Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  “Sure,” Golward replies, “as long as Joe keeps the damaged areas isolated.”

  “Then we launch and head for home.” Cindy replies bluntly.

  “Thank you for rescuing us, yet again.” Golward offers, a little timidly, as he instructs the space station to terminate the repair cycle.

  “It may be all for nothing if we don’t beat that fleet to Earth,” Cindy replies grimly.

  The repair struts seem to take an eternity to retract away from the ship, during which time, Cindy contacts Regent Voknor. “Regent, we have tracked three ships heading toward Earth, and are going to pursue them.”

  “One ship!” Voknor replies in disbelief. He immediately adds, “We will assist.”

  Seconds later, dozens of Gamin craft streak away from the Kord station, Voknor’s flagship is among them. John closes the Terran’s ramp, but has to wait a precious fifteen minutes before the Terran’s repair area is purged of its atmosphere. Finally, the far end opens up, revealing distant stars.

  Regent Voknor’s visage fills the screen. With bared teeth, he states, “Regent Hemlax’s force will beat the Atlans, but not by much. We will do what we can to protect your world.”

  Before Cindy can reply, the Regent’s face vanishes.

  A drop of sweat works its way down John’s brow as he works his controls. The Terran lifts from the deck of the Kord space station, and hovers in place. Using the ship’s thrusters, he lines them up with the exit, then engages the sub-light engines to full power.

  The Terran leaps out from the space station and into open space. There are only a few remaining Gamin ships in the area.

  The tension on the bridge is so thick is it almost a tangible thing. Cindy chews on her lower lip as her fears begin to overcome her. She leans forward and says with trepidation, “Punch it.”

  “Yes ma’am,” John replies earnestly. He confirms their trajectory, slides the main drive control to its highest setting, and then waits.

  Once again, the Terran leaps toward the stars as raw energy flows into the ship’s main engines. A faint shuddering begins to emanate from the ship’s deck plates. The view before the bridge crew changes into the beautiful kaleidoscope of colors Cindy usually enjoys.

  Joe monitors the Terran’s power and is stunned to see it suddenly drop from its usual fifty-two percent, to eighteen percent. He glances at John, then frowns in confusion as he watches him doing something on his console that he has never seen before.

  The vibrations through the deck increase in intensity, as do the colors that bombard the screen. Turning back to his own console, Joe is alarmed to see the ship’s power levels drop to seven percent, then continue to plummet. He is about to speak when John says, “Factor eight point two, and holding.”

  Joe’s stares in amazement at the readout, then asks, “How did you do that? The ship’s maximum is factor eight.”

  “I disabled the main drive’s limiters.” John replies apprehensively.

  Cindy’s face twitches as she asks the one question they all want to know the answer to, “Will we beat them?”

  Joe performs some hasty calculations, then being unsatisfied with the results, runs them again. With a defeated sigh, he slowly shakes his head and sadly replies, “No.”

  With balled fists, John slams the edges of his console in frustration. He turns to Cindy, his face twists in frustration as he states, “I will get more out of this beast yet, but I need more power.” He glances to Joe, then with suicidal abandon, taps a flashing symbol on his console.

  Cindy bites at her lower lip, then with trepidation says, “Joe, unlock the safeties on the reactors!”

  “Yes ma’am,” Joe replies with a slight hesitation.

  Cindy taps her console again, then orders, “Reactor control, prepare for radiation protocol.”

  The speakers on the bridge carry their prompt response, “We’re on it.”

  Joe’s fingers hover over the icon which prevents the Gamin systems from drawing more than one hundred percent, then with trepidation, he taps it. Joe is mortified when, instead of the expected power increase, the ship’s available power status drops to zero. He continues to watch as the remains of the vast reserves of power in the ship’s capacitors are drained in seconds.

  John grins crazily as the ship shudders and shakes even more. He hollers, “Oh yeah baby! Factor eight point three and holding.”

  Joe’s jaw drops when he notices the power output from the nuclear reactors spike. The hairs on the back of his neck rise as he stares at his console in disbelief.

  The bridge speakers unexpectedly blare. A voice shouts loudly over a myriad of alarms, “Bridge! Reactor control here, things just went nuts. Every reactor is running at eighty percent over safeties, and climbing.”

  Cindy replies in a calmer tone than she feels, “Understood.” She pauses for a second, looks at George, then says, “Get your people out of there, George is on his way.”

  George meets Cindy’s meaningful stare, then nods in agreement. He takes a deep breath, then disconnects his suit from his console. With thoughts of the Atlan fleet headed to Earth, and his family, he strides purposefully from the bridge. Cindy watches him depart and feels a momentary pang of guilt. The last time she ordered more power from the reactors, it was Olaf who drained them, but he did so at the cost of his own life. She glances at George’s back as he leaves, and wonders. Have I just sent him to his death?

  The Terran begins to shudder in a strange rhythmic way, the engines seemingly thrumming as they are pushed beyond their tolerances. As the ship’s power fluctuates, lights dim, then brighten, to dim again. All the while a strange sound rises and falls in pitch as the vibrations throughout the ship wax and wane.

  John holds onto his shaking console, and reports, “Eight point four.”

  Joe wonders what else he can do. The fate of Earth may very well depend on us beating the Atlan ships. He stares at the ship’s systems, then, as an idea comes to mind, he states with resolve. “Evacuating all outer decks and cutting life support to fifty percent.”

  “Eight point four, six,” calls out John through rattling teeth.

  Joe turns to Cindy and says, “Any more, and we risk flying her apart.”

  “Fly her apart then,” replies Cindy with the same grim determination they all feel.

  Joe stares at his console, then makes yet another a crucial decision, “Cutting power to GUS.” He cringes as GUS shuts down. Now they have to fully rely on the Gamin consoles, and if they have made any errors in their calculations, their mad dash will be short lived.

  “Eight point four seven... four eight... but that’s it,” states John bluntly. “She has no more to give,” he adds, while holding the edges of his vibrating console.

  Golward stares at an object that is in the palm of his hand, and then with mounting apprehension, activates it.

  Joe stares at his console in disbelief. Still shocked he says, “Forty percent power!”

  Golward shuffles his feet as he speaks. “I was able to partially recharge the K.P.U.”

  John states excitedly, “Eight point five.”

  Joe stares at his console for a moment, then reports, “We can maintain this speed, but will arrive at Earth with little power to spare.”

  “Understood.” Cindy replies.

  Throughout the ship, the crew wonders what is going on. There have been no ship-wide announcements, yet it is clear they are going somewhere, and mighty fast. Water pipes that line the many corridors rattle and buckle, then threaten to break. Kitchen hands, quickly and fearfully, stow their pots, pans, knives, and anything else that could harm them. The Kord huddle in groups as they wonder if their rescue is but a short-lived respite from death. The Gamin feel the same way, and look to Waazh for guidance.

  In the Terran’s computer room, Suzanne stares at GUS in a seething rage. She contacts the bridge, and before anyone can acknowledge her call, shouts, “You can’t just pull the plug on GUS! Do you have any idea of the potential data corruption you can
cause?”

  Joe cringes, then after a quick glance to Cindy replies, “I had no choice. We must get to Earth.”

  Suzanne stares as pieces of equipment shake loose and fall to the floor, “You’re damaging GUS!” She states bluntly, then with a huff, disconnects the channel.

  Joe’s attention is drawn to a multitude of flashing symbols on his console. He stares at the engine status with increasing apprehension. Both engines are displayed as multi-colored images, while Gamin symbols flash periodically before him. What disconcerts him the most about the flashing symbols, is that they appear to be rather similar to those he saw when he overloaded the engines to self-destruct.

  “How long until we get to Earth?” Robert asks uneasily.

  With a troubled brow, Joe replies, “We’re just over three hours out.”

  Cindy stares at the vibrating deck plates with apprehension, and wonders, can the ship hold together for two hours? She taps her console’s internal communications icon, and with a concerned voice, speaks solemnly, “To all crew. A hostile force is heading towards Earth. We are doing everything in our power to get there first. Thankfully, the Gamin are sending ships to assist.”

  Throughout the ship, people stop what they are doing. For some, not knowing what was happening, was better than the thoughts of an enemy fleet arriving at Earth. Many wonder about the Gamin. Why are they helping? What is in it for them? These and many other questions plague the crew as the Terran streaks toward Earth.

  Cindy turns to Joe, and with mounting fear, asks one more time, “Will we beat them?”

  “I don’t know,’ he replies forlornly. He stares at the ship’s power status, which sits at zero. The engines are drawing more than the Gamin Power Units can output, the balance is being partially compensated for by the ship’s twenty nuclear reactors, while the rest is coming directly from the Kord Power Unit.

  Robert sits quietly in his chair and watches the events unfold as if he were in a dream. He stares at Emma as she arrives on the bridge, her eyes wide with fear. She silently walks to Peter, and then stands behind him. Robert glances at Patrick and wonders why he did not go with George to help, but he says nothing. For once in his life, the events surrounding him have numbed his thoughts.

  George arrives at reactor control, and within minutes, has a list of the reactors which require urgent attention. He can see that for a couple of them, he does not have much time, and hurries. Arriving at the first, he closes his visor, activates the suit’s personal shield, and then strides inside. Radiation claxons blare, while flashing lights warn of the mounting radiation hazard. Staring at his display, he takes note that the radiation in the room is at lethal levels. He glances nervously at his suit’s power indicator, then begins. Learning from lessons of the past, he assembles a series of connections, which had been built for this very purpose. Standing behind a radiation blast shield, he drains the reactor’s core, converting it into raw energy, which he transfers directly into the ship’s power grid.

  George cautiously balances his suit’s power acquisition, directing the surplus to the ship’s power grid. He must not let his suit’s shield fail, or he will fall victim to the same fate as Olaf. A mere four minutes pass, and the reactor’s core is depleted. To George, those few minutes felt like an eternity. A single miscalculation would have either seen him irradiated, or his suit’s power cell overloaded. He strides to a nearby decontamination unit, and then dumps copious amounts of water over his suit in an attempt to flush away the residual radiation.

  The second reactor core takes a little longer to deplete, while the third goes smoothly. By the ninth reactor, George is working at a steady pace, and has a solid routine in place. A flash on his visor alerts him to a potential problem. He stares at the scrolling marque, and gulps. This reactor was one of those repaired on Earth, and it was not done so properly. A bead of sweat works its way down his face as he stares at the new data before him. Many of the reactor’s fuel pins have fractures in them, and the act of draining the core of its fissionable materials, has just broken one. George’s eyes go wide when he notices another break, and then another, creating a cascade effect.

  A radiation alert flashes on his visor, followed by a symbol George has never seen before. He stares at the symbol for a moment, then with stark realization, he suddenly grasps what he is viewing. It is the quantity of radiolyticals that are seeping into his suit, and they are quickly building to lethal levels. He considers his options for a few seconds, then makes a crucial decision. He overcharges his suit’s shield, and then absorbs the reactor core as fast as he can. The power flow threatens to overload his suit, but fortunately for all, it does not.

  Once the reactor core is depleted, George spends a long time in the decontamination unit. He takes his time and reviews data from each of the remaining reactors, prior to converting their cores into pure energy. This extra step slows his progress, but does not stop him.

  As soon as George is finished draining the last reactor core he contacts the bridge, “Cindy, I have to decontaminate my suit, but succeeded in converting our reactor cores into energy. The downside is that no one will be able to be anywhere near them for a long time. Radiation levels are lethal!”

  Cindy stares at the bridge speakers with relief, he lives. She replies, “George, we will be arriving at Earth in the next fifteen minutes, and thanks to you, we may just beat the Atlans.”

  The vibrations throughout the ship increase in intensity, as do Joe’s feelings of doom. According to his console, the main engines are about to fail, they may not even have fifteen minutes left in them.

  Location:

  Space Station Unity

  Earth

  Gustav Fuchs is walking along one of the station’s many corridors when a flash of light catches his attention. With a confused frown, he turns, and directs his gaze out through one of the station’s portholes. He notices another flash, then another. His mouth goes dry the second he spots a pair of massive spacecraft. He is thankful for the gravity plating as he sprints to the command module.

  The stations speakers come to life unexpectedly, “I am Regent Hemlax of the Gamin, and have been sent to assist in your rescue.”

  Gustav enters the command module just in time to hear his second in command respond, “Rescue! Ah, from what?”

  “The Atlans are coming. You will evacuate your facility, and tell me where my ships are to land.”

  Gustav stares out at the dozens of large spacecraft which orbit Earth. Every few seconds, another arrives. He stares at his command crew for a moment. With a shrug of his shoulders, he replies with disbelief, “Any of the major cities.”

  The alien voice sounds out once more, “Human, inform your people they must evacuate, and quickly.”

  Gustav closes his eyes to the surreal feelings that threaten to overcome him. He apprehensively contacts the European Space Agency. The discussion is brief, too brief. He slumps into his chair, and then with shaking hands, tells his crew, “They don’t believe me. They think this is some sort of trick.”

  Thirty-seven spacecraft are now either in Earth’s orbit, or landing. Gustav contacts Hemlax and says, “My superiors don’t believe you. They want to speak with Regent Voknor.”

  A few moments pass before Hemlax replies. “I have requested that Regent Voknor send a message. Now, you must evacuate your facility, or you will all perish.”

  Gustav gazes around, then orders, “Everyone to the shuttles.”

  As his crew leaves the command center, a blinding light catches Gustav’s attention once more. It is quickly followed by more flashes as another fleet of Gamin ships arrive. Going against his standing orders, he contacts the Kremlin, the White House, and then the Australian construction dock. He leaves a simple message each time, in the hopes that it is forwarded on. He knows that if the Gamin are telling the truth, he has little time to debate with everyone. They will either believe him, or not.

  Gustav is the last person to leave the station. As the shuttle approaches Hemlax�
��s flagship another solitary spacecraft arrives.

  Location:

  White House

  Washington DC

  Vice President Anthony Macintyre stares at his phone with skepticism. He puts it down, then makes arrangements for his advisors to assemble. He wastes more valuable time discussing the arriving fleet, and the likelihood that their warning is credible. Thirty minutes after the phone call from the European Space Agency, he contacts the President and relays his thoughts.

  “You fool!” The President replies angrily.

  “You’re on vacation. I am simply following protocol.” Anthony replies bluntly.

  The President shouts loudly, “Order the evacuations! Tell the people to board the Gamin ships.”

  An aide rushes up to the Vice President and whispers in his ear. The words chill Anthony to the bone. He shakes as he says, “It’s too late! We’re under attack!”

  The President never hears the words, global communications have been jammed. Every phone and computer network around the world is virtually useless.

  Location:

  Outback

  Western Australia

  BOOM

  The massive blast wakes General Hayes instantly. Fearing a terrorist attack, he quickly dresses and rushes outside. He stumbles to a stop as he tries to fathom what is happening. Large caliber machine guns from all areas of the base begin firing upward into the night sky. The noise from them alone is deafening. Nearby, a fire rages out of control. A jeep accelerates away from the Gamin construction dock. The ground behind it is being torn up by bolts of lightning which rain down from the star-filled skies.

  Something flies over the base so fast that the ground shakes in its passing. People are thrown to the ground by the force of the sonic boom which accompanies the flying object. Flood lights are turned on, and then aimed upward, only to be destroyed my more lightning bolts.