“Fascinating,” Skye replied.
“Oh, yes,” Mal went on. “They are perfectly adapted to their environment. The Vorians typically wear a canvas-like material over a mesh base garment that keeps them protected from the elements. It is thick and does not wear or tear easily.
“Prior to the colonization of Vorian by the Drekynn Empire, the Vorian people were ruled by elected officials, called legates, in their major cities. Vorians typically do not reside outside of their cities, as there is nothing in between. Due to rapid climate change within the past century, all food on Vorian is either grown within specialized greenhouses, or caught. The native fauna populations on the planet primarily live off of the leaves of the Vorian taguaro plant, which is abundant in the few moist areas on the planet.”
“Tell me about the Drekynns,” Skye said, knowing that Mal was enjoying the lecture on the finer points of the upcoming mission.
“The Drekynns are a fierce expansionist race with multiple incidences of conflict with other races along their borders, including some planetary Council members. They are humanoid, but have a pale green skin and are hairless. Their heads are thin, yet bulbous near the top, with small eyes and slit-like irises. They have tusk-like growths that sprout from their bottom jaw, and their nostrils are typically very small. They are characteristically very thin and muscular, and are typically around two meters in height,” Mal paused, clearing his non-existent throat. “The current manifest of the Drekynns is to colonize and expand their empire, even those already inhabited by other races.”
“So, explain this treaty we’re going to violate.” Skye asked.
“Ah yes,” Mal replied, his voice suddenly solemn. “Relations have been extremely tense between the Drekynn Empire and the Council, but three years ago, just when it appeared that the Drekynn would declare war, after several border disputes, they signed a nonaggression treaty with the Council which defined clear areas of control between the two powers.”
“And Vorian?”
“Vorian was officially recognized as being under Drekynn territory.” Mal said.
“That doesn’t sound like a good treaty,” Skye replied.
“It isn’t, I’m afraid. But it did establish a peaceful resolution for hundreds of other worlds, and prevented war, which would potentially lead to the loss of billions of lives.”
“Why would the Drekynn agree to limit their borders to begin with? It doesn’t sound like their nature from what you’ve told me.”
“That’s beyond my programming, I’m afraid. There is no doubt that the Drekynns have a love for fire and blood, Skye,” Mal said. “But, you’ll need to consult with someone who has more experience with the Drekynn Empire to gain a better understanding for their motivations.”
“Mmm. What else should I try?” Skye asked Mal.
“I have heard that cake is good.”
“What is cake?”
“A dessert. It is baked and soft. Very sweet,” Mal replied. “My research says that chocolate is usually preferred by the humans.”
“Ah, yes. I want some, then,” Skye said as she stood and walked over to the T.A.S. “I am quite enjoying this free time to study up on a mission. We never have any.”
“That’s because we’re always activated after something has gone wrong and are under a crunch to fix it immediately,” Mal replied.
“Very true,” Skye said as she pressed the buttons on the T.A.S. The machine began to whirr as it printed the sweet dessert. A plate with one slice of chocolate cake appeared. Skye picked it up, studying it.
“You’ll need a fork,” Mal said.
“What’s that?”
“An eating utensil that has prongs or sharp points called tines,” Mal replied. “It was invented by the earth peoples for spearing their food as early as the Roman empire.” Skye typed in the commands to print a fork. She finished the sequence, and the T.A.S. began to hum. There was a clinking noise as a thin, shiny object came out. She picked it up, and the fork glistened in the lights of the Swallowtail.
“It’s pretty,” Skye said. “How do I use it?”
“You cut into the cake with the side of it, then spear the bite-sized piece and put it in your mouth.” Skye did so, taking her first bite of cake.
“Yum,” she said.
Chapter Four
The next morning, Skye heard a knock at her ship’s docking port just moments after reprinting herself for the mission. She was greeted by V’ktal, whose leathery face contorted into a shape resembling a human smile.
She buckled into a seat on her small ship while the away team filed in and began taking seats wherever they could find room. The Swallowtail had been built, essentially, for one person. While there were seats to accommodate extra passengers in the event of an emergency, there was only so much real estate that could be shared. The larger portion of the ship was taken up by the T.A.S., so the passengers found themselves in close proximity.
“Good Morning, Lieutenant,” V’ktal greeted Skye in a bubbling, cheerful tone.
“Hello, V’ktal,” Skye said. “Did you rest well?”
“Indeed, the coldness of the Spacewing cabins might as well put me into a hibernation,” V’ktal replied, sitting his strange bulk in one of the seats beside her. “Though I must admit that my thoughts have been on the outcome of this mission.” As V’ktal buckled himself into the seat, Bharat entered the ship. He had to bend a little in order to avoid hitting his head on the door. Bharat’s face was entirely impassive, albeit on the forbidding side.
“Morning Bharat,” Commander Bradley said from the cockpit. Bharat grunted noncommittally in response before plopping down into his seat. He completely ignored Skye and V’ktal, not even looking in their general direction. This was quite a feat, as they took up most of the open space in the ship.
Skye was dressed in her usual electric blue suit, replete with bubble-like helmet, white boots, and utility belt. There was a clear crystal orb on the front over her heart which typically contained Mal when she wasn’t aboard the ship. Currently, Mal was able to project his British accented voice via the integrated sound system on the Swallowtail, thus speaking to everyone on board. Before they disembarked from the Swallowtail, Mal would upload his consciousness to Skye’s suit, where he would be able to communicate with her via an earpiece that she wore.
“This is going to be phenomenal!” Mal said through the speakers. “Welcome, everyone, to the Swallowtail. I am Mal, the Swallowtail Network’s Artificial Intelligence component.”
“Hello, Mal,” Commander Bradley said. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“What a fascinating piece of technology!” V’ktal burbled.
“Why, thank you, kind sir,” Mal said. “Please, everyone, be sure to buckle your seatbelts.”
“So, Skye,” V’ktal began, “I have heard that the Swallowtail is a rather advanced piece of equipment, and I must say, I am finding it to be quite true.”
“Well, compared to the Artemis, it’s rather plain,” she explained. “It’s set up mainly for utility.”
“It must be phenomenal to live here, regardless,” he went on.
“I don’t live on it,” Skye said matter-of-factly. “My consciousness is merely uploaded into the Network until I am needed. Then I am printed out in the ship nearest to the job that is required of me.”
“Oh,” the Vorian said in wonder. “So you could, technically, travel the universe in a day.”
“My consciousness, yes. It’s synced to all ships in the network nearly instantly through a private network inside an infinity pocket,” Skye said, considering the implications that the Vorian was bringing up. “But physically, I am printed anew each time I wake up.”
“Could you be printed out in two different places at once?”
“I don’t think so, but you’d have to speak with my creators for a better answer,” Skye said, wondering if maybe her consciousness worked in a different manner than she knew. Bharat pursed his lips. Skye could tell he had something to
add to the conversation, but was choosing to remain silent.
“How fascinating—” V’ktal began, but Commander Bradley cleared her throat.
“Prepare for departure,” Commander Bradley said. She was at the controls for the ship, tapping out instructions the initiation protocol with a practiced flurry. Skye had to admit that it felt strange to see someone else commanding her ship. She wasn’t exactly comfortable with the idea, and that realization made her realize that she considered the Swallowtail to be her home, even if it were spread out across hundreds of identical ships in the network. Commander Bradley’s command over her ship for this mission was one of Captain Zonta’s stipulations. He and Bradley and V’ktal had chosen a specific set of coordinates to set the ship down, and since Skye had access to a direct line of communication with the Council, it was thought best if she did not know them. “Artemis, disengage the docking clamps.” A loud hiss and a deep reverberation of metal shook through the ship as the docking clamps retracted and the Swallowtail’s own atmospheric controls came back online.
“Here we go!” Mal said. He was so excited to be going on this mission. It was entirely different from their usual repair jobs, which tended to be equal parts tedious and dangerous.
The Swallowtail detached from the Artemis, the imposing bulk of Spacewing’s flagship floating above them with the elegance of an Earth whale in the ocean of space. The away team looked out of the viewport, where the nebula slowly spun out of view as Bradley directed the Swallowtail’s navigational systems toward Vorian.
“Prepare jump sequence,” Command Bradley said as she watched the hovering readouts on the AR screen and continued to enter instructions into the controls. Bharat leaned forward uncomfortably in his chair and began tapping out his own series of commands.
“The course is laid in, commander,” Bharat said. “I made sure to account for the increased mass, but this little ship wasn’t designed for so many bodies. It’ll be a rough ride.”
“Understood,” Bradley answered. Skye realized she had never seen her ship actually perform the jump sequence before. She’d understood the concept, but she’d always been activated after her ship had arrived at its destination. Her eyes darted between Bradley, Bharat, and the viewscreen, taking in every detail.
After several moments, the ship stopped its rotation and seemed to be perfectly still. Then, Skye felt an odd vibration through the hull of the ship as the IP-Drive began to power up.
The lights dimmed and Skye felt the sensation of falling. Her hair and arms floated upward without resistance, as did the limbs of the other seated members of the away team. The artificial gravity and all other non-essential systems had been deactivated and their power rerouted to the IP-Drive. The vibration grew in intensity and for the first time, Skye heard a low hum. It began softly and grew in volume and pitch.
“Infinity pocket nearly ready, sir!” Bharat yelled over the intensifying whine. The entire ship felt like it would rattle apart.
“Punch it!” Bradley commanded. Bharat tapped the command to engage the drive and the shaking stopped while the pitch grew beyond Skye’s range of hearing and a small dot of light no larger than Skye’s helmet erupted in a shining brilliance in the viewport.
Skye’s stomach lurched as the Swallowtail was pulled toward the infinity pocket. The surrounding space contorted around the ship as if the stars were nothing more than patterns on a stretchy piece of fabric that was being pulled over the ship.
Skye jumped in surprise as a purple planet appeared from nowhere and grew to fill the entire viewscreen. Vorian! Her stomach lurched again as the Swallowtail’s artificial gravity came back online.
“Put us into orbit!” Commander Bradley called out through the silence. The IP-Drive was humanity’s key to deep space exploration, allowing ships to jump through lightyears of space in seconds, but it would spit ships out with the same relative velocity they had when they entered the pocket. That meant that as soon as a ship came out of a jump, it would need to fire its regular propulsion systems to enter orbit around the nearest gravitational body. Otherwise, it would sail right on past the planet or object of interest to which it had intended to travel.
Skye studied the planet closely. The brown and blue planet was cloaked by the purple haze of its atmosphere. The tiny ship moved toward it, and the mass began to fill the window as they neared it. They were soon descending through the purple-tinted atmosphere, the heat rising slightly inside of the ship upon entry.
“Let’s hope that we aren’t spotted by any of the Drekynn destroyers that monitor the orbit of their colonized planets,” V’ktal whispered to Skye, making her a bit nervous.
“Oh, don’t worry V’ktal,” Mal said. “I performed a scan around the planet just after we dropped out of the infinity pocket. Evidently, the Drekynn aren’t overly concerned with orbital security for Vorian.”
“How wonderfully efficient you are, Mal!” V’ktal exclaimed.
“I am rather impressive, if I don’t say so myself. Some may say one of the Council’s crowning achievements,” Mal concurred, causing Bharat to groan and cover his face with his hands. Skye shook her head and tried not to laugh. Mal loved to show off, and now that he had an audience, he could, potentially, become insufferable.
They continued their slow descent through the atmosphere. Skye watched out through the front of the ship as the brown-colored earth drew near. Commander Bradley touched the ship down gently, the legs hitting the ground with a loud crunching noise on the large expanse of brown soil. She had tucked the ship neatly in between two large rock formations, to keep it hidden from unfriendly eyes.
“Welcome to Vorian, everyone,” V’ktal said excitedly. They all gazed out of the viewport for a moment, enthralled by the large rock formations that were set across the landscape.
“Those formations that you are seeing were formed by enormous water movements,” Mal said excitedly. “At one point, almost eighty-five percent of this planet was underwater, however, for the last several millennia, due to the planet’s proximity to the nearest sun, it has grown to be quite arid and desert-like.”
“Indeed!” V’ktal agreed. “You should see our taguaro forests sometime.”
“Oh, how I would indeed love to see that,” Mal replied. “I hear that they are quite spectacular.”
“What is this, a tourist expedition?” Bharat snapped.
“I always give some trivia about our locations,” Mal sounded wounded. “It is how we always start out our missions.”
“I thought it was interesting,” Skye said, sticking up for her one friend.
“Thank you, Skye,” Mal said.
“Well, everyone, I will now be uploading myself into Skye’s suit. For the remainder of the mission, only she will be able to hear me via her earpiece,” Mal explained. “However, if you have a question for me, I will be able to answer it via Skye. It has been lovely to chat with you.” The light on the front of Skye’s suit began to glow blue with the presence of Mal.
“Well, that other engineer is horribly rude,” Mal said in her ear.
“I wouldn’t take it personally,” Skye mumbled under her breath. “That seems to be his stunning personality.”
“Opening the doors,” Commander Bradley announced, and the three passengers began to unbuckle their seatbelts. The doors to the ship opened, hissing as the pressurized air was let out. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and Skye screamed as something near her hip exploded in a bright white light.
“What the—” Bharat snapped, as the explosion had occurred on his side of Skye. Looking down, Skye saw that her blaster had exploded. The metal tube of it looked as though it had been peeled apart from the inside. She detached the ruined pieces from her belt; they were steaming and melted. Her suit was lightly singed, and Bharat was able to quell the light fire that had caught on his own black standard-issue Spacewing suit. He snatched the wreckage of Skye’s blaster out of her hands and examined it, his brow furrowed in frustration.
“This is d
uranium alloy!” he looked at her, his face awash in fury. He tossed the broken blaster to the floor in disgust. “What kind of a lunatic brings a duranium alloy blaster into Vorian atmosphere?” Skye’s mouth hung open in shock. She wasn’t used to interpersonal conflict…as a matter of fact, she could not recall ever fighting with any lifeform before. “Don’t you know that the gases that comprise the Vorian atmosphere make this alloy highly explosive? If you actually had this thing properly charged, you could have blown us all to pieces! This is my point about Artificial Intelligence! You can’t think of all of the angles if it hasn’t been programmed into your database!” His comment stung.
“Bharat!” Commander Bradley’s tone was that of disappointment. “I will not have members of my team addressed in this manner.”
“I’m sorry,” Skye mumbled, looking away from Bharat. She sighed as she trained her eyes on the far wall of the ship. “Duranium is explosive here? In that case, there’s something you need to know.”
“What’s that?” Commander Bradley asked.
“My skeletal structure is reinforced with duranium alloy. Will that be a problem?”
“You had better hope that you don’t get too badly injured on the mission,” Bharat replied. “If your skeleton becomes open to the air, then you will explode…violently.” He got up, walking briskly for the door, where he hunched over to make it through the opening.
They grouped up outside of the ship, their eyes scanning the horizon. The dry dirt crunched beneath their booted feet. For kilometers, it was nothing but flat cracked desert and the rock formations. The sky was a light purplish gray, and the nearest sun shone in the sky like a tiny silver disk. They heard a tiny voice to their left, and everyone turned to look. A hooded figure, dressed in a tan-colored set of robes gestured toward them. It reached up slowly and slid its hood down to its wide shoulders, revealing a head similar to V’ktal’s.
The Vorian beckoned in their direction. V’ktal hunched down and scurried quickly over to his brethren. They had a conversation in a strange, garbled language that none of the others understood. V’ktal returned to the group.
The Vorian Incursion: The Swallowtail Voyages, Book 2 Page 3
