by S. H. Jucha
Alex trusted and accepted the advice of SADEs, especially those who were free and had lived side by side with humans for years. They shared the priority to protect their comrades, humans and SADEs, while pursuing the enemy.
The four SADEs cut their links to the shadows. Killian eased the scout ship clear of the probe. He waited to close the hatch after he’d launched the vessel from the moon’s surface.
Darius applied maximum acceleration with his grav engines in an effort to get his Trident as fast and as far away from the device as possible.
The blinding light of the probe’s detonation speared out and was faithfully recorded by the OS Prosecutor’s controller.
Killian lost his telemetry view from the Vivian, as the expanding wave of energy shredded the scout ship.
Miriam selected a view of the moon for her broadcast to Mickey’s engineering suite or, rather, she selected a view of what was left of the moon. A wave of rock and dust expanded outward, taking a quarter of the dense moon with it. The mining site had been situated on the far side from the enormous planet, protecting it from the force of the blast.
As the rocky debris expanded outward, Tatia ordered the Trident captains to employ their warships and travelers to pulverize the moon debris to prevent them from becoming navigation hazards.
“Alex, what happened when you went off our common link?” Mickey asked.
“Miriam postulated that the Nua’ll might have designed their probes to differentiate between natural accidents and intelligent investigations. It dawned on me that if the probe’s monitoring system were that sophisticated, it might be trying to determine the optimum time to detonate. When we were operating remotely, the probe might have perceived the unmanned scout ship as an insignificant target. So, it decided to wait. However, when we deserted our investigation, it chose to detonate to take out the observation craft.”
“Just how are we supposed to compete with that level of paranoia?” Katrina asked.
“Stand back and destroy the probes and spheres at a distance. Simple!” Tatia announced.
“Like she said,” Alex said, tossing a hand in Tatia’s direction.
Julien contacted the warship’s controller. He wanted the telemetry data, which would identify the extent of the expanding energy wave. It was greater than projected, but Julien compensated for the effect of the moon’s mass directing the forces outward, away from the gas giant. He transferred the data and calculations to Theodore and various repositories on board the Omnian, New Terran, and Haraken ships.
After a moment of reflection, Alex sent,
An hour after the spectators in the engineering bay had dispersed, Alex received a comm from Bethley.
It didn’t surprise Alex when Killian, who he suspected was listening to the exchange, said,
Killian immediately contacted Julien, the ultimate translator of oblique comments made by Alex.
-12-
Probes
Once Admiral Tripping was made aware of the Nua’ll tendency to seed a probe in every system, he insisted that his flagship, the NT Geoffrey Orlan, be released from duty. He was determined to be the one to locate the probe in the New Terra system, if it existed.
“Are you demanding to be relieved of duty, Admiral, or are you asking permission? By your tone, Admiral, I’m unsure of the nature of your words,” Tatia replied with her ex-major’s parade-command voice. She would have preferred a private conversation with Tripping via her implant, but New Terrans had yet to adopt the technology. To make matters worse, Tripping started the conversation over the Freedom’s bridge speakers.
The bridge crew attempted to appear busy at their consoles, but all ears were focused on Tripping’s response. Both Tatia and Cordelia were carefully recording the conversation.
“Naturally, this is a request, Admiral. If I sounded a little strident, it’s only that I’m worried for my home world and the thought of an alien probe circling the outer system,” Tripping replied, in a conciliatory tone.
Tatia decided it was better not to respond to Cordelia’s comment, not that she disagreed with the SADE. “Admiral, you and your flagship are temporarily relieved from the agreement. If and when a probe is located and destroyed, you’re expected to return your ship to formation.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” Tripping replied. He never considered sending one of the other NT Tridents to New Terra. Now that he possessed the means of identifying a probe’s signal, he intended to be the one to locate it. To his way of thinking, whoever uncovered the alien device would be a hero in the eyes of the planet’s populace, and Tripping fully intended to be that man.
“Admiral Tripping, this is Envoy Maria Gonzalez,” Maria said, stressing her title. She had been in Alex’s suite working with Alex, Julien, Terese, and Gino on the agreement. Alex had set up a call for her in his work study where she could converse privately with the admiral.
“Good day, Maria,” Tripping replied casually.
“Just so you and I have an understanding, Admiral,” Maria said forcefully. “Your controller will soon receive a coded message for President Grumley from me. It will be released the moment you enter New Terran space. It will detail the possible existence of an alien probe in the system, the means to locate it, and the danger of approaching it. It will also inform the president that the Omnians are working on a solution to safely eliminate the probe. If a probe is found, I’m advising the president to wait for the arrival of the Omnian remedy.”
“That’s quite unnecessary, Maria. If I didn’t know better, I would think that you didn’t trust me to be forthright with our president.”
Maria didn’t reply, and Tripping cleared his throat, before he said, “We’ll be breaking formation immediately. If you’re intending to send a message, you’d better hurry.”
Maria ended the comm and smiled. “Idiot,” she murmured. Tripping had tried to pressure her, as if she wasn’t aware that the NT Geoffrey Orlan would cross about two-thirds of the Omnian sy
stem before it exited and transited to New Terra. She had days to compose her message and have Julien program the ship’s controller to broadcast it when the Trident arrived.
“Maria,” Julien said, stepping into the work study. “The Geoffrey Orlan is diving below the ecliptic. Admiral Tripping intends to exit our space within 2.35 hours. Cordelia took the liberty of sharing your communications with me. Considering the admiral’s intention, I’ve composed a message that you would probably wish to send. You have a copy on your reader, if you would like to approve it first.”
“Send it, Julien,” Maria said. As she walked past the SADE to rejoin the discussion in the salon, she gently patted Julien’s cheek, and said, “Don’t think that because you did me this favor that I’m going to let you get the best of me in these negotiations.”
“The probability scored so low that it wasn’t worthy of consideration,” Julien replied with a smile.
“Yes, but you calculated it anyway,” Maria replied.
“I did have the time,” Julien replied, and he sprouted his infamous negotiations cap, the one he wore at Alex’s card games, the open cap with the translucent green visor.
Maria’s hearty laugh echoed from the study, and the heads of those in the salon turned her way. “That’s a good one, Julien,” Maria remarked. “You had the time,” she repeated and laughed again.
As opposed to Tripping’s choice, Terese accepted the loan of an Omnian Trident to search the Haraken system. The message that Captain Darius Gaumata would deliver to the planet’s Assembly Speaker was that he had made the journey at the request of the president. To wit, he was authorized to conduct a survey of the system’s periphery in support of the president’s negotiation with Alex Racine of Omnia Ships. It was anticipated that President Lechaux would be returning to Haraken with a favorable and valuable contract.
It was hoped the latter part of the message would keep the Harakens focused on future prosperity instead of worrying why an Omnian warship was cruising their system.
* * *
Weeks later, Alex, Julien, and Tatia headed for the Freedom’s engineering bay, at Mickey’s request. They discovered the engineer observing his oversized holo-vid display, surrounded by some of his team, including Miriam.
“Mickey, why is this holo-vid constantly getting larger than the one on the bridge?” Tatia asked.
“Always upgrading it, Admiral, and we do have much more space in this bay than on the bridge,” Mickey explained.
“And engineers need to see details,” Alex allowed, although his expression didn’t show that he believed that.
“See, Alex understands,” Mickey said, feeling exonerated.
“What do you have for us, Mickey?” Alex asked.
“As you requested, Alex, it’s your probe destroyer or, as we call it, the banisher,” Mickey replied with a grin.
“Appropriate, Mickey,” Tatia said, chuckling. “We are trying to divest ourselves of alien vermin.”
Revolving in the holo-vid display was an odd-looking craft. It was obviously a shell-type vessel, but it appeared to have a small bulb on one end and a larger protrusion on the other.
“Okay, Mickey, which is the bow, and which is the stern?” Tatia asked.
“This is the stern, Admiral,” Mickey replied, pointing to the end with the greater deformation. This little vessel is only 5.5-meters long, and it’s grav-driven as you can see by its smooth hull.”
“Only a grav drive?” Alex queried.
“We didn’t see the value of both types of engines,” Miriam replied. “Based on the data supplied by Theodore, which is similar to the circumstances of our own probe, the Nua’ll devices inhabit the orbits of the outer planets or asteroid belts. Once our banisher captures a probe, it can accelerate sufficiently to carry the probe safely beyond the system before the power crystals are drained.”
Alex nodded his understanding and acceptance of the logic.
“And just how are you supposed to capture this probe?” Tatia asked.
Mickey’s face split into another huge grin, and Miriam signaled the holo-vid display. The bow of the tiny vessel split into an imitation of the clamshell rear ends of the sting ships and Tridents. In this case, there were no engines.
“We approach the probe from a system inward position, close slowly on it, and grasp it,” Mickey explained, like the proud father introducing his newborn.
“What if the probe detonates on contact?” Tatia asked.
Mickey glanced at Alex, wondering if he hadn’t understood the requirements of Alex’s request.
“We ensure the probe is never within … what, Julien?”
“The original estimate of 10 million kilometers is satisfactory, as long as the probe is not backed by a significant celestial body. In that case, Captain Guamata’s insurance distance of 16.5 million kilometers is preferred.”
“In other words, we wait until the probe is out in the open,” Alex finished.
“What would be your preference, Alex, if the probe is orbiting a gas giant?” Miriam asked.
“When we picked up our probe with the Vivian, it didn’t detonate,” Alex replied. “I’m hoping we can count on that reaction if we scoop up the probe gently with Mickey’s banisher. Speaking of that, Mickey, what if the probe determines that being enclosed is an alien investigation?”
“That’s the beauty of this design, Alex. We don’t enclose the probe. The SADEs postulated that there was a high probability our probe didn’t explode when we captured it because we constructed the Vivian’s external box out of plex-crystal.”
“That’s a stretch, Mickey, to say the clear box didn’t allow the probe to reach a decision between a natural event and an artificial one,” Alex commented.
“If we examine the following events, Alex,” Julien said. “Our probe was damaged, which meant it couldn’t broadcast its data, but obviously it could run its monitoring program. We believe it wasn’t until the shadows’ interventions that the probe’s decision tree was triggered to conclude the event was artificial. After that, it merely waited until an opportune moment. When the Vivian deserted its immediate vicinity, I would imagine the probe’s self-protection program calculated a decreasing opportunity to cause damage, and it detonated.”
“You’re making these probes sound almost as sinister as the sphere,” Tatia commented.
“I would imagine they’re similar in nature, Admiral,” Julien replied. “Miriam’s theories about the probes being a product of a ruthless and technologically superior enemy civilization have done much to reorient the SADEs’ thinking about the Nua’ll, their vessels, and any of their devices.”
Miriam tipped her head in Julien’s direction, appreciating the recognition.
“Back to your concept, Mickey, that we don’t enclose the sphere,” Alex requested.
“Miriam, if you would, please?” Mickey asked. “Everyone, this is a simulation. It’s to scale for the two devices, mind you, of how the process would work.”
The group watched the presentation. The banisher approached the probe. Then it slowed, and the bow’s clamshell doors opened. Gently, the doors closed on the probe, the tips of the doors barely reaching past the point of its circumference. Then the banisher accelerated out past the system’s periphery, disappearing into the dark.
“All well and good, Mickey, but what if the probe never figures out that this is an artificial intervention?” Tatia asked. “I can’t believe I’m talking as if these probes are sentient,” she muttered.
“Admiral, the probes must have some form of artificial intelligence, what is more properly connoted as machine intelligence. It’s calculating probabilities based on input and programming, but sentient it’s not,” Julien said with determination.
“To answer your question,
Admiral, look here,” Mickey replied.
Miriam reset the holo-vid display to the moment when the banisher captured the probe in its clamshell doors. Then the view of the banisher was transformed to an internal view, the shell disappearing. Inside the slender hull could be seen a shaft with a long, thin drill at its tip.
“We wait until the energy from the power crystals falls to 25 percent, as the banisher speeds out beyond the system. If the probe hasn’t detonated, and we’ll be far outside the system by then, we start drilling the probe,” Mickey said, clapping his hands in delight.
“That’ll guarantee to wake up its programming,” Tatia replied.
“And what if its programming is defunct due to the probe’s inoperable state?” Alex asked.
“We keep drilling holes until we hit a power core,” Mickey replied. “Our machine is set to punch through the probe, pull back, move 7 centimeters over, and drill another hole. The SADEs calculate that within a maximum of twenty drill points we’ll rupture the energy source, if it’s still active, which they assure me it probably will be, even if the probe appears inactive for every other condition.”
“Talk to me about our ship’s end of the operation,” Tatia said.
“The banisher is a vessel like any other,” Mickey replied. “It has a small controller, which a SADE or a ship’s officer can direct through the Trident’s controller. Once the banisher is directed toward a probe, which is when you have a safe opening, its programming takes over. You don’t have to do anything else.”
“And transport?” Tatia asked.
“It can land and launch from a bay,” Mickey replied. “The banisher’s controller will follow a simple navigation procedure once the command is given. It’s really self-contained in many ways. Alex said to keep it simple.”
“I like it, Mickey,” Alex said, slapping the engineer heartily on the back.
“The team,” Mickey replied, pointing to Miriam, the engineers, and the techs, “deserves the credit.”
