Shadow of the Blue Ring

by Jerome Kelly

  “It doesn’t matter how we look at this, we don’t have a chance of taking them on alone,” said Saavoy, “and we can be pretty sure the thing that attacked us is not the only one of it’s kind out here.”

  “Which is why we need to try and get some idea of what we’re really facing here,” said James, “we know that if we go back to Artennes and tell him what we know, he will elect to send in the fleet but unless we can give him an idea of the size of the enemy force, they would get massacred. We can’t go back to the council yet, not until we know more about this enemy.”

  It didn’t matter what James came up with, it just wouldn’t be enough. They did not have the time nor the resources to upgrade their weapons sufficiently to come out on top in a straight up fight. They could not go on the attack by searching out the enemy, nor could they remain in once place and go on the defensive. Somehow, they needed to find a way to track the enemy, learn who they were and where they came from, what their motive was and work out an efficient plan of action to combat them. It was frustrating for him and for everyone else on the case that they just did not seem to know where to begin.

  “Keep at it guys,” James said eventually, deciding he was of no further use to them there, “I’m heading back to the bridge to check on things up there. We’ll work this out, I’m sure of it.”

  James was briefly distracted from his thought process though as he noticed that Isha had finally emerged from her quarters, bumping into her on the way back to the bridge. He was quick to make his way over to her, they had barely spoken since the party back on Churo for various reasons.

  “Hey, are you Ok?”

  “Oh, hey, yeah I’m fine,” said Isha, although she certainly didn’t look it, “I think I’m feeling better now, I’m not feeling so sick anymore.”

  She was still looking a little pale and she also looked worried about something but James could not quite put his finger on it. Whether is was the mission getting to her or whether she had something else on her mind, James could be doing without her being distracted at a time like this.

  “Well Ok then,” said James, “but you’ve been so distant since the party I just really don’t know what’s going on with you at the moment. Is there something on your mind?”

  “I’m fine, I promise you,” Isha said, taking both of his hands and looking into his eyes, “I was pissed at the admirals for ruining our holiday and I was pissed at Artennes for sending us out here into the unknown the way he did. Seeing what those things did to the Churian crews down on the surface of that world… it pushed me over the edge. I promise you I’m Ok now though.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” said James, “so are you fit for duty?”

  “I’m fine, I’m ready to get back to my duty,” Isha insisted, “I’m ready to join you on the bridge again.”

  He wasn’t sure that she was quite ready but he needed all hands on deck and Isha had always been quick to bounce back from anything that gotten her down in the past. Something was definitely bothering her though and James could see it quite clearly, even if she wasn’t going to admit it to him.

  James and Isha were just a few meters from the bridge when the ship’s alarms went off. There was an instant commotion on the bridge and the ship-wide comm system was demanding him on the bridge within seconds.

  “What the hell!” He exclaimed, breaking into a run and making a bee-line for the bridge, “what’s going on now?!”

  “It came out of nowhere!” Daniels exclaimed, indicating to the front of the ship, “it’s like it was invisible then it just suddenly appeared.”

  Several dozen kilometres in front of them was a massive grey and dark green ship shaped like like a giant manta ray. It was facing them down, slowly drifting in their direction.

  “Battle stations!” James exclaimed, “shields up, arm all weapons, I want all officers to the bridge this instant!”

  The call had not gone unheard. It was fortunate that the war room was just a few corridors down from the bridge, everyone was on the scene within seconds and every one of them was quick to notice that they had company.

  “What the hell!” Ansare exclaimed as he joined the rest of the crew on the bridge, “James, we don’t have a chance against that thing, we’re still at half strength from the previous attack.”

  “WAIT!” Ivanov called out before James could give his next order, “sir, we may not have to fight them, they’re running with their shields down. They aren’t making any kind of aggressive maneuvers at all.”

  “Then what the hell do they want?!” James just stared out in the direction of the mysterious ship that had appeared before them. It was just drifting slowly in their direction, staring them down.

  “Sir, their signal and their design match the scout ship we encountered when we found the derelict Tolian cruiser,” Ivanov informed him, “it looks like the same faction again.”

  “Except they’ve brought one of their big guns along this time,” said James, “so what do they want? If they aren’t going to attack, what do they want with us?”

  “I think we’re about to find out,” said Elena, “they’re hailing us. Should I put them through?”

  “Yeah…” James replied, “go ahead.”

  Elena brought up the view-screen and allowed the approaching ship to make contact. James was not sure what to expect, he had no idea who he would be speaking to or what race these people could possibly be. As the screen came to life he was almost shocked to see a fairly young, dark-haired man in a black and dark green uniform stood there before him. It was not what he had been expecting but this was quite clearly another race descended from the Jaiytid people.

  “Greetings,” the young captain said to them, “my name is captain Sejdan Kalmar of the Adean imperial fleet. To whom am I speaking?”

  James did not know what to say, he hadn’t expected someone of the same race, never mind one that still retained the same language as all the other descendants of the Jaiytid faction. Whoever these Adeans were, this was the first that anyone in the Freedom Alliance had ever seen or heard of them.

  “You seem surprised,” said Kalmar, “were you not expecting to find others like yourselves out here?”

  “I was expecting something… different,” James was finally able to reply, “we were unsure whether any others like ourselves existed out here, at least ones who had advanced this far technologically.”

  “My people have kept themselves well hidden and for good reasons,” said Kalmar, “this is a dangerous and unstable region of space and my people must take as many precautions as we can to ensure our survival. May I ask who you are and what you are doing in this region of the galaxy?”

  “My name is captain James Tavarez of the Evening Star,” said James, “myself and my crew are out here to investigate the disappearances of several of our ships in this region of space.”

  “I have seen the scout reports. It seems that you found what you were looking for,” said Kalmar, “and from the state of your ship, I am also assuming that you ran into the other faction that occupies this region of the galaxy did you not?”

  “What do you mean?” James asked, “are you referring to those who attacked us before?”

  “The ones who attacked you before are something else entirely,” said Kalmar, “we do not know their true identity, we refer to them only as ‘the Hunters’ due to their tendency to hunt down and destroy any ship that passes into their territory. We have not met them in person before, at least those who have met them did not survive to tell the tale, so we know almost nothing about them. All we know is that they are not a Jaiytid descended race, they are something very different altogether and they are very, very dangerous.”

  So these people, the Adeans, must have also been aware of the history of the galaxy and of the old empire that came before them. They must have found some relics of the old Jaiytid faction like the ones James had found on Ra
ylia. The region must have been home to several old Jaiytid worlds, it would explain why Artennes had sent the Churians out here in the first place, these relics had allowed a whole civilisation to rise in this region, completely hidden from the other races of the galaxy.

  “I think we ran into one of your scout ships when we first entered the region,” said James, “we saw your team next to one of our ships, we think they may have erased it’s databanks. Can you tell us why?”

  “I am not at liberty to say, captain Tavarez,” said Kalmar, “the leaders of our race have forbidden us to reveal any of the sensitive information surrounding our role on this region. However… due to the recent presence of your people within this region and the casualties you have suffered at the hands of the Hunters, the leaders of the senate of Adean have invited you and your crew to come and speak with them at our homeworld.”

  “Why? What do they want with us?” James asked.

  “I cannot predict what the senate will or wont do,” said Kalmar, “I was simply asked to make contact with you and to bring you to Adean so that you may meet with the leader of the senate. I am transmitting the coordinates of our world to you now, you should head there as soon as possible. Until then… Kalmar out.”

  He didn’t even give James a chance to reply, he cut the channel and his ship turned away and began to head off, activating it’s cloak as it went, becoming undetectable and invisible once more. The Evening Star was left on its own, leaving the crew to ponder over their unexpected encounter.

  “Well that was helpful,” Melina said sarcastically, “he tracked us down all the way out here just to tell us that he can’t actually tell us anything.”

  “Not entirely,” said James, “if the leaders of the Adean race wanted us destroyed they could have done it already but instead they have invited us to their home planet so that their leaders can speak to us. This is what we have been waiting for, a chance to find out exactly who we’re dealing with and learn about the region and what Artennes might have been looking for out here. We can’t pass up this opportunity.”

  “You want me to set a course for Adean, captain?” Daniels asked.

  “Yes, set a course and get us underway, maximum speed,” said James, “I want to hear what Adean senate has to say to us.”

  He had absolutely no hesitation in accepting Kalmar’s invitation to his homeworld. If they had been sharing this region of the galaxy with these Hunters then they must have at least known how to defend against them and how to counter their attacks and that knowledge could be invaluable. The Evening Star shot forward into hyperspace and, for the first time since entering the sector, James felt like they were on the right track and that they might finally get some real answers.

  “I’m not sure about this Kalmar guy,” said Isha, “we saw Adeans at the scene of the derelict cruiser, how do we know they aren’t responsible for all of this.”

  “We don’t,” said James, “we have no idea who these people really are but out of the two factions in this region, one has attacked us, one hasn’t. If Kalmar had wanted to destroy us, he could have done so, instead he decided to give us the location of his homeworld and invite us to speak to the senate. I think the offer is genuine.”

  “If you say so,” said Isha, “I’m still not sure about this. I would be very cautious once we arrive, we have no idea what will be waiting for us.”

  “We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we left the Valoran sector,” said James, “just go along with it and see how it plays out. I think this could be just what we have been looking for. The Adeans might be able to help us out and we might even be able to help them in some way.”

  It was far more likely that they would be the ones needing help though. They had been very lucky to survive their first encounter with the Hunters and a second one would more than likely be terminal for their mission. There was no way they would know the actual nature of the meeting until they arrived though. Whether the Adeans wanted to help them, needed their help or simply wanted to warn them of the dangers they faced, they would soon find out just what this enigmatic race wanted from them.

  Adean was not an overly long trip from the Evening Star’s position, less than ninety minutes away at maximum speed. The Evening Star dropped out of warp once more into yet another unknown system, only this time they were actually entering an occupied system, the first one they had come across in the region. Adean was a fairly small world, lush, green and fairly unspoiled, similar in many ways to worlds like Voronia and Suros back in alliance space. Surrounding the planet was the Adean fleet, and it was a truly formidable sight.

  “Wow, they must have a couple of hundred ships at least,” Ansare noted, almost in awe of the size of the Adean armada, “no wonder they have survived in the same region as the Hunters this long. I imagine any hostile force in the galaxy would want to keep their distance from this place.”

  In addition to probably three dozen of those enormous ray-like ships, there were a considerable number of cruiser class ships in between them. Several hundred of the same small scout class vessels that they had encountered when they first arrived were also dotted among the place. These were simply the ships posted around the Adean homeworld, who knew how many more they had scouting the region to watch for Hunter attacks?

  “Well they aren’t attacking,” said Saavoy, “thats one good sign.”

  “No welcoming party yet though,” said James, “I thought they might at least be here to greet us… aha, this looks like them now.”

  James recognised Kalmar’s ship coming toward them, the subtle differences in the markings on the Adean cruisers making them just about distinguishable from one another. Just as before, Kalmar’s ship hailed them and Elena opened a channel for them.

  “Glad to see that you accepted our invitation, captain Tavarez,” Kalmar greeted him, “welcome to the Esharin system and my home planet Adean.”

  “We appreciate the invite,” said James, “so where do we go from here? Where are we meeting the senate?”

  “I’m sending you landing coordinates for the senate now,” said Kalmar, “I will head down and meet you at the landing site now. I look forward to meeting you and your crew in person.”

  He cut the channel there, not making any effort to draw out their conversation. He was very clearly keen to get straight down to business.

  “I guess we had better get down there then,” said James, “Kasha, Kaldun, Loca, you three come with me. Isha, would you like to…”

  “Actually, I would kind of like to stay here for now,” Isha said awkwardly, “just until I’m back to my best, I don’t want to go out on a mission until I’m sure I’m one hundred percent, not after last time.”

  James was not buying it though, not at all.

  “You said you were feeling better already,” James huffed, “if you’re still not feeling right, please just tell me.”

  “I’m sorry, I just need a few hours,” Isha grimaced, “I’ll be back to my best soon, I swear, I would just like to stay on the ship for a while, just to make sure it doesn’t come back.”

  “Fine, you can stay,” James sighed, almost dismissive of her, “but I need you back to your best soon, I can’t afford you to be off your game like this. Those of you who are coming to the surface, lets get going.”

  James could tell that something was still not right with Isha even if she had previously insisted that she was Ok to return to duty. He was going to find out exactly what was going on when he got back to the ship but for the time being, he had an important appointment with the Adeans and he needed to focus on them for a while. He, Saavoy, Morelli and Ansare made their way to the shuttle bay and the Mantis flyer.

  “What’s up with Isha?” Morelli asked him, “she’s acting a little unusually, it looks like something is really bothering her.”

  “I don’t know, she wont talk to me about it,” James sighed, “I know
she’s hiding something though, she doesn’t look well and there is definitely something going on with her. I just wish she would tell me what it is.”

  “Just find some time and talk things over with her,” said Morelli, “I’m sure there is nothing to worry about.”

  “I know, I just hope she’s Ok,” said James. He wondered what could possibly be up with her at such an important time in the middle of such a vital mission.

  * * * * *

  The moment James had left for Adean on the Mantis flyer, Melina made her way down to the medical bay and to the ship’s medical store room. She wasn’t any kind of expert on the subject but Isha was showing all the signs of being pregnant and she herself seemed to think it was definitely the case. There was only one way to be sure, Isha needed to take a pregnancy test and she would also need some anti-sickness medicine to hide the symptoms and ensure that she could continue to fulfil her duties for the duration of the mission. Eventually, after a few minutes of rummaging around, she found what she needed and crept back out of the store room.

  “Excuse me, miss!” Came a sudden exclamation from behind her as she tried to sneak out, “do you have permission to be going in there?”

  Melina swung around to see the chief medical officer Anastasia Markova stood there behind her, not looking impressed at having caught her sneaking around in a private room

  “Oh this…” she said awkwardly, “. . . I’ve just been feeling under the weather recently thats all, I just needed something to make me feel better.”

  “Oh really?” Markova snapped, grabbing the items from out of her hand, “a pregnancy testing kit and some anti-sickness medication?”

  “Well… I… I think I might be… you know…” “Well thats funny because you don’t look pregnant and you’re in excellent health as far as I can see.”

  She really hadn’t thought of what she might say if she was caught, she had hoped to do this without anyone finding out. It was a difficult position, one she would not easily get herself out of.