AMP Siege (5 page)

The lieutenant spoke. "Comm coming online, Sir. Attempting to hail the Gonta ship."

The Captain turned towards the view-screen as an image of a Gonta officer flashed into view.

The lieutenant continued. "We have a link, Sir. Audio is up."

The Gonta officer spoke. "Unauthorized vessel. This is the Gonta ship
Jaarke
. You are in violation of Gonta space. Power down weapons immediately and prepare to be boarded."

The Captain replied, "
Jaarke
, this is the Human exploration ship
Granger
. We are only here for peaceful research purposes. Any crossing of your borders was completely unintentional. If allowed to proceed, we will peacefully withdraw from your territories."

The Gonta officer replied with a stern voice, "That is a negative,
Granger
. Prepare for boarding. If it is determined that your mission is as you say, a hearing will be conducted to determine if you are allowed to leave. At this time, consider yourselves trespassers against our space. Again, power down all weapons and prepare to be boarded."

A second, undoubtedly higher-ranking officer stepped in behind the Gonta spokesman.

The lieutenant spoke. "Sir, we have two firewalls down on the core. We will have program breach within two minutes unless we shut down again."

I turned to Rodriguez. "Are we ready to move?"

Rodriguez replied, "Just say when, Sir."

Hobbs spoke. "Sir, their weapons are powering down!"

The Gonta officer typed furiously at a keyboard on the console in front of him. "I am sorry, Sir! Weapons are not responding! Engineering is not responding. We have lost all comm with... everyone, Sir."

The senior Gonta leaned in towards the bridge camera. "Humans! If this is of your doing, consider it an act of war against the Gonta Federation. A thousand ships will have you begging to live within the hour!"

I replied, "You have my sympathies, ah, Sir. If what I am guessing has happened is true, you are now infected with the same smart virus that has been plaguing us. I would advise that you isolate all systems that have not yet been..."

The lieutenant spoke. "Sir, we have lost comm connection. It is being blocked on our end. The core will be corrupted in about fifteen seconds, Sir. Should I shut the comm down?"

I huffed as I sat back in my chair. "Shut it down! We can't risk any further contamination. If the core goes, we lose manual control too."

The view-screen flickered as the image of the Gonta officers faded and the asteroid impact came full screen.

The Captain spoke. "Lieutenant. How long before we can make use of that comm again?"

The lieutenant replied, "Last time it took us four or five minutes to recover, Sir. I believe we can do it in two this time around. But, if you are planning to do this again, Sir, do a short burst of comm and then shut down again. You should know that the hacks that program has been using are getting smarter."

I turned and spoke. "What is it you are saying, Lieutenant? Can we use the comm if needed?"

The lieutenant replied, "We can, Sir. However, we will have under a minute before the core firewalls fall this time. That program is learning, Sir."

Major Hobbs spoke. "The second Gonta ship has come to a stop. Looks like the infection has spread to that ship as well. I would advise against powering up that comm again, Sir. If the main core goes, we are at the mercy of this virus. As it sits right now, we can turn and leave at any time."

The Captain turned to face me. "Mr. Grange. Hobbs is right. We can turn and leave, but we need those harvesters free first."

The Captain continued, "Major Hobbs, what is the status of the harvesters? Are they still surrounded by Targs?"

The commander replied, "The Targs have moved to investigate the asteroid impact. Only a handful remain. And Captain, since the Gontas already know we are here, those harvesters should just pull up and leave. They no longer need to hide."

The Captain thought for a moment. "Lieutenant, power up that comm and tell those harvesters to scram. Then shut it down. Ready a message to broadcast, and cut the comm once it's sent. If we detect the harvesters moving out, we can head out ourselves."

The lieutenant replied, "Uh, Sir. We can't comm to the harvesters without risking their infection. I believe we do have an option though, Sir. If we get the
Granger
in close enough, we could send a comm from an arm pad. Those have yet to be infected; they just won't send a signal more than a few thousand kilometers."

I spoke. "Wait! Set us down on the surface about ten kilometers from those holes. Let's draw the Targs off the harvesters so they can slip away peacefully. We can't afford them taking damage from one of those Targ mini cannons. They aren't equipped for war."

Rodriguez replied, "On it, Sir. But, what do we do with these two Gonta ships?"

I looked at the view-screen. "We ignore them for now. They aren't going anywhere."

As we sped past the second Gonta ship on the way to the surface, I could not help but wonder about how it was that we had once again escaped the clutches of a superior force. Was it that Humans themselves were superior to these other species? Were we that good, or were we just that lucky? As the
Granger
touched down on Targ, the thoughts dropped to the back of my mind.

Major Hobbs spoke. "Sir, we have incoming fire from the Targs. It doesn't look like they can do any damage with what they are currently using. Do we sit and take fire, or should I give them a few warning shots?"

I replied, "That's a negative, Commander. We aren't here to make enemies. We just want those harvesters home, that's all. Heck, how could you blast any of those furry little critters anyway? They are too cute and cuddly for that. Don't you just want to pick them up and pet them?"

I looked around the bridge to a dozen-odd stares.

I spoke. "What? Are you people heartless?"

The Captain replied, "I think most of us still have the image of how they savaged their own after that forced war they had, Mr. Grange. That was not normal."

I again looked around the room. "The key words there are 'forced war.' OK, forget it. You people are all whacked."

A message was delivered, and the harvesters soon emerged from the drill holes they had dug. Once they were safely away, our attentions were turned towards our own escape.

The Captain spoke. "Miss Rodriguez, take us home!"

I again spoke out. "Wait! What are we going to do about these Gonta ships? We may not get another opportunity to interact with them like we have right now."

The lieutenant spoke. "Sirs, I believe we have another problem. The arm pad that was used to signal the harvesters is infected. That can only mean the harvesters themselves were already infected. They had open comms from the Grid. I believe we are not going to receive any help by going home, Sirs. They may be in worse shape than we are."

I turned to the Captain. "I believe we have an opportunity staring us in the face, Captain. Take us back to the first Gonta ship, and let's see if we can figure out a way to communicate. Can we configure one of the landing lasers to pass a comm signal? Lieutenant, is that viable?"

The lieutenant replied, "I will have an answer for you before we arrive at the Gonta ship, Sir. Brilliant idea, Sir."

I nodded to myself in approval, as my ideas were not generally considered brilliant. "York, get a squad together. If I can arrange it, I want to take a small team over to their ship for a chat. That is, if they will have us."

York replied, "Consider it done, Sir, but don't you think the Gontas already think of us as enemies? We attacked one of their planets with an asteroid and infected two of their ships with a virus. If I was them, I would not be eager to make friends right now."

I grinned. "We will be entering into discussions from a position of power, York. I am counting on them being unhappy with the current situation. We may have to do a few uncomfortable things to gain their trust."

York replied, "Uncomfortable things, Sir? What do you have in mind?"

I turned to the Captain. "Captain, I am going to need to borrow the lieutenant for this. We are going to go over to their ship, unarmed. And the lieutenant is going to try to assist them in stopping this virus."

The lieutenant raised his hand. "Uh, Sir, I wouldn't know where to begin with a Gonta system, Sir. I'm not sure what help I could be."

I sat down in my chair as I looked at the Gonta ship on the screen. "You were able to stop the spread on our systems using isolation, Lieutenant. Just use those same techniques with their counterpart. If we can get at least a few of their systems online, we might be able to win their trust."

Frost spoke. "I don't know, Mr. Grange. Aren't they going to be suspicious that we unleashed this on them on purpose?"

I replied, "Yes they are, Frost. That is why I want the lieutenant to concentrate on isolating their weapons system first. They will be a lot more willing to discuss things if they know they can blast us."

The lieutenant spoke. "Sir, can I take back that ‘brilliant’ remark?"

Again, I grinned. "Too late, Lieutenant! You started this ball rolling. If they let us aboard, just do your best to get their systems back up. The last thing we need is for the Durians to be in control of the Gontas and the Grid."

We were soon parked in front of the Gonta ship. The lieutenant had delivered on his promise. In addition, he had reconfigured a landing laser to broadcast a message to the Gontas.

This is the Human ship
Granger.
We are not hostile. The infection of your ship's computer systems was unintentional. Our own systems are mostly offline. We would like to offer any assistance that we can, as this infection is from an enemy of ours. We are willing to send over an unarmed party to assist and to discuss relations. If so desired, to build trust, you may send over an armed group for an inspection of our vessel and an initial meeting. We will be waiting for a visual reply in the manner that this message was sent.

Five minutes passed before the sensor officer spoke. "We have a return message, Sir. Patching it to the view-screen."

This is Captain Meecha of the Gonta Defense Ship
Jaarke.
Your request is preposterous. Further ships in our fleet will be arriving in this system shortly. You would do well to surrender your ship immediately. I would promise a fair trial and a just decision.

I spoke. "Lieutenant, do we have a live comm channel?"

The lieutenant replied, "Yes, Sir. I've patched in your arm pad comm. Just begin to talk when ready, Sir. I have to believe they will have audio and video also."

I sat in my chair and stared at my arm pad screen until the Gonta officer appeared. "This is Don Grange. I will be speaking for the Humans. If possible, I would like to converse with the captain or the highest-ranking officer on your ship. I await your response."

Several minutes passed before a reply came over my link. "This is Captain Meecha, Don Grange. An immediate surrender is in order. Comply or face the consequences."

I replied, "Captain, as I stated in the initial message, we are interested in establishing friendly relations with your Federation. Our systems are under attack from the same infection that now controls most if not all of your systems. I understand that it is a lot to ask, but at the moment, I don't see that you have a choice. Send over an armed party for a face-to-face exchange so that we may show that our intentions are genuine. Surrender is not an option at this time, Captain; establishing a friendly but not yet trusting relationship is."

Another minute of silence passed. "Mr. Grange. I will be sending a party of four to investigate your offer. If harm comes to any of my men, I will consider it an act of war and will hold you personally responsible. Prepare your docking bay for a shuttle."

I replied, "Captain, I will personally promise their safe return. As a further gesture, once you are satisfied that we mean no harm, your armed team can escort me and my team back to your ship; we will be unarmed, of course."

The shuttle soon arrived, and the Gonta soldiers stepped onto the deck of the
Granger
's bay with their weapons drawn. Our crew had orders to keep their arms holstered. The four Gontas were escorted to the bridge.

A Gonta soldier spoke. "I am First Major Nerius Galla. Who is Don Grange?"

I stood from my chair as I took in the Gonta team. They wore bright, shining red body armor with a silver stripe down the left sleeve. They were bipeds, slightly less than our height. The dark shields of their helmets kept their faces from our view.

I spoke. "That would be me. Welcome aboard, Major. I know this is highly unusual, but I would like our peoples to be on friendly terms."

The major replied, "You attack our planet, and our ships, and you expect us to accept those as friendly gestures. Those are acts of war, Mr. Grange. I believe that to be a conclusion that any sentient species would come to."

I nodded in agreement. "I wish the circumstances surrounding our meeting were different, Major, but we can't turn back the clock. We can only move forward. I would like to take a small team to your ship, under your escort, of course. I believe we may be able to assist your crew with the isolation of the virus and the recovery of your systems. Any assistance would only be what you would allow. We do not want to see this problem spread to any of your other ships. That would certainly not further our relations."

The Captain took two of the Gonta soldiers on a tour of the
Granger
's bridge as I continued my discussions with Nerius Galla. After an hour of talk, including direct input from Captain Meecha, we were granted permission to board the
Jaarke
. My crew consisted of York, Frost, and Lieutenant Goddard.

The docking bay of the
Jaarke
was very unlike the utilitarian bay of the
Granger
. The corners of almost every structure, doorway, container, and even the lines of their shuttlecraft were smooth and rounded. While initially strange, it offered a feeling of comfort that was unexpected. I wondered why our own engineers had not come up with the same designs. I then wondered if perhaps it was a design that was inefficient. Humans liked the function that came with utility.