“So we just sit here and wait?”
“For now,” Race answered. “We have a number of teams on the surface of the Dyson Sphere seeking another way in.”
Stoddard gazed at the large viewscreen, which was always focused on the massive artifact. “Maybe we should try to blast our way in like the Shari are planning. What if they get inside the sphere before we do?”
“Alshan Kalar is convinced we don’t dare use explosives against the Dyson Sphere,” Race responded. He and the Alton scientist had already discussed this in depth several times. “He’s convinced there are automatic defenses which will be activated at the first sign of such a blast.”
“And what if the Shari proceed with their attempt to force their way into the Dyson Sphere? What does that mean for us?”
Race let out a deep sigh. This was a matter of grave concern, so much so that he had sent a message to the High Lord of the Shari fleet warning him of what the consequences might be of setting off explosive charges on the Dyson Sphere. Alshan was convinced that such nuclear charges, as the Shari had emplaced, would in all likelihood fail in penetrating the outer hull of the megastructure.
“Alshan has put together a friendship message we’re broadcasting on all frequencies at the Dyson Sphere. He believes the controlling intelligence of the sphere will recognize we’re not a threat and won’t retaliate against us if the Shari do set off their explosive charges.”
“If there is a controlling intelligence,” commented Stoddard, shaking his head in doubt. “If these supposed defenses are automatic, they could very well fire on everything that’s in orbit, including us.”
Race nodded. It was a risk, but they dared not leave orbit and allow the Shari full possession of the megastructure. His eyes shifted over to the main viewscreen. He could see an exploration cutter on the surface near the structure Kelnor, Reesa, and the rest of the exploration team had vanished into so many weeks back. He knew the only hope for the team’s continued survival was if they had actually made it to the inner surface of the Dyson Sphere. Race hoped that was what had happened, for they were the only real chance they had of learning the secrets of the Originators.
Chapter Eleven
Commander Kelsey Strong gazed nervously at the large panoramic viewscreen surrounding her. Even the floor and ceiling were part of the screen. It was as if she was floating in space with no ship around her. She wasn’t sure if she would ever get used to this. Several AI warspheres were visible as well as Admiral Jarl Sithe’s flagship, the battleship Star Defender.
“Scary, isn’t it?” commented Katie with a devilish grin. “Not even the viewscreen on the Distant Horizon could compare to this.” Katie knew the big screen made Kelsey feel uncomfortable; it had taken her a while to get used to it. Now she actually enjoyed sitting at her console and admiring the unrestricted view of space. Mikow, who was sitting next to her, didn’t act as if it was anything out of the ordinary.
“We have similar screens on some of our more advanced research vessels,” commented Andram from his science station. “It aids immensely with observations.”
Kazak was standing in front of Kelsey on a somewhat lower level where all the command consoles were located. Kelsey’s command chair was on a slightly raised dais, which gave her an unobstructed view of the command crew as well as the viewscreen.
“Most of the ships of the Originators had screens such as these,” the AI explained. “The magnification of any section of the screen can be significantly increased to aid in research or even combat if necessary.”
“Contacts!” called out Lieutenant Burke from his sensor console. “I have four Simulin warships approaching.”
“Go to Condition One,” ordered Kelsey as she leaned forward in her command chair.
They hadn’t really expected to encounter any Simulins near the nebula. She wondered if they had run into some ships salvaging equipment from the blue-giant stars, which had energy collection satellites around them. Even so, space was huge, and it had to be more than a coincidence for this Simulin task force to run across the Dominator and her escort fleet.
“Increase screen magnification to show the Simulin ships,” she ordered.
On the viewscreen the magnification was increased in one section to show the four Simulin warships. Instantly, two battlecruisers and two support cruisers appeared.
Kelsey drew in a sharp breath as she gazed at one of the Simulin seventeen-hundred-meter battlecruisers with its six energy weapon spires extending from the bow. It was a frightening sight. She knew the ship was just as powerful as a fully updated Federation battleship and was not to be trifled with.
Throughout the five-thousand-meter length of the Dominator alarms sounded and lights began flashing red, informing the crew of the setting of Condition One. Modifications had been made to the Dominator to allow the ship to conform to Federation ship standards for combat.
“How did they find us?” asked Kelsey as she watched the Simulin vessels. There were still well outside of combat range.
“I suspect they have been observing the nebula where Gaia resides for quite some time to see if the Originator ship emerged,” Andram said with a thoughtful look on his face. “They may have detected us leaving the nebula and managed to get a plot of our intended course. There could be a number of these small task forces out looking for us.”
“Should I destroy them?” asked Kazak, turning toward Kelsey. “Their weapons pose no threat to this vessel.”
Kelsey looked surprised. “From this range?” This was over three times the normal combat range of Federation ships.
“Yes,” replied Kazak. “The ships gravitonic cannons have the necessary range and will not be affected by the energy shields surrounding the Simulin vessels.”
“I have Admiral Sithe on the comm,” Lieutenant Lee Michelson reported. “He’s asking for permission to engage the Simulin vessels.” Admiral Sithe was the ranking officer, but he had been advised by Jeremy to allow Kelsey and the Dominator considerable latitude in command decisions.
Kelsey took a deep breath. She knew they needed to find out more about the Dominator’s offensive capability. Jeremy had been very explicit about wanting to learn as much as possible about the ship. This might be a good test.
“No, inform the admiral that won’t be necessary. The Dominator will be engaging the four Simulin vessels by itself.” Kelsey leaned back in her command chair and looked at Kazak expectantly.
-
Simulin Lower Commander Hartok gazed at the monster ship on his main viewscreen. He had heard rumors of such a vessel but doubted the authenticity of the reports. Only when Supreme High Commander Callat had ordered the Fitula Nebula to be closely monitored for such a ship leaving it had Hartok come to accept the rumors might be true. And now, here near the nebula that once contained the Great Sphere, the rumored ship had appeared.
“Status!” he demanded harshly as he prepared for combat.
He had orders to capture the vessel if possible, but the escorts accompanying it seemed to indicate that wasn’t going to be achievable. Therefore, he would attempt to destroy it instead. He had already sent a message to Malkor informing Supreme High Commander Callat of encountering the ancient ship. However, it would be nearly three hours before the nearest sizable fleet could arrive and by then the ship and its escorting fleet would be gone. That left him no choice but to take his fleet in on a fast attack run and hit the giant ship with every weapon at his disposal. If he couldn’t destroy it, perhaps he could at least disable it until more Simulin warships arrived.
“Twenty-two contacts,” the sensor operator answered. “There are ten of the one-thousand-meter AI ships and the rest are ships crewed by the organics of the Fitula Nebula.”
Hartok nodded. “All ships will target the ship of the sphere builders. Once we have destroyed it, we will withdraw.”
“That ship supposedly immobilized several thousand of our vessels at the Fitula Nebula,” spoke up the ship’s second in command. “What chance do we have aga
inst it?”
“What does the battle computer say?”
The Second Commander spent a moment checking the computer and then turned back toward Hartok looking shaken. “It recommends attacking using every sublight antimatter missile at our disposal in an attempt to damage the vessel. The odds of our success are only at 12 percent.”
“We are Simulin,” Hartok answered coldly. “We will carry out our duties for it is our destiny to eliminate all other organics. If we die here today, then we die.”
“There can only be Simulin,” spoke the Second Commander in acknowledgment.
-
“Firing gravitonic cannon one,” reported Major Mason Donaldson as he touched several icons on his command screen.
Kazak was standing behind the tactical officer in case his assistance was needed. The Originator AI had spent considerable time with the major explaining to him the function of the weapons on the Dominator, at least the ones he was willing to allow the crew to use.
“Magnify the view of the target ship,” ordered Kelsey. She was highly curious to see the affect of the gravitonic cannon against a fully shielded Simulin battlecruiser.
On the screen, one of the battlecruisers suddenly swelled up even larger. The ship looked fearsome with its six long energy cannon spires and its bulbous form.
-
The graviton beam hit the front section of the Simulin battlecruiser, penetrating the energy screen as if it wasn’t even there. The entire bow of the ship seemed to collapse in on itself, and all six of the energy weapons spires seemed to crumble into space dust. As the beam continued to fire, the stress on the ship’s hull became unbearable and compartment after compartment cracked open. Secondary explosions from deep inside the vessel began to shake it and then in a massive burst of light, the Simulin battlecruiser blew apart.
-
Simulin battlecruiser is down,” reported Lieutenant Burke.
Kelsey was still gazing at the viewscreen in disbelief. It had taken only a few seconds for just one cannon to completely destroy the Simulin battlecruiser. “Target the next ship,” she ordered.
“Fire the antimatter beam,” suggested Kazak to Major Donaldson. “Its effect should be even more spectacular.”
Major Donaldson looked back at Kelsey, who nodded her agreement. Reaching forward, he targeted one of the support cruisers and fired the beam weapon.
On the viewscreen, a dark violet colored beam speared the Simulin cruiser, blasting directly through its energy shield like a hot knife cutting through butter. In a violent explosion, the escort cruiser blew up, sending glowing debris in all directions.
“Simulin escort cruiser is down,” confirmed Lieutenant Burke.
“As I said,” spoke Kazak addressing Kelsey. “Those Simulin vessels are not a threat.”
-
Lower Lord Hartok stood frozen, gazing in shock at the sudden loss of two of his ships to weapons of such power and range he couldn’t even fathom their power source. The Simulin fleet had no weapons that could even compare to the destructive power he had just witnessed.
“Four minutes to combat range,” the sensor operator reported.
“Withdraw,” ordered Hartok. There was no point in sacrificing his last two ships if he couldn’t even get within weapons range. “Send a message to the nearest fleet informing them of the weapons the ancient vessel possesses. Send all the data we have gathered. Then send the same message to Supreme High Commander Callat.”
If he continued his attack run both of his remaining ships would be destroyed before they reached engagement range. It was vital Supreme High Commander Callat be notified of the terrifying power of these weapons. If the organics and the AIs from the Fitula Nebula were able to build weapons of similar power, it would be the Simulins who would be annihilated from this galaxy.
“Too late,” the sensor operator replied, standing up and facing Lower Lord Hartok. “There shall be none but Simulin.” Even as he uttered those words, the ship exploded.
-
“Both the second Simulin battlecruiser and the remaining escort cruiser are down,” reported Lieutenant Burke.
The command crew was silent. Everyone was in awe of the weapons they had just used to destroy the four Simulin warships. If Kazak were willing to share this weapons technology, the war against the Simulins would soon be over. They could save this galaxy from being overrun.
“That represented just 2 percent of the weapons this ship has at its disposal,” announced Kazak, observing how impressed the Humans and the Altons had been by the display of power. “The Dominator by itself has the capability to eliminate any Simulin fleet which dares to attack us.”
Kelsey didn’t know what to say. This was the first battle she had actually commanded. Everything had seemed so easy. It slowly dawned on her she was in command of the most powerful ship in existence.
“Commander, Admiral Sithe is asking how soon before our next jump,” Lieutenant Mickelson informed her.
“Navigation, do you have the next set of nav coordinates ready?”
“Yes, Commander,” Captain Brent Adams replied. “We can make the transition to hyperspace at any time.”
“Send the coordinates to the other ships in the fleet. It’s time for us to leave before more Simulin warships show up. I’m sure that Simulin task force sent out messages informing their other fleets of our presence.”
“That’s confirmed,” Kazak said. “The Dominator’s sensors detected a number of FTL messages being sent prior to our engaging the Simulins and several just before the last two ships were destroyed.”
“Anything on the long-range sensors?” asked Kelsey. She knew the sensors on the Dominator could detect other space vessels within twenty light years.
“Sensors are clear at the moment,” Lieutenant Burke answered as she checked them one more time.
Kelsey nodded. “Navigation, let’s depart this area.” Looking at the viewscreen one last time Kelsey took note of the four areas of glowing debris. Four Simulin ships had been destroyed by the Dominator as if they were just minor inconveniences.
A few moments later, the fleet entered hyperspace and vanished from their previous location, leaving nothing behind except the shattered remains of the Simulin warships.
Kelsey had to close her eyes for a moment, as the Command Center was flooded with the deep purple colors of hyperspace. The massive viewscreen suddenly dimmed and the colors gradually faded. They didn’t vanish altogether but they were less disturbing.
She looked uneasily at Kazak who was moving from one command console to the next, speaking with the different crewmembers who were operating them. Occasionally he would spend a little extra time explaining some mundane function of a console before moving on. Kelsey was worried about Kazak. So far on this mission he had done everything she had asked of him, however, watching the Originator AI during the battle she had gotten the feeling Kazak had actually enjoyed destroying the Simulin ships. She thought about how Ariel acted the same way anytime she was allowed to be in command of the Avenger during a battle. For that matter, so had Clarissa. It occurred to her that in future engagements she would keep a closer eye on Kazak. She also wanted to talk to Katie and Andram about her suspicions to see how they felt about the Originator AI.
Kelsey continued to watch Kazak as he moved about the Command Center. She and Jeremy had spent considerable time discussing her taking command of the Dominator. She had a feeling Jeremy felt much the same as she did as far as trusting Kazak. The Dominator was a warship. Was it possible Kazak was an AI whose primary responsibility was to protect this ship at any cost? Had Kazak been programmed more for war and not for peace? It was a frightening thought. What if at some future time the Originator AI decided its organic crew was a hindrance. Her thoughts turned to the secret compartment at the heart of the ship. Jeremy had expressly forbidden her, Mikow, or Katie to even question the AI about it. For now, Jeremy wanted Kazak to believe his ruse of hiding the compartment had worked. What concerned Kelsey
was what would happen if Kazak decided what was inside of the compartment was more important than its Human and Alton crew.
-
Katie was watching information scroll across her computer screen, using it to learn more about the Dominator. Kazak had given her access to parts of the ship’s master computer and memory core. She was casually searching for any data that might give them a clue as to what was inside the secret compartment. It made her nervous to think there might be actual Originators inside as ZED had suggested. What if they awakened and found Humans and Altons on board the ship? Would their actions be peaceful or would they act as if their ship had been invaded?
Surprisingly, Kazak had made some information available that described the Originators’ research into immortality. The more she read, the more amazed she became. The Originators had dreams of building gargantuan megastructures in deep space between the galaxies. Their idea was to create a small star cluster of Dyson Spheres around some very young stars where their civilization could flourish for billions of years. She had also noticed that while there was a lot of general information available, almost all technical data was still restricted.
-
Several hours later Mikow was with Katie in her quarters. She placed a small device on the floor and pressing a button, activated it. “That should prevent Kazak from spying on us.”
“Do you think he would?” Katie had checked to see if Kazak had access to their personal quarters and as far as she could tell, he didn’t.
“I don’t think we want to take the chance,” replied Mikow. “This device will show no one is in your quarters but we need to hurry before he becomes suspicious.”
Katie nodded. “Have you found out anything about the secret compartment?”
“Not really,” Mikow answered. She leaned back in the chair she was sitting in and then continued. “I have confirmed it’s there. I’ve been carefully researching the Originator crew roster that fled the Dyson Sphere on the Dominator. There were a lot of brilliant scientists and their families on board.”
The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 17
