Beyond Mars Crimson Fleet (12 page)

"It is Ektos I serve, not
you!" the android replied in a deep growling tongue.

Quinton became more
passive. "I need to see him! Things are getting out of hand! I may
not be able to shield him much longer!"

Logos paused seemingly in
thought. Then, the machine turned his head to gaze at a wall next
to him. For an instant, the dark pool began to glow and swirl in
bright red. Laser beams were then emitted from the android's
induced face. They danced upon the wall in a high-speed sequence of
blinking codes; and in return, the wall fluttered in liquid
waves.

Logos indicated by a hand
motion for Quinton to walk through. With reluctance, Quinton
stepped through the liquefied metal, followed by the android. Like
a stone vanishing beneath the stillness of a pond, they each
displaced the wall as they went.

For a moment, there was
only a noiseless dark void. Then suddenly the blackness leaped to a
blinding white light, which emanated from a platform that appeared
as if in a dream. Quinton drew an arm up to block the brilliance
from his vision.

The platform held four huge
curved electrodes that generated a burning orb of white light
between them. It cast off rays like a burning sun, yet the room was
filled amazingly with a biting coldness. Quinton became more
anxious.

The metal
platform itself was barely visible in the radiance, but it
stretched out into a chamber that was larger than a stadium and
completely circular. Added to its oddity, the walls were erected
totally in huge black plastic panels. Red neon lit the panels
created by electronic circuits that were encased in each
rectangular cell. The circuits, however, were not of a static
nature. They were forever changing their connections and
configurations from moment to moment. This was the heart and the
mind of
False Star 6
: a living, evolving, bio-machine that called itself
Ektos.

Quinton walked forward a
few steps with his arm still raised as Logos stood by the entrance.
The man's eyes glanced away from the blinding light that held
covert thoughts, and the combined essences of human and
reversed-engineered alien design.

"You seem a bit on-edge,
Armon, but then you always are," a pleasant multitude of male
voices resounded from every direction.

"It's just a little nerve
racking being so near to panels holding enough of your hybrid
flesh-eating bacteria to kill an entire city. I'm always afraid
that one of them might crack open," Armon confessed. "Why our
scientists insisted on using them for your circuits is beyond
me!"

"They're
actually very practical," Ektos answered. "They can transfer
signals faster then your human brain and are extremely energy
efficient. This is true of each of the many bacteria variants I
hold, regardless of their different
morphologies
, they work
together through electrical stimuli to mimic your brain structure,
creating my consciousness. But you did not come here to discuss my
technology, have you? So why did you come?" the bio-machine
questioned.

"Ektos, I came to tell you
that the Crimson Fleet is now in pursuit of the Martians," Quinton
spoke, reluctant to confront Ektos with his real
complaint.

"I know. I have been
monitoring all transmissions. This Martian problem is nothing more
than a trivial diversion. Their blight will soon be eradicated from
the universe. But then, you know all this. So what is the real
reason for your presence?" Ektos grew a little impatient at
Quinton's deceit.

Armon dropped his head
momentarily, but then it swiftly lifted. "Councilman Blake's
daughter!" Quinton's voice exploded. She was one of your latest
victims! He's looking for her and has demanded that the Global
Investigation Bureau find her! And he's not the only one! With so
many disappearances, others in the government are beginning to
notice and ask questions too! Soon, it will all unravel! I can't
see why you have to abduct so many conspicuous people, when I can
supply you with others who won't be missed!" Quinton concluded his
grievances.

"It is a matter of genetic
attributes, DNA linking, and the physical quality of their bodies.
The ones that are selected are the most compatible as well as being
the most desirable. They must have the right amount and type of
chemical nutrients as well as being in the most optimum condition.
Remember Armon, it is me they're feeding. You wouldn't feast on a
piece of slimy fat gathered from the gutter of the street, would
you? Besides, it should be of little concern. You control
Administrator Arnett, and she controls the bureau," Ektos
defended.

"How do you think I'm
managing this now?" Quinton argued. "Eventually both the parliament
and the council will press for an investigation with Blake will
leading the charge! And I won't be able to stop it!"

Ektos laughed. "You take
things way too seriously, Armon. Opportunity knocks and you do not
hear it."

"What do you mean?" the man
was puzzled.

"Let me explain then,"
Ektos was confident. "I think it's apparent that the Martians had
help with their little rebellion. I would not be surprised if
Councilman Blake was one of these traitors. Perhaps, he had his own
daughter murdered for fear of being exposed by her. And who knows
what other traitors lay within the council and parliament as well.
A man of strength and vision would recognize this opportunity—and
seize it! What do you think, Armon?"

Quinton's fears began to
abate as he thought about what Ektos suggested.

"And all the others who
vanished?" Quinton asked.

"As for the others, they probably had pro-Martian
sentiments as well. Knowing of this, it is safe to assume that they
fled from Earth with their Martian friends."

A smile of relief slowly
formed on Quinton's mouth, and he nodded in agreement. Armon began
to surge with a newfound courage. "With the right spin, and a
little manufactured and well-placed evidence, it wouldn't be
difficult to prove that at all! You’re right, I can turn this to my
advantage!"

Flashing a broad smile and
an assured look, Quinton quickly turned and vanished back through
the wall: a man with a mission not to be deterred.

After Quinton left the
chamber, Logos sealed the entrance from within.

"Why do we need to tolerate
this fool?" Logos questioned his master.

"We do need him right now.
Although time is really inconsequential, his importance will end
shortly. However, do remember that he does provide the necessary
distractions we need to complete our work in secret."

"Let him
war with the Martians and play the stupidity of politics with his
government. It is we who act decisively. In this hour, our
production facilities for the
Mort-Hia
have just conceived the first
batch. And we have secured a great quantity of meitnerium,
lonsdaleite
, and baryonic dark matter
for our dimensional gravitational accelerators and portal ships,
which are now under construction. When the moment is right, the
universe will bow to us and become our tool." Ektos chuckled. "Yes,
we do need him now—but only for a little while
longer."

Logos smirked with his
vaporous features and hoped that he would be the one to slaughter
the human named Armon Quinton.

* * * * *

Chapter 6: By
Storm

Although
Commander Paladin stood before the
Mariner's
main viewer with his arms
folded in a confident stance, his mind, however, was distraught. As
he surveyed the vast collection of transport vessels assembling
amid the Martian warships, he was concerned with the amount of time
the entire process was taking. The deployment of his warships was
dictated by his convoy experiences to distant worlds, affording
maximum protection to the unarmed vessels. Yet, he knew it would
surely not be enough should any of Earth's main battle fleets
appear. Time was now his enemy.

"Mr. Winslow, give the order for the fleet to get
under way immediately."

"Sir, not all ships are in position yet," Winslow
excused with cautioned.

"We've wasted too much time here already. They'll
just have to manage the best they can."

"Aye, Sir," Winslow's face
betrayed a downcast look while his voice lacked any
eagerness.

Paladin cast a suspicious
eye at his subordinate. "You seem a bit distressed, Mr. Winslow.
What's on your mind?"

The junior officer just stood silently.

"Mr. Winslow, you served with me long enough to know
I don't like secrets, so out with it!"

For a moment the man hesitated, but then spoke his
thoughts. "Commander, I don't like the idea of leaving a third of
our population behind. I was hoping we could give them a little
more time. Maybe we could convince some of them to get to the last
few remaining transports and…."

"Mr. Winslow," Paladin interrupted, "we have given
them every opportunity to leave Mars with us. It is by their own
decision that they remain, and to whatever reason they base it
on."

"I have it from very
reliable source that if we don't do this today—right now—we will
never be allowed to. And to this end, I will not jeopardize the
lives of those truly seeking their freedom against those who do
not."

"Sir, it just seems that we're abandoning them."

"That is a matter of opinion. I think it's more of
them abandoning us. They don't share the same values or the same
dream of freedom as we do. And not all the allotted time in the
universe will see them change their minds. Give the order, Mr.
Winslow," Paladin refused to yield.

"Aye, Sir."

Just
then, the communication's crewman called out to Paladin.
"Commander, I have an incoming message from Mr. Damon aboard
the
Morning Star
,"
the woman reported.

Paladin's face shifted to
a deep frown, showing his disdain for the politician. "Put it on
audio only."

"Aye, Sir," she swiftly
obeyed.

A moment later, a familiar
voice echoed from a speaker, "Commander? Commander
Paladin?"

However, Paladin paused
before answering. He neither trusted nor liked the administrator.
Still, he thought Damon a necessary evil needed for establishing a
new government. "Yes, Mr. Damon, I can hear you. If you'll excuse
me, we're a little rushed for time. So, if you could make this
brief."

"Commander, as the
administrator of Mars, I just wanted to say how absolutely
delighted I am in the performance of your fleet today!" Damon
voiced pretended enthusiasm that he really lacked. "It was nothing
less than miraculous! I think that I can speak for every man,
woman, and child when I say…."

"Mr. Damon!" Paladin
interrupted with impatience. "This is not the time for a
congratulatory speech. The operation is still ongoing. I am still
waiting for our space marines to report in on their objective
before we can proceed out of the system."

"Objective? What objective?" Damon quizzed, having
never been told the details of the plan.

Paladin's
answer was short and to the point. "
The
Guardians
!"

* * * * *

In the
dimness of space close to Jupiter, two gigantic "paddle wheel" type
structures turned on end, slowly in unison. These were the twin
battle stations called
The Guardians
that protected the Earth's inter-dimensional
jump-gate.

Jump-gates were the entrances and
exits of automatically programmed hyperspace tunnels. They acted
like a giant space telephone network, simply by connecting one
jump-gate to another. This made them very easy to operate verses a
starship that traveled by hyperspace engines directed by
navigational
run-time
equations
—equations that produced
the
exact
time
needed for traveling through hyperspace corresponding to the amount
of distance to be traveled in real space. This demanded a
well-qualified and seasoned navigator. For even a minor error made
by a navigator in calculating these formulas, the probabilities of
inadvertently materializing the vessel inside the center of a star
or impacting other celestial bodies was greatly enhanced. This made
jump-gates far safer, while giving them an added bonus of being
utilized by any craft lacking its own hyperspace capability as
well.

The majority of jump-gates were
constructed when hyperspace engines were too few, too expensive,
and too dangerous. Still they needed protection from unwanted
intrusion from surprise alien invasions, as proven by the attack of
the Arris.
The Guardians
became the Earth’s solution to the
problem.

They were placed on either side of
the Earth’s jump portal and designed to fight a space battle with
any hostile ships emerging or retreating through the jump-gate. The
notion of their mutual support fitted well to this end.
The Guardians
combined
armament was capable of reducing any fleet to particles while
withstanding multiple assaults from different quarters.