Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  The fleet avoids the asteroids, and rapidly approaches the fourth planet; a desolate red, desert world.

  Voknor stares at the planet as they enter orbit, then orders, “Inform the fleet to scan for any signs of civilization, wreckage, or anything possibly related to Atlan technology.”

  The fleet orbits the planet, scanning it efficiently, but finds nothing of consequence.

  Skylow receives the last report, and relays the fleet’s combined findings, “There are a few large underground caverns, and some areas of dense material which could simply be dense ore deposits, but nothing to indicate an Atlan presence at any time. There are indications that this planet was once a lush paradise, but its atmosphere vented into space long ago for reasons unknown.”

  Voknor relaxes, then states, “Inform the fleet to leave the system, I wish to meet Regents Jukalore and Hemlax, to discuss the new Atlan threat.”

  The fleet departs the solar system, then activates their main drive units. Everyone is relived when Sharz’s craft performs flawlessly. Main drive failures are extremely rare, but the very first use is the riskiest.

  Jukalore’s Reasoning

  The duty cycles come and go as Voknor’s fleet travels the vast distance to Jukalore’s clan. Rather than push their engines at maximum speed, the fleet speeds in at slightly less. Along the way, they discover an uninhabited, mineral-rich world, where they stop and restock with raw materials. They travel for thousands of light years; traversing from the outer rings, toward a denser region of space.

  Frazik reviews his console, then states, “Regent, we are on approach to Regent Jukalore’s fleet!”

  “Open communications.” Voknor orders.

  Jukalore’s features dominate the main viewer. His eyes narrow as he speaks, “You were not exactly in the neighborhood; what are you doing here?”

  Voknor leans forward and states, “I would have us meet on my vessel, to discuss the matter.”

  Jukalore hesitantly replies, “I will transport over.”

  Regent Voknor issues instructions to his bridge crew, then makes his way to the hangar deck, where he waits for Jukalore’s shuttle. Even as the shuttle is landing, Voknor strides toward it, and arrives before the ramp opens.

  Jukalore strides down, stops, then bluntly states, “What is this about Voknor?”

  “Follow me to my bridge. The Atlans have a new vessel, one which could be the end of us all!” Voknor states as he turns away.

  Jukalore follows, impressed by the Transit-way, he asks, “How did you come up with this?”

  Voknor considers lying, then instead states truthfully, “I obtained the design from the Kord.”

  “You stole it?” Jukalore commends.

  “Ah, no.” Voknor replies, then hesitantly adds, “We exchanged technologies, amongst other things. But enough of that, I have more pressing concerns to share with you.”

  Jukalore grins, “I should have guessed when I saw the Cruisers, that there was more.”

  Arriving at the bridge, Voknor notices his instructions were followed, to the letter. He picks up a plate of sliced, pink meat, and states, “Before we begin, you have to try this!”

  Jukalore picks up a slice, sniffs it, then takes a small bite. Seconds later he gobbles the entire slice down, and grabs another. Between chews, he states, “Delicious! Tell me you have more!”

  “The humans call the creature ‘pig’ and I can send you back with some.” Voknor states, then his expression hardens as he leads Jukalore to a workstation. While standing, he brings up a series of videos, and specifications.

  As Jukalore watches, Voknor begins, “That’s a Warmonger,” he explains, then states, “and as you can tell, the Atlans have also compromised our satellite grid.”

  Jukalore turns and states, “I rarely use the satellites, but have relied on them as an early warning system from time to time.” For the first time in his life, he feels defeated as he continues, “No wonder they were quiet for so long; they were building that ship!”

  Voknor cringes as he replies, “Well, that ship not only ambushed us, but our data indicates that it pursued us, for a while.”

  “Pursued?” Jukalore responds, then with a shake of his head, states, “You got lucky, getting away.”

  “Yes, we did!” Voknor states, then as he deliberates over telling him about the find on Earth, he enquires, “Have any clans reported seeing more of these carriers?”

  Jukalore shakes his head once more, “No. But I haven’t heard from Hemlax in quite a while either!”

  “I will find him.” Voknor states.

  “Why don’t you simply contact him now?” Jukalore asks.

  Voknor replies. “I don’t trust the integrity of our communications systems. If the Atlans have access to our encryption algorithms, then, no clan is safe.”

  Jukalore pauses thoughtfully, then replies, “Hopefully, all they could do was disable the early warning system.”

  “We should still review the security of our communications system, and update it!” Voknor states adamantly, though he had failed to consider that possibility.

  The two Regents continue to discuss the Atlans, and each of their clans, spending quite a few cycles together. Voknor shares the Kord transit-way technology, and grins as he imagines Jukalore’s engineers implementing it.

  Both fleets travel to an uninhabited world, where they commence mining operations. Lilpax is pleased with her new role as the fleet’s Supply Officer, and still grins at the way Sharz handed over the responsibilities. He had told her that she was always better than him at the record keeping, and predicting the fleet’s needs, both of which she knows are not entirely true; she feels that they were equally as good.

  While the fleets increase their reserves of raw materials, Regent Voknor finally decides to show Jukalore the scans of the wreckage they discovered on Earth. Jukalore reviews the data, then watches as it is overlaid across the Warmonger’s schematic.

  Turning to Voknor, he states, “I can see why you hesitated in showing me.” He relaxes as he explains, “But, there have been many species that have come and gone through the ages. Who knows, perhaps the Atlans discovered a long-lost civilization, and are copying their designs!”

  Voknor frowns, then presses, “But we have never seen anything like this before.”

  Jukalore leans in and whispers, “It’s rumored that the Emperor knows of many lost civilizations. We are but a few small clans out here, occupying a mere fraction of the galaxy.”

  “You’re right!” Voknor agrees, then frowns as he shares his thoughts, “The Kord never mentioned other races though.”

  Jukalore places a hand on Voknor’s shoulder and states, “Oh my trusting friend, why would they?” Seeing Voknor’s expression turn sullen, he quickly states, “But the Kord more than honored their agreement with you!”

  “That they did.” Voknor replies, still feeling subdued.

  Jukalore grins as he continues, “All the things you have shown me that they did to help you, and conversely us, goes way beyond a mere arrangement. You impressed them. They like you!” He finishes

  “Oh my!” Voknor exclaims, “They did show me another race. Well maybe not directly, but I am sure they wanted me to see that there were studying a race which exists at the center of the Galaxy!”

  Jukalore shrugs, “So, there is a race in the Galactic core? That doesn’t surprise me. I expect there to be more than one!”

  Voknor nods, then questions, “Doesn’t it bother you though? All these races in the Galaxy, and yet the Atlans are the ones who seem to have free reign.”

  He chuckles as he says, “The Effen Raiders seem to do whatever they want, and the same goes for the Kord.”

  “Well, the Kord signed a neutrality pact with the Atlans.” Voknor states assuredly.

  “If that deal still holds, then the Kord are safe from the Atlans!” Jukalore replies, then adds, “But consider what we all do to the races we find. Will any of them ever become space faring? Not if I have my wa
y, they won’t.” He finishes adamantly.

  “True,” Voknor agrees, as he considers the number of planets where he has left satellite grids in orbit.

  Regent Voknor’s engineers work with Jukalore’s, ensuring the installation of the Transit-way progresses smoothly. The fleet hovers, around the sparse planet they are mining; their combined numbers cause the crews to relax. It would take a sizable force to compete against them, especially with the cruisers.

  Skylow finds both Voknor and Jukalore in the gravity room on Malflik’s vessel, and states, “Regents! You’re hard to find.”

  Voknor smiles as he questions, “What is it?”

  Skylow grins at Jukalore as he replies, “The engineers report that your Transit-way is complete, and has passed all trials.”

  Jukalore grins back as he says, “Gratitude to you, and your engineers!”

  Regent Voknor is in high spirits; he lifts his clenched fist and loudly proclaims, “Success to you!”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Jukalore reciprocates, then offers, “I would join you in meeting Hemlax, should you desire the additional forces!”

  “I would be honored!” Voknor replies, truly impressed with Jukalore’s offer.

  The Regents return to their flagships, then after determining Hemlax’s location, set course for his fleet.

  The distance between their fleets is not that great, in galactic terms, and even at a more relaxed speed, the journey only takes a few duty cycles. Both fleets reduce to sub-light speeds, well inside weapons range.

  Hemlax appears on the main viewer, as he says, “You could have warned me! I am pretty sure you scared my officers half to death.”

  Jukalore’s image joins Hemlax’s, but he remains quiet.

  “I did not want to use our long-range communications, for reasons I will explain shortly.” Voknor replies, before requesting, “Would you join me on my vessel?”

  Hemlax frowns as he responds, “It must be something pretty important, for Jukalore to be with you.”

  “I will let you make your own determination of that!” Voknor replies.

  Jukalore adds, “I will join you both; I am interested in your thoughts on Voknor’s discovery.”

  Stepping out from the Transit-way, Hemlax exclaims, “How does that thing work? Where did you find this system? Do you think we could install it on my vessels?”

  “I pretty much thought the same thing!” Jukalore admits with a chuckle.

  Voknor grins widely, “Yes, my engineers will assist in the installation of one, but first, I want you to see something.”

  “Okay!” Hemlax replies, then follows both Regents to the bridge.

  Once on the bridge, Hemlax reviews the same data Jukalore saw, then with wide eyes, states, “The Atlans have found a cache of lost technology!”

  Voknor turns to Jukalore, who states, “That was my assessment too.”

  Nodding in agreement, Voknor says, “I have to admit, that idea makes a lot of sense.”

  The three Regents enjoy meat samples from Earth; the best any of them have tasted in a long time.

  Voknor notices their expectant faces, lifts a hand, and says, “Hemlax, I will send some back with you.”

  Jukalore feigns having hurt feelings, then laughs heartily at the expressions on the other Regent’s faces.

  Lilpax is standing at her post, and smiles as she observes the Regents relaxing; they deserve the respite.

  Once more, the fleet locates an uninhabited world, and commences mining operations while Hemlax’s flagship is fitted with a Transit-way. This area of space is closer to known Atlan activity, so although the Regents stay on their own vessels, they feel comfortable that their combined forces are more than a match for anything the Atlans throw their way, except perhaps for a Warmonger.

  Frazik stares at his console in disbelief, then relays, “Regent, we just received a brief communication from a stray vessel.”

  Voknor leans forward, his curiosity aroused, as he asks, “What was the message?”

  “I am re-checking the source; but it’s gone now. It was a notification from a navicon belonging to a lost clan.” Frazik replies with a blank look on his face.

  “Where is the vessel?” Voknor presses, then questions, “Did Hemlax and Jukalore get the message?”

  Cushkull grins as he states, “Got ‘em. It’s almost four thousand light years away, beyond our assigned patrol area.”

  Frazik turns to Voknor and states, “I am reviewing the message; it appears to have been sent directly to us!”

  Voknor frowns, then states, “I do not like all these mysteries of late. What are the Atlans up to now? Is it possible that they have access to our navicon system?”

  Frazik reviews the internal scan he took before the connection was lost, and freezes. With a shaky voice, he reluctantly relays his discovery, “Ah. The vessel’s atmosphere matches that of Earth, the planet where we found the old wreckage.” He hesitates, then adds, “But not only that, the message was sent by a human called George, using a bodysuit’s neural interface. It translates to him feeling sorry for us, and wanting to help us. The message also went to a personal receiver on Sharz’s vessel.”

  “Halt the fleet in open space!” Voknor sternly orders. He stabs at the fleet-wide communications and firmly orders, “Primes Gentak and Sharz, report to my bridge, immediately”

  Frazik feels a strange chill run up his spine as he relays more information, “The vessel they are on is one of our newer designs.”

  Voknor shakes his head, as he comments, “Like the partially built one we left behind!”

  “Ah, yes,” Frazik replies slowly, “exactly like that one!”

  Gentak arrives on the bridge, then noticing Voknor’s expression, remains quiet and waits. Sharz presents himself before the seated Regent, and is further surprised to see two other Primes. He then recalls that Skylow requested to remain on the bridge, but as for why Gentak was summoned, he has no idea.

  Regent Voknor points at the three of them, with narrowing eyes he tensely states, “I received a rather interesting message, as did you Sharz. It seems that George feels sorry for us and wishes he could help!”

  Sharz is baffled by the Regent’s statement, but dares not interrupt. His receiver is in his quarters, thus even if George sent a message, he did not get it.

  Voknor tone is a mocking mimicry. “The human race is incapable of space flight. The satellite grid will keep them captive.” His voice gets louder, building into an angry crescendo. “And as for the incomplete spacecraft, it should be in a million pieces by now.”

  He shakes his fist at the abashed Primes, as he continues, “All these are your assessments. So why is there a stray ship with a navicon matching one that was destroyed, sending us messages?”

  Voknor stares at the three Primes intently, then when they do not answer, continues, “My crew has performed a system check on the stray ship. Do you know what we found? The atmosphere is a match for the distant planet we went to for repair!”

  He waves an arm in disgust, and states, “You can talk!”

  Sharz looks to his colleagues, but when they remain quiet, he hesitantly questions, “The ship has a ‘navicon’ installed? We don’t install those on planets. Where did they get one?”

  Regent Voknor replies in a calmer tone, “Its core matches an old ship. It looks like they found a derelict and installed it.”

  Sharz is mortified by the revelation, and asks “They left their planet without a navicon? What else are they missing?”

  “A lot of gravity plates, both internal and external.” Voknor replies.

  “That’s just insane, their casualties must be high. I am surprised the ship is still intact.” Sharz replies, and is not alone in being truly amazed.

  “Also, they have no main power, just barely enough to charge the grid. Along with no main shields, or weapons systems.” The Regent continues, in disbelief himself.

  Gentak is flabbergasted, and states more than asks, “Are they suicidal
, or just plain stupid? How did they even get that ship off the ground? It was set to detonate if a power source was connected.”

  Regent Voknor shakes his head, he too is baffled. He states, “The ship does not have the energy reserves to achieve orbit; they must have augmented it somehow.”

  “They are crazy.” Skylow states, adding his voice to the conversation. “We need to destroy that ship before they cause unwanted attention!”

  The Regent’s gaze turns to Skylow. His words have a ring of truth to them. He then adds yet another revelation. “These simple creatures also installed their own computer system, it is slow and seems damaged. We are reviewing its data.”

  They are too shocked to respond. In all of recorded history, no servitor race has ever done this with one of their ships. Voknor stares at his bridge crew while he contemplates his next course of action.

  With a hint of respect, he states, “These Humans, that’s what they call themselves, are quite industrious.”

  With a wave of his hand, he dismisses Skylow and Gentak, leaving Sharz behind. The pair hastily leaves the bridge, sending Sharz nervous glances as they depart. Skylow is stunned that he too is asked to leave, but does so out of respect. Once they are gone, the Regent stares long and hard at Sharz

  Voknor continues to stare intently as he asks, “What is your recommendation?”

  “We should contact them. The human called George is aboard.” Sharz replies.

  Regent Voknor’s anger diminishes as he states, “I like him too, for a sub-species he has some endearing qualities.”

  Sharz feels a chill as he considers something else that is on his mind. He hesitantly states, “I gave George a translator.”

  Cushkull gasps as the Regent leans forward, his eye slits narrow.

  “You did what?” Voknor growls.

  “I wanted George to learn about us. His race is not like any other we have met in a long time. They are so full of potential, yet their citizens are so fragmented.” Sharz explains.

  Regent Voknor sighs, “Well, that settles it then.”