Unsanctioned Reprisal

by Eddie R. Hicks

  “Sarah and I are both back on the network with our HNI. Might as well since Durendal’s people know we’re coming,” Chloe said. “I can’t reach any of these ships via QEC. At first, I thought it was just communication lag, since the Morutrin QEC node is near the wormhole and we were moving away from it. But it’s been hours, I should have been able pull up data on these ships by now. I can’t. Someone disabled their QECs from the inside; they’re invisible to the rest of the fleet.”

  “If they’re disabled from the inside, then that means there’s a whole lot of QECs not linked to any ship.” Penelope grinned. “If that’s the case.”

  Various holo screens full of computer code and malicious hacking applications orbited Penelope, and a holographic keyboard and mouse. She went to work immediately.

  “So, you can do it?” Peiun asked her.

  She nodded. “Yeah, Chloe was right; these ships have no incoming or out outgoing QEC signals. Fly us closer to the lead ship, I may be able to get a quick peek at the codes needed to link to a QEC node on the network. With those codes, I’ll be able to hook up the Rezeki’s Rage to it.”

  “And with that, what will you be able to do?”

  “You said you got two QECs right? Well I could have one plugged into the UNE network, and another jack into the lead ship of this fleet.”

  He liked the idea.

  “Do it,” he said while slowing the transport, just enough for her to have quicker network access to the lead ship they flew next to. “I want to warn the humans what’s going on without their knowledge here.”

  “Good idea,” Chloe said. “Right now, EISS thinks Sarah and I are traitors, they won’t believe us so easily.”

  “But with the Rezeki’s Rage confirming your story, plus transmitting the proof and intel we’ve gathered, they’ll have no choice but to believe us,” Peiun said. “And with another QEC directly linked to one of their ships . . .”

  “That QEC will become a direct FTL data port for us to use,” Penelope said. “I wouldn’t recommend using it right away, however. They’ll figure it out quickly, EVE units are quick with their quantum computing, it’s one of the reasons why they are so tough to hack. EVE will lock you out the second you enter.”

  “Do it anyways, I want to keep all our options open.” The transport approached the space bridge. Peiun spun the ship around to attach itself to the airlock. “Just in case what you said is true, and this turns into a double cross.”

  Penelope grimaced. “About that . . .”

  “You two, stay here in the transport,” Peiun said to Penelope and Pierce. “You’ll just be a floating target anyways.”

  The airlock doors went to work, granting Peiun and Chloe, with their prisoner Durendal, access to the interior of the space bridge. The three lost their weight the moment they crossed the threshold into the space bridge. It was built long before the invention of artificial gravity and was never upgraded due to it being planned for demolition. They drifted and floated through the corridors, carrying Durendal’s body with them. Peiun looked at him and the emotionless face he possessed and hoped Penelope’s plan worked.

  Three EISS operatives glided down from one of the upper decks, dragging Alesyna with them. They were all armed with Radiance magnetic rifles and pistols that pointed at Peiun and Chloe. The two got the message and held onto a wall handle bar, to slow their drift through the corridors.

  “That’s far enough,” the leader of the EISS operatives said.

  Peiun recognized the face of the human man that spoke. “Ah, you must be Special Agent Albert Fucking Moriston.”

  “Excuse me?” Moriston said as his face fumed.

  Peiun’s lips twisted in confusion. “Is that not your full name?”

  “Never mind what he says!” Chloe cut in. “Let’s do this.”

  The two parties made the exchange, sending Durendal to drift into the arms of the EISS operatives, while Alesyna drifted past him, into the arms of Peiun.

  Moriston gave Durendal’s face a closer look, and grimaced. “What the hell did they do to you?”

  Durendal looked away, grunting.

  “Are we done?” Peiun asked.

  “Oh yes, you certainly are,” Moriston said, while pulling Durendal to the upper decks.

  And away from the magnetic weapons that reacquired Alesyna, Peiun, and Chloe as their targets.

  “Take care of them!” Moriston shouted back to his men.

  Why are humans so predictable?

  44 Foster

  XSV Johannes Kepler

  Far edge of the Uelcovis system

  October 16, 2118, 11:57 SST (Sol Standard Time)

  A flight from Taxah to the boundaries of the Uelcovis system didn’t take long since that colony and others were located near the edge. Asking Chang to keep the FTL drive running was a tempting thought, as every AU crossed in this region of space was unexplored to humanity and Radiance. The ship was also hours away from entering into the realm of interstellar space, which was also largely unexplored by the Hashmedai. Since the Hashmedai opted to spread their colonies across the galaxy, rather than keeping them close, the nearest star system to Uelcovis had never been charted.

  An unexplored planetary system laid three months at max FTL speeds from the Johannes Kepler, and they couldn’t visit it. The thought irritated Foster as she saw the movement from the view screen cease upon their arrival at the designated location to test the new vortex key.

  The protective gel the Rezeki’s Rage had recovered was applied to the hull of the Johannes Kepler. Saressea and her team made a lengthy space walk in Radiance EVA suits, floating outside with the numerous canisters applying the gel to the ship. How it was able to adhere despite being in the cold and weightlessness of space was a mystery to all, not even the Hashmedai scientists that had been studying it day and night since the summer, were able to crack that secret. The gel seemingly had a mind of its own.

  Saressea and her team retreated into the airlock when the job was done, transmitting their status to the bridge. Foster acknowledged and waited for them to un-suit and return to engineering.

  “Nereid, Tolukei, almost ready?” Foster asked the two psionics.

  “Yes, Captain,” Tolukei said, nodding. “However, I sense there may be areas of the Johannes Kepler’s hull that did not receive enough coating of the gel.”

  “He is correct,” Nereid said. “Some areas aren’t adhering as well as others.”

  “This is only a test run,” Foster said. “I’m more concerned about applying and removing it and ensuring it didn’t lose its luster while sitting in those test canisters.”

  The remainder of the crew confirmed their readiness as Jacob Miles arrived on the bridge to stand and watch, uninvited as usual. Foster gave him a smile. “Miles, how you holding up?”

  “Ready for anything unexpected,” Miles said. “Unless it’s them ol’ Dragon Knights, then I’m ready to bend ova.”

  “I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Foster said, and then opened a comm link to engineering. “Saressea, you guys in position?”

  “We are, Captain, and my ranger team is on standby, just in case.”

  “You know, we really ought to streamline this,” Miles said. “Rangers report to Saressea, EDF reports to their leader, and then there’s me.”

  “Agreed, was easier back with the Carl Sagan,” Williams said. “Hammerheads reported to McDowell, then Chevallier. I’ll see about having a specialized fire team put together, with Saressea’s assistance of course.”

  “Fire team . . .” Foster said with a grimace. “Don’t like that name though, it implies this is a warship.”

  “Well, before you start coming up with fancy names, you might want to finalize who’s gonna be part of it,” Miles said.

  “True, you and EDF are here temporarily,” Williams said.

  “Saressea, is the vortex key ready?” Foster asked.

  “Ready and waiting for you, Cap,” Saressea’s voice replied.

  She nodded a
nd stood from the captain’s chair. “Dom, you have the bridge.”

  Foster gave the new vortex key a whistle, looking it up and down as she entered engineering. There were a number of visual differences made to it, such as the installation of Hashmedai-made parts, panels, and switches.

  “The Hashmedai made some modifications to this,” Saressea said to her. “It should help prevent it from overloading again.”

  Foster rubbed her hands together, having felt the energy of her tattoos begin to take shape as she stepped next to the vortex key. “Let’s do this.”

  She touched it and became one with the universe once again.

  A vortex ripped a hole in the space-time continuum, allowing the magenta and red clouds of the maelstrom to spill out in front the Johannes Kepler, Foster’s mind willed it into existence. It was good news, as it meant that she could not only reopen existing vortexes but make new ones. Once the size of the vortex expanded to a size big enough for the Johannes Kepler to fly though, Saressea pulled Foster away from the device, and pulled her astral-projection-like thoughts back into her physical body.

  Kostelecky waved her medical scanner up and down near Foster’s body. “How am I?”

  “With the exception of your tattoos raising your body temperature, you seem to be fine,” Kostelecky said.

  “I’ll head to the bridge, let me know if anything changes,” Foster said, turning around to leave.

  “We need to put this elsewhere if we’re going to be using it often,” Saressea said.

  “Agreed, though I am digging the exercise.”

  “You know we have a gym for that, right?” Kostelecky said drily.

  Foster resumed command of the bridge, taking her chair back and watching the splendorous ethereal clouds the Kepler plunged into having entered the maelstrom to conduct their tests.

  “Keep an eye out for the Draconians,” Foster said.”

  “I got nothing on sensors,” Chang said. “Keep in mind sensor scans will take some time to return any results.”

  “How’s the gel holdin’ up?” she asked.

  “Still not adhering to the hull very well,” Nereid reported having broken from her ESP scan of the ship.

  Foster sighed. “Damn it, had a feelin’ that would happen.”

  “Guess there’s a shelf life to that substance,” Williams said to her.

  “Yeah, we’s gonna need a fresh coating.”

  “Captain, I may be able to use my powers to force it to remain closer to the hull,” Tolukei offered.

  Foster smiled. She liked the idea. “Do it.”

  Cerulean and azure light shone from Tolukei’s implants, while his body fell into a deep trance to perform the task he proposed.

  EVE reported the results. “Tolukei’s powers seem to be having a small but noticeable effect, Captain.”

  “Small ain’t good enough,” Foster said. “Is there anything else you could do?”

  “Tolukei, what if you used all your psionic strength, ignoring your other duties?” Williams suggested.

  “I could do that, but that will leave us vulnerable.”

  “That’s why we got Nereid,” Foster said. “Do it, Tolukei. Nereid, handle all shipboard psionic duties.”

  Tolukei’s shimmering body looked down at the Undine girl from Sirius. “Nereid, are you prepared for this task?”

  Nereid looked a little nervous. Last time she was put up to the plate, she ended up in sickbay. She clenched her fists, and gave Tolukei, her mentor, a confident nod. “I can do this.”

  Tolukei stood back, giving her access to the psionic station, and entered a deep trance, fueling his body with more psionic light and energy. Nereid stood ready to take the training wheels off, merging her brain with the Kepler’s systems.

  “Tolukei using the full power of his mind is working, Captain,” EVE said. “Sixty-seven percent increase in efficiency.”

  The status overlays on the view screen showed that the overshields were still active. Not as strong as when Tolukei generated them, but strong enough to eat a direct hit with a single nuclear missile.

  “We could stay in here longer if we wanted to, without the risk of vanishing,” Foster concluded.

  “We will need to improve our ability to apply the gel, Captain,” EVE said. “Remember, in addition to layers of it not adhering, some areas of the hull were not covered at all.”

  “Right, those places are still exposed,” Williams said.

  “Furthermore, he is using all of his psionic power,” EVE said. “I am unsure how long he will be able to remain in this state.”

  Regardless, progress was made. Foster could open or create new vortexes, and the Johannes Kepler could enter and protect itself from vanishing. They just needed to sacrifice the entire psionic output of Tolukei to make it happen. It was something to work with, something they could build upon and perfect with more testing and data.

  “Give me an aft view on screen,” Foster requested.

  The view screen changed, displaying what the Kepler’s external cameras from behind saw, though partially obscured from the gel. There was a shrinking circular black disk full of stars within the clouds. It was their gateway back to the normal universe, and it was closing, not that it mattered anymore. Foster was confident she could reopen it again, though it would require another run down into engineering.

  Yeah, we really need to find another place to put that key . . . “Stress test time,” Foster said. “Mister Chang, take us on a joy ride, will ya?”

  The Johannes Kepler spent the next half hour cruising through the clouds of the maelstrom as lightning strikes from beyond brightened the horizon slightly. The crew and EVE kept a close on all their computers, monitoring their progress, recording data for analysis. Movement had an effect on the gel, causing it to slink about and force Tolukei to use more of his gifts to keep it in place.

  Idling reduced the stressful looks that appeared on Tolukei’s face with his four eyes shut. Traveling long distances for extended periods of time was going to be a challenge, at least in their current state. More tests and number crunching needed to be done before they chose to venture to Omega Centauri directly via the maelstrom, or risk suffering the same fate the Hashmedai colonists did when they took a space bridge jump into that cluster of stars—

  The overshields percentage rating dropped suddenly. Faint tremors vibrated across the ship.

  “What was that?” Williams asked.

  It happened again, the most recent one was consistent with a— “Tachyon strike!” Chang roared.

  Foster grimaced while clenching the edges of her chair’s arms. “Location?”

  “Uh . . . everywhere?” Chang said, amidst the repeated strikes of eight more tachyon hits. “Nothing’s on scanners, but keep in mind tachyons travel faster than light.”

  “And, therefore, travel faster than our scanners,” Foster said, and then paused as a brilliant idea came into her head. Tachyon scanners. It’d be a huge game changer and allow psionics to use their powers for other things. But that’s a project for later. “Looks like the dragons found us. Chang get us out of here!”

  “Nereid, what can you sense?” Williams asked her.

  Nereid’s frustrated hands brushed through her raven-blue hair. “Nothing!”

  Foster saw the overshields percentage hit 50, then 23 after a single shot. Nereid was struggling, she had to use her Voelika to further enhance her powers, which saw the overshields raise back up to 50, then back down to 29.

  “Is it the stealth ship?” Williams asked.

  “My bet is on that, except.” Chang updated the view screen. Multiple energy beam strikes were soaring at them, crashing into the lavender shimmering psionic barrier that kept the Kepler’s primary energy shields operational. “They either got more of those ships, or . . .”

  “Or what, Mister Chang?”

  “Or—”

  “Draconian ships detected, Captain,” EVE announced.

  “How many?”

  A top-down
tactical overlay materialized over the view screen. The blue dot representing the Kepler had a blob of clustered red dots closing in on their position. A single red dot danced around the Kepler, it vanished on and off the screen at random. The Dragon Knight and Maiden were back with their stealth bio-ship.

  “Nereid, did you not sense them?” Foster asked.

  Apprehension sealed Nereid’s lips.

  “She’s still new at this,” Williams said. “She probably needs more practice.”

  “I hope so . . .” Foster said, remembering about Nereid’s devotion to her Goddess, Tiamat, and hoped she didn’t intentionally put her faith above the needs and safety of the crew.

  “Nereid, break Tolukei out of his trance and recover the substance,” Foster said, facing the view screen and the threats it highlighted. “This test is over.”

  “Understood.”

  “Chang, get us out, full power to aft shields.”

  The retreat was a risky one. Both Nereid and Tolukei had to use their telekinetic powers to scrape the gel off the hull, forcing it to pool up inside the airlocks for future retrieval. The act left the overshields down and resulted in the Kepler’s primary shields taking the brunt of the assault.

  Primary shields were the last line of defense of a ship, once they failed the hull was vulnerable to breaches and critical damage. Unlike the science fiction TV shows Foster used to watch when she was younger, two or three well-timed and placed hits to an unshielded ship marked the end of its journey, especially if those hits were tachyon beams. If the hits didn’t harm the crew, cosmic or solar radiation would. Throw in a large hull breach while the Kepler was still inside the maelstrom, and the ship could vanish from the inside out, a fate the Rezeki’s Rage almost suffered.

  Foster left her chair, making a jog to the bridge’s exit. “Tolukei, return to lead psionic duties once you are finished, Dom, you got the bridge.”

  “Becca, if they’re following us,” Williams said, moving to take the captain’s chair.

  “I know . . .” Foster grimaced looking at the vortex that led back into the Uelcovis system, a system that was now at risk of being flooded with the Draconian fleet and their pet dragons. “I’ll be right back.”