Imperium: Contact

by Kabbabe, Malek

  “Never mind the formalities,” said Constantine, returning the salute.

  “If you'll all follow me please, time is of the essence.”

  “Where are my people?” Saskill demanded.

  “In one of the barracks here,” Constantine replied, leading them through the maze of buildings.

  “Don't worry,” he added.

  “I'll take you to them before Clark and I leave for the Senate building.”

  “The Senate building?” Asked Major Clark.

  “Yes, I've called an emergency session and the Senate will want to debrief both of us,” explained Constantine.

  “What about, our guest here?” Clark asked, looking at the young woman.

  Constantine stopped and turned to face them.

  “I apologize,” he said.

  “But we need to deal with this situation first.”

  The young woman nodded.

  “I understand.”

  “Once the Senate has dealt with this, I can arrange for an audience and you can commence negotiations,” Constantine assured her.

  Admiral Constantine led them further through the compound. They had only been walking for about a minute, when they approached a large military barracks. A small Imperial shuttle stood parked next to the building, three Imperial security agents were guarding it. Constantine turned to face them once more.

  “Major Clark and I need to leave immediately. The rest of you will need to remain here, at least for another day or two. Get some rest and take it easy for a while, you've earned it.”

  He and Clark made for the shuttle, while the rest of them headed for the Barracks. The main entrance led directly into the mess hall. Half a dozen shengyet sat around one of the tables at the far end of the room. They looked up as the newcomers entered.

  “Chief, Anna, John!” One of them exclaimed.

  Anna recognized him, it was Darmst.

  The next second all the shengyet in the mess hall had gotten to their feet and were surging towards them. The doors to the sleeping and common areas flew open and the rest of the Clan came pouring in. The rest of the Twilight's crew hung back while Anna, Saskill and John waded into the sea of shengyet. After about a minute, the throng parted and Anna spotted two Imperial officers standing further back. A man and a young woman, with a young shengyet girl she didn't recognize standing next to the woman.

  Darmst looked over and waved them forward.

  “This,” he said indicating the man.

  “Is Lieutenant Harbid and this is Ensign Smith. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be here,” he added, turning back to Saskill.

  “This, is Chief Saskill,” he said to the two officers.

  Saskill approached them.

  “I can never repay you for saving my clan,” he said, holding out his hand.

  “But thank you.”

  “Don't mention it,” said Harbid, shaking his hand.

  “Besides, they helped us too,” said Ensign Smith, now also shaking Saskill's hand.

  Anna stepped forward to shake their hands as well.

  “Thank you, both of you,” she said.

  “You're welcome Commander,” said Harbid.

  “So you're the chief's daughter Darmst told us about,” he added.

  Anna turned to Darmst.

  “Oh come on,” he protested.

  “I know it's a secret and all, but they helped us escape an Imperial Dreadnought. It's not like they're going to report you.”

  “Wait, Imperial Dreadnought?” Asked Saskill.

  “Yes,” replied Harbid.

  “Katie and I were serving on the Emperor’s Fist when they were brought aboard.”

  “Admiral Constantine ordered me to get your clan out of there and I enlisted James here to help me,” Katie explained.

  “I bet Admiral Jones is still fuming about that,” she added with a grin.

  Anna and Saskill exchanged looks.

  “I doubt the Admiral's doing much of anything right now,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Asked Harbid.

  Anna hesitated.

  “You might as well tell them,” said Saskill.

  “It'll be common knowledge soon enough.”

  “You're right,” Anna sighed.

  “The Emperor’s Fist was destroyed, along with the rest of Jones' task force.”

  “What?!” Exclaimed Harbid.

  “How?” Asked Katie.

  Anna recounted what had transpired in the Borealis system.

  “I, I can't believe it,” said Harbid, when she had finished.

  “So this Alien fleet was able to take out the entire task force?” He asked, glancing over at the young woman.

  “Yes,” Anna replied quietly.

  “Although they suffered losses during the fight and probably even more when Jones activated that super weapon.”

  Harbid shook his head.

  “I worked with Jones and I'd be the first to tell you he was an arrogant fool, but this?”

  “Is there anything left in that system?” Asked Katie.

  Anna shrugged.

  “I can't be sure, we got out of there as fast as we could. However, given that the system's star was destroyed.”

  Harbid nodded.

  “Yeah, I doubt anything could survive that.”

  Eventually the throng of beings in the mess hall began to disperse. Anna spotted the Twilight's crew over by the food dispensers. Saskill had accompanied Darmst to check out the rest of the Barracks. Lieutenant Harbid and Ensign Smith sat at a table, talking quietly. John and the young woman stood off in a corner, also deep in conversation.

  Anna approached the food dispensers, she noticed Andrew pull something out of one of the pockets on his coveralls. It was the tiny recon drone, which promptly flew out of his hand and started hovering over the food dispensers. A tentacle of light emanated from the drone and brushed over the nearest food dispenser. The dispenser made a horrible buzzing noise.

  “Hey, leave that alone,” Andrew admonished the drone.

  “Having troubles with your new friend?” Anna asked.

  “You could say that,” he replied, trying to brush the drone away with his hand.

  The drone dodged his hand, beeping indignantly.

  “Get that stupid contraption out of here Sergeant,” said Graham, covering his ears.

  The drone withdrew its tentacle and flew straight at Graham, who had to duck to avoid being hit in the head.

  “Hey, watch it!”

  “I think you hurt its feelings,” Aziz said, grinning.

  “Just keep that thing away from me Sergeant,” said Graham.

  “Like I have any control over it,” Andrew relied dryly.

  Anna watched the tiny drone now zooming around the mess hall ceiling, finally coming to rest on the young woman's shoulder.

  “I wanted to talk to you, all of you,” she said, turning back to the crew.

  “What is it Commander?” Asked Graham.

  “I just wanted to say thank you. When Major Clark first took my crew away and replaced them with all of you, well let’s just say I wasn't too happy about it. But you managed to get the Twilight through the most difficult mission she's ever been on. I wanted you to know you're the best crew I've ever served with.”

  “You're not too bad yourself Commander,” said Nolan.

  “Yeah,” Aziz chimed in.

  “If you ever need a crew for another crazy top secret mission, count me in.”

  “Don't take this the wrong way Ensign,” said Anna.

  “But I sincerely hope that was the first and last time.”

  “Oh there's plenty more where that came from,” Andrew assured her.

  “You think so?” Asked Anna.

  “Of course I do. I've been on enough impossible missions to know that if you accomplish one, you're the first one they come to when they need another.”

  “Terrific.”

  “Don't worry Commander, we've got your back.”

  Epilo
gue

  Jaet Inkani stared out the view port, at the blue and green planet below him. Grasping the hull of the station with both hands, he steadied himself in the zero gravity. Through the white patchwork of clouds, he could make out oceans and continents drifting past. Off to his right, the sun slowly rose over the horizon.

  The soft beeping of the com system made him spin round. He drifted over to it and accepted the incoming call. Niyala’s face appeared on the screen, she smiled.

  “How’s my favorite cosmic explorer?” She asked.

  Jaet laughed.

  “I’m in a station orbiting our planet, I don’t think that really counts as exploring.”

  “It’s the first step,” Niyala countered.

  “So, how have you been?”

  “All right, although I’m not sure I approve of Naran and his team being here.”

  “Why not?” Asked Niyala.

  Jaet sighed.

  “Look, I know they consider this a threat to planetary security, but they’re just panicking over nothing.”

  “Most people agree with them, have you seen any of the news reports lately?” Asked Niyala

  Jaet shook his head.

  “I think people are getting ahead of themselves. It was just one signal and who knows how long it took to get here. Besides, even if they’re right, a military presence might complicate things.”

  “They brought you too didn’t they.”

  “The only reason they let a civilian up here was because they needed me to decode the message.”

  Niyala smiled.

  “You just wait,” she said.

  “You’ll go down in history as being the first one to make contact with another intelligent species.”

  “Always the optimist,” replied Jaet, now smiling too.

  A door to his left slid open, Jaet glanced over to see Captain Naran gliding through it.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re going to need you in the control room.”

  Jaet spun round.

  “Another signal?”

  “We’re not sure,” replied Naran.

  “You’ll need to have a look at it.”

  Jaet turned back to the screen.

  “Sorry, I’ve got to go.”

  Niyala smiled.

  “It’s okay, go.”

  “I love you,” said Jaet.

  “I love you too.”

  Jaet switched off the screen and followed Naran. They drifted through one of the stations round corridors, until they reached another door. It slid open and they found themselves in a room full of control boards and computer monitors. There were half a dozen other people in the room, all floating in front of a monitor.

  Jaet followed Captain Naran to the only vacant monitor and examined the information displayed on it.

  “So, what do you think?” Asked Naran.

  “Well, at first glance this looks like the other signal,” replied Jaet.

  “It’s definitely a mathematical sequence of some kind…hang on, there’s something different about this one.”

  “Different, how?”

  Jaet stared at the numbers on the screen.

  “It’s like there’s a pattern inside a pattern,” he said slowly.

  “Hang on, yes!”

  “What?” Naran demanded.

  “If I arrange these into blocks of eight, they form a message that repeats itself.”

  “A message?” Naran asked perplexed.

  “An audio message to be precise.”

  Everyone in the room turned to look at them.

  “You mean like in the form of language?” Asked Naran.

  “Yes,” Jaet said excitedly.

  “If we treat this pattern as information representing sound waves, it will form a message.”

  Naran turned to one of the soldiers and nodded. For a moment, there was utter silence, then a strange voice filled the room. Jaet had no idea what it was saying, but it was undoubtedly a language. He listened intently as the voice repeated its message.

  “This is the envoy of the human empire, we come in peace. This is the envoy…”

  Beside him Naran frowned.

  “Any idea what they’re saying?”

  “No sir,” replied a member of his team.

  “We’ll need to have some linguists check into it,” said Naran.

  “Sir,” one of the team spoke up.

  “I’ve got a radar contact, or at least I think I do.”

  Naran glided over to his station.

  “Show me.”

  “There sir, ten million kilometers distant. Whatever it is sir, it’s moving fast.”

  “How fast?” Demanded Naran.

  “I’d say about ninety percent light speed. The distance and speed are making it difficult for the radar to maintain a lock.”

  “Get me military command on the line,” ordered Naran.

  The Captain drifted over to a com terminal and activated it.

  “General, are you receiving our data feed? No, we have not been able to translate the message sir.”

  He listened intently, then turned back to his team.

  “How far away are they now?”

  “Five million kilometers sir.”

  “They slowing down?” Asked Naran.

  “As far as I can tell sir, no.”

  Naran turned back to the com terminal.

  “Very well sir, we will keep you informed.”

  The soldier at the radar station stared at his screen.

  “What the…”

  “What is it?” Naran demanded.

  “Sir the target just disappeared.”

  “What do you mean, disappeared?”

  “I don’t know what happened sir, one second it was there, the next it was gone.”

  “Could it have been some type of stealth technology?” Asked Naran.

  “Perhaps,” replied the soldier.

  “Activate the station’s telescope,” ordered Naran.

  “Aim it at the target’s projected trajectory.”

  Another soldier typed commands into his controls.

  “Telescope reorienting, image coming up.”

  The soldier’s monitor showed a black patch of space. Suddenly, a cloud of glimmering shards raced across the image.

  “What was that?” Asked Naran

  “One moment sir, playing back image.”

  The image on the screen reversed and froze. On it they could see smooth metallic shards, glinting as the sun’s light struck them.

  “That looks like some kind of alloy,” said one of the soldiers.

  “That can’t be a ship, can it?” Asked another.

  “I don’t think so,” said Jaet.

  “I think that’s what’s left of it.”

  “You mean someone destroyed it?” Asked Naran.

  “That, or a malfunction,” replied Jaet.

  The terminal beside him beeped, Jaet examined it.

  “Another message,” said Naran.

  “But if their ship just got destroyed, where’s this one coming from?”

  “Scope is clear sir,” said the radar operator.

  “Let’s hear the message,” ordered Naran.

  Another strange voice filled the room.

  “This is Admiral Kerensky of the human empire. You have attacked our emissary ship without warning or provocation. You have one minute to respond and make your intentions known.”

  “Sir, I’ve got contact’s closing fast!” Exclaimed the radar operator.

  “How many?” Asked Naran.

  The soldier turned to face him.

  “Over a hundred sir.”

  The entire room was silent for a moment, then Naran spoke.

  “Make sure military command is aware of the situation. Keep a radar lock on those targets and get me a visual.”

  The screen showing the telescope feed changed. Jaet could see dozens of tiny dots glinting against the black of space. They grew rapidly larger, until they resolved themselves into rectangular ships
. The telescope image readjusted and they could see hatches opening on the surface of their hulls. Jaet was no expert, but they certainly looked like weapon ports.

  The ships rushed by at startling speed.

  “Keep a lock on them,” said Naran.

  “I’m trying sir,” said the soldier controlling the telescope.

  “But they’re moving too fast, no wait, they’ve stopped. They’re taking up orbital positions around the planet!”

  “Get me military command!” Snapped Naran.

  “I can’t,” replied one of the soldiers.

  “All signals are being jammed.”

  Jaet pushed himself away from his station and made for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Naran demanded.

  Jaet ignored him, the door slid open and he pushed his way through. He flew back through the corridor and into the section he had been in earlier. Jaet drifted up to one of the view ports, pressing his face against it.

  In the distance he could see the ships maneuvering into position around the planet. All of a sudden, a plume of smoke burst through the planet’s atmosphere. A missile and it was heading straight for the nearest ship! As he watched, dozens more missiles joined the first one, all targeting different ships.

  The ships didn’t move, instead bright pulses of light flashed from their hulls. Some kind of pulse lasers, Jaet guessed. They impacted the missiles, which broke apart and fell back towards the planet. The closest ship was less than two kilometers from the station. It turned slightly, so its nose was aiming down at the planet. Jaet looked around and noticed the other ships doing the same. He looked back at the closest one, he could see hatches opening on its sides. Missiles erupted from them, trailing blue-white drive glows. The other ships were releasing missiles as well.

  “No!” Jaet shouted, slamming his fists into the view port.

  Hundreds of missiles streaked towards the planet, they entered the upper atmosphere and detonated. Bright white flashes erupted from the exploding missiles. The air around them roiled and churned. Lightning flashed and discharged into the atmosphere. Another salvo of missiles fired, and again they detonated high in the planet’s atmosphere.

  Jaet couldn’t figure out what the point was. The missiles weren’t anywhere near close enough to the surface to do any damage. A third salvo fired and detonated, this time Jaet noticed that the atmosphere was still churning from the last two hits. Massive storm fronts were forming all over the planet and lighting continued to flash.