Read Test of Mettle (A Captain's Crucible Book 2) Online
Authors: Isaac Hooke
Tags: #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Thrillers & Suspense, #Technothrillers, #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Alien Invasion, #Colonization, #Exploration, #First Contact, #Galactic Empire, #Military, #Space Fleet, #Space Opera, #Thrillers, #Metaphysical & Visionary, #Space Exploration
J
onathan stood in cargo bay seven, in front of the translucent container that held the specimens retrieved from the greenhouse planet. It was midnight, and he hadn’t been able to sleep. He had gone for a walk and found himself strangely drawn to the cargo bay. There were no other personnel present at that hour.
Jonathan hadn’t had time to pay the specimens much thought over the last couple of days, not while the Raakarr had been in hot pursuit. Connie and her team hadn’t made any progress with the things anyway. No one else had experienced any sort of telepathic contact with the objects, as Robert had. The scientists speculated that perhaps it had been the humanoids who had initiated that contact, and not the anomalies.
And just as he was thinking of his commander, a call from Robert appeared on his display.
The captain accepted, enabling full hologram mode so that the commander appeared to be standing immediately beside him. Though he was probably seated, in reality.
“I noticed you were still up, Captain,” Robert said.
“Couldn’t sleep,” Jonathan replied. “What’s up?”
“Apparently you’re not the only one who can’t sleep,” Robert said. “Chief Galaal sent me a message a few minutes ago, confirming the identity of our mysterious Artificial. He was going by the alias of one Ensign James Borden, a specialist on the
Selene’s
engineering team. The records identify him as human.”
It was illegal for a robot, Artificial or otherwise, to pretend to be human. Somehow “James Borden” had managed to fool the
Selene’s
sensor and AI systems, enabling the Artificial to pull off its hidden life.
“I was in touch with Barrick earlier,” Jonathan replied. “He tells me the Artificial wasn’t aboard the lifepod when T300 burned up. So whoever or whatever it was, the Artificial is no longer a threat to us.”
Robert pursed his lips. “That’s probably good, because Bridgette told me something else. She said she saw purple drops of condensation on its neck.”
Jonathan felt his brow furrow. “Purple drops?”
“Yes,” Robert replied. “According to Maxwell, that’s something straight out of the history books.”
Jonathan regarded his commander curiously. “Maxwell, tell me what the hell Commander Cray is talking about.”
“Seventy years ago,” the AI responded. “Humanity encountered alien species X25910. In the war that followed, several subsets of the species were identified. One of them was X25910-A. Because of their wraith-like, ghostly appearance, they were known colloquially as ‘Phants.’ These inter-dimensional aliens could seize control of human electronics, including AIs, and because of their partially shared consciousnesses, they were able to rapidly learn our tech. Colored drops of condensation were one sign that a machine was controlled by a member of X25910-A.”
Jonathan considered Maxwell’s words for a long moment. “I see.” He tapped his lips with three fingers. “I’m trying to recall what I learned about that war in the academy... I thought we found a way to protect AIs from them?”
“The SK scientists shared an electromagnetic containment technique, yes,” Maxwell replied. “And with it, the United Systems was able to protect the more critical AIs from X25910 control, such as those found aboard starships. However, the shielding proved bulky, and the smaller form factor required of AIs in robots and Artificials ruled out similar protection for those units.”
“To this day,” Robert added. “All new AI cores destined for starships come with that electromagnetic shielding.”
“Yes,” Maxwell added. “Because even after seventy years, humanity is still finding individual members of that species, and sometimes small colonies. We never quite eliminated them after the war, though they are mostly confined to the Tau Ceti system, where the fighting took place. Which makes it quite unusual that we found one embedded in our task group.”
Jonathan glanced at Robert. “Well, like you said, it’s a good thing T300 went down. Who knows what grief that possessed Artificial would have caused humanity? Then again, it’s not like we’ll be getting back anytime soon, so it doesn’t really matter either way does it?”
“It does matter, though,” the commander said. “Because I have to admit, I’m going to rest easier knowing we’re not harboring a dangerous alien fugitive somewhere in our fleet.”
“I suppose so,” Jonathan said. “Thanks for the update, Commander. I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
“Don’t burn the midnight oil for too long, sir,” Robert replied.
“I won’t,” Jonathan said. “Captain out.”
The hologram vanished.
A Phant. Jonathan shook his head, and then turned his attention back to the translucent container. So many alien factions out there with competing, unknown goals. Alien politics was never his greatest subject back at the academy. It was a good thing he had a whole fleet of men, women and AIs to help him navigate these treacherous waters. Then again, his background as a tactician wasn’t so far removed from politics. Instead of guessing the motives and intentions of ships and fleets, one had to concentrate instead on individuals and nations. It was simply another type of poker game. And so far, he was playing not to lose.
It’s time to start playing to win.
He stared at the humanoid spacesuits in the container.
We have to reverse engineer the technology in those suits. Or at the very least, figure out how to repair them. The suits were operated by beings with DNA that is a ninety-nine percent match to humans, after all. It shouldn’t be that hard for us to figure out how to use them.
Then again, there were probably security protocols to bypass. United Systems personnel couldn’t use Sino-Korean weapons and jumpsuits without circumventing the protocols embedded in that technology, for example.
Nothing was ever easy.
His gaze drifted to the two beings that had been removed from their suits. The porcelain white skin of their naked bodies never failed to remind him of Famina.
He had managed to finally forgive himself for leaving her on that mountain. Yet he couldn’t do away with the scars. He never would. He made a fist, and felt the corrugated-cardboard texture of the bio-printed skin.
He focused his attention on the three cylindrical anomalies. The objects seemed a deeper yellow than when he had last come down to the cargo bay. In fact, the things seemed to have become almost golden. Ripening like fruit that contained a seed?
Looking at them, he suddenly felt incredibly uneasy. If they were eggs of some kind, what kind of monstrosity would hatch from them? Was he putting the entire crew in danger? The chief scientist assured him the container was rated to withstand tensile and laser impacts well beyond anything those anomalies might hatch. It had held the Raakarr prisoner, after all. And since the cargo bay had a space-facing door, if there was any containment problem at all, Maxwell was authorized to vent the entire compartment out into the void.
Despite all that, Jonathan couldn’t shake the apprehension he felt.
Damn aliens.
He was about to look away when the leftmost object vibrated very slightly. Then the other two joined in.
Unbidden, images flashed through his mind. He recognized the box-shaped capital ships and dart vessels of the Raakarr. They were being destroyed in waves. He saw their colonies, collapsing under attack.
And then he saw the human ships. Vast fleets containing both Sino-Korean and United System vessels. Again, starships exploded like clockwork as deadly fire came in. And then he saw Earth. Her cities razed, her people on their knees.
Finally he saw the aggressors responsible for the attacks against both the humans and the Raakarr. The common enemy utilized giant, golden ships shaped like Möbius strips.
The visions vanished and Jonathan staggered backward, gasping. Before him, the three anomalies had ceased vibrating.
Stunned to the core, the captain continued backing away from the container. He just wanted to get the hell out of there.
He left the cargo bay and when the hatch sealed behind him, he rested one arm against the bulkhead and took several deep breaths.
He understood in that moment why Robert was so disturbed by the visions he had. But the commander had reported seeing images of the Raakarr and humans at war, not an apocalypse brought on by a third alien race.
Perhaps it was unwise to harbor those anomalies after all. He considered ordering Maxwell to jettison them.
On cue, the AI spoke up.
“Are you all right, sir?” Maxwell said.
“I don’t know,” Jonathan said.
“Do you require medical attention?” the AI persisted.
“No,” Jonathan said. “I just... need some air.”
A call appeared on his aReal.
It was from the fifth-watch ops specialist on the bridge.
Jonathan accepted wearily.
“Sorry to wake you, Captain,” the ensign said. “But a massive object has appeared roughly two million kilometers off the
Callaway’s
nose. One o’clock position.”
“A massive object?” Jonathan said. “Send me the external video tracking. Best zoom.”
The requested feed appeared on his aReal a moment later.
Jonathan stared at the display dumbly for several moments. “Where the hell did that come from?”
“It emerged from the Slipstream near the inner planets only a few moments ago.”
Jonathan clasped his hands together, planted them on the bulkhead, and pressed his forehead against his extended thumbs in distress.
On the display resided a giant, golden ship shaped like a Möbius strip.
Z
hidao released the magnetic mounts and dropped down from where he had stowed away underneath the Dragonfly. It was a good thing he had elected to bring the exoskeleton. The tidal and inertial forces out there had been far stronger than he had anticipated, and his Artificial body would have been hard-pressed to survive on its own.
“Hello again, Maxwell,” Zhidao said.
“Good evening, sir,” the AI returned. “Shall I arrange your usual quarters?”
The Artificial smiled. “Please.”
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bestselling author Isaac Hooke holds a degree in engineering physics, though his more unusual inventions remain fictive at this time. He is an avid hiker, cyclist, and photographer who sometimes resides in Edmonton, Alberta.
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