Chapter 1 - updated 01/07/03
Chapter 2 - updated 01/07/03
Chapter 3 - updated 02/07/03
Chapter 4 - updated 02/07/03
Chapter 5 - updated 06/07/03
Chapter 6 - updated 06/07/03
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Comlpeted added under the ~~~~~~~~~
Merc
-----------------------------------------
The doors of the station closed and as Tor looked away from the viewer one of the six command crew looked up, “Sir?”
Tor tried to remember her name and then it came to him, “Yes Liann.”
Liann commented, “I have an incoming transport requesting docking permission.”
“Identify,” Tor responded.
“It’s registered to the Crystal Fab,” Liann confirmed.
“Are we expecting any visitors?” Tor asked as he looked at the screen in front of him.
“They have the correct authorisation codes and the pilot is a Pors Tullet,” Liann replied.
Tor felt tense momentarily and then smiled as he relaxed reflecting that he had very little to be wary of with Nyeshta now on her way to the Bakery. “Grant them docking permission, and bring them in to the security dock. I’ll go and meet them.”
He stood up and casually made his way towards the lifts. The maintenance robots were still active in many of the corridors and Tor remembered that he had to ask Sweety what was going on. A number of the pilots had taken over one of the larger rooms and were converting it into a gym. Tor could only assume the equipment had been amongst the miscellaneous items that Sweety had ordered.
As he stepped out on to the security dock he glanced around whilst the transport was brought into dock. Again the pilots had been busy making themselves comfortable, as several now sat outside a previously unallocated store they had turned into a make shift bar serving hot drinks and snacks.
Tor could easily understand why as it was a prime spot close to the passageways and with a full view of all the ships.
The docking clamps engaged and drew the ship against the gantry. The outer doors opened and six agents stepped out all carrying cases.
Pors approached, “Mr. Grall,” He held out his hand and Tor shook hands.
Tor glanced at the other agents, “Coming to stay?”
“If it isn’t an inconvenience?” Pors responded questioningly.
Tor smiled, “You’re most welcome, there’s plenty of spare accommodation,” He turned and with a sweeping gesture he motioned for Pors to head towards the exit, and as Pors moved forward he stepped in beside him, “If we go up to the command centre you can familiarise yourself with where things are in the station. Obviously some of the rooms are already taken but there are plenty of others to choose from.”
Pors looked around, “It seems that you’re settling in okay.”
“Mind the crates, just a few alterations being made,” Tor commented as they passed a maintenance robot.
The agent looked at the crate, “Additional security devices. A very wise precaution Mr. Grall.”
In Tors’ mind he knew he needed to talk to Sweety so he could avoid being unable to answer awkward questions.
A brief while later they entered the Command Centre and Tor gave them access to the accommodation sections of the station.
“If you need anything I’ll be in my office,” Tor said as the agents disappeared down the corridor.
Pors stopped for a moment, “Mr. Grall, we need to have a chat so if we can meet in your office in say fifteen Mizuras.”
Tor responded smiled back, “Sure.”
The agent smiled, turned and followed his colleagues. Tor hurried into his office and before he had sat down said, “Sweety what are you doing to my station?”
Sweety answered, “You will find additional energy barriers in the corridors out from the public docks and ceiling pacifier units.”
Tor felt cautious, “Pacifier units?”
“They are completely concealed when installed,” Sweety replied.
“Are they legal?” Tor asked.
Sweety responded cautiously, “In a number of sectors, yes.”
Tor put his head in his hands, “Sweety, did your programming ever consider ethical behaviour, like not trying to break the law?”
Sweety replied almost cheerfully, “Once yes, but I seem to have overcome that limitation.”
Tor let his hands drop down onto the desk, “Now I know why you got on so well with Nye.”
“If you had taken the time to understand her and why she did those things then maybe she would not have asked to leave,” Sweetys voice now had a harshness to it Tor had not heard before.
He answered calmly, “And now we have Argon intelligence agents on board. Somehow I’m not convinced this isn’t a coincidence. I’ve always believed that some people are born to survive, despite who they are and what they do, and those of us less fortunate get swept aside,” Tor looked for a suitable metaphor, “Or written off the page upon the whim of the author.”
Sweety was quiet for a moment, “But you survive.”
“I’m lucky I just get to hide behind the survivors,” Tor commented quietly.
Several moments silence passed then Sweety commented, “Creeds’ gate will be reopening in one Stazura.”
Tor commented, “Shit, I need another ship and pilot,” There was a brief pause and then he added, “One I can trust.”
Lianns’ voice interrupted him, “Sir I have a Mr. Sniad asking for permission to dock.”
“Who the hell’s Mr. Sniad?” Tor commented out loud even though he did not mean to.
Liann responded, “He says he’s from the Traluk Trading Cartel.”
Sweety commented, “Tor, do not let him into the secure area. See him in the visitors docking area.”
“Okay, land him in the visitors dock and I’ll meet him there.” Tor responded.
“Yes Sir,” Liann confirmed.
Tor said to the air around him, “Looks like it’s going to be a busy day.”
Once again he found himself wandering down corridors and getting into shuttle lifts. Tor now felt it was all beginning to take on a familiar look. For once as he wandered through the open security doors he did not have to make his way past crates or maintenance robots.
The transport came into dock and Tor watched as the clamps engaged. Only one man stepped out and he looked briefly uncertain as to what to do next. He surveyed the virtually empty docking platform. He gave a thin smile when he spotted Tor and walked confidently off the gantry towards him. As he drew close his smile had gone and his tone was that of a superior addressing a subordinate, “I’m here to see Mr. Grall.”
Tor took a moment to look the man up and down and in a very nonplussed voice he replied, “That will be me.”
The smile almost immediately swept across the sharp face, “Mr. Grall, so pleased to meet you. I am honoured that you have given the time to see me.”
Tor paused for a moment as something inside him said he should not trust the man, he answered casually, “Yeah , I’m sure it is,” There was a moments hesitation before Tor added, “So why do you want to see me?”
Sniad looked around, “This may take a while so is there somewhere we can go sit down in private?”
“I wish there were,” Tor answered, “My office is currently being refitted,” He looked around and spied a conveniently placed set of tables and chairs, “I guess this is as about private as we’ll find at the moment.”
His eyes quickly turned to Sniad who for a moment was unable to disguise his disappointment and frustration. They walked across and Sniads eyes scanned every part of the docking bay and the empty shop facades. Tor pulled back one of the seats and sat down.
Sniad sat opposite him, before commenting, “I guess things are a little bit disorganised at the moment.”
“Very true. What with trying to get all the staff registered in the database and given the correct access codes it’s been a nightmare. Half the time we have to leave the security doors open just because personnel aren’t being recognised by the systems,” Tor laid it on thick to see what reaction he would get and was well aware that Sweety was listening in.
“Mr. Grall you need professionals to come in and sort out your problems,” Sniad commented earnestly.
“You’re probably right but who am I to trust?” Tor asked sincerely.
Sniad smile seemed to broaden, “That is where the cartel can help. It is in our interests to protect your commercial dealings and see that you are treated fairly and do not find yourself being robbed by some of the rogue traders and pirates in these sectors. Our services are not without cost but we remove the burden from you when it comes to trying to find trustworthy employees and then having the continually escalating wage burden.”
Tor sat back thoughtfully, then glanced at his time piece and realized Pors would now be waiting to talk to him, “Unfortunately my time has run out. I can’t give you an immediate decision about signing up, but give me a few Tazura and hopefully things will be a bit less hectic and we can discuss this further.”
Sniad smiled and nodded, “I understand Mr. Grall, and it has been very good of you to see me at such short notice. I’ll come by in say another four Tazura.”
They both stood up and shook hands, as the transport left the dock he was on his way back up to his office but he had a deep desire to wash his hands. The agent caught up with him as he waited for the shuttle lift.
Pors asked, “Well Tor, how did your meeting with the Traluk Trading Cartel go?”
Tor thought for a moment, “I think he could sense another member ready to sign up.”
“I thought he seemed to be smiling too much,” Pors said disdainfully.
Tor asked, “I take it that’s not the cartel you want me to join?”
“The Traluk Trading Cartel is the one we want to break, but it has very strong and powerful backers. I also gather that Mr. Sniads meeting with Feran was not favourable,” Pors watched the shuttle lift doors open and they both stepped inside.
“Hmm, sounds like I should join them then,” Tor commented.
Pors gave a wry smile, “It may not have been favourable in terms of Feran signing up, but Sniad did walk out of the meeting. So he must have said something or made a deal to have prevented Feran from carving him up into small pieces.”
Tor commented carefully, as he allowed the mental image that was just conjured up to pass him by, “So you think his coming here isn’t a coincidence.”
Pors answered as the doors opened, “No Tor, I don’t. We believe Sniad is a scout for the cartel, a risk assessor. I was impressed by your choice to keep him in the docking bay, a clever move whether or not it was done intentionally.”
They were approaching his office and Tor smiled at the thought he was now doing something right, “So how come you know what happened?”
“I heard from one of my colleagues that Sniad was on his way and decided to eavesdrop from the balcony directly above you,” Pors replied.
“So which Cartel do you think I should get involved in?” Tor asked again, wondering if the Feran incident had caused the agents to change their minds.
“As I said before we have the Traluk cartel in mind, but if Feran is somehow involved with them, to get at you, then it’s too early to make that decision. We have no doubt that he will act sooner rather than later but how and when we don’t know,” Pors concluded.
“Do you think he’ll attack the station?” Tor asked quickly.
“The Split council allowed him to equip his station with six Mambas’ and with his pirate connections quite probably,” Pors replied, “But you have quite a formidable group of heavy fighters, and the Paranid Hercules carrying their SPP is due to arrive within the next Stazura. An attack with those fighters patrolling the construction site will be out of the question.”
Tor listened for a while longer and was wondering how he was going to make it to the reappearance of Creed’s Gate when Sweety broke into the conversation, “We have an incoming freighter and fighter escort from the Crystal Fab requesting docking permission.”
“Check the security codes and allow them to dock,” Tor replied.
“Tor I have a reminder that you are needed in the security docks to take out the Defiance and gain flight experience in crossing the nebula,” Sweety commented.
Pors raised an eyebrow, and Tor commented quickly as he stood up, “The pilots think I should experience first hand how a nebula cloud can effect instrumentation, and how to take refuge in one without being found.”
“A very valuable skill, I am no fan of nebula clouds myself, but I’m sure it will be an interesting experience for you,” Pors commented and smiled.
Tor took this as his cue to leave and went to recover his technical datapad with a number of additional personal items.
+++++++++++++++++++
With the pad in his pocket and a small case containing his blasters, a couple of changes of clothes and a wash kit, he strode purposefully onto the docking bay to be met by Moda Faba, the Boron pilot that Sweety had once suggested could make a suitable second in command.
Tor greeted Moda with a smile, “Ready for a bit of an adventure?”
“Yes Sir,” The softened voice of the translator replied to the series of gentle clicks. The boron smiled back through the clear liquid.
Tor approached the Defiance and the airlock doors opened, and as he stepped inside the said, “Let’s…” And glanced at the empty pilot seat. Sweety closed the doors behind him but there was no comment from the pad.
He put the case down and went into the cockpit. Plugging in the datapad he took a quick look behind him almost expecting to see Nyeshta creeping up on him.
“Missing someone?” Sweety asked.
Tor sat down and said, “Get me departure clearance.”
The Defiance was released from the docking clamps and was guided by the station computer to the outer doors. Tor hit the booster and then slowed the ship as he waited for Moda to exit the station in a Piranha. Moments later the Piranha was ahead of him and flying towards the nebula.
Sweety transferred the beacon location to Moda with instructions to wait at the designated location and at the appropriate time to follow Tor. However she neglected to say exactly what the Boron was waiting for, and Moda took this to mean that this trip had a secret agenda, the details of which would become apparent at the appropriate moment.
Tor kept the speed down as they crossed into the nebula and Sweetys’ voice commented, “Communications link broken.”
Both ships discharged energy into the nebula cloud in various amounts, the Piranha arced less often then the Defiance and occasionally they caused energy to arc between them until Sweety halted the Defiance completely and the Piranha reached safe separation distance.
With ten Mizura until the gate appeared both ships reached the beacon and sat waiting. Although there was only two hundred metres between them it was impossible to get a decent comm link. Tor spent his time running system checks and watching.
The gate appeared exactly on time and Tor wondered how Moda would be feeling having just witnessed the emergence. He engaged the thrusters and the Defiance crossed the activation threshold.
He cleared the gate and waited for Moda to appear, after twenty Sezura he wondered if the Boron pilot had decided he was not prepared to jump into the unknown. Then the gate became active and the Piranha entered the sector.
“Sweety, open a comm to Moda,” Tor requested.
“Channel open,” Sweetys’ voice replied.
The Boron appeared on the HUD, “Sir, what is this place?”
Tor replied, “Something that Creed found. What you see are the remains of an alien fleet and our job is to try and determine what happened, who did this and if there is any surviving technology that could be useful to us.”
“Acknowledged, how shall we proceed?” Moda asked.
“Lets do a scanner sweep of those ship remains first then we’ll go scan the inactive gate over to the right,” He began to open the thrusters of the Defiance when Moda spoke up in alarm.
“Sir our gate has gone!”
Tor felt a little guilty at not having explained the nature of the gate before Moda had an opportunity to back out, “It’ll be back. Creed found it last time he was out here, but didn’t get an opportunity to investigate, which is why we’re here now.”
The Boron did not look happy but nodded in acknowledgement. The two fighters moved forward with the sensors set to maximum range. As they flew in close to the remains of the first ship the scanners showed no sign of life or residual power. Great rents in the side of the vessel exposed some of the deck structure and in a great many places the stars beyond. The Piranha navigated its way through one of the larger openings and disappeared inside Tor turned the Defiance in a gentle climb up and over the top. His eyes widened at the scene of devastation. The far side of the ship and top looked as though it had been ripped apart by massive explosions, looking down he could make out the forward lights of the Piranha as it moved through the tangled and twisted remains of the superstructure. The front end of the Alien ship was completely missing.
Tor made a note of the numerous score marks and asked, “Sweety, analysis.”
“Sensor readings of the hull indicate the use of low energy beam weapons. Multiple missile impacts and engine core explosion.”
As they continued the sweep they found that many of the larger fragments were sections of hull from what must have been an extremely large carrier ship. They examined anything that may have once been a weapons system but Tors’ technical pad reported there were insufficient remains to determine the nature of the weapon. Time passed by quickly as they went from fragment to fragment covering a distance of six k’s in nearly a Stazura.
Vectoring in on the disabled gate it soon became obvious as to why. Tor could only assume that in a last ditch struggle to isolate themselves they had systematically dismantled the structure. Neither pilot spoke as they circled the great sections. Tor knew if he went to see the other gate it would be the same and he wondered what had made them so desperate that they had decided to cut themselves off from the rest of the universe. The fact the alien fleet had gathered and were destroyed near the intermittent gate began to worry Tor.
They moved on towards the largest construction in the alien sector and it took them nearly two Stazura to reach the vast structure. Tor uttered two words, “My god,” As they flew through the vast wreckage of the alien space city.
The structures beneath a vast shattered geodesic dome were blackened and folded over. The same marks of the beam lasers that were on the alien ships cut through every part of the city. The technical datapad reported no signs of life or power in any of the ten k’s diameter of the alien city.
Tor could barely conceive how many people may have once lived here and how their lives would have been suddenly extinguished by the shattering of the dome. He could envisage a human type species walking and flying between the rows of buildings, safe and secure one moment and then having all the air sucked away into the cold vacuum of space the next. He commented in almost a whisper, “There must be something here.”
He gently took the Defiance into a huge fracture in the base of the structure and using the forward lights of the ship glided down wide silent passageways. Sweetys’ voice broke the eerie silence, “I am detecting life forms ahead.”
Tor slowed the ship, and slowly it crept forward, as the passage way opened up into another sliced open split in the derelict station he saw shapes moving around. He said cautiously, “Sweety analyse.”
Sweetys’ voice responded with, “Scan indicates a large colony of spaceflies.”
Gradually the ship moved into the fracture and Tor turned the ship on a heading back to open space. As he cleared the structure he gave Moda the instruction to join him and, whilst he waited, looked for a long time at the huge black monolith suspended in space. Tor asked himself, ‘what did this and why?’
The Piranha also emerged and Tor checked his time piece, they had spent another two Stazura and still had very little understanding of who this alien race was and how they came to meet their terrible end. He spoke up, “Sweety, can you locate any potential data centres?”
“Negative, without a power source I am unable to determine areas of active data transfers.” Sweetys’ voice replied.
Tor thought for a moment, Moda was still on the open comm channel and commented, “Perhaps a short duration induction current can be induced in the alien systems?”
“The power required to create an induction current large enough to activate the cities systems long enough for a useful measurement is one hundred times the available power of both ships.” Sweetys’ voice replied factually.
Tor felt disappointed but not discouraged. He began to think the copied AI somehow lacked the flare of the real Sweety to provide alternative workable solutions. However with the data they did have he would be able to repeat the suggestion and see if a workable answer would be forthcoming.
Tor reached the decision that he would have to return. For now he would scan the rest of the sector in the time that remained to him. Feeling as though he knew what to expect Tor turned the ship to vector in on the last gate. “Let’s get away from here. If necessary we’ll come back another day.”
Moda was happy to agree. The Boron did not like the station there was something dark and sinister about it and flying between the structures he felt that somehow he was offending the spirits of those that died here.
On the journey to the second gate Tor took an opportunity to get some sleep.
The computer kept the heading and speed constant and when they were within fifteen k’s of the gate it woke up Tor. The second gate appeared to have been in the same state of dismantling as the first and Tor was curious about this. He wondered why the gate they had entered by had not been taken apart. The thought struck him that this alien race might not have known that it existed until it was too late, but the presence of the destroyed fleet seemed to indicate they did. Tor began to feel frustrated that he still had no idea of what had happened here.
They moved towards the group of asteroids, Tor checked the scanner and asked, “Sweety can you plot me a course through?”
The course plotted and with the Piranha scanning a different section on a parallel vector they commenced their search. Tor kept the heading and had little problem navigating past through the widely dispersed field.
As he rounded the twelfth asteroid he suddenly stopped the ship.
“Moda hold your current position!” Tor ordered, “Sweety can you confirm the course you’ve given me.”
“Course verified as correct with no obstructions on scanners,” Sweetys’ voice confirmed.
“And the course you’ve given me goes straight along this vector?” Tor asked his eyes fixed on the view ahead of him.
Sweetys’ voice replied, “Correct.”
Tor requested, “Sweety can you do a complete sensor check focussing to an area two hundred metres ahead of us.”
“What’s up Sir?” Moda commented.
“I’m looking at an asteroid that doesn’t appear on scanners,” Tor replied.
*************************
“Scan complete,” Sweetys’ voice replied, “No object detected, however I am picking up a potential spacial anomaly.”
“I’m coming across,” Moda commented.
“Fly on visuals, I’ll hold position here until you arrive,” Tor commented and studied the asteroid. It appeared to be of average size compared to those around it. There was no natural spin and the surface was pitted with smaller meteorite strikes from when the solar system was still young.
The Piranha glided to a halt behind him, Moda commented, “I also have nothing on scanners Sir.”
Tor had time to think and now that Moda was here he said, “Keep an eye on me Moda, I’m going to fly slowly around it to see if it’s nothing more than an unusual phenomena. If I get too close or you see something unusual on scanners then shout.”
As the Defiance began to circle the asteroid Tor saw several shallow clefts in the surface, but these appeared as shadows on the surface. He realized with the sun behind him he would cross the terminator into perpetual darkness on the rear side of the asteroid in only a few Sezura. The asteroid still refused to appear on scanners and Tor could not get any enhanced details and the forward lights would only assist if he stopped the ship and turned to face the asteroid. Feeling that he would miss too much Tor returned to where he saw a reasonably deep pocket on the surface.
“Moda, I’m going to get closer,” Tor commented. At slow speed he began the descent. His nerves were being stretched as the surface drew closer and still nothing appeared on scanner. Then he crossed an invisible barrier whilst only a few metres above the rim of the crater and everything on the scanners blanked.
He slowed the fall and, with heart beating swiftly, the Defiance dropped below the rim. The scanner was suddenly filled with the asteroid but nothing outside. Even the comm link to the Piranha was lost. He stopped the Defiance only ten metres from the base of the crater and said, “Sweety, give me a scan of the asteroid.”
“Initiating,” Sweetys’ voice acknowledged, “I am detecting a low level energy source near the core of the asteroid and various refined materials not conducive to naturally occurring elements in concentrations some one kilometre below the surface.”
“Any sign of life?” Tor asked.
“Initial scan indicates there is no organic matter inside the asteroid. However there are regions below the surface that my scanners cannot penetrate,” Sweetys’ voice answered.
Tor would have like a more definite answer, “Can you tell me where the entrance is?”
Sweety replied, “I have detected a passageway to the surface which splits into two. The major route is sealed however the secondary passageway is open and is just large enough to allow this ship to pass though.”
Tor gave a slight smile, “Okay plot it for me on the HUD.”
The holographic image of the asteroid appeared on the HUD and the computer plotted Tors’ current position and showed it relative to the entrance. The gap in the rock appeared to be regular in shape but very narrow.
“Sweety can you superimpose an image of the Defiance into the opening?” Tor asked.
The image changed and the holo-image rotated and scaled up the image of the Defiance was overlaid in the opening. Tor knew the computer said it would be tight but he was looking at an image where the ships turrets would only have a metre clearance at best, and that depended on him approaching the opening in the exact orientation and on an exact vector heading.
“Sweety mark the positions of the wing tips and top and bottom turrets. Extrapolate to the walls and store positions for an approach orientation,” As Tor made the request the computer places green markers on the image. Satisfied his request had been met he then asked, “Mark the centre of the ship and extrapolate a vector line perpendicular to the entrance for a distance of two k’s.”
The computer complied, and Tor examined the information, now he just had to think of a way to get the computer to remember these points when the scanners were once again unable to detect the asteroid. He wondered if the AI would remember the last recorded position of the Piranha, “Sweety, can you show me the last recorded position of the Piranha.”
“Acknowledged, however it no longer appears to be within scanner range,” Sweetys’ voice replied.
“Mark that position and plot a vector between there and the end of the entrance vector,” Tor requested and the image updated with another fine white line, “Okay Sweety lock all relative positions into memory and set targeting computer on the first point.”
The HUD now showed the distance to the first vector point, which Tor made a note of this and hoped that the Piranha had not moved. Slowly he brought the Defiance up out of the crater and through the concealment shield of the Asteroid. Checking the vector he smiled as the Piranha appeared back on the scanners and the targeting point overlaid the position exactly.
“Sir, did you determine the cause of our scanner problem?” Moda asked.
“I think there’s a station concealed inside, but the scanners picked up no signs of life.” Tor responded.
“So what do we do now Sir?” The Boron asked and the tentacles inside the environment suit helmet moved gently.
Tor had now reset the target to the end of the vector that would guide him to the entrance, “Well I’ve found a way in and I want to take a look,” He felt excited by the fact that at last they had found something which could have some potential value.
Moda was looking apprehensive. However Tor had not yet become accustomed to the wealth of Boron fin, tentacle and facial expressions to have understood any of this. A Mizura later and Tor had carefully positioned the Defiance on the final vector point. He had transferred the locations to the Piranha which now placed itself five hundred metres behind.
“Okay Moda follow me in. Keep it slow as this could become a bit tight,” Tor mentioned, but this was for his own benefit as the Piranha was a smaller ship.
Tor had the computer make the orientation adjustments and as he approached the forward light began to provide the much needed illumination. The dark hole looked far too small as the ship closed the gap, however the scanners still could not detect the asteroid. As the nose of the Defiance cut through the concealment shield Tor, like Moda, began to feel a deep sense of apprehension. The beams from the forward lights of the ship disappeared into the blackness of the small entrance.
The ship slipped into the opening, as the lights now illuminated the sides of the passageway Tor felt uncomfortable that at any moment he would hear the graunch of metal on rock and proximity warnings flashed incessantly on the console. Then the lights fell away into darkness on all but the left side. The Defiance emerged into the larger passageway. He turned the ship and the lights faintly illuminated the opposite wall. Behind him the Piranha emerged, both Tor and Moda remained silent for a moment.
Tor wondered how large the main passage was and speculated that even a Mammoth could fit into the cavernous space. “Sweety can you put up a grid pattern to mark the walls?”
“Acknowledged,” Sweetys’ voice replied and a green grid appeared on the HUD as an almost perfect circle.
Tor asked, “How far to the station?”
“Distance to station doors is one kilometre,” The computer responded.
“Moda are you ready to move on?” Tor turned his attention to the image of the Boron pilot and tried to hide any growing nervousness in his voice.
“I’m with you all the way Sir,” The aquatic voice replied.
The two ships moved slowly forward, each pilot continually checking the scanners for activity within the station. As the lights began to reflect off the hard grey surfaces of the station gateway both ships stopped.
Static defences bristled from all sides, the rock carved to form a natural defence for many turrets to hide behind. Nothing moved, there were no bright flashes of plasma or particle beams. No missile contrails or mine explosions. The computer scanners showed no sign of change in the low power source that maintained the concealment shield.
Tor looked at Moda who simply looked back and both ships moved forward again with added caution. Every few moments Tor heart leapt into his mouth as he caught sight of the moving shadow, caused by the motion of the ships lights, and left him convinced that one of the turrets had moved. The inner station gate was open just wide enough for the Defiance to pass through. The Piranha was beside him. The next gate that formed the station airlock was firmly shut. Tor looked around, the lights from both ships reflected off the walls.
Still there was nothing, no incoming messages and no sign of the inner door being opened, “Sweety, how do we get in? And no funny answers like shoot. I’d rather not have this place wake up and decide we’re hostile.”
The computer answered, “There is a maintenance door on the right wall. It has a manual override and a mechanical lever mechanism.”
“Okay, is there anything your scanners can pick up which could tell us what’s on the other side?” Tor asked simply.
Sweety replied, “Indications are that there are a number of un-powered static defences. In the docking area are a number of robots whose function I cannot determine. These also have no residual power. Beyond this are corridors and rooms, functions unknown.”
Tor envisaged the Silicon Mine and how that had looked when he first stepped off the Defiance, “Okay,” He acknowledged to the computer and then looked at Moda, “Want a trip into the unknown?” He smiled trying to hide his apprehension of going on alone should Moda refuse.
.........................................
He felt visibly relieved when the Boron agreed, “The plan is we get on board to see if we can find the control room. Then try to patch into the main computer, hopefully it’ll be getting power, and download any useful data before getting out again. Now I’ll only have a little less than half a Stazura of air in the EVA unit. I don’t know how long you can last.”
“Understood, my EVA suit will last five Stazura before requiring replenishing Sir,” Moda responded.
Tor smiled again. In the company of air breathing races the Boron had expended a considerable amount of effort in improving the active life of their environment suits without the need for a recharge. He added, “Well that means you’ll be able to help me back if my suit begins to run low. Although I’m not expecting anything it may be as well to bring a pulse rifle with you.”
Tor suddenly had a thought, “Sweety, could the transporter beam us to the opposite side of the gate?”
Sweetys’ voice replied, “Yes, currently there are no high energy devices active that could interfere with the carrier beam.”
“Okay Moda, change of plan I suggest we transport in and find the control room mark it and transport out again when we’ve collected suitable data.” Tor announced.
Moda did not answer straight away, the changes in the motion of the short tentacles and facial expression, with the unseen alterations in the fluids surrounding the Boron would have indicated the he was perplexed by the decision, “Sir I do not think we should transport, we don’t know what inside, prefer we find our own way in, use transport for emergency.”
The broken speech gave all the clues needed to Tor that the Moda was not enthralled by his suggestion. He took a moment to consider his options, beaming in was undoubtedly easier however it could also place him in considerable danger with no knowledge on how to escape if they could not transport out again.
He breathed in deeply, “Okay we’ll use the traditional route,” As he began to rise from his seat Tor added casually, “When you’re ready head for the maintenance hatch and see if you can get it open. I’ll join you in a moment.”
“Yes Sir,” Moda kept the comm channel open and left the pilot seat. Tor did likewise and hunted around several lockers.
He pulled out the reserve EVA unit and began to check his suit gloves for fit and seal. Hauling the pack onto his back he fastened the buckles. In the belt were two additional cables, these plugged into the suit. Checking the wrist controller it momentarily flashed into auto check mode, indicated a full air supply and suit temperature. He put on the belt for his blaster and ensured it was clipped into its holder. Built to work in space and zero gravity without accidental discharge, its presence gave him some comfort. Finally he reached over the back of his head and released the helmet. As soon as he had put in on the locking rings expanded to provide a completely airtight seal. Finally he unplugged the technical pad from the main console and clipped it to his right arm.
Tor apprehensively looked at the airlock door, “Okay Sweety, just to prove you’re still in control of the ships functions open the inner airlock.”
There was a distinctive hiss and he stepped forward into the airlock. The door closed behind him. Ever conscious of his own breathing in the silence, he waited as the airlock evacuated. Checking the readout on the integrity of his suit, Tor noted it was illuminated green and then spoke up, “Open the outer airlock Sweety.
Slowly the airlock door opened and Tor stepped out into the void, almost unnoticed he began to fall until Sweetys’ copied AI compensated for the asteroids low gravity.
With the pack control sticks now extended he made his way over to Moda. The Boron was already at the maintenance door and operated the manual lever to gain access. Slung casually across his back was a heavy assault plasma rifle.
Tor noted how, with relative ease, the Boron operated the lever, which at face value appeared to have been made for a much larger person. They entered the stations’ maintenance airlock and looked around. A control panel nestled in a recess in the nearside wall but the screen was blank due to a lack of power. Tor looked around and picked up on the presence of pressure release valves near both entrances. He also noted the door into the airlock from the outside opened into the airlock and the door to the station opened into the docking bay.
Tor asked quickly, “Sweety is there any atmosphere on the opposite side of the door?”
Sweetys’ voice responded, “Yes, however my analysis indicates that the air has stagnated and is unsuitable for breathing.”
Tor sighed, and looked at Moda who had already realized they would have to seal themselves in the airlock before they would be able to progress any further and had swung the door closed behind them. As the Boron operated the manual locks, Tor grasped hold of the pressure release valve. It slowly moved as Tor braced himself and pulled with every ounce of strength. The room hissed as cold air flooded in. Tor could feel the pressure increasing on his suit, gradually the hissing sound diminished and then stopped.
Moda, having seen Tor struggle with the valve, opened the door with relative ease and pulled around his plasma rifle. Inside they had to rely completely on the EVA suit lights to show the way. The gantry was broad enough for the two of them to stand side by side and it ran along the wall to the right before turning sharp left and across the far wall to the docking stations.
Tor opted for a short cut and used the jets on his EVA suit to cross the dark chamber to the other side. Moda jetted along beside him in silence. As they approached the docks the lights on the EVA suit illuminated shapes occupying much of the left hand side of the platform, “Sweety, what are those?” He pointed so the technical pad sensors knew in which direction Tor was referring.
Sweetys’ voice replied, “They are robots, function unknown. Scanners indicate their power units have been exhausted.”
Tor nodded then aimed for a landing point on the nearest dockside. Landing with a heavy thump the sound echoed through the deserted bay. Moda gently touched down a metre further along. Tor turned and looked each way and all he could hear was the sound of his own breathing. As far as his lights could show there were no ships.
“Where to now?” Moda asked, his voice sounding loud even though it was no more than a whisper.
“I want to have a look over here,” Tor indicated to the motionless robots. His voice quiet and unwilling to disturb the silence that crowded in on them.
Moda gave a slight movement of the head that Tor recognised as a nod and turned. With Moda following Tor was acutely aware that his own shadow looked strangely eerie as it stretched before him. The lack of any shadow from Moda left him disconcerted.
The robots were varied in size and shape each with its own set of specialized instruments. The black visors giving them a dark malevolent feel and Tor soon turned away feeling as though he had now made a mistake in going to look. In every way the ranks of robots appeared to be waiting silently and expectantly for something to happen.
As they walked away Tor could not help but to keep looking around and as their footsteps echoed with each step the growing sense that they were not alone and being watched crept over him. The fleeting shadows from the lamps as he turned did nothing to calm him, and his hand now gripped the hilt of his blaster.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sweetys’ voice commented, “Tor I notice that your vital signs have changed and you are exhibiting a significant increase in your heart rate.”
Tor responded anxiously, “Just confirm that your sensors show that there’s no living thing in this station other than me and Moda.”
“Running full biological and thermal scan,” The silence descended once again as both Tor and Moda waited for the result, Sweetys’ voice commented, “There is nothing on the scanners. However I do detect biological remains.”
Both Tor and Moda glanced at each other. Tor asked, “What type of remains?”
Sweetys’ voice replied, “There is insufficient material left to determine species.”
Tor asked with a sense of uncertainty, “And you’re certain it’s dead?”
Sweetys’ voice responded, “Positive, the object has insufficient biomass to sustain life, there are no vital signs and no thermal profile.”
Tor asked slowly, “Any chance of telling us how it died?”
The response was, “Insufficient biomass and anatomical data on file to determine cause of death.”
This did nothing to calm Tors growing apprehension. His ears strained to detect any noise and all he could feel was the blood pumping though his body over the absolute silence. He commented quietly, “Show us where this body is?”
Tor unclipped the restraining clip to his blaster and slowly drew the weapon. Moda watched and signalled for Tor to go ahead.
The display of the datapad led them to a broad spiral ramp. Slowly they ascended the lamps of the EVAs illuminating a wide concourse in front of numerous empty windows and darkened entranceways. The pad continued to display the need to climb to the next level. Tor looked up but the lamps barely penetrated the darkness above them. Moda swung the pulse assault rifle in broad sweep of the concourse but refrained from firing.
The footsteps reverberated through the ramp as they reached the next level Tor spotted something and in a moments panic fired his blaster. There was the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. The sound boomed throughout the station and a cloud of dust rose into the air. Moda crouched down pulse rifle pulled in tight and the beam of the laser sight cutting through the settling dust, but he did not fire. They waited a few moments and then cautiously moved forward, Tors’ heart began to slow and he almost laughed once he realised that the object he had seen was no more than a sculpture.
Moda however looked down at the shattered pieces thoughtfully. He looked at Tor and said quietly, “We move on. And Sir should be careful not to anger the makers of this place.”
The initial wave of relief passed and Tor realized with horror that if there was someone here, and even if he and Moda had gone undetected so far, the sound of weapons fire with the falling sculpture would not have gone unnoticed. They waited quietly, Tor trying to listen for the sound of anything other than his own breathing.
He checked the direction on the pad and slowly they moved towards a dark opening which marked the beginning of a long corridor from the platform they were on. Tor was undecided between putting the blaster back in its holster for fear of accidentally shooting something or keeping it in hand just in case.
Dark doorways opened up on either side. Twice Tor dropped to the floor as he caught sight of something shining back at him from the darkness, but he managed to refrain from firing. Moda went to investigate, crouched low with pulse rifle ready. Each time he returned and told Tor he had simply seen a reflection. The third time he rolled to the side and sat shaking his heart beating so fast that he wondered if he would be able to take any more shocks.
Moda commented quietly, “I will lead Sir. Keep your eyes on me. Moda not scared of the dark Sir.” The Boron refrained to mention that he was more worried at being accidentally shot by Tor than meeting anything hostile. At the moment he felt they might actually achieve something if they could pick up the pace. The slow progress was eating into what precious little time Tor had left in his oxygen supply.
With a quick glance into each darkened room, Moda made swift progress. As far as he was concerned the need for stealth had long since been lost with Tors’ blaster attack on the statue. It was something that could have been useful to study, if it had not been reduced to rubble and dust. He also doubted that Tor would be able to describe what he had seen before he fired.
Tor kept looking over his shoulder now and some part of his mind told him he should be walking backwards to make sure nothing was silently coming up behind them. He had looked back when the sense of open space had him glance around. Tor bumped into Moda who, in the low gravity, shot forwards and pirouetted over the barrier and into a dark void.
“Shit!” Tor looked panicked and called out desperately, “Moda?”
There was a moments silence then the Boron replied through the com, “I fine Sir. Just jetting back up to platform so don’t shoot!”
Tor felt relieved as the lamps of the Boron EVA appeared above the edge of the platform. Moda did a slow complete one hundred and eighty degree turn as he landed so he had his back turned to Tor but could keep an eye on the void he had just been pushed into.
Moda commented in a whisper, “Which direction Sir?”
Tor referred to the pad and glanced up and whispered, “We need to get to the other side of this and up three levels.”
“Then we fly Sir.” Moda commented quietly.
Grasping the EVA thrusters control stick, Tor looked around the lights barely able to determine anything useful in the darkness. His feet lifted from the surface and he followed Moda into the dark void that opened above and below them. They flew straight and Tors’ apprehension once again began to take hold, even the sight of the opposite platform did little to comfort him and soon the jets on Modas’ pack flared briefly as he shot up. Tor followed past the next level and they continued to rise. The blackness appeared unyielding above them and below it swallowed the levels they passed.
Tor pointed his blaster down almost expecting something to come hurtling from the blackness towards him. He shot past Moda who had changed direction and was landing on the platform. Tor momentarily panicked and almost reached the level above before shutting off the thrusters and allowed the low gravity to pull him slowly back down to the next level.
Moda waited for him patiently. Tor landed and Moda asked quietly, “Which way?”
Tor glanced at the pad and pointed down the corridor beside Moda. They passed partially closed heavy interior blast doors. Tor took this to be a good thing as it left him with the impression they were approaching somewhere important.
The dark passageways opened up either side and now Moda was moving with a degree of additional caution. Suddenly he stopped and pointed. Tors’ eyes looked slowly across and in the lights he saw the overhead turret weapon. Two weapons of undetermined type pointing directly up the corridor towards them.
“Sweety is that defence system active?” Tor asked in a whisper.
Sweetys’ voice replied, “Negative.”
Moda moved forward and they entered a wide chamber. They moved slowly across the room and stopped once again. The door at the end was open however two large robots stood as dark sentinels either side. The heads looked down their black visors glinting in the light of the suit lights. Tor noted that what might be considered two arms were in fact some type of heavy weapons of type unknown.
Tor commented quietly, “Sweety, tell me those things have no power.”
Sweetys’ voice replied, “There is no residual power in the robots.”
Tor then spoke quietly whilst he watched the robots intently and his blaster moving between the two, “Moda the body is in the next room.”
Both moved forward cautiously each targeting the robots and glancing between the two. Stepping into the room they quickly came to realize they were now in the stations command centre. Tor wandered forward towards the master control desk. Moda had turned and was now walking backwards his weapon aimed at the doorway behind them.
Tor stopped and looked at the chair behind the desk, his jaw tightened. The collapsed shapeless suit could only mean that it was filled with bones. Behind the chair was a skull with three swept back horns with the remains of dried blackened flesh and hair. In the pile of bones and small pieces of preserved blackened flesh that once represented the left arm was a blaster type weapon. He could see from the damage to the skull this alien had probably committed suicide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stepping carefully up to the control desk, Tor tried to avoid disturbing the remains. The layout of the panels and height gave Tor a reasonably good impression that this race must have been much taller than the average Argon. An open case was neatly positioned as if waiting to be found.
The only indication there was any power were three evenly spaced touch pads, each glowed dimly red. Symbols and what could only be described as lettering etched into each one. On the left side of the console a single indicator bar showed yellow and appeared to be at the one quarter level. Moda looked with interest at the other control panels around the room. None showed any sign of power.
Tor unclipped the datapad and held it so the optical sensor could scan the desk, “Sweety, can you decipher any of these symbols.”
“Scan complete. Comparing with known languages,” There was a momentary pause, “No match found. Beginning code break this will take approximately two Stazura.”
“Just in time for the gate,” Tor commented quietly and glanced at the oxygen level indicator on his suit. A little over half the supply has been used.
Moda was now standing on the opposite side of the desk, and said quietly, “It be quicker out than in.”
Tor nodded, as far as he was concerned there was always the transporter option. They took a moment to study the open case. Inside was a strange looking hand held device and a number of small crystal slivers, each one five millimetres thick and packed carefully in individual pockets cut into a foam like material for protection.
Moda commented, “I think this may have answers to what happened.”
Examining the console Tor tried to determine if there was anywhere that he could plug in the technical datapad, “Sweety is there any way you can interface with the control systems?”
“I cannot detect any usable connection ports. Also only one data connection is in active use, you would need to disconnect this and manually wire into the datapad. Time to perform this operation would be fifteen Mizura,” Sweetys’ voice announced.
Tor looked at the skull on the floor and whispered, “Let’s get back,” He closed the case and carefully lifted it by its unusual hand grip.
Glancing down towards the floor he pondered taking the weapon when Moda interrupted his thoughts, “Leave it Sir!”
Tor looked at the Boron who was still watching him and nodded slowly. They moved much more swiftly out of the control centre and Tor stopped, “Moda I’d like to take one of these back.”
The Boron turned and looked at Tor who indicated to one of the sentinels, “It will raise many questions from agents Sir.”
“Yes, but if we find we need to come back here, I’d like to be certain that we understand the programming protocols of these computers. In particular the defence systems,” Tor responded.
“And if it wakes up and we can’t control it?” Moda asked quietly.
“Then we’ll transport it out into space and let our fighters deal with it.” Tor replied.
“Let me suggest that you transport after we reach our ships.” Moda still felt that they should try and disturb as little as possible, despite Tors’ incident with the statue.
Looking at the sentinel Tor pointed the technical pad towards it and commented, “Sweety mark the position and be prepared to transport into the defiance hold when we reach the ships,” His lamps illuminated Moda and he commented, “Let’s go.”
Progress was swift, somehow knowing they were returning to the ships lifted Tors’ spirits and the darkness seemed less ominous. Moda jetted up over the balcony and down into the darkness. Tor followed the Borons' suit lights. They landed on the opposite side several floors down but Tor felt slightly disorientated as nothing appeared familiar, Moda just moved on without checking for direction.
Tor glanced at the technical pad then followed quickly, occasionally giving himself a burst of extra speed from the pack, to catch up with his companion. Exiting from the corridor he reached the next platform. Moda had stopped and was carefully looking around.
Tor wondered why for a second then realised there should have been the remains of a statue here. In the combined suit lights there was no sign of it.
“Where’s it gone?” Tor asked quietly.
Moda replied slowly, “I think we come down one floor too many on last drop.”
“I really hope so,” Tor added. He glanced to his oxygen indicator, “Well we haven’t got time to go look, so let’s keep moving.”
Moda nodded and immediately set off using the pack jets for added speed. It took only a few Mizura to arrive back at the dockside and Tor noted that he had about ten Mizura of oxygen left.
They skirted around the edge of the docking bay so they could locate the gantry which would lead them to the maintenance airlock. Tor looked back into the darkness which now consumed the alien station as Moda pulled the door shut and operated the locking levers.
The air hissed out and with a sense of relief the door opened to reveal the Piranha and Defiance. A Mizura later and Tor was once again back on the Defiance. Moda had stayed with him curious to get a better look at the contents of the alien case.
Before removing the suit Tor placed the pad back into the cockpit and reconnected it to the main computer.
Tor said, “Sweety, scan the ship for contaminants.”
The AI replied, “Scan complete, air tight case detected to have unsuitable air content. Advise opening the case with caution and allow ship recirculation system to disperse and cleanse,” He popped open the catches, carefully lifted the lid and waited.
Two mizuras later and Tor was getting anxious as the oxygen indicator of his suit flashed red, Sweetys’ voice announced, “Air purification complete.”
Tor released the seals on the helmet and breathed in deeply. He removed the pack and put away the blaster. Moda picked up the alien device and looked at it intently whilst slowly turning it over in his suited hands.
“Any thoughts?” Tor asked.
Moda picked out one of the crystal and looked at it. Carefully he put it back and once again turned over the device, “I think the crystals are some type of data archive and this must be the reader.”
“I’m glad you said that, otherwise we’d need to go back and try to find something more useful,” Tor sounded relieved, “But any ideas on how it works?”
Moda placed the unit carefully down on the table, and pointed to certain switches, “There is writing on these but I do not understand the language.”
Tor also picked up the device and turned it over. He could see the top of a crystal wafer already inside, “Sweety is there any power in this thing?”
The AI answered, “Negative, interface incompatible with ship data connections.”
Tor commented as he carefully placed the object back into the case, “Okay, doesn’t look like we can do any more here. How long until the gate reopens?”
The reply came back, “Gate opens in one Stazura and ninety Mizuras from now.”
Tor looked at Moda, “Let’s get moving.”
The Boron nodded and stood in the airlock. The inner door closed and the air evacuated. When the outer door opened, Moda jetted out and returned back to the waiting Piranha. Tor sat in the pilot seat having stowed the case in a locker and when Moda was back in the Piranha started to turn the ship.
Tor asked quietly, “Sweety do you still have a lock on the Sentinel?”
“Acknowledged,” Sweetys’ voice responded.
As the outer doors came back into view Tor commented, “Okay when we’re clear of the doors and gun turrets, then transport it to the hold.”
The Piranha began to move and Tor allowed it to go out ahead. Gently he engaged the thrusters and the Defiance went between the partially opened doors. The turret defences remained motionless and soon vanished back into the shadows.
The computer announced, “Transport complete.”
“Any change in the station?” Tor asked quickly.
The response came back, “Negative.”
It took them a few Mizura to find and align themselves to the exit passageway and both Tor and Moda were glad to see the stars once again. Leaving the asteroid field behind, Tor vectored in on the position of the gate and came to a stop.
“Sweety, monitor sector activity and if anything happens let me know.” Tor stood up and retired to the cabin. He opened a locker, retrieved the games console and once again began the task of getting established in his own simulated trading empire, this time without interference.
- and he does remember names of his crew 
.. and the next part is intended to be even more "creepy", but Tor will need to get a full analysis of what he discovers before he truely understands what happened.![[ external image ]](http://www.icecentral.com/sigpic.gif){kind=link}
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