Carinae Sector: 01 - Traders' Scourge - Part 1 - Alien Flight (11 page)

‘My fleet is at your service trader Omerio.’

Omerio continued on again without showing any emotion.

‘Professor I need to discretely unload my cargo into a larger ship attached to the expedition. I need to return to another star system for additional equipment I had to leave behind.’

Omerio was expecting at least token resistance from the researcher, but surprisingly Professor Elysius just kept silent for several seconds, before nodding in agreement and replying.

‘Omerio, we can do better than that for you. We have to take the fleet back to the Cephrit 31 star base as one of my best researchers and her crew are facing trial by galactic authorities.’

Omerio stifled an oath as he did some parsing, but not a look of consternation, as the professor paused to look him over critically before again explaining his situation.

‘Look Omerio, I may be old but I am not blind, you indeed know Gindane well. Now a respected independent Barus trader as a mediator in the trial will both ensure that the trial is as fair as possible, and strengthen your own trading reputation out here.’

All thought of Omerio had of immediately returning for his cloaked probe he left behind was promptly abandoned. The professor gave Omerio a quick overview of the tragic events of Sol 3, also known as Earth several years earlier. The young Barus listened with growing concern as he realised that Gindane and her crew were in a very treacherous situation when they rejoined the fleet in a few days time. A Tilmud frigate squadron had been dispatched to guard the research ship back to the Cephrit 31 star base and was expected in the next day or so.

Omerio gave his assent to the professor’s request instinctively, and quickly steered the professor back to his own requirements at not being interdicted by the same squadron of Tilmud ships. The professor eyed the read outs for the Barus trader ship and then looked over the status of his research cruiser.

‘Omerio, I do not want to know about the contents of your small ship. Now we have two atmospheric research landers that I can empty out and send to the smaller research ships for docking….’

Omerio listened as the professor continued to explain his plans with growing respect. The senior Barus would make a credible smuggler. Shortly afterwards, the two research landers undocked from the cavernous main hangar of the research cruiser and nonchalantly flew over to each dock at two smaller research destroyers stationed nearby. The main hangar was cleared of all Barus crew and Omerio carefully guided his slender trading ship to a stop inside the main hangar. He noted that roughly a third of the ship was still outside the hangar, and he kept the trading ship hovering on manoeuvring thrusters as instructed. Several large cargo waldo units now came forward slowly and gently kedged the ship around ninety degrees to allow the main hangar doors to close. The main hangar of the cruiser featured two side hangars that when opened made the hangar considerably wider than deeper.

The sleek trading ship settled onto shortened landing struts, then Omerio shut down all power to the thrusters and the hangar controller re-pressurised the main hangar. As Omerio went through his ships systems, several additional waldo units streamed out of the side hangar laden with assorted packing crates and engineering spares. The crates and spares were stacked in an orderly manner between the trading ship and the main hangar external doors. Omerio paused momentarily to consider his situation, before he made the irrevocable step of powering down completely, and fail safing the fusion reactor at the heart of his ship. The step was long term, as he knew he would need the facilities of the engineering team at the Cephrit 31 star base to initialise his reactor again.

Omerio now left his ship via the main rear ramp and nodded to two Barus crew members standing guard at the foot of the ramp. He was joined by Professor Elysius and the engineering chief of the research cruiser, a taciturn Barus with fading fur. The three Barus conferred with a makeshift readout atop a pile of esoteric Barus archaeological equipment on a trolley wheeled by the engineering chief. The professor grunted sarcastically as he looked at the readout.

‘I never thought that I would be using my planet side research scanners to scan my own research ship. Omerio, I hope the contents of your ship’s hold are worth the trouble, and you know I will hold you to your word about mediating in the trial.’

For the sake of the engineering manager, Omerio grimaced before casually replying to the professor.

‘Elysius, my trade goods are very valuable and I appreciate the assistance of you and your crew, I really do.’

Satisfied that the readings would shortly be beyond detection unless by a direct inspection, the grizzled engineering chief now turned to leave, muttering sourly under his breath.

‘Young fools that tweak their drives to danger point, and then are too rude to remember his rescuers proper rank and title are beyond my time.’

Omerio and the professor risked a quick conspiratorial glance at one another, and the senior researcher then led the Barus trader through to the crewed decks of the research cruiser.

                                                            ***

Steve stood in the rear deck control station he had taken over as his temporary office and with considerable frustration again considered the fitting out plans for Aurora Discovery. Fortunately the key components of the seven thousand ton ship were already installed earlier, and he had managed to recruit a small but competent crew. He decided he would have had real problems if the twenty five knot engines, the eighty ton crane, the bridge electronics, and the auxiliary generators were not commissioned.

The other concern, a personal one, was that the working honeymoon with Samantha was not working out too well. Samantha had even been a little circumspect with Steve as she focussed on her own role in the new partnership. A decent honeymoon would have been great, but they both knew they would have been even further behind if they had left the fitting out of the Aurora Discovery too much longer. Steve then looked over to inventory documents associated with the plans, and he turned to the dock supervisor to politely frame another question.

‘Surely Bill, the balance of the cable drum assembly was included in the transfer of ownership, can you please check your storage areas again?’

The portly and affable young dock supervisor gave Steve a glance as he looked over the inventory.

‘Well Steve as I mentioned earlier we have ongoing issues in providing spares, and we are desperately short of trained staff to complete the fitting out. We have had to scour Australia for what we have already supplied and I will have to go and make some further enquiries.’

With further quiet assurances that he would also look into the ongoing delays, the dockyard supervisor then casually wandered back down the gangway and off to the storage sheds to one side of the main dockside fitting out shed. The Aurora Discovery had been recently been sea trialled and he was happy with the overall sea keeping performance. However the changes he was seeking to move the ship fully over to her new role was taking longer than expected. This was due to ongoing shortages of qualified boat builders and engineering specialists associated with making the refrigeration and plant changes. The key modification of installing a baffled cold seawater tank in the main hold was being postponed indefinitely, though he had managed to have most of the heavier oil rig support equipment placed in shore storage for the time being.

At considerable additional expense Steve had installed a temporary secondary fuel tank at one end of the unused hold that now contained an extra eighty tonnes of diesel fuel. Effectively this fuel tank increased the expedition ship’s already impressive range by another two thousand kilometres. The other end of the hold held two brine freezer tanks in reasonable condition that Steve had discovered in a fisheries support vessel that was being scrapped nearby.

Samantha was busy elsewhere on the Aurora Discovery overseeing the changes being made to crew quarters and to the already impressive sick bay. The two topside modules housing the oil rig crew quarters had also been removed and replaced by a single mounted administration module. Dan Edwards, Steve’s new brother in law, had come aboard and was busy arranging as his aquaculture research station in the module. The removal of the oil services equipment and the modules gave the ship a sleek purposeful look.

Steve was soon looking over other parts of the fit out, and he quickly realised he would also have to wait for his helicopter deck to be commissioned. He stifled his frustration as he evaluated further the multiple needs of his new ship, before again going dockside to chase down more urgently required equipment.

                                                            ***

In her sheltered clearing surrounded by verdant green and orange foliage, the Deltas Vass matriarch considered the latest clandestine report that had found the path to her tentacles with real disquiet. Apparently a trial was being organised at Cephrit 31 for a Barus research crew that had been charged with violating Zronte edicts.

The matriarch sent out two messages via two of her male drones, as she needed to confirm either way one piece of information that would impact greatly the rest of her plans. The other drone was leaving for another Deltas Vass planet with verbatim verbal instructions regarding an unknowing ally.

The instructions were unimportant from a strategic sense in keeping her plans alive, but her efforts here would ensure that the wisdom and reputation of her race would be maintained.  The matriarch had considered this trial as a necessary complication of sending one of her acolytes to turn the senior engineer, even if she always had kept soft sap for the Barus.

The puppet-master considered with quiet satisfaction that the instructions should cause a member of a despised fellow vassal race to experience an apoplectic fit of extreme range. The off duty male drones gathered around her static leafy base detected her quiet happy mood and now crooned softly for her enjoyment.

                                                            ***

The ocean depths of the southern Indian Ocean hid the massive forms on the seafloor as nearby a massive suppression shield hid their electronic presence. The strange life forms again conferred quietly about the probes they had recovered earlier from around the world.

A sleek female considered what she had discovered and ventured her opinion.  Nearby an ancient black cylindrical probe, quite different to the tiny dismantled probes, reflected in dim light a brown and white discoloration as it sat silently in a docking cradle with a modified power adaptor plugged into one side.

‘According to mother’s data files, these can only be Barus research probes. Fortunately we silenced them before they could transmit our presence. However there is a strong case that the Barus will send additional probes when the research ship returns to this planet.’

This observation caused the gathering of other young females, all sisters, to quietly chime in about ‘not being ready’ and ‘it is far too soon’ from the surrounding dark depths. The sisters fell silent as an even more massive presence, their mother Queen Angwene, came closer and signalled for obedience.

‘Daughters, I have thought further about this problem and I have additional orders. Basically my earlier points are reinforced by this development, and you will all be returning to your work and studies after my orders are given. Remember we remain alive and well hidden because the vassals assume we cannot be on this planet.’

Dutifully the sisters remained silent and listened to their mother and protector as she gave detailed instructions to further compliment existing orders they had been under for so long. At several points, the sisters stifled questions as some of the stranger orders from their mother was briefly explained. With the final eternal admonition to be safe by being silent from their massive mother, the sisters dispersed to their own production facilities well hidden nearby under their own suppression shields.

The queen, ancient lines of scar tissue prominent on her flanks, reviewed the ramifications of her orders to her daughters. Angwene reflected, as she worked at a furious pace at upgrading her own facility, that she had been so long on this planet that she was starting to forget her species birthright. She chided herself about that thought, for her kind were now a pitiful remnant of their once glorious heritage and were scattered across the galaxy.

Hopefully they were no longer being hunted by the various vassal races and they could eventually escape this world to rebuilt their race somewhere safe. In the corner of her mind was the realisation that they could not stay here forever, as the suppression shields would not hide their existence if the seabed was scanned properly by a vassal race. Also the indigenous inhabitants were approaching interstellar capacity and had already attracted the attention of the vassal races. If there was any mercy in the universe she fervently hoped that this race at least would survive.

The queen was now well satisfied with her performance changes, and now gave the nearby ancient probe a gentle nudge with her smallest fore tentacle.

‘Activate you ancient pile of junk, we need some information.’

The discoloured and ancient probe gave a feeble glow and replied.

‘Easy your Majesty, I am at only eight percent function and if the cable is removed too long I will fail.’

The queen noted quietly the condition of the probe that had arrived hundreds of thousands of years after she had arrived and gone into emergency hibernation. The probe had been not designed for these timescales without major refurbishment to batteries and computer memory, but Angwene was looking for any additional information she could find that would allow herself and her young daughters to survive in an incredibly hostile galaxy. Patiently the queen settled down in the dark crushing depths with the probe to quietly discuss the latest developments and to see what could be inferred from the little information they had available.