Star Clusters: New Arrivals (2 page)

“Lanis Baltor?” she quickly asked. Lanis nodded. “I’m Zeshaira. Come this way, the others have already launched.” She rushed him towards the closest fighter.

Lanis quickly climbed into the dart-like craft’s cockpit. “How do I fly this thing?”

“You use this,” Zeshaira answered, pulling some sort of device attached to the back of the cockpit onto the Terran’s head. “It is a neural interface; it’s connected directly to the onboard computer, allowing you to control virtually everything the fighter does.”

“Is that also how I’m supposed to fly?”

The cockpit lit up; several holographic projections appeared as if to answer the question. “No,” Zeshaira said, then started climbing into another fighter. “Launch as soon as you are ready, but try not to take too long,” she instructed him.

“Wait, I--” Lanis was interrupted when the Tarhedian’s cockpit sealed shut; her fighter launched moments after that. “... had some more questions. Okay, let’s see,” he said to himself, examining the holographic labels, “Navigation, weapons, shields, backup controls for comms, targeting and stuff...”

He powered the fighter up, emerging from the hangar at a moderate speed in an attempt to get a feel for the alien craft. Outside, the Tarhedians were already maneuvering around asteroids and weapons fire alike. As far as Lanis could tell, the Tarhedia’s weapons systems only consisted of a series of powerful plasma beam emitters built into the ship’s outer hull - one on either side of each shield arm, with each emitter matched by a similar emitter underneath it.

While it was a seemingly modest armament for a craft of that size, the sight of one of the yellow beams of superheated plasma simultaneously melting and breaking apart one of the larger asteroids reminded Lanis that there could be such a thing as overkill. A few moments later, the sight of the resulting fragments impacting the Tarhedia’s main shield reminded him that he was, in fact, not there to watch the show.

A holographic HUD popped up, showing the locations of the threatening asteroids, the Tarhedia and the other fighters in relation to him. “Where do you need me?”

The first one to respond was Zeshaira; as Lanis quickly realized, she was the squadron leader. “The potential damage from the asteroids directly in the ship’s path is greater than any that might be caused by the ones naturally approaching it. I am marking a region for you to concentrate your efforts on. Try not to let too many asteroids through; the ship’s shields can only withstand so much.”

“Okay, I’m moving in.” The HUD started highlighting any asteroids whose trajectories would lead them through Lanis’ part of the grid. He turned the fighter towards the first one, moved in a bit closer and squeezed the trigger.

A pair of small, bright orbs the size of apples emerged from either side of the craft, each centered around a tiny blob of neutrons. These projectiles proceeded to explode violently upon reaching their target; the neutron clusters within buried themselves deep inside the asteroid’s remains.

“Whoa,” Lanis remarked, heading towards the next target, “this stuff packs a punch! How many do I have?”

“Enough,” Zeshaira answered, bringing her fighter around for another run. “Tarhedia, you appear to be on a course towards one of the largest asteroids in the field; our weapons may prove inadequate.”

“That is our estimate as well. We are still working on regaining control, continue with the operation.”

“Understood.”

Another minute passed as the defense continued; the Tarhedia descended directly towards a gigantic asteroid at least twice as large as the ship. “Look at the size of that thing!”

“Tarhedia, do you have navigational control yet?” Zeshaira asked.

“Not yet. Initiating primary weapon firing sequence.” A faint, orange glow started emanating from the power crystal at the heart of the ship.

“Acknowledged.” The tips of each of the five arms encircling the city began emitting beams of energy, each targeted at focusing arrays close to the top of the structure holding the crystal. All five arrays directed the beams they received towards specific segments of the crystal’s upper half. “All fighters, break off the attack,” Zeshaira ordered. “Divert all remaining power to shields and cover the Tarhedia’s sides.”

The glow continued to intensify. Suddenly, the crystal discharged all its energy in the form of a thick, orange beam which almost immediately impacted the asteroid’s surface, splitting into a series of secondary beams as it burnt through the rock. Some of these beams hit the Tarhedia, effectively returning some of the consumed energy to the ship’s systems.

Lanis’ fighter was slightly less fortunate. It, as well as a few others, were struck by the weapon; the shields were outright disabled in a bright flash of light, but the ship survived.

With the Tarhedia’s path cleared, Zeshaira headed back towards the cityship. “Status report.”

“Uhh, shield generator’s fried, but everything else checks out.” The other pilots whose craft had been hit by the Tarhedia reported similar damage. Everyone else simply turned towards the ship’s hangars. “What was that thing?”

“A sort of feedback loop,” Hatos simply answered, “which causes a controlled overload in the ship’s power core culminating in the discharge you observed. Why such a thing was included in the original design, I do not know; regardless, it is quite an effective weapon.”

“‘Original’ design?”

“What you now know as the Tarhedia was an unfinished spaceframe when we found it. We merely completed its construction.”

This came as a bit of a shock to Lanis, who had not seriously considered such a possibility. “Huh. Didn’t quite see you as the scavenging type.”

“I am sure your people would have done the same, given its technological superiority.”

“You’re probably right,” Lanis told him, deciding not to discuss the matter further as he landed in the fighter bay.

The fighter powered down; within moments, he climbed out of the cockpit. It was at this point that his stomach, with no effort at subtlety of any kind, reminded him that he had not eaten anything for hours. With this in mind, Lanis asked one of the Tarhedians where he could find something to eat.

A little while later, the Terran found himself in one of the ship’s parks. The Tarhedian pilot he had consulted in the hangar didn’t simply tell him where he could get some food; he also recommended going to eat it there. Lanis couldn’t argue with his logic - it was a beautiful place. Tall, green trees - as alien as their shapes were, there was still a touch of familiarity in the way they were placed - surrounded the paths. Some also interrupted the carefully mown grass, either individually or in groves. The entire park seemed to be centered around a clear, calm pond in the middle, and elaborate tables and benches - similar in style to the ship itself - were scattered throughout it.

Lanis singled out one of the tables near the pond and slowly ate his breakfast. The Tarhedian food wasn’t quite like anything he had eaten before, but his curiosity had compelled him to try it. Once he finished his meal, he got up and went to take a closer look at the pond; a venture which was concluded by his slipping and falling into the water. As the Tarhedia jumped to hyperspace, he went to his quarters to dry himself off. Lanis’ clothes were less fortunate; soaked as they were, he was forced to find a replacement in the form of a Tarhedian bodysuit not unlike Zeshaira’s. His suit was simpler by comparison; its decorations were less elaborate, with different colors - the most obvious example of which was a silvery color where the Tarhedian commander’s suit would have been golden - and it lacked the cloak he observed in her outfit. Indeed, she seemed to be the only Tarhedian wearing such a cloak, though he couldn’t see any reason for this distinction.

He had just finished putting on his newly-found outfit when Hatos entered the room. “What happened?”

“Uh, I had breakfast in the park, and took a closer look at the pond than I wanted to. This was just the first thing I could find.”

“I see. In any case, I came here to tell you we should arrive at the coordinates you provided for the wormhole in approximately nine hours and forty-five minutes.”

Lanis quickly ran the math in his head. “So, your ship runs at a hyperspace factor of... 4.0?” he said, forgetting for a moment that hyperspace factors were something the Tarhedian may never have encountered. “Sorry, I meant--”

He had also forgotten about Hatos’ mental powers, and, in a refreshing change from what he was used to, two wrongs
did
make a right. “Sixteen light years per hour,” Hatos finished. “Interesting concept. Yes, the Tarhedia can maintain a hyperspace factor of 4.0. It is quite a remarkable speed, given its size; our second largest ship can only attain speeds equivalent to factor 2.65.”

“But it’s not the fastest?”

“No. It is not.”

“Right. Well, I guess I should take the time to take a look at the Eagle, see if there’s anything I can fix. That, or just relax a bit - it’s been a rough couple of days.”

“Very well.” Hatos turned around and left.

Lanis spent the following hours repairing some of the lighter damage to his ship. Approximately four hours after the Tarhedia left Anlara, he had gone to the control room to ask Hatos if he could try to use some of the Tarhedians’ spare parts in his repairs. Just before he could say anything, the ship abruptly dropped out of hyperspace. “What just... what’s going on?”

Hatos seemed to be just as surprised by this occurrence as his Terran guest. “I do not know... Where’s the navigator?” he asked one of the officers.

“I am not certain. The navigational computer is reporting that we have arrived at our destination.”

One of the holoemitters in the room displayed an image of the five-planet system the Tarhedia had arrived in. There appeared to be a significant amount of activity - but it was by no means Sol. “That looks like...
Petra
?” Lanis said; indeed, the cityship was suspended in a low orbit over the Petran homeworld, the fourth planet in the system.

“Primary shields are coming online, as are all weapons systems.”

“What?!” Hatos asked, more than a little alarmed by this turn of events.

“Ventral plasma beam emitters are powering up and targeting locations throughout the planet. Primary weapon firing sequence is being initiated.”

“Shut it down!”

“I’m trying - the computer’s not responding to my commands.”

“Cut the power flow to and from the power core and all capacitors!”

“Won’t that vent us to space?” Lanis asked. It didn’t matter - the order was executed almost immediately as the ship powered down.

“The atmospheric containment fields, emergency lighting, the control room and the main computer are tied to emergency generators precisely to avoid the scenario you suggested. We should be safe.”

“Not yet,” the ship’s science officer said; the holographic representation of the Tarhedia continued moving towards Petra. “We were on a course towards the planet when we left hyperspace - atmospheric entry is imminent.”

“We need the engines back online,” Lanis concluded. “Can you restore power without glassing this side of the planet?”

“No. Whatever locked us out of the controls is still functioning.”

“Even with power, the weapons need time to charge up. Perhaps...” Hatos paused. “Restore power to all systems, but only for a few seconds. Divert all the power you can into the engines and attempt to stabilize our orbit.”

There was a brief silence as Hatos’ orders were executed. “It was not enough. We’ve managed to slow down enough to avoid incineration, but the ship is still in an uncontrolled descent towards the planet surface. We may be able to reroute power from the atmospheric containment systems to the engines and decrease our velocity enough to maintain structural integrity, but that is contingent on us crashing onto water.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Lanis commented. Indeed, more than 90 percent of Petra’s surface consisted of a vast ocean interrupted by islands of all shapes and sizes upon which the Petrans evolved.

“Do what you can.”

The Tarhedia continued its descent unimpeded by the efforts of its crew. “Now might be a good time...!”

“Bypassing the power conduits takes time. It’s almost... Engines are back online!” The ship shook violently, its inertial dampeners taken by surprise as it slowed down and crashed into the ocean.

Lanis was among those who had been unable to maintain their footing when the ship crashed. “Well... we’re still alive. That’s a start,” he said, holding on to one of the consoles nearby as he got up.

“However,” Hatos observed, “whether we are to remain that way has yet to be determined. Someone - or something - is turning the Tarhedia’s systems against us.”

“The navicomputer and the weapons?”

“And now the engines. I had to shut down the emergency generators we linked to them - whoever’s behind this just tried to force us deeper into the water.”

“Which, if I got everything right, means the main atmospheric containment system’s out?”

“Precisely. The secondary generators are the only reason we aren’t drowning yet, but they can only take so much pressure. We cannot restore main power until we regain control of the ship, and the primary containment system cannot be brought online as long as it is linked to the engines.” The other Tarhedians hurried out of the control room. “I am ordering all non-essential personnel to take refuge near the power core; this will allow us to narrow down the containment field rather than allow it to fail. All ventilation shafts in the flooded areas have been sealed off, which may also give us some time. If the engineering team does not succeed, though, that time will not help us.”