The Pathfinder Trilogy

by Todd Stockert

  Thomas was awake too, keeping himself busy while Noriana slumbered. He noticed the look on Adam’s face and recognized the expression instantly. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he inquired sternly, sliding his chair down toward his brother so that he could study the same screens and the statistics displayed on each.

  “Nothing… yet,” emphasized Adam with a deep frown. “Telemetry from the missile body’s internal computer indicates that the hardware is beginning to malfunction. For one thing, the internal temperature has been in the red zone for the last hour. We’re also out of the safe zone in terms of hardware stress tolerances.”

  “How many planets are left?” Adam turned at the sound of his wife’s voice, unaware that she was awake. She was sitting straight up on a cot with her legs swung to the side, ready to return to her station.

  “As of now, thirty-eight,” he informed her, still scowling at the data he was reading.

  “I told you that we needed more insulation inside the casing,” said Thomas with a smirk. “That stuff we pack around the CAS drive wouldn’t burn if you stuck it in the center of an active star.”

  “The protective energy shield surrounding the missile casing doesn’t appear to be strong enough.” Adam sighed and leaned back in his dark green office chair, musing thoughtfully. “The weapon is drawing plenty of power from the vented radiation, but it doesn’t appear to be recharging fast enough between transits.”

  “Either way it’s a hardware problem,” Thomas teased playfully. “That’s your department.”

  “You two are making me nervous with that kind of talk,” admitted Kra Wonin. “Is there trouble?”

  “Sort of,” growled Adam irritably, his mood souring as it always did when there were unexpected problems with designs that he felt were more than adequate. “All of the planets with large Kuth cities and populations are long since gone, as are the evacuated worlds. What remain are basically the rocks that they kept primarily because they hold large quantities of usable resources.”

  “Essentially we’re being overly nice to a species that doesn’t, in my opinion, deserve our consideration,” continued Thomas in a tone that sounded somewhat snide. “They’ve already been handed a lot more than they need in their new star system. However, we augmented the quashing missile with some of our own CAS drive parts so that it could – should – successfully transport all 425 planets.”

  “It’s what we call, on our world, an olive branch,” spoke up Nori as she stood up and walked over to join them. She seated herself in her office chair and swiveled to face the two Wastelanders. “If there is ever to be a chance for peace with this species, we’re going to have to give them at least a few signs that an intelligent, sentient mind will clearly recognize as something we didn’t have to do. We could have done a lot more damage to their fleet than we have, for example. If they were in our position the Kuth would have. I’ve been watching pretty closely, and after the initial conflict Captain Kaufield has spent most of his time using the proximity detector to PTP away from attacking ships. Occasionally, when they get too aggressive or a little too close, he cuts a few corners off of a few of them with the laser systems… just enough to force them to back off. As Thomas stated, we’re being a lot nicer than we would have to, given the circumstances.”

  “We can’t change anything that’s already over and done with,” noted Adam regretfully. “The dead will stay dead and the stars that are gone will never shine again. But we can try to let them keep everything they worked so hard to accumulate.”

  “You will pardon me if I do not completely agree with that decision,” stated Snee Vasten dourly. “Their treasure trove of planets has been acquired at a considerable loss of life.”

  “I don’t believe that I am entirely comfortable with it either,” Kra Wonin echoed.

  “The computer and other hardware contained within the missile would seem to agree with you,” pointed out Adam, his interest clearly piqued. “The shield did not fully deploy prior to the latest round of solar venting through the force shield. It would appear that the weapon’s systems are breaking down. If this continues…” Expression grim, he swiveled the laptop screen 180 degrees so that the rest of them could see planet number 388. As they watched, only one third of it transited away. The rest of the huge, gray-clouded world hung fragmented in space, a wedge-shaped portion of it cleanly sliced away as though a huge, unseen axe had risen and descended twice.

  “Damn!” Thomas snapped reflexively, his disappointment showing very clearly behind his tired eyes. He looked toward his brother and chuckled. “Oh well… realistically we expected it to fail somewhere around planet 350, so we’re technically ahead of the curve.”

  “Why did it fail?” wondered Vasten curiously.

  “The weapon was originally designed for a few uses, to bring a convoy or two across their bridge and, as we learned from our own experiences, the occasional planet that they wanted to keep.” Adam shrugged his shoulders and chuckled at his brother’s strong reaction to the hardware failure. “To tell you the truth, I’m actually surprised that piece of junk remained functional this long.” His fingers began tapping commands into a keyboard. “I’m shutting down the AI program’s control over our Canary Probe. The unit’s systems are burning up and will no longer work reliably. That particular quashing missile is done moving planets for us.”

  The Comm-channel bleeped for attention, even as Kaufield’s thoughts touched the minds of those with implants. “What’s going on down there, gentlemen?” he asked curiously. “That last transit didn’t exactly work the way we intended.”

  *

  After listening to the Roh brothers explain the remote unit’s system failure, Kaufield found himself coming to a quick decision. The tactical strategy for this mission was very complex, so of course they had multiple contingencies worked out well in advance. Studying the image of the partially transited planet on an overhead monitor, he shook his head with mild frustration. Why? His mind prodded him silently. Because, another part of him insisted firmly in response. Even though we knew the modified remote unit would burn out at some point, a part of me was hoping that it would last until the final planet moved to its new home. Sitting there in the Command Dome, he realized abruptly that the irritation he was feeling originated in decisions that he must now make and the very real consequences they would involve. There was no way to avoid it any longer.

  Extreme risk.

  “I strongly recommend we abort the remainder of the project,” stated Thomas bluntly.

  Kaufield weighed the young scientist’s advice carefully before responding. “No,” he decided firmly, studying the motion sensor monitors carefully. “There are still too many Kuth vessels in this system. Our primary objective was to move the planets in the habitable zone and as much of the alien military force as possible. There are still almost a thousand ships in flight. I’d like to force them to choose a planet or risk being trapped here forever.” He paused, already knowing the full truth of the matter and the decision that needed to be made. “What do you think Adam?”

  “I think we can do it. Let’s use the Pathfinder’s CAS drive to move the remaining planets. If the Kuth attempt to intervene, well… we’ve planned for that too.”

  He watched Mary’s freckled features while listening. “Noriana… any thoughts?”

  Like Thomas, she was equally frank. “I don’t like that idea very much,” she informed him. “I hate it, as a matter of fact. Even within a solar system, there is a lot of empty space to hide in, especially with the instant transit capability our CAS drive allows. We have succeeded so far primarily because – at any given point in time – the enemy commanders cannot predict where we will be. If we try to use the Pathfinder to move whole planets… well, there are only thirty-seven planets left. That large residual fleet out there can attack us at any one of them as soon as we emerge from Point-to-Point.”

  “Don’t forget about the incident ten years ago,” continued Thomas with obvious concern. “We lost
stability on the singularity primarily due to the larger than normal amount of dark matter in the Wasteland. Without transit capability, we were nearly boarded and destroyed. Moving entire planets with this ship could, and probably will, threaten that stability again.”

  “We’ve planned for the worst, so let’s lay a trap and see if that works first. I don’t like the idea of leaving this job partially done,” concluded Kaufield. “Stand by for transit to planet number 388. We’ll use the output of the Pathfinder’s CAS drive as long as the singularity remains stable.”

  “Captain…” Nori’s tone of voice sounded more troubled than ever.

  “Follow your orders,” he instructed coolly, knowing full well that there would be hell to pay later. She hadn’t agreed with him about sending her husband into the Wasteland to begin with and she didn’t agree with him on this matter. But he was determined to help Adam keep his promises to the humans living in this galaxy’s fourth spiral arm and there was only one way to do that. “I’m planning a transit hop to target 388. Once we arrive, Adam will control the CAS output. He knows what to do.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Adam’s voice.

  Calm and steady as usual. But then, he should be, because he was the one with the tactical database. Kaufield knew this because his own eye HUD was displaying the exact same data that the elder Roh was reviewing. We’re both thinking the same thing... seeing the same opportunity. A chance to take the Kuth by surprise again by seeming to grant them the opportunity they want so badly.

  Tapping the ship wide all-call, he listened to his own voice echoing throughout the Command Dome. “All hands, prepare for emergency battle maneuvers. If things get hot, remember the emergency plan. Stick to the plan.” Taking a huge breath, he felt the full onslaught of anxiety’s return… it was time to take larger risks. “Transit in five, four, three, two, one…”

  Bright flash.

  “Target in sight,” Adam told him, and one quick glance at the overhead monitors confirmed his statement.

  Two thirds of a glum, lifeless world rotated slowly on screen, with swirling gray clouds of gas that would be instant poison to breathe. But something was down there; something truly valuable was on that rock that the Kuth badly wanted. If his conclusion was wrong then there was no way they would have risked so much and worked so hard to bring it into their prized, foothold solar system. And now a part of it was gone, and the ship responsible for its present condition was sitting idle, only seconds from a standard thruster orbit. “Stand by,” Kaufield’s voice said reassuringly, still using the all-call.

  “CAS parameters set. We’re ready to create a widened window at your command, Captain.” Thomas sounded extremely nervous, even though all their thoughts were shared. He knew what was going to happen and he was still afraid.

  Just like I am, Kaufield thought to himself. It’s so easy to throw that singularity out of whack. And if that occurs then our standard PTP engines may not be enough to get us far enough away from here.

  And then, just like that, his suspicions were instantly confirmed. The remaining Kuth fleet, nearly one thousand ships strong, suddenly vanished into transit only to appear almost instantaneously in close proximity to planet number 388. Hundreds of fighters appeared on all sides of the Pathfinder, including above and below. Large, capital warships also flashed into existence, missiles firing instantly at the hated human starship. “We’ve got incoming,” Glen informed him, even as the rail gunners opened fire once more. “The tactical computer predicts thirty seconds to first impact.”

  Waiting patiently for his chance, Kaufield flashed Mary and her cute freckles a confident smile. “Predictable,” he told her with a strong shake of his head. “It’s all revenge to them now. The ships that managed to clear their PTP drives of our virus hung around in the hopes that they would get a shot at us. Now they have.” In his mind he sent a mental message to Adam and Thomas, consisting of two simple words.

  [“Do it.”]

  Seconds later, the Pathfinder’s portal projector emitted a high energy pulse designed to transit an entire planet.

  Except that it wasn’t aimed at the planet.

  It fired through all of the new laser emitters in a spherical flash outward…

  …a flash that was aimed at the enemy fleet.

  Kaufield watched both Glen and Mary squint in response to the bright flash of green energy on the overhead monitors and in the Command Dome’s windows. It only took a few precious seconds for Mary to confirm their new position. “We’re in the target solar system sir. Planets 222 and 223 are orbiting close by.”

  The Captain reacted instantly too as the Pathfinder emerged from transit within the far distant, target system. The Roh brothers did their part, quickly shutting down the laser emitters, effectively stranding everyone in the new star system. Then they activated the ship’s primary portal generator, opening a much smaller window in front of the starship. Firing up the maneuvering thrusters, Kaufield sent the starship plunging through the tiny transit barrier and instantly returning them back to the Wasteland. The portal closed behind them, cutting off all hope of return for the transited enemy ships, fighters and missiles. I can almost hear their Captains wailing and gnashing their teeth, he thought triumphantly. Immediately his eyes shifted to the motion sensors, searching for enemy targets. He almost laughed out loud as he realized that there were none.

  We got them ALL, his mind screamed in triumph. We MOVED them all!

  Kaufield’s elation was short lived as the Pathfinder lurched sharply to port from an unexpected collision. Seconds later, another, much more massive impact sent the ship spinning sharply to starboard. Glen’s chair flew over backwards and, a moment later, he picked himself up with a dark expression that reflected primarily embarrassment. His attention shifted immediately to the console in front of him and he shook his head. “We’ve just been hit by something,” he reported grimly. “I don’t know yet by what. Nothing is registering on motion sensors.”

  [“Stealth ships,”] Adam reported using the implant, tapping into their eye HUDs and displaying a recently snapped image of a block-like, dark shape silhouetted against nebula dust. [“At least two of them, one of which is very large. They’re painted black and coated with some kind of material that absorbs electromagnetic radiation. No signal bounced back to us, hence they’re technically invisible. I think they were using the small moon behind us to hide their approach.”]

  “What a bunch of cowards,” growled Kaufield irritably, feeling a little bit defensive as his starship unexpectedly came under assault. “They sacrificed their entire fleet, sent them in first, just to see what would happen.”

  It didn’t take long for the rail gunners to contact the Command Dome. “Team leaders from dorsal and ventral hulls are reporting the presence of at least three ships attaching themselves to our port and starboard hulls Captain,” Mary informed him. “We’re being boarded.”

  “And just when I thought our enemy was out of tricks,” mused Kaufield wryly, tapping the shipwide all-call once again. “All hands, report to the hangar bay for immediate evacuation,” he announced sternly. “Avoid the outer corridors and stick to the interior of the ship when moving to the lower deck. Enemy troops will be boarding on both sides of us. Avoid confrontations if at all possible and stay away from the lifts. I’m shutting those down to prevent the Kuth from using them. All hands should utilize ladder wells only. And don’t be late, because I can’t guarantee we’ll have time to wait for strays. That is all.”

  He rose to his feet, a move mirrored almost instantly by Glen, Mary and the other officers manning the Command stations. “Captain,” said Mary, her empathy and compassion showing plainly on her expression. “You should come too.”

  “Not quite yet,” he told her. “I’ll be there, mind you, but not until I help Adam hold off the enemy long enough for everyone else to evacuate.” Still she hesitated, even when Glen grabbed her firmly by one arm. “Go,” he insisted. “We both already know how well t
his part works, don’t we Mary?”

  He watched her go before picking up the wrist gun units lying next to the PTP laptop. Wordlessly he began strapping them on one at a time while verifying that each unit was receiving signals properly from his implant. [“We’ve reached the end, Adam Roh,”] he informed his friend. [“So which side of the ship would you like to defend, port or starboard?”]

  [“I’ll take the larger ship to port,”] came the prompt reply. [“After all, you’re new at this.”]

  Shaking his head with mild amusement, Kaufield leaped through the exit hatch and hit the ground running.

  *

  The usually silent, content to sit and listen Noah was actually one of the first to exit the Command Dome. Some might mistake his hasty departure as cowardice and an attempt at self-preservation, but Captain Kaufield knew him better. The two of them had discussed the three things that MUST happen during the operation here in the foothold system well in advance. Move the planets in the habitable zone, neutralize the Kuth military threat, and lastly, lastly their intention was to at least begin cleaning up the local environment. To complete the latter objective, the CAS singularity would be needed. Noah’s shuttle was docked near the Pathfinder’s stern, on Deck One. If something happened to it as a result of military action taking place in or around the larger starship, its destruction would undoubtedly snuff out the Pathfinder’s CAS drive. They could not allow that to happen, no matter what.

  Although the Captain clearly warned all evacuees to steer clear of the outer corridors, Noah had no choice in the matter if he was to successfully reach his shuttle. He moved through one of those dangerous outer corridors now, noting that the moving sidewalks running in both directions were ominously silent on this particular trip. Usually they were operating at peak efficiency, allowing both crew and passengers to move swiftly from one end of the ship to the other. Kaufield’s warning to Noah was taken with a grain of salt – he knew that invaders would choose to board on Deck One or Two, since their primary goal would be to reach the Command Dome and seize control of the starship. Then they would worry about other critical areas.