NEBULAR Collection 1 - The Triton Base: Episodes 1 - 5

by Thomas Rabenstein

»What is it?« Ivanova asked, then she too heard the approaching rumbling.

  »We’re under attack!« Ivanova shouted. »One of the Globuster vessels has just arrived over Triton! He must have come in under stealth – and he’s firing at the IRS! It’s party time, boys and girls!«

  The ground began to shake. Ivanova threw a quick glance at Banoma.

  »Direct hit on the antenna array. The IRS has been destroyed by plasma weapons!« a control room officer announced. He added in a softer voice, »There were still scientists in there. We’ve taken the first losses of Human lives.«

  In the hangar, Davis clenched his jaws together. The squadron leader had heard the announcement. His Hawk squad waited for launch orders to confront the enemy. Davis had no illusions about the outcome of this unequal battle.

  In the meantime, the laser batteries had acquired and locked on their first target. The projectors were about equal in firepower to the Hawks but were not designed for battle. Their performance was as expected – slow.

  »Target Lock, Altitude 60, Target Speed 450! Steady!« Morgenstern announced.

  »Acknowledged! Fire at will!« the voice of the Laser Battery Control Officer sounded. The high energy laser beams were invisible in the vacuum of space, but the Globustership was suddenly engulfed in red flaring energy. The light emissions were blinding. A new sun rose above the Star Hall.

  »Additional enemy ships approaching from the night side! One Globuster’s heading for the cruisers!« Space Observation reported.

  »Wan Mui!« Ivanova whispered. »Show them!«

  Day followed the action above the base in outer space in a state of near shock. He hesitated to order the Hawks into battle. The laser batteries, even when concentrated on a single target, were not penetrating the Globuster defense shield.

  The Globustership maneuvered to evade the guns’ focus. It emerged completely intact.

  »The Shenzhou is moving between the Ryan and the Globustership!« the scanner officer reported. »She’s trying to protect the Ryan.«

  »Maya, what’s your crew on the Shenzhou up to?« Day shouted. »The idiots can’t win this. RETREAT!«

  »Trust them, Don. We have one last trump. If they play it right, they might save both ships!«

  A tremendous explosion followed and Day’s connection with Ivanova was cut off. One of the attacking ships had made a direct hit on the station.

  »Commander! The Star Hall!« a scanner operator yelled. »IT’S GONE!«

  Day held his breath for a moment, then ordered: »TRITON-HAWKS, GO! Stop these bastards – they’re shooting our base to shit!«

  The Triton-Hawks released the magnetic catapults. The first group of four raced through the open hangar doors and accelerated into space, the second group right behind them.

  Davis led the last team. The stress and acceleration of a catapult takeoff were tremendous; he lost consciousness for a second. He awoke in space, pulled his machine into a sharp turn and yelled orders to his wingmen.

  »We’ll take the enemy ship directly above the base. Engage and turn away immediately! Don’t give him time to lock on to us. We’ll confuse the enemy with disruptive maneuvers!«

  The other three acknowledged curtly, then the Hawks started their attacks.

  The Globustership was unimpressed. It unleashed a salvo of blue glowing plasma balls that hit near the pole below and erupted powerfully.

  They’re leveling the IRS, Davis realized.

  His Hawk, flying in the lead of the attack formation, had reached firing position. A short press on the firing stud sent the deadly laser salvo on its way – with the same result. Brightly, red radiant energy surrounded the enemy ship, their intensity increasing as Davis’ wingmen fired their cannons in concert. Davis had to turn away not to become a target himself. Two plasma salvos from the Globustership missed the Hawks narrowly. The pilots satisfied their frustrations with angry battle cries.

  As Davis performed a roll with his Hawk and saw the base above him through the cockpit windshield, he was shocked by what he saw. The former base landmark, the dome of the Star Hall, had disappeared! Vaporized by a direct hit! Two Globuster vessels were landing directly next to the crater where the auxiliary command post had been.

  My God, Maya, I hope you’ve made it!

  Damaged beyond repair

  The four Progonauts flew directly toward the Thorn, taking advantage of their body shields. There was no sense in trying to conceal themselves, there was no cover in the totally exposed area around the structure. The queen and her three soldiers landed at the object’s foot and immediately, a door opened and a small army of robots poured out into the open. Vasina didn’t hesitate, not even taking the time to give orders. She opened fire on the robot servants.

  »Your Majesty! To your left!« Herkales warned, loudly, as one of the robot defenders approached almost unseen. He drew the vibrator sword and with a mighty thrust sliced the machine into two pieces. It fell on the ice and lay immobile. The guards fired blast after blast at the swarming attackers that still flowed from suddenly opening gates.

  Herkales deflected shots with his shield by expanding it to reinforce Vasina’s body shield.

  The space around the Thorn quickly filled with burning and twitching robot bodies. Despite their numbers, the attackers didn’t have a chance. A short lull formed in the stream of attacking mechanicals and Vasina made a sweeping gesture with her arm.

  »Follow me! We’re going inside!«

  »Wait!« Herkales yelled, shifting to bar his queen. The tall man stepped confidently toward the opening, vibrator blade ready. »A shield-bearer protects his queen – always!«

  Vasina shook her head and gave Herkales a sympathetic smile while two guards moved to protect her sides.

  »Well then, my faithful friend!«

  Together, they entered the Thorn and found themselves in a diffusely lit room.

  »Why isn’t he attacking us with his mental powers?« Herkales asked suspiciously, wheeling to use his blade against a fast approaching robot.

  »Either he’s directing his attention to the refugees or he needs to recharge and readjust the Collector. We have to use this moment of weakness, we won’t have a second chance!«

  Vasina aimed her gun at one of the machine assemblies on the wall.

  »Shoot! Cause as much destruction as possible!«

  Her energy beam penetrated the metal case, a flash of fire raced to the ceiling and the square-shaped device burst wide open.

  »Like that!« Vasina commanded, ducking the flying debris, forgetting that her body shield protected her.

  The color of the diffuse lighting changed from violet to red, probably indicating an alarm. Hidden passages and nooks opened all around them, releasing robots that swarmed over the floor and ceiling.

  »To the central shaft! Quickly! We’ll go deeper!« Vasina ordered her soldiers, ignoring Herkales’ raised eyebrows.

  »The prayer room is at the root of the temple if I remember correctly. That’s where the Soulwalker’s hiding!«

  The Progonauts regrouped in the center of the room, still fending off the advancing robots. Despite their efforts, there seemed to be more of them than ever.

  »Don’t hold back! They’re only machines!« Vasina yelled as they dove into the shaft slowly floating to the bottom with their suits.

  »This should never have happened!« Vasina hissed angrily, watching as the guards covered the shaft with a constant upward fire.

  »What?« Herkales asked without looking at her. He was peering into every opening they passed on their descent. The enemy could be everywhere.

  »A Cysan prayer temple and a Soulwalker? What kind of devilish Brotherhood plan is that? If the Thorn is allowed to charge for a long enough time, the Soulwalker will be able to dominate every creature on this planet – reduce all intelligent beings to mindless puppets!«

  »I think you’ve nailed the purpose of this place,« Herkales replied bitterly. »He must be the reservation supervisor, and probably also the
commander of the Mind Catchers, lurking in their ships at the edges of this system.«

  Vasina grimaced.

  »Then we have to warn the Atlantika!« Herkales roared. »The Soulwalker has probably already alerted his vassals. Contact Hellas! He needs to be ready for a possible attack.«

  »He wouldn’t be my ship’s commander if he’s not ready for that! Trust him as I do, Herkales.«

  The Progonauts left the central shaft and entered a vault, on the Thorn’s lowest accessible level. The walls and ceiling of the room were saturated with switch elements, which began flashing hectically as the Progonauts entered the room. Vasina’s Jamal-Comb glowed with a bright aura, indicating a strong mental presence.

  »He must be here,« the queen whispered as she strained to penetrate the strange illumination with her eyes. She advanced slowly until she finally stood before a glass partition.

  »What is this?« she asked quietly as Herkales stepped beside her. The wall of armored glass was curved, forming a bell shape high overhead. The interior was a hermetically sealed space filled with a reddish gas that hid its contents.

  »Your Majesty, did you notice? None of the robots have followed us into this room.«

  Vasina nodded.

  »Yes, we’ve reached the Thorn’s heart. The robots don’t want to provoke us. We could presumably cause serious damage here.«

  One of the guards stepped up to one of the consoles and studied its holographic indicators. »Whatever’s happening here, the installation is certainly active. I measure a strong flow of energy, perhaps the mental amplifier. It’s controlled from here!«

  Vasina and Herkales exchanged short glances. Both knew what had to be done next.

  A smacking sound made both of them turn around. The reddish gas was being pumped out of the chamber and the view within was clearing. What slowly appeared out of the fog made Vasina’s blood freeze.

  While the terrified soldiers took a step backward, Vasina moved closer to the glass bell and looked down at a twitching, formless body.

  The Soulwalker’s body is degenerated and kept alive artificially, she realized in horror. He’s a slave too, like all the other poor creatures debased by the Dark Brotherhood. That’s how the Progonauts will end up if we can’t beat the enemy.

  The repulsive gray clumps of cells certainly didn’t resemble an intelligent lifeform. Small curved extremities projected from the body, connected to numerous tubes and contact points at the base of the container. Only two large, asymmetrically positioned, closed eyes could be seen in the large clump of tissue.

  »Vasina!« Herkales urged, »We must leave this place at once. I have a nasty feeling about it!«

  Vasina didn’t react to Herkales’ words. She stared at the clump as if mesmerized.

  They’re keeping him alive to use his powers! she thought.

  Suddenly, the creature’s eyes opened and stared at Vasina. Vasina’s gaze didn’t waver. She stood up taller and returned the creature’s look with equally intense concentration.

  You’re helpless – eternally damned to lay in this life support system and obey your masters’ orders! she thought in mingled pity and hate.

  The Soulwalker’s body began to twitch and turn.

  You don’t like being found like this, do you? Helpless and unable to escape, Vasina thought and stared back with all the contempt she could muster. Suddenly, she was surrounded by bright discharges and propelled backward. She landed in a heap at the feet of her soldiers. Her body shield had protected her from the worst. She looked up and saw that a compressed energy field had formed around the container.

  Herkales and the guards opened fire, only to find that their weapons couldn’t penetrate the shield. Vasina clenched her fists and let out a high pitched scream of frustration.

  »We’ve missed our opportunity! He’s unreachable now.«

  Suddenly, the enemy’s robots poured from the central shaft and began spewing fire. The Progonauts silently advanced toward the attackers, firing not only at the robots but at the various consoles, disintegrating them in bright explosions.

  Vasina’s communicator signaled an urgent, high priority call with a red light.

  »Your Majesty!« a distorted voice could be heard. »We’ve detected a fleet of warships approaching from the edges of the system. The attackers are headed directly for the Atlantika’s coordinates. A fleet of Mind Catchers, a superior force – we won’t have a chance. What are your orders?«

  Vasina looked around with flickering eyes. The room was filling with smoke and fire. Her soldiers were fighting the robots and she saw the first signs of fatigue and loss of confidence. Vasina met her shield-bearer’s eyes and for the first time felt helpless.

  »Your Majesty, what are your orders?!« the receiver announced with urgency.

  She’s become the small child I played with in the rainbow palace, Herkales thought and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

  »Forgive me, Vasina,« he whispered as he applied pressure to a nerve cluster – a typical hand-to-hand combat move. Vasina immediately lost consciousness and fell into his strong arms.

  The soldiers looked horrified to see their queen laying unconscious in her shield-bearer’s arms, but they kept fighting.

  Herkales took her communicator. He identified himself and slowly spoke into the device in reply to Hellas’ desperate call.

  »This is Herkales speaking!«

  »Where is Vasina? What’s happened?« Hellas gritted.

  Herkales ignored the question.

  »I am assuming command per royal protocols to save the lives of the queen and the Progonaut people.«

  Hellas was silent before finally responding.

  »I recognize your authority under the code for the benefit of the queen and our people,« Hellas recited the formulaic pledge. The queen’s two guards looked back and nodded in Herkales’ direction. They knew what the code demanded in a time of crisis and devoted themselves to keeping up their defense.

  Herkales placed Vasina’s limp body tenderly on the floor. When he stood, the guards had secured the shaft with their weapons. The squall of robots had stopped, mysteriously.

  »Listen up, Hellas. Our home world is either in ruins or sealed off for all time. The other Progonaut worlds are probably history by now. The refugees here are all that’s left of our people. We can’t let the Soulwalker and the Dark Brotherhood defeat us. Vasina must survive as queen to give our decimated people a chance to remember and restore our kind. We will get revenge for this atrocity. The enemy fleet cannot be allowed to reach this planet and prevent us from destroying the Thorn of Cysan. Vasina must be saved from the Soulwalker. Do you understand what you must do?«

  »Yes, Shield-bearer!« the speaker tried to catch his breath. »The Atlantika’s tachyon drive is damaged beyond repair. The ship can only maneuver in sub-tachyon space. We will lure the enemy fleet far away from this planet before we engage them – and sacrifice our lives for Vasina if that’s what it takes.«

  »Hellas, old friend,« Herkales answered slowly, every word a promise. »We’ll do as much damage to this Thorn as we can. Make it disappear in the crust of this planet, hopefully never to return to the surface. Here are my orders! We have to act quickly before the Atlantika leaves this space sector.«

  A psychic field

  »Estimated distribution velocity?« Arkroid asked calmly.

  »About 500 clicks per hour,« one of the scientists answered, »but that’s only an estimate. It looks as if the Soulwalker has activated his Collector and expanded his field of influence in a spherical zone. We can’t tell if it’s spreading steadily or accelerating.

  »If the Collector field is a sphere, then it won’t take long for it to reach Uluru,« Arkroid concluded.

  »There’s also the impact on the space stations, whose crews will be threatened in a short time. That includes the Blue Moon, the only battleship we have! The cruiser must immediately leave orbit and retreat to a safe distance!«

  Arkroid had taken over comman
d of Uluru Station after Hayes had collapsed.

  The admiral was being treated by doctors. Banduk Oodergoo looked like a stack of misery and became uncharacteristically silent. Arkroid shook the researcher’s shoulders violently.

  »Listen! Your nanobot army is doing its job. Contact with soldiers around the Stinger is lost because the Soulwalker is controlling the men, ordering them to destroy their equipment, but the nanobots haven’t failed! They must still be working, we just can’t see what they’re doing or how they’re progressing.«

  The scientist rubbed his tired eyes.

  »That’s possible, but if there’s any error, we can no longer intervene and select other mission parameters. I’m supposed to be in absolute control.«

  Arkroid laughed.

  »No one in this universe has complete control, Banduk. We have to trust your army. Please explain to me what happens when communication fails.«

  »Do we have enough time for that?« the scientist asked.

  »The nanobots are our last hope. All we can do is wait. The Soulwalker’s psychic waves will either roll over us or your little critters will put an end to the spook. So, what is your estimate?«

  Banduk smoothed his special suit and looked at the clock that displayed the mission time.

  »The replibots will mainly be involved with reproduction for the first two hours. They’ll divide and thousands will become millions! They should be everywhere inside the Stinger by now, like a fine mist. Even if the Soulwalker has noticed what is happening, by the time he understands it, it’ll be too late.«

  »Do you remember what you told me when I arrived here?«

  »Sure, why do you ask, Toiber?«

  »You painted an apocalyptic scene of steadily increasing nanobots, consuming our entire planet and turning it into raw materials and energy. Is that already happening?«

  Now Banduk smiled again.

  »No, that cannot occur, we have taken precautions. Do you remember the description of the organic nanobots we call logisticians?«

  Arkroid affirmed.

  »The organics must at least divide and increase in the same proportion as their metallic partners to supply the increasing number of replibots with raw materials. We have added a biological clock to the logisticians’ DNA, which will stop the division after a specified number of cycles and cause the cells to die. The replibot population growth is, therefore, limited and stagnates at a certain level. That’s when the actual nanobot’s mission program begins and they start their destructive work. There are different groupings of types of replibots to provide the largest possible range of damage.«