Ilox Saga 1: Eris Monroe: More Than Human

by Bruce Adams

  Eris was dubious. She didn’t like that her first mission was to pick up an Orvod. It made her think of Chol Cuxa. “An engineer…don’t we require soldiers or specialists like Gelkar Ruz’zel?” Ten days prior she had just met Dominic Gray and she hadn’t figured out what his motivations were. She didn’t know why he was doing the things he’d done, and she couldn’t just attribute everything to his fabled eccentricity. No one would spend sixteen hundred billion credits just on a whim. However, she had seen what happened when the Republic Fleet had agreed to work with the TEC and she didn’t want something like that happening again.

  Eli Bowman interrupted. “Saephan was a former employee at DSD. His theories led to the development of the null field stealth generator. I think Mr. Gray pissed him off so he left before it was fully working on the Sparta...” At the withering glance the CEO gave him, Eli thought he’d best say nothing further about the subject and receded far back into his chair.

  “Captain, we need Saephan to stabilize the stealth field generator on board the Sparta. Secrecy and stealth are essential…without either, I fear these missions will have little chance of success. Do what you have to, but get him on board and cooperating, or find a way to make the generator functional.” Mr. Gray crossed his arms indicating he was finished with the conversation.

  “What if he doesn’t want to join my crew…?” Eris was not convinced this was a viable plan.

  “You can be most persuasive when you want to be Captain. I am sure you will find a way to influence him. You must.” Dominic Gray took a sip of water from a glass.

  “You have your instructions, I expect they will be carried out soon.” He turned his gaze once more to Eris, “Since you are fully recovered, Captain, make all preparations to get underway and head to the Alphard system. I look forward to you making the jump in the next few hours. We will speak again as the mission progresses further.”

  As the image of Dominic Gray faded out the Evene female walked up to Eris extending her hand in greeting. Eris noticed she had black claws – they looked extremely sharp. Seldom seen outside of Hegemony space the Evene were a feline humanoid client species of the K’Tosk. Her fur was short-cropped, golden colored, and covered her from head to clawed toe completely. However, she had a glorious long mane of red hair that spilled down past her shoulders. Her ears were pointed and large. Eris saw that her black polished nails were a centimeter long and razor sharp – her golden tail moved lazily. The Evene’s accent was distinctive as she introduced herself.

  “Captain Monroe, Eli has spoken highly of your antics and bravery! I will be piloting the Sparta on our missions.” Eris was crowded by humans and aliens congratulating her on her new command. She raised an eyebrow at Eli, “Antics?” Eli seemed oblivious as he was meeting people.

  A man encased in black and grey combat armor approached and saluted Eris. Flanked by two other humans dressed similarly in personal body armor, he appeared to be in his thirties with closely cut black hair. Eris returned the salute and then shook his offered hand.

  “Captain…it’s good to see you again.” He pointed to his left at a shorter woman, “This is Sergeant Isabella Dulac, my adjutant. She gets to file all the paperwork.” He flashed a quick grin. “She’s also an expert at electronics. But don’t let that fool you; she’s really an exciting person…” Dulac stood a full eighteen centimeters shorter than Eris but was still taller than an average human female. Isabella had short green hair styled in a page cut - she smiled as she saluted Eris. “It’s an honor to serve in your crew,” said Dulac earnestly. Isabella was twenty-one years old.

  Malik then pointed to a muscled soldier to his right. “And this joker here is Sergeant Ted Garcia.” The heavily muscled man saluted and stood at attention.

  “Ma’am,” Garcia was polite and stoic. Eris liked him immediately.

  Arnav Malik was good-looking, handsome even…and stood just a little taller than Eris. “We’ll be ready whenever you need us, Captain. Everyone on my team has battle experience…we’re looking forward to these missions.”

  Eris was intrigued and wanted to know more about his squad. She nodded solemnly. “I’m glad to have you all aboard…Malik, Dulac, Garcia. Once I have some spare time, I’d like to talk with you and your squad.”

  “I’m looking forward to that, Captain.” Malik then walked away to allow others a chance to talk to Eris. He’s a handsome man with a regal bearing. She gave her attention to Kizzara who was pulling on her arm.

  “Come! Let me show you Sparta. She is the most wonderful ship in the galaxy!” The Evene was practically bouncing with energy. I wonder if she gets hot under all that fur. Eris was unfazed by the attention she was receiving and continued to shake hands and talk with her new shipmates and crew as Kizzara continued to talk over them. Eris finally turned to face Kizzara.

  “I’m looking forward to a tour. Why don’t you lead the way?” Eris motioned for Kizzara to precede her. Evene…they were intersexed hermaphrodites - alien humanoids that had both male and female genitalia. All Evene had breasts, vaginas and penises, though the penis was retracted inside of the body. Eris knew that those that used the Vis designation in their names preferred to be thought of as female and those with Vas tended to act masculine.

  Her crew continued to chat amongst themselves as they moved through well-lit wide corridors until finally arriving at a large docking bay of the space station that had been her home for the past three months. By the time they reached the ready room that provided access to the ship, Eris knew the names and positions of her entire crew of forty-five sentients. Almost all of them were human. Fire Control Technician, Operations Specialist, Electronic Warfare Technician and Gunner's Mate were most of the job titles of her new crew. The ready room contained an airlock and overlooked the huge bay as well as the Sparta through a huge plasteel window. Technicians dressed in orange jumpsuits busily moved back and forth readying the ship for departure by transporting supplies onboard and calibrating various pieces of equipment, including the twin forward mounted particle cannons. Coated a flat metallic black the ship was impressive and sleek – the image of an Earth shark came to mind. The name Sparta was emblazoned in white on her port side just behind the main guns.

  “She’s beautiful,” Eris murmured, admiring the sleek lines of the destroyer-sized starship.

  “She’s a proud beauty indeed,” agreed Lieutenant Commander Sev Tariv, the K’Tosk ship engineer. Sev had been one of the first in the crew to introduce himself to Eris. He had worked at DSD for eight years and had been integral to the construction of the Sparta. Many of the reports on the ship that Eris had memorized had been written and compiled by him. K’Tosk are humanoid aliens that humankind had first encountered in a most unfriendly manner. They had fought the Misunderstood War for two years before peace had been settled. “She can out-fly any ship in her same class…and once the stealth generator is functional, we can slip in and out of any star system undetected. She’s sleek, fast and lethal. We’ll get you to wherever you need to go twice as fast as any other ship in the galaxy.” Eris thought Sev Tariv was proud, but his facial expressions were so rigid, she couldn’t tell for sure. K’Tosk were covered in a chitonous skin that was tough and flexible as fingernails which gave them excellent protection to their internal organs. They were fierce adversaries and Eris was intrigued to have him on board. The Republic Fleet only used humans, never aliens, in any of the conflicts she had served in.

  Eris thought Sparta was the roughly the size of a destroyer… built in the shape of an oblong wedge she measured just a tad over one hundred thirty meters long and thirty meters wide. Her hull was larger aft where the antigravity thrusters protruded and tapered to a point in the fore section of the ship. Her main batteries were situated in the fore section of the ship, two massive particle cannons. Situated at regular intervals were six more turrets, three on the port side, and three on the starboard side of the ship. Each turret carried heavy gauss accelerator guns. There was something a little odd about t
he aft portion of the ship and she said so aloud.

  “What are those phalanges along the top dorsal ridge at the back?”

  Kizzara spoke up, “They are part of the null field system.” The feline humanoid was grinning, showing her rows of sharp pointed teeth. Evene clearly had evolved as predators on their homeworld.

  “So they make the ship invisible to enemy sensors?”

  “Just so.” Kizzara was smiling and happy as a kid showing off a school project.

  Eris thought how incredibly useful that would be. Captain Monroe then walked down a ramp leading into the cavernous docking bay until she could reach over and touch the cool dark metal of the ship. She ran her fingers along the polished and seamless durasteel hull for over a meter stopping just shy of the open airlock…she nodded silently in appreciation. In her last few days she had learned about the Sparta but it was quite different to be standing near its sleek hull and touching the black metal then to see a holovid. Standing near the ship suddenly brought back a flood of memories. Eris had been with the Fleet for ten years, since enlisting at the young age of seventeen. Her ascent through the ranks had been rapid; though she had been helped tremendously by Admiral Hargrove guiding her in her career decisions. He had been the one to get her on a fast track in the Republic Special Forces. If I take command of this ship, how will the Fleet…Admiral Hargrove…take it? Before she had contacted John - when she had asked what had happened to her old mentor - no one could tell her. If what the intelligence reports Dominic Gray had given her were true, then there were elements in the Fleet who wanted to bring down the Republic. Traitors in the Fleet…she hoped that John could use his resources to find out more. She would definitely have to contact him again. Her reverie was broken when Arnav Malik spoke. She felt she was making an irretrievable decision in accepting command of this ship.

  “Kizzara, why don’t you start that tour for Captain Monroe?” said Arnav, her executive officer. He had been hovering close to her for the last ten minutes. Kizzara nodded vigorously as she touched Eris on the arm - Evene were a relatively new species in the galaxy; technologically uplifted by the K’Tosk. Their social groupings were tight-knit and they had a built in need to touch one another constantly. They came from a primitive world mired in a low level industrial age. Kizzara pulled on Eris’ arm, trying to drag her onto the ship. From what Eris had read about her, she was the best pilot that Dynamic Space Development had ever recruited. I bet Kyle will love having her aboard she thought.

  “Very well, Kizzara Amara Vis Sala…lead the way,” Eris pointed deep into the ship.

  “Oh, please…call me Kizz. Come, follow me…” She let go of Eris’ arm and bounded over to the open airlock of the ship and disappeared inside. Eris followed as did most of her crew. Like most ships of her class, the spaces aboard Sparta were tight and cramped, though head room seemed to be a bit higher, possibly to accommodate alien crew members. Kizz proceeded to take her on a full tour of the ship, first showing her the pilot and co-pilot’s stations, the command center, fire control stations and all the various state-rooms, cabins, lounge and crew quarters located throughout the ship. The operational deck containing the command information center, weapons locker, communication room, captain’s chair and crew control stations was located at the top level on deck one. The crew quarters, captain’s cabin, officer’s quarters, briefing room, kitchen and mess hall, workout area and food storage made up the bulk of the second deck, along with a small brig. The third deck contained impressive medical facilities, laboratories and machine work-shops for fabricating or researching weapons. The labs included full biochemical and genetic analyzing equipment. The fourth deck was the largest, containing a dizzying array of engine drive components, stealth field generators and other propulsive technologies. Everything in her path gleamed from the soft light of the overhead glow panels; the equipment on board was all completely new, state-of-the-art and shiny – there was nothing used, old, or broken on board.

  Passing through the third deck of the Sparta, Eris spied Doctor Lia Xinhao standing at a lab work table. Numerous instruments were laid out as she studied each device in turn. She turned to Eris and the retinue of crew that had accompanied her on the tour.

  “Doctor! I didn’t know you were joining us,” said Eris. She was confused. None of the crew manifests that Dominic Gray had sent her mentioned her. Lia Xinhao arched a pink colored eyebrow.

  “I admit it’s a last minute adjustment, but we felt that my place should be on the Sparta…by your side.” She was wearing a white lab coat with the DSD infinity symbol emblazoned on the sleeves.

  “We?” Eris asked politely.

  “Mr. Gray and myself. We felt it was necessary to have someone with my expertise on board to study any Valdren artifacts that may affect the crew. I have been studying all of the reports the TEC authored concerning the mental affects of the Valdren Entity. Fascinating theories.” Lia brushed her sleeve to remove a stray pink strand of hair. “I’m even working on a small project in my off hours that could prove useful against mental antagonists.”

  “I see.” Eris thought that Mr. Gray was entirely too secretive. “Well, I am happy that you’re coming along for the ride,” said Eris, as she turned to continue on the tour of the ship.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” murmured Lia Xinhao as she turned back to the inventory of her scientific equipment.

  The fourth deck level held the huge engine compartment including the fusion powerplant, antigravity pulsar thrusters, conventional FTL engine, jump-drive engine core and the null field stealth generator compartment. The fifth deck level contained an internal docking bay that made up a large part of the aft portion of the Sparta. Access between each deck was reached through numerous gangways as well as a large main elevator located just aft of the CIC. The bay was packed with four smaller vehicles and a ready room complete with airlock. The forward section of deck five contained the hydrogen fuel tanks that were needed for the jump-drive engine. Inside the hangar deck was a Phalanx armed hovercraft that could hold at most twenty-five armored personnel, a jump-drive equipped Starlifter landing craft that doubled as an escape vehicle and two small sleek fighters. The Starlifter was squat and ugly but served a vital function as an armed and armored shuttle that could deliver sixteen personnel and a sizable amount of equipment to just about any location with its stealth field engaged. Kizzara pointed to one of the fighters proclaiming, “This is Valkyrie…I piloted her throughout the testing phase. She is fast and silent. A very maneuverable craft.” Kizzara seemed to be happily content giving Eris a tour, continuously chatting about the equipment and pointing out everything of significance. Eris didn’t let her know she had already memorized the function of everything on board the ship during her ten day convalescence.

  Kyle had kept his mouth shut throughout the introductions and inspection of the ship but finally offered a few words. “Eris, these two Valkyrie class fighters offer us a lot of extra firepower if we get in a nasty fight. Both of them are equipped with working stealth generators and pack one hell of a punch. I’m itching to put them through a few runs. You know, for testing purposes.” Kizzara’s ears twisted forward just like a cat.

  “Oh? I believe you will find them very difficult to fly. Only the best and most experienced pilots can fly such craft.” Kizzara’s tail was swishing back and forth furiously.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had been promoted to be the Captain of the Sparta,” said Kyle sarcastically. Kizzara looked at him with a strange expression; Evene were not good judges of human sarcasm.

  Eris didn’t know anything about the fighters as they had not been detailed in the schematics she memorized. “Kyle…cut the attitude - this isn’t a contest. Why does the stealth field function on the fighters, but not on the Sparta?”

  “Mass and size are the determinant factors. Small fighters such as the Valkyrie have much less mass and can be cloaked efficiently with the energy output of a fusion powerplant - but the Sparta is too large. Tha
t’s why we need the skills of Chief Engineer Saephan.” Sev Tariv’s face was a mask and his body language obtuse; his emotions were impossible for Eris to read. “I’m sorry Captain, but I must make sure the engines are ready and running at full capacity. I will be working on the engineering deck waiting for your orders.” He turned and left the hangar at a brisk pace. As the bulk of crew members broke off in one’s and two’s to go about their duties, one figure stayed distant, silently observing.

  T’sell T’savri had said nothing for over an hour - she stood leaning against a bulkhead on the far side of the engine compartment. She wore the face of a young human female in her late twenties. Her skin was dusky, with dark curly hair a close cropped bob. She wore a DSD jumpsuit bearing the insignia of an Operations Specialist. The mind chatter emanating from the throng was bad enough, but the verbal assault on her ears was ten decibels higher than what she preferred. She let the humans celebrate without joining them. What an arrogant species. Other races, such as the Zari, had been traveling through space far longer than the short-lived humans. She knew why she had joined this group, but she wasn’t sure all of them knew why they were here. The Monroe female was interesting. T’sell had spent some time poring over her file. The human was genetically tailored, and for humans at least, had amazingly gifted abilities for one of the mind blind. An hour before T’sell had tried tentatively injecting into Monroe’s mind but had back-pedaled quickly when confronted with the ironclad willpower and psyche of the human. According to her file, Monroe had survived two recent missions that easily could have and should have slain her, though most of her subordinates had perished. Perhaps Dominic knows what he is doing in giving this whelp command. She finally walked up to Eris and introduced herself.