SODIUM:6 Defiance (10 page)

When our Cesium supply had dropped to 60% we set course for home. We would do a slow pass of 17 stars as our last attempt at gathering information for the current mission. On the three newly discovered worlds we had cataloged seven new low-order species, species that were in the initial stages of civilization, species in the initial stages of survival.

We had passed twelve stars systems with no signs of life before we came to a small orange star with a single planet. We named it Mika after our engineer. Mika had 40% surface water, high mountain peaks and dense jungles. It was also emanating radio signals at frequencies similar to those used in Earth's later civilizations.

As we approached the planet great cities came into view through the smog filled hazy skies that surrounded them. Smoke chugged from factory stacks as large gears and piping turned and twisted in every direction. It was a steam punker's dream come true. Vast fields of farms surrounded the industrial cities. Thick sea-level jungles turned into sparse forests as elevations moved to the highlands.

The setting orange sun glowed red through the smog as we came through the atmosphere. Great steam powered flying machines moved travelers from one city to another. A quick scan revealed a super-heated source on the plane that provided the energy for steam conversion and propeller flight.

The 12 large cities spread across the planet looked to be at peace with each other as no signs of a military were present. The tall thin red bipeds that inhabited Mika were a sporting people as any number of stadiums and arenas dotted the city's blocks. Row housing surrounded the factory areas which then fed into shopping districts, much like the evolution of cities we had seen on Earth.

The radio signals that emanated from the planet were evidence of a society only on the verge of making use of electricity. Mika marveled at some of the massive geared devices that could be seen scattered around the cities. Everything was powered by mechanicals, giant gears turned as long shafts spun.

After a week of observation of the cities we moved out over the great agricultural fields to the highlands. We stopped for only a moment to view a river the size of the Mississippi flowing over a waterfall. I wondered why the natives had not harnessed its power for their mechanical use. Scans then revealed a stone substructure at the base of the falls. I reasoned that perhaps an attempt had been made at its use with some catastrophic event bringing the venture to an end. With nothing else to see we lifted off into orbit before pushing the throttle full.

The next star system had no planets, but it had a space station in a position aside a large asteroid. There was evidence of mining activity on the large rock. We drifted in close to get a scan of the asteroids make-up; s the data began to come back our reactor sputtered and shut down. Mika immediately got to work diagnosing the problem. The Cesium cooling system had shut down and the two backup systems had failed.

Within minutes our now visible ship was being held in a static field box. Betty's VRM slumped over as its QE link was lost. It seemed the species aboard the station was advance enough to have the static field technology. They were a species that did not have a presence on the doors at DaCuban; that is unless they were one of the species whose identities had been warn away from the top of the doors.

As our ship was pulled towards the station Mika attempted to light off a small Sodium reactor we had on-board. He hoped to power a static field window long enough for our ship to slip outside the box. From there, it was hoped that our active skin could be brought online, once again making us invisible.

We soon found out the reactor did not have adequate power for a large enough window. A backup plan was quickly hatched where each of us would leave the ship, floating through the static window and out into space, hidden by our BGS suits. We would then micro-burst and attempt to drift onto the space station. From there we would work on regaining our ship and attaining our freedom.

After quietly slipping through the static window I sent a delayed command to the Jacques. The static window closed as the power was switched to the active Sodium skin. Just as the Jacques vanished a second larger static box was brought online once again trapping us inside.

Our desperate plan had backfired. Our ship had been separated from us and we were again captives. The static fields were pulled to the station where a port opened into an expansive chamber. We sat in the blackness of the static box, unable to communicate over our QE comm links, not wanting to risk broadcasting a radio signal to each other.

The species that held us captive had patience. They waited... waited months until our power packs expired and our BGS suits went inactive. We were then introduced to the Nefarians, a species of nomadic explorers whose goal was to travel the stars gathering information from other beings. Several months later the Sodium supply on the Jacques expired, leaving it to their prying eyes.

We were removed from our suits and questioned as to who we were and where we were from. They had their methods of making you talk and I soon told them almost everything. I told of Earth's struggle and then triumph. I told of worlds being destroyed. I told of the Frekkin, the Ogle and of the planet DaCuban. Their scientists were fascinated with every detail.

For ten years we were held captive as the Nefarians worked to replicate our technologies. I was sitting in my cell, listening to Hershen tell a story, when the chief scientist among them paid us a visit. We were being released.

The Nefarians were satisfied that they had gathered everything they could from us and our ship. We would be assisted in getting back into our suits and would then be allowed to board our ship and depart. The coolant system on the Jacques had been repaired... we were free to go.

They had tried to no end to replicate the QE comm link technology but had been unsuccessful in every attempt. It was the only technology we possessed that they could not master, but they had patience. Our audio implants had been retained for further study. Our comm link to home was no more.

We lifted off and instead of Earth I headed towards Meyer to see my old friend Kurg. The Gidden ambassador was happy to see that I was still alive. The AMP had only strengthened during our time in captivity. The Gidden labs swept our bodies, BGS suits and the Jacques for tracking devices, but none were found. We had indeed been set free.

As we prepared to leave for Earth, Kurg handed us a QE comm device with a connection to AMP Command. I contacted Earth and received a warm welcome. They were glad we were coming home. Many things had changed since our capture. All would be explained when we arrived. I thanked Kurg for his assistance and generosity and we lifted off towards home. As I pushed the throttle to full the Jacques accelerated.

The following day we dropped thru light speed on our approach to Earth. Chaos ensued. Five Ogle ships were in battle with our fleets. We came to a full stop near the orbit of Mars as the battle raged. An Ogle ship then turned in our direction.

I pushed the throttle in full reverse and in an instant our ship passed through the heliosphere. We were safe, but the fleet was not faring well. The powerful Ogle particle beams cut through our fighters with ease and pushed our larger ship's shields to the max. As two of the Ogle ships joined together, and then a third, I knew our fleet's time was coming to an end.

I did a scan of the battlefield and was surprised that only two of our fleets had engaged. The 3rd and the 12th were giving everything they had for the protection of Earth. Before I could establish a QE comm connection to AMP Command the link went silent as a beam sliced down through Earth's atmosphere and obliterated much of the airfield near Savannah where the other end of my QE link resided.

The Ogle particle beam cut deep into the Earth, melting or disintegrating nearly everything in its path. As the battle raged, and the 3rd and 12th fleets were ravaged, the Ogle ships deployed the long cylinders. Seconds later, the 6th and 8th fleets arrived and destroyed the CME initiator cylinders before they could do their damage. Just as quickly as the two fleets had appeared, they were gone.

As the Ogle finished off the last ships of the 12th fleet I was startled as the Earth and Moon just disappeared. The Ogle ship went silent for several minutes while assessing the situation. After the final two of the five Ogle ships had joined together they initiated a full particle beam fire, directed towards the space that Earth and the Moon had previously occupied.

The beam was captured by the active Sodium skin surrounding the planet before being passed around and emitted on the other side. From the Ogle's perspective the beam had not encountered anything of substance. It was as if the Earth and Moon had vanished.

Several minutes passed before the Ogle ship once again blasted the space that Earth had previously occupied. This time however, there was a small residual glow at the point where the beam first came in contact with the shield, a glow that told the Ogle that Earth was still there.

We moved back to a position just inside the asteroid belt where we could easily blend in. Our signature was small, but easily detected in open space. With the cover of the asteroids we would be difficult to detect, but not impossible.

The Ogle ship continued its assault of the Earth shield and was soon refining the beams frequency and duration. The once continuous beam was now pulsating, the burst power levels far exceeding the original. It was not long before the great shield of Earth was being overwhelmed.

When the first section failed the surrounding sections quickly buckled. A wide gap soon opened, exposing a vulnerable Earth below. I expected the following beams to begin the obliteration of my world, but the Ogle ships went silent.

Several minutes passed before they began a new strategy. Thousands of smaller Ogle ships emerged from the combined five and screamed down through the shield gap to the planet below. The first several dozen were immediately pulverized by the ground defenses but the Ogle numbers were too great. A number of ships soon landed within the populated areas and began to take any encountered humans as captive.

I looked at Hershen and made a command decision. He and I would attempt to drift onto the Ogle ships and begin a campaign of destruction. We did not have the firepower to take on the ships themselves, but we were unmatched when it came to hand-to-hand combat. The Ogle would rue the day they had invaded my planet.

I had Mika pilot the Jacques towards the Ogle ships. Hershen and I then slipped out the back and began our half hour drift towards our nemesis. With luck, we would arrive undetected where we would begin our reign of terror. I was eager to get in the fight.

Two hours after the beginning of the raid the small Ogle ships were departing the atmosphere. As they docked with the larger ones we silently drifted aboard the fourth of the five Ogle vessels. We dropped our shielding to the minimum invisible setting allowing us to interact with the ships gravity. When we came to rest we were in a storage room.

In an instant the Ogle ships split apart and vanished one by one. The ship we had invaded shuddered and our helmet sensors quickly lost all perspective. We were moving under whatever mechanism the Ogle employed, but we had no idea to where.

We began a systematic search of their ship. We began by doing a micro-burst in the direction of the port where the smaller ships had docked. We passed through numerous bulkheads, hangars and storage compartments before coming into the docking bay where our fellow humans were being unloaded. A quick count placed the number of abductees at 18.

The Ogle troops that surrounded them looked formidable, but slightly smaller in frame than me. As we watched it became apparent that the humans did not seem to be afraid. I found it strange that they seemed altogether defiant. They were captive aboard an alien vessel and outgunned, and yet they showed no fear. I had a sudden rush of pride in my people as they faced almost certain death from the species that held them captive, they were humans and they were standing strong.

Seconds later an Ogle guard got in close to one of the captives. It screamed some high pitched obscenity at the human and then reached out and slapped its face. The Ogle was not prepared for the reaction. The human, who had no doubt spent many years in his BGS, returned an uppercut punch to the cat-like creature. His fist, first breaking through the skin under the jaw, and then pushing upwards into the cat's brain. The Ogle trooper dropped to the hangar floor... dead.

A blaster weapon was quickly turned on the human, blowing him backwards into another Ogle guard, both fell to the floor. As a last gesture of defiance the human reached out and grasped the fallen Ogle's windpipe before the next shot severed his arm. But it was too late for the fallen Ogle as the human had accomplished his task.

A static box was then placed around the remaining 17 captives as an Ogle commander screeched orders. His troopers moved back from the box and took up defensive positions. I found it curious that the captives showed little emotion during the assault. They each maintained their stance in a defiant manner, as if ready to defend themselves should they be attacked. I could only imagine what use the Ogle had in store for them as being captive was neither a mental or physical picnic.

For five days Hershen and I waited and watched. We took the time to explore the surroundings with the hopes of gaining some advantage. Our raid aboard the Ogle ship now seemed like a decision that was made in haste. But it was a decision we had to live with. On the sixth day we were rewarded with new insights into the Ogle's plans.

When the Ogle ships came to a stop they were in orbit around the planet DaCuban. The human captives were once again loaded onto the smaller Ogle transport. Hershen and I took the opportunity to micro-burst aboard the smaller ship with them. Minutes later we were setting down on the surface just in front of the great doors.

A second Ogle transport was parked and waiting when we arrived. We drifted just outside the ship and took up a position on the surface with a full field of view. The doors of the second ship opened and a parade of beings that had been captured from the Frekkin began to emerge. They were pushed and prodded into their specific locations on the surface before the great doors.

As each being stretched out and touched the crystal before them the great doors began to slide back. When the human clone was forced down upon the human crystal it began to glow, but the doors did not move. An Ogle officer strode over to the human, aimed a weapon at its head and then gestured for it to rise. The Ogle then began to move its arms in a manner that could only be interpreted to mean "move back."

My clone stepped backwards until the Ogle stopped it just short of the cliff's edge. The first of the human captives was then brought forth from the second transport. She, like the others, was pushed and prodded into position over the human figure. She was then turned towards my clone by the screeching Ogle officer. After a short rant, a bolt of energy was released from his weapon; it struck my clone square in the chest. I winced as the ribcage of my exact replica blew open as it fell backwards over the cliff's edge.

The second human was then forced to kneel and touch the human crystal. Again the crystal glowed, but the great doors did not move. The Ogle officer went into a wild rant, raising the human to her feet and then pushing her backwards towards the cliff's edge. The cycle was then repeated until only four humans remained.

The Ogle forced them as a group to kneel and touch the crystal and again the door did not move. I again winced as the four captives were summarily executed. The remaining species were loaded back onto the Ogle transport as the officer stamped around on the surface, bristling his fur and screeching at his troopers.

I was unsure of why the great doors had not moved for the human captives. I had guessed that the doors had not moved for my clone or I because of my changed DNA. But these were humans, taken directly from Earth. I wondered why they were unable to command the alien artifact. Had our DNA somehow evolved to the point of not being recognized? I was unsure of how to interpret what I had just seen.

As the Ogle officer moved towards his ship, Hershen and I took the opportunity to slip aboard with him. The doors closed and the Ogle transport rocketed back through the atmosphere to dock with its mother-ship. The giant Ogle vessel then shuddered and in the blink of an eye we were again moving through space at far above light speed.

Hershen and I settled in a little used storage locker. It was the first day in six that I had been able to see or verbally communicate with my friend. The small proximity sensor in our suits was the only way each of us had known the other was still there. When I had moved, Hershen followed after. It was a routine we were both familiar with.

As we sat we immediately began our discussions. Why had the captured humans failed to move the great doors? And why had the Ogle abandoned their assault of our planet when it was there, shield broken and ready to be destroyed? We came up with many theories, but none took hold. After several hours of confused discussion the decision was made to begin a full exploration of the Ogle vessel.

If the Ogle ships were headed back to Earth, and if we could uncover vulnerability, Earth might have a chance at survival. When the sixth day of flight had come and gone it became apparent that Earth was not our next destination. We continued to push on with our exploration of the Ogle vessel. We took many chances as we jumped from room to room, but the Ogle troops seemed secure on their ship and our transgressions went unnoticed.

The interior of the Ogle vessel was jet black. All rooms were arranged with open spaces between them. A narrow plastic-like bar that stretched from one room to another was all that was available for walking. Numerous bars went across to the next room as well as down to the rooms below.

The Ogle were nimble creatures with fantastic balance. When two Ogle encountered each other on a bar, one would simply hop over the other as if it was not there. I was reminded of the stray cats that had at one time walked the fence-tops of my Grandfather's farm. They moved about as if walking on solid ground.

As we moved from room to room we came across a mess-hall for the Ogle troops. A disgusting pink paste was extruded onto a conveyor belt of sorts and the Ogle soldiers took turns pushing each other out of the way to get their share of the meal. When a cat was satisfied it moved away from the line, curled up and took a nap. Other than the constant den of screeches and howls by those plying for food, the Ogle took on a more friendly appearance when fed.

Our next stop was a weapons bay where a glowing blue tube filled one wall. It was a particle beam, constantly running, constantly at the ready. I wondered what havoc a well-placed gravity pulse might do to the surrounding ship. It was a suicide move that Hershen and I would store away for possible future use.

The next large room we entered was quickly determined to be a mating room. Hundreds of cats were engaged in behavior that on one hand had me wanting to blush while on the other to bust out laughing. I had a strong urge to turn a garden hose on the lot of them. Hershen then pointed out that the Ogle were the only species besides humans that mated the old fashioned way. It was not however, a commonality that would bring our species closer together.

On the 14th day the Ogle ship again shuddered as it came to a stop. We micro-burst our way to the nearest exterior bulkhead and then slipped into the empty space beyond. There, fully in our view, was the Ogle home world. I quickly took a scan of the surrounding stars and within seconds my helmet computer gave an estimate of 1982 light years from Earth, smack in the middle of the M25 open star cluster.

The Ogle world was black with millions if not billions of tiny surface lights glowing. It had a yellow sun that was similar in size to that of Earth's own. Hundreds of stations dotted the space surrounding the Ogle planet and hundreds of the large Ogle ships were docked at them. It was a force that could easily destroy any fleet that Earth could muster.

The five Ogle ships then separated and docked with the nearest station. We slowly drifted aboard and began to poke around. The stations were immense and we could only guess that each contained hundreds of millions of Ogle citizens. Other than the feeding frenzy we had been witness to on our journey, the Ogle seemed to be a much disciplined species. We had yet to see a single argument begin or a single disciplinary action taken. Everyone knew their place and how to do their job.

As we slowly moved from room to room our helmet computers quickly chimed up a message. They had gathered enough information from our journey to make an informed attempt at understanding the Ogle language. I gave the mental command to start the translations and was soon rewarded with our first interpretation of a conversation between two Ogle.