ALICE Explorer: Book 6 of the AL:ICE series, page 13
“And our guests?” The First Officer asked, referring to the NeHaw ships in her hangar bays.
“Tell them to stand by and give them the feed,” Isabella responded, knowing full well the devastation of that planet before them would be more than enough reason to maintain the secure position they currently occupied.
On the way here, Isabella held daily briefings with each of the NeHaw commanders, both individually and in one joint staff meeting, including her senior officers. During these sessions, she emphasized the danger they were preparing for and the means by which they would confront and overcome any hostiles that might appear.
The meetings were held virtually, though all were invited to attend in person. All the NeHaw needed to exit their ships, safely tucked away in the Kola hangars, was the breathing facemask she had seen the aliens on earth use before.
It was clear to her that the NeHaw were intent on using Kola as the shield behind which they would cower. Phaser attacks in NeHaw space had been far more devastating than the human experience, the Stasis Shielding native to all earth vessels providing a solid defense when no offense was available.
“Have the patrol ships and the transports readied. The orbital and ground teams should be able to head out in a few hours as well. I am thinking about sending two of the NeHaw ships in with them, paired up with the patrol ships,” Isabella directed her tactical officer.
“Yes, Ma’am,” came the reply from her space Traffic Control Officer.
Like any of the space stations, Kola had so many ships in her hangars that she required her own hangar management and space operations center and a vast number of crew specifically tasked with its functions. At three miles long, she was a lot of ship to operate.
“And if the Phasers return?” Kola asked her Captain.
“I confirmed with the NeHaw on the way here that their phase inhibitors will work while inside our hangars,” Isabella said with a laugh.
“I hear Jake promised the NeHaw General he wouldn’t make them fight,” Kola responded lightly.
“So long as the inhibitors work, they won’t need to,” Isabella said confidently.
“And the ones you are sending with the patrol ships?” Kola pointed out.
“The Phasers will have to get past us first,” Isabella replied confidently.
----*----
Impulsive in Human Solar System
Ivan was sitting on the bridge of the Impulsive, eyes closed and quietly listening to the sounds around him. Fresh from the Wawobash shipyards, the name had been Ivan’s suggestion, a reflection of the mission leader’s natural state of being. He could sense the tenor of the ship and the crew by what he heard around him.
With a ten-person human crew and one NeHaw on board, the eleven of them were a day away from reaching the jump-off point where the ship could convert from repulser drives and jump to FTL. It was during this travel period that everyone was expected to gain valuable experience in the ship’s operations and the understanding of their duties. On a military ship, this time might have been used in combat drills and damage control exercises. Here it was more focused on learning about the ship and crewmates as it was new for everyone.
The crew was a balanced mix of Russian, British, and American spacers, all with previous experience in patrol/transport, destroyer, or cruiser class vessels. The lack of Chinese was not intentional. It was just a matter that none had applied for the mission. The only universal requirement had been a common language fluency as they were without an ALICE available to manage translations.
One of the many ALICEs had implemented deep immersion sleep learning for everyone before departure and had the entire crew, minus the NeHaw, speaking and reading both Russian and English fluently. For communicating with the NeHaw, HeBak’s personal translator had always been capable of communicating in both languages and thus was not an issue.
In addition, while on the ship, his natural radio transmissions were intercepted by the ship’s receivers and rebroadcast for the humans to hear over the nearest speaker. The human replies reversed the process over the ship’s audio system and were transmitted to the alien as radio waves.
Opening his eyes, Ivan gave a deep sigh of satisfaction that this mission would yield far more than anyone expected. He was sure of it.
----*----
Space Station Beta
Jake knew that Magellan departed from Beta on a course that took them wide of the Phaser ravaged planet, but he still worried that it might not have been wide enough. Star charts recovered from the wreck in orbit had indicated the part of the universe they were headed for was dense with solar systems just light-years apart.
There had been quite a discussion prior to their departure of a similar track, possibly taking them to one of those nearby solar systems. The thought process was that the Phaser trail of destruction might eventually lead them to the homeworld or at least an active hub of Phaser activity.
The danger of such an approach was that the Magellan could find themselves in a trap, unable to run after they were discovered and rendered incapable of returning. Without a phase inhibitor onboard, they were unprepared to mount a credible offense, and while they were well shielded, that defense would only sustain them for so long should the Phaser aliens bring in several ships against them.
On a whim, Jake had the team of technicians aboard Beta install a little surprise package, known only to Annie and the Captain, something that might just be the thing that gave them the edge they needed should danger envelope the Magellan and its crew.
----*----
Magellan, Uncharted Space
“Annie can you do me a favor and check the calibration on the biosensors please,” Heather asked as she continued to work the controls in front of her.
“You are concerned about the growth rate data you are receiving from the 5th planet?” Annie asked in return.
“That and the moon circling it and the two moons of the 6th orbital gas giant. That’s an incredible amount of concentrated life development in a single solar system,” Heather said in disbelief.
“Yes, I encountered the same disconnect. It is not natural to see early life development so broadly distributed in an equal fashion and with such an accelerated growth rate. Even the equal distribution between planet 5 and its own moon is out of character,” Annie replied.
“Guys, it’s not just life signs down there. I am getting several power readings from various locations, and one of them is strikingly similar to our missing saucer power supply,” Joe offered from his seat at tactical.
“You are suggesting that our stolen property is in the hands of primordial life?” Captain Erisey asked in disbelief.
“No idea what it’s doing or who is using it, Sir, just saying it is down there somewhere,” Joe replied emphatically.
“Is it safe to begin entering the system?” James asked in return.
“Still working out a course that gets us in quickly and safely. The orbits of these planets around their star are far faster than we are used to, and the number of targets adds to the difficulty. I am assuming you want us to examine every target before we let it get behind us?” Alice confirmed.
“Threat analysis before science,” Erisey replied, confirming Alice’s approach of no surprises.
“I should be ready in a few hours then,” came the response.
“Very good.”
----*----
Reaper’s World
GeLak was sitting in the command chair of his destroyer as he followed the human transports and patrol ships to the uncharted planet ahead.
“What do you mean you don’t know where we are?” He asked his navigator as they maintained position in the center of the formation.
The flotilla headed to the target planet consisted of two patrol craft, three transport ships, all two- and one-half times larger than the two NeHaw destroyers that completed the convoy. Dwarfed by the ships around them, the NeHaw did their best to cling to the feared patrol ships. Once considered a ship to be avoided at all costs, the iron-hulled platforms of destruction were now the protectors of the smaller NeHaw vessels.
“We are in uncharted stars, and there is not a communications access point within reach. If I had to guess, Sir, I would speculate we are in Phaser space beyond the human solar system, but that is pure conjecture,” the Navigator managed, using the name the humans attached to the invading species.
“And our destination?” GeLak asked his science officer.
“The planet ahead is mostly devoid of life, Sir.”
“Mostly?” He asked in frustration.
“It looks to be a badly damaged civilization,” came the answer.
“Sir, there is a significant amount of debris in orbit. I do believe its remnants of starships,” came the tactical report.
“Is the phase inhibitor prepared and ready for immediate use?” He asked his engineering officer.
“It is staffed and ready, Sir,” came the swift reply.
Without the human shielding technology or the second half of the phase disruption system, the phase inhibitor was the most precious resource in their possession.
“Let us hope it is not required,” was all he could manage.
----*----
Kola, Reaper’s World
Tim was working hard to suppress his excitement as he continued to work the drill the instructor was overseeing. As the copilot of the shuttle, he was responsible for knowing everything the pilot did, plus the duties he was primarily performing in his own role. While the ship itself was unfamiliar to him, the controls before him were not, well, most of them anyway.
“No, Tim, that’s not the docking control, that the loading door,” came the gentle correction.
Since his mom had approved the request for Tim to assume the second seat, his instructors had softened in their approach with him. The change tended to unnerve him a little as it reflected the seriousness of the situation. Case in point, if he had actually opened the loading door in space, it would have killed everyone in the loading bay.
“Sorry,” he replied sheepishly.
“No, not sorry, just get it right. The pilot will be occupied in maneuvering the ship into position and keeping it there. You are the one who must extend the docking ring and create the seal between the ships once in position.”
“Why can’t we just go inside. The transport bays are plenty big enough for this ship?” He asked earnestly.
“Two reasons. First of all, you are not the only ship out there working with the transports. With two of the Lanai transports in orbit and one on the ground, most of your work will be in space. We have other ships shuttling personnel to and from Kola or the transports and the planet’s surface. Sometimes those locations are already in use.” The instructor explained patiently.
“The second reason is the bays themselves are needed for other activities beyond spaceship operations. The docking rings you are to use are outboard of these spaces, so they will be holding supplies as well as the science gear and the mobile labs. There may even be temporary crew quarters there with all the people involved.”
“I see, so we dock, transfer our cargo and then depart without interrupting everything inside the bays,” he responded.
“Exactly, so let’s try it again, shall we?” The instructor directed as he pointed Tim back at the controls before him.
Chapter 13
Magellan, Uncharted Space
Lieutenant Alice Jenkins was fixed to her navigation station display as Sam guided the Magellan into the solar system that had them all transfixed. The trouble with plotting the course into the system was the linear distance to be traveled at repulser speeds was greater than the orbital distance of the planets in the solar systems in the context of their orbital velocities. What that meant was by the time they reached the planet in question at full repulser speed, that same planet could now be on the opposite side of the star.
Then there were the planets they needed to pass by safely in order to reach their goal and the moons that orbited several of them. It wouldn’t do to charge blindly into the path of a gas giant and get slammed by one of its moons in the process. With Annie to confirm her calculations, Alice had worked out a way to reach each most expediently, the first being one of the Gas Giant’s moons, all while avoiding its pitfalls on the way and wasting as little time as possible on the way.
“Excellent work, Leftanant, get us in orbit, please,” James asked after the Magellan intersected the first of many targets they needed to explore.
Below the ship was an orbital globe larger than the earth’s own moon but smaller than the earth itself. The celestial dynamics of the moon’s rotation, it's circling the planet, and the planet orbiting the star had the cycles of night and day measured in hours and minutes rather than traditional days. However, the distribution of the intense light rays of the Class A star apparently provided more than enough light and warmth for the rudimentary life on its surface to grow.
“Getting a clear reading now of an artificial power source on the surface below. Not ours, but definitely not a natural occurrence,” Abby confirmed from the tactical station.
“Life sciences finds no sentient life indications. Everything down there is far from knowing how to think,” Heather confirmed.
“And the mystery depends,” James muttered softly.
“Okay, people, let’s do some science,” he announced with enthusiasm.
----*----
Impulsive Heading for NeHaw Frontier
“Course confirmed, and FTL engaged,” the pilot announced as the ship jumped into faster than light speeds.
“Steady as she goes,” the Captain replied.
Ivan had chosen Captain Eric Elstad to command his ship after the two had spent some time together arguing history and politics. Ivan disagreed with the man on many points but found him very intelligent, thoughtful, and a well-spoken individual.
An American by birth but of Norwegian ancestry, Eric was initially recruited out of Texas as a fighter pilot in the VMFA -323 Death Rattlers, an association Ivan found fascinating regarding snakes in the desert. From there, the tall Texan had worked his way up to Destroyer Captain over the last ten years. A veteran of many battles, the transition to deep space explorer seemed a bit incongruous until he explained it to Ivan in his own words.
“In any normal fight, the challenge is overcoming an opponent that is known to you in some capacity. Exploration is overcoming an opponent so unknown to you that you must be prepared for any circumstance, and in that, I excel.”
Between the two of them, they filled in the remaining crew slots, their NeHaw guide not expected to do more than provide advice and inflight entertainment on the voyage.
“Sir, this area of space we are headed to, what’s so special about it?” The navigator asked as he pointed to the display before him.
“Ah, I am glad you asked this question,” Ivan started as he slid forward to stand next to the seated Navigator while catching the Captain watching him out of the corner of his eye.
Pointing to a solar system at the edge of the sector on display, he began speaking.
“This planet here? It is the home of an alien species not yet capable of space flight, yet the NeHaw go there regularly to collect a particular fruit from the trees that grow there. This fruit, when aged just right, gives the NeHaw a feeling of intoxication, like vodka, but not so good as that,” Ivan explained.
“So, we are going to collect some of that fruit then?” The man asked.
“Oh no, what do we care about some drunken NeHaw? We go there because the NeHaw stopped looking beyond that solar system once they became obsessed with collecting this fruit. Who knows what treasures they have overlooked because they were too busy getting drunk,” Ivan finished with a broad smile.
“So now you understand?” He added as he looked down at the man sitting beside him.
“AH, yeah, I guess so,” he stammered.
“Good!” Ivan said in triumph as he headed off the bridge with a chuckle from the Captain and the navigator scratching his head in confusion.
----*----
Kola, Reaper’s World
2nd Lieutenant Rachel Davis had spent the last five years working very hard to earn her place in the flight rotation to gain the pilot’s seat. For the latter two years of that period, she had quite enjoyed piloting the smaller transport ships and had done so extensively. Earth to orbit, orbit to space station Alpha and back again, all had been her bread and butter back home.
Cargo, passengers, or a mixture of both, solo runs or with a complete flight crew, it was all the same to her. She just loved flying in space. So, it was with some irritation she begrudgingly accepted her current assignment, babysitting not just any Midshipman in her copilot’s seat but the General’s son.
“I don’t need a copilot. These are milk runs,” she had complained as she pointed to the flight operations board.
“Rachel, you have a lot of flight time coming in your immediate future, and pilot fatigue is a real concern. Besides, this is not just for your benefit, we need to get these up and comers some real-world experience,” her commander explained.
“Boss, he’s fifteen,” she said softly as if it was a secret.
“Seems to me you were just eighteen when you started flight training, and this fifteen-year-old already has more simulation time than the rest of the class combined,” the man countered.
“In fighters,” she countered as if that negated its value.
“Take him out, and teach him the ropes of transport and shuttle work. I met him this morning, and he’s a good kid, and his instructors say he is a fast learner,” came the unsympathetic reply.
“He’s just here because of his dad,” came her last-ditch attempt at avoiding the assignment.
“No, he’s here because he’s worked really hard to be here. There is no free pass with this kid,” came the harsh response.
Realizing she might have overplayed her hand, Rachel nodded in return and exited flight operations with her paperwork in hand. According to the form on her tablet display, her assignment was to pilot one of the medium-sized shuttles to and from Kola and the pair of large transports in orbit over Reaper’s World, moving personnel and supplies as required. The planet’s nickname had first come to her by word of mouth but eventually stuck with everyone. The thirty-two-hour round trip to and from the planet meant long hours in a cramped space.
