Chapter 11 - Opening Pandora's Box - Part 1
April 28th, 2260 12:30
Deck 5 EAS Valiant - System J8452
"Are we sure this time we'll get to the bridge? I swear we just came this way."
Ensign Darius Zemaitis turned to the questioning marine. The burly man was in the rear of their procession. His name was Carlos something, Darius could not remember his last name and was too far back in the line to get a good look at his uniform. The big man's eyes shifting back and forth, restlessly scanning for any trouble. Indeed, all the marines in their little squad were shifting about with low level of continuous ill-ease.
Darrius could understand why, the Valiant was a strange place. The alien ship's long corridors and odd angles made could give anyone a sense of disorientation. The walls of multicolored crystal and floors of polished stainless steel only added to the alien quality. The strangeness of the ship could be bewildering to newcomers. Hell, Darrius had been on the ship for the past three years and it still regularly took him by surprise sometimes.
Like now. Something very weird was going on with the Valiant. For the last thirty minutes, he had been escorting the marines back to the bridge, only for them to get repeatedly turned around. Corridors that were supposed to lead to the central section of the ship would suddenly end in a dead end. Lifts that were once working were no longer functional. Added to having half their squad trapped inside a strangely malfunctioning transit car. All of it was causing the marines to become more and more impatient.
"No, we haven't been here before," said Darrius as he looked down the corridor. "But this is the right way, trust me on that." His tone was firm, even he was having trouble believing what he was saying. Something - or someone - was messing with the ship. Which made getting to the bridge all the more important.
Leading the group of marines down the hallway, Darrius really hoped this path would not lead to another dead end. The corridor up ahead turned to the left and as Darius turned the corner, he half expected to come to another wall. Stopping their progress once again. To his relief, the hallway was wide open and there was nothing to block their way. But his relief rapidly turned into panicked alarm as he took in the entire corridor. There was a body. One that was all too easy for Darius to recognize.
"Peter!" he cried as he saw his fellow ensign crumpled on the floor. He was unmoving and the degree of his injury was highlighted by the dark red blood which stood in stark contrast to the gleaming steel metal of the floor. "Oh shit..."
Darius ran to his friend. Peter Mashibe's eyes were closed, and his normal dark skin was far too pale. Darrius knelt next to him, his finger going to the fallen man's neck, searching for a pulse. There was a heartbeat, but it was weak.
"What the hell?" asked Carlos as he and the rest of the squad came up to Darrius. "What happened here?"
Darrius shook his head. "I don't know, but Peter's got a pulse, but not by much. Looks like he lost a lot of blood." He looked over his friend. Blood had soaked into his uniform jacket. The crimson stain was large, and the cloth was wet. "We need to get him some help, and fast." He looked at the marines in desperation. "Can any of you guys help him?"
A private with the last name Philips stepped forward. "I've got some field training, basic stuff. But I should be able to stop the bleeding." The man's face was grim, his lips pursed together as he looked over Mashibe's form. "But this looks bad. Really bad."
"Well, do what you can for now. We'll get him back to the mess hall. Right now, that's as close of an infirmary we've got."
Philips nodded and began pulling out a medical kit and some bandages. Darius stood up and took a deep breath. His friend's condition looked severe. What the hell had happened? Looking around, he spotted a circular hole in the metal floor, from inside he could see the glittering lights of different colored crystals. Had Peter been working on the ship and accidently hurt himself? By the look of his wounds, Darrius did not think this was likely. That left someone or something to have deliberately attacked the man.
"We got anything to make a stretcher? Something to move him?" he asked the assembled marines. The burley Carlos stepped forward, his backpack in his hand.
"Got my bed roll, should work well enough to drag him," said the marine as he unfurled the fabric.
"Perfect," replied Darius, taking one end and stretching it out. Carlos took the other. "Okay, let's get him on it."
"Careful though," warned Philips, "we don't want to do any more damage."
Darius and the burly marine worked carefully and managed to get Mashibe on to the bedding. They and several of the other Marines helped to position him up their makeshift stretcher. Darrius looked at Philips. "Will he be okay?"
The marine frowned, his brow creased. "I've got his bleeding under control, but he's going to need some serious help."
"Well, then, let's get going," ordered Darrius. He and Carlos started to pull on to head slowly down the hallway. They were a good twenty minutes from the mess hall and Darius frantically hoped they would be able to get there without a problem.
They had not gone more than a dozen meters when Mashibe let out a weak groan and his eyes fluttered opened. Darius stopped in his tracks, bringing the others to a stop as well.
"Peter? Peter, can you hear me?" asked Darrius as he knelt next to his injured friend.
The ensign's mouth moved but no sound came out. Darrius leaned closer, putting his ear up Peter's mouth. "What happened to you?"
Peter's voice was weak, his breathing labored. "Shane...it was Shane..."
Darrius's eyes narrowed. Shane? "You mean Captain Shane? He's the one who did this to you?"
All Peter managed to do was give a feeble nod and then let out a gasp of pain. Darius's could see blood was already starting to soak through the bandages that Private Philips had applied.
"Rest easy, buddy. We've got you," said Darrius, giving his friend an encouraging smile. "I promise you, if I see that bastard, I'm going to kill him."
Peter's face contorted with pain again and he let out another soft groan. "No...Something...wrong..." he gasped out, his voice barely audible. "Made the wall...change..."
Darrius did not know what to make of that. The man was in a lot of pain. He had to get him help. "We've got to get him down to the mess hall, we've got a lot more medical supply there." He looked at Philips. "Can you help him?"
The private looked troubled. "I'll do what I can, but I'm no doctor. He really needs professional help."
Carol spoke up. "We also got a fugitive on the loose. If Shane really did this to him, he need to find him and take him out."
"Agreed," said Darrius as he looked at his friend, "but Peter is the priority right now. We can deal with that asshole later."
"Maybe we can split up," suggested Carlos, "half of us can take Mashibe, and the other half can look for Shane."
Darrius nodded, it was not a bad idea. He looked at the gathered marines. "Okay, how about this. Philips, Carol, and I will take Peter to the mess hall. Everyone else can go looking for Shane."
The other marines all agreed. Darrius, Carlos, and Philips picked up the ends of the makeshift stretcher, preparing to lift the injured Peter. The others were about to depart when Darrius heard a small groan from Mashibe.
"Peter?" he asked, leaning closer to his friend.
"Shane...he...took Owen...he..." The words trailed off into unintelligible mumbling.
Darrius let out an annoyed sigh and shook his head. The situation was getting worse and worse. Now they not only had a fugitive on the loose, but the man had a hostage. "It'll be fine, Peter. We'll get him." He gave his friend another reassuring smile. "Just hang in there."
The injured ensign did not reply, his eyes rolling up into his head and he passed out. Darrius gritted his teeth and looked at the others. "Let's move."
###
April 28th, 2260 12:31
Engineering EAS Valiant - System J8452
Lieutenant Tonya Jackson let out an aggravated huff as she looked over the reading coming from the engines. She couldn't figure out what was happening with them. Over the last hour, their power output had slowly but steadily been increasing. Yet as far as she could tell, and frustratingly she was still locked out of the ship's controls to get anything more than limited readings, the power was going nowhere. There was no increase in energy to the life support systems or in the ship's gravitic drives. The power seemed to be building up somewhere, but she had no idea where. It was as if the Valiant was holding its breath.
"Status update," she ordered as she looked at her two assistants. Ensign Brian James was working at the engineering console, trying to get more readings from the engines. Specialist Thomas Chen was on his knees, poking and prodding at an open access panel to the ship's internal controls, a glittering array of shining gemstones.
"Still nothing, Lieutenant," reported James, his eyes on the screen. His fingers flew over the console's interface, but he was clearly not getting any additional information. "Best guest is Valiant is channeling the power into some subsystem we don't have access to."
"Any idea which one?" she asked.
James shrugged. "Not a clue. There are a dozen different systems on this ship we still have no information on."
"And nothing we can do about it," she grumbled, shaking her head in frustration. "What about you, Thomas?" she asked the other man. "Any luck with getting the Valiant to recognize our equipment?"
The man looked up from his work, his dark eyes squinting. "This is the third time I've tried it. And it's not working. No matter what I do to capture a new security credential, the ship doesn't acknowledge it." He let out a puff of frustration as he sat back on his heels, giving the wall of crystals a glare. "But I'm not the ship's resident genius, I bet Professor Stone could figure this out."
"Aye, don't sell yourself short," replied Lieutenant Jackson. She knew her team was capable, but she also knew they were not experts on the Valiant. Hell, she didn't think anybody really was. Even the much-lorded Professor William Stone. They were all still feeling their way along, albeit sometimes like a blind man inside a pitch-black stadium. "You're doing an excellent job with what you've got."
Chen nodded, looking slightly reassured. He resettled himself on the floor and stared at the crystalline circuitry thoughtfully. "You know, we've been assuming we've been locked out of the Valiant's systems because some part of the distributed node network of the ship has updated the security credentials. But what if it hasn't?"
Tonya gave him a confused look. "What are you thinking, Tom?" she asked. "If it's not a security control, then what?"
"What if the ship is simply running something with a higher priority than our stuff? We're not locked out, but just waiting till the system resources are available. I mean, the Valiant's engines," he gestured vaguely towards the massive columns making up the ship's central power core. "We think it's powered by a stabilized singularity using the Casimir effect to extract energy from quantum vacuum fluctuations. But that's just a big-o guess on our part. All we know is that capable of putting out more power than half of the EarthForce fleet."
"And if the ship is channeling a bunch of that energy into who-knows-what, maybe that's taking a lot of resources to control it," finished Tonya. The chief engineer scratched her chin, looking thoughtful. "And that's what blocking us from the controls."
"Possible," replied Chen. He rolled his shoulders, looking pensive. "I wish we could just ask the ship what it is doing."
"Meh, if wishes were horses..." muttered Jackson, but did not finish the proverb as her communication link on her hand chirped. She raised her wrist and accepted the call. "This is Lieutenant Jackson, go ahead."
"Lieutenant," said a familiar voice. It was Ensign Darius Zemaitis. "We've got serious problem. We need whatever help you can send our way." She could hear a lot of background noise, sounded like people shouting and moving about.
"Darrius, slow down," she said calmly. The younger man sounded seriously stressed. That was more than understandable given the current situation. But they all needed to keep their anxiety under control. "What's the problem? I've already got a team out trying to get your trapped marines out of that malfunctioning transit car."
"It's Mashibe. Peter Mahibe," replied Zemaitis, his tone still urgent. "He's been hurt bad. Real bad." She heard him let out a sigh, his breath was ragged, like he was moving around. "He's lost a lot of blood. We're taking him to the mess hall."
Despite her desire to keep calm, Tonya felt a sudden rush of fear. "What happened?"
"It's Shane," answered Zemaitis. His tone had become calmer but was now tinged with a growing vehemence. "Somehow he got loose. He's the one that hurt Peter. And that's not all. He took Connor Olsen hostage."
Tonya also felt some of her initial fear turn to anger. "Where is Captain Shane?"
Zemaitis reply was full of frustration. "Don't know. We left some men to look for him, but he could be anywhere."
###
April 28th, 2260 12:32
Bridge of the EAS Valiant - System J8452
Sargent Andrea Willson watched as General Taggart gave a pained cry and was seemingly yanked down to the floor, as if he had been grabbed by a giant invisible hand. She did not understand what was happening, but she was on her feet rushing to the General's side before she could think. Before she reached him, she felt an incredible weight land on shoulders. And then her head, then her back and her legs. It seemed the same invisible giant was pushing her to the floor as well.
Andrea's vision began to dim as it became painful to even breath. Her legs began to buckle. She felt her body tipping towards the metal deck when something grabbed by the scruff of the neck and she was being pulled backwards. And just like that, the phantom giant was gone, and she was standing upright. Turning, she saw that it was Captain Edward Shane who had saved her.
The Captain was not looking well. He was dirty and sweaty. Uneven stubble peppered his face. When she had first meet him, his dark hair was slicked back and as neat as a pin. Now it was a wild, tangled mess. While his eyes were red and bloodshot. And his pupils were unnaturally wide. But his mouth was quirked upwards in a wide smile. Seemingly friendly.
"Careful there, Sargent Wilson," he said as he looked at her. "You don't want to get too close to the General. He's having a timeout." He released his grip on her, and she stumbled back slightly. Shane's gaze shifted towards Taggart, who was still struggling to move. The Captain stepped forward, staying just outside the area where the artificial gravity was affected. "You seem to be in a bit of a pickle, General." He shook his head in mock sadness. "Maybe when we're done here. And we're all heading back to Earth. I'll let you out." He paused as his sunny smile was replaced with an angry scowl. "And I'll put you in a hole. See how you like it." He paused and spat out, "With a bucket!"
Andrea's hands tightened with a rising anger as she glared at the captain. This man was insane. And he needed to be stopped. And it seemed like it was up to her to do so. Shane's attention was wholly focused on the General. All she needed to do was take a couple of steps forward and tackle him. She would knock him down and subdue him. Or kill him if that's what it took. She was not going to let this crazy bastard take over her ship.
She readied herself, muscles tensing, preparing to tackle Shane when a hand grabbed on to her wrist and pulled. Andrea was so focused on the captain, she had not seen Owen come up beside her. The young man was standing close, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and anxiety. His hand gripped her wrist tight, and he shook his head. His eyes darted to captain and then to her.
"No," he harsh whispered. "Don't, Andrea."
She looked at him, her expression hard and unyielding. She tried to pull her hand from his, but his grip was surprising strong. A desperation was in his eyes, and he shook his head again.
"Please," he said softly. "He's got some sort of control over the ship. Shane can make it do stuff, that gravity trick is just one. He can kill very quickly."
"How?" she asked, keeping her voice low.
"I don't know, but please Andrea," he replied, "don't try to fight him. I've seen him do it. He killed Mashibe." His voice broke. "He'll kill you."
Andrea felt a chill run through her. She looked at the captain. He was still glaring at the general, muttering under his breath. Shane stood up, still with a sneer on his face. As he turned to face them, Owen made one more whispered plea, "But he needs us," and he made the slightest of head tilts towards the captain, "to fly the ship. We're no good to him dead."
Owen gave a small nod, his eyes still on Shane. Andrea saw his point and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he was wrong, she was ready to act. Whatever it took to stop Shane. "Alright," she replied, "I'll follow your lead." Owen visibly relaxed at that.
The Captain was walking over to the two of them. His face was still a mix of anger and mania. He stopped and stood, looking over them with a smirking expression. "Well, you two, guess what we need to do now?"
Andrea did not know if she should say anything. She did not want to give Shane the satisfaction. However, Owen spoke up. "What?" His voice was soft and submissive.
"You two are going to fly the ship, Mister Olsen," replied the captain, his tone almost friendly. "Over to that sphere," he said, gesturing to the main view screen. Andrea could see the alien sphere, still hanging in space. From this distance, it was just a greyish circle against the darkness of space.
"Why?" asked Andrea. Not wanting to just give into Shane's orders. "Why are we going there?"
Shane's face twisted with annoyance. "Because I said so," he snapped, his words harsh.
Andrea glared back. "Well good luck with that," she smirked at Shane. "Our controls don't work."
"True, true," agreed the captain. He looked over to the dual seats making up the main controls for flying the Valiant. With a sigh, he said, "Valor, we need to modify data node seventeen-alpha-nine. Allow full access." Then Shane paused for a few moments, a growing looking of irritation on his face. "Yes," he snapped, apparently to neither Andrea or Owen as he his attention was still focused on the Valiant's navigation system. "Your own piloting routines are still disabled and since you're insisting we need to retrieve the Archive, we'll have to do it manually."
Andrea frowned as she watched Captain Shane apparently have an argument with himself. She glanced over at Owen, who might give some clue to what the man was doing. Owen was watching Shane very closely, his eyes wide. He leaned in close to Andrea and whispered. "I think he's communicating with the ship. I'm mean it seems crazy, but I've seen the ship respond when he talks. Sometimes it seems like he's getting orders and instructions from something. But only he can hear it."
"Alright you two," interrupted Shane, apparently either not hearing Owen's speculation or not caring. "Over to your half-ass consoles and let's get underway."
Andrea did not move. Owen gave her a nervous glance, obliviously not wanting to further provoke Shane. Andrea could see the captain's face was a mask of irritation. But she did not want to give in to him too easily. If he wanted the ship flown, she could make it difficult. And, maybe, he would get frustrated and make a mistake. Give her an opening.
Shane seemed to pick up on her resistance and he leaned into her, his overly wide pupils making his eyes seem like they were all black and had sucked the light out of the room. "I don't need both of you. I can be the second if necessary. But I'm willing to be very generous if you cooperate. I can make your inevitable court martial back at Earth for mutiny less painful." He smiled at her. "So, be a good girl and get over to your controls."
Andrea felt a surge of rage at his condescending words. She wanted to knock that stupid grin off his face. Her fists clenched and she wanted to wipe that smirk from his mouth. She was about to do something, anything, when Shane's smiling face darkened. "Or I can squish Taggart's organs like jelly." He turned to look at the General, who Andrea could see was still struggling under the effects of the ship's artificial gravity.
The threat to the General's life only further fueled Andrea's anger, but at the same time cooled her desire for action. Owen was right. They were safe as long as they were useful. She needed to keep a level head if she was going to help stop this maniac. Looking at Owen, she gave him a small nod. The young man relaxed and nodded back. "Alright," she said, her voice cold, "we'll fly the ship."
Without waiting for Owen, she strode over to her seat. Sitting down, she could see the Valiant's display showing her a series of controls and commands. A few quick taps at the navigational controls showed everything was now working. Owen sat down next to her and looked over his console. "Engines show active," he said, his voice soft. His forehead creased in confusion as he looked over the controls. "But that's weird, we're still getting a lot of power building up in the core. It's like the engines are channeling energy somewhere else."
"Don't worry about that," instructed Shane. "We have that under control. Just focus on getting us to the sphere." His voice was calm, but his eyes were still manic.
"Sure," muttered Owen. His fingers flew over the console as he ran some commands, "I'm going to run a quick diagnostic, then we can start moving."
Shane frowned, his already deranged expression darkening. "We don't have time for that!" he barked.
Owen cowered, looking near panic. "I... I'm sorry, sir. But we kind of have to. I mean... If want everything to work."
"What do you mean?" asked Shane, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Why wouldn't everything work?"
"Well, you see, it's like this...Uhh... Our stuff works with the Valiant's overall distributed network, right?"
Shane's face grew more irritated and he gave a sharp wave with his hand. "Yes, yes. Obviously. What's your point, mister?"
"Okay, okay." replied Owen. He took a breath, calming his nerves. "But not perfectly. Like sometimes we'll get feedback or interference. So, if I can run a quick diagnostic, I can make sure we're good to go and we won't get any problems when we're flying the ship."
Andrea did her best to hide a smile. The captain did not realize that Owen was lying. There was no diagnostic routine that was needed, the younger man was trying to buy them some time. She could have kissed him. To help sell his bluff, she spoke up. "Right, we've had navigation issues before, especially after restarting all the systems. It's because our systems aren't completely compatible."
Captain Shane's face of irritation and impatience faded, at least a little. He looked about the bridge, almost like it was first time he was seeing it. Taking in the large oval room with its three hundred and sixty degrees wrap around view screen, the different stations controlling the ship. "Yes," he said slowly. "This isn't how it's supposed to be. These console's we built, they're just primitive junk compared to what it should be. It could be amazing..." He shook himself, coming out of his reverie. He refocused on Andrea. "Fine, do what you have to do. But hurry." He turned away and began to gaze at the sphere in the distance.
They had won a small victory in getting Shane to allow them to delay. But it would not last for long. Andrea looked at Owen and gave him a slight nod. He returned the nod, understanding her message. Do whatever you need to. Slow him down. Hopefully they could stall for long enough to allow the rest of the crew to stop the crazed captain.
Which now left Andrea considering what she could do to also slow things down. She doubted they could fool Shane on diagnostic runs forever. Her mind turned to the problem at hand, and she started to think. There had to be some way to further delay. Some way to give them more time. A distraction. Something to keep Shane busy. An idea began to form, risky, but maybe could work.
"Captain Shane?" she spoke up, trying to keep her voice even and calm.
He turned from his watching the sphere and glared at her. "Yes? What is it, Sargent?"
"There's the other ship we detected when we first arrived in system. We were keeping track of it until we lost control. Now I can't find it." She made a few taps on her controls for effect. "It's gone."
Shane's eyes narrowed as he considered what Andrea had told him. "What ship? What are you talking about?"
"We detected a ship on the long-range scanners. It was in the asteroid belt in this star system," she answered. "We think it was a survey ship of some sort." She shrugged her shoulders. "I figured you should know."
The captain's eyes had taken on a faraway look as he seemed to be considering what this meant. And so did whatever Shane was in communication with. At first the Captain shook his head dismissively. "It doesn't matter..." but he trailed off as the far away look in his eye intensified. "How would... What do you mean threat analysis?" His already scowling expression darkened. "I'm not questioning you, Valor. I'm just..." He paused again as whatever was talking to him apparently went on. "Fine, I'll find this ship." His attention returned to Owen and Andrea. "Get your diagnostics finished. Quickly!" Then he stalked over to the empty operation station and sat down. He began to work at the station's controls, muttering to himself.
Andrea felt a small rush of triumph. She had succeeded in giving Shane something to do. And something that would hopefully slow them down. Now all she had to do was get a message to the rest of her crew.
###
April 28th, 2260 12:45
Bridge of the survey ship Alvarado - System J8452
"Clearing the asteroid field now," reported Juan Sosa casually as he reviewed the engine output of the Alvarado. He turned from the instrumentation and caught Commander Beth Harris attention. She was in the middle of reviewing her formal complaint on Lieutenant Donald Rugman, she had been writing it up for the last ten minutes. Her mood growing more exasperated all the while she was working. She looked up from her pad, a sour expression on her face. Juan tried a friendly smile, hoping it might help her mood. "I can have the jump drives warmed up in fifteen minutes."
"Thank you, Juan." she said as she looked back down at her report. Giving out an aggravated puff of air, she turned her attention to Doctor Emily Crosby. "Anything from Rugman? Or his squad? Or our mystery ship or ships I should say. Any clues? Anything?"
The science officer gave an uncommitted shrug. "Nothing from our wayward Lieutenant. That distress signal he was chasing has gone silent. All I'm getting now from that sector Red Shepherd was investigating is a lot of radio echoing and static. And as for those smaller craft which flew past us? I've lost them in the denser regions of the asteroid belt."
Harris let out another sigh. She glanced down at her data pad and back to her operation dashboard. With an irritated flip of her comm controls, she opened a channel to the Red Shepherd squadron. "Lieutenant Rugman, come in. This is the Alvarado." She waited several seconds with no response. "Rugman, please respond." Still nothing. "Donald, you need to answer me right now. I've given you a direct order for you and your unit to return to the Alvarado. That mystery craft you reported just buzzed us with a bunch of its friends not even thirty minutes ago." The commander paused to listen for a response, but all she heard was a faint crackling of static.
"Rugman, if you do not respond within the next sixty seconds, you will be in direct violation of a direct order from a superior officer. If you force us to launch a search mission, I'll make sure your flying days are over!" She crossed her arms, still glaring at the microphone.
The hiss from the intercom was finally broken by the Lieutenant's terse voice. "We are nearly on top of the signal's last location. By every check we could perform, we have confirmed it to be an EarthForce emergency beacon. By EarthForce regulations we are required to investigate. Red Shepherd Squadron is an EarthForce unit, and I shouldn't have to remind you Command that in military operations, I have seniority."
"Donald, this is not a military operation. We are on a survey mission, which is under my command. I order you to return to the Alvarado immediately." She let out a frustrated sigh, closing her eyes and massaging her forehead. What patience she had left was quickly evaporating. She tried one last time. "The situation is becoming dangerous here, Lieutenant. That black ship you described is back, and this time it brought along friends. I am pulling the Alvarado out of the system until we can get support from corporate. If you are not in range within the hour, we are leaving without you."
There were a few moments of silence and then Rugman's voice returned. "Commander, my team and I will continue on mission to locate the source of the signal. We will be returning via a direct route once our objective is completed."
Harris could tell he was trying to call her bluff. But it was not a game. Not when her crew and ship were in danger. "Your choice, Lieutenant. I'll see you in an hour, or I won't" She cut the communication and looked at Juan. "Warm up the jump drives."
The pilot gave a nod and tapped the jump drive control. A red light on the panel began to flash. "They'll be ready in twenty minutes."
###
April 28th, 2260 12:51
Bridge of the EAS Valiant - System J8452
Captain Edward Shane learned back in the operation's chair, his eyes unfocused. Working with Earth based controls had been so...limiting. Like trying to use nothing but your hands to count and solve a complicated math problem. It could be done, but it was slow and cumbersome. He was learning the ship's true potential. The interface with the ship, with Valor of the Suns, was amazing. He had never felt like this before. It was a heady sensation to have so much knowledge at his fingertips.
Everywhere he looked, he could see the ship, truly see it. It was all right in front of him. A flow of information Valor provided to him as easy to understand as the air in his lungs. The ship's engines were a song of power and light. The hull a solid shield of protection. And all of it was now in his command. Trapped the backstabbing marines in a transit car. Turned the hallways and corridors of the ship into a maze. He shot a quick glance to where Taggart lay trapped in a bubble of high gravity and smiled. All he needed to do was ask and the ship would obey.
'Incorrect,' came voice of Valor. The ship whispered like the wind in his ear. 'Crewman Shane, you are not authorized for primary command. You are required to fulfill your role in retrieving the Archive from the Central Node.'
Shane blinked, coming out of his trance like state. Well, maybe he wasn't in control, but he was doing a wonderful job of putting down General Taggart's mutiny. Allowing the old man to live, just so the General could see his own failure, filled Shane with a sort of giddy excited pride. He would make the Taggart pay for his arrogance. And the rest of his disloyal crew.
But and Shane hated to admit it, his power lay completely in following Valor's commands. The AI would easily take his instruction on dealing with the other humans on board. To the ship, they were not 'authorized' to be here, so it had no problems with Shane's suggestions. But Valor had its own agenda. He glanced up at the projection dome of the bridge, practically feeling his vision become one with the Valiant's sensor array and seeing the grey sphere in the distance. That was Valor's goal. Not his revenge. Not returning to Earth. The Archive.
'Status of unknown vessel?' prompted Valor. 'It must be ascertained if it is a threat to the mission.'
Shane clenched his jaw. He had run through an initial scan. The ship was no longer in star system's extensive asteroid belt. From the look of the records of when the ship first arrived, it was merely a retrofitted Nova class ship sent to survey the resources of the system. Hardly a threat. But Valor was being stubborn, demanding Shane find it.
"I'm running a full sensor sweep," grumbled Shane aloud. He knew Valor could hear him even if he didn't speak. But felt too strange when speaking inside his head to the ship. As if part of himself was being pulled inside out. "I'll find it soon enough. This would be so much easier if you had access to the long-range scanning subsystem," he muttered the last part mostly to himself.
Valor did not respond, and Shane refocused his attention on the sensors. The asteroid belt was extensive, a huge amount of space to search. And that was making things difficult, but it was only a matter of time. The Valiant's sensors could detect even the smallest emissions.
'Contact,' chimed Valor, 'Incoming vessels detected.'
"What?" Shane was surprised. His eyes darted to the sensor display. He did not see any sign of the survey ship. Then the screen was highlighted with eight different points, each one a small spacecraft. They were approaching from the stern of the Valiant. In a tight formation and apparently trying to use the ship's engines and reactor as cover. Given the Valiant's gravimetric drive, this was not going to work, but Shane could see the logic in the approach.
Running his hands over the operations console, Shane looked at the incoming ships in greater detail. His eyes widened in astonishment. They were Starfuries. EarthForce Starfuries. The cavalry was here! Shane clapped his hands together in excitement. There must be a larger EarthForce presence in system than just the old survey vessel. This would make things much easier with dealing with Taggart.
'Unknown vessels classified as a class one threat,' informed Valor in his mind with the AI's even and calm voice. 'Establishing countermeasures.'
Shane's feeling of excitement and relief faded as quickly as it had come. "Wait," he said quickly, his eyes on the small ships. "Valor, they're not a threat. They're EarthForce Starfuries. They're my people. They'll help us!"
'Thank you for identifying the threat, Crewman Shane. But I have detected powered energy weapons on board these ships. The Authority has determined this is unacceptable.'
Shane shook his head in confusion. "What? No, Valor, they're not a threat. They'll help us. They're on our side."
"What are talking about?" asked Sargent Wilson from her position at the navigation controls. She turned in her seat and was looking at him with a confused, suspicious look.
Shane ignored her. He did not have time for Taggart's people. "Valor, please. They're friendly. Don't attack them."
The calm voice of the AI sounded in Shane's mind again, 'I understand, but I can't not countermand the Authority's instructions. While the weapons are powered up on these "Starfuries" are considered a threat.'
"Listen to me," Shane said, his tone pleading, "I can tell them to turn off their weapons." His eyes focused on the sensor display, and he saw the Starfuries rapidly approaching. "Open up a comm channel. I'll get them to stop." He needed to make contact with whatever EarthForce C&C was in the system, might as well start with these Starfuries.
'This is acceptable,' replied the AI. 'At their current course and speed, you have one minute before defensive countermeasures are deployed.'
Shane felt a rush of relief, and he ran his fingers over the operations console as Valor opened a communications channel. He found the ship's AI had already scanned the Starfuries and had a complete profile, right down to the individual bolts of the fighter craft. They were SA-23E Mitchell Mk2 model, top of the line. Working quickly, he opened a general broadcast channel to the squadron. "To incoming Starfuries. This is Captain Edward Shane of the...uhh...EAS Valiant. Please be aware you are entering a restricted zone. Power down your weapons and reduce your speed immediately."
There was several seconds of silence and then a man's voice came from the intercom. "This is Lieutenant Donald Rugman, commander of the Red Shepherd squadron. We're here investigating a distress signal." The man's voice was professional and crisp. He seemed to be all business. Good, Shane could work with true patriots. But he wondered what distress signal the lieutenant was talking about. "Captain Shane, is it? You seem to be transmitting from vessel we are approaching. You identified it as the EAS Valiant? I'm not picking any identifying IFF from your ship. I need to confirm your identity."
Shane could feel his smile turning into a frown. He was losing time. "Lieutenant Rugman, I don't have time to explain everything. The situation here is... complex." His mind was racing as he tried to think of a concise way of the explain all this insanity. "But you need to listen to me. You're not safe, and you need to back off. At least until we can get your C on a channel. Then I'll explain everything."
There was a pause of several seconds and then Rugman's voice returned. "Listen, sir. I'm not sure what is going on here, but you need to explain yourself. Now. My squadron was sent to investigate a very unusual signal in this area. On the way here we were harassed by an unknown fighter craft. Then we received an Earth Alliance distress call. And now you are telling me you are the Captain of an Earth Alliance warship, but I've never seen anything like it. And it's not sending a valid ID code. So, you need to start talking or I'll be forced to take some action."
Shane felt the blood in his face grow hot. This idiot wasn't listening to him. Rugman was going on about signals and other ships, none of it made sense. And he didn't have time for this. He could see the Starfuries had not slowed. If anything, they were speeding up. "Listen to me, lieutenant," he snapped, "you need to shut off your weapons right now! Or defensive measures will be taken!"
"Are you threatening me, Captain?" replied the voice of Rugman. His tone was still calm, but there was an edge in it now. "If you are indeed an EarthForce ship, are you taking hostile action against my squadron on a sanctioned mission?"
'Fifteen seconds until countermeasures are deployed,' warned Valor. Shane's mind was racing as he tried to think of some way to stop this. He needed to stop the AI. But how?
"Listen, Rugman, I'm not trying to be a threat. But there are automated defensive systems here I don't have control over. You need to stand down!"
Before Lieutenant Rugman could even respond, Sargent Wilson's voice cried out. "Woah! That sphere is starting glow again." Shane turned to look at the main display, and sure enough the massive orb in the distance was starting to glow. A deep dark purple light was coming from the center of the construct. It began to rapidly pulse.
Shane could feel a building pressure in his skull. He closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He could hear Wilson asking him something, but her voice sounded like it was coming from a great distance. The hiss of the comm channel crackled in his ear as Rugman spoke, but the words were nothing more than noise. And then Shane felt himself outside. Outside his body. Outside the Valiant, among the stars. They glittered around him, pinpricks in the vastness of space. And then he was looking at the Starfuries, eight tiny points against the darkness of the void. Then the sphere. The strange grey orb which was Valor's goal. It pulsed with light. A purple, bruised color. A throbbing, nauseating glow.
The light grew in intensity, and Shane felt...something. A presence. A mind. Someone else with him among the stars. And the other was extremely irritated, this was a delay and an annoyance. Like a man swatting away a pesky insect, the other struck. A wave of energy, deep violet against the black of space. It raced towards the eight tiny specks of light...
Shane opened his eyes and was back on the Valiant's bridge. He could hear Rugman shouting through the comm channel. "What the...? What is that?! It's coming straight at us!" There was a pause and then Rugman was screaming, "Evasive maneuvers!"
But there was no outmaneuvering the wave of energy. It was too wide and too fast. From the wide wraparound display of the Valiant's bridge he watched as each Starfury was engulfed in the purple light. The wave passed...and small ships were still there, but now they drifted, all speed and formation lost. On the sensor display, Shane could see the Starfuries were all now dark. The power signatures were all offline, the engines, weapons, life support, everything was dead. He had no idea how, but the energy pulse had shut down all the fighters.
"Valor! What happened!" he asked.
'The Authority at the Central Node has disabled the ships. All potential threats are required to be neutralized until the Archive is secured.' Valor's voice was its typical calm tone.
"Are they alright!? The people on board!?"
'All life signs are currently stable,' replied the AI. There was a pause, and Valor continued, 'The Archive is the priority, Crewman Shane. We must rendezvous with the Central Node.'
"No!" snapped Shane, getting angry. "Not until we've rescued those pilots!" He could see on the sensor display the Starfuries were now drifting along the Valiant's flight path. The energy pulse had indeed shut down everything on the fighters. "I won't leave them behind to drift in the void."
There was a pause of several seconds before the ship's voice spoke again. 'No. The Archive is the priority. We will not deviate.'
"Yes, you will," said Shane firmly. He had no idea how, but there had to be a way to force Valor to help him. "I won't allow you to leave them behind." He was not about to leave his fellow EarthForce officers to drift forever.
'Crewman Shane, you are not authorized to make these demands. You will obey the Authority.' Shane could swear he heard a note of irritation in the AI's normally calm tone. This did not improve his mood.
"I said no," repeated Shane, his voice hard.
'Disobedience to an authorized command is not acceptable,' replied the AI, its calm tone returning. 'Stage one correction will be implemented.'
Shane had no idea what that meant and had no chance to ask when a burst of pain, burning and white hot, surged through his body. His back arched as he let out a cry of agony and fell back into the chair, his hands gripping the edge of the console in a death grip. His eyes slammed shut and his jaw clenched tight as he tried not to scream. It seemed like the agony went on forever, but it was over in a few scant seconds. Shane opened his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks, his chest heaving and sweat pouring from his body.
Both Connor and Wilson were staring at him wide eyed. "Captain?" asked Wilson. Her voice was hesitant, but there was also a note of concern. "Captain, are you alright? What's going on?"
Shane's heart was still pounding, and his hands still ached from where he had gripped the edge of the console so hard his knuckles had turned white. He could barely breath.
'Crewman Shane, that was the stage one correction. If you do not comply, I will administer stage two correction. Do you understand?' The AI's voice sounded calm in his mind. Almost casual.
"Yes..." Shane finally managed to croak out. His whole body hurt.
The Sargent had gotten up from her station and was cautiously approaching Shane. She kept looking from him to Taggart. The old general was still on the deck, trapped by the ship's artificial gravity. She did not look happy, but her concern was apparent. "Captain? What's happening? Those are Starfuries out there. What did the sphere do to them?"
Still trying to get his breathing under control, Shane shook his head. He did not have the strength to explain. He felt a surge of anger and humiliation at the ship's punishment. It made him feel helpless and weak. Not in front of these traitors. "Get...Back...To your stations...Sargent." He managed to say each word between breaths. Glaring at her, he managed to put real menace in his voice. "Now!"
Wilson took a step back, her face full of uncertainty. But after a moment she gave a slow nod and returned to her navigation station. "Alright," She did not sound at all happy about the situation.
Managing to pull himself out of the operation station's chair, Shane half walked, half stumbled to Connor's and Wilson's shared navigation console. Both looked at him with a mix of confusion and fear. Shane glared at them, all his anger and pain focusing on these mutineers.
"No more delays. Get us to that damn sphere."
###
April 28th, 2260 13:00
Shuttlecraft of EAS Valiant - System J8452
"Well, I most certainly wasn't expecting to be doing this when I woke up today," said Lieutenant Monroe as she and Professor Stone passed through a wide crystal arch. The chamber beyond was huge and cavernous, easily a hundred meters wide and twice as high. It was lit by the same pale blue light that illuminated the rest of the interior of the sphere, and it seemed to emanate from everywhere. A soft gentle glow that made everything look smooth and indistinct. In each corner of the massive room large crystalline columns stretching up to the distant ceiling.
The chamber's floor had just detectable curve, giving Jessica the strong suspicion they were walking on the inside of the sphere itself. The room was empty, at least of anything she would classify as furniture. Or anything else that would give any clues to the builders. There were just the four large crystal pillars and the walls. And the walls were covered with a series of alcoves, each one the same exact shape and size.
This was now the third identical room she and Stone had passed through since they had awoken. After the shuttle was pulled into the sphere, both she and the professor had blacked out. Waking up, they found their shuttlecraft was parked in the middle of an empty chamber illuminated in the same pale blue light they found everywhere. A quick check of with the shuttle's sensors showed an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere at a pleasant twenty-six degrees Celsius. The biofilter showed the air to be sterile. However, both she and Stone declined to take off their spacesuits. They opened the shuttle's hatch and took a look around. It was a featureless, empty room. Only a single crystal arch doorway they had used to enter a chamber similar to this one.
The only thing they could do was move forward, and they started to explore, leaving the shuttle behind.
"We must strive to expect the unexpected, Lieutenant," commented Professor Stone. He was standing at one of the alcoves, running his gloved hand over the inner surface. "I can't find a single mark or scratch. The crystalline material here appears to be the same as the interior of the Valiant."
"Confirming the Sphere was built by the same people who built the Valiant?" she asked as she approached one of the four columns. Up close it seemed less like it was made of a single piece of crystal. Instead, the column was comprised of smaller crystal shards that were clustered tightly together. The effect was like a massive crystal geode, with the various pieces of crystal tightly interlocking to create a solid pillar.
"I suspect so," mused Stone as he inspected the column on the other side of the large room. He turned around slowly, taking in the entire room. His gaze returned to Jessica. "I feel like Egyptian archaeologists exploring the great pyramids. Walking through the chambers of the dead and looking at objects millennia out of time." His voice was soft and thoughtful. "When I was a boy, I read about Howard Carter and the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb. It's what got me interested in cultures and languages in the first place."
Jessica was not sure what to make of the professor's comment. "Well, I'm just a pilot, but I think we're a long way from Egypt here."
"Very true," replied Stone. He approached the archway into what appeared to be another identical chamber. "Shall we continue, my dear? Someone or something brought us into the Sphere, and I would very much like to find out who or what it was."
"Of course," said Jessica, following the professor through the arch and into the next room. It was indeed the same as the previous chamber. If Jessica's estimation of sphere's size was right, these rooms could go on for a considerable distance as they transversed the inside of the sphere. After passing through two more of the indistinguishable crystal chambers, they finally came to something new. In the middle of the empty room was a large circular metal plate. It was the only object not made of the blue-grey crystal that they had found since entering the Sphere.
"Hmm... Now that's very interesting," said Professor Stone. "That appears to look a good deal like the platform lifts we've found in the Valiant, only larger."
Jessica could see the professor was right, the plate did look like the lift which allowed access to the ship's bridge. If it was anything like the one in the Valiant, all you had to do was stand on the platform and it would automatically rise. She looked upward and indeed in the high above ceiling of the room, there was a dark circular opening that matched the size of the platform.
"Guess there's only way to find out," she said as she stepped onto the plate.
"Yes," agreed Stone as he stepped onto the lift next to her. As soon as his foot was on the metal surface, the platform began to rise. It was a smooth motion, and they ascended towards the darkness of the hole in the ceiling. "I'm not one to quote old sayings, Lieutenant. But as they say, 'here goes nothing.'"
The platform rose into the darkness of the ceiling. As soon as they entered the hole, the pale blue lighting of the previous chambers vanished. They were in darkness, the light from below quickly falling away. Jessica reached out with her hand until she found Professor Stone's arm. She had no intention of letting him get lost. Flipping on her suit's lights, they illuminated the area directly around them. It was a wide circular tunnel of black metallic walls. They seemed to be moving up at a good pace, and after about thirty seconds, a light appeared above them. It was radiantly white and grew brighter as they approached. Suddenly they were out of the tunnel and the white light dazzled Jessica's eyes. She blinked several times, her eyes adjusting to the brightness. "What the...?"
Around them was a large circular room. The floor was the same as the walls, a black metal that had a slight reflective quality. The source of the brilliant glow was coming from a floating sphere in the center. But unlike the larger Sphere they were in, this one was not metallic, nor solid. Instead, curved patterns of material which appeared to Jessica to look very much like wrinkled grey stone. They bowed and twisted back and forth, seeming not connected to anything. All slowly spinning around a nearly blinding bright light. A light so intense, Jessica could not look directly at it and could see an afterimage on her vision wherever she looked.
"Beautiful," murmured Stone as he held up a hand to partially block the light. "Simply beautiful." He turned to look at Jessica, a smile visible behind his clear faceplate. "I do believe we have found what we were looking for. The heart of the Sphere, if you will."
He began to step off the platform, when Jessica stopped him. "Let's be careful here, Doc. The big bright ball there might be running the show, but that doesn't mean it's safe."
"An excellent point, Lieutenant. I shall be most cautious," replied the professor. He stepped off the platform, and Jessica followed. The room was wide and circular, the walls curving up to form a domed roof over the glowing orb. There were no other objects or features to be seen, just the smooth black of the metallic walls.
Jessica tried to take a reading of the sphere with her suit's sensors. It was not designed for scientific measurements, but it should be able to tell her if the orb was emitting radiation. But the suit's instruments showed nothing at all. No radiation, no magnetic field. Assuming it was safe, or at least as safe as everything else they had encountered, Jessica slowly walked around the room. Stone followed after her, the shorter man's gaze fixed on the glowing orb.
As they moved closer, Jessica began to feel a strange sensation, like a pressure in her mind. She stopped and shook her head, trying to clear the feeling. She looked at Stone and could see the professor was shaking his head as well. "You feel that?"
"Yes..." he said, his voice distant. "It's... It's like... like something is pushing me back. But in my...brain."
"Yeah," nodded Jessica. "Like a heavy weight shoved into my head." Trying to take another step towards the glowing sphere, she felt the pressure increase. Her head felt like it was going to split. Retreating the mounting tension in her skull decreased. "What do you think it is?" she asked the professor. "Some sort of defense? Something to keep people back?"
Professor Stone was looking at the sphere and its spinning rings of rock. His expression was thoughtful and distant. "I don't know. I have to admit this whole place is beyond me. But if we've been brought here, there must be someone or something that wants to talk to us."
"Well, I wish they would get around to it," muttered Jessica. She did not like being led around by the nose. Especially not by the unknown aliens that had built the sphere and the Valiant. "We're here! So, let's talk!"
In apparent answer to her demand, a flickering of lights began to form between the glowing sphere and the two humans, at first little more than twinkling of colors in a haze of light. But then it solidified into more definitive shapes, to Jessica it was like watching an image slowly grow into focus. She saw what appeared to be a wide flat ground with rolling hills beyond. A small stream of water was nearby, and in the distance the shapes of a forest of tall trees. It looked very much like the rolling countryside of her home. Except for the color of everything. The ground plant life had a distinctive shade of blue, while the sky was tinted a light pink with fluffy orange shaded clouds. It was as if she was looking at a photograph with the colors all wrong.
As the image grew more distinct, she could see a single figure standing in the off-color field. It was a tall creature, easily over two meters in height. It stood on tall and thin legs. It was hairless, with a light tan skin and had a long, oval-shaped head. Its eyes were huge, nearly twice as large as a human's with a peculiar golden glow in the pupil. The being's shoulders were wide and knobby, necessary considered Jessica, as they had to support four arms. Two to each side.
"Oh my," said Professor Stone. His tone was full of wonder and awe. He took a step towards the display floating before them. Speaking to the alien standing in the field "Can you hear me? Understand me?"
If the being did, it made no sign of it. Instead, the creature sat down, crossing its long legs and resting both sets of hands on its knees. It closed its eyes and became perfectly still. Then it began to speak, uttering an incomprehensible set of words in a soft and musical voice. The language was like nothing Jessica had ever heard before. There were a series of clicks, whistles, and humming sounds like when a songbird sings. The voice was high pitched, and she could not determine if it was male or female. Or even if this alien species had two genders at all. But the voice was clear and distinct.
As much as Jessica was drawn to the strange vista and the alien, her attention was compelled to refocused on Professor Stone. The chubby man was having something akin to a spasm. "Doc, what's wrong?"
Stone vigorously shook his head, as he began fiddling with a pocket on his space suit. "It's them. It's them...Valiant's builders. And I assume this sphere as well. I recognized a few of the words our sitting friend there said. Need to get my recorder out." He continued to fumble with his suit's pocket. "I'll be damned," he muttered as he continued to try and get at the pocket's zipper.
"Let me help," offered Jessica. She moved over and was able to pull open the flap and retrieve the professor's recorder. Handing him the device, she watched as he started to record the speaking alien. "What's this about Doc? What is it you think you heard?"
The professor gave her a look. "Our friend there said something along the lines of - 'Our great story' or 'The journey of us'. I think this is some sort of recording of a historical event, Lieutenant. But it's going too fast." He shook the recorder in frustration. "I need to get more of it recorded so I can translate."
Jessica looked at the display, and sure enough the scene had changed. What appeared to be a city constructed on a narrow plateau. A multitude of blocky square buildings of different sizes were clustered together. There was no sign of any vehicle or road. Instead, she could see the tall aliens moving about on a series of narrow walkways that crisscrossed the city. The construction of the buildings looked simple and primitive, little more than stone stacked on stone. She had a hard time imagining such a people were capable of building something as advanced as the Sphere and Valiant.
Saying as much, Stone offered back without taking his eyes off the unfolding scene, "Everyone must start somewhere, Lieutenant. This is when their people were young and still learning."
"Yeah, that makes sense," she admitted, "I wonder how long ago this was?"
"Hard to say, we have little to indicate when this is happening." The professor pointed at the scene. "See, there's no moon in the sky, and I'm not sure what stars they might be looking at. There's no frame of reference to judge the age of the planet."
"Or even which planet were looking at," added Jessica. The scene changed again and now they saw the alien people working in a large field, pulling a something like plow behind them. The images changed again and she saw a great number of these beings, a crowd of onlookers of many sizes watching several of the tall, thin aliens, working on an elaborate and detailed structure. It appeared to be a massive sculpture made of metal and stone. Jessica wondered if this was some form of art.
The professor was watching intently, the display changed once again. This time she saw multiple aliens laying on a heavily marred and broken ground, all appeared injured or dead. Some sort of battle, she decided. The scene shifted again, and Jessica saw a more modern city, that of glass and steel. The building shapes were odd, and she could not see any doors or windows. There were other tall spires of a golden material. Their size and number reminded her of a porcupine. All the while, the sitting alien continued in it's strange warbling song like speech in its incomprehensible language. The words flowed and twisted like an intricate piece of music, but it meant nothing to her.
"What are we seeing?" she asked Stone. "I can't make sense of what going on."
Professor Stone was still engrossed in his recording. "It's their story, a history of these people. Unfortunately, I still only know bits and pieces of their language and next to nothing on pronunciation. Look," He pointed to the scene. It showed a dark sky full of stars and Jessica saw what appeared to be a primitive rocket lifting off a launch platform. The alien people were watching it, pointing at the bright flame as the rocket shot into the sky.
"Looks like they've discovered space travel," observed Jessica. "So, this is their history? But why show us this?"
"Well," mused Stone as he watched the scene shift to the aliens standing in a long line, all carrying something like rifles, bizarrely shaped as the weapons had to accommodate four arms instead of two. "I don't recognize this race, do you, Lieutenant?"
"No, I don't," admitted Jessica. "But I'm just a pilot. I don't know every alien species there is. Maybe these guys are from the far edges of known space." As she was speaking, the vista changed yet again, and Jessica could see the aliens standing around what appeared to be a growing crystal. It was long and thin, more like a shard than a geode. But it was clearly the same crystalline material as the sphere they were in. "And this is the beginning of their crystal technology?"
"Very likely, they seemed to have worked on perfecting it over many centuries," replied Stone, nodding more to himself than Jessica. He then turned away from the unfolding display to face Jessica, his expression was muted. "I think we're being shown all this because they're gone. Their race dead. This whole recording an epitaph to their people."
Jessica gave him a startled look, "Really? What makes you say that?"
The professor sighed. "In my work with the Valiant and learning their language, I got hints of some sort of great cataclysm befalling this people. But the translations were difficult to interpret. But then after what I learned on Babylon 5, I grew to suspect it was something very bad. Maybe the extinction of their entire species." He pointed at the display, which now showed a large group of the aliens walking through a field of tall plants of a vibrant purple. To Jessica, this scene appeared to show a planet other than the aliens' home world. This planet had two large moons in the sky and the vegetation was wildly different.
"If they're all gone, then who is showing us their greatest hits?" wondered Jessica. "There has to be someone here, or this is one hell of an automated system."
"Perhaps it is all automated, or maybe some sort of AI system," offered Stone. "Hopefully we can learn more from their history and language." As if in response, the scene shifted again, this time showing multiple spaceships. Their appearance looked like a much simpler version of the Valiant. Crystaline in their shape and design but lacking in any of the subtle details and complexity of the Valiant. Jessica tried to count how many ships there were, but it was difficult as they were moving in and out of the scene. At least a dozen, she decided. They seemed to be fleeing from something, all of ships urgently accelerating away from the viewer's perspective. Then something new entered the picture, a shifting of space, like a mirage revealing a strange looking ship. It was black as space, with many long spires protruding from a squat central core.
To Jessica it looked very much like a spider. A massive one, judging by the size of the crystal ships. The spider-like ship was easily a dozen times the size of the others. It was pursuing the other ships, firing on them. What appeared to be a type of beam weapon struck one of the crystalline ships, and it shattered into a million fragments of crystal.
"What is that?" asked Jessica, not taking her gaze off the destruction unfolding before her. More of the spider-like ships appeared, and they were all attacking the crystalline vessels. The attackers were methodical and merciless, each one taking on one of the crystal ships and destroying it with their beam weapons.
"The Shadows," whispered the professor. Through his faceplate, Jessica could see the old man's face had gone ashen. "It's just as Ambassador Delenn said. They come and destroy all in their path."
"Wait, what?" asked Jessica, turning to face the professor. "What are you talking about?" Before he could answer, the scene shifted again, and she saw the aliens' home planet. From space it was encircled by what looked like hundreds of crystal ships. The aliens were marshaling their forces. But then the Shadow ships were upon them, appearing from nowhere and attacking en mass. The crystalline vessels were badly outgunned, yet they fought on, even as one by one the spider-like ships destroyed them. The view shifted again, this time to the planet's surface. Jessica could see the Shadow ships raining down fire on the cities below. The large crystal spires of their cities cracked and shattered under the onslaught.
In the aftermath, few of the race's cities remained. Jessica could only guess at the death toll. And now the scene shifted again. The aliens were huddled together in one of their burnt-out cities. All of them were looking to the sky, where a large ship was descending from the sky. It was a molted green in color with long tentacle-like arms coming from a main ovoid-shaped body.
"Is... that a Vorlon ship?" question Jessica, only growing more confused as she watched the scene unfold. She had seen pictures of the Vorlons' ships before, the strange looking green vessels that resembled nothing so much as squid. But why were they here? What was going on?
Professor Stone nodded his head. "Yes, it is. Their conflict with these Shadows. This must be part of it."
"Huh?" Jessica shook her head, just growing more confused. "What conflict? Who are these Shadows? What does the Vorlons have to do with any of it?"
"It is a long story," replied the professor, his eyes glued to the unfolding drama being displayed. More Vorlon ships were appearing. They were engaging the spider-like Shadow vessels in a titanic battle. For the first time, Jessica saw the Shadow ships take damage and retreat. "On Babylon 5, General Taggart and I learned of a great struggle which exist between the Vorlons and this race called the Shadows. Their fight has been going on for thousands, if not millions of years. Over the centuries, the Shadows emerge and wage war on the galaxy, attempting to kill and destroy anything in their path."
"Why?" asked Jessica. "What do they want? What does anyone get from killing and destroying other races?"
"I don't know," answered Stone sadly. "What I know comes from the Minbari. They fought these Shadows a thousand years ago. The Minbari had to put everything into beating them back. It seems this race," He waved his hand at the aliens in the display. "Were also victims of the Shadows. This is the history of their struggle against them."
Jessica looked at the aliens in the scene. "A thousand years ago the bonies fought these things? Is that when this race was attacked?"
"Maybe, or perhaps it was even longer ago. I don't know. It was clear the Vorlons came to help these aliens fight back." The scene had now changed to showing a massive fleet of ships. The crystalline vessels of the aliens were now bigger, more complex than the ships they had seen earlier. They were fighting alongside the Vorlons. The two groups of ships engaged in combat with the Shadows. The Shadow ships took damage, their multi-spired legs breaking apart under the assault. Slowly the massive black spider ships were pushed back. But the aliens paid a high price for their victory. Even with the Vorlon's help, thousands of crystal ships were destroyed in the fight. Then the Vorlons were leaving, and the aliens were left alone to rebuild.
"Why did the Minbari tell you and the General about these Shadows? Why haven't you told the rest of the crew?" questioned Jessica as turned back to Stone. She put a gloved hand on his shoulder, turning him so she could see him directly. "You don't seem surprised by any of this," she said with a wave towards the unfolding display of the race struggling to rebuild their world. "What's going on?"
The old man's eyes locked on hers, holding a mix of certainty, regret, and fear. He gave a sad smile, "Because it's all happening again. The Shadows have returned, Jessica. The whole galaxy is in great danger."