Alpha Dawn: Book one of the Teragene Chronicles

by Morgan R. R. Haze

  We had all been curious to see what these pillars of innovation had designed. Aria, who had lived on the manmade portion of Anastasis muttered, "Who builds like that?" In a surprised tone, when it first came into view.

  I wondered if the inside would be as jumbled. I was glad that we wouldn't have to be searching for a bounty in this place.

  Even though the territory was a safe zone, we planned to divide up into groups for our visit. Mark was staying with Ell and me to meet our hosts. Aria, Gabriel, and surprisingly Damian had formed a group. Bree, Natasha and Kendric formed another while not very surprisingly Pete had volunteered to stay on the ship with Willow and Echo. He was excited that he had nearly completed his testing, he was sure that Willow would soon be free to travel to any world unhindered by her current lack of immunity.

  As we approached, I noticed that we were not docking in the more populated areas of the station or arena. Where we were going seemed much more protected and isolated. Our ship came to a halt outside of hangar doors that appeared to be partially open. The drones towing the Waylay detached and left us floating in space. Looking through our vid screen, we could see a figure at what appeared to be an observation deck of the station.

  I assumed it was another bot, but then came a very human voice, "Welcome, my friends!" which we heard over our ships comm. "Just, one moment, then you can come on in."

  Next we saw the figure move to what appeared to be a control console, where it moved and fidgeted. "Just another moment." we heard over the comm.

  After a full minute, we saw the bay doors start to open more. At about one-third of the way, the doors suddenly stopped.

  Again we heard the friendly voice, "Sorry my friends, this was working the other day, I swear! Ah, that's it. Yah know, if I change the, yeah the coil here, and, then move the, the converter there..." The strange man seemed to be in his own technical world. A few moments later, it seemed the issue was resolved, "Yep, that's it."

  The door resumed opening once again and we were pulled into the bay by what I assumed was a gravitational beam of some kind. The Waylay's sensors indicated when the doors were firmly closed behind us, thankfully without any more incidents. The Waylay touched down softly in the docking bay. There were a number of other ships in the docking area that all looked to have been heavily modified from their original designs; one even resembling a fairytale dragon. Others appeared to date back to Old Earth times.

  When we opened our air lock, the animated figure that we had seen previously on our vid screen, was already across to our end of the bay. There stood a man about five-foot-seven, with a handlebar mustache, a billed hat with a wrench logo on it, and a serving tray. He had a big smile, and seemed to have a humorous rhythm in his mannerisms.

  The man said, "I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and got you all desert." By way of greeting, "It's called hot peppermint soy nog… and don't take it the wrong way, but, it is fat free." He chuckled.

  "It's good to see you again Cube." Ell said, and then introducing him to our crew, "This is Juan Rubiksack; he is the older of the two J's and one of the original founders of Jakodi Station. His nickname is Cube."

  Everyone who was standing on the Waylay side of the airlock gasped.

  “What!? You said they built this over four-hundred years ago!” Aria exclaimed, looking at Ell.

  “Are you a descendant of one of the J’s?” Gabe asked Juan.

  Ell then interjected, “I will happily explain to you later about the curious circumstances surrounding the J’s, but I will have to be given their verbal permission first.” Ell then told Cube, "Why don't we have those who want to explore your wonderful station go on their way. You can take the rest of us to meet your partner and his sister."

  "Okay." Cube agreed, after taking a moment to consider. "Oh, here take your drinks with you! Whenever you are done with them, just hand the glasses to one of the server bots." He passed out his concoction and pointed the departing crew to the door. What I had assumed was a security bot standing guard by the exit, opened the door for them. "Botsworth, make sure they get to see all the best stuff." He commanded it. The bot did a little bobbing bow and lead them out of the bay.

  Ell, Mark and I followed Cube into what seemed to be the main living quarters. A large sitting area took up one side of the space that was divided by a staircase. On the other side was a large kitchen that Gabriel would covet, if it weren't for the disaster that had been made of it. There were a number of bots whizzing around trying to repair the damage. Once Cube noticed our focus on the state the kitchen, he gave a stilting chuckle, and made an attempt at humor, “Well, what do you call a kitchen?”

  Mark was the one to indulge him, “What do you call it Cube?”

  “A mess! Get it?” Cube responded laughing at his own joke, while holding his ribs.

  Once he finally overcame his laughter, Ell asked Cube, "Where is Jorgen?"

  "Oh Jorgen, he's, well he's been taken by space pirates." Cube replied, not seeming too concerned.

  After just having a run in with pirates, I wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of dealing with hostile ones again, so soon. What seemed shocking was that, in such a secured station as this, how could Jorgen get taken at all?

  "Ok, let's start with search parameters." I said, taking the situation more seriously than Cube.

  A short, serious woman descended the main stairs. She was wearing a dark cloak, with her head tilted downwards and her eyes fixed straight forward, "Hi," she said unimpressed by my taking command of the situation. "If you want to find out what happened to Jorgen? Follow me."

  We followed her back up the same staircase she had just descended, through some oddly shaped corridors, to a solid wall. She accessed a hidden data pad, entered some commands, then the wall opened. We passed through it, turned the corner, and there, another man, similar in build to Cube but much taller, was standing with his arms stretched out. He was wearing a somewhat baggy pair of what looked to be coveralls that had non-slip socks built into it, much like what Echo sleeps in… a ‘onesy? He also had on a fully immersive virtual reality helmet. The floor beneath him looked to be made of a bouncy substance, so that whenever he got excited in what must have been a virtual reality simulation, he would begin jumping up and down enthusiastically, being propelled a few feet into the air with each jump.

  After we all watched him with amusement for a couple of minutes, he being completely unaware that he had an audience, the woman who had led us to him accessed a control pad, and typed a message. There wasn’t any noticeable change in the man’s behavior, except that his bouncing became more frenzied. With an exasperated huff, the woman opened another panel. Inside of it was an oversized lever labeled “destroyer of worlds” in bright red lettering. Grasping it with both hands while bracing herself with one leg against the wall, she used considerable force to pull the lever down. The man immediately stopped jumping, followed by his remorseful "Awww." He took his helmet off and the smell of burning ozone filled the room.

  The woman then said, "I'm Quinn, and this oblivious character...is Jon Jorgen Jr., my big brother."

  Jorgen slouching, tilting his head to the left, and while looking at us from an angle replied with a big smile that was only cloaked partially by his mustache, "Hellooo." After a moment, picking Ell out of the crowd, he added, “Ell! Feel this! It’s sooo soft. I finally got the formula right.” He extended his arm, while rubbing the fabric on his sleeve with his other hand.

  Ell stepped forward and complied with his request, saying, “I think this is the best one yet.”

  After pausing for a moment to take in the absurdity of the situation, I turned to Cube, saying, "I thought you said that Jorgen was taken by space pirates!"

  Jorgen then interrupted, "Yeah, that's right, it's my vid game. You want to know what else? It's really kind of awesome! But sometimes the pirate faction in it is kind of overpowered...” he would have continued, but was quickly interrupted by Cube.

  "Yeah, I told you, space pir
ates." followed by a chuckle... "Did you think I meant real pirates?! No way, now that’s funny."

  The two J's both shared a long laugh. Then Quinn, in a slightly irritated voice responded, "I’m their manager. These too just love a good laugh."

  Her statement was followed by Jorgen confirming, "Yep."

  Jakodi Station -Day 362- Ell Singer

  Once we all had a full night's rest, as well as Jason and Mark settling back down from thinking that Jorgen had been captured, we moved on to the matter at hand; collecting the pieces of the second EMP shield that I had been working on.

  I explained to Jason and Mark, "This EMP is a manual model, unlike the one I installed on Talia. The original on Talia can only be operated by me. We need to finish the control center of this one so that it can be operated by people on the surface of the planet. I believe this device would be of great help to the Coalition.”

  As we worked on the control center, I explained to them how Jon Jorgen Jr. and Juan Rubiksack developed most of the cutting edge technologies on the market. The things that they refused to sell were far beyond what most people would ever conceive to be possible. Knowing the destruction Fenix is capable of on the behalf of planetary governments and the countless battles they had fought in the centuries after Terra Prime vanished, the J's didn't want to contribute to people's suffering due to military conflicts.

  Still, knowing the war-like nature of humans, the Arena was meant as an alternative to real war, where competitive drone space battles could take place for entertainment. It was better for drones and bots to get wrecked, than for there to be more human or Hybrid casualties of war. So they decided to only market products that would reduce such losses of life.

  They had helped me build the EMP shield with the understanding that I wanted to defend people who couldn’t protect themselves. As I was explaining this to Jason and Mark, the J’s came wandering into the workshop we were using.

  "I found a group of people that I want to supply the EMP shield to. They are pushing farther outside of the thirteen sectors to give escaped slaves a safe world." I told them.

  "The shield would be a good idea for them, but they will need some other defenses too." Jorgen mused.

  "I’m sure we have something to add to their defenses." Cube interjected. The J's had already started to move off together, forgetting about us entirely as was their custom once they had a project in mind.

  "Make sure it is something that is completed and easy for normal people to use." I could hear Quinn calling after them, down the hall, in her best mothering tone.

  As Quinn entered our workshop, Jorgen lifted his head to vaguely acknowledge his sister’s directions just before he and Cube disappeared from sight. They were most likely heading towards one of their many other work rooms.

  "Did you need anything else from me?" Quinn asked us.

  "I'm sending you over some specs for the botanist position that we need to fill on our ship. I know that your connections will have a better draw for the highly skilled talent that we are looking for. I added a very difficult task as a skill test." I told her.

  "I’m sure we will find you the best fit for your crew." Quinn said smiling warmly. "Your other projects should be where you left them. Even if the boys have tinkered with them, they should still be in the other workroom you used... because I strongly reminded them not to 'move Ell's things'. You know how the boys are. Ping me if you need anything." She then turned to Jason and added, "Thank you for your concern for my brother yesterday and welcome again to our crazy home on the outskirts of the known universe." With that she left us to finish our work.

  "You weren't kidding about them being a little different." Jason mumbled to me.

  "Creating a joint venture between head and heart puts a power pack behind your goals." (Doc Childre and Howard Martin, the Heart Math Solution) Mark quoted.

  Jakodi Station Arena and Droneplex -Day 362- Bree Reiter

  Ell had told everyone this was a safe place to explore. I was feeling excited about this new experience, but also apprehensive. Over the last few days, Kendric had been working with me so I wouldn't be broadcasting my thoughts. He said I was doing well, but I didn't like the idea of letting my guard slip in a public place. He hadn't taken advantage of me, but I knew not everyone would be as honorable.

  "I'll stay with you if it will make you feel better." Kendric said from behind me.

  "Am I broadcasting again?” I asked him, feeling disappointed that I may have already failed at keeping my walls up.

  "No. I just remember how I felt the first time I went into a crowd after realizing I could inadvertently tell everyone my secrets." He said with a chuckle.

  "I don't have any secrets," I began, then stopped myself. I didn't, but I knew other's secrets. "Maybe I should stay on the ship. I know about Natasha, and how she contacted Patrice, and the Coalition. I would never forgive myself if I accidentally betrayed those secrets."

  “I trust you Bree. If it would help I’ll tag along with you two.” Natasha said. It was obvious that she didn’t want to be left alone.

  "That is probably a good idea, Natasha.” Kendric said to her, then turning to me he added, “You will do fine... And as I said, I'll stay with you to help you if you encounter difficulties."

  "Ok, I want to see the inside of this arena Ell mentioned." I replied.

  .....

  As we came to the main entrance of the Droneplex, I could already hear thousands of spectators cheering off in the distance, with the faraway sounds of drones in active combat. The way the arena and Droneplex was designed, there was an outer ring which served as a trade and concessions area, it then lead off to other areas of the station. The inner dome was located at the top of what was the Arena was where the action took place, which I could hear from where I stood. The outer ring was bustling with all sorts of vendors, selling anything from electronic devices such as drones and bots, food items, and even personal products such as perfume.

  One such product that caught my eye was called "The Essence of Respect." Supposedly, if you sprayed it on yourself, it would make others revere you. But I wasn't falling for it.

  After the brief distraction of the vendor's wares, we continued until we came to a ramp which led to one of several archways opening into the Arena's ‘inner coliseum’ as there was a large flashing sign designating it as such. As we ascended the ramp, the thunder of the crowd's screams became increasingly loud, as did the sounds of battle drones maneuvering and firing their weapons. Once we fully emerged from the opening, I looked out over the huge coliseum with thousands of people in the stands. It was overwhelming to say the least.

  We had arrived in the middle of an intense battle. It was enthralling to watch as the drones did corkscrew maneuvers, back flips so as to surprise opponents who had been on their tails, landing perfect hits to disable their opponents. It seemed tactics such as new shield technologies were used frequently to buy the fighters more time to launch counter offensives. Though it looked complex, Kendric helped explain some of the strategy to us.

  The ceiling of the arena was enclosed, almost like a shielded hemisphere. Though you could see the thousands of stars shining above, few people looked away from the spectacle in the arena. The center, where the battle took place, was completely shielded from the crowd by a translucent shield. It was very good that the barrier had been put into place because one of the drones crashed directly in front of us, bursting into flames then falling to the ground. Kendric also pointed out that the arena looked as if it could be changed to alter the rules of the conflict, such as adjusting gravity strength within it, or flooding the floor of the stadium for naval battles.

  Once the intense fire fight was over, a massive hologram appeared at the center of the coliseum, showing a bot announcer. The bot declared the victor of the match and runners up, followed by cheers and boos as the audience supported their favorites. The announcer then said “There will be a long intermission followed by a historical battle re-enactment. The bat
tle will be of the Sthenos Council of Thirteen's space armada, or Fenix as it is commonly known today, versus the opposing Syndicate of United Worlds.”

  Natasha then turned to Kendric and me stating, "Though the battle was intense, this seems like a relatively safe way to test new ideas."

  "I understand that several of the newer innovations in shielding have been proven here, along with some of the non-lethal weapons tech. Since the winner of the match can claim defeated drones, it makes more sense to disable rather than destroy the opponents. Though as we just witnessed, that's easier said than done." Kendric explained.

  "I didn't think it would be so... I guess, mesmerizing would be the right word. I'm having a hard time looking away." I added.

  Kendric laughed, "Then it is a good thing this is the last match for a while. I'm getting hungry. You both should eat too." He pitched his voice lower so that we were the only ones to hear him, “It is harder to keep your wall strong if you get distracted by another automatic response like hunger.”

  …..

  I felt giddy. I was enjoying an outing with friends; friends that made me feel safe and cared for. I couldn’t remember when, if ever I had been this happy before. There was so much to see. Once we left the inner coliseum and returned to the outer ring, we began perusing the different vendors. There was a clothing shop with beautiful, but rather impractical clothes in the windows. Next door a drone repair shop, where you could see sparks flying from the meticulous work that technicians were doing to repair the damage that had been done to the drones, which must have happened in the coliseum. Across the corridor, a candy shop displayed miniature sugar replicas of the famous drone victors. Everything was bright and colorful. We followed the smells to the food vendors. Kendric found one selling hand pies, and bought each of us a savory and a sweet pie. The savory one was lamb and potatoes, while the other was apple. After we finished, we decided to explore a little more and see if we could fine some of the items both Natasha and I needed.