“There is always hope, Sergeant,” Kelnor said, his eyes shifting back to Brenda. “In time, we may find a way out.”
Brenda knew Kelnor was right. The only thing was, would the fleet still be on the outside of the Dyson Sphere or would they find the Shari waiting for them instead?
-
High Lord Aktill gazed at the latest tactical updates. He now had sixteen hundred warships under his command. All it would take was one order from him and the entire fleet would descend upon the Humans and the Altons around the Dyson Sphere.
“We must attack,” said Lower Lord Samarth, folding his arms across his chest. “Our ship commanders grow weary of sitting out here while our enemies taunt us by being in the Rylus Cluster and above the Dyson Sphere. This is our space, and they must be driven from it!”
Aktill agreed with much of what Samarth was saying. A state of war had been declared between the Shari Empire and the Human Federation of Worlds and its allies. However, in the eighty days since war had been declared there had been no combat between Shari forces and the Federation other than here at the Dyson Sphere. It was obvious that both the Shari and the Federation were hesitant for this to become a widespread conflict.
“There has been no movement of Human ships near our borders,” Aktill commented as he turned toward his second in command. “Our forces are patrolling the border region to ensure no Federation ships enter our space. So far they have kept their distance.”
Lower Lord Samarth shook his head. “They’re already here; look at what is orbiting the Dyson Sphere. That artifact is in our space and by all rights belongs to us! We must force the Humans to leave the system!”
Aktill shifted his attention back to the main viewscreen, which was focused on the sphere. From this distance it appeared as a black circular object that occluded a major part of the star pattern. “Abrade has reported the megastructure is at least three million years old. A few of our research expeditions that have managed to search some of the old ruins we’ve found on a few of the planets in the Rylus Cluster say they are even older.”
“Abrade is a research scientist,” spoke Samarth dismissively. “He cares not for war.”
“Abrade is one of our most brilliant minds,” Aktill said reproachfully. “He is the one who believes the explosive charges will allow us to blow our way into the megastructure.”
Samarth gazed intently at Aktill. “Why haven’t we set off the explosives? The sooner we can enter the Dyson Sphere and learn its secrets, the sooner we can drive the Humans from the cluster.”
Aktill didn’t answer. He hadn’t given the order to set off the nuclear explosives because of the dire warning from the Humans. They felt the Dyson Sphere might have some automatic defensive systems that would be activated if harm were to come to the structure. While it was possible the message had just been a ruse to delay the use of the explosives, even Abrade had admitted it was conceivable the Humans were speaking the truth.
“The Humans have nearly seven hundred and fifty warships under their defensive grid,” Aktill said, shifting his attention back to Samarth. “Even as large as our fleet is, we could suffer massive losses in an attack and there is no guarantee of our victory.”
“If we don’t attack, then what action do we take?” asked Samarth. “Do we just let them stay here in our space?”
“They have limited supplies,” Aktill said, starting to get angry over Samarth’s continued questioning. “If there’s no change shortly, I will give Abrade permission to detonate the explosives. Once we gain entry to the inside of the sphere, we’ll bring the Human presence to an end regardless of what it may cost.”
Samarth seemed satisfied with that answer as he turned away and went back to his duties. Aktill hoped if he gave permission to detonate the explosives he wasn’t making a grave mistake. The dire warning from the Humans was haunting the back of his mind. Taking a deep breath, he turned his attention back to the main viewscreen and the dark shape which filled it.
-
Reesa and her escorts were deep inside the new building they were exploring. They had descended several flights of stairs to a basement level. As with all the others, this one to had been stripped of all of its furnishings. The walls and corridors were spotless, and if one didn’t know better you would think it had only been built yesterday. The elevators or turbo lifts all worked, though Reesa preferred using the stairs. She had no idea what might happen if one of the turbo lifts failed. She guessed after a while one of the small robots would show up to repair it.
“What’s this?” asked Corporal Metz as he stopped in front of a wall that appeared to have an indentation for the key Reesa always carried with her.
Reesa walked over and gazed speculatively at the indentation and then examined the wall. There was no evidence of a door or for any reason for the key slot to be there. This was the first time since they started exploring the city that they’d found an indentation for the key. Taking the copper colored metal ball out of her pocket, she hesitated as she looked questionably at Corporal Metz.
“Go ahead,” he said without hesitation. “If it opens up a door, we’ll call Sergeant Wilde before entering.”
Nodding, Reesa carefully placed the key in the slot and then stepped back. For a moment nothing happened and then a section of the wall suddenly slid back, revealing a large opening and a well-lighted corridor beyond. Reesa’s eyes widened as she saw the walls of this corridor were covered in what appeared to be paintings. Even a few statues on pedestals were visible.
“I think we found something,” said Corporal Metz as he gazed in awe at the paintings and statues. “I’d better go call Sergeant Wilde.”
Reesa nodded. “I’ll remain here.” Reesa was itching to go inside, but she knew as angry as Kelnor was she dared not risk provoking him again.
“Don’t go inside,” Metz said. He knew the Alton was tempted to take risks at times. “Private Carton, no one is to enter that corridor until I get back with Sergeant Wilde, is that clear?” Their communication devices didn’t work inside the buildings, and it would be necessary to go outside to contact the sergeant.
“Yes, sir,” Carton answered. She knew Metz was actually telling her that under no conditions was Reesa to be allowed to pass through the doorway.
“About time we found something,” muttered Private Trent as he gazed down the lighted corridor. He shifted his rifle into a more accessible position just in case someone or something showed up.
-
It took nearly an hour for Sergeant Wilde, Kelnor, Melvin Blair, and several of the other Marines to reach the building Reesa and the others were in. Corporal Metz was waiting for them outside and quickly led them to where Reesa was impatiently standing.
“What have you found?” asked Kelnor as he stopped and gazed through the open doorway at the lighted corridor beyond.
“I’m not certain without going inside,” Reesa said. “We can see paintings and what appear to be small statues on pedestals.”
Kelnor gazed down the corridor for a moment and then nodded at one of the Marines who had come with them. He took a piece of brightly colored metal in the shape of a pipe and laid it across the doorway.
Reesa looked at Kelnor feeling confused. “What’s the pipe for?”
“It’s made of the same metal as the Dyson Sphere,” Kelnor explained. “I feel fairly certain the door won’t be able to close with the pipe lying across the entrance.”
Reesa didn’t bother to remind Kelnor she still had the key. If he wanted to take this added precaution, that was fine with her.
“I’ll leave a couple of Marines here as well,” said Sergeant Wilde. “They’ll make sure the pipe stays in place.”
Reesa nodded and looked at Kelnor. “Can we go in?”
“Yes,” Kelnor answered. “Let’s see what you’ve found.”
Stepping inside, the group proceeded down the corridor, stopping at the first painting. It was of an Originator standing in front of a small spacecraft on an alien
world.
“Interesting,” Melvin said as he stepped closer to examine the painting and then looked back at Kelnor. “If this Originator had white hair, he would be very similar to an Alton.”
“There is a resemblance,” admitted Kelnor. “But we’ve found many similar races across the galaxy. It could well be the Originators themselves influenced the development of life on myriads of planets across our galaxy as well as others.”
“Perhaps,” said Melvin with doubt in his eyes. “Why is this painting still intact after so many years? You would have thought that by now it would have turned to dust.”
Kelnor aimed a small instrument he was carrying at the painting and then spent a few moments studying the readouts on the device. “Hmm,” he said, his eyes widening slightly. “There’s some type of stasis field around the painting. That’s why the painting looks as if it was only placed here yesterday.”
“So that must hold true for all of these others as well,” Brenda said as she looked at the long corridor and all the paintings it held.
Reesa slowly walked down the corridor, recording all the paintings and statues on a small device she was carrying. Stopping, she turned back toward Kelnor. “This reminds me of the building above the main computer center back on Astral. There are very similar paintings and murals in that building as well.”
“Reesa, Kelnor, you better come over here,” Corporal Metz said excitedly. He was standing in front of a large arched doorway. “I think I know what this place is.”
The two Altons hurried over to where Metz was standing, followed by the others. Looking inside, they saw a cavernous room filled with hundreds, possibly thousands of display cases.
“A museum,” uttered Reesa, as her eyes widened in anticipation “It’s a museum!” She could hardly breathe, realizing they had finally found something she could study. Her heart was pounding as she gazed at one display and then the next.
Brenda walked over and stepped cautiously into the room. She realized it was easily several hundred meters long and nearly as wide. Huge display cases stood everywhere, beckoning them. She turned back toward the two Altons who were still standing in the doorway with a look of awe on their faces. “I think we’re going to be here for a while.”
-
Several hours later the group stood near the center of the room. They had found several other arched doorways leading to other display areas. In addition, in what appeared to be a small office they had found two additional keys. Kelnor was now in possession of one of the copper colored globes as well as Sergeant Wilde.
Brenda was standing in front of an exhibit that held what appeared to be some type of ancient ground vehicle. It was very similar to one of the combustion engine vehicles used in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century on Earth. The biggest difference was that this vehicle was taller and more streamlined.
“There’s so much Originator history here,” Reesa said, her eyes aglow from everything she had found. It was as if her lifelong dream had finally become a reality. “It details their early development and what their life was like during the early stages of their civilization.”
“But where’s all the modern stuff?” asked Melvin. Melvin had been wandering through the different display rooms with two Marines as escorts. “Everything we’ve found so far seems very early in Originator history. We’ve seen very little that tells about their science or space travel.”
“There may be other display rooms we haven’t found yet,” suggested Kelnor. “We’ve barely scratched the surface of what we’ve found here. It will take weeks for us to properly catalog what’s in these rooms alone.”
Reesa looked around, imagining Originators walking down the long display aisles spending the day with their families at the museum. It wasn’t hard to imagine seeing an Originator come walking through the door at any moment.
Kelnor looked around at the assembled group. “We’ll spend two more hours in the rooms we’ve discovered. Make sure we record everything and then we’ll go back to camp and discuss our next move. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We’re going to need everyone working on this. We’ll divide up into groups and assign each one a room and line of study.”
“I don’t want anyone wandering off on their own,” warned Brenda. She looked specifically at Reesa. “Stay in contact and if any new rooms are discovered report back to me before entering.”
-
An hour later Reesa was with her escorts in the farthest display room they had found. She’d come up against a blank wall and with a deep sigh decided it was just another dead end. She had been searching for more indentations for her key. She was convinced there had to be more to the museum than what they had found so far.
“Perhaps this is all there is,” suggested Corporal Metz. “Maybe this museum is to remind them of where they came from. There may not be any displays of their technology.”
“I don’t believe that,” Reesa said, shaking her head. “It has to be here somewhere; we just need to find it.”
She turned around to face the three Marines, her escorts. She leaned back expecting to feel her shoulders touch the wall. There was no resistance and with a stunned feeling, she fell to the floor. Reesa felt a sharp pain in her back and lay there blinking her eyes. Shaking her head she stood back up, realizing she was on the other side of the wall. There was no sign of the three Marines. Putting here hand out, she gingerly touched the wall expecting her hand to go through it. To her surprise, she felt a solid surface. She had been certain the wall was a hologram. She spent a short while trying to puzzle out what had happened. Somehow, her passing through the wall had caused it to turn solid; perhaps it was a security mechanism she had triggered.
“Now what have I done?” she said to herself as she turned around to examine her surroundings. She was in another room, which seemed to be much larger than the one she had just been in. Her eyes widened as she saw what was in the display cases. “So this is where the more modern items are.”
Walking over to a case, she began to examine what it contained, her excitement momentarily causing her to forget she was without her Marine escort.
-
Corporal Metz gazed in astonishment at the wall Reesa had fallen through. Rushing forward, he expected to find the wall wasn’t real. With shock, he struck a solid surface.
“Well, this can’t be good,” said Private Carton with a confused frown on her face. “Where did she go?”
Metz stepped back and eyed the wall with a frustrated look on his face. “I don’t know, but we need to report back to Sergeant Wilde, and she’s not going to be happy to hear about this.” The sergeant had cautioned Metz about keeping a close eye on the Alton scientist, and now it looked as if he had still managed to lose her.
“Damn,” muttered Private Trent, shaking his head. “Why’s it always us?”
-
Brenda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Once again Reesa had managed to get herself into trouble. “Are you certain this is the right wall?”
“Positive,” replied Corporal Metz nervously. “We were all standing here when she fell right through it as if it wasn’t even there.”
“I’m not detecting anything unusual,” commented Melvin as he scanned the wall with the portable sensor he was holding. He turned back toward the sergeant and Kelnor. “The wall seems to be solid.”
“We could try blasting a hole through it,” suggested Corporal Metz, feeling responsible for Reesa’s disappearance.
Kelnor reached out and touched the wall, running his hand across it. “There must be something important behind this wall for the Originators to keep it hidden. Reesa is an excellent research scientist, and I’m sure she’ll find a way to come back through. We just need to wait.”
-
Reesa was walking through the huge room gazing in wonder at the display cases. There were hundreds of them showing all types of various machines and scientific instruments. Most of them Reesa had no clue as to what their function was. After lo
oking at a number of cases, she decided to return to the wall and attempt to pass back through it. Surely with her key, she could find a way. A distant noise suddenly drew her attention. Her eyes widened as she listened, hearing what appeared to be footsteps coming toward her. She felt an eerie chill run through her as she realized she wasn’t alone. Perhaps it was one of the Marines searching for her. She was just about to call out when suddenly, around the corner of one of the displays, a figure appeared. Reesa drew in a sharp breath, and her heart began to pound as she recognized what it was. It was an Originator! They weren’t all dead after all.
-
Fleet Admiral Race Tolsen was in the Command Center of the WarHawk checking on the deployment of his fleet. Every day he expected the Shari to attack in overwhelming numbers, but so far, that attack hadn’t materialized.
“What are they doing?” asked Admiral Stoddard, who had come over for his weekly briefing.
Race was meeting with each of the fleet admirals once per week for an in-depth discussion of the status of their crews and ships as well as to update the admirals on what was going on at the Dyson Sphere.
“Watching us,” Race said as he glanced at one of the tactical displays showing the myriad of red threat icons on the perimeter of the system. There was another small group of red icons two hundred million kilometers away as well.
Stoddard let out a deep and heavy breath. “How much longer are we going to stay here? We have no idea what’s happening back in Federation space. For all we know, there could be a major war going on between the Federation and the Shari. If that’s true, they could use our ships.”
“I don’t think actual fighting has broken out,” Race responded. “We still have one line of FTL buoys intact running between us and Federation space. If the Shari had attacked, I’m sure Fleet Admiral Nagumo would have sent the recall order.” Race had also not used their last line of communication as he was saving it for an actual emergency. He knew once he activated it, the Shari would detect the FTL communication and trace down the line of buoys.
The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 16
