The Spindle Station: Book 2 of the Alliance Conflict (24 page)

Solear answered, “Correct. However, there are no traces of an advanced society living on the planet.”

Solear rotated the view of the main planet until what appeared to be the tip of a pyramid came into view. He said, “This is the only structure on the planet that even remotely looks artificial. We scanned it in detail and are relatively sure that it is metallic.”

Solear paused for a moment for dramatic effect and continued, “However, we don’t know if it was created by intelligent design or caused by sand whipping against a deposit of iron ore. The good news though is that the structure seems to be at least 4,000 years old, fitting Solarian legends.”

Clowy asked, “Did the Solarians build the pyramid?”

Solear magnified the image as much as possible, but the increased magnification made the view cloudy. He concluded, “It certainly looks like the tip of an old an Altian inspired energy pyramid. However, we were not able to confirm whether this was the tip of a large pyramid buried in sand or simply just a small structure sitting on the surface.”

Carank asked, “Can we mount an expedition to the surface to investigate?”

Solear said, “No. The radiation would kill both beings and machines long before a spacecraft could reach the surface. We don’t have the technology to confirm or deny.”

Lorano said, “Well. I think it is simple then. We found a planet exactly where Solarian lore said it should be. The planet has an orbit that could have sustained life. Further, we saw tantalizing evidence of the remains of a civilization. I suggest that we announce that we found Old Solaria and be done with it.”

Carank responded, “I agree. It will probably take 1,000 years for someone to invent the technology necessary to actually investigate. By that time our claim will be indisputable.”

Lexxi spoke for the first time. She said, “And we will all be dead by then and really not care what they find.”

Solear laughed and said, “Switching subjects, Clowy what is the status of the ship?”

Clowy responded, “What ship?”

The six weeks Solear had just spent apart from Clowy had certainly helped. He didn’t need to pause or count to 10 this time. He simply responded, “The
Sunflower
.”

Clowy smiled brightly. She said, “All systems are in excellent condition. The emergency life support cryogenic units have now been tested and work properly. The Solarians delivered our new crew of humans. They have been training almost non-stop since we received them.”

Solear responded, “We have a new crew?”

Lorano responded, “Yes, Captain. Victor and Crista Bullpeep delivered an entire new crew from Earth, including 20 new pilots, 5 engineers, 20 crewmembers, and 5 marines.”

Lexxi asked before Solear, “What’s a marine?”

Lorano answered, “I believe that a marine is an advanced fighting unit on Earth; possibly better trained than the rest.”

Carank corrected, “I think you mean the best of the best.” He remembered seeing an Earth television commercial about them.

Lorano continued without acknowledging the comment, “Apparently, they are few in number, but very proud warriors. They can complete missions that others simply cannot.”

Solear asked, “Okay, why do we need them?”

Lorano said, “It appears that the human crewmembers are somewhat less efficient than either their Advranki or Altian counterparts. The humans need the extra 5 crewmembers to bridge the gap and make their performance marginally passable.”

Lorano was basing the observation on his initial assessment of the humans’ performance. He hadn’t actually reviewed any data from the recent simulations. However, he did agree with Clowy’s assessment. When the humans failed, it wouldn’t be from a lack of practice.

Solear asked, “So, what types of simulations are they running?”

Clowy appeared to start saying “What simul…” when Lorano cut her off and said, “I have the full list on my communication pad.” He forwarded the tests to Solear and said, “Basically, they are running every simulation they can think of – from getting to the correct location for battle to swapping the main and secondary power unit.”

Solear asked rhetorically, “Why would anyone want to do that?”

Clowy said, “Do what?”

…Captain Solear, you have an incoming message from Alliance Naval Headquarters…

Solear said, “Play it.”

…Captain Solear, please set course immediately for Conron. The
Sunflower
is going to take part in a taskforce that will confront the Hiriculans and force them to remove their naval presence from what is supposed to be a neutral space station. You will receive further orders later. Best speed, Dolen…

Captain Solear opened his communicator pad, waited until a connection with Jim Donovan had been made, and said, “Jim, have the crewmembers clear all of their items from the station’s main bay. We are leaving on an extended mission within the hour.” Solear closed the connection. He didn’t wait for a response or even an acknowledgement.

Solear turned to Carank and Lorano and said, “I suppose that this is goodbye for now. What are your plans?”

Lorano started to blurt out they had found a new star system and were going to investigate, but stopped himself. Instead, he answered, “We are going to remain here for the next 4 weeks to track the final set of hyperspace charting missiles. After that, I am not sure.”

Carank said, “We will probably get new assignments after we announce that we found Old Solaria.”

Lorano smiled broadly and said, “But first we will take a trip to Solaria. I imagine the Solarians will throw us a celebration. They may even create a monument for us.”

Lorano suddenly realized that in order to be credited with finding a new system, one had to have been the first being physically in the system. Therefore, Solear and Lexxi were technically the beings that had (re)discovered Old Solaria.

Lorano waved his hands to include everyone in the room and amended his last statement to be, “They will create statues for the five of us because we all participated in the discovery.”

Solear smiled at the concept of a statue in his honor and said, “I can’t wait to see it. Lexxi, Clowy, let’s go.”

They walked to the station’s main hangar bay. Solear looked around and was shocked. The bay was completely empty. The missile manufacturing equipment, the crates, the two AAU’s, and the 10 human version MPS’s were gone. Further, the steel sheet rolls and other raw materials were missing. Even the small asteroid had been removed.

Lexxi said, “Wow. The humans took everything. This bay was half full a few minutes ago when we walked through.”

Solear was still looking at the empty bay and didn’t realize that Lexxi had come to an abrupt stop at the entryway from the space station to the
Sunflower’s
main bay. He bumped into her and pushed her slightly forward. The push moved Lexxi forward, but she quickly recovered and got behind Clowy.

Solear looked into the bay and realized why they had stopped. Standing in
Sunflower’s
hangar bay was a perfect single row of humans. Every human on the ship must be there because the line stretched from the opening in the hangar all the way to the caribou corridor.

He had somewhat become accustomed to the two rows of 10 by the pilots, but this was overwhelming. They were all standing perfectly still with their hands behind their backs and their eyes looking forward.

Solear’s first reaction was to gas them, but he knew it wouldn’t work. With the main hangar bay door open and attached to the station, the sleeping gas would dissipate without effect. He realized that in order to reach the bridge, they would have to walk past every single one of them.

Solear stepped forward onto the ship and noted that Jim Donovan was the closest human to him. When he approached, Jim shouted something and all of the humans moved in unison and put their right hands above their eyes. Solear looked at Jim and said, “At Ease”. Jim echoed the command and the group again moved in unison back to their original standing positions.

Solear took a step forward, and then stopped. He noticed that Lexxi and Clowy were still standing in the station. He walked back, shooed them forward and carefully led them past the row of humans. Solear made a concentrated effort not to run.

They walked into the caribou corridor and relative safety. Solear saw that there was only one human remaining. He was standing on the far side of the doorway leading to the bridge. Their luggage was piled neatly beside him.

Solear looked closely at the human, verified it was indeed Ace, and said, “Please follow us onto the bridge.”

Captain Solear deactivated the force field and they dragged the luggage onto the bridge. Ace helped push the last of it on the bridge.

Solear said, “Ace, set course for the Waylon – Uselon hyperspace corridor at .17 light. Engage when ready.”

Ace replied, “Aye Captain, course is set. .17 light. Engaging now.”

An hour later they reached the outskirts of Waylon’s gravity. They were approximately where they had launched the three sets of planet charting missiles. Solear personally entered the coordinates for a micro jump across Waylon.

When they reached the entryway to the Waylon – Uselon corridor, Solear dismissed Ace. He then queried the automated traffic control beacon and received clearance and updated coordinates to Uselon. Solear again entered the coordinates, double checked for accuracy, and ran the appropriate simulation. They jumped to Uselon.

Chapter 12

Approximately an hour into the jump from Waylon to Uselon, Solear became restless. He had been stuck on the small corvette for over a month and really just wanted to go for a walk. However, walking around may prove problematic with humans aboard.

Solear said, “Computer, scan the ship and find the location of every human aboard. Display a schematic of the ship and overlay each human’s location.”

Solear walked closer to the monitor and studied it intently. Just as he had hoped, the humans were spread out around the ship. There were 20 pilots in the fighters and another 16 pilots in their quarters. There were a few humans in engineering and a large concentration in one of the lower maintenance bays. The rest were spread out throughout the ship.

Lexxi walked up to him and said, “What are you doing?”

Solear said, “I am going to walk through the ship and meet some of the new crew members. This looks like a good time because they are spread out. I shouldn’t encounter more than one or two at a time.”

Lexxi responded, “Go ahead; kill yourself. See if I care.”

Solear said, “Thank you for the kind sentiment. I knew you cared about me.”

Lexxi responded, “If you die I will visit the incineration hall once a year and shout expletives at whatever remains the humans don’t devour.”

Solear smiled and said, “Thanks for thinking about me.”

Lexxi gave an impolite hand gesture in response.

Solear continued, “I should be fine. However, monitor my progress and be prepared to gas the area if needed.”

Solear exited the bridge and noted that the force field snapped back into place the moment he crossed the threshold into the main corridor. He was a little concerned that one of these times Lexxi would close it too quickly and cut him in half.

He turned right and walked directly to the engineering control room. Solear saw that there were 4 humans in the room. Three were at control panels and one was fitting the boots, gloves, and helmet onto his smart suit.

One of the humans saw Solear and gave a small shout. The other 3 stopped what they were doing, turned toward the captain, and saluted.

Solear said, “Return to your duties.” Three dropped their right hands and no longer stood stiffly, but only the one dressing returned to his duties. The others just stood there and continued staring at the captain.

Solear looked at the man who was dressing. He had finished with his boots and gloves and was just about to put on his helmet. Solear asked, “Why are you putting on your full suit?”

The human responded, “We are going to run a simulation in a couple of minutes.”

Solear asked, “What are you simulating?”

Another human walked over and said, “Hello Captain, my name is Colin O’Neal. I am the chief engineer. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything from engineering. This is Becky, Ben, and Mike. John, the 5
^th
engineer, is currently elsewhere.” Colin pointed to each one as he spoke their names.

Solear looked closely at each of them as they were being introduced and saw that one of them was female. He hadn’t noticed that there were female crew members when he had boarded. Of course, he had been distracted by seeing everyone in a line and hadn’t inspected each one. The female was shorter than the other males, but still taller than him.

All of the pilots from the first batch had been male, so Solear had somehow expected all of the humans to be male. Clearly, that was not the case though. He briefly wondered if there was some human rule preventing females from becoming fighter pilots. He made a mental note to ask Jim Donovan.

Solear suddenly realized that his question hadn’t actually been answered, so he said, “Nice to meet each of you. Can you tell me about the upcoming simulation?”

Colin replied, “We are testing our ability to switch to secondary power in the event of a catastrophic loss of primary power.”

Solear remembered Lorano mentioning this one. He said, “Losing primary power in a catastrophic manner would generally imply that the ship was lost.”

Colin replied, “In many scenarios I suppose you are correct. However, it is certainly possible to lose the main power reactor and still have the ship relatively intact. If the possibility exists, we want to be ready for it.”

Solear wasn’t convinced. However, he kept his opinions to himself. He said, “What does this particular test entail?”

Colin said, “The overall conversion involves disconnecting the trunk line from the primary generator, dragging it 44 meters across the deck, and reconnecting it. We also have to rewire the power relays to allow the energy to flow from the other direction. This simulation will test our ability to do so.”