Tales of the Federation Reborn 1

by Chris Hechtl

  “But I suppose we can have the backup run sims to get them up to speed, then they can be at the top of their game when they officially start their shift,” the Neoorangutan said.

  “Damn, sir. I wish someone'd thought of that sooner,” Qilaq said with feeling. The Neoorangutan chuffed in amusement.

  The duty of keeping the ship safe and alive helped her get over some of her lingering resentment. The occasional burst of turbulence surprised and set the crew on edge. It also caused a rash of injuries from time to time. Four people were injured just for falling out of their rack. Two tripped and fell at an inopportune moment, and another had a stack of cargo land on them, causing internal injuries.

  Being at the peak performance of their abilities wore down the conn team as the week progressed. When it came time for each to have a day off in turn, they relished it but then dreaded the extra time on shift they had to draw to compensate for those who had the time off.

  On their third week, fatigue was getting the better of them. The captain ordered another drop in speed to allow them time to recover. Even at the slower speed they still had problems. “I'm seeing now why we couldn't do this,” Lieutenant Brock said as he observed Qilaq in the tank. She was a natural, even though she barely tolerated the job. “There is no way a human could handle the course we are on; it is just too much for us to handle. I think it's not just reactions as it is endurance.”

  “I swam a migration just before coming here,” Qilaq said. “And I've outmaneuvered several white sharks once on a stupid dare when I was four,” she said.

  “And you didn't get bit,” the lieutenant said.

  “Not from the shark I didn't. Mom when she found out was a different story,” Qilaq said, making the lieutenant snort. “But I was sore from twisting like that. You have to be on the shark and stay on them. Definitely stay away from the end with the teeth,” Qilaq said. “Some do it as a dare as I said or a rite of passage. You've got to wear them down until they give up and dive. Then you have to keep an eye on the depths to make sure they don't come back to try again.”

  “Sounds like clowning a bull,” the lieutenant said thoughtfully. “Seen it, swore I'd never do it.”

  “And you did?”

  “No. Like I said, I swore and I didn't. I was tempted though.”

  “Sure you were,” the Neo-sea-lion retorted.

  “Like the shark you want to stay away from the sharp end,” the human replied as he plotted the next leg of their course. “And yeah, it's stupid to do it on purpose. But some people do that, they love to laugh in the face of danger.”

  “Yeah. It is thrilling,” the sea lion said in a vague voice as she focused on the job at hand.

  * * * *

  Captain Perth checked the status of his light cruiser Caroline once more, and then his eyes roved the bridge. He was anxious, but he did his best not to show it. It was a bit harder with an ape like he was though. A human would have been able to hide their rising fur.

  Fortunately, the uniform covered most of it. And although the wary tension was still in the air, it was tempered with a realization that their new helm and navigational team could hold their own in the rapids. Tension was a good thing, as long as they didn't get carried away. Worrying and second guessing one's self could cause a mistake as easily as being sloppy would.

  There had been quite a few moments when he hadn't been so sure. The rapids definitely had earned their reputation. Engineering was still struggling to keep up with the damage to the force emitters from overheating and the strain they had been under. Twice they'd had to transit down to lower octaves and even into Gamma band to ease the load on the helm team and engineers. But each time hadn't lasted long; they'd insisted on moving back up as soon as they'd had their breather.

  He knew they all felt the gnawing urge to get the mission done. To know, one way or another if there was anything left in Bek to salvage. Please let there be a piece of good news, he thought and prayed to himself. The Federation needed it.

  Needed it badly, he thought, settling himself. One way or another, they were about to find out.

  “To where no one has gone before … at least in a really long time,” the captain said with a trace of a smile.

  “Apparently so,” his XO First Lieutenant Angie Kalua said with a nod. He turned to her, smiled briefly, and then turned back to the selkie in the tank. The selkie was poetry in motion, moving in the null G field like she was swimming. And as she swam the ship seemed to swim too.

  “Translating down from Delta band octave one to Gamma eight in three … two … one,” the helms-woman intoned, following procedure. Step by step she moved them through the transition down through the octaves and then the bands until they were at the last, first octave of Alpha band. “We are on target for final hyperspace translation on your order,” the helms-woman stated.

  “Make it so,” the captain said with a nod as he sat back. He watched the XO gulp out of the corner of his eye and then settle herself.

  The ride out had been bumpy as hell at first, at least until they'd gotten the hang of it. But they had, and once they were out then it should be smooth sailing through the other jump points. “Translating,” the helms-woman said. She seemed to bend upright, then sail as if she was landing on a beach. Then she flicked fast back and forth as objects too fast to see came flying at them on the plot. Those items were grav shadows, more rapids. The ship shivered, which told the captain that the selkie was pushing her hard. Potentially harder than she had ever been pushed.

  Were some of the rapids micro black holes? Planets? He wasn't sure. Apparently they were going to find out he noted as the selkie went upright again slapping her flippered hands together then spreading them apart slowly. His eyes cut to the main viewer once more.

  On the main view screen, the image of stars flying buy with blue clouds, more of a screen saver than an actual image of hyperspace, switched to the explosion of light and then blackness. After weeks in hyperspace, there was an audible gasp of anticipation from the bridge crew.

  “Debris field ahead!” CIC reported. The ship seemed to twist and dive as a piece of something came flying at the main viewer. One moment it was swelling into focus and the next they were passing under it.

  “That was too close,” Angie said in a shaky voice as all eyes turned to the selkie. She had dived and then twisted, corkscrewing around the debris with an expert hand, or in her case whole sinuous body.

  “There is scattered debris on the exit heading,” the CIC rating said, voice dropping into a more professional tone.

  “Funny, it should have dispersed,” the XO murmured, looking down to check her status board. “No damage reported,” she said, still looking at the screen.

  “Good,” the captain said. “Damn good flying, helm,” he said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Need a break?”

  “I'm good for a little while,” the selkie replied.

  “CIC, what are we looking at?” the captain asked, turning to the sensor rating.

  “CIC here. We've got what looks like the Sargasso Sea, sir. A lot of wrecks. Some pretty big. Their collective mass might be keeping things anchored near the jump zone. Either that or it's something in the rapids messing with us.”

  “Understood. Map it. We're going to have to navigate it carefully in the future,” he stated.

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  “But not too soon I hope,” the XO said. She shivered when she looked at some of the ships on the main viewer. “To have come so far … I wonder how many didn't make it?”

  “No way of telling. We may never know,” the captain said, eying the wrecks. “CIC, try to get images of each for our records.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “You don't think the admiral will want to salvage them, do you?” the XO asked. There was a strangled gasp from the comm rating at that ghoulish idea. “I mean, he's done it before.”

  “He has. Fortunately, we don't need to. I don't see a need here; most of these l
ook like civilian ships,” the captain said. The sensor rating looked up and nodded then turned back to her station.

  “Most likely, if this becomes a regular transit, we'll clear it. Tow the ships off and give them a sun scuttle.”

  “No boarding?” the XO asked.

  “I don't see why. Oh, intel? The intel would be out of date. And the risk …”

  The XO frowned and crossed her arms. “Sir?”

  “Remember that ship in Pyrax? The one the admiral salvaged? It had a Xeno nanite virus on board,” he said. “I don't think anyone wants to open that particular can of worms, ever.”

  “No, sir,” the XO said. “But if I remember right, some good came of that. We gained some experienced people like Captain Vargess, sir,” she reminded him respectfully.

  The captain cocked his head and looked thoughtful. “True. CIC, keep an eye out for energy readings. I bet they've exhausted themselves by now, but keep an eye peeled just the same. We might get lucky.”

  The sensor rating looked up and then nodded. “Aye, sir.”

  “One other thing we got from a derelict that has benefited us greatly or at least one person,” the XO said. “Well, technically three if you get sticky about him,” she said.

  The captain frowned thoughtfully and then nodded. “You're referring to the admiral and his retinue. Right.”

  “Yes, sir. So, any chance we can get to give someone a second chance, I say we see if we can do it.”

  “As long as we don't risk this ship and her crew or the mission for that matter, I'm all for it, number one.” His eyes cut to where CIC had identified a body floating limply. The rating zoomed in. They saw the body tumbling gently. He heard someone suck in a breath while someone else swore. A third rating muttered a brief prayer for the dead.

  “Yes, sir. But I don't think we'll get lucky,” the XO said, staring at the body.

  * * * *

  “Awesome job, Qilaq,” Tyjon said as she came off shift. She was exhausted but nodded at the compliment. “No seriously, you've got the reaction times of a cat!” he said.

  “It's practice,” Kapueo said.

  “Not in her case. Well, I suppose it is; she's been in the tank as well. But still,” the chimera said, shaking his head. “You've got a career of it if you want it. I see why they wanted us.”

  “It's not just reaction time. Some of it is instinct, some of it is just who we are,” Kapueo said. “That ear thing,” he said, waving a flippered hand to his head.

  “It's more than that, but I think I get the drift. Quit buttering me up,” the sea lion growled.

  “Its praise well earned,” Tyjon said. “I've got the shift after next. I think we both should feed up and then hit the rack. I finished the problem the JTO sent us.”

  “I'll look at it later,” Qilaq said, yawning. “I think I'll take you up on the food and sleep. Definitely sleep,” she said tiredly.

  The other two middies nodded in mute support and agreement.

  “Just be glad this part is over,” Kapueo said. “They said this was the hard part,” he said.

  “Don't be so sure, Tyjon said. His partner eyed him. “I went back over the jump into Bek. We have to get through a pretty dense Oort cloud on the last leg. Then we jump out well outside the orbit of all four stars. Then we get to toddle in at sublight speed the rest of the way.”

  “Joy,” Kapueo said. “A long time?”

  “Weeks in sublight.”

  “Double joy,” the chimera said, thoroughly disgusted.

  “As long as it's later,” Qilaq said. She struggled to get to the hatch to go eat and refuel her low blood sugar but gave it up as a wasted effort. Instead she climbed the ladder and settled into her rack. She had to appreciate that it was a water bed. Someone had been thoughtful in arranging it.

  “Thought you were going to go eat?”

  “Later,” she yawned, flipping her light off and shutting the curtain. “Night. Day, whatever,” she said, yawning again as she turned over and went to sleep.

  * * * *

  Carefully they picked their way through the star system. The bridge crew was ever aware of the dangers of running afoul of one of the derelicts at speed but also of running into a hidden mine or stealthed ship. Their slow pace made them take twice as long to get across the star system as they normally could have traveled.

  Along the way to the next jump point CIC cataloged the contents of the star system they were careful of exposure, the captain wouldn't allow any actual boardings by the crew. Instead they used robots to gather up some of the bodies along their flight path and secure them in nearby derelicts or send them on a sun scuttle after documenting them as much as possible.

  Captain Perth ordered the sensor team to identify and map out the location of all the ships.

  Lieutenant Brock wanted to move the ships some distance away from the jump zone, but the captain disagreed. “Save it. For now, we don't have the spare fuel or at least I'm not sure we will. And yes, I know, it only takes a small push. Call me a penny pincher then. I'd rather be safe than sorry. We can always do it on the way back,” Captain Perth observed.

  “Engineering has reported in, sir,” the XO said slowly. “Percy reports they are recovering from the rapids, but it might be an extra day or so before he's comfortable jumping again,” she stated.

  “Good to know,” the captain said, checking the helm team. “It seems others need the same time off,” he said.

  “I'm good, sir,” Tyjon said, getting his breath back. “But it'd be nice not having to do that every day,” he admitted.

  “You say that now. Wait until Falling Leaf gets done making up for lost time as your training officer. You'll be practically begging to run the rapids again,” the XO drawled. That earned a rueful gurgling chuckle from the middy.

  “He laughs now. Wait, just wait,” Brock said ominously. That shut the middy up. After a moment of silence, the Navigator grinned, sparking a soft chuckle at the middy's discomfort and chagrin from the rest of the bridge watch.

  The XO took pity on the middy and turned to the captain. “I'd like to get our toes wet. See what is in Nuevo and if it's even worth going further,” she said.

  The captain eyed her.

  “It's something to consider. The jump to Nuevo is far shorter than the triple jump we've got lined up to get to Bek. And once we're in Bek space, it'll take a week or so to get from the jump point to component A or B,” Brock agreed.

  The captain cocked his head and listened as the bridge crew discussed the decision to go to Nuevo or continue on to Bek.

  Finally, they seemed to wind down. The XO turned an inquiring eye his way. She raised an eyebrow and he snorted. “Our mandate is Bek. It is our primary concern,” he stated.

  “Yes, sir. But Nuevo is right there, sir. It's a long jump but we can get in and out. We can refuel and possibly resupply.”

  “But it's not the primary goal of this mission. It's nice if it is still there,” the captain said.

  “We didn't identify any Xeno wreckage, sir,” the sensor chief reported. She turned to look at the captain with all four of her eyestalks.

  “Not that there ever is any. They use nanites to tear their derelicts apart after a while. They are dangerous according to the records. A major navigational hazard,” the XO reminded Zz'vv, crossing her arms.

  “For a while. Eventually the cosmic and stellar radiation fries them,” the navigational officer replied.

  “Oh.”

  “It's been centuries. It is believed any Xeno derelict nanites have been rendered useless by now,” Brock stated. “Imagine that stuff drifting to an asteroid,” the lieutenant murmured.

  “Or to a planet,” Zz'vv said, shivering and clacking her mandibles in distress.

  “Could nanites survive reentry?” the XO asked, frowning as she turned to the sensor tech. The tech shrugged her upper arms helplessly and then signaled second level unknown. Clearly the concept was outside her knowledge base.

  “I don't think we wa
nt to find out,” the captain said firmly. “We stay on mission. Once we're ready to jump, we jump for Bek.”

  “Aye aye, sir. No detours today,” the XO said with a firm nod of support.

  “On to other things, Sensors, have you gotten anywhere with the images from Nuevo?” the captain asked, turning to the sensor officer.

  “Unfortunately, no. Not as well as we'd like,” CPO Zz'vv said, clearly crestfallen by the lack of a good answer. “We don't have the sensor resolution to pick enough out to get a good read. I can't even tell you if there are still planets in the star system,” the Veraxin reported.

  “So, figuring out the same for Bek in B109 is out?” Angie asked.

  Zz'vv spread her true-hands apart in a human signal of unknown. “Give my people a couple days and the right support from engineering and we can rig a series of radio and image telescopes on masts and direct them at the planet. It'd probably take a couple weeks to process the data and let us know what is there.”

  “But the resolution would be …”

  “Low,” the Veraxin replied. “Sorry, sir, ma'am. I wished we'd thought to bring along a full sensory kit, but we just didn't have the room,” she said sheepishly.

  “I see,” Captain Perth said. “Well, we make do with what we've got then. We'll just have to be surprised like everyone else when we jump in to Bek.”

  “Just not too surprised,” Angie growled.

  * * * *

  Caroline had uneventful jumps through B104 and 109. Each jump they expected but found no more derelict ships. For the crew it was a relief; the sight of the ghost ships unnerved them. Crews tended to be superstitious, seeing a dead ship brought out the dread and desire to be anywhere else.

  CIC reported that there were no ion trails in the star system, none noted in the report for years.

  “If there is any traffic, nothing has passed through in years, most likely a century or more, sir. Neither system has been touched,” the sensor rating reported.

  The captain nodded. “Understood.”

  4

  “And we have transition! We are in Bek space!” the navigator said triumphantly. The bridge watch erupted into cheers.