Paradigm 2045- Trinity's Children

by Robert W. Ross

  Best wishes and Godspeed to all of you.

  Secretary General Campbell looked up from the paper and said, “As you probably have guessed by now, it is signed Damien Anson Howard.” The New Zealander set down the letter and inhaled deeply. “If you are feeling a bit manipulated, Captain, all I can say is join the club. Apparently, Doctor Howard’s machinations did not end with you, your crew, or even the Security Council itself. I received a similarly addressed letter in the same package where I found yours. I won’t bore you with the details, but can assure you that it was no accident that I am in this chair, at this time.” He nodded at the camera and patted a large stack of papers to his left. “Doctor Howard saw fit to provide me some reading materials, so I now have an inkling of what the next hours might hold for you, Captain. Given that, I do not expect for us to speak again unless you are successful in the Herculean task before you. All I can offer is to add my heartfelt well-wishes to those of Doctor Howard. Earth’s fate, Captain Omandi, rests with you and the brave souls who’ve joined you on our behalf.”

  His image faded and the U.N. logo returned for several seconds then the screen went black.

  The room was so silent that only the sound of gently circulating air could be heard. Finally, James slapped the table gently with one hand and said, “Thanks Ollie, no pressure, mate. We got this.”

  Misha looked at the pilot and mouthed the word idiot, but then reached over, smiled, and squeezed his hand.

  Charlotte felt a grin begin to spread across her face when Damien’s voice filled the conference room. “Captain, I’ve found her.”

  Chapter 45

  A Trial of Strength

  The entire command deck buzzed with anticipation as Damien's plot diagrams became visible on the large display screen. He gestured and the magnification grew. Jupiter loomed before them while a red line twisted between and among its moons.

  “That’s it?” asked Linnea, her voice tinged with awe.

  “That’s the pod,” replied Damien.

  “Are you sure?” asked Chao.

  “As sure as I can be with passive scans,” said the android. “I can give it a tap with either a targeting or communications laser, but did not want to do so until you and the captain were done with your meeting.” Damien turned to Charlotte and asked, “Did it go better than the first one?”

  “Yes, but that was a pretty low bar,” chuckled Omandi, as she walked within a couple feet of the massive screen. She stared at the pulsing orange dot that appeared halfway between Europa and Ganymede. Charlotte turned to her science officer and said, “Apparently Howard-Prime managed to get the five permanent members of the Security council to, essentially, fire themselves for ninety days, and I get to appoint one of you as some kind of ambassador to the U.N.” She pointed back to the screen, then said, “For now, I’m more interested in that. Why would her pod be so close to Ganymede?”

  “I’m not sure, Captain,” replied Damien. “The pod is definitely using both Jupiter and its moons for a gravity assist slingshot toward Earth. However, that does not explain its recent proximity to Ganymede.”

  “And you are sure it’s headed toward Earth?” asked Chao.

  “No, sir. However, the pod is currently traveling at a velocity that would have it pass between Earth and Luna within plus or minus one hour of the Trinity deadline. That does not seem like a coincidence to me.”

  “Ya think?” sniffed Charlotte, then added, “No, that’s where it’s going. I’m guessing the pod has been using gravity assists where possible for as long as it’s been circling our solar system. If it has any fuel left, I bet Nerr’ath’s little pod burns like crazy for Earth as soon as it swings around Jupiter.” Omandi turned to Branson and asked, “What is the pod’s current velocity?”

  “I’d need an active ping to be sure, sir” he said.

  “Ensign Sorenson,” said Charlotte, “please use the main comm laser to say hello to our frozen alien. One ping only, Linnea.”

  Sorenson nodded, then asked, “Any particular message?”

  “I’m working on that,” said Omandi, “just record what I’m about to say, but you can set it to send on a three second delay…in case I make some kind of catastrophic mistake.”

  “Uh, I could simply record without sending at all if you are concerned with—”

  “Barbie, she’s offering you one of her Omandi self-deprecation sandwiches. Don’t bite,” said Misha. “The Captain knows exactly what she wants to say. Open the channel.”

  “Channel open,” said Sorenson.

  Charlotte took a deep breath then stepped directly in front of the command chair and stared into the view screen’s camera. “Greetings, Chief Xenologist Salmix. My name is Charlotte Omandi and I command the Terran Space Ship, Bladerunner. On behalf of Doctor Damien Howard, my crew, and myself, I want to thank you for the opportunity to demonstrate our species’ capabilities. I am confident we will satisfy all requirements necessary to avoid your pathogen’s automated deployment. We stand ready to demonstrate our faster-than-light ability. Please acknowledge.”

  Charlotte made a slicing motion with one hand and Linnea said, “Channel closed. Message away.”

  “What kind of delay are we looking at?” asked Chao.

  “About two minutes, sir,” answered Sorenson, “and a little less than four minutes for the round trip.”

  “That’ll keep dropping,” offered James, “We’re traveling twenty-five times faster than that pod. Assuming you want to match speed, Captain, our optimal deceleration window opens in seven minutes.”

  Charlotte nodded to the pilot. “You assumed right. Get us close and run a parallel course but keep at least a fifty-thousand kilometer separation between us.”

  “I’d go with seventy-five,” said Sokolov, then added, “We have no idea what that thing might do and if it is equipped with HID arrays similar to ours, I’d rather stay out of their range.”

  Omandi nodded, “Seventy-five, Branson. How long until we close to within—”

  “Captain, I’m getting a transmission,” said Linnea excitedly.

  “Energy readings have shifted from the pod,” added Damien. “I’m detecting both deuterium residue and graviton particles now being emitted. I believe you got someone’s attention, Captain. I suggest—”

  “It’s a holographic message,” interrupted Sorenson. She shot an apologetic look toward Damien, “Sorry, sir.” He gestured for her to continue and the communications officer said, “Do you want me to shunt the message to the command deck’s holo-emitters?”

  Omandi held up a finger as she moved to her chair and sat. She took a deep breath, quickly scanned the room, then said, “Transfer message to emitters.”

  Seconds later, the glowing form of Nerr’ath Salmix stood frozen in the center of Bladerunner’s command deck. She looked exactly like she had in the Howard-Prime simulations. However, instead of acknowledging the crew’s presence as she had done with Damien years before, the figure stared blankly straight ahead. “Greetings, Captain Omandi of the Terran Space Ship Bladerunner. Chief Xenologist Salmix remains in stasis. I am the automated response agent. We are in receipt of your last communication and wish to confirm that it is your intent to undertake the trials associated with the Confederation Diaspora Act of 2842. Is this correct?”

  “Can we establish a two-way link with that pod?” asked Charlotte.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Sorenson, “just give me the word.”

  Omandi nodded, “The word is given, but keep me muted until I say. Branson, what’s the current delay?”

  “A bit more than a minute and dropping, but we’re also picking up some interference from Ganymede’s magnetosphere. Do you want me to circle around it or stay on the most direct path to the pod?”

  “Direct path please, Branson,” said Omandi. “Linnea, unmute.” The comm officer tapped her console then nodded to Charlotte who directed her response at the holographic figure. “Agent, can Nerr’ath be revived from stasis so we may discuss the specif
ics of the trials you mentioned?”

  Seconds ticked by interminably, then the avatar shook its head. “I am sorry, Captain Omandi. Nerr’ath Salmix will not be revived unless you successfully complete the trials. Should you fail either trial, all further communications will cease and both CDA sentences will be carried out. Are you prepared to undertake the trials associated with CDA 2842?”

  “Just a moment,” said Charlotte, “would you please confirm the sentences to which you just referred.”

  “Approaching Ganymede now, Captain,” interjected James, “roundtrip delay is down to about twenty-seconds. It should be negligible going forward.”

  “Sentence one,” began the Salmix avatar, “refers to a standard sentient life reset. Sentence two refers to the execution of Chief Xenologist Salmix for violation of CDA 2842. There would be no reason to revive the chief xenologist only to execute her.” The reptilian figure continued to stare through, rather than at, Charlotte, as it asked, “Are you prepared to undertake the trials associated with CDA 2842? This is the last query. Non response will be considered a negative response that will result in summary judgement.”

  Omandi noticed Linnea shiver, then saw the younger woman clench her jaw against what, Charlotte knew, must have been the wave of anxiety that washed over her from the crew. I’m certainly contributing to it, thought Charlotte, then did her best to project both calm and confidence as she said, “We are prepared to undertake the trials. When will they—”

  Nerr’ath’s avatar faded and a second later, the ship rocked sideways, a klaxon blared, and the cool blue lights of Bladerunner’s command deck shifted red.

  “Decompression warning in aft cargo bay,” called Karishma. “Secondary seals engaged and holding.”

  “What happened?” yelled Omandi.

  “Projectile weapon,” replied Misha. “A big one.”

  “Plasmatic shields,” said Omandi, “equal power to all arrays.”

  “Shields are up and active, sir,” said Karishma, through clenched teeth, then grabbed at her console as the ship rocked again. “Another impact,” she growled. “Aft, port array three. Shields holding.”

  “Where the hell is it coming from?” yelled Branson. “It would sure help me dodge the damned things if I knew their fecking origin point.”

  “Working on it,” said Misha cooly. “Tracing back to…got it. Ganymede. They are coming from Ganymede.”

  “Scanning,” said Damien. The android paused then looked at both Chao and Charlotte.

  “Report, Lieutenant,” said Keung.

  “There appears to be a railgun charging on the surface. It’s radiation signature was masked by the moon’s magnetosphere. I’m sorry, I should have—”

  “Do you have a location?” asked Omandi.

  “Yes sir, it—”

  “Transfer coordinates to tactical. Misha, fire both our rails and a missile at that location.”

  “Captain,” said Chao, “Are you sure that is the correct response? Perhaps this is part of the test.”

  “Locking on,” said Misha. “Can’t be exact, sir. The magnetic interference is causing our railgun’s target lock to jump.”

  “That’s what the nuke is for, Sokolov. Close enough is good enough for hand grenades, horseshoes, and nuclear tipped missiles.” Charlotte turned and locked eyes with Chao. “I’m sure this is part of the test. They are testing whether we built a ship that can take some knocks and hit back. Well, Commander, now Earth’s up-jumped apes are going to hit back.”

  “Rail one away!” said Misha, then a second later, “Rail two away!”

  The ship seemed to twist as thrust gravity pushed from a new direction. “Very impressive, James,” said Damien, then added, “The Lieutenant just evaded a third projectile from the Drac’athian railgun.”

  “Misha, stop those bastards from shooting my girl,” yelled Branson.

  “I’m working on it,” she growled, then turned to Charlotte, “No confirmation on our rails.”

  “Then let’s be sure,” said Omandi, “Launch missile.”

  “Missile away!” yelled Misha. “Impact in five…three…impact in one.”

  A bright flash appeared on the surface of Ganymede and spread outward. “What the hell?” said Branson as he stared at the display, “Did something go wrong? It doesn’t look like any nuclear—”

  “There is no atmosphere on Ganymede,” said Damien, “thus, no mushroom cloud. However, I am reading heavy radiation emissions from the detonation site. Lt. Sokolov definitely hit her target.”

  Omandi spun to face the android and asked, “Are you able to detect whether that alien railgun is still active?”

  “Not through all the current interference,” he replied.

  “Incoming transmission from the pod,” called Linnea.

  “Put it through,” said Omandi.

  The hologram Salmix appeared just as it had before. It began speaking, but did so with what sounded like hisses and clicks.

  “What the hell?” asked Chao, then turned to Linnea, “Ensign, can you clean that up, it sounds like the fall out from that nuke is scrambling our communications.”

  Charlotte stared at the figure and said, “Can you repeat the message? Your last transmission was garbled. We did not—”

  “It wasn’t garbled,” said Sorenson. “Give me a minute. I’m replaying it from my station.” The same hisses and clicks flowed through the command deck, and she frowned. “Definitely not interference. It’s a language.” She turned slightly panicked eyes to Charlotte and said, “I think the training wheels are off, sir. Going forward, I suspect we’ll need to understand and respond in their language rather than ours.” Charlotte stood and walked through the Salmix projection and stopped just in front of Linnea. The communications officer stared up at Omandi and said, “It’s not like anything I’ve heard before, sir. Normally I just understand what is being meant, no matter the language, but not this time. I may not be able to—”

  “You will,” said Charlotte, with quiet confidence, and gestured to the earbud resting on the console. “You just need to focus. Block everything else out and listen for the intent of this message, the specifics will follow. You can do this, Linnea. I know you can.”

  The young woman looked dubious but then noticed all the eyes focused on her. Each one held concern, but more than that, each held the same confidence with which Charlotte had just spoken. Linnea picked up the small device, closed her eyes, then set it in her ear and said, “Replay message.” A few seconds later Sorenson shook her head. “I’m not sure, sir. There’s definitely a pattern, but I need some kind of reference. With human speech there is always some common denominator.” She gestured toward the Salmix hologram. “With that…nothing.”

  As if in response, the figure turned its head left and right, as if scanning the room, then spoke for several seconds. Charlotte looked down at Linnea and asked gently, “That help? Anything?”

  Sorenson shook her head, then started tapping on her console when the figure began speaking again, this time in short bursts. “Thrakkath Trahk…Thrakkath Strahk…Thrakkath Frahk…”

  Linnea rose from her chair and walked to stand directly in front of the hologram. Misha said, “Barbie, what—”

  Charlotte made a sharp gesture. The security officer broke off as the hologram continued, “Thrakkath Vrahk…Thrakkath Malahk…”

  “Thrakkath Maltrahk,” said Linnea and the figure together.

  It paused in its recitation, as if reacting to the communication officer’s word, then the two again spoke in unison, “Thrakkath Malvrahk.”

  Linnea’s eyes grew wide and she turned to Omandi. “It’s a countdown. It’s counting down.”

  “Counting down?” asked Misha, clearly alarmed as she scanned her console for threats. “Counting down to what, Barbie?”

  Sorenson ran back to her console, “No idea, but that’s the puzzle piece I needed. It’s my rosetta stone.” She fumbled with her ear piece, twisted it into place, then turned toward Cole
man and said, “Combine all alien language samples into a single stream and play it through my earpiece.”

  “Streaming now,” replied the AI.

  Linnea pressed a finger against the earbud, cocked her head, and said, “Coleman, loop the sounds.” Her lips moved silently while her fingers seemed to tap the keys of some unseen instrument. “Faster…three times speed.” Her fingers tapped a quicker cadence and she said, “Faster…ten times normal.” Linnea’s fingers seemed to vibrate with sounds only she could hear.

  “Thrakkath Malkarath…Thrakkath Hath-Karath” said the hologram.

  “Uh, that sounded different,” said James, “and not in a good way.”

  “You have successfully completed the first trial,” said Linnea hauntingly, then turned to Charlotte. “That’s what the first part of the message was. Coleman, keep the loop, but go to normal speed.” The AI nodded and Linnea sighed, “Ok, second part is, ‘Are you prepared to begin the second trial associated with CDA 2842?’”

  Charlotte stared at her a moment then asked, “What is the second trial?”

  Linnea shook her head. “No idea sir, the last part of the message said, ‘You have twenty-four seconds to respond. Non response will be considered a negative response that will result in summary judgement.’”

  “Thrakkath Hath-Trahk” said the hologram.

  “It’s been counting a rather long time,” said Doctor Carpenter quietly.

  “Sixteen seconds,” said Damien and Annchi together.

  “No pressure,” sighed Charlotte, and she rubbed a hand down her face.

  “Trahk Hath-Strahk.”

  The Captain moved to stand directly in front of the hologram and murmured, “I just wish I knew what—” Omandi stopped speaking and squinted at the hologram for a second then shouted into the air, “Karishma, in the next seven seconds, I need you to open a singularity gate that takes us to the midpoint between Earth and Luna. Don’t tell me why it can’t—”

  The chief engineer’s crisp accent filled the command deck. “Dark matter anchor deployed, Captain. We are too close for safety, so I’m shifting power away from aft shields to fore. Redirecting deuterium reactor to energize dark matter. The spacial rupture needed for our gate will occur in five-seconds. This will not be fun, Captain. I suggest everyone grab on to something.”