Chroniech! (3 page)

"Permission granted. Thanks." and Ken broke the link. Two minutes later Stricklen walked into the conference room.

After waiting another few minutes for the rest of his staff to assemble, Ken began the meeting. "As you are all well aware, prior to reaching Mintaka we discovered a gravitational anomaly. A probe was sent to investigate and the results are now available for our scrutiny. This information is a little unsettling and I have classified all information regarding the derelict. We are now en route to the alien ship to gather additional information and possibly to board it for inspection."

Ken typed a command on the keyboard in front of him. The lights dimmed and an enhanced view of the drifting spacecraft appeared above the conference table in full three dimensions. "Take a good look at it," Stricklen continued. "Something in its cargo bay is generating a gravitational field with a mass equivalence of over 30 billion metric tons. So far, none of the probe's scans can determine what is generating the field nor can it find the power source."

He paused for a moment to let that fact sink in. After an appropriate delay he hit them with the bombshell. "According to the data returned by the probe, this ship is over forty thousand years old."

2 - Mystery

Silence filled the conference room. The impact of the captain's last statement was something that could almost be felt. Finally, Skip Bucannon, the chief engineer said, "Forty thousand years? Our analysis must not be correct. Either that, or whatever is generating that grav-field is a recent addition. Do you have any idea what kind of power is required to generate a field of that strength?"

The chief engineer was an unimposing figure. He stood only 162 centimeters tall and had a soft, round, clean-shaven face. Even though he was only 41, the top of his head was as smooth as a ball bearing. He always spoke quietly and was well respected by the entire ship. He probably knew more about the innards of the
Dragon's
engine room than the people who designed it.

Ken sat down and motioned to Doug Scarboro. The XO stood up and said, "I have been doing most of the detailed analysis and I assure you that the age, as far as we can determine, is correct. The probe has scanned the ship from stem to stern and we have found no evidence to suggest that it is any younger. And yes, we are aware of what the power requirements are.

"Using our current method of gravitational field generation, such a field would require a power source capable of delivering well over 100 terra-watts of power. A power plant capable of generating that kind of power, provided we could build one, would be enormous. It would also be creating a tremendous amount of EM radiation. No such leakage can be found. In fact, we can't locate a power source at all anywhere on the ship. Only the evidence that such power is in use."

Doug started slowly pacing around the room as he continued. "The ship is constructed of more or less standard materials. The alloy used in the hull is very similar to what the Alliance used up until about 20 years ago. The area of damage which you see, appears to have been very recently made by an impact of some sort. This impact is what set the ship spinning. The damage is near the cargo area which is where we have pinpointed the energy leakage to be originating. This is also where the gravitational field is being emitted. Our scans have been unable to determine what is in the cargo bay. Something is blocking our sensors.

"It is our belief that some sort of shielded mechanism is responsible for the energy leakage and the gravitational field. We think part of the shielding was damaged during the impact. The bulk of the device and its power source are still shielded and thus a visual examination is needed to investigate further."

"Excuse me," Commander Stiles, the Dragon's weapons officer, interrupted. "Is that some sort of marking on the side of the ship? I can't recognize it."

"Dragon, display anterior section H-4 on the main screen and enhance," the XO commanded after looking where the officer had pointed.

The ship's computer properly interpreted the command as being directed to itself and reacted accordingly. An enlarged close-up view of a section of the ship appeared on the large screen in the front of the conference room. The holographic image of the ship vanished to allow those on the far side of the table to see the screen. A faint symbol was discernible.

Doug walked up to the screen and pointed. "This symbol has been compared against all known markings from all civilizations known to the Alliance. No match has been found. The ship is a true unknown."

"Where did it come from then?" someone asked.

"Dragon, display probable point of origin," Doug commanded. The ship's master computer created a holographic display over the conference table showing a star chart and a yellow cone. The cone's point coincided with the current location of the alien ship. The cone pointed out into unexplored space.

"An attempt has been made to back-track the ship's course as it has drifted through space. Because of stellar drift and the unknown density of space along its entire path, a considerable margin of error is included in the resultant course as you can see from the size of the probability cone. Based upon this back-tracking we have found that the ship must have been in interstellar space when something happened and caused it to begin drifting. It has not passed within one light year of any star system as far back as we can plot its course with any degree of accuracy."

"Can this be some sort of trap?" This question was from Commander Mikial Kovalesky, the security officer.

"Possible, but even if it is, we are but one ship in the fleet. Setting a trap for a single ship does not make any sense. Besides, this would be a tremendous amount of trouble to go through to capture or destroy one or even several ships. The captain and I both agree that the derelict warrants immediate attention and since we are the only Alliance ship in this area we are the ones who will be investigating this discovery."

"What other information do you have for us Doug," Stricklen asked.

"Not much I'm afraid. The ship is unique in that although it appears to be a large cargo carrier, it is also quite heavily armed. The weapons appear to be similar to ours and, if so, the weapons array would be comparable to those found on a light destroyer. The energy leaking from the damaged section has a spectrum unlike anything on record so we can't use it to speculate what sort of power plant is in use. The ship has a high relativistic speed compared to other objects in this area of space. Finally, it is heavily armored, suggesting that it could have doubled as a combat vessel of some type."

Doug finished and took his seat. Ken glanced around the room and said, "I want to put together a small boarding party to inspect the ship. Three teams each made up of two armed marines, an engineer, an electronics technician, and someone from medical. Our ETA is 2000 tomorrow. I want the names of the team members plus one back-up team on my desk by 1500. I also want a complete inventory made of what each team will take with them. All the equipment should be checked and ready before arrival. Finally, in the event we have to force entry, I want a demolition team to go along. You have your assignments, dismissed."

Tasharra intercepted Ken before he could exit the room. "The miner's we rescued from Mintaka make a living working with explosives. Wouldn't they be more qualified to be on the demolition team than any of our regular crew members? It would also give them a sense of purpose and give them a chance to repay what they feel is a debt owed for our rescuing them."

Stricklen thought about that for a moment and liked the idea. It would free up two of his own crew and it would give the miner's something to do. Security would not be a concern since the miners would not be part of the search teams going inside the ship. As far as the miners were concerned they would be helping gain entry into just another derelict ship. "I like it," Ken replied. "I'll let the XO know of the assignments. Thanks Tash."

"Just doing my job. These men went through a horrific experience and so far seem to be dealing with it just fine. I want to make sure they feel as useful as possible. You really should make some time to meet them. I think they would appreciate it."

"As soon as things calm down a bit I'll do that."

"Thanks captain."

* * * * *

Just to be on the safe side, Stricklen placed the ship at battle stations at it approached the drifting spacecraft. For the last two hours, the
Komodo Dragon
had been applying near maximum acceleration in order to match velocities with the derelict. Once in range, the more powerful sensors of the heavy-cruiser scanned the unknown craft. The results were much the same.

The presence of a periodic, powerful gravitational field would complicate the approach to the unknown ship. As soon as the
Dragon's
velocity had matched that of the derelict Ken ordered a slow approach. As soon as the two ships were within 100 kilometers of each other a small hatch opened on the side of the
Dragon
.

Two repair drones were deployed and made their way across the vacuum of space to the spinning starship. The cruiser carried six of these small multi-function robots. They were normally used to repair any external damage the ship may sustain in combat. After some maneuvering they attached themselves to the drifting ship and, using small thrusters, stopped the spinning motion and stabilized it. This allowed for a more direct approach by the shuttle.

So far the ship had been totally unresponsive. The presence of an operational power source, however, kept Stricklen on alert. The captain watched as the shuttle settled into position close to the now stable ship. The entry team exited and examined what appeared to be an airlock mechanism.

"There is no power to the door controls," reported an unknown voice. Grunting was heard followed by, "The manual operator is frozen — we'll have to cut the door open."

Two more suited figures approached and laid a strip of something around the hatch. After moving clear, a bright white flame surrounded the door. A repair drone appeared and used a low power tractor beam to remove the section of the door that had just been cut out. The speed and efficiency of the operation impressed Stricklen. He was glad he had followed Tasha's advice and assigned the miners to handle the explosives.

The miners remained nearby, floating in space while the original group of suited figures entered the airlock.

"Same situation at the inner door," the same voice reported a moment later. "Drilling a test hole for atmospheric analysis."

A few minutes went by — then, "Internal pressure is zero. The ship is at a vacuum. Mr. O'Niel, we'll need your services again." The miners exchanged places with the first group and another voice took up the commentary.

"Proceeding to cut the inner door."

The cutting procedure was repeated and finally the crew had access to the inside of the ship. The miners returned to the shuttle while the three boarding crews entered the ship. The captain listened to the cross-talk between the search team members.

"No power, no lights, no sign of damage or struggle. No sign of the previous occupants either. Crew one, take forward. Crew two, check aft. Crew three, you're with me to the cargo bay. One marine first and one last. Try not to damage anything and touch as little as possible. Record everything. Keep your eye out for any stray gravitational field. If you get too close to that beam you'll be crushed. Let's move!"

Each team member had a miniature camera attached to their helmet. These cameras were sending their pictures back to the shuttle and from there to the
Dragon
where the images would be recorded. Each team also carried a small portable scanner and a tool kit.

The search progressed slowly throughout the ship. Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary was found. As far as the captain could tell, the team was searching an old Alliance ship which had simply been abandoned in space.

"This is team one," a voice said. "We have reached the control room. No bodies and no apparent usage of power. No damage evident. Looks like they just shut everything down and left."

"This is team two — we are passing through the middle of the ship. This appears to be the main engine room. Looks like a standard space-drive system. No damage evident so far."

"This looks like a fusion reactor," remarked someone. "Wait… I think… yes, that's what it is. I can identify most of the components. This is an auxiliary power reactor and that over there must be the main reactor."

"Is that what I think it is? Phil, is this the matrix coil?"

"Let me look… Let's see… main reactor, power core, conversion unit, main feeder… Yep, it sure looks like the matrix field emitter. Wait a minute… take a look at this… no, this over here. Found out why this ship is dead. An inspection hatch has been opened. Looks like they overloaded and blew their matrix field array. There is an area of warping and heat discoloration along the upper side of the alignment rig most likely the result of a major overload. This sort of damage would require a space-dock to repair."

"Copy team two. Team three has just found the cargo bay. There is a single large object inside. It looks like a large rectangular box about 15.5 meters high taking up most of the cargo bay. I don't know how wide or long it is. We will investigate further."

"Team two, this is team one leader. We are working our way aft on the port side. Nothing to report so far."

"Team one copy. We just left engineering and are passing through various storage areas on the starboard side. Nothing to report."

"Base, team three leader: We have located an entrance into the structure. The door mechanism is powered and the indicators are lit. Request permission to attempt entry."

Stricklen pushed his com button and said, "Team three standby until the other teams complete their search. Team one and two, after completing your search, report to the cargo bay to provide backup to team three."

The rest of the ship was searched with nothing found. As far as could be determined, the ship had simply been abandoned and left drifting in space. With the single exception of the object within the cargo bay all equipment had been powered down or had lost power when the auxiliary reactors had run out of fuel. The two remaining search teams converged in the cargo bay.