The Exxar Chronicles: Book 01 - The Erayan

by Neal Jones

  "-completely repelled," Costello interjected, emphasizing his more professional word choice.

  "It's drifting at a rate of 4.73 kph," Lieutenant Shyler Endari, engineering officer, added from her post at the rear of the Apollo's flight deck. "It doesn't appear to be equipped with any propulsion systems."

  "Or a power source, for that matter," Costello replied.

  Decev leaned forward to get a better view of the massive, alien object which was tilted forward and nearly invisible because of its smooth, ebony surface. She turned to the Chrisarii officer. "I assume we have portable stabilizer packs on board?"

  Endari nodded. "Two dozen, I think. But I'm not sure they would be enough to work on something that size."

  "Let's give it a try. At the very least, we might be able to find a maintenance hatch somewhere on its surface."

  While Endari left the flight deck to rummage through Apollo's cargo hold, Decev maneuvered the ship so she could land it on the ring's exterior. Two pair of grappling arms secured the Apollo, and Endari stepped out of its secondary docking hatch, accompanied by the two security officers whom Decev had brought along just in case. All three were in EVA suits, and it took them twenty minutes to install the first pack. Then they returned to the ship, Decev released the grappling arms, and the Apollo moved "forward" a few meters. The process began all over again. It took nearly seven hours. By the time the tenth pack had been installed Endari's team had cut their time by half, taking only ten minutes from start to finish. After the last one was in place and everyone was back aboard, Decev maneuvered the Apollo to a safe distance from the object and activated the stabilizers. Two dozen pinpricks of igniting thrusters formed a perfect, beaded ring which slowly came to a halt and then began to turn "upward". Decev's fingers danced lightly over her console as she inputted the commands which would bring the object into a perpendicular alignment with the Apollo, placing the tiny ship in a direct line with the empty space in the ring's center.

  Endari and the two security officers stepped onto the flight deck just as Decev finished, and everyone gathered behind the pair of science officers to get a good look at the artifact. Decev felt that word was apt, since this object had not yet matched anything in the Federation's library database. Not only that, Endari's team had found no maintenance hatch of any kind. The ring's surface was utterly smooth and featureless - not so much as a scratch, let alone any markings which might help identify its function and/or its creators.

  "So what do we do now?" Ensign Carter asked, glancing back and forth between Decev and Endari.

  "We could try hailing it on all frequencies," Costello suggested, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

  "I thought you said the crew at the listening post already tried that," Endari countered.

  Decev shook her head. "They didn't cycle through the entire hyperspace bandwidth, primarily, I think, because they weren't certain what kind of reaction they were going to provoke. They didn't want to create a situation which they weren't adequately equipped to deal with."

  "And what about us?" Lieutenant Asimonn asked.

  Decev glanced at him, the corners of her mouth twitching, before she typed a set of commands into her console. "I'm taking first watch. The rest of you get out of here. Get some rest. Mister Costello, you'll relieve me in four hours." Her crew obeyed, and Mariah lowered the lighting intensity of the flight deck by two levels before reclining in her chair and propping her feet on the console. She folded her arms across her chest and then, very carefully, she opened her mind and reached out with her empathic ability. The upper half of the black ring loomed large in the forward viewport, appearing to be in arm's length, yet the science officer felt nothing. Apparently, the object was just as capable of repelling mindscans as well as conventional starship sensors. After several minutes, Decev closed her mind, "shutting down" her ability, as she continued to stare at the alien artifact.

  No one except her parents and a close family physician knew that Mariah was a telepath. She had been diagnosed when she was fourteen, testing at level two. Level five was the greatest, level one the least. Mariah was little more than an empath, able to sense strong emotions in others but not possessing the strength to actually read someone thoughts. To date, only a handful of the one billion registered telepaths in the Federation had tested at level five. Most were level three or less. Like Mariah, they could sense the emotional states of others, which was typically used to determine whether or not someone was lying. Telepaths were most often hired by corporations to monitor business transactions, to ensure the complete honesty of all parties involved.

  However, they were strictly forbidden from serving in any branch of the military, as well as all levels of civilian government. All telepaths were registered with the Madison Foundation, an organization which wasn't quite a corporation but more than just an informal council which was charged with keeping track of all telepaths. If one was a telepath, and he/she was fully aware of his/her abilities, and he/she refused to register with the Foundation, such action was considered to be a felony offense under Federation law, a crime which was punishable by imprisonment of no less than five years and a fine of no less than a 100,000 credits. There were documented cases of unregistered telepaths who - once they had been discovered and arrested - were ripped from their families, their homes and other assets seized by the government, and sentenced to as much as twenty years in a specialized facility, all because they refused to fill out a one page form at their local law enforcement office.

  There was, of course, many ways to circumvent the medical tests which revealed the telepathic nerve cells that sprouted in the cerebral cortex. In someone who tested at L5, the cluster of nerve cells would be no larger than a quarter. In Mariah's case, the cluster was a little smaller than a dime, and, thanks to her father, as well as his close friend, Doctor Kebanusk, Mariah's secret had remained safely guarded. This was the primary reason for her parents' displeasure at her decision to enlist in the Navy. They had been deeply afraid – and still were – of the consequences should the truth be revealed. Those who aided and abetted unregistered telepaths were also sentenced to imprisonment and/or a heavy fine, but Mariah was reasonably certain that the lie which her father and Doctor Kebanusk had placed in her permanent medical record would keep her from harm.

  And, thus far, it had succeeded. For all these years, no one had ever suspected the truth, nor had any naval medical personnel questioned the diagnosis of Rothnikale's syndrome which Mariah had "contracted" when she was fourteen. One of the side effects of this syndrome was the appearance of a cluster of brain cells in the cerebral cortex, often right where telepathic nerve cells would normally grow. Although Rothnikale's was one of the more rarer neurological disorders, it was easily curable, and most doctors considered it unnecessary and too risky to operate on that area of the brainstem, especially when the cell cluster was that small and posed no danger to any brain function whatsoever. There were a few cases where the cluster had unexpectedly become cancerous and threatened to grow, and only then was an operation initiated to carefully remove the offending tissue. But Mariah had had dozens of regular checkups in her adult life and none showed any indication that the cluster had turned cancerous.

  The science officer shifted in her seat, glancing at her comm terminal screen to check on the progress of the automated hailing system. So far, only the lower frequencies were half completed and still no response from the alien ring. Mariah tried once more to "touch" the object with her mind, but, as before, there was nothing. She sighed as she picked up her compad, selected a new mystery novel from Apollo's library database, and began to read. She was two thirds through the book when her comm panel beeped, and that was the only warning which Mariah received before all hell was suddenly unleashed.

  A litany of alarms suddenly blared, as the empty space in the center of the ring abruptly filled with a writhing, swirling vortex of light and sound. Had Decev not been prudent enough to put the distance between the ring and Apol
lo that she did, the tiny ship would have immediately been sucked into the chaotic mess. As it was, the Apollo was just shy of the vortex's event horizon.

  Decev slapped her commlink. "All hands to the flight deck immediately!" Next, she checked to see exactly which comm frequency had awoken the beast. After logging it, she cleared her terminal screen and pulled up the sensor readouts. The amount of data which was pouring into the forward sensor array wasn't much, but it was a hell of a lot more than anything they'd received so far, and Mariah was almost finished with her analysis by the time the other four officers arrived.

  Asimonn and Carter quickly posted themselves at the rear of the flight deck, sitting at the pair of backup stations which weren't needed at the moment. They were security, and they knew better than to interfere at a time like this. Costello and Endari plopped into their respective posts, both looking a little haggard and unkempt. Endari shoved a few errant strands of hair behind her right ear as she checked Decev's analysis.

  "This has all the indicators of a wormhole," the engineer stated, a note of surprise in her tone.

  "An artificial wormhole?" Costello echoed. "That's not possible!"

  "Not by our standards of technological capability, no," Decev replied. "But we're dealing with an alien artifact, and we have no idea what it's capable of. I just launched a class two probe."

  "Trajectory and telemetry look stable," Costello said, pulling up the readout on his screen. "It's crossed the event horizon and will enter the vortex in thirty seconds."

  All eyes turned to the forward viewport, and had Decev not activated the internal visors, they all would have been blind by now from the sheer brilliance which radiated from the vortex like sunrays. Less than second passed after the probe disappeared than the vortex vanished. One moment, blinding light, the next, utter darkness. The change was so abrupt that it took a moment for Apollo's crew to register what had happened. The red alert klaxon was now the only alarm which continued to sound itself, and that was ended in mid-wail by Endari.

  "I've lost the probe." Costello made a sound of disgust and punched the console.

  "Let's review the data we've gathered so far," Decev said. "We now know which frequency activates this...gateway, and it's not going anywhere thanks to the stabilizer packs. But first, I'm getting a snack."

  It only took an hour to analyze the telemetry from the probe, as well as the sensor data which had been gathered at the moment the vortex was activated. Decev chose to launch a second probe, and the results were the same. All contact was lost as soon as it crossed the threshold. This time, it only took twenty minutes to analyze the data, and the results were the same there as well. There wasn't enough information collected to determine exactly what was on the other end of the "wormhole".

  "There's only one way to find out for sure," Costello remarked.

  "Absolutely not!" Asimonn jumped from his seat. "Commander, with all due respect, you would have to be insane to take us in there!"

  "Oh, really, lieutenant? What's the second tenet of the EarthCorps Naval Creed? The one which every cadet is required to memorize before their first semester at the academy is completed?"

  Asimonn's cheeks burned, but he stood his ground. "I...don't remember the exact wording, but it's something to the effect of exploring the unknown, and I realize that's what we're facing here, ma'am, but still –"

  "Thank you, lieutenant. Please return to your seat and strap yourself in. Mister Carter, please take over the tactical station. Mister Costello, are we still in communications range of the listening post?"

  "Affirmative, and I've already downloaded all probe telemetry and our sensor data to a communiqué."

  "Thank you for reading my mind, lieutenant. Dispatch it immediately. All hands, brace for impact." Decev secured her seatbelt and checked her straps one final time.

  "Communiqué is sent, ma'am."

  "Good. Are all hands ready?"

  A chorus of "Ready, ma'am" was fired back at the chief science officer, although Asimonn's response sounded a little weak. Decev inputted a pair of commands into her comm terminal, and a second later the vortex appeared. She forced the fluttering in her stomach to cease as she laid their course into the navigational system. Her finger hesitated only a moment before executing the order, and the Apollo jumped smoothly into motion.

  The tiny, gray fly disappeared into the yowling, chaotic maw of the alien spider, and the belly of the beast appeared as an endless tunnel filled with writhing, streaming ribbons of energy and color. There was very little turbulence as the Apollo sailed this foreign river, and Decev forced her gaze away from the awesome spectacle outside the forward viewport. She concentrated on her terminal screen and the sensor data which was currently filling it. So far, all readings confirmed that this was a wormhole, but there was a few anomalies in the data which suggested that this gateway was something more as well.

  Almost as soon as it began, the ride was over. A final flash of light signaled the end of the "tunnel", and a massive field of crimson and brown suddenly appeared, filling the forward viewport.

  "Report!" Decev ordered.

  "We're in orbit of a planet. Scanning the atmosphere now..." Costello was rapidly inputting commands into his console. "Assuming this is a class four world, radiation levels are sixty percent parts per million, pollution levels are thirty percent above normal, atmosphere is oxygen/nitrogen, but I would advise against landing us on the surface."

  Decev had already altered course to bring Apollo into orbit above the planet's equator, and she was about to respond to Costello's report when the entire ship suddenly rattled violently, and the red alert klaxon resumed its wail of warning. Carter was the first to report.

  "We're under attack! Source unknown! Trying to localize it now! Deflectors and weapons systems on line!"

  "I'm taking us out of orbit!" Decev said.

  But it was too late. The next volley punched through the Apollo's rear deflector screen and knocked out both engines. The force of the assault was enough to push the small ship further into the atmosphere, and by the time Carter was able to get a fix on the source of the attack, Decev had her hands full trying to keep Apollo level and control her descent.

  "Enemy fire is not coming from the planet's surface," Carter reported. "Something is in orbit with us, or just outside of orbit. Looks too small to be a ship. Maybe a weapons platform, or a satellite defense network."

  "Any sign of the gateway?" Endari asked.

  "Negative. But we're far enough into the atmosphere that the radiation is clouding sensors." The ensign gripped his console as another round of weapons fire pummeled the Apollo. "I'm returning fire, all weapons full spread."

  But the tactic was too little too late. The Apollo was so far into the atmosphere that tactical sensors were useless, and the defensive fire was probably too wide or fell short of the target. There was no choice now but to land on the surface, and Carter focused his attention on finding a safe spot to set down.

  "My gods," he whispered.

  "What?" Asimonn demanded.

  "It's a technological wasteland down there." Carter raised his voice so the others could hear. "I'm detecting massive ruins, what looks like entire cities. Plenty of animal life and vegetation, but no humanoid bio-signs. None that are in sensor range, at least."

  Costello confirmed Carter's report. "I would guess from these readings that the entire planetary surface is covered with these ruins. This place was definitely somebody's home once. And, judging by the levels and types of radiation and pollution in the atmosphere, this was probably a space faring species, or very close to it."

  "We're no longer being targeted from above," Carter added. "But I can't say the same for the surface. I'm detecting multiple energy signatures, but they're low power."

  "Probably old machinery that's still running on automated systems," Endari suggested.

  "Find me a spot to land," Decev ordered. "All I've got is thrusters, so it needs to be somewhere close to our present position."


  "I've got it," Carter piped up, cutting off Costello's reply. "Transferring coordinates to you now."

  Asimonn was peering over the ensign's shoulder. "That's in the heart of the city! Land us here, along the outskirts."

  "Sensors are detecting multiple wildlife beyond the city borders," Carter explained. "There's less inside. We'll be safer inside the city limits than out."

  "Commander," Asimonn said, turning in Decev's direction, "do you –"

  "Yes, lieutenant, I agree with him! Everyone brace for impact! This isn't going to be a crash landing, but it's still going to be bumpy!"

  Asimonn muttered something under his breath as he returned to his seat and fastened his straps. Once again, all eyes were fixed on the forward viewport and the desolate, decaying landscape below it. The sun was just beginning to set, and the horizon was bathed in muddy shades of crimson, violet and gray; a massive bruise on the face of the sky. A dense layer of smog covered the city ruins, and the tiny, gray form of the Apollo resembled a submarine descending into murky waters.

  Chapter 13

  ____________________

  ( 1 )

  The crimson pair of hands worked quickly, attaching the wires to the vials of blue-gray liquid. Next, all the wires were bundled together and the single, thick cord was attached carefully to the detonator. Last, the entire apparatus was strapped around a crimson waist. The hands moved deftly, yet cautiously, ensuring that the sealant which had been spread all over her stomach and back was dried and the bomb was secure. A plain, brown shirt covered the row of vials, and a jacket on top of the shirt helped even more to hide the slight bulge around the waist. The young Chrisarii woman stood back and examined her reflection in the tall mirror which hung on the inside of her closet door. Unless one looked closely, one would never notice the bulge. The detonator was tucked inside her right sleeve, like an ace in a final game of cards. Satisfied that all was in place, the medical officer closed her eyes and offered her final prayer to Onng Le'Roh. She walked out of her quarters, stepped into a PTL, and commanded the lift to take her to the promenade.