by Kumar L
“Ok, I’ll take your word for it,” said Anara. “Commander Ryan can go over the details with you later.”
“You yourself are not interested, Captain?”
Anara paused before answering. The primary objective for building Antariksh was no longer valid. “This was supposed to be ship of exploration, Colonel. That is what we set out to do when we started out on our journey almost two years ago. Since then, we have fought battles in space, discovered nuclear weapons hidden in secret compartments, been held hostage, and finally discovered that there are humans in another solar system, delivered there on the Voyager probe as human zygotes. Believe me when I say that I am not looking forward to another war.”
Fraser gave her an appraising look. She is thinking emotionally. Never a good sign during a military mission. Is this the only person they could find to command this ship? I had been told she is tough and capable, but all I can see is her vulnerability.
“Better to be prepared to give the enemy a bloody nose, than fail in our mission. Indulge me for a while. Let me just show you what we have.” He gestured with his hands, bringing up photos and details of the military equipment in the ship’s cargo hold.
“Personal transporters—tracked, amphibious and flight capable,” he said, scrolling through the list, “drones—armed and surveillance; light artillery, a few fixed-wing attack aircraft and of course, a full complement of commandos plus all the handheld weapons we will ever need, both laser and projectile. And a small complement of highly advanced robot soldiers.”
“The JITF seems to be equipped like a small army,” remarked Ryan.
“But we are a small army, Commander. I assure you this is by design and you will understand its necessity when we are on a strange planet, among a completely different species. We will have no backup, no extraction plans to a safe zone, and no one to call upon to help us. It is better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.”
Anara knew he was right. She changed tack. “Why do we only have naval commandos?”
“Ahh. You see, the JITF is actually a multidisciplinary force of over a thousand men and women. We had very little time to prepare for this mission, but seeing as we are going to a planet inhabited by reptilians and possibly amphibious life, we thought it best to limit the team to people who can fight effectively in water and are equally deadly on land or in the air. Hence, the marine commandos form the bulk of this particular task force. Of course, we do have a complement of trained fighter pilots.”
Anara studied the screen thoughtfully. “This does seem to be a lot of fire power, Colonel. I guess there is no escaping the fact that this is now a military operation and Antariksh’s days of exploration are over. However, I do hope you will remember who is finally in charge—me. I will not allow us to go to war with a planet which is, for the most part, peaceful. Let’s not forget they did raise our human children as foster parents.”
“I expected you to take such a stand, Captain, but let me also state clearly; your prior military experience notwithstanding, the military operations will be under my direct command only. I will stay out of your way on the ship, and I request you stay out of my way on land.”
Anara looked at him, considering his words. He is right, of course. The PM said much the same thing. This is not a challenge to my authority. Just a simple submission of facts. It might complicate the situation when we are on KifrWyss and need to act quickly, but that’s just another bridge to be crossed when we come to it. What is life, after all, if not the combination of opportunities, options and choices made?
She decided against confronting the Colonel. This was neither the time nor the place for it. Besides, while she could handle diplomacy and flying a space ship, ground wars were another matter altogether.
She stood up, looked the Colonel in the eye for a long moment, then spun on her heel and left the room. Ryan looked surprise at this sudden turn of events, but followed her out dutifully. What was she thinking?
◆◆◆
He caught up with her in the corridor. “What’s your problem with him? Why are you being unnecessarily rude?”
“It’s not about him, Ryan,” said Anara, “I’m just not ready to replace Rawat so soon.” Her shoulders drooped. “I know I am not being rational, but he represents everything that is wrong with this mission. He’s ready for war, I’m not.”
“It’s not his fault. He is a soldier. He has a job to do, just like you. Please. Don’t let your emotions overcome you. I am right here by your side. We will get through this together, all right?” He held her gently by her shoulders. She nodded.
But her mind was processing multiple thoughts at once. Why can't I let go of the feeling that we are travelling to our doom?
◆◆◆
“Join you, Lieutenant?” Kevin was on a short break, and had been hoping quite fervently to run into Manisha. He was delighted to find her in the cafeteria.
“Oh. Of course, Major Kevin. Of course.” She swallowed hurriedly, dabbed her mouth and moved her tray.
Kevin put his own tray down, and settled down on the chair beside her.
“So, Lieutenant, what do you do in your spare time when you’re not flying this ginormous ship at the speed of light?”
“Ha!” she smiled. It was good opening line. “Let’s see now. I read a lot. Crime thrillers, mostly. Do a bit of white hacking. Keeps me on my toes with computer systems, you know. And let’s see, I do enjoy flying in simulators. You know, running a spaceship is not as easy as I make it sound.” She smiled again. He thought it made her whole face light up. “What about you, Major Kevin?”
“Spear fishing, surfing, whenever I can get the time.” He smiled back at her.
“That’s so cool. I tried surfing once and spent most of my time in the water. I guess the sea and I are not meant for each other.”
They lapsed into an awkward silence after that, each focusing on their tray and trying to come up with something interesting to say.
“Your captain came to meet the Colonel sometime back,” Kevin said finally, breaking the silence. “They did not hit it off, that’s for sure. She seems to be a capable skipper, but seems to not like having the JITF on board. Any idea what that’s about?”
Manisha hesitated, unsure how much she could share with her new friend. She idolized Anara, but she had seen the changes in her in the time she had spent under her command.
“She’s been under quite a lot of stress, you know. What with facing an attack when we met the aliens for the first time near Proxima Centauri—we barely escaped destruction—then finding that fertilised human eggs had been stored on Voyager 1 and the aliens had raised human children. Then the attack on Earth. She held the baby in her arms, Major, and talked Jim out of killing everyone in Mumbai and taking the child to HuZryss.” She leaned a bit closer. “Don’t tell anyone this but she had a run-in with Major Rawat in the beginning as well. She’ll come around eventually. She has done more than can be asked of any spaceship captain, Major. I think she deserves a bit of slack. She’s actually very warm and supportive to her people. Give her time.” She patted his hand.
“Thanks for sharing that with me. I never meant to be disrespectful. Just curious. How about you taking up my offer for drinks?” Her hand was still on top of his.
5
The Second Ship
Anara lay still on her back on the floor of her cabin, arms at her side, palms facing upwards. The savasana pose generally helped her calm her mind, relax her body and get a good night’s sleep. But even yoga had been failing her these past few weeks. Try as she might, she was not able to close her mind to the turmoil. The minute she closed her eyes, her demons returned to torment her. She hated being a pawn in this interstellar game of chess, tossed about from square to square.
She finally gave up, opened her eyes and sat up.
“Lights,” she called out.
The room brightened. She looked about, glancing at the familiar objects that littered the shelves and the side table. Pictures
of her parents, a water colour of Earth gifted by a school student before the first journey, an empty vase, and a few journals. A bright light shone briefly outside her porthole. She looked out of her window at the passing comet.
The ship had come out of jump a few hours ago. During the jump the ship travelled at faster-than-light speeds and the crew was confined to their sleeping capsules in the dome. The dome protected them from time dilation and relativistic effects while travelling at velocities that had been impossible to achieve till a couple of decades ago. The M-AM drive, gravity generators which bent space around the ship allowing it to break the light barrier, and the dome had allowed humankind to finally venture into deep space. During sub-light flight, standard protection systems built into the very structure of the ship functioned to keep the crew isolated, much like the heat shields on the ancient space shuttles of the twentieth century.
Due to the enormous power consumed during the jump the ship could travel at FTL speeds only for a few hours before it had to slow down and wait for the power plant to recharge. The recharging process itself took several hours, so the crew had a routine almost like a normal 9-to-5 working day.
Anara’s thoughts had not become any clearer over the last few days and she worried she could be in the throes of a depression. Yet there was no one onboard she felt comfortable confiding in; not even the good doctor Khan. No, she decided, she had to deal with her demons herself. She needed to be fit if the crew was to succeed in their mission. I can’t let them down, she reminded herself continually.
“Captain Anara to Ops, please,” chimed Lieutenant Manisha’s voice over the communication system.
Anara sighed deeply, acknowledged the request, and banished her worries to a deep corner of her mind. How long before they surface again? I hope Manisha has something interesting to distract me. Duty calls. She straightened her back, put on her shoes and walked out of the room.
◆◆◆
She was not surprised to find Ryan in Ops. Lately he had been taking over more of her responsibilities and regular duties on board the ship. He knew something was troubling her but she was grateful that instead of intervening he had seemingly decided to give her the time and space to resolve her internal conflict.
“What’s up, Commander?” she asked.
“Something really strange. Thought you should take a look. Hope I didn’t disturb you?”
She waved away his concerns. “‘Something’ and ‘strange’ do not suit a vessel of exploration, Commander.” The words came out sounding harsher than she had intended.
“Sorry, Captain,” Ryan replied somewhat self-consciously. “We have detected what looks like a ship during our routine scans.”
“The TrueKif?” she queried, instantly alert.
“Does not seem so,” Manisha interjected. “It is a design we are unfamiliar with. A few million kilometres ahead of us, travelling at sub-light velocity.”
“Another alien ship?” asked Anara.
“Too far for us to make out right now,” replied Ryan.
“Suggestions?”
“Recommend we increase speed or even perform a short, controlled jump to head them off and find out who they are and what they are up to,” replied Ryan.
“Let's do it. Increase speed by 25%,” Anara commanded.
They could not perceive the change, but the display climbed up to indicate a 25% increase in the ship’s velocity. The distance between Antariksh and the strange ship closed slowly.
“We are making headway. It should be close enough for solid visuals in sixteen minutes,” reported Manisha.
“Maintain this rate. Madhavan,” she addressed her Chief of Engineering over the intercom, “any chance we can go faster?”
“I would not recommend that, Captain. Without the M-AM power, we are already over our top cruise velocity. I can hold this velocity for another couple of hours, but the engines are beginning to overheat.”
“Noted. Keep me informed and maintain course and speed till further instructions.”
The minutes passed slowly as the crew in Ops kept up their vigil.
“We are now two-and-a-half million kilometres out.”
“Scan data. Go to aggressive gamma and x-ray scans.” Anara had learnt some harsh lessons from their very first encounter with unknown ships in space. Don’t hesitate, learn what you can, and don’t give a damn if the other guy gets hurt in the process. She had her own ship to protect.
“Coming through. Spectroscopic analysis shows outer hull composed of poly-metallic alloys, fusion reactors—two of them. They seem to have some type of matter-anti matter drive technology. The ship is approximately fifty meters in length, and the hull composition and fusion reactants indicate...” She looked up in surprise. “The ship’s from Earth.”
“Copy that. Ryan?” This mission was getting too convoluted for her liking.
“Affirm. The metal composition is very similar to Antariksh, though somewhat more advanced. If I recall correctly this was the material proposed to be used in the construction of Antariksh 2. That ship is definitely from Earth,” he stated confidently. “We are however, unable to penetrate inside.”
“What a pretty set of mysteries we continue to run into, huh? Finding ships in the middle of nowhere, and each one presents a new surprise. No signs of the TrueKif ship, I assume?”
Manisha shook her head. “We’ve not seen any signs of them despite running scans.”
“Any identifying signs on the hull of the ship?”
“Starting visual display now, ma’am.” Manisha manipulated the long-range cameras. “There are some markings on the rear. Focusing.”
The image became clearer.
“It’s a flag. Searching database for a match.”
“It's French,” said Anara simply.
“Excuse me?” said Manisha.
“It's the flag of France. That means this is a French ship. Point is- what is a French ship doing in deep space? Last I checked Antariksh was the only ship capable of travelling outside the solar system, besides the older unmanned test ships. You know anything about this, Commander?”
“I’m as much in the dark as you are. What the hell are these guys doing out here?”
“Another secret mission?” Manish ventured. “Or maybe they’re just lost?”
“We may never know that, Manisha, at least till we get closer or stop them. Are you sure the ship is moving under its own power and not adrift? Can we send them a signal or a message?”
“The ship’s propulsion system is active. I am reading heat signatures from its engines. They are definitely not adrift. I will try signalling them now. Give me a minute,” replied Ryan. A short while later he transmitted. “Antariksh calling unknown vessel. Say again your call sign. Advise your intention. Antariksh calling unknown vessel.”
“Captain!” called out Manisha. “They are increasing speed and moving away from us. They’re also changing direction. Looks like they’ve seen us too and are trying to avoid us.”
“Why would they do that?” Anara wondered aloud. “They must have recognised us. This is the most famous ship in the entire solar system. They have to know we are allies.” She turned to Ryan. “Is there anyone even on board or is it unmanned?” Are they trying to escape? Do they have something to hide?
“Unable to determine if it is manned. The ship is accelerating,” Ryan reported.
“Try to keep up with them. Madhavan, I need more speed.”
“I am giving you all we’ve got.”
“Find some more, at least for a few minutes. We can’t fall behind. I want to know why there is a French ship in this area and what they have to hide. Don't let them get away, Manisha. Keep an aggressive radar lock. C’mon Ryan, signal them again.”
“Transmitting again. I am using standard Earth transmission frequencies. Antariksh to unknown vessel. Say again your call sign. Acknowledge.” He listened for a minute. “No reply. No way they could have missed our signal. We’re being ignored for sure.”
◆◆◆
On board the second ship, its captain sat at his console watching his radar readouts with concern. He had hoped to remain undetected for some more time. This encounter with Antariksh would unnecessarily complicate matters.
“Capitaine? We are receiving a transmission from the Indian ship. Do I respond?” called out his communications officer.
“Ne fais rien, Elise. Do nothing.” Damn that ship. Where did they come from? We were almost clear. I just need to avoid them for some more time. We have to find a way to escape the ship. How did the TrueKif ship vanish? This was the most direct route they could take on their way back to KifrWyss. We should have caught up with them. Where have Jim and his ship disappeared?
◆◆◆
“Still no response.”
“Keep trying. Opinions? What do you think they are up to?”
Ryan sat still, staring at his screen. “Impossible to determine their purpose till we speak to them. We should keep in mind the possibility that this may be an unmanned vessel programmed not to interact with anyone.” He swiped his fingers and posted the data onto the main display. “They are still ignoring us. Narada,” he addressed the ship’s AI, “take over the transmission. Repeat every five minutes. Report on response.”
“Yes, Commander. Captain, do you want to call Colonel Fraser to Ops? This may turn into a tactical engagement,” offered Narada.
“Not right now. We need to learn more. For the moment, just check out any data on the ship—origin, probable mission, anything you can find. And extrapolate based on their maximum possible speed when they might have launched from Earth. Get the data quickly.”
“Roger. I will get back to you shortly.”
Anara turned her attention back to Ryan. “An unmanned ship doesn’t make sense, Ryan. This region has already been charted. All the data has been shared freely with other nations. There is nothing new to be learnt. It has to be a manned vessel. Question is—what are they after?”
