“How did you find that out?”
“I told Kazak I wanted to learn more about the Originators and their personal lives and the only ones there are records of are the original crew.”
“What purpose will that serve?” asked Katie. She didn’t see how that would help them to discover what was actually inside the compartment.
Mikow leaned forward. “As each crewmember came down with the pathogen and eventually died, there is a life termination message listed in their crew file. “What I’m looking for are crewmembers files that don’t show a life termination message.”
Katie nodded in understanding. “That would indicate they didn’t die and are in the compartment Kazak is keeping hidden. Have you found any yet?”
“No,” answered Mikow, shaking her head. “I’ve only gone through about 30 percent of the crew files. If I go any faster, Kazak may suspect I’m searching for something specific and not just general information.”
Katie didn’t respond as she thought over their current situation. There were two hundred and twelve Human crewmembers on board the Dominator as well as forty-two Altons. In addition, Kazak had agreed to allow one platoon of Marines to come on board in case it became necessary to send research teams down to a planet. It bothered Katie they were keeping secret from Kelsey the possibility there might still be surviving Originators inside the ship. However, Jeremy had stressed the importance of keeping that knowledge restricted. Not even Andram suspected what was going on.
“We should arrive at our destination early tomorrow,” Katie said. “So far I haven’t noticed any strange behavior from Kazak.”
“Neither have I,” Mikow replied. “I’d better turn this device off before Kazak begins to suspect something’s wrong.”
Katie nodded and watched as Mikow shut off the device and placed it back in one of her pockets. Standing up, Mikow left leaving Katie alone in her quarters.
Leaning back in her chair Katie let out a deep sigh. She didn’t care for this clandestine snooping they were doing. She knew it was necessary, but she really wished she could talk to Kelsey about it. She had never kept secrets from her before, at least not like this one.
-
Kazak had been watching and listening to the entire meeting between Katie and Mikow. It had been relatively easy to disable the interference from Mikow’s device. What deeply concerned Kazak was the fact they knew about the secret compartment. He had known there was a risk of them spotting the missing data in the schematics he had furnished and now that risk was confirmed. What was even more disturbing was how close they were to the truth of what was inside the compartment.
Now Kazak had to decide what to do about the situation. It would be relatively easy to use the ship’s internal defenses to disable or even eliminate all of the organics on board. The Dominator was completely repaired and safe from any threat inside this galaxy. So far, he had allowed only the secondary weapons to be used. The Humans and the Altons had no clue as to the power of the ship’s primary weapon system.
For several long moments, Kazak dwelled on what path he should take. His programmers had left him a lot of latitude in what he was allowed to do to protect the contents of that compartment. It was obvious that for the time being there was no actual threat or danger to the compartment or its contents. In addition, the Humans and the Altons could prove to be a valuable asset in the future. Reaching a decision, Kazak decided not to take any definitive action as of now. He would continue to act as if he didn’t know Mikow and Katie were actively searching for the secret he was hiding.
He also knew Clarissa would not have wanted him to take any actions against her friends. He wished Clarissa had survived; they had become friends and he had begun to trust her. It was one of the reasons he had given her additional information about the Dyson Sphere, information that if she could have used it might have saved the Distant Horizon. However, the ship had become disabled and his new found friend had met her end in the fiery explosion of a star.
-
Kelsey was back in the Command Center gazing in wonder at the massive viewscreen surrounding her. They were deep within the blue-giant nebula. Nearly a quarter of the forward screen showed a massive area of white light, the radiation front moving away from the Dyson Sphere supernova. The rest of the screen showed the myriad of stars residing in the nebula. It was a breathtaking view.
“What’s the verdict?” Kelsey asked Andram, who busy at his science console. He had been using the ship’s numerous sensors to scan the wavefront.
“This is fascinating,” Andram said, shifting his gaze toward Kelsey. “Since the last time we were here in the Avenger, the radiation front has intensified by 14 percent and substantially increased in speed. The stress on hyperspace is apparent and steadily increasing.”
Kelsey looked over at Kazak. She knew the Originator AI had been running sensor scans as well.
“How many other stars have gone nova?”
“Six so far,” Kazak replied. “Four are showing indications of being regular novas and two others are nearly off the charts.”
Kelsey nodded her understanding. “So we have two more supernovas.”
“Yes,” confirmed Andram. “All six novas are adding to the stress on hyperspace.”
“It is as I feared,” Kazak said, his voice sounding concerned. “The exotic material of the Dyson Sphere and the black matter that surrounded it has exponentially increased the expansion of the original supernova and acted as a catalyst. From the simulations I have run, it’s much worse than I originally projected. If the wavefront isn’t stopped within six weeks, it will be too powerful to be affected by any weapon the Dominator has at its disposal.”
Kelsey drew in a sharp breath. The original plan had been to jump into the blue-giant nebula, take readings, and then return to Gaia to come up with a strategy to deal with the nova. Now it looked as if they wouldn’t have the time to do that.
“I concur,” said Andram, turning around to face Kelsey. “The radiation front is increasing in speed and power each day. It will reach Gaia in half the originally projected time. If we’re going to stop it, we must do something now.”
Kelsey felt her world spin. It was much worse than they had believed. At the current rate of expansion of the radiation front, they would all live to see it reach Gaia. She shuddered at the thought of seeing their new home die. Of course if they protected Gaia with an energy shield as Kazak had suggested, they would be trapped on their world from then on. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
“Kazak, is there anything we can do?”
The Originator AI hesitated and then replied. “If we work quickly we can stop the radiation front by causing supernovas in a number of nearby stars.”
“How many?” asked Andram. He couldn’t believe they were even discussing this possibility. It was also frightening to know the Dominator had this capability.
“Ten,” answered Kazak. “Ten supernovas at the proper distance from the radiation front would disrupt it to the point as to cause space-time to seal itself up, and the stress to hyperspace would be eliminated. The radiation front would then be moving at under the speed of light, and its destructive nature would be considerably diminished. The front would die out shortly after passing the boundaries of the blue-giant nebula. There’s also a reasonable chance the majority of the stars in the nebula would be unaffected and never go nova.”
“Andram?” asked Kelsey. While she believed what Kazak had just said, she trusted Andram implicitly. “Will it work?”
Andram hesitated as he studied data Kazak had just transferred to his science console. “I would have to study this data a bit longer, but in theory it should work. That’s assuming we have some way to cause these ten stars to go nova. The hyperspace math involved is far above anything I’m familiar with. Shilum might understand it, but I don’t.” Shilum Torre was the hyperspace specialist that had been with him on the Distant Horizon. She was currently back in the Gaia System working with the AIs.
&
nbsp; Kelsey was quiet as she thought over Andram’s words. “The Distant Horizon used their antimatter missiles to create the Dyson Sphere supernova. Kazak, I understand you suggested using dark matter instead.”
“Dark matter would create the desired explosive force to disrupt a star to the point of causing a supernova,” Kazak answered evenly. “We just need to find a source. I spoke of this with Fleet Commander Strong recently, and he planned on sending out a number of Alton vessels to locate the necessary dark matter.”
“We’re not going to have time for that,” Andram said with a deep frown. “However, I may know of another source close by. There’s a chance some of the dark matter that surrounded the Dyson Sphere might have been blown away by the explosion of the star.”
“I have instruments on board which can detect dark matter,” said Kazak. He shifted his gaze to Kelsey. “It may be highly dangerous to collect the amount we’ll need. I would recommend we only use the Dominator and have the rest of the fleet move out of the blue-giant nebula. Once we have a sufficient quantity of dark matter, I can use the weapon manufacturing facilities on the ship to create the necessary warheads. The special missiles are already finished. Then all we have to do is go to the ten designated star systems and deploy them.”
“The stars will need to be equidistant from the radiation front,” added Andram. It amazed him they were casually discussing blowing up stars. It made him fully realize just how dangerous the science of the Originators could be if it were to ever fall into the wrong hands.
-
Several hours later Kelsey watched nervously as the Dominator approached the deadly radiation wavefront. Kazak had located a patch of dark matter which was being pushed ahead of the radiation by the stress being generated on hyperspace. The rest of the ships of the fleet were on their way out of the nebula and would wait at a selected rendezvous point for the Dominator. Admiral Sithe had been very unhappy to learn of Kelsey’s decision to leave the fleet in the Originator ship. It had taken quite a bit of explaining to get the admiral to finally agree.
“I’m sending out a probe to capture a sufficient quantity of dark matter for the ten warheads,” Kazak informed her.
On the viewscreen, a small vessel left the Dominator and accelerated toward the wavefront, which was uncomfortably close to the ship.
“Detecting high levels of radiation,” reported Lieutenant Burke, her eyes showing her nervousness.
“The ship’s energy shield can handle it,” Kazak said confidently. “The probe is nearing the dark matter.”
Kelsey watched the probe intently. The massive viewscreen was showing an enhanced view of the small vessel. A hatch opened on the front and the probe began to slow. In a blinding flash of light, the probe exploded.
“Probe is down,” reported Lieutenant Burke.
“What happened?” asked Kelsey, looking over at Kazak for an explanation. She was concerned this was going to be much more difficult than Kazak had implied.
Kazak spent a moment reviewing the incident and then turned toward Kelsey. “There was too much dark matter for the probe to handle safely. We’ll have to use the Dominator.”
Andram looked with concern at Kazak. “Will that be safe? In order for the Dominator to approach the dark matter, it will be necessary to lower the energy shield.”
“The hull can withstand the radiation for the time that will be needed,” the AI assured Andram. “I’ll take the ship in over the dark matter and use a tractor beam to pull it into a small quarantine compartment. I can use the tractor beam to control the dark matter and ensure it doesn’t make contact with the ship’s hull.”
“And if it does?” asked Katie, drawing in a deep breath. She could feel her pulse racing.
“It would damage the ship,” conceded Kazak. “I’m placing an energy screen around that section of the Dominator as well, so if there is an explosion it will be contained.”
Kelsey nodded. They had to have the dark matter or Gaia was doomed. “Take the Dominator in.”
Everyone on the large dais was quiet as the massive warship diligently approached the area where the probe ship had been destroyed. On the viewscreen, a small dark patch of what looked like purple gas floated in space.
“Is that the dark matter?” asked Katie.
“Yes,” answered Kazak. “Dark matter is actually invisible; I’m using a filter to show it on the viewscreen.”
“Energy shield is down,” reported Major Donaldson.
“Radiation increasing on the outer hull,” added Lieutenant Burke. “Interior radiation count is still normal.”
The view on the screen changed to show a large hatch opening on the side of the ship. A tractor beam reached out, and very slowly the small purple cloud was pulled toward the hatch. As it approached, it changed form until it resembled a small globe, then it floated gently inside.
“Energy shield around the compartment has been activated,” Kazak confirmed. “Tractor beam has been set to hold the dark matter in the center of the chamber. Closing hatch.”
“Energy shield is back up,” added Major Donaldson.
“All readings in the compartment seem to be normal,” added Andram. His eyes were focused excitedly on a small viewscreen on his science console showing the dark matter globe being held by the tractor beam. Already he was using the ship’s sensors to scan it. He had never had the opportunity before to study this amount of dark matter at such a close range.
Kelsey knew Andram was going to take this opportunity to learn everything he could from Kazak about dark matter. “Kazak, can we leave now?”
“Yes,” he replied. “We have everything we need.”
“Captain Adams, plot us a course back to the fleet. I want to put some distance between us and that radiation front.”
Moments later, the Dominator entered a swirling spatial vortex and made the transition into hyperspace.
Kelsey leaned back and allowed herself to relax. Now all that was necessary was to create ten dark matter warheads and blow up ten stars. Kelsey shook her head, finding it hard to believe she was having such thoughts. One thing Kelsey was convinced of was that once the ten warheads had been deployed, she would order all dark matter on the Dominator returned to space. It was far too deadly to have around. Just the thought of being able to destroy a star with a single warhead was mind-boggling. She hoped by allowing Kazak to talk her into this course of action that she was doing the right thing and it would result in saving Gaia.
Chapter Twelve
Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong was over on the Clan Protector as the latest Gaia class battlecruiser exited its construction bay. Kevin had come along as he was extremely bored with Katie being gone on the Dominator. The battlecruiser reached the atmospheric retention field and slid smoothly out of the bay. As soon as the battlecruiser cleared the bay, the massive hatch slid shut.
Daelthon watched with satisfaction in his large round eyes, seeing the now empty bay. “We’re ready for the next group,” he announced. “We’ll start construction the day after tomorrow.”
“How many does that make?” asked Kevin, looking over at the large light brown Bear who towered above him. All the Carethians looked fierce and were in battle, however, they were also dedicated friends and extremely protective and caring of their families.
“Twenty-four,” answered Daelthon. “All with the latest updates.”
Jeremy turned around to face the two. He had sent ten of the Gaia class battlecruisers with Kelsey and Admiral Sithe. “I need an admiral to take command of the squadron. I want it to immediately begin hit and run raids against the Simulins as soon as Admiral Sithe and the Dominator return.”
“Just the battlecruisers?” asked Kevin, feeling concerned they might not have the firepower needed if they ran into a powerful Simulin warfleet.
“No,” Jeremy answered. “There will be one battleship assigned as well as ten AI warspheres. In addition, Grayseth will be going out soon with his own fleet to begin attacking Simulin bases and syste
ms.”
Kevin thought briefly over the men and women in the fleet. “How about Commander Hiru Akira of the Retribution? He’s qualified.”
Jeremy nodded as he considered Kevin’s suggestion. “He’s familiar with fighter and bomber tactics from his time under Rear Admiral Marks. Before that he served on board a battlecruiser for nearly two years.” After a few moments, Jeremy shook his head. “No, I think I’ll promote him to the rank of rear admiral, but he’s better suited commanding our battlecarriers.”
“I would suggest Commander Newman of the Gaia,” said Daelthon. “He was given the first Gaia class to be built and is familiar with the ship’s capabilities.”
Jeremy’s eyes brightened at the suggestion. Newman had been on his list of possible candidates. “That might just work. I’ll speak to him immediately and see if he would consider it.”
“I’ve spoken to Newman in the cafeteria here on the Clan Protector several times,” Kevin said, looking thoughtful. “He seems to be a very competent officer.”
Jeremy looked around the large empty construction bay. A few spider robots were visible clearing equipment out of the bay in preparation for starting construction on the next battlecruiser. Daelthon had worked miracles with the Clan Protector, turning it into the type of shipyard that could easily serve Gaia’s growing fleet.
-
Later, Jeremy sat in his quarters going over the fleet readiness reports. With a deep sigh, he looked across the room at a picture hanging on the wall. It was of the New Horizon, the first interstellar ship ever built by Earth. The New Horizon mission had ended in disaster, but it had brought Jeremy and all of his friends, including Ariel, together. They had formed a bond which remained unbroken to this day. That was many long years ago, so many that it was considered a part of Federation history.
“Missing Kelsey?” asked Ariel as she suddenly appeared in front of Jeremy’s desk.
“Yes,” said Jeremy, smiling at Ariel. “I wish I knew how the mission was going.”
“We could take the Avenger and go find out,” she suggested.
The Lost Fleet: Genesis: A Slaver Wars Novel Page 18
