Magwave (The Rorschach Explorer Missions Book 2)

by K Patrick Donoghue

  “I’m sure Augie will launch relief supplies once we’ve reestablished comms, but under the best of circumstances, they won’t link up with us anytime soon,” he continued. “Which brings me to our most immediate problem. We will be through the asteroid belt in less than a week.”

  “And we have no Shields,” Kiera said.

  “That’s right. Unless the BLUMOs are capable of blocking Jupiter’s radiation, we’re going to have problems.”

  “Can you talk to them, Major?” Ajay asked. “Tell them the radiation will kill us?”

  Carillo shrugged. “I don’t know if I can summon the queen, but it makes sense to try as soon as we get the VLF antenna set up.”

  Kiera raised a hand. “Um…I missed the whole queen-on-the-bridge thing during my meltdown. How do you talk with her?”

  Carillo ran through the same explanation she’d given Morgan, and Kiera said, “That’s pretty cool. It fits what Dr. Cully said about how swarms communicate…and what he said about queens.”

  “Dr. Cully?” Carillo said.

  “Yeah, he wrote one of the reports Maya sent us,” Kiera said. “He said colonies don’t have a leader during a swarm attack. They respond to the actions of the colony members closest to the threat.”

  “I’m not sure I see the connection.”

  “Oh, sorry. You mentioned your dialogue with the queen was based on direct, simple exchanges. Dr. Cully said that swarm communications are short and sweet. They have to be, in order to quickly pass information through the colony when dealing with a threat.”

  “Well, they sure seemed coordinated when they attacked us and our probes,” Morgan said.

  “I haven’t forgotten the pack hunting,” Kiera said. “But Dr. Cully seemed to think the BLUMOs have a pack alpha separate from the queen. I mean, think about their attack on the other alien. The queen was with us, far away from the attack.”

  “True,” Morgan said, “and only some of the BLUMOs surrounding us went after the alien. The rest stayed behind us, pushing us.”

  “What was that alien thing anyway?” Ajay asked. “It looked like a big, spidery cloud.”

  “Julia?” Morgan asked.

  “Don’t look at me. I have no idea what it was.”

  “You said the BLUMOs had been hunting it. That they didn’t like it.”

  “That’s the vibe I got from the queen, but that’s all I sensed.” She frowned.

  “Everything okay?” Morgan asked. “You look troubled.”

  “No, I’m fine. I was just thinking about what Kiera said about the queen. That she stayed far away from the attack.”

  “That’s right,” Kiera said. “Dr. Cully said queens don’t usually take part in swarms. They’re too valuable to risk.”

  “And you think she hid with us?” Carillo asked.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Carillo’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. She wasn’t trying to tell us to get away. She was asking us to help her get away.” She leapt from her seat.

  Morgan called after her. “Where are you going?”

  “Aft. She’s still aboard, Paul. That’s why they’re surrounding us, why they’re pushing us so hard.”

  She was gone by the time Morgan processed the implication. When it hit him, he popped out of his seat. “That other alien must be chasing us.”

  “Um, Colonel?” Ajay said. “May I say something?”

  Morgan turned in the doorway. “Make it fast.”

  “Aren’t we forgetting about someone? The other queen? The one coming from Callisto?”

  “Jesus, I totally forgot about that. You two go to the lab and see if you can pick up the whale songs again, find out where that other queen is now. I’m going aft with Julia. Let me know as soon as you’ve got a fix on the Callisto queen.”

  CHAPTER 13: ICARUS

  Office of the Chief Administrator

  NASA Headquarters

  Washington, D.C.

  September 5, 2019

  At 5:15 a.m., Helen Brock gave up on the idea of trying to get back to sleep. She took a quick shower, dressed, hopped in her car, stopped by her local coffee shop for the biggest cup-o-Joe they sold and drove to NASA headquarters.

  When she arrived at 6:40 a.m., reporters and camera crews were already setting up on the street outside the building. This came as no surprise, given the scene Brock had come upon in the coffee shop. Normally the shop bustled with music and chatter, even at six a.m. But today, even though the place was packed with customers, everyone was silent, their eyes glued to the early morning news on the shop’s television. They seemed caught in a trance as they watched the video loop of the Saturn flashes and listened to experts debate the possible causes.

  As she stood now by her office window, she was just thankful no one had recognized her. That would have made for a dicey wait for her coffee. But she knew that had been only a short-term reprieve. The media expected answers from NASA, and she would be the one to provide them.

  While much of what she planned to say about the flashes had already been leaked by overly excited employees or theorized by scientists brought in for interviews, Brock knew the press was eager for NASA’s official position. And that would be impossible to deliver this morning given the recency of the events and the amount of data that still needed to be collected and analyzed.

  Given the rampant speculation spreading across the globe, she knew the media wouldn’t want to hear her say the agency needed more time to noodle on data, so the press conference was likely to turn ugly. They would push her to provide definitive answers and to render judgment on the various theories taking hold among experts and the public. Some of those theories dovetailed with Brock’s short list of possible explanations, but without more data it would be reckless to discuss them.

  The media couldn’t appreciate the enormity of NASA’s task. Because so many observatories around the globe had trained their telescopes and instruments on Saturn after the first flash, they had been in perfect positions to capture data during the later flurry. While the abundance of data was a blessing, it was also a curse. Most of those observatories were under no obligation to share their data with NASA. As a result, it would take time to determine who had captured what data and then negotiate for access to the information.

  A knock sounded on her open office door. Her assistant, Mary Evans, said, “Dr. Brock, the president is on line one.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Evans left, closing the door on her way out.

  Brock sat down at her desk and picked up the phone. This would be her first conversation with President Andrew Jennings since she was installed as NASA’s chief administrator. Jennings was in the throes of a withering congressional investigation into the actions he and his administration had taken to suppress Amato’s discoveries on Callisto; as such, he considered NASA a hot potato and had backed away from any direct contact with the space agency for fear that members of Congress would claim he was trying to influence the investigation. Calls for impeachment were already at a fever pitch as it was.

  “Good morning, Mr. President.”

  “Morning, Dr. Brock. Understand you’ve had a long night.”

  “Yes, sir, it’s certainly been one of the longest I can recall.”

  “I imagine so.” Jennings paused for a few seconds, then said, “Look, Dr. Brock, there are a lot of theories being tossed around. I’d like to know NASA’s view on the flashes before you speak with the press.”

  “I understand, Mr. President. I wish I could provide you with a definitive answer, but we don’t have enough data to—”

  “The Pentagon tells me there were radiation trails after the flashes that led toward Saturn.”

  “That’s correct.” A number of observatories had recorded streams of X-ray and gamma rays after the flashes had faded. The streams had arced toward Saturn, but the radiation readings had disappeared once the streams passed behind Dione, an inner moon of Saturn.

  “Could the flashes have been a natural phenomenon?”


  The short answer was no. The trails showed evidence of non-ballistic maneuvering. “We think it’s unlikely, but we can’t rule that possibility out.”

  “Then what? UMOs? Alien spaceships? Another kind of alien life-form?”

  All three options sounded preposterous, yet Brock considered all three equally possible. “As I said, we don’t have enough data to reach a conclusion.”

  “I saw some cock-a-doodle on TV who thinks the flashes were a message,” Jennings said.

  “Yes, sir. As crazy as it sounds, we have a group of NASA physicists exploring that very possibility.” Thus far, they had examined the timing of the seven flashes as well as the comparative frequency and location of each burst. “We can’t discern a pattern. It doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but we’ve only had a few hours to study the data.”

  “What’s your gut tell you, Brock?”

  Given the recent departure of the UMOs from Callisto and the non-ballistic maneuvering detected in the radiation trails, it was within reason to speculate a linkage between the flashes and UMOs. However, there had never been a previous example of UMOs emitting X-rays or gamma rays. Plus, the distance between Callisto and the flashes was so vast, it seemed impossible that the Callisto UMOs could have traveled so far in so short a time.

  Was it possible there was a colony, or colonies, of UMOs around Saturn? In Brock’s opinion, the answer was a resounding yes. Saturn’s magnetic field, while not as strong as Jupiter’s, was still very powerful. And Dione was similar to Callisto in many ways.

  And just last year, Amato’s team had observed a bright flash from a dividing ball of UMOs during what appeared to be a mating ritual. Of course, the Saturn flashes were exponentially more intense than the one Amato’s CubeSat recorded.

  “Sir, if I had to hazard a guess…”

  “You do,” Jennings said.

  “I’d lean toward UMO activity. It’s certainly more plausible than another life-form.”

  “What about alien ships? That seems to be the running favorite on the networks.”

  Brock could understand why. Everyone knew the UMOs had been de-icing the spaceport on Callisto, and it stood to reason that they were doing so because they expected something, or someone, to land there. And seeing as the Cetus Prime crew had already indicated that the Callistons and UMOs shared a special relationship, and the UMOs had remained behind after the Callistons abandoned the facility, it wasn’t a stretch to speculate that it was the arrival of the Callistons that the UMOs were preparing for. Augie Amato had surely reached this conclusion as well. That was why he moved up the launch of the Rorschach fleet — to travel to Callisto in time to either meet the Callistons or leave a message of greetings for them.

  Arguing against the possibility of alien ships as the sources of the flashes, Calliston or otherwise, was the fact that no instruments had detected radiation signatures in the vicinity of the flashes before they occurred. The flashes just appeared spontaneously.

  “I know it sounds wishy-washy, Mr. President, but we just don’t have enough data yet to say one way or the other.”

  “All right, Brock, I understand. How far are you planning to go when you speak to the press?”

  “I’m going to stick to the facts. There’s no benefit in speculating without more data.”

  “Sounds like a wise strategy. One last question and I’ll get out of your hair. Do you think there’s a connection between the flashes and the disappearance of Amato’s spacecraft?”

  This would be a delicate answer, Brock thought.

  “On the record? Other than suspicious timing, there’s nothing to suggest a connection. The Rorschach Explorer was in the asteroid belt when contact was lost. The flashes occurred over a billion kilometers away. The flash trails lead to Saturn. Rorschach was headed to Callisto.”

  “And off the record?”

  “Between you and me and the fly on the wall, I’d bet everything I own they’re directly linked.”

  Main corridor — the Rorschach Explorer

  Flying through the asteroid belt

  Carillo sat on the floor at the junction of the main corridor and the perpendicular corridor leading to the crew’s cabins. With her eyes closed and hands on her lap, she took several deep breaths and cleared her mind. Morgan, she knew, stood a few feet behind her, scanning both corridors for blue lights.

  “Come,” she thought. “I need you.”

  She waited for half a minute. No thoughts pressed into her consciousness, but she did feel her fingers and ears tingle.

  Again, she tried to summon the BLUMO queen.

  “Come. Come now.”

  Her concentration was broken by Morgan’s voice. “Are you picking up anything?”

  Carillo shook her head. “She hasn’t answered me yet, but I think she’s close by.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “My skin is prickling.” Even as she spoke, the tingling sensation intensified, then circled her head. Carillo opened her eyes. “Actually…I think she’s here.”

  “Where?”

  As if on cue, a white ball of light slowly became visible two feet in front of Carillo’s face. A swirl of blue lights faded into view around the queen, racing around the white light.

  Carillo smiled and projected a new thought. “Hello.”

  The white light pulsed.

  Carillo closed her eyes. “Danger? Are you in danger? Are we in danger?”

  The blue lights flashed brighter, and a thin bolt of lightning shot forth and hit Carillo in the forehead. She cringed and fell backward.

  Morgan caught her. “Break it off, Julia. Right now.”

  She raised her hand and rubbed the spot where they’d zapped her. “No, it’s okay. She was just delivering a message.”

  “What message?”

  “Shhh. I’m getting a vision.”

  An image formed in Carillo’s mind: a glowing, snake-like creature shooting out tendrils of electricity from all down its length. The tendrils looked like electrical fingers trying to snatch at invisible objects. But each time the fingers reached the peak of their projection and began to curl back toward the snake, they pulsed, and a pinkish cloud oozed from their tips. Brilliant sparkles soon began to dot the pink cloud.

  The image slowly faded, and Carillo sat back up, pulling away from Morgan’s hold.

  “We were right, Paul. The other alien is still out there.” She described the creature to Morgan. “In a roundabout way, she says we’re in danger.”

  “What can we do?” he asked.

  “Let me find out.”

  She closed her eyes and formed a new thought. “Help? Can we help?”

  She felt a wave of relief pass through her body.

  She projected another thought. “We can? Is that what you mean? How? How can we help? What can we do?”

  The wave passed through a second time, accompanied by a thought that popped into her mind. “Help is coming.”

  Carillo opened her eyes and turned to Morgan. “She says help is coming.”

  “She must mean the Callisto queen.”

  Carillo posed a new question to the queen. “Who is coming? More like you?”

  There was no answer at first, but both the blue and white lights began to flicker in unison.

  “What’s happening?” Morgan asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  A grapefruit-sized ball of spinning blue lights appeared farther down the hallway. It slowly drifted toward the smaller ball surrounding the queen.

  “Would you look at that!” Morgan said.

  The larger ball merged with the queen’s ball right in front of Carillo. And the instant the merge was complete, a strange vision filled Carillo’s mind. Shivers raced through her body.

  “Whoa,” she said.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She showed me who’s coming.”

  “Who?”

  Carillo closed her eyes and tried to make sense of the vision. Focusing her thoughts, she asked the queen to repe
at the vision.

  “Again. Show me again.”

  A one-word response leapt into her mind.

  “Stand.”

  Carillo uncurled her crossed legs and pushed herself to her feet. She felt Morgan step up beside her and take her hand.

  Another spinning ball of BLUMOs appeared down the hallway, this one the size of a beach ball. It, too, moved forward and merged with the queen’s cluster. Together they pulsed — and the vision flowed through Carillo’s mind again. This time she noticed more details.

  “Incredible.”

  “What? What’s incredible?” Morgan asked.

  “They’re pack hunters, all right. They’re leading the creature into a trap. We’re the bait.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “They showed me their plan. Pretty soon we’re going to turn to starboard toward two asteroids. That’s where they’ve set up their kill zone.”

  “But — why would they use us as bait? Their queen is with us. Aren’t they supposed to protect her?”

  “She’s not the queen. That’s just a ruse to fool the creature.” Carillo pointed to the white light. “She’s the pack alpha. The queen is the one who’s coming. Trust me, you’ll see what I mean when we meet up with her.”

  Ajay appeared from the lab compartment ahead of the junction. But when he saw the blue-white lights by Carillo’s head, he froze.

  “It’s okay,” Morgan said. “What’s up, Ajay?”

  At that moment the ship lurched to the right. GEFF failed to compensate quickly enough to the sudden change in velocity and, despite the neutralizing gravity effect of the BLUMO bubble around the ship, the three crew members toppled to the floor and crashed against the corridor’s portside wall.

  Ajay rolled over and faced Morgan. “We’ve got a big problem,” Ajay said. “There’s something huge coming up on us fast from behind.”

  Morgan looked at Carillo. “Looks like you read the vision right.”

  She nodded. “It’s okay, Ajay. We know. It’s all right.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Ajay said. “We’re trapped. Radar shows there’s something even bigger coming at us head-on!”