E:A Vol 7 Ch 13—January 23, 2121

January 23, 2121

First Officer Tel’lok and Chief Science Officer Jil’ana walked into General Karken’al’s office on their homeworld. Karken’al had just finished a video call to Prime Minister Ya’Taka. It did not go well due to Karken’al’s refusal to tell the prime minister exactly what he was doing. He left it very vague: they were searching for who attacked the Rayth. Which was partially true.

“You look none too happy,” Jil’ana said as she took a seat.

“He wants more information. He commandeered the flagship and told me to get a different ship.”

“What? He can’t do that?”

“He can and he did. Thankfully, he wants his own crew, so our people will stay together. Dumb move on his part. If I wanted information on what a ship was doing, I’d keep the crew.” He waved off the remark, “Anyway, what do you have for me?”

“It’s a bit complicated,” Jil’ana said, taking a seat. “When we left the Terra 2’s system, I had the drone upload its collected data to our system. I’m not sure if it was that or if the Rayth detected our engine starting up, but a ship appeared an hour or so after we left.”

“Appeared where?” Karken’al asked.

“Around the moon where we had been,” Tel’lok said.

“Why wasn’t I informed sooner?”

“We were offline. I didn’t have access to our satellites,” Jil’ana said. “I did mention that this might be an issue.”

“Ah, yes. I remember. All right, I assume you have all of our systems on high alert.”

“Yes, sir. They’ve been at full alert since the Rayth were attacked, well, at least from the moment we found out about it. I reminded them that precautions and diligence still needs to be taken for receiving and sending information to and from our satellite system.”

“Good. So, given they know someone was there, what does it mean for us? Were we followed?”

“No sign of being followed. We did take a very indirect route and used our booster engines that should have lost anyone following us,” Tel’lok said. “However, once Jil’ana got back online, we did find out that the Raythian flagship left orbit around Terra 2.”

“Headed where?”

“Triangulating what we know, they were headed to Kiva. Never arrived there. She’s gone missing again,” Tel’lok sighed.

“When?”

“Two days ago.”

“Eight days after we left the system. Chances would be slim that they were looking for us then. I doubt Zy’nayth would hesitate to follow us.”

“But he didn’t. They detected either our ship’s engines or the signal from the drone to our ship,” Jil’ana said, “yet he waited an hour to send a ship to investigate where we had been. He may be gathering intel.”

“Perhaps,” Karken’al said. “Or there’s another ship out there that was following us and the flagship was just a diversion.” He paused, tapping his pen against his desk for a few seconds, “Or something else happened that pulled him away.”

“We don’t know if the High Chancellor is on the flagship,” Tel’lok pointed out.

“True.” Again he paused. He had studied Zy’nayth since he was a child. Fascinated about the warrior, the legend, he had fed on anything about the Rayth he could find. He was probably the foremost expert on the High Chancellor, at least Zy’nayth’s strategies employed in various battles and situations. “I’m leaning towards the latter. Something happened. It wasn’t us. It wasn’t a diversion. Something happened. Any other Rayth ships on the move?”

“I obviously don’t have movement patterns for his fleet, just those around Terra 2,” Jil’ana said. “I couldn’t say one way or another if any odd ship was on a routine run or something new.”

“Risk assessment of getting another data dump from the drone left on Terra 2?”

“Low risk. All security measures are in place and with the signal coming here, our planetary shield will add an extra layer of protection.”

“I don’t want them finding this planet.”

“They won’t.” Jil’ana nodded, “I have a massive relay system set up. It could take a hundred years to figure out where the signal was headed.”

“And Zy’nayth is 10,000 years old. Another hundred means nothing to him.”

“We need the information. Right? It’s worth the risk.”

Karken’al sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers as he considered the risk versus the reward. “They could be on the way here now for all we know. Yes, we need that data. Do it. How long to decipher what’s going on?”

“I can bring the flagship team to the lab. We can each take a couple of days’ worth of information to go through.”

“I can help,” Tel’lok said.

“Can you scan the data quickly the first time through to see if I need to alert the planet to an impending attack?”

“Yeah. I’ll need…” Jil’ana calculated the number of days the drone had been gathering information and how fast she safely felt she needed to scan that data to see if any ships were headed their way. “Four hours,” she determined.

“We can both work on it. I might pick up something you don’t.”

Karken’al agreed with his First Officer. “Get on it. I expect you back four and a half. Call if your time assessment is off.”

“Yes, sir,” Jil’ana said. She and Tel’lok were dismissed. Both headed across town to her lab in the main science complex in the capital city of the planet.

“I don’t like it,” Tel’lok said as they flew along. “The prime minister taking over the flagship is wrong. If Zy’nayth is hunting us and Ya’taka takes the flagship out of dock…with a crew that doesn’t understand the threat and the need to stay cloaked and silent…it won’t end well for our people.”

“I’m sure the general informed the prime minister that there’s a threat and the ship needs to remain docked for a bit.”

“And Ya’taka may have advisors telling him the opposite. You know he doesn’t get along well with the general.”

“I know.”

“And several of the other generals support Ya’taka.”

“Because they want the flagship post. They’re weak. Wouldn’t last ten minutes in a real battle. Would probably get us into a war.”

“General Karken’al may be getting us into an open war when he makes contact with Zy’nayth.”

“If he makes contact.”

“You know he will. Whatever this other threat is, he’s right, we’ll need the Rayth on our side. But the Rayth don’t need us. Making contact…Zy’nayth could back the general, follow him back here and destroy us. He’d have cause enough to.”

“Sadly, you’re right. But if they don’t annihilate us first,” Jil’ana sank down into her seat. “I want to meet him. I do. What he’s seen, what he knows. Must be a fascinating man. Does he like that he’s lived this long, or would he rather have passed on? There can’t be many fullblooded Rayth left…so maybe only a couple thousand Rayth even have the possibility to live as long as he does. Imagine everyone you’ve ever met or will meet will die before you. Spouse, children, friends, co-workers, everyone over the course of 10,000 years would die and you’d still be alive. How can he live with that pain?”

“Pain? Wouldn’t you want to prolong your life?”

“Well, for a few years. I mean, if I was to die next week, definitely. I’d like to get married, have a couple of kids, maybe, not sure on that one, but married, yes. Grow old, discover new technologies, explore new worlds. But 10,000 years? Knowing I’d outlive everyone I come in contact with? No thanks.”

“I get the point,” Tel’lok’s cruiser descended and drove to a security gate. A retinal scan was done on both of them and the cruiser itself was scanned. Finally, the gate’s shield dissolved, allowing them to enter the parking area of the facility. At the main entrance, another set of retinal scans were taken as well as fingerprints and a body scan for weapons. Both were carrying but relinquished their blasters which were tagged and locked up by one of the security guards.

In Jil’ana’s lab, she sent the command for the drone to boot up and send her the report from the last eight days. While waiting for that to get to her system, she sent a message to her entire team, though six of her 24-member team was on-site. The project would take quite some time and she would allocate each member a time-stamped section to review in detail as soon as she received the data file.

***

“Device activated!” Ja’val nearly shouted after tapping his comlink. He and his family were in Victoria’s chambers. Lutia, still very ill, seemed to be recovering, if only a bit. She was curled up in the master bed since Victoria and Mik’kenna were working in the infirmary. Kel’lan was a happy baby playing with Maressa, Ky’nayth, and the dogs.

Zy’nayth, sitting in the living room in his recliner, half asleep, having had little sleep over it the last couple of weeks, jolted wide awake. “Locate it!”

Ky’nayth ran over to Kel’lan, who was crawling over to his father, attracted by the excitement in his voice.

“Your daddy is busy, you come with me,” Ky’nayth said, trying to nudge the boy back to where they’d been playing.

“Da!” Kel’lan said as his crawl sped up. “Da!”

“Same area,” Ja’val said, his team already trying to pinpoint the origin of the signal. He looked at his son, “It’s okay, he won’t be a problem. Thanks, Ky.” Kel’lan continued to his father and was lifted onto his lap after Ja’val retracted the screens of his computer. The boy clapped and gave his father a kiss while the screens opened up once again. “I need a recliner for my office,” Ja’val said. “Report?”

“Signal was too short. Gone dormant,” one of the Science Officers said from an orbiting warship.

“Not acceptable,” Ja’val said and whipped his six screens into different positions. “Math people. Triangulate. Come on, we have two ships and some satellites…” Ja’val’s eyes took in every piece of data, seemingly simultaneously.

The Second Science Commander, who was on the flagship, not even near Terra 2, had been alerted when the device activated. Being Ja’val’s backup, he learned to go the indirect route first since that’s usually what was required if the obvious wasn’t available on the first pass. “Got it, sirs,” he said over his comlink, “sending coordinates.”

“Coordinates input,” Kol’non said, from the bridge of one of the warships. “Warrior Team 3, we just isolate it, do not destroy. Teleport.”

The scenario had been planned in advance. Kol’non and a Warrior Team would teleport to the exact location and find the device. It needed to be studied, but not on a Rayth ship. Kol’non had some of his men teleport a sort of isolated “lab” near the mainland bridge portal building. It was nothing more than a box with shields and a few pieces of equipment Ja’val thought he might need.

Kol’non and Team 3 appeared and began looking for the device. Since it was a wooded area, they looked up the trees and down at their feet, using their handheld scanners to pick up any trace of metal. After nearly thirty minutes of investigating the area, Kol’lon asked, “Are you sure this is the correct location?”

“Yes, sir. Followed feeds from four satellites and our two warships. Did the calculation twice as did the rest of the staff up here,” the Second Science Commander replied.

“I did as well. It should be there. Did you check up in the trees?” Ja’val said.

“By scanner. No trace of metal. Nothing we can see visually. Ground shows no sign of anything burrowing. Scans also not showing any trace of metal. Instructions, Chancellor?”

Zy’nayth was now up and pacing the living room, his eyes looking out of the floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows at the mainland, where his men were, where the device should have been. “One more scan. Inch by inch if you must. I have to be sure. Remember, it is roughly three inches in diameter, about the size of an Earth baseball.”

“Understood. All right men, here’s what we’re going to do,” Kol’non’s voice trailed off as he gave his orders to the six men with him.

“I want it found,” Zy’nayth said, looking directly at Ja’val.

“I know.”

“How could it disappear? I need ideas.”

“Our team may have overlooked it.”

“First would not overlook it. The scanners should have picked it up if he did.”

Ja’val reduced his six screens down to one, then ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about how it could disappear. “One option: self-destruct. But…if that was the case, our scanners would pick up the metal and the warship scanners would have picked up the explosion.”

“It could have been an acidic decomposition or something similar,” Zy’nayth said.

“Then the scanners would have detected a foreign substance, though yes, there are a few compounds that don’t leave any trace, at least nothing our handhelds wouldn’t pick up if programmed specifically…anyway, I can send First one of my scanners.”

“Hold on that. Other options?”

“It was teleported off-world, but we have no signs of any ship in the area, at least none that aren’t ours. Or, I can’t imagine something this small being able to do this, it could have jumped to FTL and moved.”

“Or we were wrong about the size. To put a small FTL engine on it, using our technology, how small could we get it?”

“Our L-3 drones have FTL capabilities, but it’s a limited option; there’s no energy recycling on them. Once the energy is used up, it’s dead in the water. Enough to get it into orbit then that’s it. Those are the ones slightly smaller than one of the beachballs the kids have.”

“Have we not put FTL on the smaller drones?”

“Not in mass production. The M-1 can be outfitted with an engine pack. I have some on the flagship. Again, no energy recycling option, so it too is a limited run. And those packs are attached to the outside of the drone, they’re not part of the design,” he smiled, “though I have been dabbling with the idea for a while. Even have some sketches. Haven’t built a model yet. One of my more fun projects.” He waved off the idea, “But even those are about the side of a basketball. Smaller, but not by much.”

“I don’t think we’re wrong on the original size,” Second Science Commander Gno’toz said. “And I don’t think it self-destructed, at least not with an explosion. Also, no sign of a burst of energy that would be indicative of jumping to FTL speeds. It was simply there then gone. Perhaps a cloak.”

“Cloaking engine would require almost as much room as one to power FTL,” Ja’val said.

“With our technology, yes,” Gno’toz said. “We’re not completely sure what we’re dealing with.”

“But we know the energy signature used when the mystery ships go to FTL. That’s what was detected at Pontik.” Ja’val’s hand stroked his son’s hair as he curled up in his lap and drifted to sleep.

“Given these considerations, best guess? First and Second Science.”

“Cloaked,” they said simultaneously.

Zy’nayth smiled. “I know when my top two scientists agree on something, they are usually correct. How can we alter our scanners to search for a cloaked drone?”

“So far, we’ve only been able to pick up that ship through its energy signature. They’ve adjusted their cloaks to block that from our view,” Ja’val said. “But the drone, if she has cloaking tech, may not be able to hide that energy signal.”

“I’ll modify the program. I can dump in what we use from here into a half-dozen handhelds and bridge over to the First Commander. Ten minutes.”

“Thank you, Second,” Zy’nayth said. “First, continue as you are. When Second Science arrives, do another scan.”

“Understood. But…I need to point out, if it is truly dormant, not using any energy, the scanners aren’t going to find it.”

Zy’nayth turned back to Ja’val, all six screens were back up. “Do what you can, Second. What are you looking for?” he tilted his head towards Ja’val’s computer.

“Where the signal went,” Ja’val replied, then scrolled through the data. “And it appears to have gone everywhere.”

“Can we tap in to it to find out what information was being sent?”

“Only if I can find something physical. There’s no landing point detected. It’s like an old-fashioned radio signal being broadcast.”

“Then find the frequency.”

“Not like that, I meant how the burst was sent out. It wasn’t a single stream. Or…it may have been but was masked by the confusion of the billions of other decoy streams.”

“Decoy streams?”

“Something I’ve used in the past when we’ve had encryption issues. Send a bunch of decoy messages out at the same time as the actual message. Various frequencies and such. A massive bombardment of information, most of which is just garbage.” He leaned back in the recliner. “This guy is good. I know you’re frustrated, sir, but do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve come up against someone who is this good? Thankfully, most are on my team. But knowing someone is out there, with this tech, and can be this cunning…” he grinned, “pretty exciting.”

“As long as we can be more cunning and actually find them.”

***

Four hours and twenty-seven minutes later, Jil’ana walked back into General Karken’al’s office. “There was a major quake. Two more, actually. After the first one hit, that’s when the flagship took off.”

“Why’d he take off? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe he thinks some outside force caused it, like our ship, and went in search of it,” Jil’ana suggested.

“Back to the quakes. How bad?” the general asked as he mulled over the idea she presented.

“Caused a minor tsunami. The quake was a solid 12 on our scale.”

“Did they launch?”

“No.”

“Are the quakes still regular?”

“Guessing, yes. With running through the files quickly, I can’t be positive. My team’s on it.”

“Wait!” he slammed his hand on his desk, not out of anger, but excitement. He thought he had an answer to the quake problem. “What was Terra 2 actually called during the war?”

“I wasn’t around back then,” she smiled but took out her tablet and typed the coordinates into her database.

“Ferrion,” Karken’al answered before she found the data.

Jil’ana’s search ended. “Ferrion. How’d you know? And what does it mean?”

“It was a base of operations. A military base with massive pellite reserves.”

“It’s nothing but trees now. Except the ship, there’s no trace of Mythican tech. And I didn’t pick up any pellite on my scans.”

“Oh, I bet if you look a little harder you’ll find it. And these quakes…you have to get the pellite from the reservoir to the ship somehow, right?”

Jil’ana’s eyes went wide. “Then we don’t have much time.”

“Have your team make sure we’re right. I’ll get us a ship. We have to get there. If they try…”

“I know! I know!” she said, activating her communications unit and telling her crew what to look for.

Karken’al went back to his computer and called Prime Minister Ya’taka. The man was not happy to hear from the general so soon. “What can I do for you?”

“Sir, I need the flagship for one more week, perhaps two.”

“Pick another ship.”

“It has been brought to my attention that an old military base of ours has been uncovered,” he said, leaving out the fact that it was found by earthlings and Rayth, “and that the area is suffering major quakes which could damage the structural integrity of the base and possible ships located therein. We do know that there is a model SVBS-2 docked on the planet and she is in grave danger if I can’t get my team there in time.”

“What’s that?”

“Science Vessel Battleship. The number two designates that it also contained housing. A relic sir. May hold files that were lost during the war. If we can save her, it may contain information on a particular Rayth who we have been hiding from for 10,000 years.”

“You think so?”

“Many records were lost from that time period. There may be invaluable information uncovered. Sir, I need the flagship. She’s the only one that has the ability to get that SVBS-2 off the planet in time…and help us fix the issue with the quakes. No other ship is as well-equipped to handle this. Chief Science Officer Jil’ana, as well as my crew, know that ship better than anyone and how far we can push her limits.”

The man sighed. “How convenient is it that this showed up the day I take the ship from you.”

“Actually, we’ve been monitoring the sector for some time but due to the recent attack on the Rayth, we’ve been unable to recall information from drones left planet-side until this morning. This data was just looked at a few hours ago.”

“Very well, you may have the flagship. I will, however, join you on this mission. I enjoy history, as you know.”

“Sir, that’s not a good idea,” Karken’al said, knowing this would come up. “As I stated, this is urgent, which means it is also quite dangerous. If we do not get there in time, we could be looking at a major system-wide catastrophic event. Sir, the planet could blow up.”

“What?”

“If our suspicions are correct, that is the likeliest outcome should we not be able to rectify the problem. I’d be remiss to allow the leader of our people to join us on such a mission when it could kill him. I can send you my data if you want your scientists to examine it. But I must be underway as soon as possible. If your scientists feel that Chief Science Officer Jil’ana is mistaken in her calculations and the threat is not as severe, you may, of course, bridge to the flagship at any time.”

“Send me what you have. The ship is yours.”

The call ended and Karken’al sent a message to his crew: get back on board the flagship and be ready to leave within four hours. Those who can’t make it need to bridge to the ship within eight. Then he called Jil’ana. “I need your team on there when we launch.”

“They’re already turning around.”

“I need data sent to Ya’taka, but I need it…altered.”

“Altered how?”

“I don’t want him to know where we’re going. Strip anything of that nature out of the files, then send him anything regarding the quakes. They may figure out what planet we’re headed to, but I want to limit his knowledge on the location as much as possible.”

“Got it,” she said. “He’s not going to be happy.”

“I know. But hopefully they’ll be focused on the problem, not where it’s at.”

“He’ll still be mad.”

“I’ll worry about that. Do your job.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

After two hours of searching the area, Kol’non and his team found no trace of the drone. There were some pieces of metal, but they were ancient and had been there for at least a millennium. Kol’non returned the updated scanners to Gno’toz on the flagship then returned to the E:A city-ship, taking command back from Major Steve Kessler who was sent to rest.

He had just sat down in the conference room when word came that another quake was hitting. Another large one. He tapped his comlink, “Sir, perhaps we should have Second Science work on the stabilizers. You have your hands full.”

“I have isolated the problem and have been working on the code, though I believe some external hardware may need repairs.”

“Sir, you have an entire crew with men capable of fixing this. Please, hand it off.”

“You are right. I am quite tired. Damage from this quake?”

“Reports just coming in. Not as strong as the last two. My main concern are the people. They’re sick and edgy.”

“Sir,” Ja’val said, “I know you want to find this mystery ship, but I think maybe I should be trying to find the source of these quakes. Second can work on the mystery ship. I can have a team from one of the warships work on the stabilizers. Besides, Second’s out there on the flagship and has the best tools for finding the mystery ship. I really don’t want to leave Lutia with her being this sick. But I do need to be someplace quiet.”

“Come up to the conference room,” Kol’non suggested.

Zy’nayth added the Second Science Commander and Ja’val to the call. Second Science would focus on the mystery ship. Ja’val would assign someone from the orbiting warships to work on the stabilizers, then he’d work on finding the source of the quakes.

“And you should rest, sir,” Kol’non said. “An hour or two. You have been going non-stop since this illness hit. When we find the mystery ship and the source of this quake, you will need to be in top shape.”

“Very well. But call me if I am needed.”

A few more orders were given then Ja’val’s computer condensed down to the size of a card and he slipped it into a pocket while getting up, holding a sleeping Kel’lan in his arms. “I’m putting you with Mommy. I need to concentrate, little one.”

***

Zy’nayth woke up two hours later after falling asleep in his recliner. He smiled when he saw Celeste staring straight at him. He hadn’t even felt her jump up onto his lap while he was sleeping. “I suppose you miss Mik’kenna.”

“Yeah, we late for med visit,” Ky’nayth said. “I told them we no go unless you say it ‘kay. I no sure puppies understand.”

“Give me a minute and we can go down. Please call your mother and let her know we are coming.”

“Kay! Everyone love the puppies.” He made sure he had the correct code then activated his comlink. Zy’nayth found it funny because there were only three possible codes: himself, Victoria, the entire extended family. “Mommy, it Ky’nayth. I just call let you know me and Daddy be there in few minutes with puppies. I sorry we late but Daddy take nap. He so tired. But we be there. Just older puppies, not baby puppies. Kay?”

“Thank you, honey,” Victoria smiled. “I’ll let your sister know.”

“Love you, bye!” The boy hurried and rounded up the dogs and headed into the hallway, the puppies trying to follow them out were corralled by John. Zy’nayth joined his son a couple minutes later and provided escort to the infirmary.

“I take Frostie to see Uncle Vince,” Mik’kenna said after giving each dog a hug. “I be right back. Everyone looky forward to visit. Thank you, Bubby.”

“Sorry we are late,” Zy’nayth said.

“You were sleeping, which you needed to do. You look a little better than you did this morning.”

“I slept very well. I did not even feel Celeste hop on my lap.”

“That sort of concerns me, my ever-alert husband.”

“I must have known it was not a threat and kept sleeping,” he smiled.

Zy’nayth went to talk to a number of patients while his wife went back to her work. They stayed until lunchtime, then Zy’nayth and the twins returned home for the day. Victoria joined them for lunch but then went back to work.

As dinnertime neared and Zy’nayth was making sure the children were washing up for the meal, his comlink buzzed in his ear. “Sir, we have something. You were right. The quakes are not natural, at least the First Science Commander doesn’t think so. He wants to take a jet and check something out.”

“Denied. Is he on?”

“Yes, sir, I’m here,” Ja’val said from the conference room of the city-ship. “The scanners on the warship can’t go deep enough but I think I found the problem. If I can…”

“You and the First Commander meet me in Vince’s room in the infirmary. Bring your wife, First Commander. Ten minutes.” Then he called his wife who was still at work, though getting ready to head home. “Victoria, is Vince up to a discussion?”

“Don’t exhaust him, but yes, he could handle a talk.”

“I will keep our discussion with him short. Will you be returning soon?”

“On my way now…just saw Fred come in.”

“I may be away for a while. The discussion will be short, but I may have work afterwards. If you would be so kind as to bring food down, or arrange for it to be brought, I would appreciate it.”

“How many of you?”

“Five if you count Vince. Though I am going to ask Christopher, John, and Kaven to join us.”

“All right.”

“Thank you, my beloved.”

Victoria smiled. “See you later. Love you.”

Another tap of the button on his comlink and calls were made as he kissed his children and took his leave, headed to the infirmary. “Kaven, I could use you in a meeting if you are feeling well enough.” He also contacted Steve to watch over the Control Room. “Janice, would Christopher be able to sit in on a meeting? Should not be more than thirty minutes.”

“As long as he’s just sitting there and sipping on some water. It is dinnertime, too, if you haven’t noticed,” she replied. “But I supposed he’d go regardless of what I say.”

Within ten minutes they were crammed into Vince’s infirmary room, having been moved to a private room as his condition deteriorated. Victoria and Janice pushed in a rolling tray piled with sandwich fixings and a pot of soup along with bowls and spoons and a pitcher of ice water. “Plates down there on the bottom. This was easiest.”

“It is all we need,” Kol’non smiled then told her she needn’t stay to fix the sandwiches, they were capable of it. So she and Janice left as Ja’val started the conversation.

“I’m picking up traces of something like an exhaust,” he said. “That last quake opened up a fissure here,” he pointed to his screen. “The satellite scans picked up the fissure only because it detected the exhaust or steam. It’s not a natural steam, such as you’d see from a volcanic vent or geyser. This has residue in it that indicates there’s some sort of man-made structure like a power generator or something down there.”

“Guesses as to what it is?” Zy’nayth asked.

“Has to be Rayth or Mythican tech. As far as we know, no humans, other than the Mythicans, inhabited this planet.”

“Rayk, maybe?” Kol’non suggested.

“No. The residuals are very distinct from Rayk tech. I really can’t tell much more until I get out there and use a local scanner.”

“What is it doing?” Zy’nayth asked. “Why is it venting steam? And why is it powerful enough to cause these massive quakes?”

Ja’val ran his fingers through his long, white, straight hair. “Best guess given what little I know at this point is that it may have been a geothermal generator of some sort that’s broken down. If it has a powerful enough energy source…a well it’s drawing from…and something happened, a leak in containment, it is possible that it could cause a quake. Though, to be honest, never heard of one doing this much damage…I mean using this much force to shake up a rather large area. Quite frankly, it would have to be something pretty massive, like they were tapping into a magma chamber.”

“Could it be a weapon?” Kaven asked. “Some big underground weapon?”

“Doubtful. I think that since the tremors were somewhat predictable, I’d say they were due to a power cycle. A weapon wouldn’t be on a cycle to power up.” He let out a long sigh, “But given we have two mystery ships, a group of people that supplied the rebels with unknown tech, I could be completely wrong on this. Anyway, now things have broken down to the point where during this power cycle, it’s causing the quakes. Maybe it’s a gear on a wheel that’s broken and when that broken part of the system is hit every nine minutes, it sends releases more…power, I guess is the best way to say it, or perhaps it’s like using a hose but there’s a partial clog. The water backs up until it can burst through, either dislodging the clog or bursting the hose. Again, I won’t know for sure until I can get out there.  The particulates are mixing with the atmosphere so I can’t get a good reading from the warship. I have to be closer to the source. I can plug my computer’s scanner into a jet’s system. My scanner can detect things deeper…”

“Potential dangers?” Zy’nayth asked.

“Falling into the fissure,” Ja’val shrugged and grinned.

Zy’nayth groaned.

Ja’val straightened and cleared his throat. “If another quake strikes and I’m in the wrong spot, it could open another fissure and if there is any pressure, a sudden rush of heat, it could cause a vacuum or turbulence and it could cause trouble with the jet’s engines. It’s unlikely, but it could happen.”

“Any danger from this exhaust itself?” Vince asked.

“Can’t say without being able to get a good scan of the compounds. It could be plain water steam, or something far more dangerous.”

“If it is a broken generator, how can we fix it, or conversely, what happens if we cannot?” Zy’nayth asked.

“She’ll blow if we don’t get her fixed. Considering the size of the quakes, I’d estimate it could devastate the mainland facilities, and cause fissures to the point where we couldn’t rebuild there. Perhaps not even rebuild on the planet itself. I don’t know how deep this is or how powerful. I won’t know until I can see it.”

“Could the city-ship be harmed?”

“In the shape she’s in, yes. The shields will hold, but the shaking won’t be good and would likely cause more cave-ins where things are already damaged. Once the stabilizers are tended to, she’d probably be fine, but…” he flipped screens, “according to both you and Second Science, there is a hardware failure. Second is tracking it down, but likely culprits reside outside of the ship…underneath her. That means we’d likely have to go into space for repairs. Again, without knowing what power is being generated, the intensity, I…” he shook his head, running his fingers through his hair again, “personally, I’d get the ship off the planet.”

“Estimated time before this generator, or whatever it is, blows?” Zy’nayth asked.

Ja’val sighed, “No idea. These large quakes could just be the tip of what is to come. She could be only ten percent damaged or at ninety, I don’t know. Or the venting could be relieving the pressure and we have more time to solve the problem. I honestly can’t tell you until I can see what’s going on. I need to get down there.”

“You are not going to the fissure,” Zy’nayth said. “John, can you to start working with the Agriculture team and the mess hall. We need to stockpile food, get everything we can off of the mainland. Livestock is a priority. Make sure the water reserves are filled.”

“You’re going launch, aren’t you?” Chris asked.

“I take my First Science’s Commander’s suggestion seriously. He knows better than I the situation at hand and what this city-ship can handle. It is the only safe course of action. Once my flagship returns, Ja’val will have the proper tools to assess the situation from space. If we can fix it, we will.”

“How long until your flagship gets here and what happens if we can’t fix this generator?” Vince asked.

“One day for the flagship at most. And if we cannot fix the damage, or we are too late, we relocate Expedition: Andromeda.”

“Don’t like that option, High Chancellor,” Vince said, “but if we have to, we have to.”

“Okay, where do I put a herd of cattle and sheep and pigs?” John frowned as he flipped through the schematics of the city-ship on his tablet. And all of the grain and seeds…and equipment. Castor and Wells will want their equipment. Farm tractors and such too.”

“Shuttle bay,” Kaven suggested. “We could park the shuttles on the docks if we had to. They’d be okay there, wouldn’t they?”

“In theory. We don’t know the full extent of the damage done to those areas of the ship; they are non-essential,” Zy’nayth said. “John, when you get things situated as to where things can be stored, I will ask my men to help with the move. We can teleport items to the shuttle bay, or anywhere you think is best.”

“Thanks.”

Zy’nayth suddenly frowned.

“What is it?” Vince asked.

“The bridge portal is not operational on the mainland. To teleport the smaller items, such as containers of vegetables, equipment that Dr. Wells and the others will need, will not be something easily done. Or, I should say, it will be time consuming. I can send teleport boxes down, that should make it easier, but not faster since we would have to wait for the box to be full.”

“Let’s not worry about that. We can work fast and with your men helping…it’ll be fine,” John said with a clearing of his throat. He took a sip of water, hoping to stop the coughing fit he felt coming on. “If need be, we can use shuttles too for the sensitive equipment, or just to get some things off quicker than it would take to fill a box. But yeah, it’s going to be a lot of work and with only a few of us well enough to fly…”

“Tend to the livestock first. If this generator blows before we get them off of the mainland, you will lose valuable resources. Seeds are more easily replaced, livestock is not as we have found out. I think we have stretched those on Gren thin.”

“Suggestion,” Kol’non said, looking over John’s shoulder as he sat, skimming over the shuttle bay on his tablet, trying to figure out if it would be a large enough area to store everything. “What about using a couple of jet hangars on the old flagship? Temporary, of course, but everything would be off-world and safe, and since it’s already empty, and if you guys got the teleporter on it working, no need to disrupt your warships to do that.”

“I think they took the teleporter out,” John said.

“I can have either warship teleport from the mainland to the old flagship,” Kol’non said.

“We’ll need to get life support up and running, anything that was shut off last time we were on it,” John said. “Could you have someone do that while I figure this other stuff out? We’re shorthanded here.”

“I’ll see to it,” Kol’non said. “And the Rayth that have worked with the livestock, I’ll round a couple of them up to help with the move.”

“That’ll be a great help.”

“Anything else we need to cover right now?” Vince asked.

Zy’nayth spoke, “I will need you to make an announcement after John has talked to whomever he needs to. Let them know we are going to launch and orbit until this is over.”

“I’ll talk to Wells, Castor, and Nichols right away. Then try to get some people organized and a list of what we need to move,” John said.

“Gonna take a nap until then,” Vince coughed then sighed.

“I can make the announcement,” Zy’nayth said, “if you do not mind.”

Vince gave him a nod as he closed his eyes.

“Ja’val, there is nothing you can do at this moment,” Zy’nayth said, “I want you to get some sleep. I am sorry that I keep disturbing you and John. Rest until the flagship arrives. Kol’non, I will talk to our crew then spend two hours with my family before replacing you in the Control Room. John, let me know what I need to do, then you get some sleep.”

“Work me into the Control Room rotation if you don’t need me helping with the farm move,” Kaven said, “or I can a shift in the CR and help another shift with the farm. Other than the Rayth, I think I’m the healthiest person in this room.”

“No you’re not,” John said, pointing to Be’atta, “she is.”

“Fit me into the rotation,” Chris said as they left Vince to sleep. “I’ve got my little IV rack here that’s portable, I can wheel it up to Vince’s office and…”

“You will remain in our chambers,” Zy’nayth said.

“I can make calls and get people organized,” Be’atta said. “John, you’re starting to look a little sick again, let’s not push it. Give me something to do.”

“I’m not going to argue. Let’s go up to Victoria’s place, I’ll call everyone from there. I think Michael should be informed as well.”

“Ah, yes, I should have thought to involve him,” Zy’nayth said. He tapped his comlink, “Vice Chancellor, where are you?”

“Relaxing at the pool.”

“Of course you are. Can you meet me in my chambers in ten minutes?”

“Already there. Helping Janice with getting the overnight snacks and soup ready.”

“We will be right there.”

When Zy’nayth and the team walked into his chambers, Victoria went over to her husband. “Everything all right?”

“We have an issue. I need you to sit in on a discussion with John and the others.”

“Oh no.”

“I hope it will not affect anything in the infirmary, but you need to know to be prepared if it does. I am going to talk with the Vice Chancellor then we will have some family time before I relieve the First Commander.” He gave her a tender kiss. “I love you. Now go with John.”

The group went to an empty room down the hall from Victoria’s chambers where John explained to Michael, Victoria, and Hank Wells, Nelson Castor, and Benjamin Nichols what was in the works. “Like the Big Guy said, hopefully your services won’t be needed,” he said to Victoria, “but if another quake hits, injuries may happen since we’ll be in and out of barns. The structures are solid, but things go flying around.”

“The medical bay will be ready. Injuries can be healed by Rayth as long as they don’t touch the virus. We’ll be set,” Victoria said. “I’ll alert the staff as soon as we’re done here.”

“Mr. President, we just thought you should know what’s going on, especially if the worst-case scenario happens and we have to relocate this ship. We can send you and your family back to Earth, I know Holly and Hannah are still quite ill, but as we know from how it’s progressing on Earth, we just have to let it run its course which can be done here or there.”

“To be honest, I’d rather stay here and see this through, but I’ll talk with my wife and see what she wants to do. You could use the extra beds.”

After the short meeting, Michael had the discussion with his wife, resulting in the family’s decision to return to Earth. Zachary would return to Terra 2 in two weeks, at least to the city-ship. Zy’nayth agreed and added that if anything went amiss and the city was damaged, it was best for the president to be safely back on his own planet.

January 24, 2121

The following morning the president and his family went to the Control Room, tired and ill, Zy’nayth and Victoria walking with them to see them off. “I am sorry that you have to go through Colorado,” Zy’nayth said, “but since you are carrying this illness, I do not want to expose my warship should this affect Rayth, which does not seem likely at this point, but I wish to contain exposure as much as possible.”

“It’s okay. My shuttle will be there, that’s where it was moved to before you locked down Victoria’s estate. Thanks again for letting us stay in your home in Montana and for taking care of us while we were here. We’ll take good care of your home. I assume it’s no longer on lockdown.”

“It is not and I am sorry we could not do more about this virus,” Zy’nayth said.

Holly nodded, “At least there’ve been no fatalities. That’s what’s important. Hasn’t been fun, but it could be worse.”

“Zachary, Jack Burgeon will contact you in two weeks. As we stated, if this generator issue has not yet been dealt with, you are free to stay on Earth until it is.”

“I think I’d rather be here. Learn in the thick of things.”

The bridge portal lit up with an amber glow. Victoria gave Holly a hug, “Take care and please keep in contact.”

“I will, if for anything, just to get some recipes off of you.”

“Any time,” she replied. “Hannah, I know you only got to help out a few days, but you did really well. Study hard. You’re going to make a great nurse.”

“Thank you, Dr. Carson.”

“Victoria,” she corrected. “Only have to call me doc when working. Even then I don’t care but protocol is there for a reason.”

The family, with Ruffles the cat in tow, stepped across the glowing bridge into Central Command in Colorado.

After confirming they were safely in Colorado, Zy’nayth activated the pilot seat in the center of the room. “Kaven, status?” The Andromeda native was on the mainland, overseeing operations. It had been nearly impossible to work at night with the threat of the quakes always looming.

“Life support online, ship is habitable. We’ve moved up about 50% of what we had in storage. Non-stored items are being loaded into a teleporter box. Livestock is being rounded up. Apparently going to use several jet hangars. Equipment is still being packed for the labs. That’ll be the last thing that gets done, but food will be secure. Now that the sun’s up, we’ll get a lot more done a lot faster.”

“Good. I am about to launch the city-ship.”

“Shouldn’t be anyone near the beach,” Kaven said.

“Already checking. Stay near the facilities.”

“Roger that.”

With Celeste on her heels, Mik’kenna came trotting into the Control Room. “I know you tell me hundred times, but ‘fore do again, I know I not ‘posed be here with no adult. I has Celeste, she ‘tect me. Kay? Dat settled. So I has to say ‘portant thing.”

“Kenna, we’re about to launch, what is it, honey?” Victoria asked.

“Bubby want to see how to fly ship and he no say to Daddy and I think he should come and I come to tell you to get him to come. Daddy, please,” she went over to her father. He bright blue eyes pleading with his. “He love to fly and he want to learn. He no ask because he no want to be bother. So I come to tell you ‘fore launch.”

Victoria looked at her husband, “Is it okay?”

Zy’nayth gave a nod. Victoria ushered her daughter to the elevator. “You know, you’re testing our patience with leaving the chambers unaccompanied,” she said. “I know you do it to help people, but honey…” Victoria sighed, “please try to use a comlink instead of trekking around the hallways.”

“Oh. I no think of that. I just get all worky up and do what I think best.”

“I understand, sweetheart, but even though Celeste is a very good guard dog, your father and I would prefer if you had an adult escort.”

“Kay. I try to ‘member.”

Victoria kissed the top of her head as the elevator door opened to their floor. “I love you. Thank you for thinking of your brother.”

Mik’kenna smiled up at her mother then ran to their chambers. “Bubby! Daddy ‘bout launch. You go. It ‘kay!”

“Come on,” Victoria said when Ky’nayth gave his sister a questioning look. “Daddy can’t wait all day.”

“Really? I go?”

“Yup,” Victoria said.

The boy jumped up and ran to the door, Baxter and Celeste running with the twins. “I so ‘cited!”

“Janice, they’ll be with me for a bit,” Victoria said.

“How’d she get out?” Janice frowned. “Sorry, Victoria.”

Victoria waved off the comment as the twins ran to the elevator and back to the Control Room.

The pilot’s seat looked like a vertical dentist’s chair. The pilot generally stood, though there was a sort of bench, on which they could put their weight to get it off of their legs if it was a particularly long flight. The chair could also recline to about a 45˚ angle if the pilot wished. Around the seat, multiple holographic screens could open and display any of the ship’s information. Zy’nayth could fly in either position, so reclined the seat to the 45˚ position then reached for his son with one hand and hoisted him up onto his lap. A moment later, they were surrounded with a myriad of screens. Zy’nayth explained what each screen displayed to his son as Ky’nayth took in every detail.

“I will not stop to explain the commands I give, they are just to prepare everyone for the launch. We can go over that procedure at lunch,” Zy’nayth said to his son. “Just listen, watch, and learn.”

“Understood,” Ky’nayth replied.

“I go look out window,” Mik’kenna said. “Unless you want me for support. I stay if you want.”

“I fine. Thank you, Sissy.”

“I mean Daddy might need support,” the girl cackled and waved her hand. “I just kid you. I go look at stars now.”

Victoria stifled a chuckle and went up the stairs and stayed on the platform just outside of the conference room where Mik’kenna was going to watch the launch and then the stars.

After making sure everyone was prepared and in a safe location, the city-ship lifted off of the gulf and settled in orbit. Victoria let Mik’kenna gaze out of the window at the stars for a few minutes while Ky’nayth asked his father a couple of question, then the twins returned home with their mother.

“Victoria, I’m so sorry,” Janice said. “I don’t know how she got out…”

Mik’kenna was already across the room at the enormous windows looking at the stars. Ky’nayth was back to playing with the dogs.

“Not your fault. She got past you, Chris, Alessa, David, Lutia, Amelia…pretty sure she inherited her father’s stealthy prowess.”

“I’ll try to keep a better eye on her.”

“I think her father and I will have to have a little talk with both of them tonight. Ky is more observant of the rules, but Kenna…stubborn. They don’t understand the threat.”

“No one here would harm them.”

“There’s still a few rebel ships out there, not to mention that mystery ship. Who knows if they can get past the Rayth warships.”

“Yeah. I didn’t think of that.”

“We haven’t told the kids that was our worry.” Victoria shook her head. “I need to get to the infirmary.” She raised her voice to be heard over the conversations happening in the living room and the playing of the fourteen dogs. “Kenna, honey, you want to come to the infirmary with me or study the stars?”

“I think I stay here if ‘kay?”

“Of course, sweetie. But if you want to come to the infirmary, you call me, remember? Don’t just head out on your own…or with Celeste.”

“Kay.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise. Long as it not ‘mergency or something ‘portant.”

“Even then, you can call,” Victoria said. “That’s why Daddy gave you and Ky comlinks.”

The girl wrinkled up her nose but promised she’d use her comlink. Victoria grabbed her stethoscope and headed to the infirmary, leaving her twins with kisses.