LINKS
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The Christa Affair
Chapter Twelve
Three hours later, Jashi was still reviewing their options as one by one the other members of the crew stirred to life. Karli and Mowii sat at the control room table drinking coffee; Mowii was in high spirits because of Rang's now rapidly accelerating improvement. If the curve continued, all biological functions would be at sleep-normal within a few hours. Suu was in the infirmary, encased from the waist down in the resonant cavity of the tissue regenerator unit; the others were still in their cabins. The ship's beacon was on emergency high power, sending its "answer, anyone" databurst thru hyperspace in all directions every thirty seconds.
Several times during the last hour, the hyperphone had growled as it tried to lock onto a signal; each time the signal was overcome by the static. Suddenly there was another burst of noise. A voice faded in and out of the interference. Lights flashed on the communications console as the automatic directional antenna tried franticly to zero in on the tenuous signal.
The signal steadied somewhat, and a snowy picture came to life on the screen; staring at them was the haggard countenance of a young Human male. He was dressed in the tattered uniform of a junior grade lieutenant of the Federation High Guard.
"....... squadron on Estara-Six attacked by hostile natives ..... ships destro ...... killed ...... surviv ..... damaged during liftoff ..... orbit decaying ....." The signal steadied, "...Estarani are appearing all over the galaxy, especially on planets that have Federation bases. Summit HQ reports that they are under attack, all grounded ships have been destroyed or disabled ......" The picture and the voice faded simultaneously.
The three of them stood staring at the now-dark screen in shocked silence. Karli eased closer to Jashi; he pulled her to him with his good arm. Suddenly the ship's intercom sprang to life. "Hey guys... Rang's awake." called Suu from the infirmary.
Instantly Mowii was out the door and running down the passageway. (.... "Go with her! Keep me posted. Gotta stay here ....") Karli was moving toward the corridor even as he finished the thought. In that moment of shock and confusion, Jashi suddenly remembered the item he had omitted from his earlier list -- the strange shiny sphere Rang had been clutching when they found him unconscious in the dome.
"I wonder if it survived the firefight?" he thought, as he sank tiredly into the command chair. He realized this was the first he had thought of the alien object since tucking it into his pocket what seemed so very long ago. Somehow, his brain was too muddled to decide whether it even mattered or not.
*********
Order slowly emerged from the chaos, and some time later the crew was again assembled in the control room. Rang was present; after thorough examination by Suu he had been pronounced fit, with no apparent after-effects from the strange condition that had gripped his body for the past hours. Only Lito was missing; Jashi had decided to let her sleep. No further hyperphone transmissions had been intercepted.
Jashi replayed the broken transmission to bring the others up to date. "Apparently, he was part of the squadron that was on Estara-Six," commented Jashi, as the face of the young lieutenant dissolved into the static, and the replay reached its end. "I'd guess from the content that it was just a general broadcast, but it \could\ have been an official report... There's been nothing since that."
To Jashi's surprise, no one said a word. They all sat staring at him as if they expected him to have a single, magical answer that would bring the whole incredible situation into realistic focus. (.... Sympathy .... "Better think fast, Darling! ....") said Karli in his confused mind; her presence was an anchor amidst the disarray of his thoughts.
(.... ?????!!!??.... "Think I've got answers? ....") Jashi shot back.
(.... "You're the Captain ....")
(.... "Thanks. I love you too!....") Jashi spoke aloud, "I think we'd better record this." Roi got up and switched on the recorder, then returned to his seat at the table.
"This is an important meeting; do any of you feel we should waken Lito before we begin?"
"Not necessary," replied Roi. "I'll bring her up to date later." The others nodded their assent.
"You've all seen the replay of the hyperphone transmission. The person on the screen was a lieutenant, apparently in command of a ship -- possibly one of the survivors of the ground attack against the Federation squadron on Estara-Six. That, coupled with the reported attack on Summit HQ, and the report that Estarani are appearing all over the galaxy -- \if\ they're accurate -- suggests that we can expect no help from the military. With the hyperphone useless, we're completely on our own. I'm pretty sure the interference isn't local.
"Our military field commission was for the purpose of locating and rescuing the mining team on Ultazari-Seven. We have executed that mission -- with negative results -- encountering hostile forces in the process. Further action by us would seem both unwise and unwarranted. To put it simply, there appears to be no one on the planet to rescue." Jashi paused; no one objected.
"Under Federation law, the commander of a military vessel has the right to take independent action as dictated by circumstances, when communication with higher authority is impossible. Under such law, I hereby declare the assigned military mission of the \Klondike\ to be terminated, and further do hereby resign the military field commission of this ship and her crew, effective immediately. How say you?" There was a chorus of "aye's" from around the table. "So declared. Recorded and logged," said Jashi flatly, and got up to switch off the recorder.
(.... "Couldn't have said it better myself, Captain ....") said Karli. (.... "That takes care of the military, now what about us?" ....")
(.... "Next item on the agenda, Kitten ....") Jashi returned to the table. "Our situation at the moment is stable, and we are in no imminent danger; no immediate action is called for. However," he went on reluctantly, "I think we should give some consideration to retrieving our equipment from the surface before we leave this system. There are three sleds and two Uzis down there -- all possibly undamaged, or at least repairable... It may be a long time before we get a chance to replace them."
(.... !!!!!!!?!?!?!?! ....)
"I'm not going back down there!" said Mowii emphatically. "You're nuts!"
(.... "Gotta, Karli... No choice ....") "Should be safe enough. Multiscan recording during the last orbit shows only native animal life, and we'll use ultrasonics just to be safe... Anyway, we have to refuel."
The \Klondike's\ water tanks were only half full; in view of the uncertainty of the situation, it seemed prudent to have on board plenty of fodder for the molecular separator -- the device that split water into hydrogen for the fusion-thrusters and the ship's powerplant, and oxygen for the lifesupport system. "How are we fixed for proto and L-4?"
"Plenty of both," Suu answered.
"Where do you think we should go?" asked Toko.
"Let's go home." suggested Mowii, referring to Summit, even though they hadn't been back there in over two years. "This isn't fun any more!" Rang gave her a dirty look.
"Wish we dared..." Jashi's voice trailed off. He was deeply concerned for his family; they, as well as the parents of both Suu and Toko, resided on Summit. "It's an option, but until we have further info on the situation there, I don't want to make a decision," he finished.
(.... "They can take care of themselves, Jash ....") said Karli comfortingly.
Jashi pushed his concern to the back of his mind; their own predicament required his undivided attention. "Since the hyperphone interference isn't local, it's probably being generated by Estarani weapons on the planets where they're stirring up trouble. Judging from the static they created here during the firefight, the whole galaxy may be blanketed. It's bound to dissipate sooner or later; we're set to scan-and-record -- we'll catch anything that comes thru... Right now I want to know what \this\ is."
He took the silvery sphere from his pocket, and laid it on the table in front of his brother; Karli had fetched it from their cabin as she returned from the infirmary earlier. "I'd forgotten about that!" exclaimed Toko.
Rang stared at Jashi blankly. "Are you asking \me\?" he said.
There had been no opportunity to discuss Rang's adventure since he regained consciousness; Jashi felt now was the time. "It was in your hand when we found you. You mean you don't remember?"
"Found me where?" was Rang's bewildered reply. "The last thing I remember is eating, then feeling restless and agitated."
Suddenly they were all talking at once, each one relating bits and pieces of Rang's surreptitious departure from the ship. His expression became continually more puzzled as the story unfolded.
"You jammed the door sensor so we wouldn't know you were leaving," said Suu.
"You'd been acting \weird\. Scared the life out of me when I saw the replay!" said Mowii.
(.... "She said a mouthful!! ....") observed Karli a bit unkindly.
(.... "Be nice! ....") "We found you unconscious in the south-west dome," Jashi finished the account. "This was in your hand."
*********
Under their continued probing, Rang regained sketchy memories of his departure from the \Klondike\, but could tell them nothing of what had happened to him at the camp site. "I don't even know why I went... I just had too," he finished lamely. Jashi had never seen his brother look so miserable.
"Wish we had a psychoscanner aboard," said Suu.
"How about hypnosis?" suggested Mowii.
"Good idea... if any of us were a hypno-technician," responded Jashi.
"I can... I've done it before," said Mowii.
"Really?"
"We hypnotize each other... for fun, sometimes..." Mowii reddened in obvious embarrassment. "Well, it's no more kinky than you and Karli crawling around inside each other's head!" she snapped, her embarrassment turning to anger.
(.... !!!!!!! .... "Can I hit her, Jash? ....")
"Easy, Sis," said Jashi soothingly. "I didn't mean anything. I just didn't know you knew how. Ever use Mesmeral?" Jashi hoped there was a supply of the deep-hypnotic drug on board.
"Yes... And we have some," responded his brother matter-of-factly. "I vote we try it. What happened to me out there could be important."
"Might be the key to the whole mystery," said Jashi. "Anyway, at this point, any additional knowledge will help."
*********
Two days later, all preparations to leave the Ultazari system were complete. The preceding day, they had retrieved their equipment from the planet's surface, and filled the \Klondike's\ fuel tanks from Ultazari-Seven's crystal-clear ocean. There had been no sign of Estarani -- only dead bodies stripped clean of weapons and gear.
The crashed sled was badly bent, but Toko felt it could be repaired. The other two sleds and Roi's Uzi were undamaged; Rang's Uzi was buried under the wreckage of the collapsed dome, and Jashi had elected not to spend the time necessary to retrieve it.
They'd scanned the canyon every way and backward, but nothing had registered on their equipment. Just to be safe, Jashi fired a long burst from the ship's Carlsons at the spot where the apparition had been, then followed it up with an explosive warhead; the only tangible result had been to produce a rather large crater in the canyon floor, with no indication that anything had been occupying ground zero at the time of detonation. They had landed and retrieved the surveillance unit without incident.
Rang and Jashi stood before the galactic star-chart in the control room. "I just don't know, Jashi," said Rang, touching a point on the display beyond the tip of the spiral arm that included the Ultazari system. "It's got to be right there, but the chart doesn't show anything."
"That's twenty light-years beyond any recorded exploration, Rang. Could be one there that doesn't show." Jashi spoke to the computer, "Calculate the probability of an uncharted star or other body \here\." He touched the point on the chart Rang had indicated.
"An active star is highly unlikely, Captain," answered the computer in its too-pleasant voice. "It would have been observed and recorded from the point of nearest exploration. The probability of a dark body in that area cannot be calculated because of insufficient data. Sorry," it concluded, managing to sound truly apologetic.
*********
Under Mowii's skilled deep hypnotic probing, Rang had been able to recall every detail of his meeting with the Estarani, up to the moment he lost consciousness. From his description of the effects of the Alien's touch, Jashi felt that the creature had been attempting telepathic contact -- in spite of there being no record of Estarani possessing such powers; he had instructed Mowii to continue. On her fourth try, she was successful.
The shiny sphere had been given to Rang by the Estarani, with implanted instructions to take it... Where?
It was urgent! There had been objections from some of the crew -- after all, Estarani had attacked them when they tried to rescue Rang -- but Rang had been adamant. "I'm sure the one I met was friendly," he insisted. "The ones that attacked you were hunting him."
He had convinced his brother, and for the first time in their years together Jashi didn't take a vote. Mowii had sulked in her cabin for the rest of the day.
*********
"How long to the indicated point?" Jashi asked the computer.
"The distance is forty-two light-years, Captain. Given the mass-density of space along the projected course..." The machine paused. "Twenty-eight days, three hours, ten minutes, and thirty-five seconds under optimum hyperdrive to the point you indicated. Two normal-space maneuvers will be required. Do you wish me to transmit the course to the autopilot?"
Jashi looked at Rang; his brother shrugged. "It's your decision, Little Brother. For once, I'm glad you didn't take a vote."
"Transmit and prepare to leave orbit on my command," ordered Jashi. He was convinced it was indeed important, and under the circumstances, it seemed to be as good a place to be as any.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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