Alliance: Legacy War Book 3

by John Walker

  “There are a couple of possibilities we’ve discerned,” Dulain explained, “one, you may have found a new method of gathering historical data from the device. Or two, you’ve discovered the first steps we need to take toward updating our communications. Some are theorizing that the Orb may have a real time solution for chatting across great distances.”

  “I’ve heard some talk about that,” Cassie said. “Doctor Harper’s been working on it from what I understand. They talked about having to start over, that we’ve exhausted the extent of our current technology we built upon. I wouldn’t be surprised. There comes a time when everything reaches a limit and needs to be overcome.”

  Dulain nodded, smiling at her comment. “Have you fully detailed your experience? I mean, everything. The sensation, the length of time, what you were doing exactly … all of it?”

  “Yes, I turned it over to the scientists.” Cassie furrowed her brow, suddenly feeling unnerved. “Why?”

  “I read a report which suggested some of the techs have tried to replicate what happened to you. They’ve done what you said you were doing and moved about the Orbs but none of them have experienced the same thing. We’re going to need to recreate the experiment exactly the way you did before … soon.”

  Cassie knew where he was going. “You want me to try again.”

  Dulain bowed his head for a moment. “Exactly.”

  “That … seems a little crazy, sir. We won’t be in controlled conditions.”

  “Ah, but you see … the difference between the techs on Earth trying this and you is that you were in hyperspace. You see, I’m theorizing that there’s some type of energy being spread around the internal part of the ship during faster-than-light travel. Something that allowed the Orb to connect with you.”

  “And they haven’t figured out a way to simulate that,” Cassie muttered, staring off into space. He might’ve been right. It actually made some sense. “Or you’re saying they haven’t even tried that yet.”

  “So far it hasn’t seemed to dawn on them but it will when they exhaust all the other options.” Dulain shrugged. “I’m confident they’ll figure it out eventually but when you return, I want you to try proving my theory. My apologies, I occasionally like to get into the weeds.”

  “Okay … I’ll speak to Doctor Rindala about it.”

  “Maybe he even knows, but I’m getting the feeling that while they might’ve done more than scratch the surface they still haven’t gone very deep. These things are an absolute treasure of information but we’re incredibly cautious about how we claim it. I need you to be a little more daring while you’re away from Earth. After all … there’s no one to complain. Much at least.”

  “They certainly aren’t going to allow us to take one on board this time,” Cassie said. “Not with the admiral and meeting a new race. We’re trying to keep the ones we have safe.”

  “Yes, I know. I’m working on getting the new Orb transferred back to the Gnosis for our experiment. I should have an answer by the time you get back and we can see about tapping into the thing. Maybe you’ll get better data as well, especially since everyone involved will know what we’re trying to do. It won’t be an accident.”

  “Next time then.” Cassie sighed. “Something bothers me about all this. We know there are many Orbs out there and we know they were able to communicate at some point. Can they be used to spy on one another?”

  Dulain shrugged. “Excellent point. One we should look into.”

  “Who’s working on the virus?”

  “Harper’s people and a couple of ours.” Dulain smiled. “You’d like to be on that team.”

  Cassie shook her head. “No, I would’ve been on that team. I feel I’m in the right spot.”

  “And you are.” Dulain stood. “I believe that. Good luck and great work, Senior Agent. We’ll talk again when you get back and see about pushing the boundaries of the Orb, huh? Should be very exciting.”

  Cassie watched him go, somewhat annoyed by how he used her new AIA rank. He emphasized the senior part as if reminding her of some obligation she already recognized and felt. The focus almost felt like a threat. Still, he gave her a great deal of latitude and didn’t ask much. In fact, he pushed her to try things she would’ve thought would be forbidden.

  I guess things could be worse. He could’ve told me I could start a war.

  ***

  Desmond needed to get back aboard the Gnosis. They were going to depart Earth in less than fifteen hours and Vincent was left to finish all the preparations. However, Admiral Reach threw a meeting on his calendar, requiring him to visit Doctor Harper and Thayne on his way out.

  This had better be exceptionally important. We really don’t have time to be side tracked right now.

  He figured whatever they had to say could’ve waited until they returned but then again, Admiral Reach rarely suggested a course of action that was completely out of place. As an old soldier with decades of experience, he’d proven to know what he was doing. High command gave him jurisdiction over the space program for a reason.

  Gamma Alpha operated under his watchful gaze long before they had an enemy but once hostile aliens made themselves known, he turned out to be a fortuitous choice for leading the teams. Desmond knew him from his fighter pilot days and they’d gotten along fairly well back then.

  When the Gnosis captain’s chair opened, Desmond applied partially for the chance to go into space but ultimately to work closely with Reach again.

  Doctor Harper saw him enter the lab and smiled brightly, waving. “Good morning, captain! Thank you for coming!”

  “No problem,” Desmond said. He took a moment to look over several tables laden with technology, most of which he’d never seen before. Terminals lined the walls, each blinking with multi-colored lights. Thayne stood at one of them, typing quickly on the touch screen, his eyes intense. “What’s going on?”

  “We’ve been studying the virus in the signal,” Harper replied. “And I wanted to give you a quick update. So far, we’ve got some promising results when it comes to building a defense. Naturally, we’re having to do everything in simulation but we’re hopeful that, with some more time, we’ll have a definitive method of fending it off.”

  “Excellent.” Desmond nodded. He wondered if this was truly why they brought him in. Such a revelation could’ve been offered through a text message or over the com. “Was there anything else you needed to talk about?”

  “I’m coming with you,” Thayne said. “I just need to finish this final script … I’m almost done.”

  “Yes, he’s been working feverishly with me to nail down a realistic method of testing our defenses. Gil has also been helpful and he’ll be staying here while you’re away.”

  “That’s what I heard.” Desmond looked around. “I suppose he’s a good choice considering his field of study. How has he taken to hanging around a couple Orbs?”

  “Oh, like a child in a candy shop, I assure you.” Harper snapped her fingers. “I forgot to tell you, we transported up some prototypes we’ve managed to test for the power armor your marines use. Chief Engineer Webber should be able to install them. They are short term personal shields, much like the Tol’An were using.”

  “Short term doesn’t sound like them,” Desmond said. “What’s that mean?”

  “Well, we haven’t figured out how to make the power cores small enough, even for the armor, to keep them going longer.” Harper shrugged. “These will take several shots from small arms and maybe two from something bigger. I figure it’s a little advantage but one nonetheless. Any protection’s better than none, right?”

  “Sure.” Desmond smirked. “Darren will be happy. Thanks.”

  “Oh, one more thing, I wanted to give you an update on our efforts with communications. Remember we talked about it on the ship but since then, we’ve discovered that the Orbs themselves could essentially be used to speak to one another through great distances. We’ve come up with a theory that those who built thes
e must’ve found a way to send smaller Orbs with their spacefaring ships.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Thayne said. “They may have been traveling within Orbs themselves. Maybe not even using space vehicles but teleportation. It stands to reason considering these can do so much more than we ever thought possible.”

  “We’ve been debating that part, mostly because mine is practical and Thayne likes to … take leaps of logic to fulfill fantastic theories.”

  “They haven’t been disproven,” Thayne added.

  “Anyway,” Harper interrupted before he could go on. “It’s been pretty interesting and we’re currently exploring the option of how we would generate such a thing. Even if it only had a couple of uses, we’d be able to speak to you while you’re out there and get messages back and forth. Maybe even send two or three along just to be safe.”

  “Definitely sounds useful.” Desmond smirked at his next question because he knew the answer. “How long do you think before we’ll be able to try such a thing?”

  Harper’s enthusiasm waned. “Unfortunately, we’re at the very early stages of this thought process. Finding the data isn’t proving as easy as we hoped but I’m confident we’ll have some idea within a year … maybe less with two of them available. But you know how it goes, you have to dream it before you can make it.”

  “Of course.” Desmond understood having a vision. It was imperative for leadership but he particularly admired the way scientists approached problems. They imagined a thing then found a way to make it happen and their objectives tended to have farther reaching ramifications than a combat scenario. “You ready, Thayne?”

  “Yes, I am.” Thayne grabbed a bag and approached. “Let’s go.”

  “See you around, Doctor.” Desmond waved to Harper before they left the room, heading for the hangar. “How do you feel about these negotiations with your people? Do you think they’re going to be receptive to a partnership?”

  “I believe so.” Thayne seemed hesitant so Desmond pushed.

  “What’re the chances of them being less than genial?”

  “Slim. Our people are proud but they are not monsters. We’ve made contact with several races, not all of which are our technological equals. Subjugation ended before we took to the stars.” Thayne frowned. “I’ve caught up on your history and we have some similarities. Slavery, for example … and internal wars. We come from a common background.”

  “I hope that brings us together then.”

  “Understanding begins with similarity.” Thayne’s expression finally brightened. “We may be aliens to one another but I think my presence here has proven we can work together in a positive way to achieve results that are beneficial to all sides. And you have proven yourselves to be reasonable. After all, you saved my life.”

  “I would like to think you guys would’ve done the same,” Desmond replied. “But after seeing the Kalrawv Group in action and facing down the Tol’An, I guess we could’ve had the misfortune of only encountering people like them.”

  “We had a run of bad luck with other planets for a while,” Thayne said. “I recall several expeditions returning home with poor news about how they were received or discussing how they were told never to return. I often wondered if they were simply bad at diplomacy or if we were truly finding the worst curmudgeons in the galaxy.”

  “Maybe a little of both.” Desmond wondered how humanity would’ve reacted to the Pahxin approaching them peacefully. He really had no idea what to expect. Would his people have assumed positive intent? He kind of doubted it. Cinema helped paint alien encounters as dangerous and apocalyptic.

  He figured paranoia would’ve ruled over cautious optimism. Which is precisely why their missions had been secret. When they returned with news of the Pahxin, he figured they would have a big press conference and let the world know about everything they discovered. Hopefully, with overwhelmingly positive evidence of a partnership, humanity could be happy about their actions.

  I bet the polls will be on two sides of the spectrum, Desmond thought. There will always be those who don’t believe an outside force can be reasoned with or trusted. Such individuals don’t trust the government or military and never miss an opportunity to undermine the establishment due to their fear. We’ll have to battle that behavior to stay unified.

  “You look thoughtful,” Thayne said as they left the building. The sun beat down on the open courtyard and Desmond felt sweat immediately form on his back. “Are you truly worried about this gathering?”

  “I’m not sure what I am,” Desmond replied. “Anxious maybe. I want it to be successful but I’m a soldier. I see danger, sometimes in places it doesn’t necessarily exist. It screams at me to be cautious in any unknown situation. For example, your people have been to this station before and we haven’t. Already we’ll be at a disadvantage.”

  “It’s a neutral space,” Thayne said. “The people who run it are quite benevolent, I assure you. They have kept the peace for a very long time. You don’t have to worry about something happening there. And our ships rarely fire first. They only do so on the terrorist organizations, like the Tol’An for example.”

  “I … think that was meant to be comforting.”

  “It was.”

  “Nice try.” Desmond smirked. They climbed a flight of stairs to the landing pad and boarded the waiting shuttle. He felt a sense of relief when he noticed the pilot was someone he didn’t know. Thank God it’s not Jeb. I’m not in the mood for his shenanigans. “Will you be going over with the admiral?”

  Thayne shook his head. “No, I’m there to do the initial conversation when we arrive but the admiral and his staff will be going without me. I’ll be briefing him along the way on several key points but our people made it clear they want to have a conversation that is natural between us. Though … I must say it is a little ridiculous.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I am telling the admiral everything I can to make this successful. Surely, my people know this.”

  “Speaking of which, are you planning on heading back with them?”

  “I’ll be speaking with their representative while we’re there,” Thayne said. “And I’ll be making a case for staying with your people to help with the research. Believe me, part of the conversation will revolve around giving up one of your two Orbs, a point your people are dead against. If I can offer my services as a Pahxin representative, I might alleviate that pressure.”

  “That would be good. I know we’re pretty set on keeping them.”

  “Even though you cannot do so from a military perspective, correct?”

  Desmond hesitated but nodded. “Yes, I believe everyone’s aware of that fact.”

  “We may want it, but we will not steal it.” Thayne leaned back and took a deep breath as the ship took off. When they were airborne, he finished his thought. “Much as we would like to have the item, we learned long ago that taking things from a culture breeds nothing but ill will. Besides, what if you come up with creative solutions to problems we struggled with?”

  “You think it might be advantageous to allow us to have both.”

  Thayne shrugged. “It very well could be. Who’s to say? We’ve had it for a long time and we’re still struggling with mysteries. Why not give you a chance? You’re hungry for knowledge and extremely creative in your own rights. We never came up with the information about the virus, for example. That counts for something.”

  Desmond didn’t disagree. More importantly, it didn’t matter what either of them thought about the situation. The military high council would negotiate with the Pahxin and neither Orb would be on the table. However, the humans might invite some scientists to help with the process.

  At least Desmond hoped they’d be so reasonable. The problems everyone wanted to solve would benefit from as many intelligent eyes on them as possible. Qualified individuals, people who had far more years studying the devices would make the most sense. But sometimes, politics didn’t care about such things. No one
liked to compromise.

  A com message buzzed his computer and Desmond brought it online. They were still a few minutes away from breaking atmosphere and then another ten minutes from docking with the ship. “Captain Bradford here.”

  “Good morning, sir,” Vincent replied. “We see you’re en route. The admiral arrived roughly five minutes ago. I’ve shown him to his quarters and he’s settling in. He stated he’d like to be on the bridge when we go into hyperspace. After hearing about it so many times, he figures this is his chance to experience it for himself.”

  “He’s going to be disappointed if he’s hoping for bells and whistles,” Desmond said. “Anyway, I anticipated that. I’m more curious about how much he wants to be involved in the day to day operations of the ship. Will he spend most of his time in his quarters or does he want to stay on the bridge?”

  Vincent clicked his tongue. “I hadn’t thought about that. Deacon’s taking us out today and going into hyperspace. Do you think I should get Zach?”

  “Did Zach work with Salina on the coordinates?”

  “Yeah, our typical navigation procedures were followed. You know how our pilot is. He put in some hefty hours and I figured it isn’t a grand event to fly for several hours and hit a couple buttons.”

  Desmond considered the situation for several moments. Vincent was correct. Just about anyone could perform the simple task of initiating hyperspace. However, they did have a VIP on board and that usually meant ensuring the best people were at their posts. Then again, Reach tended to be a down-to-earth type of leader so it was unlikely he’d be critical of the decision.

  “Let’s give Deacon his chance to shine,” Desmond said. “Even if he isn’t going to be doing anything too wild. It’ll be good experience for him to do something basic under pressure and I’m sure as soon as he sees Reach sit down, he’ll start sweating.”

  “Understood. We’re scheduled to leave sixty minutes after you arrive. Is Doctor Rindala with you?”

  “He is,” Desmond replied. “I ran by the lab and got some news I’ll share with you when we’ve got a quiet moment. I’m going to sign off. We’re about to break atmosphere. Talk to you soon, Vincent. Bradford out.”