pose a problem with some of the other Originators. Zafron might not allow the use of the nanites on the others.”
“Not even if it’s the only cure?” asked Katie, her eyes showing doubt.
Andram let out a deep sigh. “I spoke at length with Kazak about this. He expects there will be some problems from Zafron about using nanites, but once he’s convinced there are no vile affects he will accept the fact that they are a cure. However, even Kazak wasn’t certain if Zafron would allow the nanites to be used on the others. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Look, they’re starting,” said Katie as she watched ZED and two other AIs enter the room.
“Let’s just hope this works,” said Kelsey, crossing her fingers.
Jeremy’s eyes shifted to ZED and the medical injector the AI was carrying. ZED stopped and spoke briefly to Kazak, who nodded.
Floating over to the table Zafron lay on ZED waited patiently as everyone took their positions. Then, with one smooth motion, ZED injected the reconfigured nanites into Zafron’s upper arm.
Jeremy leaned forward until his face was nearly touching the window. He was breathing heavier and his pulse had quickened. What would it be like to speak to an actual Originator? The builders of the Dyson Spheres. Keeping his eyes focused on Zafron Jeremy felt his curiosity grow.
On the table, Zafron’s body suddenly began to spasm. His arms jerked and his legs began trembling. Kazak moved closer in concern speaking heatedly to ZED.
ZED spoke to one of the other AIs, who injected Zafron in his other arm. The spasms instantly subsided.
“Thought we had lost him for a moment,” Kelsey said, stepping over and taking Jeremy’s hand. “If anything bad happens to Zafron in that room, I wouldn’t want to be ZED.”
Jeremy had to agree. There was no doubt in his mind if Zafron was to die on that table, Kazak would destroy ZED and the other two AIs before they could get out of the room. Jeremy was beginning to regret he hadn’t brought some Marines along just in case Kazak went berserk.
-
For nearly two hours the AIs and the Altons worked on Zafron with Kazak watching their every move and occasionally stopping them to ask a question. Each time he allowed them to continue. Finally they seemed to reach a stopping point and after Daena checked several instruments, she nodded at ZED.
Jeremy watched as ZED left the room followed closely by Kazak. The other two AIs and the two Altons remained behind observing Zafron for any changes.
“I guess it’s over,” Kelsey said. “I just hope everything went well.”
“It must have,” Katie added. “If not, ZED and Kazak wouldn’t have left the room.”
“I believe it was a success,” Andram said. “From what I was told earlier everything went as planned.”
“We’ll know shortly,” Jeremy said as the door to the observation room opened and ZED and Kazak came in.
“We have been successful so far,” ZED began. “Zafron’s body has accepted the medical nanites, and they’re currently in the process of removing all traces of the organic nanite that caused the pathogen.”
“I am confused abou
t one thing,” said Jeremy, shifting his eyes to Kazak. “You said the Originators had passed some rules that prohibited the use of nanites, yet they constructed these biological nanites in their attempt at immortality.”
“There is a difference,” Kazak replied. “Like the Altons, the Originators used nanites to combat disease but they were organic and their use was very closely controlled. Mechanical nanites were not allowed as they could too easily be reprogrammed to make changes to the physiology of an Originator too frightening to even comprehend. It occurred in the past and caused a rift in the Originator civilization. After that, experimentation using mechanical nanites could result in banishment or even death.”
“Death?” uttered Katie surprised. “I would think a civilization as advanced as the Originators wouldn’t have a death penalty.”
“They didn’t,” answered Kazak. “The offending individual was denied any life prolongation drugs and then would live out his normal life span.”
Jeremy nodded, but this was something he would discuss with Kazak in more detail later. “How long before Zafron gains consciousness?”
“It will be several days,” answered ZED, the sphere of energy above his cube growing brighter. “There will be several different sets of nanite injections. The first removes all the organic nanites, the next will reverse the changes the nanites made in his gene structure. The final set will repair any damage his body may have sustained from the first two procedures. If everything works as planned, forty-eight to seventy-two hours from now he should awaken and be well on his way to recovery.”
“A living Originator,” Kelsey said breathlessly as she stepped back up to the observation window gazing in awe at Zafron. “Just think, it’s been over two million years since he last took a breath.”
“Everything he knows is gone,” Katie said sadly. “Imagine waking up in a world where your entire race passed away millions of years ago. He can’t even go to the Dyson Sphere since we blew it up.”
“How are we going to deal with Zafron when he wakes up?” asked Kelsey. “Has anyone thought about that? He’s bound to have a lot of questions.”
Jeremy looked over at Andram. “Andram is supervising that. There will be several specially chosen Altons there when he wakes up. There will be at least one Alton psychologist present as well as a few others who will be able to help Zafron cope with his new reality. Once we’re satisfied he’s stable, then Kazak and I will speak with him.”
Kazak stepped up to the window, gazing down at Zafron. “He was a good second officer for the Dominator. The crew liked him and he was always fair but strict.”
“Did he approve of the military research being done on the ship?” asked Jeremy. He had decided that now was as good a time as ever to bring it up.
Kazak seemed to freeze and then he slowly turned around. “Sometimes you still surprise me. I wondered what Ariel, Katie, and Mikow were doing in the Command Center a few days back. There was a brief moment when my sensors in the Command Center failed to function properly.”
“Are you upgrading the weapon systems on the Dominator?” pressed Jeremy.
“Yes,” Kazak responded. “As to Second Officer Zafron, he did not approve of the research. He believed all efforts should be dedicated to finding a cure for the pathogen. There were quite a few others that agreed with him as well.”
“Why the research on weapons?” asked Kelsey. “The Dominator already has the most powerful weapons in existence.”
“That’s not true,” replied Kazak. “The Anti-Life may have weapons just as powerful or even more so.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened. “That’s why you’ve been updating the Dominator’s weapon systems. You were thinking about taking the Dominator to the Anti-Life galaxy! Why?”
“I’m sure Zafron will tell you if you ask,” Kazak said. “So I might as well. The Anti-Life are also Originators.”
“What?” interjected Jeremy, his eyes opening wide in disbelief. “Are you telling me there is an entire galaxy out there full of Originators?”
“No, not true Originators,” replied Kazak, slowly shaking his head. “Millions of years ago a group of Originators used advanced mechanical nanite technology to forever change their physiology. When they were done, they were barely recognizable as Originators. They were smarter, more powerful, and much longer lived than normal Originators. They were almost immortal. The other Originators rejected them, and the group fled the Shrieel where they had conducted their experiments.”
“For thousands of years they were not heard from. Then one day powerful fleets of warships appeared and attacked the Shrieels. Only the powerful defenses of the Shrieels managed to keep the Anti-Life at bay. Seeing they could not conquer the Shrieels, they turned to attacking and conquering the other intelligent life forms in numerous galaxies. The Originator leaders realized that while they were safe in the Shrieels, billions of other organics were being conquered and forced to serve the Anti-Life. Since the Anti-Life were once Originators, it was felt something must be done.”
“So they elected to go to war,” said Jeremy.
“Yes,” answered Kazak. “The Shrieels began constructing large fleets of warships, and these were sent out to drive the Anti-Life out of the conquered galaxies. This was the beginning of a war that lasted for over one thousand of your years. In the end, the Anti-Life were driven back to their home galaxy. Hundreds of thousands of hyperspace interference stations were placed around the galaxy’s periphery. The stations prevent any travel at all in hyperspace. The interference covers all levels of hyperspace, even those used for intergalactic travel.”
Everyone in the room was silent. What Kazak had just told them made the war against the AIs back in the Milky Way Galaxy and the current conflict with the Simulins seem insignificant.
“Why go to the galaxy of the Anti-Life?” asked Jeremy. “Wouldn’t they destroy the Dominator when they realized it was an Originator ship?”
Kazak looked uncomfortable. “No, I was going to offer them a deal.”
“What kind of a deal?” asked Kelsey suspiciously. “Why do I feel I’m not going to like what you’re about to say?”
“I was getting desperate,” admitted Kazak. “The Altons weren’t making any progress. It was something the commanding officer of the Dominator was going to do if all else failed. We were going to go to the Anti-Life galaxy and offer to turn off the hyperspace jammers if they would find a cure for the life extension pathogen.”
Katie gasped in disbelief. “You were going to set the Anti-Life free to renew their attacks on the galaxies of this universe?”
“I’m not proud of it, but yes, if that’s what it took to find a cure.”
Jeremy only now realized to what depths Kazak was willing to descend to complete his mission. The medical nanites had better work and Zafron needed to wake up.
-
Hours later Jeremy, Kevin, Katie, and Kelsey were eating in the officers’ cafeteria on the Clan Protector.
“Do you really think he would have done it?” asked Kevin in between bites of his hamburger.
Jeremy leaned back and nodded his head. “Yes, and I can’t blame Kazak fully. It’s part of his programming to do anything necessary to find a cure for the life extension pathogen.”
Kelsey cut one of the large strawberries on her plate in two and dipped it in whipped cream. She took a bite and smiled. “I’m glad we have strawberries now.”
“Cows too,” added Kevin as he took another bite of his hamburger.
-
Katie shook her head. She had given up on getting Kevin to reduce the number of hamburgers he ate daily. It surprised her he hadn’t put on any weight. Then again she had seen the workout routine he did every day in the ship’s gym. She looked over at Kelsey who was wiping a drop of whip cream away from her lips. “Have you been by to see Angela recently?”
“Yesterday,” Kelsey answered. “I had to go down to Gaia to pick up a few things so I stopped by. I can’t believe how much Clair has grow
n.”
“It’s been a few days since I’ve seen her. I tried to get Kevin to go with me but he acts as if that baby is going to bite his head off.” Katie knew the real reason was that he didn’t want her getting any ideas. While kids were in their future, he wasn’t ready for one now, and Katie knew and understood that. But when they did finally have children, she wanted no less than three.
-
Ariel suddenly appeared next to the table. She had seen to it that holographic emitters had been installed in all of the major areas of the Clan Protector since Jeremy and the others spent so much time here.
“I just checked on Zafron, and Daena says he’s doing fine.”
Ariel looked over at Kevin and put her hands on her hips. “What is so great about hamburgers and french fries?”
Kevin grinned as he swallowed two french fries. “You can eat them with your hands.”
Katie frowned and shook her head. “Ariel, have you been down to see Clair recently?”
Ariel sighed and nodded. “I got Angela to put a holographic emitter in the nursery, but I can only use it when Angela turns it on. She’s made it very clear my visits for now are to be limited. How can I begin Clair’s training if I can’t see her every day?”
Kelsey laughed. “As she gets older I’m sure Angela will grant you more access.”
Ariel’s face seemed to brighten up. “I hope so. I’ve set up a complete training schedule from now until she graduates from the Fleet Academy.”
“Poor Clair,” said Katie, recalling how Ariel had tried to train her.
“What’s going on with the patrols in the sector surrounding the nebula?” asked Kevin.
“Routine so far,” Jeremy answered. “We’ve reduced the patrol fleets down to three and increased their size. They’re still in the process of emplacing FTL detection buoys in all the star systems within thirty light years of the nebula. That should at least give us a warning of any imminent attack by the Simulins.”
“You still think that one of these days they’ll find a way around the hyperspace interference?” asked Katie with concern in her eyes.
The Lost Fleet: Search for the Originators: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 20
