The Jumpgate

by Robert Stadnik

“Shut them out!” Jacob yelled. They couldn’t allow the Jokabi to get ahold of their files and learn about them.

  Jonas tried without success. “I can’t. They’re bypassing our encryption, I can’t repel them.”

  Jacob rushed over to the operations table. “Shut down the main computer,” he instructed Fotell.

  “I will need to do a hard shut down. It will damage the computer and render our autonomous systems inert.”

  “Do it!” Jacob insisted. With the computer off, the Jokabi wouldn’t be able to steal all their files. Together, Jacob and Fotell worked to shut down the computer. When they were done, only the lights from the consoles provided illumination to the deck.

  “Computer is off,” Fotell confirmed.

  “Hyperdrive is offline,” Jonas added. “Without the computer, we have no way to navigate.”

  Jacob looked around. “Well, anybody have an idea how to get us out of here?”

  “I’m not getting out to push,” Michelle remarked as she folded her arms.

  “Commander,” David said. “We’re getting a transmission.”

  “No doubt from the Jokabi,” Jacob muttered.

  “No, sir,” David clarified. “It’s Commandrant Zuwelic. It’s the IQUIS.”

  The IQUIS. That was a surprise. “Put it up,” Jacob ordered, having a renewed sense of hope. “This is Commander Diego of the SOLARA.”

  “Commander, it is good to hear your voice. We have crossed the gate and are inbound to your position. We will rendezvous in inof.”

  Jacob knew that was five minutes. “I thought you were under orders not to cross the gate.”

  “We are,” Zuwelic confirmed. “But as you humans have demonstrated, it is necessary to defy the will of higher authority to do what is right. The VFLEP and BEUSMIC are standing by to assist us.”

  Jacob couldn’t hide his smile. “We’re grateful for your help. Our engines and weapons are offline. Are you picking up the fleet of enemy ships?”

  “We have detected them. We will use our tractor beam and tow SOLARA back to the gate.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Jacob replied as the transmission ended. “Make sure we’re set to be towed,” he instructed Fotell.

  “I’ll recall the remaining bots on the hull to come in,” Jonas offered.

  “I can’t believe they’re defying orders to help us,” Nalus remarked. She was rethinking her thoughts about the alliance aliens. Maybe they weren’t so bad, after all.

  “I hope you’re not complaining.” Jacob wanted to be sarcastic and remind her that if it was a TERRA ship, they’d be sitting on the other side of the gate doing nothing. He also wanted to point out that the IQUIS was mirroring what PHOENIX did when it defied TERRA and escaped the solar system to seek out the Screen. But the commander kept those thoughts to himself. They were all in this together. It would serve no purpose to berate his navigation officer.

  “No, sir,” Nalus assured him. She had all but given up hope that she’d never see her husband and kids again. She tried to hide her emotions but couldn’t help but break a smile. She started to believe they would make it back.

  Jacob noticed her grin but didn’t say anything. Michelle was still monitoring their tactical situation. “Commander, fifteen of the alien vessels just initiated a jump towards us.”

  “Shit,” Jacob muttered.

  “Yup, shit’s about to get real,” Michelle replied.

  “Any idea when they’ll intercept us?” the commander asked.

  The security chief gave him an annoyed look. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Right, sorry.” Jacob knew their sensor data on the alien armada was woefully incomplete but thought maybe they could get an educated guess. “SOLARA to IQUIS, be advised fifteen of the hostile alien vessels are inbound to our position.”

  “We picked up their trajectory,” Zuwelic replied. “They will intercept your location in yub desx.”

  “Please say that’s more than an hour,” David hoped.

  “Unfortunately, no,” Jacob said as he sat back in the command chair. “It’s going to be close.”

  “Commander, recommend moving personnel to the interior of the ship,” Jonas advised. “The Senfo tractor beam should strengthen SOLARA’s hull structure, but there’s still a risk of breaches when we jump.”

  “Do it,” Jacob ordered. They were so close to getting back. Could the SOLARA handle faster than light travel, even with the Senfo tractor beam reinforcing the hull?

  “SOLARA is ready to be towed,” Fotell announced.

  “Preparing to exit jump,” Zuwelic announced over the communications line.

  The IQUIS exited the jump right near the SOLARA. Everyone couldn’t be happier seeing the blue, roundish ship. Without wasting precious time, the Senfo vessel fired its energy tractor beam and locked onto the capital ship. The SOLARA shook from the lock on. The IQUIS wasted no time and turned to make a jump back to the gate. As it completed its turnaround, fifteen alien vessels appeared near their location.

  “Enemy hostiles nearby,” Michelle reported.

  Jacob checked his display to get a look at a visual of the ships. They were black, with each ship appearing to be a multitude of X’s crisscrossing each other. The alien that boarded SOLARA looked sinister, and their ships appeared just as menacing.

  The Jokabi ships opened fire with no warning. SOLARA was helpless to defend itself. Luckily, the IQUIS was well armed. The Senfo ship fired its arsenal at the enemy battle group. Several shots struck the IQUIS.

  Michelle analyzed their attack patterns. “It looks like their primary target is the IQUIS.” Just then SOLARA rocked from some energy impacts. “But a couple of ships are targeting us.”

  “Standby SOLARA for jump,” Zuwelic advised. Jacob wanted to scream, “Hurry up!” but maintained his composure.

  A couple more shots struck SOLARA. “We’ve got damage to our rear port side,” Jonas reported. “We’re venting plasma.”

  “Shut down the plasma network in that area,” Jacob ordered. If they jumped, it could ignite the vented plasma.

  “On it,” Jonas replied as he worked the controls.

  Seconds later, both the SOLARA and IQUIS jumped. There was a brief sigh of relief from the crew, but it was tempered by all the squeaks and groans they were hearing from the hull. They hoped their battered ship would hold itself together.

  “How’s it looking lieutenant?” Jacob asked Jonas.

  Lieutenant Walters’s eyes were glued to his console. “We’re borderline in some areas, but she’s holding.

  “Come on, keep it together,” Michelle encouraged the ship. SOLARA had been in service for twenty-five years. Now was not the time to fall apart, not when they needed her the most.

  “Hostile enemy ships in pursuit,” Zuwelic announced over the speakers. “They are attempting to overtake us. Increasing speed.”

  “Keep the ship together,” Jacob instructed Jonas.

  “I’m trying. I’ve got the integrity field to maximum.”

  “Fluctuate the frequency bandwidth,” Fotell instructed. “We found it increases integrity fields without pumping additional power.”

  Jonas had never heard of such a thing, but he wasn’t about to argue with her. He set the system to randomly fluctuate the frequencies. Sure enough, the integrity field strengthened.

  Jonas smiled. “Commander, please let the IQUIS know they can punch it.”

  “You hear that, Zuwelic?” Jacob asked. “Maximum speed to the gate.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  The IQUIS increased its jump speed. Jacob monitored their trajectory and was a little surprised at how fast they were going. The IQUIS seemed to rival PHOENIX in how fast it could go, and PHOENIX’s engine was a much more advanced piece of Ni technology.

  They would shortly reach the gate. With an enemy in hot pursuit, Jacob moved onto the next plan. They needed to make sure the Jokabi didn’t follow them back to the Milky Way galaxy. He got over the internal communications line with the hangar. �
��Diego to hangar. I need you to program all Interceptors for remote self-destruct. Once you’re done, evacuate all personnel from the hangar.”

  “Yes, commander,” the hangar officer replied.

  Michelle leaned over to Jacob. “You want to clue me in?”

  “I’m going to use the Interceptors to blow up the gate on this end. We can’t risk destroying the gate just on one side. It may give the Jokabi time to cross over.”

  The security chief was impressed with the commander’s out-of-the-box thinking. She would have never thought of using fighters as weapons. She decided to join him coming up with unusual solutions. “You know, we may not be able to fire plasma torpedoes, but we can eject them from the torpedo tubes.”

  Jacob smile. “I like your style, lieutenant. I’ll let you take care of that.”

  “We are approaching the gate,” Zuwelic announced. “Prepare to exit jump.”

  The IQUIS and SOLARA exited their jump. Ahead of them was the jumpgate. In front of the gate were the fighter bots SOLARA had called for.

  “Order the fighter bots to attack the Jokabi ships,” Jacob told Fotell.

  As Fotell sent the order to the bots, the IQUIS headed full speed towards the gate. He made the right call as the pursuing Jokabi ships exited their jump and were in hot pursuit of the two alliance ships. The fighter bots immediately locked onto them and flew to engage the enemy ships.

  “We’ve got company,” Nalus announced.

  “We’ll eject the Interceptors and torpedoes right before we enter the wormhole,” Jacob said to Michelle. “The combined explosions will be more than enough to destroy the three nodes on this end.”

  “I’m ready to eject the torpedoes at your command.”

  “Commander,” David called out. “We’re being raised by one of the enemy ships.”

  “Put it up,” Jacob ordered.

  “You cannot zalnio us. We are Jokabi. Cease welndiso and prepare for boarding.”

  Jacob stood up and took a deep breath. “On behalf of the alliance and all the benevolent alien races in our galaxy…go fuck yourselves!” Jacob motioned for David to terminate the transmission.

  Everyone couldn’t help but look at the commander with their mouths open. It took David to break the silence. “John was unconventional, but I don’t think he ever cussed out any enemy.”

  “Entering gate in opi dniew,” Zuwelic announced.

  Five seconds. Jacob looked at Michelle. “Eject the torpedoes.”

  A combination of torpedoes and fighters floated out of the SOLARA. It didn’t dissuade the Jokabi fleet from opening fire on the escaping alliance ships. Several of them had to avoid the attacking fighter bots, giving the escaping alliance ships some breathing room.

  Just as the IQUIS and SOLARA were about to enter the gate’s threshold, one of the Jokabi’s energy blasts struck a torpedo, causing it to explode. The explosion hit the nearby SOLARA Interceptors and torpedoes, causing them to explode. Both the IQUIS and SOLARA were struck by the shockwaves just as they entered the gate’s wormhole, causing the IQUIS’s tractor beam to disengage. Both ships hurled through the wormhole uncontrollably as the navigation officers of both ships tried to regain control via thrusters.

  Both ships emerged on the other side. Less than a second later, the wormhole collapsed. The ride was turbulent. It took time for the officers on both vessels to orient themselves.

  “Report,” Jacob said.

  “We’re back in the Milky Way,” a relived Nalus announced. “Sensors show the wormhole has collapsed.”

  “Initiate the shutdown sequence on the nodes,” Jacob ordered, referring to the gate nodes on this end.

  “It is done,” Fotell replied. “All nodes are offline.”

  “We’re receiving a hail from the VFLEP and BEUSMIC,” David announced.

  “Put it up and patch the IQUIS in,” Jacob ordered.

  “Done,” David replied as he patched the communications network in. “Our visuals are down, audio only.”

  “This is Vori Tretridic. Do you need assistance?”

  “Oh, probably,” Jacob replied. “We got…well, we got a huge mess here. I don’t know where to begin.”

  “We’ll dispatch shuttles with aid for you,” the Onixin vori replied.

  “Send all aid to the SOLARA,” came the voice of Zuwelic. “My crew can handle repairs to the IQUIS.”

  “Welcome back to your fellow protectorate,” Sasasaduigriganabasas greeted.

  Jacob leaned back in the command chair. “Fotell, arrange for the Onixin and Senfo shuttles to dock at the hangar.”

  “The hangar bay is currently inaccessible,” Jonas replied.

  Jacob nodded and smiled. “They’ll figure it out.” He got up and went into the captain’s office. A minute later, he emerged back onto the command deck with a bottle of whiskey. He opened it and took a swig. He never tasted whiskey before and it was awful, but it felt soothing as it went down his throat. He handed the bottle to Michelle.

  “Here, I think we can all use this.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Four days had passed since SOLARA had returned to the solar system. The ship returned home without any fanfare. TERRA ordered a sensor blackout to bring the ship to Luna without anyone noticing. Once the capital ship was moored at the Luna shipyard, security swarmed in and maintained a heavy presence around the ship. No one was allowed even near SOLARA unless they had high-level clearance and were involved with examining the vessel. TERRA security, along with scientists from the alliance races, were combining over every inch of the ship trying to get as much information as possible of its time in the Triangulum Galaxy.

  Once the ship had docked, the crew were whisked away for debriefing. The senior staff was separated for their debriefing sessions, which was standard procedure. Jacob found himself being housed in an opulent penthouse in Infinity City, close by TERRA headquarters. He had bot servants come and go to attend to his needs, but he wasn’t allowed to leave the penthouse unless escorted to a debriefing session. He asked about the crew, but no one would give him an answer. He even tried inquiring with the penthouse computer and the DAT they gave him without success. He was kept isolated, and he knew why. They didn’t want him influenced through interactions with random officers or civilians until they had completed his debriefing process.

  These past few days had allowed Jacob to reflect on the ship’s adventure through the gate. It was certainly one that could rival PHOENIX’s many adventures. Whereas the PHOENIX was properly armed when it first left the solar system, SOLARA went through its first interstellar mission woefully ill-prepared. Jacob realized that TERRA wasn’t ready to start exploring space, at least not with the current state of its five capital ships…well, four now. The tow from the IQUIS and the trip through the gate’s wormhole had caused significant structural damage on the SOLARA. Jacob wondered if the ship would ever be space-worthy again. So far, no one told him that the ship would be mothballed. Even though he only served one mission on it, he hoped TERRA would be willing to repair and rebuild her.

  As Jacob gazed out of the view of the city, the penthouse door chime rang. “Come in.” He assumed it would be another debriefing session. He was surprised to see Admiral Vespia walk in.

  “Admiral,” the commander said as he stood at attention.

  Vespia held her hand up. “At ease, commander. No need to observe protocol with me.” Jacob relaxed his shoulders. “I just ask you don’t give me the finger again.”

  Jacob’s face went red. “Yeah, about that…”

  “Water under the bridge,” Vespia replied. “I just came by to see how you’re doing.”

  “I’d be better if I knew when I’d be let out of here. How much longer is my debriefing going to take? I feel like a prisoner.”

  “Given your unauthorized mission through the gate and what you saw, the debriefing sessions will take longer than necessary. It’s also giving us a chance to create a proper cover story.”

  Jacob was confused. “C
over story?”

  “We can’t let it be known that you traveled through the gate. The alliance, our government, and even the public are still on edge recovering from decades under Screen dominance. If they were to learn that you encountered a hostile alien race, it could very well put us back into an isolationist mentality. You of all people wouldn’t want to see that happen,” she said, referring to his participation in the EXODUS Project that created the PHOENIX.

  She was right. Too many people had sacrificed too much to get TERRA to realize that space exploration was necessary. “What’s happening with my crew?”

  “They’re finishing going through their debriefs. They’re being told the same thing I’m going to tell you now. Your mission through the gate has been deemed classified. None of you are to discuss what happened with anyone…ever.”

  Jacob wasn’t too surprised to hear TERRA wanted to bury the mission. “So, we’re free to return to duty?”

  “Many of the crew have decided to retire their commissions,” Vespia revealed. “None of them ever expected to go on such a mission, and many can’t stomach the idea of future missions exploring unknown space. For the rest of you, it would be too problematic to reassign you throughout the fleet. To reduce the chance of a leak, you’ll all continue to serve together. Congratulations commander, you’re stuck with each other.”

  Jacob folded his arms. “I guess it would have been easier if the IQUIS didn’t rescue us.”

  Vespia was blunt in her response. “Yes, it would have. Despite our orders and those from the alliance militaries, those ship commanders chose to defy us. It seems the spirit of the PHOENIX has influenced some in the alliance.”

  Jacob grinned. “Lucky for us.” For the first time, he felt he knew how John Roberts felt in thumbing his nose at authority. It was a good feeling. “I hope none of those commanders will lose their positions.”

  “No, there’ll be some consequences, but they’ll keep their commands,” Vespia replied. “They may have violated orders, but morally what they did was right.” That was nearly an admission by the admiral that she was glad SOLARA was rescued. It wasn’t the crew’s fault they weren’t prepared for what they encountered. It was Captain Dewis who forced them into that position.