Terraformer Dreams - Chapter Nine (complete)

[The Zig]

Story so far:
---------------------------------------
Chapter One - The Fly-Through Sector
Chapter Two - Danger is Coming...
Chapter Three - Scramble
Chapter Four - The Nexus
Chapter Five - Classified Information
Chapter Six - Ghosts of the Passed
Chapter Seven - It
Chapter Eight - Terraformer Dreams
---------------------------------------



Chapter Nine – Downtime

“I never put off till tomorrow what I can do the day after.”
Oscar Wilde


Part One: Derelict

Lil rose from her seat and walked, staring, toward the forward view-screen of her Centaur.
“There’s something...”
In the darkness beyond, tiny forms streamed out of the Collosus. Tens of ships bursting into the night. Within a mizura, they had all formed together into a giant hazy X in space. Then they sped away. They were out of sight within sezuras.
“X-formation...”
Lil rolled her eyes and walked back to her seat.
Typical.
...


Navy Tactical Log – 22:47hrs AST (Argon Standard Time)
Our assets are moving to eliminate the Xenon presence. Due to the huge distance from the standard grid, M5 assets are being used for speed. 90% of our Discoverers have been deployed for this task. ETA 22 minutes.
The remaining M5s continue to deep scan the sector.
...


Asya had pulled a chair up to the prison containment-shield. She was staring, wide-eyed at the alien.
“What kind of problem?” she asked.
“Problem is. Nexus is Terraformer together-think network. Simultaneous is.”
“Right.”
“In Nexus, all information is instantly shared. All...”
“So everything you learn is instantly passed on. Within the network. Yes?”
“When connected, yes. All is shared,” it stalled. “All is true including the not. Even what is not true is true. Is... is... true. It is understood true. Unquestioned is. It... is understood as equal to true. There is no... It...”
“It’s believed,” Asya supplied. “Understood as true independent of truth value: believed.”
“Yes,” Hzzar said. “It is ‘believed’. All is shared. All is believed, because all is true. Except now.”
“Your ‘false memories’?”
“Yes. My dreams.”
...


Navy Tactical Log – 23:20hrs AST
Xenon targets engaged at 23:11hrs AST. All six targets were destroyed with no friendly losses. Initial scans suggests the capital ship is a derelict. Class-type unknown. Discos will now scout a 100K area around the derelict.
...


“So you were connected to the network all the time? Even while you slept? That must...”
“No,” Hzzar said. “Negative.”
“You weren’t?”
“Correct. Epsilon minds are organic core. Do not function predictably during ‘sleep’ and cannot connect. Upon ‘waking’ our minds reconnect.”
“How do the dreams get across then?”
“Upon waking, residual fake-memories print onto our data-log system, which logs them. Then our brains connect and the data migrates to network. Data are believed.”
“Heh!”
“Please rephrase.”
“Nothing... It’s just... That must be interesting. If your dreams are... Human dreams are strange.”
“Yes. Strange is.”
Asya’s eyes widened. “Really? Tell.”
...


Navy Tactical Log – 23:58hrs AST
Initial scans of the derelict are inconclusive. It appears a unique find. Various indicators suggest it has been here for some time, yet the technology on it is advanced.
Argon command have been contacted, and they intend to send a holding-force for the sector so that the ship can be investigated and towed back to Prime, if practical. The force is due to arrive in around 6 hours.
Our fleet must hold this sector until they arrive. It has been decided that this Colossus and our escorts will move in to investigate the derelict ship further. Terracorp have agreed to hold their Titan and Centaur guarding the gate until further Navy assets arrive.
...


“Not interested,” Elton Simons said. “It’s irrelevant. I appreciate the derelict’s scientific value and everything, but it has no bearing on my mission.”
“Sir. With all...”
“No. Bad that we waste hours babysitting it. Right now it’s an obstacle. Won’t waste time on it. I have my mission. I’ll look at the derelict when the Xenon shipyard’s dust. Understood?”
“I...”
“Understood?”
Silence.
“Good.”
Elton killed the comms connection. Damn derelict.

He turned back to his terminal, the fleet data was on his screen.
“Get some support out here,” he muttered. “Need some numbers.”
He scrolled through the data.
So many ships, so few jump-drives. He wasn’t going to take anything into Xenon space that couldn’t jump out in an ambush. Jump-drives only. He made the system filter for ‘idle’ ships with jump-drives.
Empty screen.
“Not one?”

Elton pulled up the extended fleet data. Something caught his eye.
“Hermit-class?” He selected.
Ah! That’s right. Now he remembered. These were a tiny fleet of Titans built a few years back; they were designed to go off the ecliptic, to probe the empty no-man’s-land around sectors. They looked for gates that had drifted off-grid, lost ships, Nividium asteroids, or anything else out there. They were maxed for speed and scanning; and all had been fitted with jump-drives to make recall and redeployment practical. There were few such ships, and by their nature they were hardly ever seen. But they were out there. Drifting on their own.
One Hermit – the Sennin – was ‘idling’ by the Midori nebula, that huge, green cloud that would soon engulf The Hole.
Elton sent some commands their way.
“Change of scenery, fellas?”
...


Asya laughed.
“No!?”
Hzzar looked down at her. “Your reaction not is understood.”
“They... I just can’t believe that!”
“True is.”
“So how long did they hunt for this ‘giant spacefly’?”
“Six mazuras.”
Asya laughed louder.
...


Navy Tactical Log – 01:48hrs AST
Colossus arrived at derelict ship over 20 minutes ago. No progress. Despite no visible energy output from the derelict, our scanners cannot penetrate. We are unable to discover anything about the interior. With still more than 4 hours remaining before the holding force arrives, boarding options are being discussed.
...


Jo woke slowly.

The last residues of a dream evaporated, and what had made sense a moment ago was now just a series of broken images. He sat up and stared across the dark room.
Finally he got up and headed for the wash-room. Here, he was pleased to find a water-shower option. In the old days, Navy carriers only had EM-showers. Sure, they were faster and more efficient, but working at Terracorp had taught Jo to appreciate water-showers. Looked like the Navy had finally learned a little culture.
The shower thundered. Jo stepped in, silencing it. Hot pellets of water punched into his loose muscles, warmly massaging the sleep out of his body. He bowed his head to the stream and let the water drag soft, burning fingers down his face.

Slowly the world came back into focus.
...


Part Two: No Good


An engine roared, faded away as a Discover shot out into space.
Elton Simons leaned on a barrier overlooking the docks.
A busy scene. Warning lights, weapons load-out droids, vac-suited ship technicians, the hiss of airlock systems. Ships swooping in from the void, others firing out. A steady flow of pilots walking away from the docking ports, others running eagerly towards.

A boarding craft was being prepared. To look at, it reminded Elton of the old Busters. Useless old buckets. Most of the preparation was done now. Elton knew the routine. Next the carrier’s small contingent of marines would appear at the elevator to...
Marines burst from the elevator, jogging – mean, eager, ready – all glistening assault rifles and clattering equipment. Dock workers gaped after them. Everyone had stopped working, watched awestruck.

“Children,” Elton muttered, turning away in disgust. “Utter children.”
He walked away.
...


Water dripped from the shower head, slower now. Stopped. A last drip. Silence. Then a whirring begun. The warm, wet clouds started to lift away; cool clear air rose into the room. Condensation dried quickly from mirror. Jo, dressing, caught a glimpse of himself. He froze, stepped up to the mirror, putting a hand to his face.
His blood ran cool. That reunion feeling, like coming face-to-face with a grown man you last knew as a child. That sudden, chest-tightening feel of finding the old friend, hidden among the lines of an older face. Jo stared for a moment. He dug his fingers into the thick, wet mess of hair, pushing it back from his face. His mouth fell open. He dragged his fingers down over the coarse, wiry hair covering much of his face. His eyes widened.
...


“Da-me!” Lil said loudly.
The barman stared back at her blankly.
“Just soft drinks,” he said.
“I’m not on-duty,” she said. “I’m not even rostered. I can’t be on-duty. One drink!”
“A soft drink.”
“A real drink. I damn well need one.”
“It’s the rules, miss. It isn’t my say.”
“Da-me da yo!”
He shook his head stupidly, “Just soft drinks.”
Lil growled. She had had enough irritation for one day.
First, the Navy agree to pay her by the sector, then they promptly find this damn wreck and decide to sit here, sniffing around in the same sector for Five Hours. Now they were launching boarders and no-one would give her any answers. Hello! Not paid by the hour here!

Then, after hours of forced-patience, she had finally been left with the option of leaving her ship or firing that damn Teladi out the missile tube after he accidentally killed the power-core – hence the lights and gravity – just as she was using the toilet. Not pleasant.
And now she couldn’t buy a drink in a goddamn bar!

Finally, she settled on a stimuline. She guessed she could use one. The one she’d made herself earlier had rained down, scolding hot, when Aksandros finally got the power-core back on-line.
Da-me. No good.
It was a word she’d learned growing up in the mine.
One of the mine-boys used to say it. What was his name? She couldn’t remember. He was a dreamer, though; she remembered that. While everyone else struggled to just get by, this boy was studying ‘Japanese’. He wanted to work for the government one day, and oddly ‘Japanese’ was the traditional ‘official language’ of Argon, despite the fact that hardly anyone actually used it.
Even where it was used people often got it wrong. He used to constantly point out Kana and Kanji in the station, on visiting ships – even on the news – that were upside-down, inverted, backwards, or just plain wrong. “Da-me,” he’d laugh. “Da-me.”
Despite her day, that memory brought out a smile. What was his name?
She stared out into space, trying to remember.

“Damn folly,” a male-voice, low and flat.
“Huh?”
Lil found Elton Simons sat two stalls from her.
“Stupid,” he moved his cup to indicate the derelict outside. “That boarder.”
“What?”
“Bad enough that we, a war fleet, waste time here babysitting a dead ship,” he muttered. “Now Ripley has to send a boarder out. Can’t just wait for the holding-force, let them do their job. Has to jump the gun. Try and grab the glory.”
“Who’s Ripley?” Lil asked.
“The Captain.”
“Oh. I thought you were captain,” she shrugged. “Simon something wasn’t it?”
His eyes narrowed for a moment. “Elton Simons. I’m special advisor, attached to this mission.”
“Attached?”
“Right.”
“What does that mean?”
“That I have experience with the Xenon.”
“Right. Right. Don’t we all.”
Elton smiled at this. “True. Lil Sarra, right?”
“Right.”
Elton glanced at the derelict again, the attached boarding vessel. The marines would probably be aboard by now, running around with guns and talking in jargon. He shook his head. An idea occurred to him.
“You’re not under Navy command, are you?”
“I’m hired.”
“Freelance though, right.”
“Right.”
“Ah,” he nodded. “Must be frustrating.”
“What?”
“Paid by the sector, right. That’s usual Navy policy.”
“Yeah.”
“Not getting paid while we sit here, right?”
Lil drank sharply. “No.”
“That must hurt. Fancy some adventure?”
Lil hesitated “Worth my while?”
Elton shrugged.
“Talk,” she said.

Elton sat up, looked across at her. “Navy won’t split their assets, and I can’t make them, so we’re stuck here for now. But you’re not Navy. You’re a merc, and you’ve got a decent ship. If you want to go ahead, scout the next sector or two for us, do a fly-through, get us some intel, I can sanction the normal per-sector rate of pay. There and back.”
Lil was still staring into her drink, so Elton went on:
“Lot of money for little risk. No risk, actually. You have a jump drive, I recall.”
“Right,” Lil sighed. “If it’s still there. I’d love to, but I can’t. A Teladi’s been taking my ship apart from the inside in the name of servicing. Not at full power right now.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Damn. That’s no good. You’ll be up to power when we move?”
“Should be.”
“You should.”
Lil heard the threat in his inflexion. She glared across at him, but he wouldn’t make eye contact, his eyes fixed on that derelict. Finally she said:
“Still got my Pegasus, fully-tuned. 1009.6 metres per second.”
Elton looked at her in surprise. Now it was her turn to fix a stare out the window.
“Perfect,” Elton said.
“It’ll be more dangerous though,” Lil said. “Not sure I’m up to it.”
Elton saw straight through her gambit.
“How much?”
“I’m sure if...” she trailed off.
Elton looked behind him following Lil’s sudden stare. A man at the bar. He looked familiar to Elton. It was... Jo Slammer, except...
“Hey, Jo!” Lil shouted. “Is that you?! Wow!”
... except the unruly mass of hair that had marked Jo Slammer was gone. At the bar – clean-shaven, shaven headed and large as life – the ghost of Mak Orijin. A little older, some more lines, but unmistakeable. The Hell is he thinking?

“Lil,” Elton said, thinking fast. “50% bonus per sector. And our elite pilot here. Deal?”
Lil looked from Jo to Elton.
“Deal,” she said, nodding. She smiled: This could be interesting.
“Jo,” Elton shouted. “Here.”
Lil looked back from Elton to Jo. She remembered the scene between them at that first debriefing.
What’s the story between you two?

Jo walked toward their table.
Behind him, the barman was re-arranging bottles at the bar.
...


Part Three – Outbound


The command room of Lil’s Centaur – Jo leaned back against the wall, watching.

“I rewired the recharger loop too,” Aksandros was saying. “It was first done by a monkey, I think. I’ve increased the transmission by 40%. For you, that means faster charging and less heat build-up. Which all translates to better firing rate. More kills, less time.”
“Anything actually work yet?” Lil, straight to the point.
“Almost. Almost. Patience. I just need to put the hardware back in place.”
“You were doing that when I left!”
“I had to re-tune it again after the, uh... reactor adjustment.”
“The black out?”
Aksandros hissed nervously. “It was a necessary...”
“It’s alright,” Lil said. “Sorry about before. I lost it a little.”
“I’ll be finished soon.”
“Sure you will,” Lil said. “Reckon you’ll be done by the time we get back?”
“Back?”
“We’re heading out for a while in the Peg.”
“The Pegasus?”
“We’re going to scout the Xenon sectors,” Jo told him.
“Really? Can I co..? Ah! I have work here. But why are you going alone?”
“Recon,” Lil said.
“I wish I finished,” Aksandros said. “Be careful. When you get back this ship will be better than ever.”
“Really?”
“Promise.”
...


“So what’s he doing with your ship?” Jo asked.
Jo watched Lil climb through the hatch and pull herself into the tiny Pegasus cockpit.
“Just a few tweaks,” she called back. “He seems to think he’s some kind of engineering expert. I’m yet to see any proof of this.”
“He’s good,” Jo said, thinking back. “He did some pretty smart things with the computers earlier.”
Lil had her back to Jo as he hauled himself through the hatch into the cockpit.
“Does that make him a weapons engineer though?”
Jo had to stoop in the tiny cockpit. “I guess?”
“I’m yet to see it,” she said again. “Paid him a lot for all this. On the basis of the things he promised. Now I’m just hoping it doesn’t all blow up first time I try and use it.” She was almost talking to herself now. “Shoulda known better than to be taken in by a Teladi.”
“I think he’s okay,” Jo said. “He’s not like a Teladi.”
“Right.”
Jo nodded.
“What you waiting for?” Lil said suddenly.
“What?”
“Take us out. Launch.”
“Me?”
“You’re the ‘elite pilot’. You think you’re here for?”
He smiled. “Sir, yes, sir.”
In the cramped cockpit Jo had to squeeze around Lil. She stood looking up at him, not making it easy for him to pass. Her air woke an old feeling in him, as he moved round her.
“Ma’am,” she whispered, half-smiling at him as their faces passed. “Not ‘sir’.”
Jo lowered himself into the pilot chair. Don’t I know it.

Lil sat across the cockpit, behind the pilot chair.
“Take us out,” she said. “Wanna see what you got.”
“You and me both.”
...


The prison door opened. Elton Simons entered.
In the cell, the Xenon was stood exactly as in the videos Elton had seen.
Asya Rieka was laughing.

Asya looked round smiling as he approached.
“Hello. How can I help you, Elton.”
“Productive?” he asked coldly.
“Good,” she said. “Good, thanks. Psychology. It’ll all be in the reports. But how can I help you?”
“I want to speak to it.”
“To what?”
“The Xenon.”
“Oh! Right. What do you want to know?”
“It given any information about the neighbouring Xenon sectors?”
“Not yet. I’ve been focussing on their psychology, and the vulnerabilities of their network. He was telling me about his dreams and the impact they’re having on the Nexus. It’s...”
“Can I speak to it?”
“What for?”
“I’m sending scouts into the Xenon sectors. Want to know what they might run into.”
“Okay,” she said. “Would you like me to ask for you? We’ve built rapport.”
“Rapport? It’s a machine, right?”
“Aren’t we all?”
“Whatever. Can I talk to it.”
“Go ahead.”
...


“You like?” Lil said.
“Never flown anything this fast,” Jo said. “Click a sec. Awesome.”
“Just don’t crash it.”
“Just gonna pull a barrel round this derelict.”
He pulled the Pegasus in a tight curve around the derelict, making a last moment swerve to avoid the attached boarding craft.
“Awesome,” he said. “This steering must be like, 200%!”
“You done?”
“What weapons we got?”
“Two beta emitters. Don’t even think about fighting anything.”
“Right, right. Setting a course for the gate. ETA about 2 miz. The speed of this thing.”
“What you usually fly?”
“I’m a Nova man.”
“Yeah? Too slow for me.”
“People say that, but they’re the last thing standing in any fight. With the rear gun you can’t even be tailed.”
“Yeah,” she said. “But they’re no fun. They’re sit and shoot ships. Fat. Like my Centaur. I prefer a lean ship. Something with finesse. And where you got the speed to cut and run if you gotta.”
“Nova’s have finesse,” Jo said. “But they got shields and weapons too. For when you don’t have the luxury of cut and run.”
“Luxury?! Ha! Right!”
“Huh?”
“Necessity. You’re an fool if you fail to leave yourself a way out. Never know when you’ll come up against unbeatable odds.”
“Nothing’s unbeatable. Sometimes you just have to punch through. However bad the odds.”
“Right,” she laughed. “The Cause! To die for.”
“What?”
“Tell me you’re not one of those? The hero-martyr thing. Had you down as different from the Navy lot.”
“Sometimes things really are important though. Like Omicron Lyrae. Sometimes you have to draw the line...”
“Right. And get yourself spaced; get your name carved on a nice plaque somewhere? That kind of ‘important’? No. Not my scene.”
“But if it’s just you between the Xenon, and a thousand scared colonists. Women, children. Families. You’d cut and run?”
“Yes. Yes. Why should I die too? Because they didn’t leave themselves a way out? People dumb enough to put themselves in these situations, let them face the consequences. Besides, a thousand colonists suckin’ vacuum might scare some sense into the rest, right?”
Jo fell silent. Paranid bled from a fractured ship somewhere. He blinked hard. “You don’t mean that.”
“Space is hard.”

Jo banked the ship and brought down the speed. He manoeuvred to face the gate.
“Go through? Or wait for word from Elton?”
“Hold on a moment,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not some cold-hearted bitzu. Not at all, if there’s a chance I can help, I will. I’ll do whatever I can. But if it finally comes down to that no-win thing, I’m not throwing my life away.”
“There’s no such thing as no-win.”
“Ha! How many battles you actually been in?”
About a hundred. Jo held his tongue.
“What’s so special it’s worth losing your life?” She asked.
“What’s so special about life?” Jo fired back.
At last Lil spoke quietly, “Agree to disagree. Just know, if this mission turns bad. A Xenon ambush, Khaak, whatever, if it’s no win I’m gone. In an instant. Jumped out. And if the Navy doesn’t jump right behind me, that’s their choice. I’m getting paid for my escort, not my funeral.”
...


“Next sector’s empty,” Elton’s voice came over the speakers. “A single patrol at most, according to the Xenon. It’s in a gas cloud. Visibility’s limited to a few kilometres, but scanners should work okay. The Xenon gave us the gate location. West gate. It’s in the far west, about 10k past the ecliptic. Transmitting the location to you now.”
“What you want us to do?” Lil asked. “Head straight for the gate, or look around first?”
“Scout a little, but the real priority is the sector after that. That’s where the shipyard is. Where the research base is.”
“So quick sweep of the first sector, then scout out the second,” Jo confirmed.
“Exactly. And do a secondary sweep of the first sector on the way back in.”
“Okay,” Lil said. “Acknowledged. We’ll...”
“Jo. Lil,” Elton said. “Keep it fast. Don’t take risks. Need information first and foremost. Want you back inside the hour. The fleet should be ready to move soon after.”
“Acknowledged,” Lil repeated. “Over.”
She turned to Jo with a smile.

“Let’s go.”
...


Part Four – Unknown


“Boring sector,” Lil said.
“Pretty clouds,” Jo muttered.
Lil shrugged. “Better than being shot at, I guess.”
“I guess.”
“Start a sweep?”
“Sure.”
Jo pushed the Pegasus up to speed.
...


The Xenon was talking. “Present in target sector are four stations. Include one shipyard, one research base. These are your target.”
“The others?” Elton asked.
“Two solar power plants are.”
“Sector defence?”
“70% M4s, 20% M5s, 10% M3s,” the Xenon said. “Estimated numerical total: 40.”
“M2s? M1s?”
“0%”
“Why?” Elton asked.
“All capital ships advanced to attack Argon sector. Destroyed.”
“Left behind nothing? Nothing at all?”
“Minimal force remained.”
“Were very confident.”
“99% victory confidence,” it agreed.
“They would’ve won too,” Asya pointed out. “Easily. If not for Hzzar.”
“Hzzar?”
“Him,” Asya pointed. “The Xenon. His warning.”
“Ah, yes. Yes. Hzzar.”
“Delay now increases risk,” the Xenon added. “Terraformer now do rebuild.”
“I realise that. We will move soon. Right now we’re tied up with some derelict. Actually, the Xenon were defending it. Do you know what it is?”
“Do not understand subject of question.”
“We found a derelict capital ship in this sector. It’s not Terraformer, right? What is it.”
“Understood. Unidentified Object 44172, referred to. Origin unknown. Design unknown. Function unknown. Purpose unknown. All attempts to investigate, failed.”
“So why were you defending it?”
“Technology is advanced. More than Terraformer. Potentially valuable is.”
“Right.”
“Unable to exploit at this time.”
“But worth holding onto. I see. Why did your investigations fail?”
“Investigation teams failed to return.”
“They never came back? Why?”
“Unknown. Derelict ship utilises unknown defences.”
“What kind of defences?”
“Unknown 100% effective defences. Nexus connections cannot penetrate ship, communications lost, and investigative teams have never returned.”
Elton turned to Asya. “Did you know this?”
She shook her head.
“You didn’t think to ask?”
She stared back. “That's not...”
Elton crossed to the computer terminal.

“Captain Ripley,” he ordered. A moment later, the Captain’s face appeared on screen.
“Ripley,” Elton said. “Derelict ship may be dangerous. Withdraw the boarders.”
“What?”
“The derelict. It’s dangerous. Order the boarder team to withdraw. Leave it for the holding force.”
“Withdraw?”
“You need to...”
“I’d love to comply,” the Captain interrupted. “But we lost contact with the boarder team forty minutes ago. I thought you’d been informed?”
Elton looked back at Asya, past her to the unreadable face of the Xenon.
“No.”
...


“What you got against X-formation?”
“It’s r*******.”
“It’s a Navy standard,” Jo laughed.
“Exactly,” Lil said.
“What’ve you got against the Navy?”
“Ah... Nothing. They should modernise.”
“What’s wrong with X-formation?” he asked again.
“Lots of ships flying forward in a big, flat X-shape? It’s r*******. Okay, it made sense twenty years ago. Back when you had to pay more than the cost of the ship for a rudder optimisation, and a strafe-drive was an ‘exotic extra’. No software to help you aim. Then it was fair enough; lots of ships close together, all guns forward, good for focusing lots of fire on a small area. Even looked pretty...”
“So what changed?”
“Things moved on. Now you can fly sidewards and turn on a spacefly. You’re not stuck flying forward all the time. You got aim assistance. They should update to a parabolic X.”
“Opera-ballet what?”
“Parabolic. So that the X isn’t flat. It should be curved. So the ships at the intersection are further back; the ones at the tips forward. Understand?”
“No.”
“Well. Okay, curved. Like a bowl. Like. An X shape drawn on a bowl surface. So that where the lines cross, that point is at the bottom. Furthest back from the enemy. See?”
“Sure, I get the shape, but what’s the advantage?”
“Well... Okay. Imagine you got 30 M5. In normal, flat X-form, they go straight at the target. The ones at the intersection get in range of the target first, right?”
“I guess.”
“Well, by the time the one’s at the tips are in range, the ones from the intersection gotta break off to recharge. And they’re hit with a wave of return fire. They panic, formation falls to pieces.”
“Worst case scenario.”
“Seen it happen. Two years ago, Navy versus amateur Pirates. Point is, if they used hyperbolic X form, like... get it right and every ship comes into firing range at exactly the same moment. Perfectly phased. Nothing could stand up to that. And even if it does, what does it return fire at with 30 fast tiny targets all going in and out of range at the same instant? You’d have the power of an M2, with all the advantages of an M5.”
“It’d be hell to coordinate,” Jo said.
“It’d be more than worth the trouble.”

Lil thought for a moment. “If I controlled a fleet, it’s what I’d do.”
Jo nodded.
...


“When was the last time you heard from them,” Elton asked.
“The boarder crew?”
“Of course, the boarder crew.”
The Captain shifted in his seat, “After they attached to the derelict.”
“What did they report?”
“They were ready to force the external hatch.”
“They hadn’t entered yet?”
“They were about to.”
“So you haven’t had word from them since they entered?”
“Well, their persocomms – their personal communicators – died the moment they went in. Probably hull interference.”
“What’s the procedure in that situation?”
“Return to the boarder ship periodically to report in. We’ve been monitoring.”
“Monitoring?” Elton was clearly unimpressed. “When are they meant to report in?”
“Well, standard procedure’s after two minutes, then again every fifteen minutes.”
“How long’s it been?”
“Uh... fifty four minutes.”
Elton scowled. “Damn it.”
...


The Pegasus cleared the gate. Its speed rose quickly.
“Wow!”
“It’s a little more interesting than the last sector,” Jo said
“Damn straight.”
“Y’know. I’ve never got what it is with Xenon sectors and shattered planets.”
“Everyone gotta have a hobby,” Lil said.
Jo smiled. “Shattering planets?!”
“Beats freighter-train-spotting,” she said. “How do they do it?”
“I have no idea.”
“Is that it?”
“What?”
“There!” She said.
“The shipyard?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes. I think so,” Jo nodded. “Must be.”
“Big.”
“Yeah. But you know what they say: the bigger they come.”
“The harder they beat your ass?”
“Harder they fall.”
“I almost got it!” Lil laughed. “Profound. Did ya make that up yourself? Or s’it some Spice Goners lyric? I’m not up on G-pop.”
“It’s an old Navy saying.”
“Never heard of... Hey! Where we headed here?”
“I wanna do a wide circle. Scope the sector first.”
“We can’t just go in, get the scans and get out of here?”
“At least wanna see if there are any other entrances.”
“S’pose. Whatever. So you were in the Navy?”
“Huh?”
“Navy sayings, Navy philosophy, Navy tactics. You’re ex-Navy.”
“Well...” The mask had slipped, again. Jo Slammer – Mak Orijin.
“Come on, don’t be ashamed! You worked for them once. Admit it!”
“No. I’ve never been... I’m Terracorp. I just know Navy people.”
“No way! Why... So why were you leading that defence fleet before? In that Xenon invasion.”
“I’m Terracorp defence. I was stationed there. That was my home-base.”
“What? That no-where little fly-through sector? Stationed there?! Now I know know you’re hiding something. Elton Simons called you an ‘elite- fighter’. And Terracorp station you nowhere?!”
“Well, I hate to tell you,” said Jo. “Elton was feeding you a line about me, I’m not...”
“Don’t even try that. Saw you fighting. You’ve got experience. If you’re not Navy, you’re something else. ASF?”
Jo involuntarily tensed.
“Knew it,” Lil smiled. “Tell.”
“Look,” Jo said. “I’m sorry. My past. Well. It’s censored. I... I really can’t say. Really.”
“Censored? How does that work?”
“I... look... I was Navy. I fought in a war. Long time ago. Big one. And I lost a lot... And in the end I was... I was used to do some things that were wrong. Really wrong. And when it all settled, it... I was strung out... I had to start over. Anew. It’s classified, and even if it wasn’t... it’s not something I talk about.”
Silence hung for a moment.
Lil finally spoke, “Could smell you were ex-Navy. This the reason for this thing between you and Elton?”
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Thought so! Like that, huh?”
“Yes.”
“What is that?”
“I can’t talk...”
“No, that,” she pointed past him. “There.”
“It... looks..?” Jo squinted. “Another gate.”
Lil looked to him. “What do we do?”
“Go through? It’s your ship, your call.”
“I don’t know. Elton said he wanted information on this sector. Quickly.”
“He’d tell us to scout this next one too. It’s neighbouring the target. Could be a fleet just there, all-set to ambush us.”
“You reckon?”
“He’d say that.”
“What if there are?” Lil said. “A fleet of M2s?”
“We should find out now, before they move the big ships in.”
“Risky though, no?”
“Us? Ha! It’s only bad if we get hit. This ship’s tiny, and faster than plasma anyway. I can dodge. Besides it’d be two more gate crossings on your pay-check.”
“Fair point.” She thought for a moment. “What do you think.”
“I think: do it.”
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”

The Pegasus had already covered the distance to the gate. With a quick flick, Jo sent it searing into the gate’s event horizon. A momentary shimmer, a flash, and the Pegasus was gone.
...


Part 5 – Shocks


“Ha! Money for old cam shocks!”
“Eh?”
“Money for nothing,” Lil said. “Gonna work for the Navy more often. It always like this?”
“I don’t know,” Jo shook his head. “One thing you learn fast is don’t jinx it.”
“What ya mean?”
“Well... Thing’s can change fast. However quiet they seem now.”
“Okay. But look around! No secret ambush in hiding behind the gate,” Lil said. “All clear far as I can see. Job done. Can get home healthy, wealthy and wiser. Right?”
“Looks empty enough. There’s nothing on scanners. No cap ships in sight.”
“Back?”
“Okay. Yes,” Jo turned the ship around. “One mizura to gate. So... What’s a cam shock?”
“I thought you worked on a mine?”
“No. I work the Power Plant. The Terracorp station.”
“That so? Right... well cam shocks support the drive cam for the core rotor on a mine. It’s... Well, it’s not interesting. Just mining equipment. They’re the bits that always wear out first. Size of an M6, too. Real pain to get rid of.”
“That right? So I’m guessing you’ve spent some time among miners?!”
“Could say that. I grew up on one. Out in...”
“Gate,” Jo warned.
They hit the gate’s horizon. The ship jolted...

“Gotta love that feeling,” Lil said as they flew out the far gate.
“Feeling of freedom,” Jo smiled.
“So. Do a pass on the enemy shipyard then head home, right?”
“Yeah. Pass within 5k for a proper scan. At full speed, they won’t even get near us.”
“You know what you’re doing,” she sighed. “Just don’t go inviting trouble. Shields ain’t much on this ship.”
“M5s have shields now? ... So you grew up in a mining family?”
“Well, Dad was a miner, mum was a corpse. First thing I knew I mean. Apparently I was two when it happened. Some kind of shuttle accident. And Dad had his work. So I grew up pretty much on my own. Silicon mine around the fringe sectors.”
“Which sector?”
“Sectors. Mining outfits move about, y’know... A lot... People don’t realise, but it’s not like you can keep pulling ore from the same one rock forever. They ain’t infinite. Soon enough it dries up. All gone. Then ’fore you know all the rocks in the sector dried up, so you pack up and move on.”
“That right? Must be interesting though? See a lot of places.”
“Pah! The inside of rocks. Not like a little mine-rat gets to dandy about in space ships. Mine rats - rug-rats – miners’ kids, y’know. Most fun we had was hanging around inside rocks all day, which... well you won’t believe it but...” Lil laughed. “It is actually pretty fun. See, there are zero-g bits in mines. The artificial grav cores, right? And we used to do all jumping around, somersaults and... Ha! Basket ball! I can beat anyone one-on at spherical-court basketball! It was... fun, y’know. Wasn’t much, but... I mean it was dangerous too. And dirty. All the adults ever talked about was leaving. Getting out. Escape. That was all they wanted to do, get out. So, all we wanted was to get out too... But for us kids it was fun. Real fun.”
“Yeah?”
“I guess, it’s like, a kid can be at home about anywhere. It’s what you know, right?”
“I guess.”
“Damn! You’re actually listening to all this aren’t you? I should shut up!”
“So has he done it yet?”
“What?”
“Your dad. Got out?”
Lil hesitated. “You could say that. So what’re they?”
“Huh? Oh... those? Xenon Ms.”
“Bit close.”
“They’re okay. Won’t pass into weapons range.”
“So where’s the shipyard?”
“Just... there,” Jo rotated and pitched the ship until the Xenon shipyard loomed above them.
“Jeez. Is that... How far are we?”
“Still 12k.”
“Huge.”
“The larger they come,” Jo smiled.
“You realise how fast the Peg is when you’re passing something!”
“4k now. Scanning.”
“They Ns?”
“I see ’em. Scanned the shipyard. Moving out toward the gate. Home in ten.”
...


“Why didn’t you tell me?” Asya demanded. “You should have told us.”
“Was not mission relevant,” Hzzar Qr stated. “Did not predict you to find derelict ship. The ship is far from optimal path to target and far from ecliptic plane. Irrelevant data.”
“Well, it’s looking pretty relevant now. Our boarder team’s in there.”
“Status?”
“We’ve lost contact.”
“They are lost. Continue with primary mission.”
“You’re going to have to be more helpful than this! We can’t abandon our people like that. What do you know? I’ve got Elton on my case now saying you did this on purpose. That it’s a Xenon trap. I’m not... it does look like you hid this though. We were bound to scout the sector. Not a lot of people trust you here, you know? I don’t even know if I do.”
“Trust is irrelevant. This mission must succeed. Failure is destruction, deviation is risk. Please, continue with mission, now.”
“But trust’s the block. We don’t know if we can trust you. You have to help me here. Tell me something!”
“If you proceed directly to target, significant danger are not. Any deviation is risk.”
“Anything specific?”
“Next sector, between us and the shipyard sector, contains a highly dangerous hull-damaging nebula North of optimal route. Dense. May be fatal to M5s.”
“Fatal? Okay. That may be useful data, but...”
“Still you are failing understanding,” Hzzar Qr said, something like frustration starting to modulate his voice. “My race is Terraformer Epsilon. My race is few. If the nexus ascertains that I help you, my race is one: me. In time unknown, the nexus will ascertain this. So: this mission must be fast. If this mission fails, we are soon none. So: this mission must not fail.”
“Then you have to start helping us more.”
“Everything I can, I do. Then and now.”
...


“This sector’s soo dull.”
“You don’t like clouds?” Jo asked.
“It’s what I imagine heaven to be like!”
“You believe in heaven?!”
“Joking,” Lil said.
“So straight home, or should we scout it out?”
“To be totally honest, I’m in no rush to get back to my ship now. Not while that Teladi’s ‘working’ on it. And this sector looks safe enough. I’m happy to kill some time here, if you think there’s value in that.”
“He’s alright,” Jo said.
“Aksandros? You try living with him.”
“So scouting?”
“Scouting it is.”
“I want to check out that nebula to the north,” Jo said. “Scanner’s don’t seem to be cutting it. Should see what’s in there.”
“More clouds!”
“So what happened to your dad?”
“What you mean?”
“He died too?”
“Hell makes you ask that?!”
“You kind of implied it.”
“He... Look, it’s not a nice story. Leave it?”
“Okay.”
A silence tangibly grew, suddenly became uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” Jo said.
“Right.”
“Okay,” Jo said. “So clouds; that one looks a bit like a...”
“Okay, what the hell?! Okay... one day, I was seventeen, out of the blue dad says he loves me. Only time he said that. Next day he’s inside an active drill-shaft when it... well, you get it. So suddenly I was alone. Accident insurance was supposed to look after me, but I was still a minor. They covered to the tune of a few hundred thousand, but they locked it in an account till I came of age. So here I was, alone, penniless, with no one, and life on the mine changed forever. And my friends were all growing up moving on, things kept changing... I dunno. Just suddenly it just wasn’t home any more. Get it?”
“Sure. I think.”
“So one day when a Teladi trader showed up, I struck up a deal and slipped away. But I was stupid. I was a young kid with a lot less money than naïvety. I cut a dumb deal. Wound up basically a slave. And it was hard. Harder than anything. But it made me who I am. In his way... that Teladi. He was a mentor of a kind... He was ruthless bakatzi. No conscience. Seriously, nothing. But in his way... He made me see things for real. So, finally I hit nineteen, legally adult, and I escaped again. Persuaded some Goner to smuggle me to a trade station. Got in touch with my bank and... well, found myself with some credits for the first time in my life. Came at a high enough cost, right? Ain’t nothing comes for free. So after a while of thinking, figured I’d do the only thing I knew how. Bought myself a transporter and just kept going.”
“And the rest is history,” Jo smiled.
“I guess. I’ve just been trying to...”
“Kuse!” Jo swerved the ship hard down and to the left.
A sudden thunder shook the hull as the ship ground to a halt. Lil was thrown forward, up into the back of Jo’s seat. She gripped his chair, looking over his shoulder into the clouds.
“What happened?”
“Kuse!”
“What?!”
“Damn it!”
“WHAT?!”
“Microfragments,” Jo said gravely. “This nebula has microfrags.”
“No...”
Jo nodded.
“Hull eating nebula,” Lil said.
“Densest one I’ve ever seen. We lost near 30% just there.”
“30%?! No way!”
“And we still have to back out.”
“Damn!”
“If we do it slow...”
“Damn it. There goes my profit. How do these things get through the shields?”
“It’s just an M5,” Jo said. “It’ll be cheap to fix. Trick now is getting back in one piece.”
He put the ship to minus 2 reverse speed.
“This’ll take a while,” he said. “Seta?”
“Yeah.”
The hull let out a steady low growl, the rumble of thousands of micro-impacts. Slowly the growl died away. In Seta time, they watched the nebula’s white clouds pull away from them.
“What’s the damage?” Lil said at last.
“41%”
Lil sighed. “What’s our top speed?”
“About 600mps.”
“What say we stop this pleasure cruise and get back to base?”
“Definitely.”
...

Jo piloted the Pegasus through the jump gate. A flash of light, a sudden acceleration. Seconds later, they were thrown back into normal space amid a rain of screaming plasma fire.
“What the..?!?” Jo fired the thruster and pulled the little M5 out of the path of a stream of plasma balls.
“Hell!” Lil shouted.
Several Xenon Ms danced in the night around them, balls of plasma flying by in their wake. Metres away, an M forgot to zig, was swallowed by plasma, and was gone.
“Damn it, fly, Jo!”
Jo pulled back hard, then accelerated over bolts of plasma, trying to pull the Pegasus clear of the kill zone. More Plasma came at them from somewhere ahead, and now Accelerated Particles started flying past from somewhere behind.
“One of the Xenon’s locking on behind us,” Lil shouted. “It’s an M.”
For a moment Plasma and Particle fire was all around them. A river of the stuff ahead. A loud missile siren. With one hit being death, Jo couldn’t see a way out. They were done. Then the river parted just slightly, and somehow Jo squeezed through. They burst out into clear space. The M was no longer behind them, presumably vaporised along with its missile.
Finally, as they started to draw away, Jo could see the distant Terracorp Titan and another Navy Titan, along with a corvette, pumping streams of plasma into space around the Xenon.
As they cleared the kill zone Jo cursed suddenly.
“Lil, radio! Tell the Navy bakatz we’re friendly and to stop targeting us!”
But just as Lil snatched up the radio, a Xenon N soared into view beside them. A ball of plasma roared by, maybe six metres above Jo and Lil’s heads, and carried the N away.
“That’s some shooting!” Lil said.

Taking a deep breath, Jo swung the ship round toward the distant derelict, the Colossus, and the Cheiron.
...

“Least you know how to show a girl a decent time,” Lil said, as they finally closed on the derelict and, behind that, the Colossus. Home. “Wasn’t too boring.”
Jo smiled dumbly. A witty response was needed, but for his life he couldn’t think of one.

“Time out,” Lil said. “Your chance to appear witty and suave has officially expired. Ah, well, can’t have it all. At least, like a gentleman, you got me home safely.”
Jo inhaled sharply. “Lil, we’re not landed yet. I was serious earlier. What I said about jinxing things. If you’d been in space as long as me, you’d know. It’s like space listens. It’s eerie how often all hell breaks loose the moment you say some...”
Flames burst from the derelict ship ahead of them. Perched on the side, the boarding vessel began to judder violently against the hull, jets of fire bursting from all around it. Then in a final blast, it tore free from the larger derelict, and spiralled into space.
Jo swerved to the side, maximum strafe, to pull them out of its path.
“Lil. Call the Boarder,” Jo shouted.
“Right,” Lil grabbed the radio. Pressed some buttons. “No response.”

The boarding craft steadied out of its spiral, and it now soared in a long, low arc, finally to explode on the shields of the huge Colossus.
...

Chapter Ten - Frontier

[Star_Raider15]

the master has returned with chapter 9 *bows down to his power*
its is good to see you write again zig, and it makes me feel better knowing that i am the first of many to post compliments on ur novel
keep going mate, start writing a book and publish it

[aVertigo]

Very good

This is still my favourite fanfic

[kethalpak]

I was starting to get worried zig, this is a great idea for a story and i dont want it to go unfinished!

Giant spacefly! Ha!

[The Zig]

Thanks for the comments!
I like the idea here, too, which is why I'm doing my damnest not to let this story die!

Difficult though, what with working full-time and trying to learn Japanese and explore Japan with every free moment. Since posting this part I've been over in Osaka. Osaka rocks. If you ever go there, try okonomi yaki. A food. It is SOOO good! Seriously recommended. I had cheese okonomi yaki. mmm.

And if you're feeling adventurous tako yaki is maybe worth a try. Fried Octopus in dough-balls. Bit chewy for my tastes tho.

Japan has such a food culture. I like!

[The Zig]

New part up.

There's even a real Japanese word or three in there if you're interested.
Don't say I don't spoil ya!

[Star_Raider15]

i want more i want more i want more i want more
plz plz pzl zig i almost cried when it came to the end...
awesome part, as always u showed ur worth

[The Zig]

Cheers!
Glad you liked this part. I was worried it might feel longer, slower than usual. See, I tried to make this part more continuous - with one main fairly-long scene. This is because I felt my story was getting really choppy - cutting between scenes a bit too much.

I think there's a balance between pace and character development.

It's possible - and tempting - to cut your story right down to the bone, just the bare plot, which gives it great pace, but no real characters. For example, Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code a quick, enjoyable read, but in the end I didn't give a hoot for any of his so-called characters.
So you need some development - something that's not just 'plot' - to make the characters real enough to connect to, to be worth giving a damn over. But spend too long on this and it bogs down your plot, stalls your pace, and can leave you not really going anywhere.

It's tough - gotta find that line!
Uh... maybe I'm taking this a bit too seriously!

Next part, next week I think.

[Lancefighter]

I just spent the last few waking hours reading your 'book' if you could call it that, its good mate, really good.

[jackhanna88]

Cheers!
Glad you liked this part. I was worried it might feel longer, slower than usual. See, I tried to make this part more continuous - with one main fairly-long scene. This is because I felt my story was getting really choppy - cutting between scenes a bit too much.

I think there's a balance between pace and character development.

It's possible - and tempting - to cut your story right down to the bone, just the bare plot, which gives it great pace, but no real characters. For example, Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code a quick, enjoyable read, but in the end I didn't give a hoot for any of his so-called characters.
So you need some development - something that's not just 'plot' - to make the characters real enough to connect to, to be worth giving a damn over. But spend too long on this and it bogs down your plot, stalls your pace, and can leave you not really going anywhere.

It's tough - gotta find that line!
Uh... maybe I'm taking this a bit too seriously!

Next part, next week I think.

Definitely not taking this too seriously. I enjoy the fact that this makes for a very immersive read (even if it does mean ageing significantly between each update!), both in terms of plot and empathy for the characters. The Elton/Lil situation is particularly interesting on a character level, and i'm also really looking forward to seeing the development of the Xenon's "personality".

Keep it up!

[The Zig]

I enjoy the fact that this makes for a very immersive read

Cheers. That's good to hear.

(even if it does mean ageing significantly between each update!)

Yeah, I try to keep it going, but RL's been kinda crazy for a while now. Japan, ne. On the plus side, I'm aiming to wrap this up inside about three or four more chapters. 12's a nice number. Plus an epilogue perhaps. So the end is in sight!

And cheers too to Lancefighter, thanks for saying, and glad you've enjoyed!

[KiwiNZ]

Great read! Nice little side story again Elton still behaves as though he'd restrain Jo if he needed to. Commanding him over like that is almost offensive, though I suspect he didn't actually mean it.

Looking forward to seeing what they'll find in adjacent sectors.

[jackhanna88]

Zig - I need more!

Kiwi - great to see you back, what you been getting up to? How long before we get another update on Red Glow?

[KiwiNZ]

I agree with the 'need more' sentiment.

J: Sorry, have been on holidays and then terribly busy with work. But earlier this week I got myself a new computer and should hopefully now also find time again to play and write. Will try to produce something over the weekend.

[The Zig]

New part up. Perhaps this chapter will be a four parter...


KiwiNZ nice to see you back, and I'm liking Red Glow. I hear what you're saying about a busy life, though. Similar here.
Simons is a bit abrasive sometimes, I agree.

As a side-note, everything Lil's 'friend' says about Japanese is roughly true. "dame" ('da' like in 'dan', 'me' like 'mechanic') means 'no good', and in certain contexts, like, 'forbidden'. Also true is that many (all?) of the Japanese symbols used in the X-Universe (on ships, in the news) are reversed, flipped, or inverted or something.
Anyone know why?

[Switch 9]

Great new part dude! Keep 'em coming!

[Star_Raider15]

damn, when part 3 ended i was like:"huh? wheres the rest "
great part, cant wait for part 4

[The Zig]

Cheers!

Part 4's about a quarter done. One or two surprises, I think... But now Golden Week's over, I'm back to trying to do a paragraph or two between work, moving, learning Japanese and more work. Sorry if next part isn't prompt (again!) Real Life is insane right now.

[Star_Raider15]

not all Zig, this story would lose its charm if you would post it all in one big release, its more like an adventure for both the readers and the characters in the story

[The Zig]

Here's part 4. After just a week!!
Hope it's good.

There will be a part 5 after all.