by Gray Lanter
“Yes. Dr. Ike Charbot also has a string of scientific discoveries on his resume. He’d like to be on the voyage too.”
“Don’t know him, but we should have plenty of room. We’re taking only the minimum personal necessary. So he will probably get his choice of cabins,” I said.
“Thank you, major. I will tell them. They are already in Belen’s headquarters, just in case you said yes. Dr. Boudoin has already gone over the very little information we have about the sphere. She thinks – based more on speculation than science – that it’s hollow inside – and could hold at least some of the aliens who built it.”
“Really? That would be nice. We could capture them and have a nice conversation. They can tell us why they sent the sphere to us.”
“One minor detail. While she thinks the sphere may be hollow, she has no idea yet how to get inside.”
“Doubt she would. She would need a little study for that. Maybe we can give her a chance to take a long look at it.”
He stood up. “Then I won’t waste any more of your time, major, except to say I wish you the best. Come home safely.”
“Thank you, Mr. vice president.”
He closed the door when he left. I looked at Astrid. “You know I tend to be a tad negative about politicians, but I’m beginning to respect Mr. Anson. He didn’t have to come by. The Federation could have ordered us to take the two scientists. He just wanted to wish us well.”
Astrid nodded. “That’s what I thought too.”
I flicked on a screen and looked at the sphere again. I also focused on the two silver ships flying with it, one above and one below.
“Why would the aliens send two ships along if the sphere is invincible?”
“That’s for you to figure out, honey.”
“I need a drink.”
“I’ll order you one. Order one for me too.”
There was a bigger screen on the office wall. I transferred the picture to the 72-inch screen. The sphere became bigger, but the switch didn’t result in any revelations. The Raiders had to defeat the two vessels before we investigated the sphere. If the ships were automated or manned by AIs, they would be a formidable opponent.
“Your eyes just lit up, Logan. You have an idea.”
“I sure do.”
I buzzed Belen and asked if my weapons officer had arrived yet.
“Lt. Remington Murdock came in earlier today raring to go. I told him he can have anything he wants. Just tell us what weapons you need and I’ll get them to you.”
“I want a half-dozen equator bombs and means of delivery, but I need the means of delivery modified, so is Science Officer Tekmann Jones here yet?
“His shuttle just arrived about three minutes ago. I’ll tell him to buzz you.”
It only took a minute for Tek to get a communicator. I explained to him what I needed.
“So can that be done?” I asked.
“Sure. Those modifications shouldn’t take long. Maybe a couple of days. I will need some specialized equipment, but I’m sure Ms. Morganthal can get it for us.”
“I have confidence in that too.”
When I hung up, Astrid placed a bourbon and coke in front of me. She sipped some wine.
“Looks like we have a plan.”
“We sure do. At least the first part of our overall plan. The rest will come later.” I frowned and gritted my teeth. “It’s tough to make battle plans when you know very little about your enemy.”
“But on the plus side, your enemy knows very little about you. Or the Raiders. The enemy doesn’t know just how tough and tenacious we can be. But he’s about to find out.”
I raised my glass. “To victory with no casualties.”
She raised her glass and clinked it against mine. “A very apt toast for military people.”
After we drank, I urged her to go somewhere else.
“I love you, but if you stay I’ll focus on you and I need to focus on other things,” I said.
“I understand. But before I go, why don’t you tell me I’m the most beautiful girl in the galaxy and you’d find life dreary without me?”
“Didn’t I do that yesterday? You want to hear it again?”
“Yes. Would be nice.” She smiled. “I’m a romantic at heart.”
“You’re the most beautiful lady in the galaxy. If you had lived in past times, da Vinci would have kicked the Mona Lisa into the street and painted you. I’d be lost without you.”
“Ah, that is so sweet.” She walked over and kissed me, then headed for the door. “I’ll check back about dinner time.”
I looked back at the sphere and the two ships flying with it. I would need the equator bombs. That’s the nickname given to them because they can take out half a planet. If one half goes, the other half is toast too. But the plus with E-bombs is they can be fired, not just dropped. I would need to check with my weapons officer but, if I remembered correctly, they had a range of about twenty thousand miles. Another technological marvel. Hitting a target at twenty thousand miles is darn good shooting. In theory, the alien ships could maneuver and evade the E-bombs. But if my plan worked, the ships would be flying into the path of the E-bombs, not away from them. If all went well....
Those are unforgettable words in life and in the military. ‘If all goes well...’ You plan your best and then hope for the best.
Belen had sent me the information about the three planets in the Terlor system. I transferred them to the big screen. You can learn about your opponent by knowing what type of weapons he uses. It reveals what you’re up against.
Usually that’s true. But when I surveyed the surface of one of the planets, I wasn’t sure what the devastation revealed — if anything. The cities had not been bombed. All the buildings stood erect. Smaller towns showed no physical destruction. But there was no movement on the surface of the planet. The aliens must have used some type of chemical or biological weapon. It killed sentient beings on contact, but didn’t alter physical structures. But it must have been another weapon that dried up the atmosphere.
I frowned. Why not just use one or the other? If aliens disintegrate the atmosphere of a planet, everything on the surface and even below the surface dies. You don’t have to use a biological weapon. Double-kill. They possibly fired both weapons at the same time thinking one might not work. But both worked remarkably well.
A friend of mine, Major Walt Stetson, saw combat on a small, out-of-the-way planet a couple of years ago. I forgot the name of it. But during a fierce battle, one of his volleys hit an innocent. A woman who, sadly, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In war innocent people die, but Walt agonized about that. He still remembers it. Not that he has to. Our memory drugs could wipe it from his brain. But he has refused to use them. It’s a reminder of the price of war.
One soul. One among the countless billions of sentient beings. How could a single individual be so important among the countless masses?
Yet she was. Each individual life is important. That’s one of our core beliefs.
But whoever or whatever was hidden inside the sphere, didn’t mind killing billions.
I sipped my drink. If my friend, professor Clu Ryker was here, we would have a discussion on that subject. Clu has an IQ just above 200. He’s always a fascinating conversationalist, especially in anthropological and philosophical matters. But this was no time for philosophical musings.
The second planet looked like about the same as the first. No life. Nothing moved. Not even bugs. Just emptiness and hollowness. No devastation wrought by bombs or other explosions. No large craters. No holes where a city should be. Just stillness. The stillness of a graveyard. How do you fight something like that?
With everything you’ve got. And more.
I flicked the screen back on the sphere. It had turned three planets in mass cemeteries, but it kept coming this way. Which told me it didn’t have to return home to reload. It had weapons galore. Which meant the Federation or, rather, Ryvenbark’s Raiders had to keep
it from coming near to a fourth planet.
But there was no reason for the sphere to attack the three planets. Such viciousness is often puzzling to humans, but shouldn’t be.
There was no particular reason for Genghis Khan to travel west to conquer the rest of Asia and Europe, but he did. The Soviet Union was a huge nation, the largest in the world. It didn’t need the very small nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but Stalin invaded and crushed them anyway. Then deported half of the population. Stalin and Mao killed tens of millions. With those two and others like them in our past, humans shouldn’t be surprised at the viciousness of other races.
When you’re fighting a war, the reason why the other guy started it is irrelevant. You can ask him that when he sues for peace.
There was one plus of having two ships flying, running interference for the sphere. It might be an indication that the sphere couldn’t perform aerial warfare. The two silver ships could indicate a weakness in space combat, which is entirely different from simply spraying toxins on a planet. Something to consider.
But did it need protection in space? If Federation scientists were correct, the outer rim was impenetrable. Our bombs, lasers, etc. were harmless against it.
And we didn’t have an antimatter weapon. That might take care of the sphere. Were the two silver defenders sent just in case...?
They would have to be destroyed first.
Then Raiders would take on the sphere.
Chapter 4
Tekmann’s deep baritone voice came on the line. Cajun and I have passable singing voices, but when Tek belts out a song, it’s mesmerizing. Singing, though, is only his hobby, even if he probably could have made a living at it. But his expertise is weapons.
“Tek, I assume you have looked at the sphere.”
“Yes. An amazing structure. Never seen anything like it before.”
“Let’s hope we don’t see anything like it again. Any idea of how to stop it?”
“I hate to tell you this, sir, but as of now I have no idea at all.” The baritone voice sounded even lower than usual.
“Shucks, I was hoping you’d give me at least three options.”
“You can’t make an informed decision about an enemy unless you have some information. None of our scanners have given us any facts about this thing, major. When we first became aware of it, we thought it was a big rock in space. Right now all we know is it’s still a big rock in space. We can’t penetrate inside. For that matter, we don’t even know the substance it’s made of. A nice, polished rock.”
My voice had a note of exasperation. “Tek, if it’s just a rock, how could it have caused the death of three planets and annihilated the civilizations who lived on them?”
“Don’t know. I assume it has weapons, but we don’t know how it uses them. There’s no opening, no place to fire. There is no opening or port on the outer surface that might be used to launch an attack. It might be able to open a portal to fire but, if so, we don’t know where that portal is.”
“Federation scientists are guessing it’s hollow.”
“Maybe, but there still could be fifty miles of crust to get through.”
“Tek, if I sent an equator bomb at it, is there any way of predicting what the damage might be?”
“No, but I think there’s a very good chance it would flow right through the bomb and keep on its way without missing a beat. As I said, never seen anything like it.”
“How about a desert bomb? Drop in on a planet and mountains are leveled. So is everything else over two inches high.”
“Depends how heavy and how thick the outer core is. Doubtful it would work. Without getting overly technical, a desert bomb doesn’t really make a planet go poof. Not at first. Huge explosion that's for sure, but that begins a chain reaction and the chain reaction — although it only takes minutes — must be engaged to get the end result. The chain reaction keeps getting larger and larger. But there’s nothing on the sphere to chain react with. So I don’t think a desert bomb would work on the sphere. And that’s the most powerful weapon we have in our arsenal,” Tek said.
“You’re a fountain of good news,” I said.
“I’ll keep working on it.”
“Good. I need a lot of scientists working on this problem.”
I refilled my drink and kept glancing at the sphere. Maybe the Federation scientists were right in that we’d have to get inside to destroy it. Which left open the question: how do we get inside?
When the knock on the door came, I yelled ‘come in’. When the door opened, the six-seven Jerico Haldran came in. He had grown a goatee since the last time I had seen him. The black-and-gray beard looked good on him. He smiled as he made a smart salute.
“Major Ryvenbark, it’s been a long time.”
“So it has, Jerry. How are you?”
I shook his hand.
“Doing well. But haven’t had much excitement for a while. So when the call came through, I thought I’d sign up. You have a mystery to be solved, and I like solving mysteries.
“I’m glad you do. Sit down, Jerry. Did the Federation tell you what we’re facing?”
Jerico is skilled in any number of weapons, including old-fashioned knives and garrotes — although he has sadly noted that soldiers rarely get to garrote anyone in a high-tech war. He’s somewhat disappointed about that. But he also is a brilliant space engineer.
“Yes, told me about the sphere and about the three dead planets.” He smiled. “They always give you the toughest jobs, Logan.”
“But this time they promised a bonus,” I answered, smirking.
He laughed and looked up at the screen, which still was focused on the sphere. “I do understand their concern. They’re fighting the Creagers on one side of the galaxy and have this thing crawling up the other side. It’s not a position they like to be in.”
“Did they brief you on everything?”
“Yes, with all the information they had, but they have almost nothing.”
“True. And that’s what bothers me. Any preliminary thoughts on the sphere?”
“No. The thing came out of nowhere. We’re scrambling to find out any details, but as of yet it’s yielded no information. We’re going in blind, major,” he said.
“Like Lee at Gettysburg, and that’s not a good feeling.”
“Yes, but Lee was blind at Gettysburg because Gen. Stuart made one of his very few mistakes during the war. None of our people have made mistakes. They just can’t find anything.”
“Let me ask you something. Oh, would you like a drink?”
“Have any whiskey?”
“I do.”
I walked over to the bar, dropped two ice cubes in a glass and poured in the whiskey. I mixed a second glass for me, then handed the first glass to Jerry.
“There’s one thing that puzzles me. Well, there are actually many things that puzzle me about this sphere. One problem is it suddenly popped up, and destroyed three planets before we knew what hit them. But now it’s traveling slow, not even close to light speed. At the rate it’s going it will take years for it to reach the next solar system. If it wants to kill so much why not hurry up? If there’s an intelligence behind it, the slow speed makes no sense tactically. When it wiped out the three planets it had the element of surprise. The planets also had no defenses. But moving so slowly it lost the advantage of surprise. If it could move faster, say at light speed or warp speed, it could have attacked other planets before the Federation became aware of it. Now we’re mobilizing our defenses.”
“Or mobilizing Ryvenbark’s Raiders,” Haldran said.
“Yes. The creators of this object are highly intelligent. Why would they make a mistake like that?”
Haldran sipped his drink. “A good question. That thought had crossed my mind too. It’s a possibility that it can’t go any faster.”
“If that’s true, it would be difficult for the sphere to sneak up on us.”
“Yes, but if there’s nothing we have that can des
troy it, it doesn’t have to sneak up on us. It’s flying death, so all we can do is wait for it, or see if we can flee to a planet out of its way. From the little we can tell, it may have been flowing in space for hundreds, or hundreds of thousands of years. As space objects go, the sphere is small, too small for our scanners looking into large areas of space. Or if we did spot it, it would be mistaken for space debris. If it’s been floating for hundreds of thousands of years, it has hundreds of thousands of more years to go. It’s in no hurry for the next solar system to show up.”
“But if that’s true, it could have been roaming not for thousands of years but hundreds of millions of years. At that speed how long would it take to cross galaxies? And why would any aliens point it toward us hundreds of millions of years ago?”
“Can’t answer that question either.” He shrugged. “Maybe millions of years ago the inhabitants of another galaxy determined this galaxy was a prime spot for life, and the aliens did not like crowds. They wanted the universe all to themselves.”
“I don’t like crowds either, but people in another galaxy are not going to bother me much,” I said.
“But the why is not our primary concern. We can worry about that later. Right now our number one priority is destroying it.”
I jumped up and grabbed my gun when the door almost flew off its hinges and banged on the wall.
“You still have great instincts, Logan. Congratulations.”
I sighed with relief and holstered the gun.
“Kayli. I almost killed you.” I turned to Haldran. “Do you know Dr. Kayli Neugen? She’s a lady who knows how to make an entrance.”
“Yes, she does. We’re old acquaintances.”
The Cajun Asian walked over and kissed Haldran on the creek. Then laughed and kissed me.
“Well, looks like I’ll be working again with two of my favorite guys,” she said. “What’s the status of the mission?”
“Same as it was. Nothing has changed,” I said.
She looked up at the screen. “So that’s our mysterious object, is it? Doesn’t look like all that much.”
