Encounters (The Spiral Slayers Book 1)

by Rusty Williamson

  On the first level of the bridge, perched on the top of a five-foot high stepped pyramid, was the large captain’s chair and station. The ends of the chair’s arms held communication panels connecting him to every part of the ship. Above his chair, placed so that they did not block the windows or the hologram display, four large screens formed a semicircle around the chair. They displayed summaries of all system functions.

  To Radin's front right and descending on each of the pyramid’s broad steps forward into the nose was his first officer’s station, then the Astrogation station manned by two officers, then just before the large front view port was helm control where a single helmsman managed the speed of the huge ship and steered her. To Radin's front left was his science officer, followed by the two officers at the science stations, and then the master sensor control station, again, managed by a single sensor specialist. Off to Radin's lower right and set slightly back, four officers operated the master weapons control station, and on the opposite side, on his lower left, four more officers operated the communication stations.

  On the second level up, to the left and right, well behind the captain’s chair, were the traffic control stations for the starboard and port fighter bays. Finally, positioned directly behind but well above the captain's seat on the third level up, four officers manned the damage control and environmental control stations.

  Towering over the entire bridge structure, large arches arced upward from the floor. Four ran from side to side with another running front to back—all merging high overhead approximately at the center of the bridge. They encased the bridge in its own dedicated structural integrity and inertial dampening fields.

  Radin studied the hologram for a moment longer, double-checking the position of every battleship, then sat down and cleared his throat. “Ms. January, please engage slave mode on all ships,” he ordered.

  His first officer, Commander Susan January, turned in her seat, “Slave mode engaged, sir.”

  Nothing changed on the holographic display…which was good.

  Radin’s aide handed him a cup of coffee. Radin thanked him and settled back in the captain’s seat. Now he was ready to start the show, “Ms. January, ease us forward and let’s see what happens.” They had tested Slave Mode several times before with up to five ships, but this was all 10, and better safe than sorry.

  The main engines came to life and a low rumble could be heard as a deep vibration ran through the deck plates. On each of the nine ships slaved to the Lambert, the same thing was happening. Slowly they all began to move forward.

  Radin smiled and sipped his coffee.

  After twenty minutes, Radin was satisfied and ordered the ships to half speed. Upon clearing Amular's planetary system, he brought their speed up to three quarters—their normal cruising speed. He looked over at General Burnwall and they shared a smile. They were on their way almost a year ahead of schedule!

  ---

  Six months later…

  A scant 13 million miles from the sun, nestled in the shadow of the small planetoid Cinder, work continued around the clock at the Hideaway Shipyard. All five ship docks were functional and fully staffed now. Evelyn, Brandon, Harrington and Leewood had gathered in the Eden’s quarters to watch the monthly communication from Captain Radin aboard the Leviathan Battleship Lambert leading the 10 battleships to Hideaway. The fleet had been traveling for months while at the same time training the new crews and conducting exercises. Radin’s communications still remained one-way affairs due to the response time.

  Radin’s transmission was just wrapping up. “So,” Radin was saying on the com screen, “the training and exercises have been going reasonably well, though thankfully, Slave Mode continues to work great, and provided we maintain our current speed, we should be seeing you in about a month. Of course, we should be talking in real time in a few days. We rendezvous with a Loud Umbrella Ship two days from now to get our very own Tachyon com unit, and as I understand it, a day later you’ll get one. I think that’s about it. General?”

  General Burnwall, standing beside Radin, smiled and raised his hand in mock salute to the camera. Radin nodded his head, “Until then, Radin out.” The screen went dark.

  “Well,” Leewood said, “it sounds like they've certainly had their hands full.”

  Brandon rubbed his eyes—like the rest of them, he looked exhausted. “Well, so have we, but it all seems to be coming together.”

  Evelyn put her hand on Brandon’s arm, “I can’t wait to see this instant com device…but look, we’ve only got four hours to get some shut eye and then it's back to work for all of us so...”

  “Yes,” said Leewood, “let's not waste any of it.”

  Harrington’s eyes wandered over to Leewood, her expression neutral.

  They all got up and Leewood and Harrington headed towards the hatch.

  Harrington turned, “We'll see you in four hours or so,” she said with a little wave as they left.

  Out in the corridor Harrington and Leewood walked in silence towards their quarters. Harrington's room was right next door to the Edens’, and Leewood's was right next door to hers. As they approached the hatch to her quarters, they slowed down and then paused for a minute, smiled at each other, then proceeded down the corridor.

  Inside the Edens’ quarters, Evelyn said to Brandon, “Honey, catch Leewood and remind him that he has to meet with Flannery and Mac before the end of their shifts.”

  Brandon walked quickly to the hatch and opened it. He looked down the corridor just in time to see both Leewood and Harrington entering Leewood's quarters. He blinked and then stared blankly down the empty corridor for several seconds. Finally, he retreated back inside and closed the hatch. He stood there wearing a befuddled expression for a moment. Evelyn peeked out of their sleeping area half-undressed and gave him a questioning look. “I...I just missed them…” Brandon motioned awkwardly at the hatch, “…er, him…ah, and her…missed…both,” he finished in a distracted manner, arms dropping to his side.

  Evelyn gave him a look, then her eyes sparkled and she grinned as she quickly ducked back into their sleeping area. “No matter…just come to bed, my love.”

  Brandon had seen the smile grace Evelyn's lips as she had ducked back into their sleeping quarters. He wondered briefly if he should tell Evelyn what he had just seen. Then he smiled too, realizing what Evelyn’s departing smile had really meant and what he should have already known…that she, as always…already knew.

  ---

  Though the sun shone brightly, a cold crisp wind blew from the North—the warm days of summer were passing, the season was changing. Large patches of crisp auburn leaves blew across the ground with a dry scratchy sound. They crunched underfoot as Adamarus and Bugs walked along what was now their standard walking path around the vacant lot. After their first walk almost a year ago, Adamarus had been stunned when, the next day, Bugs had insisted on going for a walk again. Ever since then, Bugs had been adamant on starting each of their meetings with a walk, and that’s what they’d done except twice when it had been overruled by Adamarus due to pouring rain which didn’t bother the robot one bit.

  Today as they walked, Adamarus was lost in thought, thinking of how close he, Grace and Nero had become over the last year. The time had flown by and now the time was again upon them when he would have to leave. Adamarus and Bugs would depart for Hideaway for a high-level meeting the President had scheduled. Also, Bugs would get a chance to tour the Leviathan Class Battleships, the L-Class fighters, and review their current weapons systems. At least it would be a fast trip—they would be traveling on the Loud’s Umbrella Ship.

  “Oh,” it said, “and congratulations on your promotion, Admiral.”

  Adamarus smiled. The promotion had come through the day before without ceremony, fanfare or speeches—everyone was too busy. “It’s ‘Fleet’ Admiral, Bugs…not quite a full admiral yet.”

  They entered and rode the elevator down to the underground situation room where Adamarus, Bugs
, scientists, engineers and others had held meetings on the Loud’s new or improved weapons systems proposals.

  Many times, Radin, Burnwall, Leewood, Harrington and the Edens as well as others would participate in these meetings, although this was done virtually. Today, however, the teleconferencing screens were dark and it would be just Adamarus and Bugs. This would be their last meeting before departing for Hideaway the next morning. They sat down at the table across from each other.

  Adamarus leaned forward in his chair, “In this meeting I’d like to initiate getting the Loud’s assistance in constructing a new weapon…” he paused searching for a nicer name for it, but couldn’t come up with one, “…a bomb.”

  Bugs stared at him for a moment, then leaned forward as well, “What kind of bomb?”

  Adamarus replied, “We don’t really care.”

  Bugs drew his head back, “You…don’t care what kind?”

  Adamarus considered what he’d just said and decided he didn’t blame the alien for its reaction. He gathered his thoughts for a moment, then continued, “No, we don’t care ‘what kind,’ only that it be…” again there was only one way to put it, “the biggest…most powerful bomb that you can come up with.”

  “The biggest, most powerful bomb we can come up with,” Bugs repeated.

  Adamarus smiled and nodded, “Exactly.”

  ---

  That night Adamarus, Grace and Nero had a special dinner and spent time together, allowing Nero to stay up an hour past his bedtime. Later Adamarus and Grace made love slowly and purposely. It might be a long time before they could do it again.

  The next morning, everyone was racing around getting ready for work, school, and Adamarus’ departure. Finally the time came. “Well, thank God…Nero and I are so in need of a break!” Grace teased as she pushed Adamarus towards the door. They were all close to tears as well as laughing at her joking around, glad for the levity she had injected into the always awkward sorrowful goodbyes. “Now...” she patted down his uniform and straightened his tie, “you take care of yourself, ‘Admiral.’ Promise me!”

  Adamarus brushed his finger across her cheek, “I'm going to be with Bugs! If anything happens…well, I’ll just come back…”

  “…even younger,” Grace said in unison with Adamarus and they all laughed again.

  He picked up Nero and hugged him, “You’re going to be a good boy and help Mother like we talked about?”

  “Yes,” Nero said.

  “Okay,” he kissed him on the forehead, hugged him tight and then put him down. “Goodbye, son, but remember, with the Loud’s new com device, we’ll be able to talk in real time no matter where I am.”

  Grace composed herself and then pushed him out the door, “Alright, Mister…oh, I mean, ‘Admiral’ Maximus, go…go on…you’re going to be late. Off you go. Goodbye, my love. I love you.” He started to turn, but she pulled him back for a final kiss, released him and watched him walk away.

  Adamarus, carrying only a small suitcase, walked out toward the limo. Steam rose from the exhaust pipes in the early morning chill. The driver hurried forward and took Adamarus’ bag and placed it in the trunk. Adamarus got in the back and the limo drove off as Grace and Nero continued to watch from the doorway.

  Some minutes later, the limo pulled to a stop at the guarded gate of the compound that had long ago formed around the Loud ship and the listening chamber. Adamarus glanced out the dark gray window knowing what he’d see—just outside the gate, half a dozen civilian men and women were marching around in a circle blocking the gate and holding signs. They parted to let the limousine through without resistance. As they passed by, Adamarus was able to read one of the signs. It said, “Prepare 4 Peace, Not 4 War.”

  When the protesters had first appeared a few weeks ago, the realization of what he was seeing was like a slap in the face. It seemed only a few months before people had been leaving flowers at the gate. Adamarus’ mouth had fallen open and he had been dumbfounded! He had seen this type of thing at the start of the Asteroid Harvest project and it always caught him off guard.

  When he pulled up to the entrance of the listening chamber, Woodworth, Jan, Lenny and Trevor were out front waiting for him. Adamarus had not yet met Jan, Lenny or Trevor, and introductions were made.

  The sun had barely lifted off the horizon and a chill wind blew around the group. Adamarus gestured back toward the gates, "I think the numbers are falling off."

  Woodworth laughed, “I saw a new sign this morning, 'Make Bongs, Not Bombs'!”

  “Make…Bongs…” Adamarus’ expression went blank. He blinked and shook his head.

  Jan held her hand up to block the sun and studied the distant protestors, “Woodworth predicted this, but it happened a lot faster than any of us expected.”

  Adamarus muttered almost to himself, “By now you’d think I’d be used to it…” a little anger crept into his voice, “but it always catches me by surprise,” he finished in a resigned tone. “We saw it at the beginning of the harvesting project.” He continued staring thoughtfully back toward the gates, “But this is unbelievable. Don’t they know what’s going on? What choices do they think we have? What…” his hands made a helpless gesture and he just went silent not knowing what to say. His head shook briefly as if he was shaking off an unwanted annoyance, then he turned away and motioned everyone inside the entrance.

  They took the moving walkway up and then walked down the windowed tunnel to the soundproof door and the two guards who were expecting them.

  The door opened, but instead of the listening chamber, it opened up to a large rectangular compartment with a dozen comfortable looking seats. The seats were arranged around three oval art deco tables with subtle lights near their bases. Viewers and cup holders were arranged on top. At the far end, a stylish bar sat opposite to male and female restrooms. The group entered, looking around with expressions of approval.

  It looked very familiar to Adamarus, but at first he could not place it. Then it came to him. “It’s the Presidential shuttle—but without the view ports!” he said to no one in particular. It was a copy of the cabin in the Presidential shuttle they had first taken out to Hideaway. “At least this time the trip won’t last as long.”

  Woodworth sat down in one of the seats. “More time will be spent making orbit and docking with the Umbrella Ship than the actual trip to Hideaway itself…only minutes, according to Bugs.”

  Lenny said, “Alright!”

  Jan walked past him, whopping him in the stomach as she did and he doubled over with an “Oof.” “Lenny, if I hear that word one more time, I’ll…” but Jan was interrupted by a racket at the end of the cabin.

  Everyone quickly looked that way just as Bugs’ avatar sprung up from behind the bar exclaiming, “Drinks are on the house!”

  This sudden appearance startled the hell out of everyone. The inactive avatar had been laid out behind the bar where it had inadvertently remained hidden.

  Bugs’ head swiveled from side to side looking at the startled group. “What?” it asked.

  Chapter Eighteen – Council of War

  “What can we say about infinite density—if we could somehow peek inside some—what would we see; what characteristics would it have? Well, not much. Everywhere you look is the same. Uniformity rules. There are no atoms, so there is no temperature; no motion, so no events, and therefore time does not exist. There would be only a single state or a unistate and the first cosmic law says this cannot exist—within a universe. Singularities define the edge of the universe, the actual unistate lying just beyond outside the universe. Now, do the characteristics of infinite density happen to fit or describe anything else? As a matter of fact, they do. They also describe...an absolute vacuum which is supposed to be the exact opposite of infinite density. However, if they have the exact same characteristics...then...they are the same. Both are unistates. Both produce gravity as all things seek the lowest number of states. Once it is realized that both matter and the lack of matter
produce this attraction called ‘gravity,’ everything falls into place, startling new vistas open up and ‘dark matter’ is eliminated.”

  The Loud Named Bugs

  Opening Speech, 23rd Amular Symposium on Quantum Physics

  Source: The Archive

  Space Dock One had a large battle-hardened room called “the atrium.” Originally, due to the war, this room had held the central command center and other vital functions to protect these from attack. The room resided within a 4200-foot square cavern that the engineers had carved out of the asteroid’s solid rock near the top of Space Dock One—the asteroid itself providing solid rock walls 1000 feet thick.

  Within the cavern, the engineers had constructed a huge circular domed room from the strongest battle armor of the day and suspended it between six dozen 200-foot steel springs. The armored room measured 3000 feet in diameter—the dome rose to a height of 1000 feet. It was estimated that the room could survive anything short of a direct nuclear hit. Here, the shipyard’s central control center and other vital functions resided in relative safety. However, this seemingly logical arrangement did not last long.

  During the war, the enemy—the United Settlements of the Independent Mining Consortium (USIMC) —had a good spy network and their intelligence gathering capabilities were sometimes frightening. They had learned the name “Hideaway” and then discovered that it was some kind of a secret facility. So far, that was all…but it was enough. If the USIMC ever discovered the location of Hideaway, they would send everything they had to destroy it. This caused extreme difficulty in shipping supplies and materials to Hideaway.

  Supply convoys bound for Hideaway had to go through elaborate procedures to avoid giving away Hideaway’s position. First, the convoys had to depart as individual ships, in secret, at different times, each headed in different random directions. As soon as any freighter departed Amular's planetary system, they picked up a USIMC spy ship that would attempt to follow them covertly and learn their destination. So first, Hideaway’s supply freighters had to find the Consortium’s spy ship they knew was there, and then they had to lose it. They had a lot of help finding it from the military; however, losing it—that is, breaking the lock the spy ship had on them—was not an easy task.