Infinity's End: Books 4-6, page 17
Zenfor glanced up. “I’m only speculating. This is technology I’m unfamiliar with. If you’d like to attempt to interpret this data, you are welcome to it.”
Jann sat back in her seat; frustration painted on her face. “Look,” Cas said. “Let’s just gather as much data as we can and if it looks like anything is about to change we’ll just go back through the archway.”
“Why not go back through now and bring a bunch of the shuttles back with us? Or even Tempest?” Jann asked.
“There’s no guarantee the doorway stays open all the time. We may have gotten lucky to cross over when we did,” Zenfor replied. “I’m performing all scans now.”
“Wait, does that mean we may not be able to get back across?” Jann asked.
“I don’t know.”
The spacewing pilot shook her head. “No, we’re going back now. I’m not about to be stuck on the far side of some temporal gateway, unable to return.”
“Captain, wait,” Cas said. “If Zenfor is right this might be the only chance we ever get to study these aliens. That has to be worth the price of admission. If we can’t get back, then it won’t matter if we try right now or if we try when we’re done scanning. But if we make it back over there and can’t return, we’ll have lost any chance we might have had.”
Jann sighed. “Fine. Let’s just…make this quick.”
“So far your equipment cannot penetrate their hull. But it is composed of material I’ve never seen before. It’s a kind of mimetic alloy. It has the properties of different types of metals but is none of them at the same time. This is very curious,” Zenfor said. “Can you move the shuttle closer?”
“Closer?” Jann yelled. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Zenfor glanced up. “I don’t kid.”
Cas nodded. “She really doesn’t. I’ve never seen her tell a joke.”
Jann drew a deep breath and activated the controls. “Bringing us in closer.”
“Caspian, perform scans using the secondary array. Visual and radiative only if you have to but get everything you can.”
Cas nodded, realizing he hadn’t moved at all since they’d seen the ship. He couldn’t believe they’d found it. It looked nothing at all like any other ship he’d seen before. Even the Sil ships were much more compact. But this seemed to resemble an ancient longship, like those used on the Earth of long ago. Things he’d only seen pictures of, what few pictures survived. The design was familiar, yet completely alien at the same time. He could only speculate as to its purpose. Troop transport? Science vessel? It was impossible to tell, especially since no one seemed home. The aliens wouldn’t abandon it, would they? Unless it was active in a way they couldn’t detect. Cas initiated all the sensors from the secondary array, gathering up info as the shuttle slowly drifted alongside the ship.
“I’m still not detecting any power signatures, no heat or infrared,” Zenfor said. “Do you have anything?”
He didn’t think he did. The side of the ship was smooth as glass, as though it had been poured from a mold instead of constructed. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the flash of movement. “Wait!”
Jann brought the shuttle to a stop. “What?” She’d activated the weapons systems.
“I saw something,” Cas said, scanning the side of the ship. “Something on the surface moved.” He glanced down at his controls and rewound the visual feed he’d been taking.
“I didn’t detect any changes in my readings,” Zenfor said.
“Here.” He pointed to the image of the ship. There had been a ripple in its side as they passed, as if the surface of the ship was water reacting to the shuttle moving over it. “Go back, a few meters,” he said. Jann put the shuttle in reverse back to the area on the side where he’d seen the change. “Stop here.” The side of the ship rippled again, a waveform that undulated until it formed itself into what looked to be a hatch, perfectly matched to the shuttle’s docking clamp at the back. “Zenfor?”
“I see it,” she said. “Still no power signatures though.”
“Is it real or an optical illusion?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” she replied. “We board the ship.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Xax came running into sickbay not more than a minute after Box had sent the call. Laura watched as Evie thrashed back and forth, even under the suspension field Box had erected over the bed. He’d told Laura she had to let go of Evie’s hand, despite that being the one thing she didn’t want to do. In the end he’d had to threaten doing it himself if she didn’t comply, and she relented.
“Give me a status,” Xax yelled, yanking on her white coat with two of her four arms while the other two fumbled with an instrument in her hand.
“Unknown,” Box said. “I administered the cocktail you developed, and she fell asleep. But then—”
“—then she started screaming. For no reason,” Laura said. “She was fine one second and the next it was like someone was killing her.” She glanced down to her hand where Evie had squeezed it while she was under duress. It was red where her fingers had been. There’d been so much adrenaline surging through Laura she hadn’t even felt it.
Xax stared up at the monitor. “Did you try to wake her?”
“Using auditory therapy, and by trying to shake her awake,” Box replied. Evie yanked one way and the field around the bed buckled, a jolt of energy moving over the bed as she thrashed.
“Re-establish the field,” Xax said, running across the room and gathering a bottle from one of her cabinets. She placed the vial into the device she’d come in with and passed it from her lower hand to her upper hand.
“The power is down,” Box replied. “Lieutenant, please stand back.” She’d scooted closer when the field dropped. Evie was grunting now each time she thrashed. She wasn’t kicking, but instead was moving back and forth, like she was fighting off some invisible attacker holding her down. All Laura wanted to do was help her.
Xax appeared on the other side of the bed and placed the small device under Evie’s nose. Her eyes fluttered open immediately and she screamed again, grabbing out for anything. Laura took her hand in both of hers, holding it close to her chest. “Shh, Evie, it’s okay,” she cooed.
“NO!” Evie screamed. “GET HIM OFF ME!”
“Commander!” Box said. “There is no one on you, it is a dream.”
“I can see him; I can see him right now!” she yelled. Her face was awash in terror, her eyes wild and unfocused.
“She’s having a hallucination,” Laura said. “She thinks it’s real.”
“It is real,” Evie replied. “He’s here. He’s right here!”
“Who is?” Xax asked, studying the monitor again.
Evie continued to thrash, but Laura held tight, determined not to let go. Though the woman was strong; Laura was getting jerked back and forth. It was surprising she had this much strength.
“I—I don’t know,” Evie said, calming a bit. “I’ve never seen him before. But he’s…he won’t let me go! He won’t let me leave!”
“Where are you right now, Commander?” Xax asked. Laura glanced at Box whose yellow eyes blinked at her then returned to his patient. Laura had no idea if that meant anything or not. But she couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to Evie, not now when things were finally starting to look up.
“I’m—in a long, white room. No, it’s not white, it’s gray. But it’s moving too, nothing is solid here. It’s just me and him. I can’t see anyone else.”
“Can you describe him?”
Evie thrashed again. “He’s—fuck why is he so strong?” She yanked again and this time the motion almost brought Laura off her feet. But still she held tight to Evie’s hand. “He’s—he’s a dark gray, with what looks like plates all over his body. He’s not quite human, but—I—can’t tell.” She was struggling with her words. “His head is long in the back, and he’s got these eyes. They see into my soul. I don’t want him looking—I can’t have him—” she broke off into a scream again. “GET OFF!”
“You have to do something for her,” Laura implored. “Please. This is hurting her.”
“It’s got to be neurological,” Xax said, as if she were talking to herself. “Box, grab me the kionized desitrate.” She turned to Evie. “Commander, I’m going to give you an antipsychotic, okay?” Evie only continued to thrash while Box ran off to the other side of sickbay. “Damn.” She glanced at Laura. “Because she’s not responsive, I’m informing you I’m making a medical decision for the good of the patient. I need you to witness I attempted to reach the commander for consent.”
Laura nodded as Box returned with the vial. Xax inserted into the same small device she’d held onto earlier and pressed the entire device against Evie’s neck. “A mild dose?” Box asked.
“I don’t want to risk anything larger,” Xax said. “Not without knowing what we’re dealing with.”
“How long does it take?” Laura asked. Evie had stilled some but continued to fight off her invisible attacker.
“It shouldn’t be long, it’s a direct feed into her bloodstream. Her mind should start to react almost immediately.” Xax turned to the feeds on the monitor. “C’mon.”
Evie grimaced and grunted; her eyes fully open but not seeing any of them. It was like she was off somewhere else. Like she could see a universe that didn’t exist. Laura didn’t care what it was, she just wanted it to stop.
“Damn,” the doctor said. “We’re not getting any results. I’m…at a loss. Whatever was affecting her sleep patterns seems to have migrated into her waking hours. It’s a battle in her mind and I don’t have any way of getting inside there.”
“It’s a battle she’s losing,” Laura said. “Look at her!”
“I’m open to suggestions!” Xax said, clearly flustered. Laura didn’t think she’d ever seen the doctor upset before. In fact, she didn’t think she’d ever even raised her voice.
“What about Commander Sesster?” Box said. “He might have the capability to get inside her head. Maybe help her deal with whatever else is in there?”
“Are you thinking it’s more than psychological?” Xax asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But Sesster might.”
Xax considered it for a second, then tapped her comm. “Nurse crew four to sickbay. We need to prep a patient to be moved.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“I’m not doing it, I refuse—”
“This may be our only opportunity to study the aliens up close,” Zenfor replied, standing near the back hatch of the shuttle. “Please maneuver it into position so I may disembark.”
“No,” Jann replied. “You got me to stay here but if you think I’m docking with an alien ship just so we can find out what they’re like, you’re crazy. There could be an entire army waiting on the other side of that door for us, just hoping we’ll be dumb enough to actually invite them in.” She turned to Cas. “Can you believe she actually wants to do this?”
He could. It made sense; the consul wanted as much information about the threat as possible. What better way to get it then to board their ship and find it for herself? Especially if her equipment wasn’t working the way she wanted it to. But Cas couldn’t blame Jann for not wanting to get any closer. They knew absolutely nothing about this species other than the fact they inhabited other parts of time. Whether it was for a nefarious reason or not was yet to be determined, but if his time near the Excel Nebula had taught him anything it was that you couldn’t assume something had only benevolent feelings when you didn’t know anything about it. From here on out everything was a threat. “Is there no other way to find out anything about them?” Cas asked.
“Your sensors won’t give me anything to work with. If I was on a Sil ship, I’d at least be able to determine their level of technological advancement. As it is, I believe our best opportunity to learn about them lies beyond that hatch.”
“And if it’s a trap?” Jann asked.
“Then we will know. And when our shuttle doesn’t return, Tempest will have no choice but to conclude they killed us. Either way, the threat will be established.”
“Fine. If we’re doing this then I’m setting the self-destruct on the shuttle. If they somehow gain control, they won’t have it for long. And maybe with the shuttle right up against theirs it will cause enough damage for Tempest to be able to pick it up. They already know we found the arch.”
“That’s an excellent idea, Captain,” Zenfor said. “Now please, move us into position.”
“I can’t believe this,” Jann muttered. “Suicide mission.”
Cas leaned over. “I know this isn’t what you were expecting. But I’m glad you’re here.”
“You’re just determined to kill all of us pilots, huh?” she said. Cas winced and pulled back. That stung. He turned away from her, trying to concentrate on keeping the dam holding back his flood of emotions from crumbling. She was right, here he was putting them at risk again. They should just go back. Zenfor was strong enough to overpower them, but she probably didn’t know how to fly the shuttle. She’d need Jann for that much at least.
“Shit,” Jann said. “I didn’t mean that. It’s just when I’m not in my own ship and when I find myself in another timestream about to board an alien vessel I get kinda worked up.” She turned to him. “I’m sorry, I know you’re doing your best. Like all of us.”
Cas gave her a small smile. “Thanks.” He stood and went to the back as she piloted the shuttle, so it backed up to the alien ship. Even though she’d apologized he still felt the underlying message—probably one all the spacewing pilots shared. With some, like Rafnkell, there was no question. Others, like Ryant out there, sitting on the other side of time, it might be buried deeper. But it was still there, Cas knew that as sure as he knew anything.
Opening the supply locker on the side, he retrieved three pistols and handed one to Zenfor who only stared at it. He returned to the front and gave the second to Jann while shoving the third into the back of his pants.
She smiled, taking the weapon and placing it on her lap as she finished the sequence. “We should get the enviro-suits too. I highly doubt there will be any oxygen over there, not to mention we can’t make—” There was a knocking sound, along with a thud. Jann stared back at the controls. “What the hell?”
“That sounded like we just made a hard lock,” Cas said.
She checked her instruments. “We did. But I don’t understand how. This shuttle doesn’t have a universal dock, it’s only registered for Coalition ships. It can’t even dock with Sargan tech. The best it can do is land in a bay somewhere and hope it’s pressurized. This shouldn’t be possible.”
“From what I could see, it looked as though the hatch appeared in response to the shuttle passing it. Perhaps it can configure itself to make a hard dock as well,” Zenfor said, still holding her weapon awkwardly.
“What are you saying, they want us to come aboard?”
“No. It may be automatic. It could be intentional, but we’ll have no way of knowing until we go over there.”
“Then we definitely want enviro-suits,” Jann said, standing. “I’ve set the auto-destruct for thirty minutes. That should be more than enough time.” She walked over to the locker past Cas and pulled three of the suits from inside. She handed one to Zenfor, though it was painfully obvious she was much too tall to fit.
“Anything larger?” she asked.
Jann screwed up her face. “I’m afraid not. But you can use one of these.” She tossed Zenfor a small device Cas recognized as a repel field. “Clip it to yourself somewhere, it will form a small field around you that will at least prevent you from catching any diseases or large temperature changes. Though if there’s no oxygen I don’t know what we can do.”
“I can hold my breath for almost ten of your minutes,” Zenfor replied, hooking the device to her belt. “It should be enough to gather cursory information.”
Cas slipped into his enviro-suit, not having worn one in quite some time. He hadn’t had any on the Reasonable Excuse because all his hab pods were self-sustaining. Had there been a breach all he’d had to do was seal them all and use them as lifeboats. Probably the last time he’d needed one was when he’d escaped Kathora.
He checked Jann’s suit and she did the same for him, confirming all their connections were in place. Zenfor activated her repel field which produced a slight blue glow around her for a moment before dissipating. “Are we ready?” Cas asked.
Jann held her weapon at her side, her focus on the door. Zenfor reached over and pressed the panel which retracted the door. It slid up into the top of the shuttle to reveal a portal to the ship exactly the same size as their port. It even vaguely looked like Coalition tech.
“You said this material was mimetic,” Cas said. “Does that mean it can also detect other…technology? Emulate it somehow?”
“It would be a wonder if it could,” Zenfor said. She stepped forward to the hatch on the other ship. Cas moved to stop her, wanting to prepare himself for what might be on the other side but she moved too quick and he braced himself, aiming his weapon at the portal.
Instead of sliding, it melted away into nothingness, revealing a cavernous space beyond. Cas activated the light on his enviro-suit and Jann did the same, as the space beyond was dark, save a few sources of light along the walls. Though they didn’t exactly look like any kind of light Cas had seen before. They seemed to almost be concentrations of the hull as there was little discernable difference between them and the side of the ship itself.
“At least they have lights,” Cas said. If Zenfor heard him she didn’t look back. He’d never forget how absolutely alien the Sil ship had seemed without any light to illuminate it. Even when he found his flashlight the place was…strange. This was more like what he was used to, though the technology was far more advanced than anything he’d seen before. They took a few steps into the ship, and Cas’s indicator on his suit told him there was an oxygen atmosphere inside. “Oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. Not exactly what we need but as long as we don’t need to run really fast we can breathe it. The air is just a little thinner than we’re used to.”
