Chroniech! (7 page)

Stricklen was caught off-guard by the question. "Um — no, we did not."

"Have you wondered where they might be?"

"We assumed they had left the ship after it was damaged. For some reason they never returned to tow it back to a space-dock."

"I submit to you," Falnath said in a slow, measured tone. "That the crew are still aboard the ship and have been for the last 45,000 years. There is only one theory that explains the existence of a hyper-gravity field in combination with stardrive-like control fields. It is my theory that the object you have discovered is nothing less than a time-stasis machine and that the crew are inside the null point of the sphere in a state of time-suspension."

As pandemonium broke out Stricklen's jaw hit the floor. He sat stunned as everyone in the room tried to talk at once. So great was the noise that he almost did not hear his private com-link when it signaled an incoming message. "Captain, this is Commander Raferty on the bridge," the tiny hearing aid like device said. "The Mobius reports that one of its outlying sensor drones has picked up a very small object heading this way, possibly a probe. Drive wake signature is unknown. Distance — 0.69 lights. Speed — 1,250c. A class 4 HK has been dispatched to intercept. Time to intercept 2.5 hours."

Stricklen reached down and clicked one of the buttons on his wrist-com thus telling the bridge that the message had been received. He then stood up and motioned for silence. It took almost five minutes before order was restored.

"Falnath, would you please explain your reasoning for this theory of yours?" Stricklen asked.

Falnath had remained passive during the entire episode. In response to Stricklen's question she said, "My reasoning is based mostly upon the research data which we have obtained. I am sure that nobody in this room understands continuum calculus so I am unable to present an accurate explanation. I will, however, try.”

"It is common knowledge that a hypergravity field will affect time. In the presence of a hypergravity field, time will dramatically slow down. A gravitational field, however, also has other very undesirable effects which would normally render its use as a time stasis mechanism useless. The largest factor would be the tidal effects which would destroy any object near enough to have its time affected.”

"The alien device uses a combination of hypergravity fields and space-warping fields that are very similar to our stardrive fields, only of a much higher level of complexity, to achieve a state of time-stasis within a null-point inside the sphere. The exact amount by which time has been slowed cannot be determined with our instruments."

"That might explain the device," Scarboro said. "But why do you believe the crew are inside the sphere? What was this thing doing on that ship in the first place? Whoever built the supposed stasis device must be very technologically advance — more advanced than any member of the Alliance is now. The level of technology of the ship and that of the device are hundreds, if not thousands of years apart."

"We don't know for certain why the stasis device was on the ship," Falnath replied. "We do know that the reactor has enough fuel to enable it to run for at least an additional 8,000 years. I have a personal theory concerning the presence of the device on the ship and the crew being inside the stasis device."

"I would like to hear this theory," Bronach practically sneered.

"Consider this — Let us assume for a moment that my race is technologically superior to all other races in the Alliance." At this statement Bronack huffed out a short burst of air which Falnath ignored.

"In fact, let's assume that we are so far advanced that we are capable of doing what most other races would consider as the impossible. Despite our advanced level of technology we are non-aggressive and we try to live in harmony with the other races of the Alliance but we do not share our technology. How would Humans and the other members of the Alliance react in this case?"

Scarboro considered the question for a moment and was the first to reply. "There would be many that would want to have your technology for themselves in order to give them a technological edge against their enemies. If you were unwilling to share it, your ships and people would be harassed or worse, attacked, in order to get the technology."

"A most accurate conclusion," Falnath replied.

She shifted her considerable bulk out of the corner of the room to a position closer to the conference table causing several people to scramble to make a path for her. "The end result would be that our race would have no choice but to either flee the area or eliminate all other inferior life-forms in order for us to live in peace. Being as advanced as we are, the second alternative would be rejected.”

"The first alternative is equally difficult because no matter where we tried to go the other races would pursue us. A better alternative would be to either hide our existence or flee in secret using the ships and technology of the inferior species around us. I believe that this is what happened to the builders of the stasis device.”

"My belief is that the device was being transported to another location and something happened to damage the ship. If a distress signal had been sent, there would have been a good chance that a member of another race might respond and find the stasis device. It would make more sense for the crew to enter the stasis chamber and wait. When the ship did not arrive at its destination, another would be sent to investigate and thus a member of their own race would eventually arrive to rescue them. This, for reasons we can not determine, did not happen and the crew are still in stasis."

"Why would such a race need to transport a stasis machine anyway? What purpose would it serve?" Skip asked.

"I cannot answer your question," Falnath replied. "A stasis device would allow an individual who has been injured to be transported to a more advanced facility to receive care, or to store a sample of some short lived material while it is being moved to a research lab. There are many potential uses for such a device. This device, however, is capable of maintaining the stasis for thousands of years. If I were to make a guess I would say the device was meant to be used to place something or someone in stasis for many centuries. To what purpose I will not attempt to guess."

"Sounds like a plausible explanation to me," Scarboro said. "How do we go about verifying it? Do we know how to turn the thing off?"

"That is still being looked into. Simply interrupting the power to the device could do it. There are other scenarios, however, which predict that interrupting the power could result in a catastrophic shutdown resulting in an explosion of quite titanic proportions. We are dealing with a technology which we do not even dimly understand yet. Eventually we will have to try something because as long as the device is operating we cannot move it to a better research facility."

"Huh?" Stricklen said. Then remembering he corrected himself. "Oh — I understand. The gravity field is preventing us from forming a stardrive field. That means we are stuck here until we figure out how to turn it off. That could be a problem because we might have some uninvited company soon."

"What do you mean?" Falnath asked, swinging her head in Ken's direction.

"The Mobius has picked up the drive wake of a small unidentified ship, most likely an alien probe heading this way. My guess is that it has already informed whoever sent it that a large gathering of ships is just sitting out here."

"Great!" exclaimed Doug. Turning to Falnath he said, "If that probe is from our friends who attacked Mintaka you had better find a way to turn your time stasis machine off or we may just have to leave it here."

"You will not," an authoritative voice announced. Stricklen looked around and, following the stares of the others in the room, located the speaker. He appeared to be a Lamaltan as he was enclosed within a bulky environment suit and had been standing along the back wall of the conference room.

Lamaltans could not survive in an oxygen atmosphere but instead required a mixture of methane and ammonia at a temperature of several degrees below zero. They were one of the more bizarre life-forms making up the Alliance.

The figure stepped forward and, to the horror of the crowd, unsealed his suit. Poisonous, frigid gas did not, as everyone expected, pour into the crowd. Instead of a Lamaltan, a darkly metallic clad figure stepped out of the environment suit. He stood 173 centimeters tall and, except for his face, appeared to be completely encased within black armor. A special issue blaster was magnetically clamped to his left side.

Dark, penetrating, cybernetic eyes seemed to stare into every corner of the room at once. Everyone recognized him as a peacekeeper — a cyborg invested with the authority to maintain the law throughout all planets of the Alliance. They were the equivalent of a galactic police force. This particular peacekeeper was either Human or a race closely resembling one. Ken was surprised since peacekeepers rarely traveled in secret.

"I am Sorbith, a Saulquin by birth," the peacekeeper said, stepping up to the head of the conference table and assuming command of the meeting. "This technology must remain in the hands of the Alliance. All efforts to protect it must be taken. Falnath, you are to concentrate your research efforts on finding a safe way of shutting down the stasis device. Captain, find a way to remove the device from the alien ship and place it in your shuttle bay. This will allow your defense shield to protect it in the event of an attack. I choose your ship because the Mobius is not only an obvious target, but if needed, it will be used to provide for your escape."

The orders of a peacekeeper were to be obeyed without question and without delay. Falnath murmured an agreement and left the room. "This meeting is over," Stricklen said. "Doug, I want an emergency staff meeting in ten minutes. Sorbith, may I have a word with you in private?"

On the way to the captain's quarters, Stricklen received a message via the wrist-com. "A second drive-wake has been detected sir. It has been identified as a Seeker class scout belonging to a peacekeeper named Sorbith. The ship claims its owner is aboard."

Stricklen brought the bridge up to date on Sorbith's appearance and instructed them to inform Fleet Commander Trisk of the nature of the incoming ship. Once inside his stateroom he turned to Sorbith and said, "I would like an explanation as to why you were aboard the science ship posing as a researcher. Peacekeepers normally do not work undercover unless there is a very good reason for them to do so. I have had suspicions that the Alliance has been withholding information from us and your actions have strengthened that opinion. If this is true, then I would like to lodge a formal protest. I cannot adequately protect something if I do not know what it is I am protecting."

Prior to the formation of the Galactic Alliance, the FTL-capable races had created an organization known as the Consortium. This organization was held together by a complex set of interlocking treaties. The Consortium, however, was fundamentally flawed. This had been dramatically demonstrated during the short Human/Tholtaran war. The Galactic Alliance was created to address the flaws inherent in the Consortium.

Under the Consortium, the law enforcement agencies of one planet had found it nearly impossible to obtain the arrest and extradition of a criminal who had managed to flee to another world unless a specific treaty existed between the two planets. Although information allowing individuals to freely travel to any planet in the Consortium was shared over a common network, law enforcement agencies typically did not share information between planets. This, and other problems, had been addressed when the Galactic Alliance was brought into existence.

The peacekeepers were created to extend Alliance law throughout all member planets by embodying the power to uphold the law into one easily recognizable law enforcement agency. The orders of a peacekeeper were to be obeyed without question and without delay by all members of the Alliance no matter their species or position.

Peacekeepers did not interfere or concern themselves with local politics or law, they had the power to enforce Alliance law and on very rare occasions were called upon to carry out the will of the Grand Council. The peacekeepers were allowed this power because they were continuously monitored by the computer aboard their ship. If a peacekeeper were to ever misuse his authority the ship could command that individual's cybernetic systems to shutdown.

All peacekeepers were cybernetically enhanced. After receiving extensive training and screening they underwent a series of complex and risky surgeries. Their bodies were encased in an ultra-resilient black metallic armor. Their limbs and many of their internal organs were replaced or enhanced. They were endowed with phenomenal strength and abilities. Each peacekeeper was then assigned a Seeker class scout ship. These ships became their home and office wherever they went. The capabilities of these ships and the peacekeepers was highly classified.

"I was ordered to remain incognito unless the security of the alien device was in jeopardy," Sorbith said. "Your suspicions about withholding information is not only justified, but it is correct. Since your ship will be providing primary security for the device, I will provide you with the missing information. What I am about to tell you is to be considered classified at the highest level — do you understand?"

Stricklen, still seething, sat down at his desk and replied, "I understand."

"Approximately 36 standard years ago an exploration team on a remote planet discovered the remains of a probe which had crashed on the planet's surface. The probe was taken to their ship and examined. The facilities aboard the exploration ship were limited and they were unable to learn much from it. The probe was eventually transferred to a research station near Almaranus where it was extensively analyzed. It was later determined that the device had been constructed over 40,000 years ago.”

"The crash had severely damaged the probe. We were lucky that the planet where it had crashed did not have an atmosphere. This prevented any further destruction of the probe's mechanism through corrosion or weathering. The analysis of the probe indicated that it had originated from a culture far more advanced than any member of the Alliance or any species of which the Alliance was aware.”