by Gary Caplan
* * *
In another area, Commander Sharon Taylor’s search group had finished recording some architectural information and was trying to access another information kiosk when several of them felt a chill in the air as a fog began to settle in a section of the hall they were approaching.
“How can proto-matter just appear?” Taylor asked, as she used a portable scanning device about the size of her hand. “There needs to be some kind of matter transfer… What are these waveforms…possibly energy fluctuations?” She turned to one of her junior science officers, a powder-blue-skinned Azurian. “Lieutenant Trell, let’s use our sensors to triangulate and obtain better scans of these energy fluctuations. You go over to the wall; Ensign Lequa, you go down the hall. We will simultaneously coordinate data.”
“Is that fog from temperature changes?” Lieutenant Trell asked. They watched the security officers move farther down the corridor and then turn into the next hall as the fog encircled the security officers’ feet. Moments later, some weapon fire occurred, and they heard one of the security people let out what briefly sounded like a frightened cry.
* * *
Sheppard’s group had reached a more open area. It appeared to be part of the area that Sharon had described before. It was beautifully organized, with multiple levels, a river waterway of some kind, with a series of beautiful waterfalls and what appeared to be a rain forest below. Sheppard was standing at an opening near the wider area. He pulled his communitron device from his belt and set the sensors to send a pulse and detect a reflection. The device came up with a distance measurement indicating that the closest opposite wall in this particular entrance area was probably a small section just over ten kilometers across, and the area expanded outward from there to, according to the scanner, approximately another one hundred kilometers.
“Sir, we scouted the Talcon conveyance. It is on minimal power and stationary,” said Lieutenant Naden, who was from the cat-like Myranarr civilization. “An aperture appeared once we got close enough. It’s over here, Sir.” For some strange reason, it seemed to Sheppard that she might pounce on the bird-like Talcon ambassador. However, upon closer observation, Naden did actually seem concerned for the ambassador’s welfare.
“Now that access has been found, let’s see if we can get this conveyance moving,” Sheppard replied.
“I believe I may be of some help there,” Ambassador Renjir said.
“Perhaps I can work with you in getting the tram conveyance started,” Garfield said.
Renjir nodded. “Yes, I will probably need someone who can also read Talcon languages to initiate the power-up process, since it probably has been deactivated,” Renjir replied.
“The sooner we get to the stasis chambers or some command center, the better,” Sheppard said. The group began to enter the tram, and the marines and security set up a perimeter, while Renjir and Garfield went to activate the train vehicle.
Sheppard’s commlink chimed in, however there seemed to be some initial minor comms interference. “Sir, it’s Commander Taylor. We were under some kind of attack. I have two people down.”
Sheppard activated the viewer function of the device to see as Taylor opened the data stream. Her image projected up and showed her background.
“What is your location?” Sheppard asked, hiding mild anxiety in his voice.
“We traveled the opposite area from where you are now. My group is near the opposite side entrance, about eight kilometers from you.”
“Send the injured marines and officers back to the Phoenix, and maybe it’s better that your whole team go back.”
Another chime alert. “Commodore Sheppard,” Ares said, as her image projected adjacent to Sharon’s. “I have been monitoring comms. I am headed to join your group, Sir.”
“What is your status, Ares?” Sheppard asked.
“Sir, I have a marine down. He was injured by some creature and is unconscious, and one of the patrols sent to scout the area under Lieutenant Phong near the Accad craft has reported back, and they have two crew down. The other marine scout team has not reported back yet. I ordered Orlock to return to the reception area. He will pass close to where the other marine patrol is, and I will have him check for them on the way back to the reception area.”
“Good job, Ares,” Sheppard said. “We have located a conveyance and will take it to the Talcon stasis chambers.”
“How can you continue onward, Sir?” Ares asked.
“Using Star Knight disciplines, Vice Admiral Garfield was able to revive our member who was rendered unconscious, and I think I could as well, although it might take me a little more time,” Sheppard responded.
“My group is still relatively close to the reception area now,” Taylor said over the commlink. “I would like to see the stasis chambers, Sir. It would be fascinating.”
“All right, Commander, be careful getting here,” Sheppard responded.
Ares chimed back. “Sir, the other teams under Commanders Sterling, Andor, and Darani have reported initial attacks resulting in unconsciousness. I have verified that Sterling’s and Andor’s group are on their way to the Phoenix; Commander Darani has sent part of her injured team back with Andor, and she and part of her search team are headed to reinforce your group,” Ares said.
“We might need more than your group as reinforcements, but we may have to split up when the conveyance takes us to the stasis facility, and it’s possible we might need more assistance to awaken enough Talcon to get this facility operational before the Accad or the Varlon come back,” Sheppard said.
“Commander Darani believed as much, Sir. I have one more thing to report, Sir. Lt. Phong’s group found the presence of Varlon nanomachines. Evidently, one of their torpedoes got through a breach in the hull.”
“That is not welcome news,” Sheppard replied. “I will see you when you get here, Ares.” The commlink signal ended as Sheppard deactivated the call.
Several minutes later, the Talcon maglev train powered up. The device rose off the platform slightly and locked into a support rail. It was a blue-gray train conveyance with seven linked compartmentalized areas. It reminded Sheppard of an automated personal tram or the mag-lev he’d commuted on while at Star One. The conveyance was probably secured, since this was a star craft in which the occasional course correction or jump to hyperspace could interfere with a floating ship that did not have some kind of support link, or a guardrail in this case. Sheppard waited for the other teams to arrive. Meanwhile, no further attacks happened to his group.
Ares approached and saluted Commodore Sheppard. “Sir, Lieutenant Phong found Lieutenant Kieta’s group, but they were all unconscious and most seemed physically injured in some way. Phong’s scout group is moving Kieta’s team back to the Phoenix. Commander Darani and part of her group are also joining us as reinforcements.”
“I see, Commander, and you have brought most of your own search team here,” Sheppard replied. “We will wait for the others before leaving.”
Garfield approached. “I have established a power node that will keep this tram running for at least several hours, and I tried to instruct the engineering technician in this group regarding this conveyance’s operations. Also, Renjir has input a course past some normal programmed station stops up ahead that should get us close to the Talcon stasis facility in about twenty minutes.”
“That’s the first bit of good news in a while,” Sheppard said. “And you brought a power node?”
“Yes, Robert, you never know when you might need a spare power source, so I came prepared,” Garfield said. Sheppard smiled, since it was not the first time that his mentor had been more than well prepared.
As Sheppard watched Ares integrate her team with his, Garfield said, “I asked Renjir some questions and, during the course of our conversation, prompted him to remember something. He will tell you about it once he finishes setting the destination.”
Sheppard looked around and discovered that Sharon was headed toward him and had brough
t part of her team with her. He and Sharon had gone on a few dates to get to know one another after their shared activities, and events during the battle on QB7 brought them closer. Fortunately, she was not in his department, so he was not responsible for her performance evaluations. Actually, Andor was her immediate rater, and another chief scientist, such as Captain Marjent, who was part of Task Force One, or Vice Admiral Garfield, could be Commander Taylor’s senior rating officer for her science duty performance.
After organizing some data, Taylor approached. “Robert, I and some of my team made detailed scans of the area where we were attacked.” She showed him her team’s scans on her commlink pad.
“This is interesting. You found some kind of transmat pad or matter conversion unit under the floor plates,” Sheppard said. He noticed out of his peripheral vision that Commander Darani’s group had arrived. She moved to stand near the other senior staff.
“Yes, it is some kind of matter transference and conversion technology,” Sharon said.
“I detected the presence of the energy waves not long ago,” Garfield said. “Did you look for an actuator pad or transference equipment under the floor covering?”
“No, Sir, we were attacked and then retreated,” Taylor said. “I did not have enough time.”
“I would advise looking for more transference equipment,” Sharon said. “Perhaps we can devise a way to block what appears to be some type of automated Talcon security.” Sheppard’s eyebrow rose, and he looked as if he might ask a question, when Ambassador Renjir came over to where Sheppard, Ares, Garfield, and Sharon were standing near the train’s closer open entrance.
“I have explained to Lieutenant Naden the basic operations of stopping and starting,” Renjir said.
“Excellent. That means we can be underway,” Sheppard said. “Lieutenant Naden, start this conveyance.” Everyone then boarded, moving farther into the train.
Naden began the activation sequence and set a safe movement speed. The conveyance lights powered up, and it began to move forward, gliding along the cylindrical support rails. Renjir stood near Sheppard and the senior officers.
“I have been thinking, Commodore,” Renjir said. “As you know, my people have come to trust artificial intelligence more that your Alliance of Worlds does. I just wanted to express that I have heard of defensive computer measures like those the search teams have been experiencing, resulting in unconsciousness or injury to the invader. They have been used on the large transports and other prolonged travel ships such as this type of Star City. However, I am not directly familiar with them.”
“Now I think I have a better idea of what we have been up against,” Sheppard said.
The Talcon conveyance moved forward, and after several kilometers, Sheppard and the others could see that the area inside was used as farmland and had fully grown plants and what were probably native trees. It was a grand view; there even seemed to be huge platforms of some kind anchored to the walls or supported by poles. Sheppard watched as the people dispersed into the other traveling compartments of the train to get better views. Sharon joined him, and both walked the length of the seven compartments, which were each over twenty meters long and six meters wide. The entrance/exit area between the compartments was a pressure-sealed double door that automatically retracted when touch activated. There was no exit between the attached compartments, and there was one main exit and entrance in each car.
Sheppard’s commlink chimed as he was walking back toward where Garfield and Lyra Darani were observing out the viewing window. The identity was revealed as Fleet Captain Wilder on his communitron’s screen, although there seemed to be some mild interference in the transmission. “Sir, after looking at the initial reports from the search teams, Commander Andor and I came to the conclusion that the farther the search teams got from the reception area, the more likely the search party was to be attacked, and the more serious the attack,” Wilder said.
“That makes sense,” Sheppard said, as he stood next to Darani and Garfield.
“The group of marines under Lieutenant Kieta evidently came close to a Talcon security station,” Wilder continued. “As I’m sure Ares informed you, they were all rendered unconscious and injured. However, they did find out while exploring the security station that the Star City appeared to be stalled somehow and is waiting to get to a pre-planned hyperspace exit before powering up all systems and waking the passengers and crew.”
“I see, it’s what should have happened if the Accad and Varlon had not used some technology to bring the Star City out of its plotted hyperspace course,” Sharon said, listening.
Renjir overheard the conversation, as well. “I think it is likely that the controls that will awaken the Talcon are waiting for the Star City to reach a particular distance point for reanimation.”
“I would agree with Ambassador Renjir; the Talcon probably did not anticipate that there would be Accad here to attack them when they planned their journey. However, with the degree of sophistication of the Talcon’s technology, I believe some important systems may have been damaged during the battle,” Garfield added.
“The Accadian antimatter weapon opened a breach in this world ship’s hull; it could have damaged one of the security or even engineering centers,” Darani said.
“By itself, their anti particle weapon caused significant damage,” Garfield responded, “but I think that weapon provided a deeper entrance, and one or more of the Varlon nanomachines containing torpedoes is responsible for the present problems.”
Sheppard nodded. “That makes sense. The Varlon nanomachines will try to co-opt or sabotage the technology, although I’m guessing it will take them longer here than with our systems.”
Garfield motioned Sheppard over to an area looking out across the interior of the Star City. Sheppard silenced his commlink temporarily, as he sensed that Garfield had something important to share with him. Sharon followed him, and Garfield motioned for them to sit down, Sharon sat in the seat opposite from Garfield, while Sheppard sat adjacent. “Robert, combining my telepathic disciplines with sensor readings from my multiscanner, I sensed many of these pockets of open spaces with farming or rainforest zones within the hull, and there are Accad in one relatively nearby.”
“We are not that close to them, then?” Sheppard asked.
“No, we are not, but in about fifteen minutes, once this conveyance passes through a certain hull section, we will be.” Sheppard nodded, and Garfield went on. “I have ascertained through telepathy that the Accad are trying to locate a critical area, such as a power generation facility, to plant explosives or otherwise sabotage the Star City.”
“They are probably also being affected by the Talcon’s internal defense system,” Sharon added.
“Yes, that is correct,” Garfield said. “The Zeloc reports to me that other Accadian ships are on the way. If the Talcon can get the Star City operational, then the Accad will retreat, as this Star City has a very large starship armada.”
“How far away are the Accad?” Sheppard asked, as he noted Ares approaching.
“Just over two days away,” Garfield replied. “I don’t particularly like to do this, but I will use my telepathic and other psionic abilities to mind influence some Accad to look for technical information before they attempt sabotage, as that will effectively delay them.”
“You can do that, Sir?” Ares asked as she stopped.
“With a bit of time, yes, even at our present distance,” Garfield replied.
“I don’t like influencing others this way, but it’s a more gentle approach, and without awakened Talcon to actively confront them I will have to do something to improve our circumstances.”
“Star Knights have some interesting abilities. I am still working on basic mind influence,” Sheppard said. “I agree; delay them. We need as much time as we can get.” Garfield nodded and then seemed to be focusing on some point in the distance.
“Sir,” Ares said to Commodore Sheppard, “Dr. Grey has a medical
report. He gave one to Captain Wilder, and as Fleet Medical Officer, Grey wanted you to know.”
Sheppard nodded and opened his commlink to Doctor Grey. “I was informed that you have a report, Doctor,” Sheppard said.
“Yes, I have some information I thought you should have,” Grey said. “I and the medical staff were able to wake the unconscious personnel. They all relayed having been frightened. The chemical analysis also indicates an initial short-term increase in epinephrine. After some questioning, it seems that somehow their own fears were being used against them. It was as if something was creating nightmare creatures from their subconscious ID and using haunted-house-like environments to cause the necessary shock to render those people unconscious.”
“That adds another piece to solve the puzzle. Thank you, Doctor,” Sheppard said, as he took on a more thoughtful look while ending the commlink.
“So, this Talcon defense computer system uses some form of mind scan and creates nightmare ID creatures complete with tentacles and other visual and auditory effects,” Sharon said as she looked at Sheppard, “using a transmat interface and likely some other unusual technology—perhaps not unlike the recreation deck’s holographic emitters.”
Ares nodded. She had somehow obtained a new uniform top and looked her usual professional self. “Hum, at first, a scare tactic was used by the internal defense computer; then, as we approached more critical structures, the violence and injury potential increased.”
Meanwhile, as the conveyance entered a tunnel, there were sparks and strange sounds. Then Sheppard heard weapons fire in the distance, likely two or three compartments forward. He got up and moved rapidly. Ares was just in front of him, quickly drawing her weapon in a fluid motion.
