Deep Space Intelligence : Complete Series

by Gary Weston

  ‘That and serious reductions to the the D S I budget. Your own position as Boss will be untenable. Look. Don’t throw the towel in just yet. Let’s hope for a good outcome.’

  ‘Indeed. How’s Councillor Freeman?’

  ‘Resting. I can tell this has drained him.’

  Boss smiled. ‘I bet he’s drained. Thank him for his support for me. I’ll call General Millet and pass on the news. You best go to be with Councillor Freeman. He’ll need you.’

  ‘I’ll be right there by his side. Good luck.’

  Before Boss could call Millet, Millet called him.

  ‘Frank. You must have read my mind.’

  ‘Tagg. You were about to call me?’

  ‘Yes. Miss Saltoe just told me the outcome of the voting. They let the mission continue.’

  Millet took a moment to let that sink in. ‘So it’s all down to me, then.’

  ‘Yes. Sorry to put that pressure on you.’

  ‘It goes with the job. What happens if I decide not to go through the split?’

  Boss shook his head. ‘Don’t you worry about that. The only thing is how you feel when you get there. Assess the situation. If you don’t like what you see, turn around and come back.’

  ‘I can see it in your face, Tagg. We don’t go through, the D S I will be slashed.’

  Boss snapped. ‘That is not anything to do with this, Frank. It is not going to be a factor. You base your decisions purely on what you find when you get to the split, nothing more. The safety of your people and ships are to be your primary concern.’

  ‘Easy for you to say. Sorry, Tagg. I know this isn’t easy for you at all.’

  Boss said, ‘For none of us. All I ask is you use your best professional judgement when you get there. Try not to let anything else influence you.’

  ‘I’ll do my best.’

  ‘At least you still have a few days before you have to make that decision.’

  Millet shook his head. ‘Actually, I don’t. That’s why I called you. The split has moved. It’s closer to us, now. In its new position, we’ll be there in about twenty hours.’

  ‘Damn. Ok. Well, at least we’ll know sooner rather than later. I’ll let Councillor Freeman know.’

  ‘Ok. Over.’

  As the call ended, Boss called Toby Miles on Transporter One on Varlindra.

  Miles said, ‘Boss. A little unexpected.’

  ‘I’ve a message for Councillor Freeman and Miss Saltoe. The split has moved. It is now nearer to the ships. They’ll be there in about twenty hours. Please inform the Councillor.’

  Miles said, ‘It’s a little late, but I know he’ll want to know. Twenty hours?’

  ‘Yes. Thanks. Over.’

  Miles was knocking on the door of Councillor Freeman’s rooms half hour later. ‘Sorry to disturb you, Councillor.’

  ‘I’m too hyped up to sleep. Come on in.’

  Miles entered and saw Saltoe trying to relax on the cushions, sipping a glass of wine. ‘Miss Saltoe.’

  ‘Miles. You have news?’

  ‘Yes. Boss just called me. The split has moved. The ships will be there in about twenty hours.’

  Freeman said, ‘General Millet hasn’t decided not to go through it yet, then.’

  ‘Not as yet, no. Sir. Will we be leaving in the morning?’

  ‘No. We might as well stay here until we know if the mission is still going ahead. Maj. Are you ok with that?’

  ‘I’m fine with whatever you decide, Clifford.’

  Miles said, ‘Right. I’ll inform Captain Chimes.’

  ‘Thank you, Miles,’ said Freeman. ‘Are you comfortable over on the ship?’

  ‘At least we have proper beds, Sir. And if that’s all, I’ll get back to mine.’

  ‘Good night, Miles.’

  Chapter 346

  Raven returned home a few hours later, finding Joy Dainty feeding Dixon.

  ‘I thought I’d try to grab a few hours sleep. I’m going to need it.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Joy. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Nothing, yet. Well. The Council allowed the mission to continue.’

  ‘As a military mission?’

  ‘No. That will be Frank’s decision. The split has moved closer. He’ll be there in about eleven hours.’

  ‘We’ll soon know, then,’ Joy said. ‘At least the Council support you.’

  ‘Not really. If Frank doesn’t continue through the split, and I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t, the D S I would be slashed to the point where it will be useless. I’d have no option but to resign.’

  There were many ramifications to that statement of fact. ‘I see. And you’d do what, exactly?’

  ‘I’ve not thought that far ahead. But I’m thinking it wouldn’t look good on my resume`to be sacked as Boss by the Council.’

  ‘It wouldn’t come to that, would it? And besides. Who would be Boss?’

  Raven said, ‘Boss of what? I’m guessing in no time at all, there will be no D S I. No D S I, then no Boss.’

  ‘So, all we can do is wait.’

  Raven made his way to the bedroom door. ‘I’m getting good at that.’

  After a few hours fitful sleep, he had a shower and a light breakfast and returned to his office. He was really missing the banter with Miss Saltoe. Sure, she wound him up like no other human on the planet, but she kept his feet on the ground. He had never seen it coming with her and Freeman. He knew them both very well, and on reflection, thought they could make it work. At least Saltoe would be ok. If the D S I was scaled back and he was no longer Boss, she would be with Freeman.

  And what about Tagg Raven? He’d probably be “retired” from the D S I with a pension. He wasn’t actually sure how it worked. No Boss had ever been forced to resign before. What a stink way of ending up in the history books. He could see it on the trivia quizzes, decades later.

  “For ten points, name the only Boss to be fired as head of the D S I? Tagg Raven. Correct to the blue team.”

  And there was Dixon Dainty. He’d be going to school and the kids would be lining up to tell him what a loser his dad was. This was not how he saw his stint in the top job ending. He had seen himself sitting in his antique green leather chair, passing the next incumbent the double gold lightning bolts of high office. In reflective times, he had imagined Agent Tilly Jordan taking over. Of the handful of field agents, she was the best. She would be the first woman Boss.

  Perhaps as the D S I was being scaled down, Tilly could oversee the demise of the organisation. A caretaker Boss. He doubted she’d accept the position under those circumstances. But he was getting ahead of himself because nothing had happened, yet. He checked the time. Just four more hours before he’d know what was going to happen.

  Chapter 347

  Captain Mick Dorran slowed the ship to a crawl. What he saw, terrified him. What he saw was something he didn’t want to take his ship through.

  ‘Will General Millet and Shorty come to the flight-deck, please. You need to see this.’

  Dorran heard the door open behind him, but didn’t take his eyes off the screen. He didn’t turn his head to see they were behind him, staring agog at the scariest thing any of them had ever seen in over twenty years of dangerous missions all over the galaxy. And that included The Masters, who would enslave every human on every planet. It included the invisible acid spewing monsters. This was beyond that.

  ‘Whatever that is, Sir, it is pretty damn impressive.’

  General Millet and Shorty sat down, not taking their eyes off the screen. Before them was a two million mile long cauldron of swirling energy. That it could be the split into another universe was not in dispute. It was a fiery mess of yellows, reds and, well, you think of a colour, it was there. Within that hell of power, lightning on a colossal scale raged and roared. To be calling this anomaly the “split” didn’t do it justice. If the Devil had a holiday home, this was it.

  ‘Now, just my humble opinion, Sir,’ said Dorran. ‘Flying a ship through that
might not be such a good idea.’

  ‘It’s been done before,’ said Millet.

  ‘Sure. With the help of the Blackness.’

  Shorty said, ‘No. Not all of the ships. A ship flew through that without the Blackness. We can do the same.’

  Dorran said, ‘I remember the story. They almost died going through it, then they only got back because the Blackness helped them. We have no Blackness.’

  Millet stared at the split. To say it was hot, would be like poking a finger into molten metal to gauge the temperature. Stupid and unnecessary. Frank Millet wasn’t stupid. As much as he wanted to help those begging for help on the other side, he had to consider his own people and ships.

  ‘Shorty. That’s suicide. I’ll not put our people through that.’

  ‘Hey. I never wanted to be here in the first place, remember? Captain Dorran. Turn us around and take us home.’

  Dorran said, ‘I am so glad you said that. Ah!’

  ‘Captain?’ said Millet.

  ‘We’re being sucked into the split.’

  ‘So, turn us around, and pile on the power.’

  Dorran wrestled with the controls. ‘I can’t. Nothings responding.’

  Shorty snapped, ‘Tell the others to get away from this thing.’

  Captain Luppino’s voice came over the speakers. ‘Hey. I got no control. What do I do?’

  Dorran said, ‘Nothing we can do, Captain. My ship is already at twice our maximum speed. You?’

  ‘Same. Jeez. This speed is…what the hell happened to physics?’

  Carpenter yelled, ‘General…?’

  ‘Get everyone buckled up. This could be interesting.’

  Dorran gave up even trying to control his ship. The split was pulling the three fighters into it and there was nothing to stop it. He ordered the buckle-up, watched the split loom ever nearer, and then they entered…Hell.

  On, they roared. Three fighters of metal and substance, carrying people of flesh and blood, into something which had no right even existing. Three ships were tossed, battered, pummelled and thrashed. The engineering specifications of what they were supposed to be able to endure, were surpassed many fold. Bodies inside the ships were pushed beyond anything experienced on any mission or simulated training exercise. Many passed out. Their pain-racked bodies close to being jellyfied, internal organs being hammered to their limits.

  On it went, the roaring, the hammering, the vibrating of every fibre of their beings. They had all experienced pain. They were no strangers to fear. Everything they had survived thus far, was like training classes for what they were going through now. The ships were on the point of self-destruction, and the humans had been pushed to the limits of what they could fly through and get out alive.

  Then it stopped. Nobody had died. The ships had paid homage to their designers and builders. For reasons none would ever understand, they had run the gauntlet of the split and would live to tell the tale. For now.

  ‘That was…fun,’ said Durran.

  Millet shook his head to regain his hearing. ‘Do you have control of the ship?’

  Dorran tried the controls and found he had his ship back. ‘Yes. Luppino?’

  ‘Anybody makes me go through that ever again, I’ll not be responsible.’

  ‘So,’ said Captain Carpenter. ‘This is what another universe looks like. Pretty much like the one we left behind. Remind me. We came here because….?’

  ‘It seemed a good idea at the time?’ offered Millet. ‘I hate to admit it, but we need a couple of tame scientific types to point the way. Get our two pets in here.’

  Aristotle Frogmorten and Jackie Cracker were summoned to the flight-deck.

  ‘My fault,’ admitted Millet. ‘I should have called you in here sooner. In case you hadn’t noticed, we are in another universe.’

  ‘Is that right?’ said Cracker. ‘Not unlike the other one.’

  Shorty snarled, ‘Yeah? We nearly all died getting here. And I don’t fancy our odds getting back alive. You two need to make yourself more useful than just passengers. Go do science stuff and impress me. We need to know what to do next to find those people we came here to help. Go. Come back with some answers.’

  The scientists scurried away.

  Millet said, ‘No need to frighten them, Shorty.’

  ‘You call it frighten, I call it motivation. Ok. We got little people to save. Any idea where they are?’

  Dorran said, ‘I’m assuming this universe is as big as our universe. You two point me in a direction, I’ll get us there.’

  Shorty stared at the inky, twinkling expanse of even deeper space. ‘We’ll wait for the geeks.’

  Chapter 348

  Principal Barrelov Gin Sippa made no apology for her early appearance.

  ‘I wondered if there was news of the mission, Councillor Freeman?’

  ‘Sadly, no, Principal Sippa. I had word from Home’s Commander Gordon. The three ships were dragged into the split. It hadn’t been General Millet’s intention. He had given the order for the mission to be aborted, but the pull of the split drew the three ships in and that’s the last we saw of them.’

  Sippa said in her typically logical way, ‘Then it is entirely possible they have perished and the mission is over.’

  Ignoring Sippa’s unintentionally cold manner, Freeman said, ‘We Humans don’t give up that easily. We cannot communicate with them, so all we can do is to wait and hope for their safe return.’

  Sippa shook her tiny head. ‘I wish I shared your optimism for this venture. The gamblers here give it one thousand to one against them returning had they gone through. I must confess to having made a twenty credit punt at those odds myself.’

  Saltoe snapped, ‘Thanks a bunch for your belief in our D S I, Principal Sippa.’

  ‘We Varlindrans are nothing if not realists. It is not that I wish them ill tidings, but logic dictates that sadly, their mission has ended badly. Soon, the Councillors will be demanding changes to how the D S I is run. A new debate will be called for and in light of recent events, I’ll only be able to delay them for so long.’

  Freeman said, ‘Miss Saltoe and I intend to remain here for now. At least until we know what has happened to our people. If the others wish to do the same, it will be easier to call for an extended debate. For the record, Principal Sippa, I still have faith in the D S I and Boss.’

  ‘I admire your loyalty, Councillor Freeman. I hope for all our sakes it isn’t misguided. Should you receive news, I would appreciate you telling me. Good day, Principal Freeman. Miss Saltoe.’

  Chapter 349

  Tilly Jordan saw the worry and exhaustion in Raven’s face. ‘Still no news?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ said Raven, wearily. ‘There’s no way of communicating with them until they return to our universe.’

  ‘They’re a resourceful bunch, Boss,’ said Tilly, trying to sound optimistic.

  ‘Last time anything like this occurred, they had the Blackness to bring them back. I imagine the ships have taken a real pounding already. All we can do is to hope and wait.’

  Tilly said, ‘Is the split still where it moved to?’

  ‘So far. Frogmorten’s team here are tracking it. They say it seems stable at the moment.’

  ‘That’s encouraging.’

  Raven said, ‘You must be worried about Mick Dorran.’

  ‘I’m worried for all of them. I don’t see a future for Mick and I. He’s great and I’ll always care for him, but it’s time to call it a day.’

  ‘Sorry it didn’t work out for you two.’

  Tilly smiled. ‘It was fun while it lasted. Changing the subject, slightly, any news from Miss Saltoe and Councillor Freeman?’

  ‘According to Miss Saltoe, Principal Sippa is trying to delay another debate about the D S I. She wants to give General Millet a chance to get back into our universe. Knowing that lot are baying for my blood, she won’t be able to hold them off for too long.’ He looked at Tilly and wondered if he should talk with he
r about him stepping down and she taking over. He decided he would wait for either news of the mission or a decision from the Council, whichever came first.

  As if reading his mind, Tilly said, ‘If those short-sighted idiots decide to water the D S I down, I’ll quit. Mom and Dad keep on at me to do just that anyway. Dad wants me running the business with him. The new ski lift is already creating more trade for them.’

  ‘Tryzon’s too cold for me. Which reminds me. Talking of cold planets. The Korvalians have been invited into the Interplanetary Council. I suppose it was a given, considering the helium three they extract.’

  ‘At least they’re friends of ours, now. Thanks to you and Joy.’

  Raven nodded. ‘Not creatures to be on the wrong side of. There’s talk of the next annual conference being held on Korvalia seeing as how the Korvalians never developed space travel. They just never saw the need. I’m supposed to be going on holiday to Mars, but with all this going on…We’ll see.’

  Tilly got up to leave. ‘You could really do with a break. Look. Tagg. You need to chat, just give me a call, ok? Joy will understand.’

  ‘Thanks Tilly.’

  With Tilly gone, Raven sat alone in his office, feeling as if he was waiting for the end of the world.

  Chapter 350

  Jackie Cracker and Aristotle Frogmorten found Millet deep in conversation with Shorty.

  Millet looked up at them and said, ‘Any ideas?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Cracker. ‘To have the ships radios set at the same frequency as the probe. If the little guys are still alive, they maybe still transmitting to us, unaware the probe came back through the split.’

  Shorty said, ‘What about those others? They would be listening out for any communication between us and their enemy.’

  Frogmorten said, ‘Possibly. But the probe was set up to a specific range. It could be the little guys had a lucky visual of the probe and out of desperation played around on their equipment until they were tuned in. There’s a possibility their enemy isn’t even aware of the probe and the communication made so far.’

  Shorty said, ‘We have to do something, Frank. Sitting on this bird just getting old is a waste of time. Either we try to find them or we see if we can make it back through the split.’