But this only applied to its interior. Outside, the Neutron had the same, gold looking, sleek form that Andromeda had. Its power rating, however, was double that of the Andromeda.
It also had the very latest Skippa Sublight drive. He could only just feel the pulse effect as the Skippa drive produced a series of tiny depressions in Space-Time. Then moved across each, in a fluid, sliding motion.
Yes, far better indeed. A virtually instantaneous and smooth Sublight drive, Sherman thought to himself.
There were only five crew members on this ship. Himself, Science Officer Bob Barlow and his Comms man, Ben Tomic, Plus Tom and Stewart, who were the ships technicians.
However, he didn’t come in contact with Tom and Stewart, very often. They kept to themselves and spent most of their time in a large tech lab, situated in the center of the ship.
Their job was to monitor and test new innovations in the warp mechanics and stealth and force field technologies that were employed in this new vessel.
All three Federation officers, including himself, were similar in build, height and age. But that’s where the similarities ended.
Both he and Tomic had almost black hair and similar brown colored eyes. But, Barlow had longish ginger hair and blue-grey eyes that seemed too close together. Sherman thought Barlow wore his hair, far too long, for his liking. But then, there wasn’t any rule that said a person had to keep it short, and Barlow liked it. So, it wasn’t his place to remark on another’s likes.
Thinking on, he decided that he was pleased that he and the other two officers had been picked for this dangerous assignment. All of them were brilliant scientists in their own right, and willing to risk all in testing this experimental prototype.
Captain Sherman suddenly felt uneasy. He remembered reading or hearing something about a survival pod, or capsule that had been found when the Dpav4’s founders were starting to construct their cities, back in 2169. And, that the object had disintegrated, or something like that. Then, when he’d visited the City Marca’s records department on an earlier occasion. He vaguely remembered noticing a single reference to an episode involving something, like a flash.
So he decided to tap into a link to City Marca’s records department on Dpav4. At least, this was something useful that he could do while they waited for the Argonaut. It was possible that the Pavonisens just might have some extra information on the subject by now.
A minute or so later, Marca’s central records department responded, asking him to enter his request on the electronic form attached to the reply, and they would immediately search for the information.
“H’mm, they’re efficient,” he muttered to himself. Completed the request form, and sent it.
He knew roughly when the Acarea had crash-landed on what was now called Dpav4. The Solverons had a pretty decent record of the landing. Plus, there was a reference to it by the DPav4 founders.
He also knew the Solverons had helped the survivors after the ship had crash-landed. Then kept an eye on them over the years. There were also references to some dubious encounters afterwards.
He hadn’t thought any more about this reference to a flash, until now. But it was an episode that had been documented by the founders themselves. So it must be worth the effort for him to try to verify what it referred to, if that was at all possible, he decided.
Of course, the Pavonisens probably wouldn’t know anything about it. Which was strange really, he thought. But then, until a few years ago the Pavonisens weren’t aware of their origins and even thought the memory core was taboo.
In fact, very few of them seemed to know anything at all about their past, even now. And the ones that did only knew that they were descendants of the settlers from the old Starship Acarea. And, what was worse, they only knew this because Andromeda’s crew had been able to tell them.
It was even harder to find anyone that had acknowledged the statue in the square on the outskirts of City Marca, depicted the Starship Acarea’s Captain and his wife.
That fact alone should have made it clear to them from the beginning that the ship’s crew and its settlers were their Founders.
Sherman’s comms beeped as a message came in for him. He studied the reply.
Message to Captain Sherman: from CO Forbs: Control Archive Centre: City Marca: 15:00, planet time.
Re your enquiry relating to object found during excavation.
Insert reads:
The object unearthed at the excavation site by Acarea’s earth mover was ovoid in shape. The workers unintentionally knocked into it. Then it rose into the sky. Paused, for a moment, as if it was taking bearings. Then bathed them all in a greenish light for a split second.
The light, having been emitted from the object, convinced them that it had scanned them.
A couple of seconds later, they reported seeing what looked like a black curving slit-like shape, appear in the lower atmosphere. The extreme end of the curve seemed to catch the edge of the object, which caused it to sparkle.
They kept watching, and to their astonishment, the object started falling apart. Then came a flash, as the object vaporised in the atmosphere.
The black ribbon then drifted on across the sky and away from them.
For the record. At one end, part of the Ribbon seemed misty.
End of the insert.
Captain. This is the only information that we have on the subject, and was extracted from the Acarea’s memory core. Should you wish to talk personally to me?
Call: 2367198 Forbs.
By now, Sherman had realized that the black ribbon sounded like the rift they had witnessed earlier, which was where they believed this object had come out of.
To hear that this was also connected to the flash was even better.
He turned to Science Officer Barlow. “Barlow, that rift, or ribbon, whatever it’s called. Did it register any other properties on our sensors?”
“Nothing, Captain. The problem was that it didn’t emit any data that we could use, and it was hard to see against a black background…. In fact, if the object hadn’t popped out, we would never have noticed it.”
“True, but did you manage to measure the rift’s forward temporal displacement?”
“Yes, but only because we could also measure a Temporal Dive at the other end,” Barlow replied, sounding pretty pleased with himself.
“So, that dive must have been linked to somewhere else,” Sherman replied. “And, to some other time…,” he added.
Sherman then looked at the ship’s clock.
“OK. Still five hours to go before the Argonaut gets here. Might as well have a kip.”
“Any change, Captain, and I’ll call you.”
“Thanks, Barlow,” he replied as he left to go to his cabin.
Sherman woke with plenty of time to prepare for the Argonaut’s arrival. He hurried back to the control room, eager to get on with it. As he walked in, he asked Barlow if the object was still outside.
“Yes, Sir. Nothing’s changed.”
“Excellent.”
Ten minutes later, a wormhole opened, and the Argonaut emerged, coming to a halt, ten thousand meters from the Cruiser Neutron.
The Argonaut was gold in color and nearly twice the size of the Neutron. She was blunter at each end, and her outer hull was covered with extra-large Force-field emitters. Although she was primarily a science vessel, she looked impressive and carried a hefty punch.
“Tom, open the communications link to Captain Serrell.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Within seconds, the link was established.
“Nice to see you Captain Serrell,” Sherman said, trying to get his greeting in first.
“And you, Sherman. Please, call me Hector,” Serrell replied.
“Fine, and you can call me Chris.”
“OK. I assume that’s the offending item, four kilometers out. Yes?”
“Correct.”
“Right, Copy all the information on the Rift to my ship. And, include
the details on when and how the object first appeared.
“Will do.”
“Do you have anything else, Chris? Any thoughts on the matter?” Hector asked.
“Well…,” Chris said and paused wondering whether he should tell Hector about his suspicions. Then decided it would be good to have someone else’s views on the subject, so continued.
“It’s just something I recollected learning from a brief visit to City Marca’s records library, quite some time ago. I didn’t think much about it at the time.
I remember reading about an incident that occurred shortly after the Acarea crash-landed on the planet. When the Acarea’s men were excavating the site for their underground complex.
As I said. At the time, I didn’t think much about it, until this incident. So, now, with chummy out there, my curiosity got the better of me, and I managed to get City Marca to search their old records.”
“And, do you have some extra information?”
“Yes. I think it’s relevant, so I’ll attach it to the rest of the information. It’ll be interesting to see what you make of it, Hector,” he finished. Then ordered Tom to send the data.
“On it.”
Hector called back a few minutes later. “Good work, Chris. My special Drones will investigate, then carry out a risk assessment of the object, before we bring it in.”
“A wise move, Hector. We’ll wait for your report before we leave. Unless you need us to stay longer?”
“Yes. Stay please.”
“Ok, Hector.”
All three officers on the Neutron watched their main screen, as the two drones left the Argonaut and headed out towards the object.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t explode when they get close,” Barlow remarked, feeling a little uneasy.
Chapter 10
Pathfinder, away
Garoden Star Base - Fourteen hundred light-years away
Verify the Fleet status, Viceroy mentally ordered his companion brain. Then waited patiently while his Companion rolled patterns and symbols continuously through his mind. With the Companion, occasionally pausing the symbols, as it bye-passed several security blocks. Until finally, it had completed its status reading on all of the Star-Destroyers in Viceroy Verice’s fleet of ships.
Eight Star-Destroyers ready for action, the companion brain informed Verice’s mind.
And what about the automatic Pathfinder ship? Verice mentally prodded.
The Pathfinder has reached the jump coordinates. May I enlighten the other Companions on board our ship?
Yes, he sent back, and within seconds, Griken and Cratic’s Companions had received the update.
The Automatic Pathfinder ship didn’t actually live up to its name. As, with two Garoden crew members aboard, it wasn’t completely automatic. Nevertheless, it was deemed to be automatic because the crew’s companion brains controlled everything, right down to the ship’s force field and limited complement of weapons.
The Pathfinder, being more of a communications and survey vessel, was also much smaller than the Star-Destroyers. But, it could only Jump one hundred light-years at a time, thus limiting the Jump distance of the Star-Destroyers.
However, once it arrived at its jump destination, it was able to check the predetermined exit area, then signal back to the main body of ships whether or not it was safe for them to jump. Before reassessing, then jumping to another location if it wasn’t.
It also had a far superior Hyper-Link communications system than the other ships. While it’s Force-fields gave excellent protection. Even so Viceroy Verice considered that its weapons system was sadly lacking.
Verice was happier now. Knowing that, in less than two sub-periods, or days, the obligatory Pathfinder ship would make its first jump, paving the way for the rest of his fleet to follow.
That will be a glorious moment, he thought to himself. Then informed his science officer that he was going to his pod. And, having mentally pictured it in his mind, was instantly there.
Even though Verice was in his pod, he was still able to continuously monitor the bridge via his Companion brain, which only obeyed direct mental instructions from him. While the everyday running of the bridge was left to Griken.
It felt good to be on his own and to be able to simply relax knowing that Griken had everything in hand, and would inform him when the Pathfinder ship was ready to leave.
For some reason, he felt exhausted. But he knew that it was really his Bio parts that were complaining of tiredness. So he lay back and fell asleep.
A mental request woke him, as it formed in his mind.
Yes, Officer Griken. What is it?
The Pathfinder ship is about to leave, Excellency.
Now he was wide awake. Bridge, he thought. And was instantly back on the bridge and standing next to his science officer.
Directly in front of them, the large Holo screen was displaying the Pathfinder ship, which was poised, ready to jump. While, a digital timer, shown in the corner of the screen, was counting down to zero.
As it reached zero, a large swirling ring gradually appeared in front of the Pathfinder ship. The ring was whitish in color and had a jet-black center. The wormhole had formed.
The Pathfinder ship remained still for a moment. Then slid forward, and was gone in the blink of an eye.
“Wait three periods Griken. Then, if we receive the Follow On signal, we’ll go,” he said, speaking out loud.
“It will be a joyous occasion, Excellency,” Cratic remarked.
“Yes, Indeed,” Verice agreed, but paused a moment while he pondered the situation.
“Griken, are you sure the temporal divergence and the projected time correction we need are both still valid?”
“Absolutely, Excellency.”
Then Verice’s Companion suddenly became active. ‘Garoden’s Supreme Excellency Kranvar will be calling you in one minute.’
Sure enough, his call came through.
“Just called to wish all of you good hunting, Verice,” he said, ignoring Verice’s title.
“Make sure you bring all our ships back in one piece if you and your companion want to continue to exist,” he warned.
That annoyed Viceroy Verice. After all, he was doing his bit for the continuance of the Garoden race.
“Terminate the connection Cratic,” he angrily ordered. Fuming at Kranvar’s statement, and the fact that he hadn’t used his title.
“Most Senate members have never done anything useful in their entire lives. Yet, they sit there and judge me as if they were Gods.” Verice muttered, more to his Companion than to anyone else.
“Three periods, Griken,” he ordered. “No more, then we’ll be out of here.”
“Not a moment too soon, Excellency,” Griken agreed.
A short time later, Verice had calmed down somewhat. “I’m going to see Captain Strung,” he told Griken.
“Very well, Excellency.”
Viceroy Verice pictured the bridge of Star-Destroyer Z185 in his mind and instantly teleported onto it. Finding himself beside his friend, who was next in ranking to him.
“Hello, Verice,” Strung greeted him, patting him on the back in a friendly gesture.
“Are you looking forward to the first jump, Strung?”
“Yes, your Excellency. We all are.”
“Everything’s been so boringly organized these last few cycles, Strung. With new ships coming off the production line one after another, and with nothing worthwhile for them to do, until now.”
“Yes, but let’s be thankful that something is happening at last.”
Both looked out through the bridge’s windows, which were totally transparent now their blast shields were down. Verice could see his Star-Destroyers, just sitting there, waiting for the signal from the Pathfinder’s beacon.
“An incredible sight,” Strung remarked.
“It is indeed,” Verice agreed, as he continued watching.
The Star-Destroyers, waiting in line, appeared as elongated bluish
-purple splashes of color with lighter streaks drifting across their individual hulls. He could see the bulbous shaped rear ends of the closest ships. These held the ship’s warp drive system. While several raised and elongated sections were set at regular intervals along the main hull. Each of them bristling with weapons and force field emitters.
Deep inside the ship, their primary weapons storage and preparation area carried an array of sophisticated missiles, together with their ultimate weapon, the Planet Destructor. This multi-warhead missile system was only used when other means had failed to eradicate their enemy.
Viceroy Verice sighed. He couldn’t wait much longer. He was desperate to get on with it and show these Senate idiots what a real Garoden ship could do.
Chapter 11
An Incorrect Answer
Retrieval.
Hector’s special drones were busy checking the rectangular shaped metal object. While the Neutron’s crew members watched the action on their primary screen.
Once the checks had been completed the drones would carry out their risk assessment. Then, assuming there were no problems, the object would be brought on board the Argonaut.
By now, however, Tomic was feeling just as uneasy as Barlow had been.
“They’re taking their damn time,” he irritably grumbled.
Captain Sherman’s comms beeped and Hector’s face appeared on his screen.
“Yes, Hector?”
“Before we go any further, Chris. We’d like to set up a data link with you so you’ll also have a record of everything.”
“Of course. But your men had better take extra care. Just in case, all is not as it appears.”
The Garoden War. (SpaceFed StarShips Series) Book 6. An action-packed follow-on story that sees the Earth's Space Navy in action.: ‘Into the Fire.’ Page 6
