Jupiter loomed on the primary view screen and she asked, “How long until we arrive?”
Keung followed her gaze and said, “That’s got magnification on it. We’re still over an hour out.”
James looked up. “I could goose her a bit,” he offered hopefully.
“No!” shouted both Karishma and Damien.
Branson grumbled something unintelligible and Charlotte walked over to the engineering console. “You two seemed pretty definitive about that,” she said smiling.
Karishma looked up. “Damien has been helping me with the engine balance. He’s amazing by-the-way.” Charlotte glanced at the android and tried to decide whether she detected a blush, but then the chief engineer continued. “This trip back to Europa has been perfect for shaking out the problems. I mean, I know it’s not great why we are going, but it is great that we are going. I believe Damien and I finally have the engines balanced.”
“So,” began James, “does that mean that I can—”
Omandi saw Karishma’s jaw clench and the captain turned to look at Branson. “James, we are good for now. Please keep course and speed.” Karishma gave a relieved sigh. Charlotte patted her shoulder then crossed the deck to talk with Linnea.
The young woman removed her earpiece, and said, “I’m sorry, Captain, I believe the signal from Europa is some kind of numeric code. Everything but the prefix keeps repeating, and it definitely is not language. I think it’s looking for some kind of counter sign.”
Omandi arched an eyebrow, “What do you mean by prefix?”
“I believe it’s a numerical identifier,” said Sorenson and grimaced slightly, “It’s similar to what I’ve heard before when the CDA avatar was counting down to something. I can’t be sure, because I haven’t had much exposure to Drac’ath numerics, but we do know their numerology is base-eight rather than base-ten, like ours, so I’ve made an educated guess.”
“Guess? Guess at what?” asked Charlotte.
Linnea grimaced. “At when it reaches zero…which is in about three hours.”
“Perfect,” sighed Omandi, then circled back to Chao and the command chairs. She nodded in the direction of the Captain’s salon. “Mind joining me for a few minutes, Commander? I want to bring you up to speed on a couple…developments.”
Chapter 50
You Only Live Twice
Misha exited the mag-lift first and looked around. The command deck was empty except for James who had been leaning over his console. He straightened, turned toward Sokolov, and flashed a smile. She reflexively returned it, then frowned at the pilot. His eyes washed over Nerr’ath and lingered on Doctor Howard. He shook his head. “I don’t think I completely believed the captain when she and Keung told us.” The pilot focused on Howard. “Cap says you’re dying. That true?”
Howard nodded. “We’re all dying, James. I’m just a bit further along than most. Could be three months, or three years, just depends on how much stress I place my body under, and when something critical stops working.”
“Hmm,” grunted James, “I seem to recall Coleman saying something about three months before you went and faked your death.”
“That remains his best estimate,” Howard said, “I am hoping to prove him at least a little wrong.”
James grunted again. “Want some advice, Doc?” The old man gave a slight nod and Branson said, “I’d stay clear of humor when you go in that conference room. It’s filled with a lot of people who would just as soon give you an unnatural death today rather than a natural one three months from now. They are not in a joking mood.” He grinned. “Me, I’m pretty much always in a joking mood, but…” he pointed to the old man, “best not push it because you only live twice, Mr. Bond.”
“Thank you, James,” chuckled Howard, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Branson tapped his console again and Coleman materialized beside him. “I’ve put Bladerunner on automatic, but I still want to be hands on when she initiates orbital maneuvers around Europa. You’ve got her until then.”
“Very good, sir,” said Coleman, “She is in very good hands.”
James nodded to the AI. “I know she is Coleman, and thanks.”
“Of course, sir.” The hologram then turned toward Doctor Howard. “It is good to see you, sir. I have been reviewing the information surrounding your decision to perpetrate a fraud with respect to your death. For what it is worth, sir, I believe your reasons were sound. Having experienced first hand Captain Omandi’s exploits over the past weeks, you never would have survived sir, if you don’t mind my saying.”
“Not at all and thank you, Coleman,” said Howard, “that means a great deal to me.”
“You are quite welcome, sir, but the rest of the crew seems to feel decidedly otherwise. Perhaps I am missing some dynamic that would be useful to incorporate into my heuristics. Would you mind explaining why they might be so upset?”
“He’ll have to do that another time,” said James, as he started walking toward the others. He stopped and stared intently at Nerr’ath for a moment, then smiled at Misha. “She’s not going to start glowing and hit me with force lightning again, is she?”
Misha shrugged. “Well, James, I have been telling her all about you, so would give it even odds.”
Nerr’ath’s expression changed and she shook her head at Branson. “That was not me. I was in stasis. You were sent plans for a combat simulacrum. I do not have the ability to discharge electromagnetic energy. As I told the Hath-sede, I am terribly—”
James smiled, and extended a hand. “It’s fine. I’m Irish. Some of my best friends have given me more of a whollop in a pub than your battle-droid did here. I just hope your intentions are what you say they are…for your sake.” He smiled again. Misha felt a chill at how it clearly did not touch his eyes as he added softly, “because we’ll know if you’re lying.” A second later the expression warmed, as if the other had never been, and he said, “Well, let’s go. Everyone’s waiting for you in the conference room.”
Linnea’s palm tingled from the slap. She shook it several times, then wiped at her eyes, and settled back in her seat. The room was deathly silent as Doctor Howard rubbed his reddened cheek. He stared at the small assemblage and sighed. “I’m sure I deserve that, and more, from each of you.” He spread his hands against the table and stared down its length. “All I can do is beg forgiveness for my failures. I failed to fully appreciate the forces arrayed against me, how much they knew, or what they might do. Misha has told me some of it and I’ve scanned a number of the available logs. Linnea, I did not understand the link between you and your twinned telepaths. Failing to keep them and Chao’s family from harm are two of my greatest regrets.”
Annchi stared at Doctor Howard impassively, but her father said, “And the rest?”
Howard sighed, then ran a hand through his thick white hair. “The rest I would do again. Humanity survives because of what you nine have done, and none of you would even exist, if not for me.”
“Humanity may not exist for much longer,” said Charlotte quietly, and she noted the surprise on Howard’s face. “Nerr’ath, it seems your people had no intention of aborting their attack. We mastered your, so called, trials of strength and speed, yet still they launched their pathogen.”
Salmix lowered her gaze. “That is indisputable, Hath’sede.”
Charlotte nodded. “Why might that be, do you think?”
Nerr’ath shook her head. “I do not know.”
Omandi glanced at Linnea and the telepath said, “She’s telling the truth, or at least she thinks it’s the truth. Shall I play the message repeating from Europa?” Charlotte nodded. Linnea activated a small control panel on the table. A rhythmic buzzing filled the conference room and all eyes focused on Nerr’ath.
Salmix tilted her head, as if to better catch the sound, then said, “As I suspected, it is a beacon seeking a confirmation signal. I’ve heard it before.”
“Our communications officer believes it to be counting dow
n to something,” said Chao
“Yes, she is correct,” replied Nerr’ath, “If it does not receive confirmation within an allotted time, the beacon will assume the pod has been destroyed, and will initiate a second—” she paused, then said, “sanitization.”
“How delightfully professional sounding,” sighed Charlotte, then asked, “Can you respond to this beacon and tell it that the pathogens were deployed successfully?”
Nerr’ath thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I have a communications device that could be used to respond to the beacon. Your security officer removed it from me while I was unconscious, but I’m afraid using it would not lead to the desired outcome. It would simply confirm I am alive, which clearly some in my government would prefer I not be, however…” Her tongue slipped out and tasted the air in an unconscious gesture. “There may be a way to use the beacon’s standard response procedures to our advantage.”
Charlotte squinted at Nerr’ath and said, “Our?”
Salmix placed both hands to forehand and then gestured to Omandi. “Forgive me, Hath’sede. You are, of course, correct. I have given myself to you, and your service, but you have yet to accept me.”
“And may never,” said Charlotte crisply, “but please continue.”
Nerr’ath nodded. “When the beacon completes its attempts to elicit a response from my, now destroyed, pod, it will deploy a dark matter destination anchor. Whichever of our scout ships has been assigned to sanitation confirmations, will immediately come through.”
“Scout ship?” asked Misha, then fired off additional questions in rapid succession. “Will it have more of those pathogen missiles? What kind of non-biological weapons will it have? What are its defenses?”
Nerr’ath stared quietly at Misha, until she had finished, then said, “No pathogens because they are unique to each sanitized ecosystem and would need to be recreated. Minimal armaments similar to this vessel’s high-intensity discharge arrays but fewer in number. The same for defenses. Plasmatic shielding but, again, far less powerful than those on this ship. You may recall, Misha Sokolov, that I provided the plans for this vessel in an ill-fated attempt to save your species.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Misha, “Of course you’re right, that fact must have slipped my mind amidst your pod raining death on my planet and your lizard fembot electrocuting my…” she stared at James, who winked at her. Misha’s eyes narrowed in a vaguely threatening manner, then said, “…our pilot.”
Charlotte tapped her finger on the table several times. “Enough. Nerr’ath I take it from your description that we would be more than a match for this scout ship. Is it your suggestion that we destroy it as some kind of deterrence? If so, I do not—”
Salmix shook her head emphatically and said, “No, Hath’sede, that would prove disastrous. An entire fleet would be dispatched. If that were to happen, your species might well wish the pathogen had been successful, by comparison. No, I propose you use Drac’ath history and customs to your advantage.” She turned to Howard and asked, “Doctor Howard, when we shared thoughts in stasis, you mentioned the possibility of this vessel being equipped with a second means of FTL propulsion. Were you successful?”
“No, he was not successful,” hissed Karishma, “but I was.” She pointed at the old man and said, “I finished it early, too. We have both singularity gate and Alcubierre warp drive technology.”
Nerr’ath’s tongue flitted out several times and she said, “Yes, that’s it. The…Alcubierre drive…we have nothing like it. That FTL approach is uniquely Terran and with it, I believe you can change the dynamics of your next encounter with the Drac’ath. All it will require is the scout’s Hath’sede and me having a brief conversation. With that conversation, I can procure a chance and hope for humanity’s long-term survival.”
Omandi could feel expectations begin to rise from among her crew, and was about to speak when Misha said, “Captain, let me play devil’s advocate for a second here, and I don’t really give a shit if our guest is insulted. How do we know she won’t just turn her coat the moment her friends arrive? What if her brief conversation is something like, Attention scout ship, phone home and tell everyone to get their scaly asses to Earth, then turn that planet to rubble.”
Linnea rose, then slid into the chair beside Nerr’ath. She slowly raised a hand toward Salmix who leaned forward as if welcoming the gesture. The telepath locked eyes with Omandi, and said, “With your permission, Captain, I will find the truth in what she says.”
Charlotte saw her crew’s anticipation as if it were a cloud hanging over the room. She let out a breath and said, “Proceed.”
Sorenson touched two fingers to Nerr’ath’s head, and felt the familiar swirl, as she brought another mind into her own.
Chapter 51
Hath'sede Omandi
Three hours later, Linnea Sorenson swiveled to face the slightly raised command chairs, and said, “The beacon has stopped requesting a response.” Charlotte met her eyes from the central chair then glanced to her right. Commander Keung gave her a curt nod and she turned to Nerr’ath who sat on her left. “How long until it initiates the gate?”
“It should be almost instantaneous. You will detect a small capsule being ejected by the beacon. That capsule will contain the dark matter necessary for the destination anchor.”
“I’ve got it on sensors,” said Damien evenly.
“Branson, how’s our distance?” asked Omandi.
“As long as Nerr’ath’s guidance is accurate, we’re good.”
Misha glanced over at Linnea and said, “I hope you didn’t pick this particular moment to become a bad judge of character, Barbie.”
“I didn’t,” replied the communications officer, cooly. “Nerr’ath would rather die than betray the captain. I’m one-hundred percent on that.”
“The beacon has energized the dark matter,” said Karishma, “Singularity gate forming. It’s a big one. Something’s coming through.”
Charlotte rose, and walked to the center of the command deck. She looked over her shoulder. “Salmix, with me. James, move us in as soon as the gate contracts. Karishma, I need that Alcubierre warp bubble.”
“On it sir,” said the engineer. “Nacelles are hot and we have a stable bubble. Increasing its diameter to maximum.”
“Giving my girl a slap on her fine arse,” said James, and Misha grumbled something from behind her tactical console.
Bladerunner leaped forward, just as the scout ship appeared and the singularity gate dissipated. “The Drac’ath vessel is completely contained within our warp bubble,” said Karishma, with a hint of disbelief.
“We’re painted. They have targeted weapons,” said Misha. “Captain, are you sure we shouldn’t—”
“Do not target that ship, Lieutenant. Our shields can take what they’ve got, assuming they have a death wish. Ensign, open a channel. Visual and audio…but start us on mute, please.”
The view screen sparkled, for a second, then cleared to show the alien vessel’s bridge. A Drac’ath with similar markings to Nerr’ath stared directly at Charlotte.
“Dude’s got horns,” murmured James.
Nerr’ath tilted her face toward Omandi and said, “He is male. All adult males have horns. I know this one. His name is Talra’tath. He is reasonable. This can work.”
Charlotte caught Linnea’s eye and she opened the channel. “Greetings, I am Hath’sede Charlotte Omandi of the Terran Space Ship Bladerunner. Ambassador Salmix informs me that you might be in distress. We are happy to offer assistance, but I will first need you to remove your target lock from my ship.”
“Salmix?” asked Talra’tath, in surprise, “I was told your experiment failed and the human planet was sanitized.”
Nerr’ath blinked her eyes in rapid succession, then said, “To the contrary, my mission was a tremendous success, except for the loss of my pod. However, in losing the pod, these humans seized an opportunity to complete the Trial of Compassion.”
Before Talra’tath could respond his ship rocked violently and an alarm could be heard sounding through the communications link. Charlotte glanced to Karishma who affected a subtle thumbs-up gesture off camera.
“Hath’sede Talra’tath,” began Omandi, “you had the exceptionally bad luck of exiting your singularity gate while we were passing by this moon at warp. I have placed my own ship in extreme risk by temporarily affecting an emergency…warp…stasis field.” Charlotte pointedly ignored the incredulous looks from both Damien and Karishma as she continued. “I’m afraid I cannot hold us in position much longer and, should we move, our warp field will tear your ship apart. Ambassador Salmix was kind enough to explain the rich history behind the Drac’ath and the Trial of Compassion. We would be honored to complete such a trial again, this time on behalf of you, your crew, and your ship.”
“They no longer have us target locked,” said Misha.
Talra’tath could be seen talking to someone who remained out of view. He gestured emphatically, then faced forward again. “Chief Xenologist Salmix, is it your contention that the humans successfully completed the Trials of Strength and Speed?”
“And Compassion,” added Nerr’ath, “My pod had inexplicably headed for this system’s star, and the onboard computer reported I had insufficient privileges to access any controls including life support.”
“That is impossible,” said Talra’tath, “life support does not require privileges and the navigation systems should have granted you override once a collision with the star was detected.” Again the Drac’ath captain looked offscreen, and seemed to become even more frustrated.
Nerr’ath raised a hand to regain his attention, then gestured to Charlotte, “Hath’sede Omandi put her own ship and crew at risk to retrieve me. In addition, I should note, Hath’sede Talra’tath, that the humans did this even after our sanitation pods had previously been deployed against their planet, despite them having successfully completed the Trials of both Strength and Speed. Again, I have no explanation for how this near tragedy could have taken place. I only know that the Drac’ath incurred a significant debt to the humans and that was before they rescued me from colliding with their star.”
Paradigm 2045- Trinity's Children Page 55
