EPISODE THREE: A BROKEN JAR
EPIMETHEUS Supply Co-Operative CENTAUR-Class Corporate Transport -DROMEDARY
Time. Though my body’s chronometer is capable of relaying Earth Standard, Local and Galactic Time accurately as any Cesium Decay Monitor, I found it difficult to grasp how fast the last two weeks and two days have passed. With only five days remaining in Warp Bubble Time, the crew and passengers are preparing for the Dromedary’s arrival in the HESTIA System. The DROMEDARY will complete Particle Wave Transmission just outside the system at GALACTIC AUTHORITY Transmission Station 271. Once the Transport is cleared to enter the system, the DROMEDARY will initiate a series of short Faster Than Light jumps. According to my companion Captain Gi... Gital, within 2.5 ESH the DROMEDARY will be in orbit over the planet AIPOTU.
With all the preparations being made for our arrival, there were no more parties or ‘get togethers’ planned. When beings of all sorts especially the biological based elect to not spend Bubble Time in Stasis, their physical and mental frequencies must be readjusted to match the new System’s Local time. Though the ship has been inside a Warp Bubble for three weeks, the Transmission was instantaneous. However, the Transmission Station’s Receiving Array after interception must ‘decompress’ the space around our Warp Bubble by which the process will be completed in three hours after we left OASIS 10. Had we used FTL travel to get to AIPOTU, the trip would have taken twenty-seven thousand Earth Standard Years.
I lay on my back in the main cargo bay beneath the second ancient Escape Pod. Now that I was officially part of the Transport’s crew, when I was not on Duty Cycle I could spend my time as I wished. When I wanted to get away from my ‘Fan-Club’ which only seemed to grow each day, I found working on the repairs of the ‘Pod’s’ to be relaxing. Usually, my companion and I would work on them together. Now with all the preparations for arrival underway, the Captain had little off-duty time to spare.
During the last weeks, I came to learn the old systems intimately. It was refreshing to acquire knowledge not preloaded into my database. Even the DROMEDARY had little information on the old PHUXIOUS Mod B210 Mark 90 Escape Pods. Using the replica of a ten thousand year old flexi-film manual and my companion’s extensive personal knowledge, the repairs were nearly complete. One Pod was complete and checked green for space worthiness. The second was being uncooperative by not allowing me to fully integrate software upgrades to its ancient AI.
My PHUD’s search queries for possible reasons why the upgrades though certified to be compatible were not functioning were filling my vision. “Clear search!” My exasperated command cleared my PHUD and echoed in the cargo bay. An incoming visual feed graphic appeared before I could examine my outburst. It was my companion Gital. I accepted and the viz feed showed Gital in the Transport Control Section as crewmembers attended their duties in the background.
“Hey Pandora. You still fighting with that B210’s AI?”
“Yes.”
My companion gave a short chuckle and said, “I told you, it’s not going to allow you to upgrade. You’ll have to perform a hard reprogram to get it running.”
During my interactions with humans, I learned giving a long sigh often said more than speaking. Again Gital laughed. “My mid-cycle meal period is in twenty minutes. You need to take a break anyway. Last time you got frustrated, a Thermal Grader found itself tied in a knot! Go get cleaned up. I’m certain there’s a bowl of Orange-Mango Sherbet left with your name on it...”
“I will meet you in the Control Section at the twenty minute mark Gital!”
I found it disconcerting how so simple a thing as Orange-Mango Sherbet could be such a powerful motivator. Within less than a minute, I had all of the Pod’s access panels properly sealed, the tools put away and the work area secured. After having the Dromedary’s AI raise the work area’s security barrier. I started out of the cargo bay. Before I got halfway across, I found myself heading for the mysterious gray Transport BOX.
Behind the pink glow of the security field, the BOX seemed to taunt me with its presence. I did not want to know what was in the BOX much as I wanted to know why it had been shipped aboard the DROMEDARY at all. I had to cancel the one hundred eighty-four thousand, seven hundred and thirty-three simultaneous search queries my PHUD was running for an answer. I squat down just beyond the field listening to its low frequency hum. Just out of reach, the BOX seemed to stare back at me just as intently.
For no apparent reason, I addressed the BOX. “What is your purpose for being here?” I could only attribute this behavior to the influence of my companion. When facing a quandary neither the Transport’s AI nor anyone else could answer, Gital would speak to himself. Impractical as it seemed, the practice often led my companion to greater insight towards the problem. Involuntarily, I leaped backwards far enough to slam into a stack of heavy transport containers. The sturdy containers held heavy replacement parts for the Warp Generators.
My PHUD flickered as it was overloaded by sensation from the impact. My teeth grit hard while I endured the feedback called ‘pain’. All my senses were heightened as I looked over one of the containers to confirm what made me react so suddenly. My PHUD came back online and my optical array zoomed in on the BOX. I had not seen falsely for through the BOX’s heavy containment material the simulation of a pair of glowing red eyes stared back at me. I felt a surge of artificial adrenaline course through my body which made me want to run from the cargo bay at top speed! I didn’t. Instead, I stood firm. The security field was still intact. Just as I could not get through it, nothing within could get out.
I was about to start over to examine the BOX once more but then my chronometer appeared to show the time remaining until I was to meet the Captain. I had ten ESM’s left! I looked back towards the BOX and it sat as always but with no strange menacing eyes peering outward. As I raced out of the cargo bay I called out to the Transport’s AI. “DROMEDARY!”
“Yes Pandora 001?”
“I will put these containers back in order after I meet with the Captain.”
“Confirmed. No disciplinary report will be filed. Enjoy your meal Pandora 001”
****
MWGA FURY-Class Attack Transport, WHIPLASH
The shouting all around him did nothing to enhance or break PROMETHEUS GROUP Security Operations Officer Rewar Talvi’s concentration. His team shouted both encouragement and their bets as to whether the thin plate of iron on his back could be lifted by him. Though the plate was the length of his shoulder span, thirty centimeters wide and ten millimeters thick, the metal had been extracted from a planetary core!
Everyone present in the Whiplash’s Physical Conditioning bay watched amazed as millimeter by millimeter, his legs moved closer to the standing position. Sweat poured from Talvi’s skin as the iron plate fought him every millimeter of the way. His being a Mod-4 meant nothing inside the gravity booth. Both hands gripped the side handles with all his might, Talvi was ready to bite through the durafoam mouthpiece wedged between gritted teeth. Every muscle, ligament and bone in his body vehemently protested this action yet the weight continued to rise. The betting between his people and the WHIPLASH crew grew more intense as his legs began to vibrate under the immense strain.
Standing at the booth’s front was his companion the Manufactured Being Talvi Altea. She was the only one who remained quiet amidst the frenzy. Across her lightly melanated face lay an inscrutable grin. Talvi’s eyes locked onto hers and the wobbling in his legs ceased. Inexorably the weight continued to rise until his knees, hips and spine locked into the upright position. Talvi could barely discern the shouts of dismay from those who lost their bets over the booths AI.
“You have successfully lifted 5,000 kilograms ten times at 1.7 ‘g’s’ Earth Standard Gravity. Would you like to continue?”
In a strained voice Talvi replied, “No. End session.”
“Very well. Thank you for utilizing ZEUS INTERSTELLAR INDUSTRIES Physical Training Equipment. Please enjoy the remainder of your training cycle.”
Altea was first to come and hand him a sheet of moisture absorber. He noticed there were a number of the Transport’s female crew members eyeing him intently. His PHUD assessed each one and none were over Modification 2.6. Talvi’s disappointment was matched by the looks on the crew member’s faces as Altea took the absorbent sheet from him and wiped the sweat from his broad chest. A distinct grin was prominent on her face as the mix of human and humanoid alien females dispersed.
“I’m not sure which you enjoy more, deceiving sentients out of their Capital Chits or flaunting your status with me in front of Gestated Females?” Turning luminous almond colored eyes up at him innocently Altea replied, “That is an excellent question well worth exploration. After we get this mission squared, perhaps I will book us a Local Time Week on one of those resort planets you’ve sworn you’d take me to for the last seventy ESY’s?”
The thought was tempting, very tempting Talvi felt. It had been at least that long since he’d actually been free to take Leave. Talvi’s PHUD displayed his available Accrued Leave Account and the amount was numerous enough to raise his eyebrows. “I may take you up on that.” It was just as well Altea ran interference with other females. None were of high enough modification to be durable enough for a tryst. With all her ‘quirks’, Talvi knew as a companion Altea was capital chits well spent.
Disappointed WHIPLASH crewmen filed out of the Phys Con Bay as the members of the Contingency Team gathered around Talvi and Altea. Except for the alien Deo, the remaining humans Vell, Cais and Espan held smug looks on their faces after winning their wagers. Vell held out his palm to Altea who passed hers over it. A red data link beam flashed for an instant from her Personal Body Membrane as she grinned widely.
“Thank you Vell, it is always pleasurable doing transactions with you.”
“Likewise TS. Of course Ops is a walking, talking line of unlimited capital chits!”
“Wagering against high Modification Humans engaged in physical activity exhibits a low level of intelligence.”
Talvi frowned slightly and queried, “Is that what you Umberiae call humor Deo?” It was Tactical Technician Vell who answered the question, “No Ops! An Umberiae joke ends with the look on your face after they lay an egg in your skull!” The large artificial eye coverings worn by Deo did little to hide it’s irritation. “Fifteen thousand, seven hundred sixty-one years have passed since the last known forced implantation into a human. I would refrain from implantation of my offspring in your skull Technician Vell. Larval starvation would be imminent.”
Talvi couldn’t suppress a grin at his Logistics Technician’s dry humor. A very long time ago, Humanity encountered the Umberiae in space. The species of warm-blooded insect-like beings had been a space-faring culture for many thousands of years before mankind. However, their culture was long in decline and degenerated considerably by their first encounter with humans. Needless to say, initial interactions between the two species resembled ancient horror dramas when humans boarded their massive derelict colony transports.
The resulting war had been ferocious and Humanity came close to wiping out the entire species until a chance discovery of the lost Umberiae ‘King’ by a Terra Forming Survey Team on what was thought to be a deserted planet. The King being many thousands of years old was the Umberiae’s last progenitor and had survived in stasis after the Umberiae civilization fell during an interspecies war. With the remainder of Uberiae Kings having been slaughtered in every pocket of their once vast interstellar territory, the desperate survivors set out in the remaining functional transports to search for the last surviving male.
During the long search, the Umberiae race severely declined due to the lack of viable young being produced to replace a greatly aging population of survivors. By the time humanity was encountered, many of the Umberiae were mad with starvation and debilitated by old age. Just when it looked like humanity would end their long existence, the youngest and fittest remaining surrendered. In exchange for their lives, the Uberiae taught humanity how to operate and incorporate their far more advanced technology.
For five thousand-five hundred years, the Umberiae were subjugated and little by little with the revival of their King, their numbers and bloodline grew stronger. At the end of their subjugation, they were incorporated into the Milky Way Galactic Authority. Now when it comes time for them to produce offspring, biologically manufactured beings provide the host brains and bodies for Umberiae larvae to feed upon.
Talvi doubted the modified Umberiae’s ovipositor could pierce TT Vell’s thick skull anyway. Vell was from a world circling a Red Dwarf. His skin was pitch black and for short periods, he could tolerate temperatures of heat and cold without a Personal Body Membrane that would kill an MHG-1 wearing one! As an MHG-3.3 Vell could easily be a Planetary Assault Trooper, but his head for tactics would put high level Officers to task. Fifty years ago, Vell’s Personal File was flagged by the PROMETHEUS GROUP Recruiting Division and Talvi snatched him up.
All his team members were exceptional in their own way. Technician Deo could contend with logistical entanglements at the level advanced AI’s functioned. Deo’s brain and nervous system were augmented with Bio-Naneticware. The Umberiae could interface with networks at the quantum level! Technician Espan was their weapons and combat expert. Espan was the only member of the team from the SOL System, the birthplace of humanity. Trained at the infamous VENUSIAN INTERSTELLAR WARFARE CENTER, as an MHG-3.4 Espan was capable of learning the use of alien weaponry and could perform deadly physical combat upon alien species.
Technician Cais though human was from the world of HERMACIS. It was a harsh planet of extreme weather conditions. So harsh was life for its original settlers thousands of years ago, the mortality rate made it necessary for them to modify themselves to where they could function as male or female when needed. As time passed, those born of Hermacis gained the ability to transcend the one-time gender transformation and change at will.
Cais was currently performing as an MHG-3.4 male. His capacity to understand the ancient discipline of Quantum Mechanics made him perfect for the operation of Exotic Weapon Systems. EW Systems like W.O.E.S. and P.U.R.G.E. needed individuals who could think in seven dimensions in order to operate or counter them. In their down-time, Cais and Espan were lovers. Talvi and the rest of the team couldn’t discern which gender Espan most preferred in her lover.
“All right. We’ve got a five day pad in Bubble Time before we have to get prepped to jump back into Real Space. Immediately after Mid-cycle nutrient intake, we’ll meet in my compartment and you all can bring me up to date on contingencies you’ve plotted. At brief’s end, we’ll head down to the armory for weapons training and physical combat training. I don’t want any of you getting soft and sloppy like one of Deo’s larvae!”
The Umberiae’s respiration flaps flared in a rare sign of insult. “Ops, there is no need to compare my offspring to as poor a pair of organisms as Technician’s Vell and Espan.” The members of the group all gave a loud groan at the unexpected jibe. Espan leaned head first towards the Umberiae and her yellow eyes narrowed, “Ohhhh! You are going to pay for that bug-lizard! I’ll see you in the armory.”
Noting her posture mimicked an Umberiae challenge Deo matched her and replied, “Please bring Technician Vell with you Technician Espan. I will require blotting material to clean the Armory Deck after your defeat.” The two stared each other down intently and the tension in the compartment grew. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ll need to use both your carcasses to wipe the place clean after I whup the shit out of you.” The calm statement from Vell broke the standoff and Deo queried, “We dispose of Vell first... correct?” With a nod Espan replied, “Definitely.”
The mood instantly lightened and Altea asked, “Is that all Ops?” Talvi nodded and Altea said, “That’s it then. We meet in Ops’ compartment one hour after Mid-Cycle. You’re on downtime until then. Dismissed!” All team members came to attention and saluted by which OO Talvi returned it. The members left the Phys Con Compartment leaving Talvi and Altea alone. Altea looked to her companion and asked. “So what now Ops? We’ve got the place to ourselves.”
“Nothing. You’re free until time for the briefing.” Cocking her head Altea replied, “You trying to get rid of me Ops? None of those females ogling you were higher than Mod 2.6. If you so much as caress any of them, you’d be up on murder charges!”
“No Altea. I’ve spent over seven hundred and sixty-six years worth of Bubble Time in stasis and the last one hundred fifty in real-space time going from one mission to the next. This is a rare opportunity for me to do... nothing.” Taking a step back somewhat dejected, Altea acknowledged her companion’s unspoken request. “As you wish Ops. Should I meet you for nutrient intake?” Giving his companion a rare smile Talvi replied, “Of course.”
With Altea gone, Talvi sat upon an inactivated exercise platform akimbo with arms resting upon his folded legs. Putting his PHUD in standby mode, the Operations Officer was finally alone with his thoughts. The constant low-level hum of the Transport’s Warp Bubble Generators suppressed any chance of silence within the empty training compartment. It was through the sound of the generators by which Talvi exhaled with a hum matching their frequency in order to become ‘one’ with the Transport.
The vibrations linked him physically to the exercise platform and then to the deck. He could feel the vibrations spread out through the bulkheads into adjacent compartments and flow through the passageways. Eventually, Talvi was aware of every compartment, nook and cranny aboard the WHIPLASH. Tightening his focus, he could feel the active crewmembers as they moved about the deckplates and the vibrations of stasis chambers in use. His attention was quickly drawn back to the passageway outside the Physical Conditioning compartment. Someone was about to enter.
Captain Listes stepped over the open bulkhead lip and heard the crackling hiss of molecules rebonding as she entered the compartment. She normally came at this hour since the crew would be about their duties and she could physically train alone. However, upon an exercise platform was Operations Officer Rewar Talvi. With eyes closed and sitting cross-legged, he seemed to be in a trance. Slowly the Operations Officer tilted his head up to look upon the Attack Transport’s Captain. “Greetings Operations Officer. I hope I am not intruding on your training regimen?”
The link Talvi established with the WHIPLASH quickly dissipated as he returned his focus back through the narrow confines of his normal senses. The sudden interruption was irritating, but the Operations Officer learned long ago not to show it. “Not at all Captain Listes, I was in the process of completing my morning regimen. I shall leave the compartment to you....” The Captain raised her hand sharply and said, “No, no! There is no need for you to leave. This is a rare opportunity for me.” Tilting his head Talvi inquired, “How so Captain?” With a grin the Captain replied, “Only twice in my life have I been in the presence of someone so highly modified. Once as a Cadet at the Galactic Warfare Institute and now. As a Mod-3.5, I rarely get the opportunity to test myself against an equal let alone a better.”
Talvi knew exactly where this was leading. However, she was a Permanently Bonded Female. ‘Permabonds’ almost never engaged in trysts. However, he could be reading the situation incorrectly. Talvi felt the best thing to do was let it play out and decide from there. “I would like to oblige you Captain Listes, but I must warn you the likelihood of your being seriously injured is quite high.”
The Captain’s eyes narrowed slightly and her grin grew sharper at his statement. “That sounds very much like a challenge Operations Officer.” Seeing he was not going to get out of this without giving insult, Talvi relented. “Name your activity Captain and then please inform the Transport Medical Team to standby....”
© 2012 H. Wolfgang Porter. All Rights Reserved.
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