by Ben Winston
This had been one of the largest groups ever brought up from Earth. It was to be the first of many from what Vance had told her. They needed more help, and the only safe place to get that help for the time being was Earth. Although most groups would be like this one, composed mostly of construction specialists, there were more people coming from almost every profession.
Vance was transforming the minor research base into a major military installation. They would also be recruiting marines and new crewmembers for the ships that would be built. She mused over what all these changes would portend for the rapidly growing facility while she headed home to make lunch.
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New Apollo Shipyard Construction Module
Pleiades Asteroid Cluster – Jupiter’s Orbit
Sol System
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“Tracking all these rocks is going to be a class ten nightmare, Master Therinate,” the tracking officer replied. “I’m having difficulty separating our protective fighters from the rocks.”
“Rocks do not have engines, officer Fernds. Simply look for the power signatures,” Halflan Therinate replied.
“I did that, Master. It only removed about half. There is a high concentration of power metals, as well as ice and a reflective substance. Even sorting all that out, I still have a couple of extra ships out there,” the officer replied. “I’ve actually been running multiple modes at the same time in order to try to track what’s ours and what’s a rock.”
Curious, Halflan looked over the tracking officer’s shoulder. The display was indeed very confusing, but that was one of the reasons for placing the shipyard out here. However, what Halflan saw, seriously confused him.
He keyed up the comm to the flight leader of the fighters. “Flight leader Annes, this is Master Therinate. We are getting some really messed up scanner readings back here.”
“Master Therinate, we are getting pretty much the same thing. Our scanners are switching back and forth telling us the entire field is all hostiles to none of them. It is very unsettling,” the flight leader replied.
“I can imagine so, Major. The tech here is running a multi-spectral scanning protocol, but is still getting a few false readings. Could we port this out to you, and you can check out the anomalies?” Halflan asked.
“At this point, I’m willing to try just about anything, Master Therinate. Link it to us, and we’ll see what we can do with it,” the flight leader replied.
Halflan put his hand on the tech’s shoulder. The tech nodded as his hands flew across his keyboard to make the link. “You should have it in a few seconds, Commander,” Halflan said while the tech was busy.
“Specter flight, this is the Cruiser Maljesti, do you require assistance?” a new voice said into the channel.
“Honestly, I don’t know what we’ve got out here, Maljesti. But, if you want to head this direction, I would appreciate it – I’m getting a bad feeling about this,” the flight leader replied.
“Take it easy, Major Annes, we both know that the bugs aren’t this creative,” Captain Brasten of the Maljesti replied.
“Normally, I’d agree with you, Captain, but the bugs aren’t the only enemy out here anymore,” Annes said.
“True enough, carry on, Major, we’ll be in your area in five minutes,” Brasten answered. “Master Therinate, my scanning chief suggests we link our scanners together to try to figure this out. If nothing else it should improve resolution considerably.”
Halflan’s tech nodded, “Ready anytime, Master Therinate.”
“Proceed Captain, we’re ready at our end,” Halflan said.
Halflan’s tech got on another channel with the scanner tech on the cruiser, and got the two systems linked. Very shortly, the screen resolved itself back into the same screen that Halflan had seen before.
“Maljesti, we are checking out the anomalies, thanks for the assist,” the flight leader said over the command channel.
“I’d love to take credit for it, Specter flight, but the praise needs to go to Officer Fernds on the station,” the Captain replied.
“Understood Captain, now let’s just hope these are false positives,” Annes replied.
On the screen, Halflan saw that the status of the cruiser had changed to yellow, and they had increased speed to be in position if the fighters needed it.
“Maljesti, target Gamma is moving to exit the asteroid field, we are moving to intercept, weapons hot!” Annes reported.
“Understood, Specter flight. Good hunting, be advised, I’m sure someone will want to talk to whoever is on that ship,” Brasten said.
“We’ll do what we can, Maljesti. Specter flight is hunting.”
“So, we did have a spy. It would have to be a Veranorian ship. Fernds, I don’t suppose you could get me a readout on that ship could you?” Halflan asked.
“Not exactly, Sir. I can get you output power, and few other readings, but the asteroids are blocking everything else,” Fernds replied.
“I’ll take what I can get, Officer Fernds,” Halflan answered.
“Yes Sir, on the main screen.” Fernds said and pointed.
Halflan moved a little closer to the screen so he could see it better. He didn’t like what he was seeing. It was a Veranorian scout craft.
He reopened the comm. “Captain Brasten, Flight leader Annes, you are pursuing a Veranorian type three scout craft. Be advised that it does not have a hyperspace engine.”
“Understood, Base. Any idea where it’s ship is hiding?” Brasten asked.
Halflan turned to Fernds. “Any suggestions, Officer Fernds?”
“Captain, it would have to be hiding in a high radiation area to cover its signature. The biggest one in this area is the gas giant called Jupiter. However, there is a dwarf planet in the area as well. If it was on its surface, we might not be able to detect it from a distance,” Fernds replied.
“The planet is closer, but also the most obvious,” Brasten replied. “I’m calling command and requesting a flight of bombers to check out the dwarf.”
“Understood, Captain. We’ll be expecting them,” Fernds replied.
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Office of the Base Commander
Alliance Apollo Base
Selene, Earth’s moon
Sol System
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“Sir, the sentry ship we sent out to the new fighter assembly unit is requesting a flight of bombers. Captain Brasten is reporting the fighters are in pursuit of a Veranorian scout craft. The scout is not capable of hyperspace travel on its own, so there has to be a transport ship for it hiding out there,” Sarah reported.
Vance nodded. “Dispatch Reaper and Scythe Flights, send Dante Flight as escort. Place Ares and Zeus flight on standby for support.”
“Orders relayed. Alert has been issued,” Sarah replied. “A type three Veranorian scout is equipped with a very powerful scanning suite. It is entirely possible that they have been on station for weeks,” Sarah replied.
Vance again nodded. “I was just thinking that. It makes me wonder just how many of them are in this system. We’re going to need to come up with a better way to scan the system and detect those spy ships. Otherwise, we’ll never see an attack coming until it’s too late to do anything about it.”
“Do you want me to send for Doctor Ced?” Sarah asked. “He’s our resident expert on scanning systems.”
“Although I hate to take him off his current project, we’re going to need those scanners. Yes, please ask him to come to my office as soon as he can,” Vance replied.
“His reply was that he’ll head on over right now,” Sarah replied. “The fighter project is almost complete; he is simply finishing up the design notes before passing them on to Master Halflan for implementation.”
“Yes, his last report stated that. I’m still amazed at how quickly we are getting things done here. This upgrade we are doing to th
e fighters would have taken at least a year back in the core worlds,” Vance replied.
“I doubt the Veranorians would have allowed it to take place at all Sir. It will give our fighters too much of an advantage over the Arac fighters and ships,” Sarah replied. “Initial tests show that the overall fighter efficiency has increased considerably, giving the ability to engage more than one target at a time.”
“You’re most likely correct, Sarah. The Veranorians would have blocked it, then used the idea for themselves,” Vance replied.
Sarah cocked her head to one side. “They did that quite a bit?”
“With almost every new idea that didn’t actually originate with them,” Vance explained. “No one said anything because of the programming.”
“Well, that’s going to change soon. Susan’s last report said the distribution was complete,” Sarah replied.
Vance nodded agreement. “I’m just hoping that the Alliance doesn’t react too badly. The Veranorian and the Arac could cause no end of trouble if they do. In the confusion from the deprogramming, they could do serious damage before anyone could get organized enough to stop them. I just wish we could be in a better position to assist them.”
“Susan will do all she can to assist them, Sir. She is aware of our fears regarding the situation. I am sure she’ll do her best to mitigate the damage this will create,” Sarah said.
“That’s the one thing I’m counting on, Sarah,” Vance replied. “Once the bombers get into position, please let me know.
“Yes Sir,” Sarah replied as she began to fade out.
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Alliance Heavy Cruiser Jonti-Sa
Base Support Orbit
Sol System
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“It is good to see you again, Doctor Cowan,” Captain Atnon said welcoming me to his ship.
I smiled at the man. “I wondered what had happened to you once Vance took over. I thought you would remain on the base.”
He smiled. “No, once I was relieved of my position as Base Commander, I resumed my original function, as the Captain of the Jonti-Sa. I thank you for asking, we be the first to receive a new AI. From all the reports I have seen, as well as interacting with AI Sarah, this should be a great asset to the ship.”
I nodded. “That why I’m here, Captain. If there is anything I can do to assist you in your efforts, I will do it.”
“I have to admit, that when you had all the bridge crew report to a holo-suite on the station for training, I was skeptical. I almost protested when I got a look at the new bridge layout. But I have to say, I am very impressed. Even on the first run through as a training mission, I could see the improvement in performance. Even though we had not been fully trained and were not used to the new design, we functioned much better than we did before,” Atnon said.
I nodded. “That’s why we did it. Doctor Ced, and I thought this would be better, and once we got it put together, asked Master Therinate to check it over. He was impressed and said so. He told us this design had a three hundred percent greater efficiency rating that the one currently in use. I consider that to be the greatest of compliments.”
“You should, the Shallans, as a race, are specialists in ship building and design. To say you have a design that supersedes the one they designed is indeed a compliment. You should be proud,” Atnon replied as he guided me to the computer center.
“I am, but I am trying to not let it inflate my ego, although it is difficult!” I said grinning.
Without missing a beat, Atnon replied. “You have surrounded yourself with females, I doubt they will allow you to get too out of hand!” He grinned back. “Females have a knack about things like that.”
I laughed and nodded agreement. “That they do, Captain.”
“Well, this is the computer center. I will leave you here, every time I enter that room, the discussions cause an almost immediate headache,” Atnon replied grinning.
Suddenly an alarm sounded, and the lighting in the hallway took on a yellow hue. “Yellow alert! We are at yellow alert! Captain to the Bridge please!” Came over the speakers.
“Excuse me,” Atnon said before running back down the hallway.
Wondering what that was all about, I opened the door into the computer section, and walked in. “Ah! Doctor Cowan! Perfect timing! We are just about ready to turn it on,” One of the men said. He was wearing an engineering uniform, and had the rank tabs of a Chief. I had met the man once, when he and his crew came to the base for training, but I couldn’t remember his name.
“Well, it looks like I missed out on all the fun stuff, Chief,” I replied. I touched the comm unit I wore. “Sarah, Jonti-Sa is ready to power up. Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am. The AI, Jonti, was very stable when we built her, so I do not foresee any issues,” Sarah replied.
I nodded. “Okay Chief, Sarah says she’s ready. Just to make certain, you have her isolated from the ship’s systems currently? I have no idea what would happen if she awoke during a ship-wide emergency.”
The Chief nodded. “We do, but she’ll still be able to see what’s going on. As per your instructions, we made sure she’d be able to have access to all sensors even if she cannot affect anything. Why did you want that, anyway?”
“Imagine being trapped in a small, featureless box. There is light, but you have no idea what time it is, or who’s outside. You can’t remember anything but waking up here. You don’t get tired, so sleep isn’t the escape it should be. How long do you think you could stay sane?” I asked.
“Not very fracking long! Even free floating in a suit wouldn’t be as bad as that!” one of the other engineers replied.
“Exactly, the requested condition is for the AI, so she remains stable and safe,” I replied.
“You treat her like she’s human. Will she really be like that?” Another of the Engineers asked.
I nodded. “Not exactly human, but sentient, yes. Jonti has already started developing a unique personality. She knows and understands what’s happening to her right now. For now, she will be very formal with everyone until she gets to know them, or receives permission from that person to refer to them familiarly,” I explained.
“Enough, let’s bring her up, and we can see this for ourselves. Quite frankly Doctor, I can’t wait to meet her,” the Chief replied.
“She’s a sweet girl, Chief,” I replied. “Power up the tertiary and sub-processing systems, please.”
“Yes Sir!” one of the Engineers replied, and spun back to her console.
“Initialize holographic systems,” I ordered and the man began typing furiously on his terminal. “Yes Sir, performing self-diagnostic now.”
“Excellent! Stand by for AI activation,” I replied.
“Sub-processors online, and functional. Secondary systems also online, back-up systems on standby,” the first tech replied. “RAM pack is online, long term memory unit online, power units online and standing by.”
The male tech looked over his shoulder at me. “Holographic systems fully functional and ready, Sir.”
I nodded, and looked at the grinning Chief. “Go ahead, Chief. Wake her up.”
“Ohlms, Lets meet the ship,” the Chief said to the man sitting at the terminal.
“Aye Sir, Systems are now active. Jonti is awake. Sending a query...” The man said.
The hologram of an almost nude young woman took shape in the center of the small room. Currently, she was floating about two feet off the deck, in a fetal position. She had long flowing golden hair, and was wearing a ‘modest’ bikini.
Slowly, she lowered her feet to the floor, and stretched. As she moved, a uniform sparkled into existence covering her from the neck down. She opened her green eyes, and looked at me and the Chief standing next to me. With a small smile, she slowly turned around, taking in her surroundings.
“I see my installation was a success, Doctor Cowan,” she said.
“That was all thanks to your new crew, Jonti. I just got here,” I told her.
“Chief Alberagh, you’ve done an excellent job of installing me, thank you,” she replied.
The Chief nodded to her, he was almost bursting with pride about getting her to work.
“Jonti, what is the current status of the ship?” I asked.
“We are at yellow alert in the case we are needed to engage the enemy. All other systems seem to be functioning in an optimal manner,” Jonti replied.
I touched the communit again. “Sarah? Jonti is awake.”
“I know, she is doing very well. All readings are exactly as predicted. She is perfectly stable,” Sarah replied.
“Okay, then I guess the only thing left to do is seal the vault, and introduce you to the Captain, Jonti,” I said.
The Chief nodded agreement. “Okay kids, you heard the man. Let’s get out of here, so we can let Jonti start work!”
The man the Chief addressed as Ohlms, finished typing something, and Jonti cocked her head at him, and then sealed the vault before we could leave.
“I’m sorry, but I sealed the vault. Crewman Ohlms just attempted to activate a virus program that was stored in long-term memory. May I have permission to notify security?” Jonti asked.
“What? Ohlms, you better start talking or the Marines will only have to pick up your body!” Chief Alberagh said, narrowing his eyes at the man.
“I’ll call the Captain, Jonti. Thank you for catching this,” I said. “Sarah, please connect me to Captain Atnon.”
