Chapter 4
- Planetary Coalition Date 7269.350 -
On board Cybex Corp Reconnaissance Ship Lumenictus, docked in Rackoyd Station in orbit around Monravia
“Airlock pressurization and loading duct detachment completed. Initiating hull integrity check.”
“Thanks, Tarysec. Positioning clamp disengament will start in 10 demics, so let’s wrap it up in half that. Vancara out… So, Tomalan, was XR able to find anything about our esteemed shipmates through those background checks you had him run?
“Nope, nothing at all … Initiating mega engine takeoff sequence.”
“Nothing? Well that’s a bit anticlimactic… Confirming local orbital charts… the fourth moon is approaching perigee... No hidden criminal past or frequent conflicts with authority?”
“Not a one. All have distinguished educational and service records, all have previous experience both working on and flying in the few ships with magna drives … Departure coordinates entered into the interstellar navigational solver, mega engines at full power … Rrivang even flew on the Ictus’ maiden voyage. For all intents and purposes, they are nothing more than your average nerds.”
“Average what?”
“Never mind. There were no traces of anything that would raise any suspicion.”
“You know, if this whole starship captain bit doesn’t pan out, you should go work for the Academy’s Linguistics Department. Because you have more obscure, never-of-heard, not to mention, ridiculous phrases than anyone I have ever met. If we ever find your mysterious home planet, you’ll make a fortune in vocabulator licensing fees.”
“Thanks for the tip. I’ll take it under advisement.”
“Commander, come in. The hull integrity check has been completed and the ship has been secured for departure.”
“Copy that, Tarysec. Clamp disengagement initiated. Vancara out… Well, looks like we’re ready to go, so I think I will…”
“Hold that thought. That’s Exar on the red line… Exar come in.”
“Master, you have an incoming priority call from Overseer Pratec.”
“… Stay here and see what our friend needs from us now.”
“Way to hang tough in difficult times, Van… Put him through to the cockpit screen, Exar”
“Captain, my apologies for a call so close to your departure. But I need to request one more task from you.”
“We are due to depart momentarily, Overseer. What do you need?”
“As I reviewed the personnel log you submitted, I realized that I did not assign a Cybex representative to your mission. An almost unfortunate lapse on my part.”
“Representative? I don’t recall that being a requirement for company-sponsored voyages.”
“This is a special circumstance and precaution Captain. In order to make a formal claim on an undiscovered planet, there must be an official agent for the claiming party present at the time the discovery so it can be logged in to the Planetary Coalition records.”
“Are not the Ginrun crew Cybex employees?”
“Technically they are sub-contractors and cannot exercise a formal claim on Cybex’s behalf. With your current crew makeup, as the ranking officer on the ship, you could even claim any planet you discover on this mission for yourself. So as you see, you will need to add one more passenger.”
“Of course. Therefore I will not bother to point out that all my previous discoveries were assigned to Cybex after I formally contacted the regional Sector Directorate upon completing the survey sweeps.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to, thanks for not pointing it out. In any case, this is not an attempt to question your integrity, but these are the regulations that are in place and a prudent precaution to cover Cybex’s interests.”
“Understood. Is your agent on board Rackoyd?”
“No, he is currently away on assignment. You will need to pick him up on your way to the Periphery at Opsercom Station on planet Tulop. He will be waiting for your arrival.”
“Fine. Please transmit his personnel profile.”
“A second unfortunate lapse, Captain. As I only a few moments ago noticed the oversight, I have not yet had proper time to assemble the file. And with your departure imminent, I would hate to delay you any further.”
“How convenient.”
“What was that Commander? It did not come through clearly.”
Geez, that guy can make a scowl that can break glass
“I said I hope it’s an attractive sentient.”
“Overseer, I don’t make it a habit of bringing crew members on board without knowing who they are first.”
“Of course not, Captain. Rest assured that Officer Ecab is an exemplary member of Cybex, and well experienced with the codes of planetary claims. I will make sure his credentials are in place for your inspection before you reach Opsercom.”
“Very well, Overseer, as once more I see there is no choice in the matter. Please inform station officials of our planned arrival time in order to expedite matters. Will the new passenger require any particular atmospheric or nutritional accommodations?”
“No. He is a Suneg, and therefore an oxygen breather. Your standard crew quarters and provisions will suffice.”
“Glad to hear it. If there is nothing else, we are ready to depart.”
“That is it for now, Captain. Have a safe journey.”
“Thanks. Tomalan out.”
“Well Van, there go my well-laid plans to colonize the future Tomalan 1.”
“Too bad. I guess the start of your own private empire will have to be postponed once more. And on that note, clamp removal is complete and were are clear for takeoff. We need to leave now or we’ll miss the moon pass window. As for our additional passenger, Cybex officer or not, when we pick him up, we need to stress that we are in charge of the mission and not Cybex.”
“Then we better get rolling. Let me alert everyone… All crew prepare for takeoff, mega engines to engage in 3, 2, 1… now. Accelerating to 10% thrust to clear the bay.”
Nice and smooth. Usually you feel some additional vibration when you first get over the inertia, but not that time
“We’ve cleared the docking bay and have received clearance to proceed on our takeoff run, Tomalan.”
“Got it, Van… Increasing power to 25% thrust … Engaging maneuvering thrusters and moving into circumferential orbit around Monravia... They are even more sensitive than the simulator’s. We better adjust the programming.”
“Just as long as you don’t slam us back against the station in the mean time.”
“I’ll see what I can do … Confirming lunar position… at perigee… Looks like we’re clear, increasing power to 95% … and we’re off! … Once we’re clear of the outer moons, I’ll tare back down to 75% and we’ll cruise the rest of the way to Opsercom… So what does your heightened sense of awareness tells you about our last moment addition?”
“You know what I’m thinking. So I think your feeling is right and Pratec probably knows more than he is telling us and fully expect us to find a planet or two out there. He knows the travel protocols even better than we do. The timing of waiting until the last moment to let us know seems a bit peculiar. On the other hand, you had me convinced with your this-mission-is-too-valuable-for-them-to-screw-us speech.”
“Yeah, probably worrying over nothing. Maybe if his voice wasn’t so sinister all time… Well, let’s head over to the Command Conference Room. I told the senior staff we’d meet once we were underway.”
Good thing the room’s right behind the bridge. I’ve gone up and down the ship enough times already … … Man, no matter how many we all get together, I still can’t believe my eyes. I’ve been gone from Earth a long time and I still feel like I’m living inside a sci fi movie. All these different beings, one more different than the next. Olrever having to wear his atmospheric suit while he’s on the job because his exoskeleton can’t withstand the emissions from standard lighting equipment. So you could kill him with a flashlight, but he can take a stun blaster shot in the chest and keep going like nothing happened. And Nep. If the recirculation unit on his headdress ever malfunctioned, that gas he exhales would be enough to kill everyone here. And I can’t forget Calidem. If there was ever a species adapt for perfuming medical procedures, its’ hers. All those arms and long, thin fingers sure come in hand…. Damn, I’m staring again. Better say something.
“All right, everyone take a seat. I’ll try to be brief. Tary, I tried to bring in one of the Hauler’s liquid sinks, but we couldn’t get the mechanical staff to deliver it in time.”
“It is all right, Captain. I have grown accustomed to the average starship not been properly equipped to accommodate an Ortep.”
“I’m sorry I did not have time to update everyone in detail prior to our departure, but we were saddled with a very tight schedule. I very much appreciate everyone coming in on such short notice and getting the ship ready to go so fast. First, Specialist Rrivang, I’d like to introduce to you my senior crew. You’ve already met Commander Vancara and Warrant Officer Tarysec. This is Lieutenant Commander Olrever, our Defense Officer. Next to him is Lieutenant Nep, our Lead Engineer. Him and Vancara will be your primary contacts regarding the ship operations. Next in line is Medical Officer Calidem. She is our onboard physician. Last but not least, is XR-4. Exar handles all of the ship’s communications, radar and detection equipment, as well as supporting tasks in engineering and sciences."
“I am pleased to meet you, Specialist Rrivang.”
“As am I XR-4. But you say you are … pleased? Tell me, Captain, is your android capable of emotions?”
“No, Specialist. But Exar’s adaptive programming enables him to build a continuously upgradeable behavioral reference library. This allows him to interact with different species in a manner closely suited to their natural behavior. Aside from that, he is governed by the standard laws of robotics.”
“Marvelous, and thank you for the introductions. Let me now introduce myself. As Captain Tomalan stated, I am Specialist Rrivang, member of the Ginrun Command Space Propulsion Syndicate. I was one of the designers on the Lumenictus engine systems, and this my seventh trip on board. My crew and I are at the Captain’s service.”
“Thank you... I’m sure we are all eager to see what this ship and your engines can do. As time allows, I hope you’ll get to meet the rest of our crew. Twenty five more all together. Now, on to reason we’re here. As I’ve hinted to you to one extent or another, we are our way to the Kreshii Periphery. Not to any place on the Run, but beyond it. How far beyond it and to where… we’ll have to get there to find out.”
“Captain, are you implying that you don’t know where we’re going?”
“Well, I was being a bit dramatic. We are on a discovery mission, so our final destination might be a bit… hard to find. Take a look at these holos… Overseer Pratec briefed me on some findings that Cybex came across on the third moon of the Quarry planet. I’ve uploaded all the details into your individual workstations. You can go over it at your leisure once we’re finished, so I will cut to the chase. Cybex believes there is at least one new planet beyond the outer sector. Deep scans have not found anything conclusive, but some of the electromagnetic interference suggests that there might be something out there. So they’ve asked us to find it. Now you have heard me use the phrase ‘finding a needle in a haystack’ before, and believe me, this is it. And Olrever, I’ll explain again what that means later.
“Hmph.”
“That’s the spirit. Now luckily, the Ictus has been outfitted with a radar system that has a detection capability significantly higher than what we are used to, and with an extended range of over 325%. Exar, could you elaborate?”
For the rest of the chapter, and the complete story, go to:
Out of this World
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