Running With Argentine

by William Lee Gordon

  “Can we change the subject?”

  When Sami didn’t say anything, she continued…

  “I actually have a gift for you… sort of.”

  That got her attention…

  Mandi laughed.

  “Well, it’s a gift if you like puzzles?”

  When Sami smiled, she continued…

  “Let me tell you a story…”

  “237 years ago a ship traveled into this sector. No one knows where it came from, but it must have traveled farther than anyone we’ve ever encountered - before or since.”

  “Why do you say that?” Sami asked.

  “The language and customs were different - everything you’d expect from a foreign traveler… but what really made everyone sit up and take notice was the technology. It was off the grid.”

  “So they came from up spiral,” Sami surmised.

  “Probably,” Mandi agreed. “But one of the many rumors surrounding the ship says it came from across the void - from a different spiral arm altogether.”

  “Really? Is that even possible?”

  “Probably not with the technology we have but, who knows?”

  “What was its mission?”

  Mandi shrugged.

  “All I’ve ever heard are guesses. Some people say it was a survey ship and others say it was a scout ship looking for a planet to colonize. I don’t think anyone really knows…

  “Anyway, the Asperian sphere of influence wasn’t as settled as it is today. Some of our more established worlds now were just being colonized then. There was a lot of mutual trade but no formal agreements - certainly no organized military.

  “So what’s the mystery?”

  “I’m getting to that, but first you need to understand that it was a unique time. There were a lot of opposing factions from many different planets that were trying to enforce their concept of order.

  “Interstellar trading vessels traveled in convoys for mutual protection and even then were subject to attack from pirates or privateers…”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Well, generally speaking the pirates were just rogue ships out for their own profit. Privateers were actually sponsored by certain planetary governments and charged with disrupting trade and creating general havoc.”

  “So it was every planet for themselves back then?”

  “That’s what the histories say, although from what I gather most ‘planetary governments’ were really just the leaders of the largest colonies on what were mostly unsettled worlds.

  “The point is, this whole sector was basically on the brink of war.”

  “Ok,” said Sami thoughtfully. “I would think that a lot of interstellar regions started out the same way. I’m guessing that the powers that eventually became Asperia made friends with the high tech ship and was able to bring everyone together under their authority… I’m still not understanding what the puzzle is?”

  “No, that’s not the way it happened,” corrected Mandi. “As a matter of fact, it was just the opposite.

  “You’re right that everyone wanted the power that ship represented. Most factions were diplomatic, but when the newcomers expressed no interest in being anything but neutral, some became aggressive.

  “One group managed to kidnap the captain and several dozen of the ship’s officers while they were planetside.”

  “Several dozen? How big was the ship?”

  “Mmm, yeah. I guess I haven’t mentioned that yet… The ship was huge. They say it carried at least three thousand people.”

  Sami just blinked a few times. Eventually she said under her breath, “Wow.”

  Mandi let that sink in and then continued…

  “Now the faction that was holding the officers ordered the rest of the crew to abandon the ship. Once they were all gathered on the planet below, the kidnappers re-boarded with the original hostages and left orbit.”

  “Where did they go?” Sami asked?

  “I’ll get to that in a minute, but first you need to understand what happened with the rest of the crew…”

  Mandi paused until she was sure she had Sami’s full attention.

  “All of the other factions were livid. The knowledge that those crewmembers held in their heads could theoretically shape empires. No one was going to allow the Picantees (they were from Picante Prime) to have access to all that knowledge by themselves. Everyone threatened to come after them unless they shared.

  But the Picantees weren’t the sharing type, so to prevent any rescue they divided the crew up into several groups…”

  “How many?” Sami interrupted.

  “Probably three, but your guess is as good as mine as to how accurate that is. Anyway, two of the groups were lost when the ships they were on were destroyed. Supposedly there were no survivors.

  “The third and largest of the three groups was slaughtered by their captors during an ill-fated rescue attempt. Again, all the hostages were reported lost.”

  “You don’t sound like you believe that.”

  “We know better. Today, it’s pretty much accepted by everybody that some of the crew did survive. There’s really no other good explanation for some of the advanced technology that’s popped up over the last couple of centuries.”

  Sami started to say something but then paused to think…

  “What kind of technology?

  Now it was Mandi’s turn to sigh… “Take your pick. There have been all kinds of advances in a number of different areas. It’s also hard to know what is real or just rumor. For example, there are some that say the ship held the knowledge of how to create Artificial Intelligence… but we haven’t seen any evidence of it.

  “On the other hand, the planet Domingo Two has been perfecting their robotics sciences suspiciously fast, and then there’s Trinity…”

  “Trinity? The planet we’re headed to?”

  “Yeah. They lost a war a few decades ago because they wouldn’t restrict their genetic manipulations.”

  “I don’t understand?” Sami said.

  “They weren’t just modifying the genome to prevent disease. They weren’t even satisfied with biological enhancement… They were creating whole new subclasses of humans that could be used as slaves, and… worse.”

  “And this is where we’re going?”

  Mandi let out a deep breath and said, “Yeah, but don’t worry. No one wants to stay there any longer than we have to. We’ll drop the professor off and then head to Paladin III so you can unload your cargo and get paid.”

  “So all these technologies, you don’t think they’re natural discoveries?”

  Mandi looked her in the eye…

  “Sami, even 200 years later we can’t come close to duplicating them. You have no idea how advanced those people were.”

  “And they left no clue as to where they were from?”

  “The only clue we have is the name of their ship… the T.L.S. Roosevelt.

  “What does that mean?”

  “No one knows… Where the Terran League Ship Roosevelt originated is a total mystery.”

  ΔΔΔ

  “But that’s not the mystery you wanted to talk to me about…”

  “Look at you, girl! How very perceptive of you… So have you figured out what the real mystery is?”

  “I think so,” Sami said with a huge grin on her face. “I want to know where that ship went!”

  Mandi laughed…

  “You and everyone in this sector.”

  “So, what happened?”

  “That’s just it; nothing happened. When the ship broke orbit with its handful of hostage officers it was never heard from again.”

  “So, you think it went back to where it came from?”

  “No, I don’t. There were a ton of rumors, of course; some of them are still floating around 200 years later. What I believe, though, is that the ship is still out there. I have reason to think it’s probably adrift - it’s just that no one knows where.”

  “Haven’t pe
ople looked?”

  “Of course they have,” she responded. “But that ship carried advanced skip motors and, I’m assuming, the type of advanced sensors and computers that would make an astrogator like you drool… You also have to remember that most people only have a general idea of what vector the ship broke orbit on.

  “Think about it, Sami. A ship like that still out there… just waiting for someone to find it.”

  “You want me to try and calculate where it might be?” she asked.

  “Sami, you’re one of the most skilled astrogators I’ve ever met. If anyone would have a shot at it I think it would be you!”

  After a moment, Sami said…

  “With only a general idea of the ship’s vector, I don’t know…”

  “Uhm, I might be able to help you out with that…”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Vetting A Savior

  Earth 2344 A.D.

  "Captain Jaime Ramires, eighteen years of service to the Terran league… Two Gold Stars and one Distinguished Navy Cross for valor… That's a distinguished record for a young man, especially since the Terran League hasn't been at war for over a century," Admiral Sanchez summed up.

  The Captain stood in front of the admiral's desk on the orbital platform Perseus. He kept his eyes forward and a stoic expression on his face.

  After a moment, the admiral said, "Have a seat, Captain. You've been in charge of the Ecuador for how long now?"

  "Sir, I was appointed as Captain of the T.L.S. Ecuador one year and seven months ago," he responded casually.

  "And according to all reports you've performed admirably. Is there anything not in the reports? Anything I should know about… In your professional or personal life?"

  "No, sir. I can't think of anything to add."

  "Then you need to explain to me why you volunteered for project Hermes…"

  The Admiral watched Captain Ramires nod to himself. He must've suspected this was the reason he'd been called in for an interview.

  "The mission seems challenging, Admiral. I'm looking for a challenge."

  "Explain to me just what your understanding of the mission is."

  The captain visibly gathered his thoughts and then spoke…

  "A completely self-sufficient ship will be built for a generational mission. Our purpose will be an ongoing survey up the spiral arm towards the galactic center.

  "Relay stations will be manufactured on board and periodically deployed to help facilitate our survey information getting back to Earth."

  The Admiral thought for a moment, slowly swiveling back-and-forth in his seat...

  "Do you have any questions about the mission?"

  "Tons! Where do you want me to start?"

  Captain Ramires wasn't sure if it was a grin or a grimace that briefly flickered across the Admiral's face…

  "Let me rephrase, are there any questions that might be pertinent to your decision to volunteer?"

  Now it was the captain's turn to pause for a moment…

  "With all respect, Sir. There is one… Why are we traveling up spiral? Has something been detected?"

  The admiral stopped casually swiveling his chair and leaned forward. Aloud to the room he said, "Computer, send Major Jacoby in."

  A side door immediately opened and a major walked in and took the seat motioned to buy the Admiral.

  "Major, I've made my decision. Say hello to the new Captain of the T.L.S. Roosevelt."

  The major reached out his hand and said, "Congratulations, Captain."

  "Thank you, Major. And thank you, Admiral."

  "Okay, now that that's over with… Captain, I need you to understand something. From this point onward you are going to be intimately involved with the construction of the Roosevelt and the vetting and choosing of her crew. However, what we are about to tell you carries a higher classification than you've ever heard of.

  "The story you've been told about exploring up spiral is just that, a story – a cover. You're going to have to carry the secret of the Roosevelt's true mission with you for the next twenty-eight months. With only a very few exceptions, the crew that you’re recruiting and training can never know the true mission until you've left known space… Can you do that?"

  The Admiral liked the fact that the Captain didn't respond immediately...

  "Yes, Admiral. I can."

  "Okay, Major. Let's brief the Captain in…"

  ΔΔΔ

  Several hours later, he took his leave. Major Jacoby looked back to the Admiral…

  "You didn't tell him…"

  "No, I thought it important not to."

  "With all respect, Sir. Do you really think it's wise to withhold important information like that?"

  Major Jacoby was the Admiral's closest confidant. What they had seen together… What they were both privy to… It was a bond that allowed for such unusual familiarity…

  "The consequences of such a… complication… might be catastrophic. I have decided not to take the chance, the admiral explained."

  Captain Ramires left the office that day having no idea that the Admiral had had no choice but to give him command of the mission.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Unexpected problems

  En Route to Trinity

  Suddenly the lights went out and everything went quiet.

  Not the quiet of a lone watch on the bridge and not the quiet that the crew was used to falling asleep to at night.

  The Pelican was suddenly, and totally, devoid of sound. No soft whisper of air through the ventilation system, no muffled clatter of distant pumps, and most distinctly… no steady hum from the Dreamspace motor.

  Sami was out of her cabin and into the corridor like a shot. Mandi more sensed her brushing past than saw her.

  The quiet and darkness only lasted for a few moments, but Mandi gasped in relief when the emergency lights came on. To say that there was enough lighting to see clearly would be a joke; but at least the ‘lit’ areas were slightly less dark than the shadows.

  The ship was quickly filling with shouts and curses…

  “Who in bloody hell designs a ship so that you have to trip over everything when the lights go out!”

  “Is everyone ok? Sami? Where’s Sami? Oh…”

  “Jeez Lieutenant, I didn’t even see you there…”

  Mandi walked onto the bridge right after Argentine…

  “We’ve made an emergency exit from Dreamspace,” he said.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” said Barry while limping around his station in obvious pain. “But why did all the power go out?”

  “That’s what happens when you make an emergency exit.”

  “No it’s not! At least not on any ship that’s been built in the last 200 years. Don’t we have an energy field dampener on this ship?”

  “Yes, of course we do… but you can’t just dump all our electricity into it at once! It could never handle that…”

  “Are you having a laugh? Are you telling me this buggered ship isn’t even capable of that? You’re all insane - and I’m just as barmy for crewing with you!”

  It was hard to tell, but in the dim light Mandi thought Argentine was looking her way…

  “Don’t look at me! I’ve never been on a ship that couldn’t handle an emergency energy dump.”

  Argentine closed his eyes and then hit the intercom activation switch. Of course, it didn’t work…

  Lost in history was the discovery of Dreamspace and the invention of the Dreamspace Motor. What everyone did know, however, was that mankind came very close to not using it.

  In those very early attempts, test vessels could enter Dreamspace just fine… but they blew up on exit. Every. Single. Time.

  Eventually, some theoretician realized that at the precise moment of reentry into our normal universe the mass and energy of a ship went to infinity - at least that’s what the mathematical equations showed.

  Through a bunch of brilliant brainwork (and probably a lot of trial and error) they disco
vered that the mass wasn’t a problem; it was actually happening between the two universes when the ship technically didn’t exist. The energy, however, was a different story.